Kaieteur News

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La Grange Thursday Edition AIETEUR NEWS man killed in p.

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September 03, 2020 - Vol. 13 No. 35

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

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

hit and run accident

Price $80

- car found in bodywork shop; suspect arrested

Online readership yesterday 129,557

Liza-1 EIA would not have passed p.

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T&T regulator ...Payara EIA is similarly flawed 11 more charges What Guyana gets from Exxon’s oil production, it for alleged threatens to take away Ponzi schemers when it flares - Environmentalist p.

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Shop owner misses Vagrant stabbed intended target, to death over sale shoots friend of construction net p.

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$168M contract awarded City youths to M&B Construction for protest for clean-up 15p. emergency sea defence p. works at Mahaicony 11 contracts

Exxon’s Imperial shuts Oil-Sands Mine after pipeline spill

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At least 50 percent of the population must ‘mask up’ to control spread of COVID-19 p.

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- Emergency Medicine Specialist

- proposes measures to minimize hospitalizations

- former Director of T&T’s National Gas Company

Guyana has made a fundamental error Over the last five years, international experts have advised Guyana to never rely solely on information provided by oil companies.

In fact, oil-producing nations are encouraged to conduct independent audits and data collection done by reputable experts.

Tr i n i d a d i a n L o c a l Content Expert and Energy Strategist, Anthony Paul, stressed the importance of this in a rapid assessment he did for Guyana. It appears, however, that Guyana did not heed these pieces of advice.

In spite of the concerns raised by the media, the Energy Department in 2019 hired a UK company called Bayphase Consultants to undertake the review of E x x o n M o b i l ’s F i e l d Development Plan (FDP).

Kaieteur News subsequently exposed that the firm hired is listed as ExxonMobil’s client and its contracting to undertake the review, which represents a conflict of interest. This fact was totally ignored by the then government.

Instead of retendering this job in pursuit of a client that is not linked to ExxonMobil, the PPP/C administration has now chosen to review the work done by Bayphase. To do this, the new government made use of a Canadian grant.

That money saw the former Premier of Alberta, Alison Redford, being commissioned to lead a

team of experts to conduct the review. This newspaper later exposed that Redford comes with a questionable background. In fact, she was forced to demit office in 2014 after it was found that she improperly spent taxpayers’ money.

Even though Bayphase and Redford were hired to protect Guyana’s interest and plug loopholes in the FDP, it is one of our own who, based on experience in the industry and his independent research, who identified two major issues in the FDP. H e a d o f t h e Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Vincent Adams, was the one who pointed out that there are glaring environmental issues which ExxonMobil wants the nation to ignore.

ExxonMobil wants to have provisions in place for burning gas which releases over 250 toxic chemicals into the atmosphere as well as to dump toxic wastes into the ocean.

H a d G u y a n a commissioned independent studies and made use of experts not affiliated with ExxonMobil, perhaps more than what Dr. Adams observed could have been unearthed.

Guyana is allowing itself to be guided by the information presented by the client of ExxonMobil and reviewed by Redford who has no experience in reviewing FDPs. When will we learn Guyana?

Kaieteur News

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Thursday September 03, 2020

What Guyana gets from Exxon's oil production, it threatens to take away when it flares - Environmentalist E

By Kemol King

nvironmentalist Annette ArjoonMartins has drawn attention to the fact that ExxonMobil's flaring of gas at the Liza Destiny Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel threatens to have much more impact on Guyana than just the environmental cost. She said that it could have a compromising effect on Guyana's environmental development partners who have been known to fund environmental programmes here.

To put it simply, ArjoonMartins is of the view that though Exxon's production of oil offshore brings home millions to Guyana, its cavalier treatment of the issue of flaring and the grave impact such pollution has on the environment is likely to cause Guyana to lose funding elsewhere.

Guyana is a carbon sink due to its vast forest cover.

Norway had decided years

Environmentalist, Annette Arjoon-Martins ago to compensate Guyana for the preservation of its forests.

However, because of ExxonMobil, Guyana is among the top 10 oil producing countries releasing toxic chemicals into the environment, according to Center for

International Environmental Law (CIEL).

Conservationist and Wo r l d Wi l d l i f e F u n d (WWF) Director of the Guianas, Dr. David Singh, had told Stabroek News in June that flaring nine billion cubic feet of natural gas – the amount calculated as of December 2019 to late June – is equivalent to the loss of 4,642 hectares of forest, which would be valued at US$24M based on the carbon price under Guyana's forest protection pact with Norway.

To p u t t h a t i n t o perspective, Guyana received US$46M from its third crude lift at the Liza-1 project.

“Our environmental partners,” Arjoon-Martins stated, “would obviously think twice about why would they want to fund any sort of environmental programme and this is being allowed to happen.”

What flaring looks like, as captured at an Exxon-run plant in Scotland With such a loss from flaring, is Exxon really doing Guyana any good?

Arjoon-Martins appeared on Kaieteur Radio's Petroleum 101 on Tuesday night, alongside Sustainability Engineer, Cathal Singh, where they discussed threats to the environment in the context of Guyana's oil and gas sector. She noted that her advocacy is not about opposition to the oil industry, that she supports oil production in a framework of sound regulation and mitigation of negative

impacts on the environment.

Where Exxon's flaring is concerned, more than 10B cubic feet of gas has been flared at the Liza Phase One project. Exxon claims that it is due to a defective gas compressor currently u n d e rg o i n g r e p a i r s i n Germany. The company is yet to put a timeline on the halting of its environmental infraction.

Its attitude, ArjoonMartins said, is “almost disrespectful”. Kaieteur News had reported that loopholes exist in the Liza Phase One permit that

ExxonMobil exploited in its interpretation, to allow it to flare.

The environmentalist said she's sure that, at the time the EPA permitted Liza1, there was absolutely no consideration, for the event of an emergency such as what is occurring now with the company's eight months of flaring.

“I always maintain,” she said, “that the long-term cost of Exxon's flaring is going to be way above what we're valuing it at the moment… I think that Exxon could do a whole lot better.”

Canadian company walks away with US$238M from our wealth while we begging for US$100M loan to build a bridge

W

hen Foreign investors come to your country and invest, both parties must benefit. Dem must mek profit and at the same time the country and its people must also get something propa, nah true?

However, in Guyana, foreign investors ah behave like scavengers, raping we wealth and leaving us dry, pale and penniless, with wounds that would never heal.

Guyana Goldfields is a prime example. Ah group of Canadians came here and set up shop. We leaders give dem our gold lands plus duty-free this and tax-free dah to the tune of billions.

De company then bring in a few pieces of old machinery and tarpaulin tents. After a few mornings, dem tun back and sell we land wah dem get free to a Chinese company fuh US$238 million. Yes $238 Million American Dalla.

That money transfer to dem bank account in Canada then dem pack dem

suitcase catch a flight and disappear.

Is wah Guyana get? Guyana get a Scavenger to deal with, who nah got no respect for our peoples right and the environment. Pon the other hand, we put out begging bowl looking for half of that sum to build another harbour bridge across the Demerara River.

This is Guyana, Oh beautiful Guyana! It happens every time. One government after the other.

And guess what Guyana, we only have one COVID-19 testing machine at the GPHC, and the Guyanese people all over this country begging fuh food hampers all day and every day.

And if you don’t believe just Google ‘Guyana Beggars’, you will see the first people coming up is G r a n g e r, H a r m o n , J a g d e o , Nagamootoo and Ann Greene, the woman that looking after the rights of our abused children.

When will we ever learn?

Stay tune for more examples coming.

Infront of Parliament Building

Kaieteur News

Thursday September 03, 2020

PAGE 03

At least 50 percent of the population must 'mask up' to control the spread of COVID-19 - Emergency Medicine Specialist Emergency Medicine Specialist, Dr. Zulfikar Bux

- proposes measures to minimize hospitalizations

I

f, at least, 50 percent of the population adheres to the COVID-19 guidelines, that could be enough to help control its spread. At least this is the theory being proffered by Emergency Medicine Specialist, Dr. Zulfikar Bux. Given this probability, Dr. Bux has sought to somewhat appease concerns triggered by those who continue to refuse to wear face masks. “Do not get deterred if others are not wearing their masks; studies are showing that even if 50 percent of the country wears their masks that would be sufficient to control the spread of the virus,” the medical practitioner noted.

He reminded too that, in addition to mask wearing, persons can boost their chances of warding off the disease by practising some simple measures.

These, he said, include, but are not limited to, avoiding crowded environments and deliberate gatherings; social distancing more than six feet; keeping your hands clean at all times and getting tested if you

suspect you have the disease.

But according to Dr. Bux, the best way to fight the disease is to avoid getting it altogether.

“By practising preventative measures, we limit the spread of the virus and prevent our country f r o m b e c o m i n g overwhelmed. Imagine if we all were to wear masks when we are out, the virus would be stopped in its tracks and we will all be able to thrive,” he assured. Taking note of the surge in cases in recent weeks, Dr. Bux expressed concern that behavioural change, to help mitigate the spread of the disease, has not been consistent.

He, moreover, noted, “We have to be careful as the medical system is struggling to cope with the demands of managing the rise in COVID-19 cases, and the non COVID-19 conditions that are also slowly increasing.”

The system is especially pressured since, according to Dr. Bux, it was never designed to cope with a pandemic.

Considering the impact on the system, Dr. Bux

proposed measures to minimize hospitalizations from the disease. “You may be thinking that this is beyond your control if you were to get the disease.

Actually, you may have more control than you know,” said Dr. Bux. According to him, numerous studies have shown that there are medications, once used early, that can significantly reduce the chance of the disease progressing to the more severe form and t h e r e b y, p r e v e n t i n g hospitalizations.

He revealed that the earlier, a person diagnosed with COVID-19, commences treatment such as: Hydroxychloroquine, Ivermectin, Azithromycin and daily dosages of Vitamins C, D and Zinc, the more likely they are to ward off the severe form of the disease.

For this reason, Dr. Bux revealed, “these medications are now part of the national treatment guidelines and you can opt to use them even before getting your results.

Once your doctor suspects that you have the disease,

Nine new cases of infections

G

uyana's COVID -19 number has moved to 1,382 of which nine are new cases and 43 are deaths. According to information released from the Ministry of Health, there are now 14 patients in the Intensive Care Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.

According to the regional breakdown of the nine cases – three are in Region Four, three in Region One, one new in Region Seven and two in Region Nine.

In the meantime, the Ministry reported that 71

persons remain in institutional isolation and 477 in home isolation; a total of 779 persons have so far recovered from the disease,

while 106 persons are in quarantine.

The number of persons tested so far for COVID-19 is 8,918.

you can decide to initiate the treatment while you await your results.”

Moreover, he advised, “do not hesitate to request these treatments early if your doctor suspects that you have the disease. You will be helping yourself and, at the same time, avoiding hospitalization which is a key factor in preventing the system from becoming overwhelmed.”

By virtue of the system being pressured, Dr. Bux disclosed that health workers are feeling the squeeze.

“The healthcare providers are literally putting their safety and lives at risk to ensure we continue to cope with the increasing demands,” said Dr. Bux. For this reason, he stressed the need for strategic measures to not only be implemented but adhered to, if the public health system is to survive COVID-19.

Currently, there are more than 1,300 reported positives and the death toll, up to press time, was 43.

“The spread is too great and there is no turning back.

What we do as a people will

determine how much we suffer or how fast we recover,” said Dr. Bux as he added, “Let's arm ourselves with our masks and battle this virus knowing that there are early treatment options available to help us in the event that we falter.”

According to the

optimistic Dr. Bux, “if we were to take the actions that I described immediately…we can have control of this virus by late October to early November.

We then should be able to sustain our livelihoods and 'ride the tide' until a vaccine becomes available.”

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Kaieteur News

Thursday September 03, 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

Enough with the bitterness It is worth saying again: enough with the rank bitterness that borders on vileness. We think that there is no longer anything that even resembles that which ‘borders.’ Things have proceeded beyond the pale into the gloom of grimness.

It threatens this fragile society with impenetrable darkness.

Tit for tat does not work. It is overdone vengeance.

There is much hard work to be done here. A stalled economy to jumpstart. An inclusive racial society to mend, for it is one that is fractured in so many places and pieces. The more sober and more tempered heads, in government should prevail to fight COVID-19. They must if only for our sanity and safety. This is a bad road travelled, a dangerous one that could crumble under the feet of those who are bent on teaching their enemies a lesson.

We are compelled to say so, because we have gone from political competitors and political adversaries to the bitterest of enemies. Look at where we are with blood in our eyes and an axe in our hand. We are too small to survive something like what is unfolding with increasing frequency and vehement intensity. Here it is that we should extend an olive branch in our hands, but all we can do is raise a clenched fist. We are going to get even. We are coming with hardness in hearts.

It is a well repeated and oft written statement that the best laid plans of mice and men get mangled in the madness.

It is just as well known that those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad. And what we have here is utter madness, the height of political insanity. It is the folly of absolute racial insanity.

His Excellency, President Dr. Irfaan Ali, publicly indicated to this reeling nation in the immediate aftermath of his swearing in that he was committed to working towards national ‘unity’. But clearly each purge and each sweep imperil with disunity.

How Exxon must love these divisive and destructive ways of ours. It plays right into their hands, while they rob us blind and cheat us with the cheap, while this escalating political rancorousness distracts our attention on that which should be the priority of our focus.

Political turmoil and social discord are the brews from which Exxon drinks deeply. Look at Venezuela. Look at Chad. Guyanese need to wake up, get some sense, and observe Nigeria.

We must work our hardest to assure some larger degree of recalibration. The question and problem are whether we have what it takes to reengineer ourselves to some level of rehabilitation.

The demons of our political obsessions have become the most enormous kind of addiction. It is crippling us, while we are rendered impoverished from being ravished and robbed blind.

At this rate, there is the extremely great risk that this Guyana of ours could end up like the mythical Midas of storybook fame. We had the world at our feet, and held the world in our arms, and then there is nothing, but a mass of madness. By that time, we would thrown up arms and given up hope.

Most likely, before then, we would have long given up on dreams, too. For those would lie elsewhere to where we rush in the face of the storms that we sow. For what we sow could very well be what we reap, if we keep up with this ugliness, this worst side of the Guyanese nature.

So, once again, we say let sobriety and a deeply tempered nature take hold.

We say not to let the hubris rush to our heads and make dummies of us that other people kick around and then laugh their heads off over us. We say let this long drought of bleakness be over.

We say let us clasp our hands together and put our shoulders together at the national wheel for the national wellbeing.

Now we have still another problem with how we see this registering, how much stirring it may provoke. And we say this for two reasons. Do we trust ourselves to do so? Or do we intend to live with the hates that consume?

Guyana is set to become the seat of cosmopolitanism Dear Editor, September month is declared “Amerindian Heritage Month”. This auspiciousness was the brainchild of the PPP/C Party in 1995 and birthed by the late founder/leader, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, a past president himself of Guyana. The coming of the Indians is celebrated in the month of May as “Indian Immigration Day” and August month is known for “Emancipation Day,” in recognition of the freedom of African slaves.

The history of this nation incorporates the Europeans, Portuguese and the Chinese, also. Should there not be a particular month dedicated to each of these ethnicity also as inclusivity? We are no longer a land of six people but more, now that there is a 20 percent representation of a mixed race that is so affluent in our society and crucial to the voting electorate.

How do we identify the conception of the “Dougla” initiation? Perhaps this class is the silent deciding factor in determining the strength of the country to unite and not divide, to catapult a future generation and to be the

catalyst for peace and not conflict. Entering the picture also is the influx of our neighbours, Surinamese, Brazilians and Venezuelans.

The mixture of Guyanese and our neighbours will again produce another mix. Guyana is set to become the seat of cosmopolitanism if it is no so already, taking into consideration the togetherness of other nations. No wonder the problem with ExxonMobil is no longer a Guyanese fight but an international affair.

The pie is not only huge but of variable consolidation.

President Dr. Irfaan Ali in his greetings rightly said that the Indigenous people must be restored with their integrity, dignity and birthright. After all, they are the true owners and founders of this land now called Guyana. It had belonged to their great, great, great, great, great grandparents and land entitlement should not be spontaneous but instantaneous and automatic.

The Deputy Speaker, Lenox Shuman and other members of the dynasty have the real right over any recent car owner or acclaimer to stake a

claim for land lordship in any part of this land.

But, no, they don’t. We can learn a lesson in modesty and selflessness from them despite the fact that we deny them property entitlement.

They also never had any paper work to provide as proof. Their culture is the living proof. Guyana needs to foster a greater responsibility to harness this rich heritage and provide for the welfare.

The PPP/C government has an attractive manifesto which includes taking care of their interests and, President Ali has incorporated its priority to ensure that the hinterland is not overlooked because the development of Guyana relies on the people of the interior and their environment.

President Irfaan Ali and the First Lady have already begun reaching out to the people of this land as they had promised and are ready, willing and capable to effect changes that will positively affect Guyanese lives. Their visits have been very receptive, cordial and significant. There is nothing deceptive about meeting the people but to stay in touch with the mass and get direct

feedback. A programme to care and share has been established from day one, they are the forefront leaders while others are mere followers and have a vision to dream only and are not culpable to exercise this determination for the real, right and meaningful purposes except for selfishness and advertisement. To prove a lost cause is worthless because you need to strike the iron when it is hot.

Rehiring those 2,000 CSO’s fired by the APNU+AFC government is moving in the right direction along with all the other ambitious benefits that President Ali has outlined. It will be a remarkable feature for all those achievements to materialize for the Amerindians deserve nothing less but even more.

May all of Guyana hold the welfare of each Guyanese close to each other’s heart so that Guyana can remain truly united as one people in one nation with one destiny. Their history needs to be publicized more.

Yours truly, Jai Lall

Open letter to the APNU Leadership: Why the APNU lost the 2020 General Elections/My Views...

Dear Editor, I wish to make it pellucid that a person who gives open advice must not be labeled as a source of bad news, but as a person providing sound guidance. Therefore, I am writing this missive, not as a political antagonist but as an Ambassador for Peace. As an Ambassador for Peace; peace is all that I am interested in, along with justice and fairness to all citizens, whether they voted for a government or not. These citizens must be protected and cared for. Additionally, caring for those who did not support you is a hallmark of not only goodwill but that of excellent governance.

You may note that I did not say ANPU+AFC in my caption; this was intentional. I think the PNC/ APNU was extremely kind to the AFC to give them nine (9) seats. It is my view, and that of most ‘political pundits,’ that the AFC did not even bring a single seat to the PNC/ APNU. And, as time progresses, they will go into disintegration unless the PNC/APNU clings to them. In all honesty, the undersigned has little respect for the leadership of the AFC, except maybe for Cathy

Hughes and Dominic Gaskin.

Allow me to express my opinions as to why I think the APNU/PNC lost the 2020 general election. My thoughts are as follows: 1. You lost because you isolated yourselves from the masses. In my opinion, an impenetrable golden barrier separated the people from the leadership of the APNU/ PNC. 2. You forgot that the people are the true bosses of the country, and that the people can bring down any government they want; they can bring the government out of power anytime they wish and particularly at the end of their term.

3 .

T h e promises you made were left unfulfilled. As one who traveled the land, I heard the cries and lamentations of the people. Since taking the reins of power, following the elections of 2015, instead of putting the people first, you boosted the salaries of ministers and parliamentarians even as the economy broke. This was a bitter pill for the electorate.

Something should have been done for the people first! And to add salt to the wounds of the citizens, the words of

one of your official which followed, were harsh to the people’s ears: ”We have no apologies to make.”

4. You failed to see the message of your supporters in the 2018 Local Government Elections, where you received a very sound thrashing from the electorate.

5. No housing schemes w e r e established, although credit was used for the housing schemes of the former administration and now the Government of Guyana. The few core homes were neither here nor there.

6. Rice, sugar, bauxite, gold, and other significant foreign exchange-earners went under.

7. People were very bitter about the blatant effort by your coalition to cover the US $18 million ($18,000,000) signing bonus from Exxon Mobile.

When your government was forced to talk on the subject, it was as though the effort was to pull the wool over the eyes of the people. Never underestimate the intelligence of the Man in the Streets.

8. You alienated friends and supporters by behaving as if they did not exist.

9. You had some

boisterous party activists, one of them a minister, acting ridiculously and most vulgarly in the streets, counting of the votes, and many times thereafter. This led to disrepute and a severe decline in the PNC faction.

10.

Yo u denied appointments and recognitions to the positive and credible persons in society, as if these instruments were the personal purview/property of the ‘Bigger Boys’ in your political domain.

11.

You failed to win friends and influence people. I wrote openly in the media and made commentaries on TV programmes and social media about how important it is to master the technique of winning friends and influencing people. I wrote letters about this to senior government officials, and recommended Dale Carnegie’s book of the same title, ”How to win friends and influence people.” I have advised that the purpose must not only be to look out for whomever you consider your own, even though I, the undersigned, felt that you sometimes forgot your own.

(Continued on page 6)

Thursday September 03, 2020

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Kaieteur News

The people will give this government wide latitude to perform...

Dear Editor, Re: In reference to articles “Fat Cats” & Adams did not consistently oppose Exxon...” as written in KN-Sept 2nd As I read the articles above, I hope that we never head towards a path of no return. Firstly, on the subject of the ex-EPA head who was rightly placed on leave, the fact that anyone worked abroad for a number of years is a small detail, unless the person has a name that is globally recognized. When the talent pool in certain

industries is outside Guyana, no matter how impressive an individual’s job title sounds, unless one sees the yearly employee performance evaluation report (which only indicates about 60% of their overall ability), or speak to the direct boss, or know firsthand how certain issues were handled, whoever recommends someone for a job is only getting a small snapshot of a candidates competency level, and some other factors.

Recently, Guyana found

out that the EPA gave a long multiyear permit instead of the five years as directed by law, and only recently as the ex-EPA head been vocal of Exxon’s operational violations. At the end of the day, neither is in Guyana’s best interest.

I have also been waiting for one or more members of the previous government to defend themselves in the media on how it is possible that all the financial wastage, vulgar cost overruns on so many projects occurred left,

right and center, not to mention the other agencies that got so much in their operating budget but didn’t accomplish much. Guyana can’t let these things happen on this scale again, otherwise we will self-destruct, and without the assistance of any foreign entity.

Recently, an opposition member mentioned that he was going to give the present government a “hard time”.

What does that mean exactly?

After all the non-performing (Continued on page 6)

Opposition walkout shows pettiness will always triumph over patriotism Dear Editor, The opposition talks lot about keeping the Irfaan Ali administration in check, but that APNU+AFC orchestrated walkout indeed shows that pettiness will always triumph over patriotism.

They were not happy with the election of Lennox Shuman as Deputy Speaker, but that does not justify a walkout while the allocation

and subsequent expenditure of billions of dollars were being considered.

Members of Parliament must be reminded that they were not elected to serve their party’s interests, but the interests of the people. The oaths they took have been desecrated by their actions.

I’ve listened to the pledges made by newcomers to the National Assembly, and was therefore appalled that

It is said that a society is judged by the way it treats with its young and the elderly Dear Editor In this regard, the decision by the Ministry of Social Cohesion to arrange for payments of Old Age Pensions to those who are disabled or who are referred to as ‘shut-ins’ is most commendable.

It is pathetic to see people in wheelchair or otherwise incapacitated having to endure long lines to collect their pensions at Post Offices

and other payment outlets.

The elderly is much more vulnerable to the Covid-19 virus and every effort should be made by the authorities to minimize the impact of this pandemic. I encourage the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) to also initiate home payments to pensioners who are bedridden or incapacitated by age.

Yours truly, Hydar Ally

they would allow themselves to be persuaded by those who do not have the backs of their supporters, and those who resort to gutter, tit-for-tat politics.

The walkout was done even as billions of dollars were being considered for allocation to constitutional offices. Not a cent of those allocations were scrutinised by the APNU+AFC. The coalition ought to be ashamed of itself to allow billions of dollars - our monies- to be allocated to offices without scrutiny. They have done no justice to the new roles as MPs they have assumed, nor to the people who voted for them.

What were the monies being allocated for? Were the monies too much? Too little?

What were the monies going

to procure? A donkey?

Furniture? What? We may never know, because the coalition chose pettiness over their responsibility to the people.

Coalition, get your act together. We need you as much as we need the new administration.

Yours truly, M. Hope

What is there not to like?

Dear Editor, I like Lenox. What is there not to like? Runner?

Joinder? Party leader?

Negotiator? Advisor?

And, of recent, Deputy Speaker? I must say the man is a go-getter. Let me see what I am missing.

I don’t think this proud son of Guyana is a seller, not even a private wheeler and dealer anymore.

Yeah, but sometimes the runner stumbles, a rather public parliamentary bumble and tumble.

And the next time I hear that word uttered by

Guyanese political players, I am sure I will retch. It is ‘impartial.’

The word is rendered profane. Good luck, Guyana.

Welcome Guyanese to the world of democracy. I congratulate the PPP for making a patsy out of parliament.

It makes a mockery of tyranny when it engages in this kind of asininity and tomfoolery.

And that ought to tell the world how sickly we are.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

Virtual parliamentary participation would have been a better idea Dear Editor In view of revelations that new opposition Chief Whip contracted the dreaded COVID- 19, it might have been a good idea if he were persuaded upon to participate in the opening of the Twelfth Parliament

virtually, as did a former minister.

What about the two government ministers who contracted the dreaded disease? Have they now been cleared to resume public life?

Yours truly, Shamshun Mohamed

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Kaieteur News

I am disappointed with GTT’s internet service customer support Dear Editor, So I am having issues with my internet service since last year (2019) November whereby we were paying for an internet that continued to fluctuate.

We reported it to GTT and we were informed that GTT had a cable problem in my area and that it would take some time to fix, that being the nature of the problem.

On the other hand, I thought that the nature of modern day service providers should be of such (especially a company with the magnitude of GTT’s customer base), that they would be able to at the least take a 4 weeks maximum to fix such problems but yes I am wrong.

It took GTT 8 months to fix this problem and to give me a rebate (after asking for it) of $26,000.

As soon as that rebate was given the landline phone stopped working. It went blank. I thought to myself that this would be much easier to fix since it could be a problem with the equipment, but to my surprise after speaking with a GTT representative, I was informed that it’s a cable problem that caused the phone to stop working.

That was reported on the 2nd of August while we c ontinued to pay as is required by GTT; according to the customer representative behind the 0488 number, I was informed that this takes a standard eight working days to fix.

Now as I am home on leave, the internet went off in the middle of my studies. I left to go up the road to buy Credit to put on a daily plan due to the fact that I thought this is only for a short time; that was then confirmed by two technical staff of GTT that I saw up on a pole fixing some

wires.

Tonight after waiting all day the phone is dead .The internet is dead and upon calling 0488, I was informed that, the internet is dead because the phone is dead.

Since I don’t run a funeral home, I got scared to know that all of these dead things are in my home.

Now though the internet was not affected by the phone at first, it was just a matter of time according to the customer representative.

Over 9000 for internet plus phone rental , and still can’t get my internet or phone to use.

The GTT technical support came and had a look at the “cable problem”; it turns out that after using the cable problem excuse for weeks that in fact it is not a cable problem.

The technical staff tested the line and said it was ok; now he has informed me that someone from IR (I guess internal repairs) has to fix that.

According to the guys, they don’t do the house work.

Now if GTT is this multiple million, maybe bill i o n , dollars company, how hard is it to have an internal repairs technician working along with the cable technicians just in case they have internal work to do.

Are they serious about fixing problems?

Well I am still without internet to do my studies, still locked in because of COVID19 regulations and I am also on leave and still no internet.

I feel disappointed and disadvantaged as a Guyanese citizen, a public servant and student. Covid19 has done enough. The burden is on GTT do more, do better. My reference number is #2212251.

Yours truly, Name provided

Thursday September 03, 2020

...Open letter to the APNU Leadership: Why the From page 4 This Stalinist/Burnamite technique of aggressively pulling the feathers off of a chicken, leaving it bloody and frail, cold and thirsty, but when you throw a few bits of crumbs at it, it will still follow you everywhere you go because you keep throwing crumbs.

Well this time, that technique could not have succeeded. In my view, it was social media that disrupted your Stalinist strategy of power and dominance.

12.

I believe that you, the PNC/APNU, isolated yourselves from your own supporters and did not attract any of the supporters of the then opposition and now the government. If you observe well, you would see that the new government and its President, with his team, are traveling most generously to areas that are not normally their stronghold. This, dear APNU/ AFC, is the mastery of the art of winning friends and influencing others.

13.

The closure of the sugar estate was the most terrible decision affecting tens of thousands of lives and the nation, indirectly and directly. It affected the lives of at least ten thousand workers and their families. This was a huge mistake that the APNU+AFC have paid for dearly. The sudden closure of the sugar estates in Berbice highlighted many areas of concern. Some of which are as follows: a. The sudden closure of the sugar estates in Berbice to those affected was a kind of hatred or vengeance, because it is known that these people are a major support block of the PPP/C. They felt hated and betrayed, especially from the AFC faction of the coalition. The fact that not even government officials or AFC leaders in the Region Six areas were informed was quite disheartening. He only knew from the newspapers for which his life was later threatened and which later led him to find a way to eke vengeance on the APNU+AFC. I am speaking of Mr. Charrandass

Persaud. The few seats gained by the coalition through the AFC: Moses Nagamootoo and Ramjattan, caused the supporters of the AFC in the region to regret that they had ever voted for a party that had little power in the coalition. b.

There were no plans in place to educate people on alternative occupations. The fact remained that there was no medium developed to provide reasonable plots of land for independence and/or prior education in the principles of cooperativism. c.

T h e s e workers were annoyed because they had to fight to get their severance. Please note, severance is v e r y d i f f e r e n t from compensation.

Severance is what they have earned. Compensation or a gift would have demonstrated gratitude for their decades of service to the industry that kept this country alive and well. d.

The fact that, after taking power, the government abandoned the rice farmers. Instead of getting the price hikes that were promised, they were left with the millers: with the need to find their own markets. e.

S u g a r workers and rice farmers believed that they were being exploited by the AFC and deceived by the coalition.

They were left to wander in the wilderness, in depression and suffering, in suicides and darkness. No efforts were made to include depression counseling or grant scholarships to the children of these workers. f. I wrote in the media that the industry should be kept alive before the factories and the fields deteriorate, carbonize, and sell off to convert these lands, or part thereof, to rear cattle for dairy and meat. Black belly sheep; a delicacy in the world could have been reared, or produce fish using the canals that were cleverly built by the British Colonial Masters. With the support of friendly countries, such as Holland, Australia, New Zealand, we could have

...The people will From page 5 areas have been exposed as committed by the previous government, what is their game plan/agenda moving forward.

Coming to parliament, itching for a fight (I’m guessing) or to say; No, No, No, is an excellent recipe for failure for our future. To look in the rear view mirror and climb over the wreckage left behind, to fix, is bad

enough.

That aside, this is a new era. We are done with nonperforming members of government and institutions.

I believe the people of this country will give this government wide latitude to succeed for all of us. Anything else will not be acceptable.

Yours truly, Chi Kansi

started manufacturing canned, condensed, and evaporated milk products for local and foreign consumption.

But your government at that time did not see what people like me saw. If the government did not want to be involved in these productions, it could have provided the necessary support and trade with the people to make these products. The same factories left to rot could still have produced some sugar with alternative goods stated in the aforementioned. The factory, one or part thereof, may have been used to dehydrate fruit and vegetables. Canning of fruit and vegetables and, as I said earlier, canning of meat in a number of ways. This also included canning of fish products while at the same time, complying with the regulations of the USA and the Europeans, so that we can export frozen or processed fish, such as tilapia, catfish, and armored catfish, aka hassar.

14.

INFRA STRUCTURE: Your government has forgotten that infrastructure, such as roads and canals, is important not only in the areas of its supporters, but for all of Guyana.

15.

THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: It is known that the Indigenous peoples were and are the most discriminated, exploited, and abused by the conquistadors and left to wander with little support from the various governments, in particular the APNU+AFC coalition.

Hundreds of them were terminated from their jobs when your government took office in 2015. The backlash was seen in the 2020 elections by the Indigenous Community against the APNU+AFC coalition. The last-minute attempts for bribery were seen for what it was.

I know it is a very painful time for the APNU+AFC camp, and I have always said openly that I have friends with both the PPP/C and the PNC. And everybody knows that even if I disagree with a point of view and/or a political entity; my ethos, moral upbringing, and my spiritual compunction would always be just for all institutions and others.

I will always be impartial and fair, whether I disagree or agree with a certain point. I have no bias towards a particular institution, and I speak about what I see is right and true. As my Creator states in the Holy Quran: “O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. Whether one is rich

or poor, Allah is more worthy of both. So follow not [personal] inclination, lest you not be just. And if you distort [your testimony] or refuse [to give it], then indeed Allah is ever, with what you do, Acquainted.” (Quran 4:135) Of course, some weakminded political adherents will think I do not like their party. If any, I simply have little respect for the AFC, but even if I have to sit in an authority to judge something - for or against them - it will always be a matter of compunctions of true justice.

My message to you, to the coalition, to all politicians, to all humanity, but firstly to myself, is that our successes or our failures come from our own mind.

Eventually, the seeds you plant will bear fruit or not. Either you could not get fruits because the seeds did not grow, or you got fruits but they were bitter and useless, or fruits that were succulent, wholesome, and nutritious. I write this in the form of intellectual metaphorical wisdom. From the moment the coalition took office, you started to put things in place to secure yourselves. You, the coalition, began at GECOM when you were obviously trying to put who you wanted in office. You eliminated people who were qualified for political appointments. One could have seen that your plans were for manipulation. Instead of offering service to the people and winning the hearts and minds of the people, you began to fortify the compound of the Ministry of the Presidency and fortify it as if you wanted to keep revolutionary fighters away.

Too many people were terminated, and then you started to disaffect some of the people you suspected might not have been on your side — people who were independent, mostly, and who made independent comments and spoke fairly. So, in my opinion, you planted these seeds of desperation, and everything you did was as if you were trying to use the situation, including the political parties. My point is that we, as human beings, are creating our destiny through our thoughts and our hearts. If the intent of the heart is good, then things turn out to be good. But when you try to fortify yourself and put yourself in a clandestine way, people will know, and then the universe knows, then Divine retribution is effected by the universe. As you tried to affect and conspire to disaffect others, you were actually conspiring against yourselves. This is a simple procedure to teach us that we are the creators of our own futures. So do please blame yourselves for the loss of the 2020 elections.

Yours truly, Hajji Dr. Roshan Khan

Kaieteur News

Thursday September 03, 2020

PAGE 07

Eleven more charges for alleged Ponzi schemers E

leven more fraud charges were yesterday read to alleged Ponzi schemers, Yuri Garcia-Dominguez and his wife, Ateeka Ishmael, bringing the total number of charges against the couple to 51. The duo made an appearance before Magistrate, Dylon Bess, in the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts.

They denied the allegations which stated that they obtained $75M under false pretense. Magistrate Bess granted the defendants bail in the sum of $200,000, on each charge and the matter was adjourned to October 7, 2020.

The couple appeared before five different Magistrates within the past seven days. However, the duo was remanded to prison on six fraud charges by one of the Magistrates, when they made their first court appearance last week Thursday.

Also, on Tuesday, the couple was arraigned before Senior Magistrate, Fabayo Azore, in the Vigilance Magistrate's Court.

They denied the allegations which stated that they obtained cash under false pretense. Magistrate Azore granted the defendants bail in the sum of $300,000, on each charge and the matter was adjourned to September 21, 2020.

On Monday GarciaDominguez and his wife made a virtual appearance before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly in the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts where they were made to answer to 10 fraud charges.

They denied the charges which stated that between May and July 2020, with intent to commit a felony, they conspired with persons known and unknown to obtain a total sum of over $60M from 10 persons under false pretence.

After reading the charges, Magistrate Daly granted the defendants bail in the sum of $1M each and adjourned the matter to October 5, 2020.

L a s t T h u r s d a y, t h e defendants made their first court appearance at the Vigilance Magistrate's Court before Magistrate Melissa Mittleholzer with their attorneys, Glenn Hanoman and Dexter Todd.

Garcia-Dominguez and Ishmael were slapped with 19 fraud charges appearing before two separate magistrates.

Magistrate Mittleholzer read 13 fraud charges to the defendants, which allege that between May and July 2020, the couple obtained a total sum of $24.7M from 13 victims under false pretense.

Magistrate Mittleholzer granted the defendants bail in the sum of $3.9M each and

Alleged Ponzi schemers, Yuri Garcia-Dominguez and his wife, Ateeka Ishmael the matter was adjourned to September 18, 2020.

However, the duo then made a virtual appearance before Magistrate Alisha George of the Sparendaam Magistrate's Court.

Magistrate George read six fraud charges to the duo – those charges allege that they obtained over $1M from the victims under false pretense. Magistrate George

Sherwyn Greaves is new Housing CEO

T

he Ministry of Housing and Water yesterday announced the appointment of Mr. Sherwyn Greaves as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).

According to a press release, the newly appointed CEO brings with him a wealth of knowledge in the areas of effective leadership and communication as he holds a Master's in Business Administration from the Australia Institute of Business, a diploma in banking from the Associate Institute of Canadian Bankers as well as a certificate in People and Team Management from the Canadian Securities Institute.

Greaves, who had a career in banking spanning over 27 years, has also held key managerial positions throughout the country and is trained in the areas of Change Management, Security and Fraud Awareness, High-performance Management and Business Continuity Planning, among others.

The release also stated that “the

Sherwyn Greaves management and staff look forward to working with Mr. Greaves as he furthers the agenda of the agency.”

Greaves will be replacing, Mr. Lelon Saul, the former CEO of CH&PA, who was sent on pre-retirement leave last month.

remanded the defendants to prison and the matter was adjourned to September 21, 2020. The Government recently announced a multisectoral investigation against Garcia-Dominguez and Ishmael, who are officials of Accelerated Capital Firm Inc. The investigation was launched after authorities said they received a number of complaints against the company. Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, recently disclosed that the company has little or no assets in Guyana.

According to a letter from the AG to one of the defendants' lawyers, as a result of multiple complaints received and reports to the Guyana Police Force (GPF), a team of state agencies has been assembled to inquire into the operations of Accelerated. Reports revealed that over 17,000 Guyanese were in limbo, after investing over US$20M.

A number of the persons reportedly sold their properties or gave their life savings to the company.

Authorities said that they found little evidence of money leaving Guyana via the normal channels for overseas.

Accelerated told investors that it was actively involved in the foreign exchange trading and promised as much as 40 percent returns every few weeks. However, authorities, including the Guyana Securities Council, the Bank of Guyana and the Financial Intelligence Unit had warned about the operations.

In fact, Accelerated had been operating for about two years but only applied for a broker's licence a few weeks ago. There are details emerging that pastors and other religious leaders were actively involved in recruiting clients or new “investors” for Accelerated.

(Renay Sambach)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 10

Thursday September 03, 2020

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

Untergang: Rupert Roopnaraine in a cartoon I

n my August 23 column, captioned: “APNU+AFC: Complex and not so complex reasons for the untergang,” I indicated that over the coming weeks and months, I will look at the factors, some small, some big, in the APNU+AFC's loss of power in the 2020 election.

I did write that there were variables specific to the PNC and AFC that contributed to the fall. Here now is the first in that series, though as stated in my August 23 piece, the series will not be consecutive.

This article looks at aspects of the WPA's politics that affected the number of votes APNU got in March.

In the Tuesday edition of the Stabroek News, there is a cartoon with a group of PNC, AFC and WPA politicians with the title, “They did their best to steal the 2020

elections.” Under each politician, there is a characterization. Under Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine are the words, “no dignity.” Under Granger is the appellation, no honour.”

One of the factors I have advanced for the defeat of the PNC in 2020 is that whereas Indians and the Indigenous folks flooded the polling stations, Africans did not.

Georgetown saw no deluge, meaning that the turnout among African Guyanese was not torrential. Both the personality of Granger and the betrayal of Walter Rodney by the WPA led to alienation of sections of African Guyanese.

We start with the WPA. Space will not allow for an interpretation of how Granger's political behaviour frustrated African Guyanese.

This will have to wait for

another column. There is no question that in 2011, the PNC regained the five seats it had lost in 2006 because the PNC had appeared as a transformed entity with the WPA as a partner, renamed APNU. The expectations of African Guyanese were that the WPA would be the guiding hand behind the APNU's policy-making decisions because of its intellectual tradition and Rodneyite ontology.

But those expectations soon turned to anger then alienation. Guyana is full of ironies that unfold with each passing day. Two of the most barefaced apologists for the PNC rigging the 2020 election using racist and violent demagoguery were Tacuma Ogunseye and Dr. David Hinds, yet it was these two men from 2016 onwards

that began to expose the WPA's twisted approach to the exercise of state power.

It first started with an exposing letter in the press by Ogunseye who accused Dr. Roopnaraine of the politics of betrayal. Ogunseye informed G u y a n e s e t h a t D r.

Roopnaraine told the WPA's executive committee that he cannot discuss government policies and state business with party comrades. Then a t h r e e - p e r s o n W PA delegation went to see Dr. Roopnaraine at his office at the Ministry of Education. The delegation consisted of Dr. Alissa Trotz, Dr. Hinds and Keith Branche.

D r. R o o p n a r a i n e repeated to them his position that as a Cabinet minister he will not discuss state business with the WPA. Branche and I had lunch at Tastee Dish restaurant on David Street, Kitty and he told me he was finished with Dr. Roopnaraine. I cannot repeat Branche's fulminations because he could very well deny them and sue for libel.

The same Branche found time to publicly criticize the politics of Simona Broomes over a car park incident. The same Dr. Trotz found time to publicly criticize a remark

Clement Rohee made during the 2020 election campaign.

But morbid incestuous politics prevent Branche and Dr. Trotz from offering their interpretation of the degeneracy of WPA's politics.

Dr. Hinds had awakened African Guyanese to the WPA's betrayal of Walter

Frederick Kissoon Rodney now that the WPA was in power. He told a WPA press conference that after the APNU won the 2020 election, the PNC did not ask the WPA to name its minister.

The PNC selected Dr. Roopnaraine. At the same press conference, Dr. Hinds told the nation that when Dr. Roopnaraine resigned as Education Minister then r e s c i n d e d i t , h e ( D r.

Roopnaraine) did not inform

the WPA. Dr. Roopnaraine voted in parliament with the PNC and AFC not to release t h e Wa l t e r R o d n e y Commission of Inquiry Report. It wasn't only Dr. Roopnaraine that African Guyanese felt had betrayed Walter Rodney now that he was a minister but so they felt the same about other WPA leaders. Clive Thomas as head of SARA refused to disclose information about SARA findings the public was entitled to (see my two columns - Saturday, August 31, 2019, “Clive Thomas irresponsibly accuses me of irresponsibility,” and Tuesday, February 19, 2018, “Clive Thomas: Tr a n s f o r m a t i o n i n t o dependency.”)

Dr. Maurice Odle became chairman of NICIL and operated NICIL exactly the way it was shaped under the PPP government. Desmond Trotman became a pro PNC GECOM commissioner. By the time 2020 had come, African Guyanese who loved Walter Rodney could no longer have voted for APNU. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

Thursday September 03, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

Kaieteur News

PAGE 12

Thursday September 03, 2020

COVID-19 scare…

Jones, Duncan acted - Health irresponsibly Minister - says entire Parliament was at risk

P

ublic Health M i n i s t e r , D r.

Frank Anthony, yesterday chastised two Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs), Sherod Duncan and Christopher Jones, for flouting the COVID-19 safety guidelines and by presenting themselves at the National Assembly after both being tested positive for COVID19. But the APNU+AFC, in a statement released hours after the COVID-19 status of

both MPs were made public, sought to clarify that Jones had already completed his 13-day isolation period and therefore was not a threat to anyone.

“Mr. Jones underwent the recommended period of self-isolation, observed all protocols established by the Ministry of Health and his private health-care professional.

He, therefore, attended Parliament today (Tuesday) confident that he was no

threat to persons. All members of the APNU+AFC coalition will continue to observe these protocols until otherwise informed,” the party said.

M i n i s t e r A n t h o n y, however, noted that both MPs should have been in home isolation.

“From the information that I've now received,” he explained, “they were tested, they were advised that they should stay home for at least 13 days – the first 10 and

Opposition MP, Sherod Duncan and Christopher Jones, being th sworn in at the 12 Sitting of the National Assembly on Tuesday then the second three and once they were asymptomatic, they would finish their home isolation.

Both of them are still supposed to be in home isolation and at the time…both of them have breached the rules that we have for self-quarantine.”

What Jones and Duncan did, according to the Minister, “was highly irresponsible” as they may have exposed everyone, who attended the 12th Sitting of the National Assembly, to the deadly virus.

Parliamentarians, according to the Minister, had the option of being sworn in via the online zoom platform. Each MP was sent a letter days before by the Clerk of the National Assembly informing them of the different methodology that would allow those who tested positive to still participate in the proceedings.

While a majority of the MPs opted to be present in Parliament, two other MPs took the online route.

“This is actually highly irresponsible of them to come to the Parliament and endanger their colleagues – endanger all of us who were in the dome, parliamentary staff, everybody. So this really is unacceptable behaviour; it is really highly irresponsible for them to know that they have a positive test and yet show up in the parliament,” Minister Anthony said.

Further, the Health Minister noted that what Jones and Duncan did is tantamount to a criminal offence, adding that there is a COVID-19 order and a

Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony Public Health Law in place. “…That law clearly states that if anybody knowingly spreads an infectious disease, then they're committing an offence.

And what we had yesterday was two Members of Parliament, who have tested positive and instead of staying in self-isolation, as is required by the Order and is required by the law, decided that they were going to breach those orders and law that we have and attend Parliament in person.”

Minister Anthony said that he was left with no choice but to alert the Clerk of the National Assembly of the MPs' positive COVID19 status.

$168M contract awarded...

From page 11 allocated to that contractor.

Notably, despite being the highest bidder for the project by the National Procurement and Tender Administration B o a r d ( N P TA B ) , B K International was awarded the $352M contract, some $74M more than its already relatively high bid offer.

BK International was one of the three companies which bid to secure the contract. The other two companies are MB Construction which submitted a $235,744,500 b i d a n d C o l i n Ta l b o t Contracting Services which

submitted a $247,599,600 bid, while the engineer's estimate was $184,521,000.

BK's bid was $278,876,300 – some $31M over the next highest bid and more than $90M over the engineer's estimate.

BK and the MoPI had defended this $74M increase, stating that an additional 150 meters were added to the original project, which took the scope of works to 500 meters. Kaieteur News has made numerous attempts to view the contract between the government and BK but those efforts have been unsuccessful.

Thursday September 03, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 13

Vagrant stabbed to death Beware of fake Police over sale of construction net Force Facebook page

T

Ovid Chester collapsed in front of vendors after being attacked

A

vagrant was yesterday stabbed to death by a farmer at Bourda Market over the sale of a construction net.

The vagrant, Ovid Chester, 52, called 'Bruckie'' who sleeps at the said market, was slain at around 10:00hrs.

According to police reports, Chester met his demise during an argument with his alleged killer over money for a construction net he was given to sell.

On Tuesday the suspect, said to be a farmer of Block 22 Wismar, Linden, Region 10, brought to the market a construction net he intended to sell.

While looking for a buyer, he was approached by the vagrant who offered to sell the net for him.

The farmer willingly agreed and handed over the item to the vagrant, who had left immediately to source a buyer. Investigators were told that the farmer reportedly waited a while for the vagrant to return but he never did.

The farmer reportedly left but returned yesterday in search of Chester and found him in a track leading towards North Road, Bourda. There, according to reports, he confronted the vagrant and asked for the money from the sale of the net.

However, investigators said that the vagrant failed to produce the net or the cash which resulted in a heated argument between the two.

According to reports, the enraged farmer pulled a knife from his waist and stabbed Chester to the region of his heart. Chester ran but collapsed and died a short distance away.

Ve n d o r s a n d eyewitnesses alerted police and an Anti-Crime Patrol Unit that was in the vicinity moved swiftly and caught the farmer before he escaped.

According to police reports, Chester's alleged killer was nabbed with the murder weapon in his hand.

(Shervin Belgrave)

he Guyana Police Force (GPF) is urging the public to beware of a fake Facebook page purporting to be managed by the Force.

According to a police report, “The aim of the page is to create discord in society.” It was also revealed that the author(s) have since changed their logo to mirror the new logo posted on the Force's official Facebook page.

Moreover, the GPF said that it “wishes to advice Facebook users to be aware of the actions and make all efforts to avoid communication of any form with the fake page.”

It was also noted that the GPF “does not and has never used its page to communicate with persons who are available at any given time for questioning and has not changed this policy.”

As such, the GPF is urging all Facebook users to click on the following link https://m.facebook.com/Gu yana-Police-Force108283724124006/ and report the page as they continue to investigate to

The fake Guyana Police Force Facebook page ascertain the author(s) behind the account with the intent of prosecuting him/her or them to the full extent of the Law. The Force also assured the citizenry that it remains committed to the objects of the Force as set out in Section 3(2) of Chapter 16:01 of the Laws of Guyana

which reads as follows: “The prevention and detection of crime; the preservation of law and order; the preservation of peace; the repression of internal disturbances; the protection of property; the apprehension of offenders; the due enforcement of all laws and regulations.”

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Thursday September 03, 2020

Liza-1 EIA would not have passed T&T regulator - Former Director of T&T National Gas Company

…Payara EIA is similarly flawed

By Kemol King

P

ast Director of the National Gas Company of Trinidad & Tobago (NGC) and Sustainability Engineer, Mr. Cathal Singh has said that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for Exxon's first development in the Stabroek

Block, Liza Phase One, would not have passed the T&T regulator, as there are fundamental flaws. In Guyana's case, the Liza-1 permit was approved on the very day that the company submitted its 1500-page EIA. What makes matters worse is that the same flaws exist in the Liza-2 and

Payara (third well) plans.

Singh appeared on Kaieteur Radio's Petroleum 101 on Tuesday night, where he and Environmentalist, Annette Arjoon-Martins, spoke about threats to the environment, in the context of Guyana's oil & gas sector.

Singh's time with NGC forms part of more than two decades of work under his

Last Tuesday's edition of Petroleum 101

belt, during which he has served several governments on matters of sustainability.

The environmental issues faced by Guyana, due to the operations of ExxonMobil in the Stabroek Block place the country in a “difficult situation,” Singh told Kaieteur Radio.

He said, “I have been through the EIA document for the Liza One. I think that there are many issues with it, that it would not have passed our regulation in Trinidad for fundamental reasons.”

The biggest issue Singh noted that he thought of at the time is the cumulative impact of managing liquid waste on the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels.

Kaieteur News had reported that ExxonMobil is dumping about 4,000 barrels of produced water into the ocean every day.

This is water that comes up with the oil that is being pumped from under the

ground.

“With liquid waste,” Singh said, “the produced water is water that was there millions and millions of years ago when the water was compressed and isolated below the ground.

That water has everything that you can imagine in it, from metals to radioactive material… It's a very long list of chemicals that are in that water.”

The produced water, according to the World Bank's advice on the best practice, should be reinjected.

At this juncture, the extent of the impact of that water being dumped into the oceans is not known.

P r e s i d e n t o f ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge had said that the company wants to continue dumping the liquids into the ocean, as the produced water is treated and has no effect on the environment.

Routledge's claim in this regard, finds conflict with the fact that no such information supporting it has been lodged with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and no study was ever commissioned to make such a determination.

Singh said on Petroleum 101 that the liquid waste being discharged is a high volume which could be as high as 50 times the amount of oil being produced, depending on the age of the reservoir, and that Guyana really cannot entertain assumptions about this issue without studies, least of all, what it is being told by the operator.

What Singh finds unacceptable is that Exxon is yet to pronounce on what could happen, in this regard, with the Liza-2 and Payara projects, which are meant to follow Liza-1.

Liza-2 has already been permitted, and (continued on page 18)

Shop owner misses intended target, shoots friend

A

shop owner yesterday missed his intended target and shot the target's friend instead. The shooting took place sometime around 03:00hrs at the shop owner's place located in Chi Chi Backdam, North West District (NWD), Region One. According to police reports, the victim, Lloyd London, of Heaven Hill, Matthews Ridge had accompanied his friend to the shop owner's place to drink alcohol.

While they were imbibing, London's friend got into a heated argument with the shop owner.

According London, his friend got drunk and started taunting the shop owner. The man reportedly got furious

and went into his bedroom (located in the shop) where he picked up a 9MM Pistol and returned.

London said when he saw the man with the gun, he got up and walked towards him with the intention of calming him down. The shop owner, nevertheless, raised his pistol and appeared to fire it at London's friend.

London said it was after he heard the explosion he felt a “numbness” in his left foot.

The man said when he looked down, he saw his instep was bleeding and realized that he was shot.

London said that since no one rendered assistance to him, he had to drag for some distance until he arrived at a location where he was able to receive a signal for his cell phone. He said he made a

phone call to a relative and requested that he send a motorbike to take him to the Port Kaituma District Hospital. London said that he waited in pain for about three hours before it arrived.

London said he had to endure a three-hour journey to get to the hospital.

At the hospital, doctors were unable to operate and remove the bullet from his f o o t . M o r e o v e r, l a t e yesterday, he was air dashed to the city so that he could seek medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

Just after 20:00hrs, London was relieved from his excruciating pain after the bullet was successfully removed by GPHC doctors.

Police are yet to arrest the shop owner.

Thursday September 03, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 15

The Ocean View Hospital

A dozen COVID-19 patients transferred to Ocean View Hospital T

he Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) has started to utilize the recently retrofitted $1.6 billion Ocean View COVID19 hospital. The Liliendaal, East Coast of Demerara facility is now the official national Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

A GPHC official told this newspaper that moves were

made to start utilizing the f a c i l i t y o n T u e s d a y, September 1, 2020. First an initial six patients were transferred then an additional six followed.

Of the 12 transferred patients, 10 are maternity patients and two are transitioning patients (patients who would have been suspected to have COVID-19 but are awaiting

their results). It was also revealed that none of them are listed as critical.

According to the official, the GPHC would have facilitated the transfer of the patients and also provided the necessary staff. When asked if the facility has the necessary equipment to house and treat the patients, the official stated that the necessary equipment would

have been procured by the Ministry of Health.

Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, following a tour of the facility had announced that it was ready for its phase one opening which enables 50 percent usage and also aids in removing some of the burden placed on the GPHC, in light of a high surge in cases.

It was also highlighted

that the facility had electricity, water and sewage issues which had delayed the transfer of patients. However, it was noted that Minister Anthony would have been liaising with the Public Works and Housing and Water Ministries to resolve the issues.

Additionally, it was disclosed that there will be a special section within the facility that is designated to housing pre- and post-natal maternity cases.

Regarding the hospital's phase two opening, Kaieteur

News was told that the country's current budget only caters to phase one being implemented. Phase two of the opening will progress over a three to four-month period which will see the entire facility being utilized.

It will feature the activation of an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and a High Dependency Unit (HDU). In that phase, the facility would require piped oxygen (meaning equipment like ventilators), patient monitors and electrocardiograph machines.

City youths protest for clean-up contracts S

cores of young men from across the city yesterday protested at Sideline Dam, La Penitence as their way of expressing an interest in clean-up contracts for their communities and the Le Repentir Cemetery.

The young men were interestingly enough led by a young woman, Anita Thorne, chairman of the Sideline Dam's Community Council, started their public demonstration at around 13:00hrs.

More than 60 young men, from Laing Avenue, Sideline Dam, Albouystown, Alexander Village and Riverview voiced their plea for the new government to consider granting them the job of cleaning up their respective neighbourhoods and the Le Repentir Cemetery. Thorne told Kaieteur News said that this has been the cry of the young men for years now.

Both the previous and the present administrations through the Mayor and City Councillors of Georgetown, she said, had chosen to hand out millions in such contracts, especially for the Le Repentir Cemetery, to prominent contractors. In 2014 under the People's Progressive Party/Civic

(PPP/C) regime, former Minister of Local Government, Norman Whittaker, had signed an $8.3M contract with Jeffery James Construction Company for the de-bushing of the cemetery.

It was also reported, during the tenure of the David Granger led administration in February 2018, that the Mayor spent $100M each year to keep the Le Repentir Cemetery up to order. An M&CC spokesperson boasted as well that it had signed a contract containing a 'maintenance clause' with Chung's Global Enterprise to carry out the necessary works.

While these contractors benefited, Thorne highlighted that the youths from these communities remained jobless which resulted in many choosing crime as their way of survival.

Nevertheless, she said, the youths have decided to renew their call for employment since “there is a new president in town”.

Thorne said that youngsters have proposed to her that they are capable of taking care of the cemetery and its maintenance.

Some of the youngsters

Anita Thorne and the youths who gathered at Sideline Dam to protest for clean-up contracts who turned out to protest said that they had recently seen on television President Irfaan Ali visiting Tiger Bay residents and promising them employment. “We want him to keep his word and consider us here too; we too have been without jobs for many years,” said a young man.

Another young man, Lenny Frazer, told Kaieteur News that he does a little barbering and whatever labour work he could find on a daily basis.

“Not every day is my lucky day, there some days or even weeks when I would be unemployed, this can be

frustrating because I have children and a wife,” said Frazer. Another protester told this newspaper that he normally survives on the little he earns as a porter on a truck. He too said that not every day is a working day as a porter. Since COVID-19 hit these shores, he has been completely jobless.

Others explained that when they apply for jobs with construction companies, most of the time, there are no vacancies and workers aren't fired regularly. They said that if government chooses to help them, they will return the favour by giving it their

votes.

One of the men said, “We are not that educated or certified to do the technical jobs but we are skilled too.

We have, masons, we have carpenters and men who are fit and healthy to keep the cemetery clean, clean drains, weed anything, we just want to work.”

If given the contract to clean up, the man said, it must not only be a “one time thing, we must be contracted for maintenance too.”

The man explained if this is granted, then they will have stable jobs with a s u ff i c i e n t i n c o m e f o r themselves and families.

As they continued their protest, the men said that some of them already have experience in land clearing and clean-ups.

Collin Stephens, another young man, said that he is versed in operating chainsaws and weeding machines especially when it comes to de-bushing.

Dawson Smith too, a former M&CC sanitary worker, said that he has experience when it comes to spearheading clean-ups within communities.

The youths said they will continue their pleas until they are given an answer from the government.

PAGE 16

Thursday September 03, 2020

Kaieteur News

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President Irfaan Ali- led administration is looking to the government of India for a US$10M loan to kick start energy programmes within hinterland and riverain communities. This disclosure was made

by President Ali as he made a presentation during the virtually held Private Sector Commission annual general meeting recently.

According to Ali, who also spoke of other matters of interest, revealed that the energy programmes will be a part of a major effort by the People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/ C) to restore the hydro-project which will be supported by a natural gas facility and the energy programmes within hinterland communities.

Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, had recently announced that the government has engaged India in procuring around 25,000 solar panels to aid in the electrification of hinterland communities across the country. Edghill noted that electrification of the hinterlands has always been a main priority of the PPP/C even before 2015 when it demitted office.

The Minister also stated that President Ali had a discussion with the Indian High Commissioner about formulating a programme to enable

households in the hinterland communities and riverain communities to benefit from solar energy.

According to Edghill, the units to be procured will be an upgrade from the regular 60-watt units to 100-watt units. It was stated that based on the outcome of a meeting

President Irfaan Ali between President Ali and the Indian High Commissioner, a determination will be made on how the project moves forward. He nevertheless made it clear that he, along with the Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, will be actively working to ensure that the project con-

tinues.

Edghill said, “The Government of Guyana continues to pursue renewable energy initiatives, and one of the programmes that was in the Ministry and not really moving in a manner that we would have expected because we would have complained about the incompetence and mismanagement and maladministration that occurred.”

The announcement of the hydro-project at the Amaila Falls being restored was also previously addressed by Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo. The Amaila Falls hydropower began under the PPP; however, it was squashed by the A Partnership for National Unity +Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) administration in late 2017.

Additionally, at the meeting with the PSC, Ali announced that he will be seeking to reduce energy costs by 60 percent over the next three years. Ali stated that this is imperative to increase business competitiveness in Guyana.

He further added that, “We must have a net surplus of energy; enough energy to develop a proper manufacturing and processing center whilst we bring down that cost of energy.”

La Grange man killed in hit and run accident Police yesterday located a car in an auto bodywork shop which was reportedly involved in a hit and run accident on Tuesday that claimed the life of a La Grange man.

The now dead man, Imran Abdul, 25, of Unity Street, La Grange, West Bank Demerara (WBD) was struck down along the La Grange public road at around 21:40hrs.

Reports are that Abdul had just left his brother's residence in the Goed Fortuin Squatting Area and was walking at the side of the road heading home when a speeding motorcar hit him from behind.

The impact propelled Abdul into the air before he

- Car found in bodywork shop; suspect arrested landed on the parapet. Instead of stopping to assist the young man, the driver of the car sped away.

Abdul's family, along with other nearby residents, rushed out of their homes immediately to render assistance. Abdul was picked him up in an unconscious state and rushed him to the West Demerara Regional Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead.

The following day, investigators received information

that the car involved in the accident was being repaired at a bodywork shop at Belle West, Canal Number Two (Region Three).

Ranks were dispatched to the location and there they pressed the mechanics, along with two others who were subsequently arrested and taken into custody, for information about the owner and driver of the car.

The driver is said to be a 32-year-old resident of Stanleytown, WBD.

Imran Abdul's lifeless body lying on the parapet

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Thursday September 03, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 17

No man is indispensable D

r. Vincent Adams, the Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), was more than a decent cricketer. He could at times be a dogged customer and fought stubbornly to protect his wicket.

But that was in cricket.

When it comes to his employment, he is not indispensable. And no amount of cheerleading from the stands is going to ensure that he remains at the crease.

A lot of prominent persons and groups have come out in defence of Dr. Adams. They are protesting the decision of the PPP/C administration to send him on leave.

But one has to ask whether all this commotion would have taken place if it was a less important person or someone who is not part of the middle class.

Dr. Adams had been appointed to the top post within the EPA. He was given the nod even though there was a young man who was acting in the post and who would have had a reasonable expectation to be confirmed. Not one letter was ever written in the media protesting the bypassing of this young man in preference to a retiree whose qualifications and experience are more relevant to the oil and gas sector.

Dr. Adams has not been dismissed nor has his services been terminated. He has been merely asked to proceed on his leave.

I n d i c a t i o n s , h o w e v e r, suggest that when his leave is exhausted he will not be returning to the EPA.

Dem

boys seh...

D

em boys hear we plan fuh borrow one billion Guyana dollars fuh improve the maternity hospital over de river.

De boss man of de Waterfall paper seh dat if dem give he de billion dollars, he would build a brand new hospital with dat money.

But de real issue is why we gat to borrow a few million US dollars when we giving away hundreds of millions through dem bad

Speculation is that he is likely to be engaged in a professional capacity in the oil and gas sector where his expertise lies. He therefore will still have a job and his services are likely to be utilized where they are better suited.

The APNU+AFC raised eyebrows when it appointed an energy specialist, Dr. Adams, as the head of the E P A , a n d a n environmentalist as the head of the Energy Department.

The roles should have been reversed. But APNU+AFC moved in strange and mysterious ways.

Another of its still to be solved mysteries was its decision to create an extra layer of bureaucracy and to plant it atop the environmental agencies. The government had a Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment. It said the two were not compatible and so it created a Department of Environment and placed it a t o p o f t h e Wi l d l i f e Protection Agency, the National Parks Commission and the EPA. Dr. Adams therefore was not his own boss. He was supposed to report to the Director of the Department of the Environment. He is more qualified and experienced than that person. But that is another one of the APNU+AFC's mysterious decisions.

T h e P P P / C administration has not yet gotten around to removing that albatross which sits atop the environmental agencies.

If there is any department which ought to have been immediately dissolved, it is the Department of the

Environment. It is not needed; it is an extra layer of fat which needs to be carved off.

Dr. Adams is a contract employee. He therefore does not have an expectation to security of tenure. This is the risk which most contract employees face and which they know about. Their services can be terminated with or without notice.

There are other considerations. If you are part of a party List contesting the elections, you are expected to resign. Dr. Adams was not part of any list but it is being suggested that he is part of certain leadership rungs of a political party. That should not disqualify him from being retained but if he had spoken on a political platform during the campaign, he should resign.

If, however, he merely attended political meetings or expressed his support for any political party, this should not be automatic grounds to force his resignation either before or after the elections. But speaking on a campaign platform does. There is no evidence that Dr. Adams spoke on any campaign platform and therefore there is no reason why he should resign.

The most fundamental factor, however, is that once you are a contract employee and the government is not comfortable with you, they can let you go. If the government feels that because of Dr. Adams' political affiliation, they will not be comfortable with him, it is within their rights to let him go. Why would anyone

Hamper and Pamper replacing Lampy and Pampy deals we signing with dem foreign investors.

De President go to Berbice and he promise fuh open up back them sugar estates wah close. Dem boys seh all he doing is putting dem worker fuh scratch a living.

If he get de right deal from dem bauxite company wah digging out we ore and shipping it out, none of dem worker nah gat to worry about going and do backbreaking wuk fuh cut cane.

But is bad deal mek we

gat fuh put them back fuh cut cane and dem wife and mooma gat fuh line up fuh receive hamper. While some people ah receive hamper, some politician gan soon want pampers.

Since some of dem lose power, dem looking magga and dem wetting dem pants.

But is suh when yuh sins ketch up with yuh. Dem try fuh steal election and now dem wrang-doing ketching up with them.

Talk half and wait fuh when pamper start share!

want their competitor running their business?

It has been argued that the removal of the 70 yearold Dr. Adams will affect ongoing negotiations which t h e E PA h a s w i t h ExxonMobil. Well, this is

saying that the man is indispensable, at least at this time. But no man is or should be made indispensable even though some men and women are hard to replace.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the

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

PAGE 18

Exxon’s Imperial shuts Oil-Sands Mine after pipeline spill

(Bloomberg) — Exxon Mobil Corp.’s Imperial Oil shut down its oil-sands mine after a spill from a pipeline that supplies diluent to the operation, adding to the woes of C a n a d a ’s beleaguered energy industry.

Imperial announced the ramp-down of its Kearl mine in northern Alberta on Wednesday, following a leak Saturday that led Inter Pipeline Ltd. to shut the west segment of its 240,000-barrel-a-day Polaris system. The diluent Polaris supplies to sites operated by Imperial and Husky Energy Inc. is mixed with the sticky bitumen they produce, so that it can be shipped by pipeline.

The disruption is just the latest blow to Canadian crude producers that had been struggling with a lack of pipeline infrastructure and competition from shale before the Covid-19 pandemic slashed demand from the U.S. refineries they supply.

The Western Canadian Select crude benchmark for October delivery strengthened relative to West Texas Intermediate.

I t s d i s c o u n t to the U.S. benchmark has narrowed by $1.40 a barrel over the past two days to $9.40. Before Tuesday, the gap hadn’t fallen below $10 since Aug. 17, NE2 Group data show.

Imperial said the Kearl mine is ready to ramp up to full production rates once diluent supply is restored, and it’s pursuing steps to try to mitigate the impact of the outage.

The area where the break in the pipeline is believed to have occurred has been identified, and the company is working to remove “product” from the shut-in section, Shawn Roth, an Alberta Energy Regulator spokesman, said We d n e s d a y. T h e A E R hasn’t received a request to resume service on the line.

There was no estimate for a restart of the

impacted segment of the Polaris system, Inter Pipeline said Tuesday. The east segment of the pipeline, which supplies some other oil-sands sites, is fully operational.

What Bloomberg Intelligence Says: The leak in the Polaris diluent pipeline forced oil sands production to halt at a time producers are already struggling with weak margins and stretched balance sheets.

Imperial Oil, 70% owned by Exxon Mobil, was forced to close its Kearl mining project in northeast Alberta Province that produces over 270,000 barrels a day. Husky, BP and Cenovus could also see effects on production and costs.

— Fernando Valle and Talon Custer, BI analysts Husky, operator of the Sunrise oil-sands site, has been affected by the pipeline shutdown, “however, we have other options to help mitigate the effects,” spokeswoman Dawn Delaney said Tuesday.

Liza-1 EIA would not have passed...

From page 14 is on track for startup in 2022, while Payara awaits the approval of the Government.

“Everybody knows it's coming, and everybody has an idea of how much oil [Liza2 and Payara are] going to produce,” Singh said. Both of these projects would involve FPSOs with the capacity to produce almost twice as much oil per day as the Liza Destiny, making the threat to the environment potentially an even graver concern.

The Sustainability Engineer opined that what should have been done is a study of the fate and effect of the liq-

Thursday September 03, 2020

Kaieteur News

uid pollution in the sea, to add support to the claim Routledge is making, that there is no environmental harm.

Furthermore, he said that the impact of dumping this produced water remains a legitimate issue that ought to be interrogated in the review of the Payara application. If that is not done, then that uncertainty is moved to the approval of the next project with the next FPSO. “I think that that's not a good way to start playing the game,” Singh stated.

Matters like this one, and the flaring of billions of cubic feet of gas at the Liza Destiny,

still plague the Payara project which Exxon hopes the government will accept with haste. EPA Head, Dr. Vincent Adams, who has been sent on leave by the Irfaan Ali administration, has attempted to have these matters fixed, but the company has shown reluctance to resolving these issues, as it insists that better safeguards would be too costly.

Singh said that Exxon has to publicly answer for the deficiencies of the EIAs that have passed, and that it must articulate on paper how it will treat these issues in the current EIA.

Jamaicans vote for a new government on Thursday

Prime Minister and JLP Leader, Andrew Holness (Left) and Opposition leader and PNP Leader, Dr. Peter Phillips (File Photo) KINGSTON, Jamaica CMC – Nearly two million Jamaicans are eligible to cast ballots for a new government day with the two major political parties – the ruling Jamaica labour Party (JLP) and the main opposition People’s National Party (PNP) – equally confident of winning, even though opinion polls support a victory for Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ JLP. “As Prime Minister of Jamaica and leader of the stronger team, I have never taken for granted the trust and confidence invested in us by Jamaica,” Holness, 48, has said on the eve of the polls, adding “after four years, while there is more to be done, we are proud to report that we have been moving Jamaica in the right direction”.

But Dr. Peter Phillips, 70, the former finance minister, who is leading the PNP into the election for the first time, is confident that the party will reverse the 2016 election results when it lost by a slender one seat in the 63member seat Parliament.

“After an unfulfilled promise of 5 in 4 by the JLP administration, today, we are back in economic turmoil and we are suffering from high crime rates, lack of jobs, lack of opportunities, rampant cronyism and the theft of your resources that could enable a better life for you and your family,” Phillips said in a message to Jamaicans on the eve of the polls.

“With the right leadership, we can turn things around. We have done it before and we will do it again!

We have the will and care to advance the People’s Agenda.

Tomorrow,

September 3, 2020, Vote for Leadership You Can Trust.

Put your X beside the head,” he added.

Professor of Political and Social Psychology at The University of the West Indies, Mona. Christopher Charles, writing in the Jamaica Observer newspaper, noted that Jamaicans are concerned about several important factors in the country that tend to influence how they vote in general elections. Two of these factors are the state of the economy and the level of security in the country.

He said data such as the exchange rate, the unemployment rate and the interest rate, among other economic indicators, are used to determine the perceived state of the economy. The homicide rate is used to determine the perceived level of security in the country.

However the PNP leader believes that any solution to crime fighting must be comprehensive and multifaceted.

“The solutions must not only address policing problems, SOEs and deficiencies in structure, conduct and rules guiding security forces but must take into account the deep seated social dysfunctions. The interventions have to be as diverse as the drivers of the crime and violence.

“We want and encourage a partnership to solve crime and violence in Jamaica as a safer Jamaica is every Jamaican’s business. We are committed to making Jamaica safe for our families.”

Charles argued that general elections are largely won across the electoral cycle of four-five years and not just

in the three-six weeks campaign period.

“For this general election, what is more important is how the registered voters who are rational think the Government and Opposition performed over the 4.5 years, and less so what happens during the campaign.

“Therefore, election ads, motorcades, mass meetings in the pre-COVID-19 period, political debates, online campaigning, party manifestos, dubplates and the use of other election songs and so on in the campaign are largely political theatre with limited impact on voting behaviour.

“The majority of voters tend to make up their minds at least one year before the election. The JLP seems to have understood this, unlike the PNP, because it has not stopped campaigning since it won the 2016 general election,” he wrote.

A total of 139 candidates have been nominated to contest the elections that Holness called six months ahead of the five-year anniversary of the 17th general election in the country’s history on February 25, 2016.

The Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) said that both the JLP and the PNP will contest all 63 constituencies, with 13 candidates independently contesting seats in several other constituencies.

The Voters’ List, which was published on July 31, shows a total of 1,913,410 registered electors. An additional 30,293 persons are now on the official list of electors, relative to the November 30, 2019.

Kaieteur News

Thursday September 03, 2020

PAGE 19

$168M contract awarded to M&B Construction for emergency sea defence works at Mahaicony Sections of the breached sea defence at Dantzig, Mahaicony

T

he Ministry of Public Works has awarded a contract to the tune of $168M to local contractor, M&B Construction, for the repair of 100 meters of compromised sea defence at Dantzig, Mahaicony, Region Five.

Initially, Brian Tiwari's BK International Incorporated was identified to complete the repairs on the 100 meters of breached sea defence, especially considering that the breach occurred close to where BK was conducting repairs.

However, because these repairs to the sea defence are so time-sensitive, along with the fact that residents have lost millions of dollars in livestock and damage to property, the Public Works Ministry thought it necessary to retender the project.

“I have gotten Cabinet's 'no objection', and as far as I have been informed, works should have commenced,” said Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill, in an invited comment to Kaieteur News yesterday.

Minister Edghill had indicated that on August 20 last, the estimate for the fixing of the 100 meters breach could be about $145M. It is unclear, h o w e v e r, w h a t i s t h e justification for the variation of $28M between the previous estimate and the current contract total.

Notably, Junior Public Works Minister, Deodat Indar, had shared that this 100 meter breach could expand further, causing more damage and resulting in

additional funds being expended. “That 100 meters,” Indar said, “in a couple of days can become 200, 300, 400…and it extends as the water keeps gushing into the riverfront, the oceanfront. So to stop the escalation, the speed to react is the most critical thing”.

BACKGROUND In October of 2019, powerful high tides had devastated parts of coastal Guyana, with thousands of families living near the shoreline struggling to keep their belongings, livestock and farmlands from being damaged by saltwater as a result of the breached sea defence.

At the time, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MoPI) under the previous A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change ( A P N U + A F C ) administration had ramped up works with contractors along certain points at the Mahaicony foreshore. Close to $1B was spent to seal the breaches. Initially, the contract to repair severe sea defence damage was awarded to A&S General Contractors but was later transferred to BK International Inc., following poor works executed by A&S. In June of this year, BK International was awarded a contract of $352M by the same previous government to complete “urgent flood protection works”, however, to date, little movement has been made on the 500 meters (continued on page 12)

PAGE 20

Kaieteur News

Thursday September 03, 2020

Thursday September 03, 2020

PAGE 21

Kaieteur News

Penalty costs Alaphilippe yellow as Van Aert wins easy stage

Team Jumbo-Visma rider Wouth van Aert of Belgium celebrates as he finishes ahead of Team Subweb rider Cees Bol of the Netherlands and DeceuninckQuick Step rider Sam Bennett of Ireland. (Pool via REUTERS/Thibault Camus)

Thursday September 02, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) You could get upsetting news regarding your job.

There could be a shakeup in the hierarchy or someone in a position of authority could abruptly leave.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Expect to fall in love at first sight today, Taurus. Someone new will come on the scene and you'll feel an instant attraction.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) The wonders of technology may come to your home today.

You might purchase some new equipment like a computer or phone, or decide to go for a state-of-the-art home entertainment center.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Bizarre, unexpected developments might turn your life upside down today, Virgo.

Money could be involved.

New people could arrive who open doors that eventually lead to a new life.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) You could have a strong urge to seek adventure, Scorpio. You might want to take a spontaneous trip to an exotic place, meet new people in exciting fields.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) An unexpected career break could come your way, Sagittarius. It should be exciting and encouraging - and a little scary! Don't let apprehension get to you.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Valuable and interesting information could come your way through modern technology. You might discover new information online that awakens an exciting new interest in you.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) An unexpected career break could come your way, Sagittarius. It should be exciting and encouraging - and a little scary! Don't let apprehension get to you.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Finances could take on a new dimension as you look to technology to help you increase your bank balance.

You could decide to invest online or try some new means of recordkeeping.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Unusual experiences may give rise to a new interest in the sciences or occult practices like magic or alchemy.

This is an excellent time to start perusing such subjects, or embark on a formal study of astrology.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Bizarre, unexpected developments might turn your life upside down today, Virgo.

Money could be involved.

New people could arrive who open doors that eventually lead to a new life.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Upsets in the home or neighborhood could lead to a sudden decision to move, causing a great deal of activity.

You might not yet be sure where you're going.

PRIVAS, France (Reuters) Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe lost the overall lead in the Tour de France to Briton Adam Yates after being handed a 20-second penalty for illegal feeding at the end of stage five, won by Belgian Wouth van Aert yesterday.

Van Aert was fastest in the sprint at the end of the 183km ride from Gap that featured no breakaway, an almost unprecedented scenario in normal racing conditions in the modern era.

Dutchman Cees Bol was second and Sam Bennett took third place to become the first Irishman to wear the green jersey for the points classification since Sean Kelly 31 years ago.

Alaphilippe finished safe in the bunch but snatched a bottle about 17km from the line, breaking Tour rules which state that feeding is illegal within 20km of the finish.

“We’re checking now but it seems I took a bottle where I was not supposed to,” Alaphilippe said.

Yates leads Slovenian

Celtics storm...

From page 23 threes as the Celtics got within 80-79. He knotted the score at 82 with another trey to complete a 16-4 Boston spurt.

Anunoby completed a three-point play for the Raptors, and Smart responded with another three and the foul for an 86-85 edge with 7:55 remaining. Tatum nailed a three, and Boston went up 9387 with 5:41 to go.

A VanVleet trey got Toronto within 95-92. After Tatum and Kyle Lowry each hit two free throws, Walker drilled a three for a 100-94 lead with 2:24 left.

Lowry hit a technical free throw and two more at the line to get the Raptors within 10099, but Walker hit another bucket for a three-point Celtics lead with 41.6 ticks left.

VanVleet’s chance to tie at the buzzer bounced off the board.

Toronto used a 14-2 run to grab the game’s largest lead, 78-66, with 2:46 remaining in the third.

The Raptors, who trailed from start to finish in Game 1, got ahead 17-9 in the first quarter, but the Celtics battled back to knot the score at 28 after one.

Boston went up 50-45 on a Grant Williams dunk with 45.5 seconds left in the half, but Pascal Siakam beat the buzzer with a three to cut the margin to 50-48 at the break.

Toronto had no free throws in the half.

(Field Level Media)

Primoz Roglic by three seconds in the standings after Alaphilippe dropped to 16th overall.

“I don’t think anybody wants to take (the yellow jersey) like this,” said the Briton, who finished fourth overall in the 2016 Tour.

“I was on the bus, showered, waiting for the last few guys to shower and somebody called the (sports) director to tell him I had to go to the podium.”

Van Aert, the best allround rider this season, had no rival in the finale after the whole peloton took it easy all day long.

“It was maybe the most easy stage I’ve ever done in a cycling race because no breaks, no high pace,” said Van Aert, who on Tuesday did all the heavy work when Jumbo Visma team mate Roglic won the fourth stage.

“But everyone was pressing a lot at the end and it was hectic. I knew it was a stage that suited me and just so happy that I got the

opportunity from the team to go for it and to finish it off was sweet,” added the MilanSanremo champion.

With a tough sixth stage ahead and crosswinds expected at the end of the ride to Privas one day after a punishing mountain-top finish, the peloton rode at a leisurely pace.

No early breakaway was formed, a first since riders went on strike in 1998 to protest against some of their peers being detained for questioning by police amid the Festina affair.

In 1995, a Tour stage was turned into a procession one day after Italian Fabio Casartelli died in a crash during the race. Thursday’s sixth stage is a 191km middlemountain trek from Le Teil to the Mont Aigoual, where Yates’s yellow jersey will already be in danger.

“I won’t change my way of racing, I’ll just take it day by day,” said Yates, who was only targeting stage wins in this year’s race.

PAGE 22

Kaieteur News

Thursday September 03, 2020

Shimron Hetmyer: ‘I’m trying to just find my footing’ ESPNcricinfo - As Phil Simmons and Kieron Pollard plot West Indies’ T20 World Cup title defence in 2021, they can feel safe in inking in three names from Nos. 4 to 6: Nicholas Pooran, who made his maiden T20 hundred on Sunday evening, off 45 balls, on a pitch where the secondhighest strike rate was 128.26; Pollard himself, a T20 titan who seems to be getting better with every passing year; and Andre Russell, the star of last year’s IPL and a man who’s taken powerhitting to new heights.

At No. 3, Shimron Hetmyer’s name is currently written in pencil. Hetmyer is clearly the man West Indies want in that slot - he has not missed a T20I since August 2018, after all - but his performances in the role to date have left his position insecure: he averages just 21.4 in the role, with a strike rate of 121.59. He feels his place is not yet locked in.

Hetmyer has plenty of opportunities to impress before that tournament. He started this year’s CPL - a tournament that has been difficult for batsmen due to slow, low pitches and a lack of match practice - with two half-centuries, and is desperate to break Guyana Amazon Warriors’ knockout curse if they reach the semi-finals, which they look likely to.

And after that, he has a USD 1.1 million price tag to live up to at his new IPL franchise, Delhi Capitals. “I’m still learning my game somewhat,” Hetmyer tells

ESPNcricinfo. “I’m trying to take it one step at a time: setting out how to build an innings, how to set it up and how to finish it.

“I’m hitting the ball pretty well. To come out after five months without competitive cricket and to get two good scores was something I’d take any day. For most of it, I tried to spend some time and home and relax - to take my mind off the game, to be honest. It had been three or four years without a break.”

The IPL will serve as a good audition for that T20 World Cup. While it will be staged in UAE rather than India, Hetmyer knows that he will be playing with and against the world’s best on pitches that suit spinners.

His reflections on his season for Royal Challengers Bangalore last year - “it wasn’t the best; it wasn’t what I was looking to do in my first year of IPL” - are mixed, but in truth he was set up to fail.

He was used at No. 5 (twice), as an opener, and at No. 4 in the first four games of the season, then left out for the rest of the tournament until the final game with RCB already out.

But his innings on recall - 75 off 47 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad, with four fours and six sixes in a successful chase of 176 - gave him confidence that he belonged at that level.

“I’m not really trying to put too much emphasis on what happened last year,” he says.

“It’s always nice to go back and reflect on it and see what went well, like in the last game - what I did well, and how I went about

Everest Cricket Club congratulates President Manzoor Nadir On Tuesday last at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, President of Everest Cricket Club (ECC) Manzoor Nadir took the oath to serve as Speaker of the National Assembly of Guyana. The long serving politician returns to the National Assembly after an absence of five years.

As leader of The United Force (TUF), Mr. Nadir first entered the National Assembly as an opposition member in 1992 and served until 2001. He then crossed over to the government side of the House after accepting the role of Minister of Tourism from 2001 to 2006 then Minister of Labour from 2006 to 2011.

Over the years, Mr. Nadir has been an active member of one of the leading sporting facilities in the nation, the Everest Cricket Club where he kept active especially on the table tennis table. At the

club’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in 2018, Mr. Nadir was elected to serve as Treasurer and took the club to a better financial position after a successful term.

In 2019 and 2020, the club’s membership placed more confidence in Nadir in electing him to serve as President of the historic organization.

Despite the many challenges, Nadir has spearheaded a good team at Everest to maintain the high standards on and off the field making the club the venue of choice for many sporting and cultural events.

The executives, members and staff of Everest Cricket Club wish President Manzoor Nadir well in his new role and believe that with his experience, vision and credibility he will serve well as Speaker of the 12th Parliament.

setting up my innings.

“I think some of the other games, I was kind of ultraaggressive, somewhat. I’m still learning my game and trying to set it up in such a way that most times, I’ll be successful. In some situations, I tend to become ultraaggressive and move away from my actual gameplan. I’m really trying to structure it better starting in the nets and taking that onto the field, still thinking about every step I’m taking.

“I heard from Keemo [Paul] and Sherfane [Rutherford] that they’ve very good people and very good guys to be around [at Delhi], so I’m actually looking forward to that. For me it’s another opportunity to showcase my talent and do what I love. I’m trying not to think about the money too much - I’m trying to just do what I’ve been picked to do, and see the money as a bonus.”

While Hetmyer’s focus is currently on the CPL, he has

been unable to escape the fact the IPL is looming. In the Amazon Warriors’ earlyseason game against the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, he was mic’d up on the field, and told by the Capitals’ spin-bowling coach Samuel Badree: “Shimron, on behalf of the Delhi Capitals coaching staff, we want to see you drop some weight before you go off to the IPL.” “I did [take it as a joke] to be honest,” Hetmyer chuckles. “We have a good relationship, both from when he used to play and even off the field now. I’m going to the gym and doing my fair share of running, and so on.”

But fitness has been a consistent theme this year after a challenging 2019. That year started and ended well, with ODI hundreds at home against England and away in India, but his figures for the calendar year - averages of 24.40 (Tests), 38.70 (ODIs) and 18.36 (T20Is) - were

underwhelming. This year, he found himself left out of the ODI squad to play Sri Lanka due to a failed fitness test in February, and Badree’s jibe seemed to have a layer of uncomfortable truth to it.

The hope with Hetmyer is that he can knuckle down this year and come good on his clear promise. As the Caribbean Cricket Podcast’s Santokie Nagulendran has noted, Guyana is yet to produce a great T20 cricketer; anyone who has seen Hetmyer in full flow knows he has the ability to fill that void.

But Hetmyer’s aspirations extend beyond that. In fact, Test cricket is the format he is keenest to crack. “There’s like this legacy for Test cricket in Guyana,” he explains. “It’s something to live up to. I haven’t done as well as I would have liked, but I’m up for the challenge. I’m trying to just find my footing.”

He sat and watched England’s series against

Pakistan from his hotel room in Port-of-Spain, and admits to “sitting and thinking about it” when his mind wanders.

He is cagey when asked about his decision to decline selection for West Indies’ tour there earlier this year. “It was just the matter of Covid.

That’s it.” Does he have any regrets about giving others the opportunity in the middle order? “None that I could think of.”

But the thing that Hetmyer keeps coming back to is his age: he is only 23, and he emphasises time and again that he is still learning, still working out the tempo and rhythms of batting in each format.

“I’m still taking it one step at a time with my career as it is and with my batting,” he stresses. “But it’s coming. It’s going to be here sooner rather than later.” You would be hard pushed to find a fan in the Caribbean who doesn’t hope that is true.

Simmons fires as TKR crush Patriots CPL - The Trinbago Knight Riders showed they are a formidable squad, not just a starting XI, as Kieron Pollard rested both himself and Sunil Narine from an experimental lineup that was still far too good for the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots. Lendl Simmons found form, Sikandar Raza and Pravin Tambe were excellent with the ball, and the Patriots are all but out of Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) semifinal contention.

The Patriots paired Sheldon Cottrell and Alzarri Joseph with the new ball, but they leaked boundaries to Simmons and Amir Jangoo.

But Jangoo’s senior T20 debut was cut short by an excellent pick-up and throw off his own bowling by Cottrell to run him out.

Joseph hit Colin Munro on the hand, and when play resumed after a short shower Munro was unable to continue. Simmons took 11 off Rayad Emrit including a Hero Maximum, and then lofted Jon-Russ Jaggesar over midwicket. He followed up with a cut for four, and the Knight Riders were well set at 52/1 off the Powerplay.

Jaggesar and Dominic Drakes kept the Knight Riders boundary-less between the Powerplay and drinks, and Darren Bravo edged just short of Chris Lynn at short third man. At halfway the Knight Riders had only progressed to 68/ 1.

Simmons and Darren

Bravo managed only singles off Emrit. Joseph hit Darren Bravo in the head, but all was well, and Bravo ended a 35 ball streak without a boundary with a pull for four. Simmons too broke free, pulling Emrit for another Hero Maximum, before bringing up 50 off 42 balls with a single.

Simmons hitting Jaggesar straight over his head for his fourth Hero Maximum to bring up the Knight Riders hundred, then cut for four as the Knight Riders took 15 off the over. Emrit went to Cottrell, but he went for 17 as Darren Bravo lofted a Hero Maximum and Simmons picked up two fours. After 15 overs, the Knight Riders were 125/1.

Darren Bravo also hit Drakes for six, bringing up the 100 partnership off just 66 balls. Simmons pulled another Hero Maximum and Bravo creamed a four through extracover, making the 16th over another productive one. Emrit went for just four off his last, and Joseph started the 18th well, but Simmons bludgeoned two Hero Maximums to take himself into the 90s and the Knight Riders past 150.

A Patriots bowler finally got a wicket, Cottrell getting Darren Bravo strangled down the leg-side in a good 19th over that went for just 3.

Drakes got two wickets in two balls, as Simmons pulled to Cottrell to fall short of a century and Tim Seifert leading-edged and was well caught by Lynn. Raza

survived the hat-trick ball, and stand-in captain DJ Bravo smashed the last ball of the innings for a Hero Maximum.

Akeal Hosein and Khary Pierre took the new ball for the Knight Riders, and the latter picked up the dangerous Lewis, Tambe, belying his 48 years, took an athletic catch.

Lynn and Joshua da Silva broke free off Pierre, each hitting a Hero Maximum with Da Silva also sweeping for four, but even an over of 18 only took the Patriots to 34/1 after six.

Tambe and Anderson Phillip put the squeeze back on, with only one boundary between the Powerplay and drinks, and at halfway the Patriots needed almost 12 an over.

A Tambe maiden pushed that above 13, and with Da Silva going at barely a run a ball and Lynn going at well under four an over there had to be an acceleration soon.

It didn’t come off DJ Bravo, and while Da Silva drove Tambe for four, he was deceived by the Indian legspinner and drove a catch back to the bowler. At the end of Tambe’s outstanding spell, the Patriots were 67/2 off 13 and needed well over 15 an over.

Lynn climbed into a DJ Bravo full toss, but then sliced high in the air and was well caught by Raza to end a disappointing innings. Ben Dunk smashed Raza’s first ball for four but off his second got a reverse sweep all wrong and

popped up a simple catch to Seifert. With five overs left, Drakes and Ramdin were staring at a required run rate of 18.

That figure jumped above 20 as Pierre’s last over went for just seven, and Ramdin could only find midwicket when he tried to take on Raza. Raza did the work himself to pick up his third, taking a good diving caught-and-bowled as Drakes toe-ended an attempted straight hit. After 17, Raza had figures of 3/8 and the Patriots needed 27 an over.

Hosein picked up a deserved wicket late in his spell, getting Joseph stumped with one flung wide of off-stump. He celebrated by running to hug his childhood friend Khary Pierre.

Imran found himself with three slips for company as Hosein finished off the 18th over, and the game was now officially unwinnable.

Emrit added to the Hero Maximum charity fund off Phillip’s 20th, but the Patriots didn’t come close to winning this one, and the Knight Riders had made it eight wins from eight without breaking sweat.

Scores: Trinbago Knight Riders 174/4 (Simmons 96, DM Bravo 36; Drakes 2/35, Cottrell 1/ 32) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 115/7 (Lynn 34, da Silva 29; Raza 3/15, Tambe 1/12, Hosein 1/15, DJ Bravo 1/17) by 59 runs.

Thursday September 03, 2020

PAGE 23

Kaieteur News

Serena Williams beats Kristie Ahn in straight sets BBC Sport - Serena Williams began her pursuit of a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title with a dominant 7-5 6-3 win over fellow American Kristie Ahn. The 38-year-old went a break down in both sets but recovered to win in an hour and a half as she chases Margaret Court’s Grand Slam tally.

Wi l l i a m s gathered momentum late on, winning four straight games against the world number 96 in the second set.

“I was really happy with how I fought for every point,” she said.

“No matter how I was playing, I just had to get my Serena focus back so that was what I was working on today.”

But she will not be joined in the next round by her sister Venus Williams, who lost 6-3 7-5 to Czech 20th seed Karolina

Serena Williams has won the US Open singles title six times. (Getty Images) Muchova.

An error-strewn performance meant that twotime champion Venus, 40, made her first ever openinground exit at her home Grand Slam.

Meanwhile, men’s second s e e d D o m i n i c

Thiem advanced, having been leading 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 when Spanish opponent Jaume Munar retired from the match.

Thiem, 26, will face Indian world number 124 Sumit Nagal in the second round as he looks to capitalise on the

absence of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to win a maiden Grand Slam title.

Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev is also through to the second round, comfortably beating Argentine Federico Delbonis 6-1 6-2 6-4. He will play

Australia’s Chris O’Connell next.

Women’s 10th s e e d G a r b i n e Muguruza sealed her place in the second round with a 6-4 6-4 win against Japan’s Nao Hibino.

Seventh seed Madison Keys is through after beating Hungary’s Timea Babos 6-1 6-1, while American second seed Sofia Kenin claimed a 62 6-2 victory against Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer.

But former world number one Kim Clijsters’ return to Grand Slam tennis ended in defeat as Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia prevailed 3-6 7-5 6-1.

Belgium’s Clijsters - a three-time US Open champion - was given a wildcard for the tournament after coming out of retirement earlier this year.

‘I love my job’ - Williams With six of the world’s top 10 absent from the women’s draw because of the coronavirus pandemic,

Serena Williams has a prime opportunity to claim the 24th title she has been chasing since her last win at the 2017 Australian Open.

The third seed will face world number 117 Margarita Gasparyan of Russia in the second round, with the trickier challenge of compatriot Sloane Stephens possibly awaiting her after that.

Williams had to overcome some inconsistencies, gifting Ahn two breaks of serve, but brushed aside the suggestion that the lack of fans on Arthur Ashe Stadium had affected her level of play.

“It’s quiet,” she said. “It’s such a good stadium. It’s a Grand Slam and I think I’m still as passionate and intense out there.

“I love my job. I love what I do. You can’t do it forever even though I’ve kind of been doing it just over forever. One of these days it’s going to end and I love being out here.”

Hetmyer takes Guyana into semis CPL - Shimron Hetmyer followed another good Guyana Amazon Warriors bowling performance with an unbeaten half-century to take the perennial finalists to the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) knockout stages. Bar an early burst from Rakheem Cornwall, the St Lucia Zouks never got going with the bat as the Amazon Warriors mixed seam and spin to good effect, and Hetmyer made the total and the ground look far too small.

Cornwall smashed sixes off both Chris Green and Kevin Sinclair, but Andre Fletcher fell early, leadingedging Sinclair to short third man. Naveen-ul-Haq started with a wicket-maiden, Leniko Boucher pulling straight to captain Green at mid-on.

Imran Tahir also started with a maiden, leaving the Zouks 15/2 after four overs.

Cornwall hit two fours off Naveen, driving him over his head then pulling him, but when the opener mistimed a Romario Shepherd cutter Naveen pulled off an excellent catch diving forward.

Cornwall had hit 20 in four shots, but the Zouks only scored off six other deliveries to end the Powerplay at 27/3.

Green raced through an over for just two, and Tahir was unlucky not to get a wicket in an over that yielded only four. Najibullah Zadran attempted to reverse sweep Green to little effect, and Sinclair was unlucky a Najibullah top-edge fell safely.

Shimron Hetmyer © Getty Images Najibullah at last middled one, pulling Sinclair hard for a Hero Maximum, and at halfway the Zouks were 47/3.

Najibullah and Kavem Hodge managed to hustle eight off Green’s last over, but Hodge soon got stuck which put pressure on Najibullah, who tried to attack Tahir but under-edged a googly to keeper Nicholas Pooran.

Keemo Paul bookended his first over with wickets, starting with Hodge underedging through to Pooran and ending with Zouks captain

Daren Sammy falling LBW for another low score. At 59/6 off 13, the Zouks were in need of a rescue mission.

Mohammad Nabi and Javelle Glen survived Tahir’s last over, Paul’s second over like his first went for just two, and while Nabi clubbed Shepherd for four through cover that was the first boundary in 34 balls. Entering the last four overs, the Zouks were 72/6.

Nabi steered Naveen past point for four, but Naveen foxed him with a pair of slower

balls to put the onus on Nabi to attack. Nabi mistimed his drive and holed out to Sinclair at deep cover. Glenn got his first boundaries, both edged past short third man off Paul, as the Zouks finally managed a double-figure over to reach 89/7 off 18.

Naveen dropped short and was pulled for four to go for 11 off the last over of an otherwise excellent spell, and Glenn smoked a cover drive in the last over. But Paul recovered well to ensure that was the only boundary off the 20th, and the Zouks total felt some way under par.

Scott Kuggeleijn sprayed wides both sides of the wicket in a nine-ball first over that somehow only went for five.

The Amazon Warriors’ intention to attack the Powerplay was clear, as Chandrapaul Hemraj started Nabi’s first over by smashing a Hero Maximum and King closed it by square driving for four.

Brandon King was bowled attempting a ramp over fine leg, but the aggression continued with Hetmyer slashing for four.

Hemraj ruined a potential Nabi maiden with a Hero Maximum over long-off, and Hetmyer dismissed a Kuggeleijn longhop through point for four.

Cornwall closed the Powerplay tidily, but after six overs the Warriors were comfortable at 38/1.

Hemraj clipped Kesrick Williams fine for four to take the required run rate below

five an over. Hetmyer seized on Cornwall’s first poor ball, hammering a Hero Maximum over midwicket, and the Amazon Warriors ticked along to 55/1 off eight overs but soon after Hemraj was bowled by Nabi off both pads.

Hetmyer attacked Chemar Holder mercilessly, pulling his first two balls for Hero Maximums and following up with three fours in a row - a majestic cover drive on the up, a rasping square cut and a punch over mid-off - to rocket the Warriors to 82/2 and himself to 46 after 10 overs. A 24 run over had reduced an already simple chase to a stroll.

Nabi finished his spell tidily, but while Sammy showed faith in Holder, Pooran continued where Hetmyer had left off with a glorious check-driven four.

Hetmyer followed suit to bring up a third fifty of Hero CPL 2020 off just 33 balls, and after 12 overs the Amazon Warriors were 94/2 and needed just 16 to win.

Pooran walloped Glen through midwicket for four but fell next ball reverseslapping to cover where Boucher took a good low Points Standing TEAM M TKR 8 GAW 9 SLZ 8 JT 7 BT 8 SKNP 8

W 8 5 5 3 2 1

L 0 4 3 4 6 7

catch. The winning moment was a bye, but the job had been done by the bowlers and Hetymer, and with three straight wins the Amazon Warriors look to be gathering steam.

The Zouks had already qualified for the semis, but the top order will need to step up if they are to win Hero CPL for the first time. Such was the margin of victory that the Amazon Warriors jumped into second place, and who knows how important that could become the semi-finals.

Fixtures: Thu 03 September 2020 Match 25 Jamaica Tallawahs v St Kitts & Nevis Patriots Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad 10:00am Thu 03 September 2020 Match 26 Barbados Tridents v Guyana Amazon Warriors Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad 05:30pm Scores: Guyana Amazon Warriors 110/3 (Hetmyer 56*, Hemraj 26; Glen 1/9, Kuggeleijn 1/17, Nabi 1/23) beat St Lucia Zouks 109/7 (Glen 23*, Cornwall 21, Najibullah 19; Naveen 2/24, Paul 2/25, Tahir 1/10, Shepherd 1/11) by 7 wickets.

NR 0 0 0 0 0 0

PTS 16 10 10 6 4 2

NRR 1.008 0.444 0.069 -0.122 -0.143 -1.264

PAGE 24

Kaieteur News

Thursday September 03, 2020

Nuggets edge Jazz in Game 7 on late basket by Jokic

Denver Nuggets guard Monte Morris (11) brings the ball up court against Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) during the first half of game seven of the first round of the 2020 NBA Playoffs at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. (Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)

The Denver Nuggets survived a frantic finish to complete a rally from a 3-1 postseason deficit Tuesday night, getting a go-ahead hoop from Nikola Jokic with 27.8 seconds remaining for an 80-78 victory over the Utah Jazz in Game 7 of their Western Conference first-round series in the NBA bubble near Orlando.

The 4-3 win vaults the third-seeded Nuggets, who had never previously rallied to win a series from down 3-1, into a second-round matchup with the second-seeded Los Angeles Clippers, beginning Thursday night.

After sixth-seeded Utah forged a 78-all tie on a Rudy Gobert dunk with 47.5 seconds left, the Nuggets went to Jokic inside against the Jazz’s ace defender, and the Denver big man came through with a short hook shot in the lane for the game’s final points.

The Jazz had two subsequent possessions.

First, the Nuggets stripped the ball from Donovan Mitchell with 8.4 seconds to go. But rather than try to run out the clock, Denver rushed the ball up the floor and watched Torrey Craig miss a contested layup with 4.4 seconds remaining.

Gobert rebounded and got the ball to Mike Conley, who had a good look at a potential game-winning 3pointer just before the final horn but had the shot rim out.

In winning for the third straight time after falling behind 3-1 in the series, the Nuggets prevailed despite getting just 17 points on 7for-21 shooting from Jamal Murray, who suffered a bruised thigh in a collision with Utah’s Joe Ingles in the second quarter and was never the same.

Jokic paced the Nuggets with a game-high 30 points, completing a double-double with 14 rebounds.

Michael Porter Jr. chipped in with 10 points off the bench for Denver, which won despite shooting just 37.3 percent and scoring only 30 points in the second half.

After a slow start, Mitchell led the Jazz with 22 points, shooting 9-for-22, while Gobert had 19 to complement a game-high 18 rebounds.

Mitchell connected on a

pair of 3-pointers (on eight attempts), giving him 33 treys in the seven games and allowing him to break Stephen Curry’s single-series postseason record of 32, set in 2016. Murray wound up with 32 3-pointers in the series, though he was just 1for-6 from long distance on Tuesday.

Jordan Clarkson added 10 points for Utah, which had never previously lost a playoff series in which it led 3-1.

After Mitchell’s 13 thirdquarter points had rallied the Jazz into contention after they had trailed by as many as 19, Conley and Gobert combined for all the points in an 8-0 run to begin the fourth period and give Utah its first lead since the first quarter at 6865.

Denver subsequently regained a four-point lead on two consecutive hoops by Murray, the latter making it 78-74 with 1:43 to go.

But Utah made one last charge, rallying into a 78-all tie with 47.5 seconds to go on hoops by Royce O’Neal and Gobert, both assisted by Conley, setting up the wild finish.

Mitchell was held to two points in the first 22 minutes, during which the Jazz fell behind by as many as 10 in the first quarter and 19 in the second.

(Field Level Media)

Kerber battles past Friedsam to reach third round NEW YORK (Reuters) Former champion Angelique Kerber came through a fierce all-German tussle against Anna-Lena Friedsam 6-3 76(6) yesterday to book her place in the third round of the U.S. Open.

Kerber, seeded 17th, was fast out of the blocks as she moved into a 3-0 lead but 109th-ranked Friedsam settled down and made her more illustrious compatriot work hard for victory.

Friedsam broke back but surrendered her own serve in the sixth game from 40-0 to allow 2016 winner Kerber to regain control with another break.

Kerber broke immediately at the start of the second set but again Friedsam refused

to buckle and responded to break back when left-hander Kerber fired a forehand wide.

Friedsam, who suffered first-round exits on both her previous main draw appearances at Flushing Meadows, grew increasingly confident and worked tirelessly to force Kerber into a tiebreak on Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Kerber drifted an attempted dropshot wide on her first match point at 6-5 but a wild forehand from Friedsam offered her another chance and she converted at the second attempt. “It was really a tricky match and when you play against a German it’s never easily mentally,” Kerber, playing in her 50th Grand Slam tournament, said on court.

Kerber will face an American challenge next, either 13th seed Alison Riske or Ann Li.

Tuesday September 03, 2020

Kaieteur News

Celtics storm back to beat Raptors in Game 2 Jayson Tatum scored a playoff-career-high 34 points, Marcus Smart sunk five 3-pointers during a furious fourth-quarter comeback and the Boston Celtics rallied past the Toronto Raptors 102-99 in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series Tuesday night near Orlando.

Smart had 19 points, Kemba Walker added 17 and Jaylen Brown 16 as the Celtics took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 3 will take place today.

OG Anunoby had 20 points and Fred VanVleet 19 for the Raptors, who dropped to 0-3 against Boston in the NBA bubble. Toronto shot 11 of 40 (27.5 percent) from deep.

Down by as many as 12 late in the third quarter, the Celtics entered the fourth trailing 78-70. Smart, who had three points through the first three quarters, then took over. Smart nailed a trio of (Continued on page 19)

Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) warms up before game two of the second round of the 2020 NBA Playoffs against the Boston Celtics at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

(Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)

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Hetmyer takes Guyana into semis Naveen-ul-Haq takes a superb low catch and took two wickets to add to his tally, Guyana Amazon Warriors v St Lucia Zouks, CPL 2020, Trinidad, September 2, 2020 © Getty Images

Shimron Hetmyer led the run chase with another half century and a man-of-the-match showing, Guyana Amazon Warriors v St Lucia Zouks, CPL 2020, Trinidad, September 2, 2020 © Getty Images

Lendl Simmons found form to lead TKR to a comfortable win. (CPL)

Lendl Simmons fires as TKR crush Patriots

Serena Williams beats Kristie Ahn in straight sets Serena Williams has won the US Open singles title six times. (Getty Images)

Shimron Hetmyer:

‘I’m trying to just find my footing’ Nuggets edge Jazz in Game 7 on late basket by Jokic

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