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AIETEUR NEWS

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Ahead of US Secretary of State’s visit... Tuesday Edition

Trotman cautions government against “unholy agenda”

September 15, 2020 - Vol. 13 No. 37

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com Price $80

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Online readership yesterday, 171,096

Guyana running out of time to audit - Will be forced to- IMF accept US$10B costs Liza One & TwoNICIL transfers 130 With two-year deadline...

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Two planes, body of man, quantity of cocaine found at Issano p.

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- three foreigners arrested

acres of land; only two - Minister Indar fully paid for tells Parliament Task force establishedp. to recover money from 18 Attorney alleged Ponzi schemers-General - Alleged schemers now facing 72 fraud charges

Two vessels with illegal The two planes found by Joint Services ranks at Issano

in fuel seized at p.8- Five police Parika Stelling custody

Henry boys were killed police elsewhere and -reveal dumped in backdam p.7 - forensic samples lifted from crime scene

Giving billion$ to constitutional agencies without p.7 requisite officials in place is a statutory breach - Trotman

Govt. must be part of cost negotiations for oil developments p.

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- Payara project should be made public

- Oil & Gas Governance Network

Kaieteur News

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Tuesday September 15, 2020

Two planes, body of man, quantity of cocaine found at Issano - three foreigners arrested

Brazilian currency and a satellite phone were among the items found in the detained men's possession

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wo aircraft, a body of a man, a large quantity of cocaine and a crew of three men were over the past two days discovered by joint services ranks at Issano, Middle Mazaruni River, Region Seven.

According to police reports, ranks had located one of the planes, along with its crew, at around 23:00hrs on Sunday last at Nine Miles Airstrip, Issano.

Police said that its ranks had received a tip of a strange aircraft at the airstrip and immediately went to the

location.

There they found a 206 Cessna bearing registration PR-FMJ which indicates that it might be registered in neighbouring Brazil. Three male foreign nationals - one of them with a fractured arm and bruises to the face – were also located with the aircraft and subsequently detained for questioning.

The men reportedly identified themselves as two pilots and an internet technician.

Police said that one of the pilots is a 38-year-old of Boa Vista, Estado Roraima,

The bags with the suspected cocaine

The three foreign nationals currently in police custody

The 206 Cessna Aircraft found at Nine Miles Airstrip, Issano Brazil, while the other is a 29-year-old of Tumeremo, Estado Bolivar, Venezuela.

The remains of the Beechcraft at the crash site

The technician is said to be 35 years old and of Manaus, Brazil.

The three men are currently in police custody.

Investigators were told by the men that they were heading to Suriname when their aircraft developed some mechanical issues.

This they claimed forced them to crash land at the airstrip. The foreigners revealed too that another plane was travelling along with them and had crashed in the jungle.

Investigating ranks conducted a search of the plane in the presence of the men but found nothing illegal. Ranks, however, discovered in their possession a sum of Brazilian currency, a satellite phone and a cell, among other items. Investigators disclosed as well that there was no visible damage to the aircraft to support the men's claims of crash landing.

Joint Services ranks, according to police, then proceeded to search for the

other plane and found the wreckage of a blue and white beechcraft at around 12:05hrs yesterday, some distance away from the airstrip.

Among the wreckage was the body of an unidentified man and bags containing large quantities of a substance believed to be cocaine.

The crash site, according to reports, was secured while the other aircraft remains at the airstrip under police guard.

Tuesday September 15, 2020

Kaieteur News

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Guyana running out of time to audit Liza One and Two With two-year deadline...

- will be forced to accept US$10B costs - IMF

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he International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned Guyana since 2016, that one of the most critical challenges it faces is conducting effective cost audits, especially when it is taken into account that the Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with ExxonMobil only gives the nation a two-year window to contest unreasonable and/or inflated costs.

With such a timeline, it would mean that the country has to act swiftly or else, those costs as reported by the oil giant would have to be

accepted, the IMF cautioned.

The Liza Phase One Project which was approved in 2016 is said to cost US$3.7B while Liza Phase Two will be approximately US$6B, bringing the total close to US$10B. In spite of the IMF’s advice to get the audits done as quickly as possible, Guyana is yet to audit a cent expended by ExxonMobil since 2016 for Liza Phase One or Two. To compound this situation is the fact that the PPP/C Administration is expected by month-end to grant approval for ExxonMobil to expend billions of dollars more on

another project called Payara. That development is likely to cost another US$6B. G i v e n t h e n a t i o n ’s capacity deficiencies, international transparency bodies have strongly contended that the two year deadline the government has accepted, along with the fact that it can only do one audit per year, is not sufficient.

They have stressed that the timeline should be extended.

Specifically making this point is Oxfam America.

The entity is a confederation of 20 independent charitable

organizations, which seek to fight some of the factors that lead to poverty, one of them being the poor governance of extractive wealth.

Oxfam America noted that the expiration periods for audit rights are set out in petroleum contracts and tax laws.

It stressed, however, that these deadlines differ from one country to the next. It noted that in Ghana and Kenya for example, the authorities there retain the right to complete audit companies within seven years.

In Peru, the limit for audits is four years. Even in the USA, the transparency body

highlighted that audits are allowed to be completed within three years.

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

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

It said, “Oil companies should be required to keep all their records in-country for

easy access by the auditors during the audit period. But once that period expires, it becomes very costly to access records and therefore practically impossible to audit them…”

Oxfam warned that Guyana needs to take the auditing timeline for these costs as a matter of grave concern as it could cost the nation billions more.

NICIL transfers 130 acres of land; only two fully paid for - Minister Indar tells Parliament

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n the space of one day, Kaieteur News had reported in June that the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) had transferred some 130 acres of prime lands to private investors.

However, only two have been fully paid for. This was revealed by Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, during his maiden presentation to the National Assembly, yesterday.

According to the M i n i s t e r, o f t h e 2 3 transactions of prime, commercial lands in the villages of Ogle, Earl's Court and Le Ressouvenir on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD), nine have been vested, with only two paid in

full. With the total acreage being 29.96, these two plots of lands are valued at G$614,438,000, Indar said during day one of the budget debates.

Minister Indar went on to say that the total acreage and value of the nine that were vested is 130.556 acres and valued at G$3,355,318,000, while the total sum collected in respect of the nine vested is GY$614,438,000.

The lands were handed

over to Supergraphics (5.058 acres); GUYOIL (1.500 acres); the Residences at Earl's Court Incorporated (10.281 acres); Navigant Builders Incorporated (30.000 acres); Premier Sales and Services Incorporated (5.015 acres); Trinuyana Investments Incorporated (19.678 acres), Caribbean Marketing Enterprise Incorporated (21.096 acres), American Marine Services Incorporated (20.000 acres) and Cardiology Incorporated (8.000 acres).

One of these companies, Navigant Builders, was gifted 30 acres of land by NICIL, despite refusing the government's offer on three separate occasions. In fact, on June 23, the housing developer had emphatically

stated that, “Due to an uncertain business e n v i r o n m e n t , Wi n d s o r Estates/Navigant Builders, a US-based real estate developer will hereby be postponing its plans for the proposed Ogle project.”

N o t a b l y, t h i s w a s verbatim to a statement initially published on March 6 from the developer expressing concerns surrounding the then unconcluded March 2, General and Regional Elections. On July 2, the company issued another statement disclosing that

there had been a Gazetted Order indicating a transfer of 30 acres of prime lands to Navigant Builders in the Ogle/Sparendaam vicinity dated June 11 and published in the official gazette on June 30.

What is alarming is that this agency, which is a subsidiary of Windsor Estates, had no prior knowledge of receiving the land, even with no payments to date.

With these concerning details, anti-corruption advocate, Christopher Ram, is of the view that NICIL

should be investigated for its conduct and its forceful bid to sell off acres of prime lands to private developers despite not collecting full payments.

“The conduct of NICIL,” the Attorney-at-Law told Kaieteur News on July 7, “raises serious questions of legality and legitimacy which warrant not an explanation but investigation and probably prosecution.”

Ram said that the manner in which these deals are done, run the risk of Guyana (continued on page 8)

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Kaieteur News

Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana.

Publisher: GLENN LALL TEL:624-6456 Editor: Sharmain Grainger Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

EDITORIAL .

The significance of the US Secretary of State’s visit Let us get a few things straight immediately. US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, is not coming to Guyana on an official visit for either his health, our abundant sunshine, for a firsthand sampling of our world class rum, or for our once-fabled hospitality. Mr. Pompeo is visiting for a purpose, which is best summed up in a single word: Venezuela.

There are no two ways about this reality. It does not have anything to do with our oil, our relationship with Exxon, now reduced to being a beached American corporate whale, or about lending helpful voice and guiding hand in renegotiating that bone-in-the-throat contract. No! Mr. Pompeo is not gracing these shores and our Lilliputian selves with his mighty and unprecedented presence for any of those worthy things, which are of paramount importance to Guyanese.

To repeat: The Secretary of State, and they do not come any higher than that, is here for Venezuela. Thorny, stormy, sorry Venezuela is in the gunsights, and Guyana has a role to play, a crucial one. Guyana is expected to be bridgehead and launchpad.

This is so vitally important and supremely sensitive that the man himself, Mr. Pompeo, comes; or was dispatched to call in debts due and close this thing out by taking it into a higher gear. The old people in this country have a saying: now there will be understanding of how conkee boils. The leaders of Guyana better get real, for this is the bigtime of big power politics and big geopolitical interests and geostrategic visions. Venezuela is in the way. It must change.

Just like how the obstinate and troublesome coalition was made to bow and go before the mighty weight of the United States so, too, it is time for the Venezuelan caper to be addressed with the fullest force and power that the US can bring to bear. Gone are the days of coups, though a little of that was tried. Nowadays, there are these diplomatic ballets that, sooner or later, come out for what they really are: the street dance of break dance. Something has to give, something will break.

As KN noted in its Sunday, September 13 article regarding Mr. Pompeo’s visit, the Granger Administration had to go, because it stood in the way of progress. It is of the kind envisioned by American minds, and in which tiny Guyana becomes a pivotal place, and serves as a crucial cog in the chain of calculations. Those calculations are huge and what was asked of Mr. Granger and company could only have been the beginning of many other things to come. Well, Guyana is seeing that now, for the Secretary of State comes. He expects much for favours extended during a time of severe need. Think of this: US Secretaries of State do not visit just any place on the globe, and especially not a backward, woeful space like Guyana. But there he is, and it is not for a shallow courtesy call, but about a bag full of expectations. Better make that demands for elections goodies delivered.

Think of this also: relaying Voice of America broadcasts is not a stand alone. Those broadcasts are given a boost with covert energies on the ground, be it for purposes of intelligence gathering or, more alarmingly (for Guyana), destabilizing efforts to bring closure to the Maduro and Venezuela problem. Incidentally, a number of other longstanding and undermining issues also would be addressed with the removal of Mr. Maduro. These would encircle the business about socialism and the matter of Exxon’s presence.

The Ali Administration has already demonstrated it is up to whatever is asked of it. It has delivered by backing Mr. Mauricio Claver-Carone for that leadership role with the IDB. Now Dr. Ali will have to do much more. We wait to see what spin will be put on whatever is finalized. That is, if the Guyanese public is enlightened on what was agreed upon and what went down. Since Guyana must pay for elections favours rendered, it should include getting more from Exxon as part of the quid pro quo. We shall see, as Mr. Pompeo comes to town. Georgetown will never be the same again.

Tuesday September 15, 2020

Budget 2020 was visionless and could financially destabilise the country DEAR EDITOR, In Stabroek News of 2020.09.14, a letter was published by Deodat Indar, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, under the headline, “Emergency budget is a step in the right direction.”

His letter was ostensibly a response to an article carried in that paper which strung together parts of a more than one hour interview I had with another media outlet, giving my reaction to Budget 2020 that was presented by the Minister of Public Works.

I found it odd that the onus of a response fell upon a Junior Minister, not in the Ministry of Finance (that, in itself, would have been bad enough), but in the Ministry of Public Works. So, we have the Budget being presented by the Minister of Public Works, the Appropriation Bill being signed by the Vice President, and the Budget response being left to the Junior Minister. Such a development is unheard of in the history of budgeting and finance in our Parliament. It points to confusion and disarray that are of the government’s own making.

As a politician now wetting his feet in Parliament, Mr.

Indar is advised to let truth be his North Star, though some would say that politician and truth are anathema. His response was more of a distraction, a side show. Clearly still on the campaign trail, he was in familiar mode of the PPP of attacking the messenger, instead of understanding the message. I seek solace in the words of Dr. Michelle Obama: when they go low, you go high.

Nowhere in his response was there a serious attempt to engage me in debate, to rebut my main messages, which were essentially that Budget 2020 was visionless; all it achieved was an unmanageable deficit that could destabilise the country financially. I elaborate further.

Tradition dictates that the President would address the Parliament at its ceremonial opening of a new session, where the opportunity would be taken to spell out his government’s policies, programmes, projects, and give insights to the legislative agenda over his 5-year term.

For whatever reason, this did not happen. The task, therefore, devolved on the Minister of Finance to use the budget speech to lay out, in de-

tail, and to bring into sharp focus, his government’s Vision 2025. This was not done (unlike Budget 2015 that was presented on August 11, 2015) - a serious omission when one considers that there is no national development plan or strategy. The resurrection of the dated Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) can hardly be considered to be a viable substitute. This makes the rejection by the government of the recently-completed Green State Development Strategy (GSDS) all the more foolhardy.

My second point is the ballooning of the deficit, occurring at a time when the Vice President is on record as saying the Treasury is bankrupt.

Set out below is a table taken from page 3 of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for 2020.

Central Government Summary of Revenue and Expenditure (in billions of Guyana dollars) Item Actual2018 Revised2019 Budget2020 1. Overall deficit 19.7 17.4

75.9 2. Total Revenue 244.1 274.2 253.7 3. Total Expenditure 263.8 291.6 329.6 Source: Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure 2020 As shown in the table, the Overall deficit, which declined from $19.7 billion in 2018 to $17.4 billion in 2019, is budgeted to sharply increase to $75.9 billion, nearly 4.5 times the size in 2019 and equivalent to about 2.5 times the current amount in the Sovereign Wealth Fund. That is a fact and no amount of invectives thrown at me, by Mr. Indar, will change it. This is gross mismanagement of the country’s financial affairs that should not be countenanced by anyone, regardless of their political stripe.

This recklessness is due mostly to the government’s inept policies. Total Revenue, which rose by 12.3% in 2019, is budgeted to decline to $253.7 billion, or 7.5%. No doubt, the contraction of the non-oil economy, as a result of COVID and the uncertain (Continued on page 6)

We need to explore what we mean by ‘one people’ DEAR EDITOR, Stabroek News in its editorial of 13th September, titled “Race Relations”, concluded that with respect to the onepeople ideal of our country’s motto One People, One Nation, One Destiny, “we’re not there yet.” This conclusion forces us to define what should we mean when we say “one people” and how we should measure progress towards or attainment of that ideal.

While “one nation” and “one destiny” are concepts external to our mental and emotional state, “one people” could only be truly and meaningfully defined within that state; meaning, the notion depends on how we feel in our hearts and minds about it.

To unpack “one people”, we should address four issues: (i) identifying the parts that have to come together as one, (ii) what “one people” should not mean as a general upfront matter, (iii) what should one people therefore mean for us, (iv) how do we measure progress, and (v) how to know Guyana is there. (i) In Guyana, the parts that must come together are, of course, our celebrated six races. As class and other identities are less socially or politically ignitable, they pose less a threat to our oneness.

That said, a race can encompass several ethnic groups as,

for example, the Amerindian tribes in Guyana. The idea of “one people” therefore should be more broadly conceptualized than six races. (ii) As a general matter, it helps if upfront we reject what “one people” should not mean. Firstly, we have rightly never considered it to mean melting-pot assimilation, where later-arriving ethnicities would be baked into an earlier-existing dominant culture. Also, “one people” should not mean, given our ethnic diversity, that the politics of ethnic difference (and any likely conflict) have to disappear. Our ethnic politics should be managed, but for it to disappear would be an unreachable demand. Further, one people should not mean, in the lyrics of Bob Marley, “One Love”.

Nor should it be superficially equated to the sharing of the same citizenship, physical space, and national destiny. (iii) Affirmatively, what then should it mean? First, it should mean mutual respect of each other’s ethnic identity by individual citizens and the state. Two, it must mean a shared sense of belonging to a greater concept, namely the idea of Guyana and the Guyanese identity. Three, oneness must mean equality of opportunity and treatment for all, as inequalities will fragment oneness. Four, oneness

must include our other social identities such as class, gender, and national origin (the last, in light of the growing presence of refugees and migrants). (iv) How should we measure the status and variation of one people-ness? We have to conduct national surveys of what people say of their feelings and beliefs, and how they behave.

Such surveys can provide three key benefits. One is to reliably detect trends over the course of time. Two is to be able to judge whether incidents of inter-ethnic animus are symptomatic or merely anomalous. Three is to guide policy formulation on improving race relations and national unity.

As regards feelings and beliefs, the main survey instrument should be the interview. Typical questions could include: how strong is your sense of belonging to Guyana? To what extent do you feel your culture or ethnicity is respected?

As regards actual behaviours, the most informative would be those that could be mapped on a social-distance scale, such as frequency and type of inter-ethnic social contacts, residential patterns, and inter-ethnic marriages and households.

The assumption is that the shorter the social distance,

the greater the oneness. The Ethnic Relations Commission should spearhead such surveys.

As an indicator, the spewing of hate speech on social media deserves attention.

That persons can use the forum to incite racial hostility cannot be over-emphasized.

The extent, however, to which hate speech on social media actually reflects race relations or oneness in Guyana requires a deeper analysis.

That analysis would have to, for instance, distinguish between hate speech and lawful frankness, between genuine opinions and hyperbolic excesses, and between extremists/ provocateurs and decent folks. (v) Finally, measuring one people-ness would not tell us when we are there (as in SN’s “not there yet”). Is “there” a pure ideal or an optimal realistic position? Human shortcomings being what they are, we have to aim for the realistic. This should be defined as the state of affairs where a critical mass of citizens feel strongly attached to the national project and believe (it’s all about people’s mental states) that their identities do not disadvantage them in terms of recognition, prosperity and safety.

Yours truly, Sherwood Lowe

Tuesday September 15, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Pompeo’s visit is primarily to encourage VP Jagdeo to expedite the Payara approval DEAR EDITOR, A friend of mine who is living in Guyana wrote me earlier this afternoon asking for my thoughts on Secretary Pompeo’s upcoming visit to Guyana. Below are two thoughts I offered plus three more:

1: They should expect pressure to approve the Payara proposal immediately, because: - the price of Brent quality oil closed at just under $40.00 Sunday. Guyana’s oil was rated at a few notches lower than top quality Brent.

But for this analysis, I will use $40.00 as the selling price.

- Guyana’s royalty of 2% comes off the top.

That’s 80 cents per barrel.

- Exxon’s production cost at Liza One is $35.00 per barrel, as publicly stated by Hess Corporation, a 30% partner in the Stabroek Consortium, of which ExxonMobil is the managing entity.

(Remember Hess was showing the stock market how much money they were about to make from such a low costof-production field, so I believe them).

- Guyana gets 50% of the “profit” in the form of oil, referred to as “profit oil”.

- there is, what I have referred to previously as, a “genius clause” in an otherwise lopsided contract. That is, the expenses Exxon can claim are capped at 75% of the selling price, for purposes of

calculating profit. (Wish I had that in my gas contracts!)

- that means that expenses are capped at $30.00 per barrel for calculation of Guyana’s profit, on oil sold at $40.00 per barrel.

- Gross “profit” is therefore $40.00 - “$30.00” = $10.00 per barrel.

- Guyana’s profit share is $5.00 per barrel.

- Guyana’s total take is $5.80 at the price of $40.00 per barrel.- what is Exxon’s take? $40.00 - $5.80 = $34.20 - Exxon’s actual production cost was $35.00. That is a loss.

Welcome to the oil business!

Note that this is before amortizing capital expenses, estimated at between $6.00 to $7.00 per barrel by Hess.

Their published information does not specifically say that capital expenditure is included in production costs, so I want to leave it out there.

If someone knows, please let me know.

Hess hedged 90% of their future sales at $60.00 per barrel.

That is standard good practice for smaller producers. I am told that Exxon doesn’t hedge. Makes sense. They sell their oil mostly to their own refinery divisions! (Hess sold off their refineries several years ago).

Hedges are usually for one year out. Hess’ March 2020 contracts will probably expire in February 2021. Even though they are getting

$60.00 per barrel today (despite the going price being $40.00 for November production), March 2021 doesn’t look too bright for the price of oil. Presumably, Hess have some hedges in place going forward, but my friends here who hedged their production for early next year told me that the future price was at around low to mid-forties, and very difficult to get.

Last week, our bank’s Oil and Gas committee set our Futures Price Deck at $45.00 through 2021. (Basically, a considered guess. We have to do it quarterly to give our petroleum lenders a benchmark for calculating our clients’ borrowing base, when future oil production is our collateral).

- Liza Two and Payara’s projected production cost is $25.00 per barrel, according to Hess. Note that is ten dollars lower than Liza One. -Doing the same analysis as before, with same selling price of $40.00 per barrel: Royalty to Guyana at 2% = 80 cents.Gross Profit on sale per barrel: $40.00 - $25.00 = $15.00 Guyana’s 50% share = $7.50.

Guyana’s total take = $8.30 Exxon’s take is $40.00 - $8.30 = $31.70 Exxon’s net profit on projected Liza Two and Payara oil = $31.70 - $25.00 = $6.70 per barrel! That’s how we like it.

That is the reason why any delay in Payara’s approval is so critical to ExxonMobil and to Hess. That is worth bring-

The residents of Holmes Stelling are being severely affected by construction in the area DEAR EDITOR, through the houses of the

There’s a burning issue that’s been affecting the residents living at Holmes Stelling at the back of the fertilizer wharf on Water Street.

There’s a major demolition that has been ongoing at the Avinash Complex for the past 4 months, being carried out by a local firm JR Ranch Inc. who was contracted to do the demolishing by one of the oil and gas firms operating here in Guyana by the name of Saipem.

The company is one of the contractors for ExxonMobil.

What baffles me and leaves me dumbfounded is that there’s so much double standard within these oil companies and they always try to take advantage of any situation they get their hands on especially the poor and the powerless. The main issues are the vibration from the different types of heavy machinery that are operating daily is causing serious vibrations

residents nearby, just a stone’s throw away. Some of the residences are complaining that all their appliances are falling off their walls, television, stereos, everything is shaking due to the heavy vibrations.

One resident has a child who’s two weeks old and the vibrations are affecting the infant tremendously.

The people are wondering if they should incur any damage if anyone is going to compensate them for the losses or, God forbid, the worst-case scenario should happen that one of the houses collapse with one of the residents and their little children inside. Then we will know about the safety protocols and measures in place when it’s too late, when lives are lost.

Only a few months, back a large crane that was doing some construction work for an oil and gas company crashed into the municipal abattoir on

Water Street; luckily no one was injured at the time because it wasn’t a working day at the abattoir. The residents at Holmes Stelling don’t want to stymie development or progress in this country but are concerned about their health and safety, something that is paramount within the oil and gas sector.

To date, no company or any relevant body has had any consultation or conversion with any of the residents living nearby and this is only the demolition phase; what will happen when the major construction begins to build a pipe storage facility? When they have to drive concrete piles 400ft into the earth, the residents there will be on their own like refugees fleeing from their own country I’m pleading with the relevant authorities to look into this matter urgently: the EPA, the Minister of Housing and Water and all other relevant authority.

Yours truly, D. Halley

ing out their biggest gun.

A $6.70 profit per barrel versus an eighty cent loss per barrel is well worth consideration of making a PAC contribution to a political party, channeled of course through the company’s lobbying firm!

As you well understand, that is most certainly not a quid pro quo. It’s always because the company likes what a politician is doing for the national good. As long as we are clear about that.

- The Stabroek Consortium has an active lobbying firm in Washington. My guess is that Secretary Pompeo’s visit

is primarily to “encourage” VP Jagdeo to “expedite” the Payara approval.

2: Since this is an official visit, Guyana should expect a push for Shared Governance of some sort, but with lesser insistence than 1 above. This will be to “stabilize” democracy, and even maybe, their investments.

3: I would not be surprised if he “suggests” that talk about renegotiating, reviewing, revisiting, revising the present contract be put on hold until the price of oil ‘stabilizes’.

4: Might he be offered the Order of Roraima, or the hon-

orary version thereof, since US citizens cannot accept foreign honors, for his services to Guyana’s democracy? I read somewhere that during the election results standoff, he personally called ex-President David Granger and “advised” him on the way forward. I don’t know if that is true.

5: Since I started writing this, my friend in Guyana wrote back to suggest that he thinks that constitutional reform might be on his agenda too. I agree, so want to include that idea.

Yours truly, Tulsi Singh

THE PEOPLE MUST COME OUT AND SAY ‘NO TO PAYARA’ The people of Guyana must now come out and boldly say “No to Paraya & Yes to Re-Negotiate”. We know that the Coalition (previous administration) cannot come out and openly complain about the contracts which they have signed. It would also appear that the current administration has skeletons which have also compromised them and now they are about to approve the Payara project without consulting the people.

The Bayphase report has not been made available to the public. The Canadian report has also not been made available. The draft of the License Agreement for the Payara currently under discussion is also not available.

The oil belongs to the people of Guyana. All the people. Not just the President

and his Vice President and Ministers and the parliamentarians. All the people, all 750,000 of us. It is now up to us to make our voices heard.

Now, before the granting of another license agreement.

Now, when the US Secretary of State Mr. Mike Pompeo, will be here. Our voices must be heard all the way to Washington. Our position must be remembered all the way to the next elections.

If the politicians in government (both the PPP/C and the Coalition) will not organize us to protest, then we the people must do so on our own, quietly and peacefully.

We should not let the politicians leave us out when it comes to our future; the future of our children and our grandchildren. We must let our voices be heard.

The impending visit of the

US Secretary of State is the perfect opportunity for the people to let their voices be heard. I am suggesting that the people on their own prepare sets of placards, which they will use wherever the US Secretary of State shows up: 1. Welcome to Guyana Friend 2. Say No to Payara – Yes to Re-Negotiate 3. Be Fair to Guyana 4. Have a Nice Visit After 70 years of self-rule, we have managed to empower a set of politicians who are primarily serving only their own interests. There is nothing to indicate that the current crop of politicians is prepared to go to the mat for the people. The people must now speak over the heads of the politicians.

Yours truly, Sase Shewnarain

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday September 15, 2020

We need to do more peace building and extend mercy to others DEAR EDITOR, Today, I would like to commend the Joint Services for their efforts over the weekend to facilitate the funeral of Joel and Isaiah Henry. Well done Joint Services! I read a press statement from the Joint Services over the weekend on the funeral and there were two points which were commendable; the reference to the Joint Services forging partnership with the families, relatives, friends and supporters and secondly, showing recognition to the various stakeholders for their support to the Joint Services efforts. Keep building on these aspects.

The Guyana Police Force also distributed a traffic advisory on the route for the funeral; this was a really good approach at conflict management. People needed space to

grieve and the police were facilitating that space and process.

I really like this approach; it is much progress in the right direction from some of what we saw last week. The Joint Services, and us generally as a people, need to focus more on conflict management and peace building. Something very tragic happened with the killing of Joel and Isaiah Henry and people were and still are very hurt and angry, so managing the conflict in this case, also means giving people space to grieve, of course in lawful ways.

There is much hope for our society, the fact that some of our leaders and officials still listen and take advice, these are positives that we can built on.

I would just like to share

an experience which I had recently on extending mercy.

About six weeks ago, I was going into a store and there was a loose piece of wood over a surface drain, I stepped on the wood and fell and hit my face; my teeth went through my top part of my mouth. I went to the hospital, and the X-ray showed that I had not broken any bones or teeth.

The store manager was very compassionate and kept calling a lot and for days to see how I was doing and informed me that they would have paid my medical bills.

However, I was so happy that the doctor and the dentist said that I would be fine, that I told the manager I do not need any money for the medical expenses, just fix the loose wood so that what happened

The purpose of Pompeo’s visit is to get what is in the best interest of his country DEAR EDITOR, The man is coming, US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo. That’s right, the same person who was just a short time ago, the Director of the CIA, and has probably read a detailed dossier of each key member of this government that he will meet. Oh yes, he has a pleasant demeanor and gentle smile, but he is at the top of his game, can read body language very well, and can probably discern if anyone is speaking with absolute confidence or just rolling along.

The purpose of his visit is to get what is in the best interest of his country, and his country alone, whatever that is. And that is the number one priority. Guyana missteps by even thinking of asking him to insert himself in the ongoing drama with Exxon, Payara Issues, Stabroek Block Agreement, or anything else.

Worst of all, to (ask) expect him to help resolve any disagreements, sends a horrible signal to the rest of the world watching us. It would clearly, once and for all, solidify any

impression that the current government is wholly unprepared/incompetent or just not up to the task of dealing with any conflict with any multinational company on a global scale.

If this groveling posture is what we present, then we are doomed, and we deserve every single lash that Exxon and the others gives this country.

Again, the ex-CIA director’s responsibilities does not involve rescuing us from our own past or current shortcomings/inabilities or unwillingness to deal with international business conflicts on the horizon. Many American ex-government officials continue employment at large corporations like Exxon, etc. That is one big friendly network. They all know each other and play golf together. There is always 2025 if the opposition party knows how to re-invent and re-image itself effectively. Probably not. Stranger things have happened, though.

Yours truly Chi Kansi

to me does not happen to anyone else. It could have been a pregnant woman, an elderly or disabled person. I then told him that it would be nice if he could do one more thing for me, he said what is that? I said, serve God for the rest of your life. Let this mercy that I have extended to you, mean something. I also told him that

he had not lost a customer either and I will still shop at his store.

Within a week, my face was healed. I still have a minor problem but in time, I know that I will heal perfectly.

I think I healed so fast because of how I managed the situation. Now, it was the perfect situation to exploit

someone, but I chose not to.

We need to do more peace building and extend mercy to others; I believe that even at the level of the government, more mercy needs to be extended. That is one way of us moving on as individuals and as a society.

Yours truly, Audreyanna Thomas

Budget 2020 was visionless and ...

From page 4 political situation in the first half would have dampened tax collection and influenced the projected outcome.

However, a major contributory factor is the weakening of the tax base by the indiscriminate removal of taxes to satisfy manifesto promises, regardless of the objective conditions or whether these are currently feasible. For example, at a time when gold prices are US$1900, the government chooses to remove VAT on mining equipment.

Would this be to encourage a surge in mining activities?

Simple economics would indicate that that price is enough of an inducement to achieve this questionable objective.

Another example is the removal of corporate income taxes on private health care and education, ostensibly to bring down the prices of these products. A noble and worthy gesture, indeed! Except that simple economics indicate that whenever demand outstrips supply, as in both cases, removal of a tax or subsidy does not necessarily lead to lower prices. The supplier is not induced to offer such concessions, especially in the short-term, unless an explicit contract is forged between government and supplier. One just has to recall what happened when the Coalition government removed the VAT on private education.

Several measures were already being enjoyed by the supplier/consumer and do not provide new relief. These include removal of VAT on electricity, water, medical supplies and hinterland travel. The removal of export taxes is a nonmeasure since no such taxes are imposed. The re-introduction of old tyres and cars over 8 years old is retrograde, inconsistent with greening the economy and indifferent to the gridlock experienced with the existing car stock on the few main roads in the country. A better approach would have been to lower the taxes on new cars and new tyres.

Even though none of the measures indicate a revenue loss or gain (in violation of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act), it is clear that the 7.5% decline that is projected for total revenue would worsen in 2021, when

the full year effect of the measures is felt.

An examination of Total Expenditure would see the same folly. From the table, total expenditure, which rose by 10.5% in 2019, is projected to rise further by 13% to $329.6 billion. Mr. Indar claims that $160 billion of that amount was already spent by the time his government took office.

But, nowhere in the Estimates can this figure be identified. I hope he is aware that Article 219(3) of the Constitution demands that a Statement of all withdrawals from the Consolidated Fund during the period that Parliament was dissolved be presented for approval prior to those expenditures being included in the Appropriation Act. I await the presentation of that conclusive evidence, since that would determine how much is being budgeted to be spent in the last quarter.Mr. Indar and his colleagues extol the virtues of Budget 2020 as being a people’s budget. There is $25,000 to be provided to all households, instead of households that are in need.

The logistics of that exercise has not been disclosed but, already, there are screams of discrimination. There is mention of a two-week bonus for the Disciplined Services and $150 million set aside for frontline workers. There is no increase in the income tax threshold, no reduction in the income tax rate for workers, no announcement of increase in salaries for public servants.

Some of the expenditure measures are to take effect from January 1, 2021. As such, their costs are not reflected in Budget 2020. For example, Old Age Pension will increase by $4,500 per month. Assuming 53,000 pensioners, this would add $2.86 billion, annually. It is not clear whether recipients of Social Assistance will benefit similarly, as no mention was made of them in the budget. If this was an oversight, then about 12,500 recipients, getting an increase of about $2,500 per month will see another $375 million being added to expenditure in 2021. Pensioners will be getting free water. But this measure reintroduces an element of discrimination, since it benefits only pensioners with a water meter in their name.

Assuming they will get the $18,000 that they received annually, prior to May 2015, this will add another $954 million to expenditure in 2021, by way of subsidy to GWI. The government also announced reintroduction of child grant of $15,000 and doubling of uniform allowance to $4,000, both with effect from 2021. These were not costed, but will surely add another couple billions of dollars to expenditure in 2021. These are sufficient examples to show why the double whammy of declining revenues and inflated expenditures has caused the budget deficit to balloon.

These are the unvarnished facts, which Mr. Indar must refute. As the former Chief Finance Officer of a wellknown company, he would not have recommended such a budget to the board. Why does he not exhibit the same rectitude when it is the national economy?

The second matter has to do with a fraud of $300 million at Guyoil. When this matter was brought to my attention, circa July 2020, by the then Chairman of the Board, Mr Mark Bender, I, immediately, requested that he call in the police. He advised me that an internal investigation was being conducted and, upon conclusion, the police would be called in. I called the then Chief of Staff of the GDF, Brigadier West, to enquire whether he was aware of a fuel scam involving employees of the army and Guyoil.

He expressed awareness of the matter and indicated that the army was conducting investigations. The scam was also brought to the attention of Cabinet and the Defence Board, both institutions of which I was a member. I demitted office on August 2, at a time when the investigations by Guyoil and the army had not been concluded.

This is not the first attempt to besmirch my character; several have been made in the recent past.

I do not intend to prolong any debate on Budget 2020. I leave that to our Parliamentarians, commentators, students and other interested stakeholders.

Yours truly, Winston Jordan Former Minister of Finance

Tuesday September 15, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 07

Henry boys were Giving billion$ to constitutional killed elsewhere agencies without requisite officials and dumped in in place is a statutory breach - Trotman backdam- police reveal A

- forensic samples lifted from scene

Dead: Isaiah Henry

I

nvestigators probing the murders of 16year-old Isaiah Henry and his 18-year-old cousin, Joel Henry have disclosed that the boys were killed somewhere else and then dumped in the backdam. The boys' mutilated bodies were found in the Cotton Tree backdam just over one week ago.

Police revealed too that they had encountered difficulties accessing the crime scene due to the several days of violent protests by the people of West Coast Berbice. However, after the chaos had subsided investigating ranks were able to access the scene and only

Dead: Joel Henry then could have determined that the boys were not killed at the spot where they were found. It was further revealed that forensic evidence was discovered at the scene and this was lifted, preserved and sent to the Forensic Laboratory for DNA analysis to be conducted.

DNA samples were also taken from the suspects who were in custody and sent for a comparative analysis to be conducted against the forensic evidence collected from the secondary crime scene. Those results are expected within three weeks, police said.

According to reports, (continued on page 12)

t the convening of Guyana's 12th Parliament, the governing People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) approved $11.2 billion for a list of constitutional agencies but this, according to Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Raphael Trotman, constitutes a statutory breach as the requisite officials have not yet been appointed.

As the 2020 Budget Debates kicked off yesterday morning at the Arthur Chung Conference Center, Trotman told the National Assembly that “we have not started off on a good footing.”

Proffering an explanation, he said, “In its first appearance in the National Assembly, the PPP audaciously committed multiple illegalities or statutory breaches, if you will, when it purported to pass the budgets for the Constitutional Agencies in clear violation of the precepts of the Financial Management and A c c o u n t a b i l i t y (Amendment) Act of 2015.”

That Act, he said, pellucidly states that the procedure be adopted by the Finance Minister (presuming that one is appointed), the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Clerk of the National Assembly and the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.

Trotman argued that at the

time of presenting the estimates for those Constitutional Agencies, “to the best of our information and belief, there was no gazetted Finance Minister, no elected Speaker and no Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.”

Further, he pointed out that the law speaks of providing “sufficient time” for Parliamentary representatives to consider the estimates presented. “It is well-nigh impossible,” Trotman added, “for Members to have taken the oath of office and within minutes thereafter, be able to sufficiently consider these vast sums for the numerous Constitutional Agencies.”

The former Natural Recourses Minister also added that it would be “futile and foolish” to argue that sending the Estimates out in envelopes before September 1 was “sufficient” time to review them, as before that date, there was not a single elected MP. It is a worrying fact, Trotman said, that the PPP would “cast aside” the Constitution and laws of Guyana “so early and so blatantly”.

“The question remains as to whether, Mr. Speaker, you will find a way to remedy this situation before the

Opposition MP, Raphael Trotman Appropriations Bill is passed as per the letter and spirit of the law,” he added.

Turning his attention to the $330 billion Emergency Budget, the former Minister addressed contentions that his government, the previous A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition, bankrupted the National Treasury.

According to Trotman, if this was accurate, the new administration would have failed to conjure such a large budget within mere weeks of being in office. “No Houdini or illusionist could conjure up a

$330B budget if indeed the treasury was empty. It is sickening to hear the untruth being repeated over and over that the APNU+AFC left the country bankrupt,” Trotman pointed out.

“Tell me where you found the money from to produce a budget in 30 days?” he asked, adding that “Guyana under the Grangerled administration, and with Winston Jordan as Minister of Finance, experienced five straight years of sustained economic growth at an average of 3.6 percent of GDP, with the highest being 2019 at 5.4 percent.”

The Opposition MP pointed out that the new administration inherited an economy, said to be the fastest growing in the hemisphere, if not the world. He explained that the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in November 2019, predicted an 86 percent growth in 2020 – a figure that has since been revised due to the COVID-19.

“These are the fundamental and inconvenient truths that some among us don't want to come out? We weren't a “deh bad” country that we used to be or some are trying to make it out to be,” Trotman maintained.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 08

Tuesday September 15, 2020

Govt. must be part of cost negotiations - Payara project should be made for oil developments public - Oil & Gas Governance Network I

n order for Guyana to get as much value as reasonably possible from the extraction of its petroleum resource, the Government must be part of negotiations of costs for the development of its oil fields.

This is the urge of the Oil and Gas Governance Network (OGGN). The pressure group, formed to ensure good governance of Guyana's oil sector, insists that Guyana must not allow itself to be saddled with costs it cannot verify.

“To ensure we are not being saddled with an unfair 75 percent of oil revenues going towards expenses, since Guyana is sharing the cost and the profits,” it stated, “the government must be a part of all cost negotiations and implementation with all sub contracts (such as FPSO, etc.).

The contract with Exxon must be broken down by activities, items of work, a bill of quantities, with the costs as unit rates, lump sum, etc., so that government can verify that costs are appropriate. This would avoid possible overbilling such as a US$6,000 plane ticket from Miami to Guyana

where a fair price may be US$800. This is one of the reasons why the present contract is unfair.”

Several members of the OGGN signing on to this statement are Ramnarine Sahadeo, Dr. Jerry Jailall, Rajendra Singh, Joe Persaud, Mike Persaud, Charles Sugrim, and Darshanand Khusial. They are civil society professionals who have displayed a sustained interest in the management of Guyana's oil and gas industry.

Overbilling, the issue they are championing today, could cost Guyana billions of United States dollars if it is not well handled. This is because Exxon and its partners have to recover all of their investments from the sale of the oil, and the more oil companies recover, the less Guyana gets from profit oil.

For instance, if all of the recoverable oil in a field is worth US$20 billion and oil companies claim $6B, in a simple scenario which doesn't factor in interests on loans, Guyana's profit would be about US$7.5 billion. However, if Guyana involves itself diligently in

negotiations and finds that it could save on US$1 billion by striking out overstatements, it would receive an extra US$500 million in profit over the life of the field development.

That's more than a third of Guyana's 2019 budget.

Rystad Energy recently said that Exxon could field as many as 10 FPSOs in Guyana's Stabroek Block before the decade is out. That

would amount to 10 projects Guyana could lose billions of United States dollars from if it does not take a vested interest in the money Exxon and its partners claim they will be spending on the developments of Guyana's oil fields.

Guyana has already approved two field developments at Liza Phases One and Two, and it is yet to properly delve into the costs

ExxonMobil claims will be expended for the duration of these projects, which currently amount to US$9.5 billion. The company may even claim another US$6B to develop the Payara field.

Meanwhile, the pace at which Guyana is moving through the audit of Exxon's US$460M pre-contract costs has already set a worrying precedent that indicates it may not be able to keep up

with Exxon if it continues to approve field developments as quickly as it has. The precontract audit started late last year, and it still has not been completed.

When it comes to publication of field development plans, it was evident that the former APNU+AFC government was not amenable to the prospect. Kaieteur News had (continued on page 17 )

Two vessels with illegal fuel - Five in seized at Parika Stelling custody

The Parika Stelling

T

wo vessels were on Friday last seized with 16,000 gallons of illegal fuel at the Parika Stelling, East Bank Essequibo (EBE).

According to police, the discovery was made by agents of the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) at

around 21:15hrs.

Without revealing their gender, police informed that one of the vessels was captained by a 56-year-old of Meten-Meer-Zorg, West Coast Demerara and the other vessel was captained by a 44-year-old of Greenwich Park, EBE.

When a search was conducted on the first vessel, three crew members were also discovered: a 55-year-old of Good Success, Wakenaam; a 54-year old of Orenstein, EBE and a 20year old of Meten-MeerZorg, WCD.

The five persons were arrested and are presently in custody assisting with the investigation.

NICIL transfers 130 acres of...

From page 3 losing “unquantifiable sums of money” which the country cannot afford.

“The Directors of NICIL,” he added, “can hardly justify their action as being in the public interest… NICIL seems like another untethered animal that appears completely oblivious to the lame duck nature of the government and the Minister it serves.”

NICIL had sought to absolve the former Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, of blame for the deals, positing that he had no involvement in the selection of the investors, “is not a member of the NICIL Board nor is he involved in the day to day business of NICIL or the SPU.” H o w e v e r, J o r d a n ' s signature appears on all of the vesting orders. Of the former Minister, Ram had said, “The troubling thing is not only that the subject Minister is doing nothing to prevent such behaviour but that the actions may actually have the support of and may have been directed by that Minister.”

Tuesday September 15, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 09

Why is the US Secretary of State visiting at this time?

I

t would not be surprising if today or tomorrow it is announced that the visit by the United States Secretary of State has been cancelled. The situation in Guyana as regards COVID-19 and the tense political climate favours such a move.

The United States Secretary of State is the equivalent to a Foreign Minister. But he or she is no ordinary Foreign Minister.

The US Secretary of State is considered as the second most powerful person in the world.

The Secretary of State has tremendous authority. A former Pakistan President, General Pervez Musharraf, said that an Assistan t Secretary of State warned his government that if Pakistan did not cooperate with the United States in its campaign against Afghanistan, the United States would bomb Pakistan back to the stone ages.

Readers will recall that the PNC/R kept resisting all attempts at having the declaration of the Recount of the ballots of the March 2 elections. But one source has indicated that no sooner had Mike Pompeo called President David Granger that events took a different turn.

That is the power and influence which is wielded by the US State Department.

There are few political leaders in the world who can stand up to the pressure that department can exert.

The US Secretary of State

is due to visit Guyana this week. The purpose of the visit has not yet been revealed.

The US played a pivotal role in defending democracy in Guyana thus year. The APNU+AFC was prepared to do all within its power to defy the democratic will of the Guyanese people.

It even turned against the Caribbean Community and insulted some of its leaders after the team which came to oversee the recount found that the Coalition's allegations of electoral irregularities amounted to a “fishing expedition�. Were it not for the United States, the visa sanctions which were ordered and the telephone conversation which was purportedly made by the US Secretary of State, the Coalition may have resisted conceding power.

But Pompeo is not likely coming here to gloat about the United States' role in aborting the plan to steal the 2020 elections in Guyana.

The United States has more vital long-term interests than to have the Secretary of State come here to bask in its role in protecting electoral democracy.

The United States interest in Guyana is economic.

ExxonMobil, a US company, has made huge investments in Guyana. It is committed to long-term investments in the oil sector. But it needs the permit for its Payara Field Development Plan. There is fear that Guyana is leveraging this authority in order to extract a better deal from ExxonMobil.

Pompeo, however, is not going to come and pressure the Mohamed Irfaan Ali administration to grant the permit. He is likely coming to secure America's long-term interests in the country, an interest which goes beyond Payara and beyond ExxonMobil. Guyana has been tagged as the future Dubai of the Region and America would love nothing better than to have friendly relations with a country with such prospects.

The second major interest is security. The US is concerned about the movement of drugs within the region. The US may have information which our intelligence and antinarcotics agencies may not have. But they do not need to bring a US Secretary of State to try to bring this massage.

So what brings Mike Pompeo to Guyana? Some feel that with the US elections due in November, the US is planning an invasion on Venezuela to boost President Trump's chances. Guyana is likely to oppose such an invasion and the US may be trying to prevent Guyana from forcing Caricom to come out against any such invasion. But again there is no need for a US Secretary of State to come to tell Guyana to keep its nose out of any planned invasion. One phone call is all it will take.

The government says that so far there is no agenda for the meeting. Well, there might be no meeting. An advance team has already landed in the country and they will be

Pompeo nah coming boys fuh pamp scene seh... ..........................................................

Dem

D

e m B o y s remember when Burnham bin threatening fuh nationalize Reynolds, the American firm in the bauxite industry in the 1970s. Burnham decide fuh use big stick methods fuh force Reynolds out. He pass law fuh institute a levy in de hope dat de company gan walk away and leff he assets fuh he nationalize and tek over free.

He get a rude awakening.

De Americans send down a man fuh talk to he. De man walk with a file. When he done with Burnham, people

who went at the meeting sek dem never see Burnham perspire so much yet. He shirt jac was dripping wet.

Instead of nationalizing Reynolds, Burnham end up paying compensation to Reynolds.

And dat is one of the main reason why de country foreign debt did run up so high. Is because of de huge payments we had to mek fuh a company which we boast we nationalize.

Pompeo coming this week. Dem boys seh is the highest ranking official from de US ever to visit Guyana.

So this visit gat fuh be something important. De man nah gan come hay fuh courtesy call. Pompeo nah coming hay fuh talk about Venezuela. Guyana gat no say in dat country and America nah need Guyana fuh help it fuh do wah it intend in Venezuela.

De government seh dat is not about Payara, but dem boys seh it gat fuh tek something special fuh de US Secretary of State fuh visit Guyana. And dem boys feel dat it can only be Payara.

Talk half and leff de other half fuh Pompeo.

doing their security, political and health risk assessments for the visit.

At present, the situation in all three areas is not disposed towards a visit. The political situation is still volatile. The PNC/R has shown a tenacity to instigate problems in order to obfuscate what it did for five months between March and August this year. It lied to its supporters and now is seeking political redemption by instigating tensions.

The political mood therefore is not right for a visit.

This is all the more so since the PNC/R is still slighting from the US' opposition to its

attempt to steal the elections.

The security situation is also not ideal. Two light aircraft were found reportedly crashed in Guyana yesterday. This incident will raise the antennas of the security detail who are part of the advance mission and they may suggest that the visit be put off.

Thirdly, the COVID-19 situation is now a national calamity. The number of cases is rising rapidly, like never before. The number of new active cases is rising more than the number of new recoveries. The death rate is frightening. Jamaica has

fewer deaths with double the number of cas es .

Trinidad has about 1.5 times the number of cases and fewer deaths also.

Do not be surprised therefore, if the visit is cancelled at the last minute.

With what is taking place right now, the advance team may well advise the Secretary of State to call off his planned visit to Guyana this week.

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

Kaieteur News

PAGE 10

Tuesday September 15, 2020

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

African Guyanese must reflect on their leaders I

am one citizen of this land who was not impressed when Clive Thomas went to Buxton and told an audience that the government must give US$5,000 to working class households out of oil revenues.

Without context, you will never understand why the social world moves.

Thomas was simply trying to save his dying credibility when he delivered his demagoguery in Buxton.

First, when he made the statement at the end of 2018, he had completed four years in a neo-liberal government that had not even marginally effected positive changes in the economy of the poorer classes.

Secondly, for the four years he questioned absolutely nothing about the questionable policies of the David Granger presidency which included increase license on animal drawn carts; banning of secondhand tyres; refusal to pay monies due to employees of closed sugar estates; failure

of his party to honour a campaign promise of amendment to the 1988 antinarcotic legislation; declaration by his president that the role of the state was not to find employment for citizens; the extravagant waste of money at UG while its infrastructure crumbled.

Thirdly, Thomas had squandered his huge historical legacy by subsuming his personality and contributions under the mediocrity of a PNC leader that Black people supported only because he was African Guyanese but did not admire him.

Fourthly, Thomas was speaking in a village that has immense respect for Walter Rodney. So Thomas was acutely aware of the context of the $5,000 donation.

Here is an extract from my column, “Clive Thomas: Transformation into dependency” of Tuesday, February 19, 2018: “I was walking my dog on the seawall and had my eyes on the ground. When I looked up, Clive's deputy at

SARA, Aubrey Retmeyer, was in front of me.

I knew Aubrey during the struggle against the PPP's autocracy. I told Aubrey I feel disgusted that Clive could rent a house from one of the Caribbean's richest families to house SARA when he could find similar spaces from small landlords who could do with the money.

Aubrey suggested that I go and see Clive. My reply was: “What for, I have nothing to say to Clive Thomas.”

I produced this quote because the AttorneyGeneral, Anil Nandlall, recently revealed that SARA, which Thomas heads, is paying G$2 million monthly to a very rich nonAfrican family for rental of its building.

This is the same Thomas that went to Buxton and made his pitch about giving Guyanese $5,000 American from oil revenues.

Thomas' double standard is the story of African Guyanese readers fooling African Guyanese for narrow political purposes.

With the murder of the Henry cousins in Cotton Tree, there are tsunamic outpourings of concerns for the future of African Guyanese by people who for five years had state power but did not empower African Guyanese. At the funeral service, with the exception of Nigel Hughes and Volda Lawrence, you could question the sincerity of all the speakers.

Harmon spoke but, as Minister of the presidency, not a damn thing was done about the retirement age of public servants even though a Commission of Inquiry recommended upping it. Lincoln Lewis was another speaker but the UG unions threatened to leave the TUC after Lewis gave open support to the UG administration in the unions' dispute. Both unions are headed by African Guyanese of which a vast majority of its members are African Guyanese.

The murder of the Henry cousins is yet another

indication of how African PNC leaders are prepared to sacrifice the happiness of African Guyanese for the sake of their obsession with power. While Granger, Harmon and other

Frederick Kissoon opportun i s t s , w i t h t h e exception of Lawrence, were inciting Black people to damage Guyana, one man stood extremely tall – the father of one of the Henry boys and by extension the uncle of the other.

He was never comfortable with the racist demagoguery Granger and

Harmon had used that led to death and destruction. He did not endorse the explanation of the murders being a hate crime.

Like Lawrence, he disassociated himself from the robberies and beating of innocent Indian people in Region 5. Maybe in his own, little way, he knew Granger and Harmon had come to Region 5 not to mourn the Henry boys, not to empathize with their families and relatives but to use their deaths to destroy Guyana because they lost the 2020 election.

Granger is still head of the PNC. He has unilaterally appointed Harmon, his army buddy from the days of the seventies when Burnham ordered the murder of Walter Rodney. What they do next should be no surprise but African Guyanese should stop them.

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

Tuesday September 15, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

PAGE 12

Kaieteur News

31 new COVID-19 cases recorded; 16 in ICU

G

uyana yesterday recorded 31 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 1,184. According to information released by the Ministry of Health, there are currently 16 persons in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

Further, it was revealed that there are 37 persons in institutional isolation, 510 persons in approved home isolation and 94 persons in institutional quarantine. A total of 1,265 patients have also recovered, the Ministry announced yesterday.

Fifty-six persons in total have died from COVID-19 complications, to date.

A total of 11,052 persons have been tested for the coronavirus causing disease to date and 9,868 of these tested negative. Of all the confirmed cases, 929 are males and 955 are females.

As for the regional distribution of cases, Region One has 278 cases, Region Two has 26, Region Three has 130, Region Four has 727, Region Five has 12, Region Six has 29, Region Seven has 277, Region Eight has 28, Region Nine has 325 and Region 10 has 85.

Tuesday September 15, 2020

GMSA receives G$6M FAO grant for Consolidated Log Yard feasibility study

O

n September 1, last, the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) signed an agreement for a $6M grant.

The grant, according to a FAO statement, will be used to determine the feasibility of establishing a Consolidated Log Yard (CLY) operation in Guyana. The approach to this study, the statement noted, will be through a consultative process involving key stakeholders such as forest sector operators, government agencies, civil society,

consultations with the key stakeholders, various models will be examined for suitability to Guyana's context and within the framework of the National Forest Policy.

In addition, a CLY can support the Guyana-EU Joint Implementation Framework for the FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) in the specific areas of marketing and promoting legal timber and timber products. “It was based on these ideals that the FAO-EU FLEGT Programme has agreed to support the feasibility study and has approved the grant which will

indigenous organisations and other non-governmental organisations.

According to the statement, the establishment of any CLY should have as its intended purpose to improve growth within the forestry sector in an open marketplace and as a clearing house for legally produced timber that meet the needs of the local and international markets.

Moreover, only timber products which are compliant with Guyana's Timber Legality Assurance System (GTLAS) should be traded through such a facility, the statement added.

As such, it was underscored that the facility's adherence to the GTLAS will engender enhanced confidence in the legality of wood products on the local and international markets.

Through research and

be used by GMSA over a period of six months,” the statement highlighted.

The FAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations which lead an international effort to assist governments and development agencies with coordinating improvement and development activities for sustainability.

Through funding of projects, the European Union Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FAOEU FLEGT) programme promotes the implementation of the FLEGT Action Plan by improving forest governance, providing technical assistance, and building capacity. Guyana has a history of collaboration and cooperation with the FAO, which has served to benefit the country in sustainable development.

Henry boys were killed...

From page 7 investigative ranks are said to be in search of the primary crime scene (where the boys were killed). This, they said "will have an abundance of evidence linking the perpetrators to the crime.”

The cousins were on Sunday last laid to rest and the Police Force has assured that it is following every lead and information provided by the public that may assist in the case.

Meanwhile, all of the suspects arrested have since been released on bail and are

required to visit the Blairmont Police Station daily. Police are also seeking two additional suspects.

Isaiah and Joel Henry were discovered in the Cotton Tree backdam with chop wounds about their heads and bodies. Notably, on one of the boys head, an X or a star was carved on the side of the head.

Post mortems conducted on their remains revealed that they died from haemorrhage and shock, due to multiple incise wounds, compounded with severed spines from the neck.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday September 15, 2020

PAGE 13

Despite COVID-19 restrictions…

Guyana cops silver and bronze at int'l robotics competition T

hree of the seven teams that participated virtually in the international youth robotics competition held recently in Korea were awarded silver and bronze medals.

More than 540 students, comprising 182 teams from 29 countries, participated in the competition. This was the first year that junior teams (8yrs - 13yrs) were prepared for international competition.

The 2020 challenge, according to a Stem Guyana statement, required junior and senior teams to identify a challenge affecting their community and to create a robot solution to address the challenge.

Guyana's team, Lunar, earned the silver medal in the junior category. The team created a sanitizing robot which uses UV lights to kill the COVID-19 virus on the surface of the equipment.

The young team included Naliah Fordyce, Michael Blake and Tushaant Sanichara.

Team Lunar was coached

by STEM Guyana member, Immanual Meusa.

B ringing home the bronze medal in the junior category was team C o n q u e r o r s . Te a m Conquerors designed and built a robot called the all terrain rescuer.

The robot is able to navigate any weather condition to deliver food and medical supplies to a community. It also serves as an information robot which provides information about the Coronavirus to villagers.

Team Conquerors include On Beaton, Lucas Simpson and Rashad Quinti. The team

Team Power Thinkers: Rajeshwar Meghbaran and Emelio Persaud and Coaches, Stephanie Simon, and Joshua Reece.

was coached by STEM Guyana member, Kenita Roberts.

In the senior category, Team Power Thinkers won the silver medal. The team included players Rajeshwar Meghbaran and Emelio Persaud and was coached by STEM Guyana members Stephanie Simon and Joshua Reece.

The team created an automated mask distribution and sanitising robot.

The teams were prepared for global competition by the STEM Guyana organization which has a working robotics lab at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

The current lab is sponsored by the

Department of Youth and The Office of the Prime Minister, which ensure a secure location and internet connectivity for the work of the organization.

According to the Stem Guyana release, Guyana's participation in the Korea competition was questionable because of the COVID crisis, financial constraints and the ongoing political challenges in the country.

However, members of the diaspora, who were determined to ensure that the junior teams would have an opportunity to showcase their talents globally, sponsored the participation of all the 2020 teams.

Team Lunar: Naliah Fordyce, Michael Blake, and Tushaant Sanichara and Coach Immanuel Meusa

Team Conquerors: On Beaton, Lucas Simpson and Rashad Quintin and Coach Kenita Rob

Region's inaugural HR conference to kick off virtually on Thursday

T

- Guyanese Professional Life Coach, Kamladevi Sharma, to present

he Caribbean's first cross regional Virtual Human Resource Conference is set for September 17 to 19, 2020.

The event, which has over 45 speakers from various countries including Trinidad, Jamaica, Barbados and Bahamas, is being h o s t e d b y t h e CaribHRForum, a free online community focused

on developing HR professionals across the region.

Over 1,000 persons are expected to benefit from the community's networking and knowledge sharing on various HR categories like personal wellness, employees learning and development, coaching and consulting, and organisation and employee productivity.

Guyanese Professional Life

Coach, Kamladevi Sharma, is representing Guyana on the topic, “Achieving Personal and Professional Life Balance” in the Personal Wellness category.

Sharma told this news agency that the conference is more than a simple webinar.

Experts from around the region have come together to share their knowledge and experience over these three days, to elevate HR practices

in the region, be more people-relational and ensure organisational successespecially during these uncertain times.

Registration for the conference is free and almost all of the activities are complementary. Participants can also purchase an All Access Pass which allows them to access all of the presentations for one year.

Further, permanent post-

community support is available for all participants which is a unique networking and learning experience that not many conference hosts offer to participants.

Sharma states that this is one of the best opportunities for Guyanese HR professionals to gain insights and practical knowledge on building their human capacity to move companies

in a direction for success, while experiencing personal fulfilment in the process which indeed is a challenge many face today.

"Combatting stress, overwhelm, frustration and negative emotions by learning and implementing what works in our Caribbean culture, is a huge step towards growing our people and helping them to be more (continued on page 14)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Tuesday September 15, 2020

Local security firm gets ISO 9001: 2015 certification from GCS T

he MMC Security Force Inc. is the newest addition to the Global Compliance Service (GCS')s list of ISO 9001-2015 certified companies in Guyana. This is according to information released by GCS in a statement issued yesterday.

“This is indeed a prestigious achievement on becoming the first security service company in Guyana to attain ISO 9001-2015 certification status,” GCS noted in its release.

It noted too that companies certified to the ISO 9001:2015 standard have established a quality management system, which provides a framework for the delivery of consistent quality

of products and services as defined within its scope of certification.

The ISO 9001:2015 standard is a globally recognized quality management standard developed and published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It is the internationally recognised standard for a quality management system (QMS).

This enables companies to operate more effectively at several different levels, including the ability to focus on customer requirements and constantly finding ways in which to improve and become resilient and sustainable.

“The certification provides a model for

companies of all types and sizes, to use in building an effective quality management system by improving their internal systems,” the statement informed.

The standard, it added, is based on seven quality management principles, including: having a strong customer focus, involvement of high-level company management, employee engagement, evidence-based decision making, an outlined process-based approach, relationship management, and offers ongoing improvement of operations.

All administrative arrangements, including the application for ISO Certification to any ISO Management System

The GCS Guyana Team: From left: Candelle Bostwick, CEO; Daniel Sugrim, Business Development Director and Divya Doerga, Chairwoman Standard or request for Training services on any ISO Management system standard, can be processed through GCS by visiting its 120 Parade Street, Kingston Georgetown office or more information on becoming ISO certified can be garnered on its Facebook page @ facebook.com/GCSGuyana or by calling 223-6666.

GCS is the only Accredited ISO Certification Body with a resident office in Guyana.

“We represent a profile

with over 20 years of international experience within the Audit, Inspection, Training and Certification Industry. Currently, we have eight offices servicing 36 countries globally,” the statement added.

It was also revealed that GCS is a wholly Guyanese owned and operated business and “our team consists of Guyanese professionals who are qualified ISO Management Systems Trainers and Auditors. Our ISO Certifications are issued

from our GCS office in USA through our seamless accredited process.”

According to GCS too, “Our vision is to provide more affordable and competitive ISO Certification, Inspection and Tr a i n i n g S e r v i c e s t o companies within Guyana.

Our presence in Guyana eliminates the exorbitant cost for airfare and accommodations which will make ISO Certification more affordable for local businesses.”

Region's inaugural HR conference to...

From page 13 productive and successful individually and collectively,” she stated.

The free model also means that a host of attendees from across the entire region will be attending their first HR Conference ever, and for those who are unable to attend during the normal working hours, pre-recorded sessions are available for them to access at their

convenience on mobile or desktop.

Sharma shares that the CaribHrForum, which was founded by Francis Wade of Framework Consulting, is a fun and enlightening community supporting Caribbean HR professionals to better manage their people and experiences. The conference is expected to attract persons who use technology to work from home and, interact with each other using platforms like LinkedIn. Keynote speaker from JMMB and, other speakers from leading organisations such as CRESTCOM, will be present at the conference as well.

S h a r m a i s a n international speaker and teacher on work-life balance, a certified professional life coach and qualified business consultant. She helps entrepreneurs and people in management globally, to eliminate burnout and, achieve balance in their personal and professional lives. Her expertise in mindset and personal development strategy has benefitted over 4,000 professionals globally in personal growth and, over

Professional Life Coach, Kamladevi Sharma 250 businesses in jump starting a momentum for success. She has continued to deliver her social responsibility to schools and companies in Guyana with her growth mindset coaching.

Additionally, she has been featured on several international podcast episodes on various platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts, The Brainz Magazine and, the Times Sunday Magazine.

To register for free for the conference, Guyanese can v i s i t https://virtualconf.caribhrfo rum.com.

Tuesday September 15, 2020

Efforts to establish sex offenders' registry stalled by lack of support - The Caribbean Voice

E

fforts to establish a sex offenders' registry in Guyana has been stymied by the lack of support.

This is according to Bibi Ahmad, a representative of The Caribbean Voice (TCV).

T C V i s a N e w Yo r k registered NonGovernmental Organisation (NGO) which operates in Guyana.

She explained that the TCV has been pushing for the agenda to become a reality since 2017.

TCV had started a petition to raise civil society awareness about the importance of establishing the registry.

However, the petition got less than 50 percent of the 10,000 signatures it needed to meet its target. Ahmad explained that the petition was an integral part of getting the public to push for the necessary mechanisms needed for the creation of the register.

“Sadly, we faced several hiccups and our efforts fell way below what was our anticipated target,” Ahmad stated while noting “the group is still passionate about getting the initiative off the ground.”

She noted that while the register may not come by way of the signed petition, there is still other avenues that the group is exploring to make the goal a reality.

“I think that our society in Guyana needs to see how beneficial the register can be in our fight to stop sexual crimes.

So should be meeting with the Minister of Human Services to have discussions on how we can move forward with the work,” Ahmad stated.

In many countries, a public sex offenders' registry is designed to allow government authorities keep track of and activities of sex offenders including those who have completed their criminal sentences. The

Head of TCV Guyana Chapter, Bibi Ahmad registry is also instrumental in helping to warn citizens of sexual predators in their communities, thereby enabling them to be on alert and take precautions to protect the most vulnerable, and possibly act as a deterrent.

According to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, the information in the registry is made available to the general public via a website or other means to allow the authorities to keep track of the residence and activities of sex offenders.

While Guyana's laws make provision for such mechanisms, child right activists have spent years lobbying for the sex offenders' registry to be a reality. In many jurisdictions, registered sex offenders are subject to restrictions, including housing.

They are not allowed to live in proximity to a school or day care centre, to be in the presence of minors, to own items of interest to minors and to even use the internet.

Many developed countries, including Canada, the United States and New Zealand, utilise this system.

In Guyana, statistics has shown that law enforcement officials receive reports of sexual violence almost on a daily basis.

In 2015, statistics revealed that a high incidence of sexual crimes have been unreported.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 15

PAGE 16

Kaieteur News

Tuesday September 15, 2020

Murder of Bath Settlement businessman...

Plan was concocted at the home of one of the suspects three days earlier – police

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s investigations progress into the ruthless killing of businessman, Mohamed Haniff, Kaieteur News was informed by police sources close to the investigation that the plan was to “rob and not kill” him.

According to reports, the plan was reportedly orchestrated by the businessman’s wife who is now in police custody.

It was revealed that the businessman of Experiment, Bath Settlement, returned to Guyana just over a week ago from St. Martin and had returned with a considerable amount of cash (US$8,000) and gold. Reports suggest that the man had kept the cash away from his wife’s reach.

The wife, however, was desperate and wanted cash by any means possible.

Moreover, a plan was concocted. To do this, she hired one of the suspects who recruited three others and the plan was made at his (suspect) house right in Bath Settlement.

This carefully hatched scheme was made three days prior to the date it occurred.

They were to only rob Haniff of the cash and not kill him, this publication was told.

It was revealed too, the devious wife left her back door unlocked for the perpetrators to enter hassle free, and on the night of the invasion, the men decided they were going

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to arm themselves with a Rambo knife and two cutlasses.

However, things went awry after Haniff refused to say where he hid the cash.

This, according to reports, angered the perpetrators and they dealt the businessman several chops to his head while the mastermind (wife) was in the hall.

After committing the act, the men reportedly left the house without the cash and returned to the home of the suspect where the plan was first made. But back at the home of Haniff, no alarm was raised that something had happened. However, when his son arrived home shortly after Haniff was rushed to the (Continued on page 18)

Murdered businessman: Mohamed Haniff

Tuesday September 15, 2020

PAGE 17

Kaieteur News

Man wanted for murder stabs police during arrest

Arrested Fugitive The prime suspect in the recent murder of a pensioner and the wounding of a taxi driver at Port Kaituma, North West District (NWD), Region One, yesterday stabbed a police officer multiple times before he was finally apprehended.

The severely wounded rank, Lance Corporal Bertland Scotland, was stabbed at 16:40hrs during the process of arresting the wanted man.

According to Commander of Region One, Jairam Ramlakhan, his ranks had received information that the suspect was hiding at S1A Junction, Port Kaituma.

The officers arrived at the location and found the suspect in the upper flat of a twostorey building.

While they closed in on him, he appeared with at knife and dealt Scotland stabs to the left hand, left hip, lower abdomen, left eye and left buttock. The wanted man was soon overpowered by the other ranks with Force, placed in handcuffs and taken to the Port Kaituma Police Station lock-ups while Scotland was rushed to the district hospital. Scotland was subsequently air dashed to the city for further treatment at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

Residents of Port Kaituma have welcomed the news of the fugitive’s arrest but in the vein were sad that Corporal Scotland was seriously injured in the process.

Scotland is believed to be the third victim to have suf-

fered from the brutal stabbing attacks at the hands of the now captured man.

On September 5, Earl Peters, 75, a security guard attached to the Guyana Elections Commission’s (GECOM) Office was found by a businessman soaked in blood and lying on the train line. Minutes before he drew his last breath at the Port Kaituma District Hospital, the pensioner had reportedly revealed key details of his attacker.

Kaieteur News was told by a source that Peters had told police he was attacked by a man close to a jamoon tree.

A subsequent autopsy conducted on Peter’s body revealed that he had died from haemorrhage and shock due to multiple stab wounds.

Six days later a taxi driver, Troy Roberts, had to run for his life after he was stabbed to his neck by a passenger while driving along Airstrip Road.

According to police reports, Roberts had picked up the passenger and a gold miner, 26, at a location within the community.

After the attack, the taxi driver stopped his car and ran away while the passenger moved over to the driving seat and sped off. He crashed soon after and managed to escape leaving his injured accomplice behind.

Roberts was rescued and taken to hospital while the injured gold miner was arrested.

The accomplice sus-

Stabbed: Lance Corporal Bertland Scotland

Wounded Taxi Driver, Troy Roberts.

tained a fractured arm and both he and Roberts were airlifted to Georgetown for treatment at the GPHC. During the search for Roberts’ attacker, investigators had told Kaieteur News that the alleged perpetrator was the prime suspect in the murder of the pensioner. He was also named in the wounding of another police officer at Arakaka, Region

One back in August.

A background check on him revealed that he was no stranger to the law, prior to this. In April of 2014, he was placed before the courts and remanded to prison for the alleged beating to death of a Brazilian miner, Joao De Souza, 57, at Five Miles, Port Kaituma.

After spending five years on remand, he was acquitted

company's concerns should be overridden by the interests of the public. He further argued that the government could simply remove whatever is sensitive/proprietary from the FDP, and publish all else. Paul had noted that Norway is a good example of a country that has led the way in this regard. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, which is that country's regulator, publishes this information.

Local Chartered Accountant and Attorney-at-Law, Christopher Ram, had argued too that FDPs should be made public, as therein lies informa-

of the murder by a High Court jury on November 28, 2019.

Kaieteur News had reported

then that the man, with tears in his eyes, had walked away a free man.

Ahead of US Secretary of State visit...

Trotman cautions government against “unholy agenda” Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) and leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Raphael Trotman, yesterday cautioned the new administration against agreeing to anything that may threaten Guyana’s sovereignty ahead of the United States Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo’s scheduled visit later this week.

“Being aware of the imminent arrival of certain foreign dignitaries,” Trotman cautioned, “we must be careful that in the height of the pomp, no pun intended, and ceremony, we do not lose our dignity and selfrespect and trade our

Govt. must be part of cost negotiations...

From page 8 pointed out that Trinidadian Local Content Expert, Anthony Paul, and University of Houston Instructor, Tom Mitro, both supported the prospect of FDPs being made public. Mitro had said that it was unfortunate that, in many cases, these plans are not made public because companies argue that they contain geological or engineering data and analysis that are proprietary and could benefit their competitors. He, however, argued that since the field developments would have such a far-reaching impact, the

Corporal Scotland arriving at the Eugene F. Correia International Airport last evening.

tion which could inform the public about costs.

Former Petroleum Advisor to the President of Guyana, Dr. Jan Mangal, had also argued that the release of these plans to do well to ensure that ExxonMobil and its subcontractors, like SBM Offshore, do not cut corners while doing their work, in ways that could cost Guyana dearly. The Petroleum Consultant said that Guyana would not have a leader that could fix everything, but that the Guyanese public needs to take an interest in the ownership of their destiny.

sovereignty, statehood and hallowed stance of the right to self-determination and noninterference, in the affairs of other states by agreeing to some unhelpful and unholy agenda that is meant to boost electoral prospects elsewhere.”

According to a September 11, 2020 correspondence between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Guyana Defence Force, Pompeo will visit Guyana between Thursday, September 17 and Friday, September 18, 2020.

Already, a team from the US has arrived in Guyana to prep for Pompeo’s visit as he would be the highest, serving ranking US official to visit Guyana.

Though it is unclear what the purpose of the Secretary’s visit is, a meeting with President Irfaan Ali is likely to be high on the agenda.

Trotman, however, pointed to the ongoing Guyana – Venezuela controversy, noting that Guyana has made tremendous progress in the last five years to achieve a binding and internationally recognisable outcome by getting our controversy before the International Court of Justice and our cause is just and highly likely to succeed.

“We implore you not to turn a controversy being

settled by peaceful means, into a hot dispute that threatens our sovereignty and the peace within the region,” he added.

The US laid sanctions against Venezuela and is currently working to unseat President Nicolas Maduro, who it deems a dictator, in favour of Juan Guaido, the country’s main opposition leader, who it recognizes as the rightful President.

The Opposition MP also commended the new administration for retaining Carl Greenidge as an advisor, adding, “You will find in him, a true patriot, a dedicated technocrat and a skilled statesman.”

“The work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the indefatigable Carl Greenidge was stellar and was

Opposition MP, Raphael Trotman continued by former Minister, Karen Cummings. We trust that the many gains made in this brief period, will be built upon,” Trotman said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday September 15, 2020

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Tuesday September 15, 2020

Kaieteur News

Task force established to recover money from alleged Ponzi schemers

-Alleged schemers now facing 72 fraud charges Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Hon. Anil Nandlall, yesterday said that the government has established a task force to help recover the monies from the alleged Ponzi schemers, Yuri Garcia-Dominguez and his wife Ateeka Ishmael.

This information was revealed during an update from the Minister on the Ponzi scheme, in which millions of dollars were swindled out of the pockets of hundreds of Guyanese.

Minister Nandlall said, “There have been a number of developments that have taken place.” He explained that government’s priority is to recover the monies so that the persons who were defrauded can be repaid.

According to the Minister, the government has since established a task force which will include a number of state agencies that will work together to achieve the objective of recovering the money.

He revealed too that the investigations have moved in the direction of anti-money

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Hon. Anil Nandlall laundering under the AntiMoney Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML / CFT) structure.

The Minister highlighted that the two persons that are on remand for multiple fraud charges, Garcia-Dominguez and his wife, have ap-

proached the High Court for bail on multiple occasions but their request was denied.

During the investigation, the task force discovered that the accounts and the companies that were provided by the persons that were arrested do not exist.

According to the Minis-

Plan was concocted at the home...

From page 16 Fort Wellington Hospital.

He was then transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The wife was arrested shortly after.

Police who later went to Haniff’s home searched the building and subsequently found the bag with the money stashed. The daughter of the man, who had spoken to this publication, said the bag was

found stashed under his bed.

Meanwhile, the theory that the wife had pawned her house and needed money to repay the person she pawned it to, could not be confirmed by investigating ranks.

Presently, there are five persons, including the wife, in custody. They are all presently at CID headquarters in Georgetown.

Additionally, a post mortem done on the body of

the man revealed that he died from multiple incise wounds to his head.

Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh conducted the examination on the body of the 47-year-old Haniff.

Kaieteur News was also informed that blood samples, stomach contents and body parts were obtained to be tested. His body has since been handed over to relatives for burial.

ter, Garcia- Dominguez had requested that a bank account be reopened so that money can be returned to Guyana and be deposited to that account. His request was granted.Garcia- Dominguez then made another request for access to a computer so that he can do certain transactions that will help recover the money. The Minster noted that the defendant was provided with the computer but yet no money was recovered.

The Minister posited that the police were given instructions to not sign any agreement with Garcia- Dominguez, since as soon as bail is granted, he will skip the jurisdiction. A search was conducted to discover all assets that Garcia- Dominguez owns in Guyana. However, that investigation revealed that he doesn’t own any property or motor vehicle in the country.

According to the Minister, to date no one can provide information as to the whereabouts of the money obtained from the people of Guyana. He noted that “it is clear that the money was received as part of a fraudulent enterprise and they have been converted to the recipients own use and that no one knows where the money is

Alleged Ponzi schemers, Yuri Garcia-Dominguez and his wife Ateeka Ishmael. being kept and there is no assets that the government can hold on to.”All efforts to work with the accused to get the money returned to Guyana have proven futile.Meanwhile, GarciaDominguez and his wife are now facing a total of 72 charges.The couple was yesterday arraigned before Principal Magistrate Sherdel

Isaacs-Marcus in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, when seven more charges - ‘conspiracy to commit a felony’ - were read to them.

Magistrate Marcus granted the defendants bail in the sum of $300,000, on each charge and the matter was adjourned to October 5, 2020.

Dominica reviewing new protocols from CARPHA

ROSEAU, Dominica CMC – Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders have been presented with new protocols to put in place regarding the coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic, as Dominica moves to implement measures allowing for cruise ships to resume calls to the island.

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, speaking on his weekly television programme here on Sunday night, said that the protocols have been recommended by the Trinidadbased Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and were discussed last Friday during the meeting with regional leaders.

“We received a report from CARPHA advising us on some of the protocols we should put in place and the categories of the CARICOM bubble and what that entails, and who should qualify.

“And then you have low risk countries and medium risk countries and high risk and what ….should be put in place for each of these categories. And so we will be reviewing the CARPHA recom-

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit mendations,” Skerrit said, adding that he is hoping to arrange a meeting between the stakeholders in the tourism sector and the Dominica Association of Industry and Commerce (DAIC) to further discuss the new recommendations from CARPHA. He said that meeting will provide for an opportunity to “juxtapose them against what we have in place so that we can have tourist coming in but at the same time protecting the tourist….”.

Skerrit also announced that the government is in dis-

cussion with cruise lines that have expressed interest in resuming calls to the island.

He said Tourism Minister Denise Charles, has already held talks with the representatives on the way forward and that his administration is examining the safest way cruise ships could be allowed to return here.

He said another meeting is planned for later this week “to see if we can further the discussion.

“Once we have understanding between ourselves then we will share this with the public so that the public can appreciate what it is we are talking about in allowing cruise ship passengers to come into Dominica,” Skerrit added.Dominica recently reopened its borders to regional and international travel. The island has had 24 cases of the virus that was first detected in China last December and blamed for 925,000 deaths and the infection of 29.1 million others worldwide.

Dominica has had no deaths associated with COVID.

Tuesday September 15, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Athletes, administrators shocked, saddened by impending closure of Jamaica’s Spartan Health Club

SportsMax - A mixture of shock, sadness and disappointment greeted Mickey Haughton-James’ announcement last week that he would close the Spartan Health Club at the end of September because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The gym opened in 1976 and has largely been associated with the beautiful women of the Miss Jamaica World franchise but Spartan has also been home to some of Jamaica’s greatest athletes, among them some of the very best in the world.

Reggae legend Bob Marley also broke sweat there.Members of the West Indies cricket team, Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz, World and Olympic medallists and

Jamaica’s world-class netballers have all, at one time or another used the facilities to hone their bodies in the pursuit of athletic excellence.

Leeroy Gray was a physical trainer at the gym for many years. Before he migrated, he worked with some of the very best including eight-time Olympic gold medallist and world record holder Usain Bolt; 2011 100m World Champion Yohan Blake as well as Olympic bronze medallist Warren Weir.

Gray also trained St Kitts’ Kim Collins, the 2003 100m World Champion; British 100m champion Dwayne Chambers, Olympian Aleen Bailey, World Championship bronze medallist Ristanana Tracey and Commonwealth

Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz going through their paces at Spartan Health Club that closes its doors at the end of the month.

100m hampion Kemar BaileyCole during his time at what he described as Jamaica’s No. 1 gym.

Tuesday September 15, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Yes, you may have another cookie, Aries. Enjoy it and don't feel guilty. Guilt is useless. Today, get rid of regret.

Express your emotions but don't dwell on them. Your sensitivity is acute, so put up your psychic shield.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) You might just want to stay on the couch today, Taurus.

That's fine. Don't get up if you don't want to. You're probably better off sticking close to home and enjoying a good movie tonight.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Finally, the world is starting to see it your way, Gemini.

Be yourself and don't be squeamish about telling people exactly how it is.

Your thinking is clear and focused.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Give people the benefit of the doubt, Cancer. Don't be so hasty in your actions, and take the time to think things through. Y

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Things flow well for you today, Libra, so bask in any sunshine that this day offers.

Your intuition is especially strong, and you have an uncanny ability to pick up on other people's feelings.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Other people's indecisiveness could leave you feeling frustrated and stuck today, Scorpio. Realize that you can overcome this by pushing past them SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) It may be much easier than usual to express your emotions to someone today, Sagittarius. If there has been something on your mind for a while, now is the time to say it.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Does it feel like someone's raining on your parade today, Capricorn? No surprise there.

You may feel like you're stuck in a bog, so wear your galoshes and give it your best shot.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Put your businesslike nature aside for the day and focus on your feelings, Leo. You may be a bit protective of your emotions.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Your intuition is extra keen today, Aquarius, and your mental aim is on target. Other people may sink into the swamp, but you're the life raft they can cling to.

VIRGO(Aug.23–Sept.22) Call or write a letter to a friend today, Virgo. Your brain may feel like it's stuck in a rut, which is probably best remedied by sharing these feelings with others.

Take it one step at a time.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) You might find the mood of today a bit too somber for your liking, Pisces. Why is everyone so serious? Whether you figure out the answer or not, just know that it probably isn't something you did.

“To hear that the gym is closing for good, it is not good,” he told Sportsmax.TV, clearly at a loss for words.

He was not the only one taken by surprise.

“I don’t even know where to start,” said Blake, the second-fastest man of all time.

“Usually, when I get up in the morning I scan through the news while preparing for training. It was a shock to find out that Spartan was closing for good.

“I remember clearly this amazing facility that helped not only me, but so many of our world-class athletes reach where they are today. It was a wonderful place to do your workout and have a talk with everyone. I have many good memories of Spartan. I still can’t believe it. I understand this facility has been around from 1976. It represents the end of an era. I am truly sad

that it has to close.”

Blake alluded to the fact that Spartan was more than just a gym. It was a place where like-minded athletes shared conversations and inspiration with the many patrons.

Weir, who along with Bolt and Blake, finished 1-2-3 in the 200m at the 2012 London Olympics also had fond memories of the days when he trained there.

“Spartan was that place where you went and just felt motivated to work because there was so much inspiration around you. People were always encouraging you to just be your best,” Weir recalled.

“I remember when I just started at Spartan, there were always people there telling you ‘you’re gonna be good, you’re gonna be great, just continue training’ “Then seeing other sports people and artistes there putting the work in, also motivates you and lets you see that you on the TV is work that is being done on the back end.”

Former West Indies opener Wavell Hinds spent a lot of time at Spartan after his Test career ended in 2005. The work he put in there helped him prolong his playing days and for that, he expressed his gratitude to HaughtonJames.

“The generosity of Mr James and the Spartan Gym contributed immensely to my career between 2007 and 2011,” he said.

“In fact, the entire Jamaica Cricket team benefited from the use of Spartan gym during the said period. I want publicly thank Mr James and Spartan for their contribution to the development of Jamaica’s cricket.”

Former Netball Jamaica President Marva Bernard said read the news of the impending closure made her very sad.

“Many, many years ago we used to get support from Mickey to use the gym to train the Sunshine Girls and I vividly remember Connie Francis, in particular. I can still see her running on that treadmill as if her life depended on it, that is how hard she trained,” Bernard said.

“And so, I want to say to Mickey, thank you so much for the years of support that you have given, not only to Netball Jamaica but several of the elite athletes in all sporting disciplines.

“Your generosity knows no bounds and I hope that one day you will rebound because you’re a good man and your gym has made a differ-

PAGE 24

Kaieteur News

Tuesday September 15, 2020

Barbados cricket tournament named in honour of the late Tony Cozier SportsMax - Sixteen teams are down to contest a youth cricket tournament named in honour of the late Barbadian cricket commentator and journalist Tony Cozier.

Named the Tony Cozier 23 and Under Youth T-6 Cricket

Festival, the tournament is set to get underway on September 27 at the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) and will be played over four weeks.For more than 50 years, Cozier was the voice and the conscience of West Indian

Barbadian cricket commentator and journalist Tony Cozier. cricket.He died from cancer in May 2016 after a short illness, aged 75. He is survived by his wife, Jillian, a son and daughter.

Ex-FIFA secretary general Valcke and BeIN sports chairman go on trial over TV rights

Chairman of Qatar-based group BeIN Sports, Nasser Al-Khelaifi arrives in front of the Swiss Federal Criminal Court (Bundesstrafgericht) in Bellinzona, Switzerland September 14, 2020.

(Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann) BELLINZONA, Switzerland (Reuters) - Former FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke and the chairman of Qatar-based media group BeIN Sports, Nasser AlKhelaifi, went on trial in Switzerland yesterday over the award of television rights for the World Cup and Confederations Cup.The 59-year-old Valcke, already banned by FIFA’s ethics committee for 10 years for ethics violations, has been charged with accepting bribes, aggravated criminal mismanagement and falsification of documents.

Al-Khelaifi, who is also president of French champions Paris St Germain and sits on the executive committee of European soccer body UEFA, has been charged with inciting Valcke to commit aggravated criminal mismanagement.A former Davis Cup tennis player for Qatar, the 46-year-old AlKhelaifi is regarded as one of the most powerful men in European football.Both men, who were present in court, deny wrongdoing and AlKhelaifi’s lawyers have said that the majority of the case does not apply to their client.

The trial in Switzerland, which is where FIFA is based, is expected to last until Sept.

25 and the three federal judges

are expected to deliver a verdict by the end of October.

The Swiss attorney general’s office has alleged that between 2013 and 2015 Valcke exploited his FIFA role to influence the award of media rights for various World Cup and Confederations Cup tournaments “to favour media partners that he preferred”.

Valcke also received exclusive use of a villa belonging to Al-Khelaifi in Sardinia for 18 months, it said, without having to pay a rent estimated at between 900,000 euros ($1.07 million) and 1.8 million euros ($2.13 million).

Valcke, 59, was secretary general of world soccer’s ruling body for eight years until 2015, overseeing the organisation of the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 and Brazil in 2014.

Swiss prosecutors have been investigating corruption surrounding FIFA since 2015, when the global soccer body became embroiled in the worst corruption scandal in its history.

The scandal led to its President Sepp Blatter and UEFA President Michel Platini being banned from the sport, while several dozen officials were indicted in the United States on corruption-related charges.

Tuesday September 15, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 25

West Indies Women return to action with first Practice Match After two weeks of intense training since arriving in Derby for the Sandals West Indies Women’s Tour of England 2020, the West Indies Women played their first practice match. The next step, as they increase preparations ahead of the five-match Vitality T20 International series against England Women starting on September 21 at the Incora County Ground.

The eighteen players were divided into two squads captained by Stafanie Taylor and Deandra Dottin. Taylor’s team took first strike and posted 131/6 from their 20 overs, with an unbeaten knock of 71 from 52 balls from the captain, which included nine fours, followed by 24 from Britney Cooper. Aaliyah Alleyne with her pace, was the best bowler for Team Dottin, as she scalped 3/35 followed by Selman with 2/15.

Dottin led her team well in the run-chase as she scored a quick 41 off 43 deliveries but it just wasn’t enough to hold off the defence from Team Taylor. Sheneta Grimmond was the pick of the bowlers, taking 2/16 followed by Shamilia Connell with 2/23.

Team Taylor winning by 8 runs.

Speaking after the match, interim Head Coach Andre Coley said, “We’ve been here for two weeks doing a combination of various skills sessions in the nets, strength and conditioning and gameplanning but today was our first time to get as close to a game scenario with this practice match..”“We split the teams as evenly as possible

Jofra Archer hits back at Michael ...

From page 27 to do. I think we have it in sight. We have done great up until now and we just need to go two days from now and do it.”Archer has once again been consistently faster with the white ball than he was during the previous Test matches, but insists there is no conundrum to be answered. Instead, he believes it is a simple matter of shifting workloads between the formats.

“You can’t run in the whole day. It is actually impossible to run in the whole day bowling at 90mph,” he explained.“If you can show me someone who does it then fair play. But I’ve not seen any bowler who bowls 90mph do it for a whole day. You do sometimes feel like you hit a wall. I honestly don’t know what it is but if you’re in a good frame of mind I feel you’ll probably bowl a bit faster.”

and some very promising performances came out of that. Both teams were able to bat the full 20-over innings... players spent time at the crease building partnerships.

So that was good to see, and we are happy with how things went. Now it’s just about finetuning and building momentum leading into the series next week.”

Since arriving in England West Indies Women have had training sessions during the quarantine period. They will have one more practice match tomorrow before the start of the series on Monday September 21 at the Incora County Ground.

Full Squad: Stafanie Taylor, Deandra Dottin, Shemaine Campbelle, Afy Fletcher, Hayley Matthews, Shamilia Connell, Britney Cooper, Chedean Nation, Natasha McLean, Chinelle Henry, Aaliyah Alleyne, LeeAnn Kirby, Sheneta Grimmond, Karishma Ramharack, Shabika Gajnabi, Cherry-Ann Fraser, Kaysia Schultz.

MATCH SCHEDULE Vitality T20I Series · Monday September 21: 1st Vitality IT20, England v West Indies · Wednesday September 23: 2nd Vitality IT20, England v West Indies · Saturday September 26: 3rd Vitality IT20, England v West Indies · Monday September 28: 4th Vitality IT20, England v West Indies · Wednesday September 30: 5th Vitality IT20, England v West Indies (CWI)

Cherry-Ann Fraser during the practice match. (CWI)

Kaysia Schultz taking part in the practice match. (CWI)

Shemaine Campbelle bats during the practice match. (CWI)

Osaka climbs to No.3, Azarenka returns to top 15 in rankings (Reuters) - U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka has climbed six spots to third in the latest WTA rankings released yesterday while Victoria Azarenka’s career revival gathered traction as the Flushing Meadows finalist returned to the top-15.

Australian Ash Barty and Simona Halep of Romania continued to occupy the number one and two spots in the rankings respectively despite opting against travelling to New York for the Grand Slam.

The 22-year-old Osaka, who beat Azarenka in a thrilling final on Saturday for her second Grand Slam title in New York and third overall, was the only player in the top-10 to gain places.

Osaka also reached the final of the Western & Southern Open, which was held at Flushing Meadows this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but had to withdraw against Azarenka due to an injury.

Azarenka, also a former world number one, arrived in New York having not won a match this year and ranked 59.

But the two-time Australian Open champion went on to win the U.S. Open warmup event and capped her spectacular comeback by reaching her first Grand Slam final in seven years.

It helped her climb to number 14 in the WTA rankings - her highest since January, 2017.

American Jennifer Brady, who lost to Osaka in the U.S. Open semi-finals, was also a big mover in the ladder and was ranked 25th, 16 place higher than her previous ranking.

PAGE 26

Tuesday September 15, 2020

Kaieteur News

CWI and Betway announce extended three-year partnership

ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced the extension of their worldwide betting partnership with global sports betting brand, Betway until 2022.

The extension will see Betway continue as the Official Betting Partner of CWI, with pitch and broadcast presence at all men’s and women’s International Home Series matches. The partnership has been broadened so that Betway will also become the Official Betting Partner of the Colonial Medical Insurance Super50 Cup, the marquee 50over tournament in the West Indies. Betway’s partnership will also mean continued support for CWI’s integrity and player education programmes.

Dominic Warne, CWI Commercial Director welcomed the extended partnership with Betway: “CWI is delighted to ex-

tend our relationship with Betway as one of our major partners whose support makes a real difference for the development of international and regional cricket in the West Indies. The partnership demonstrates the appeal of West Indies cricket in terms of media visibility and content and we are excited that Betway is bringing additional support to the women’s game and the Super50 Cup too.”

Anthony Werkman, Betway CEO, highlighted the strength of the partnership and outlined why it has been extended: “Cricket is a hugely popular sport and this deal has been the cornerstone of our entry into the game. We are extremely happy to be extending this deal which will bring us to many more fans throughout the world in conjunction with one of the most prestigious international teams.”

Betway’s initial partner-

ship with CWI started with the International Homes Series between West Indies and Sri Lanka in June 2018 and ran through to the International Homes Series against Ireland in January 2020. The extended partnership will include all men’s and women’s international home matches in the ICC Future Tours Programme until the end of 2022 as well as the next three editions of the Colonial Medical Insurance Super50 Cup. The Betway Group is a leading provider of innovative, entertaining and exciting entertainment across sports betting, casino, bingo and esports betting. Launched in 2006, the company operates across a number of regulated online markets and holds licences in the UK, Malta, Italy, Denmark, Spain, Belgium, Germany and Ireland. Based in Malta and Guernsey, with support from London, Isle of Man and Cape Town, the

Chess Federation launches Chess-in-Schools programme

The Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) has launched its free CHESSKIDS ONLINE CHESS-IN-SCHOOLS programme in partnership with CHESSKID.COM based in the USA, to aggressively promote the board game with a rallying call: CHESS IS AN EASY GAME TO LEARN! However, according to GCF events consultant, Shiv Nandall, an underlying important requirement for participants is regular access to the internet.

With the prevailing risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the GCF has shifted its strategy to introduce the game online without face-toface interaction involving chess tutors and players. The GCF secured a one-year package in August, 2020 with CHESSKID.COM and the company has provided several modules of learning material to the GCF for young newcomers or players already seasoned to junior chess tournaments.

The local federation is targeting seven to 19-yearold children who attend public or private schools. The body is determined to dispel a common myth that the game is difficult to learn and is seeking to generate more interest, especially among the youth.

The cost of the ambitious online chess project will amount to approximately USD$15,000 (fifteen thousand US dollars) per year provided by the World Chess Federa-

tion (FIDE). The local body is aiming to award CHESSKID Gold Membership to at least 1,000 players by the end of 2021.

Police youth groups throughout the country are currently being targeted in the promotion of the game.

During the GCF coordinated online programme, players and beginners will be a w a r d e d

CHESSKID Gold Membership based on their participation and use of the resources provided by CHESSKID.COM. Seasoned players are required to participate in short online tournaments lasting about three hours each and conducted by the chess website every few weeks.

Computerized safeguards are in place by the website to obtain credible results in the competitions.

The first local online junior tournament was conducted recently and attracted almost 40 players, nine of

whom were females. It was won by ten-year-old Omar Shariff of Mae’s Schools. The second online tournament held on Saturday September 12 was won by QC student Omesh Dyal, who hails from Berbice. Participants in the online CHESSKID training programme are divided into two groups; firstly, those who are already participants in

online tournaments will be further exposed to training, and secondly, beginners who will first be exposed to the rudiments of the game, will later become further immersed in understanding strategy, tactics and other techniques.

Interested school representatives or parents can contact Guyana National Arbiter John Lee on 623-0986, Chairman of the Chess-in-Schools Committee, Anand Raghunauth on 681-8771 or message the GCF on FaceBook for more information.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) and Betway announced the extension of their worldwide betting partnership until 2022. (CWI) Betway team comprises over 1,500 people.

In addition to the flagship Betway brand, the Betway

Group operates a number of other brands including Dream Bingo, Spin Casino and the Hippodrome Online casino.

For more information about Betway’s various products and licenced brands, please visit www.betwaygroup.com.

NY Metro cricket league T20 Bash

Guyanese Singh (112) & Ramdeen (56) power Strikers to win

Led by a magnificent unbeaten 112 from 56 balls with five fours and 10 sixes from Skipper Gajanand Singh, Strikers, beat Pakistan First Cricket Club by 160 runs on Memorial Day in an exciting final of the New York metropolitans Cricket T20 Bash at the Roy Sweeney Oval, Gateway.

Watched by a large and vocal crowd in a city which was only recently the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, the final was played on a ground which was in excellent condition in sunny weather with a strong Breeze blowing across the venue.

The left-handed Guyanese First-Class batsman got support from his countryman Richard Ramdeen who smashed 56 at the top of the order from just 22 balls decorated with eight boundaries which included seven sixes, while Sri Lankan Shiv Sangaleema made 23 in a 37-run opening stand with Ramdeen, as Strikers reached 230-7 off 20 overs.

Bowling for the Pakistani side, Imran Raja Khan and Chiru Bhatia captured three wickets each before the Strikers’ bowlers ripped apart the opposition for a paltry 70 in 16.4 overs.

Bhatia top scored with 18 before he was bowled by former Guyana youth spinner Kevin Ramdeen, the younger brother of Richard, but only Jaladh Dua, all of the other batsmen reached double-figures with13, as Extra’s was the second highest contributor with 14.

Former Trinidad and Tobago First Class pacer Navin Stewart did the bulk of the damage with the ball by grabbing 3-21 from four overs.

He was supported by Trinson Carmichael and Hemendra Ramdiha who had two wickets each.

Earlier, Strikers opted to bat on a matting pitch and Ramdeen, a former West Indies under-19 batsman who represented Guyana in the 2010 champions league in South Africa, and Sangaleema give their team a rollicking start before Sangaleema was removed by Imran Khan in the fourth over after reaching the boundary once and clearing it twice in his cameo 23.

The Sri Lankan’s demise brought the Guyanese pair from Young Warriors in Berbice

Gajanand Singh (file photo), Richard Ramdeen (Facebook) together and they flayed the bowling to all parts of the ground with an array of scintillating and mighty big hits before the century partnership was broken in the 11th over at 128-2 when the right- handed Ramdeen, who played a single First-Class game for Guyana in 2011, was bowled by Adil Nousherwan.

Strikers lost three wickets for one run as the Pakistanis fought back to leave the score on 129-3 in the 12th over.

However, the 31-year old Singh, who played 10 first-class matches for Guyana and played in the 2017 CPL, produced an exhibition of masterful stroke-play in a delightful pugnacious undefeated knock as four wickets fell around him.

Singh, a former West Indies under-19 batsman who played in the 2006 U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka, dominated an unfinished eighth wicket partnership with the younger Ramdeen, who made nine to see the score to 230. (Sean Devers)

PAGE 27

Kaieteur News

Tuesday September 15, 2020

Jofra Archer hits back at Michael Holding insisting support remains for BLM PA Sports - Jofra Archer insists the England cricket team’s support for the Black Lives Matter movement has not diminished, hitting back a t M i c h a e l H o l d i n g ’s criticism of the decision to stop taking the knee before matches.

The first three Tests of the summer all began with a show of unity between England and the West Indies, with both sets of players taking the symbolic position on the field of play.

The one-day series against Ireland followed that example but the practice has not been repeated during games against Pakistan or Australia, leading to a stinging rebuke from Windies great Holding.

He has spoken passionately on issues of race all summer but Archer feels his latest comments – which described the England and Wales Cricket Board’s position as “lame” – were misguided.

“We have not forgotten, no-one here has forgotten about Black Lives Matter,” said the pace bowler in forthright fashion.

“I think it is a bit harsh for Mikey to not do some research before criticising.

I’m pretty sure Michael Holding doesn’t know

anything that is going on behind the scenes. I don’t think he has spoken to (ECB c h i e f e x e c u t i v e ) To m Harrison. I have spoken to Tom and we have stuff running in the background.”

The governing body has said its focus is on “long term and sustainable change” within the game but Archer has taken more direct and immediate action when confronted by abuse.

While he has drawn plenty of praise for his excellent recent performances, dismissing Australia’s David Warner four times in a row, routinely topping 90mph and winning player-of-the-match honours for his role in a serieslevelling comeback victory on Sunday, there has also been a distasteful element.

Just a few days ago he asked for help reporting a Twitter user who privately messaged him a foulmouthed tirade, including disparaging remarks about his jewellery and watch, while he has previously taken commenters to account for personal and racial slurs.

“There’s still a small percentage you know? I may be doing well but I saw one lady comment on my chains.

Chains have nothing to do with cricket,” he said.

“If she knew me she would know I’ve worn chains from the time I was 14 or 15 years old. I think a lot of stuff is being put into place n o w, p e o p l e c a n b e prosecuted a bit easier but I think it might have to go a bit further because some people still aren’t worried about what can happen to them.

“I had one the other day, the guy blamed it on being drunk. My mum would always say ‘you can’t think for people’. All we can do is try to act accordingly, report it and do what’s best. At the end of the day I think I’m strong enough to deal with it, but what happens when they start targeting someone who isn’t as mentally strong and it starts affecting them? We’ve got to try and stamp it out as much as possible now.”

Back on the field Archer will be hoping to follow up his role in England’s unlikely rescue job in the second ODI – a player-of-the-match performance that brought three wickets, a fourth successive dismissal of David Warner and countless 90mph deliveries – with one

England and the West Indies took a knee together earlier in the summer (Michael Steele/NMC Pool)

final push.

Victory would leave England undefeated across all formats against allcomers since the sport

resumed after lockdown, as well as preserving their 50over dominance over their old rivals.

“I remember when we

first came into the bubble, we said we wanted a clean sweep of the summer,” he said.“That’s what we set out (Continued on page 25)

West Indies Women return to action with first Practice Match Shakera Selman in action during the practice match. (CWI)

Stafanie Taylor bats during the practice match. (CWI)

Osaka climbs to No.3, rt Azarenka returns to o p S top 15 in Ex-FIFA secretary rankings general Valcke and BeIN sports chairman go on trial over TV rights – Former FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke leaves the Swiss Federal Criminal Court (Bundesstrafgericht) in Bellinzona, Switzerland September 14, 2020.

(Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann)

Naomi Osaka of Japan celebrates with the championship trophy after her match against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus (not pictured) in the women’s singles final on day thirteen of the 2020 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

(Danielle ParhizkaranUSA TODAY Sports)

Guyanese Singh (112) & Ramdeen (56) power Strikers to win NY Metro cricket league T20 Bash p.20

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