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AIETEUR Minister Dharamlall NEWS

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halts process to hire company founded by son

October 12, 2020 - Vol. 13 No. 42

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com Price $80

- Local Govt. Permanent Secretary sacked

Online readership yesterday, 106, 962

Canje block owners sold shares six weeks after receiving block Notorious wanted man shot, after found hiding under bed Applications Mother, 26, dies after pouring in for bike smashes into telecoms sector - Vice President

Corentyne steel rail

Guyana steams ahead -site marked; formal with Corentyneagreement expected to be signed next River bridge month in Suriname

The Oil Giveaway Graveyard In excess of one hundred billion American dollars of our oil wealth were given away by PPP/C leaders, with the Coalition and civil society silently consenting. THIS WAS ON THE CANJE OIL BLOCK ALONE. To cheat and insult us further, Guyana must pay the owners of Mid-Atlantic, who handed government a bill, without detailed information, for GY$100M in pre-contract costs related to that same oil block. They gave away the Canje oil block for free and then the hustlers of Mid-Atlantic turned around and handed this ludicrous bill without explanation.

Separately, we have asked for months on our Front Page: Who owns the Canje and Kaieteur oil blocks? Two men whose names appeared on incorporation documents: the first said he cannot recall (legalese for covering up); while the other stated that his hearing is not like before.

Meanwhile, President Irfaan Ali and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, and the Coalition Leaders Joseph Harmon and Raphael Trotman are extremely silent. More and more, Guyana’s oil is like a graveyard: frightening silence and holes dug by government and opposition leaders to bury all of us.

The Senegal gas blocks giveaway...

Quick buying and selling of offshore concessions ...should be wakeup a major red flag call for all nations l i O - ert xp

Monday October 12, 2020

Kaieteur News

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Minister Dharamlall halts process to hire company founded by son - Local Govt. Permanent Secretary sacked The Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, has halted a procurement order for portrait posters.

The transaction has caused widespread concerns.

The minister’s decision came after Kaieteur News on Sunday reported that he had instructed his staff to hire a company that was discovered to be founded by his son.

In a statement to the press yesterday, Dharamlall was keen to indicate that he gave no instruction to his staff to use any particular company to print 80 posters—which attracted the price of $80,000.

“Moreover, I was totally unaware that portrait posters were being procured,” the minister wrote in his statement.

“Since the note was brought to my attention last week, I took action to halt the procurement process and a memo to this effect was sent to the office of the PS… Our policy at the ministry is to ensure that all processes are followed and can withstand public scrutiny.”

It was Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Ganesh Mahipaul, who on Saturday released documents highlighting the damning revelations.

In those September 30th documents, the Local Government Ministry — its office located at De Winkle Building at Fort Street, Georgetown — had received a quotation from private local printery and banner service, Designz Unlimited, for the supply of “80 full color, one side poster board with glossy finish, size 11 x 17”.

What is extremely alarming is that at the bottom of the quotation submitted by Designz Limited, there is a handwritten note from someone within the ministry, which emphatically states that, “Dear PS, please see quotation submitted for purpose of printing 80 portraits of Honorable

When we pause and experience silence, we discover answers that activity does not have time to reveal.

During your day, take three-minute “vacations”.

Relax and reenergise. Take time out to feel the peace of silence.

Minister of Local Governance and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall Minister Nigel [Dharamlall].

Minister has advised that we engage Designz [Unlimited] to do the printing…”

The reader should note that it is illegal and against procurement best practices for a sitting minister to signal his preference to a company, as the minister’s first and foremost duty is to implement decisions on policies.

Minister Dharamlall has since refuted all of the claims made against him by Mahipaul, as he is convinced that this “nefarious act” is aimed at impugning his integrity and “was contrived by known APNU+AFC elements still on the payroll of the [Local Government and Regional Development Ministry].”

“For this matter”, the minister wrote, “to now be put in the public domain by a member of staff and APNU+AFC activist Ganesh Mahipaul, whose employment has been under scrutiny, points to his intent aimed at besmirching my character.”

Sacked Permanent Secretary, Emil McGarrell It was confirmed in a number of quarters that Designz has been tendering and awarded contracts in a number of government ministries.

Meanwhile, it is now being confirmed that Permanent Secretary, Emil McGarrell, was on Friday sacked from his post in the ministry.

The PS reportedly received a letter from Minister Dharamlall, directing him to proceed on his accumulated leave with effect from October 12, 2020 until the contract comes to an end on January 12, 2020.

McGarrell was requested to “immediately” return any property and records of the Government of Guyana, which may still be in his custody.

The quotation submitted to the Local Govt. Ministry by Designz Limited.

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Kaieteur News

Monday October 12, 2020

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

Ponzi Scheme Repayment The first round of Guyanese who invested in Accelerated Capital Firm Inc. and were fleeced should start receiving repayments today.

This was according to the article titled, “Alleged Ponzi scheme operators to halt operations; to start repaying investors from October 12 (KN, October 4th).

This sounds like a good start, but it is one that must be overseen closely and carefully, and with no let-up. The persons hauled before the courts have shown themselves to be resourceful and adaptable to changing circumstances.

We believe that the arrangements made for restitution must be watched with hawkeyed interest from beginning to end, with no loose ends left hanging. In a nutshell, the alleged perpetrators of this huge scam must be made to fulfill every aspect of what they have agreed to do.

There are some good measures put in place by government to facilitate repayment to those swindled.

According to KN, “The Government had set up a bank account at Demerara Bank to facilitate payments.” Also, one of the attorneys for the accused stated that, “the arrangement of repayment will be made to the court to avoid an allegation of tampering with the witnesses.”

From those two positives, we proceed to some of the elements of this court-sanctioned repayment plan, that raises concerns.

First, there is a group of some 70 complainants which, most likely, represent those who are on the hook for probably many millions. It appears that they would be paid, but as to whether it is dollar for dollar is still not clear.

In addition, there emerges the troubling matter of the other 17,000 investors reportedly taken for an expensive ride.

We ask this because when the big losers (those who went to court) are made whole, there is the risk of the mass of smaller investors falling by the wayside, with nothing by way of repayment coming their way. They are too small and too weak to fight the matter in the courts and could become part of the collateral damage from the deceptions delivered. In other words, nothing comes their way, the matter fades away, people move on, and they are left to lick their losses.

Then, there was the revelation that the payments would be the first 100 persons repaid starting October 12th and then the next 100 seven days later.

That seven-day interval is too far apart; in fact, it should not have been allowed, and the repayments should have been continuous, as in no pausing. Something does not sit right with this, for there is the sense that the principals of Accelerated Capital Firm are still waging skillful defensive rearguard actions that prioritize their own interests. Anything that places the interests of these alleged schemers above that of defrauded Guyanese investors must be condemned and discontinued. The accused have been given enough room and opportunity to make good on their criminal actions.

Further, there is something of this repayment arrangement that is just as troubling, if not more. It follows this line, “if the complainants are repaid, the decision of whether or not the charges will continue against the accused is left to be made by the Director of Public Prosecution.”

That does not sound right or leaves with a good feeling.

Saying sorry is not enough. Making whole is not enough.

Messages have to be sent and hard lessons delivered. Do not do this here. Do not even think of it, for the price will be harsh.

We say this because of reports making the rounds of $100,000 house lot scams. Commonsense conveys that more of these deceptive and costly schemes will occur with the influx of foreigners pulling fast ones and gullible Guyanese being the losers. That influx is sure to include its contingent of the shady and slick, which adds to the local brigade of opportunists and confidence tricksters, who sit back and calculate the best ways to prey upon naïve Guyanese and separate them from their assets. At times, this can be as easy as giving children some cheap candy while separating them from their stuffed piggy banks.

Hard punishments must be the order of the day. Do not come here with plans to rip-off Guyanese.

Guyana should have capitalized on striking a better deal with Exxon’s PSA DEAR EDITOR, In 2015, the same year Guyana discovered crude oil in commercial quantities, Norway’s largest oil company then Statoil (name change to Equinor) having invested billions of dollars exploring the remote and geographically challenging region of the Arctic, went in search of exploitable oil deposits.

The outcome was major oil-field discoveries (e.g.

Johan Castburg field in the Barents Sea). The company estimated that these oil-fields could yield in excess of 600 million barrels of oil. But decided not to commence extraction due to prevailing market forces. Equinor breakeven point was about US$80 - $85 per barrel; but economic changes – which were all forces beyond the company’s control, saw the price of Brent Crude fall from US$116 in 2014 to below US$50 per barrel in 2015. (Based on: Greenpeace.

2014/Statoil. 2015) In Guyana’s context, oil discoveries are estimated more than 8 billion of barrels in producing Liza oil-field on the Stabroek Block. With the current price of oil hovering around US$41-43 per barrel and where Guyana’s

breakeven price for oil is US$35 per barrel being amongst the lowest in the world (according to Hess Corporation CEO, KN., 25/02/ 2020).

Given this breakeven point and the lucrative oil industry, Guyana should have capitalized on striking a better deal with the ProductionSharing Agreement (PSA) with ExxonMobil (instead of 2% royalty, 12.5% on oil profit/ 14.5% on sales-revenue) plus taking into account that Guyana is bearing capital and operating costs.

In my view, Guyana should not have ventured into oil production until the following are in place: 1) A National Oil Company as a department under the Ministry of Natural Resources, staffed with “fit and proper” professionals to evaluate the oil sector and set clear objectives and partnership roles in order to define participation in joint-venture and production-sharing agreements.

2) Having a legislated Local Content implemented in the interest of both the operators and the country. According to the Royal Institute of International Affairs, UK,

“In broader sense, refers to local content as the creation of jobs and supply chains to meet the needs of the petroleum sector and, conversely, the use of natural resources as a lever to build linkages with the rest of the economy.

The purpose of developing national local content policies is to increase the value generated by the exploitation of a resource that remains in the domestic economy; and to develop linkages between the oil sector and rest of the economy. What matters is not only what happens in the sector but what happens beyond”.

3) Limit the amount of flaring and bringing of natural gas on-shore for beneficial purposes.

“Gas flaring refers to the process of burning natural gas that is associated with crude oil when it is pumped up from the ground”. Flaring can be worth billions of dollars if captured and transported to be used as liquefied natural gas, for plastics and fertilizers.

Interestingly, natural gas is becoming an increasingly popular energy choice because of its reliability, affordability and when pro-

duced domestically emits considerably less carbon dioxide than other traditional energy sources.

Flaring releases carbon dioxide along with polluting methane and soot – which is contrary and a disincentive to both the LCDS and the GSDS. According to a recent report, Nigeria first targeted gas flaring in the late 1970s and, through various schemes and regulations, has more than halved it since 2001. On record, oil companies such as, Chevron, Shell and Eni, which operate in Nigeria have cut flaring by some 90% and are working to cut if further.

However, and unfortunate, ExxonMobil and Total have both declined comment on flaring. (https:// www.nasdaq.com/articles/insight-nigerias-pioneeringgas-flaring-plan-risks-goingdown-in-flames-2020-09-30) In concluding, for those who propagate about preserving the sanctity of the PSA, I ask those individuals to assess it from a moral and ethical standpoint to see if the same contract doesn’t appear more like a “scamp [ity]” for a document.

Sincerely yours, Paul Ramrattan

National unity mandatory for oil prosperity DEAR EDITOR, Not a day passes without me concluding that we are more and more polarized, vehemently so and hopelessly so. We also seem to like this dangerous state in which we find ourselves, which furnishes more fuel to propel our divisions at greater speeds to greater depths.

“National unity is the basis of national security.” That was part of the opinion rendered by Justice Felix Frankfurter for the 8-1 majority in Minersville School District v.

Gobitis eighty years ago. I agree with that, especially as it now can be applied to our oil wealth.

We are divided, which powerfully serves the interests and objectives of multinational Exxon.

Our division has fostered unsettled psychological upheavals in racial electoral winners and losers, which impinges upon anything that is national in Guyana, including its fragile security. And because of our divisions, we see only blood enemies in those ruling the roost, and those threatening it from the periphery. Again, this is to the distinct advantage of Exxon and its circle of enrichers, both local and foreign.

We argue endlessly, foolishly, and uselessly. We make enemies of our fellow citizens

over oil positions and then attack them. Exxon seasons political elites well, who incite fellow travellers to condemn those calling for a different approach.

Thus, we stand in pathetic tatters before a watching world, but remain firmly committed to maintaining the same self-destructive modus vivendi. This is appealing to the unreconstructed pathological racists in both camps.

It powers those who are about hanging on to political leadership coattails (the petticoat crowd) for recognition and reward via cushy jobs, lucrative contracts, awards of prime lands, and the other benefits that come to successful political groupies.

They are no different from the ones that stalk sports stars and sell themselves to those who can introduce them to the good life.

But, for every day that the nation remains starkly and perilously divided, the money that should come from our oil to ignite our individual and collective prosperity never wends its full way back to our credit.

While we squabble the MNCs carry away the depleting wealth. While we bicker, the local political wise guys engage in one gigantic financial subterfuge after another and get away with all of them.

That rich heavy money stream does not come to the nation and its multitudes.

Either Exxon gets away with most of it legally, and/or our own trusted leaders make financial hay while the people are at each other’s throats.

The democracy of the ordinary man is how I interpret.

On the other hand, and this is not nuclear physics, when the leaders and people of this country can hold one head and stand united, then a formidable and feared force is created. Formidable and feared by the Exxon(s) of the world, who now are under the sharpest of foci because the masses are not distracted nor preoccupied with the traditional local bigotries that cripple. The MNCs would have lost their biggest trump card. And even with only 750,000 citizens coming up against, the specter and reality of a united populace are daunting in the contemplation, as to the havoc that can be wreaked by a people poor enough, betrayed enough, angry enough, and determined enough not to be cheated anymore. The Iraqis had figured out ways to make life less welcoming for those who came to take their oil and leave them still divided and still impoverished.

The Nigerians tried for a while, but leaders had other

ideas.

Formidable and feared is (and would remain) the mindset and reactions of the local leadership cohort to oneness. Because a citizenry that is brought together lessens their self-enriching take, menaces their underhanded activities since all eyes are upon them. For the longest time here, the political elites took turns at plundering national monies, be such from revenues earned or massive debts accumulated. Today, I believe that there is a devilish alliance between them with our oil wealth. It is why I think that they keep us divided, because that facilitates their helping of themselves from the rich bonanza, as citizens rage and clash. I suspect that the reciprocal barbs hurled at the leadership levels are a farce, which obscures their true self-serving programmes.

Hence, we continue to be divided, which suits Exxon and our crooked political cabals on both sides. National unity would lead to national security and national oil prosperity. Disunity perpetuates the poverty and weakness of the masses. And if that is not where we are today, then I ask for enlightenment from any source.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

Monday October 12, 2020

ENDING OF MONOPOLY

DEAR EDITOR, I want to congratulate the government for bringing an end to the 30 year monopoly of the telecommunications sector, now that this major activity has happened it should be our hope that the market forces of the so-called “free market system “would work to weed out the inefficient service providers and that customers would receive a higher level of quality service properly priced.

Given what is taking place on the international financial markets it is my opinion that in time to come a buy out of one of the major players in the telecommunications sector in Guyana might be on the cards.

I also believe that the act of ending the monopoly and the operation of the free market system will not automatically lead to the provision of fair priced products and the delivery of efficient level of services to the customers and as a result of this believe it is

my recommendation that The National Assembly and The Public Utilities Commission should raise the level of effective oversight and regulation of this sector as it relates to following: #1 The enactment of appropriate and timely legislation to deal with the development and regulation of the sector. #2. The development of new products and the introduction of additional services. #3. The fair pricing of services and products; prices that are fit to live with for the supplier and customers. #4. The proper establishment of sensible procedures to deal with customer complaints and the timely provision of after sales service and #5 The prevention of collusion and monopolistic behaviour between the companies operating in the sector.

PS. The above list is not exhaustive.

Base upon my experience and research, Public Utilities companies, if they are run properly should become very prosperous and profitable entities and they often turn out to be stable investments that provide constantly good stable dividends to their investors; there is a school of thought that Public Utilities companies should be publicly traded entities with the Government and the wider public owning shares in the entities (Maybe the Government and the wider public owning about 40% of the shares of the entity); it is my believe that in time to come the policy makers in Guyana might want to give serious consideration to this type of ownership for other public utilities companies in or coming into Guyana ; one sister Caribbean country has already started to embrace a similar type of ownership model.

Much Regards, Dunstan. Barrrow. AA.

Inappropriate to link Melissa Ifill and Rhyaan Shah DEAR EDITOR, Regarding Freddie’s column (Oct. 8) and Rhyaan Shah’s response (Oct. 9), it is unfair to place Dr. Melissa Ifill and celebrated author Rhyaan Shah in the same boat.

I do not know Ifill and never interacted with her. But she is admired and respected for her commitment to African issues and defending the African community even when elections are rigged.

I somewhat know Rhyaan Shah; she is described as a scholar, a woman of integrity, a non-racist, and someone who respect other cultures. She does not confine her readings to only Indian writers and she does not write on Indians alone. She reads and appreciates literature and scholarship of writers of all ethnicities. She commands enormous respect among intellectuals regardless of ethnicity.

There is hardly any more of her (meaning among females) kind in Guyana and the Indo-Caribbean diaspora.

There are several Melissa Ifills in Guyana and the African Caribbean diaspora. The

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Kaieteur News

Ifills are nationalists who fight tooth and nail for their people.

There are hardly any equivalent in the Indian community.

Even though I do not know her personally and did not have much interaction with her, I can offer somewhat of a testimonial on Rhyaan Shah who has publicly and unabashedly defended Indians and contributed significantly over the last three decades to Indian cultural survival in Guyana.

I read her works and her commentaries in the media; she is a profound writer, a league of her own. I attended several Indian conferences where she was a presenter.

Some of them we organized together.

Some she organized with others that I participated and some I organized where she

made presentations. Organizing conferences is very hard, time consuming, and personally costly work. She spent a lot of personal income on these activities or programmes. Often we spent our own personal money to organize programmes to benefit the population. Most of those who benefited from state contracts or from the population hardly contributed to public programmes.

They exploit, don’t contribute! State funding was hardly available for Indian activities as Rhyaan Shah, myself, Ravi Dev, and other cultural activists found out.

In my decades of activism, regardless of which party was in government, only once did the state make a direct financial contribution to a cultural (Continued on page 6)

From militarized to politicized DEAR EDITOR, First there was the claim the public service was being militarized now the call it is being politicized. Will the public service ever be professionalized?

Shamshun Mohamed

Minister Dharamlall responds to Kaieteur News’ article DEAR EDITOR, In an article published on October 11, 2020 in the Kaieteur News headlined “Minister Dharamlall instructs staff to contract company founded by son” I wish to state in unequivocal terms:1. The headline is totally misleading and malicious since no instruction was ever given by me to any staff to use any particular company to print 80 posters.

Moreover, I was totally unaware that portrait posters were being procured.

2. Since the note was brought to my attention last week, I took action to halt the procurement process and a memo to this effect was sent to the office of the PS.

3. It is evident, therefore, that this nefarious act to impugn my integrity was contrived by known APNU+AFC elements still on the payroll of the ministry.

4. For this matter to now be put in the public domain by member of staff and APNU+AFC activist, Ganesh Mahipaul, whose employment has been under scrutiny, points to his intent aimed at besmirching my character.

5. Our policy at the ministry is to ensure that all processes are followed and can withstand public scrutiny.

Yours faithfully, Nigel Dharamlall M.P.

Dodging the issue of modernizing in Guyana, just about every outdated libel laws foreign article I have read (All DEAR EDITOR, It was dismaying to read the article, (KN “Protection of Reputation Vs Suppression of facts”) as presented on the 9th. These laws as written, are unbelievably archaic.

What is even more ironic is that an oil producing nation still has not tweaked these laws. Such laws are not appropriate in this changing environment.

One would think this subject matter would be the first set of laws on the agenda for the bureaucrats to modernize, to at least stay in step with developing countries, and as importantly, give those ethically conscious investors a certain level of comfort.

Actually, the mere fact that Guyana is now an Oil producing country, should be enough of an incentive to modernize these outdated laws.

The word democracy has very little meaning if Guyana still has such laws in the current format.

I know for a fact that at least one of the countries listed, in previous articles with the Headshot of the Minister showing the amount of oil funds diverted, doesn’t even

have these outdated laws on their books, to suppress transparency of ANY KIND, or discourage any sort of monetary investigations. All the ugly details are usually clearly laid out in the local print media, from the precise locations of foreign property purchased in London; to exact cash amounts re-routed to personal accounts. (All sordid info is also found in the public domain).

The problem in that particular country is that existing laws are not enforced, but that is a different situation altogether.

Since the discovery of oil

in the public domain) has painted a bleak assessment of Guyana being able to handle the oil wealth, FREE of corruption.

I don’t think Guyana wants that legacy, and frankly, it would speak volumes to investors and everyone else if at a minimum, the people of Guyana see a lack of commitment on bringing these laws out of the middle ages to a rapidly evolving world.

Silence isn’t always Golden, and we are several years into the 21st Century Already!!

Yours Truly Chi Kansi

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Exxon’s record, Guyana’s prospects DEAR EDITOR, It is time for us to conduct a sober, more measured approach, as to where we are with ExxonMobil, and appreciate how the company approaches gas flaring, the environment, and more. To help, I share excerpts from the magisterial work of Pulitzer award winning writer, Steve Coll, “Private Empire ExxonMobil and American Power” (London, Penguin Books, 2012).

In terms of emissions and climate change Exxon’s management has never been a true believer as to the dangers posed and its own role. Instead, Exxon’s mentality, philosophy, and policy indicated, for decades, that it was not totally committed to vital remedial efforts. Specifically, on climate change and global warming - and despite being knowledgeable, sophisticated, and deep-pocketed enough - it bolsters Exxon’s objectives better to vacillate (at best) or deny outright (at worst) this imperiling planetary reality. It focuses on and fosters “uncertainty” (Coll, pp.77- 79). It is about production economics.

Second, former Exxon’s CEO, Lee Raymond, a chemical engineering Ph.D., had serious issues with the linkage between rising greenhouse gas emissions and rising temperatures. In a landmark 1997 address in Beijing, CEO Raymond said this: “The most pressing environmental problems of the developing nations are related to poverty; not global climate change.” His thinking: manmade climate change was an illusion and hoax that made any agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions unnecessary. (Coll, pp. 81-83).

Ten years later, CEO Rex Tillerson focused on nuanced communications campaigns

that acknowledged climate change is occurring, temperatures are rising, and greenhouse gases are increasing, but he still distanced from and denied the nexus between gas emissions and global warming. He balked at going the full nine yards. Meanwhile, Exxon funded and worked behind the scenes with prestigious academic institutions and scientific stalwarts to give the company what it could then use to overpower critics (Coll, p 444, p 447, p.

449).

On Mr. Tillerson’s watch, Exxon made progress in reducing gas flaring. But, in Nigeria and other countries with weak governments and divided societies, when flaring targets were missed, the host countries were blamed. (Coll, p. 596). This is the reality: flaring is the cheapest option available, with Exxon as a leader, due to its rush to exploit profitable oil deposits, without spending one extra dime. Given this history (even in America) Guyanese leaders had to labour hard and smart to wring concessions out of Exxon on flaring. Our leaders yielded too early, too cheaply most recently. Better flare control technology than that used in Guyana is available, but cost containment matters to Exxon and passing most costs to hosts. That did not have to be, given where I saw Exxon was financially and how much Guyana meant to it.

Also, on October 7th, 2020, KN reported that, “As the world fights climate change, Exxon plans for massive increase in pollution Bloomberg exposé.” Exxon has not changed, besides managing its environmental messages better. Since Guyana is central to its prosperity, there is the high probability of this country being

ensnared in possibly disastrous environmental shenanigans of Exxon. Exxon usually finds ways to extricate itself from liability, as SN pinpointed in a recent Payara article. Somewhat inexplicably, this is what feeble, possibly compromised, government leaders defend defiantly and balefully; and what they get spirited protectors to parrot ignorantly.

Last, Guyana is characteristic of the modus operandi of Exxon wherever it is in divided societies. The people are pitted against one another, the government, opposition, and collaborating civil society elites are bought out; they, then, recruit willing followers to overpower dissent.

It was done in Nigeria and parts of West Africa. Exxon involves the CIA and the State Department (to enable objectives) to deal with recalcitrant politicians, influential army brass, and piracy obstructions, among others.

Unsurprisingly, I read that the joint maritime patrols would protect Exxon’s offshore assets. It is not just from outsiders, but disturbed Guyanese on the inside, who seek to pressure Exxon and its resources directly. However examined, Exxon is about itself, which endangers Guyana. We need Exxon, but this time Exxon needs Guyana more. Thus, our strength was squandered. I would have loved to experience Guyanese leaders drawing the line and CEO Darren Wood reporting to bigger investors that he ‘lost Guyana.’

He would have lost his head, for sure; his successor would know we mean business. If we had to fight dirty, then it just had to be. Now that is gone. Exxon rules its Guyana roost.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

Monday October 12, 2020

Should I join the fight with the healthcare workers to get a better salary?

DEAR EDITOR, I am writing this letter to highlight the depth of unprofessional practices that I experienced and observed at the Industry Health Center on Friday 9th 2020.

I went with my wife to this public facility as she was asked to return with her husband by the doctor (name provided).

We got to this facility at 12:15PM and waited until 1:00PM seeing that the staff was on lunchbreak. As we waited others came in after us.

At 1:00PM a healthcare personnel dressed in a violet scrub came and start asking people to come in to be “clerked up”.

What shocked me first is when the said health personnel asked, in the presence of all who sat waiting “is who get the diarrhoea and vomiting?”, as this young woman stood, many eyes were fastened on her butt maybe to see if any signs of her troubles will show (so unprofessional).

As one person went in after another those that waited heard from time to time what were their complaints - from belly pain to foot issues and then from those that had possible coronavirus symptoms.

The chain link fence between the nurse’s questions and those that wait for medical attention could not hold the answers that flew out the patients’ lips.

Now it was our turn as, we approached, the security guard told me that I had to let my wife go in alone since, according to him, “she can speak for herself”. I was

shocked what made him think I had intentions speaking from her? I don’t know what made him think that the situation did not concern me, I don’t know. As a law-abiding citizen I walked back to my seat and sat quietly.

Upon the question asked by the healthcare personnel (dressed in violet) to my wife as to why she has come today, my wife not wanting to make her case public answered articulately using medical terms.

She was also asked to sit outside and wait while she called everyone else to go see that specific doctor or another except us, even those that came long after went in before.

The security guard seeing what was happening asked why she was allowing others to go in before who came in after ‘these people’. She said, “I don’t have time for nonsense” and she then mumbled along.

Many times after she was asked by other staff about these two people who came to speak to the doctor (name provided).

She said that “their case is not important”. She kept saying too, “don’t worry with them” and continued to call others in a less than professional tone.

At the hour of 2:00PM after many other staffers kept asking the healthcare worker dressed in violet about these two people she then decided to call back down a man that came way after us and send up my wife alone.

After sitting outside for some time, my wife came

down from the doctor’s office to call me up.

The doctor then asked for my card that was supposed to be clerked up, at 2:15pm.

The nurses then responded that the place is already “washed up” and somebody gone that was supposed to do it.

The nice doctor said to me, “I can’t do much because you need to be clerked up but return on Monday and I’ll see you properly.” She tried her best but could not do much.

I am a public servant and I too am a frontline worker in these COVID times to even get time off was difficult and to sit there to witness this level of unprofessionalism, not only meted out to me but others was alarming . We did not get any medical attention because a guard turned me back and a healthcare worker (who is obviously not a doctor) thought that our case was not important.

From broken wheelchairs, to a lack of patients’ privacy, and a total disregard for the health concerns of citizens, the questions I must ask are: ‘Should I join the fight with the healthcare workers to get a better salary?

Should I use my voice to call for better working conditions when I have witness them use their little power to deny us the right to medical assistance? Should I still work my all for the Guyanese people as a public servant and frontline worker or should I leave this country behind? Is their hope for GUYANA?’ Frustrated Citizen

Inappropriate to link Melissa Ifill ...

From page 5 programme relating to Indians – in 2017. I am told the Granger administration offered some $200K for a Georgetown programme that cost millions. Since the grant was a pittance, it was rejected. The administration did, however, offer a larger grant for another programme on West Coast and it was accepted; it was the first time I believe that a government had publicly supported an Indian activity – stand to be corrected; African emancipation programmes that year received subventions of some $65M and similar amounts in other years, 2015-2020).

Both Ifill and Shah have a few similarities – they take pride in and celebrating their respective African and Indian heritage; both are rights activists of their respective races; and both are feminists.

Nothing is wrong in that. In the US, where more Guyanese are settled than are present in Guyana, there are hundreds

of ethnicities. Each lives in some kind of clustering forming their own separate and distinct communities from others. So we have Little Guyana or Little Indo-Caribbean in Queens. But that does not prevent cross cultural mingling and co-existence.

Each takes pride in their cultural and ethnic heritage and each has some kind of heritage day or week or month long celebrations.

Ifill and Rhyaan Shah differ on other important aspects of life in Guyana and on their diasporas. Ifill, as I understand from Freddie’s comments and her own writings, is an Afro-centrist and her political view and position is shaped by it. Shah is an Indocentrist who respect other groups. Ifill did not condemn election rigging — not during the Burnham era and not during the five months ordeal.

Shah consistently condemned electoral fraud. I have not seen any condemnation by Ifill of corruption

during the last five years or during the Burnham era. Shah consistently frowned upon corruption going back for decades. I do not know if Ifill’s Afrocentricity trumps her commitment to feminist issues.

Shah’s Indo-centricity does not define her feminism.

She condemns abuse and inequality of women regardless of the perpetrator’s ethnicity or which party or race in government. Afrocentricity. Being a feminist does not prevent Shah from critiquing a government of her ethnicity. She penned many such critiques that got her in trouble with Indian leaders.

For Shah, wrong is wrong. And she condemns racism all around regardless of ethnicity of those who practice it. It would be inappropriate, therefore, for critics to use Ifill as a yardstick to measure Shah or to describe them as similar.

Yours truly, Dr. Vishnu Bisram

Monday October 12, 2020

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Monday October 12, 2020

Volda Lawrence to report to CID today In response to a statement by the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+ AFC) coalition, on the request for the People’s National Congress Chairperson and former Health Minister, Volda Lawrence, to report to the police- the Guyana Police Force (GPF) called the statement “blatantly false” and distorted from the truth.

Lawrence is expected to report to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters, Eve Leary, Georgetown, today at 10:00hrs, in relation to the

investigation of electoral fraud committed during the March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections.

In a statement on Saturday, the GPF noted that APNU+AFC’s statement falsely claim that the police demanded that Lawrence report to the CID late Saturday afternoon, October 10, 2020.

The force also called the coalition’s statement distorted and blatantly false.

According to the statement by the coalition: “Today [Saturday] there has been an unmistakable further intensification of the

psychological terrorism on the leadership of the APNU+AFC Coalition by the PPP regime and their complicit agents in the Guyana Police Force.”

It also stated that the police on Saturday contacted Lawrence and told her to present herself at 16:15hrs on Saturday, at the CID Headquarters.

The press release also noted that the “sudden and unnecessary demand” for Lawrence to report to CID late that Saturday afternoon must be seen for what it is: a “psychological terrorism against the APNU+AFC

leadership, activists and supporters.”

However, in the GPF response to the statement, the force noted that as the GPF continues its probe into the March 2nd, 2020 postelections incidents, police investigators made contact with Lawrence’s attorney-atlaw, Nigel Hughes, inviting his client to CID to put an allegation to her in relation to the said investigations.

According to the police, Hughes indicated that he will bring Lawrence to CID at 10:00hrs on Saturday, but he later contacted them and requested the exercise of their discretion to permit him to bring her to CID for 16:00hrs instead.

The police agreed with Hughes request and rescheduled for Lawrence to be present at CID at 16:00hrs.

In closing the GPF highlighted the claims by the coalition is completely erroneously and can only be viewed as a convenient attempt to create public mischief and impede the ongoing police investigations into the March 2, 2020 postelections incidents.

Moreover, Lawrence is currently before Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts for a joint charge with Returning Officer of Region Four, Clairmont Mingo, which allege conspiracy to commit fraud.

It is alleged that Mingo, having been procured by Lawrence on or about March 5, 2020, at the Command Centre for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on High and Hadfield Streets, Georgetown,

PNCR’s Chairperson and former Health Minister, Volda Lawrence

uttered to the Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, the results for Region Four, knowing it to be forged, with intent to defraud the people of Guyana.

The duo is expected to make their next court appearance on November 16, 2020. Both accused are currently out on bail.

Police announced in August last that they will be conducting a comprehensive investigation into the criminal conduct of Lowenfield; the Returning Officer of Region Four, Clairmont Mingo, and others in relation to the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections and the events that followed.

During the probe, several GECOM officials were arrested and put before the court for electoral fraud charges.

The trial for the matter against the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, is scheduled to commence in November. He was slapped with three charges- fraud, misconduct in public office,

and breach of the public’s trust.

According to Lowenfield’s lawyer, Senior Counsel Neil Boston, his client has to return to court on October 23, 2020, to receive the remaining statements of witnesses that are expected to testify against him and on November 13, and November 20, 2020, when the trials for the charges against Lowenfield are expected to commence.

Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Roxanne Myers, recently made her first court appearance and was released on $300,000, bail for two counts of misconduct in public office charge. She is expected to make her next court appearance on October 23, 2020.

Returning Officer of Region Four, Mingo, was also slapped with four charges that allege that he misconducted himself in public office. On December 15, 2020- he is expected to return to court for the continuation of those matters.

Monday October 12, 2020

Kaieteur News

What is in it for you?

There are individuals who believe that they are God’s gift to Guyanese.

They feel that they are the smartest thing ever to come out of this country.

They speak with the conviction of prophets while their primary interest is to profit off of the people’s misfortune.

They feel they know it all and that they have all the answers. But with each passing day what is clear is how little they know about how much they know.

These individuals masquerade as the unofficial spokespersons of the people.

They always speak as if they are the champions of the suffering masses. But they are far from experiencing any suffering.

They court arrest and controversy in order to become center-stage in the news and thus appear as heroic figures in the eyes of the people. With every arrest, every protest and every picketing exercise, their standing with the people grows.

They ingratiate themselves into the hearts of the people, pretending that they genuinely care about them.

But they are only interested in boosting their over-sized egos.

What exposes their falseness is that many of them do not even live in Guyana. They are absentee representatives who have cut and run. They are not going to stay and endure the same deprivations of the people; they have retreated to greener pastures where their bread is well buttered and they receive four square meals or more per day.

They do not understand what hunger means.

They cannot appreciate the frustration of not being able to provide for their family. They cannot because they stand above rather than with the people. They do not experience the frustrations of the ordinary man and women.

Yet they appoint themselves as the people’s saviour.

If they are so interested in the people’s plight, why don’t they come back and live like the people. They pretend to be leaders but they are virtual leaders, agitating and antagonizing from the safety of their secure homes and regular paychecks. They are not interested in the people.

They are interested in themselves.

Some of them are only using the people to remain relevant. Without a camera and a microphone in front of them, they have no status and standing. If you take away their platforms, they have nothing to stand on. Without Guyanese they are nothing in their homelands. Without the controversies which they generate, they would remain political non-entities. They have achieved little in life except being social media agitators.

They have their personal agendas. Some of them have scores they wish to settle and they are using the masses to get even with those who harmed them in the past. Some of them have political and ethnic causes and want to use the people to achieve their objectives.

These masqueraders prey on the people’s fears. They

do so by making the people feel that they, the people, are victims of an oppressive and repressive system which discriminates against and disenfranchising the people.

They constantly drum into the people’s heads how bad they are being treated and how much discrimination is being meted out to them.

This message is repeated over and over so that after a while the people actually begin to believe it.

The intention is to make people feel helpless and hopeless.

Like a child who longs for affection and support, when a person feels helpless and hopeless, they tend to become dependent on these individuals who espouse concern. This is the psychological strategy which is employed: make people feel they are victims and they will then see you as their knight in shining armour.

These political agitators have nothing to offer the people but talk. They can’t do anything for the people. They can’t provide jobs and solutions to the people’s problem.

They are more interested in the axes which they wish to grind and the scores they must settle.

In the process, they do enormous damage to the psyche and self-confidence of the people. They induce the people into a state of victimhood. This breaks the people’s self-confidence and will.

They tell the people that the system is against them.

But they are not interested in fixing or changing the system.

Dem boys seh ...

The truth is on its way De truth about yuh oil blocks is on its way. And yuh know dem boys does only talk de truth, de whole truth and nuttin bout the truth. Who vex, vex!

Imagine yuh Mooma and yuh Poopa leff two properties fuh you and your brothers and sisters. One of de properties deh in Canje and de other one deh at Kaieteur. De property in Canje, alone, worth billions of dollars.

Yuh bin asking fuh a long time about de properties but yuh big brother who bin in charge nah talking

nothing. He keeping quiet and even threatening yuh with lawsuit.

To your surprise, one day yuh discover that yuh eldest brother bin hand over de Canje property to some of he friends.

You brackle he and ask he how much he get fuh de property. He tell yuh was a gift of deed, that the new owners nah pay nuttin.

When yuh pick up de phone and call de new owners, one of dem seh dem gat too much noise in de background; that he can’t hear wah yuh asking.

De other one seh how he

can’t remember. Dem get billion dollar property and dem suddenly tun deaf and lose dem memory.

But dem remember good fuh send you one bill fuh G$100 M fuh de money dem seh dem spend fuh weed and clean de property. Dem call it pre-contract costs.

Dem boys ringing but dem new owners nah answering. Like dem nah know de traffic clear.

De truth is on its way.

Who vex, vex!

Talk half and wait fuh more melody from de Waterfall paper.

They are only interested in who is in charge of the system. This is their political agenda and it is an agenda which causes them to be fixated on themes of dispossession, discrimination and deprivation.

If the people want to re-

ally expose these charlatans, they only need to ask them one question: What is in it for you?

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

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Kaieteur News

Monday October 12, 2020

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

Claudette Lansbury Singh: “Murder She Wrote” The drama of the wild, comical yet brutal attempts to rig the March 2020 election has taken an interesting turn with the arrest of Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Roxanne Myers. Ms. Myers, it is alleged, holds the key to one of the great mysteries of post-colonial Guyana.

What happened the evening of March 5 at the Command Centre of GECOM inside the Ashmin’s Building remains a curious, tantalizing mystery that only three persons know – GECOM chair, Claudette Singh; the recently retired police commissioner, Leslie James, and Myers.

The story goes like this.

Clairmont Mingo, the Returning Officer for Region Four made a declaration

using statements of poll (SOPs) that conflicted with SOPs that the opposition parties and international observers had.

As the decibels took over the Command Centre as a reaction to the insanity of Mingo’s pantomime, opposition politicians and international observers sought audience with Ms. Singh only to discover that she was in a locked office and despite those asking to meet with her, she failed to emerge.

The rising decibels turned to pandemonium because hours passed and no one could secure access to Singh with rumours flying around that Myers was with her. Two reactions emerged from outside the shuttered room in which Singh was camping

out.

The action inside the building was being beamed to the outside world by people’s smart phones. First, there was the reaction of Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, who was filmed saying that Singh was under siege.

Secondly, opposition politician, Lenox Shuman, speaking to the world through his smart phone, said he heard people shouting that murder had taken place.

Others through their smart phones were broadcasting to the world that there was mounting fear that Singh may be in physical harm inside the room. Now here is the part that is interesting. With Myers likely to go through a trial the enigma may be dissolved.

There was no murder.

There was no harm to Singh.

Singh in fact used her phone to call the publisher of this newspaper, Glenn Lall, and its then editor, Adam Harris. She requested them to visit her right in the cocoon where she was. When Lall and Harris got there, on making contact with Singh by phone, she agreed to see them but the police refused entry to Lall and Harris.

How could the police deny entry to two guests that Singh wanted to see? And why did she not insist that the police give permission to Lall and Harris? Obviously Singh was not open with Lall and Harris or the police exceeded their legal authority.

This brings into question Edgar Thomas, Assistant Commissioner of Police, who was in charge of total police operation that night at the command centre.

There were only two persons above Thomas that could have overruled his jurisdiction at the GECOM Command Centre that night when Shuman broadcast there could have been a murder.

They were Maxine Graham, Deputy

Commissioner, and the Commissioner himself, Leslie James, (both are since retired). Thomas was humiliated in front of his junior ranks as was seen by all the persons who were looking at that locked door where Angela Lansbury (star of the TV show, “Murder She Wrote) was hold up.

The police ordered that no one was to enter the Ashmin Building and no one was permitted to approach the room where Madam Chairperson was in. But those edicts did not come from Thomas and when dozens of persons converged on Thomas, he could be heard asking the ranks who gave them those orders.

So, at the trial of Myers, will we know if it was Graham or James that instructed the ranks inside the building?

Will Myers be asked questions by the prosecutor what exactly was Angela Lansbury doing in that room for four hours? Why she wanted to be in that place for hours?

These are tantalizing questions for Myers because it is alleged Myers was inside the space with her. Of course, it is unacceptable that we

Frederick Kissoon have to wait until Myers takes the stand to know what happened to Lansbury when she herself can tell us.

There are two speculative areas. She did not want to be served a writ that Anil Nandlall had obtained to stop Mingo from his crude tampering with the tabulations. Secondly, she simply did not want to answer any questions whatsoever and she thought it best to hide away.

Looking back at that drama and the lady who was imprisoned or the lady who chose to lock herself away, it was a funny episode that reminded us of Angela Lansbury and her TV drama; “Murder She Wrote.”

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

Monday October 12, 2020

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Monday October 12, 2020

Applications pouring in for telecoms sector - Vice President Companies have begun expressing interest in providing various telecommunications services to Guyanese, mere days after the Government announced the liberalisation of the sector.

Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, on Saturday said there has been mounting interest from investors since the sector was demonopolised.

“We have already had a new application, and we expect more from other people to come in with various sectors,” Dr. Jagdeo said during an interview with the “Guyanese Critic”.

Some of those companies will come with either an e s t a b l i s h e d telecommunication service or partial service.

“We have already seen in a few days that Digicel said it wants to bring in a new subsea cable. We may have five other persons who want to bring in subsea cables, and they will now have the permission to do so,” the Vice President relayed.

Before the liberalisation of the sector, Digicel Guyana was unlicensed for some services. Dr. Jagdeo said the company can now apply for permission to offer the desired services.

While the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph company was licenced for extensive services, it can also now apply to offer services in new areas.

Dr. Jagdeo said the liberalisation of the sector would bring greater and

cheaper bandwidth to the country. The more bandwidth, subsea cable and redundancy there is, the greater the services that will be delivered on this platform, he noted The VP added the platform allows for a shift to next-generation services and will boost Guyana’s economy.

Last week, Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips, announced that the PPP/C Government was bringing an end to the 30-year-old monopoly which had “left Guyanese weary, frustrated and lagging behind in the telecommunications arena.”

The Vice President said the PPP/C Government had been fighting for the liberalisation of the sector years before it went into

Opposition.

T h e Telecommunications Act 2016 was first laid by the PPP/C Government in the Ninth Parliament in August 2011, and laid again in the Twelfth Parliament in 2012,

after extensive consultations with both the public and operators.

The Act was finalised before the 2015 elections and was partially enacted by the Coalition Government in 2016 by then Minister Catherine

Hughes, again with bipartisan support, the Prime Minister stated.

The PPP/C Government noted the former administration had four years to do what it was able to do in a few weeks. (DPI)

Monday October 12, 2020

Kaieteur News

Omai Gold Mines revs up for re-entry into extractive sector

PAGE 13

- looks at US$1B investments; 1,000 jobs Omai Gold Mines Corp.

(TSX Venture: OMG) has announced that it will soon begin trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Once the site of the country’s biggest gold mining operations, the concessions were reverted back to the state before investors came knocking again.

It is estimated that there are more than 15M more ounces of gold remaining in the concessions.

Any operations will lend to the already established, Chinese-owned Aurora Gold Mines and Troy Resources, two large-scale operators.

Omai announced that it has completed its previously announced reverse takeover transaction in which Omai acquired all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Avalon Investment Holdings Inc. (“AIHL”), a private Barbados corporation, founded by Kris Sammy of Guyana and Michael Smith of Naples, Florida, USA. AIHL is the parent

The Omai Gold Mines site

Kris Sammy company of Avalon Gold Exploration Inc, a Guyanese company which is engaged in the acquisition, exploration and potential development of precious metal minerals properties in Guyana, including the former Omai Gold Mines located in the Omai/Potaro Mining District No.2.

Prior to closing of the transaction, AHIL raised international financing of approximately US$12.5M and

its shareholders will control 189,869,799 Omai Shares or 94% of Omai Gold Mines Corp.

“Omai Gold Mines Corp. shares will begin trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “OMG”,” a statement of the company said recently.

The directors, officers and consultants of Omai Gold Mines Corp are Denis Clement; Executive Director and Founder, Mario Stifano; CEO and Director Harvey McKenzie; and Secretary Jason Brewster; VP of Operations Dr. Dennis LaPoint; VP of Exploration, Nadine Miller; Director Adam

Spenser; Director -MajorGeneral (Ret’d) Norman McLean; Director -Paul Fornazzari; Director -Dr. Linda Heesterman, and Exploration Consultant, Dr. Michael Gustin.

Omai Gold Mines was the first large gold mine in the Guianas.

The mine employed hundreds of Guyanese.

Cambior was able to operate even with the low gold price and their financial troubles. However, they did not have the cash to support the exploration and drilling required to continue operations.

Now Omai Gold Mines is

using that historic mine information as well as advances in the understanding of gold deposits in the last 30 years to undertake the exploration required to develop new resources for mining.

“We are using and training a Guyanese team to work with the top technical team on the Guiana Shield.

Our VP Of Exploration, Dr. Dennis LaPoint lead the Suriname team that discovered the Merian Mine of Newmont. Dr. Linda Heesterman was at the GGMC and is well known in Guyana for her insight and knowledge of the geology of Guyana. Dr.

Michael Gustin was the last exploration Manager at Omai.”

The company said that it is conducting exploration to reassess and interpret the historic drilling at Omai.

“Thanks to the help of GGMC, we have recovered and are geologically logging and sampling diamond core holes that were not analyzed before. New field work combined with a new interpreted airborne magnetic and radiometric survey will define new areas for drilling into undiscovered deposits.”

Initially, the team will consist of 30 or more Continued on page 14

PAGE 14

Kaieteur News

Monday October 12, 2020

Notorious wanted man shot, Region 4 woman, 40, dies; after found hiding under bed death toll now at 104

Labeled as a high profile convict who cheated death on many occasions, a former Buxton gang member, Randy Joseph, 36, was yesterday shot by cops during his arrest for multiple armed robberies and larceny.

Joseph, who goes by the alias of ‘Buxton’, was shot sometime around 11:00hrs inside his James Street, Albouystown home.

Commander of police Division 4 ‘A’, Simon McBean, said that Joseph was wanted for a number of robberies he allegedly committed in the Georgetown area.

According to a police report, ranks had received information about the suspect whereabouts and headed to his home.

They entered Joseph’s house and found him hiding under a bed and instructed him come out.

Joseph obeyed, but while ranks tried to restrain him, he held on to one of them and attempted to disarm the officer of his weapon.

A round reportedly went off and struck Joseph on his left thigh.

There were unverified reports that Joseph was shot in the presence of his

Wounded convict: Randy Joseph (Stabroek News photo) common-law wife and sevenyear-old stepson.

Ranks then arrested the wounded suspect and transported him to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he received treatment under police guard.

Sources told this newspaper that Joseph has been to jail many times.

He recently completed a four-year-sentence after snatching a woman’s gold bangle worth $200,000 in 2013.

Police had said that his victim was at the time sitting in a minibus and had reportedly stretched her

hands through the window to make a purchase.

Past media reports described Joseph as a high profile criminal who was a member of the notorious ‘Buxton Gang’ during the 2002-2006 crime wave.

Not only was he considered high profile but is deemed as the convict who repeatedly escapes death.

Kaieteur News had reported that his fellow gang members had dug him a grave in the backlands of an East Coast Demerara (ECD) Village and ordered him to lie in it.

Their intentions were to kill him but Joseph managed to run away although wounded by a bullet.

In another tale, Joseph almost had his tongue severed during an encounter with former Target Special Squad member, Eon ‘Gangsta’ Smith.

The story continues with Joseph stabbed by a fellow inmate in 2011 while locked away at the Camp Street prison.

Apart from his escapades, prison officers called him disgusting and recall him staring video recorded in the Lusignan prison of him dancing on a table in his underwear.

A 40-year-old Region Four (DemeraraMahaica) resident was announced as the latest COVID-19 fatality by the Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday. It has taken Guyana’s COVID-19 death toll to 104.

It was stated that the woman died yesterday while receiving treatment at a medical facility. This is the 22nd person that died due to the novel Coronavirus for the month of October.

The latest death was not reflected in the Ministry’s daily dashboard update.

The MOH also confirmed 64 new COVID19 cases via their daily dashboard update yesterday.

Senior officials within the Ministry disclosed that of all the newly recorded cases, Region One recorded 20 cases; Region Two-

seven; Region Three- seven; Region Four17: Region Five- one; Region Seven- two; Region Eight- eight and Region Ten- two cases.

Region Six and Region Nine were the only regions that recorded no new cases.

The newly recorded cases bring the total number of confirmed cases to 3,469.

The dashboard also shows 16 persons are currently in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), 113 persons in institutional isolation, 919 persons in approved home isolation, and 60 in institutional quarantine.

To date, there have been 2,318 recoveries and 15, 963 persons tested for the novel Coronavirus –of which 12,494 persons tested negative.

Omai Gold Mines revs up...

From page 13 Guyanese, both technical, field and support.

They will be involved in all phases of exploration including drilling.

“Local supplies and people resources are also being used. The people resources should expand to 70 to 100 people over the first two years. Expenditures for drilling, assays, people, environmental and engineering studies will be in the tens of millions of dollars, depending on the results and gold markets.

Very important is the training of new Guyanese geologists working and communicating closely with the GGMC. Internationally, Guyana will be promoted as a good place to do business.”

When development starts, there will be a large increase in construction workers and a large new camp.

“It is expected to be in the range of 1000 or more Guyanese will be employed.

The mine costs, if like the Merian Mine can be in the range of US$1B dollars. The timing is dependent on positive results, the potential size, working closely with Guyana on permitting, and gold prices and demand. If all is successful, a new mine operation will employ at least 1,000 Guyanese and can generate a return to the country with royalty, jobs, contractors, and new local development of 60 percent or more of the gold produced.”

Monday October 12, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Mother, 26, dies after bike smashes into Corentyne steel rail A Belvedere Village, Berbice woman is dead after a horrific crash at Seawell.

According to the police, at just around 10:45am yesterday, a motorcycle bearing license plate number, CK 4094, ridden by 36-yearold Kenny Teekadharry of Albion Road, Corentyne, Berbice, crashed into the metal rails situated on the Seawell turn, Corentyne.

There was a pillion rider and that person has been identified as 26-year-old Radha Shivcharran of Belvedere Village, Corentyne Berbice.

Kaieteur News understands that Teekadharry was proceeding west along the southern carriageway at a fast rate with Shivcharran seated behind.

Reports are that he was negotiating the turn (near the GuyOil Gas station) when he lost control and collided with the steel rail.

As a result of the collision, Teekadharry and Shivcharran were flung from the motorcycle. Shivcharran’s body was seen wrapped around the steel rails in a mangled state.

In a video posted and shared thousands of times across media, the motorcyclist

DIED: Radha Shivcharran

At the scene.

was seen sitting in a bewildered state near the woman’s remains.

His motorcycle was damaged beyond repair and they both sustained injuries about their bodies.

They were picked up and taken to the New Amsterdam Hospital by members of the public but Shivcharran was

pronounced dead by the doctor on duty.

Teekadharry was admitted with a fractured right leg and is in a stable condition.

This publication understands from a close friend of Shivcharran that the woman has an 8-year-old son and that her husband resides in Trinidad and Tobago.

Guyanese man sues Caribbean Airlines after cocaine allegedly planted in his suitcase New York/Guyana (New York Post)Vacation became a nightmare for a Queens man who claims he was unwittingly turned into a drug mule.

Simeon Wilson, 50, had just spent a week in his native Guyana celebrating his elderly dad’s birthday when he picked up his bag from the luggage carousel at JFK Airport.

Exhausted from the overnight flight, he didn’t notice that someone had secured a necktie around the handle, according to a lawsuit.

There was no necktie on the suitcase when Wilson, a married dad and janitor, checked it in with Caribbean Airlines at Guyana’s Cheddi Jagan Airport for the October 2018 trip.

He was pulled aside by US Customs agents and arrested after 2,000 grams of cocaine in two bags were found inside.

Wilson “had never touched, handled, sold or even seen drugs in his life,” and didn’t put them in his own suitcase, court papers claim.

“You go out for a vacation you don’t expect anybody to go and tamper with your bag,” he told The Post.

About 10 weeks later, prosecutors dropped the charges after determining Wilson’s bag had been tampered with “while in the sole custody of Caribbean Airlines,” he said in the legal filing. But by then his family had to bail him out of jail, his reputation in the Queens Guyanese community had been ruined, and he lost his job, he says in the Brooklyn Federal Court suit accusing the airline of negligence.

To this day Wilson is frequently pulled aside by Customs at airports because his name is flagged. He has to carry proof that his case was dropped.

“I travel with my two hands. I don’t bring

SUING: Guyanese, Simeon Wilson no suitcase at all. Nobody can screw with me anymore,” he said.

“What Mr. Wilson went through was a terrible ordeal and he should be compensated for the airline’s negligence,” said his lawyer, Amy Robinson.

Robinson noted the 2012 case of Roger Levans, who sued Delta Airlines after someone alleged inserted drugs into his bag after he handed it to the airline. “It is particularly outrageous since his has happened to other passengers before,” she said.

Wilson seeks unspecified damages.

Caribbean Airlines declined comment.

Bartender shot in thigh during Sophia gambling dispute A bartender was yesterday shot to his upper left thigh by a man during a gambling dispute at ‘B’ Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown.

The victim has been identified as Julian Cox, 34, of lot 882 ‘B’ Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown.

Cox is currently at the Georgetown Public Hospital in a stable condition.

The suspect- a 26-year-old male of ‘A’ Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown- has not yet been apprehended.

According to a police report, the shooting incident happened around 11:30hrs.

Cox and the suspect were in a yard at ‘B’

Field, Sophia Access Road, gambling when they had a mis-understanding over money.

The suspect became annoyed and pulled out a handgun from his pants waist and discharged a round which struck Cox to his upper left thigh.

Public-spirited persons then picked up Cox and rushed him to the GPHC where he was seen by a doctor on duty and admitted a patient in the male surgical ward in a stable condition.

The suspect escaped while the matter was reported to the police.

The investigation into the shooting incident is ongoing.

PAGE 20

Kaieteur News

Monday October 12, 2020

Abandoned Tuschen building to The Almond Tree Farmer’s be remodeled as training centre Market: Paving the way for eco-friendly produce

The soon-to-be training centre at Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo.

The Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton, and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Board of Industry and Training (BIT), Richard Maughn, have plans to turn an abandoned call centre at Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo(EBE) into a training centre.

It is the aim to train residents of the Region Three area in a number of areas of marketable skills. The centre will also target residents from Region Two (Essequibo Coast) because of the proximity to the Essequibo River which borders the regions.

The CEO said that keeping with the plans, the

structure will primarily run a range of information and communication technology (ICT) training programmes.

The programmes will include website designing, application development and other programmes including cake decoration, cosmetology and sewing.

He stated that the centre will also cater for the development of youth, single parents and retrenched workers.

According to Minister Hamiliton, the construction of the building had started under the previous P e o p l e ’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government but was mostly

inoperable during the Coalition administration.

Following the passage of the 2020 emergency budget, the Ministry of Labour moved immediately to determine how to rehabilitate and re-establish the building as the Tuschen Training Centre.

The minister said: “In our budget proposal we have some resources budgeted… such as computers and all the other (equipment) and we hope to start procuring them in the next couple of weeks.”

He said that it is the intention to start running a number of programmes before the end of the year.

The Almond Tree Farmer’s Market is a market place developed to create a lively community space for the commerce of homegrown, organic, recycled, repurposed, eco-friendly and handcrafted products that are beneficial for the earth and community. The main organizer is Diane Sinclair, a local entrepreneur who stated that it will run for four Saturdays beginning November 14, with market hours being 7:00 am to 1:00 pm, both indoors and outdoors.

Sinclair said the market allows both vendors and customers to learn, teach, build relationships, earn, and see what creative things are happening in their community with the Christmas season approaching.

It will also provide vendors who have suffered tremendously during the COVID-19 pandemic with an opportunity to expand their customer base and earn their much-needed income in time for the holidays. Customers will be given the chance to support local small businesses, access fresh produce and locally made handcrafted gift ideas.

The organizer stressed that all COVID-19 protocols will be observed, adding that she feels encouraged that

restrictions have recently been adjusted to include the opening of markets.

Speaking further on the COVID-19 pandemic, the organizer stressed that it was because of the lockdown and how it adversely affected small businesses that she decided to host the farmers market. She said that there are too many sad stories out there of families who were unable to earn during much of the year and she encountered too many people suffering from depression because their sense of purpose, of contribution, and their livelihoods were severely affected by the lockdown.

Since she had an empty building that was forced to close after the business that was previously operating shut down because of the lockdown, she decided to use the vacant space to host the market.

She also stressed that a farmer’s market should be considered an essential service as it allows people access to healthy foods and produces; it helps the members of her community who are suffering from the loss of income and by extension mental health issues a chance to feel a sense of purpose again. “If we are going to talk about illness, we have to talk about building immunity. A sense of

community is an integral part of our health,” she said.

Sinclair boasted that it will be a farmer’s market with a difference since one of its expressed motives is to broaden the conversation on dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, building immunity, and taking care of our bodies, minds, and spirits even while we talk of mask-wearing, social distancing and sanitizing.

At the farmer’s market, four stall spaces free of charge have been set aside for children between the ages of 8 to 14 years old who, during the lockdown created products and produce that they wish to market and sell to the public. This is part of the market’s EEE Programme –Encouraging Early Entrepreneurship according to Sinclair.

There will also be live music by local musicians, Gavin Mendonca along with drummer Chucky, and Sinclair is encouraging budding musicians to drop by during the market hours if they wish to showcase their talent.

If you wish to get on board at the farmer’s market, contact can be made at 6972463 or 623-7240, but the organizer made it important to note that spaces are going fast and the deadline for submission of applications is Friday, October 16.

Monday October 12, 2020

Kaieteur News

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Monday October 12, 2020

New log policy to allow sawmillers to export logs from today

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The Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) has announced a new log policy which states that sawmillers, as well as concession holders and timber dealers, will be allowed to export logs- effective as of today.

Previously, the National Log Export policy only provided for concession holders being allowed to export logs from Guyana. The concessionaires were allowed to export logs that had to originate from the concessions they were allocated.

The idea was to push for more local processing.

The lifting of the restrictions came from the new government and was announced in the recent emergency budget as part of the measures to jumpstart the economy.

According to the commission, these forest operators now being allowed to export logs must have an export value of at least $10M Guyana dollars cumulatively over the last three years- as assessed by the GFC. They are also required to be in good standing with the commission- meaning that they must have complied with all of the GFC’s explicit obli-

gations, with no history of being subjected to any form of sanction, suspension, or disciplinary censure by the GFC.According to GFC, prospective operators will be required to have their place of operation approved by the Commission and it was also stated that new operators can be eligible for exports as soon as forest product exports reach $10M Guyana dollars over a period of one to three years.

Further, the commission advised that all legal requirements are to be strictly followed and all revenues owed to the GFC in terms of royalties for production and export levies must be paid before

export.

An annual license fee of US$500 is required for the granting of the log export license, but only for persons who have met all requirements for the license. There is an exception made for concession holders since they will be exporting logs from their own concessions.

The GFC noted that export levies will be computed on the higher of either the invoice or the free on the board (FOB) value of logs and squares.

The prices of all products for export will be verified against the Forest Products Development and Marketing Council Guyana Inc. (FPDMC) / GFC Price Advisory which is in-

formed by the average international market prices to guide prices on exports.

Special consideration may be given to companies or entities that are exporting squares, which are products with dimensions of 30.48cm by 30.48cm or 12 inches by 12 inches, which are used without any further processing and are for verified engineering purposes.

The GFC stated that the new policy comes as part of budget measures for 2020, noting that its modification will not affect the sustainable management of Guyana’s forests since all harvesting, extraction, and exports have to comply with the GFC.

Meet the Americans ‘standing by’ for possible election violence (Reuters) - Some Americans worried about possible violence after the U.S. presidential election are forming community watch groups, others are working on conflict de-escalation and still others are purchasing guns, according to two dozen voters, online groups and data surveyed by Reuters.

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Alan Swinney points a gun during clashes between groupslike Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer, and protesters against police brutality and racial injustice in Portland, Oregon, U.S., August 22, 2020. REUTERS/ Maranie Staab/File Photo/File Photo States, according to an Oct. 6 Facebook groups and other Department of Homeland Se- online platforms, where memcurity report, are lone offend- bers share videos of violence ers and small domestic ex- and property damage by potremist cells who may act out litical opponents alongside grievances. misinformation.

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Lee Drutman of the New America think tank published in Politico found around a third of Americans justified violence to advan ce political goals,

double the number in December 2019.

“The most likely outcome is the election happens, there’s no major violence, but the risk of serious or even low-level violence is probably higher than it’s been in a very long time,” said Drutman.Would-be vigilantes have organized using

litia groups that celebrate violence in August and pulled down 6,500 pages and groups over the next month, but less explicitly militarized communities of hundreds of thousands of people remain online.

“That’s what is galva-

nizing and driving militia groups and other armed individuals to think that they have a role to play in this moment of sweeping social change,” said Joan Donovan, a misinformation expert at Harvard.

Monday October 12, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Give us a chance…we have already delivered much - PRESIDENT ENGAGED E’BO

The meeting at Suddie yesterday, Region Two. President Irfaan Ali yesterday continued his community engagements across the country, visiting several areas along the Essequibo, including Leguan, Wakenaam and Suddie.

The President was accompanied by the Chief-ofStaff of the Guyana Defence

Force, Brigadier Godfrey Bess and several Government ministers including the Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill; the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall and National Security Advisor, Captain Gerry Gouveia.

Guyana seeks technical...

From page 18 experts from India to help us.”

He stated that based on the visit the Indian High Commissioner seems “very inclined on doing it but we have to wait and see the results of those requests that were made.”

Additionally, the Agriculture Minister disclosed that his government and in particular, his ministry, is seriously pursuing public/private partnership and have already published in the newspapers “expression of interest for these estates”.

He added that it was a recent meeting with the Private Sector Commission and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce that they expressed their interest in investing in GuySuCo, “so I am very optimistic”.

“We have to ensure these factories keep running and keeping sugar alive so hopefully we can have international partners as well and I am hoping that when the expression of interest is closed to have a number of companies express interest of investing in GuySuCo. I am extremely happy that the commitments made in the manifesto is now being realized slowly here and very shortly we will intensify it.”

Minister Mustapha stated that when the PPP/C left office in 2015, the Skeldon Sugar Factory was already on a turnaround path but because there was very little effort and resources placed into keeping the factory alive and running by the APNU/AFC government, the structure and its operations deteriorated drastically.

“The factory at Skeldon when we left in 2015 was on the turnaround... the last crop of 2015 when they produced the target that they set themselves the coalition government at that time said that they have turned around that industry but the work that the PPP/C did overtime was responsible for that turnaround of that crop but eventually the old estate was left abandoned because of the old management. Some of the immediate issues raised with the estates during the tour were the broilers at the Blairmont Estate, it has to be manually cleaned every 24-hours, the same at the Rose Hall Estate.”

Several parts of the roof for the Rose Hall Estate had rotting zinc sheets with gaping holes; factory parts were rusted or corroded, the platforms have deteriorated; the chimney, the molasses tanks and factory need to be replaced.

A tour will also be conducted at the Enmore Sugar Factory in the near future, the officials said.

After entering office in 2015, the coalition closed four factories- Rose Hall, Skeldon, Enmore and Wales, sending over 7,000 workers home. The PPP/C. which was re-elected this year, had promised to revitalized the estates. It is seeking investments for them now.

The contingent was later joined by the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat.

The contingent, headed

by President Ali, visited three playgrounds located in the three areas. While there, the President announced that the Government will be investing resources which will see the rehabilitation and maintenance of these facilities; $1.5M was earmarked for the Enterprise ground in Leguan. $3.5M has been allocated for the rehabilitation of the Leguan Post Office, which will significantly enhance the facility used by the pensioners there.

In Wakenaam, $3M has been earmarked for improvements to be made to the G-Square Centre Ground and an additional $2M for works along the Essequibo Coast.

“We realise that sports and physical education are an important part of community life,” the President stated.

During his address to the residents of these communities, the Head of State reminded that his Government is one for all of the people and he will work tirelessly to ensure that everyone is included in the national development plans of the country.

“Whether you are nurses, teachers, public servants, rice farmers, labourers, sea defence workers...you are all equal in the eyes of your President and Government, and you will be treated equally. I am a president for all the people. And I say to you here, as I will say it again anywhere else, whether you are nurses or doctors, whether you are farmers or builders, whether you’re a fisherman, or a dentist or a teacher... Everyone will have a better life. You will have better prospects; your family will be better off. But I asked you to give us a chance. We have already delivered so much.”

President Ali also reminded of the sweeping

measures in the 2020 emergency budget, which will result in the improvement of the livelihoods of all citizens in communities in several key areas.

“In just four short months, we have removed the VAT on electricity and water.

We have brought back drainage and irrigation support. We have cut back the cost of land lease and rental. We have reduced the costs of license fees. We are going to give a $25,000 cash grant to every household. In addition to this, we have been able to return the cash grant.

You will see an increase of $15,000 from January [2021], and we are not stopping until we reach $50,000 per child before the end of the five years. In the less than four months, we have already increased the pension to $25,000, but we are not going to stop until we have it at $40,000 within these five years; this we are doing for our pensioners,” he explained.

He also announced that the residents can look forward to a reduction in electricity costs to as much as 50%.

More importantly, the Head of State also pointed to the benefits to be derived from the removal of VAT on equipment and machinery which will go a long way towards alleviating the burdens placed on residents in predominantly agriculturalbased communities.

President Ali also assured of more investment in other critical areas in addition to agriculture; these include education and Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

“There are certain growth polls that we have to identify all across the country, which will have special incentives for persons who want to

invest in those areas. We know there is great potential for agriculture, for export purposes. This Government will be creating those incentives to motivate investment to come to this region so that we can create jobs, and we can create jobs and better opportunities for people. We know that the cost of electricity has inhibited growth and development.

That is why we have started aggressively to work on a number of programs. One such is the gas-to-shore project,” President Ali explained to the residents.

The Head of State also pointed to major investments in drainage and irrigation works in the various communities as well as investments into research and development which will lead to improved yields, which he said is critical for “productivity and profitability.”

He emphasised that investing in the people of the communities is as equally as important as investing in roads, lights and water. This holistic development, he said, will complement the Government’s overall development agenda.

President Ali reminded the residents in these communities to follow the COVID-19 protocols and guidelines. He also presented sports equipment to several sports clubs in the various communities.

Meanwhile, Minister Edghill and Minister Dharamlall pointed to the massive allocation of millions of dollars in the communities from the Ministries of Infrastructure and Local Government. They assured that the residents will start seeing the results of these initial investments before the end of the year.

Residents of Leguan during the meeting with President Irfaan Ali yesterday.

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Olympic medallist and world record-breaker Foster knighted in Queen’s birthday honours

Brendan Foster and Haile Gebrselassie cross the Great North Run finish line with the Olympic flame during the 2012 torch relay (Getty Images)

Monday Octomber 12, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) A book or movie about a foreign country could capture your imagination and make that country seem especially appealing, Aries.

You might toy with the idea of taking a trip there in the future.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Someone close who owes you money might suddenly turn up and repay you, Taurus. This might be a surprise, but you will be glad to get it.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Today you should feel especially warm and loving toward everyone close to you, Gemini, particularly a love partner. You may want to spend some time with friends or family.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) You should be looking especially attractive today and glowing with robust health, Cancer. You're apt to feel warm and loving, particularly toward small animals.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Today you should be feeling especially warm and loving toward close friends and children, Leo. You could also especially appreciate the arts.

VIRGO(Aug.23–Sept.22) Today you might decide to buy a plant for every room in your house or plant a garden, Virgo. If the weather is good, you might visit a nursery or botanical garden.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) A warm and loving communication could come to you today from someone close.

This could be an email, call, or even a gift of some kind.

This could make your day.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) A very welcome sum of extra money could come your way today, Scorpio, possibly out of the blue.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Today you may feel especially warm and loving toward just about everybody in your circle, Sagittarius, even those you usually find irritating.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Someone you care about but haven't seen for a long time could suddenly contact you.

You'd usually love this, Capricorn, but today you could be too caught up in projects of your own to want to put them aside.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) A goal that you've been working on could finally be reached, Aquarius. A group of friends you might not have seen for a long time could schedule a small get-together that you will be all too glad to attend, if possible.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Today you could talk to some interesting new people, Pisces. Among them is at least one person who shares a lot of your interests and could become a close friend.

The joy you receive from communicating.

WorldAthletics - Brendan Foster, founder of the Great North Run and former world record-holder, has been awarded a knighthood in the Queen’s birthday honours list. Foster, who earned Olympic bronze in 1976, was recognised for his services to international and national sport and culture in North East England.

The 72-year-old earned his first international honours in 1970 when taking Commonwealth bronze over 1500m. He picked up another bronze medal over the same distance at the 1971 European Championships, and then moved up in distance, earning Commonwealth silver over 5000m in 1974 and European gold later that year.

He set a world record over 3000m in 1974, clocking 7:35.2, and in 1976 he was Britain’s sole Olympic medallist in athletics, taking bronze over 10,000m. He went on to complete his set of Commonwealth medals in 1978 when winning the 10,000m, and in 1980 he competed at his third Olympic Games.

After retiring from competi-

tion, he became a frequent commentator for televised athletics competitions. His biggest legacy, however, is the Great North Run. The first staging of the event took place in 1981 with 12,000 people completing the half marathon from Newcastle to South Shields. The 1992 Great North Run, meanwhile, incorporated the first ever World Half Marathon Championships.

Thanks to the successful staging of the inaugural event, the championships became a regular fixture on the global athletics calendar and the 22nd edition of the World Half Marathon Championships will take place next weekend in Gdynia.

The Great Run Company now organises numerous massparticipation events across the UK. The Great North Run had been set to celebrate its 40th edition in 2020 with a record 60,000 participants expected to take part before coronavirus caused its cancellation. ”It is a real privilege to receive this honour,” said Foster. “Fifty years ago the Queen

presented me with my first athletics medal at the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games. Since then I’ve been lucky enough to spend my whole life doing something that I’ve loved from childhood: participating, sharing my enthusiasm through broadcasting and for the last 40 years encouraging thousands to run for pleasure. I have to recognise with thanks the significant contribution of lots of others in the awarding of this honour. It really has been my privilege to work with all those individuals and organisations who’ve shared the journey.”

Foster is one of several people within the sport to be recognised in the Queen’s birthday honours list. Jackie Brock-Doyle, World Athletics’ Executive Director of Communications, has been honoured with a CBE for services to sport, and Scottish Athletics chair Ian Beattie has received an MBE for services to athletics.

Former international athlete and coach Mike Whittingham, now director of high performance at the Scottish Institute of Sport, receives an OBE for services to sport, while club coaches Gordon Main and Jill Slatter both gain BEMs.

Johnson wants to make ...

From page 33 Johnson has participated in several International tournaments as Guyana Coach including the Central American and Caribbean Games in Colombia, Islamic Table Tennis Championship in Iran, Mini Cadet, Pre Cadet, Cadet, Junior and Senior Caribbean Championships in the Caribbean, ITTF Junior Circuit in Cuba and Colombia, Latin American Junior Qualifier in Colombia, Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, India.

South American Youth Games in Peru, Inter Guiana Games in Suriname and French Guiana National Table Tennis League in French Guiana and Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

In 2008 Johnson coached Junior girls Trenace Lowe and Michelle John and Junior boy Nigel Bryan to the Latin American Junior Qualifier Table Tennis Championships in Colombia and later that year, accompanied the junior team of Michelle John, Trenace Lowe, Ambrose Thomas (girls) and Nigel Bryan (boy) to the Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, India.

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Monday October 12, 2020

Kaieteur News

Nations League France and Portugal play out stalemate; England beat Belgium BBCsport - Kylian Mbappe and Cristiano Ronaldo both failed to find a way through as the World Cup winners and European champions cancelled each other out in a 0-0 draw in Paris.

Juventus forward Ronaldo, 35, was quiet and remains on 101 international goals as Portugal were unable to repeat their Euro 2016 win at the Stade de France.

Mbappe, 21, fashioned France’s best chance with some fine individual skill but saw his effort well saved by Wolves goalkeeper Rui Patricio.

The game was cheered on by around 1,000 France fans, who were loud throughout.

The high-quality Nations League match-up was a repeat of the Euro 2016 final at the same venue when Portugal shocked the hosts to take the trophy. With France winning the 2018 World Cup and Portugal the first Nations League in 2019, these are arguably the best two sides in Europe but they produced little in the way of goalmouth action.

Ronaldo has not scored against France and had his best chance in stoppage time, forcing Hugo Lloris into a decent save with a stinging left-footed drive. Veteran Portugal defender Pepe saw his header ruled out for offside while France’s best chance came when Paris St-Germain forward Mbappe weaved past Danilo but was denied by Patricio. Both sides are level on seven points in Group A3.

England edge Belgium - England came from behind to overcome the world’s topranked team Belgium and record an important Nations League victory at Wembley.

Belgium took a lead their early superiority deserved when Romelu Lukaku sent England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford the wrong way after the striker had been brought down by Eric Dier’s poor challenge.

England were on the back foot for most of the first half but were handed a lifeline back into the game six minutes before half-time when captain Jordan Henderson went down very easily in a tussle with Thomas Meunier, Marcus Rashford scoring from the spot.Gareth Southgate’s side enjoyed much more possession after the break but needed a large slice of luck to take the lead after 64 minutes, Mason Mount’s effort deflecting off Toby Alderweireld and looping over keeper Simon Mignolet to inflict Belgium’s first loss since November 2018.

England were very much second best until they got a rather soft penalty when Henderson tumbled under a challenge from Meunier -

but the way they gathered themselves after the break to subdue this talented Belgium side deserves great credit.

Southgate’s side were very conservative in that

opening spell, rather like his team selection, but the manager will say the end result

justified the means, although this was a game where both sides were also missing key individuals.

England held firm at the back and were resolute, limiting Belgium to one clear opening after the break when Yannick Carrasco flicked Kevin de Bruyne’s brilliant pass inches wide of the far post.

Goalkeeper Pickford, who retained Southgate’s faith despite poor form for Everton, was not placed under huge pressure but mostly did what he had to do competently, with one first-half save from De Bruyne’s low shot and a couple of decent pieces of handling.

The bigger picture, apart from putting England top of Group A2, is that this is a victory that will give Southgate

real satisfaction as it is the sort of game against elite opposition where his side have been found wanting in the past, not least when they lost twice to Belgium at the 2018 World

Cup, in the group stage and the third-place play-off.

Other results: Kazakhstan 0 Albania 0, R. of Ireland 0 Wales 0, Bos-Herze 0 Netherlands 0, Armenia 2 Georgia 2,

Estonia 3 North Macedonia 3, Lithuania 2 Belarus 2, Croatia 2 Sweden 1, Norway 4 Romania 0, Finland 2 Bulgaria 0, Poland 0 Italy 0, Greece 2 Moldova 0.

USA’s leading sprint hurdlers in the 1920s. He was ranked fifth in the world in 1924 but didn’t compete at the Olympic Games in Paris that year after narrowly missing out on making the US team.

Charles Moore Jr was naturally steered towards hurdling when he started out in athletics at Mercersburg Academy, and he went on to win NCAA titles in the 440 yards and 220 yards hurdles, representing Cornell University. ”My father was the one whose idea it was I should make the Olympic team,” Moore said in a recent interview with the US Olympic Committee. “He was my best friend, my mentor and the guy who pushed the hell out of me.

I loved it.”

One month before his 20th birthday, Moore won his first of four consecutive US titles.

He also topped the world lists in each of those years (19491952). Moore won the 1952 US Trials in 50.7, making him the second man in history to break 51 seconds after 1936 Olympic champion Glenn Hardin.

Moore went to the Olympic Games in Helsinki as the favourite for the 400m hurdles and he underlined his dominance by cruising to an Olympic record of 50.8 in the quarterfinal. Moore matched that time in the final one day later to win gold by half a second.

He added to his medal haul by helping the USA land the silver medal in the 4x400m.

The team’s time of 3:04.00 was

inside the previous world record, but they were beaten to the gold medal – and world record – by Jamaica by just 0.10.

Two weeks after the Olympics, Moore went on to set two world records in the 440 yards hurdles, clocking 51.9 and 51.6, both in London. He retired from athletics at the end of that season. Moore donated his two Olympic medals to Mercersburg Academy. “I couldn’t figure out how you divide two medals among nine children,” he said.

“Mercersburg gave me my start and they’ll be there for everybody to see, including my children.”

After retiring from athletics, Moore went on to have a successful career in business, starting in his family’s steel

forging company before going on to serve as CEO of several multinational manufacturing companies.

He joined the board of the US Olympic Committee as a public sector director and was chair of the audit committee from 1992-2000. He was also the governor of the National Art Museum of Sport.

Moore published two books in 2017, ‘Running on Purpose: Winning Olympic Gold, Advancing Corporate Leadership and Creating Sustainable Value’ and ‘One Hurdle at a Time: An Olympian’s Guide to Clearing Life’s Obstacles’.

After being diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer earlier this year, Moore declined treatment. “I’ve had such a full, impactful life,” he said. “I have no regrets.

Around 1,000 fans were allowed to watch the game in one block behind the goal.

1952 Olympic 400m hurdles champion Moore dies

1952 Olympic 400m hurdles champion Charlie Moore (Lehtikuva) WorldAthletics - World Athletics is deeply saddened to hear that USA’s Charles Moore, the 1952 Olympic 400m hurdles champion, died from pancreatic cancer on Thursday (8) at the age of 91.

Along with his Olympic 400m hurdles title, and Olympic

Rashford has scored 10 of the 12 penalties he has taken for England and Man Utd combined (excluding shootouts), converting the past six

4x400m silver medal, Moore was known for pioneering the 13-step approach between hurdles, which is now commonplace among the world’s elite 400m hurdlers.

Born in Pannsylvania in August 1929, Moore’s father, also called Charles, was one of the

Monday October 12, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Michael Gough: The secrets behind the world’s best umpire BBCsport - What’s the secret to being the best umpire in the world? Cleaning your ears, according to Michael Gough. The 40-yearold Englishman won praise for his near faultless judgement in England’s Test series wins over West Indies and Pakistan this summer.

In fact, he has been brilliant for longer than that. Since 2018, Gough has a 93% success rate on decisions referred to the TV umpire. The next best umpire is Sri Lanka’s Kumar Dharmasena with 79%.

In an interview with the BBC World Service’s Stumped programme, Gough reveals why he makes so few mistakes, how retiring as a player at the age of 23 helped shape his second career, and the importance of keeping those ears clean...

Clean ears and strong eyes “Probably the most important things to an umpire are your eyes and your ears,” explains Gough. He says he makes sure “the little things like ears

are always clean, so I can hear” and he does “a lot of work with my eye muscles”. ”I do that throughout the day, just to give myself every single chance - as some people would say, the little one-percenters that can make so much of a difference,” he adds. Gough also reviews those decisions he got wrong, although there have been precious few in recent years.

He says: “Sometimes when I’ve made an error, I look at it and think: ‘How did I get that sort of decision wrong?

What was the thinking? What was the thought process at the time? What was I actually seeing? Was I thinking about something else?’”

Gough also puts much of his success down to keeping fit.

“Fitness is a big thing for me, especially in lockdown now, so I’ve started a lot more running,” he says. “It means I can concentrate longer; I don’t feel as tired at the end of the day. I feel as all my senses are a lot clearer - vi-

sion and sound.”

From captaining England to working in dad’s shop - A promising right-handed opener and useful spinner at Durham, Gough captained England Under-19s and played for England A. In 2002, he averaged more than 50 in first-class cricket, but the following year, aged only 23, he quit a sport he had long since stopped enjoying playing.

After trying to make it as a semi-professional footballer ”there were some scouts coming to watch me but at that age - 23 - you tend to be seen as a bit of an older man” - Gough ended up working in his father ’s sports shop. ”I didn’t know what real life was like.

You don’t realise how much is done for you when you’re a professional cricketer. I had to go back and actually work for a living, which was a bit of a challenge,” he says.

Watching the famous 2005 Ashes between England and Australia was a “turning

Giro d’Italia: Ruben Guerreiro wins stage nine as Joao Almeida leads race

Ruben Guerreiro is the first Portuguese rider to win a stage at the Giro d’Italia for 31 years

BBCsport - Portugal’s Ruben Guerreiro claimed stage nine at the Giro d’Italia as compatriot Joao Almeida retained his overall lead in the event. Almeida faltered on the final 9.6km climb in the mountainous stage in Abruzzo, but holds a 30-second overall lead for the race leader’s pink jersey.

Guerreiro, 26, claimed his first stage win after a tight battle in the rain against Spain’s Jonathan Castroviejo. Monday (today) is the first rest day in the 21-stage race, which ends on 25 October.

It was the second stage win

for Education First at this year’s Giro after Ecuador’s Jonathan Caicedo won last Monday on the summit at Mount Etna.

Guerreiro is the first Portuguese rider to win a stage on the Giro d’Italia since Acacio da Silva in 1989. He pulled away from fellow breakaway rider Castroviejo in the last 300 metres of the final climb.

Tuesday’s (tomorrow) 10th stage will be a 177km mountain trek between Lanciano and Tortoreto.Giro d’Italia stage nine result: 1. Ruben Guerreiro (Por/EF Pro Cycling) 5hrs 41mins 20secs, 2.

Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa /

Ineos Grenadiers) +8secs, 3.

Mikkel Bjerg (Den/UAE Team Emirates) +58secs, 4.

Kilian Frankiny (Sui/ Groupama-FDJ) +1min 16secs, 5. Larry Warbasse (US/AG2R-La Mondiale) same time.General classification: 1. Joao Almeida (Por/ Deceuninck-Quick-Step) 35hrs 35mins 50secs, 2.

Wilco Kelderman (Ned/ Team Sunweb) +30secs, 3.

Pello Bilbao (Spa/BahrainMcLaren) +39secs, 4.

Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita/ NTT Pro Cycling Team) +53secs, 5. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita/Trek-Segafredo) +57secs.

Michael Gough (right) has stood in 18 Tests, 63 one-day- internationals and 14 Twenty20 internationals. point” which reignited Gough’s love for cricket. He remembers: “I thought: ‘I’ll just give the umpiring a go.’

It was one Sunday afternoon and I absolutely loved it. I just thought this could be something to make a bit of a career out of. ”I never really got the best out of myself as a player. I didn’t really work hard enough. I didn’t really motivate myself. I never dedicated myself enough to my profession. “When I was fortunate enough again to get into umpiring and the world of officialdom, I just wanted to make sure that I gave myself

the very, very best chance to succeed and do well at this level.” ’Go with your instinct’ Gough has certainly achieved those goals. He won the Professional Cricketers’ Association umpire of the year award - as voted for by county cricketers - an unprecedented eight years in a row from 2011 to 2018, made his international debut in 2013 and was elevated to the International Cricket Council’s elite panel of umpires in 2019.

With rules that prevent umpires officiating in Tests involving their native country relaxed this summer because

of coronavirus, Gough was able to stand in four of England’s six Tests, and was TV umpire for the remaining two.Asked about his thought process for making decisions, Gough says: “I always find that if I give myself a little bit of time and not rush into it, generally I make the right decision more often than not. ”Sometimes you just have to go with your gut instinct as well. That’s the biggest thing for me - if I go with my gut, nine times out of 10 I’m right.

“I just go out in the middle to do the job to the best of my ability. Sometimes the luck’s on your side.”

Lewis Hamilton is ‘not done yet’ after equalling Michael Schumacher’s 91 race wins BBCsport - Lewis Hamilton says it will take him time to come to terms with the momentous achievement that came with winning Sunday’s Eifel Grand Prix - equalling Michael Schumacher’s alltime record of Formula 1 victories. ”It’s definitely not just another win,” the Mercedes driver said, as he sat down for his final media engagement of the day, after finishing his debrief with his team. “I’m really just over this past hour or so trying to contemplate and realise what it is we have done and what I have been able to achieve. And I would say for the next couple of days that is where my mind is going to be. ”Just wow. It is hard to find the right words and be able to compute exactly, but it is definitely a special one.”

As Hamilton spoke on Sunday, he tried to explain what it all meant to him at the same time as trying to make sense of it for himself. He spoke of being “humbled” by the moment, “proud” of the work he had done with Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton these last eight years, and the “honour” he felt at being presented with one of Schumacher’s old helmets by the German’s son Mick, himself poised to enter F1 before long.Hamilton described Michael Schumacher as “an icon and a legend of the sport”. He reflected on the “journey” that had got him to where he is, and the people who had helped him along the way - particularly his father, Anthony, and Mercedes and McLaren, who backed him from the age of 13, long before it was clear he could become what he has.

It was left to the two men on the podium with him at the

end of the race, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, to put some meaning to Hamilton’s achievement. ”Ninety-one wins - everyone thought that was almost impossible to reach,” Verstappen said. “So to be there now is incredible and I am pretty sure there will be some more victories coming his way and probably also championships. Just very impressive. And hard to beat.” ”Tip of the hat, at the very least,” Ricciardo said.

“Ninety-one races is nearly five years’ worth of races.

That gives perspective on how much success Lewis has now had. Michael as well.

“To do it week in, week out as well, and year on year - his career has been well over a decade - and to keep coming back and to show that level of consistency at the front is not easy. ”We understand that. You can have the package and car to do it but doing it every weekend when the lights go out is easier said than done.

So, big respect.”

PAGE 30

Golf: Hatton holds off Perez to claim victory at BMW PGA Championship

Reuters - Home favourite Tyrrell Hatton came through a final-round battle with France’s Victor Perez to secure a four-stroke victory at the BMW PGA Championship in Surrey on Sunday (yesterday).

Heading into the final round with a three-stroke lead, Hatton delivered a short game master class to make six birdies in a five-under-par 67 at Wentworth Club and finished 19-under overall. Perez, who held a share of lead on several occasions early in the final round, had to settle for second place after bogeys on the 13th and 17th saw his challenge fade.

Hatton realised his boyhood dream of lifting the trophy at Wentworth, having attended the event w ith his father

when he was five years old.

The victory ensured Hatton will break into the world’s top 10 for the first time when the rankings are updated on Monday (today), two days before his

29th birthday. “It’s a dream

England’s Tyrrell Hatton in action during the final round Action Images via Reuters/ Paul Childs come true for me really,” said Hatton, who claimed his fifth European Tour title. “As a five-year-old walking around here I always wanted to be inside the ropes playing when I grew up. “This is such a massive event and to get over the line and win here is such a special feeling. ”It was a career goal to break inside the top 10 in the World Rankings so to win

here and achieve that in the same week is very special.”

England’s Andy Sullivan and Race to Dubai leader Patrick Reed were in a share of third at 14-under, while Ian Poulter signed for a bogey-free 68 to claim fifth spot.

British Open champion Shane Lowry and England’s Tommy Fleetwood both finished with rounds of 73 to drop into a group of nine-under.

Sunil Narine rre epor ted ffor or suspect ported action a gain, placed in ‘w ar ning list’ ag ‘war arning ESPNcricinfo - Sunil Narine’s bowling action has been reported again, this time at the end of the Kolkata Knight Riders’ thrilling tworun win over the Kings XI Punjab in their IPL 2020 match in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

Narine played a key role in the game, bowling the 18th and 20th overs in the Kings XI chase on his way to returns of 2 for 28.

“The report was made by the on-field umpires [Ulhas Gandhe and Chris Gaffaney] according to the IPL’s Suspected Illegal Bowling Action Policy,” an IPL statement said, adding that Narine would be placed “on the warning list” but would be permitted to bowl unless there was another report against him.

If that were to happen, Narine would be “suspended from bowling” in the tournament until cleared by the BCCI’s committee that deals with suspect bowling actions.

Narine has been in trouble with the authorities for his bowling action in the past too, most notably in November 2015, when he was reported after West Indies’ third ODI against Sri Lanka in Pallekele.

That was the first time Narine’s action had come under the scanner in an international game, though he had been reported twice during the now-defunct Champions League T20 in 2014, and as a

Monday October 12, 2020

Kaieteur News

Sumil Narine

result, he was forced to miss the Knight Riders’ final encounter against the Chennai Super Kings.

He returned with a remodelled action not long after but chose to skip the 2015 50-over World Cup saying that the comeback would be “a little too much too soon”. Narine was subsequently reported during the 2015 IPL, when he was cleared to bowl, then reported and sent for a re-test, then banned from bowling his offspinners, and finally cleared again with a “final warning”.

Narine’s action was reported again during the 2018 edition of the Pakistan Super League, but he was cleared soon after. Narine has been a part of the Knight Riders setup since joining the team in 2012, when his 24 wickets at an economy rate of 5.47 went

a long way in helping the team win the IPL for the first time.

He had a good year in 2013 too, picking up 22 wickets with an economy rate of 5.46, though the Knight Riders had a rough time of it. His 21 wickets (economy 6.35) were again crucial in 2014 when they won the title for the second and last time till date.

More recently, Narine has added top-order pinch-hitting to his repertoire and contributed significantly to the Knight Riders’ campaigns in 2017 (224 runs, strike rate 172.3), 2018 (357 runs, strike rate 189.89) and 2019 (143 runs, strike rate 166.27) with the bat, but he had been off the boil this season and has been pushed down the order.

With the ball, he has taken five wickets from six games so far, at a strike rate of 26.4 and an economy of 8.09.

Kim Sei-young claims first major at Women’s PGA Championship

BBCsport - South Korea’s Kim Sei-young surged to her first major title with an assured five-stroke victory at the Women’s PGA Championship in Pennsylvania.

The 27-year-old world number seven began three ahead and her seven-under 63 - the lowest final round in the event’s history - took her to 14 under.

Seven-time major winner Inbee Park’s bogey-free 65 ensured second place. Britain’s Charley Hull posted a second successive round of 69 and shared seventh at one under.

Compatriot Mel Reid, last week’s Shoprite Classic winner, finished with a 70 for a share of 30th at five over, while Georgia Hall tied for 59th at 11 over after a 73 at Aronimink Golf Club.

Kim’s closing 63 matched the event’s alltime 18-hole record, shared by Americans Patty Sheehan in 1984 and Meg Mallon in 1999, and South Korean Kelly Shon in 2017. Her 266 beat the 72-hole tournament record low total of 267 set by American Betsy King in 1992 at Bethesda.

Kim, runner-up in this event in 2015, was also second at the 2018 Evian Championship and is the 26th player to make the event her first major victory, the fourth in five seasons.

“This golf course is really challenging,” said Kim after her 11th LPGA victory. “I tried to keep the focus on my job.

It was really tough. ”Sometimes I’m shaking my head and my legs were shaking but I was able to keep my focus and I was able to reach my big goal, so I’m very happy about that.” Japan’s Nasa Hataoka

Kim set a number of tournament records after a superb final round. holed a 188-yard five-iron to eagle the first hole and her second consecutive final-round 64 at the Women’s PGA gave her a share of third.

GGA to host fund raiser for cancer awareness

October is designated as Cancer Awareness Month and following up on a tradition of promoting awareness through sporting events, President of the Guyana Golf Association (GGA) and Nexgen Golf Academy, Aleem Hussain said that the GGA will host an event later this month with a portion of the revenues raised to be donated towards the fight against Cancer. ”We have seen a tremendous increase in the number of women who are interested in Golf and we want to use the sport as a way to provide both Awareness and a fundraising opportunity for the fight against cancer,” said Hussain.

More than 200 women have taken advantage of the opportunity to learn the game since the Academy and Driving Range was opened on Woolford Avenue in conjunction with the Scouts Association of Guyana and the Guyana Teachers Union.

The Academy, operating under strict Covid-19 and social distancing guidelines, plans to host its first ever ‘Shoot for Cash or Credit’ event that will run from October 19-25 where there will be three categories of competitors: Women, Men 0-15, Men 1628 with prizes for the top two

finishers in each category but the overall top score will win the grand cash or phone credit prize.

The qualifying process will take place from today 10/ 19 through Saturday 10/24 from 13:00hrs to 19:00hrs daily as contestants will shoot at a target to score points.

The top 8 players will advance to the Grand Finals on Sunday 10/25 at 16:00hrs, which will be live streamed.

All players will have 120 seconds to hit 10 balls at the target, with higher points for hitting the bullseye.

Different distances for players of varying skill will make for an exciting event and a level playing field, with the winner walking away with $50,000 cash or phone credits and bragging rights. ”This is the opportunity for players of all levels to participate in the fun and excitement of the sport and show off their respective skills,” said Rudy Ramalingum, Director of the Academy.

Furthermore, the Guyana Golf Association and Nexgen Golf Academy are racing to ensure that they are ready for the demand that they expect to come as the country gets back to regular economic activity and airports reopen.

Hussain said, “We now

plan to introduce membership packages that will range from as low as G $275.00 an hour in an effort to ensure that everyone has access to learn and play this wonderful g a m e . ” The Academy has a lighted Driving Range that is open daily from 06:00hrs to 21:00hrs and provides unlimited balls, equipment and complimentary first lesson for just $1,500 an hour for adults and $500 for children.

A state of the art putting green with sand bunkers and activities center is under construction and will soon be added to the immaculate driving range currently being offered. I n keeping with its commitment to its Corporate Social Responsibility agenda, earlier this month, the Guyana Golf Association along with Survival Shopping Complex and CIMGRO Maraiko Bay Golf Resort contributed hampers to the Guyana Teachers Union as part of celebration of World Teachers Day. For more information on how you can take part in the sport of golf, simply stop by the facilities on Woolford Avenue (between Camp and Albert Sts.), visit their Facebook page - Nexgen Golf Academy or call 645 0944.

Monday October 12, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Fury’s trilogy bout with Nadal powers to a record-equalling Wilder is ABANDONED 20th Grand Slam, beats Djokovic in French Open final

Nadal was relentless in keeping the ball in play

British rivals Tyson Fury (right) and Anthony Joshua are heading for a 2021 mega-fight.

MailOnline - Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are heading to a 2021 mega-fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world, with the Gypsy King’s trilogy battle against Deontay Wilder in December being abandoned.

The first of potentially two Fury-Joshua blockbusters next year has been made possible by the imminent expiration of Wilder’s contractual right to a rematch following the sensational loss of his WBC world title in a second clash with Fury in Las Vegas this February.

Fury will now make a warm-up defence of his belt before Christmas, while Joshua defends his WBA, IBF and WBO titles against mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev on December 12.

Sources on both sides of the Atlantic confirmed on Saturday (yesterday) that FuryWilder III is now off.

Assuming neither suffers an unimaginable defeat this winter, Joshua or Fury should become the first undisputed world heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis. The Joshua vs Fury fight is understood to be earmarked for the spring at Wembley Stadium, if the government lifts fan restrictions by then, or in either the Middle East or China.

The only conceivable impediment to boxing finally regaining an outright champion of its marquee division would be Olexsandr Usyk enforcing his mandatory right to challenge Joshua for the WBO belt if he defeats Dereck

Chisora in London at the end of this month.

It would be in the best interests of the sport and their own finances for the WBO to grant a temporary waiver but if they refuse Joshua would be likely to relinquish that belt in favour of two near-hundred-million-pound paydays against Fury.

Joshua and Pulev will happen behind closed doors. Fury’s return to the ring against an asyet unnamed opponent will either be devoid of fans, also, or located abroad in one of a number of countries ready to offer large site fees.

Fury, who made two tick-over appearances in America between his dramatic draw and ensuing sensational demolition of Wilder in LA and then Vegas, would prefer ‘a homecoming fight in England.’

But in boxing, as in all sports, money talks.

Bob Arum, Fury’s renowned US promoter, has been hoping to stage Fury-Wilder III in the new NFL stadium in Vegas but time has run out.A combination of crowd-blocking coronavirus in America as well as here and Wilder’s slow recuperation from surgery for a bicep injury sustained in his defeat by Fury have made it impossible for the Bronze Bomber to commit to fighting before the contract deadline ‘in a very few weeks.’ He is still unable to resume training.

Joshua received a £66 million purse for his return fight against Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia last December, his last appearance in the ring.

MailOnline - You can make an emergency switch of date from Paris in the springtime to the chilly autumn, but the outcome is just the same. You could move the French Open to the Christmas and New Year period with snow on the ground, and Rafael Nadal would still probably win it.

This Roland Garros triumph on Sunday (yesterday), his 13th, finally gave tennis its 20:20 vision. It came with added significance in that it moves Nadal up to 20 Grand Slam singles titles, equal with Roger Federer, and fights off the challenge of Novak Djokovic for another day.

As witnessed so often with the 34-yearold Spaniard, the bigger the occasion the better he plays, and he demolished the world No 1 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 in two hours and 41 minutes to assert his familiar superiority on clay.

He was especially brilliant in the first two sets against a player who had not lost a completed match this year. Remarkably this was only Nadal’s 10th competitive outing since February, and still he could bring himself to the boil.

Back in Switzerland, Federer —who will return in January — was suitably impressed. ‘I have always had the utmost respect for my friend Rafa as a person and as a champion,’ he said.‘As my greatest rival over many years, I believe we have pushed each other to become better players. Therefore, it is a true honour

for me to congratulate him on his 20th Grand Slam victory.’ There might be a note of resignation when he next posts a similar message.

Interestingly, Federer and Djokovic have both described Nadal as their greatest rival in the past week, which makes a telling contribution to the debate over who will end up being regarded as the best of all time.That is inarguable on clay, which makes up the lion’s share of an extraordinary record of having won one in every three majors that he has entered in his career, a better ratio than the others. And in only 224 days’ time he is due back at Roland Garros at a theoretically more favourable time of year, where he will be expected to add to his total.An argument against Nadal’s claims is that one place has provided him with so much success, and he has a 98-2 record at Roland Garros. The man himself is somewhat allergic to discussing the overarching race with his rivals. ‘In terms of the records, of course I care,’ he said, before reasoning: ‘You can’t be always unhappy because your neighbours have a bigger house than you or a bigger boat or have a better phone.‘Let’s see what’s going on when we finish our careers.’ Notably he also declined to commit to playing the ATP Finals at London’s O2 Arena next month, saying that he had yet to decide what schedule to embark on for the rest of the season.

Hamilton equals Schumacher’s record of 91 Formula One with Eifel Grand Prix win MailOnline - It once seemed a record as distant as the moon. But on a cold and grey afternoon, Lewis Hamilton won the Eifel Grand Prix to match Michael Schumacher’s tally of 91 victories.

Sadly, as the world knows, the legendary driver is confined to barracks as he wages a glacial recovery following the horrific skiing accident that robbed him of his vitality nearly seven years ago.

So it was left to Michael’s 21-year-old son

Mick, an aspiring Formula One driver and leader of the F2 standings, to per-

form the rituals on behalf of a private, tight family,

handing one of his father’s old helmets to Hamilton, like a baton.

The recipient was touched.

The pair hugged as much as Covid permitted.

‘Getting to Formula One was the first step of the dream, and then it was emulating Ayrton (Senna),’ said Hamilton.

‘But Michael was just so far ahead, it was beyond my wildest dreams that I could be here today having equalled this record.’

Hamilton knew, when he was a boy and Schumacher

was an automaton of success, that the German almost destroyed the sport with his relentless brilliance. Now, after 261 races in 14 seasons, Hamilton is level with him at the age of 35.

A seventh title beckons for the Briton after he moved 69 points clear of Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas with 11 of 17 rounds completed.

Barring an unexpected turn, a century of wins awaits him on a silver salver.

Race Result: 1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes 1hr 35mins 49.641secs, 2 Max Verstappen (Hol) Red Bull 1:35:54.111, 3 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Renault 1:36:04.254, 4 Sergio Perez

(Mex)

Racing

Point

The Brit is congratulated on his victory in Parc Ferme by Max Verstappen (right), who took second place for Red Bull.

1:36:05.711, 5 Carlos Sainz

(Spa) McLaren 1:36:11.546 Fastest Lap: Max Verstappen 1min 28.139 secs on lap 60

Drivers’ Standings; 1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes 230pts, 2 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes 161, 3 Max

Verstappen (Hol) Red Bull 147, 4 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Renault 78, 5 Sergio Perez (Mex) Racing Point 68.

PAGE 32

Monday October 12, 2020

Kaieteur News

All-round Mumbai Indians ease their way past Delhi Capitals to the top of the table ESPNcricinfo - A top of the table clash between the Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Capitals stretched to the last over, but it wasn’t quite the nail-biting thriller that had been expected. Mumbai eased past the Capitals by five wickets, riding on excellent bowling and proactive half-centuries by Quinton de Kock and Suryakumar Yadav.

Both de Kock and Yadav made 53 and though each fell somewhat against the run of play, the Capitals - excellent bowling side that they are themselves - did not have enough to defend. Mumbai hauled in the target in 19.4 overs to swap places with the Capitals on the points table.

De Kock was already motoring by the time Yadav faced his first ball.

He opened up in fourth over, against R Ashwin - who had a favourable match-up against de Kock coming into the game - with a six and a four. Yadav, coming into this game on the back of a matchwinning 79* against the Rajasthan Royals, ensured there was no sagging of momentum when de Kock eventually did fall to Ashwin.

Yadav himself was caught off Kagiso Rabada with five overs left, but by then he had brought the equation down to almost a run a ball.

The depth in Mumbai’s batting meant that despite two further wickets, they were always in control of the chase.

The Mumbai bowlers’ excellence had given their batsmen a relatively easy chase. They tied down the Capitals right through their innings. ”Intent” perhaps has been discussed to the point of being a cliche, but intent is ex-

actly what the Mumbai batsmen showed and the Capitals seemingly lacked. Shikhar Dhawan batted through the innings for the Capitals, but made only 69 off 52.

The Capitals were also hurt by the absence of two key batsmen. Rishabh Pant was injured, which meant they had to bring in Alex Carey to don the gloves, and Carey’s entry meant Shimron Hetmyer had to sit out too. Ajinkya Rahane got his first game of IPL 2020 as a result.

If there was an attack in the tournament capable of defending 162 against a batting line-up like Mumbai’s, it was the Capitals. But unlike the Capitals batsmen, de Kock and Yadav didn’t let the opposition bowlers settle into rhythms quickly, or at all.

Both men actively looked to go over the in-field, and throw the bowlers off their lengths by using the crease. De Kock

Mayor’s Cup postponed to 2021 The organiser of the Mayor’s Cup five-a-side football tournament, Lennox Arthur, in a release to the media has informed that the event which was being organised to celebrate the 29th birth anniversary of Georgetown’s Mayor Ubraj Narine, has been postponed until January 2021, pending approval by the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and local health authorities.

The Mayor’s Cup Organising Committee is extending congratulations to Narine who celebrates his birth anniversary today.

Quinton de Kock

Suryakumar Yadav

The teams confirming participation in the Mayor’s Cup tournament are as follows: East Bank – Timehri and Kuru Kururu. East Coast - Ann’s Grove, Victoria, Golden Grove, Mahaica, Beterverwagting, Plaisance, Buxton, Melanie, Lima Dam, Mahaicony, Turkeyen, Calcutta and Airy Hall.

Georgetown – Tucville, Charlestown, Road Warriors and Bourda Blues.

West Demerara - Den Amstel, Pouderoyen, Bagotville, Uitvlugt, Stewartville, Crane, Back Street Kings and West Side Spartans.

lifted Ashwin straight and then swept him square to start things off, and then took down Anrich Nortje with a couple of audacious sixes in the last over of the powerplay.One of the features of their batting was how seamlessly the baton passed from de Kock to Yadav. While de Kock was at the crease, he had the majority of the strike and made the majority of the runs too. He kept finding the boundary regularly, moving around in his crease to create angles.When a nicely flighted

ball from Ashwin had de Kock miscuing, Yadav had faced only 11 balls. But he ensured the middle overs weren’t going to be controlled by the spin duo of Ashwin and Axar Patel. He used his wrists to whip Ashwin into the legside regularly, and swept Patel with authority.

In the 15th over, with Rabada brought back to conjure a wicket, Yadav started with 4, 2, 6 to swing the balance of the match decisively.

He was out on the last ball of

that over but, by then, Mumbai were in safe territory.

Mumbai Indians 166 for 5 (de Kock 53, Yadav 53, Rabada 2-

28) beat Delhi Capitals 162 for 4 (Dhawan 69*, Iyer 42, Krunal Pandya 2-26) by five wickets.

Rahul Tewatia and Riyan Parag star as Rajasthan Royals pull off another heist ESPNcricinfo – Out. Of. Nowhere. The Rajasthan Royals are making a habit of winning un-winnable games this IPL. Rahul Tewatia was their hero in shiny pink armour last time and he was at it again, with two daring reverse sweeps off Rashid Khan.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad legspinner is among the most inscrutable bowlers in the world, but he was smacked for 4, 4, 4 in the 18th over which completely changed everything.

This time there was help.

Riyan Parag is only 18-years old.

He had already teased the IPL world with his talent last season and he thought it was time for a refresher once more.

He was dropped on 12. He didn’t even have a single boundary to his name then.

But by the end of it all, when he tossed his helmet off and began dancing on the pitch, he had two fours, two sixes and 42 match-winning runs at a strike rate of 161.5.

Riyan Parag does a celebratory jig after taking the Royals home with a six BCCI Sunrisers were 26 for 1 at the end of the powerplay.

They hit only two boundaries. That’s a new low in IPL 2020. But they didn’t panic.

David Warner wouldn’t let them. Bit by bit, he became accustomed to a finicky, twopaced pitch.

He realised he couldn’t go searching for runs; that he

would just have to make the most of the bowlers’ mistakes.

That change in mindset was crucial. It took the pressure off him. It kept his mind sharp.

It added to his urgency in running between the wickets.

And the moment there was a half-volley, or a wide short ball, it helped him whack them for sixes. With Warner in

charge, Sunrisers amassed 48 runs in the five overs from seven to 11.

The Royals could see the problem Warner posed and so they brought Jofra Archer back in the 15th over and he cuh-lean bowled the Sunrisers captain for 48. Their head-to-head tonight: eight balls, three runs and the wicket.

Sunrisers could have lost their way at that point, but they still had a set batsman to fall back on. Manish Pandey, who figured if the ball wouldn’t come onto his bat, his bat would just go charging after the ball.

All five of his boundaries were the result of his charging down the pitch as he finished with 54 off 44 balls and helped push the total up to 158.

Rajasthan Royals 163 for 5 (Tewatia 45*, Parag 42*, Rashid 2-25) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 158 for 4 (Pandey 54, Warner 48, Archer 1-25) by five wickets

Beginners getting ready to go through the paces.

rt Spo

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