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AIETEUR NEWS

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

Invaders attack

Saturday Edition September 19, 2020 - Vol. 14 No. 36

Non Pareil family, chopped husband

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17

President Irfaan Ali skirts US journalist’s question about fairness of Exxon deal p.

3

US moves to increase influence in Guyana’s energy sector p.

2

We want Maduro out

- US Secretary p. of State 3

Pompeo says China’s money comes with strings but that US wants to grow Guyana p.

8

- Don't spread fake news - Chinese Embassy

Online readership yesterday 145,578

What did the Guyanese m people get fro ?

Pompeo’s visit Mr. Pompeo came and got all that he wanted. What did the Guyanese people get? What did we, as citizens, get?

Let’s make this personal: what did you as Guyanese get from this visit?

Absolutely nothing!

The US Secretary of State came and left with his maritime agreement. He left just the promise of a few pennies, some for Guyanese and some for the Venezuelan refugees coming into Guyana.

Once again, Guyanese got nothing, and are left empty-handed. Here we are, caught in the middle, between Exxon and Venezuela and we have nothing to show for it. We Guyanese don’t even know the full details regarding oil deals conducted on our behalf, by our political leaders with Exxon.

We could not even get a peep out of Mr. Pompeo about the oil-rich Canje and Kaieteur blocks, which are long shrouded in secrecy. Everybody benefits handsomely, except Guyanese who are forced, yet again, to be contented with poverty.

Look carefully post-Pompeo.

America benefits. Exxon continues to benefit. Guyanese political leaders benefit because their deceptions are concealed. Only citizens come out poorer. We ask about Canje and Kaieteur and a wall goes up. We talk about oil and the man comes and talks about terrorism and drugs and the sea the things that matter to America. He protects his own, delivers to his own.

Meanwhile, Guyanese leaders in government will maintain silence about Canje and Kaieteur. What did you get?

More falsehoods, foolishness and frauds that cheat you out of your birthright and future!

Contractors of Ocean View Hospital overpaid millions - facility a cesspool for corruption

- Health p.

Minister 15

Who really owns the Kaieteur and Canje oil blocks, do the leaders of this land care to tell the nation?

PAGE 02

Saturday September 19, 2020

Kaieteur News

Questions raised over decision to restrict DDL's AGM to 7 shareholders

T

here are questions being raised now by one of the country's biggest companies concerning the format for its upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM).

One of the country's top accountants, Christopher Ram, who has been paying attention to governance of the local companies with large shareholders' base, has issues with the appropriateness.

An advertisement of a Accountant/Attorney-at-law notice recently published Christopher Ram Demerara Distillers Limited has advised its members that only seven persons can companies: the applicant physically attend its AGM to itself, Hand-in-Hand Trust, be held on Friday, October 9. JP Santos, Demerara Fire This arose out of an order and General and Sannap granted by the High Court on Manufacturing.

In a comment, Ram, also an application made by Trust Company (Guyana) Limited a lawyer, who has written i n i t s c a p a c i t y a s a extensively in the past on corporate governance, said shareholder of DDL. In keeping with the that he has a number of provisions of the Companies concerns with the notice, proxy.

Act, the Court dispensed including whether the Court What the court has now w i t h t h e q u o r u m may have gone beyond the empowered the company to r e q u i r e m e n t i n t h e law in relegating all other d o i s d e c i d e f o r t h e company's Articles by shareholders as “observers”. shareholder who their proxy It was explained that must be if they want to vote limiting to seven s h a r e h o l d e r s w h o shares constitute property on any of the motions. collectively account for 40% and attached to those shares Ram said that another is the right to attend, concern is the apparent of the shares in the company.

Subsequent to the order, participate in and vote at arbitrariness in the selection the Company named the their meetings, physically or of the seven. seven persons from five through their designated He noted that both

The sprawling complex at Diamond, East Bank Demerara of DDL

Secure International Finance Co. Ltd. and the National Insurance Scheme have more shares in DDL than six of the seven shareholders selected by DDL/Trust Company. That is neither accidental nor honourable, he said.

He questioned the relationship between Trust (continued on page 7)

US moves to increase influence in Guyana's energy sector

F

ollowing his engagement with US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, President Irfaan Ali announced yesterday that the USA and Guyana will be deepening bilateral relations i n t h e e n e rg y s e c t o r.

Expanding further, the Head of State said that a framework agreement towards this end was signed between the U.S. Government and the Government of Guyana to strengthen energy and infrastructure finance and market building cooperation in the context of the Growth in the Americas initiative. Ali said this agreement will stimulate the enhancement of the business environment for U.S. private sector investment in Guyana, particularly in the fields of energy, both unrenewable and renewables, and infrastructure.

Ali said, too, that the agreement will pave the way for the U.S. private sector to expand their investment portfolio and partner with the Guyanese private sector. Ali said, “This partnership will help to meet our broader infrastructure and downstream development needs and, by extension, drive economic growth and

development as well as job creation.”

The oil and gas industry is usually divided into three major sectors: upstream, midstream and downstream.

The upstream sector includes searching for potential underground or underwater crude oil and natural gas fields, drilling exploratory wells, and subsequently drilling and operating the wells that recover and bring the crude oil or raw natural gas to the surface.

While Guyana is still at this stage, the Ali administration has signaled by way of this agreement with the USA, that it will be taking Guyana into the downstream sector too. This industry includes the refining of petroleum crude oil and the processing and purifying of raw natural gas as well as the marketing and distribution of products derived from crude oil and natural gas.

Research also indicates that the downstream sector reaches consumers through products such as gasoline or petrol, kerosene, jet fuel, diesel oil, heating oil, fuel oils, lubricants, waxes, asphalt, natural gas, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as well as hundreds of petrochemicals.

Saturday September 19, 2020

Kaieteur News

PAGE 03

President Ali skirts US journalist's question on fairness of Exxon deal

By Kemol King

W

h e n corresponden t S h a u n Tandon asked President Irfaan Ali whether the deal is fair, the Head-of-State sidestepped the question and proceeded to tell the Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalist about other plans his administration has for the oil sector.

“The arrangement itself,” Tandon asked Ali, “Do you feel that it's equitable? Do you feel that it's fair for Guyana?”

Fielding questions under the Baridi Benab at State House, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the President only offered that his administration is reviewing the Payara Field Development Plan (FDP),

President, Dr. Irfaan Ali under the Baridi Benab at State House yesterday Exxon's third intended development.

Despite lambasting the former David Granger administration for

the poor terms in the Stabroek Block agreement on several occasions, the People's Progressive Party

Civic (PPP/C), now in government, refuses to renegotiate the deal.

“We have said even prior to the elections that there are issues that we'll have to review,” Ali stated, “and as you're aware, we have at the moment a review in terms of the Payara licence that is being done, and we have subjected ourselves to professional guidance. At the end of that review the government, of course, will have to make an informed decision.”

The government had hired a World Bank advisor and former Alberta Premier, Alison Redford to spearhead a review of the project, as well as to assess the work of Bayphase, the company hired by the former government to review the project. The Stabroek Block

agreement, including the intended Payara project, has been widely criticised for its lopsided provisions, some of which Guyana's laws don't even allow.

The PPP/C government has been challenged to bring the deal into conformity with the law, and to ensure its terms give Guyana a suitable share of the revenue. Global Witness had said that it is such an unfair deal that Guyana will lose US$55B over the life of the agreement.

Tandon having also asked about managing risks in the sector, the President quickly pivoted from his brief comment on Payara, to the administration's plan to es tablis h a P etroleum Commission, moving the conversation well away from a discussion on the deal.

“We've also committed ourselves to arm's-length relationship with the management of the sector from a political perspective,” Ali said. “So you would not see, for example, the petroleum commission that is controlled by politicians.

The management of this resource must be done by competent, qualified, technical persons who can ensure that we get the best output from our oil and gas resources.”

This Commission is a promise the PPP/C has touted for some time now.

There is no timeline yet for its establishment.

The President continued, “For us, oil and gas is a great impetus for the macroeconomic vision for our (continued on page 8)

We want Maduro out - US Secretary of State T

he United States Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo said that an immediate end must come to the “illegitimate” r e g i m e o f Ve n e z u e l a n President, Nicolás Maduro, during a joint press conference with President Irfaan Ali at State House yesterday.

It was during that historical engagement in which Pompeo reminded attendees of the importance of democracy and respecting the will of the people— something the Guyanese and the international community fought arduously for after it was unearthed that the previous regime, the APNU+AFC, had attempted to rig the March 2020 elections.

However, that same respecting of the people's will cannot be said for Guyana's neighbour to the

west, after Maduro was sworn in for his second sixterm year under illegitimate and undemocratic terms.

His succession to the presidency was met with widespread condemnation. In fact, minutes after he took the oath, the Organization of American States (OAS) had approved a resolution declaring his presidency illegitimate and had called for new elections.

The National Assembly invoked a state of emergency and some nations removed their embassies from Venezuela, with Colombia and the United States saying Maduro was converting Venezuela into a de facto dictatorship.

As of March 2019, over 50 countries, the OAS, and the Lima Group did not recognize Maduro as the legitimate

president of Venezuela.

Pompeo indicated that during his visit, discussions were conducted with President Ali about the need for democracy in Guyana's neighbour to the west and bringing an end to the Maduro regime – “the man who's denying that very democracy that the Guyanese people so love, denying that democracy for the people of Venezuela.”

The US Secretary of State maintained that his visit to Guyana was to congratulate the Guyanese people on the enormous success they had in holding a democratic election and a peaceful transition to power, as he added that it was “quite remarkable to watch.”

“And of course, too,” he said, “we want this for the people of Venezuela as well.

We want them to have the very same chance to have a free, fair

United States Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo

election, for the rule of law, for democracy, and for human rights in Venezuela. We watch people fleeing –

fleeing into Guyana, fleeing into Colombia, fleeing into Peru, Ecuador, people having to flee from Maduro and his

brutal regime. We very much want that to change. We want them to have the same opportunities that the people of Guyana have.”

Under Maduro's regime, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have fled the country, with millions more still suffering in their homeland. Thousands of refugees have migrated to Guyana in search of a better life. With the aim of supporting Guyana's humanitarian efforts towards the Venezuelan refugees, the US has pledged US$5M towards them.

“I'm confident, Mr. President, we'll keep working together and we'll do great things alongside each other.

I'm grateful to see that you share this view on the importance of our relationship,” Pompeo said.

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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

After Pompeo US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has come and gone, continuing on his South American pro-democracy tour, currently in Brazil. His visit marks the highest level of any serving American executive to visit this country, even as our history, particularly from the immediate preindependence era has been defined by American assistance and intervention, from the Cold War to the present day.

There has been a great deal of speculation concerning the primary purpose of Pompeo’s visit here, particularly the idea that his trip was somehow to set up Guyana as a staging ground for an American invasion of Venezuela to remove the Nicolas Maduro regime and replace it with that of one headed by Juan Guiado, part of some ploy by the Donald Trump regime to use a war to boost its chances in the upcoming November elections.

This mindset betrays a poor understanding of military operations, geopolitics and Mike Pompeo.

Firstly, no successful mobilization and resolution of a military campaign would be completed before November, and that does not include concerns of legal sanction from the international community with regard to America establishing and promoting a legitimate casus belli. As is, Maduro barely presents an existential threat to Guyana, despite claiming two-thirds of our territory, much less to America. Mike Pompeo is not a factotum of the Trump machinery, but a dyed-in-the-wool, Heritage Foundation, true believer in American exceptionalism and global scale Manifest Destiny, an ideologue whose vision for America extends beyond and likely primarily stands apart from the myopic, narcissism that is Donald Trump’s partisan politics and its short-term goals of reelection to avoid charges of corruption. With Attorney General Bill Barr increasingly caught up in Trump’s web, and with Vice President Mike Pence more of a cardboard cutout than the man of substance he projects, Pompeo is the last proverbial adult in the room of a faltering American executive, but which makes the primary part of an ecosystem of conservative Republican ideology that has long been establishing itself and will easily survive Trump.

Over the past two years, Pompeo, apart from and despite the grand, macabre circus that has been the first term of the Trump presidency, has been slowly establishing a track record of American foreign policy realignment that might, if Trump prevails, see him at the very least leaving a legacy.

Indeed, Pompeo, a three-term congressman before moving quickly to the position of Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and then replacing former Exxon executive, Rex Tillerson, is a prime Republican candidate for 2024.

Christian, pro-Israel, an exemplary military and legal background, he is every bit the Presidential figure that Donald Trump is not and the latter’s campaign going up in flames might as well be the booster rocket for a Pompeo campaign, win or lose.

For now, simply, the Secretary of State’s visit – outside of its potential long-term purpose in relation to US politics and foreign policy – serves two basic purposes: pushback against China’s influence in the region, particular its expanding Belt and Road Initiative, and of course lend some muscle to America’s economic interests in the country, particularly Exxon, despite disclaimers that the company’s venture here was not on the agenda for the meeting with Guyanese officials.

As Pompeo tweeted yesterday, along with a picture of him meeting company executives in Guyana, “Given the recent discoveries of oil in Guyana, today presented an important opportunity to express our support for U.S. energy sector businesses and to reaffirm our steadfast commitment to the responsible extraction and management of natural resources.” Whatever the machinations of American politics, we in Guyana have to develop the capacity to see beyond the immediacy of individual overtures and actions by the global superpowers and act accordingly.

In the wake of Pompeo’s visit, we need to establish a clear, well-defined foreign policy that focuses a bit less on rhetoric and more on a long-term vision of our place in the world.

Saturday September 19, 2020

No race is deserving of dignity and respect than any other DEAR EDITOR, I am a White North American who had the great good fortune to grow up in Guyana in the 1980s, and I have the Guyanese people to thank for teaching me that the white supremacy woven into the fabric of my North American culture is a bald-faced lie.

White supremacy is born of ignorance, but I had firsthand knowledge that my Black and Brown friends and neighbours in Prashad Nagar were—of course—my equals and my betters in every way.

Yet, when it comes to national politics, Guyana becomes a deeply racist society.

As I mourn with you the violent deaths of Isaiah Henry, Joel Henry, Haresh Singh, and Prettipaul Hargobin, I also mourn the answer to the question, where does this racism come from?

Racism in Guyana is a remnant shackle on the once

enslaved and indentured Guyanese people placed by White supremacist European colonialists and reinforced more recently by White supremacist North American neo-colonialists.

The systematic dehumanization of people of a different skin colour made it possible for the British and others in the colonial period to kidnap forced labourers from Africa and India, and the systematic dehumanization of people of a different colour underwrites U.S. American foreign policy and immigration policy to this day.

Guyanese learned racism from their white oppressors and have not yet escaped the ongoing enslavement that it brings.

Guyanese have proudly and justly thrown off colonial rule and established an independent republic. You have strongly resisted neo-colo-

nialism in the past—and resist it still as you grapple for a fair deal with the powerful North American oil industry.

My deep and abiding love for the people of Guyana who have been so good to me over the years and my great faith in your strength and resilience give me a lasting hope that you will throw off this shackle of racism that still binds you and claim your common heritage as self-liberated victims of colonial and neo-colonial White supremacy.

In the everyday life of Guyana’s multicultural society, from schoolyard to market, you already refuse to dehumanize your fellow Guyanese in the ways that my racial ancestors did. In common celebrations of Easter, Phagwah, Ramadan, and Mother’s Day, you already regularly reject the bald-faced lie that any race—any per-

son—is more deserving of dignity and respect than any other.

I believe with all my heart that Guyana has a greater capacity to leave racism in the past than any other country on earth.

If there must be an “us” and a “them” in Guyanese society, let the “us” be all Guyanese of every colour banded together to take on the “them” of foreign oil interests. If there must be an “us” and a “them” in Guyanese society, let the “us” be all peaceful Guyanese working together to bring to justice the “them” who would commit senseless murder.

Guyanese are a wise and peaceful people. May you succeed in this struggle and find the peace and prosperity you richly deserve.

John Paul Rohde MD, FAAEM

Those responsible for attempting to steal the March 2 election must be brought to justice DEAR EDITOR, A sixteen-year old girl from the Corentyne Coast, along with her grandmother, a friend who drove the car and a family friend, left for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport for a flight to the US in the midst of the violence promoted by David Granger and Joseph Harmon on the West Coast Berbice, believing that they would be safe, protected by the police.

She has described the terrible experience in a letter to the Stabroek News in simple, straightforward but graphic detail of the horror of a victim, of the ugliness of racial hate and ignorance promoted for political purpose.

I read the letter as so many others, I hope, have done, wanting to weep for my country and for that young girl and her family.

They first encountered the road blocked at No. 1 Village where they waited for almost three hours before the police were able to clear the road.

She writes: “the Police Force could not stop the riot and so, the Guyana Defence Force was sent to deal with the situation”. It begs the question, why not? A question which needs to be answered going forward.

Having crossed the Berbice River Bridge, arriving at No. 5 Village, confronted with more trouble, they were forced to hide, first in a gas station, but then went on thinking it was a peaceful protest, passing through Bath

Settlement under GDF control, until they arrived at Hopetown Village.

At Hopetown, they encountered both soldiers and police clearing the road from the two trucks that the rioters had set on fire. There, they got trapped. “Suddenly our car and a pick-up truck were attacked,” she writes, “by a large number of rioters”.

Their car was surrounded.

“We couldn’t go anywhere and couldn’t do anything; we were a car of Indo Guyanese.

The rioters showed us little mercy”.

This young girl, the absolute horror and fear of this moment forever inscribed in her mind, tells that “all we could see were their eyes full of rage” as the attackers smashed at the windscreen of their car, got into the car and then dragged them out.

“I clearly remember the first thing they did as they entered the car. One of the men ripped my cross from off my neck, which I wore for safety all my life”.

This young girl remembers seeing her grandmother being dragged out of the car and robbed of everything she had. The “protesters”, in turn took her bag with her phone, wallet, passport and Green Card. They then beat up the driver who refused to give up the car keys.

It was a young Black Guyanese man who came to their rescue. She describes him as “our guardian angel”.

The young man managed to get them safely back into

their car when, luckily for them, the GDF arrived on the scene. But, they were trapped in Hopetown, unable to escape going forward or back, as she writes, the GDF were failing to control the rioters.

Again, it begs the question, why not?

Again, they were rescued, this time by “a young mixed race couple”, who led them into and hid them and their car in their yard. They remained trapped there for a further five hours. They had been robbed of their phones and money but had recovered their passport and Green Card, which had been thrown on the ground by the “protesters”.

They were sheltered and cared for throughout the night by the young couple who lent them their phone to call their family and gave them $3,000.

They were finally able to leave for home in the morning when the rioters had been dispersed by the army, even then, on their way out, bottles were being thrown at their car.

At the Berbice Bridge, they joined dozens of other cars with families who had been similarly attacked. She writes: “some were kissing the ground and thanking God that they were alive”.

In concluding her letter, this young Guyanese girl gives thanks to the “Afro Guyanese man” who rescued them and the “mixed neighbour” who harboured them. “You are good people”, she writes.

She and her family, her grandmother who became

sick after her terrible experience, and countless others like them who have kept their silence, remain haunted and traumatized, unbelieving that fellow Guyanese would do this to them, but remembering, still, that other Guyanese of the same ethnic origin of those who attacked them came to save them.

Who, I ask, must bear responsibility and take the blame for organizing and directing this deliberate attempt to use race hate as a means of destabilizing the entire country, if not David Granger and Joseph Harmon?

Innocent, ordinary Guyanese who happened to be of Indian descent were brutally attacked and robbed by other Guyanese who happened to be of African descent, all of whom were living, working and playing together, until the politics of race was used as a political weapon to drive them apart by the leaders of a party unwilling to accept electoral defeat.

But there are others, too, in our country, who must bear responsibility for keeping silent when their voices would have made a critical difference when these same men and women sought to steal an election. Freddie Kissoon, in his unique style, put it best when he asked the question, where were the voices of TGI and the Red Thread when “the most blatant electoral fraud seen anywhere in the world” was taking place, but (Continued on page 5)

Saturday September 19, 2020

Will somebody get some sense around here, some honesty would help too DEAR EDITOR, It is enlightening how Guyanese from top to bottom hear what they want to hear, and from that narrowed beginning launch into narratives that support the insupportable. The context is what I shared on a recent radio programme (and, most likely, my writings in SN and KN) on Mr. Pompeo’s visit. I elaborate.

From the revelations of Guyana’s contract details with Exxon, my position was that the 2% bone-in-the-throat share for Guyana was lopsided, but the best deal possible, given the Venezuelan elephant sitting on our heads.

In sum, though I didn’t like the contract, I recognized that it was the territory held, with the existential Venezuelan threat duly considered.

This was contrarian, but where I stood then and stand today.

The change of government has not changed my position, regardless of who is in power.

Then, I warned that that the foreigners were too involved during our stormy elections, that a price is attached.

Nobody cares because flights about democracy were in the air. Well, today, the America, through Mr. Pompeo comes to collect its pound of flesh. Or, as to use a Mafia term: collect the vigorish.

That means Venezuela.

Guyana owes America. It must pay the Debt Collector Pompeo.

Thus, when Foreign Minister, Hugh Todd, said that Venezuela was not on the agenda, I paused. How could it not be? What, then, brings the mighty man here? It came to light afterwards under that maritime patrols to interdict curtailing activity means that Venezuela, indeed, does feature prominently. I understand that the real bolts and nuts of US visions for Venezuela will not be made public today.

Developments on the ground, however, will confirm or negate the positions I am taking.

I think Mr. Pompeo comes to discuss the use of Guyana as a conduit to undermine our neighbour. After all, it is about socialism, the largest oil reserves, and a non-cooperative government, all anathematic to America. That is where I stand on this visit, and which does not change, whether it is the PNC or PPP at the helm. Should the PPP not partner, it is my belief that the opposition could be marshalled to destabilize the standing government.

This has been executed right here before and around the world. As I see it, the PPP has no choice since it owes.

Well, it had to pay and it did.

I call it protection money.

But as I have voiced and written, the PPP has an opportunity to lean on Secretary Pompeo to get a little that is beneficial to Guyana. Since Venezuela is a priority for America, then Guyana must seize the moment and table its needs relative to ExxonMobil.

This is an American company that has two-way communication with both the White House and State Department.

Get something in return, push for something to give, through the auspices of our distinguished visitor. It can be done. Except that nothing was.

I believe that PPP leaders could have tried, through Mr. Pompeo, to influence (force) Exxon to the table. It has to come since so much hinges on all parties being in lockstep, so that everybody gets something that is prized.

America gets access. Exxon gets cheap (still) oil.

And Guyana gets a slew of peripheral pluses. For starters, on taxes, environmental costs, auditing costs, legal costs, Exxon must pay more, carry a more meaningful share. Also, training and local content must come for significant backing, funding, and partnering. Why not

PAGE 5

Kaieteur News

some expensive infrastructure assistance? My thinking is a drop here and another there adds up to a decent bucket. I have written and recommended all of those at different times and in different places under the cover that there are different ways to skin a cat. Yet, from all indications, Exxon did not feature at all.

I regret that Guyanese faithful followers saw it fit to discern the partisan. People, who have always been only about the party today, tomorrow, and forever, are now questioning me about country and sovereignty, when I am the only one who has been talking about that; and that both PPP and PNC loyalists know nothing about what is an anachronism to them.

So, it is ironic.

In fact, anyone taking the time to listen and read carefully will detect that I have given the PPP a boost and cover, while staying scrupulously within the boundaries of what I have presented before and how I have always thought about Guyana, Venezuela, America, and Exxon and the bedfellows that they make.

It is a lot that can neither be denied nor eluded. We have to live with it. Now we must play and pay our part (again) in all that follows from the visit of Secretary Pompeo.

I caution: whatever details we get will be only the lesser half of it. That, too, is part of the American Way. Guyanese must stop playing their simplistic games and be honest.

Here is one last point: if my neighbour casts eyes on a huge part of my property, then any strong defender is my friend.

I call it survival instinct.

That is where I am and it has no politics.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

Zeelugt youths tainted by substance abuse DEAR EDITOR, I wish to express my disappointment in the parents, police and relevant authorities who have had oversight of youth development in the Zeelugt community on the East Bank of Essequibo.

Over the last year and a half, the number of youths engaging in ganja and marijuana usage has drastically spiked. The provision of these items is to my knowledge unknown. However, recently it has become more and more intolerable.

Youths under the influence are making their names in petty crimes that are not addressed by the authorities. Additionally,

the age range is from 15 to 25. I do not understand what the older folks of this community are doing.

Even in the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, youths are parading the streets after the 6 o’clock hour trying to get their hands on these illegal items.

With the majority of the new ministers and officials now hailing from the West Coast, I urge them to look into this matter. Our youths are not alright. They are being pushed further from “normal” on a daily basis by the onset of poverty, drugs, lack of education and most of all lack of parental guidance.

I urge the leaders in this community to take a stand and get the youths into productive work. To the police, please get these youths off the street and inform them of the curfew measures. (There hasn’t been a single patrol in this community for the longest while). Government officials please look into the needs of the youths. Please provide education and the basic necessities to our youths. They are the future.

Please do not fail them.

Please consider and take immediate action.

Peter Harbajan Concerned and affected Villager

...Those responsible for attempting to From page 4 who now are suddenly calling for unity but are unwilling “to identify Granger and Harmon as the culprits”?

The founder of Heal Guyana, Sharon LalljeeRichards, has, importantly, added her organization’s voice to placing the responsibility for the injury and the trauma suffered by so many others, like this young 16year-old girl, when she points out that Granger and Harmon when they “visited the grieving relatives of the Henry family…took it upon themselves to utter irresponsible words which served to instigate an outburst of violence among protesters who were demonstrating their dis-

content over the bruta l murders of Isaiah and Joel Henry”.

Clearly, it would be insufficient now for our government to rely solely upon the results of the police investigation into these murders to provide a solution to what has occurred over these past six months.

President Irfaan Ali must now direct the holding of a Commission of Inquiry, bodied with internationally respected jurists, to ensure that all of those persons responsible for attempting to steal the results of the 2nd March election and all of those persons responsible for promoting and directing the racial violence which has followed,

are brought to justice.

Perhaps, our people may then grasp the fact that only a cohesive country can progress and prosper and that no matter from where we originated, Guyana is our country and that those dedicated to the politics of race hate and division will be duly punished for the criminal enterprise which they practice.

Yours sincerely, Kit Nascimento

PAGE 6

Saturday September 19, 2020

Kaieteur News

It seems as if every time Guyana is on Violence gives birth the road to recovery a blockage surfaces to more violence and this must end!

DEAR EDITOR, As the mutilated bodies of the Henry cousins were laid to rest last Sunday, the parting ceremony was conducted in a sordid environment, far from being conducive with the sanctity of a peaceful and sacred farewell and invaded with the racial diatribes of some merciless politicians.

Guyana prays that, may the departed souls find their restful places within the softness of the eyes of that Forgiving Almighty and that, all who are guilty of orchestrating this heinous crime, be swiftly brought to justice. Guyana is waking up to another piece of disturbing news that 56 persons have died because of COVID-19 and, who knows exactly how many more have become affected since the gathering of protesters, rioters and looters who chose to listen to the dastard advice of heartless and selfish manipulators, exposing themselves to the deadly danger rather than, being conscious and calculative of the risk factor involved.

Worry not why the infected number keeps increasing, thanks to the preachers and teachers from Georgetown.

Has anyone of the Berbice “protesters” thought about getting tested? But some of us are either too gullible, naïve, carefree, irrational, nonjudgmental, illiterate, silly, passionate, emotional, apathetic, influential or one of a thousand other terminologies that may fittingly describe us, if we are guilty as a participant in one or more of the sadistic tragedies that caused death, pain, suffering, damages and

loss in the atrocious fiasco that occurred last week in the Berbice madness. The callousness of the PNC leaders continues to endanger the entire nation in many forms and shapes and in variable degree, quality and quantity. The sad part about this degrading affair is that, APNU+AFC Party members and associates continue to allow themselves to be used and fooled by these mischief makers who are determined to still seize power, one way or the other at the expense of their followers, despite acknowledging that the PNC Party has a history of propagating violence since the days of 1960’s to current.

Hello, has anyone seen or heard again from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? Hide and seek is a favourite past time game in Guyana. He is still hoping to sneak in through the back door!

It was reported that the political poison providers “tried a thing” in Buxton and attempted Scene 2, trying to proliferate incitement, but, the Buxtonians were well prepared for this inducement and promptly rebuked and refused, quite rightly, to be deceived again and drawn into any monstrosity. Kudos to the smart and intelligent, quick thinking people who smelled the hunters from afar and did not allow themselves to become ensnared in the trap.

Too long has vulgarity and hooliganism pervaded openly in society and it is time that the decency of moral dignity envelope our life style and we become compatible with socially distancing ourselves from corruption of

the mind, whereby, we do not become vulnerably susceptible to volatility. The time is ripe and right for us to engage our conscience so that as we kneel, let us meditate on empathy to cleanse our hearts from guilt and shame so that we can see the light of being remorseful.

Gladston Henry is not only a figurehead, hero and teacher, but also, a gentleman and scholar, a healer and mediator who has created a precedent for refined sincerity, laying a cornerstone to catapult Guyana towards uniting from a raw division of racial animosity, to a peaceful cohesion of love and respect for all ethnicities. Guyana should feel proud that such a “Gandhi follower” exists and the honour of respect should be bestowed on him. It was Martin Luther King JR. who pensively philosophized, “Judge not a man by the skin of his colour but by the content of his character.”

The President should enlist him on his award roaster. In the USA, following the death of George Floyd, riots have continued in some cities and other deaths and shootings during interactions with police.

It is estimated that in Portland, they have seen some US$23 million in damages and in Minneapolis, the city had to endure about US$500 million worth of destruction. Will someone “guestimate” the unnecessary loss in Berbice?

The present generation should pay attention to three lines that were printed back in 1882 and credited as “Motto on the walls of a school in Germany”: When

wealth is lost, nothing is lost; When health is lost, something is lost; When character is lost, all is lost.

Think about it Guyana, every time the PNC doesn’t get their way, then it’s the highway to mayhem and destruction. Guess who has to repair and replace the loss?

Yes, of course, you’re right.

Good, old PPP/C Party is always the sucker, waiting outside after being sidelined and then to become the babysitter. They had to clean up the diapers when the PNC Party was ousted in 1992 and then again, in 2020, they have to clean up another lump of pooh.

Is this country not blessed to go forward on a straight path without incurring all the terrible trauma, tragedies, terror, torment, trials, tribulations, trepidations, trouble, torture, tension and an endless list of torrential trivialities? Guyana had to jump the hurdles of slaveryship, indentureship, dictatorship, colonialism, racism, hooliganism, Burnhamism, looting, stealing, burning, food ban, prejudice, nationalization, dollar devaluation, migration, victimization, discrimination, corruption, collusion, scandals, propaganda, sabotage, closures, rigging, frauds, perks, drugs, crime, killings, mismanagement, embezzlement, COVID-19 and now to crown them all, the grand selling-out of the oil contracts! What next Guyana? Seems as if every time Guyana is on the road to recovery, a blockage surfaces, materializing in its devilish propensity to dispense its diabolic attributes to catapult Guyanese back to the starting point. Leaving a trail of greater negativity to challenge a resilience, inculcating a culture of discipline, honesty, astute stewardship, something that is sadly lacking in those who favour a state of bankruptcy, the fight is always championed by those who propose, preach and practice, peace, progress and prosperity.

Respectfully, Jai Lall

DEAR EDITOR, I think we have all been made familiar with what has been going on for the past few days. Our country bleeds.

Racial tensions are soaring.

What happened?

First and foremost, we were shocked by the horrific slayings of the Henry’s boys. Next, I was at a tremendous loss for words when I heard about the killing of Haresh Singh. What prompted this? Who asked for this? Who said that because Black children were murdered, it was an automatic permit to kill an Indian child? Is this someone’s twisted idea of retribution or equilibrium?

It’s clear that we have savage beasts among us. For only savage beasts could commit such sordid crimes.

It is pretty damn obvious that in this country, we have a serious race problem. This racial divide has been with us for decades. The killings of the Henrys—and now of Singh will simply deepen that divide and exacerbate race relations between Indo and Afro Guyanese. But let me ask a question. We have this serious racial problem that persists. So why on Earth are our children paying for it? Why do these BABIES have to suffer for this racial cancer? And how many more children will we see die due to this age old curse on this nation?

Further, we Guyanese hypocritically sing the national song “Youths are Important to Guyana”. The same youths that we are killing out?

The same youths having to suffer despicable deaths for a problem that has been in this country for decades with no major effort to combat it? This course, this racism is a vile cancer that is perforating the social fabric of this nation.

We have only allowed it to grow with each passing day,

and it needs to end! We need to acknowledge that this problem exists and tackle it now, now, now!

There are hooligans who will spread their racial narratives, by social media or other means of public incitement. We have to remain vigilant to point out these cretins and cast them out or shun them! For they are a threat to this country. For they are a threat to love and reconciliation. For they are a threat to the very notion of national development!

Enough is enough!

Moreover, I remember vividly when I was on the platform at the presidential inauguration. I chose a poem to perform so as to preach for love and unity. An excerpt of that poem which stood out to me was “We must not fall apart.

We cannot let chaos make its way to our hearts. We cannot let ignorance spread itself—we are too smart”.

What we are witnessing right now is a direct contradiction to what I preached for! And it hurts me dearly…

The violence that took place last week must not reoccur! It was simply unnecessary and disgusting. A recurrence will only produce more Hareshs, and more Henrys. The “keyboard warriors” in the safety of the homes inciting mayhem on social media need to recognize this!

Violence gives birth to more violence and this must end!

We need to stand tall, with our firm feet planted on the ground. We must grip each other’s hands tightly for this is the way! We must not let this demon of disunity win! For we are smarter and stronger together. For then and only then will we be able to make great strides unhindered.

Yours faithfully, Nikhil Sankar

NO AGENDA DAT WE KNOW OF

By Tulsi Dyal The fifth most important person from the most powerful nation ever known to planet Earth is coming here to visit we.

No agenda dat we know of: Suh we gon play trup-tral*, sample El Dorado, and eat curried duck and dhal-puri.

We not gon talk about Payara, nothing, nothing about de PSA. Ring-fencing visiting

amnesia and taxes always verboten.

Dat country to de west of us wid three hundred billion plus of BOE, named in Spanish for little Venice is oft a thorn in somebody’s side.

Could it be dat we gon be accessory to recapture the world’s greatest volume of recoverable reserves, only, solely for democracy? *trump card game

Saturday September 19, 2020

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Saturday September 19, 2020

Pompeo says China's money comes with strings but that US wants to grow Guyana - Chinese Embassy tells him not to spread fake news

By Kemol King

U

S S t a t e Secretary, M i c h a e l Pompeo yesterday said that China's investments come with strings, but that the US brings Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) that is clean, drawing the ire of the Chinese Embassy in G u y a n a , w h i c h u rg e d Pompeo not to spread fakes news.

Making his case under State House's Baridi Benab, the Secretary rejected any assertion that US investments are a threat to Guyana's sovereignty.

“The United States model is to build out on the best things of your country,” He said. “We'll show up, we'll bring capital, we'll bring resources, we'll often

bring technological capabilities that are much needed to develop resources, develop infrastructure for your country, but we don't do so with political strings tied to them. We don't operate the way other regimes do, who might show up with money and then demand political retribution, or worse yet, engage in activity that is corrupt.”

In a separate interview with Leeron Brumell of the National Communications Network (NCN), Pompeo said he talks to American private sector leaders all the time about how they can invest in overseas markets in a manner that is fair and transparent, so they can in turn build their business in the United States.

The Secretary posited that he thinks countries understand

that America doesn't ask for much, besides a fair shot at the competition, rule of law, enforceable contracts and a set of property rights.

He opted not to comment on Guyana' s deal for operations in the Stabroek Block, as one journalist had asked whether the deal could be considered fair. Pompeo said the negotiations are between Guyana and Exxon, and that he and the President didn't even discuss ExxonMobil.

“We don't apply political pressure connected to our commercial enterprises.

There are other nations that operate very differently.”

He pointed to China, in this regard.

“China operates very differently. The Chinese Communist Party shows up with its military and

commercial deeply intertwined.”

He noted that China expects countries to accept Chinese tenders for projects, and opined that it's a form of pressure on governments.

The US, on the other hand, hires local skill, Pompeo said, adding that American companies are great environmental stewards.

The two economic powerhouses appear locked in a battle over who should extend more aid and influence in the Caribbean region. While the US and Guyana signed bilateral agreements signaling heavy US investments into Guyana's energy and related sectors, the People's Republic of China already received Guyana's signature in 2018 on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for

“There is no honest interlocutor on the other side” - Jagdeo to Parliamentary Opposition

W

hile the governing People's Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) plans to create an all inclusive structure of governance, that strategy is being hindered on the premise that the Parliamentary Opposition no longer holds “honest interlocutors” according to Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo.

As the 2020 National Budget Debates came to a close yesterday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Jagdeo during his presentation told the National Assembly that the calls for inclusion have been plenty but the Opposition has not been forthcoming with their support.

It should be noted that shortly after the Vice President began his presentation, the Opposition walked out.

“Mr. Speaker, you have to understand the dilemma we face today,” the Vice President said “There is no honest interlocutor on the other side. The people who are in Parliament today,

many of them were the ones who not only sought to steal the elections but you see the arrogance about even the attempt to steal the elections.”

Jagdeo asked “How could they reasonably be honest interlocutors?” and added that the Opposition shows absolutely “no remorse” for the role they played in the five month long protracted 2020 General and Regional Elections.

He said “How do you work with people who have no remorse about the role they played in trying to divide our country first of all and also trying to steal a whole elections?”

According to the Vice President, the Opposition boasted of a few people who matured but they were later given the boot, only to be replaced with those who continue to push the “false rigging narrative.”

“So the problem today that we face,” he continued “is that there is no honest interlocutor on the other side who commands the people of the country and the base.”

F u r t h e r, t h e Vi c e

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo President noted that the actions of Opposition during the debates boast of “bravado” and “reinvention of false narratives.”

Jagdeo said that it is these very narratives that have been reinvented and adhered to over the past five months, which led to the promotion of “corrupt members” into the National Assembly.

The Vice President made claims that top Opposition officials who sit in the National Assembly are “neck-deep” in allegations of bribery, fuel smuggling and procurement fraud.

“Bid tampering, illegal approval of contracts,

Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon splitting of contracts, giving contracts to their friends and family,” Jagdeo said.

While he did not delve further into details, he made it clear that the nation would be “shocked” when the findings of these investigations are made public. Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon whoever, rebuffed these comments off, making it clear that the investigations will not affect them.

Harmon referred to the claims as mere “threats” and said “That's all they're doing, investigating and investigating and investigating. Govern – that's what you're there for.”

US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo participation in the controversial Belt & Road Initiative.

In a statement just hours

after Pompeo made his remarks, the Chinese Embassy condemned him, urging that he make no further utterances which could tarnish his image. The Embassy said that China develops relations with Caribbean countries like Guyana under principles of mutual respect, equality and mutually beneficial cooperation.

“China attaches no political strings in bilateral pragmatic cooperations,” it stated, “which bring tangible benefits to countries and peoples in the region. This is an objective fact that anyone without prejudice will admit.”

As for the US, China said the country has abused the concept of national security to oppress foreign companies, alluding to (continued on page 17)

President Ali skirts US journalist's...

From page 3 country.” He said that it will allow the government to build and expand other sectors, transform the country's infrastructure, and foster a competitive “knowledge economy”.

“So oil and gas, I can assure you, will be managed by technically competent people,” he said, alluding to the Petroleum Commission again, before moving on to mention the administration's plans for the Natural Resource Fund. “Of course, we are now re-looking at the sovereign wealth fund to take away – there was legislation that was passed that added tremendous powers onto the minister who was responsible.”

The PPP/C has criticised the Act, passed by the former government – not only for its provisions, but because it was passed after the government fell by the December 21, 2018 motion of no confidence.

“We have to remove that,” he said, “remove the overwhelming power that is assigned to the Minister so that we can have greater transparency and accountability in the management of this sector.”

Finally, the President

referred to the recently appointed advisory panel on local content.

“We are committed to supporting investment in this sector,” President Ali, “and we are committed in ensuring that Guyanese benefit from these investments. That is why we've established a technical taskforce to look at local content and to see how we can not only support the local private sector, but how we can build a capacity and ensure that they benefit from local content.”

This is an issue that the new government has made a show of and its appointment of Trinidadian local content expert, Anthony Paul has been lauded. However, the government is reminded that local content cannot be a substitute for a fair deal, as it does not rake in enough to recover the US$55B Guyana is set to lose from the Stabroek Block agreement's current terms.

Former Presidential Advisor on Petroleum, Dr. Jan Mangal has said that local content is a red herring for the government's refusal to get a better deal, as oil producing nations do not make the bulk of their revenue from local content.

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The elderly should not be made expendable

T

he United Kingdom and other parts of Europe are moving once again into lockdowns amidst a surge in coronavirus infections. The number of positive coronavirus cases in the UK, while well below its peak level in April, has been increasing over the past two weeks.

More than 385,000 persons have been infected in the United Kingdom alone. Of this number, more than 40,000 have died. This is more than 10%. At one stage, the United Kingdom (UK) had the second highest number of deaths.

But it has long been surpassed by the United States (203,000); Brazil (135,000); India (85,000) and Mexico (72,000). The UK is among the top 10 for countries with the highest per capita deaths.

Guyana may soon surpass them given the terrible indifference, which the authorities are demonstrating towards the spiralling number of cases and deaths. The Ministry of Health appears to be operating in its own bubble and in another stratosphere.

We keep hearing about increased testing but testing has not consistently been up to even the target of 300 tests per day.

We keep hearing about a drug, which encourages recoveries but we are not certain whether the second batch of doses is coming on a slow train from the Far East.

We keep hearing about the G$52M testing machine but no date as to when it will arrive and when the cartridges will be sourced.

While all this talk is

Dem

boys seh...

D

em boys nah know. So dem boys can't seh.

But people asking, so dem boys gat fuh talk something.

People wan know wah Aunty Priya tell Pompeo.

Dem boys remember how she bin let loose pon a former Ambassador.

But dis time nah lang time. Dem boys sure, she had nothing but kind words to seh to Pompeo.

Pompeo come and gone and we deh in de same braps.

De only thing dat change is

being thrown around, the total number of confirmed cases has increased threefold.

The total number of confirmed cases has now passed 2,000 and deaths have almost tripled since August 2, 2020. Yesterday there was a staggering 75 new cases.

Ye t d e s p i t e t h e s e frightening numbers, the PPP/C administration is burying its head like an ostrich in the sand. It callously and recklessly refuses to tighten the social restrictions save and expect for reverting to the 6pm to 6am curfew when 90% of the people are in their homes, in any event.

The lack of concern being shown by the government is in stark contrast to the UK where, relatively speaking, the numbers are not as frightening but which nonetheless has prompted the government into action since it has recognized that increased deaths and spread of the virus is now inevitable.

On 10th April of this year, the UK recorded 10,760 new cases. That number eventually dropped t o 6 3 2 b y 8 t h J u l y.

However, there has been a steep climb in new cases promoting concerns of a second wave.

On 31st August, a total of 1,406 new cases were recorded but as of two days ago, this had spiked to 3,395 cases.

While the number of deaths is relatively low at this stage, the UK authorities know that with the increase in cases more deaths will arise. As such, there is now talk about a lockdown of the

country next week. Some areas have already begun to tighten restrictions, including prohibiting private households from meeting one another in either private gardens or at homes.

Countries like the UK have the services of epidemiologists who undertake modelling to predict the estimated number of infections and deaths.

It is not clear whether Guyana's coronavirus response is guided by infectious diseases specialists. But it would be a travesty if it is not.

Most of the recent deaths in Guyana are the elderly.

But there have been cases of matured persons, just over 50 and another case of a young person in his early 30s who have died.

The elderly should not be treated as expendables.

Every life is important. The authorities have an obligation to ensure that every life is protected, young, middle-aged or elderly.

The large number of cases registered over the past weeks is going to result in increased deaths. But unless there is a lockdown of some sort, the number of infections will continue to rise and with it more deaths.

The government is therefore being extremely callous by not tightening the social restrictions.

Just how does the government expect the total number of cases and deaths to be reduced when the same old social restrictions, which have been unable to stem the increases are still in place?

The government is perhaps clueless, helpless or downright insensitive.

Pompeo like eat catfish tuh dat de man talk how he used to catch catfish. Dem boys know if you like catch fish, you most likely gat fuh like to eat it.

De Pompeo man therefore gat fuh like how de catfish taste and so he promise dat he can review de ban wah de American bin put pon we catfish.

All it tek was one meeting with Prezzie Ali and progress mek.

It put to shame dem other ones wah bin in deh fuh five years and could not lift a finger fuh change nothing.

But old people seh wah

taste sweet in de mouth does sour in yuh belly.

De catfish gan now guh overseas.

And duh mean dat dem boys gan gat to pay more fuh eat catfish.

To tell de truth, dem boys bin glad when de ban did get impose because dem boys bin able to afford fuh eat certain fish. Now dem boys gat to go back to dem cheap fish.

Eat all de catfish yuh can because soon when de exports start back is only shark and banga gan sell cheap.

China, where the virus is believed to have originated, has shown what needs to be done to stop the flow of the virus. China implemented a total lockdown of certain provinces and this has worked.

Guyana needs to go that route or at least impose greater social restrictions.

The people of Guyana are being led to the slaughter by

the failure of the authorities to implement tighter social controls.

This is totally unacceptable and it is time for the people to begin to demand that at least the government protects the most vulnerable groupings; those over 45 years of age and those with underlying conditions.

It is time to shutdown

non-essential services and to encourage more persons to work from home.

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

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Saturday September 19, 2020

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

Did Dr. Vincent Adams know Mingo copied what David Patterson did?

I

am not a religious person in any sense of the word but I am praying that Guyana's journalism departs from its lackluster, uninspiring operation here in this country when Dr. Vincent Adams is being questioned.

And I mean Dr. Adams, the politician not Dr. Adams the so-called, professional public servant who heads the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

We have in this country dozens of former cabinet ministers who have some egregious, public secrets in their political lives that our journalists either do not know about or if they do, they do not see it as their journalistic duty and their

obligation to the Guyanese people to engage their interviewees on.

Five years have passed and not one journalist has asked Raphael Trotman and/or David Granger what is the meaning of the words Trotman blurted out at a local government campaign meeting in Bartica in 2016.

Trotman told the crowd that after the 2015 victory by APNU+AFC, Granger called him and said, “Raphael, this is Nassau,” referring to a conversation on Guyanese politics that the two men had at the airport in the Bahamas.

Not one journalist has asked any of the AFC leaders (and they were all in the room) why they chose to

telephone a certain woman (whose name I have not named in several columns on the subject) and offered her the post of Minister of the Environment when they gathered at the AFC's head o ff i c e t o s e l e c t t h e i r ministers in May 2015.

I could go on but for now let's deal with Dr. Adams.

Let me repeat my attitude as expressed several times on this page. You have to be a simpleton or deeply dishonest (or maybe both) to see Dr. Adams as a public servant while he has the status as one of the important leaders of the AFC, a party that has no separate parliamentary existence but is joined with the PNC under the name APNU+AFC.

How can you square the two? It is an insolvable puzzle. A political leader by law and morality cannot be a professional public servant.

To give legal and moral recognition to that caricature you ar e thr eadin g o n dangerous grounds and opening up the floodgates to a failed state. The NIS manager cannot be in the leadership of an opposition party. The GRA boss cannot be in the leadership of a political party. The GPL manager cannot be in the leadership of a political party.

Apart from law and morality, the dimension of security and trust are involved. When your friend

sits in parliament as the shadow minister for the environment and you and he are very close in the leadership of your party,

Frederick Kissoon there is the risk that you can pass information on to him.

The logic is simple. He has to perform in parliament to score points against the sitting minister and you as his party colleague, heads the environment agency where you have all the information about government's business.

David Patterson is shadow minister in parliament for the environment. Dr. Adams and Patterson sit together in all the major decision-making forums of the AFC. Dr. Adams and Patterson were the chief negotiators for the AFC in the renewal of the Cummingsburg Accord, a covenant that has become an asinine piece of “politrix” seeing that APNU+AFC lost the 2020 election.

Here now are some questions for Dr. Adams. Did he know how Patterson introduced the proposed changes to the Accord to the

33-member executive committee of the AFC in February 2020? The answer is yes because Dr. Adams was there. Here is what Patterson did. He set up a screen, used a projector and showed each proposed changes so quickly that the executives hardly had time to see what they were looking at muchless to debate each proposal.

It appears that Clairmont Mingo knew what Patterson did so he copied Patterson using the same kind of instruments when he was showing the statements of poll at the GECOM head office on the night of Friday March 13, 2020. The AFC executives were never shown the final changes to the Cummingsburg Accord. Patterson, Dr. Adams, Leonard Craig, who was the third negotiator for the AFC, and the leadership of the AFC announced that certain parts of the Accord have to remain inaccessible to the people of Guyana and party activists.

C a n D r. A d a m s , esteemed professional head of the EPA, tell the Guyanese people why, as one of the leaders of a major political party (before it died in March 2020), he wanted to keep that arrangement secret? Does he, Dr. Adams, believe in levelling with his party members? Why Guyanese should trust such a person to be the head of the EPA? (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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Authorities relax flight restrictions - mist towers; PCR testing at CJIA, Ogle on arrival to be introduced B

oth the Cheddi J a g a n International Airport (CJIA) at Timehri, and the Eugene F. Correia International Airports at Ogle, are open to facilitate repatriation flights, limited outgoing flights, cargo flights, medical evacuation flights, technical stops for fuel and other special authorised flights.

Speaking about a relaxation of the tough COVID-19 measures to protect the country's borders, Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, disclosed that several air operators including Eastern Airlines, Caribbean Airlines, Trans Guyana Airways, Roraima Airways and Exxon Mobil flights are permitted to operate special authorised and repatriation flights to process passengers desirous of coming to Guyana, once they satisfy the necessary health, safety and aviation regulatory requirements.

“It is against this

backdrop that both airports were able to process over 5,300 passengers on 63 flights, arriving from Canada, United States of America, United Kingdom & the Caribbean during the last four months.”

Edghill predicts that over the next 30 days, it is anticipated that another 2,000 passengers will be arriving into CJIA and 350 at the Eugene Correia International Airport.

“Government through the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and Airport Authority are also working aggressively with the various regional and international air carriers to commence commercial flight operations in the shortest possible time,” he said.

According to the Ministry, engagement with these carriers is presently ongoing.

It was also disclosed that while the current measures in place at the airports are

The airports will have mist towers as part of the measures to sanitise travellers robust, the Ministry of Health and the relevant stakeholders are working to improve the timely and efficient processing and

monitoring of passengers arriving into the country.

Among the initiatives that will be introduced are 'mist towers' to reduce the

exposure to COVID-19; PCR testing on arrival at the airport; mobile application to facilitate easy passenger engagement while in self-

quarantine and a website for easy passenger interface.

According to Minister Edghill, the Government of Guyana is committed to working with all stakeholders and private sector bodies to reopen the economy to improve the livelihood, inclusive of employment opportunities for our citizens.

“The health and wellbeing of our people,” the stated, “is paramount and your government will continuously evaluate the measures in place during this pandemic. I implore the general public to strictly adhere to the health guidelines that are in place to protect against the spread of COVID-19.”

The airports have been closed to commercial traffics since March with special repatriation flights allowed.

The pandemic has been hitting Guyana hard with the figures rising along with the number of deaths over 60 at the moment.

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Saturday September 19, 2020

Contractors of Ocean View Hospital were overpaid millions - Minister of Health - Calls facility a cesspool for corruption

By Sueann Wickham

M

inister of Health, Dr. F r a n k Anthony has revealed that contractors of the Ocean View Infectious Disease Centre at Liliendaal were being overpaid millions of dollars, calling the facility a cesspool for corruption.

The disclosure was made in Anthony's 2020 Budget presentation on Thursday as he described the state in which the previous coalition government left Guyana's health sector and their management of the ongoing pandemic. Anthony stated that eight contractors were hired on June 16, 2020, to do works on the facility, and on that very day certification and valuation of work were done for each contractor.

This valuation assessed 67 percent to 90 percent of the work completed among contractors.

T h e M i n i s t e r emphasized that payments were hurriedly made to these contractors. It was discovered that the contractors received their payments even days before the accounting officer signed and certified their vouchers – something that is very questionable.

“There was no evidence of any of the contractors submitting any performance bonds or guarantee. There were significant overpayments on the contract,” Anthony said.

Further, he revealed that in one case, there was an overpayment of $70 million to one contractor, while another received an overpayment of $14.7 million as an advance to install an elevator. The elevator is yet to be installed according to Anthony.

Anthony claimed that the coalition government would have fooled the general public into thinking that they had a comprehensive plan to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and this was evidenced by the broken health care system they left behind.

Following the PanAmerican Health O rg a n i z a t i o n ( PA H O ) / World Health Organization

(WHO) projection of 20,000 COVID-19 cases emerging in Guyana, the Ocean View Hotel was selected to be turned into an Infectious Disease Centre to serve which would serve as an incubation, isolation, and quarantine facility for the COVID-19 patients. The $1.6 billion facility is yet to be fully opened.

In his presentation, the minister questioned how it is that the former President David Granger did not know the hospital was a “shell” when he declared it opened on July 30. He referenced the Auditor General's preliminary report that deemed the facility to be inoperable and added that at the time of that report, electricity, and back-up generator works were still to be conducted. Elevators were to be installed as well as medical glass and interior finishing works are still in progress. The facility was also lacking proper electricity, sewage systems, medical equipment, and staff.

He also stated that the 197 beds that the coalition said the facility would have were not there when the new administration took office.

Anthony said that by now, the facility should have had an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), but upon visiting the hospital, there was just a small space resembling an ICU. The building is now being used as an isolation facility for COVID-19 patients transferred from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). The Ministry of Health has since procured equipment for the facility and has provided staff to manage the patients currently being housed there.

Additionally, Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill recently announced that the government has been forced to spend an additional $790 million to make the facility fully operational.

Edghill had stated that the facility was “beautifully painted” but it was lacking the necessary amenities to handle infectious diseases like the novel coronavirus.

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Saturday September 19, 2020

Kaieteur News

“Attacks on SARA reprehensible”

By Shikema Dey Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Roysdale Forde yesterday blasted the governing People's Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) administration for their attacks on the soon to be disbanded State Asset Recovery

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Agency (SARA).

As the final day of the 2020 Budget Debates got underway at the Arthur Chung Conference Center, Forde who gave his maiden presentation after Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall, deemed the attacks “reprehensible” and cited that it represented the “first salvo” on the independence of public institutions.

“Dark, dark days are ahead, Mr. Speaker,” Forde told the National Assembly.

It was the Attorney General in his presentation who underscored the “parasitic” effect SARA had on the National Treasury. SARA has received close to $600M to fight corruption, including a budget of $260M in 2018 and $285M in 2019.

For its establishment in 2017,

Legal Notice Notice Legal 2020-HC-DEM-CIV -FD-486 IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE FAMILY, DIVORCE AND MATRIMONIAL JURISDICTION F AMIL Y DIVISION PETITION NO.: FD- 486 BETWEEN:LOUISON (DAWN ANDREA) nee BISHOP Petitioner-andLOUISON (ROGER JULIAN) Respondent TO: ROGER JULIAN LOUISON(LastKnownAddress) Lot 171 One Mile, Wismar,Linden, Guyana.TAKE NOTICE that on the 4th day of August; 2020 a Petition for Divorce was filed against you by DAWN ANDREA LOUISON nee BISHOP,the Petitioner in the Family Division of the High Court in Georgetown, Demerara.AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that as part of an Order made onthe 28th day of August, 2020, the Petitioner was directed to effect service of her Petition on you by publication of this Notice in two (2) consecutive Saturday issues of the Kaieteur News Newspapers, a daily Newspaper printed, published and circulated in and around Guyana and on the World Wide Web. AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that if you desire you may appear or attend in person or by your duly authorized agent or Attorney-at-Law at the Registry of the Family Division of the High Court at Georgetown, Demerara where you will be issued with a certified copy of the Petition together with related documents.

AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that if you desire to Defend this Divorce, then upon receipt of

- MP Roysdale Forde it also received another $116M. He highlighted that since being established four years ago, the agency had failed to complete its mandate of recovering State Assets and additionally, he pointed out that the agency is “illegally constituted.”

“It is illegally constituted, with the Director and Deputy Director not been appointed by this Honourable House, as mandated by the SARA Act,” the AG explained, “yet these two officers were allowed to draw salaries at a rate of $1M and $700,000 GYD, respectively per month, with gratuity and benefits for the past four years. These two illegal appointees alone carted off from the Treasury over $100M GYD in

Legal Notice the certified copy of the Petition, you must file an Acknowledgement of Service, Notice of Intention to Defend (Forms are available atthe Registry), Answer and/or Cross Petition in the Registry of the Family Division of the High Court at.Georgetown, Demerara within 35 (thirtyfive) days from the date of the final publication of this Notice . TAKE NOTICE that the divorce is fixed for Directions Hearing on Friday the 30th day of October, 2020 at 9:00 am before the Honourable Madam Justice Simone Morris- Ramlall in Court Room (6) of the High Court at Georgetown.

IN DEFAULT of your filing an Acknowledgement of Service/Notice of Intention to Defend, Answet”=ami-/or Cross Petition the Court may proceed in your absence and may make any Order it considers appropriate, including granting the Divorce. The Registry of the Family Division of the High Court is located at the Law Courts [Georgetown, Demerara]. The office is open to the public between 8:00am and 3:30pm Mondays to Thursdays a}ld 8:00am to 2:30pm on Fridays except on public holidays and on such other days as the Registry is closed.

Dated the 31 ST day of August, 2020

Opposition MP, Roysdale Forde emoluments, over this period, excluding other benefits.”

According to Nandlall, all the agency managed to do was file a few cases in respect of plots of land sold by the PPP/C Administration at market value.

SARA also filed proceedings against the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) back in September 2019 with claims that it had acquired a property in Kingston that houses its headquarters for $244M at less than its actual value.

The High Court, however, ruled in favour of the bank, on the grounds that SARA lacked the legal standing for such a matter.

“So, in short,” the AG added “this Unit has accomplished nothing, but has plundered from the Treasury in salaries, rental and operational costs, approximately $1B GYD, over this period.”

For this reason, he said, government would be removing this “humongous burden from the backs of taxpayers' by shutting down this Unit, shortly.”

His comments did not sit well with Forde who told the National Assembly that the reason why the PPP/C is scrapping SARA is because it is an independent institution.

He said “This nation is fully aware of the principal reason why this Administration wants to get rid of the State Assets Recovery Agency. It is because as an independent institution, the State Assets Recovery Agency instituted proceedings against members of the PPP/C who were considered to have improperly acquired state assets.”

According to Forde, the PPP/C has always been “afraid of strong independent institutions” like SARA and noted that it is their “ideological posture” to suppress strong independent institutions.

Further, he questioned: “Mr. Speaker, which decent Government would want to get rid of an institution such as a State Assets Recovery Agency? To replace it with what Mr. Speaker, to replace an Institutional watchdog in the nature of a pit bull with a watch poodle?”

Kaieteur News

Saturday September 19, 2020

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GNBS to provide crucial Four remanded for murder services to various sectors of Experiment businessman

T

he Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) will be providing pertinent services to various sectors in the country according to their press release issued yesterday.

The GNBS is Guyana's standard body responsible for protecting the public from substandard products and services. Established Under the Standards Act No.11 of 1984, the GNBS is mandated to monitor 17 categories of products which include household electrical appliances, cellular phones, tyres, furniture, and electrical equipment, fittings, and other things to ensure they comply with the requirements outlined in the national standards.

They are also mandated to adapt to International Standards and implement them within various sectors.

They announced that they now play a major role in the oil sector. This includes ensuring accurate measurements are carried out during the lifting of crude from the Floating Production Storage (FPSO) vessel(s).

The GNBS is authorized to carry out this function according to Article 6 of the Petroleum Agreement.

The GNBS will also continue to carry out its functions of supporting trade, enhancing business competitiveness through standards and certification, facilitating business growth and development, which enhances the efficiency and quality of products and services offered for sale. It will also continue supporting the establishment of a National Quality

Infrastructure, and Protecting consumers.

The GNBS Certification Services Department will continue to offer auditing services based on the requirements of international standards and the provision of training and consultancy services will continue to ensure industry products, and services are standard-compliant and

competitive.

Also being provided is mandatory Legal Metrology Services for businesses as they are empowered to under the Weights and Measures Act of 1981 to verify the accuracy of all weighing and measuring devices such as scales, masses, measures that are used in commercial trade.

The Bureau boasted that businesses have been increasingly submitting their measuring instruments for regular (calibration) comparisons with traceable standards in the areas of Mass, Dimension, Volume, Pressure, and Te m p e r a t u r e . T h e s e instruments include balances, masses, measuring cylinders, liquid in glass thermometers, gauge blocks, pressure gauges, measuring tapes, micrometers, and calipers.

The Bureau is currently a semi-autonomous agency, under the Ministry of Tourism, Industry, and Commerce and is also an internationally certified institution. The Bureau is governed by a National Standards Council (NSC) that comprises of persons who represent various interest groups and sectors of Guyana's economy.

75 new COVID-19 cases recorded

A

total of 75 new COVID-19 cases were yesterday recorded, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 2,102.

According to the Ministry of Health's daily update, there are currently 16 persons in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GHPHC), 66 persons are in institutional isolation, 644 are in approved home isolation, and 86 are in institutional quarantine.

The total number of deaths is 62 after two deaths were recorded on Thursday, an 83year-old woman and a 52-year-old man, both from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica).

Samples were taken from both patients upon

admission at the medical facility; however, they died while receiving treatment.

A total of 11,771 tests have been conducted to date, out of which 9,669 tested negative. Of all confirmed cases, 1038 are male and 1064 are female.

The regional distribution of cases shown on the dashboard shows Region One with 297 confirmed cases, Region Two with 27 cases, Region Three with 153 cases, Region Four with 849 cases, Region Five with 53 cases, Region Six with 31 cases, Region Seven with 272 cases, Region Eight with 34 cases, Region Nine with 338 cases and Region 10 with 88 cases.

Additionally, there have been a total of 1,314 recoveries.

Questions raised over decision to...

From page 2 Company Guyana Limited and DDL, which is known over the world for its awardwinning El Dorado line of rums.

DDL also has the franchise for Pepsi and other soft drinks and is involved in banking and shipping.

Ram noted that there are two regulators governing corporate DDL – the Registrar of Companies (for

companies generally) and the Securities Council (which regulates public companies).

He expressed surprise that there is no evidence of any of these entities being consulted on the particular application by the Trust Company.

Ram said that had the regulators been consulted they might very well have found it appropriate to have

entered an appearance in the court matter and probably objected to the move by Trust Company.

Ram cited a case from Jamaica authorising companies to hold their annual general meetings virtually or by a combination of physical and virtual meetings but in each case with the right to vote expanded rather than reduced.

Four men yesterday made their first appearance at the Fort Wellington Magistrate Court to answer the charge of murder committed on Mohamed 'Raymond' Haniff of Experiment, Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice.

Sarjoo Matadin, a 56year-old cash crop farmer, Ivor Lindo, 21-year-old security guard and Royston Dowden, 29 all of Bath Settlement, and Devon Mc Calmon, a 50-year-old a National Drainage & Irrigation Authority worker of Number 22 Village, West Coast Berbice all appeared before Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh, shackled and masked up.

The charge read that on Saturday, 12th September at Experiment, Bath Settlement, they murdered Mohamed Haniff. They were not required to plead to the indictable charge. Before the men were remanded, Attorney-at-law Bernard Da Silva representing Sarjoo Matadin told the court that his client was held in custody beyond the legal 72-hour time frame without being informed whether an extension was sought or granted to keep him in custody.

He further recorded with the Magistrate that his client was beaten by the police while in custody at New Amsterdam Criminal Investigation Department (CID) branch and at CID Headquarters, Eve Leary.

According to Da Silva, Sarjoo complained yesterday that he was experiencing pain about his body and as such asked that an application be granted for his client to undergo a medical examination. The application was granted by Magistrate Singh.

Meanwhile, the prosecution lead by Inspector Sheriff, told the court that his file was not completed since the post mortem report is outstanding. However, he did state that all statements were included in the file. The men were subsequently remanded to prison and the 2nd October set for disclosure.

On the 12th September at sometime around 20:00 hrs, three men armed with cutlasses and a knife barged into the home of Mohamed Haniff and demanded that he hand over his cash and jewellery.

After he did not give in to the demands of the men, they chopped him about his head and shortly after escaped.

Charged: Sarjoo Matadin

Charged: Devon Mc Calmon

Murdered: Mohamed 'Raymond' Haniff Haniff's wife who was also at home when the men entered, was not harmed during the ordeal. Haniff was then rushed to the hospital where he succumbed a few hours later to his injuries. Shortly after, the Major Crimes Unit attached to the Guyana Police Force CID took over the case and arrested the wife of the man. A few days later Matadin, Dowden, Lindo and Mc Calmon were arrested.

While in custody, one of the accused confessed and detailed that the door of the house was left open for them since the aim was to rob Haniff and not kill him.

Haniff had returned to Guyana after living in St.

Charged: Royston Dowden

Charged: Ivan Lindo Martin for two years, with approximately $8000 US in cash and gold jewellery. He reportedly hid the cash from his wife who, Kaieteur News was informed by police sources, was heavily in debt.

The confessing accused in custody told police that the plan was concocted three days prior to the murder at his house and they were told that the back door of the house would be left unlocked.

He said that they planned to rob the man of his money but after he refused to say where it was, the situation escalated and they dealt the man several chops to his head. They then escaped without any cash or jewellery.

Nothing was reported missing from the home when investigators showed up and the stashed cash was located by ranks.

This publication understands that the wife who was arrested was released on station bail a few days ago. A post mortem examination that was done on the body of Haniff revealed that he died from multiple incision wounds to the head. Blood samples, stomach contents and body parts were taken from Haniff's body to be tested. The results for those are expected soon.

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Non pareil family, chopped husband A family of three was last night attacked at their residence in the village of Non Pareil, East Coast Demerara.

Kaieteur News understands that Munish ‘Bai’ Bachan received the most injuries, with brutal chop wounds about his body. A relative last night said that the invaders were reportedly shouting at him, demanding

money while he begged for his life.

They also reportedly dealt his wife, Christina Bachan several blows to her head, and stabbed their 14-year-old son, Munish Levi Bachan in his chest.

According to a Facebook live video posted by the Guyanese Critic last night, the family was assisted by officers from Vigilance Police

Station, who took them to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

This newspaper understands that the attack was carried out by three men, but there is no word yet on the motive or their identities with police tightlipped last night on the details of the incident. Kaieteur News will update this coverage as details come in.

...Pompeo says China's money comes with From page 8 recent action by the US to s u p p r e s s t h e Ti k To k smartphone application, which it worries is Chinese spyware.

“The US has not only violated market principles and international rules,” China said, “but also negated the principles of market economy and fair competition that it has been priding itself on.

We hope that all coun-

tries work together to promote a fair, just, open, nondiscriminatory business environment.”

A Reuters report notes that a similar exchange was made between Pompeo and China during his earlier visit to Suriname. “ We ' v e w a t c h e d t h e Chinese Communist Party invest in countries, and it all seems great at the front end and then it all comes falling down when the po-

litical costs connected to t h a t b e c o m e s c l e a r, ” Pompeo is quoted as saying.

The Chinese Embassy there responded s w i f t l y, s a y i n g t h a t Pompeo is attempting to sow discord between China and Guyana's immediate neighbour to the East. It urged Pompeo to stop spreading rumours about China.

Saturday September 19, 2020

Saturday September 19, 2020

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Saturday September 19, 2020

‘COVID testing not realistic for school sports’ - ISSA president Wellington says cost puts option out of reach SportsMax - President of the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA), Keith Wellington, is urging student-athletes to continue training for their various disciplines, in order to be in a position to capitalize on any opportunities to compete in this academic year.

The governing body for Jamaican high school sports has already cancelled all sporting activities for the remainder of 2020 due to a spike in COVID-19 cases across the island.

According to Wellington, ISSA is now using the period to assess what events, including the ones that were scheduled for this semester, could be

held next year.

He pointed out that sports like table tennis and swimming are among the favourites to see competition first in 2021.

Wellington suggested that sports like basketball, football, netball and track and field might be the most difficult to stage.

Specifically speaking to the popular ISSA Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships, Wellington told the Commentators podcast, “I know that a lot of people would have said athletics provides for social distancing.”

“On the field of play it does but if you think of our track and field activities, it doesn’t have to be that way, the norm is that you

have persons travelling right across the island, thousands of kids from dozens of communities across the island,” he added.

“That is something that would be difficult in this time because you could have somebody from Hanover travelling to Calabar to participate in a meet…they come into contact and right away you have a spread right across.”

Speaking with Donald Oliver and Ricardo Chambers, Wellington also made it clear he did not see testing as an option, at the moment, for any sport given the financial costs associated.

However, the man who

Saturday September 19, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) You might not get the things done that you want to do today, Aries, but don't sweat it.

Go easy on yourself if you still have a few unchecked things on the list tonight.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Today is a fantastic day, so make the most of it. If you're emotionally and mentally prepared to go on a new, exciting life journey, the opportunity will present itself.

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Today is a fantastic day, so make the most of it. If you're emotionally and mentally prepared to go on a new, exciting life journey, the opportunity will present itself.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) If you've put in your time and done your homework, this day can prove very rewarding, Scorpio. Watch out for incredible opportunities hiding nearby.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) You'll be tested today, so brace yourself for the unexpected. A large piece of your life is coming into question at this time, and you're being forced to face the music.

CANCER(June21–July22) You have lots of energy at your disposal today, but it's erratic and powerful. You have the stamina to make major changes, and the opportunity to break free from any restrictions that hold you back.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) It's time to take a bold step forward, Leo. Have confidence in yourself and all the careful planning you've been painstakingly doing for the past few months.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) You can't ask for a better day.

Positive energy is coming your way. You should look for the opportunities that are right in front of you. You may be going through some significant upheaval right now.

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Kaieteur News

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) You may find people very stubborn today, so take care, Sagittarius. Arguments can explode out of nowhere, so have your helmet ready.

CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) Initiate a major change in your life. Break free of the humdrum and launch into something exciting. Take part in an online class that expands your mind.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Action is the word of the day. Whether you're initiating it or feeling the brunt of it, you'll be caught up in the vortex of it. Try not to lose your tempter today.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Today may be filled with sudden changes and unexpected events, Pisces. The energy is electric and strong. People will act in erratic, powerful bursts. Try to stay centered and maintain your focus.

took over the top job in June 2019, says he is committed to ensuring that student-athletes across as many sports as possible get opportunities to compete.

To athletes, he said, “all is not lost.”

“We define luck as preparedness plus opportunity.

Right now, there is little opportunity, but you still have a responsibility to be prepared so that when that opportunity comes you will be lucky.”

“I would say to them (athletes) to do all that you can to prepare yourself mentally and physically to play sport.

We at ISSA are serious about providing that opportunity to make your luck and we are going to do whatever we can to provide you with the opportunities in whatever format.”

Azarenka crushes...

From page 20 was able to use a lot of court; I was able to use a lot of different pace.

“So, I’m very happy with that. But the key was definitely being able to maintain the level that I started with.”

She added, according to the WTA Tour website: “I was really more focused on what I can do today on the court, than on what she does well.

So, I think that was the difference, I was able to insist on my level and insist on my pace.”

Earlier, Garbine Muguruza managed to outlast American sensation Coco Gauff 7-6 (73) 3-6 6-3 in an absorbing contest.

Gauff, 16, appeared to be in control of the decider after an early break of serve.

But three double faults in the following game gifted Spaniard Muguruza an instant break in return, giving her the initiative to go on and seal victory.

Johanna Konta saw off Irina-Camelia Begu in fine fashion, the seventh-seeded Briton emerging 6-0 6-4, but Kiki Bertens and Petra Martic were not so impressive.

Bertens, seeded fifth, fell 6-4 6-4 to Polona Hercog, while eighth seed Martic succumbed to Yulia Putintseva in a gruelling three-hour contest, the latter eventually winning 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 6-4.

Marketa Vondrousova and Svetlana Kuznetsova were among the other victors on the day.

‘Cornwall was ready to go’ - Windies spinner disappointed to not get ball for CPL final SportsMax - West Indies all-rounder Rakheem Cornwall insists he was ready to go for the St Lucia Zouks, despite not being picked to bowl in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) final.

The decision not to bowl Cornwall, who recently came back from representing the West Indies in England, raised a few eyebrows. But, the spinner has not been among the tournaments leading wicket-takers for several seasons. In addition, Zouks captain Darren Sammy had a battery of spin bowlers at his disposal, which included Roston Chase, who took more wickets than Cornwall in England.

In the end, after making

it to their first CPL final, as heavy underdogs, the Zouks fell short to the Trinbago Knight Riders.

Cornwall has insisted he was fit and ready to perform but his omission from the lineup was the captain’s choice.

“It was basically the captain’s decision; maybe it was his gut feeling to go for the other bowlers. He thought he didn’t need me at that time so he went for especially his depth bowlers,” Cornwall recently told the Antigua Observer.

“The pitch was a spin bowlers pitch and I am always ready for whenever he calls on me and if he doesn’t then it is the case but I’m always set and ready if I am called upon,” he added.

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Kaieteur News

Saturday September 19, 2020

Guyana MF Neil Danns: “The Gold Cup Prelims can be an advantage” Miami, Florida – After making their Concacaf Gold Cup debut in 2019, Guyana are brimming with belief that they can reach the tournament for a second consecutive time.The Golden Jaguars are one of 12 teams who will be involved in next July’s Gold Cup Prelims in the United States in which three teams will emerge with a spot in the Group Stage.

Leading the way for Guyana will be veteran Midfielder (MF) Neil Danns, who believes his team can achieve a more successful 2021 Gold Cup by building momentum in the Prelims.

“I think with everything that’s been going on in the last couple of months, I don’t think you can be upset with any revisions of anything because we are in unprecedented times. There are going to be changes in everything. You just have to get on with it and take the positives. Just being there is

a blessing in itself. It’s still within your own hands, so personally I have no problem with it,” said Danns about the revised Gold Cup Prelims format in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com.

“I think for the teams that can qualify through that phase, it’s almost an advantage because you get to take some of the atmosphere in, plus you are also going to get some fitness work out of it in a competitive game. You go into the first game having already played a competitive match, so you’ll be raring to go,” added Danns.

The taste that Guyana got of Gold Cup action in 2019 has served as motivation to return to the 2021 tournament.

“Making our tournament debut was great, so having a chance to get there again two times in a row is unbelievable.

It shows the character and good work that is going on in Guyanese football and

Neil Danns (backing camera) training with fellow Golden Jaguars at the First Energy Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio at the 2019 Gold Cup. hopefully it continues. All of the boys are fully motivated,” said Danns.

The 37-year-old scored all three Guyana goals in the 2019 Gold Cup, including a

brace in Guyana’s first ever Gold Cup match, a narrow 4-2 loss to Panama.”It was amazing to represent the country at a first ever major tournament and for me personally to score the first ever goal at a major tournament is an achievement that will live with me forever. I have my shirt framed and it will always hold a special place in my household, but for the team and for the country, it was a massive milestone and it shows the continuing progress of football in Guyana,” said Danns.

The England-born Danns qualifies to play for Guyana through his grandfather, and so it was his family and the future generations of Guyanese footballers that came to his mind when he scored that historic goal.

“It was almost overwhelming. I didn’t realize the sort of effect it would have on me until afterward when I was getting the messages of support and congratulations from people back home and from Guyana.

I sat back after the tournament and looked back at some of the highlights and clips and I got a sense of the achievement. Hopefully, I

have been a part of inspiring another generation, because for the next generation of kids in Guyana, that was the first time that they got to see their national players at a tournament on TV. If those goals made a couple Guyanese children go out and practice and want to aspire to that, then that alone is an amazing feeling for myself,” said Danns.

Guyana followed up their 2019 Gold Cup performance with a solid second-place finish in the 2019-20 Concacaf Nations League, including an impressive 1-1 draw at group winners Jamaica.

“It was a tough group and we had new management, so it was tricky at the beginning.

But they did a fantastic job in the end and I can’t say enough good things about how the manager organized us.

To be able to get to a playoff for a Gold Cup, considering we had Jamaica in the group, who were massive favorites to top the group, to get a result against them was unbelievable.

I would say it’s a testament to how the football is going in Guyana. We’re not a team that is expected to turn

up and nearly get there; we’re actually a team that people look at and think it’s a tough game,” said Danns.

In addition to the Gold Cup Prelims, Guyana will also be busy preparing for the First Round of Concacaf World Cup Qualifying for Qatar 2022. The Golden Jaguars have been drawn into Group F along with Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Puerto Rico and Bahamas. Danns sees no reason as to why Guyana cannot be the team to finish atop the table.

“We were happy with the group. We are quietly confident that we can have a go at qualifying through the group.

I think three or four years ago, people would have said that it was Trinidad’s group for the taking, whereas now I think even the Trinidad team is thinking that it’s going to be tough, that Guyana are going to be there and going to be challenging.

It’s a big game for them against us now. There’s no more winning 2-nil or 3-nil against Guyana. It’s a group in which we are confident we can shock a few people,” concluded Danns.

Azarenka crushes Kenin in Rome, as Muguruza sees off Gauff Omni Sport - Victoria Azarenka produced a memorable performance as she destroyed Sofia Kenin 6-0 60 at the Internazionali d’Italia on Thursday.

Azarenka, beaten in the US Open final less than a week ago, has transitioned to the clay courts in impressive fashion after beating Venus Williams and now, more impressively, Kenin.

The Australian Open champion had no answer to

Azarenka’s ruthlessness and near-perfection out on court in Rome, with the Belarusian claiming victory in just an hour and one minute.

Azarenka faced no break points in the entire match and made only one unforced error as she emphatically took the first set against a player who was her US Open doubles partner.

Kenin improved in the second set, forcing some long games – particularly the sec-

ond, which was at deuce on five different occasions.

But Azarenka – who faces Russian Daria Kasatkina in the last 16 – simply had too much for the American and cruised to a sensational victory over the third seed, “I think my consistency was the key to the scoreline,” Azarenka told reporters. “I feel like I played really smart tennis today: I (Continued on page 19)

Saturday September 19, 2020

PAGE 27

Kaieteur News

IPL 2020: New venues, new tactics, new experience ESPNcricinfo - One of the truest clichés of the IPL is that each edition is more open than the last one. For example, the playoffs spots in the last four seasons were determined only on the last day of the league phase. But in 2020, a new twist in the form of a pandemic has made this most lucrative of tournaments even more unpredictable.

The majority of players in each franchise haven’t played competitive cricket since March. The tournament itself is being played at three neutral venues, nullifying the players’ familiarity with Indian conditions. The absence of crowds, a natural source of energy in sport, will be deafening in the empty desert bowls of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

Cocooned inside the bubble for more than a month now, the players have been restless to play. Franchise owners are banking on this being the most-watched IPL ever. It is being sold with the promise of being a panacea for the pain caused by Covid19. Under the gaze of millions of eyeballs, can this IPL deliver on that promise?

Its success will depend on the quality of the competition, which in turn depends on the following variables: Neutral venues = Level playing field Stephen Fleming admits there is no home game this time. Every match, the Chennai Super Kings head coach says, will be like an “away game”. While franchises say they’ve never had a say in pitch-making in the IPL in any case, teams have had some influence on the nature of tracks, which created a home advantage. One crucial factor behind the Super Kings’ success - threetimes champions and the only team to make the playoffs in every edition they’ve played in - has been their ability to extract home advantage at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. The same goes for four-time champions Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium.

In unfamiliar conditions in the UAE, adaptability will become key. For the coaching staff and captains, the challenge will be to keep players mentally sharp while remaining flex-

ible with selections dictated by the conditions pitch and weather.

Adding to the unpredictability will be the fact that no cricket has been played on any of the three grounds for several months.

Also, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are each scheduled to host a high volume of matches, which they are not used to.

The pitch behaviour, an intangible, is likely to keep teams on their toes.

New coaching set-ups, fresh energy Five franchises have overhauled their coaching set-ups since IPL 2019. Kolkata Knight Riders have appointed former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum as their head coach. Trevor Bayliss, who led the Knight Riders to their two IPL titles, in 2012 and 2014, is now head coach at Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Mike Hesson, who was New Zealand’s head coach when McCullum was captain, is the team director at Royal Challengers Bangalore, one of the three teams without an IPL crown. This is Hesson’s second stint in the IPL after serving as team director at Kings XI Punjab last year. Assisting him is the former Australia batsman Simon Katich, who will be serving as head coach for the first time, having performed assistant-coach duties at the Knight Riders for a few seasons.

There is only one Indian head coach in the IPL, the former India captain and coach Anil Kumble, who is both the head of cricket and coaching staff at Kings XI, another team never to have won the title.

Andrew McDonald, the former Australia allrounder, will take charge as head coach at Rajasthan Royals.

New coaches mean new philosophies and fresh ideas. But franchises always talk about retaining a core of players. Can they give coaches the same leeway to build on their ideas instead of overhauling their structures time and again?

Exploiting depth in squads The biggest challenge coaches are likely to face this IPL could be niggles and injuries, considering a majority of players are coming off a

long break with limited practice. There will be no air travel involved, but the oppressive heat and dry conditions in the UAE will remain a challenge throughout the tournament.

There may be situations when workloads need to be managed or there could be more injuries than normal.

This puts an emphasis on the depth of each squad. The reserves and back-ups for each role need to be ready. This may be an edition where we see the maximum players used by each franchise.

A tale of two halves With just three venues, pitches are bound to become slower as the tournament progreses. Fresh, lively pitches could be expected in the first couple of weeks, but bowlers will be dominant as the pitches slow down.

Teams that have the arsenal to adapt and play a different brand of cricket over both halves will be in a good position to make the playoffs.

Good players of spin, T20 anchors, bowlers with variations, reverse-swing specialists and spinners will be the impact players. Do not be surprised if you see teams playing certain types of players in the first half and a different set in the second half.

Go-to bowlers: those with variations As the pitches become slower, variation bowlers will become more effective.

Knuckle balls, legcutters and offcutters are already used by fast bowlers in T20 cricket, but these will become the go-to deliveries on slower surfaces. Taking pace off the ball and varying speeds will be valuable, as was witnessed recently in CPL T20. The highest wicket-taker there was a fast bowler - Scott Kuggeleijn - who started the tournament bowling fast but quickly adapted to take pace off the ball.

In the last three seasons of the IPL, offcutters and legcutters have been the most successful deliveries. Bowlers have taken a wicket once every nine balls with the legcutter while the offcutter has resulted in a wicket once every 11 balls.

While the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Dwayne Bravo and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will continue to be the key bowlers for their

The refurbished Sharjah Cricket Stadium gears up for IPL 2020. (Sharjah Cricket Council) teams, Keemo Paul, Daniel Sams and Jayadev Unadkat - who all have good slower balls - could play an equally dominant hand.

A new viewing experience One of IPL’s unique selling points, and a visible part of its success, has been the sellout crowds. They have thronged to witness not just the cricket but also participate in and enjoy the party-like atmosphere, enhanced by

the presence of Bollywood personalities along with the rich and the famous.

For the fan, the IPL has become an ‘I-was-there’ moment.

The fans’ enthusiasm didn’t just add to the buzz of the IPL, it also energised players. Katich acknowledged that some international players who get an adrenaline rush in key moments from the crowd noise

could be impacted. However, Katich also pointed out that younger players could take advantage of the absence of crowds and play without any external pressure.

However players from Hardik Pandya to Virat Kohli to Rohit Sharma have said that although it would be a different experience, cricket will be making all the noise this time.

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Kaieteur News

Saturday September 19, 2020

Duplantis produces highest-ever outdoor pole vault jump ROME (Reuters) - American-born Swede Armand Duplantis produced the highest-ever outdoor pole vault jump on Thursday when he cleared 6.15 metres to win gold at the Rome Diamond League meeting.

The 20-year-old cleared the bar at the second attempt with room to spare and was only three centimetres short of the world record he set in-

doors in Glasgow in February.

Despite that, he decided not to go for a higher mark.

Sergey Bubka’s 6.14 metres mark in 1994 was the previous highest outdoor clearance, but World Athletics has not distinguished between indoor and outdoor records in pole vault since 2000.

Letter to the Sports Editor

Anamayah Memorial Hospital clears the air on the Wilbert Benjamin issue Dear Sports Editor, The Anamayah Memorial Hospital extends deepest condolences to the relatives of the late Wilbert Benjamin.

It has been brought to the attention of the Institution that certain inaccurate statements are being made and accusations levelled against the Hospital in relation to the death of Mr. Wilbert Benjamin. This statement seeks to clarify some of the misinformation and inaccuracies surrounding Mr Wilbert Benjamin’s transfer from Anamayah Memorial Hospital to an institution with a Neuro Surgical Unit.

Mr Benjamin’s underlying condition was directly related to brain injury secondary to bleeding. On his first visit in August a CT-Scan of the brain done at the hospital suggested no apparent abnormalities. Several weeks later on his second visit a second CT-Scan of the brain however suggested intracranial hemorrhage. Immediately after a diagnosis, a decision and arrangements were made to transfer Mr. Benjamin to an institution with a Neuro Surgical Unit.

He left the Anamayah Memorial Hospital in a condi-

tion where his vital signs were maintained without support.

However, shortly after he left he started to de-saturate and was unable to maintain his airways. An advised decision was made to return to hospital for intubation and ventilator support.

The Patient was intubated, placed on respiratory support, and stabilised, then continued on the journey.

Oxygen was available throughout the process of transporting the patient, with reserves. The patient remained in hospital until the Berbice Bridge was reopened at 16.00hrs. Despite what is being said, the Ambulance was never in need of oxygen and is always equipped with a reserve supply of oxygen.

During the journey to Georgetown, Mr Benjamin’s vital signs and oxygen saturation remained within the normal parameters.

The hospital is unable to detain a patient against their will, and the allotted time for the recovery of a comatose patient is undetermined.

The hospital cannot comment on events following the transfer of the patient.

Sincerely, Management (AMH).

Kaieteur News

Saturday September 19, 2020

Canada-based Guyanese softball cricketers perform in Canada

The victorious Softball Cricket Canada strike a pose after the presentation.

Softball Cricket Canada emerged victorious on Sunday in the speciallyarranged Canadian Softball Cricket Association (CSCA) ten-over competition at Greenbriar ground, Brampton, Toronto.

Softball Cricket Canada defeated Lequan Boyz by seven wickets. Leguan Boyz batted first and only made an insufficient 41-7 from the 10-overs.

Softball Cricket Canada achieved the target in 7.2 overs but lost three wickets in the process.

Av i n a s h S o o k d e o captured two wickets for nine runs from his allotted two overs while there was one each for Aftab Shamsudeen and former Guyana youth player Shaun Deonandan, delivering for the champion side.

Sookdeo was named

player-of-the-match for his outstanding bowling performance.

After the regular season was cancelled earlier this year owing to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the association decided to run off the 11team tournament.

Canada-based Guyanese Av i s h R u k h r a m w a s awarded for scoring the most runs in the tournament.

The left-hander made

Chris Gayle and Avina Shah mix it up for Groove music video

The Universe Boss Chris Gayle and British Indian singer Avina Shah.

S

portsMax Universe Boss Chris Gayle is excited about the release of his new music video done in collaboration with British Indian singer Avina Shah.

The video for the song titled ‘Groove’ was shot in separate countries during the pandemic lockdown and Gayle is happy about the outcome saying the goal was to successfully mix Jamaican flavour with Indian and Western sounds.

“It’s my first collaboration with a female artist, thanks to Avina and I am looking forward to this

release,” Gayle said in a promotional video on YouTube for what will be his second musical release.

“The concept came about, she would do her part in a bit of Indian and English, so it was my part to bring a bit of Jamaican flavour to the track.”

Avina, who described the hard-hitting batsman as an “absolute legend, who is not just a talented sportsman but is super talented in music as well”, said having him on the song was the highlight.

“I am happy with the sound that he brings to

Groove and we can’t wait to see the response,” she said.

“The song is about letting go of your body, shaking that ‘thing’, just dancing to the beat and it’s kind of a bootylicious song.”

Gayle first tested the waters of the music industry back earlier this year with a remix of Stylo G ’s To o H o t w h i c h received positive reviews from Jamaica’s music industry players.

Gayle is currently in Dubai preparing for the start of the 2020 season of the Indian Premier League.

156, while Sheik Parsram collected the best-bowling prize having snapped up seven victims. Rukhram also took home the trophy for the being the player-of-thetournament.

Meanwhile, president of the CSCA Rishi Mohan thanked all the teams for their participation and also expressed similar sentiment to the sponsors.

PAGE 29

Golden Jaguar’ Neil Danns (#15) taking the charge to Panama at the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup.

Guyana MF Neil Danns: rt Spo “The Gold Cup Prelims can be an advantage”

Armand Duplantis produces highest-ever outdoor pole vault jump (Diamond League – Rome) @ GETTY IMAGES

Duplantis produces highest-ever outdoor pole vault jump

IPL 2020: New venues, new tactics, new experience

Virat Kohli and Mike Hesson have a chat in the nets. (RCB)

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