Guyana Times - Saturday November 7, 2020

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Trump, Biden protesters duel outside vote-counting centres in cliffhanger election Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 4462

THE BEACON OF TRUTH SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020

PPP/C wants LGE next year, pledges resources for preparation VP …says “criminal types” must be removed from GECOM Page 3

Govt working aggressively to get gas-to-energy project off the ground next year – Jagdeo Page 9

GGMC staff shot during attempted execution

Page 14

Traffic ranks assaulted by drunken soldier, relatives

PRICE

$80 VAT INCLUDED

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Region 6 to investigate P15 Councillors who hold dual citizenship

1 stabbed P10 to death, 1 critical during drinking spree Police probing 2016 contract for new harbour bridge study – Edghill P14

story on …fined $177,500; Seepage 10 driver's licence suspended

Tourism Minister renounced US citizenship – Assembly Clerk confirms Ralph Guyanese exGonsalves cop extradited elected for to US for drug 5th term as PM trafficking Page 12

Page 18

Page 12

COVID-19 death toll moves to P11 134 …64 new cases, 11 in ICU

Generators arrive for P11 new 46.5MW powerplant

“Architects” in land giveaways will not be P7 spared – VP

2 NEWS

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Belgium drug bust

Local authorities working with DEA – Jagdeo …says Govt will go after persons involved

G

overnment has pledged to get to the bottom of the massive drug interception in Belgium, which originated from Guyana and amounted to a whopping US$1.06 billion.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo told reporters at a press conference on Friday that there seems to be heavy local involvement. As such, he noted that local authorities are working with the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to probe the matter.

“We’re glad that it was intercepted and we will go after all those people, go back and find all those people who were involved…I don’t know if it’s factual but I got the report that the container might have been flagged for inspection and it was never inspected. This is what I’m hearing so it seems as though there was heavy local involvement. We need to get to the bottom of it and we’re working closely with the US DEA,” Jagdeo said.

He went on to say that they are seeking to unearth all illegal transhipments.

From all indications, scanners at the wharf have not been functioning for a long time.

“The scanners were not functioning. I don’t know how many other shipments went through and were never intercepted,” the VP ex-

plained.

Belgian authorities had intercepted the vessel that allegedly left Guyana in October with a whopping 11.5 tons of cocaine – the largest drug bust ever – the Brussel Times reported on Thursday.

According to media reports coming out of that country, counter-narcotics prosecutors tracked the transatlantic journey of 11.5 tons of cocaine from Guyana on the northeastern coast of South America and seized it upon its arrival at the Port of Antwerp, Belgium, on Wednesday.

Federal prosecutors told Belgian media that this is “the largest overseas drug bust ever worldwide”, with an estimated street value of €900 million. The drug was disguised as scrap metal and placed inside a steel container, which was in turn packed into a sea container and loaded into a transatlantic vessel.

Following the record-breaking drug bust on Wednesday, three persons were arrested, including one person who is facing extradition to Belgium from the Netherlands. According to the report, the massive load of cocaine reportedly left Guyana in October, and prosecutors were able to track it following the dismantlement of a drug traf-

ficking gang led by a former Belgian counter-narcotics chief, which revealed the existence of tight-knit links between criminal gangs and counter-narcotics and law enforcement officials.

Three police officers, a port manager and a lawyer were among some 20 other criminals arrested as part of an operation targeting the “well-structured” criminal organisation suspected of orchestrating large and “regular” drug shipments from South America to Belgium.

However, the record-breaking shipment was expected by law enforcement officials, as it is suspected it left the port of Guyana after the drug gang’s arrest in Belgium, with drug gangs unable to intercept it once at sea, De Standaard reported. The dismantlement of the drug gang in late September led to the arrest and indictment of 22 people, with three people still in the Netherlands awaiting extradition.

Local arrest

Meanwhile, Head of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit, James Singh related on Thursday that two scrap metal dealers are in custody but they are contending that they are unaware of the drugs. James explained that the two men turned up at CANU Headquarters af-

The vessel in which the illegal substance was concealed

ter they received news that agents were looking for them.

He further noted that investigators have since established that the cocaine was transhipped to another vessel. James, however, noted that CANU is in contact with its counterparts in Belgium as the drug enforcement agency continues its investigations. On Friday, a third person was arrested as CANU seeks to find the shipper.

In early August, local law enforcement authorities along with the Guyana Rice Development Board were left to probe the origin of a rice shipment from Guyana, in which a large quantity of cocaine was found in Germany.

According to Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle, the massive stash, which had an estimated street value of around €300 million (US$353 million), was hidden between sacks of rice in the container which came from Guyana, local newspaper Hamburger Abendblatt reported.

The container had arrived in Hamburg’s port at the end of June on the 300-metre-long container ship, “CMA CGM Jean Gabriel” and was expected to be loaded onto a feeder ship together with 11 other transport containers. The final destination was supposed to be Poland. For this purpose, the container was temporarily stored at the

Hamburg terminal.

Investigators at the Joint Customs and Police Investigation Group (JIT) had reportedly received a tip-off about drug smuggling. During the investigation process, the container in question was then taken to the city’s Waltershof customs office and examined in a testing facility.

Officers found 47 large packages hidden between the rice sacks and within those packages, a total of 1277 small parcels with cocaine. The parcels all had various symbols on them, including a cat’s face, the Gallic rooster, and the Ampelmännchen (red and green traffic light symbols shown on pedestrian signals in Germany).

NEWS

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS OPENINGS BRIDGE

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Saturday, November 7 – 10:00h – 11:30h and Sunday, November 8 – 10:30h – 12:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Saturday, November 7 – 08:50h – 10:20h and Sunday, November 8 – 10:20h – 11:50h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

Parika and Supenaam departure times - 05:00h, 11:00h and 16:00h daily

WEATHER TODAY Expect sunny intervals and thundery showers during the day. There will be partly cloudy skies at night. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: South-Westerly to South South-Westerly to South-Easterly to East South-Easterly to Easterly to East South-Easterly to South SouthEasterly between 1.34 metres and 3.12 metres.

High Tide: 08:42h and 21:00h reaching maximum heights of 2.19 metres and 2.26 metres.

Low Tide: 14:27h reaching minimum a height of 1.08 metre.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2020

LOTTERY NUMBERS D

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FREE TICKET

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DAILY MILLIONS

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2020

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COMMODITIES Indicators

US$

Change %

Crude Oil

$39.45/barrel

-3.75

Rough Rice

$223.34/ton

-0.18

London Sugar

$400.30/ton

+2.67

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$1950.80

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$1935.80

$1961.20

Change

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PPP/C wants LGE next year, pledges resources for preparation – VP …says “criminal types” must be removed from GECOM

T

he People’s Progressive P a r t y / C i v i c Government said that it wants Local Government Elections (LGE) next year but first, the “criminal-types” within the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), who held the country at ransom for some five months after the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections, must be removed.

This is according to Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo during a press conference on Friday.

“Let me just say clearly that the People’s Progressive Party wants Local Government Elections next year. We believe that we can do extremely well in Local Government Elections and we are going to be working really hard, COVID or not, to ensure that we improve the lives of people in their communities right across the country,” he posited.

To this end, Jagdeo noted that the 2021 budget will have resources for GECOM – a constitutional agency – to prepare for the Local Government Elections.

“We want to make sure that communities and people have the right to choose their leaders in the local areas and we’re going to provide resources to prepare for Local Government Elections…,” he contended.

The Vice President however noted that the PPP/C will have no confidence in the electoral system if the same criminal elements at GECOM are involved in the process.

Several top GECOM officials, including Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield and Deputy Chief Elections Officer Roxanne Myers, along with other staff are currently facing electoral fraud charges in court over their involvement in attempts to rig the March 2020 polls.

“We’re expecting that the Commission will get rid of the criminals… The whole country knows that these are criminal types who tried to steal the elections and put the country through a trauma – hardcore, in your face type of criminals. They cannot run any elections,” Jagdeo asserted.

He went on to say, “Nobody – not the international community, none of the [political] parties – excepting APNU that was complicit in the plot to rig the elections, have any confidence in them. And so, there has to be changes there; that’s what we want.

Somehow that’s being misinterpreted as the PPP doesn’t want Local Government Elections.”

While LGEs are due next year, President Dr Irfaan Ali had previously cited the need for confidence to be restored in GECOM before proceeding with any other elections, especially in light of the events that unfolded after the March polls, which saw

Guyana being embroiled in a political and electoral crisis for five months.

Despite this, however, the APNU/AFC Opposition has been insisting that Local Government Elections be held next year with the current lot of GECOM officials although they are currently facing electoral fraud charges.

The coalition is adamant that Local Government polls must be held every two years. LGEs were last held in Guyana in 2018, and are due again in 2021.

In fact, Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon last week told reporters that his party would continue to pressure the PPP/C Government to hold Local Government Elections.

But President Ali had already explained that “What we have to do is to fix what

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo

cern that there could be a repeat of the events after the March 2 polls.

“I’ve received letters from many stakeholders in our country. And they all told me that they do not want to go back to the process they went through in those five months.

And that is of uttermost importance in the minds of our

GECOM headquarters

is there first. We have to ensure we have a system that is working; a system that we can trust; a system that is professional and operates in an unbiased manner, so that the people of our country can have confidence.”

He said that based on his engagements with the public, there is overriding con-

people. And that is what we have to address,” he added.

The Head of State further noted that “GECOM itself, that is an independent commission, and they have to address this also. The CoI (Commission of Inquiry) and so on would help to highlight weaknesses, challenges, opportunities, threats in ensur-

ing that the system is fixed.”

At the last Local Government Elections in November 2018, the then PPP/C Opposition secured 52 of the 80 Local Authority Areas (LAA). While PPP/C got 61 per cent of the votes, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance for Change (AFC) – which contested the Local Government polls separately – obtained a mere 34 and 4 per cent of the votes, respectively.

This followed the holding of LGE in 2016, during which the PPP/C also claimed the majority of the LAAs. After the 2018 LGE, GECOM spent over a year trying to get ready for snap elections that should have been held within three months of the then A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) Government falling to a No-Confidence Motion in December 2018.

GECOM finally held General and Regional Elections on March 2, 2020.

But as if the previous delays were not enough, Guyanese were forced to wait another five months before the results could finally be declared by GECOM on August 2, 2020, after local and international pressure.

Following the controversial five-month-long elections, a number of high-ranking GECOM officials have been investigated by the police and charged for misconduct in public office and forgery.

In addition to Lowenfield and Myers, embattled Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo is also before the courts on electoral fraud charges. (G8)

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guyanatimesgy.com

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020

Views Editor: Tusika Martin News Hotline: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544, 223-7230, 223-7231, 225-7761 Marketing: 231-8064 Accounts: 225-6707 Mailing address: Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, marketing@guyanatimesgy.com

Economic, social advancement of women

T

he issue of women and their role in development has always been a topic of interest, not only in Guyana, but in countries around the world. The debates have centred around the challenges women face in getting access to the same opportunities as men, and in a general sense, programmes and policies that could be implemented to ensure their economic and social advancement.

Women, over the years, have made tremendous progress, not only in terms of their own advancement, but by playing a key role in the development of their own communities and, by extension, allowing other women opportunities to develop themselves. However, many challenges remain, and these must be tackled to ensure that women have access to the opportunities and resources needed to allow them to lead more productive and fulfilling lives.

We believe that when women are allowed to develop their full potential, it is not only women who gain, but the entire society. Women make enormous contributions to economies, whether in businesses, on farms, as entrepreneurs or employees, or by doing unpaid care work at home.

According to the United Nations, investing in women’s economic empowerment sets a direct path towards gender equality, poverty eradication, and inclusive economic growth.

Here, in Guyana, women have made tremendous progress at every level of the society, and they enjoy rights equal to what their male counterparts enjoy. This country deserves commendation for the advances it has made in ensuring that in addition to women being protected under the law, they are also given relevant opportunities for their personal and professional advancement.

However, there is still a far way to go before we can safely say that women have access to the resources and opportunities, they need to fully develop themselves. For example, our singleparent mothers have, over the years, found it very difficult to make ends meet. Many of them have found themselves in a position where they work from month to month and there seems to be no end to the financial hardships they experience.

In some cases, they lack the necessary skills and qualifications required to get suitable well-paid jobs, so that they can earn enough to provide for themselves and their children.

For some, who would like to venture out into establishing their own small business etc, the strict criteria set by banks and other lending institutions make it difficult to access the necessary loans. There are a few institutions which give grants and other forms of support, but that is on a limited scale, and most of them are Georgetown-based, making it a bit difficult for rural women to easily access.

There is also the issue of the high level of domestic violence affecting countless families, with women being at the receiving end of the violence most times. There were numerous dialogues, with the involvement of the relevant stakeholders, to tackle the issue, but the number of cases of women being abused or killed is going up.

We believe that policy-makers should revisit the issue and come up with practical solutions to address this scourge in a holistic manner, with greater focus being placed on the root causes of the problem.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also worsened the situation, as it continues to have serious socio-economic repercussions on the lives of women. As a consequence of the partial lockdown, significant sections of the female working population are now unemployed or are receiving reduced pay, and those include single parents.

Many women-owned small businesses are no longer operational, and women in the private care industry have lost their jobs because they can no longer work at the homes of their employers, due to fear of COVID-19 transmission.

The Human Services and Social Security Ministry recently announced that it would soon be funding projects for cottage industries led by women, so that they can secure their livelihoods. According to that ministry, in addition to other measures, funding for cottage industries is among long-term measures to be implemented against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Certainly, the economic and social advancement of all women, including those in hinterland and rural communities, should remain a priority for this Government.

Aquatic turtle hatchlings with painted shells are displayed for sale at the Friday market in Kuwait City (VOA photo)

The biggest threat to Guyana: APNU’s unhinged obsession with power

Dear Editor, Democracy - whether Parliamentary, Presidential, or semi-Presidential - works well to preclude the dominance of a single political party in a country. If the party that rules fails to fulfill its mandate, it can be voted out of office. This is the ultimate way elected officials are held accountable. This contrasts with non-democratic systems in which “a single dominant party is the norm.”

Politicians who believe that the ruling party is not delivering on its promises, and that they have a viable alternative, will find that this arrangement is the best opportunity to replace the party in power.

All political parties in Guyana believe this, except APNU. APNU has a jaundiced view of democracy, and that represents the biggest threat confronting Guyana.

Democratic systems impose on all political parties which aspire to represent citizens’ interests the obligation to seek office ONLY through the mechanism of suffrage. Suffrage, the right to vote, is the lifeblood of democracy. It is so fundamental to governance that some countries have made it compulsory on citizens to vote.

Voters failing to exercise this right could be fined.

Today most democratic nations enjoy full suffrage, not circumscribed by gender, class or race, as was once the case. In the case of our own country, this right existed only in name a few decades ago. The

whole process was hijacked through intimidation and rigging by the ruling PNC Government, making a travesty of suffrage.

Furthermore, democratic systems make it obligatory on all political parties to abide by the electoral rules that govern “how votes are cast, counted, and translated into seats in the Legislature.” By implication, parties appealing to voters cannot frame their messages in incendiary and inflammatory language.

Ideas and vision about governance can be articulated only on the basis of decency and respect, however impassioned political parties may feel about what they have to offer.

Acceptance and cooperation after elections’ results are declared are corollaries to the exercise of suffrage, and conformity to this principle could be considered the fulcrum of a functioning democracy. Conversely, raising controversial issues and adopting a posture of confrontation, especially in volatile situations, can be the tinderbox of social unrest and violence.

This is what makes APNU so dangerous. Since August, when the PPP assumed power, the nation has witnessed a plethora of threatening statements coming from APNU. In the aftermath of some of these statements, we have witnessed levels of unruliness that can belong only to the realm of power-drunkenness. One would think that a period of three months is enough time for any political party to come to grips

with its responsibility in post-elections Guyana.

Unwavering commitment to nation-building, on which elections’ campaigns usually take place, is the litmus test for political candidates after a new Government has been formed. The APNU attitude clearly indicates that its members have failed that test. Commitment to national goals is measured by the extent of cooperation and willingness that opposition parties display.

Statements like “stiff resistance” in the context of Guyana’s volatility bring into question avowed love of country and commitment to democracy.

This kind of behaviour degrades the very concept of political participation, and militates against efforts and strategies to achieve harmony and a sense of national unity.

This does not preclude the existence of a strong Opposition. Contrary to what some may think, adversarial relations between the ruling party and the parties in Opposition are not necessarily a bad thing.

This could have a constraining effect on the ruling party. People in power do deviate from the mission of serving people, and focus instead on enriching themselves. This must not be allowed, and the need for a serious and vibrant opposition is underscored.

When sentiments of dissatisfaction are exercised in a measured and sensible way, the ruling party would be forced to govern in a more transparent and ac-

countable manner. Nothing would be taken for granted by the party in Government.

In other words, the door to complacency would be closed. This ought to be the role of the Opposition, not derailing progressive policies through innuendoes or overt actions.

But that is not APNU’s way. Progressive engagement is anathema to the APNU, as the obsession with power is really what defines its members. When the quest for power is nothing more than an extension of the desire to serve the people, acceptance and cooperation would form the natural mindset of those in Opposition. This in no way implies docility and timidity on the part of the Opposition. If that were the case, it would be better for candidates to give up politics altogether.

The attitude of passiveness is as dangerous as the brazen attempt by APNU to upend the progressive measures that have been put in place to make Guyana a model of development. Such repeated attempts demonstrate that APNU’s hankering for power is not motivated by any desire to serve the people. On the contrary, everything APNU does is self-serving. The ambition of its members is to be in the seat of Government, no matter the price the country must pay for that to happen. This is dangerous for the country. However, in the end, it will be the bane of the party.

Sincerely, Sheik M Ayube

guyanatimesgy.com

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020

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You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com

GuySuCo can take its place once again Dear Editor, I wish to thank my good friend Tony Vieira for his letter published in the media on November 1, 2020 in reply to an earlier letter of mine on the challenge in the sugar industry.

From the onset, let me say that I do not disagree with Tony on his “aquaculture” proposal, but my view is that it does not have to be at the expense of sugar. We can do both, and aquaculture could be perused in other areas of our country and provide even greater employment and wealth-creation.

Some or all of the arguments by Mr. Vieira against sugar are really managerial in content, and speak to the need to modernise the industry. I strongly believe that sugar still has a great future, its best days could well be ahead of it.

The biggest challenge in achieving a vibrant industry is fundamentally managerial.

For instance, Tony had told us about getting cut canes to the factory within 48 hours.

This is a logistical/ managerial issue which should not be a determinant regarding the planting of canes.

I do not agree with him that our high cost of production is as a result of our rainfall pattern; I think a lot of it has to do with the inefficiencies in the factories, and that is a problem that could like-

wise be solved with improved management and some investments in the factories to enhance their extractive capacities.

Our rainfall issue is not a problem, as Mr. Vieira implies, but is more of a blessing; because of our rainfall pattern, we get two crops per year, as compared to other countries.

Mr. Vieira hinted at mechanisation, suggesting that it could not be done. However, if you look at the industry in Louisiana, where conditions are similar to ours, we see quite a lot of mechanisation there, because the Louisiana industry found engineering solutions to soft soil condition.

We in Guyana can go to semi-mechanisation. For instance, the field design at Skeldon was done to accommodate both mechanical and semi-mechanical harvesting; and the lands at Enmore were converted to facilitate both semi-mechanical and manual harvesting. So, we see that this is not re-inventing the wheel; it was done, it has been done elsewhere in the world, and it certainly could be done here. Indeed, we had gone a considerable way in this direction before the industry was struck by the “PNC hurricane”.

I did mention in my earlier piece that we can produce ethanol without sacrificing

sugar production. My view is that we should arrange our factories to be able to switch quickly from sugar to ethanol, depending on the prevailing prices.

Implicit in Mr. Vieira’s letter is the idea that the price of ethanol is stable. It is not; it is a function of the price of fuel.

That is why we should be able to switch from one to the other, as the Brazilians do. The price of raw sugar will not always be low, since the amount of countries going out of sugar production would surely create shortages which would send prices up again.

In any case, my view is that we should gear the industry away from producing raw sugar and to the multitude of products that it can produce.

In my previous piece I mentioned some of the value-added products we can peruse.

The issues plaguing the sugar industry have firstly to do with management. We have to have the right people for the jobs. I am not convinced that this is the case at the moment. We are not tapping into all the rich experience that we have available here, many highly-skilled Guyanese are “kicking bricks”. Instead, we have in place some persons who seem woefully short of, or totally lacking in, the skills needed for this major effort to turn the industry around.

I spoke about attitudes

Dear Editor, Counting of votes is continuing in America, and that process would take several more days to be completed.

There could also be automatic or court-ordered recounts that would take up to a week.

Nevertheless, looking at the voting trends, it appears clear to me that the Democratic challenger Joe Biden has won.

The declaration of a winner in several states may be held up as military ballots come in. This would take several days for the overseas ballots to come in.

As I forecast before voting day on November 3, after analyzing opinion polls, and as I examined voting returns from the counting on Tuesday evening, I concluded that Biden would win the Presidency. On three different seminars before the election, I was asked who would win, and I replied Biden; and right after the voting, I was asked again who would win, and I responded, “Biden”.

I was also asked who would be better for Guyana and India. My response was that it does not matter who wins the Presidency, US-Guyana and US-India relations would not be adversely impacted.

Guyanese and Indian nationals who favoured Trump were not pleased with my response, and a few were very hostile. Guyanese-American Trump supporters were happy on Tuesday night and on Wednesday, but started becoming sour as numbers changed, closing the gap between Trump and Biden, whose Guyanese supporters

are elated.

My analysis of the 2020 election is not clouded by my support or campaigning for Biden. It is based on objective analyses of polls and on my own conversations with voters. I am professional and non-partisan. Like almost all other pollsters, I was wrong in 2016 when I accepted the polls that Hillary Clinton would win the Presidency.

She did win the popular vote by almost 3M votes, but lost to Donald Trump in the Electoral College.

For 2020, after examining the counting trends on Tuesday evening and all day on Wednesday, although Trump led in most battleground states, I told inquiring minds that Biden would win the Presidency based on the mailed-in ballots. The gap between the two contenders was not too huge to overcome once the mailed-in ballots were counted. Mailedin ballots tend to be heavily Democratic, while in-person ballots tend to be heavily Republican. Mailed-in ballots are usually counted last, after election day voting.

Thus, Biden’s numbers kept rising after Tuesday, when the mailed-in ballots were being counted. On Wednesday evening, I told many people I spoke with in India, Guyana, America, Canada, UK, and around the Caribbean that Biden would win the Presidency. Although many insisted it was over for Biden, I insisted that Biden had a very good chance of overtaking Trump once the counting of mailed-in votes

began.

And sure enough, that is exactly what has happened.

Except for North Carolina, which is ‘up in the air’, Biden should win all of the undeclared battleground states.

However, a declaration would take some days, because military ballots from overseas would still have to come in and be counted. The deadline for those ballots varies until next Thursday, but they would have to be postmarked latest on November 3.

I published several such articles on the ICDN website as well as in the newspapers in Guyana and the West Indian website, explaining why Biden would win based on voting trends of the mailedin ballots.

President Trump could go to court to challenge the results and demand recounts and there should be a recount in states with close outcomes but the numbers won’t change much. There is no evidence of fraud, Biden has won convincingly. The Supreme Court won’t help him. In fact, the Supreme Court may reject his appeal. The court won’t entertain requests to throw out ballots or stop counts. Trump has lost.

The only issue I have is that mailed-in ballots should have been delivered or reached counting sites by Tuesday evening at close of voting. (I will pen a piece why Biden/Harris would be better for India, Guyana and the globe).

both on part of the managers and workers. For the industry to go forward, sacrifices have to be made in this period. The industry is almost on its back, and therefore we should ask management and senior persons to take a salary cut to show total commitment to our cause. We can’t pay the same salaries as when the industry was vibrant. This is important, since it is clear that the workers would also have to be asked to make sacrifices in terms of wages at this time.

However, we must not put all the burden on the workers.

Moreover, we must not confine ourselves to one form

of ownership. We can have a rich mix: State-owned the factories, joint ventures’ private and cooperative ownership in agriculture and in the production of new products. Joint ventures and/or private in a new distillery, or in a new refinery and in other products.

There are many other forms that can be explored.

To conclude, I believe that we need a strong technical team in the field as well as in the factory, to improve processes and to cut costs.

GuySuCo could save millions in switching to using liquid fertilisers, which we can produce ourselves. Another area

in which we can save a lot is in procurement, wherein we purchase inputs that could create significant savings, which the industry badly needs.

Failing to tackle these problems now - the people’s problem being the most important - would only result in the industry throwing money at the problem, which is a path to failure and to the demise of the industry.

We must avoid that; we can avoid that, and GuySuCo can take its place once again.

Sincerely, Donald Ramotar Former President

Harmon again exhibiting his political inexperience

Dear Editor, Mr Joseph Harmon has been calling for Local Government Elections (LGE) to be conducted by the present top officers of GECOM, who are before the Courts on serious criminal charges relating to electoral fraud.

Mr Harmon evidences a level of naivety which could only be explained by his political inexperience, since no experienced politician

would ever make such an outlandish proposal when the world would not stand by and allow such a tainted group to again rig elections in favour of himself and friends.

And by advocating for the use of such tainted officers, Mr Harmon shows himself to be a person who has no belief in democracy; he has no respect for it, and is committed to undermining it.

Secondly, Mr Harmon says the Constitution prescribes LGE every two years after the last LGE. Quite true. But Harmon and his political party had quite illegally occupied one of those two years, thus making LGE only possible in 2022 or 2023.

Yours sincerely, Paul Validum Ramlochan

Live streaming of tabulation of ballots Who has won the US Presidency? in local, regional, and national elections should be mandatory in Guyana

Yours truly, Dr Vishnu Bisram

Dear Editor, It is instructive to note that live streaming of the counting of ballots was done in the critically important Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This was confirmed by the Philadelphia City Commissioner Mr Al Schmidt, a Republican, at approximately 05:40h (05:40 am) on Friday.

The tabulation process - done in the presence of observers from the local Republican and Democrat parties, as well as representatives from the Biden and Trump campaigns - could be seen (or live streamed) on telephone, computer, and other electronic devices worldwide.

All of America had a fair opportunity to observe the counting of ballots. No one objected. No one complained about identity of poll workers. That is transparency.

Some of us called for live streaming of the Caricomsanctioned recount process during the 2020 General and Regional Elections in Guyana. That is, live streaming of each and every ballot recounted, visible to everyone worldwide; no shortcut.

However, this did not exactly occur. All sorts of nonsensical excuses were made by PNCR and AFC representatives.

Some would recall that there even were attempts to seize people’s mobile telephones. The right to have possession of one’s mobile telephone, which is a proper-

ty right, was defended vigorously. Property rights should not be sacrificed in order to enjoy speech (voting) rights.

Live streaming of the tabulation of ballots (as well as recounts) in local, regional, and national elections should be mandatory in Guyana.

Guyanese should demand this, and not compromise on this need to ensure that their

ballots are not destroyed or tampered with during elections.

I would respectfully assume that President Ali and the learned Attorney General know what has to be done to amend the relevant elections laws.

Sincerely, Rakesh Rampertab

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020

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Foundation

his is a board game developed by artist-illustrator Hannah Bonner and the Evolution of Terrestrial Ecosystems Programme, Smithsonian Institution. The set-up is similar to Chutes and Ladders (in Europe, Snakes and Ladders) - you use chips and a die to reach the finish. Evolve or Perish, however, also takes you through 630 million years of evolution from life in the sea to life on land! The game can be played at two levels; beginner and advanced. * 2-4 players * 15-30 minutes

Æsop’s Fables

FOR CHILDREN

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peacock, puffed up with vanity, met a crane one day, and to impress him spread his gorgeous tail in the sun.

“Look,” he said. “What have you to compare with this? I am dressed in all the glory of the rainbow, while your feathers are gray as dust!”

The crane spread his broad wings and flew up toward the sun.

“Follow me if you can,” he said. But the peacock stood where he was among the birds of the barnyard, while the crane soared in freedom far up into the blue sky.

The useful is of much more importance and value, than the ornamental.

WORD SEARCH

7 “Architects” in land giveaways will not be spared – VP NEWS

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo

V

ice President Bharrat Jagdeo has stated that Government will not go only after those companies that were illegally vested with lands and are now refusing to return same

to the state, but also after those officials under the previous APNU/AFC administration who were involved in giving out large tracts of prime lands, mainly on the East Coast of Demerara.

“There are (some companies) who are refusing to (return the lands), and the architects are not going to get away that easily,” Jagdeo asserted at a press conference on Friday.

He questioned how the land titles could be handed over to companies when the payment schedules in the agreements were not fulfilled.

“That’s criminal, purely criminal. That’s a transfer of state property without payments being made, and all of these vesting orders were in place after APNU lost the elections, when the Minister of Finance was no longer Minister of Finance,” the Vice President posited.

Several of the companies that have since reverted their titles to the state say they were vested with the lands by the former Finance Minister under the APNU/ AFC regime, Winston Jordan, without fully completing their payment obligations; and in most cases, the vesting orders were issued unbeknownst to them.

This was all done during the post-March 2020 elections period, when Guyana was embroiled in a political and electoral impasse for five months.

On Friday, Jagdeo reminded that while in

Opposition and leading up to the March 2, 2020 elections, the PPP/C had sounded warnings against companies entering into deals with the Government, which was in a caretaker mode after falling to a No-Confidence Motion since December 2018.

He pointed out, too, that the PPP/C Government would not be going after those companies that have returned the lands illegally vested to them, adding that they will even be allowed to go through a lawful process this time round to get back the lands.

“Those individuals who voluntarily give back the lands…they don’t have to

worry about criminal actions against them…There’ve been several who have done this, so they don’t have to worry about anything. And they may even have a pathway, once the Government decides how the lands are utilised – some for housing, some for project development – they have the pathway in getting back, through

Former Finance Minister Winston Jordan

a legitimate process, some of the lands…,” he posited.

Meanwhile, the former Finance Minister has denied any wrongdoing in the transfer of large tracts

of prime State lands without receiving complete payments. In a statement on Monday, Jordan said certain allegations were made against him regarding his role in the sale of those lands. He added cryptically that the matter would be addressed “at the appropriate time”, noting that he has received legal advice that pre-

vents him from delving into the issue further.

However, the Vice President contended at Friday’s press conference that persons must be held accountable for the massive land giveaways.

He reminded that former National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) Head, Winston Brassington, and former Finance Minister Ashni Singh, under the previous PPP/C administration, were hauled before the courts for carrying out instructions by the then Cabinet for the sale of state lands and properties.

“When those things were sold under the PPP, they had to go from the Privatization Unit to the Privatization Board, which is made up of three non-governmental persons, and then from there, a recommendation to the Cabinet and the Cabinet approves it.

In this case, it’s NICIL and the Minister of Finance.

So [Singh and Brassington] were charged and put in handcuffs for implementing a Cabinet decision which had even valuation of the assets; and in this

Former NICIL Head Colvin Heath-London

case, you had a transfer of lands without no payments.

So, contrast that, and then Jordan tries to paint himself as a victim,” Jagdeo posited.

Between Jordan and former Head of NICIL, Colvin Heath-London, the pair vested almost 100 acres of prime State land at Ogle, East Coast Demerara (ECD) to eight different companies. All told, the total value of the lands is some $2.9 billion, but NICIL received only approximately $64 million in payments.

In a statement last Sunday, Attorney General Anil Nandlall had announced that Government has sought legal advice, and

will be initiating legal proceedings against Jordan and the recently sacked NICIL head over their involvement in the giveaway of prime state lands.

Caribbean Marketing Enterprise Incorporated (CMEI) received 21 acres of land, valued at $632.8 million, after paying a total of $19.4 million. Cardiology Services Incorporated received eight acres of land, valued at $240 million, after paying $15 million.

S u p e r g r a p h i c s Enterprise received five acres, valued at $175 million, after paying $8.9 million. And BK Marine Incorporated, which is owned by well-known contractor Brian Tiwarie, received 2.5 acres with an offer price of $202.6 million, for $20.2 million.

Three companies – Navigant Builders, American Marine Services, and Guyana Oil Company Limited (GuyOil) - didn’t make any payments at all but were vested with the lands. However, all three – along with other companies – have since signalled their intention to return the land.

(G8)

8 NEWS

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Eccles couple died from smoke inhalation, severe burns – PME

Still waiting...

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Dead: Cindy Moses

Dead: Leeroy King

he Eccles, East Bank Demerara couple, who died in a fire following a domestic dispute, died from smoke inhalation and severe burns. This was revealed on Friday when the results of the post-mortem examination (PME) were released.

Guyana Times was however informed that the cause of the fire is yet to be determined. Guyana Police Force (GPF) Public Relations Officer Royston AndriesJunor in an interview with this publication on Friday said no gunshot was found on the bodies as was previ-

ously suspected. This suspicion came as neighbours said the couple was arguing minutes before the house was set ablaze. Neighbours also allegedly heard what sounded like a gunshot being discharged.

The PRO also revealed that the couple was alive during the fire.

The charred remains of Leeroy King, 32, and his reputed wife Cindy Moses, 35, were discovered in their Lot 1139 Block EE Eccles, East Bank Demerara house on Tuesday evening.

Following the discovery,

The home that was set on fire

investigators have been treating the case as a murder/suicide, since it is being alleged that King was the one that might have started the fire.

When ranks arrived at the scene, they revealed that the bodies were burnt beyond recognition.

Reports are on Tuesday at about 19:00h, King arrived at the Eccles house and his wife was observed opening the gate for him.

A neighbour told Police that shortly after, she heard the couple arguing and then screams coming from the house and what appeared to

be loud a explosion before seeing smoke coming from the upper flat on the northeastern side of the building. Both the Police and Fire Service were summoned, and the fire was extinguished. When ranks entered the home, they observed the bodies in a bedroom on the northeastern side of the upper flat of the building.

King, who had fathered three children from a previous relationship, had operated a barbershop in Diamond, EBD. Moses had operated a salon and a printery, also located in Diamond, EBD. (G9)

...for the Fat Lady to sing? ell, by the time you read this, it should be all over, save the autopsy, which your Eyewitness might as well get started on right now. The Fat Lady mightn’t have actually sung, but everyone can see her waddling up to the stage to belt out her tune!

He’s talking about - what else? - the American elections!

While there is some hope that the midnight train to Georgia with those armed forces’ ballots might save the day for Trump, it’ll probably be a case of “too little, too late”.

With Pennsylvania moving from pink to Lt blue, it’s just a matter of time. So, if Biden moves into the White House, what then? First of all, the Blue tsunami that all the pundits were predicting just a week ago never happened. And at the very best, Biden will sneak in by the hair on his chinny chin-chin. He certainly doesn’t have any mandate to do anything dramatic - even if he had the guts to move in that direction; which he certainly doesn’t.

Biden will inherit a country that’s more polarised since their Civil War - and that was more than a hundred and fifty years ago!! More to the point, this division isn’t across no Mason Dixon line dividing “north” from “south”, where the antagonism was separated by a good bit of real estate. This time, the divisions have split families, friends and co-workers. Your Eyewitness still can’t get over that Trump doubled the number of Blacks and Hispanics who voted for him. Now, THAT’s division in the hood!!

COVID-19 hasn’t gone away just because all the Americans were focusing on the counting of ballots. As a matter of fact, the numbers might just head north, because of so many people coming together for all sorts of reasons, like demanding to observe the count.

Is Biden prepared to institute a second shutdown, as the Europeans are doing? Your Eyewitness bets he won’t.

And that vaccine is certainly not going to be delivered by Santa Claus!

Then there’s the economy. What exactly can Biden do to reverse the systemic structural changes wrought

by Americans moving so many industries over to China to exploit their cheap labour costs? Hence, their “Rust Belt” that voted him in. But even with China creating road bumps, notice those companies aren’t returning “home”, but to places like India and Malaysia.

And then comes the million-dollar question: Will Biden deal any differently with a rising and challenging China?

He can’t! And since he’s a Democrat - historically seen as spineless - he’ll feel compelled to act tough.

And so, as far as we’re concerned, he’ll protect Exxon’s interests in Guyana ever more firmly.

…for our disciplined forces’ professionalisation Your Eyewitness just saw on his feed a video of a Policeman questioning the driver of a heavily tinted vehicle - with the latter taking vehement objection and proceeding (along with some others from his vehicle) to assault the Policeman, who was joined by a colleague.

Turns out that the driver of the heavily tinted vehicle was a member of the Guyana People’s Militia, and obviously felt he was above the law.

But the question is why was the vehicle of a Militia personnel permitted all that tint? The People’s Militia is a RESERVE of the GDF, and if they aren’t permitted to engage in civilian operations, why do they need tint?? Were the two reservists planning to go into battle against the Venezuelans with their SUV? What the incident highlights is that the entire Disciplined Forces must be reoriented to recognise their role in a functioning democracy.

Like over in the US, anticipating Biden’s win, the Security Service beefed up his security even before an official declaration! …for a report from Eusi Eusi Kwayana has a running battle with a local columnist who says that Kwayana couldn’t comment on Mingo’s shenanigans ‘cause he wasn’t in Guyana. Well, he’s in Georgia.

Any shenanigans by those southern rednecks??

Readers are invited to send their comments by email to eye@guyanatimesgy.com

NEWS

9

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Govt working aggressively to get gas-to-energy project off the ground next year – Jagdeo I n its quest to provide cleaner and more reliable energy for Guyana, the PPP/C Government has already started working on its gas-to-energy project and is looking to start implementation early next year.

This is according to Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo.

He told reporters at a press conference on Friday that Government has been defining the parameters and has had several meetings with ExxonMobil.

“Now, I think we’re clearer now on the parameters we want, between 200 to 250 megawatts of power and enough gas to do that and to supply the entire country with cooking gas – LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) in the project that will hopefully move to a project implementation stage soon – early next year – and we’re hoping that we would have a three years’ timespan for that. That will be a major

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo

difference in the system because of the price at which it will come in. So, we’re working aggressively on that, that is, to bring in a huge baseload capacity at a lower price that would cause us to change the entire dynamic of electricity production and pricing,” Jagdeo stated.

Currently, with Guyana generating at nearly 17 to 20 cents per kilowatt/hour,

this project is expected to cut the cost of electricity in the country by more than half.

Previously, the Vice President had announced that a team was set up to start negotiations on the gas to energy project.

Jagdeo had noted that Government is still making a decision on whether it will buy the power or generate it.

“We have to see the cost of both to determine whether Government can fund this or not. If the Government cannot fund it, we will go out to tender for people to build this facility but tie them into a price for the electricity – a low price for the electricity… and to the extent that gas is cheap, that price will even come down further,” he had explained.

Already, the PPP/C Administration has stipulated stiff fines and penalties in the Payara Licence

against flaring of excess natural gas – something which Exxon has been flagged for doing in the Stabroek Block.

Exxon itself has said that the gas that would be required for the gas-toshore project is available.

Estimates have put the figure required for the gasto-shore project at 30 to 35 million cubic feet of natural gas.

Previously released data from Norwegian research company Rystad Energy on Guyana had indicated that a little less than 20 per cent of the 1.8 billion Barrels of Oil Equivalent (BOE) discovered last year was gas.

The Haimara discovery made by Exxon last year was found to have 207 feet of high-quality gas condensate sandstone reservoirs.

But for reasons unclear, little progress was made by the previous A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC)

Government on the gas-toshore project.

There had only been talk of natural gas and liquid petroleum plants, with the pipe carrying the gas to shore at a location along the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) and the power being integrated into the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) grid.

Only recently, oil and gas expert Arthur Deakin posited that the Government’s ambitious gas-to-shore energy project will be a crucial one for Guyana’s energy sector.

In an exclusive interview with this publication, Deakin, who is an Analyst at Americas Market Intelligence, explained that breaking Guyana’s dependence on heavy fuel oil (HFO) by integrating renewable energy into the grid is essential to lowering energy costs.

“I think the gas to shore project that they’re contem-

plating now from the associated natural gas coming from the Stabroek Block, developing that pipeline to transport that natural gas into a state-of-the-art pipeline, is going to be very important to diversifying the energy grid,” Deakin explained.

“Guyana, as you know, is very dependent on importing heavy fuel oil, which makes its electricity cost one of the highest in the region. So just by using this resource which will be available on extraction, will be fundamental to lowering energy costs and making the energy system more reliable.”

But Deakin warned that while natural gas is a good solution, it is not the only solution.

However, the PPP/C Government has already said it will keep developing other renewable energy solutions. (G8)

Region 10 receives ventilator, oxygen concentrator

Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony hands over the ventilator and oxygen concentrator to the Regional Health Department of Region 10 to boost COVID-19 treatment (DPI photo)

H

ealth Minister, Dr Frank Anthony handed over a ventilator and an oxygen concentrator to the Upper Demerara-

Berbice (Region 10) health department on Friday to enhance its COVID-19 treatment.

The Minister present-

ed the items during a meeting at the Regional Health Department, the Department of Public Information reported.

Health management teams have been dispatched to facilities across the regions to check on their specific COVID-19 treatment needs.

“We’re trying to ensure all of our regional hospitals have ventilators. In addition to that, we want to ensure that all hospitals have treatments, so that if there are critical patients that come, we are able to provide that level of care,” Minister Anthony is quoted by the DPI report as saying.

He advised the Regions with needs to contact the Ministry.

“We are buying. You can ask the Ministry so that

you’re able to get some of these things. They are there for every single region. In addition to that, we have been working to make sure that we can have the medications that can be used for COVID-19,” the Minister said.

Dr Anthony complimented the region on the overall management of its health services, while stating that he wanted to find solutions to challenges hampering care.

“We are all here to serve and I think health is one of those areas where we all need to combine our efforts to make sure that the general

public receive those services.”

Permanent Secretary Malcolm Watkins; Chief Medical Officer, Dr Narine Singh, Regional Health Officer, Gregory Harris; Regional Chairman, Deron Adams and other regional officials also attended the meeting.

Ventilators and other vital equipment and medications were recently provided to hospitals in Pomeroon-Supenaam (Region Two) and East Berbice-Corentyne (Region Six) as part of the effort to boost regional health systems.

10 NEWS

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Traffic ranks assaulted by drunken soldier, relatives …fined $177,500, driver’s licence suspended

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wo traffic ranks were on Thursday evening assaulted by three men - one of whom is reportedly a Staff Sergeant at the Guyana People's Militia, a branch of the Guyana Defence Force.

The incident reportedly took place at about 17:00h on Cornhill and Hadfield Streets, Georgetown.

The ranks who were assaulted are Constables Giles and Cummings.

Based on reports received, Constable Giles was performing duties on Cornhill and Hadfield Streets, Georgetown, when he observed a heavily tinted motor car bearing registration number PSS 5836 had stopped on the roadway, thus resulting in the obstruction of the free flow of traffic.

As a result, the rank ap-

proached the driver and informed him of the offence he had committed and as such, requested for him to produce his documents but he allegedly refused.

However, Constable Cummings, who was on mobile patrol and in the vicinity of the incident, went to inquire what was happening and upon being told of the violation, he too requested the driver to produce his documents but again, he refused.

Following the second refusal, Constable Cummings cautioned the driver and attempted to arrest him during which the soldier physically assaulted him.

At this time, the two other occupants of the car exited and they too started to assault the two ranks. During the commotion, additional

assistance was summoned, thus resulting in the arrest of the three men.

They were taken to the Brickdam Police Station and upon inquiries, the driver gave his name as Keron Joseph, a Staff Sergeant of the Guyana People’s Militia of Wisroc Housing Scheme, Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara- Berbice). At that point, he still did not produce any documents.

A breathalyser test was carried out on him and it proved that he was above the legal alcohol consumption limit and so were the other two occupants. They remain in Police custody as investigations continue.

Meanwhile, Joseph made his appearance at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Magistrate

The GDF rank assaulting the traffic rank

Clive Nurse where he was charged with several offences to which he pleaded guilty.

He was slapped with two counts of assault of a Peace Officer and fined $20,000 or an alternative of four weeks’ imprisonment. He was also

The GDF rank with the two traffic ranks prior to the assault

$10,000 for driving under the influence of alcohol and $7500 for the prohibition of tinted glass. Finally, he was also fined 20,000 for Conduct of Driver. All charges attract a four-week imprisonment if he fails to pay the fines.

Keron Joseph being escorted to the courtroom on Friday

fined $10,000 for resisting arrest; $20,000 for using indecent language; $20,000 for failure to produce driver’s licence; $30,000 for driving an uninsured vehicle; $20,000 for driving an unlicensed vehicle and was also fined 20,000 for driving an uncertified vehicle.

In addition, he was fined

On the other hand, he pleaded not guilty for negligently interrupted the free flow of traffic and was placed on $50,000 bail. He will return to court on January 7, 2020, for trial. His driver's license was suspended for one year.

Less than a month ago,

Kester Bowen, a rank attached to the Guyana Defence Force, was charged for assaulting a traffic rank and obstructing the same officer from executing his duties.

He was granted bail in the sum of $100,000. Lance Corporal of the GDF’s Coast Guard was caught on camera assaulting Constable Wilson in the vicinity of the western side of the Demerara Harbour Bridge.

It was reported that on October 9, 2020, Constable Wilson observed a dark grey motor car trying to change lane and, in the process, caused congestion of traffic.

As a result, the policeman approached the driver of the car and realised that it was a GDF rank. As such, he reportedly informed the GDF rank of the offence committed, and then instructed him to go in the corner of the road.

However, the Lance Corporal became annoyed, exited the vehicle, and shoved the Constable. Police reports said the Constable warned the driver about his behaviour and asked him to desist, which he ignored and proceeded to further assault the officer by choking him and dealing him several blows about his body, causing him to receive injuries.

1 stabbed to death, 1 critical during drinking spree

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drinking spree at Balamani Backdam, Cuyuni River, Region Seven (Cuyuni Mazaruni), turned tragic in the wee hours of Tuesday, leaving one man dead and another in a critical condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

The dead man is yet to be identified but the injured man has been identified as Vivian Lucruz, a miner of St Ignatius, Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo). The suspect is said to be a Brazilian national of Boa Vista and Balamani Backdam.

Based on reports received, the now dead man, Lucruz, and the suspect

were imbibing at a shop at Balamani Landing when an argument broke out among them.

The suspect reportedly got angry and whipped out a knife, attacked and stabbed the now dead man and Lucruz several times about their bodies before escaping.

The injured men were picked up and taken to the Bartica Hospital where the unidentified man was pronounced dead on arrival while Lucruz was admitted, treated and transferred to the GPHC. Lucruz reportedly sustained injuries to his neck and hand. The incident has been reported and efforts are currently being made to

arrest the suspect.

Earlier in the year, 34-year-old Clinton Henry of Yambay, Eclipse Falls Top, North West District (NWD), was stabbed to death by his brother during a drinking spree at their home.

It was reported that the now dead man and his brother were imbibing in front of their parent’s home and soon after he was found in a pool of blood by his wife who went to check on them. Henry was reportedly stabbed to his head.

He was picked up and taken to Port Kaituma Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The suspect is still on the run.

11 COVID-19 death toll moves to 134 NEWS

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

…64 new cases, 11 in ICU

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s of Friday, two more deaths were reported as a result of COVID-19, moving the death toll to 134.

The Health Ministry said in a statement that the latest deaths are a 56-year-old man from Region One (BarimaWaini), and a 58-year-old male from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) who succumbed at a medical facility. Less than one day ago, a 54-year-old woman from Region Four (DemeraraMahaica) and 74-year-old of Soesdyke Highway, Region Four, lost their lives to the life-threatening virus.

Meanwhile, 64 new cases were also reported, adding to a total of 4457 positives.

This constitutes 2315 males and 2078 females.

There are 11 persons in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 74 patients in institutional isolation, 770 in home isolation and 42 in institutional quarantine.

A total of 3467 recover-

ing COVID-19. As such, healthcare systems across many countries have been using medications which show positive results. Here in Guyana, remdesivir is used to assist critically-ill patients while some are treated with dexamethasone or other drugs.

“What one should bear in mind is that none of these medications are really specific to COVID. There is no specific drug for COVID. A lot of these medicines have been repurposed to help with the treatment of COVID. Right now globally, they’re trying to develop more specific medicines for COVID-19,” Dr Anthony said.

As it stands, the upsurge of cases in Region One, specifically the Kwebanna area, is stable through non-stop sensitisation, testing, sanitisation and treatment. The cases are now at 52 active

ies were documented in the latest figures, representing 58 recovered cases in one day. However, active cases have climbed to 901.

A breakdown of new cases showed that one was detected in Region One (Barima-Waini), five in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), 54 in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), one in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and one in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

The cases in Regions Two (PomeroonSupenaam), Five (Mahaica-Berbice), Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and Nine (Upper TakutuUpper Essequibo) remained at 87, 32, 78, 139, and 316 respectively.

On Thursday, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony sought to point out that there is no specific drug as yet for treat-

cases and checks were done in neighbouring communities. Some positives were detected in these communities but a medical team remains on the ground to continue monitoring.

Guyanese are reminded to observe the protocols of the COVID-19 Emergency Measures (No 10), which are in effect until November 31, 2020. This order emphasises, among other things, the need for correct and consistent use of a face mask when leaving home; the importance of maintaining the six feet physical distance from others; and the need for good hand hygiene to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

If anyone is displaying any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19, or need any additional information, kindly contact the COVID-19 Hotline 2311166, 226-7480 or 624-6674 immediately or visit www. health.gov.gy.

Generators arrive for new 46.5MW powerplant

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New generators being offloaded at the John Fernandes Wharf on Friday

ith an expected completion date set for April 2021, five generators have arrived in Guyana for the new Garden of Eden dual firepower plant on the East Bank of Demerara – which is currently under construction by Finnish company, Wartsila.

Government has been working to build the Guyana Power and Light’s capacity to generate power using renewable energy (natural gas), with the ongoing construction of the 46.5-megawatt power plant.

On Friday, the generators arrived at the John Fernandes Wharf and the entire set for the plant is pegged at $10 billion. This is an additional cost to the plant, which has a price tag of US$50 million.

When completed and commissioned, the engines will be capable of using both heavy fuel oil (HFO) and the natural gas be-

ing piped in from offshore Guyana.

Upon entering Government, Minister within the Public Works Ministry, Deodat Indar had blasted the former Administration for purchasing the generators at such an early time, since it would not be installed until next April. The Minister explained that the sensible thing for the former Government to have done was to do the civil works first. The expenses to buy generating sets that the former Government forced GPL to incur could, therefore, have waited.

“They went and expended this money at a time when there was a pandemic and during the pandemic, a number of workers are furloughed and they don’t have jobs, businesses are shut down, they need support and the previous Government did not use their wits to help people but went and spent all this

money on generating sets.”

“The first loan was negotiated and paid $1.1 billion in April (2020). And then a $4.5 billion on May 22 and there was another tranche of $5 billion on June 22.

Mind you, we had an election on March 2,” Indar was quoted as saying.

While acknowledging the importance of reliable electricity, the Minister Within the Public Works Minister posited, “there were other means and methods that the (PPP/C) Government is looking to generate electricity.”

Government is currently purchasing power from the Giftland Mall, in order to satisfy the current demand until the plant is operationalised. According to information received, an average of US$46,000 will be paid per month for power from Giftland. This would translate to some $9.9 million per month. In addition, GPL will be paying for fuel at around $25.6

million per month. In total, this would work out to approximately $35.5 million per month.

The Giftland Mall currently has a system that produces 6.7 megawatts of electricity, 5 megawatts of which is HFO [heavy fuel oil] fuelled. However, it only uses 1.6 megawatts during prime operations.

GPL, which has been plagued with sporadic periods of unreliability, heavily relies on heavy fuel oil.

This is despite the advice of industry experts who have long recommended Guyana integrate renewable energy into its power grid.

The Amaila Falls Hydro Project (AFHP), a brainchild of the PPP which would have done just that, was shelved soon after the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government came to office.

The lack of investors has been cited.

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has contended that the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project could have been generating about 50 per cent more electricity than the entire GPL supply at the time in 2012. But the project was scrapped by the coalition Administration, which had controlled the National Assembly by a one-seat majority.

In addition, talks of bringing natural gas onshore for use to generate power have not gone much further beyond talks. Part of a US$20 million loan that Guyana had signed with the World Bank had gone towards funding a

study to examine the merits of bringing natural gas

onshore for the local energy market. (G12)

12 NEWS

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Guyanese ex-cop extradited Tourism Minister renounced US citizenship – Assembly to US for drug trafficking Clerk confirms

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Extradited: Shawn Neblett

he United States Embassy here in Guyana on Friday confirmed that former Guyanese policeman, Shawn Neblett has been extradited the USA where he was wanted for trafficking cocaine.

Ranks from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Friday picked up Neblett from a local prison where he was being held on remand pending extradi-

tion proceedings in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

At the conclusion of a Preliminary Inquiry (PI), Magistrate Faith McGusty ruled that there was sufficient evidence against Neblett to warrant his extradition to the USA. Neblett was wanted by the US for his role in trafficking 4.178kg of cocaine, which was found in four parcels inside a suitcase on an outgoing passenger at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) in January 2017.

He was nabbed by local Police in 2019 while attempting to flee to neighbouring Suriname illegally.

At the time, he had been blacklisted, but told immigration that he had no knowledge of this.

The April 2019 extradition of US fugitive Troy Thomas has paved the way for similar procedures for criminals hiding in Guyana.

Thomas, a Guyanese, who

had been living in the US for years, fled to Guyana after allegedly killing Keith Frank, 20, a Guyanese, on December 11, 2011, at Richmond Hill, New York.

He has also been accused of inflicting injuries upon Dr Katherine Maloney, and illegal gun possession. Upon his arrival in the US, he was charged for second-degree murder. Thomas was arrested by Guyanese law enforcement in March 2018, while hiding out at a house at Liliendaal on the East Coast of Demerara.

The US Embassy here in Guyana has said that Thomas’ extradition created a new precedent.

According to the Embassy, Thomas’ extradition reflected over one year of close coordination between the Government of Guyana and the US Embassy.

Reacting to Thomas’ extradition, US Ambassador to Guyana Sarah-Ann Lynch had said, “The Government of Guyana’s actions over the past year clearly indicate its dedication to law and order and established norms of international criminal justice – Guyana is moving in the right direction. Establishing a roadmap for future extraditions, bringing a fugitive to justice, making Guyana a safer place for Guyanese citizens – this is the best example of rule of law existing in Guyana.”

Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs

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lerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs has confirmed that Tourism Minister, Oneidge Walrond is not a dual-citizen anymore, after providing proof that she would have undertaken the Oath of Renunciation regarding her US nationality.

This position came in light of a fracas created by the APNU/AFC Opposition, questioning her appointment as a Government Member of the Assembly, sitting as a Technocrat Minister. However, Walrond last month had already explained that she renounced her citizenship and received a Certificate of Loss of Nationality, before she took the oath of the National Assembly on September 1.

Despite this, however, the APNU/AFC Opposition has been calling for Minister Walrond’s resignation, claiming that she violated the Constitution, which prohibits persons holding dual citizenships from sitting in the National Assembly.

In light of this, Isaacs issued a correspondence to the coalition’s Attorney-atLaw, Roysdale Forde, informing him that Walrond “voluntarily took the Oath of Renunciation regarding her nationality of the United States of America during the month of September, 2020”.

It went on to clarify that the Minister lost her US nationality when the oath was administered to her, and a copy of the document was also attached.

Meanwhile, at his press conference on Friday, Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo expressed that Walrond made a sacrifice to renounce her second citizenship in order to serve Guyana, especially given the fact that she was not involved in politics.

He also slammed Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon, who had occupied a seat in Parliament without renouncing his second citizenship under the coalition’s time in office.

“Oneidge Walrond wasn’t a politician. We should be happy that people who are not politicians are coming into Government. She came in as a Technocrat Minister, former Magistrate, etc.

Harmon, who squatted in Parliament all these years had it not been them going to court for Charrandas, would have continued to squat in Parliament. He is now moralising because Oneidge Walrond went earlier to the Embassy but only got her certificate a few days after she was sworn in.”

Jagdeo reminded that given Walrond’s status as a Technocrat Minister, she was never required to sign a declaration and thus, did not commit any fraud.

“Oneidge Walrond did not sign a declaration form.

That’s the difference. All those who signed declaration forms committed an illegal act, that they didn’t have citizenship. Harmon and a few others signed the declaration form. Oneidge Walrond didn’t have to sign that because she was not on the list. So it wasn’t that she committed any fraud,” he asserted.

Minister Walrond was not on the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) candidates’ list, but rather was appointed as a Technocrat Minister.

However, the Minister noted that she still took the step to renounce her second citizenship “out of an abundance of caution.”

She explained in a statement on October 25 that after she was invited by President Dr Irfaan Ali to serve in his Cabinet on August 5 – the same day she was sworn-in as a Minister – she sought legal advice and was told that as a Technocrat Minister, Article 155 (1) of the Constitution of Guyana would not exclude her from being an MP while also being a dual citizen, since this provision speaks to the qualification of an MP for “election” to the National Assembly.

“I accepted because I consider the opportunity to serve my people and my country at this capacity as both an honour and privilege. As an attorney-at-law, and being mindful of my (then) status as a US citizen, I sought the counsel of other attorneys on whether the sections of the Constitution prohibiting elected members from being dual citizens applied to me as a Technocrat Minister.

“Despite advice that this provision did not extend to technocrats, out of an abundance of caution, I decided to renounce my citizenship to put the matter beyond all

Tourism Minister Oneidge Walrond

doubt and avoid any distraction to the good work of the Government,” the Tourism Minister, who is a former Magistrate, explained.

Walrond went on to say that she wrote to the US Consular Office on August 18, renouncing her citizenship to the United States of America with immediate effect and was informed of the administrative procedure that she must comply with in order to obtain a Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the United States.

She added that she complied with that process by August 27 and has since received her Certificate.

However, even as the coalition Opposition continued to peddle the narrative that Walrond is a dual citizen, a United States (US) Embassy official in Georgetown has since disclosed that according to the Immigration and Naturalisation Act, Section 349, Minister Walrond lost her American citizenship when she appeared before a consular officer to take her Oath of Renunciation.

US position

US Embassy spokeswoman Violeta Talandis told this newspaper on Tuesday that that loss of citizenship occurs when an American citizen takes the Oath of Renunciation before a consular officer, not when the Loss of Nationality Certificate is issued.

“When they appear before the consular officer (loss of citizenship occurs). It’s under the Immigration and Naturalisation Act, Section 349, Section 5 (a),” Talandis explained.

The United States’ Immigration and Naturalisation Act Section 349 (a)(5) states that “a person who is a national of the United States whether by birth or naturalisation, shall lose his nationality by voluntarily…making a formal renunciation of nationality before a diplomatic or consular officer of the United States in a foreign state, in such form as may be prescribed by the Secretary of State.” (G12)

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Over $60B spent on local suppliers from 2015 to 1st half of 2020 – ExxonMobil

E

xxonMobil Guyana has said that from 2015 to the first half of 2020, more than $60 billion has been spent on over seven hundred local suppliers for goods and services provided to the company.

ExxonMobil Guyana’s Local Content Advisor, Devon Seeram, during a virtual update on Friday, related that the company, since it began operations in Guyana, has taken serious measures to engage Guyanese skills and local suppliers and will continue to expand these efforts in the coming years.

“Over time we have progressed efforts with continued growth and hiring and development of personnel and expansion in the area of supplier utilisation…We will continue to develop Guyanese workers and suppliers for wider long-term economic benefits,” Seeram posited.

He noted that for the first half of 2020, the company utilised more than 600 Guyanese vendors, with more than $14 billion going to those vendors for the procurement of goods and services, ranging from foodstuff to engineering.

Seeram further highlight-

ed that ExxonMobil Guyana’s direct workforce is approximately 155 employees of which 87 are Guyanese. This, he noted, represents more than 50 per cent of Guyanese workers.

Police officers’ children who excelled in academics rewarded with bursaries

The company had outlined previously that more than 2000 Guyanese are supporting its operations, representing 55 per cent of the total workforce. These are workers who are engaged by various contractors providing services to ExxonMobil Guyana.

Meanwhile, in terms of training, Seeram detailed that since 2015, Guyanese have benefited from more than 350,000 hours of training, both locally and abroad.

Exxon had said that more than 50 Guyanese have been trained internationally in

countries such as Brazil, Canada, Singapore, Trinidad, United Arab Emirates and the United States, to gain hands-on oil and gas experience to leverage in Guyana.

With more foreign investments expected to flow in as Guyana embarks on a path of massive transformation and development, President Dr Irfaan Ali had assured that all Guyanese will have equal access to the opportunities that will become available.

The President had assembled a high-level team of experts to advise his Government on the formulation of a strong Local Content Policy that will ensure all citizens benefit from the country’s lucrative oil and gas sector.

The Local Content Advisory Panel is being chaired by President of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) Shyam Nokta and include

former Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge, former Energy Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Kevin Ramnarine, and former Chairman of the Public Service Commission Carvil Duncan. Also sitting on the panel are Floyd Hayne and Dr Anthony Paul.

The panel is expected to conduct expansive consultation and review and devise recommendations that will inform the country’s Local Content Policy.

President Ali had acknowledged that there is much to be done in terms of capacity building among local stakeholders. However, he had expressed that with the right mix, which includes technology transfer and partnership between experienced companies and the local Private Sector, a sustainable and lucrative pathway can be achieved for Guyanese within the Local Content Policy.

Digicel Foundation wins World Communication Awards

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Acting Police Commissioner Nigel Hoppie with the recipients of bursary awards

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he heights by great men reached and kept were not achieved by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night." These were the sentiments of acting Police Commissioner, Nigel Hoppie at the Guyana Police Force’s bursary awards ceremony on Friday.

The ceremony was held at Police Headquarters, Eve Leary, Georgetown, and recognised the achievements of children of Police ranks who have been successful at the recently concluded National

Grade Six Assessment examinations (NGSA).

Those who were awarded were Ryan Craigen, Aliekay Joseph, Naomi Griffith, Avish Ganesh, Keiora Mc Kenzie, Delisa Campbell, Deniro Jones, Jaryl Alonzo, Atisha Belfield, Lamar Nestor and Thalia Sobers.

The awards were presented by the Top Cop, who congratulated the recipients and their parents for their achievements and urged the awardees to continue to strive for excellence as they continue on their academic journey.

The Commissioner further encouraged the awardees to strive to achieve academic and physical balance through their school life and even afterwards.

The vote of thanks was moved by one of the recipients, Ryan Craigen, who first thanked God for the group's success and then their parents for the sacrifices made and the support given throughout their preparation for the examinations and long before.

Craigen closed off by committing to work even harder.

igicel Jamaica Foundation walked away with the coveted Social Contribution Award at this year’s World Communication Awards that was hosted virtually.

Having to switch to a virtual format this year, the ceremony was broadcast live during which the winners for each category were announced.

In addition to having the winning entry, Digicel was also shortlisted in the same category for its Digicel PNG Foundation’s Men of Honour campaign, which tackles the serious issue of gender-based violence in Papua New Guinea.

Other operators shortlisted for the Social Contribution Award included Altice Portugal, PCCW Global, SK Telecom and

Viettel Group.

Another shortlisting came from Digicel’s submission in the Best Operator in an Emerging Market category, for Digicel Haiti. The company had previously won this award in 2019, for its work in Papua New Guinea.

Digicel Group CEO, Oliver Coughlan stated, “Giving back is an important part of who we are as a company. We like to say that it’s part of the Digicel DNA. So getting two of our Foundation projects shortlisted for the World Communication Awards’ Social Contribution category, and then winning for our work with Special Needs in Jamaica is a testament to the caring and hardworking teams we have across the Group. It doesn’t matter

where you work in Digicel, once you are part of the family, you’re working to create a world where no one gets left behind.”

Digicel Jamaica Foundation is the first, and only, Jamaican corporate foundation to focus on Special Needs, and has worked assiduously to combat the huge challenges faced by this population, ranging from financial, to discriminatory to abuse.

The Foundation is led by Chief Executive Officer, Charmaine Daniels.

Globally, persons with disabilities are disproportionately represented among the poorest, unemployed, low-waged, those with low health status and lower levels of educational achievement, and the same holds true in Jamaica.

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Police probing 2016 contract for new harbour bridge study – Edghill …as new DHB Board appointed

was engaged by the Public Infrastructure Ministry to do the work.

Page seven of the report noted that the bid from LievenseCSO was “unsolicited”, but Patterson took the company’s proposal to Cabinet for approval, and Cabinet granted its approval for the company to be engaged. The report, on page seven, stated that monies to be spent on the project were taken from the Demerara Harbour Bridge

Corporation (Asphalt Plant Accounts).

New Board

Meanwhile, Minister Edghill on Friday installed the new Board of Directors for the DHBC. The named Board of Directors are: Chairman, Ravi Ramcharitar; Vice Chairman, Odinga Lumumba and members Rawlston Adams – (ex officio member), Aslim Singh, Jaishree Lam, Claudette

Rogers, Rafael Gonsalves, Joseph Holder, Aslim Singh.

Minister Edghill charged the Board of Directors to provide an excellent service to the people of Guyana, where accountability and clear policy direction will be implemented for the maintenance and care of the bridge.

He further lamented that the Board has a big task to accomplish since the corporation has been without a Board for three years.

GGMC worker shot during attempted execution

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill along with some of the new Board members

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he police have launched an investigation into the award of a contract to LievenseCSO in 2016 by the David Granger-led Administration to conduct a feasibility study and design of a new Demerara Harbour Bridge.

This was revealed by Public Works Minister Juan Edghill on Friday during the installation of the Board of Directors for the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation.

According to Edghill, there is an active Police investigation into the spending and actions of individuals in the awarding of the contract. He said that a formal complaint was made to the police recently and the probe was launched.

“Some members of staff and previous directors have been asked to co-operate with the police and to give statements,” Edghill told the new Board.

The contract in question was awarded to Dutch company LievenseCSO for a feasibility study into the new bridge.

The then Opposition – PPP/C – had requested that the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) investigate the award of the $145 million sole-sourced contract.

The PPC had flagged the then Minister David Patterson for requesting from Cabinet that the contract be sole-sourced instead of being processed through the Procurement Board as the law says should be done.

The PPC completed its investigation into the award of the contract for a feasibility study on a new Demerara River bridge and handed its report over on August 7, 2018. The report noted that several companies had bid for the project to do the feasibility study and design for the new Demerara River bridge and 12 companies had been shortlisted.

The report had added that only two of the 12 companies had made proposals.

As such, the bidding process was annulled. It added that on November 12, 2016, the Tender Administration Board approved the move for the project to be re-tendered. The project was not re-tendered; instead, Dutch company LievenseCSO

A

lone gunman attempted to kill a Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) secretary on Thursday evening as he was making his way home.

Injured is 44-year-old Jacques Foster.

Reports are the daring attempt on the man’s life was carried out at about 19:00h by the gunman, who was strategically stationed in a street at Montrose on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD).

According to reports, Foster was making his way home from work in his vehicle when he turned onto

GGMC company secretary Jacques Foster

Broad Street, Montrose, and noticed a man standing some 15 feet away. Reports are the

man appeared to be urinating but as Foster drove past, the man turned around and pointed a gun in his direction.

He then discharged a round, shattering the window of the vehicle. The bullet struck the man to his right hand.

As a result, Foster pulled out his licensed firearm and discharged two rounds at the suspect and then quickly drove home. He was rushed to a city hospital by relatives.

Commenting on the issue, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) said no one has been arrested but investigations are ongoing.

Ganesh Mahipaul absent from work for 33 days, divulged confidential info …slapped with disciplinary charges

Community Development Officer and APNU/AFC MP, Ganesh Mahipaul

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he Local Government and Regional Development Ministry has slapped its Community Development Officer, Ganesh Mahipaul, with four departmental disciplinary charges.

In a letter dated November 3, 2020, the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Prema Ramanah Roopnarine, slapped Mahipaul with a violation of an oath or affirmation of office, two counts of absent from duty without leave or adequate excuse, and divulging official information of a secret or confidential nature.

The first charge against Mahipaul stated that he allowed his name to be on the political List of Candidates for the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) coalition for the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections, knowing that it constituted a breach and violation of his oath of office to be impartial.

The second charge alleged that between the period of May 5 to June 8, 2020, a period of 33 days, the now APNU/AFC Member of Parliament was absent from duty without leave or a lawful excuse.

Additionally, Mahipaul has to also answer for being absent from duty between May 5 to June 8, 2020, and present at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre without obtaining the permission and approval of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Public Service.

The letter to Ganesh further added that “... during the period 3rd August 2020 to the 14th August 2020, [you] were absent from duty without leave or a lawful excuse.” The letter continued, “...during the period

Local Government and Regional Development Ministry PS, Prema Ramanah Roopnarine

of 3rd August 2020 to 14th August 2020, [you] were absent from duty without obtaining the permission and approval of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Service.”

The last charge alleged that Ganesh, on August 10, 2020, published and displayed confidential information of the Local Government Ministry on his Facebook page.

The APNU/AFC member was given seven days to acknowledge and reply to the charges laid against him. (G1)

NEWS

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Region 6 to investigate Councillors who hold dual citizenship J

ust like in the National Assembly, persons who hold dual citizenship are not qualified to sit on Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) and are also guided by that law. In Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), at least one Councillor on the RDC has admitted to holding dual citizenship.

In the documents, which Councillors would have signed to make them eligible as candidates for their party’s regional list of can-

didates, they had to swear that they did not hold allegiance to another sovereign state.

Several RDC Chairpersons contacted by Guyana Times indicated that there were no persons on their RDC who have dual citizenship. But this publication was reliably informed that there are two such persons on the RDC. In one instance, one of the Councillors, while admitting that he is a dual citizen, claimed that

Major development in pipeline for Sash Sawh Aquaculture Farm

Guyana’s Constitution has changed and therefore he has committed no wrong.

However, based on the several court proceedings filed after the passage of the NoConfidence Motion in 2018 and based on the Judges’ rulings, no such change was made to the Constitution of Guyana. As a matter of fact, under Chapter 28:09 of the Representation of the People Act - Laws of Guyana Section 2, which deals with Regional Democratic Councils, “No person shall be qualified for election as a Councillor or if so elected hold or continue to hold office as a Councillor if he or she is disqualified for election as a member of

the National Assembly under Paragraphs 1, 7 and 8 of Article 155 of the Constitution.”

Article 155 (1) states: “No person shall be qualified for election as a member of the National Assembly who is by virtue of his or her own act under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience at our adherence to a foreign power or state.”

Meanwhile, Region Six Chairman David Armogan on Friday said that legal action could be taken against persons who made a false declaration.

“In terms of Parliament and in terms of the RDC, it is very clear and I think

the Attorney General did address this matter once.

If we have evidence that there are persons within the RDC that have dual citizenship and then I have to bring that to the attention of the relevant authorities and I will so inform the Attorney General and then the next step I am sure will be to take whatever action is necessary,” Armogan told this publication.

He added: “as would have happened in the Parliament before, the same thing that applies for the Parliament, my understanding is, also applies for the RDC. So, once we have persons here that are dual citizens, they are not sup-

Region Six Chairman David Armogan

posed to be on the RDC.” The law has specified in detail, penalties for persons who would have made false declarations and committed other offences in the process of taking the oath as a Regional Councillor.

Labour Ministry threatens to prosecute delinquent employers …cites employers for late, non-payment of salaries

A Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha and Fisheries Officer Nakita Dookie during the tour

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griculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha has pledged to develop the Satyadeow Sawh Aquaculture Station into a model farm that can ultimately be a boost to transform the country’s aquaculture industry.

He made this disclosure during a visit to the facility located at Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara (ECD), on Thursday.

Minister Mustapha said that he would be injecting resources to the facility in a bid to develop it and make it into a model farm.

He said the reason behind such a move is “because many aquaculture farmers need guidance, extension services and also need these fingerlings for us to provide them and give them the kind of guidance to grow them.”

The Agriculture Minister said that his vision is for the industry to contribute to the agriculture output.

“I want the aquaculture industry to make a contribution to our agriculture output, and

I am hoping that extension services, research services that we plan to put here and provide to the farmers, we can encourage aquaculture farming in our country,” He posited.

Moreover, Mustapha noted that the industry could be the most transformative sector once adequately nourished.

“Aquaculture farming has the potential of bringing in a lot of revenue, and many Caribbean countries and even North America and other places need these kinds of fishes.

So, I will encourage and promote aquaculture,” he concluded.

To this end, he noted that plans are in the pipelines to meet with all aquaculture farmers to discuss policies that will aid in the formation of the sector.

Persons who are interested in aquaculture can visit or call the station at Mon Repos on telephone number: 2201508.

number of employers are not in compliance with the labour laws and have in some cases been paying staff late or not paying them at all, Chief Labour Officer Charles Ogle said on Friday.

As such the Labour Ministry is urging all employers to take immediate steps to get in compliance with the various legislation. Failure to do so will result in the Ministry publishing the names of companies and organisations, along with all managers and employers.

In an attempt to fulfil its mandate of protection of the rights of workers, the Ministry has vowed that it will prosecute errant employers to the full extent of the law upon receipt of any formal complaint.

Violation of Labour Act

According to Charles, during the past few weeks, the Labour Ministry conducted outreaches in seven different regions in Guyana. He noted that the most consistent complaint and observation was the breach of workers’ rights by employers pertaining to wages and salary entitlements.

He said that these are in violation of the Labour Act. Foremost, the Chief Labor Officer pointed out that the Act defines wages “…as any money or other thing had or contracted to be paid, delivered, or given as a recompense, reward or remuneration for any work or labour done or to be done, whether within a certain time or an amount uncertain.”

Additionally, Section 12 of the Act provides that an employer shall pay wages either agreed between employer and employee or prescribed by law. This Act also specifically states in subsection (1) “… that except where there is an agreement to the contrary, wages shall be paid at weekly,

Chief Labour Officer Charles Ogle

fortnightly or monthly intervals as the case may be”.

Further, Charles said that it is important to note that, in accordance with the National Minimum Wage Order No 15 of 2016, the prescribed minimum wage to be paid to employees is $255 per hour. The

Order also stipulates that the set hours of work are 40 hours which shall not exceed five days per week and any hours of work beyond the normal period shall attract an overtime rate.

Also, he added that Section Three of the “Leave with Pay

Act Cap 99:02” states that every worker is entitled to leave and further elucidates how leave is to be computed. According to him, Section Four of the said Act mandates that no employer shall require a worker to take his/her leave with pay in a period less than six consecutive days; provided that any of the days which are Sundays or public holidays shall not be computed as leave with pay.

In addition, the Chief Labour Officer pointed out that the rate at which leave is calculated is at an employee’s current daily wage. The Labour Ministry, therefore, publicly condemned the actions of employers who have contravened the abovementioned sections of the labour laws.

16 NEWS

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

City schools taking steps to reinforce COVID-19 measures W ith schools scheduled to reopen on Monday, the Ministry of Education is ramping up efforts to ensure that all COVID-19 preventative measures are in place to keep the nation’s children safe.

Construction of new MARAD headquarters on hold

ventative measures have been implemented.

The Ministry, according to the DPI report, has installed hand-washing stations near the entrance in both schools’ compounds and teachers and other staff were seen posting re-

This signboard for the new MARAD headquarters was erected at Kingston in July 2019 (DPI photo)

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On Friday, the Department of Public Information visited two city schools for a firsthand look at how the pre-

minders of the guidelines at key locations.

Several of them told DPI that their schools have adopted strict poli-

cies to safeguard students.

One such measure is the placement of clear markings to ensure students are kept at least six

CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)

INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF?

feet apart and are wearing their masks at all times.

Both schools also said teachers and auxiliary staff are expected to remain vigilant, particularly during break periods.

H e a d m i s t r e s s of Richard Ishmael Secondary School, Melanie Jones said steps are being taken to “limit the numbers [of students] and prevent overcrowding. We’re going to be very strict on that. The main priority would be supervision.”

Jones also said students will be cautioned not to flout the preventative measures.

ublic Works Minister Juan Edghill has asked the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) to suspend construction of its new headquarters at the current location as that site can be better utilised by the petroleum sector.

The Minister made this statement on Thursday at the installation of the new Board of Directors, DPI reported.

“I asked that be put on hold because eventually when the Demerara River on both sides, the east and the west banks, adequately develops to facilitate oil and gas, a headquarters [won’t] have to be choked into that scenario. MARAD’s headquarters should be where people could get access for them to do business,” the Minister stated.

Minister Edghill said the proposal for the new headquarters was misdirected and

tasked the Board with finding a new location.

“The suitable relocating of MARAD headquarters is something that the Board should immediately be looking at,” he said.

Construction for the new headquarters at Kingston is only at the foundation phase.

Additionally, the Board was urged to examine and make recommendations on a proposal for the reassignment of staff to better serve the Department.

“I want you [the Board] to be able to work together, make decision-making fluid and get things organised very quickly,” Minster Edghill was quoted by DPI as saying.

The Board is chaired by Kumarie John, who is an experienced finance comptroller. Minister Edghill expressed confidence in her ability to head the Board.

SYMPTOMS

People with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness.

Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. People with these symptoms or combinations of symptoms may have COVID-19:

Cough

Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

Or at least two of these symptoms:

Fever People who think they may be affected by coronavirus need to call the Public Health Ministry hotline 227-4986/624-3067 for further advice. They should not go to their GP, A&E, pharmacy or hospital.

If you have come into contact with somebody who may be infected, you may be told to self-isolate. People needing to do so should take "common-sense" steps to avoid close contact with other people.

(Adapted from BBC News)

Headache

Chills

Sore throat

Repeated shaking with chills

Muscle pain

Children have similar symptoms to adults and generally have New loss of taste mild illness. or smell

NEWS

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Trump, Biden protesters duel outside vote-counting centres in cliffhanger election

A supporter of US President Donald Trump (L) argues with a man holding a Democratic Party flag during a “Stop the Steal” protest at Clark County Election Center in North Las Vegas, Nevada, US November 5, 2020

B

ackers of President Donald Trump, some carrying guns, ramped up demonstrations on Thursday night against what he has baselessly called a rigged election, in battleground states where votes were still being counted.

The demonstrations were largely peaceful, although Trump supporters occasionally shouted with counterprotesters. Trump said the election is being stolen but there has been no evidence of fraud.

In Arizona, one of the closely contested states in the too-closeto-call race between Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden, Trump and Biden supporters briefly scuffled outside the Maricopa

County Elections Department in Phoenix.

Several heavily armed rightwing groups assembled on the site as election workers counted votes inside, but the protests remained mostly peaceful despite mounting tension.

Local election officials continued to tabulate ballots across the country, in some cases processing an unprecedented number of mailin ballots that accumulated as a preferred voting option during the coronavirus pandemic.

In Philadelphia, Police said they arrested one man and seized a weapon as part of an investigation into a purported plot to attack the

city’s Pennsylvania Convention Center, where votes were being counted.

But otherwise, the scene in Philadelphia was less confrontational - festive, even - where proTrump and pro-Biden demonstrators were separated by waist-high portable barriers under a strong police presence.

With the future of the presidency in the balance, restive encounters also unfolded in New York and Washington as well as swingstate cities such as Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Las Vegas, Nevada; Detroit, Michigan; and Atlanta, Georgia.

On the internet, Facebook removed a fast-growing group in which Trump supporters posted violent rhetoric, as it and other social media companies tackled baseless claims and potential violence.

Trump supporters took their cue from the President, who has repeatedly and falsely claimed that mail-in votes are especially prone to fraud.

In Phoenix, Trump supporters briefly chased a man who held up a sign depicting the President as a Nazi pig behind a stage where right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was speaking.

Police intervened and broke up the altercation after the man and his small group of counterdemonstrators were surrounded by Trump activists.

“They are trying to steal the

election but America knows what happened and it’s fighting back,” Jones told the throng of some 300 people.

Philadelphia freedom

As mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania cut into Trump’s lead, Philadelphia demonstrators danced. Two people wearing postal box costumes bounced to pulsating music while carrying a banner that read, “The battle isn’t over.”

Others, backed by a live drum corps, marched behind the sign, “Union members fight to count every vote.”

Trump activists waved flags and carried signs saying, “Vote stops on Election Day,” and “Sorry, polls are closed.” Biden backers showed their support for the civil servants who were at work inside.

“We can’t allow the ballot counters to be intimidated,” said Bob Posuney, 70, a retired social worker. “We’re not going to create a disturbance, or get anybody hurt.”

In Milwaukee, some 50 Trump supporters gathered for a “Stop the Steal” rally in front of a city building where votes were being counted, blasting country music, waving flags and carrying signs reading “Recount” and “Rigged”.

At least one man had a gun in holster.

Roughly a dozen counterprotesters arrived later, shouting “Black lives matter” and “say

their names,” referring to victims of Police brutality. Others threw eggs at the Trump supporters from a passing car.

“My country’s future is what brings me out here tonight,” said Mitchell Landgraf, a 21-year-old construction worker who cast his first vote in a presidential election for Trump. “I’m afraid if it goes one way that this country will go downhill fast.”

At least 400 protesters gathered outside the Clark County Election Department in Las Vegas. Loud patriotic anthems blared over speakers as people waved giant Trump and American flags.

In Detroit, a Black Trump supporter and a Black Democratic supporter faced off for a yelling match. Earlier, Police tried to separate Black Lives Matter-aligned protesters from the Trump group but soon relented, allowing them to mingle and shout at each other.

One woman carrying a holstered pistol she said she represented the Michigan Home Guard, a right-wing militia.

“I’m not going to violently burn the city down, but I’m going to continue to fight for election integrity,” said Michelle Gregoire, 29, in a state where election returns showed Trump with a lead on election night that turned into a Biden victory on Wednesday.

“It’s not OK what they’re doing in there.” (Excerpt from Reuters)

Biden approaches US election victory as Trump presses unfounded fraud claims

D

emocrat Joe Biden edged closer to winning the White House on Friday, expanding his narrow leads over President Donald Trump in the battleground states of Pennsylvania and Georgia even as Republicans sought to raise US$60 million to fund lawsuits challenging the results.

Trump remained defiant, vowing to press unfounded claims of fraud as a weary, anxious nation waited for clarity in an election that only intensified the country’s deep polarisation.

On the fourth day of vote counting, former Vice President Biden had a 253 to 214 lead in the stateby-state Electoral College vote that determines the winner, according to Edison Research.

Securing Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes would put Biden over the 270 he needs to win the presidency after a political career stretching back nearly five decades.

Biden would also win if he prevails in two of the three other key states where he was narrowly ahead on Friday: Georgia, Arizona and Nevada. Like Pennsylvania, all three were still processing ballots on Friday.

Nationwide, Biden led Trump by 4.1 million votes out of a record 147 million cast.

However, his lead was much smaller in those four contested states: just 84,670 votes out of more than 16 million cast. In Georgia, he led by a mere 3974 votes.

As Biden’s lead grew in Pennsylvania, hundreds of Democrats gathered outside Philadelphia’s downtown vote-counting site, wearing yellow

shirts reading “Count Every Vote.”

In Detroit, a crowd of Trump supporters, some armed, protested outside a counting location, waving flags and chanting, “Fight!” Under the banner of “Stop the Steal,” Trump supporters planned 62 separate rallies for Friday and today.

Biden planned to deliver a prime-time address on Friday, according to two people familiar with his schedule. His campaign expected that could be a victory speech if television networks call the race for him in the coming hours.

Meanwhile, Trump showed no sign he was ready to concede, as his campaign pursued a series of lawsuits that legal experts said were unlikely to alter the election outcome.

“Joe Biden should not wrongfully claim the office of the President.

I could make that claim also. Legal proceedings are just now beginning!” he wrote on Twitter.

Trump earlier levelled an extraordinary attack on the democratic process, appearing at the White House on Thursday evening to falsely claim the election was being “stolen” from him. Election officials across the nation have said they are unaware of any significant irregularities.

Some of Trump’s fellow Republicans in Congress said he should tone down his rhetoric.

The Republican National Committee is looking to collect at least US$60 million from donors to fund Trump’s legal challenges, two sources familiar with the matter said.

In both Pennsylvania and Georgia, Biden overtook Trump as officials processed thousands of

mail-in ballots that were cast in urban Democratic strongholds including Philadelphia and Atlanta.

The number of Americans voting early and by mail this year surged due to the coronavirus as people tried to avoid large groups of voters on Election Day. The methodical counting process has left Americans waiting longer than they have since the 2000 election to learn the winner of a presidential contest.

A sense of grim resignation settled in at the White House on Friday, where the President was monitoring TV and talking to advisers on the phone. One adviser said it was clear the race was tilting against Trump, but that Trump was not ready to admit defeat.

The campaign’s general counsel, Matt Morgan, asserted in a statement on Friday that the elections in Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania all suffered from improprieties and that Trump would eventually prevail in Arizona.

He also said the campaign expected to pursue a recount in Georgia, as it has said it will do in Wisconsin, where Biden won by more than 20,000 votes. A margin that wide has never been overturned by a recount, according to Edison Research.

Georgia officials said on Friday they expect a recount, which can be requested by a candidate if the final margin is less than 0.5 per cent, as it currently is. Biden led by 0.1 per cent as of Friday evening.

In response to the idea that Trump might not concede, Biden spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement on Friday, “The United States government is perfectly ca-

A combination picture shows Democratic Presidential Candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden at a campaign event at Alexis Dupont High School in Wilmington, Delaware, US, August 12, 2020, and US President Donald Trump holding a campaign rally at Middle Georgia Regional Airport in Macon, Georgia, US, October 16, 2020

pable of escorting trespassers out of the White House.”

Biden momentum

The messy aftermath capped a vitriolic campaign that underscored the country’s enduring racial, economic and cultural divides, amid a pandemic that has killed more than 235,000 Americans.

If he wins Biden might face a difficult task governing in a divided Washington.

Republicans could keep control of the US Senate, which would enable them to block much of his agenda, including expanding healthcare and fighting climate change.

In Pennsylvania, Biden had a lead of 19,584 votes with 96 per cent of the vote tallied. In Georgia, he was 3974 votes ahead with 99 per cent of the vote in.

Biden, 77, would be the first Democrat to win Georgia since fellow Democrat Bill Clinton in 1992.

In Arizona, Biden’s lead narrowed to 38,455 votes with 94 per cent of the vote counted. His margin in Nevada jumped to 22,657 with 93 per cent of the tally completed.

Pennsylvania, one of three traditionally Democratic states that handed Trump his 2016 victory, had long been seen as crucial to the 2020 race, and both candidates lavished enormous sums of money and time on the “Rust Belt” state.

While many rural areas in Pennsylvania remain in favour of Trump, Democrats are strong in big cities such as Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

States have historically taken time after Election Day to tally all votes, although in most presidential elections the gap between candidates is big enough that television networks project the winner and the losing candidate concedes before counting formally ends.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020

Regional

Ralph Gonsalves elected for 5th term as PM

Dr Ralph Gonsalves has been re-elected Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines for a fifth term

D

r Ralph Gonsalves has been reelected Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines for a fifth term. The electorate gave Dr Gonsalves’ Unity Labour Party (ULP) nine of the 15 seats in the Parliament. It represents an increase of three seats on the previous one-seat majority he had enjoyed in the last two general elections. It

is also the first time that a political party has won five consecutive general elections there. Gonsalves, 74, easily won his North Central Windward seat he has been representing since 2001, brushing aside the two other candidates in Chieftain Neptune of the main opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) and Kadmiel McFee of the CVG Green Party.

In a message posted on his Facebook page, Gonsalves thanked voters for returning the ULP to power. “It’s celebration time. It is five in they tail,” he wrote,” as party supporters gathered for a celebration. NDP leader Dr. Godwin Friday, 61, who led the party into a general election for the first time, easily retained the Northern Grenadines seat he has represented in Parliament since 2001. He polled 2,123 votes against 458 for the ULP’s Carlos Williams.The NDP swept the two seats on the sister isle of the Grenadines.

The other seat, in the Southern Grenadines was won by Terrance Ollivierre, who defeated Edwin Snagg by a margin of 1153 to 559.

One of the causalities of the election was Health Minister Luke Brown, who was defeated by newcomer, Dwight Fitzgerald Bramble in the East Kingstown constituency that had been represented by former NDP leader Arnhim Eustace, a former prime minister and finance minister, who quit active politics last year.

Brown, who polled 2, 306 votes had been defeated in the last two elections by Eustace and had hoped to win the seat in his absence.

Bramble polled 2,547. In the North Leeward, the ULP’s Carlos James won by seven votes against the incumbent Ronald Mathews, polling 2, 287 as against 2, 280 for Mathews. James had lost the seat in the 2015 election by 12 votes. (T&T Guardian)

“Worst storm in decades”: Central America reels as death toll shoots past 100

T

he death toll from the calamitous storm Eta in Central America soared on Friday after the Guatemalan military reached a remote mountainous village where torrential rains had triggered devastating mudslides, killing about 100 people.

Many of the dead were buried in their homes in the remote Queja village in the central region of Alta Verapaz, where about 150 houses had been swallowed by mudslides, Guatemalan army spokesman Ruben Tellez told Reuters, citing preliminary figures.

One of the fiercest storms to hit Central America in years, Eta on Friday dumped more torrential rain across large parts of Central America and the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned “catastrophic flooding” in the region would continue.

People look at a flooded street during the passage of Storm Eta, in Pimienta, Honduras November 5, 2020

Rescue operations across Honduras and Guatemala have been slowed by destroyed roads and bridges, forcing authorities to draft in the military and use helicopters and speedboats to rescue people stranded on top of their houses.

Eta wrought chaos after ploughing into Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane on Tuesday with winds of 150 miles per hour (241 kph), before weakening to a tropical depression and unleashing torrents of rain on regions of Honduras and Guatemala.

On Friday morning, the eye of the storm was on the edge of Belize’s coast and heading out to the Caribbean Sea, charting a course to Cuba and Florida this weekend, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. But remnants of Eta will continue to batter portions of Central America with “catastrophic, life-threatening flash flooding and river flooding”, NHC said.

Flash flooding and river overflows were also possible across Jamaica, southeast Mexico, the Cayman Islands and western Cuba, NHC added. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Jamaica records 53 new COVID-19 cases, 1 death

J

amaica has recorded 53 new cases of COVID-19 and confirmed one death as a result of the virus in the last 24 hours.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness said the new cases consist of 23 males and 30 females with ages ranging from eight years to 80 years.

The country’s total confirmed COVID-19 cases now stand at 9426, of which 4281 are active.

Of the new cases, 15 are from St James, eight are from

Kingston and St Andrew, seven are from St Ann, six are from Hanover, five are from Trelawny, four each are from St Catherine and Westmoreland, two are from Manchester and one each is from Clarendon and St Elizabeth.

The Ministry said one of the new cases is a contact of a confirmed case and the other 52 cases are under investigation.

The latest death is that of a 45-year-old female from

Trelawny. The country’s total deaths since the outbreak now stand at 218.

However, the Ministry also reported a coincidental death, which was previously reported under investigation. Another death was also reported under investigation today.

In addition, the Ministry said 56 more patients have recovered from the virus. This brings the country’s total recoveries to 4801. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

IMF report: T&T banks face potential risks

T

he International Monetary Fund (IMF) has concluded that this country’s banks could be at risk.

The IMF came to that conclusion after completing its Financial Stability Assessment Program (FSAP) with T&T on August 31, 2020, and reported in its Financial System Stability Assessment (FSSA) report that the country’s banks might be facing potential vulnerabilities.

The report noted: “The banking system was well capitalized and liquid but exposed to sovereign risk and potential liquidity risks stemming from non-bank financial entities in the group on the eve of

the COVID-19 crisis.”

The IMF has disclosed that FSAP work was mostly conducted prior to the COVID-19 crisis. It added that since the FSAP’s focus is on medium-term challenges and tail risks, its findings and recommendations for strengthening policy and institutional frameworks remain pertinent.

Just before the COVID-19 crisis, the IMF indicated that T&T’s financial system had weathered the 2016–18 economic slowdown but faced vulnerabilities. Aside from noting that the banking system was well capitalised and liquid, the IMF added that the general insurance sector

had recovered from claims pertaining to climate-related events in the region.

However, the IMF disclosed that T&T’s financial system, which is nearly twice the size of the economy and is of regional importance, still faced vulnerabilities before the COVID-19 crisis.

It went on to note that growing regional exposures increased the potential for regional shocks from natural disasters (flooding, hurricanes, earthquakes) to propagate, while energy-related shocks could negatively impact growth and the fiscal position, with potential spillovers to the financial sector. (Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

St Lucia records nearly 900 cases of dengue fever

S

t Lucia has recorded nearly 900 confirmed cases of the mosquito-borne dengue fever with health authorities warning that cases were being reported all across the island.

Medical Officer of Health, Dr Glensford Joseph in a statement, noted that as of October 24, the island had recorded 888 confirmed and 365 suspected dengue fever cases.

So far, three people have died from the disease, which is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito and Dr Joseph said the age range for reported cases was from three weeks to 94 years old.

He said that the five to 14 years age group accounted for 35 per cent of all cases, followed by the 15 to 24 years age group and the 25-49 years age group with 21 per cent of the cases for each group.

The authorities said that 215 of the confirmed dengue cases were hospitalised and that all health regions continue to be affected by the occurrence of dengue.

However, the highest number of cases confirmed continues to be in the northern part of the island. The capital, Castries, accounted for 28 per cent of the cases, followed by Gros-Islet

19 per cent and Babonneau eight per cent of the cases.

The southern town of Vieux Fort accounted for 11 per cent, while Micoud and Dennery on the east coast each accounted for eight per cent of cases.

“To date, two strains of dengue viruses, DENV3 and DENV2 have been identified as being in circulation in St Lucia during this outbreak. In its mild form, dengue fever may present with fever, headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pains and a red itchy rash,” Dr Joseph said. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

In Evo’s shadow, Bolivia’s new President Luis Arce promises moderate socialism

Bolivia’s President-elect Luis Arce and Vice President-elect David Choquehuanca participate in an indigenous ceremony at the ancient site of Tiwanaku, Bolivia, November 6, 2020

L

uis Arce, a quiet economist who will be sworn in as Bolivia’s President on Sunday after a landslide election win, knew where he stood in the political spectrum as a young teenager in La Paz, when he picked up the writings of philosopher Karl Marx.

Arce, 57, will be inaugurated to the top job on Sunday amid bubbling political tensions that remain

in the country and the impending return of Morales, who plans to cross back into the country early next week after living in exile in Argentina. “Evo” still casts a long shadow over the country and sharply divides opinion.

Arce is credited by supporters as the architect of Bolivia’s growth “miracle” in the 2000s that lifted many out of poverty in one of South

America’s most impoverished nations.

Unlike Morales, a former union head for coca farmers who became an almost cult figure, Arce grew up in a middle-class La Paz household and is known for being softly spoken and keeping a low personal profile.

Arce has taken steps to distance himself from Morales, telling Reuters the former President would have “no role” in his administration beyond his influence as leader of the party.

The country Arce inherits is markedly different from the boom years, with the coronavirus pandemic set to result in a 6 per cent economic contraction this year, World Bank forecasts show.

Even under Morales, gas exports and foreign reserves had started to dwindle.

Arce has promised not to cut public spending, though he also acknowledges that some austerity measures will be needed. (Excerpt from Reuters)

guyanatimesgy.com

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020

19

Around the World

OILNEWS OIL NEWS

Oil falls 4% as US vote count continues, coronavirus cases rise

O

il settled below US$40 a barrel on Friday as rising global coronavirus cases stoked fears about lacklustre demand and as drawn-out vote counting in the US presidential election kept markets on edge.

France reported record cases, intensifying concerns that additional lockdowns in Europe could weigh on demand.

In the US election, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden took the lead over President Donald Trump in Georgia and Pennsylvania, edging closer to winning the White House as a handful of states continue to count votes.

Three days after polls closed, Biden has a 253 to 214 lead in the state-by-state Electoral College vote that determines the winner, according to Edison Research. Winning Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes would put the former vice president over the 270 he needs to win.

Brent crude settled down US$1.48, or 3.62 per cent, at US$39.45 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped US$1.65, or 4.25 per cent to US$37.14 a barrel.

Still, both contracts gained on the week with Brent up 5.8 per cent, and US crude rising 4.3 per cent.

Diminishing prospects of a large US stimulus package were also weighing on the market.

US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Friday that economic statistics including a 1 percentage point drop in the US unemployment rate showed that Congress should enact a smaller coronavirus stimulus package that is highly targeted at the effects of the pandemic.

“Crude oil is very sensitive to the stimulus expectations, which just took a hit for the worse,” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho. “The coronavirus situation is as negative a demand indicator as you can get,” he said.

US coronavirus cases surged by over 120,000 on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally, the second consecutive daily record rise as the outbreak spreads in every region.

Italy recorded its highest daily number of COVID-19 infections on Thursday. France registered a record 60,486 new confirmed cases on Friday, after posting a record 58,046 on Thursday, Health Ministry data showed.

Providing some support, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, could delay bringing back 2 million barrels per day of supply in January, given weaker demand after new lockdowns.

US crude inventories plunged last week by 8 million barrels, against analyst expectations for an increase. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Ethiopia PM: Airstrikes target TPLF military depots in Tigray

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he Ethiopian Air Force has bombed arms depots and destroyed military hardware in the northern Tigray region on Friday, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said.

The strikes hit sites in and around the regional capital Mekelle and destroyed heavy artillery including rocket launchers, said Abiy in a statement broadcast by state-affiliated Fana on Friday evening.

Abiy, who won last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, launched a military campaign on Wednesday against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which dominated politics in the country until he came to office in 2018.

“These airstrikes aren’t aimed at civilians but rather at targets stored by this dangerous group,” he said, referring to hardware held by the TPLF, adding that the air force destroyed heavy weapons in Mekelle and its surrounding areas and alleging that the TPLF “has the desire

to use them”.

The operation will continue “until the junta is made accountable by law”, he said.

There was no mention of casualties in what Abiy called the “first round of operation”.

Abiy’s announcement marked another escalation in clashes this week that experts say could slide into civil war.

There was no immediate response from the Tigray Government, while the region is increasingly boxed in by movement restrictions and a six-month state of emergency imposed by the federal Government.

Hours earlier, Abiy defended the military operations that were launched on Wednesday following an alleged deadly attack on a military base.

Tensions with the TPLF have been escalating since September when Tigray held regional elections in defiance of the Federal Government, which called the vote “illegal”. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Hotspots in 4 countries on brink of famine, UN warns

H

otspots in four countries – Burkina Faso, Yemen, South Sudan and Nigeria – are on the brink of severe levels of food insecurity and could potentially fall into famine within three to six months as the coronavirus pandemic erodes people’s ability to access food, a new United Nations report warned on Friday.

The Early Warning Analysis of Acute Food Insecurity Hotspots report conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) found that millions of people who

A man holds his malnourished son at a malnutrition treatment ward of Al-Sabeen Hospital in Sanaa, Yemen [Khaled Abdullah/ Reuters]

were already facing hunger are on the brink of famine as the pandemic plunders employment, disrupts agricultural activities, slashes remittances and sends

crude prices spiralling.

“We are at a catastrophic turning point. Once again, we face the risk of famine in four different parts of the world at the same time,” said Margot van der Velden, WFP director of emergencies.

Burkina Faso, Yemen, Nigeria and South Sudan were already facing a dangerous combination of conflict, mass displacement, economic crisis and climate and agricultural calamity.

COVID-19 and subsequent restrictions and lockdowns that followed have only exacerbated the pain.

Up to 80 per cent of the people experiencing acute

food insecurity are farmers, herders, fishers and foresters. COVID-19 has disrupted their ability to work their land, care for their animals, go fishing and access markets to sell their produce, Luca Russo, an agricultural economist at FAO, told Al Jazeera.

The FAO and WFP analysis lists another 16 countries and territories – from Haiti to Zimbabwe – as at risk of rising levels of acute hunger and urges developed countries to take urgent action to avoid an international food emergency. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

opposition from a predominantly Christian Orthodox population and nationalists, sluggish bureaucracy but most recently a decade-long financial crisis.

Amid a coronavirus outbreak, only a limited number of worshippers, wearing masks and sitting at a distance from each other due to COVID-19 restrictions, attended prayers.

“It is a historic moment for the Muslim community living in Athens, we have been waiting for this mosque for so long,” said Heider Ashir, a member of the mosque’s governing council. “Thanks to God, finally, we have a mosque which is open and we can

pray here freely.”

But other Muslims were unhappy with the mosque’s appearance. A grey, rectangular structure with no dome or minaret, has no resemblance to other graceful, ornate mosques in Europe.

Under a lockdown to curb a surge in COVID infections, gatherings for formal worshipping will be banned from Saturday until Nov 30.

“We will pray at home, and as soon as the lockdown is over the mosque will again be open for the worshippers,” Ashir said.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

organisation, OSCE, said on Thursday that human rights abuses since the vote “were found to be massive and systematic and proven beyond doubt”, and called for the official result handing Lukashenko victory to be annulled “due to irregularities at all stages of the process”.

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the OSCE report had “exposed the fraud at the heart of the presidential elections” and he called for “new elections which are

free and fair”.

The EU’s latest sanctions block travel visas for the named officials and freeze any assets they may have in EU member states. In addition, EU citizens and companies are forbidden from lending to them.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, is backing Lukashenko, reinforcing an alliance that goes back decades. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Athens’ 1st mosque in nearly 200 years opens for Friday prayers

A

fter years of delays caused by red tape, cutbacks and opposition from religious and political factions, the first Government-funded mosque in Athens since 1833 opened its doors to worshippers on Friday.

Hundreds of thousands of Muslims from countries including Pakistan, Syria, Afghanistan and Bangladesh live in Athens but the city has not had a formal mosque since it forced occupying Ottomans to leave nearly 200 years ago.

Plans to build a mosque in Athens began in 1890 but it took decades for them to materialise due to

Muslims living in Greece apply social distancing as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), during Friday prayers at the capital’s first official mosque, in Athens, Greece, November 6, 2020

EU slaps sanctions on Belarus leader Lukashenko for crackdown

T

he EU has added Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko and his son Viktor to its sanctions blacklist of Belarus officials, bringing the total to 59.

The 15 added on Friday also include KGB secret police chief Ivan Tertel and President Lukashenko’s chief of staff Igor Sergeenko.

The EU rejects Lukashenko’s claim to have won re-election on August 9 and deplores his crackdown on opponents.

His son Viktor, 44, is a national security adviser.

Protests have swept the country since its long-time leader said he had won the vote, which was widely viewed as rigged.

The main opposition leader, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, said she had attracted between 60 to 70 per cent of the vote and was forced into exile in neighbouring Lithuania immediately after the election.

The election-monitoring

Vienna shooting: Anti-terror chief suspended over intelligence bungle

A

ustrian officials have revealed new intelligence failings ahead of the murder of four people in Vienna on Monday night, prompting the city’s anti-terror chief to step aside.

Erich Zwettler was being suspended at his own request, Police said.

It has already emerged the Austrians were told in

July that the suspect had tried to buy ammunition in Slovakia.

Now, the Austrians have admitted the gunman met two people from Germany who were already under observation.

Interior Minister Karl Nehammer has spoken of “obvious, and in our view intolerable mistakes”.

In a further development, a mosque and a mosque association frequented by the 20-year-old have been closed, which Integration Minister Susanne Raab said had contributed to his radicalisation.

He had repeatedly visited the mosques in the suburbs of Ottakring and Meidling.

The Ottakring mosque asso-

ciation was notorious for its links to militant Islamists: a preacher there is said to have led a German-speaking brigade to Syria before being killed in a drone strike.

Raab said the aim of terror was to drive a wedge in society between Muslims and non-Muslims. (Excerpt from BBC News)

20

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020

guyanatimesgy.com

ARCHIE

ARIES (March 21April 19)

Pay attention to the people you love. Speak from the heart to gain respect and get the go-ahead to initiate positive change. Nurture important relationships.

Check your motives beTAURUS fore you leap into action.

(April 20Consider what it is you are May 20) trying to prove or obtain.

When uncertainty sets in, sit tight and wait. Look inward and work on personal growth.

DILBERT

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

CANCER (June 21July 22)

PEANUTS

SUDOKU

Take better care of yourself. Think before you act, or you may end up in a dispute with a loved one. Moderation will be necessary if you want to avoid criticism. Work on self-control.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Do what makes you happy. If someone doesn't like the changes you make, you might want to rethink the relationship. Fitness and self-improvement are favored. Share your plans.

VIRGO

Take part in a movement to bring about positive change. Stand up for your rights, but don't cross a line that puts you or your reputation in jeopardy. An unexpected encounter will change things.

(Aug. 23Sept. 22)

CALVIN AND HOBBES

Focus on what you can accomplish. Use your intelligence, skills and contacts to forge ahead. Make peace, love and happiness priorities. Romance and self-improvement are favored.

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Follow your heart, spend time with a loved one and find a way to improve your life. Taking care of your responsibilities will help ward off complaints. Romance is on the rise.

SCORPIO

Make a change for the right reasons. Refuse to let your emotions dictate what you do or how you treat a loved one. Make peace, love and happiness priorities.

(Oct. 24Nov. 22)

Take time to figure out SAGITTARIUS what you want to do, how (Nov. 23to budget and ways to keep Dec. 21) your family close and safe.

Romance is in the stars.

Protect what's yours.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

Stop worrying about what others do. Take facts into consideration and refuse to let your emotions dictate what you do or say.

Focus on progress, not on discord.

Take care of your responsibilities and financial well-being. Make decisions for the right reasons, not because someone is pressuring you to pick sides. Stick to the facts and choose wisely.

Look for interesting new ways to take care of financial, health or contractual matters. Look for solutions that benefit everyone. Beware of people trying to sell you something.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020

21

Rovman Powell happy to see fans on the stands W

est Indies all-rounder Rovman Powell has said he is delighted that fans will be on hand to witness the action when his team faces New Zealand in the upcoming Twenty20 International series.

For the first time since inception of the COVID-19 pandemic, supporters will be allowed inside the venues when the two teams meet at Eden Park in Auckland for the night match on November 27 (2am Eastern Caribbean/1am Jamaica).

Speaking on Thursday, Powell added that he is pleased with the team’s readiness since arriving a week ago.

The West Indies squad flew for 54 hours to reach their destination, and are presently in Christchurch, where they

are undergoing an intense training routine under the expert guidance of Head Coach Phil Simmons.

On Friday it was announced that the second round of testing had all come back negative, and the side would have a further test next week.

“It has been a while…I think it’s the longest cricket has gone without playing in front of crowds. So, it’s good that New Zealand have dealt with their COVID situation the way they have, so we will be able to play in front of crowds,” Powell said.

“New Zealand hasn’t been an easy place, not just for us but for other teams to tour, but if you look at the depth and the strength of our squad, you would have to say it is a pretty good one,” he continued.

“The captain and the coach have stressed on us playing the brand of cricket that we want to play leading up to the ICC T20 World Cup next year, and all the guys have bought into that brand, and it will bear fruit,” he disclosed.

West Indies men are the

only team to have embarked on two international tours during the pandemic, having also toured England in July, although fans were not allowed to attend any of those matches.

West Indies women also had an official tour when they played England in a five-match T20 International Series in September.

Powell has said he is also looking to up the pace of his bowling, as he aims to be seen as a genuine all-rounder on the world stage.

“I would say I’m a batting all-rounder… My batting is my strength. But as an all-rounder in international cricket, you want to contribute to the team in all departments, to help them win: with the bat, with the ball, and in

the field as well.

“For the last couple of years, my bowling fell off a bit, and it’s something I sat down and I thought about. It’s for me to continue to work on my bowling and continue to strengthen all aspects of my cricket,” he admitted.

“To get that extra ‘X factor’, I think I would have to bowl a bit faster. Looking on at the other all-rounders around the world, they tend to bowl a bit faster than I (do) at the moment. The slower balls and the variations (would) always come, but over the course of (my) career, I have to come up with a way of bowling (with) a little bit extra pace, and I think that would give me a little cutting edge regarding my bowling in international cricket,” Powell disclosed.

The West Indies are the defending champions of the T20 World format, having won the title for the second time at Eden Gardens in Kolkata in April, 2016. They will use the three-match rubber against the Black Caps as part of their preparation for the next edition, to be played again in India.

The upcoming T20 Series will start at the historic Eden Park, where the two teams played to ties in 2005 and 2008. The first was decided by a “bowl off”, while the second was decided by “super over”.

The series then moves to Mount Maunganui for two matches at the picturesque Bay Oval – the first a day match, and the second under lights. (Windies Cricket)

West Indies contingent in New NBA players approve of season Zealand clear second COVID-19 test starting on December 22

A

ll members of the West Indies team and support staff who are currently on tour in New Zealand have cleared the second of their three COVID-19 tests on Friday. They will undergo their final test next

quarantine next week, the camp can split into two bubbles comprising a maximum of 20 members each.

Seven members of West Indies’ 35-strong playing contingent: T20I captain Kieron Pollard, Test captain

antine on the eve of the first T20I in Auckland, which is to take place on November 27.

The rest of the WI touring party arrived after a 54-hour journey, including transit,

N week, just before their two-week quarantine ends.

The players and support staff have been lodged at the NZC’s HighPerformance Centre, at Lincoln University on the outskirts of Christchurch.

The contingent can train, attend gym sessions, and socialise within three bubbles comprising a maximum of 15 members, until Saturday. From Sunday till the end of their 14-day

J a s o n Holder, Fabian Allen, Shimron Hetmyer, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran and Oshane Thomas, will arrive in New Zealand after conclusion of the IPL, which ends on November 10 in the UAE. Pollard, Holder, Allen, Hetmyer and Paul are part of the teams that have made the IPL playoffs.

The seven players mentioned above, of whom six are part of the WI T20I squad, will end their quar-

from the Caribbean.

West Indies will play three T20Is in all, followed by two Test matches, in Hamilton (December 3-7) and Wellington (December 11-15).

West Indies are the only international team to have embarked on two overseas tours since the COVID-19 pandemic brought a worldwide pause to global cricket. Before this tour of New Zealand, they played three Tests in England in July.

(ESPNcricinfo)

BA players have tentatively approved the start of a 72-game season on December 22.

After being suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 201920 campaign finished on October 11 with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the championship.

With the next campaign set to start later than usual, the National Basketball Players Association ( N B P A ) has said a 72game season – not the usual 82 – has been approved to begin just before Christmas.

“The Board of Player Representatives of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) has tentatively approved a start d a t e of December 22, 2020 for

the 2020-2021 NBA season and a 72-game schedule,” a statement read o n

Thursday.

“Additional details remain to be negotiated, and the NBPA is confident that the parties will reach agreement on these remaining issues relevant to the upcoming season.”

The Lakers won their 17th championship and first since 2010 by overcoming the Miami Heat 4-2 in the 2020 NBA Finals. (Sportsmax)

22

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020

SRH defeat RCB in IPL eliminator match – Williamson, Holder pilot wobbly Sunrisers to victory

J

ason Holder enjoyed a dream outing with both ball and bat, while Kane Williamson scored a fine 50* as Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) set up a Qualifier 2 clash with Delhi Capitals (DC), after beating Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by six wickets in an eliminator match of the Dream11 Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

Needing 132 runs to win, SRH lost their first wicket in the first over, with Shreevats Goswami getting out for zero off the bowling of Mohammed Siraj.

While RCB kept things tight in the first two and onehalf overs, Manish Pandey creamed six off Siraj in the third over to help SRH make a move. In the two overs, Manish and David Warner hit four fours between them.

Warner started the final over of the powerplay with two fours through the offside. But the SRH skipper got out in the same over after the third umpire overturned the on-field decision.

RCB squeezed the flow of runs in the next three overs, conceding just 8 runs and getting the wicket of Manish Pandey, with AB de Villiers completing a fine catch behind the wicket off Adam Zampa’s bowling.

Yuzvendra Chahal, bowling the 12th over, then dismissed Priyam Garg to put SRH in a spot of bother.

Then Jason Holder joined Kane Williamson in the middle, with SRH needing some stability and quick runs without losing any wickets. Williamson hit the first boundary for SRH after the powerplay when he went over deep mid-wicket for a maximum. The right-hander added one more six to his account as SRH moved to 97/4 at the close of over # 16.

With 35 runs needed from the last four overs, Williamson’s deft touches and sensible batting by him and Holder saw SRH score 17 runs.

The Williamson-Holder duo eventually completed a fifty-run stand, scoring nine runs off the penultimate over. And Navdeep Saini conceded just a run on the first two

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cessive fours as SRH sealed a six-wicket win with two balls to spare.

While Williamson scored an unbeaten 50 and Holder scored 24 not out, the duo’s unbroken stand of 65 runs powered SRH to Qualifier 2.

SRH, who elected to bowl, had earlier brought in Shreevats Goswami in place of injured Wriddhiman Saha; while RCB made as many as four changes to their playing XI, with Navdeep Saini, Aaron Finch, Moeen Ali and Adam Zampa replacing Chris Morris, Isuru Udana,

left-handed Dube got out in the 16th over as Holder scalped his third wicket of the match.

ABD then brought up a well-compiled half-century, but SRH continued to chip away, as T

Shahbaz Ahmed and Josh Phillipe.

Virat Kohli opened the innings with Devdutt Padikkal, but the RCB skipper got out in the second over when he gloved a Jason Holder delivery and was caught by Shreevats Goswami. Holder added one more wicket to his account when he dismissed Devdutt Padikkal in his second over.

While Aaron Finch, who completed 2000 IPL runs, and AB de Villiers added 41 runs to take RCB past fifty, SRH struck twice in the 11th over. Shahbaz Nadeem dismissed Finch for 32 after the right-hander was holed out in the deep. SRH then struck on a free-hit, as Rashid Khan’s brilliant direct-hit caught Moeen Ali

short of his crease.

ABD, though, continued to put up a solid fight, and added 37 runs together with Shivam Dube. However, the

Kane Williamson played a classy knock

Natarajan bowled a two-wicket over.

First, the left-arm pacer had Washington Sundar caught in the deep, and

then, with a brilliant yorker, got ABD out for 56 in the 18th over, before SRH eventually limited RCB to 131/7.

(IPLT20)

SCOREBOARD ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE INNINGS (20 OVERS MAXIMUM) V Kohli (c) c †Goswami b Holder 6 D Padikkal c Garg b Holder 1 AJ Finch c Abdul Samad b Nadeem 32 AB de Villiers †b Natarajan 56 MM Ali run out (Rashid Khan) 0 S Dube c Warner b Holder 8 Washington Sundar c Abdul Samad b Natarajan 5 NA Saini not out 9 Mohammed Siraj not out 10 Extras (nb 1, w 3) 4 TOTAL (20 Ov, RR: 6.55) 131/7 Did not bat: YS Chahal, A Zampa Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Virat Kohli, 1.2 ov), 2-15 (Devdutt Padikkal, 3.3 ov), 3-56 (Aaron Finch, 10.2 ov), 4-62 (Moeen Ali, 10.4 ov), 5-99 (Shivam Dube, 15.4 ov), 6-111 (Washington Sundar, 17.1 ov), 7-113 (AB de Villiers, 17.5 ov) BOWLING O-M-R-W Sandeep Sharma 4-0-21-0 JO Holder 4-0-25-3 T Natarajan 4-0-33-2 S Nadeem 4-0-30-1 Rashid Khan 4-0-22-0

AB de Villiers scored 50 in a losing effort

Jason Holder starred with both bat and ball

balls of the final over.

With 8 needed off the last four deliveries, Holder kept calm and creamed two suc-

CLASSIFIED ADS

SUNRISERS HYDERABAD INNINGS (TARGET: 132 RUNS FROM 20 OVERS) DA Warner (c) c †de Villiers b Mohammed Siraj 17 SP Goswami †c †de Villiers b Mohammed Siraj 0 MK Pandey c †de Villiers b Zampa 24 KS Williamson not out 50 PK Garg c Zampa b Chahal 7 JO Holder not out 24 Extras (lb 5, nb 1, w 4) 10 TOTAL (19.4 Ov, RR: 6.71) 132/4 Did not bat: Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, S Nadeem, Sandeep Sharma, T Natarajan Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Shreevats Goswami, 0.4 ov), 2-43 (David Warner, 5.4 ov), 3-55 (Manish Pandey, 8.3 ov), 4-67 (Priyam Garg, 11.5 ov) BOWLING O-M-R-W Mohammed Siraj 4-0-28-2 NA Saini 3.4-0-31-0 Washington Sundar 2-0-21-0 A Zampa 4-0-12-1 YS Chahal 4-0-24-1 MM Ali 1-0-4-0 S Dube 1-0-7-0

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Primoz Roglic extends lead in Vuelta a Espana

– as Magnus Cort Nielsen takes stage 16

D

efending champion Primoz Roglic extended his lead at the Vuelta a Espana to 45 seconds, after finishing second in stage 16.

The 31-year-old Slovenian, who has won four stages in this year’s race, was edged out by Denmark’s Magnus Cort Nielsen.

Britain’s Hugh Carthy finished 28th, and remains in third place, with his deficit extending to 53 seconds.

The 18-stage event concludes in Madrid on Sunday (tomorrow).

France’s Remi Cavagna spent all day in the breakaway, but was caught inside the final three kilometres, as the peloton increased the pace to create a denoument that Cort Nielsen edged. Veteran

Alejandro Valverde led the charge, but Cort Nielsen powered home to continue what has been a strong Vuelta for the American EF Pro Cycling team.

Roglic roared in frustration as he crossed the line, but strengthened his grip on a race he has led since replacing Richard Carapaz by winning stage

10. The Tour de France runner-up now needs to preserve his lead in (today’s) Saturday’s 178km mountain stage, which features five categorised climbs on the road to Alto de La Covatilla, including a 10km stretch at an average of 7% to the summit finish. (BBC.COM)

223-7230-1 (Ext 55)

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

23

No question raised about BCB's legitimacy - Sport Minister W

hen Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr visited the ancient county of Berbice this past October, he spoke about the need for the administrative issues in cricket in Guyana being resolved.

He spoke especially about those issues involving the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), and revealed that there has been no question raised about the legitimacy of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB).

Current BCB President Hilbert Foster took up office in February 2018 after an 18-16 vote count, and has since transformed cricket in the ancient county, taking it to greater heights.

“We took over a cricket board that was in deep trouble, with a bank account of G$43,865,” the BCB boss

Minister of Sport Charles Ramson Jr and BCB President Hilbert Foster (Photo: Brandon Corlette)

has said.

Foster noted that when his administration took office, a proper BCB cricket tournament had not been played in two years, and the BCB did not have proper developmental programmes.

Foster disclosed that through a simple formula of

hard work, honesty and total dedication, coupled with a vision, the BCB has successfully transformed cricket in Berbice.

Foster has said that since he became president, at the helm of Berbice cricket, a total of 62 tournaments have been completed at all lev-

els, including female cricket tournaments. Some 54 tournaments have been completed in record time under his administration.

Notably, the NBS second division tournament, previously a prolonged tournament, has been completed in record time of four to five months. A total of G$30 million was raised, while the BCB assisted more than 200 youth cricketers with cricket gear.

This experienced cricket administrator has added that clubs have received more than 10 million dollars in assistance in the form of cricket gear, score books and water pitchers, among other items. Foster has assured that more clubs would benefit once he remains in office.

Numerous coaching programmes have been host-

ed for cricket clubs across Berbice, while cricket academies have been hosted throughout the ancient

county, and an annual cricket academy is hosted.

“We have implemented programmes for national youth cricketers with stipends, an inter-county cap system is introduced, and additional education programmes were hosted,” Foster explained.

Historically, the BCB published the first ever youth booklet to educate the young cricketers in the county. The board has also implemented a university scholarship for a young Berbice cricketer, while parents are being rewarded for their contributions.

In summary, the BCB, over the last 24 months, has been very successful, and continues to show the good works despite the global pandemic. (Brandon Corlette)

February 2021 earliest date Big Man Cricket-Guyana for Regional Super 50, with Sri obtains approval from Sport Lanka shortly after - CWI CEO Minister to hold Over-45 tourney

T

he BIG MAN CRICKET-GUYANA organization is pleased to announce that it has now obtained the requisite permission from all the appropriate authorities to proceed with its BIG MAN CRICKET tournament scheduled to commence later in November.

The Organization

Guyana Jaguars during the Grand Final of the Super50 Cup between Guyana Jaguars and Combined Campuses & Colleges Marooners on Sunday, October 28, 2018 at Kensington Oval

CWI CEO Johnny Grave

L

ike the CPL, the 2021 Regional Super 50 competition would likely be held in one country, as Cricket West Indies attempts to get competitions back up and running in the Caribbean.

And, like the CPL that was held in Trinidad in late August, there will be no spectators.

CWI CEO Johnny Grave, during an int e r view on Sportsnation Live on Nationwide Radio in Jamaica on Saturday, provided some insight into what this hybrid form of the competition could look like.

“I think (that) at this stage it looks like flying in the six regional teams to one country to host the

tournament across two venues. We think realistically (that) for us to put on the best tournament that we possibly can, then we need at least eight weeks of preparation in order to make sure that the training pitches, the practice pitches, and the grounds are in the best possible condition, so that we can sustain as many games as possible in a short period of time,” Grave said.

The CWI CEO said he didn’t see where it would be possible to get crowds into the stadia, but the CWI would be working closely with the host board and the host Government from the Ministry of Sport and

Ministry of Health perspective to make sure that the players are safe and that the community and country are safe.

Grave said it was too early to say what the medical protocols would be, but it is likely that matches would be played behind closed doors.

That said, he is not completely ruling out having people in the grounds.

“We know Caribbean cricket fans are desperate for entertainment, desperate to watch some highclass cricket; so, if we can get crowds into the stadiums, working with the Government and going through the current protocols to do so, then absolutely we would try and get crowds there.”

He said that, over the next few weeks, C W I would be working with the International Fixture List Committee and the board of directors to put forward their recommendations about where to host the Super50; and after that, hopefully host Sri Lanka for three T20s, three ODIs, and two Test matches. (Sportsmax)

has said it had already obtained permission from the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 Task Force when, upon application to the Guyana Cricket Board for its blessings, the GCB, in its infinite wisdom, had decided to block this popular tournament, which had already attracted participation from 10 teams across the country.

The organisation has described the reasons put forward by the GCB as mostly frivolous, vexatious and anti-cricket. It said the GCB

stated firstly that the withholding of its blessing was because a planned Over-40 tournament had been sanctioned.

The organisation has said it is public knowledge that the GCB has never held a countrywide Over-40 competition in its 77 years of existence. The BMC-G has said it did not have an issue with such a tournament, as the organisation’s Over-45 tournament and the GCB tournament could have served well as a feeder competition for the Over-45 BMC domestic cricket and Guyana’s Over-50 Regional cricket.

The BMC-G has said the other reason advanced by the GCB was that an early application had not been sent, even though such was sent about two and a half weeks before commencement of the competition. Further, The BMC-G has said it thought it wise to obtain the COVID-19 Task Force’s approval first before approaching the GCB for its blessings.

It was obv i o u s that if that permission wasn’t o b -

Director of the competition, Raj Singh

BM-G

tained it did not make any sense whatsoever to approach the GCB. The BMC-G has said it is extremely pleased now that the Minister with direct responsibility for all Sports in Guyana has decided to grant it the necessary permission to hold the tournament.

The Minister, an attorney by profession, has also taken the liberty to explain the legal concept under which the GCB cannot withhold permission from the BMC-G or any other such organization, as noted by Director of the competition, Raj Singh.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020

Sport is no longer our game, it’s our business

guyanatimesgy.com

SRH defeat RCB in IPL eliminator match Pg 22

– Williamson, Holder pilot wobbly Sunrisers to victory

Big Man CricketGuyana obtains approval from Sport Minister to hold Over-45 tourney Pg 23

Pg 23

No question raised about BCB’s legitimacy February 2021 earliest date for Regional Super 50, with Sri Lanka shortly after - CWI CEO - Sport Minister Pg 23

Pg 23

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