Kaieteur News

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AIETEUR Company founded by Tuesday Edition NEWS Minister Dharamlall’s son received $485K in p. contracts in one month 20 October 13, 2020 - Vol. 13 No. 41

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

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Canje Block owner

incorporated in

p.

3

secrecy jurisdiction More electoral Volda Lawrence Opposition Oil Games no show at CIDp. fraud charges p.aheadquarters 12 3

for Lowenfield

- attorney says she will do so today

Man charged for murder Biker dies in of Venezuelan cook p. Diamond Public and Bartica woman 8 Road accident Fifth developer returns prime Ogle11p. lands received from Coalition Govt. p.

11

man Soldier who assaulted Essequibo hospitalized

cop charged with 17p. after being 17p.

multiple traffic offences struck by hearse The Senegal gas blocks giveaway...

The Opposition Leader, speaking on behalf of his group, has little of significance to offer on this nation’s oil. He is a study in artful dodging.

The Opposition, through its leader, has absolutely nothing to offer its constituency and wider Guyana regarding the disposition of the Canje and Kaieteur Oil Blocks.

He is about foot-dragging paralysis, information ignorance, and tactical nonsense on oil in his weekly press conferences. On this most important prosperity issue (and criminal conduct one, too) in this country, the Opposition and its leader PRETEND to be lost at sea, without paddle or compass.

They know nothing, see nothing, hear nothing, and think of nothing on oil, particularly the Canje and Kaieteur Blocks.

The Opposition is deceptive on our oil. The Opposition plays games with our oil. The Opposition is closing ranks and joining forces with the crafty PPP to choke and rob

Guyanese of our wealth.

Why is the Coalition doing so and making a complete fool of the entire group and this nation? What has it been offered for its gamesmanship and silence?

What grand bargain is the Opposition a part of in an unholy alliance with PPP leaders to sell out the poor people of this country for lifetimes to come? How many pieces of silver were paid to, or demanded by, the Opposition for its conspiracy of silence and betrayal of Black, Indian, Indigenous, and Mixed Guyanese? Something is not right about the Opposition and its lengthy wait for ‘information.’

Something is terribly wrong about the Opposition dancing and clowning, bobbing and weaving, ducking and making a total ass of itself with our oil.

Somebody sold out Guyanese. It is not us. We suggest checking with Freedom House and Congress Place for answers.

Just do not expect truth.

Shell companies registered in tax havens only serve to hide identity of true owners p.

2

- Expert says this red flag should always warrant probe

Kaieteur News

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Tuesday October 13, 2020

The Senegal gas blocks giveaway...

Shell companies registered in tax havens only serve to hide identity of true owners - Expert says this red flag should always warrant probe

Expert on Oil Sector Corruption, Alexandra Gillies

Controversial businessman, Frank Timis

Map showing the two controversial gas blocks off the coast of Senegal

W

h e n o i l companies are created in a matter of days or weeks and are registered in territories that keep the identity of the real owners – the 'beneficial owners' – a secret, it creates the perfect condition for corruption and tax evasion to flourish.

It ultimately robs the citizens who are the rightful owners of a nation's wealth, billions of dollars.

Taking this salient fact into consideration, expert on oil sector corruption, Alexandra Gillies, posited that companies registered in tax havens should always send alarm bells ringing for authorities as their pursuit of a nation's natural resources leave the citizenry in particular, at great risk.

Gillies said that a glaring example of this is the case of Senegal where Frank Timis, a

Romanian-Australian businessman with a corrupt past, created two shell companies, had them registered in the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands, then acquired two prime gas blocks offshore the African country.

It should be noted that the Cayman Islands and the BVI are two of the world's most top nations for providing financial privacy to corporations.

In one of her assessments published by the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), Gillies explained that Timis, who has zero experience in the upstream industry, created a company called PetroTim in 2012 and registered same in the Cayman Islands.

Gillies noted that he used that company to gain the rights to two offshore concessions, Saint Louis and Cayar. Two years later, he created another

shell company called Timis Corporation, registered same in the British Virgin Islands, and hired the brother of the President, Aliou Sall, to run the show.

Less than two months after registering the new company and hiring the President's brother, Timis Corp sold 60 percent of the shares to American oil company Kosmos in 2014 for over US$400M. That same year, Kosmos found major natural gas reserves. The United Kingdom (UK) oil giant British Petroleum (BP) subsequently joined the partnership and acquired 30 percent of the blocks' interest which saw Timis getting more than US$200M. In 2017, BP then bought out Timis Corporation for US$250M. That company had held the remaining shares in the gas blocks. BP also agreed

to pay Timis at least US$12B in royalties over a 40-year period.

In total, Timis made approximately US$900M in cash within five years of acquiring the blocks and today, the 55 year-old is set for life with at least US$12B more to follow.

As a result of using the shell companies which are registered in tax havens as part of his corrupt scheme, the people of Senegal remain in the dark about the real owners and shareholders that are also benefitting from the gas-rich fields.

With this in mind, Gillies said that all nations ought to learn from Senegal's grave mistake and demand beneficial ownership disclosures from companies registered in tax havens.

She stressed that it is a red flag that should never be ignored.

President of Senegal, Macky Sall

Aliou Sall, the brother of Senegal's President

Tuesday October 13, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 03

Canje block owner More electoral fraud charges for Lowenfield incorporated in T secrecy jurisdiction J

HI Associates, one of the owners of the Canje block, has so far avoided the supplication of vital details about the company, especially its beneficial owners. The beneficial owners are the people who ultimately control an asset, and benefit from its use. JHI has a 17.5 percent stake in the block said to hold 5.1 billion oilequivalent barrels.

The company just about sprung up for the purpose of owning the Canje block. Its website, a vague collection of pages on the internet, provides very little information about itself, save and except for its ownership of the block.

One of the reasons JHI has managed to stay so under the radar is due to its incorporation in the British Virgin Islands, which is a secrecy jurisdiction and tax haven. This is a major red flag for governments that prioritise transparency and mitigation of corruption risks.

Companies registered in jurisdictions like BVI have the fortune of withholding financial information from the public about their transactions, and owners.

The company's Chief Executive Officer, the Canadian John Cullen would

appear to set the country's roots in the North American jurisdiction.

Its website was created in June 2015, and has added bits and pieces of information over time. It claims it was formed in 2011, and expanded its core team to support MidAtlantic Oil & Gas in 2013 – the year the block was applied for. Mid-Atlantic is the first recipient of the

expressed in yesterday's article in this series.

Mid-Atlantic's sole shareholder, Edris Kamal Dookie, and Cullen have history together as the cofounders of CGX. They also, along with another member of JHI (Scott Young) are owners of a company called Oyster Oil & Gas. While Guyana knows Dookie is the sole shareholder in Mid-Atlantic,

Canje Block, and currently retains a 12.5 percent stake.

It is notable that one year before Mid-Atlantic received the block, JHI completed a “pre-license farm-in” with Mid-Atlantic in 2014, according to its website.

It is unprecedented that a company can “farm in” to a block even before the block was even legally signed a w a y, s i n c e t h e h o s t government would have to approve such a farm in.

Why this happened could be explained by exploring the multiple linkages between MidAtlantic and JHI, as

revealing the beneficiaries of JHI will shed much more light on what happened with the Canje block.

It was recently announced that BVI will be creating publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership for companies incorporated there, by 2023.

By then, Guyana would have the opportunity to know who benefitted from the sale of its Canje block to ExxonMobil and Total.

Should Guyana wait for 2023 to find out who all the beneficiaries of the Canje block are?

More to come tomorrow…

Off-duty cop attacks peacemaker

A

n off-duty police constable on S u n d a y allegedly took out his spite on a peacemaker who attempted to part a fight between him and another man.

According to police reports, the peacemaker, Kester Norville, 24, a porter of Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara was dealt several slashes by the constable to the face and body with a

glass bottle.

The ordeal reportedly went down around 19:40hrs at Middle Road, Pouderoyen.

Norville told investigators that he was in front of his home when he saw the constable deal his friend a blow to the face with the bottle. He claimed that he ran an intervened to make peace but the constable became annoyed and started to beat him with the same

bottle instead.

He was later assisted and e s c o r t e d t o t h e We s t Demerara Regional Hospital where he was treated for injuries, which he sustained to his head and hands.

Investigators launched an investigation and contacted the constable. It was discovered that he too was injured. He was subsequently taken also to the same hospital for treatment.

he GECOM Chief Elections Officer, K e i t h Lowenfield, was yesterday slapped with six additional electoral fraud charges, in relation to the investigation by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) into the March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections.

Lowenfield yesterday reported to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters, Eve Leary, Georgetown, at 12:00hrs with one of his attorneys, Nigel Hughes, when the new charges were put to him and he was arrested and escorted to the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts.

Six charges were read to Lowenfield – three counts of misconduct in public office and three counts of forgery.

The prosecutor made objections to bail to being granted to the defendant, however, the Magistrate granted bail in the sum of $50,000, on each charge, a total of $300,000, and the matter was adjourned to October 23, 2020.

While speaking to reporters outside of the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts, Hughes stated that, based on his speculation, Lowenfield's suspension from the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) could follow since the six charges were recommended by the State.

Lowenfield is already before Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty in the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts facing three private electoral fraud charges that allege; fraud, misconduct in public office and breach of

Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield public trust.

The criminal charges were filed against Lowenfield on June 30, 2020, by People's Progressive Party (PPP) member, Desmond Morian, and The New Movement Party (TNM) executive, Dr. Daniel Josh Kanhai.

Lowenfield is currently out on a total of $450,000, bail for the private criminal charges and the trial for those charges are scheduled to commence in November.

According to one of Lowenfield's lawyers, 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.

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.

Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Roxanne Myers, recently made her first court appearance on Friday last 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.

Mingo was slapped with four charges that allege that he misconducted himself while holding a public office.

On December 15, 2020, he is expected to return to court for the continuation of those matters.

Mingo is also before another court facing a joint electoral fraud charge with former Health Minister and PNC/R Chairperson, Volda Lawrence, for conspiracy to commit fraud.

The duo is expected to make their next court appearance on November 16, 2020.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday October 13, 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

The First Lady A week ago, the First Lady of Guyana passed the final unofficial litmus test of her transition into her official role – she was forced to respond to attempts, made largely via social media, to use her name to engage in fraud. As a release from her office stated: “It has again been brought to the attention of the Office of the First Lady that fake social media accounts are still attempting to transact business on behalf of HE, Arya Ali - First Lady of Guyana - with unsuspecting citizens.

The Office wishes to reiterate that at no time will the First Lady or any of her staff attempt to transact government business, including but not limited to the sale of lands.”

This the sort of public notice that her immediate predecessor, First Lady Sandra Granger would not have been unaccustomed to, being the subject of several attempts at fraud, from phone card schemes to housing scams. This is the downside of the recent phenomenon of the visible and socially engaged First Lady of Guyana, one that started with former First Lady, Varshnie Jagdeo, and continued somewhat with First Lady Deolatchmie Ramotar.

To be fair, the Office of the First Lady is a primarily American concept, one no doubt created to fulfill the mythos of a functional and useful executive family. Within that dichotomy, which was to no small measure a reinforcement of the larger patriarchal structure, the First Lady’s public role was to speak to soft or social issues while her husband dealt with ‘real problems’ such as the economy, law and order, and war.

That said, there is the possibility of real impact coming out of the Office of the First Lady as we know it here in Guyana, particularly at a time when our supposedly soft issues are fast transitioning to hard issues of the future.

The environment, for example, is becoming increasingly central to develop discussion as climate change poses a metastasizing existential threat to human existence, greater than any armed conflict in the past.

Against this stark reality, it was good to see First Lady, Mrs. Ali, within a month in office, becoming directly involved in a seawall cleanup effort, getting her hands – granted gloved for good sense safety measures – dirty along with a group of other young people. She has had a busy two months in office, throwing her support behind issues like breast cancer and mental health awareness, going beyond mere statements but using her office as a platform for young people to speak for themselves. One of the most commendable, and tangible, efforts so far was to have met with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to identify key areas for possible collaboration on the development of children and young people.

There is however no area that is going to be more critical to the First Lady’s platform than that of gender equity, a theme she touched on in her message in commemoration of International Day of the Girl Child two days ago. It was one that she spoke about three weeks ago after participating in a virtual conference organized by the Spouses of CARICOM Leaders Action Network: “It is no secret that we live in a male-dominated world and as men continue to exercise power over women, this impacts every area of the latter’s lives. It is only fitting therefore that men become part of the solution to reduce gender inequality. We are therefore tasked with ensuring that we help to build responsible masculinities, and create protective spaces for women and other vulnerable groups.

It was also disheartening to learn that gender inequality and violence have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. I therefore wish to make an urgent call for each of us, to play our part in ensuring that we create a society that places equal value on individuals regardless of their gender.”

Mrs. Ali is extremely young, likely the youngest first lady we’ve had, and with her also young husband just months into what may very well be ten years in office, she has a bully pulpit and unique leverage to not only influence the key policymaker in Guyana, but to build upon and considerably expand her own initiatives in this and other areas. All that and, of course, sending out messages in response to fraud schemes using her name.

Unprecedented Oil Wealth - A Dream or Reality?

DEAR EDITOR, Many news headline reads, “Guyana to enjoy unprecedented oil wealth,” following the discovery of eight billion barrels of recoverable oil by Exxon and its subsidiary ESSO E&P Guyana Ltd and partners (Hess Guyana Exploration and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Ltd) in the Atlantic Ocean, some 120 miles+ off the Atlantic coastline.

The wealth explosion will supposedly culminate in Guyana’s economy tripling its current size (of $(US) 3.4 billion) to $(US) 13 billion) by 2025, according to Myers Jaffe. Should anyone take these ‘wonderful’ figures and wait for the oil economic nirvana to happen? Or should one become skeptical and also continue to embrace the growth of the other sectors of the economy?

I have done a crude calculation on estimated oil revenues for Guyana by 2025.

My calculation is based on a few assumptions: (i) $35 per barrel; (ii) daily oil production at 750,000 barrels; (iii) 14.5% profit sharing; and (iv) 360 workdays, and it yields an estimated US$1.37 billion in 2025.

From a negative perspective, the magnitude of the oil revenue lost because of poor PSA (Production Sharing Agreement) negotiations be-

tween Exxon and the Guyana government, has been given as $(US) 50+ billion over the life of the project.

Having reviewed several pieces of information on the oil sector, and taking into consideration the negative impact of COVID-19 on current oil production, as well as other factors, I will not allow these ‘exciting’ figures to dull my intellect or play havoc with my emotions.

At this point, I remain apprehensive about the lofty assertions of wealth flowing into Guyana from oil proceeds.

Also, if there is agreement to install gas pipelines from the Stabroek Block to onshore location(s) to produce electricity, that would add around $(US) 400 million to Exxon’s cost recovery bill.

I admit that my initial exuberance about oil discovery has been later tempered by my introspection into this matter. I know that segments of Guyanese society embrace, with great expectation, the oil sector’s massive potential contribution to the country’s economy.

Apart from embracing the mantra of unprecedented oil wealth, they are also probably influenced by the $(US) 300 million investments injected into the economy by Exxon in 2020, combined with the employment of 2,000 local work-

ers and the development of 70 joint ventures between Exxon and local companies.

Impressive as these figures suggest, I still believe that the impact of the oil sector on the national economy will not be that spectacular for the first five years in particular; rather it will be gradual but incremental during the 2020s (depending on production and pricing levels), and probably become exponential during the 2030s as cost recovery would have amortized by then.

In 2020, profit oil for Guyana is estimated at $(US) 200 million; in 2021, it is estimated at $(US) 300 million.

As cost recovery decreases and as more oil is produced, the annual government revenue will increase substantially according to a few sources such as the IMF, which projects, on the basis of production at Lisa I, Lisa 2, and Payara, that by 2054 Guyana could earn $(US) 49 billion in revenue.

Notwithstanding this rosy projection, there are factors other than production and pricing levels that could affect the rate of profit oil, such as oil spills and environmental pollution. But the major challenge will come from alternative sources of energy (Wind, Solar, Hydro, hybrid vehicles) especially in the 2030s and beyond.

With growing emphasis on clean and renewable energy, the force of oil in national economies will progressively decline. It is no wonder that the Floridabased NextERA Energy (Wind and Solar Producer) whose value is US$143.8 billion, tops Exxon as the most valuable US energy company.

From a high stock value of over $(US) 300 billion in 2016, Exxon’s current worth is less than NextERA Energy by $(US) 900 million. NextERA Energy’s value is $(US) 2 billion more than Chevron. Mr. Tom Mitro reported that Texas, despite being the top US Petro-state, is moving away from fossil fuel to alternative energy sources, such as wind.

In New York, solar energy is being aggressively promoted and incentivized.

In addition, there is the prospect of the “resource curse”.

The World Bank has commended such oil producing states like Dubai and Malaysia for having diversified their economies and for avoiding the resource curse trap.

Guyana has already taken steps to strengthen its other sectors such as mining, forestry, and agriculture. Several tax concessions were offered to these and other sectors like construction to promote (Continued on page 6)

Fear stalks a supposedly democratic land DEAR EDITOR, I recently attended a tiny church gathering. Among the less than 10 attendees were a few who knew me, though I didn’t know them, never met them. Their situations and stories, as shared, are becoming all too normal, all too alarmingly familiar, in this troubled, so-called democratic society.

The people sharing work for the state in jobs that are entry level or slightly above midlevel would be a stretch.

In the House of God, quiet unsolicited conversations with these strangers brought together momentarily in a spiritual sanctuary, a few things surfaced, were made crystal clear. They are nervous; they are unsettled; these workers are uncertain and fearful. All of their anxieties and alarms are about their continued presences in the mostly junior government jobs that they hold. Will they still be there? For how much longer? How will they manage and care for their families? What will become of them?

Editor, this is not one of those situations where these little worker bees are senior officers, or political appointments, or sinecures, or placeholders. From my observa-

tions, the people speaking to me and holding these jobs are small servants in the public service who are not from across the losing side of the divide and the usual distinctive identification strains, especially hue.

What I saw and heard were citizens, who do a real job as part of the cog that is the machinery of the state.

Since these are line workers, they should not be looking over their shoulders in dread, while waiting for call and conversation that it is over, as in the time and presence not needed anymore.

Regrettably, this is just the way things are presently, where these people are too precariously perched for comfort, in too many government places of employment.

There was an era decades ago, when the party card had more value than a US visa.

Today, that has returned, with the difference being there is no card, just the unwritten codes, the hard decisions, the unfinished traumas of Guyana.

It should not be. This is not democracy. None of this inspires to unity. Moreover, it is not of the sweetly crafted leadership scripts read faithfully - along with their embedded promises - at the inaugu-

ration; instead, those verbal plasters are highlighted for what they are: patented deceptions that came out of the National Cultural Center one recent Saturday morning. The plights and perils of these little people - real or imagined, substantive or exaggerated stand as proofs. As said, this should not be.

As an aside, as a teenaged civil servant from way back, there was little of that fear felt by me, despite obvious racial passions and potencies. I chalk this up to youth, being single, and ever ready to show a finger. Almost 50 years later, I still raise that same finger at government deceivers and cheaters, whichever party it may be.

Whether young or veteran, with family or free, of this colour or that, why are there these apprehensions today that ought not to be? At this low level? And possibly through the length and breadth of the politicized public service. We may have a systemic pogrom going on, but we say nothing, pretending to know nothing just like the Northern Europeans of before. Soon they could come from me.

By way of another digression, the reality of pre-2015 was that senior party czars

had to have their way: audit consequences overridden, taxes evaded, problematic matters taken away from professionals and rechanneled to political hacks for fixing.

Seems that we are on that road again in different ways and different public service places.

It is of governance infested and overrun by rancid and rancorous politics. And in this country, there is none more savaging than post-elections politics. I wonder if these are samples of the ethics, inclusivity, and transparency of which President Ali likes to propound at every opportunity.

The scriptwriters have placed the right words in the president’s mouth that come out right.

But when I listened to those anxious people late last week, I am reminded again that His Excellency is flush with words, but his bowl is of the same old materials and refuse.

Words are cheap and shallow.

Real life in government service is stalked by real fear. I humbly urge the man who wears the president’s mantle to say something about that, then do something meaningful to implement genuine change.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

Tuesday October 13, 2020

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Kaieteur News

PREVENTION OF DISCRIMINATION Why wasn’t a swab test done earlier?

Promotion of Equal Remuneration – Part Also, how good is their test? Has it been DEAR EDITOR, IN EMPLOYMENT IV and V I was surprised to read about the patient validated by running some patient’s tests who Employers, Public and Private, are obliDEAR EDITOR, Prevention of Discrimination Act Chapter 99:9 - No. 26 of 1997 provide for elimination of discrimination in employment, training, recruitment, and membership of professional bodies, and the promotion of equal remuneration to men and women in employment.

Under Part II (Section 4) the Act prohibits discrimination on the grounds of: race, sex, religion, colour, ethnic origin, Indigenous population, national extraction, social origin, economic status, political opinion, disability, family responsibilities, pregnancy, marital status, or age except for the purpose of retirement and restriction on work and employment of minors.

The Act also prohibits discrimination against a person by distinction, exclusion or preference, the intent of which is to deny equality of opportunity or treatment in any employment or occupation.

Protection Against Discrimination in Employment – Part III (Section 5) It is unlawful for any employer or his/her agent to discriminate in relation to recruitment, selection, or employment on any grounds, except where genuine occupational qualifications exist, in keeping with the Act, including discrimination: in advertisement of the job; in determining who should be offered employment; in terms and conditions offered; the creation, classification or abolition of jobs; by retrenching or dismissing the employee; in conditions or work or occupational safety and health measures; or by denying access, or limiting opportunities for advancement, promotion, transfer or training connected with employment.

Sexual harassment against an employee by any employer – public or private employer — managerial employee or a co-worker, constitutes unlawful discrimination in line with Section 4 of this Act (Part III, Section 8).

gated to pay equal remuneration - Salaries and all other benefits - to men and women for work of equal value as defined in this Act (Section 9). The determining value factors are the content and breath of the job, objectively evaluated, as distinct from high sounding job titles with little or no substantial job content. This is the favourite one for politicians in power to provide jobs for the boys and girls, at taxpayers’ expense.

Professional Partnership and Trade Organizations Discrimination is unlawful against anyone in a partnership firm, a trade union, an organization of employers or employees on any grounds set out in Section 4 above.

This relates to who should be offered a position as partners, members, or denying, limiting access to benefits, facilities, and services or treating them unfairly or expelling them, contrary to the provisions of this Act (Sections 10-11). It is also unlawful for an education authority or body or association, employment agencies to discriminate against anyone on any grounds contrary to Section 4 of this Act (Sections 12-14).

Protection against Discrimination in Other Areas – Part VI It is unlawful for any Employment Agency – private or public – to discriminate against any person on the ground as in section 4 (2) as outlined in the first paragraph of this letter.

It is also unlawful for a person who provides goods and services to discriminate against anyone contrary to Section 4 of this Act. Discrimination by subterfuge, by advertised publishing or in application forms is unlawful (Sections 15-18).

General Exceptions - Part VII In keeping with the provisions of this part, charities and religious bodies (Sections 19 and (Continued on page 6)

Let our flag fly proudly but in its rightful position DEAR EDITOR, Two daily newspapers recently carried front-page articles on the proposed bridge across the Corentyne River.

The headlines read, “Guyana, Suriname teams visit landing site for Corentyne bridge agreement expected to be signed next month” and “Guyana, Suriname mark site for Corentyne River Bridge”.

According to the reports, Suriname’s Public Works Minister, Dr. Riad Nurmohamed; Guyana’s Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill, and other officials from both countries visited the site for the proposed Guyana - Suriname River Bridge.

The missive carried pho-

tographs of the flags of Guyana and Suriname being displayed and planted at Moleson Creek the site for the bridge. I discovered to my chagrin the flags were placed in the wrong positions. During my school days, it was embedded in me that in Guyana whenever the flag of Guyana is displayed alongside another flag, it must be on the right of that flag and when it is among other flags its rightful position is the center and a little above the other flags. What I saw in the photographs was the flag of Suriname on the right of the flag of Guyana when it should have been the other way around. Also, Suriname’s flag pole appears to be sturdier

than Guyana’s.

I will not flag the issue much longer but hasten to posit that we must at all times respect our Symbols of Nationhood. They are the National Anthem, the Coat of Arms, the Golden Arrowhead - the National Flag and the National Pledge. Hope that in future, we will observe the protocol as it relates to our flag. Let our flag fly proudly but in its rightful position.

Yours faithfully, Clinton Conway Assistant Commissioner of Police (Retired)

that died at Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation after being very sick in Woodlands Hospital for over 10 days. She died of COVID and her symptoms while at Woodlands were highly suggestive of COVID. Apparently, Woodlands Hospital claims that she tested negative with their tests.

Did her physicians not think of doing a swab test on her?

have tested positive with the swab test? In fact, an audit must be done on their test to see if anybody has tested positive on their test.

Lastly, they should refund the family for having misdiagnosed and mismanaged their patient. She may have lived if she had a timely diagnosis, which would have led to timely treatment.

Sarah Williams

Most countries are asking passengers to do another PCR test upon arrival DEAR EDITOR, I need to bring attention to some serious flaws in the recent protocols for arriving passengers as they have been relayed by the Ministry of Health.

Clarification is needed in some areas; in particular as it applies to the PCR Test that can be taken in a departing country 72hrs before a flight to Guyana.

The new regulation states, that (a) The Test has to be submitted to the authorities here in Guyana, (b) The test will be validated as an actual PCR Test and then Guyana will pass an instruction to the airline, so that (c) they can book the flight.

Here are the Questions, remembering that the intended flight is expected to occur within just three days (72) hrs...(The flight has not been booked yet, as it’s all dependant on a response from the authorities in Guyana.)

Question 1. The submittance of a PCR test is in what format? An email with snapshot of PCR Test results? And to whom? Website information on this issue is appreciated.

Question 2: Most importantly, what is the guaranteed TURNAROUND time, that is, how long are authorities in Guyana going to take to validate the test as a genuine PCR Test? One hour?

Two hours? Two days, and actually pass the required information on to the airline?

The answer to this question is key as a passenger will need to know when to call the

airline to book the flight; especially if the departure date is in three days.

Question 3: A full flight has over 150 passengers.

Does the Ministry already have the personnel in place, to contact all the airlines coming into Guyana, promptly, in the event of a deluge of 72hr PCR Tests, so a flight can be booked?

Question 4. Assuming multiple International flights are flying in, on one particular day, which Airline does the Ministry know to pass on the results of the validation to?

Question 5. Most people in this day and age, book flights ONLINE. Are we now to call the Airlines?

No Airline has call-agents to anticipate a large volume of calls. How will this work if there is a heavy volume of calls and we can’t get through for hours?

I assume that all the International Airlines, already made changes to their website, will be able to process online bookings, and

know that they already have info on particular passengers that their PCR Test is valid. (For those passengers not able to get thru

to agents) Summary - The way this policy is written, an intended passenger cannot call the airline of their choice, and book a flight, UNTIL the airline has the go ahead to do so.

There will be a backlog. I don’t see how this goes smoothly.

I am not aware of any country that is taking the additional step of validating PCR Tests, though I understand why.

It impractically complicates the entire process.

What most countries are doing is to get ALL arriving passengers to take another test, once they arrive at the destination.

Yours truly Chi Kansi

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Kaieteur News

Our Indigenous Peoples are crying DEAR EDITOR, As Members of Parliament, we took an oath to represent the people of Guyana without fear or favour, affection or ill-will and in keeping with that oath we consider it our duty to inform all of what is nothing short of blatant disrespect and disregard for the Guyanese people.

The unfair and callous way the PPP/C installed government is distributing the COVID-19 $25,000 cash relief grant is hurting the people of Region One and more specifically our Indigenous brothers and sisters. When the complaints came to our hearing on October 4, 2020, we said to everyone who complained that, according to the President, every household will receive the cash grant and advised them to allow the week to finish before we draw any conclusion.

The week (October 4 -10, 2020) has ended and so too has the distribution in Region One. Well at least the first phase of the distribution. We are assuming that there will be a second phase because some head of households received a ‘pink slip’ instead of the $25,000 and were told that when more money comes, they will get their share. But let’s focus on the more than six hundred million that was already distributed in Region One and how it was done.

We are of the opinion that a household is one family and ideally speaking it means a father, a mother and children under one roof. But realistically speaking, Guyana has many families under one roof.

Even in Georgetown, you find more than one family living under the same roof. A family may be renting the downstairs of a house or some-

times the downstairs is divided into two apartments and is rented out to two different families and another family may be living upstairs of that same house. Editor, this is exactly the situation in Region One. There are multiple families living under one roof but that is not the issue.

The duplicitous behaviour of the people that are distributing the COVID cash grant is the issue and the fact that the Regional Chairman and Vice Chairman who are both aware of this issue and more so because they seem not to care is worrying to say the least.

Editor, riverine communities with Indigenous families perceived to be supporters of the PPP/C are all happy because regardless of the number of families under one roof, they all got the $25,000 but when the distributors go to riverine communities that are perceived coalition supporters only one single person gets the $25,000 regardless of the number of families living under the roof. This is the complaint both MP Ganesh Mahipaul and MP Ronald Cox received and it is a travesty and great shame to know that this very administration which champions Indigenous rights is turning a blind eye to it.

Another complaint we received is that people who are renting houses are not getting the COVID cash grant and in all cases, these are people who are living for over 15 years in Kumaka and other communities. If it is true that once you are renting a house, COVID-19 does not affect you then we are ready to rent a mansion.

How can the PPP/C be so blatant in the distribution of state resources? Clearly, the statement about serving all

Guyanese at the ceremony to install the President is just words. The practice that is taking place in Region One is a clear case of political discrimination. Many people said to me that under the APNU+AFC government at least all Guyanese benefitted and they hope that Guyana will return to that position soon. We call on the PPP/C to end this wicked, discriminatory practice.

Editor, the Indigenous communities deserve better and we call on Mr. Peter Persaud who is currently at the Guest House in Mabaruma to speak up and speak out against this wicked action from the managers of the COVID-19 cash relief grant. Mr. Persaud is the President of The Amerindian Action Movement of Guyana (TAAMOG) and he told us that his function is to visit Indigenous communities and fix their problems but for the last week, we saw Indigenous peoples coming to Mabaruma’s Guest House from far distances, paying huge sums of money and relating their issues to Peter Persaud. Many times, we would have to assist him with advise and for the Indigenous people that complained about the unfair manner in which the COVID-19 cash grant is being distributed our advice was to record the names of the head of the households along with the number of people in the household (meaning one family), their addresses, ID card numbers and telephone numbers. We will make it public.

Fix it President Irfaan Ali, fix it for it is taxpayers’ money not yours.

Yours faithfully, Ganesh Mahipaul, M.P. Ronald Cox, M.P.

The entire Corentyne River does not that is permanently acceptbelong to Suriname able to both countries.

Bridge Project under considDEAR EDITOR, Recently in the press, while discussing the Bridge to link Suriname and Guyana, the statement was made that the entire Corentyne River belongs to Suriname. This sounds like an error, which needs to be corrected. Not too long ago, there was a border conflict with issues arising due to fishing rights in the Corentyne River. This was supposed to have been settled with Suriname respecting the demarcation of Guyana’s territory which includes part of the Corentyne River. Although a very good development initiative, any

eration to connect the two countries should first ensure that this border issue has been resolved in a manner

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

Prevention of discrimination ...

From page 5 20) are exempted by virtue of the nature of the organizations. It is unlawful under the Act to pressure, induce or attempt to induce anyone to discriminate, or for anyone to commit an act of victimization as defined by the Act on pain of penalty of a fine (Sections 21 and 22).

The Act further provides for the burden of proof resting on the person or agency alleging a violation of this Act, the inclusion of general penalty, and supplemental (Sections 2326).

Sincerely Samuel J. Goolsarran

Tuesday October 13, 2020

No one should ascribe to another a label in an attempt to define that Guyana’s problem is reflected ins and outs of the major parin the insecurity derived from ties between 1992 and 2015 person political ethnic dominance reflects a new dynamic, hence

DEAR EDITOR, In responding to Ravi Dev’s letter of October 9, 2020: “African Ethnic Security Dilemma has resolved itself “, let me first of all acknowledge the ethical and intellectual nature of Dev’s engagement, unlike many of those who merely troll on social media and comment on letters.

I have wondered whether Dev and I were talking pass each other, rather than to each other, by virtue of what I discerned to be our differing perspectives on what is the problem confronting Guyana. I am now convinced that it is indeed the case, hence this response will be dedicated to highlighting that fact and restating my perspective.

Before addressing the issue of our differing perspectives, I need to address Dev’s persistent attempt to define me as a Marxist and ascribe to himself the right to determine how I should be thinking.

While I see nothing wrong in being a Marxist, no one should ascribe to another a label in an attempt to define that person and therefore seek to determine how others should see, and relate to, that person. Let the people of their own volition decide who I am.

They have no lesser access to my commentaries and writings. More than that, Dev does not simply seek to define my epistemological groundings.

He attempts to deconstruct and negate my position on the grounds that it seems not to be grounded in the methodological approach that he ascribed to me.

He seeks to box me in, then proceed to destroy the box in an attempt to rescue me from my own folly. I see this as ‘straw-housing’ that is to attempt to establish the existence of the non-existent and subsequently claim to have demolished it. And, of course, all the while creating a false impression for public consumption and diversion.

Now to the substantive difference. Notwithstanding Dev’s theoretical postulation that the “African Ethnic Security Dilemma has resolved itself” that is not the state of mind of the African Guyanese, as I discern it from my regular contact with them, hence his conclusion, in my view, is not reflective of their (our) reality. Whether Dev is right or wrong is irrelevant. People have to be dealt with in the context of their reality, even if their reality is a false perception. It is their reality anyhow that will inform their behaviour and relations.

Dev surmises that

and the imbalances in the coercive arms of the state. With that, I disagree. However, the fertile soil of our problem, its primary source, is simply our ethnic differences, our historical cultural differences, including our belief systems, values etc.

Of greater concern, however, is the secondary source, that is the antagonistic nature of our problem, which is grounded in the evolution of Guyana’s ethnic relations.

Our ethnic relations within the nation state are built on discriminatory economic policies and oppressive relations between and among the ethnic groups as exemplified by the presence of the Indigenous peoples and the arrivals of the other ethnic groups (Europeans through to East Indians) and the manner in which they were pitted against each other and allotted positions/ranking in the evolving stratified socio-economic system.

This ossified foundation is reinforced by the super structural elements of our society, including the psyches (prejudices, stereotyping complexes et al) of the various ethnic groups/races.

The Guyanese dilemma cannot be addressed unless those causal factors are identified and the structural and institutional elements of the society addressed in an attempt to accommodate our inherent differences, and transform the discriminatory, oppressive and inequitable environment (socio-economic structures and institutions) in which we seek to coexist.

The usual quietude of our society merely represents the latent state of our chronic discordant, incohesive and volcanic society.

Elections represent a volcanic eruption and in no way equates to a mere plebiscite based on ideological, policy and programmatic choices. It comes down to the different psychological states of mind which sum up the different realities that we perceive and live.

Dev is patently wrong when he concludes that the

a resolution of the problem.

First, the frequency of those ins and outs is insufficient to scientifically determine a change in our political behaviour.

There was change in 1992, 2015, and questionably so in 2020, three changes in 28 years with one party retaining dominance for 23 of those years.

He also failed to acknowledge that the emergence of the APNU+AFC coalition facilitated the traditional ethnic voting patterns given the composition and pull of the AFC’s leadership. The Charandass debacle best exemplifies that reality. Dev’s attempt to identify the change as evidence of ethnic political fluidity is therefore unfounded and patently wrong.

Ethnic voting is still dominant and in an electoral system based on plurality such as Guyana’s, it is likely to perpetuate ethnic dominance and all that Guyana has become.

In fact, the 2020 election cycle, and more particular the postelection events, to date, support this contention.

There is no question of being “ahistorical”, the more things have changed, the more they have remained reflective of the antagonistically stratified Guyana with the alignment of forces reflective of the plantation and colonial past that form the foundation of post-independence Guyana.

Dev accepts this reality by virtue of the changes he identified as necessary for his newfound democracy to flourish in Guyana.

In those circumstances, a democracy that is built on an electoral system that facilitates dominance rather than inclusion, in a situation where the other elements of democracy (responsible and responsive conduct of governance) plus a free press are absent, the democracy cannot be realized, thus making it dysfunctional and the elections, as they are, equally irrelevant to the intended aims and objectives of a democracy.

Your truly, Vincent Alexander

Unprecedented Oil Wealth ...

From page 4 growth. The sugar industry is being revitalized, while rice production and exports are on the rise.

These traditional sectors employ more than half the labour force, while the oil sector is expected to employ 3,000 workers.

Most Guyanese will benefit indirectly from the oil sector through the proportion of oil revenues that will be spent on infrastructure projects, education, health, and social services.

The oil sector is a welcome addition to Guyana’s economy.

But it will not necessarily cure Guyana’s economic and social ills. It is not anyone’s economic nirvana either. Other sectors are vitally important to move the country forward.

Dr. Tara Singh

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L B T LUNT.. UNT...B BL B Tuesday October 13, 2020

Kaieteur News

The government brags about telecom applications pouring in. We challenge them to pour out the truth about the Canje and Kaieteur Blocks.

The Coalition is hinting at electoral review.

But what about a review of the award of the Kaieteur and Canje Oil Blocks.

Money in our pockets is worth more than sweet words in our ears. Tell us about our wealth before sweet-talking us about infrastructure and constitutional reform.

Start talking about the Canje and Kaieteur Blocks

Who got the billions…?

PAGE 07

Kaieteur News

PAGE 08

Tuesday October 13, 2020

Education Minister puts contracting firm on notice for delays in St. Rose's High T

he Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, has asserted that she will not accept the “mediocrity” in the underperformance of Courtney Benn Contracting Services Limited. Because of these deficiencies, the Education Minister has since put the contractor on notice for its “severe” delays in the construction of the $352M St. Rose's High School and a dormitory for the Linden Technical Institute.

Yesterday, Minister Manickchand met with Courtney Benn, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the firm, along with engineers in his team.

There, Minister Manickchand expressed her deep concern regarding lack of movement on the project, which was awarded two years ago and has thus far cost taxpayers GY $60M. The contract for the construction of the new building was awarded in 2018, but was delayed due to

a change in the initial design, which was set to include a pile foundation. However, since 85% of piles were driven in February, no substantial work has been executed at the location.

In fact, the contractor abandoned the construction of the school, according to the school's Board of Governors on September 8.

The Board had further observed that the contractor, in “a peculiar move”, refused to make their work plan public or submit it to the school when requested.

“Further the contractor,” the Board wrote in their statement, “sought to prevent the contracting entity (the Ministry of Education) from holding regular stakeholder consultation update meetings with the Board or any other stakeholders, which is vital for a project of this nature, size and complexity, as it allows for smooth execution of works, while keeping all informed of the issues and concerns arising from

Minister of Education Priya Manickchand and team engaging the representatives from the contracting firm.

construction.”

The contracting service had avoided giving a justification for their abandonment of the prestigious project, despite numerous attempts made by Kaieteur News. Attempts were even made to request

the phone number of the engineer responsible for the construction of the school, but employees refused to do so.

Minister Manickchand c o n v e y e d h e r disappointment over the snail's pace in the

construction of the school and further commented that it is a “disservice to the nation's children” that a state-of-the-art building that was scheduled for completion in August 2021 will now have to be further delayed due to the

contractor's inefficiency.

With this, the Manickchand indicated to the firm's CEO that the Ministry will now have to make “tough decisions” if his agency does not provide a satisfactory solution into (continued on page 23)

Man charged for murder of Venezuelan cook and Bartica woman

T

he man who confessed to the murders of a female Venezuelan cook and a Bartica woman was yesterday charged and remanded to prison. Joshua Connell, 27, of 152 South Vryhied's Lust, East Coast Demerara appeared at the Bartica Magistrate Court where he was charged with two counts murder contrary to common law by Magistrate, Crystal Lambert.

It is alleged that on October 4, 2020, Connell raped and killed a Venezuelan national, Dimas Emilia Lezama Fermin, 28, of San Felix, Ciudad

Guayana, Estado Bolivar at Big Hope Backdam, Cuyuni, Region Seven. Also in May 2020, the defendant allegedly murdered Rosella Smith, 28, of Bamford Point, Bartica, at Three Miles Karrau Backdam, Mazaruni.

Connell was not required to plea to the indictable charges and will make another court appearance on December 17, 2020.

According to reports, Connell confessed to raping and strangling Lezama at her camp before throwing her body into a mining pit aback the said camp. Connell was reportedly employed with a dredge owner identified as

Lezama's lover.

The night before her half-nude body was found with its underwear missing, the dredge owner along with Connell and other miners had left the woman alone in the camp cooking.

The men headed to Big Hope landing to drink rum but during the drinking session, Connell got up and left. He told his boss that he was going to the camp to take a bath.

Connell while in custody had told investigators that he had ingested a pill at the campsite which made him 'delirious'. He did not specify what kind of pill but it is

Murdered: Rosella Smith speculated by detectives that it might have been a recreational drug.

Connell continued his confession by detailing that he asked the woman for sex but she refused which led to him raping and murdering her.

Lezama's case resembled that of another woman, Rosella Smith, whose corpse was discovered on May 15, by a 23-year-old miner, floating in an abandoned mining pit at Karrau Backdam. The address and description of the prime suspect in Smith's murder also matched that of Connell's.

Questioned about her

Murder Accused: Joshua Connell

death, Connell admitted to killing her in a similar way as well.

In the early stages of the investigations. it was believed that Smith might have been raped too.

Pathologist Nehaul Singh, however, found no evidence to support the theory of her being raped.

Nonetheless, it was revealed in the autopsy that she was manually strangled and submerged under water.

According to police, Connell stated that he killed Smith over some raw gold, which she allegedly stole from him.

He claimed that they had gotten an argument and he

choked her to death.

Smith's body was found not far away from camp, which crime scene experts noted was ransacked. Based on information received, detectives were able to identify a prime suspect called 'Black Boy'.

He was one of two men who were last seen chatting with Smith prior to her demise. It was also learnt that Black Boy was seen leaving Karrau Backdam mere hours before her body was found.

Police later received information that he is from East Coast Demerara and had turned up at his home but never found him.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday October 13, 2020

PAGE 09

Gutter work A

n interesting story appeared on social media this past week. It was narrated by a young man who said he was from the ghetto. One evening while sipping a bottled beverage, he was approached by a person who offered him a job of cleaning gutters. He considered the offer disrespectful. After all, according to him, Guyana is now an oil producer and he wanted to know why the ghetto youths should not be getting jobs pumping oil.

It was not his narration of the incident, which was most interesting but rather the responses which his story attracted. These responses can be divided into two categories: the first set of responses felt that the offer of 'gutter work' was insulting to the ghetto youth; that the person making the offer would not have made that offer in an upper-income community.

Some of the responders said the offer typifies how some view the ghetto – as being fit only for certain types of work and how those making these offers would not offer to help elevate people in the ghetto. The person relating the incident feels that when persons come into the ghetto to make s u c h o ff e r s , t h e y a r e disrespecting the young people because they should be offering better job opportunities.

The second set of responses was to the effect that there is nothing wrong

Dem

boys seh...

T

he Ordinary Thief steals your m o n e y, b a g , watch, gold chain, etc. But the Political Thief steals y o u r f u t u r e , c a r e e r, education, health and business!

The hilarious part is that the Ordinary Thief will choose whom to rob. But it is you yourself who chooses the Political Thief to rob you.

The most ironic one is that the Police will chase and nab the Ordinary Thief.

But the Police will look after and protect the Political Thief! That's the travesty and irony of our current

with doing certain type of manual labour such as cleaning gutters.

A man said that he started doing that type of work and it helped pay his way through school. Today he is a top engineer. Another said there are persons who became millionaires from picking up garbage. Yet another said that she started cleaning toilets and today owns and runs her own business.

Others said it is not the type of work which matters but what it pays.

The two sets of responses typify two approaches to work in Guyana. On the one hand, there are those who refuse to do certain types of jobs because they feel it is beneath them.

Yet these same persons when they go overseas would do the same jobs such as cleaning floors or working as salesgirls or salesmen in stores – which they spurn in Guyana. Some persons demand 'proper jobs', refusing to do menial or flunky work.

The other approach to work is that you take what you get and use it as a stepping-stone to other opportunities. Old people used to say “take what you get until you get what you want”. In the responses to the ghetto lad, one man related that his father sold provisions which at the time fetched a poor price but he continued because it was a job and regardless of its poor returns, it helped to take care of his family.

There is work available

in Guyana. But there are persons who feel that they should not be doing certain kinds of jobs. They feel that their qualifications and skills make them suitable for better employment opportunities.

And so they prefer to stay at home and let Ma and Pa take care of them while they wait for their dream job or their visa approval.

There are many young persons who shy away from agricultural work because they do not want to get their hands dirty. Yet agriculture work, though more strenuous, is far more rewarding, financially, than working as a salesperson in some store.

You would be surprised to learn what salesgirls are earning per day. If they planted a little kitchen garden and sold their produce, they would make just as much. But they consider working in a store of higher status than getting their hands dirty.

On the other hand, there are persons who adopt the attitude that you have to creep before you walk. They accept any type of work until they can find what they want. As someone said, “work is work”. You take what you get and use it to get where you want to go. Many Guyanese who are now rich and financially secure, started out doing menial jobs.

The positions of both perspectives are understandable. Why settle for menial employment when your ambitions are

Ordinary Thief vs. Political Thief society!

And we blindly say, we are not blind!

The stupid part of the whole issue is that we insult and fight the Ordinary Thief but we fight each other on behalf of the Political Thief.

Dem boys seh how dat every time government change dem does gat fuh change dem picture of dem Minister wah post up in dem government agency. Every Minister picture gat to hang pon dem wall of dem place for which he responsible.

Dem boys thought how is Kwame bin supposed to print dem picture of dem Minister. But it look as if some Ministries decide dat dem can't wait fuh Kwame.

Dem decide fuh print dem picture themselves.

Is dat wah cause some confusion.

De Prezzie should launch an investigation to find out if anybody lying pon de Minister and if dem forge document fuh do so. Or if is a conflict of interest situation developing. Dem boys nah understand how dem bin hope fuh print de minister portrait if he nah know about it. Who tekkin out de picture?

Prezzie bin seh how public officials, including Ministers, gan be held accountable.

Talk half and remember all are equal but dat some are more equal than others!

much higher. On the other hand, the other perspective is that you should not feel any shame or loss of pride in doing menial employment.

It boils down to one's philosophy of work. If work is viewed solely for what it pays rather than for its intrinsic dignity, then it is often assessed in terms of

status, its remuneration or the means towards an end.

All work should be valued whether it is cleaning the gutter or pumping oil.

Unfortunately, we have developed gradations of value, which encourage us to look down on some forms of work and to look up to others… rather looking at

the work itself and its utility.

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

Kaieteur News

PAGE 10

Tuesday October 13, 2020

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

A fire next to CARICOM building, Freddie Kissoon and Guyana's curse I

live on the Railway Embankment, on the southern side, directly opposite MovieTowne. I go out on my upper verandah sometimes with my binoculars and look at the people patronizing KFC and Massy S u p e r m a r k e t .

Sunday night, I looked through my window and saw a rising fire coming from one of the low-income houses situated on the northern side of the embankment. I decided to drive out to go to the site to examine it to determine if it was just rubbish burning. I could not ascertain that from my verandah. My daughter accompanied me.

It was a fire alright and

this was three houses from the CARICOM annex. The Atlantic breeze was taking the fire westward. If unchecked, it was going right into the CARICOM b u i l d i n g .

I approached one of the security ranks (a private security firm (Federal Management provides service to CARICOM).

Before I could open my mouth, she yelled out my name and became insulting. I asked her to contact the fire service but she was preoccupied with saying unpleasant things to me.

She refused to listen and kept insisting that I must go to another guard hut to report it. An Amerindian rank came up and together we went to

another location where another rank summoned the fire service. As I was leaving, this lady continued her obsession with me. My daughter had to listen to her uncalled-for nonsense.

I was not surprised by that encounter in 2020.

Words of abuse and insults from Guyanese with a political and ethnic bias have followed me all my life.

From the Forbes Burnham government when I was a scrawny UG freshman to last Sunday evening, taking in the Hoyte, Cheddi and Janet Jagan presidencies to the governments of Jagdeo, Ramotar and Granger, emotionally driven people from PNC and PPP constituencies and

Indo/Afro Guyanese have accosted me and denigrated me about my activism and m y c o l u m n s .

If it started from Burnham regime, then I have endured long years of such unpleasantness. Such attitudes and acts have never ever bothered me. I read too much about the inherent flaws of Homo sapiens to ever be bothered by what people say about me.

I was extremely, and I e m p h a s i z e “extremely” annoyed with this security personnel because of the situation. This was a fire. Even if she hates Freddie Kissoon, that had to become a minor matter because her workplace could be burnt down and the houses of poor people who live across the road from me.

I found this lady's attitude to be deeply poisonous.

The morning after, I went to the CARICOM Secretariat to lodge a complaint with Mr. Kwame John who handles security dimensions of the secretariat. He was not in and I met with Mr. Kenneth Williams of the administrative division of the secretariat. He said an investigation will be done.

I told Mr. Williams the following words and I am quoting myself, “I am the

last person on Planet Earth that would want to see someone from the working class lose their job but not the person who steals from the coffee lady.” I think Mr. Williams must have gotten the point – this security rank had cros s ed the line.

Frederick Kissoon I don't care what she yelled out about me. But the drama of the fire should have galvanized her into action.

This person was not interested in any action because it was Freddie Kissoon speaking to her and since she didn't like Freddie Kissoon, she wasn't interested in what he had to say. I will proceed to Federal Management to lodge another complaint if I do not h e a r a g a i n f r o m M r.

W i l l i a m s .

What I have described above is compelling

evidence of the social, sociological, political and psychological sickness that has taken over the psyche of this nation the past 70 years.

Here was a woman who did not like what Freddie Kissoon, does, says and writes because of either ethnic or political beliefs and in her limited mind, she couldn't separate me from the issue of the fire which concerned her workplace, her fellow workers and h e r c o u n t r y.

Sadly, and most t r a g i c a l l y, i f t h i s sickness was there for 70 years festering, then the five-month election rigging drama has lengthened its devouring t e n t a c l e s .

I find the abuse I heard from my car window when an Indian party ruled and I heard when an African party ruled quite amusing.

Though other activists may find four decades of people shouting nasty things about them an unbearable experience, honestly, it never bothered me. It never will. I listen to beautiful music when I am in my vehicle and music from all types of countries.

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

Tuesday October 13, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

Kaieteur News

PAGE 12

Tuesday October 13, 2020

Two more COVID fatalities Man drowns near Hamburg beach, Essequibo

A

25-year-old man reportedly drowned last Sunday afternoon, as he tried to swim to the Hamburg Beach, located on the Essequibo River.

The body of the young man, who was identified as Umal Jaggernauth, was recovered early yesterday morning at the same location where he was last seen.

Based on reports reaching Kaieteur News, Jaggernauth, who is of Spring Garden on the Essequibo Coast, went to Hamburg on a family trip in a wooden boat.

On arrival at the beach, Jaggernauth's family members exited the vessel and went ashore.

The victim and his uncle, who was identified as Randy, were left mooring the boat some distance from the beach itself.

After completing their task, the two men then began to swim to shore. Reports are that when Randy made it to the beach, his nephew was

Deceased, Umal Jaggernauth nowhere to be seen.

The other family members were alerted and went in search for Jaggernauth but they were unsuccessful in locating the body until yesterday morning.

The body was taken to the Suddie morgue where it awaits a post-mortem examination.

Volda Lawrence a no show at CID

T

T

he Ministry of Health yesterday announced that two more persons have died from COVID-19 and that there are 52 new cases, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 3,521.

“The latest fatalities,” stated an update from the Ministry last evening, “are a 62-year-old male and a 47year-old female, both from Region 4 (DemeraraMahaica). These persons died while receiving care at our medical facility. The

MOH expresses sincerest condolences to the families of the two deceased and will make every effort to provide all the necessary support during this difficult time to render any assistance needed.”

The news of the deaths, coming late last night, would not have been reflected in the Ministry's daily COVID-19 Dashboard update which stated that there are currently 16 persons in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Georgetown Public Hospital

Corporation, 118 persons in institutional isolation, 892 persons in approved home isolation and 58 persons in institutional quarantine.

It was not clear whether two persons who died were from the 16 housed in the ICU. The COVID-19 death toll currently stands at 106 and out of the 16,080 COVID-19 tests conducted to date, 12,559 persons tested negative. A total of 2,391 persons have recovered from COVID-19 to date.

he Chairperson for the People's N a t i o n a l Congress/ Reform (PNC/R) and former Health Minister, Volda Lawrence, yesterday failed to present herself at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters, Eve Leary, Georgetown, as agreed on by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and her attorney, Nigel Hughes.

Lawrence was scheduled to report at CID at 10:00hrs yesterday in relation to the investigation into electoral fraud committed during the March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections.

However, yesterday when Lawrence failed to report to CID her attorney, Nigel Hughes informed the police investigators that his client will report to CID today at 10:00hrs.

On Saturday, the GPF in a press release stated that, as the Force continues its probe into the March 2, 2020, postelections incidents, police investigators had made contact with Lawrence's attorney, 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 would have brought Lawrence to CID at 10:00hrs on Saturday, but later contacted the police and requested the exercise of their discretion to permit him to bring his client at CID for 16:00hrs, on Saturday.

However, it was later again rescheduled for her to report to CID yesterday at 10:00hrs.

Lawrence is currently before Principal Magistrate

People's National Congress/ Reform (PNC/R) and former Health Minister, Volda Lawrence Faith McGusty in t he Georgetown Magistrates' Courts for a joint charge with Returning Officer of Region Four, Clairmont Mingo, which alleged 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, 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.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday October 13, 2020

PAGE 13

Giftland set to supply 4.5MW of power next week G

uyana's blackout woes will soon ease as the Giftland Mall is set to supply the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS) with almost five megawatts of needed power by next week to boost the current supply of electricity to the power grid.

Owner, Roy Beepat told Kaieteur News that the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) set a timeline of October 20, so if all goes according to plan, a total of 4.5 megawatts of power will be supplied.

Once it is completed, it will aid in the shortage of

Giftland Boss, Roy Beepat

power outages on the East Coast Demerara corridor.

Beepat explained that the power supply will be spilt, with 1.5 megawatts being supplied during the daytime hours and 3.5 megawatts in the peak evening hours.

Giftland's power system has a 6.7 megawatt output capacity but merely utilizes 1.6 megawatts during peak operation periods.

That excess power will now be secured by GPL through a Power Purchasing Agreement (PPA). Back in January, after almost two years of back and forth, Beepat and the previous A Partnership for National

Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition government had signed the agreement that would have seen the country benefitting from the additional 4.5 megawatts of power to augment the 120 megawatts that GPL is currently supplying to the power grid.

However, the protracted March 2020 Elections put a halt on that deal.

The country was hit with a recent spate of blackouts, leading the new administration to scramble for an additional 30 megawatts of power.

Since then, the request

Police called in to escort PS who refused to vacate office

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anks from the Guyana Police Force were yesterday called in to remove the former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Commerce Industry, Karen Van Sluytman-Corbin after she reportedly refused to exit the office.

In a live video on social media, Corbin told media personnel that she came to the office to uplift her personal belongings but was refused entry.

“I was re-designated and they told me I had to move so I came this morning to retrieve my personal belongings that I have in my office and I observed that the locks were changed and I was not allowed access,” Corbin said.

The former PS also indicated that she then ventured to the Minister's head office to inquire when she would be able to uplift her personal belongings.

This, according to what she was told, would be facilitated sometime next week.

The Ministry however, in a statement sought to clear the air on the matter and disclosed that with the new appointments of Permanent Secretaries announced on Oct 8, Corbin was informed of the changes the very next day.

“Mrs. Van SluytmanCorbin was informed of her reassignment on Friday, October 9, while still at the office. Specifically, Mrs.

for Expressions of Interest (EOI) have been published in the local newspapers to identify appropriate suppliers that can potentially fulfill the minimum requirements for supplying the firm power generation needed.

The power company said that the present call for EOI does not constitute an invitation to tender and only suppliers deemed qualified

by GPL shall progress to the next stage of the process.

Further, they said that the supply of a minimum of 1MW and a maximum of 30MW of 'Firm Power

Generation Capacity' should come with the appropriate sub-station where necessary, to interconnect with the grid at either 13.8KV or 69KV. Generating unit size shall not exceed 10MW. According to the project scope, GPL shall only be responsible for grid connection at the point of interconnection with the existing network

Woman disappears after ex-partner was shot

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ops are unable to locate a man's former partner after he was shot on Sunday while conversing with her at a location in West Ruimveldt, Georgetown.

Shemroy King, 43, a chicken vendor of Seadam Bagotstown, East Bank Demerara (EBD) was shot around 20:30hrs. According to police reports, during King's conversation with the woman – with whom he shares a child – he heard a loud explosion and immediately felt a burning sensation to his

Former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Commerce Industry, Karen Vansluytman-Corbin Van Sluytman-Corbin was advised of her re-assigned position, job description, and place of work, which is the Sophia Exhibition C e n t r e , ” t h e To u r i s m Ministry explained.

On being so advised, Van Sluytman-Corbin, the Ministry said, indicated to her subject Minister that she would “not vacate the o ff i c e ” o f P e r m a n e n t Secretary or “accept reassignment”.

It is in this context, they said, that Corbin's reporting to work at the Ministry's premises on South Road instead of the Sophia Complex must be

interpreted.

“Mrs. Van SluytmanCorbin refused to leave the premises, and it was at this time, the police were requested to assist in escorting her therefrom,” the statement said.

It is only after that incident did the former PS request to see the Minister.

There, she indicated that she wished to remove her personal items from the office.

According to the Ministry, permission to remove personal items under supervision was promptly given; Corbin secured same before exiting the building.

infrastructure.

A recent release from the power company stated that this is just one of several projects GPL has “to maximise the potential of power generation in both the short and long term.”

Personnel are currently on the ground working on the connections, and GPL expects to see the project completed by month-end.

right elbow. He looked down and saw blood pouring out from his elbow and realized that he was shot. He joined a taxi and sped off to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.

Doctors performed a surgery on his arm and extracted a warhead from his elbow.

Investigators questioned various eyewitnesses but failed to obtain any substantial information to assist them in identifying a shooter. According to police, checks were made to locate the woman but she could not be found.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Tuesday October 13, 2020

State forced to close case in Sophia shopkeeper - as two witnesses murder trial could not be reached

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he State was yesterday forced to close its case in the trial of Odel Roberts, who stands indicted for the 2015 murder of Sophia shopkeeper, Shawn Anys.

Odel Roberts called 'Gully Side' of 'C' Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown is currently on trial for the murder of the shopkeeper

before Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry and a mixed 12- member jury.

Anys was shot and killed during the course of a robbery on May 1, 2015 at his 'D' Field, Sophia residence where he owned and managed a small grocery shop. He was confronted by the bandits just before 23:00 hours on the night of the incident.

The man was at home when he heard his dogs barking and decided to venture out of the house to investigate when he was confronted by two armed men who forced him into the house and shot him while demanding money and valuables.

The gunmen made off with $40,000 in cash along with jewellery. Anys was

rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The trial for the murder c o n t i n u e d y e s t e r d a y.

Following the crossexamination of police witness Suraj Singh, State Counsel Tiffini Lyken told the Court that the prosecution has exhausted its witnesses as two

Murdered: Sophia shopkeeper Shawn Anys

Accused: Odel Roberts

other persons who were listed to testify in the murder trial could not be reached, despite several attempts to the contact them.

Ly k e n n o n e t h e l e s s implored members of the jury not to let the accused walk free when he should be held culpable for the murder of the hardworking shopkeeper who was killed in cold blood.

H o w e v e r, d e f e n c e attorney, Damien Da Silva urged the jury not to convict Roberts based on the weak, unreliable evidence of one witness. According to the lawyer, the only substantial evidence in the case was that of Officer Suraj Singh.

The lawyer pointed out though that Singh's evidence could be easily questioned.

“This is an officer who admitted that he did not inform the accused of his right to an attorney at the time of his arrest. His evidence could be described as weak and unreliable at best,” the lawyer told the panel in his closing presentation.

Da Silva had previously cross-examined Singh about his involvement in the murder investigation. The lawyer had asked the Officer about his initial interaction with his client. Da Silva suggested that detective Singh had already formed an opinion about his client since when he first met him (Roberts); he was already serving time in prison for another offence.

Singh had vehemently denied the suggestion. He said that he had no preconceived notions about the accused at the time of his arrest. The officer instead claimed that he cautioned the accused and questioned him about the incident, which led to the death of the Sophia shopkeeper.

The policeman recalled too that Roberts denied any involvement in the incident.

“He said, 'Boss, I ain't know nothing about it',” Singh recalled.

The policeman also told the Court that Roberts made

certain admissions in relation to incident during a confrontation with a female.

He however admitted that he made no audio or video record of the confrontation.

Roberts had pleaded not guilty to the charge when his case commenced at the Georgetown High Court earlier this week in a virtual setting. The accused joined the proceedings from the Georgetown Prison via zoom.

Since then, state prosecutors, Tiffini Lyken and Nafeeza Baig called several witnesses including the sons of the victim – who were reportedly at home when the shooting occurred.

Shakeem Anys, who was 13 years old at the time of the incident, recalled that his father heard the dogs barking and went to check to see who was at the gate.

The witness claimed that moments later, two armed men confronted his dad. He said one man was fully masked and the other was not wearing anything to cover his face. According to the witness, the gunmen appeared to be engaged in a confrontation with his father shortly before shots were heard.

The witness was later confronted with questions from defence attorney Da Silva. Da Silva questioned the witness about what he saw on the night of the shooting. The lawyer enquired from the witness whether he ever attended a police identification parade and pointed out the accused among the suspect placed on the parade. Anys, in response, told the court that he did attend the parade but that he never identified the accused as one of the shooters.

Mark Anys, the victim's other son also told the Court that he was at the family's Sophia resident when he heard the gunshots. He said that he did not see what took place but found out shortly after it happened that his father was the victim of an armed robbery.

Tuesday October 13, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 15

Government to ramp up sea defence monitoring with drone technology T

he government is seeking to extend its shoreline monitoring through the use of drone technology. The drones will be used as an overhead watch to actively monitor Guyana's sea defences, which include mangroves and seawalls.

This was disclosed by

Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill in a telephone interview with Kaieteur News yesterday.

Edghill went on to say that while this measure is being implemented, they will not be abandoning the regular practice of having rangers from the Civil Defence Commission

(CDC) working assiduously on the grounds. He said that they will be restarting the cycle that was abandoned where rangers conducted physical inspections.

According to Edghill, since human eyes are more likely to see deterioration taking place at the shorelines, there are chances that breaches

can be combated from the onset.

The Minister stressed that when breaches are identified from the onset, it gives an advantage of being able to formulate emergency measures or even stop the breach altogether. Adding to that, with the proper surveillance of both drone

Cummings Lodge woman gets 10 years for killing friend as a peacemaker when he was reportedly stabbed once to the region of the heart.

The incident reportedly occurred on the verandah of the couple's home, and the wounded man went to use the outhouse where he eventually collapsed. The Better Hope, ECD fisherman was discovered by neighbours lying motionless on the muddy ground in the

Prisoner: Angela Khan who joined from the New Amsterdam women's facility yesterday

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Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara woman who was charged with the murder of her male friend some six years ago pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter, was sentenced to 10 years in jail for the offence.

Khan joined the proceedings of the Georgetown High Court from the New Amsterdam Prison via Zoom yesterday.

Presiding Justice Jo Ann Barlow told the court that a third of the sentence will be

deducted for time spent and six months for her show of remorse.

Khan was initially charged for the murder of 37year-old Bharrat Sugrim whose lifeless body was found at her South Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara (ECD) home.

Reports are that Khan and her reputed husband, Dhaniram Vijay Seewah were embroiled in a heated argument which eventually led to a fight. Sugrim, who had visited the couple's home, attempted to intervene

yard.

He was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation where he was pronounced dead.

The matter was reported and the couple was arrested after ranks had reportedly observed that both suspects had minor injuries and a knife believed to be the murder weapon was found in the yard.

technology and the rangers, efficient maintenance can be carried out on the mangroves, which will further strengthen Guyana's sea defences.

The Ministry of Public Works is currently looking for suppliers for the drones and tablets necessary for the shoreline monitoring and has since put out invitations for bids.

Additionally, the PPP administration has been adamant on fixing breached sea defences. They previously stated that being resilient to climate change is of significant importance, thus strengthening Guyana's sea defences is a top priority.

The most recent effort to fix sea defence breaches was the government's move to fix the Dantzig Mahaicony sea defence that suffered a breach sometime last year.

The breach was not major at first, but slowly paced works caused the breach to get worse over time.

Earlier this year, a

contract of $352 million was awarded to BK International Inc. by the previous A Partnership For National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) government to seal over 500-meters of breached sea defence that resulted in massive flooding in several areas. It was stated that the contractor was not only moving at a slow pace but constant delays also caused more damage to occur at the sea defence.

A new breach later occurred at the very site, flooding Dantzig and neighbouring communities causing serious damage to homes, crop and livestock.

The contract was later handed to four new contractors; Toolsie Persaud L t d , C o l l i n Ta l b o t Contracting, A&S General Contractors and M&B Construction, by the PPP administration; another $168M was expended to reduce the threats of flooding in Prospect and surrounding villages.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 16

Tuesday October 13, 2020

AG meets with hemp organization

- seeks Govt. support in cultivating hemp

Attorney General, Anil Nandlall (centre) and members of the hemp organization

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ith the aim of seeking the government's support in cultivating hemp on a plantation scale in Guyana, the members of the Guyana Hemp Industry (GHI), yesterday, met with the Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall.

During the meeting with the AG, Chairman of GHI Michael Kirton highlighted the multifaceted uses of hemp, which can produce 50,000 different items such as textiles, paper, industrial and building materials, food, body care products, animal feed, along with fertilizers and pesticides.

Against this, the hemp production advocates contended that with the support of the government in the product's cultivation, not only will the government reap quality quantities of the product, but it will create hundreds of jobs for Guyanese.

After hearing the pitch, the AG instructed that the organization and its

international sponsors based in North America provide the government with a scientific report of the proprietary makeup of hemp, and a feasibility study

of the production of hemp in Guyana.

In addition to these requirements, the AG further requested that a report be produced on the benefits the

cultivation will accrue to the local economy.

It was agreed that this information would be supplied by October 31, after which same will be submitted to Cabinet for consideration and directions on the way forward.

While in Opposition, the General Secretary of the People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Bharrat Jagdeo, had met with the organisation and many others promoting hemp. The PPP/C had promised, once reelected, to work with them

in exploring the possibility of growing hemp in Guyana.

N o t a b l y, M i n i s t e r Nandlall recently shared that the government will soon commence countrywide consultations on the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana.

Fire engulfs Charlotte Haslington man goes on trial St. house for brother-in- law's murder

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The houses engulfed in flames (Photo credit: Joseph Allen)

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hree people are now reported to be homeless after a fire engulfed their Charlotte Street home, late last evening.

According to reports, the fire started sometime around 20:30hrs last night and has destroyed a two-storey wooden house.

The alarm was raised Ray Baird of 167 Charlotte Street, who lives in the house just a

few feet away from the now destroyed building. The man told Kaieteur News that he was about to retire to bed when he smelled something burning.

“At 08:50” Baird said to Kaieteur News, “I watching TV and just as I was about to turn off the television, I got a funny scent. I start looking and when I looked through from my window, I see redness at the house at the

back.”

The man said that he immediately raised an alarm with his sister who lives upstairs in the same house and the Albertown Fire Department.

Were it not for the rapid response by the Fire Service, the man believes that his house would have gone up in flames as well.

Investigations are continuing.

mixed 12-member jury has been selected to serve in the murder trial of Les Charles Critchlow. Critchlow, 65 called “Uncle Les”, of Haslington, East Coast Demerara stands indicted before High Court Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry for the May 12, 2016 murder of his brother-in-law Terence Adams called “Uncle Terry” or “Sleepy”.

T h e a c c u s e d w h o i s currently incarcerated at the Lusignan Prison joined yesterday's court proceeding via zoom. He pleaded not guilty to the offence which was read to him in an open hearing. He will be represented by attorney-at-law Maxwell Mc Kay. According to previous reports on the matter, the murder stemmed from a dispute, which the accused had with his daughter.

During his initial appearance at the Magistrates' Court, Critchlow reportedly told the Magistrate that he was involved in a family dispute, which turned violent. He claimed that he was wounded in a bid to defend himself against his attacker.

The man also claimed that after the fracas, he was arrested but was not allowed to seek medical attention for the injuries, which he sustained to his head and other parts of his parts of his body.

Les Charles Critchlow at his initial arraignment at the Magistrate's Court State counsel, Tiffany Lyken and Nafeeza Baig are expected to call at least eight witnesses to take the stand in the trial scheduled to commence on October 19, 2020.

This is the first time that the case is being heard in the Demerara Criminal Assizes.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday October 13, 2020

PAGE 17

Soldier who assaulted cop charged with multiple traffic offences Bowen was seen on Friday evening by Constable Wilson, switching lanes with his motorcar along the MeerZorgen Public road located on the western end of the Demerara Harbour Bridge.

This move reportedly caused a traffic congestion and Wilson who was on patrol duties approached Bowen's car and instructed him to pull over to the side of the road.

Eyewitnesses said that

Bowen became annoyed, exited his vehicle and “chucked Wilson”.

Wilson warned Bowen about his action but he was ignored and suffered a brutal assault.

In a video seen by this publication, Bowen was seen choking Wilson and punching him repeatedly to the face and body. Persons were heard advising Wilson to call for backup and calling

T

pleaded guilty to the offences which stated that on October 9, 2020, he was driving an uninsured and uncertified motor vehicle.

The GDF rank also committed the offence of driving a vehicle with prohibited tinted glass.

He was fined $25,000, $10,000 and $7,500 respectively for the three offences. Bowen, however, still remains in custody awaiting advice on other c h a rg e s , w h i c h h e i s expected to receive.

According to reports,

Kaieteur News had previously reported that Bowen is expected to face multiple charges for his actions, which include assaulting a peace officer and resisting arrest.

GDF had also sent out a press release condemning Bowen's misconduct and give all assurance that it will cooperate with the police in ensuring that he faces the full brunt of the law.

Essequibo man hospitalized after being struck by hearse

An injured constable Wilson (Travis chase photo) he soldier who was caught on camera last Friday beating a police constable identified only as Wilson, was yesterday slapped with multiple traffic offence charges.

Appearing at the Wales Magistrate Court was Lance Corporal of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Kester Bowen.

The traffic charges were read to him by Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty.

Represented by his attorney Glen Hanoman, Bowen

Bowen's actions “disrespectful”.

The video ended with Bowen throwing Wilson to the ground and reentering his car.

Bowen was subsequently apprehended by Wilson with help from other ranks and taken away to the La Grange Police Station. Wilson later received medical attention at the West Demerara Regional Hospital.

The vehicle overturned in the trench

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man is in critical condition at the Suddie Public Hospital, after being struck by a hearse on the Essequibo Public Road yesterday afternoon.

The victim has been i d e n t i f i e d a s To o l s i e Maniram, a resident of

Devonshire Castle, Essequibo Coast. Based on reports reaching Kaieteur News, the accident occurred sometime around 17:30 hrs yesterday afternoon.

Reports are that at the time of the accident, Maniram was pushing his motorcycle in the southern direction of the

Devonshire Castle Public Road. Eyewitnesses claim that the man was gathering his cattle.

The hearse, GNN 5061, was also proceeding south along the said road.

The driver, who was identified as “Rasta Man,” reportedly swerved from one

of the cows and ploughed into Maniram, pinning him in a nearby trench.

Bystanders managed to lift the vehicle and eventually retrieved the injured man, who was then rushed to the Suddie Public Hospital in an unconscious state. His condition is listed as serious.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 18

Tuesday October 13, 2020

Indian Govt. gives Guyana 21 ventilators From left: Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Malcolm Watkins; Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony; Indian High Commissioner, Dr. K.J. Srinivasa; and PAHO Representative Dr. Luis Codina with the donated equipment.

Y

esterday, the Ministry of Health received 26 ventilators. At a handing

over ceremony at the Ministry's Kingston, Georgetown bond, it was revealed that 21 of the

ventilators were donated by the Indian Government and five were donated by the Pan American Health

Organisation (PAHO), all of which came up a total value of GYD$122 million.

The Indian government h a d p r e v i o u s l y, o n September 2, donated five ventilators.

Present at yesterday's ceremony were Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony; Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Malcolm Wa t k i n s ; t h e n e w P A H O / W H O Representative, Dr. Luis Codina; and Indian High

Commissioner, Dr. K.J. Srinivasa.

It was also revealed yesterday that the ventilators will not only be sent for use in the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation's Intensive Care Unit but also to other facilities including t h e n e w O c e a n Vi e w COVID-19 Hospital.

PAHO also donated 24 oxygen concentrators and 315 boxes of gloves to the Ministry; an oxygen concentrator is used for

converting air to oxygen for patients. Minister Anthony, in brief remarks, said there are some regions that have been a challenge to get oxygen.

In addition to Leguan in Region Two, the Minister said Regions Seven, Eight and Nine were among those locations where it has been difficult. For this reason, he said that he is very grateful that PAHO decided to provide the oxygen concentrators.

Tuesday October 13, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 19

Kaieteur News

PAGE 20

Tuesday October 13, 2020

Company founded by Minister Dharamlall's son received $485K in contracts in one month - according to documents

D

ocuments shared with Kaieteur News show that Designz Unlimited, a company founded by the son of the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, had received a total of $485,000 worth in contracts over a period of one month.

Designz Unlimited, a local printery and embroidery company, had submitted three separate invoices to the Local Government Ministry.

One invoice dated at September 11, states that the Ministry had procured “1,000 premium stock, matte finish, standard edges, one-sided color printed business cards- Minister N. Dharamlall”, along with “1,000 premium stock, matte finish, standard edges, one-sided color printed business cards- Minister A. Persaud”. Anand Persaud is the Junior Minister within the Ministry. The cost of these business cards totaled

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall to GY $40,000 and were addressed to the Ministry's De Winkle Building in Fort Street, Kingston, Georgetown.

A second invoice, this one dated at October 8, states that the Ministry procured “1,000 compliment slips: printed full color, one side on linen paper. Size 6.8 x 4 1/2 – Minister N. Dharamlall”. At a unit price of $55 each, this invoice totaled to GY $55,000.

The largest invoice is dated at September 24.

Under the description of the invoice it states that the

Ministry procured one “10x4 signboard, design, fabrication, print and installation on predetermined site. Artwork to be approved by client before print and installation”; one “8x4 signboard, design, fabrication, print and installation on predetermined site. Artwork to be approved by client before print and installation” and lastly, “artwork”.

This invoice carried a hefty price tag to the tune of GY $390,000.

Kaieteur News had published a report on (continued on page

Gun poser picked up by cops

P

olice patrol ranks yesterday picked up a man who was apparently posing with an unlicensed hand gun on Sussex Street, Charlestown.

According to a police report, the man identified as a security guard of Dr. Miller Street, Triumph East Coast Demerara was seen around 01:00hrs by the ranks standing with another man, aged 20, in the vicinity of Humphrey's Bakery on Sussex.

The officers were driving through the area when they saw the security guard with the firearm in his right hand. The ranks stopped their vehicle, exited, approached the man and confiscated the gun.

Upon observing the weapon, they noted that it was Beretta pistol containing four 9mm bullets.

It was also detailed in the report that the cops asked the security guard if he is a licensed firearm holder but he said no.

The security guard was then arrested and the other male who was standing next to him was taken into custody as well.

The lodged firearm

Invoices submitted to the Local Government Ministry and Designz Unlimited

Tuesday October 13, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 21

PAGE 22

Kaieteur News

Tuesday October 13, 2020

Region Six phase Govt. COVID-19 cash grant distribution launched -some hiccups encountered

SERVICES Repairs,Services,Spares to Wa s h i n g M a c h i n e Refridgetor Store, Treadmill, Deepfryer,Cooler,Dryer, Grains mill. Call: 694-9733

VACANCY Office Assistant 5 Subjects cxc, 2 years min experience, Lot 8 sheriff street mimadecor12@gmail.com, 227-0176/ 86

First aid / cpr/ aed and home nursing courses st. John Association Tel# 225-9082 to register.

School teachers are invited to submit applications. Attractive salary based on qualification and experience: educationgy3@gmail.com

REPAIRS AT LOW COST: FRIDGES, AIR CONDITIONERS, WASHING MACHINE, FREEZER, SALE OF AC'S. TEL#629-4946,225-4822

Looking for one professional hair dresser and two nail techinican, Grove Market Street. Contact 652-5800

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Asthma, Burns or stroke, Clean your whole body by "Urinary Tract & General cleaner medicines" Bush Doc Tel#633-3353,231-9020.

FOR SALE New Pulp egg trays for Sale.Tel:#688-4264 House lots @ Blankenburg W.C.D & Schoonord W.B.D Available @ Schoonord 3/4 bedroom houses for sale contact# 650-0402/ 603-1402

Pitmen for interior location.

Applicants must be experienced. Call 618-2020 Maid to cook and clean for East Bank area call 615-9132.

RA Soda factory 242 Dindyal Street Rosignol W.C. B Male & Female workers Accountant Drivers 330-2852/ 3302399/ 692-2985/ 656-7456 Immediate Vacancy exists for one Canter/Lorry Driver to work at Del Ice Co. Call 2311408/ 642-9181.

Dynamic Individual with cxc Maths/ English Sales Stocking Experience Apply KeyFood Mc Doom Village.

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EDUCATION Handmade Jewelry training course fom 14 years up beginners intermediate and advanced classes. Call 645-3236

FOR RENT

Excavator operator with experience in the gold mining sector.Contact:#223-5273/ 223-5274

Store available for rent @ Bartica Contact #603-1402 / 650-0402

Security Guard - ideal age between 30 - 50. Contact 2235273/74.

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Tel:#682-2585

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1- Captain to ply from Bartica - Georgetown contact #6031402, Truck driver Contact# 650-0402/ 603-1402

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An armed Guyana Police Force officer along with residents and cash grant recipients.

way the team behaved and stated that they became annoyed when she began asking questions. Rahaman said it was after she was told by team that they could not receive the cash grant because they are living in a rented house that she began making queries. She opined that while the relief is welcomed she believes that there are people like her sister, who has four children and is a single parent, who are desperately in need of the money and is hopeful that it is just a misunderstanding of the process that could be rectified.

In contrast, Stanley Singh, another recipient told Kaieteur News that they visited his home and asked if he was the owner or was renting.

He said he explained that the owner is living overseas and they subsequently requested his ID card and commenced

filling out a form.

“I was asked to sign and I collected a receipt and an envelope. They smiled and left my yard. When I opened the envelope, there were five fivethousand-dollar bills inside”, he said.

Meanwhile, Vice Chairman Hussain explained that the principal owners of the homes received yesterday and for those persons living in homes that are rented or have been caretaking, their information was taken and a pink slip was or will be given.

He said that during the second phase of disbursement of the funds those persons are expected to receive their cash grants.

According to the Vice Chairman the objective of accompanying the teams yesterday was to get a firsthand experience and assessment of the process. Over 500 house-

holds were targeted yesterday in the Crabwood Creek, Corriverton, Number 52/74, Number 51/Good Hope and Macedonia/Maida/Tarlogie communities. Hussain said that the Region Six administration is thankful that the President has “seen Region Six delivered in a timely manner because the situation in this region is in dire need for relief such as these”. A total of 71 teams will comb the villages with an armed rank of the Guyana Police Force accompanying each of them.

On the 7th September 2020 President Irfaan Ali announced that every household in Guyana will receive a $25,000 relief cash grant in light of the COVID-19 pandemic currently sweeping the world. Region Six officials will be disbursing over $1.3 billion per the next two weeks.

Company founded by Minister Dharamlall's ...

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The Region Six phase of the Government of Guyana’s COVID-19 cash grant distribution commenced yesterday with a total of 20 teams working house to house to register recipients and issue the cash on the spot. Accompanying the teams were Regional Vice Chairman Zamal Hussain and the Regional Executive Officer Narendra Persaud. The registration and distribution exercise is expected to run for a period of two weeks targeting 53,111 households throughout Region Six. During the exercise yesterday, the houses were visited and the principal owners or head of the household was registered on the spot by having a team member filling out a form which requests the name of the recipients, their identification card number, their date of birth, address and other necessary information. Members of each household had to countersign the form. The cash was then handed over in a sealed envelope.

There were some hiccups with the distribution process as many persons took to social media and complained that they were told that if they are living in a rented home they were not qualified to receive the cash grant. One woman, Atidha Rahaman of Crabwood Creek stated that she worked and lived in Georgetown but after losing her job due to the pandemic she moved back to Berbice and is living with her sister in a home that owners gave them to look after. She expressed her displeasure in the

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From page 20 Sunday, which alleged that Minister Dharamlall had instructed his staff to hire this same company that was founded by his son. This was after Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Ganesh Mahipaul had released documents highlighting the damning revelations.According to the September 30 documents, the Local Government Ministry had received a quotation from, Designz Unlimited, for the supply of “80 full color, one side poster board with glossy finish, size 11 x 17”.

These 80 posters, which were all portraits of Minister Dharamlall, were stated to cost $1,000 each—thereby taking the contract's sum to GY $80,000. Owner and manager of the Designz Unlimited, Monica Sharma had confirmed that her company was requested by the Ministry of Local Government to submit a quotation for a print service and acquiesced. “We have not since been awarded any

contract and in fact, have not been informed of any development in relation thereto,” she highlighted as she noted the Designz Unlimited has been a “trusted supplier” to the Ministry over the past four years. Meanwhile, 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 ele-

ments still on the payroll of the [Local Government and Regional Development Ministry].”“Since the note was brought to my attention last week,” the Minister wrote in a statement, “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.”

Erdogan tells EU’s Michel that progress needed on improving Turkey -EU ties ANKARA - (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told European Council President Charles Michel yesterday that progress was needed on improving ties between Ankara and the bloc, th e Tu r k i s h presidency said, amid renewed tensions between Turkey and Greece over the eastern M editerranean.In a statement, the presidency said Erdogan told Michel in a phone call that Turkey expected “concrete steps” from the EU on holding a regional conference with eastern Mediterranean states, and that Greece was “continuing steps to escalate tensions in the eastern Mediterranean despite Turkey’s well-intentioned approach”.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday October 13, 2020

Biker dies in Diamond Public Road accident

A

motorcyclist died on Sunday hours after he lost control of his Suzuki CBR motorcycle and crashed onto the Diamond East Bank Demerara (EBD) Public Road, in the vicinity of the Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL).

According to a police report, Marlon Fiedtkou, 40, Delph Street Campbellvile, Georgetown crashed around 17:45hrs. The man was reportedly heading to Georgetown with a crew of other bikers.

Eyewitnesses who were also traveling in same direction in their cars recalled that that the bikers rode pass at a fast rate.

Others who saw when the accident occurred said that Fiedtkou ran into trouble just after he passed DSL Supermarket located just opposite of DDL. The bike toppled and skidded, they said, before coming to a halt while Fiedtkou was pitched off, his body crashing into the concrete pavement located to the side of the road.

His fellow crewmembers and commuters who were passing by stopped to help.

Contact was made with the police who arrived shortly after and a still conscious but motionless Fiedtkou was picked up and placed into the back of the police pickup truck. Kaieteur News was told that the man was badly injured but garnered enough strength

Dead: Marlon Fiedtkou

PAGE 23

Fifth developer returns prime Ogle lands received from Coalition Govt.

S

upergraphics is now the fifth developer to return prime Ogle lands, which were controversially vested to them by the previous A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition regime.

In a release, the company owned by one Eton Cordis, said that they had entered an Agreement of Sales with the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) on June 15 for the purposes of constructing 95 premium housing units/apartments.

The company was vested five acres for the project.

However, to allow for a cleaner and transparent process, “We announce that we have agreed to surrender our interest in those lands with NICIL,” the company said. The developer was keen to point out that that it

looks forward to working with NICIL and the Government of Guyana towards achieving their development goals.

Only recently, four other developers, American Marine Inc; Navigant Builders under Winsor Estates; Cardiology Services Incorporated; and Corum Group Incorporated have rescinded the lands vested to them under the APNU+AFC government.

These are prime lands that are located near a major planned highway that would link the East Coast and East Bank transportation network. The almost 1,000 acres of prime lands opened

by NICIL for commercial development are said to be worth billions of dollars.

Although the lands were vested to the companies, no payment was made to the government, giving a clear indication that the state lands

were merely given away.

Public accountability advocates, had argued at the time that the Coalition government, being in caretaker mode, could not be involved in such deals. Not to mention, the country was embroiled in the widely publicized electoral impasse.

The other companies that cashed in on the controversial deal include Bosai Minerals Group (Guyana) Incorporated; Premier Sales Incorporated; Trinuyana Investments Incorporated (Director, John Aboud); Caribbean Marketing Enterprise Incorporated (Director, Mike Elliot); Earl's Court Incorporated; and state firm, Guyana Oil Company (Guyoil).

Thus far, none of these companies has signaled their intentions to return the acres of land vested to them.

Education Minister puts contracting... and attempted to sit up in the van. While doing so, he grabbed onto the side of his body where his ribcage was located and cried out for pain.

Eyewitnesses said that he was told to 'lie down and relax himself' as the vehicle drove off to the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. Doctors there referred him to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC)

realizing that he was in a critical condition.

At GPHC, he was admitted and it was discovered that he had suffered a broken rib which punctured his lung. Fiedtkou succumbed while being treated.

The well-known biker was described by his friends as a “positive youth who was self-motivated for greatness.”

Fiedtkou mangled motorcycle lying on the Diamond Public Road

From page 8 the school's construction.

The design of the new school, which was founded some 170 years ago, contains retained features which have been enhanced, including the internal courtyard, green space, garden feature, enhanced canteen and dining

area, off-street drop off, pickup and parking via an internal driveway, wheelchair access to all levels via an elevator, a large 1,500-seat internal auditorium with stage and a separate audio/visual monitoring and control room, a new internal Physical Education Department, and a new Information Technology Laboratory.

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Tuesday October 13, 2020

Tuesday October 13, 2020

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Tuesday October 13, 2020

Tuesday October 13, 2020

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Kaieteur News

After successful bubble, league grapples with uncertain future

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver - Reuters

Los Angeles (Reuters) As the NBA bursts its bubble following the completion of the Finals on Sunday, the league now faces tough questions about when next season will begin and what it will look like.

The league’s three-month stay at Walt Disney World in Orlando was a huge success, with no players and coaches testing positive for COVID-19 after the virus derailed the season in March for four months.

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat to win the championship and cap a thrilling playoffs on Sunday.

But even though the environment was safe, living on the campus required major sacrifices, and there is little appetite to return anytime

s o o n . ”I think you wouldn’t be human if you didn’t have ups and downs in the bubble,” James told reporters on Sunday night. “At times I was questioning myself, should I be here? Is this worth sacrificing my family? I’ve never been without my family this long,” he said, noting that he missed his son’s 16th birthday.

The 2020-21 campaign was slated to tip off in December but few expect that to happen given the league just wrapped up the longest season in its history and financial agreements still need to be hammered out.

The NBA has already pushed back the draft from Oct. 16 to Nov. 18 and Commissioner Adam Silver has said he doesn’t expect the season to

Tuesday Octomber 13, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Career and financial success might have paved the way for you to fulfill some of your fondest dreams, Aries.

Perhaps you've wanted to return to college and get an advanced degree.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Now that you feel more secure regarding your business and financial situations, Taurus, you might be looking for ways to feed your spiritual and metaphysical interests.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Just about every department of life should be going very well for you now, Gemini.

Business, finances, and partnerships are likely on their way to success.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Whatever you're working on a t the moment, Cancer, whether b u s i n e s s r e l a t e d , personal projects, or volunteer work, it's likely to

bring you increased satisfaction on many le vels.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) It's likely that your personal and creative horizons are expanding, Leo. Your or another's artistic enterprises might pay off big today.

VIRGO(Aug.23–Sept.22) If possible, a get-together of some kind could take place today either at your home or the home of someone close to you, Virgo. It could even turn into more than just a fun time.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Expect many advantageous changes to take place in your community, Libra. New businesses could open their doors, interesting neighbors could move in, or some necessary

repairs could finally get done.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) You've probably had few periods when business and finance have gone well for you, Scorpio. Now this trend seems to be coming to a head.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) You tend to be practical and businesslike by nature, Sagittarius, but the tremendous growth you've experienced may increase your desire to be as

sensible and efficient as possible in order to continue this trend.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) It's likely that your personal and creative horizons are expanding, Capricorn. Your or another's artistic enterprises might pay off big today.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Your natural warmth is enhanced by a new sense of self-confidence, Aquarius.

Whichever kind of group activities and social events are possible might bring you into touch with people .

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20)Today you might pinch yourself to see if what you're experiencing is real, Pisces.

Success and good fortune are coming thick and fast, with only minor setbacks and irritations.

begin this year, with January or possibly February a more likely target.

Silver, however, said he hopes to play a full 82-game season and playoffs in home arenas with fans despite the still raging pandemic, which has killed more than 214,000 people in the United States. ”Nothing has really changed with this virus,” Silver told reporters last month. “In fact, I think the majority of states right now, cases are ticking back up again.” He said he hopes advancements in rapid testing could make a big dif-

ference in terms of the league’s ability to potentially get fans into arenas. ”I think everybody understands just like in the country, there’s public health considerations, but the economy is a public health issue, as well, so we’re working and trying to strike that right balance,” he said. ”Part of my job is to study what’s happening in other industries, what other leagues are doing, including international soccer leagues. “So all of that’s on the table right now.”

RCB go third as AB de Villiers...

From page 32 holed out off Chris Morris in the 13th over, only for Padikkal to put down a tough chance at long-off, and then hit Isuru Udana for 4, 6, 4 off the first three balls of the 14th.

The Knight Riders only needed one mishit to go to hand, though, and it arrived two balls later, Russell losing shape as he slogged at one slanting away from off stump with the leftarm over angle. Siraj, running back from extra-cover, took a smart catch, and the yelps of his team-mates told the tale.

There were 37 balls left in the game, but they wouldn’t matter at all.

French Open 2020: Why...

From page 28 Melbourne, Wimbledon and New York.

The debate about the greatest male player of all time has become increasingly partisan.

We can all throw statistics at one another, but the attachment is more emotional. You may have found the rivalry between Federer and Nadal each a perfect foil to the other - too compelling not to take s i d e s .

But how about the achievements of the man, from a country with little tennis heritage, who broke up that duopoly?

How about the 12-year-old boy who found a path out of Belgrade, having spent 78 consecutive nights sheltering from the Nato bombings?

There will, of course, never be a definitive answer (although you can cast your vote at the bottom of this page), so the number of Grand Slams won will carry a lot of weight.

Weeks as world number one, Olympic gold medals and Davis Cup titles all count for a great deal, but if you want to boil this down to a numbers game, then the Grand Slams remain the sport’s reference point.

There seemed only two plausible winners of this French Open, given Dominic Thiem was, in his own words, not running on a full tank after his US Open triumph.

But the betting market will become more crowded in the year ahead. Thiem has himself been in four of the past 10 Slam finals, and Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev look closer to completing their education in what it takes to win a Grand Slam.

And so to January’s Australian Open in Melbourne.

Djokovic’s most successful Slam will be Federer’s comeback Slam, and perhaps an event that owes Nadal a favour. The Spaniard has lost four finals and often struggled with injury there in recent years.

Nadal will decide on the remainder of this season’s schedule with that tournament, and a likely two-week quarantine, very much in mind. The clay may not yet be out of his racquet strings, but all roads are already pointing towards Melbourne.

PAGE 28

Tuesday October 13, 2020

Kaieteur News

French Open 2020: Why the tennis GOAT debate is about so much more than numbers BBCsport - “I think our generation is now on the way out,” Rafael Nadal said at the French Open of 2014. “A generation is walking away, and others will replace us.”

That remains to this day one of my favourite Nadal quotes. Laced with humility, even if it did not age as well as he has.

Nearly six and a half years later, and Nadal is not only a 13-time Roland Garros champion, but also a 20-time Grand Slam champion.

Sparkling in defence, and explosive in attack in Sunday’s final against Novak Djokovic, Nadal produced a performance every bit the equal of his jaw dropping 6-1 6-3 6-0 win over Roger Federer in the 2008 final.

He now has the same number of Grand Slams as Federer, although both are still shy of Serena Williams’ Open era

record of 23. The Swiss was quick to offer his congratulations, and “hopes 20 is just another step on the continuing journey for both of us”.

Federer, now in his 40th year, has featured in just one of the past 10 Slam finals.

Nadal has appeared in half of them, and given he was able to win Roland Garros without dropping a set (with just three matches under his belt since February), may one day be in Williams territory.

Not that Djokovic is remotely done. He is a year younger than Nadal, has been in six of the past 10 Slam finals, and is fuelled by the thought of ending his career with more Grand Slams than any other man.

Nadal always says you cannot go through life worrying about the fact your neighbour has a bigger house or a bigger boat (unlikely in his case), but is also open

about his desire to retire on top of the pile.

Some will argue Nadal’s success is inflated by his mastery of clay. True, 65% of his Grand Slams have come at Roland Garros, but think how injury has robbed him of further opportunities in (Continued on page 28)

Roger Federer, Australian Open 2018

Rafael Nadal won his 13th French Open on Sunday Novak Djokovic lifts the Australian Open 2020 Championship trophy

LA Lakers coach Frank Vogel calls LeBron James the best basketball player EVER after he becomes the first star to win NBA Finals MVP with THREE different teams MailOnline - LeBron James became the first player to win NBA Finals MVP honours with three different teams on Sunday and for LA Lakers coach Frank Vogel the Ohio native has cemented his status as the best player ‘the basketball universe has ever seen’.James’ fourth NBA championship, which came after he led the Lakers to a 106-93 win over the Miami Heat in Game Six, also saw him take home his fourth Finals MVP award. He trails only Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan, who won six to go with his six NBA championships.The 35-yearold James, who also won the award during two championship runs with Miami and one with Cleveland, averaged 29.8 points per game on 59 per cent shooting in the Finals while leading a defensive effort that handcuffed the Heat offense in Game Six.While many still consider Jordan as the sport’s best player of all time, Vogel put James above him. ‘He’s the greatest player the basketball universe has ever seen,’ Vogel told reporters.

And if you think you know, you don’t know, okay, until you’re around him every day,

James celebrates his fourth NBA title with JR Smith and his Los Angeles Lakers team-mates. you’re coaching him, you’re seeing his mind, you’re seeing his adjustments, seeing the way he leads the group.’

Lakers team mate Kyle Kuzma said James was a driving force on the court and off it. ‘He’s one of the greatest leaders in sports, not just the NBA,’ said Kuzma. ‘He’s always rallying the troops, talking in group chats and making sure everybody’s fine.

Holds everybody to a high standard. Makes everybody accountable. Everything you want in a leader.’James had said bringing the Larry O’Brien trophy back to Los Angeles for the first time since 2010 was his sole focus when he joined in the summer of 2018 after the franchise had fallen on hard times. ‘It means a lot to represent this franchise,’ said James.

’I told (Lakers president) Jeanie (Buss) when I came here that I was going to put this franchise back in the position where it belongs. ‘We just want our respect. Rob (Pelinka) wants his respect, coach (Frank) Vogel wants his respect, our organisation wants its respect, Lakers nation wants its respect,’ he said.

‘And I want my damn respect too.’

Murray named among replacements in ATP Player Council Andy Murray

Reuters - Former world number one Andy Murray and three others have been elected to ATP’s Player Council to replace the Novak Djokovic-led group who resigned from the body to form a breakaway union, the governing body of men’s tennis announced on Monday (yesterday).

Briton Murray, Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, Australian John Millman and Frenchman Jeremy Chardy will replace Djokovic, John Isner, Vasek Pospisil and Sam Querrey — who stepped down to form the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA).

Murray joins 20-time Grand Slam champions Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal on the council. The ATP was

set up by players in 1972 to represent the men’s athletes but its board now includes representatives of tournament owners as well.

Besides the ATP and the women’s WTA, the sport is also controlled by the International Tennis Federation and the boards of the four Grand Slams. World number one Djokovic described the PTPA, which he said has already attracted the support of more than 200 players, as a platform for the views of the athletes that can co-exist with the ATP. In response to the formation of the PTPA, the governing bodies had issued a joint statement calling for unity at a time when tennis has been ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tuesday October 13, 2020

PAGE 29

Kaieteur News

World records ratified for Jepchirchir, Hassan and Farah WorldAthletics - Just five days before Sifan Hassan and Peres Jepchirchir clash at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Gdynia 2020, their recent world record-breaking feats have been ratified.

Jepchirchir’s 1:05:34 womenonly world half marathon record and the one-hour world records from Hassan (18,930m) and Mo Farah (21,330m) are now official.

Jepchirchir produced her record-breaking run on 5 September 2020 at the Prague 21.1KM, an invitational-only elite half marathon held on a 16.5-lap course in Letna Park in the Czech capital.

The 26-year-old Kenyan, who won the world half marathon title in 2016, was paced through the first five kilometres in about 15:20. She broke away from the rest of the lead pack just a few minutes later and reached 10km in 30:32.

Her pace slowed over the waning laps, most covered in just outside four minutes, but she held on to win in 1:05:34, finishing well inside the pre-

Mo Farah

Sifan Hassan

Peres Jepchirchir on her way to a world half marathon record in Prague (Getty Images) vious women-only world record of 1:06:11 set by Ethiopia’s Netsanet Gudeta at the 2018 World Half Marathon Championships in Valencia on 24 March 2018. ”I was hoping to run about 1:04:50, but I’m so happy,” said Jepchirchir, who set a world record of 1:05:06 in a

mixed gender race in Ras Al Khaimah in 2017, a mark which stood for seven weeks.

“I was really tired in the last five kilometres.”

Hassan and Farah, meanwhile, stormed into the record books at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Brussels on 4 September, the night be-

Kubrat Pulev says he will fight Anthony Joshua on 12 December in London Anthony Joshua (left) has won 23 of his 24 professional fights, while Kubrat Pulev has a record of 28 victories and one loss.

fore Jepchirchir’s race in Prague. Hassan’s record came after a titanic battle with Kenya’s world marathon record-holder Brigid Kosgei, although it later transpired the latter had been disqualified for stepping on to the infield in the closing stages.

Moving into the final quarter of an hour, the world record seemed certain to be bettered, given that Hassan and Kosgei were more than a minute ahead of world record pace.

Having swapped the lead several times, Hassan finally broke away from Kosgei after the gun sounded to mark the final minute.

The Dutch world 1500m and 10,000m champion reached 18,930 metres as the hour

elapsed, beating the previous mark of 18,517m set by Ethiopia’s Dire Tune in Ostrava on 12 June 2008. ”I didn’t feel good before the start of the race,” said Hassan, who last year set a world record for the mile. “After 30 minutes of racing, I finally felt better. When there were only two minutes left on the clock, the fun began.”

The men’s race was also decided in the closing stages.

Running alongside training partner Bashir Abdi of Belgium for most of the way, Farah had slipped outside of world record pace half way through. In the final 10 minutes, however, the two men managed to get back on world record schedule.

Abdi took the lead with about five minutes remaining and passed through 20,000m in 56:20.2, a world best for the distance, but Farah regained the lead in the final minute and sprinted clear to take the victory. His distance of 21,330m broke the previous mark of 21,285m set by Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie in Ostrava on 27 June 2007. ”I was very excited to be back on the track,” said Farah, who had announced his retirement from track racing at the end of the 2017 season. “With just 10 laps to go, it became tough so I was happy that Bashir took the lead, but I felt great with just one minute to go. A fast last lap is still my best tactic.”

EFL clubs could ‘disappear within five to six weeks’ - Leyton Orient chairman

BBCsport - Kubrat Pulev will fight champion Anthony Joshua in a world heavyweight title bout in London on 12 December, the Bul-

garian claims. Briton Joshua was originally scheduled to fight Pulev, 39, on 20 June but it was postponed because of c o r o n a v i r u s .

”It’s official: Pulev vs. Joshua on 12 December in London,” Pulev posted on his official website on Monday (yesterday).

“There is no way back, no postponement, no rescheduling! Let the better one win!” he

added on Facebook.

Joshua, 30, beat Andy Ruiz to regain the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles in Saudi Arabia in December. Pulev, the IBF’s mandatory challenger, said both fighters have signed their contracts for the fight.

Pulev has been waiting for a chance to face Joshua for almost three years after a shoulder injury forced him out of their planned world title bout in October 2017.

It is not clear if the fight will be behind closed doors because of Covid-19 restrictions.

BBCsport - Some EFL clubs will “disappear within five to six weeks” unless they get financial support, says Nigel Travis, chairman of League Two Leyton Orient. He also said ‘Project Big Picture’ - a plan by Liverpool and Manchester United to reform the English football pyramid - was a “great proposal”.

The idea includes reducing the Premier League to 18 clubs and scrapping the EFL Cup. In return, the EFL would get 25% of all future TV deals plus a £250m bail-out. “If clubs don’t get something soon you will see clubs disappear, I would predict, within 5-6 weeks,” Travis told BBC Radio 5 Live.

But he added: “One thing I need to quash is, this isn’t about the pandemic, this is about a crisis in football that goes back many years.

“Before the pandemic, 75% of clubs were losing money - that can’t continue. The pandemic has, if you like, exacerbated the problem and we need to get it fixed. ”I know you are talking about ‘Project Big Picture’ - this is a great proposal as far as we are concerned. It is certainly very promising and clubs need it. “Something like this has to go through.”

The government has agreed a funding package with clubs in the National League, which allowed their season to begin last week behind closed doors, but there has been no support for EFL clubs, with Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden suggesting the Premier League

Nigel Travis could support lower-league sides.

The ‘Project Big Picture’ proposals: *The Premier League cut from 20 to 18 clubs, with the Championship, League One and League Two each retaining 24 teams.*The bottom two teams in the Premier League relegated automatically with the 16th-placed team joining the Championship play-offs.*The League Cup and Community Shield abolished. *Parachute payments scrapped. *A £250m rescue fund made immediately available to the EFL & 25% of all future TV deals £100m paid to the FA to make up for lost revenue. *Nine clubs given ‘special voting rights’ on certain issues, based on their long time in the Premier League.

PAGE 30

Tuesday October 13, 2020

Kaieteur News

NBA Finals: Los Angeles Lakers beat Miami Heat with LeBron James MVP

BBCsport - The Los Angeles Lakers ended a decadelong wait for a 17th NBA title as they beat the Miami Heat 106-93 to seal a 4-2 series victory.

The Finals’ most valuable player (MVP) LeBron James posted a triple double - scoring 28 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists - with both Anthony Davis and Rajon Rondo adding 19 points.

Victory ties the Lakers with the Boston Celtics for the most NBA championships. “It means a lot to represent this

franchise,” said James. Before this season the Lakers had failed to reach the play-offs for six consecutive years and their longawaited success comes after a campaign like no other.

The NBA Finals would have been done and dusted in the spring but for the global spread of coronavirus that shut the season down on 11 March, hours after it was declared a pandemic and several players tested positive for the virus.

The season eventually restarted on 31 July, but with no fans courtside. Played behind closed doors at Walt Disney World in Florida, players entered a bio-secure bubble - which the Lakers will now leave after more than 90 days away from friends and family.

The Lakers last won an NBA title in 2010 and the six years they failed to reach the play-offs starkly illustrated their fall from grace.

The low point came in the 2015-2016 season, when they managed just 17 wins and suffered 65 defeats.

Change was on its way though, with firing and hiring at management level followed by the blockbuster arrival of James - then a three-time NBA champion - from the Cleveland Cavaliers.

That was followed by the signing of Davis in June 2019, with whom James teamed up in a partnership that quickly clicked.

They led the Lakers to the top of the Western Conference, and ultimately to the very top of the NBA. James becomes the first player in NBA history to be named Finals MVP with three different teams (Lakers, Cavaliers and Heat). Now with four MVPs to his name, he trails only Michael Jordan, who won six.

Victory for the Lakers also comes in a year in which they lost one of their greats - Kobe Bryant.

The five-time NBA champion, who spent his entire

career with the Lakers and led them to their last NBA title in 2010, was killed in a helicopter crash in January

alongside his daughter Gianna.

On several occasions during the play-offs, the Lakers have competed in ‘Black Mamba’ jerseys - a strip themed on Bryant’s selfstyled nickname. Before their defeat in game five of the finals, the Lakers had won all four play-off matches they had contested when wearing the strip, which was co-designed by Bryant and released in 2017. ”Ever since the tragedy, all we wanted is to do it for him, and we didn’t let him down,” said Davis.

“It would have been great to do it in the last game in his jerseys, but it made us come down even more aggressive, even more powerful on both ends of the floor, to make sure we closed it down tonight. ”I know he’s looking down on us proud of us. I know Vanessa [Bryant] is proud of us, the organisation’s proud of us. It means a lot to us.”

Lakers president Buss added: “To Lakers nation, we have been through a heartbreaking tragedy with the loss of our beloved Kobe Bryant and Gianna.

Bryant’s widow Vanessa posted a tribute to the Lakers on her Instagram story with a photo of her late husband with Lakers general manager and vice-president Pelinka.

I got to do it next year, says Heat’s Butler Reuters - Jimmy Butler felt sorry for being unable to lead the Miami Heat to an NBA title after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers, but he said he was now more motivated to fulfill his promise of winning the championship with the franchise next year.

In his debut season with the team, the 31year-old Butler elevated his game as the Heat stormed to the Finals for the first time since 2014, only to lose the best-of-seven title series 4-2 on Sunday.

The Lakers captured a record-tying 17th NBA Championship with a 106-93 victory in Game 6, with Finals MVP and former Heat player LeBron James leading the charge.

“This is what my team needed me to do, the organisation asked of me,” Butler told reporters. “I told them that I would win them one and I didn’t hold up my end of the bargain, so that means I got to do it next year. ”I told (president) Pat (Riley), I told coach Spo (Erik Spoelstra) I’m here to win one. I didn’t do my job, so moving forward, I got to hold up my end of the bargain.” Butler notched triple-doubles in Games two and five to force the sixth game and led the Heat in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals during the Finals.

He brushed his own performances aside, however. “I didn’t win, so none of the stats matter. We don’t play for stats here,” Butler said. “We don’t play for anything else except

Jimmy Butler

for the win. I didn’t do that, I didn’t do my job. ”I’ll be better, along with everybody else. I’ll be better coming back. You sulk on this because of what could have been, but it didn’t happen.

We didn’t win and that’s what you leave this at.”

LeBron James holds his fourth NBA Finals MVP award, after the Lakers’ victory on Sunday.

Swiatek won’t rest on laurels after French Open triumph, says coach Warsaw (Reuters) - Even in the glow of a champagne performance in Paris, Poland’s newly-crowned French Open champion Iga Swiatek stuck to still water as she celebrated a maiden Grand Slam success and offered a glimpse of a new era in women’s tennis.

Celebrations have been in full flow since the unseeded 19year-old lifted the trophy on Saturday, becoming the first Pole to claim a Grand Slam singles title and the youngest to win the tournament since Monica Seles in 1992.

But Swiatek’s cool head is helping her to take her triumph, secured with a 6-4 6-1 win over fourth-seeded American Sofia Kenin in the final, in her stride. During a celebratory dinner at a Japanese restaurant, Swiatek’s discipline remained firm. ”We drank to her health, which she of course refused.

It made an impression on me after such a success,” her trainer Piotr Sierzputowski told Reuters.

The 28-year-old coach thinks that mindset will be essential as Swiatek prepares for a short break before training for the Australian Open starts again in the coming weeks.”Iga is a professional.

If professionals were to suddenly change their behaviour, or react dramatically because of such a result, that wouldn’t

Tennis Poland’s Iga Swiatek poses with the trophy after winning the French Open yesterday REUTERS/ Charles Platiau

be good. I’m proud of her for being so calm,” he added.

Swiatek, whose father was an Olympic rower and mother a doctor, is due to fly back to Poland on a private jet sponsored by Red Bull. New sponsorship deals, celebrity accolades and media interviews are par for the course after joining the Grand Slam elite, but the new-found fame might make Swiatek’s life more challenging, her coach fears.

Used to moving around Warsaw with relative ease, Swiatek’s anonymity will now be gone, Sierzputowski said, something which could lead the teenager to more training outside of Poland.

Sierzputowski says he is focusing on the road ahead,

which involves maintaining Swiatek’s peak performance and her confidence as she goes into a new season.

Her triumph at the French Open was remarkable. She was the first Polish woman to reach the final in 81 years and the first at any major since Agnieszka Radwanska at Wimbledon in 2012. But Sierzputowski said his protege must keep her feet on the ground and continue the hard work.”The fact that she was able to do this in one tournament doesn’t mean she will be able to do it daily,” he added.

“I know that while she is training, she is able to do this...

But we have to get to the point where this sort of playing is normal for her.”

Tuesday October 13, 2020

PAGE 31

Kaieteur News

Minister Ramson launches BCB Brian Ramphal School Bags Project - Holds successful meeting with Executive

M

inister of Youth, Culture and Sports Charles Ramson on Friday last joined President of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) Hilbert Foster to officially launch the Board’s Brian Ramphal School Bags Project for young cricketers in the Ancient County.

Ramson was as the time meeting with the Executive of Guyana’s most vibrant and progressive Cricket Board as part of his outreach programme.

The school bag project is an annual one by the BCB and falls under its Educational Assistance Project.

Dozens of young players who attends Primary and Secondary School would receive schoolbags and other educational materials from the programme which in 2020 has support from overseas based Guyanese businessman Brian Ramphal and the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club.

Minister Ramson handed over bags to six Under-15 players from the RHTY&SC, Albion and Rose Hall Canje Cricket Clubs.

He urged the players to take care of the bags and also to place special emphasis on the importance of education. Foster, who is also the Secretary/

CEO of the RHTY&SC stated that 100 cricketers would receive school bags as the BCB strongly believes in the value of education.

Only last week, the board handed out financial to six cricketers who excelled at the 2020 CSEC under the Adana Homes Educational Scheme.

He committed the BCB to investing in the educational career of every cricketer and noted that clubs and cricketers have received over $10M in cricket balls, stumps, gear, bicycles, uniforms, educational materials, water pitchers and scorebooks among others since his election to the Presidency in February 2018.

He expressed gratitude to Brian Ramphal and the RHTY&SC for their continued investment in the development of Berbice cricket. Meanwhile, the Minister and Mr. Kashif Muhammad met with the BCB Executive led by Foster in a very fruitful meeting in the board room of the Albion Sports Complex.

Other BCB Executive members in attendance were Albert Smith, Robby Saywack, Angela Haniff, Ameer Rahaman, Dr. Cecil Beharry, Rovin Bahadur, Simon Naidu and Mr. Edwards.

Minister Ramson with Executive Members of the BCB after the meeting.

The Minster used the opportunity to bring the BCB top brass up to date with the current status of the Cricket Bill Act whilst praising the outstanding work of the Board.

Foster informed the Minister about the ongoing efforts of his administration and also the work over the last two years. The current Executive inherited a Board with no funds, no proper tourna-

ments held for years, no developmental programme in place while the game was slowly falling apart at the grassroots level.

Two years later, the BCB has raised over $30M in cash and kind, organised over sixty tournaments at all levels, implemented dozens of developmental programmes and assisted clubs as never before.

The Minister committed

to assisting the BCB with funds for some tournaments, coaches and to look into possible ways of assisting with grass cutters. It was also disclosed that an Indoor Practice Center would be constructed as part of the Albion Stadium .The BCB submitted a list of grounds to Minister Ramson for possible upgrading by the Government.

The grounds include Paradise, Bush Lot, Bath, Lovely

Lass, Blairmont, Guymine, Sisters, Hampshire, Fyrish, No. 19, Kilcoy and Skeldon.

The Minister was also informed of four motions passed at the BCB Annual General Meeting and for their inclusion in the Cricket Bill.

Foster at the end of the meeting expressed gratitude to the Minister for his cooperation and pledged to uphold the high standards the BCB has set itself.

FIFA’s Infantino and former US AG Lynch open 3rd FIFA Compliance Summit Speaking yesterday at the opening of the 3rd FIFA Compliance Summit, FIFA President Gianni Infantino underlined FIFA’s continued commitment to compliance and good governance while highlighting the significant progress that FIFA has made in the area since 2016, as well as the importance of developing and introducing compliance best practice in football.

Bringing together governance and compliance experts and practitioners from across football, including FIFA member associations and the confederations, yesterday’s opening session marked the start of the 3rd FIFA Compliance Summit, which will this week see participants take part in wideranging practical sessions and discussions designed to share knowledge and best practice, as well as emerging trends, in compliance and good governance.

Opening the summit, President Infantino said: “Since my election in 2016, FIFA has worked tirelessly to successfully implement reforms in the fields of governance and

compliance. Today, the new FIFA now stands here as a credible, accountable, modern, professional and transparent organisation – one which aims to be at the service of football and aims to ensure that football makes an active and positive impact on society. ”All of this would not have been done without embracing compliance and good governance.

In 2016, we brought in transparency and accountability at every level – including mandatory auditing, term limits for senior officials, transparent bidding processes for FIFA competitions as well as establishing a dedicated compliance subdivision and internal function within FIFA. ”As we look to continue our efforts to make football truly global, it is now more important than ever, particularly in these difficult times, for football to continue to move in the right direction by working together and ensuring that the right governance and compliance structures and

© Ben Moreau/ FIFA

processes are in place at all levels.”

Also speaking at the opening session was former US Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who highlighted FIFA’s commitment to compliance and also reinforced the importance of organisations developing a culture of compliance and robust and effective compliance programmes to minimise the risk of corrup-

tion as well as reputational and governance issues. ”It was not too long ago that the world of football found itself in a state of upheaval and chaos as a result of the systemic corruption and misconduct that was able to flourish over the decades,” said Lynch. ”Since then, together with all of you, FIFA is an organisation that has made

great efforts to educate, train and promote a culture of compliance. I am heartened to hear of FIFA’s renewed commitment to transparency and ethical behaviour and its desire to improve the compliance environment throughout all of football with the important objective of safeguarding this sport.”

Taking place in an online format from 12 to 16 October,

the 3rd FIFA Compliance Summit will also see participants take part in practical working sessions on the firstever FIFA Compliance Handbook, which will for the first time provide member associations and confederations with practical guidance and scalable building blocks that can be used to develop a tailored compliance programme within their organisation.

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Tuesday October 13, 2020

Kaieteur News

RCB go third as AB de Villiers, spinners thrash KKR ESPNcricinfo - AB de Villiers scored 73 off 33 balls, at a strike rate of 221.21. Everyone else who batted - a list including Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell combined to score 218 off 208 balls, at a strike rate of 104.81.

This was Sharjah, but not the Sharjah that produced seven 200-plus totals in its first eight innings of IPL 2020.

There had been much talk before the tournament of how pitches would tire and slow down in time, and provide increasing assistance to the slower bowlers.

That moment has arrived, on the evidence of this game, at least in Sharjah.

This wasn’t a 194 pitch, but de Villiers’ genius enabled Royal Challengers Bangalore to score that much. On this pitch, it was always going to be a task for the Kolkata Knight Riders to surpass that.

Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal made that task impossible, combining for eight overs of unhittable spin bowling that produced combined figures of 3 for 32.

The Royal Challengers romped to an 82-run win, which moved them to ten points from seven games and left them in a three-way tie on top of the IPL leaderboard with the Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Capitals.

Narine out, Banton in - Sunil Narine had been a key figure with the ball in the Knight Riders winning their last two games, against the Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab. He’d been warned for a suspect action since then, and the Knight Riders - who expressed “surprise” at that development - left him out of their XI. They could have replaced him with a bowler, but they went with a batsman instead, handing Tom Banton an IPL debut. This left the Knight Riders with only one spinner, and the move would have repercussions as the match pro-

AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli punch gloves during their stand BCCI

gressed.

A quick start, a lull - The Royal Challengers chose to bat, and Kohli reckoned at the toss that the pitch would start slow and get slower as the game progressed. There was no sign of this through the first four overs of the game, in which Finch, who charged the fast bowlers repeatedly, and Devdutt Padikkal hit five fours and a six to move the Royal Challengers to 37 for no loss.But Pat Cummins and Andre Russell only conceded ten from the last two overs of the powerplay, having sussed out that back-of-alength, with frequent changes of pace, was the way to go on this pitch.

From that point on, the Knight Riders’ bowlers took control, with the mystery spin of Varun Chakravarthy and the slower balls of Kamlesh Nagarkoti proving particularly hard to hit. From the start of the fifth over to the end of the 15th, the Royal Challengers only scored 74 off 66 balls, losing the wickets of Finch and Padikkal. By the end of the 15th, Kohli had faced 21 balls without hitting a boundary.

AB delivers, RCB deliri-

ous - The Nagarkoti slower ball still seemed to be having an effect when de Villiers swung wildly at one in the 16th over and lost his shape entirely. That ball seemed to flick a switch in de Villiers, though, and he sent the next two balls, slower offcutters just like the previous one, sailing over midwicket and wide long-on, the second soaring beyond the stadium roof.

From there on, it didn’t seem to matter what lines or lengths the Knight Riders quicks bowled, or at what pace.

With the nimblest of feet and the stillest of heads, de Villiers had the simplest, most elegant solution to every problem thrown at him.

Having scored 10 off his first 11 balls, de Villiers walloped 63 off his next 22. Kohli contributed 22 off 14 balls - with just the one boundary, off his outside edge - to an unbroken third-wicket partnership of 100 off 46 balls.

Done and dusted - If there was still the smallest sliver of hope left for the Knight Riders even if they required 126 from 48 balls, it was because Russell was at the crease. He nearly (Continued on page 27)

ICC chairperson appointment

Yuzvendra Chahal sets off to celebrate Dinesh Karthik’s wicket BCCI

October 18 deadline for candidates to file nominations

Who will succeed Shashank Manohar as the ICC chairman? Getty Images ESPNcricinfo - Nearly four months after Shashank Manohar stepped down, the ICC has set the ball rolling on picking its next chairman. October 18 is the deadline for potential candidates to file the nominations and an appointment is expected to be made before the end of the year.

The candidates will need to be seconded by at least one current ICC board director to be eligible to contest the election. The ICC has not disclosed how the eventual winner will be declared, though.

Incidentally that was the sticking point and the reason behind the ICC board failing to agree upon a process to elect Manohar’s successor.

On July 2, the ICC board had said it would finalised within a “week” the process to accept nominations.

Despite several meetings in the past few months, the ICC

board remained severely divided. As per the ICC’s constitution, any present or former director who has attended at least one board meeting is eligible to run for chairman.

ICC directors are each allowed to nominate one candidate, and nominees with the support of two or more directors are eligible to contest an election. The election process is being overseen by the Independent Chairman of the ICC Audit Committee and can vary every election.

In 2016, when Manohar took charge for the first time, he was elected through a secret ballot. Two years later, he was the sole nominee and was reelected unanimously without a vote. On his way out, Manohar himself had attempted to find a successor as a unanimous choice, but failed. Consequently the ICC board agreed to appoint

Imran Khwaja as the interim chairman. It could not be confirmed whether the votes would be cast via a secret ballot and whether the eventual winner would be picked based on two-third majority or just a simple one.

For any resolution to be approved, the ICC constitution currently requires a twothirds majority, or a minimum of 11 votes. During the deliberations recently some of the ICC board directors wanted that to be changed to simple majority.The ICC board comprises 17 directors: 12 Full Members, three directors representing the Associates, and the chairman (Khwaja is one of the Associate representatives as well as interim chair, currently), the ICC chief executive officer (Manu Sawhney) and an independent woman director in Indra Nooyi. The CEO, though, does not have a vote.

PAGE 33

Kaieteur News

Tuesday October 13, 2020

Latif siblings aiming for National colours Guyana has had its fair share of siblings who have represented this nation in cricket at various levels.

M a h e n d r a a n d Vi s h a l Nagamootoo, Andy and M i c h a e l C h i n s a m m y, Sudesh and Sunil Dhaniram, Rovendra and the late Shivnandan Madholall, Seon and Shimron Hetmyer, Esuan and Royston Crandon, Alvin and Derek Kallicharran, Barrington and Robin Browne and Roger and Mark Harper are names that readily come to mind.

Some of the above named players have also don West Indies colours.

Brothers Riyad and Ryan Latif are aiming to join that distinguished list. They have been making waves on the local scene and have impressed even the staunchest critics with their style, dedication and discipline.

They developed a passion for the game after seeing their dad in action in local club cricket and started to play the sport in their yard.

Recognising their talent and passion for the game, their dad (Richard Latif) had decided to get them involved in a club so that they can hone their skills.

They became members of the Transport Sports Club (TSC) in Georgetown and subsequently encouraged their third brother, Reyaz to d o l i k e w i s e .

At TSC their talent was spotted by Coach Shaun Massiah and they became permanent members of the

The Latiff brothers from left, Ryan, Rakeeb, Reyaz and Riyad. clubs’ starting XI at the age group level. In a recent interview with Kaieteur Sport, 13 year-pld Riyad said, like his brother, he learnt the basic skills from his dad when he was 8 and is happy to be playing competitive cricket.

Riyad who bats right-handed and bowls right arm leg spin was part of the winning TSC Under-13 team in 2019 along with his brothers, Ryan and Reyaz. He later turned out

Ryan Latif

for his club at the Under-19 level where his best performance was a 6 wicket haul and he also contributed handsomely with the bat.

Riyad has always been among the wickets and in the 2019 GCA Under-17 competition; he bagged 19 scalps with his best being 6 for 7. Riyad was picked for Georgetown to play in the Inter Association Under-15 competition in Demerara and earned a place on the Demerara team for the Guyana Cricket Board Inter County Under-15 tournament in 2019.

In the final against Berbice at Bourda, he produced a manof-the-match performance, grabbing four wickets, including the prized scalp of Rampertab Ramnauth, to lead his team to victory. He was somewhat unlucky not to make the national team t h a t y e a r. S e e i n g h i s o m i s s i o n a s a disappointment and motivation, Riyad decided to work harder at his game.

He participated in 2020 Inter County Under-15 tournament where he picked up seven wickets in two games, but the sport was halted due to the current pandemic. After performing creditably at the age group level, Riyad was rewarded with a call up to his club’s second division team at the age of 12.

He impressed in his debut against Diplomats with a four-wicket haul and this has boosted his confidence. Riyad, who attends the Al- Ghazali Islamic Academy, informed that his favourite cricketer is Nicholas Pooran and that he intends to work hard to achieve his goals. “The coach and other senior players at the club would tell us about the importance of discipline and hard work and I always look forward to their advice,” he noted.

Riyad further explained that they would look at videos of past cricketers to better their game. ”We would look at videos of past players and this would motivate and give us ideas of how to better our game,” he posited. He is eager to get back on the pitch.Fourteen-year old Ryan became a member of TSC at the age of nine and like his brother he first turned out for his club at the U-13 level.

Ryan who attends the Christ Church Secondary School, bats right-handed and his favourite shot is the cover drive. He represented his club at U-15 in 2019 and his highest score was 42 versus Demerara Cricket Club; he also played at the U17 and 19 levels. He was selected in the Georgetown U-15 team to play in the Inter

Ryan (left) and Riyad Latif

Association U-15 tournament earlier this year and notched up a highest score of 49 against West Demerara. He was then called up to represent Demerara in the Inter County U-15 competition and was subsequently named in the Guyana training squad. Ryan noted that while his aim is to do well for Guyana, he also wants to go on to higher levels and intends to work hard to achieve his goal. “Success comes with hard work so I am prepared to do that,” he said.Ryan stated that there is always some rivalry between the brothers when they go on the pitch and this helps them to improve. “I think this helps us to improve and also contribute in a positive way towards the team goal. It is always good to have some competition and sometimes this helps us to overcome challenges.”

Both Ryan and Riyad said they are also focused on their education. “Education plays an important role in sport in that it helps to make proper decision and to interact with the media. Our parents understand that there is a need for both academic and sport so we are being encouraged to play cricket,” added Ryan.

He has expressed gratitude to Massiah, Coach Clive Grimmond and Kelvin Ross. Reyaz, 10, also plays at the U-13 and 15 levels. He has also impressed with his leg spin and his best performance so far is a fourwicket haul.

He also attends the Al Ghazali Islamic Academy.

Their youngest brother Rakeeb is five years-old and he has already shown a love for the game. The brothers train everyday at their home in Kitty under the guidance of their dad.

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