Guyana Times - Wednesday November 11, 2020

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“Dream Realised” housing initiative for Berbice on Friday Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Issue No. 4466

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020

Wave of development in 1st 100 days is only the beginning – President Ali ...says groundwork laid for unprecedented development Page 3

PPP/C Govt in 1st 100 days “nothing short of amazing” – Private Sector Shyam Nokta conferred with prestigious Chilean award

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US Embassy marks Marine Corps' 245th P13 anniversary

Aurora Gold Mine transfers over 100 former Goldfields P11 workers to subcontractor

Page 2

Page 10

…says collaborative effort needed to address climate change

Republic Bank hit

by US$101M in reduced profits Page 7

…as COVID-19 pandemic, economic slowdown bite hard

Newborn dies mysteriously, parents arrested

Govt to engage Suriname on border opening …6 new COVID-19 cases recorded

Page 12

See story on page 9

NGSA 2021 to be postponed P11 5-year-old P9 fights back as parents, family friend robbed …Police offered no assistance – victim

3 M&CC staff to be disciplined for cashing Council’s P15 cheques COVID-19 PC students remain asymptomatic – Health Minister P13

Miner, woman attacked, P16 robbed of car

2 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

PPP/C Govt in 1st 100 days “nothing short of amazing” – Private Sector

T

he Private Sector Commission (PSC) of Guyana has rated the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government’s first one hundred days in office as outstanding.

Chairman of the PSC, Nicholas Boyer related that the Private Sector is quite impressed with the pace at which the Government has tackled national development issues since the Irfaan Ali-led Administration took the reins of political power on August 2.

“It seems to me that the Government is very active and engaged. We have seen the Government put in the Local Content Panel, which was one of the things we have been concerned about.

“We have seen action on infrastructural development and recently, we saw the movements in the housing sector,” Boyer outlined.

Boyer also heaped praise on the Government for the manner in which it has tackled the coronavirus pandemic, noting that it has operationalised a COVID-19 task force to take the necessary action to confront the virus.

“We are also happy with the communication and willingness to meet, so that

President Dr Irfaan Ali; Prime Minister, Retired Brigadier Mark Phillips and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo

sort of activity and energy from the Government in the first 100 days has been nothing short of amazing,” he added.

Similarly, Secretary and Head of Trade and Investment of the PSC, Ramesh Dookhoo highlighted that the Government deserves much praise for the way it has confronted the massive developmental challenges since it assumed office.

“Much to the Government’s credit, a lot of what was recommended by the Private Sector appeared in their manifesto. That’s the first point of happiness for us, but when the Government got into

office, we were stunned at the pace at which everything is being implemented,” Dookhoo observed.

Contrary to what is being peddled by the Opposition, Dookhoo contended that the Government is not only focused on protecting the interests of the Private Sector, but all other stakeholders, including the ordinary citizens.

“A lot of social issues have been addressed and there has been emphasis on putting disposable income back into the pockets of persons,” the top-ranking Private Sector official argued.

According to Dookhoo, when one looks at the ma-

jor decisions that have been taken when compared to the past, one would be “astounded at the pace”.

He cited the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector as an example, noting that the PSC had “given up on that”. “So I would give the Government an A+ for the first 100 days in office.”

November 10th marked the first 100 days since Dr Irfaan Ali was sworn in as President of Guyana on August 2 2020, after a tumultuous five months where concerted efforts were made to deny him the presidency.

Immediately after taking the reigns of power, the PPP/C Government was tasked with preparing a national emergency budget to address pressing issues, including the expenditures in response to the COVID-19

pandemic.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo had reported on “shocking details” of the previous Administration’s mismanagement in relation to the country’s response to the pandemic.

Immediate steps were taken by the PPP/C Government with the involvement of international partners to acquire the necessary resources to fight the spread of the virus.

Also, in the Government’s first 100 days, there was a clear focus on infrastructure. The Government was able to negotiate and jump-start several projects which were stagnating under the former coalition Government.

One such project is the Diamond/Ogle bypass road.

Originally, Guyana had signed a US$50 million loan with the Indian Exim Bank in 2016 for the project. By 2019, that price had shot up to US$175 million and the Exim bank was reluctant to fund it.

Further, the contract for the new Demerara River bridge is another project the PPP was able to get back on track. Over 40 companies from around the world have submitted Expressions of Interest to design and construct the bridge. The Government has promised that construction of the bridge will be completed within three to four years.

PSC Chairman Nicholas Boyer

In terms of housing, the Housing Ministry has been very proactive in addressing the huge demand for house lots across the country. It was recently announced that 40 contracts to the tune of over $1 billion were awarded to 22 companies for infrastructural upgrades to areas identified for housing development.

Also, the PPP/C Government has actively been engaged in the process of reviving the sugar sector by reopening the closed estates. Over 200 sugar workers have since been rehired and 400 more will be hired by year-end.

Additionally, several tax measures have been reversed and social assistance packages have been offered to residents, among other notable achievements.

NEWS

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS OPENINGS BRIDGE

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Wednesday, November 11 – 01:00h – 02:30h and 12:00h – 13:30h and Thursday, November 12 – 01:30h – 03:00h and 12:30h – 14:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Wednesday, November 11 – 13:35h – 15:05h and Thursday, November 12 – 14:15h – 15:45h.

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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 21 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East South-Easterly to East NorthEasterly to North-Easterly between 1.34 metres and 3.12 metres.

High Tide: 13:34h reaching a maximum height of 2.5 metres.

Low Tide: 07:02h and 19:32h reaching minimum heights of 0.75 metre and 0.69 metre.

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Wave of development in 1st 100 days is only a beginning – President Ali ...says groundwork laid for unprecedented development

W

ith Tuesday marking the first 100 days of his Administration, President Dr Irfaan Ali has made it clear that the unprecedented level of development seen in the first 100 days is only just the beginning and that the groundwork has been set for greater things for Guyana.

To mark the milestone, Ali on Tuesday cited the numerous developmental initiatives that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government has launched or jump-started, as well as the work done to restore Guyana’s battered image after the controversial five months that followed the March 2 General and Regional Elections.

According to the President, these infrastructural projects will be a continuation of the infrastructural development the previous PPP Government ushered in, until it was cut short by the 2015 election of the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government.

“We have begun to lay the foundation for the implementation of a transformative infrastructural development programme. The PPP/C Administration has in the past created a wave of impressive infrastructural projects which had transformed our country’s landscape.”

“These projects have included the construction of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, the National Stadium at Providence, the National Aquatic Centre, the Marriott Hotel, the Berbice River Bridge, the extension of the country’s main road networks, and the creation of a new airport at Ogle.

The second wave of modern infrastructural transformation is unfolding,” the President said.

The President cited the work done on finalising the location for the new Demerara River crossing, for which Expressions of Interest have already been received. In addition, his Government held discussions with Suriname during the 100 days, about a bridge between the two countries.

“We have begun to reformulate plans for the construction of a four-lane road from Ogle to Haag Bosch; We are in the planning stages for a road link between the new Demerara Bridge Crossing and Parika. We expect, next year, to begin work on a 250 MW gas-toshore project. We have commenced plans for a mix of energy generation projects,

President Dr Irfaan Ali deep in conversation with Head of the US Development Bank, Adam Boehler (left), during his visit last month. It was subsequently announced that billions of dollars would be made available for investments in Guyana

including hydro and solar power.”

One of the Government’s most eagerly anticipated plans is to distribute 50,000 house lots. Noting that housing is a basic need for everyone, Ali explained that

tion.

Int’l relations

In his statement, President Ali also pointed out the work done by his Government to repair Guyana’s interna-

Elections Commission (GECOM) to undermine the will of the people between March and August.

A 33-day recount showed that the PPP won the elections, but it took the firmness of local and regional courts, the resilience of GECOM Chair, Retired Justice Claudette Singh and threats of sanctions from the international community led by the United States, before former President David Granger finally stepped aside and allowed President Ali to be sworn in.

“Over the past 100 days, I and my Ministers have been involved in a number of international engagements which attest to the international recognition and interest in our country. I have, inter alia, addressed: The 75th Session of the General Assembly of

President Dr Irfaan Ali leads a team to one of the sites associated with the new Demerara River bridge

the groundwork has already started for the delivery of these house lots, which he assured will create thousands of jobs in construc-

tional image, which took a beating due to the efforts of the former APNU/ AFC Government and persons within the Guyana

the United Nations on behalf of Guyana and also on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.”

TURN TO PAGE 7

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guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 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

Drug smuggling

L

aw enforcement authorities in Guyana continue to face some real challenges in relation to tackling the issue of drug trafficking and the related problems that come with such activity. While there have been some successes at preventing traffickers from being successful in carrying out these illegal acts, there is still a far way to go if Guyana is to boast about putting a real dent on drug trafficking.

International and regional institutions have been trying for quite some time now to come up with a strategy that would seek to reverse this growing threat, but traffickers are becoming smarter and are using other methods to “beat the system,” thereby creating more difficulties for law enforcement agencies.

Counter-drug efforts have pushed traffickers to use new routes through the Caribbean as they seek to ship illegal drugs from South America into the United States, Europe and other destinations. It is no secret that, in the past, large amounts of drugs have transited into and out of Guyana on cargo and other ships. Cocaine is often concealed in legitimate commodities, and smuggled via commercial maritime vessels, air transport, human couriers, “go-fast” boats or various postal methods.

Just recently, authorities in Guyana were made aware of one of the largest drug busts in the world only after a report appeared in the Brussel Times linking the drugs to Guyana. It was reported that Belgian authorities had intercepted a vessel that allegedly left Guyana in October with a whopping 11.5 tonnes of cocaine which has a street value of some US$1B. The counter-narcotics prosecutors had tracked the transatlantic journey of the illicit item from Guyana, and seized it upon its arrival at the Port of Antwerp, Belgium. The cocaine 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.

Based on the report, the massive load of cocaine left Guyana in October, and prosecutors were able to track it following the dismantlement of a drug trafficking gang led by a former Belgian counter-narcotics chief, which revealed the existence of tightly knit links between criminal gangs and counter-narcotics and law enforcement officials.

In Belgium, 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. And in Guyana, four persons are already in custody, and a businessman is being sought in connection with the crime.

First, it is difficult to understand how 11.5 tonnes of cocaine made its way out of Guyana on a scrap metal shipment to Belgium without being detected. This, we know, could not have been possible without the collusion of a number of persons in various agencies, more particularly Customs and security officials.

Secondly, such an operation requires months of planning and preparation for the illegal drugs to reach all the way to Belgium without capturing the attention of the authorities. There are several questions left to be answered, and authorities must leave no stone unturned in getting to the bottom of how such a huge illegal operation was allowed to take place without being detected. In addition to the police investigations, GRA itself should launch an independent probe into the matter, and officers who are found to be culpable should face the consequences.

On a regular basis, we hear stories of persons carrying illegal drugs slipping through our ports here undetected; it is only when they arrive at their respective destinations that they are discovered with the illegal substance. While these ‘pushers’ find it easy to bribe their way through the system here, it is very difficult to do so in foreign jurisdictions, except in rare cases where there is a huge network of connections to allow the illegal drugs to pass smoothly.

A key report on the global fight against drug trafficking and money laundering which was released by the United States Department of State had noted that Guyana has a long road ahead in combating the drug scourge.

The report, titled “International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR)” had said that Guyana is a transit country for cocaine destined for the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, and West Africa. Traffickers are no doubt attracted by this country’s poorly monitored ports, remote airstrips, intricate river networks, porous land borders, and weak security sector capacity.

Drug trafficking and related criminal activities represent one of the most potent threats to democracy and stability. It undermines the rule of law and democratic governance. We therefore urge the authorities to step up their efforts in putting a dent on drug smuggling and related crimes.

Ushering in the Festival of Lights: National Diya at Rahaman’s Park shines brightly as the Hindu community prepares to celebrate Diwali on Saturday

Significance of Private Sector’s ‘A’ rating for President’s 1st 100 days in office Dear Editor, On the campaign trail, the President explicitly stated that the Government’s model of economic development would be a balance between the public sector and the private sector. Since assuming office, he has kept that promise, and has made this mix of strategies central to his economic policy.

And based on the recent pronouncement by the Guyana Private Sector, that the President deserves an ‘A’ for his performance during the first 100 days in office, this model is proving to be quite viable indeed. In conferring such a distinction on the President, the Guyana Private Sector has made an important point: the private sector may not be the panacea for the economic ills the country faces, but it can play a decisive and pivotal role in the creation of the much-needed wealth that the country needs to have in order to fix its economic woes.

This milestone was announced even though the President had not quite reached that landmark.

What does this distinction mean? It means that the Government in power knows how to govern. Governance, “the way government gets its job done,” is quite a complicated matter. There are tough problems that all governments face, even governments that do not suffer from a paucity of resources. Two of the most pressing problems that most governments face are poverty and inequality.

Paradoxically, these problems are prevalent even in countries that are considered advanced. The United States of America is a prime example of this. Poverty and inequality in turn spawn a host of other problems, ranging from health to crime to

environmental degradation. Efforts to find solutions to these tough problems would be futile and impoverished without “substantial intellectual capital.” The President recognises that much of that enormous intellectual capital resides in the private sector.

The private sector is driven by economic prospects.

When investment opportunities present themselves, the private sector employs its best intellectual capital to capitalise on such opportunities. When economic prospects are not so obvious, the private sector gets creative and displays true entrepreneurship. Of course, all of this is predicated on the rule of law. The rule of law gives confidence, predictability and protection.

During the first 100 days of being in office, the President has not given any reasons for apprehension and disclination on the part of the private sector. On the contrary, the private sector has found so much scope for profitable activities and so much legal guarantee at the same time that it has moved to recognise the President by according him with an ‘A’ grade for his first 100 days of service.

For his part, the President, being both an idealist and a pragmatist, views the private sector not simply from the perspective of proscriptive or prescriptive rights, important as those are. He profoundly appreciates the pre-eminent role of the private sector in nation building. In terms of job creation, the private sector has always been at the forefront. The president understands equally that the ability of the private sector to generate wealth and prosperity for the nation hinges on the kind of poli-

cies the Government adopts.

A high level of bureaucracy would likely stifle initiatives, which is why the Government is so focused on removing red tape and other bureaucratic hurdles. With the right incentives from the Government, the private sector would be able to put capital and labour to work for themselves and for the economy, generating wealth for themselves, creating jobs for the unemployed, and narrowing the gap between the haves and the have-nots.

The right incentives can be in the form of “public action aimed at activating private initiative” or “the provision of public finance to subsidise privately-run services”. In other words, the Government must provide an environment that is most conducive for businesses, both large and small.

This is precisely what the Government has done in its first 100 days in government. From the beginning, the Government understood that its role in economic growth and human development would have to be complementary, rather than exclusive in nature. The President’s embrace of this truism has played no small part in the decision of the

private sector to recognise him as a top leader par excellence.

Complementary should not be confused with secondary. Secondary in the context of our discussion means putting the private sector in the driving seat, giving them unfettered freedom in the realm of investment and resources. History has shown us that the Achilles heel of unregulated business initiatives is inequality, which is the opposite of what the Government is aiming at.

The President sees the private sector “not as an end, but as a means to higher levels of human development.” The private sector, in turn, sees no dichotomy between amassing wealth for itself and enriching the lives of citizens. This perspective has been shaped by the way the President leads.

No one should be surprised at the high esteem in which he is held by the Guyana Private Sector. We should all join with the Guyana Private Sector in thanking the President for his brilliant leadership, for that is the meaning of the ‘A’ rating given to him.

Sincerely, Sheik M Ayube

Heart-breaking story of mother looking for son Dear Editor, It was very heart-rending and heart-breaking to read the story of the mother searching for three heart-wrenching days for her son, only to finally find him in a morgue. What anguish!

An investigation should be conducted into how a missing person ended up in

the morgue for three days.

My condolences to the grieving mother, and the relatives and friends of the deceased. May God give them the strength and courage to deal with what must be the greatest test of faith.

Sincerely, Shamshun Mohamed

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Was Trump done in by Celebrating 100 days of democracy anti-immigrant policy?

Dear Editor, It has been 100 days since the PPP Government finally got into office, after the previous administration tried to pull every trick possible under the sky to steal the elections.

Who can forget that eventful day when Mr. Granger had no choice but to cave into local and international pressure and give way to the rightful winner of the elections?

President Irfaan Ali ought to take seriously Freddie Kissoon’s suggestion to build a bust of Bruce Golding, Owen Arthur, American Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch; Canadian High Commissioner Lilian Chatterjee; British High Commissioner Greg Quinn

and EU Ambassador Fernando Ponz Cantó, and place these in a prominent part of the country. If it weren’t for these folks - culminating with a call from Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State - the Guyanese people might still be wallowing in a state of desperation, because of the election quandary.

The people of this country should never forget the electioneering trickery perpetrated on them for five months when there were blatant attempts at rigging.

Except for those who could not have their merry way, the Guyanese people are generally pleased with the PPP performance, which has made enormous headway for their first 100 days in pow-

er. One must commend the PPP for exposing the widespread nepotism, wanton corruption, and self-gratification and abuse of state resources by movers within the previous Government. President Ali and his team are doing a fantastic job at this critical political and economic juncture, coupled with the challenge of the pandemic.

Thank you, diplomats.

Thank you, local stalwarts and unsung heroes. It has been one hundred days – with many more to come - to celebrate democracy, that precious entity treasured by many!

Yours truly, Dr Devanand Bhagwan

APNU/AFC-fabricated advertisement marred with lies Dear Editor, Kindly grant me a space in your newspaper to respond to an erroneous and highly misleading and irresponsible statement made by the former Coalition Administration.

Editor, in an advertisement published in the Kaieteur Newspaper November 10, 2020 edition, dubbed “PPP Report Card100 Days of Failure” the fabricator of this fictious illustration pointed out that the PPP/C Government, among other things, failed to “Maintain Hinterland roads and bridges and to protect Indigenous Communities.”

Permit me to clarify that this Government, and my Ministry in particular, is not one that is associated with failure and marred with incapacities. Firstly, I wish to elucidate that the Ministry of Public Works is currently rolling out maintenance works in the Hinterland Regions, in collaboration with other Government agencies. Presently, maintenance works are ongoing on the Linden to Lethem trail as well as the Linden to Kwakwani road.

Moreover, several Hinterland roads, in Regions One, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten, are expected to be soon rehabilitated. These much-needed works were stalled by the former administration.

Some of the major projects that will come on stream soon include: 1. Rehabilitation of M4 (Region 1) to Yarakita Road (Phase 2) 2. Rehabilitation of Compound Road, Mabaruma (Phase 4) 3. Rehabilitation of Orealla to Kwakwani (Phase 2) 4. Rehabilitation of Mile 5 to Airstrip Bartica (Phase 4) 5. Rehabilitation of Karrau to Buckhall (Phase 4) 6. Material Stockpile and Rehabilitation of Mahdia Main Access (Phase 2) 7. Rehabilitation of Lethem - Aishalton Corridor 8. Rehabilitation of

Internal Roads Lethem 9. Rehabilitation of Barrack Retreat Corridor (Sidewalks), Lethem If the author of this advertisement was indeed concerned about progress in his country, he would have noticed that the projects above, along with so many others, were already tendered for.

Nonetheless Editor, the accuser of the brethren claims that this Government has failed to maintain these Hinterland infrastructures, but they also forgot to mention that they were the ones who are responsible for many of the planned projects being unable to roll out. The now Opposition Party clenched to power for so long, putting the entire country on pause, while they fabricated new ideas to remain in Government.

It is no secret that this exhausting phase in Guyana’s History severely impacted the economy.

Due to the long electoral process, the country was without a Budget and was unable to allocate funding for Infrastructural and other projects.

Nonetheless Editor, please allow me to address this fabler who also noted in his tale, that this Government failed to “Protect Indigenous Communities”. This particular highlight almost makes me chuckle, since the former Administration, while in power, especially during a COVID-19 pandemic failed miserably to protect these vulnerable communities.

Thousands of masks, as well as food hampers and sanitation supplies have been distributed to Indigenous communities, so far, in a bid to protect our people. Furthermore, protocols have been put in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our Indigenous brothers and for persons travelling into these communities.

Let me also remind the author of this advert that the Government has also initiated the distribution of a COVID-19 Cash Grant of $25,000, to benefit the en-

tire country. The PPP/C Administration has even recommenced the Community Service Officers Programme, which will provide jobs for a number of Indigenous people, whose livelihoods were snatched when the APNU/ AFC Government assumed office in 2015. Allow me to enlighten this group of apparent uninformed citizens, that our Government has also restored the Amerindian Development Fund.

Editor, our Government has been distributing educational materials in the form of worksheets and others, to enable learning in the Hinterland and across the country. These are just a few of the measures taken by the PPP/C Administration in its first 100 days in office. How then, can a Government who sat back and watched our people face COVID-19 in the eye, now claim that this Government has failed its people?

Yours in development, Bishop Juan Edghill Minister of Public Works

Dear Editor, Some 75% of minorities in America, including Guyanese, voted against Trump. And because many of them live in swing states, they could have provided the critical votes that took Biden over the top to unseat the incumbent. Had Trump pursued a moderate, humanitarian immigration policy, and not taken a hard line against minorities, he could very well have won a second term.

The incumbent received some 25% GuyaneseAmerican votes, about the same percentage as other minority ethnic groups. This is a huge amount, considering that Trump’s policies were tough against minorities and against family migration. His rhetoric was anti-immigrant.

As some immigration lawyers said, if it were up to Trump, many immigrants, including legal ones, would be returned to their home country.

But so many immigrants gravitated to the President.

The minorities who voted for Trump, including Guyanese, are disappointed that he lost. Almost everyone who was a Trump supporter claimed there was fraud.

They inundated me with queries as to why Trump lost, while also citing fraud to claim Trump won.

There was hardly any fraud in the elections. Even Trump’s Republican colleagues said the election was fair. No evidence has been cited, although Trump claimed fraud and has refused to concede.

Authorities in Republican-controlled states said there were no reported incidents of electoral fraud; Biden won fair and square.

The voters turned against Trump because of various blunders. He lost the popular vote by some four million.

Since Wednesday, I told friends and published articles that Trump lost because of voting trends for Democrats

in swing states that normally would go Republican.

The fact that the contests in safe Republican states were so close meant Democrats made gains and would pick up states. There was a swing factor of 2% to 5% against Trump, comparable to the swing factor against David Granger in Guyana. That essentially sealed Trump’s fate, as it did against the coalition.

As I consistently maintained for months prior to the election, Biden would win the Presidency because of the serious errors Donald Trump made during his tenure.

Guyanese Trumpites said Trump would win, without offering data to back their claim. Polls put Biden ahead.

Trumpites said the polls were wrong in 2016. They were wrong in 2016, but were relatively right in 2020, though they were somewhat off.

Trump lost because he made some of the same errors that the APNU+AFC coalition made in Guyana, and it was not surprising that the voters deservedly kicked out both. Trump and David Granger turned off voters by not adhering to basic commonsense policies, and for pursuing racist policies.

Neither one was prepared to heed good advice (not from me, as I was no advisor to either), or was given bad advice. Had they pursued simple commonsensical policies that endeared themselves to swing voters, they would have won. Instead, they alienated the swing voters, who turned against them.

Trump promised to drain the swamp of alligators.

Instead, he added more alligators into the swamp to eat out the hourie. His policy was bound to turn off voters, and they came out with a vengeance.

Trump ran a racist, anti-immigrant campaign in 2016 and got away with it.

He won because he prom-

ised to clamp down on corruption and fix the broken immigration system. He failed on both counts. He had hoped the same campaign message would resonate, and he would win again with it. But it would not work – you can only cash the same cheque one. It will bounce a second time if you try to cash it again.

There are many factors that led to Trump’s defeat. I only focused on immigration.

America is an immigrant nation. Trump’s policy inflamed many voters, surprisingly not all Guyanese. Trump had the support of Congress to make sweeping immigration reforms. Instead, he focused on deporting all the illegals and shutting down the border to legal residents. He took away the rights of undocumented college educated students to work. Hundreds of thousands of Indian professionals (engineers, doctors, and IT experts) waiting for their green cards were put in limbo. He did not show compassion for refugees and asylum seekers. He raised the fee of a professional visa from US$5K to US$50K. He instructed foreign Consulates to reduce visitors’ visas.

The immigration policy turned off voters. Every illegal and immigrants in limbo had families who were citizens, many of whom were not interested in voting. They came out to vote out Trump in swing states like Pennsylvania, Colorado, Arizona, Virginia, Nevada, among others.

Had Trump pursued a moderate immigration policy and toned down his anti-minority rhetoric, he may have been able to convince ‘immigrant citizens’ to vote for him, and he would have survived the Biden/Harris brigade in the swing states to serve another term.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

Flooding in Guyana: causes and solutions Dear Editor, There is an urge for house lot owners to embark on building their own homes, primarily to save some costs, but also from the pressure to erect something before the lot is repossessed. This is a recipe for catastrophe. Guyana is poorly equipped with urban planners and infrastructure designers, and it has archaic building codes. And no one has found a solution for heavy rainfall.

The crux of the matter is plain and simple: Without effective zoning, occupancy codes, building inspection during construction, and usage of correct building materials, Guyana would remain in the doldrums of progress.

Here are a few suggestions that the housing authorities need to consider: 1. Open green space: In

housing construction, a significant percentage of the lot, say 30%, must be left open (the so-called green rule) and not concreted. This would allow rainwater to be absorbed rather than drained off into overburdened drains, especially in regions like Georgetown.

2. Retention ponds: In designing communities, say like 100 homes, retention ponds with their two-fold purpose are a dire necessity: they collect drain-offs to alleviate flooding, and provide a source of water in dry weather.

3. Regular garbage collection: Compactor trucks for garbage collection would see significant removal of wastes that block main drainage channels.

4. Household wells: In the further retention of rain water, small wells need to be in-

stituted in building codes (the dry well concept). These wells of, say, 64 cubic feet (4x4x4) would also prevent unwanted runoff into the poorly maintained drainage system.

5. Recycling: The collection of plastic, cardboard and glass containers must now be of high priority, as this activity not only provides an ‘income’ but is a great deterrent for blockages.

6.

Illegal dumping: Regulations in regard to dumping should be enforced with preventative fines.

Environmentally hazardous items like engine oil, televisions (which contain lead), and undegradable plastics top the list. Alternatively, authorities can facilitate a paid dumping site.

A cursory look at the dilemma facing the housing authority reveals that the

entity is overwhelmed with indecision, lack of planning, inexperienced staff, and lack of initiative. Then there is a litany of woes such as poor materials, workmanship, lack of building inspectors, and virtually non-existent construction codes (especially electric) and building codes. The end result is often the dreaded 4 Ss – slipping, shifting, sinking and sliding houses.

Offering superficial solutions to serious problems would not work. If that is done, problems would persist and Guyana would perpetually be inundated after a heavy rainfall; and, true to its name, would remain the Land of Many Waters.

Sincerely, Leyland Chitlall Roopnaraine

6

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020

Page

Foundation ◄

Æsop’s Fables

FOR CHILDREN

Unit Test Answers

Restate in exponential form, then calculate: 1) 35 + 23 = 251 2) 43 – 52 = 39 3) 74+ 92 – 53 = 2357 Restate using scientific notation: 4) 4.56109502 x 106 5) 9.71052 x 104 6) 1.056 x 10-3 7) 2.11057610152 x 1011 8) 7.467 x 101 9) 3.2541218 x 107 Calculate using order of operations (BODMAS): 10) 101 11) 34 12) 63 13) 58

What number property does each number display?

14) The Commutative Property of Addition 15) The Distributive Property of Multiplication over Addition 16) The Associative Property of Addition

17) Multiplication Identity Property of 1 18) Zero Identity of Addition 19)) The Distributive Property of Multiplication over Subtraction

30)

Solve for x: 20) x = 3 21) x = 19 22) x = 4 23) x = 60 24) x = 120 Solve the equation and indicate the point on the number line that corresponds with the answer:

Provide the ordered pairs for the points plotted on the graph 26) A = (3, 1) 27) B = (– 3, 4) C = (– 1, – 1) 29) D = (2, – 4)

Materials: Kundan/ Rhinestone MDF/plywood (mostly thin, any shape) Shiny strings Glue Scissor Tweezer Coloured paint Paint brush

28)

Monday’s answers A = (3, 1) C = (– 1, – 1) E = (2, – 5)

Instructions Paint the MDF/ plywood and let it dry for couple of hours. Stick on the kundans/ rhinestones and shiny strings with the help of tweezer and glue. Let the glue dry. And that’s it.

You have the beautiful decoration ready! (myindianversion.com)

B = (– 3, 4, ) D = ( 2, – 4)

T

wo pots, one of brass and the other of clay, stood together on the hearthstone. One day the brass pot proposed to the earthen Pot that they go out into the world together. But the earthen pot excused himself, saying that it would be wiser for him to stay in the corner by the fire.

“It would take so little to break me,” he said. “You know how fragile I am. The least shock is sure to shatter me!”

“Don’t let that keep you at home,” urged the brass pot. “I shall take very good care of you. If we should happen to meet anything hard I will step between and save you.”

So the earthen pot at last consented, and the two set out side by side, jolting along on three stubby legs first to this side, then to that, and bumping into each other at every step.

The earthen pot could not survive that sort of companionship very long. They had not gone ten paces before the earthen pot cracked, and at the next jolt he flew into a thousand pieces.

WORD SEARCH

NEWS

7

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Republic Bank hit by US$101M in reduced profits …as COVID-19 pandemic, economic slowdown bite hard

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any businesses were hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and Republic Bank, while it was able to turn out a profit, has seen a reduction in that profit of over US$100 million or 42 per cent, compared to last year.

According to a statement from the bank’s Chairman, Vincent Pereira, the total profit of US$134.9 million was recorded for the year ended September 30, 2020.

This sum is, however, a 42.8 per cent reduction in the US$235.9 million profit reported last year.

This year’s profit represents a decrease of US$101 million. Pereira cited the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which he explained

Republic Bank

resulted in decreased economic activity, reduced opportunities to charge interest and the fact that the bank would have had to waive fees and commissions under various Governmentimposed initiatives.

According to Pereira, the decrease is also attributable

to “increased provisioning to cover potential future losses on the loan and investments portfolios, and impairment of the remaining goodwill held in our Barbados subsidiary.”

As of September, the bank’s total asset is US$15.5 billion, which is a 19.2 per

cent or US$2.5 billion increase from the previous year. The total dividend is US$65.6 million, which he noted is a 40 per cent decrease.

“The combination of this dividend and the increase in the share price of US$3.01 during the year, equates to a total shareholder return for the year of 18.5%. The final dividend will be paid on December 1, 2020 to all shareholders of record on November 18, 2020.

“While there continues to be uncertainty over the future direction and duration of the COVID 19 pandemic, we are confident that the Group’s strong capital base, diverse geographic footprint and robust governance cul-

ture leaves it well-positioned to support the recovery efforts of the economies within which we operate.”

Moreover, the Chairman pledged that the bank would remain responsive to the evolving needs of customers and clients, while providing safe working conditions for its employees and support for the community.

When COVID first arrived in Guyana earlier this year, the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government had taken steps ranging from closing its borders to mandating that only essential businesses open their doors.

Many have felt the ef-

fects of COVID-19 on an economic level, with businesses closing their doors, layoffs and a slowdown in the circulation of money. This was compounded by the political paralysis Guyana found itself in from the elections in March 2020 until Dr Ali was sworn in on August 2, as the previous Government refused to concede defeat.

Guyana’s Government has already taken steps to reopen its economy with a relaxed curfew of 10:30 pm to 4 am and the approval for businesses like restaurants and gyms to operate in a restricted manner. Moreover, the country has reopened its international airports – with a number of scheduled flights weekly.

Wave of development in 1st 100 days is only the...

The President also reminded that he addressed the Virtual Island Summit 2020, the Forecast on Latin America and the Caribbean Conference 2020, organised by the United States Department of Commerce and the Association of American Chambers of Commerce and the 75th Commemorative Meeting of the United Nations, on behalf of Guyana and also the Group of 77 and China.

He noted that representation was also made at the United Nations Summit on Biodiversity, the Meeting of Heads of Government on Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond and meetings of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community.

“I have held meetings with a number of investors, heads of institutions and world leaders, all of whom have expressed a willing-

ness to support Guyana’s development. The World Bank and the US International Development Finance Corporation have offered their assistance. I have engaged the Emir of Qatar on possible areas of economic cooperation between our two states which will see the contribution of three fully functioning field hospitals,” President Ali also said.

Social welfare

President Ali lamented that when he took office, the social welfare of the people, made more precarious by the COVID-19 pandemic, had been neglected by the former Government which was more interested in fighting for its political survival.

He pointed out that when the Government assumed office in August 2020, it was to find that many regional hospitals were ill-equipped to treat the worst cases of the virus.

According to Ali, there

were insufficient testing kits, testing equipment, protective gear for frontline workers, ventilators and oxygen concentrators.

Even the Ocean View Hotel turned Infectious Diseases Hospital was only a shell, despite the over $1 billion plunged into the project.

“Our response has been comprehensive and multifaceted. We assembled a task force that included medical personnel and our regional/international partners. We increased testing capacity to the point where we can administer as many as 600 tests per day and we are working to increase this to more than 1000 by the end of this month,” he said.

“We have also acquired adequate supplies of personal protective gear and allocated $150 million in the emergency budget for frontline workers. Ventilators, oxygen concentrators and other equipment necessary for treating patients have

been received and are being operationalised. We have retrofitted the Infectious Diseases Hospital, making it suitable for offering meaningful patient care and we have enhanced the capacity of regional hospitals to treat coronavirus patients.”

Moreover, Ali reminded that the Government was able to ensure that Guyana is in line to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. But the Government has also been able to procure medical sup-

plies that have been lacking in the system over the past few years.

Another area the Government was able to excel in was the reverse of the burdensome tax measures the former Government imposed on Guyana. He recalled that Value Added Tax (VAT) has been removed from mining equipment, exports of fish, rice and timber.

“And we have only just begun! There is much more

FROM PAGE 3

in store for you as we realise the promises and commitments in our manifesto. Guyana’s prospects have never been more promising.

We will translate that promise into prosperity.”

“Guyanese can look forward to a better life under the PPP/C Administration.

Despite the monumental challenges which we faced, we have defied expectations and delivered progress,” The President also said, in his 100-day message. (G3)

8 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Husband on 1-year bond after assaulting wife

A

procurement officer found himself before the Linden Magistrate’s Court after he reportedly assaulted his wife.

Burt Adams of Central Amelia’s Ward, Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), ap-

peared before Magistrate Wanda Fortune and pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that between October 30 and November 9, at Central Amelia’s Ward, Linden, he unlawfully and maliciously assaulted 31-year-old Avay Roberts-Adams.

The prosecution is contending that the 31-yearold man and his wife had an argument and sometime during October 30 and November 9, he reportedly became angry, and a scuffle ensued between the couple, during which the defendant reportedly dealt Avay

several blows to the body.

However, when the matter was called on Monday, Avay declined to offer evidence against her husband.

As a result, Magistrate Fortune placed Adams on a 1-year bond or, if he defaults, three months’ imprisonment. (G1)

Nothing’s changed…

T

...in America here’s a lot of hype that Joe Biden’s election as US President would lead to “reversing” the divisions Trump created. So, let’s unpack that thought by first looking at the domestic situation. After all, didn’t one famous American politician - long serving Speaker Tip O’Neil - insist that “all politics is local”? And since “local politics” is all about local people casting their ballots, we can do worse than looking closely at who these locals are.

Can anyone really be serious to argue that in the first six months of 2016 that Trump took to win the Republican primaries, and another six to win the elections against Hillary Clinton, he was able to CREATE all these fissures?

Not only “not likely”, but “impossible”! As we can tell from their name - the United States of America - they started as 13 separate colonies, and those divisions never really went away when they decided to get “United”.

Those divisions started when they herded the Native Peoples into “reservations” - where they subsist pretty much like Third World folks - and continued when Africans were hauled across the Atlantic as “chattel slaves”. The divisions rose to the surface during their Civil War in the 1860s, during which more Americans were killed than in any other war that American would fight to this date. The divisions between North and South are still raw. Then there were the folks whom the War was supposed to be fought over, because they were defined as only “3/5 human” African Americans. Trump didn’t create all the inequalities against which they chafed for more than 150 years after the Civil War. As for the Whites who were the majority…they’re all the descendants of immigrants from Europe, who were not all seen as equal. The Irish were initially seen as “White Negroes”, while the ones from Southern Europe - Italy, Greece etc. were brushed off a “white ethnics” who had to earn their way into the charmed (WASP) circle - “White, Anglo-Saxon Protestants” from the North. The Latinos who crossed over from the Rio Grande never really had the opportunity to even break out.

After the immigration laws were changed in 1965 to permit the previously banned Chinese and Indians, they created another wave to add to the medley. One could say with the greatest level of confidence that there’s a community of every one of the 200+ nations in the world in the US. That’s DIVISIONS for you!!

Finally, because of the decline in the US economic standing, after losing its technological and manufacturing lead, the descendants of immigrants turned against new immigrants.

Trump merely took advantage of the divisions - which Biden can never reverse! …in the world Now, what about the rest of the world?? Was it also divided by Trump?? Starting with the traditional allies of the US, Britain, with its “Special Relationship”, is the closest. If there was any speculation as to which country might have objected to Trump’s unorthodox style, surely it would’ve been the stiff-upper-lipped Brits. But here it was, PM Boris Johnson is as close a clone of Trump as you could get outside of the scientists who brought us “Dolly”!

Similarly, across Europe, leaders were thrown up also in the mould of Trump - they mightn’t all be running their countries, but they’re growing exponentially. What this means is that whatever factors - systemic or otherwise might have thrown up Trump in the US, those same factors are in play over in Europe. Your Eyewitness would not even dissect Trump’s closing the divide with Russia - once the arch-enemy of the US. And China remains China.

What this means is Biden’s not gonna have much wiggle room for change - either domestically or internationally. …in Guyana Some - especially in the PNC - are betting the store that a lot has changed for them with Biden about to move into the White House. But what exactly has changed with US strategic interests here?

Venezuela? NO! Oil, NO! So there!

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

NEWS

9

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

5-year-old fights back as parents, family friend robbed

…Police offered no assistance – victim

A

five-year-old boy was among four persons that were robbed on Saturday last behind the Marriott Hotel by two armed bandits.

The other three victims have been identified as national chutney champion, Stephen Ramphal, his wife Allana Ramphal, and their family friend 21-year-old Lakeanand Govindsammy, a photographer of Rose Hall Town, Corentyne, Berbice.

In an interview with Guyana Times on Tuesday, Allana Ramphal said at about 18:30h, she and her family along with their friend went to do a family photoshoot on the seawall behind the Marriott Hotel.

She said while they were there setting up their lights, they saw two men approaching them. They were both walking, but one was pushing a bicycle. The woman said her husband became suspicious and began watching the men who then started to slow down as they approach them.

Allana said when the men reached where they were standing, they turned to her husband, Stephen, and asked what he was looking at. She said at that time, Govindsammy was holding the five-year-old.

The men then whisked out a knife, and rushed to-

Allana Ramphal and her husband, Stephen Ramphal

wards her husband, who began running to get help. She said he ran towards the security guard at the Marriott Hotel to seek assistance.

“He then came up to me as though he was going to hurt me but he did not touch me. I told him that I don’t have anything on me… the other one then go to my friend and they hit him…”, she said.

Due to the impact of the hit, Govindsammy fell to the ground, and the men started demanding that he hand over his valuables.

At the time, he had on a haversack, which they cut off of his back. According to the family, inside of the bag had a camera lens and a wallet containing $30,000.

Allana said the men began hitting her friend to his head, and in seeing that,

Newborn dies mysteriously, parents arrested

P

olice are investigating the death of a baby girl, who mysteriously died on November 9, some four days after she was born at the Georgetown Public Hospital. She was born on November 5 to a 27-year-old housewife and a 52-year-old driver. Reports are on November 7, the mother and her baby were discharged and they proceeded to their home at Grove Squatting Area, East Bank Demerara. However, on November 9, the woman and her reputed husband, as well as their eight-yearold daughter, left home for the Georgetown Public Hospital where the mother was going for a routine checkup. She told investigators that at around 10:00h, she left her newborn with her husband and her elder daughter in the car as she proceeded to visit the doctor. At around 12:08h, she returned to the car where she observed that the baby

was crying uncontrollably and breathing heavily. She also noticed that the baby was only wearing her diaper. At that point, she fed the child some water and the newborn slept. The woman in her statement to Police said that at about 14:45h, the family proceeded to Blairmont, West Bank Berbice, where she was expected to stay with some family. During that time, the newborn again started crying and breathing heavily, as if she was suffocating. As a result, at around 18:05h, the child was taken to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital where she was seen and examined by a doctor who pronounced her dead on arrival. The body was examined and it was observed that the child’s anus was severely expanded. The parents are in custody assisting with the investigation. A post-mortem examination will be conducted.

her five-year-old son tried to fight back.

They also took two cell-

phones, one valued at $195,000 and the other $90,000, a gold ring and a silver band before escaping.

Guyana Times was told that Govindsammy, was chopped to the hand and ear during the ordeal.

Following the incident, the woman said they ran to safety, and saw a group of police officers. She said they informed them of the incident but were told that there is nothing they could do to assist them, and that they should go to the Brickdam Police Station.

During that time, Govindsammy was bleeding

Govindsammy’s chopped forearm

profusely from his injuries.

However, Allana said after they realised that they were not getting help from the police, they decided to go to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

She expressed disappointment with how the police dealt with the matter.

As it relates to the fiveyear-old, Allana said he is very traumatised.

10 NEWS Shyam Nokta conferred with prestigious Chilean award WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

…says collaborative effort needed to address climate change

Shyam Nokta displaying his award with Chilean Ambassador Patricio Becker

H

ead of the Local Content Panel, Shyam Nokta was on Tuesday conferred with the 500th Discovery of the Strait of Magellan award, which was accepted in the presence of President Dr Irfaan Ali. The award was bestowed

by Ambassador of Chile to

Guyana, Patricio Becker, to Nokta – who is a specialist in natural resources, the environment and climate change.

He is also President of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA).

The Strait of Magellan is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating main-

land South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south. The strait is considered the most important natural passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and is viewed as a necessity for global trade.

To celebrate the 500th anniversary, the prestigious award is being bestowed upon modern-day innovators in each country, whose work represents the spirit of exploration.

In accepting the award, Nokta shared his approval for Government’s efforts in enabling leadership through its Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). Through the LCDS, Guyana was able to secure funding from Norway through the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF) during the previous PPP/C stint in office.

Government is now working again to revitalise that partnership.

“I’m very pleased that President Irfaan Ali has recommitted to the LCDS and the partnership with Norway, because it presents a very good opportunity for Guyana to continue to show leadership and innovation on this very important global issue as we have done through the LCDS and this partnership,” he asserted.

He also welcomed the work

Shyam Nokta and his wife, Malisa Nokta look on during President Irfaan Ali’s speech at the award ceremony on Tuesday

of the Chilean Government, which has demonstrated increased action on climate change and strong mitigation action. Nokta reminded that low-lying areas and small islands feel the brunt of climate change, as he urged the need for such actions.

“I believe that we all have to work together at the local, national and international level to examine ideas, new approaches on sustainability, the environment and climate change.”

Speaking at the event,

President Ali lauded the work of Nokta, noting that it is quite a milestone for a Guyanese to receive this award. “We are aware of your significant contribution and we are aware of your technical capacity to achieve. For us, this is not a surprise. Perhaps, it is an opening of more moments like these…We must recognise the Government of Chile for recognising one of our citizens and we’re very pleased that a citizen of Guyana has distinguished himself to the international community, to

the extent that he was honoured,” the Head of State shared.

Speaking about the Strait of Magellan, he said, “The discovery was very important for navigation, trade, innovation, and proving of science that the world was actually round. It brings us to climate change where there is still some in our world that believe the science is not proven. This is where critical thinkers, groundbreakers, innovators come into play.” (G12)

NEWS

11

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Aurora Gold Mine transfers NGSA 2021 to be postponed over 100 former Goldfields T workers to subcontractor

I

n a move the Union called anti-Union, over 100 former Guyana Goldfield workers who were rehired when Zijin Mining Group took over Aurora, have been transferred to sub-contractor Sinohydro.

This was confirmed by a letter dated November 8 and seen by this publication, in which AGM wrote to National Mine Workers Union (NMWU) President Sherwyn Downer, informing him that the first set of transfers took effect from November 1, 2020 - seven days prior.

In the letter, Downer was informed that the decision will affect a total of 141 workers, most of whom were former Guyana Goldfields employees who were rehired and placed on a three-month contract.

The transfer of 24 permanent employees, who Downer said belonged to the Union he heads, took effect from November 1, while 117 workers who were on the contract will be transferred from December 14, 2020, to January 2021.

According to AGM, “due to the efforts by the company to complete the preparation for the full resumption of operations, a number of former and new employees were hired.”

“The company has also engaged a contractor, Sinohydro Corporation Limited, for the Stripping and Mining activities at its mines at Aurora. In this regard, the company has decided to transfer those employees who were hired by AGM to work for the contractor Sinohydro,” the letter seen by this publication said.

In the letter, which was

Aurora Gold Mine

copied to Chief Labour Officer Charles Ogle, assurances were given that workers would continue to enjoy their previous benefits and would continue to be represented by their recognised Union.

But in an interview with this publication, Downer criticised the decision and the fact that as the Union President he was only notified one week after. He also questioned whether the permanent workers were paid their severance.

According to Downer, the transfer of the remaining workers who were part of his Union means that he can no longer represent them like before. He made it clear that he would push for the matter to be addressed.

Aurora Gold Mine, located in Region Seven, was once owned by Canadian mining company Guyana Goldfields. But in May 2020, Goldfields moved to downsize its operations after facing constraints from the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with other financial woes. It was also linked to the company’s transition into underground mining.

After initially selling its operations to Silvercorp,

another Canadian mining company, Zijin Mining Group, made a superior offer to Goldfields that Silvercorp failed to match within the stipulated time.

As a result, Zijin was able to clinch the deal and complete the takeover in August.

A number of local workers were laid off by Goldfields in the process, their job descriptions ranging from attendants to electricians to heavy-duty equipment operators and blasters, while the rest were able to retain their jobs during a “care and maintenance” period.

However, Goldfields is currently restarting its operations, with its stripping and other mining activities at Aurora being undertaken by Sinohydro, another Chinese company. (G3)

he National Grade Six Assessment for 2021 has been postponed from the March/April sitting, as the COVID-19 pandemic still poses as a challenge for students to engage in classroom learning.

Education Minister, Priya Manickchand made the announcement during a press conference on Monday, as she explained that since this is a placement examination administered locally, the Education Ministry can decide when and how to set it.

“It’s a placement exam.

It’s not an assessment to determine whether you’re bright or not. It’s an assessment to place students. Are there other ways we can place students fairly to secondary school? We’re looking at that…I can tell you now that the exams will not be written in March/April.

We’re definitely going to be postponing if we write it at all. We don’t know as yet,” Manickchand told the media.

This is not new, since the 2020 examinations were also postponed until measures were in place to keep educators and students safe.

The Minister said officials will continue to engage teachers across the country and monitor the COVID-19 situation, to determine what will be done to place students at a sec-

Education Minister Priya Manickchand

ondary institution. The decision will be based on the prevailing circumstances at that time.

For now, only students from fourth to sixth forms have returned to school since they have to prepare for CSEC and CAPE exams which are administered regionally by the Caribbean Examinations Council.

Students who are attending Practical Instruction Centres (PIC) and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions have also returned to schools.

On Monday, the Ministry was able to gather information on students’ attendance from five regions as data from the outlying regions has been slow.

Manickchand disclosed that there had been a 60 per cent turnout of the 21,000 registered students for Grades 10, 11 and 12.

“I think this is very high considering the many options that parents have,” she had expressed.

The Education Ministry gave parents the option of keeping their children at home if they were uncomfortable sending them back to school during the COVID-19 situation.

Parents can also opt to have their children transferred to the nearest secondary school - a process that can be completed in less than 24 hours. For those parents who have opted to keep their children at home, the Minister urged that they stay in communication with the Education Ministry so that they can get the teaching materials.

She noted that the Ministry has had dialogues with students, teachers, parents and other officials in relation to the reopening of schools for face-to-face classes. (G12)

12 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Govt to engage Suriname on border opening …6 new COVID-19 cases recorded

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nly six new cases of COVID-19 were reported on Tuesday and the Health Ministry’s latest dashboard showed that the death toll remains at 135.

There are nine persons in the Intensive Care Unit, with 60 persons in institutional isolation, 743 in home isolation and 43 in institutional quarantine.

Guyana has recorded a total of 4524 positives thus far, with 3575 recoveries.

From the positive cases, 2378 men and 2152 women

contracted the virus.

A breakdown showed that one new case was detected in Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara), one in Region Four (DemeraraMahaica), one in Region Five (Demerara-Mahaica), two in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and one in Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni).

The number of cases in Regions One (BarimaWaini), Two (PomeroonSupenaam), Eight (PotaroSiparuni), Nine (Upper

Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice) remained at 773, 91, 143, 376 and 151 respectively.

On Tuesday, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony announced that Guyana will be collaborating with Suriname in the near future in relation to COVID-19, to examine training and safe reopening of the borders.

“We are going to collaborate with Suriname and we have a working group that has been established between the two Ministries.

That working groups is scheduled to meet shortly and among the things that we will be discussing includes training. The other things that we will be looking at includes protocols to allow for safe reopening of or borders,” the Minister indicated.

He also commented on the progress made to obtain a vaccine for COVID-19, amid the recent announcement that one drug has shown 90 per cent effectiveness.

“There is a lot of optimism and if, as the company has said, that it’s efficacious and at 90 per cent, then we can look forward to having a very effective vaccine,” he positioned.

The developers – Pfizer and BioNTech – described this progress as a “great day for science and humanity”, having tested the vaccine on 43,500 people in six countries with no safety

concerns raised. The companies plan to apply for emergency approval to use the vaccine by the end of the month.

In the meanwhile, 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.

Miner slapped with murder charge over Port Kaituma youth

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miner was on Monday arraigned for the murder of a Port Kaituma, Region One (Barima-Waini) youth.

The charge was read to 21-year-old Jason Howard of Four Miles Port Kaituma, North West District, by Magistrate Dellon Bess.

It is alleged that on December 24, 2019, at a shop located in the Four Miles area, Howard murdered 19-year-old Neville Moonsammy.

Guyana Times previously reported that Moonsammy was in the company of his father and a friend when they were attacked by a group of men.

Reports are that the trio was imbibing at a shop located in the Four Miles area, and at about 20:00h on Christmas Eve 2019, the youth’s father became intoxicated, and they all left to go home.

According to the dead man’s father, they were talking to two females along the Four Miles Access Road when his son, who had been standing a short distance away from them, ran towards

Dead: Neville Moonsammy

him, holding his bleeding left hand.

Within minutes, a number of men reportedly attacked Moonsammy and stabbed him to his face, while another wounded Moonsammy’s friend along his forehead and nose.

The suspects made good their escape, and the injured trio ventured to the Port Kaituma Community Hospital, but by the time they arrived, the teenager was already dead.

Magistrate Bess remanded Howard to prison and the Preliminary Inquiry will commence on February 2, 2021. (G1)

NEWS

13

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

COVID-19 PC students remain US Embassy marks Marine asymptomatic – Health Minister Corps' 245th anniversary

H

ealth Minister, Dr Frank Anthony on Tuesday revealed that the eight students from President’s College who tested positive for COVID-19 after returning to school, remain asymptomatic.

During the COVID-19 update, the Minister said over 90 students were tested on Monday, with the remainder being tested on Tuesday morning. In total, 159 students would have returned for classroom learning.

“So far, none of them have presented any signs or symptoms. It’s just that when you do the PCR test, we’ve been able to detect the asymptomatic patients…

We’re trying to test all of the students who will be in the dorms,” the Minister shared.

Those who tested positive were isolated and will be observed for 10 days. If they remain asymptomatic, Dr Anthony said they will rejoin students in the dormitory.

He said the idea is to test everybody and if any positives are detected, they will be isolated immediately to avoid “comingling”.

Other than this, there was a smooth turnout on the first day of school. As of Tuesday, students were still returning to President’s College.

“The education system was well prepared so they had the appropriate distancing in the classroom and while it would take a little bit of adjusting for everybody, I think they’ve done very well for the first day.”

It is reported that eight students who returned to their dorms at President’s College at Golden Grove,

Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony

East Coast Demerara, tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

All were from Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), and they were tested for the virus upon their arrival at the school.

Education Minister Priya Manickchand had provided an update on Monday, where she explained that once students are found to be positive for COVID-19, the Health Ministry will step in. She explained that like in any normal case, students will be given the option to isolate at home or to go into institutional care. The Minister assured that all systems were put in place to ensure students are safe upon their return to classroom activity.

Upon being asked why the tests were not done on students from outlying regions prior to them coming into dorm schools in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), she said, “Medical personnel want to know where exactly the students are after they are tested so to prevent any kind of contami-

nation after a test. So, you do not want to test someone and not be sure of where they are exactly because we have no facilities to keep them. Then have them go back home where they can be reinfected. You get a negative test and then the student comes in the school and we didn’t know they were infected between the time they were tested and the time they went home.”

Meanwhile, Education advisor at the Education Ministry, Olato Sam had noted that it is critical that students return to school.

He added, “The world is not waiting for anyone. And we have recognised that.

If you look at universities abroad, schools in Jamaica, Barbados, they have gone ahead with the phased reopening.”

He noted, too, that the approach adopted

by Guyana’s Education Ministry has not been “plucked out of the air”.

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he US Marine Security Guards marked the occasion of the 245th anniversary of the forming of the United States Marine Corps at a small ceremony in Georgetown. Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch was

the guest of honour. US Embassies are guardAmbassador Lynch hailed ed by US Marines. The the work of the Marine Ambassador read a greetSecurity Guards in answer- ing from the US Secretary of ing the call to duty and State Mike Pompeo, thankfor their valour in protect- ing the Marines for their ing US Embassies around professional integrity and the world. Currently, 184 service to their nation.

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

“Dream Realised” housing initiative for Berbice on Friday

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he Housing and Water Ministry’s Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) is launching its “Dream Realised” housing initiative in East Berbice-Corentyne (Region Six) on Friday.

According to a report from the Department of Public Information (DPI), this disclosure was made by Minister Collin Croal during an interview at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Monday.

“We’re going to East Berbice, that is Region Six, on Friday to distribute a number of titles, as well as, the same time for outreaches, […] We

expect to distribute 150, maybe more,” the Minister is quoted by the Department of Public Information as saying.

The “Dream Realised” project will see the distribution of land titles and trans-

ports that were stalled under the previous Government, as well as old applications recently processed by the new Administration.

“These titles are not new allocations that were made

Foreign Affairs Minister participates in 3rd Special Meeting of CARIFORUM Council of Ministers

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uyana’s Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister, Hugh Todd on Tuesday participated in the virtual 3rd Special Meeting of the CARIFORUM Council of Ministers.

Tuesday’s meeting, a statement from the Foreign Affairs Ministry said, served to update the Ministers on the ongoing Post-Cotonou Negotiations between the Organisation of the African Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union and to prepare for upcoming meetings

Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Hugh Todd

of the OACPS Ministerial

Central Negotiating Group (CNG) and OACPS-EU Chief Negotiators.

The Cotonou Partnership Agreement between the ACP and EU was signed in 2000 and expired in March 2020.

Formal negotiations for a successor arrangement were launched in September 2018 and are still ongoing. This Agreement provides the basis for cooperation and donor support with the EU at the bilateral and multilateral levels. The EU is the largest provider of concessional development funds and assistance to Guyana.

by us. They are basically for persons who have been in the system, have completed payment and for which the titles were there sitting at the Central Housing and Planning Authority, not being distributed, and then there’s also for some for processing for which we’ve done for this activity,” Croal said.

A comprehensive approach will be taken and the Ministry will ensure that fi-

nancing institutions, insurance companies and other stakeholders are present.

Additionally, patrons will also be able to apply for house lots or housing units and the Ministry will be conducting interviews at the event.

“Dream Realised” will be hosted at the University of Guyana’s Tain Campus to allow adequate social distancing and adherence to other COVID-19 measures.

The initiative was first held at the Guyana National Stadium on October 16 and 17, for Regions Three and Four residents with a target of 350 title distributions.

President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali and Minister Croal have pledged to distribute over 2600 titles and transports in 2020, in keeping with PPP/C manifesto promise to provide sustainable housing solutions for the nation.

Senior Superintendent Edmond Cooper admitted to the Bar

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enior Superintendent Edmond Emanuel Cooper was on Monday admitted to the Bar before Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George. Cooper’s petition to practice law was presented by Attorneys-atLaw Ronald G Burch-Smith and Mark A Waldron.

Cooper came from humble beginnings in the village of Nurney, East Berbice, Corentyne. He joined the Guyana Police Force on September 14, 1992, as an apprentice and was subsequently swornin as a Police Constable on April 30, 1993, after which he started his career as a General Duty rank at the Springlands Police Station.

Following his first posting, Cooper subsequently continued his career as a Police Prosecutor for 14 years and then went on to

Senior Superintendent Edmond Cooper admitted to the Bar

hold several appointments within the Force during his tenure. Cooper is the holder a Bachelor’s of Law from the University of Guyana, an International Diploma in Leadership Studies from the American University of Peace Studies, a Diploma in Private Investigation

from Penn Foster College, USA, a Diploma in Public Safety and Security Management from the University of Guyana, a Certificate in Criminology from the University of Guyana, a Diploma in Legal Studies, a Masters of Arts Legal Studies Major in Criminology, Industrial Relation and Sociology and a Legal Education Certificate (LEC) from the Hugh Wooding Law School.

Cooper is presently pursuing a PhD in terrorism and counter-terrorism at Charisma University, Turks and Caicos. The Commissioner of Police (ag) Nigel Hoppie, DSM on behalf of the Guyana Police Force has congratulated Cooper on his achievement and wished him well in his current and future pursuits.

NEWS

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Ramsammy’s Ruminations The crazy, stupid, incompetent things that the previous Govt ought to regret

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ll of us in government wish at one time or another we have a redo so that the things that now embarrass us could be remedied.

What I have seen in the past few months tell me that, if the previous government had any conscience, there are so many things it must be wishing it can have a redo for. It is really astounding the number of incompetent, corrupt and simply unexplainable things the David Granger-led APNU+AFC Government did.

While some of these things are Dr Leslie Ramsammy plain incompetence, a large number of them were driven by corrupt motivation. Some of the things I have seen should really make every Guyanese upset, cringe with anger, no matter which side of the political fence we sit.

Take an autoclave that was bought for Region 2. The brand new autoclave was bought and has been sitting in the store room in Suddie Hospital since 2018. It is unusable in Region 2 because it requires a 50 cycle electricity system. Region 2 electricity is 60 cycles. It can be adapted for use, but the cost of adaptation to make it usable is more than a new autoclave would cost. But there are other regions that could use the autoclave. Instead of arrangements to switch to another region, the equipment has been left to rust in that Region. The present RHO has been making new arrangements to switch the autoclave with another Region in exchange for something they can use in Region 2.

In Region 6, the government procured in 2019, anesthesia equipment for New Amsterdam Hospital that are for use in animal surgery. It shows that the catalyst for procurement was never to meet the needs of the people, rather it was intended as simply another procurement to permit graft. There are many such examples that occurred in the last five years. Last week I visited Region 6. On Friday last, after two years, X-Ray service returned to the New Amsterdam Hospital. It was not because a new X-Ray machine was commissioned; it was because the old manual processing X-Ray machine which was dismantled in 2018 was re-installed. In 2018, this old machine was dismantled because someone leased a digital X-Ray machine. No one appears to know who leased the digital X-ray machine. The Ministry of Health denies any knowledge of the leasing arrangements. The present REO of Region 6 insists there is no record that the Region leased any equipment. But since it was placed at the New Amsterdam Hospital, it has never worked. The leasing company conceded last week the machine must have had a manufacturer’s fault and they have now removed the X-Ray machine. It took two years for this to be concluded.

An ambulance in Region 6 has not been in use for two years because it needed two tires. Another ambulance was used as storage because the Region’s previous RHO decided he needed more storage space. A pick-up truck that appears fairly new has been sitting around because of minor repairs it needs so long that bush started to grow in it. In fact, the compound of the Public Health Department in New Amsterdam has become a storage site for vehicles which are not working, all of which are sitting around because of minor repairs. The new RHO has been trying to get all of them working again and put in use. In the meanwhile, large parts of the public health buildings in New Amsterdam had become merely storage sites for old, decrepit and non-usable things that were procured in the last five years, for reasons no one can explain.

At the Ministry of Health Warehouse in Diamond, almost $1B worth of expired goods accumulated there just this year and more than $3B in the last five years. Worse, the Ministry accumulated and occupied valuable space in the warehouse with unusable supplies and equipment. Some of these were bought, some were donated. There was a clear donation policy in the MOH before 2015 which sought to prevent unusable supplies and equipment from coming into the country. These are just a few things that cause one to cringe and wonder how could persons be so incompetent that these things could happen so frequently.

There are X-ray machines that have been in the system for several years, still awaiting installation. There are five times more chemistry and hematology analyzers across the public health sector than existed five years ago. On the surface this is a good thing. Someone seem to have built a better laboratory capacity in the country. But the public sector goes through long periods of time without being able to do a single chemistry or hematology test at certain hospitals. Skeldon Hospital. for example, did not do a single chemistry test since December 2019 until two weeks ago. As COVID-19 attacked us, we were not able to put all the PCR machines into operation because we never bothered to have biosafety cabinets installed. I am certain that in the next five years some things that defy explanation would happen. But I hope when they do they are few and far in between. The sad truth is that in the last five years these things that make us cringe happened too often.

3 M&CC staff to be disciplined for cashing Council’s cheques

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he Mayor and City Council (M&CC) on Monday carried a motion to have disciplinary measures taken against three of five staff after they cashed cheques belonging to the Council.

According to reports, the three employees would usually collect money from the various markets in Georgetown and deposit it into the Council’s bank account. However, they allegedly cashed several personal cheques that were issued to the Council.

However, on Monday, during a statutory meeting, acting Town Clerk Sherry Jerrick informed the Council that an investigation into the alleged financial irregularities had been completed by the Local Government Commission (LGC).

She noted that the LGC had found that three out of the five employees were in-

volved in the incident and urged the Council to make a decision in this regard. As a result, a motion was put forward to have the three employees suspended, transferred, and repay the money.

Seven Councillors voted in favour of the motion, while two voted against and three abstained from voting.

Consequently, a letter will be dispatched to the LGC, informing them of the decision in which the disciplinary actions will be enforced at the next sitting of the Council,

which is slated for November 23.

In an invited comment, the Mayor of Georgetown, Ubraj Narine, revealed that the alleged mastermind walked off the job.

Reports are that the discovery was made by controversial City Treasurer John Douglas and Town Clerk (ag) Sherry Jerrick. It was then brought to the attention of Mayor Ubraj Narine.

As a consequence, the five workers were sent on administrative leave, pend-

ing the outcome of the probe.

However, two will be reinstated with immediate effect.

Earlier this year, the LGC had endorsed a recommendation to have disciplinary measures taken against several officers after monies belonging to the Council were found in a bag in one of the entity’s vehicles.

According to reports, on June 20, 2019, a bag with revenues collected from Bourda Market was found in a vehicle inside City Hall’s compound. At the time, the bank drop had already been made, and the bag with the money was not deposited.

Those suspended were: City Treasurer John Douglas (two months), Iva Bryan (two months), Sonia Pit (three weeks), and Yolanda Forde (one month). Meanwhile, Clerk of Markets Sherlock Lovell, along with Felicia McRae, were issued warning letters. (G1)

NCD receives braille copies of Sexual Offences Act from UNICEF

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he United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) – Guyana, on Tuesday presented the National Commission on Disability (NCD) with 98 copies of the Sexual Offences Act reproduced in braille.

UNICEF said that the handover was part of a continuing initiative to ensure that all children, including those with disabilities, have access to important laws in an effort to educate them about their rights.

Acting UNICEF Representative to Guyana and Suriname, Irfan Akhtar made the presentation to Executive Secretary of the NCD, Beverly Pile, at the Commission’s Croal Street, Georgetown office.

Also present were UNICEF Education Specialist Audrey Michele Rodrigues and NCD Programme Officer Sondra

advanced if there is equity, inclusion, respect and active participation of all persons. We are pleased to have

had the opportunity to make possible the translation of the Sexual Offences Act in braille,” said Akhtar.

“This gesture is one significant way of supporting the NCD’s goal to promote a society where persons with disabilities know their rights and are able to lead full and productive lives,” he added.

UNICEF had previously supported the translation of key legislation including the Sexual Offences Act (2010), the Protection of Children Act (2009) and the Trafficking in Persons Act (2005) into user-friendly language, which was then reproduced in braille. The copies handed over on Tuesday will be distributed to relevant groups around the country.

UNICEF continues to support initiatives that enable youth and vulnerable groups to know their rights.

ship.

Ramps is expected to support these drilling operations through shore base pro-

vision and management in both Suriname and Trinidad, inclusive of warehousing, pipe yards, berthing, lifting equipment and labour.

Additionally, Ramps will provide marine agency, customs clearance, immigration and personnel logistics and a host of 3rd party services through local service providers, which include CCUS, fuel, sling provision, taxis and apartments.

Ramps has previously provided the full complement of cross-border logistics services to Tullow, in support of their exploration drilling in Suriname (Araku-1, Block 54, 2017) and Guyana (Joe-1 and Jethro-1, Orinduik Block, 2019).

Recent offshore activity has cemented Suriname and Guyana as two of the latest frontier exploration regions globally to have such significant proven oil and gas in their deepwater.

UNICEF Representative Irfan Akhtar hands over copies of the Sexual Offences Act reproduced in braille to Executive Secretary to the National Commission on Disability (NCD), Beverly Pile on Tuesday. Also in photo are UNICEF Education Specialist Audrey Michele Rodrigues (left) and NCD Programme Officer Sondra Davidson Low (right)

Davidson Low. “We in UNICEF are convinced that a country’s human resources can only be

Ramps Logistics gets logistics contract for Tullow’s Suriname operation

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amps Logistics has announced that it was awarded a fully integrated contract with Tullow Oil plc for its upcoming drilling campaign in Block 47, Suriname.

The contract was awarded in September and the scope, as in previous campaigns, covers logistics and shore base operations across Trinidad and Suriname. Tullow, well known for the Jubilee field in Ghana, is hoping to achieve similar successes in its Suriname and Guyana acreage.

In September 2010, Tullow signed a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) with Staatsolie for Block 47, a 2369 km2 deepwater exploration licence. Drilling of the Goliathberg-Voltzberg North well is expected to commence in Q1, 2021, barring any COVID-19 setbacks.

This well will target a

Cretaceous turbidite prospect in 1900m of water. Tullow has already contracted Stena Drilling to supply the drill-

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

97 COVID-19 cases in St Cuthbert’s Mission – Health Minister …says medical presence strengthened

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decision has been taken to strengthen the medical team in St Cuthbert’s Mission to ensure that COVID-19 patients are given adequate treatment. A report from the Department of Public Information on Tuesday stated that Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony said there are currently 97 cases in the community. However, more positive diagnoses are expected as the medical team is administering 130 more tests.

“We'll add another doctor who would be based there for the next two to three weeks, and we'll add additional medical staff there as well. We have been collaborating with the Toshao of the Village and we are go-

ing to continue to have that presence and monitor and, of course, do more testing,” Dr Anthony is quoted as saying.

Two persons who tested positive for COVID-19 and were experiencing respiratory distress have been transported to the city.

Meanwhile, cases in Kwebanna, Barima-Waini (Region One), continue to stabilise.

“We have a team there that has been monitoring and, by the end of the week, we expect that we will have far less cases than we have right now. They're still active because they're in that period, but we are monitoring,” the Minister said.

Minister Anthony also revealed that no patient

has suffered any severe symptoms from the disease.

However, they are still being monitored in keeping with the protocols.

ICU at Centre for Disease Control

Meanwhile, Dr Anthony also said that the ICU of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention at Liliendaal should be fully operational by the end of the week once the final touches have been done.

The Minister made this disclosure during Tuesday’s COVID-19 update.

“What we are focusing our attention on is to ensure that we have the ICU up and running. The main obstacle there was we did not have the lines for medical

gas, and so those lines have now been installed, oxygen has now been put in place.

We’ve had suction and other things that are necessary there, so all that we have now installed. They are now doing some final touches to the floor, and once that is completed, I suspect by the end of this week, we will be able to start the ICU facilities at Ocean View,” Minister Anthony is quoted as saying.

The facility, which falls under the management of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) has a 25-ICU bed capacity, 11 more than the ICU at GPHC. “We have another area where we have an operating theatre and some oth-

er spaces for recovery and so forth. We will be able to house a number of other patients in those areas as well. The intake area where people would have to come in when they're sick, we're still working on that section, and that would require a little bit more time for completion,” the Minister explained.

There are several other smaller projects to be completed at the hospital, which will see those services opening in phases. However, the Minister said, the most important section, the ICU, is mere days away from being operational.

The facility will also be staffed with personnel from GPHC.

33 charged as Operation Safe Road kicks off in NA

Region 10 students return to school under strict COVID-19 guidelines

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s school students from Grades 10, 11 and 12 across Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) returned to their classrooms under strict COVID-19 guidelines on Monday, Acting Regional Education Officer LaShanna Anderson assured of a healthy and safe environment for all.

Anderson noted that schools and their compounds, as well as dormitories across the Region, were adequately maintained for months prior to Monday’s reopening.

“Coming into September, during the first week, throughout the country we did a survey to ascertain what the needs were in keeping with COVID guidelines if we were to reopen schools safely. So, we have been working to ensure that

Students of the New Silvercity Secondary School in Linden returning to school

our buildings are safe and we hadn’t much challenges...All of our facilities were visited and they were visited on more than one occa-

sion,” Anderson said.

She noted that more than three visits were carried out per location at various schools last week while add-

ing that meetings were also held with staff to brief them on expectations and means of operation. As it relates to school dormitories within the Region, Anderson said specific work was done to ensure the health and safety of all.

“Our dormitory facilities are of a very high standard. We have done work on the physical building early in this year and late last year. We also did a lot of retrofitting. We would have installed handwashing facilities at the entrance of each of the dormitories. We have handwashing facilities inside of the dormitories - in the dining area. We would have also installed sanitisation units in the varying rooms where the children will be occupying. We have minimised the number of children that will occupy a specific space. So, we only would be using two beds in each room,” she explained.

Anderson also noted that the spaces are equipped with signage in keeping with health and safety guidelines. She further indicated that the Department of Education last week conducted COVID-19 tests on dormitory staff and students to ensure that they are safe.

Students in Linden and other parts of the Region turned out in their numbers to the various schools, with some operating under a shift system. Upon entry into the compounds, students, who wore face masks, were observed washing their hands at handwashing sinks which were installed inside compounds and were handed care packages by teachers of the various institutions. However, in Linden, some regional officials voiced concerns over the content of some of the packages as they reportedly only contained face shields and Vita tonic. Overall, the turnout at the schools was dubbed satisfactory.

Some of the vehicles which were in breach of the traffic rules

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hirty-three persons were charged in New Amsterdam on Monday for different traffic violations as the police launched Operation Safe Road.

Among those charged on Monday were seven drivers for tinted motor glass and 10 for failing to wear a seat belt. The campaign also saw three persons being arrest-

ed for poor maintenance of their tire, eight for obscure number plates, one each for careless driving, stopping within 30 feet of a corner and causing obstruction.

In addition, one driver was charged for breach of restriction on domestic travel. There was one driver who was found to be unlicensed, he too was charged. (G4)

Miner, woman attacked robbed of car

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olice are investigating a robbery committed on a 35-year-old gold miner and a 29-yearold female, at Ogle seawall, Greater Georgetown.

Reports are that Cleveland Mentore of Area ‘Y', Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara (ECD), and Shelly Thomas, a care giver, of Industry, ECD were on the Ogle Seawall in the vicinity of Shell Gas Station in motorcar, PLL 2315.

In a statement on Tuesday Police said at about 21:30h on Monday a male of Amerindian man and another male of African descent, who was armed with a handgun, confronted them. The duo told police that could not recognise the men, since both of them were dressed in black and were wearing face masks.

Upon seeing the handgun Mentrose ran away and at a safe distance and pelted a glass bottle in the direction of the suspects. However, the suspect with the handgun fired two shots in his direction, while the Amerindian man approached Thomas and robbed her. The suspects then drove away with the car. Additionally, they escaped with one 32" Samsung television valued at $140,000; one stabiliser value $12,000; one speaker box valued at $12,000; and two cellular phones a Samsung A2 Core valued at $30,000 and a Samsung Galaxy 8 note value $200,000, which were all in the car.

No one was injured, and no one has been arrested up to media time on Tuesday.

Investigations are ongoing.

NEWS

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

CPGs to be reconstituted NYC newlyweds drown while on honeymoon with new focus

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he Home Affairs Ministry has restructured and relaunched the Community Policing Groups (CPGs) with a focus to rebuild, boost its membership and regain trust within communities to prevent crime.

The new CPGs were launched on Monday at the Guyana Police Training Centre in Eve Leary.

Minister Robeson Benn underscored the importance of CPGs to maintaining order within communities.

“The promoting of safe communities and neighbourhoods can only come through enabling and rebuilding of community trust and confidence through a system of volunteerism, using law-abiding citizens to bolster and aid the lawful, professional and human rights embracing efforts of Guyana Police Force,” Minister Benn is quoted by the Department of Public Information as saying.

An increase in crimes, he said, can be linked to a reduction in active CPGs. The 2020 and 2019 year-todate figures have shown a marked increase in armed robberies by 20 per cent and robbery with aggravation by 27 per cent, he said, underscoring the need for reactivating the groups.

The overall goal is to in-

crease membership to 5000 nationwide, with proper management.

Currently, there are 166 CPGs with 2903 members.

These figures indicate a decline in groups by 20 per cent, an approximate 40 per cent decline in membership and the level of activity falling below 30 per cent.

According to the DPI report, the Ministry and the Guyana Police Force (GPF) will be expelling CPG members who are abusers, alcoholics and those who demonstrate unethical behaviours.

Commissioner of Police Nigel Hoppie also highlighted the important role CPGs play in contributing to a crime-free society.

“Law enforcement officials cannot tackle the issues of crime by itself. So, we need the support of members in the community…Community policing is here to stay, it’s the way forward, it’s results-oriented and it’s what we will ensure is sustained,” he said.

M e a n w h i l e , Administrator of CPGs, Reshi Das said developing and maintaining trust between Police officers and citizens is fundamental to the programme.

“Our main focus is to restore the pride of CPG and the recruitment of membership, to hold exten-

Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn

sive training and trainers’ workshops in the areas of domestic violence, human rights and formation of youth clubs in all the divisions,” Das said.

Advisor to the Minister, Harry Gill said the CPG leadership will join forces with the GPF to conduct a procedural justice training programme to rebuild trust among citizens and officers.

The programme is expected to start in the first quarter of 2021.

There are also plans to launch a satisfaction survey on crime prevention and to reconstitute the Commission of Law and Order.

Permanent Secretary at the Ministry, Mae Toussaint Jr Thomas; Culture, Youth and Sport Minister, Charles Ramson Jr, and officials of the CPGs also attended the launch.

CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)

INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF?

Mohammad Malik and Noor Shah

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wo families are in disbelief and mourning after a newlywed couple from New York drowned while on their honeymoon off the Caribbean islands of Turks and Caicos.

The tragedy in paradise took place just four days after Mohammad Malik and Noor Shah were married in a traditional Pakistani wedding at an East Meadow wedding hall on Long Island — taking the family members from the heights of happiness to the depths of sorrow in a matter of weeks.

Remnants of a “just married” sign painted on the couple’s SUV was still visible as the vehicle sat in the driveway of a Garden City Park home Monday afternoon.

What happened to the couple remains unclear, but it appears they had been walking on sandbars off the shore, when the pair was suddenly overwhelmed by water. “Obviously they were out there alone so nobody knows exactly what caused the issue. Your guess is as good as mine,” said Salman Malik, the groom’s brother.

“I felt numb, like it does not feel real. We are still in that elated state of happiness from the wedding ... utter disbelief in the sense that, how could this happen?”

His other brother, Ahmad, called the wedding was one of the happiest days of his life — “followed very closely by the worst,” just a few days later.

“It doesn’t feel as if any

of this is real yet, so I imagine the hard part starts now since we just buried them yesterday,” Ahmad Malik said. He and other family members traveled to the islands to retrieve the bodies.

“They were both incredible, and everything I wanted to be in life,” said Ahmad.

Malik and Shah were the children of immigrants, already making their mark in their world: he was a corporate lawyer in the city, while she was a surgeon in Manhattan. The pair’s dream was to someday open a hospital in Pakistan.

“Their energy as individuals was magnetic, but together it was incredible,” said Ahmad Malik.

“Everybody wanted to be their friend. Everybody wanted to be around them.”

On Monday, the family gathered together to grieve and look at photos from the October wedding — a very special day that was a precursor to an unthinkable tragedy.

“They died together, that’s the bottom line. There were the world to each other. One couldn’t live without the other,” Salman said.

“They were happiest with each other and spared no moment to enjoy life together.”

Malik’s family said they hope to start a foundation in the couple’s names. (NBC New York)

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

New loss of taste or smell

Muscle pain Children have similar symptoms to adults and generally have mild illness.

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guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020

Regional

Enslaved people rescued from Brazil halts trials of Chinese COVID-19 vaccine illegal Brazilian gold mine

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B

razil’s health regulator said on Monday it had suspended clinical trials of an experimental Chinese COVID-19 vaccine after an “adverse incident” involving one of the volunteers, in a surprise to the trial organisers who said that while there had been a death, it was not related to the vaccine.

The setback for CoronaVac, developed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech, came on the same day US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said its vaccine candidate had shown 90 per cent effectiveness, raising hopes of an end to the pandemic.

The Brazilian regulator, Anvisa, said in a statement it had decided “to interrupt the clinical study of the CoronaVac vaccine after a serious adverse incident” on October 29.

It did not say where the event took place or what happened, citing privacy regulations. Usually, incidents that prompt the suspension of trials involve death, potentially fatal side effects, serious disability,

Sinovac Biotech, is one of three drug companies around the world conducting late-stage vaccine trials in Brazil [File: Thomas Peter/Reuters]

hospitalisation, birth defects, or other clinically significant events.

The Butantan Institute, the medical research institute coordinating the trials of the vaccine in Brazil, said it was “investigating in detail what happened” and “is at the Brazilian regulatory agency’s disposal to provide any clarification necessary on any adverse incident the clinical trials may have presented”.

The vaccines from Sinovac, Pfizer, and Oxford

are all in phase-three trials, the final stage of testing before regulatory approval.

All are being tested in Brazil, the country with the second-highest death toll in the pandemic after the United States, with more than 162,000 people dying from COVID-19.

Trials of the Oxford vaccine were suspended in September after an incident involving a volunteer in the United Kingdom, but later resumed. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Peru clashes over President Vizcarra’s impeachment

Some of President Martín Vizcarra’s supporters have labelled his ousting a coup

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lashes have broken out in the Peruvian capital, Lima, between security forces and protesters angry at the impeachment of President Martín Vizcarra.

Riot Police were out in force to keep the demonstrators back, using tear gas and jets of water.

The Police tried to keep hundreds of people away from the Congress building.

On Monday, Congress voted to impeach Vizcarra over allegations he handed

out Government contracts in return for bribes.

The unrest occurred as the Speaker of Congress, Manuel Merino was being sworn in as the country’s interim president.

There are concerns of a growing political crisis as Peru faces a severe economic downturn brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Vizcarra enjoys continued support among many voters for his reform attempts.

As an independent, he

repeatedly clashed with Congress, and some of his supporters have labelled his ousting a coup.

Vizcarra previously said he would accept the impeachment vote, not take any legal action, and leave the presidential palace. But on Tuesday, he questioned the “legality and legitimacy” of his removal.

“Legality is in question because the Constitutional Court has not yet ruled, and legitimacy is given by the people,” he told reporters outside his home in Lima.

Merino is expected to assume the presidency until July 2021 – when Vizcarra’s term was due to end.

Monday’s move in Congress came after a previous attempt to oust the President. An earlier vote held on September 18 fell far short of gaining the necessary votes when only 32 lawmakers cast their ballot in favour of removing Vizcarra. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Trinis held in Venezuela with guns, ammo

V

enezuelan authorities detained two Trini men on Monday with guns and ammunition in the community of Siaguani Antonio Díaz, a municipality of the Delta Amacuro state.

Tane Tanae, a Tucupita-

based media house, quoted from a tweet posted on Monday from the official Twitter account of the Guardia Nacional Bolivariana (Bolivarian National Guard) about the arrest.

The two men were

aboard a boat with two outboard engines. They had several fuel cannisters, the report said. As of mid-morning on Tuesday, officials did not give any additional information.

(Trinidad Newsday)

he rescue of 39 enslaved people from an illegal gold mine in Brazil run by a known offender highlights the difficulty in ending crimes where large profits are involved, labour authorities said.

Labour inspector Magno Riga said a team raided this month a mining operation run by Raimunda Oliveira Nunes – who is on Brazil’s “dirty list” of people engaged in slave labour – where workers lived in open sheds and without drinking water.

It was the third raid on an illegal mining operation run by Nunes – this time with two relatives in the northern state of Para – and her methods of disguising her crimes were becoming increasingly sophisticated, Riga said.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation was unable to locate contact details for Nunes to seek comment.

Riga said the labour inspector’s office had also been unable to find her.

“They attempted to hide what was happening,” Riga said, describing how a work-

ers’ cooperative was being set up so that the miners would appear to be self-employed, rather than having an employer who would be liable for their working conditions.

Nunes was set to become the President of the workers’ cooperative and her sons its directors, Riga said.

Nunes was found guilty of enslaving workers in 2018 and received a sentence of five years in prison, but she has not been jailed and is appealing the ruling, Riga said. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Mexican Police’s use of guns at feminist protest in Cancún sparks anger, calls for probe

T

he United Nations and rights groups have urged a probe into the use of firearms by Mexican Police this week to disperse a feminist protest in Cancun over the recent death of a young woman.

Footage apparently taken by a protester of Monday night’s protest in the tourist hotspot was widely shared on social media. The video shows a group of demonstrators trying to tear down plywood at the entrance of an office building before volleys of semi-automatic gunfire send them running for cover.

Reuters spoke to a

Journalist present at the protest who described scenes similar to those shown in the video.

At least two Journalists were injured during the protests, said Mexico’s Human Rights Commission. It did not say if the injuries were related to the gunshots.

The Commission called for a “prompt” investigation and urged the Government not to allow the use of live rounds by Police at protests.

It was not immediately clear if the gunshots during the protest were live fire, rubber bullets, or blanks.

Cancún Police Chief Eduardo Santamaria was

fired on Tuesday, the city’s Mayor said on Twitter.

Quintana Roo State Police Chief Alberto Capella said his officers were not involved in what he described as a “shameful” use of force that would be investigated.

The Mexico office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned what it termed “excessive use of force” at the protests and urged an independent investigation.

Mexico’s Interior Ministry has also called for an investigation into the “repression and armed aggression”. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Honduras fears virus spike after Tropical Storm Eta

Many fled their homes when the storm triggered devastating floods

D

octors in Honduras are warning that the number of coronavirus infections could soar among those who used communal shelters to escape the wrath of Tropical Storm Eta last week.

At least 57 people are known to have died and eight are still missing after

Eta left a trail of destruction across the Central American country. Many areas are still under water. Neighbouring Guatemala was also badly hit.

Public shelters in Honduras were opened in all communities affected by the floods but doctors at public hospitals warned that cases

of Covid-19 could skyrocket unless strict sanitary measures were imposed in them.

They said many people who fled their homes did not have access to facemasks when they entered the shelters. Honduras has recorded more than 100,000 coronavirus infections and 2,765 deaths. (BBC News)

guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020

19

Around the World

OILNEWS OIL NEWS Successful vaccine would boost oil consumption, but not for 6-12 months – Kemp

C

oronavirus vaccines are expected to boost international passenger transportation and oil consumption, but the first significant impact will not be felt until well into the second half of 2021, based on futures price movements on Monday.

Brent calendar spreads surged that day as traders priced in an announcement from Pfizer about successful immunisation trials, fuelling optimism an effective vaccine will become available within the next few months.

Before Pfizer’s announcement, flat prices and spreads had been under pressure since mid-October, prompting a statement from Saudi Arabia that OPEC and its partners are prepared to “tweak” their production agreement.

The combined effect of Pfizer’s announcement (potentially boosting oil consumption) and Saudi Arabia’s talk about tweaking (potentially reducing production relative to the planned baseline) sent oil futures soaring.

Front-month Brent futures prices closed more than 7 per cent higher, an increase of more than three standard deviations, and the largest one-day percentage gain since the start of June.

In the last two weeks, hedge funds and other money managers had sold the equivalent of almost 120 million barrels of Brent and WTI, including the creation of 62 million barrels of fresh short positions.

The existence of so many shorts accelerated the price rise, as fund managers raced to buy back some contracts they had earlier sold, a classic high-volatility short-covering rally.

Pfizer’s successful trial is reason for optimism that vaccines could be effective in controlling the coronavirus, as an alternative to lockdowns and travel restrictions.

But any vaccination programme will not have a major effect until the second half of 2021, and in the meantime oil consumption is set to remain depressed, leaving OPEC and its partners with more to do to rebalance the market.

Despite Pfizer’s optimism, any vaccine will take time to be approved by regulators, manufactured in large volumes, deployed through the logistics system, and administered to hundreds of millions of individuals.

Likely delays at each stage of the timeline will ensure most restrictions on travel, especially those on international aviation, remain in place for at least six months, and possibly much longer.

In the interim, news of successful trials may make governments more determined to maintain social-distancing and travel controls to suppress the virus as much as possible until the vaccine can be widely administered.

Once vaccination is underway, however, many governments will come under pressure to permit some resumption of travel for passengers who can prove they pose a low transmission risk.

And businesses will be allowed to re-open and domestic travel restrictions will be lifted as part of a plan to restart economic activity.

But any relaxation of coronavirus controls, including limits on aviation and congregating in crowded spaces, is likely to be carefully phased and gradual.

Only in the longer run, with widespread vaccination possibly tending towards herd immunity, coupled with a cyclical upswing in the global economy, will passenger flying recover to pre-pandemic levels.

Crude oil traders are not anticipating that even a successful vaccine will increase oil consumption significantly until well into next year. Vaccine-driven futures buying is therefore being concentrated at the back of 2021 and into 2022.

Deferred buying is causing the calendar spreads to tighten.

Brent spreads for the third quarter of 2021 strengthened by 23 cents per barrel (30 per cent) on Monday, and for the fourth quarter by 22 cents (37 per cent), compared with just 18 cents (17 per cent for the second quarter. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Ethiopian military seizes airport as fighting rages in Tigray

T

he Ethiopian military has seized the airport near the town of Humera amid a nearly weekold conflict in the northern Tigray region.

The state media announcement on Tuesday about the capture of the airport, 67km (42 miles) south of Humera, came as fighting continued with reports of Ethiopian Government forces capturing territory.

“The Ethiopian National Defence Force has fully captured Humera Airport amid [a] continuation of [the] Government’s military response against TPLF rebel group,” Fana TV reported, referring to the organisation

“Ethiopia is a sovereign nation and its Government will ultimately make decisions,” Abiy Ahmed's spokeswoman said [Tiksa Negeri/Reuters]

that leads the Government in

the Tigray region.

Humera is located in the far northwest of the country near Ethiopia’s borders with Sudan and Eritrea.

A telephone and internet communications blackout in Tigray has made it difficult to verify the situation on the ground.

The African Union on Tuesday called for an immediate ceasefire.

“The chairperson [Moussa Faki Mahamat] appeals for the immediate cessation of hostilities and calls on parties to respect human rights and ensure the protection of civilians,” the AU bloc said in a statement, also urging talks.

The leader of Ethiopia’s

Tigray region, meanwhile, accused Eritrea of sending soldiers over the border to attack local forces.

In a statement on local TV, Debretsion Gebremichael gave no evidence for what would be a major escalation.

“Since yesterday, the army of [Eritrean leader] Isaias [Afwerki] have crossed the country’s boundary and invaded,” he said. “They were attacking via Humera using heavy arms.”

Eritrea’s Government denied the accusation. “This is an internal conflict, we are not part of the conflict,” Foreign Minister Osman Saleh Mohammed said. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

US election: Justice lawyer quits after Attorney General orders "vote fraud" inquiries

U

S attorney general William Barr has allowed federal prosecutors to probe alleged irregularities in the presidential election, prompting a top justice department official to quit.

The official, Richard Pilger, would have overseen such investigations.

Any such cases would normally be the remit of individual states, but Mr Barr said this was not a hard and fast rule.

Donald Trump refuses to accept Joe Biden's projected victory, and has made unsubstantiated fraud claims.

The president's campaign is seeking an emergency injunction in Pennsylvania to prevent Mr Biden's victory being certified in the state.

The president-elect's pro-

jected win there on Saturday took him over the threshold of 270 electoral college votes needed to secure victory nationwide. The attorney general wrote that inquiries could be made by federal prosecutors "if there are clear and apparently-credible allegations of irregularities that, if true, could potentially impact the outcome of a federal election in an individual State".

Barr said prosecutors should only look into "substantial allegations" of irregularities.

He acknowledged that individual states had the primary responsibility for the conduct of elections but said the justice department had "an obligation to ensure that federal elections are conducted in such a way

that the American people can have full confidence in their electoral process and their government".

The department would normally only go beyond preliminary investigations after an election had been concluded and the results certified, but Mr Barr said this could result in situations where "misconduct cannot realistically be rectified".

Pilger said he had quit in response to Barr's memo.

"Having familiarised myself with the new policy and its ramifications... I must regretfully resign from my role," he wrote in an email to colleagues.

Pilger became head of the department's Election Crimes Branch in 2010.

This branch, and Mr Pilger

Armenians since 1994.

A Russian-brokered truce was signed at the end of the war in the early 1990s but there was no peace deal.

Although both sides took steps to reduce tensions last year, fighting erupted at the end of September and several attempts to end the conflict failed.

The new ceasefire agreement prompted anger in Armenia, as protesters stormed the Parliament, beating up the speaker and reportedly looting the Prime

Minister's office.

The peace deal, which was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia's Prime Minister, took effect on Tuesday from 01:00 local time (21:00 GMT Monday).

Under the deal, Azerbaijan will hold on to areas of Nagorno-Karabakh that it has taken during the conflict.

Armenia has also agreed to withdraw from several other adjacent areas over the next few weeks.

US Attorney General William Barr

himself, were previously in the public eye at the time of a row about extra scrutiny of political groups seeking tax exemption.

He was reported to have had discussions about the issue with Lois Lerner, the tax official at the centre of the row. (BBC)

Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia sign Nagorno-Karabakh peace deal

A

rmenia, Azerbaijan and Russia have signed an agreement to end military conflict over the disputed enclave of NagornoKarabakh.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called the deal "incredibly painful both for me and both for our people".

It follows six weeks of fighting between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenians.

The region is internationally recognised as Azerbaijani but has been run by ethnic

The BBC's Orla Guerin in Baku says that, overall, the deal should be read as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia.

During a televised online address, President Putin said that Russian peacekeepers would be deployed to patrol the front line.

Turkey will also take part in the peacekeeping process, according to Azerbaijan's President, who joined President Putin during the address. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Palestinian negotiator Erekat dies after contracting COVID-19

S

aeb Erekat, one of the most experienced and high-profile advocates for the Palestinian cause over decades of dispute with Israel, died on Tuesday after contracting COVID-19. He was 65.

Having sat down with Israeli and US leaders in the 1990s and 2000s, in recent years Erekat was the principal face of a war of words with President Donald Trump’s Administration over

a Middle East plan that envisaged leaving Israel in control of Jewish settlements and large parts of the occupied West Bank.

But after peace talks collapsed in 2014 he remained a firm backer of the negotiated creation of a future Palestinian state co-existing alongside Israel even if, in his own words, it took 50 years.

Erekat, the secretary general of the Palestine

Liberation Organisation, said on Oct 8 he had contracted the coronavirus.

Three years earlier he had undergone a lung transplant in the United States that left his immune system compromised.

He died following multiple organ failure after being hospitalised for three weeks in Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center, a spokeswoman for the Israeli hospital said. He had required

ventilation and specialised drug treatment, she added.

“Saeb has shown an extraordinary patience and resilience, with the same determination that has characterized his career to achieve freedom for Palestine and a just and lasting peace in our region,” his daughter Dalal posted on Twitter.

His funeral is expected to be held today in the West Bank city of Jericho. (Excerpt from Reuters)

20

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020

guyanatimesgy.com

ARCHIE

ARIES (March 21April 19)

Use your energy wisely.

Focus on becoming physically fit. Practice moderation and mindfulness, and promote solutions that work for everyone. Strive to do the right thing.

Finish what you start beTAURUS fore moving on to something (April 20new. Discuss your thoughts May 20) with someone who has always offered helpful suggestions. Think big, but don't go over budget.

DILBERT

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

CANCER (June 21July 22)

PEANUTS

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SUDOKU

Take better care of the people you love. Be willing to offer help when needed and to work as a team player. Love and romance are on the rise.

Verify facts. Don't act on an assumption or pick sides prematurely. Pay close attention to how others respond to you. Don't take a physical risk.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Exercise will help ease stress. Distance yourself from people trying to get you to participate in something that doesn't benefit you. Be wary of someone with a silver tongue.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

A change will encourage you to strive for a brighter future. The best way to get ahead is to participate. Be demonstrative to gain respect.

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Problems will surface that leave you feeling unsettled. Don't hesitate when change is required. Selfimprovement, romance and family bonding are encouraged.

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Avoid excessive behavior. Structure your time and effort in a positive, helpful manner. Run your home in the way that works best for you. Choose to be eccentric.

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Stop dawdling and start SAGITTARIUS doing. Refuse to let your emotions take charge and (Nov. 23lead you down the wrong Dec. 21) path. Plan your strategy, and make your move. A romantic gesture will brighten your day.

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Keep life simple, and don't clutter your mind or schedule with matters that don't concern you. Stay focused on what you are trying to achieve, and avoid getting into a scuffle.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

Clear your debt, lower your overhead and spend more time making adjustments that will lead to a healthier and happier life.

Make some time for relaxation. Romance is favored.

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

You'll find new ways to manage your money. A fitness routine will improve your state of mind. Try out different strategies when it comes time to implement changes.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020

21

Big Man Cricket T25 tourney promises to “bring the heat” – games to be played across Guyana

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he COVID-19 pandemic deaths and cases continue to rise in Guyana, and it has come to the point where COVID-19 has become a norm, and things are slowly returning to what they once were. Gyms have reopened to host 50 percent of their membership, while certain sports, with permission from the COVID-19 Task Force, are already gearing up for action.

One such sport is the Big Man Cricket (BMC) T25 tournament, which promises “to bring the heat”, as Guyanese crick-

BMC T25 Director Raj Singh

et fans will get to see some form of cricket being played after months of no action. The pandemic had stymied the return of action in many sporting disciplines, but the BMC T25 is just the first of many

disciplines to successfully jump that hurdle.

Big Man Cricket Guyana is responsible for the Over-45- year-old tournaments being played in Guyana. BMC gives older players another shot at competitive cricket, promotes a healthier lifestyle, and beckons to the glory of donning national and international colours.

There is every expectation that the tournament would live up to its billing, as thus far it would feature 11 teams and would see matches being played all across Guyana from November 22, 2020

to December 8, 2020. If all sponsors are to throw their support behind this tournament, the winners will pocket a handsome sum of $500,000 and the runners-up would earn a cool $200,000.

The tournament will see some of Guyana’s top 45-and-over cricketers attempting to relive their glory days, and every team would be filled with a host of experience and players itching to hit the field.

Games are scheduled to be held at Albion cricket ground; at the Bourda cricket ground; and at Imam Bacchus Ground at

Affiance, Essequibo Coast.

The final and semi-final matches will be streamed live by some of Guyana’s top commentators.

“Time for him to stand up”

– WI Bowling Coach Estwick has high expectations of Joseph for NZ tour

Walsh aims to bounce W back in New Zealand C HRISTCHURCH, New Zealand – West Indies leg-spinner Hayden Walsh Jr has said that, on the Tour of New Zealand, he is confident he would bounce back from the underperformance he registered in the Caribbean Premier League Twenty20 tournament.

Walsh is part of the Windies Twenty20 International squad currently preparing for a threematch series against the Black Caps later this month.

He took only seven wickets in 10 matches in this year’s CPL, which was contested entirely in Trinidad. His performance is in stark contrast to the 22 wickets he grabbed last year for champions Barbados Tridents, which jettisoned him into the Windies line-up following a brief stint playing for the United States.

Walsh has said that getting acclimatised to the conditions in New Zealand is very important right now for him to enjoy the kind of success he craves in trying to become the No.1 spinner in the world in the T20 format. “(The tour) has been going well so far,” he said. “I have been doing a lot of acclimatisation. It’s not quite the tropics, and I have been trying to find the right balance, where I can

get my fingers warm, and how much spin do I need, and at what pace do I need to bowl on the pitches. It has been a very good fact-finding preparation so far.

“I have not been getting a lot of spin offs the pitches, but once I make the adjustments and go forward with my confidence and really put a spin on the ball, I am sure I will pick up wickets here and there for the team,” he said.

Since making his debut for the Caribbean side against Afghanistan last November in Lucknow, India, Walsh has played eight of 16 Twenty20 Internationals for the Windies, and has taken five wickets at 40 runs each.

Walsh hs said his long-term goal is to prove himself the l e a d ing spin

bowler in the format in the Caribbean, and eventually he hopes to become the No.1 bowler in the world.

“I am definitely seeing myself as the premier leg-spinner in the Caribbean, because I turn the ball and I have a googly, a slider, and I think it is my variations that put me a step ahead of the rest,” he said.

“I am not afraid to use my variations. If I get hit, I get hit; but I am not afraid to use my armoury.”

He added: “I see myself rising to the top of the world rankings as a spinner.

I am working on being that X factor in the team; that is No.1(objective) in all of my training.

“I have not really been w o r k ing on too many variations

right now. It has been a lot more about being more consistent and continue to spin the ball. I found (that in) bowling in T20s and four-day matches, spinners get a lot flatter and tend not to spin the ball a lot, but I have been working on trying to continue to spin the ball and doing it at a pace where the batsman cannot get under it, or it’s not too slow or too fast.”

The first T20I between the Windies and the Black Caps will be contested on November 27, to be followed by matches on November 29 and 30. (CMC)

est Indies bowling coach Roddy Estwick has revealed that he expects big things from young fast bowler Alzarri Joseph ahead of the team’s tour of New Zealand later this month.

After a measure of some success when the teams faced off in the Caribbean, the 23-yearold had also been expected to have a solid performance on the team’s tour of England earlier this year. Those hopes failed to materialise, however, as the bowler toiled but managed to pick up only three wickets in the first two Tests.

He was replaced by spinner Rahkeem Cornwall for the third and final game.

Estwick, who was quick to point out that he has constantly encouraged the young bowler to seize the moment, expects a much better showing this time around, along with the usual suspects: Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, and Kemar Roach.

“I have high expectations of Alzarri Joseph for this tour. He has been around for a while, and I’ve been trying to get him to realise that it’s time now that he really stands up and puts in big performances,” Estwick told members of the media

from the team’s training facility in New Zealand on Monday.

“Those four will be very important to us.

As you know, the pitches in New Zealand are not spin-friendly, so the spinners might have to play more of a containing role while the fast bowlers are the key wicket-takers.

Since making his debut against India in 2016, Joseph has claimed 28 wickets in 11 matches.

(Sportsmax)

22

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020

Trent Boult and Rohit Sharma help dominant Mumbai Indians coast to 5th IPL title

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hey won the toss, batted, and lost when batting first was in vogue.

Then they lost the toss, and got blown away. They won the toss again, chased, and lost when chasing was in vogue.

Between that third match and the final, they discovered that they play their best cricket when batting first.

So, in the final of IPL 2020, the Delhi Capitals won the toss and did just that. And were blown away again. The Mumbai Indians were way too good for the second-best team of the tournament on four different occasions. With their fourth win over the Capitals, they sealed their fifth IPL title, their most comfortable to date, a crown jewel for the most dominant T20 empire across the cricketing world.

Mumbai had made a big

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Former Capitals boys strike

It was a perfect start for Mumbai. They wanted Boult to carry on taking early wickets, and he struck with the first ball, getting Stoinis with extra bounce and inwards movement. In Boult’s second, Ajinkya Rahane tickled one down the leg side, probably having moved too far across trying to cover the swing.

That made it 16 powerplay wickets for Boult in this IPL, the joint-best for a season alongside Mitchell Johnson, who got it in Mumbai’s maiden championship year - 2013.

It was in the fourth over that Mumbai struck real gold. Against Jayant - like Boult, not long ago a Capitals player - Shikhar Dhawan had two options: the obvious one was to let the right-hand batsman Shreyas Iyer take Jayant on, or he could try to use the field restrictions himself. He took the less obvious route, trying the big sweep,

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Trent Boult struck first ball

exposing his stumps, and getting bowled. Capitals 22 for 3 in 3.3 overs.

The Capitals’ old firm comes together

They are still young men, but Iyer and Pant had been the core of the Capitals’ revival last year. They are probably the two faces that come to mind when you think

Krunal Pandya hits the winning run for Mumbai

play for that title even before the start of the final. Offspinner Jayant Yadav was drafted in for only his second match of the tournament, to counter the Capitals’ lefthand hitters. Before Jayant got into the act, Trent Boult took out the Capitals’ superhero Marcus Stoinis.

Despite a first fifty of this IPL from Rishabh Pant, the Capitals finished with an underwhelming 156. Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma then killed off the chase in the powerplay, with the captain going on to see the chase through.

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Capitals. Perhaps not wanting to waste the big overs against an out-of-form Pant, Mumbai chose not to encash the Bumrah match-up so early. The duo picked singles and twos off three straight overs of spin, getting themselves in, before Pant opened up.

Left-arm spin, for some reason, has had the most success against Pant in T20 cricket. His dismissal to Mitchell Santner in the 50-over World Cup semi-final last year also comes to mind. In the last match against Mumbai, he had fallen to a slog-sweep off Krunal Pandya. Here, though, he went straight for his first six as opposed to the slog-sweep.

sign Mumbai were panicking and wanted to get one over out of the way - was not allowed to settle. Nathan Coulter-Nile held his own, but Krunal conceded another boundary. Capitals 108 for 3 after 14.

Coulter-Nile strikes, and Mumbai finish off well

Under pressure as the third seamer, Coulter-Nile was picked over short fine twice, the first of those bringing Pant his only fifty of this IPL. It is not known if Pant noticed the fine leg go back because, later in the over, he appeared to just help along a bouncer. This didn’t look like an attempt to hit a six, and deep fine leg took an easy catch.

Now Mumbai tightened the screws. Jayant bowled an excellent 16th over, turning two past the outside edge of Shimron Hetmyer.

Boult came back to take out Hetmyer with a slower bouncer. Bumrah bowled the 19th without a boundary. Iyer seemed to run out of gas, not getting enough power into his shots. Having been 37 off 28 at one time, he scored just 28 off the next 22. He spent nine balls in the 40s, and took just five off six Jayant deliveries. The last six overs, when the Capitals would have wanted to do the business, brought 48 for 4.

The chase is a runaway train

In the last match between these sides, R Ashwin had trapped Rohit with a big off-break first ball. The match-up was on. With two dots first up, both dip-

Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer revived Delhi Capitals with a 96run stand

And after that he nailed the slog-sweep.

Mumbai were worrying all of a sudden, with Pant reaching 32 off 20, and with the Capitals 75 for 3 in 10.

The next five overs went this way and that. Bumrah bowled one without a boundary, but Kieron Pollard - a

ping short of Rohit’s reach, he took a risk third ball.

He skipped down, Ashwin bowled a slider, which was too close to him to get any great power in, but Rohit went ahead with a straight loft. He cleared long-on by a couple of feet. That was the closest Capitals would come

VACANCY Rohit Sharma smashes one of his four sixes for the night

to Mumbai.

In dream form, de Kock has been hitting out selflessly and getting Mumbai off to quick starts. In particular, he has been fierce against his compatriot Kagiso Rabada.

He just likes pace on the ball, and he laid into Rabada, hitting 4, 6 and 4 in Rabada’s first.

Stoinis got de Kock out with the first ball he bowled, for 20 off 11, but immediately Suryakumar Yadav hit him out of the attack with a four and a six the first two balls he faced. Mumbai 58 for 1 in five.

Rohit sees it through

While in the background, Rohit wasn’t exactly slow at 23 off 14. The next three

overs from spinners taking the ball away from both right-hand batsmen brought about a period of lull. The asking rate went up from 6.6 to 7.5.

Rohit was facing leg-spin now, his weakness. If the Capitals were going to come back, it had to be now. Rohit dashed their hopes with two emphatic sixes down the ground off Praveen D u b e y .

Soon he ran

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Suryakumar out, but that only made him more determined, and he kept picking the boundaries to never let the asking rate rise.

Ishan Kishan was an able ally, handing over the strike at first and then making it a double-barrel attack.

By the time Rohit got out, they needed just 20 off 22, a job easily accomplished.

(ESPNcricinfo)

SCOREBOARD DELHI CAPITALS INNINGS (20 OVERS MAXIMUM) MP Stoinis c †de Kock b Boult 0 S Dhawan b J Yadav 15 AM Rahane c †de Kock b Boult 2 SS Iyer (c) not out 65 RR Pant †c HH Pandya b Coulter-Nile 56 SO Hetmyer c Coulter-Nile b Boult 5 AR Patel c sub (AS Roy) b Coulter-Nile 9 K Rabada run out (SA Yadav/Coulter-Nile) 0 Extras (lb 1, w 3) 4 TOTAL (20 Ov, RR: 7.8) 156/7 Did not bat: P Dubey, R Ashwin, A Nortje Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Marcus Stoinis, 0.1 ov), 2-16 (Ajinkya Rahane, 2.4 ov), 3-22 (Shikhar Dhawan, 3.3 ov), 4-118 (Rishabh Pant, 14.6 ov), 5-137 (Shimron Hetmyer, 17.2 ov), 6-149 (Axar Patel, 19.2 ov), 7-156 (Kagiso Rabada, 19.6 ov) BOWLING O-M-R-W TA Boult 4-0-30-3 JJ Bumrah 4-0-28-0 J Yadav 4-0-25-1 NM Coulter-Nile 4-0-29-2 KH Pandya 3-0-30-0 KA Pollard 1-0-13-0

MUMBAI INDIANS INNINGS (TARGET: 157 RUNS FROM 20 OVERS) RG Sharma (c)c sub (Lalit Yadav) b Nortje 68 Q de Kock † c †Pant b Stoinis 20 SA Yadav run out (Dubey/†Pant) 19 Ishan Kishan not out 33 KA Pollard b Rabada 9 HH Pandya c Rahane b Nortje 3 KH Pandya not out 1 Extras (lb 4) 4 TOTAL (18.4 Ov, RR: 8.41) 157/5 Did not bat: J Yadav, NM CoulterNile, TA Boult, JJ Bumrah Fall of wickets: 1-45 (Quinton de Kock, 4.1 ov), 2-90 (Suryakumar Yadav, 10.5 ov), 3-137 (Rohit Sharma, 16.2 ov), 4-147 (Kieron Pollard, 17.1 ov), 5-156 (Hardik Pandya, 18.3 ov) BOWLING O-M-R-W R Ashwin 4-0-28-0 K Rabada 3-0-32-1 A Nortje 2.4-0-25-2 MP Stoinis 2-0-23-1 AR Patel 4-0-16-0 P Dubey 3-0-29-0

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020

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23

AAG boss eyeing November 15 restart date

By Jemima Holmes

L

ike many other local sports, Athletics is looking to make a move after losing 10 months of calendared activity to the Coronavirus pandemic.

In a recent interview with the Guyana Times Sport, AAG President Aubrey Hutson shared what the Athletics Association of Guyana has planned for the local ath-

a week, with subsequent competitions also planned, as the year comes to a close.

The AAG’s last track activity came over the weekend of March 14 and 15, when the Early Season Classic was staged at the Leonora Track and Field Facility, West Coast Demerara.

What looked like it would be a great start to the athletics calendar, turned out to be the final

A glimpse of the last track meet – the Early Season Classic, in March (Jemima Holmes)

letes.

The Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) is looking to restart it’s track action in under

meet for months. Now, the AAG is hoping to ease the nation’s athletes back into competition stride.

AAG President Aubrey Hutson

“It’s really and truly affected us in a very negative way. We had high hopes for a lot of our athletes doing great things this year, but they were not tested the way we would have liked to have them tested, especially in the international arena.

We had high hopes for people like Akeem Stewart, Emmanuel Archibald and those guys going to the European circuit,” Hutson shared.

He added, “Our CARIFTA athletes had done well at the trials and we expected great things from them as well.”

On that note, Hutson divulged the bit of advice that he gave to coaches and athletes, in the event that

the Track season would restart.

“But again, the pandemic came and we just had to deal with it. But my advice given to the clubs, athletes and coaches, let the athletes continue to train so that they can go into the next season at a higher level. So, they were able to taper and moderate their training to the point where the new season is coming now and the athletes are rearing and ready to go,” He shared.

As such, Hutson took the opportunity to announce the first event that the Association has on the cards, which will take on a cross country format.

“We’re hoping to start as soon as next Sunday coming. Sunday the 15th we’re hoping to start with our cross country, it’s a little earlier. The feedback I’ve been getting from the athletes is that they very encouraged and ready to go,” the AAG boss disclosed.

Following the cross-country event, the AAG is planning to host their version of the South American 10k run, after which another cross-

GCB rolls out return-to -cricket activities

T

he Guyana Cricket Board has commenced its return to regular cricket activities.

These activities will witness training and competition aspects of cricket development, with four major tournaments expected to follow the Guyana Jaguars’ recent return to outdoor training.

The Guyana Jaguars have spent an unexpectedly protracted period of training via Zoom, which at the time of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic appeared to be the most suitable alternative form of training. The Zoom training, which initially focused on strength and conditioning, has been initiated by the GCB’s Physiotherapist and Strength and Conditioning Coach, Mr. Neil Barry. However, the Zoom activities later shifted to integrated players and team reviews/planning exercises under the tutorship of the Head Coach Mr. Esaun Crandon and his management team.

The Guyana Jaguars are currently utilising the GCB’s LBI facilities for outdoor training. This is a welcome initiative for the administrators of GCB, who are working diligently and tirelessly to create the first GCB-controlled firstclass facility.

The four tournaments that are scheduled for the latter part of 2020 are all of significance, and training would commence with

The entrance to the LBI facility with a view of the Player’s Pavilion painted in green

the National Over 40 Competition, which is one of the listed GCB-approved Tournament for 2020. This tournament has been given favourable sponsorship in the past by different private entities. The GCB trust that the National Over 40 Tournament, will continue to realize it objective of bringing former experienced players back to the cricket environment, and thereby serving as an impetus for their involvement in relevant facets of the administration of the game, inclusive of coaching and mentorship.

This Over-40 tournaments will be followed by the hosting of the GCB Hand-In-Hand Under 19 Inter-County Three (3) Days and One Day 50 Overs Tournaments, which will target those players who were eligible to play the Under-19 Inter County Tournament earlier in this year.

The GCB is also arranging to have a select group of these players benefit from the incentive to represent Guyana against one of our sister territories during the early part of 2021. This is viewed as essential to t h e GCB, since the 2020 holding of the C W I Regional Under-19

Tournament was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and based on the fact that the GCB policy mandates the executives to examine ways to provide a safe, fair and impartial system in the administration, development

and prom o tion of the game. To this end, GCB trusts that given the approval from the Ministry of Health and favourable weather conditions, the Under-19 players will be able to showcase their talents and expertise during the hosting of this scheduled Under-19 tournament.

The year 2020 is scheduled to conclude with exciting T20 cricket involving the CGI Franchise league teams. These eight teams will compete for an attractive winning purse, and with floodlight arrangements being put in place at the LBI facility, the T20 finals is likely to be played under floodlights of international standards.

country race will run off in December. The AAG Boss also shared hopes of seeking involvement from Surinamese athletes, once

the borders are reopened.

“And after that we’ll hit the track,” Hutson declared with a smile.

Big Man Cricket gets greenlighted

by Cricket West Indies

O

ur parent body, Cricket West Indies Masters Association (CWIMA) Steering Committee has written to the Cricket West Indies clearly outlining our objectives with the promotion and development of Over 45s and Over 50s cricket throughout the Caribbean and further afield with national, regional, bilateral, trilateral and quadrilateral series of Masters tournaments.

CWI in its response said, “We applaud your efforts to promote Over 50s cricket and to maintain the visibility of the West Indies in the global cricketing arena.” CWI had also supported this same body last year in our lead up to putting together a quality West Indies Over 50s team for the March 2020 Over 50s World Cup held in South Africa.

CWI also noted “CWI notes your newly formed Association’s intention to again put together an Over 50s cricket team to represent the West Indies at the Over 50s World Cup in South Africa 2022, as well as your initiatives to promote Over 50s cricket by establishing “Big Man Cricket’ throughout the region at both Over 45s and Over 50s levels”.

These efforts and initiatives were applauded by the CWI. These Big Man Cricket tournaments are aimed at bringing out back our former First Class and/ or Test cricketers of that era who are now eligible to participate in such tournaments.

Many of our former First-Class players

CWI CEO Johnny Grave

could not make the WI teams of that era but they now have another opportunity to showcase their talent on the National, Regional, and International levels.

CWI further added, ”With respect to you and your members’ promoting Over 45s and Over 50s games within the region, we have no objection at this time to such matches taking place, on the basis of our understanding that none of the teams involved in these matches will feature any currently selected or active West Indies cricketers at either international or domestic level”.

Big Man CricketGuyana wishes to reiterate that our tournaments will not infringe on any ICC, CWI, or other Regional National teams’ tournaments as they are all geared towards retired cricketers. Another major objective is to keep these players active, healthy, and motivated towards competing for a place in the Over 50s World Cup Tournament in South Africa March 2022. IN FACT, WE REMAIN WILLING TO ADMINISTER THESE TOURNAMENTS IN COLLABORATION WITH THE NATIONAL CRICKET BOARDS IN THE VARIOUS TERRITORIES. The CWI letter signed by its CEO, Johnny Grave, closed off by stating “Congratulations again on your initiative: we hope your Big Man Cricket tournaments are a success and wish the Over 50s Team good luck in the 2022 Tournament in South Africa”.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020

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

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AAG boss eyeing November 15 restart date Pg 23

GCB rolls out return to cricket activities Page 23

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