Guyana Times -- Thursday, February 10, 2022

President awaiting Parliament’s nominee to finalise NRF Board P9

…says “good names” being considered Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Issue No. 4916

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022

Multi-million investments in Guyana being considered

by British Trade Mission See story on page 7

PRICE

$100 VAT INCLUDED

WHAT'S INSIDE:

3 new COVID-19 deaths recorded, 17 in ICU P17 …Govt working to procure COVID-19 pills – Health Minister

Govt engaging new bidder P16 for Demerara River bridge …as negotiations with previous bidder collapse over financing costs

…interest expressed in arbitration services, Silica City, basalt fibre plant

Sherod Duncan suspended from Parliament over unruly display, defiance See story on page 3

…refused to heed multiple warnings from Speaker

Austrian company gets contract for Maternal and Children Page Hospital 17

High Court quashes M&CC’s decision to increase compliance certificate fee

Chinese Embassy slams VICE News' distortion of Guyana-China bilateral relations Page 2

…as Su Zhi Rong mulls legal action

Jail sentence P10 for taxi driver’s killer reduced from 80 to 35 years $101M lawsuit filed against “Guyanese P8 Critic” over “Mudwata” commentary

Page 14

Govt reinstates subsidised P13 laptops nixed

by APNU/AFC to CPCE teachers 1 dead, 1 P15 hospitalised after street brawl turns deadly

2 NEWS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Chinese Embassy slams VICE News’ distortion of Guyana-China bilateral relations …as Su Zhi Rong mulls legal action

Guyanese President Irfaan Ali and Chinese Ambassador to Guyana Guo Haiyan

T

he Chinese Embassy based in Georgetown, Guyana, has slammed the distortion of the facts on Guyana’s bilateral relations with China, making it clear that relations with the two countries, inclusive of business relations, are founded on the law and international practices.

China’s statement comes in the wake of an interview conducted by a foreign reporter from VICE News with Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo. During the interview, Jagdeo was

asked a number of leading questions about Chinese business practices in Guyana and relations between the two countries at a diplomatic level.

According to the statement from the Chinese Embassy, which is headed by Chinese Ambassador to Guyana Guo Haiyan, Guyana-China bilateral relations are mutually beneficial and should not be influenced by third parties.

“Recently, when a journalist from VICE News interviewed Hon Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo,

she was found to come to Guyana with predetermined agenda and tried to smear and attack ChinaGuyana cooperation, as well as Chinese companies.

The Chinese Embassy is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to such violation of professional ethics.”

“China-Guyana friendly cooperation, featuring equality, mutual benefit, innovation, openness, and benefits for the people, is in accordance with the interests of the two countries and two peoples, not against any third party, nor should it be influenced by a third party,” the diplomat said.

From a business perspective, Haiyan was adamant that Chinese companies operational in Guyana adhere to all applicable laws. From a foreign policy perspective, she also expressed China’s appreciation for Guyana’s support for the One China principle.

The One China Policy is a principle that does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state. Instead, Taiwan is considered as a breakaway province of China. During his interview with the VICE News reporter, Jagdeo had reinforced Guyana’s support for the One China Policy and

had even pointed out that the United Nations and most other countries adhere to this policy.

“Chinese companies operating in Guyana are following the local laws, international practices, and market rules, participating in big projects through open and fair competitions, which is beyond reproach.”

“The Chinese side highly appreciates that the Government of Guyana upholds the one-China principle and keeps developing cordial relations with China,” Ambassador Haiyan further said through the statement.

Distance

During her interview with Jagdeo, the VICE News reporter claimed she was quoting Chinese logger Su Zhi Rong in many of her insinuations against the Vice President. She claimed that the businessman had admitted to her to being the middleman between Jagdeo and other Chinese businesses.

But in a statement on Wednesday, Zhi Rong refuted VICE News’ allegations and categorically distanced himself from the reporter’s utterances. In fact, the Chinese businessman said he is considering legal action against VICE News.

“I, Su Zhi Rong, wish to state categorically that I have never solicited any inducement from any company or individual for either myself or any government

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo

official including the Vice President. I have read the insinuations by the VICE News network and others and wish to deny any wrongdoing including influence peddling,” he said.

According to Zhi Rong, he has been a local businessman for many years, during which he adhered to local and international laws and standards. He called VICE News’ insinuations “false reports and fabrications.”

“I wish to refute strongly any suggestion that I acted on behalf of any government official, that I presented myself as a representative of anyone or that I promised any favour or business-related reward. I have already engaged with my legal representatives on these false reports and fabrications,” Zhi Rong also said.

In a specially-convened press conference on Tuesday evening after his

interview aired, Jagdeo had castigated VICE News for its sensational reporting tactics. He noted that the interviewer was more or less hunting for something spectacular hence the biased line of questioning.

In fact, the reporter’s line of questioning suggested that Guyana was taking financial incentives from the Chinese hence most of the contracts that are being awarded were given to Chinese contractors.

But Jagdeo highlighted that some of the projects that were listed by the interviewer were not awarded to Chinese companies. He further pointed out the recent contract for the Linden to Mabura Road was awarded to a Brazilian company.

With respect to the Amaila Falls Hydro Project and the Demerara Harbour Bridge Project, the VP had noted that they were still in the negotiating stages. (G3)

NEWS

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS OPENINGS BRIDGE

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Thursday, Feb 10 – 10:30h – 12:00h and Friday, Feb 11 – 00:30h – 02:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Sherod Duncan suspended from Parliament over unruly display, defiance …refused to heed multiple warnings from Speaker

Thursday, Feb 10 – 11:10h – 12:40h and Friday, Feb 11 – 12:40h – 14:10h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

Parika and Supenaam departure times – 05:00h, 10:00h-12:00h, 16:00h, 18:30h daily

WEATHER TODAY

There will be light cloud during the day and night.

Temperatures should range between 21 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius.

Winds: North North-Easterly to North NorthEasterly between 1.78 metres and 4.47 metres.

High Tide: 11:20h reaching a maximum height of 2.13 metres.

Low Tide: 17:32h reaching minimum height of 1.09 metres.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2022

LOTTERY NUMBERS O

08 14 15

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COMMODITIES Indicators

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Crude Oil

$91.64/barrel

+0.10

Rough Rice

$271.17/ton

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London Sugar

$502.40/ton

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$1834.70

Low/High Change

$1824.50 +0.50

$1837.00 +0.03%

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Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir

Suspended: AFC MP Sherod Duncan

lliance For Change (AFC) Member of Parliament (MP) Sherod Duncan, who on Wednesday strode into the parliamentary chambers while the Committee of Supply was in session and began hurling insults across the aisle at a Government MP, has been suspended from the National Assembly.

At the time of Duncan’s outburst, the Committee of Supply had been examining the 2022 budget estimates for the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development. As A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) MP Vinceroy Jordan was about to ask a question, Duncan entered the chambers and immediately began hurling insults at the subject Minister, Nigel Dharamlall, disrupting the sitting in the process.

Duncan’s invective against Minister Dharamlall included the use of words like “nasty”, which is generally acknowledged as unparliamentary language.

Despite repeated orders from Speaker of the House Manzoor Nadir to take his seat, Duncan ignored the Speaker and continued his stream of insults against the Minister.

“Honourable member Mr Duncan… honourable member Mr Duncan… honourable member Mr Duncan… could you please take your seat…honourable member Mr Duncan,” the Speaker implored, at which point Duncan shouted “I will not take my seat!”

After his demands that Duncan withdraw from the National Assembly went unheeded, Nadir then asked Minister of Governance and Parliamentary Affairs Gail Teixeira, who is also the Government’s Chief Whip, to table a motion requesting Duncan’s suspension from Parliament for four sittings.

This Teixeira almost immediately did.

“Mr Speaker, based on the behaviour of the member and disrespect to you as the Speaker of this House, I move that the honourable member who is not speaking from his seat, he is not in his chair, be suspended from the House for the next (four) sittings,” Teixeira moved.

After Nadir put the question, the motion was passed with the Government side voting for the motion and the Opposition voting against it. The sitting subsequently went on a suspension.

MPs. Shortly before Duncan’s outburst, Minister Dharamlall had upbraided the APNU/AFC for what he called their duplicity when it comes to installing street lights. According to him, the former Government victimised communities perceived as being pro-PPP, while Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) like Profit/ Rising Sun and Bath/ Woodley Park, pro-APNU/ AFC, receive sizeable allocations from the current Government.

“I had the indignity of being in Bath settlement, where my mother is from, and … it hurts, that they removed every single streetlight in Bath settlement when they were in Government. It hurts. They went to Cotton Tree and Blairmont and Bush Lot and did the same,” Dharamlall said.

Duncan is already one of eight APNU/AFC MPs currently before the Privileges Committee, for the infamous Mace grab of December 29, when APNU/AFC members protested the hear-

When the sitting resumed, APNU/AFC MPs had vacated their seats. The business of the Committee of Supply then continued, with no one in attendance from the Opposition to ask any questions.

After the allocations to Region Five were approved, Dharamlall made a statement on the parliamentary floor in which he apologised to the Speaker and to the House for any unparliamentary statements he may have made during the sitting.

“Earlier today, this House had some issues which we believe became very heated. And so I would like, Mr Speaker, to indicate to you that if I said anything that was misconstrued that it was not my intention to make those statements to that effect.”

“And if there were statements which were also unparliamentary on my part during the course of the interrogations, then I would like to withdraw that,” Dharamlall further said, to the applause of his fellow

ing of the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Bill, which they wanted to be sent to a parliamentary Special Select Committee for review.

Coalition MPs stood banging on their desks when the Bill was called up for debate and subsequently gathered in the pit of the dome of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), where National Assembly sittings are being held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bill was eventually passed late into the evening but not before the Opposition’s protest escalated into a physical confrontation with Parliament staff after one of the parliamentarians snatched the Parliament Mace from in front of Speaker Nadir.

For that, eight APNU/ AFC MPs were sent to the Privileges Committee, including Duncan, Chief Whip Christopher Jones, and other members, Annette Ferguson, Ganesh Mahipaul, Natasha Singh-Lewis, Vinceroy Jordan, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, and Maureen Philadelphia. (G3)

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guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022

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

Flagrant disrespect in Parliament

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s the nation observed at the consideration of the estimates in the National Assembly, which was held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), Guyanese again witnessed the complete descent into lawlessness in Parliament as the Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Sherod Duncan disrupted the Committee of Supply by hurling insults at a Government MP while ignoring the Speaker’s call for him to take his seat.

From all reports from Parliament, Duncan’s dissent resorted to what was described as “nasty” and unparliamentary language. Therefore, the suspension of the Opposition member from the parliamentary proceedings for four sittings by the Speaker was justified, as his disrespect was flagrant.

One can recall that in December 2021, Guyanese were astonished by the lawlessness in Parliament when the Opposition disrupted proceedings in its bid to have the Natural Resource Fund Bill sent to a parliamentary select committee.

But instead of having their objections raised in an eloquent manner befitting a Member of Parliament and having their objections put on the record, the Opposition showed this nation that they have no respect for the sanctity of any institution and more so, the highest decision-making body of the nation.

Moreover, the act of snatching the Mace from Speaker Manzoor Nadir is despicable to say the least and the MP should be expelled for the desecration of the National Assembly.

History will tell that MP Isahak Basir, who was a member of the National Assembly of Guyana from 1977 to 1991, had his political career ended in 1991 when he was expelled from Parliament by the then Speaker Sase Narain for throwing a glass of water at him and removing the ceremonial mace from its proper place.

Shockingly but not surprisingly, the new leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Aubrey Norton in the aftermath of the disrespect to Parliament commended the Opposition MPs for their actions. The fact that Norton praised the Opposition MPs for their distasteful behaviour speaks volume to the type of leadership that the PNC has continued to embrace.

If one were to recall, such descent into lawlessness is nothing new for the A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC). In March of 2021 during the consideration of the estimates in the National Assembly, which was also held at the ACCC, the Opposition disrupted the Committee of Supply in its bid to deviate from parliamentary norms of bringing a motion to the House on an issue it wanted to be urgently addressed.

As was then and as is now, the disorderly actions taken by the APNU/AFC in the National Assembly were uncalled for.

The travesty that occurred in the National Assembly in March and December 2021 and now in February 2022 should never have started if our elected members, in the first instance, behaved as, and had the decorum, befitting an MP. This appalling behaviour, however, is not surprising as, having witnessed what occurred after the March 2, 2020 elections and the subsequent five months, one would have a very good idea of how low the Opposition can descend.

Again, it would be good if the APNU/AFC were to prove that it had matured politically by joining with the Government in tackling issues that would help in the development of Guyana rather than disrupting the National Assembly, having not made any meaningful contribution.

More so, their behaviour demonstrates a failure to make representation for the thousands of Guyanese who had voted for them.

As this newspaper had outlined previously, the Government has laid out a detailed plan for the development of Guyana for the next five years. It is quite clear that the Government has a full grasp of the challenges facing communities, and has made the necessary financial allocations to address those challenges. What is now required is that personal political interest be put aside by the Opposition and the national interest take the forefront of its agenda.

Therefore, rather than adopting the current aggressive confrontational approach, the Opposition should serve the people of Guyana by showing respect for Guyanese by meaningfully engaging in the developmental agenda of the Administration.

Moalchand Jadunandan, the Sergeant in Charge of Traffic at the Golden Grove/Diamond Police Station, which falls within Regional Division 4(B), and his ranks took part in giving back to the youths from the Grove Sea Dam, East Bank Demerara on Wednesday.

The children were provided with books and other school supplies to aid in their education. They were also treated with refreshments (Guyana Police Force photo)

A guilty conscience speaks louder than words!

Dear Editor, The Honourable Opposition Member of Parliament, Shadow Minister of Health, Dr Karen Cummings, made a number of serious but absurd allegations and fictitious and damaging claims during her Budget 2022 presentation. She noted that her party believes that the proposed location for the 6 new hospitals (Anna Regina, Region Two; Tuschen, Region Three; Diamond & Enmore, Region Four; Bath Settlement, Region Six; and No 75 Village, Region Six) is being done based on voter population. Dr Frank Anthony, the Minister of Health, was quick on his feet to dunk her figment of a wild imagination and vociferously defended the Government’s decision for the proposed sites that were chosen based on the population size increase in the region and that people must have easy access to healthcare services. Dr Anthony elaborated on the additional facilities which would be equipped with their own CT scans, digital X-rays, ultra sound machines and modernised laboratories and that all devices will be internet enabled. He explained that people should not have to travel from all parts of the country to come to Georgetown to get access to these services. He also highlighted that the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation has always been seen as the national referral hospital but sometimes referred to as a regional hospital in the region. “We want to change that.

We want to ensure that Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation remains a National Referral Hospital and do the complicated cases,” he said. As one published letter writer noted, “As Guyanese, we need to widen our vistas beyond narrow political patronage.

Forward together, Guyana.” Minister Gail Teixeira did say Guyana will not be taken backward by the PPP/C Government.

Dr Karen Cummings also asserted in her speech that, “In addi-

tion, significant disparities along ethnic lines at the surgical departments at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation and within the surgical training programmes, needs to be addressed. Hon Member and Minister of Health, you know these folks tell me these things and I think this is the forum for me to tell you. It has been alleged that young black doctors who are aspiring to be surgeons, are unlikely to get into surgical residency programmes, not because of a lack of intellect but because they might not be of the right race. To this end and to confront and remedy this issue, we are asking for a race disparity and remuneration audit into the admitting of residents, and the hiring of registrars be it junior and senior consultants. As the shadow Minister of Health, I am going somewhere, and I am telling it as it is. I am feeling it is because of a certain section of populace.”

This claim has been vehemently refuted by the Administration at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation and its management categorically stated that, there is absolutely no foundation for any such aspersion on the dignity of the hospital. There is no discrimination practiced in any hiring process and, in addition, no group or people is singled out for any of its training programme are given priority over others. This allegation is baseless and therefore, it must be seen to have ulterior motive to satisfy another political agenda at the expense of the GPHC, which is being used as a tool to achieve this motive. This allegation is an attempt to malign the credibility of GPHC and to obstruct the smooth function of the organisation in an effort to create a rift between management and staff.

As reported, the hospital said, “We wish to clarify that the process for selection for all of the post-graduate programmes offered by the GPHC through the Institute for Health

Science Education (IHSE) are solely merit-based and overseen by a diverse selection panel which comprises of esteemed personnel from various entities including the University of Guyana and some international partners.” The hospital also “boasts a competitive surgical programme with a rigorous application process that requires that the applicant satisfy multiple requirements prior to admission. At no stage of this process is information related to the race of the applicant requested or considered by the IHSE or the GPHC.” Will Dr Cummings provide the necessary proof to substantiate her allegations? The hospital invited her to comply. How interesting (amusing?) to learn that since 2015, the IHSE has admitted 33 successful applicants, including the last intake of 6 applicants in May 2020 into its post-graduate programme, it was a period when Dr Cummings was a Minister in the Ministry of Health and then in Foreign Affairs, representing her party which was in power. Does the Honourable Member of Parliament have something to reveal? A guilty conscience speaks louder than words!

Guyana will not forget the March 5th, 2020 General Election embarrassing episode when, the very Dr Karen Cummings, then Foreign Affairs Minister, visited GECOM’s Command Centre where she met with members of the International Observer Mission and issued a threat to revoke their accreditation. The observers expressed their disappointment that she would sink to such levels, noting that, they would not allow the respective bodies they represent to be disrespected and asked that she take her leave. The then APNU/ AFC Government had to apologise to the international observers to save their face, all because of her attitude.

Respectfully, Jai Lall GPHC PRO

guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022

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

Future petroleum contracts to Was VICE fishing for a headline story? address concerns of civil society Dear Editor, There has been a continual flow of opinions during the past two years urging the PPP/C Government to re-negotiate the Exxon and Partners’ Profit-Sharing Agreement (PSA) of 2016.

This stream was a trickle during the PNCR-led Government, but these opinions have currently evolved into a gush. What the critics are also implying is that the PPP/C should clean up the horrible mess in the Exxon contract that was created by the PNCRled coalition. They believe that should re-negotiation happen it could result in superior conditions (both financial and other wise) for Guyana. Not only the critics, but every Guyanese, including the Government, would have been happy to carve out a better deal, but re-negotiation is fraught with many formidable challenges that would be difficult to navigate.

The circumstances under which the Exxon contract was negotiated are filled with anomalies. It was reported, for example, that the address provided on the contract was that of a well-known lawyer. It was also reported by Global Witness that the marriage celebration of the Minister of Natural Resources was funded by Exxon. In addition, Minister Raphael Trotman has blamed the Geology and Mines Commission for the deficiencies in the contract. More astonishing is the claim of the Minister that he was instructed to sign the contract but has failed to provide the instructor’s name or his/her official title. If the instructor was not the President, who was it?

When these glaring aberrations are taken together along with the reluctance of the PNCR-led coalition to have made the contract public, credibility in the contracting process plummeted and suspicion multiplied. As a pretext, Guyanese were told that disclosure of the contract was a matter of national security (presumably Venezuela might expand its claim to Guyana’s territorial waters given its oil discoveries!). It was not until the US$18 million signing bonus was exposed by social critic Chris Ram and subsequent pressures from the PPP/C Opposition and civil society groups that the PSA was made available to the public after being kept in secrecy for over one year.

The deviance continued.

The PNCR-led coalition’s Minister of Finance had denied receiving the signing bonus. It was also revealed that the sum of US$18 million was not paid into the Consolidated Fund, as re-

quired by FM&AA. The many dark spots in the Exxon contact have led to much uneasiness, apprehension, and speculation.

Critics feel that enough and careful thought were not injected into the negotiation process. The Guyana team under the Minister of Natural Resources was overwhelmed by the Exxon negotiators who succeeded in delivering a lopsided contract. It is for this and other reasons that critics have been pressing hard for the re-negotiation of the Stabroek Block Exxon contract. They want to re-negotiate, among other things, an increase in the size of the signing bonus, an increase in the proportion of profit oil, strengthening the EIS (including insurance coverage and safety measures), removal of the generous tax concessions, and introducing ring fencing.

To justify their position, critics point to Suriname which gets 6.25 per cent as royalty compared with 2 per cent for Guyana. They also indicate that Guyana gets 14.5 per cent profit oil, while Suriname gets 35.84 per cent. Suriname got US$100 million signing bonus for Block 58, while Guyana got only US$18 million. In Suriname, the oil company pays 36 per cent income tax compared with zero for Guyana. Under EIS, they want better control of flaring and want Exxon to provide insurance to cover oil spills and other potential environmental disasters.

Guyana pays Exxon Income tax while Suriname makes the oil company pay 36 per cent income tax. Ring fencing was not included in the 2016 PSA contract. Simply stated, ring fencing is the procedure that allows companies to recover development costs only within a defined geographic ring, and not outside of it. Where there is no ring fencing, a company can utilise the profits from operation A to conduct exploration elsewhere and thus reducing the size of the profits at operation A. While acknowledging that the Exxon contract was lopsided, the PPP/C Government is constrained in what it could do to mitigate the situation. The repercussions of any contract re-negotiation could be detrimental to the country’s credibility as a haven for investment. The Attorney General, Mr Anil Nandlall, refers to the “inviolability” of international contracts and further concedes that any attempt at re-negotiation would undermine investors’ confidence, especially at a time when the country needs their capital and technology to fund the country’s massive development projects. Then, there

is the “stability” clause in the contract that makes re-negotiation almost impossible. Chris Ram notes: “What Trotman has done is that he has crippled succeeding Parliaments and generations by a stability clause which will take expensive and heavyweight legal action to unshackle.”

The PPP/C Government, however, has pledged to negotiate better terms and conditions for the future PSAs. And in respect to the 2016 PSA, the Government has been exploring avenues through administrative action (such as imposing a fee for flaring at a cost of US$45 per tonne of carbon emitted until emission could reach zero) to enhance benefits, as well as to use other legal means to add to existing benefits. For example, through Local Content legislation all foreign investors must form joint partnerships with Guyanese so that the latter owns 51 per cent of the shares and employs 75 Guyanese as managerial staff.

Judging from the public pronouncements, combined with the reasons cited before, re-negotiation is not likely to happen. What is perplexing is that opposition MP Mr David Patterson has conveniently jumped onto the re-negotiation band wagon. For 5 years his PNCRled Government never considered re-negotiation. Is he trying to bait the PPP/C into a tricky situation? Why isn’t Local Content Policy cast at the centre of the political radar?

Sincerely, Dr Tara Singh

Dear Editor, I am not sure of the purpose, intent, objective, and goal of the VICE Media interview (Feb 1) with Vice President Jagdeo. The VP must have thought it provided an opportunity to promote investment in Guyana and agreed to it. As we learn from analysing the excerpt of the interview that was released, the VP and many in the public domain that I conversed with feel there was an ulterior motif of the reporter. Several of the VP’s supporters that I interviewed describe the interview as a kind of an ambush designed to implicate the VP and the Government in questionable activities.

Jagdeo handled himself quite well in spite of persistence of the reporter on making unsubstantiated allegations. Several of the reporter's facts are not accurate.

The VP was heard expressing concern to the interviewer that it was “a gotcha type” (my description) of an interview in which the interviewer was looking for response for a headline story. He has since castigated the reporter for what came across as an interview for what those of us who did journalism would be called “sensational news” or reporting or interviewing. In journalism, it is called a fanciful tale, fishing for a story. Some may even call it “tabloid journalism”. These kinds of stories sell well and are featured on front pages of papers looking to increase sales and garner more ads.

The VP was also heard responding to the questions that were related to allegations as amounting to hear-

say. Indeed, they were. In court, it would be called hearsay and disallowed as evidence while in journalism it is called unsubstantiated concoctions. There were allegations but no evidence to back the questions.

Was the reporter fishing for news for a major story? Guyana will be getting a lot of oil money and international media may want to sensationalise what is happening with the oil proceeds.

I wish to applaud the VP for agreeing to the interview. Engaging the media or the public is one of his strengths as a politician although he does not have time for “a gyaffe”. He never evaded a reporter or a public question. In my encounters as a reporter or media operative with Jagdeo since 1999, I witnessed him being kind to critics and known opponents in entertaining questions at press conferences in New York. After picketing exercises outside without justifiable reasons, several would enter the hall and asked Jagdeo questions.

When the chair of events refused to allow them to ask questions, Jagdeo would overrule the chair and say “let him or her to ask”. He recognises their democratic right to peaceful protest. He does not avoid hard questioners or those who disagreed with him. And he does not support media censorship or the idea of blocking people from questioning him on any issue just because they are opponents.

Jagdeo concluded that

the VICE Media reporter came with a pre-determined agenda. It seems so.

Yet he did not dodge questions. And he answered all her questions – for that he must be saluted. That is the hallmark of a politician not afraid of the press. He even told her to support allegations with evidence and he would have them investigated. He has nothing to hide and not afraid of an independent query into his conduct.

The VP pointed out that her facts on trade relations with and investors from China are not accurate. There were several contracts that she stated were given to Chinese when in fact they were given to non-Chinese. Clearly, there was a concern with Guyana’s relations with China. But Guyana does not have a pro-China policy although it has a One China policy not much different from the West. Guyana has and must have a pro-US policy because of the large diaspora in the US which itself is a guarantor of our democracy.

With regards to corruption allegations, the VP suggested to the reporter that she brings evidence and that the Integrity Commission can conduct an investigation into them. He assured her that through his political life, he consistently complied with the law in declaring his assets with the Integrity Commission.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022

Page

Foundation ◄

MossGathering

Graphs are useful ways to display information or data. A ***bar graph*** uses bars to compare two or more things, people or places. The bars in this type of graph may be horizontal or vertical, not both. Each bar represents a number. Because the data is shown visually, the bars can be compared to one another. Sometimes, different coloured bars that represent different things are used.

Examples:

Each student at Central High voted for his or her favourite kind of Christmas cake.

The key tells you that the black bars stand for boys and the grey stand for girls. The horizontal line, or axis, at the bottom of the graph names different types of cakes. The vertical axis tells you how many boys and how many girls voted for that kind of cake.

How many boys voted for fruit cake?

Step 1: Find fruit cake on the horizontal axis. Look at the top of each bar in the fruit cake section and follow that line back to the vertical axis to find out how many boys voted for fruit cake. 250 boys voted for fruit cake.

How many students voted for sponge cake?

Step 1: Find sponge cake on the horizontal axis. Look at the top of each bar in the sponge cake section and follow that line back to the vertical axis to find out how many boys and how many girls voted for sponge cake. 400 boys + 300 girls = 700 students.

Exercises:

Use the graph below to identify the third most-liked fruit at the time of the year.

According to the bar graph below, what was the least favourite holiday drink for students?

Materials: Balloon Yarn or string Tape Straw Scissors 2 chairs Instructions: Use the scissors and cut the straw into a twoinch long piece.

Cut a length of yarn about six feet or more long.

Tie one end of the string to one chair.

Slide the piece of straw onto the yarn.

Now tie the other end of the yarn to the other chair.

Blow up the balloon. Pinch the end of the balloon closed, but do not tie it off.

Tape the balloon to the straw.

Pull the straw and balloon to one end of the yarn.

Release the balloon and watch your Rocket Blast Balloon take off.

How it works: Our Rocket Blast Balloon demonstrates Newton’s Third Law of Motion: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. When we release the balloon, the pressurised air in the balloon pushes against the air around the balloon sending it in the opposite direction down the yarn.

Make this a science project: How do different sized balloons perform? Does the length of the yarn cause any changes in the Rocket Blast Balloon behaviour? Do different shaped balloons perform differently?

By Theodore Roethke

To loosen with all ten fingers held wide and limber And lift up a patch, dark-green, the kind for lining cemetery baskets, Thick and cushiony, like an old-fashioned doormat, The crumbling small hollow sticks on the underside mixed with roots, And wintergreen berries and leaves still stuck to the top, — That was moss-gathering.

But something always went out of me when I dug loose those carpets Of green, or plunged to my elbows in the spongy yellowish moss of the marshes: And afterwards I always felt mean, jogging back over the logging road, As if I had broken the natural order of things in that swampland; Disturbed some rhythm, old and of vast importance, By pulling off flesh from the living planet; As if I had committed, against the whole scheme of life, a desecration.

Teacher's Tip “Hard work beats talent when talent does not work hard” – Tim Notke

WORD SEARCH

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Multi-million investments in Guyana being considered by British Trade Mission …interest expressed in arbitration services, Silica City, basalt fibre plant

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ubbing Guyana as the most exciting investment destination, a group of United Kingdom (UK) based businesses are currently in the country exploring opportunities in a variety of sectors that could see millions of dollars in investments being injected into the Guyanese economy.

The “British Business Mission” is wrapping up a four-day visit to Guyana during which they networked with both local Private Sector and Government officials as they scope out opportunities for potential investments. The delegation is being hosted by London-based The Caribbean Council, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and the British High Commission’s Department for International Trade.

At a press conference on Wednesday, representatives from the British companies which ranged from construction materials to beverage all lauded the plethora of opportunities available for investments here.

In fact, Managing Director of The Caribbean Council, Chris Bennett outlined that some of the projects that are being floated would see multimillion-dollar investments being made here.

“We’ve been here three days and many of the projects that are under discussion are multi, multimillion-dollar investments…

There really is, I think, exciting prospects to do so. I think we, on our side and the counterparts we have

brought in, need to go and weigh our numbers, and work out how we can make these projects happen… It’s a good excuse for us to be back very soon,” he stated.

Bennett said the Group has also been paying keen attention to the ongoing Budget proceedings in the National Assembly and is excited about Government’s plans for investments in various sectors of the Guyanese economy. He added that some of the companies that are a part of the mission could potentially play a really helpful part in driving those plans and helping to deliver them more quickly, more efficiently, in a more cost-effective way and potentially in a way that reduces carbon impact as well.

He added that they have been looking at road expansion projects, hydro projects, investments in human capital, digital economy, wireless businesses and new brands such as the rum sector.

According to Bennett, there is a lot to take away from this visit and follow-up on. He added that they are similarly hoping to facilitate a similar engagement for a

Guyanese business delegation in the UK sometime in the future.

Meanwhile, British High Commissioner to Guyana, Jane Miller expressed hope that these and other UK businesses can invest here and partner with Guyanese companies to make a difference in the local economy.

“The UK has a wealth of expertise in many, many different sectors… The UK is very keen to see opportunities where we can partner with Guyana to really see the economic growth happen and really make a difference in the lives of all Guyanese. So, it’s a really exciting time,” she noted.

The British envoy went on to reassure that this visit by the Trade Mission is more than just “warm words” and will actually yield tangible investments.

She added that most, if not all of the representatives have indicated their intent to return to Guyana in furtherance of business opportunities.

“This is a preliminary [visit]. It’s about getting to know people, developing those partnerships. What’s been really great is that

they’re meeting Government officials, meeting Private Sector. The GCCI is doing an amazing job finding businesses that we could potentially partner with.

So, it’s much more than warm words. This will turn into businesses that will happen here in Guyana,” High Commissioner Miller stressed.

Adding to this, GCCI President Timothy Tucker welcomed the interests expressed for potential foreign direct investments in Guyana. He pointed out that the calibre and types of businesses on this Trade Mission demonstrates that Guyana is not just a place for oil and gas.

He outlined that important among this group is Signature Litigation, a

leading dispute firm. This type of service, Tucker explained, is highly needed especially now with Guyana in an oil and gas era, forging business with international companies, which would potentially end up in disputes. “…Not that we want our companies to be in dispute but, of course, these things arise. And of course, Government has been looking at the Arbitration Bill over the years… This not the first incoming delegation that have dealt with the Chamber when it comes to arbitration. The mandate of the Chamber, actually the Constitution, says that GCCI can act as an arbitrator. So, all of those things we’ve been in communication with [The Caribbean Council] to strengthen our

capacity,” the GCCI Head asserted.

In fact, to further strengthen ties, GCCI and The Caribbean Council during Wednesday’s press conference signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for future collaboration between the two organisations.

Moreover, representative of Signature, Counsel Bernhard Maier spoke about the vast need for arbitration services in Guyana not just at the Private Sector level but also at a State-level.

The representatives from the Scottish headquartered Woolard & Henry Ltd talked about potentially setting up a basalt and glass fibre plant in Guyana to cater for the massive infrastructure growth by replacing steel with basalt materials.

He said there has been positive response to this.

Another company that also saw success in its discussions so far is Dar Group, which specialises in engineering, designing and project management services.

Managing Director Andrew Loudon said there is vast opportunities to tap into with Government’s Silica City project. (G8)

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

$101M lawsuit filed against “Guyanese Critic” over “Mudwata” commentary

The “Mudwata” cartoon character

Mikhail Rodrigues known as the “Guyanese Critic”

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ocial media commentator, Mikhail Rodrigues, who is better known as the “Guyanese Critic”, is facing a $101 million lawsuit over alleged libellous commentary he made via a Facebook live about the animated character, “Mudwata”.

The lawsuit, which was filed at the Demerara High Court and seeks $50 million in damages for libel, another $50 million in aggravated and exemplary damages and $1 million in special damages was filed by pageant photographer, Keron Bruce.

Bruce claims that on January 29, 2022, Rodrigues, while vacationing in Barbados, made sev-

eral false and defamatory statements about him on a Facebook live which attracted 761 comments, 933 reactions, 33,000 views, and was shared 91 times.

Maintaining that he and the “Mudwata” character are not “one and the same”, Bruce said that Rodrigues has not presented any credible evidence to the contrary and therefore this cannot be ''a matter of fact". He said that this has not been proven in a court of law, nor has he been charged with or convicted of a crime.

He denied having any engagement with Rodrigues, whom he described as a “self-proclaimed social media influencer”. The photographer alleged that Rodrigues’ utterances were for the sole purpose of increasing views, followers, reactions, and for his own personal clout.

According to him, these

Begging the question…

N Photographer Keron Bruce

comments have caused irrevocable damage to his reputation and have subjected him to public ridicule, contempt, hatred, and embarrassment, and have also brought his career into disrepute.

TURN TO PAGE 10

…on corruption claims ow what kinda news outfit calls itself “Vice News” when they know that “Vice” represents all behaviour society finds seriously disgusting?? For shock effect? Contrarian? Or plain sensationalism based on digging up dirt - -and if they can’t find it, throw dirt and hope it sticks?? Anyhow, the interview that Vice – a news outfit from up north that’s been in a freefall for the last three years and is desperately seeking relevance – answered those questions in its interview of VP Jagdeo at the beginning of this month.

Realising that he’d been sandbagged, Jagdeo decided to bring the matter to the public’s attention by posting the video on his Facebook page for all the world to see.

He also held a press conference to clear up any lingering ambiguities. So, what was it all about, Alfie? Very simply, the reporter tried to lull Jagdeo into a false sense of security by asking some innocuous questions on our new economy and oil. Then out of the blue, she asked him bluntly whether he’d taken bribes for securing contracts from Chinese investors and businesses. Yup! Specifically Chinese ones!!

Now right off the bat one could smell a rat. As the VP pointed out, investors from all over the world have been beating a path to Guyana after Exxon struck black gold!

So why didn’t the reporter ask about “taking” bribes in general? Well, she knew if she mentioned US firms she has to take the evidence to the authorities there since offering bribes is a crime there!! Secondly, as the VP also pointed out, by invoking China, the reporter knew she was raising America’s present strategic bogeyman and this would immediately precipitate a whole lotta clicks!!

Thirdly, as the VP further told the reporter, her snarky question’s premise was that developing countries –- to call them “third world” isn’t politically correct anymore, even though Trump revealed that “shithole” countries was their real assessment – are by definition corrupt. Even though countless instances of corrupt politicians in the States are unveiled daily, they are Teflon coated!! She then pulled out what she clearly thought was her haymaker – the name of a Chinese businessman, Su, a tenant of Jagdeo, who she claimed told her that he was the middleman for Chinese businesses to get Guyanese Government contracts!!

So her question to Jagdeo could be boiled down to “Have you taken bribes from Chinese companies to give them contracts as Su told me?” And this is what we call “begging the question”!! Meaning that the conclusion (taking bribes) is asserted to be true because its premise (that Su’s claim, if he did make it) is assumed to be true!!

And Su’s now said he never said so!! …on the China Card But the bribe allegation wasn’t the only ambush the Vice Reporter (Vice for short) tried to pull on Jagdeo.

While US foreign policy at the moment is focusing on Russia (over Ukraine), Vice knows that China is the strategic conundrum that’s really transfixing the American public. So Vice rather transparently tried to paint the VP and Guyana as favouring China rather than the US in awarding contracts!!

Challenged on this wild assertion, Vice made some ridiculous illustrations – like a contract for the SchoonordParika Highway which hasn’t even been mapped out yet!!

But Vice’s line of attack illustrates the dancing between the raindrops that Guyana has to be engaged in as she tries to navigate between the elephants fighting it out over world dominance. While Vice is just hoping for a few more clicks to staunch the bleeding of its bottom line, for Guyana, it could mean a repeat of the horrors of the 1960s.

Guyanese patriots should condemn Vice’s incitement. …on Macron’s Mission After France’s President Macron huddled with European leaders on a common stance over the US-Russia Ukraine standoff, he met Putin.

Was the 15-foot table between just the two of them a signal they were miles apart?

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

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

President awaiting Parliament’s nominee to finalise NRF Board …says “good names” being considered and Government Members of Parliament (MPs) Alister Charlie and Yvonne Fredericks-Pearson also sit on the Committee along with the parliamentary Opposition A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) MPs Annette Ferguson, Nicolette Henry, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley and Khemraj Ramjattan.

However, Henry last week indicated her intention to step down as a parliamentarian.

The NRF Act was passed in the National Assembly

President Dr Irfaan Ali

President Dr Irfaan Ali said there are some “good names” being considered for the National Resource Fund (NRF) Board of Directors and is now awaiting the nominee from the Parliament of Guyana before finalising the candidates to be appointed.

He made this revelation while speaking with reporters on the sidelines of an event at the British High Commissioner’s residence on Tuesday night. The Head of State reassured that the announcement of the NRF Board will be made with immediacy once Parliament submits its nominee.

“We have some very good names that is being considered and I’m just waiting now for Parliament to send their recommendations and then with immediacy, you will see the board,” President Ali stated.

Last month, Governance and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Gail Teixeira tabled a Motion in the National Assembly seeking to have the Committee of Appointments recommend a candidate to be appointed by the President to serve as one of the Directors on the NRF Board.

The three-to-five-member Board is expected to be made up of mostly civil society representatives with one nominee from the Private Sector and one from the Parliament to be appointed by the President.

The Head of State has already made it clear that he will select the individuals to sit on the Board with the utmost integrity.

Meanwhile, only last week, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo reassured that the nominee coming from the Parliament will be supported by both sides of the National Assembly.

Section 5 (2) of the NRF Act provides that the Directors shall be selected from among persons who have wide experience and ability in legal, financial, business or administrative matters, one of whom shall be nominated by the National Assembly and one of whom shall be a representative of the Private Sector.

However, Section 5 (10) of the said Act states that a person shall not be eligible for appointment as a Director if that person, inter alia, is a member of the National Assembly.

Minister Teixeira had explained that with the motion now sent to the Committee of Appointments, they will have to meet to discuss a possible nominee who is not a Member of Parliament.

The Governance and Parliamentary Affairs Minister is the Chairperson of the Committee, while Minister of Human Servi ces and Social Security Dr Vindhya Persaud, Minister within the Office of Prime Minister Kwame McCoy

in December, amid chaos caused by the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Opposition who did their utmost to disrupt the proceedings after the Bill was brought up for debate.

The Bill, which has since been assented to by President Ali, outlines that the Directors will hold the post for not more than two years with eligibility for reappointment, and all appointments, as well as changes in appointments, are to be gazetted and pub-

lished on the Ministry’s website and in two daily newspapers.

The new Bill states that the Board of Directors will be responsible for the overall management of the Fund, reviewing and approving the policies of the Fund, monitoring the performance of the Fund, ensuring compliance with the approved policies of the Fund, and ensuring that the Fund is managed in compliance with the Act and all other applicable laws.

Moreover, the Board is

also expected to report to the subject Minister, who is allowed to give policy directives as deemed necessary to their functions. In addition, the proposed legislation caters for the appointment of two committees, one of which is the Public Accountability and Oversight Committee, which will provide non-Governmental oversight of the Fund and comprises various civil society representatives who will have to present a report to the National Assembly annually. (G8)

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Jail sentence for taxi driver’s killer reduced from 80 to 35 years

T

he jail sentence for a man convicted of the January 2010 murder of a taxi driver whose burnt remains were found on the

Mocha Access Road, East Bank Demerara (EBD), was reduced from 80 to 35 years by the Court of Appeal on Wednesday.

Following a trial before Justice Navindra Singh in 2015, 51-year-old Balram Singh, formerly of Agricola, EBD, was found guilty of

Murder convict: Balram Singh

Dead: Bhomeshwar Sukhdeo

murdering Bhomeshwar Sukhdeo. He was subsequently sentenced to 80 years in prison.

Media reports are that Sukhdeo was killed between January 19 and January 27, 2010. He had been kidnapped and robbed of his vehicle. His charred remains were discovered in Mocha, EBD, days after he had gone missing.

He was reportedly shot to the head with a .38 revolver. It was reported that on January 19, 2010, Balram Singh and another man had gone to Georgetown and hired Sukhdeo to take them to Agricola, EBD, where the former resided.

They shot the man to his head and drove his body to Eccles, EBD, where they dumped it in some bushes.

They later retrieved the body from Eccles and took it to Mocha, where they burnt it before escaping in Sukhdeo’s car.

Dissatisfied with the decision of the lower court, Balram Singh, through his lawyer, Nigel Hughes, filed an appeal against his conviction and sentence. Among other things, he argued that the initial sentence was man-

ifestly excessive.

He argued, too, that the base sentence of 60 years used by the trial Judge in arriving at a final sentence, was nine years shy of Guyana’s life expectancy, and without jurisprudential basis. He further argued that the Judge did not adequately put his defence to the jury for consideration.

Delivering the ruling of the appellate court was the Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette CummingsEdwards, who said that with no proper reason to set aside the conviction, the court would only allow the appeal on the issue of sentencing.

The Court of Appeal rejected Balram Singh’s argument that his conviction was unreasonable and cannot be supported having regards to the evidence. Justices of Appeal Dawn GregoryBarnes and Rishi Persaud and the Chancellor, however, agreed that the sentence imposed by the trial Judge was manifestly excessive.

In the appeal court’s ruling, it was revealed that, to the base sentence, Justice Singh added on 10 years because the crime was premeditated and another 10 years

$101M lawsuit filed...

Bruce further deposed that his 16-year-old son has also suffered ridicule and bullying from his peers as a result of the “bold” statements made by Rodrigues, who is also affirming that he is the photographer who took photographs of young women and used them in a derogatory manner.

Following the Facebook live, Bruce said he was immediately suspended from his duties as a photogra-

because a robbery was committed during the commission of the murder.

The Court of Appeal, in this case, said it was guided by the principle that sentencing is entirely within the discretion of the trial Judge and is not to be interfered with unless it is found to be excessive or wrong in principle.

“As the Appeal Court, we must not be inclined to alter sentences because we believe a different sentence should be imposed,” said the Chancellor, while adding that the purpose of sentencing includes retribution, rehabilitation, and crime prevention.

“Extremely out of character”

The Appeal Court held that a base sentence of 60 years was “extremely out of character”. The Judges said that the offence is serious given how it was carried out and highlighted that Sukhdeo was abducted, killed, and then burnt.

With reference to various case laws, the Court of Appeal held that a sentence of 35 years is most suited in Balram Singh’s case. He was given full credit for the time he spent in pre-trial custody in keeping with the directives outlined in the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) case of Romeo Da Costa Hall vs The Queen.

Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Diana Kaulesar-O’Brien appeared for the State. Despite the unanimous guilty verdict, Balram Singh had always maintained his innocence.

“Your Honour, with all due respect, I don’t have anything to say at this point. “I didn’t murder nobody,” an expressionless Singh had told Justice Singh. (G1)

FROM PAGE 8

pher from the Miss World Organisation.

Dismissing the statements as baseless, malicious, and grossly inaccurate, the photographer submitted that they are “calculated” for Rodrigues to increase monetary gains.

He added that his reputation is critical to his profession and suggestions of involvement in any such behaviour as alleged by a very public figure and self-proclaimed social media influ-

encer, is detrimental to his career.

He said, too, that the libellous statements may create fear, possible apprehension in the public at large and reputable organisations such as the Miss World Organisation towards him and lead the Police to charge him.

Bruce told the High Court that he is fearful so much for his life that he has hired a 24-hour security service for himself and his family because Rodrigues has threatened that he “would show up” at his home and go live on Facebook.

Apart from monetary award for damages, the photographer is asking the court to order Rodrigues to publish or cause to be published, an apology to him. He is also seeking a permanent injunction restraining Rodrigues from publishing or causing to be published the posts or similar words which are defamatory to him.

Bruce is represented by lawyers, Anastasia Sandford and Tamieka Clarke. (G1)

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Guyana among countries which granted subsurface rights to Amerindians – VP V

ice President Bharrat Jagdeo said 20 per cent of Guyana’s land should go to its Amerindian peoples.

He revealed this during a recent interview with a New York-based news agency.

“If you look at the land policy of the Government, when we assumed office in 1992, Indigenous people had titled lands, about 6 per cent of Guyana. By the time we left office in 2015, we had titled Indigenous communities with land that amounted to over 14 per cent of Guyana… So, six to 14 per cent. That is our track record.”

“We believe that ultimately, about 20 per cent of Guyana, the total country, will be Amerindian titled

lands, and we’re in the process of ensuring that that happens, considering our Amerindian population is probably about 10 per cent of the country.”

He reminded that Guyana is among some countries that have granted subsurface rights to Amerindian communities.

“So they had rights over the forest but never the minerals below ground. So now they have subsurface rights as part of the legislation that we passed.”

Jagdeo said that this gives communities the right and opportunity to live off the land and utilise the resources, if they wish.

He added that it is for those communities to decide whether they want to live a separate way of

life, or whether they want to integrate with the rest of society, and that the Government will support them no matter what.

The Vice President had cause to defend the Government’s record against an allegation that there is a land-related conflict between an Amerindian community and miners. He acknowledged that there may be individual issues arising on the ground, adding that Government will handle those as they come.

However, he said that it is important to look at the Government’s policy record when judging its performance on Amerindian issues.

“Now whether we’d have individual problems on the ground, in many communi-

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo

ties, yes, it happens in every country, but if you’re going to characterise a country’s treatment of Indigenous people based on the occasional problems you have all the time, and I don’t want to say that this happened, but this typically happens when people come in from abroad and they interview, they always try to make the country look, like, backwater.”

He said if anyone wants to understand the developing world, they should immerse themselves to get the full picture, instead of listening to one testimony and running with it.

Discussing the PPP/C’s record in Government on Amerindian issues, Jagdeo said that Guyana is among the most progressive countries in the world.

Only successful election petition can determine Govt not legitimate – Norton ...seeks meeting with GECOM on new voters’ list for LGE

PNC Leader Aubrey Norton

N

ew Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Aubrey Norton is contending that only the election petition case will determine whether the present Government is legitimate.

The recently-elected party leader was questioned on Tuesday during a press conference whether the new Opposition Leader would recognise the PPP/C as the duly elected Government.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo and Prime Minister, Retired Brigadier Mark Phillips have both indicated that the Government is willing to meet with the new Opposition Leader in the interest of the country.

However, Norton said his party does not have the authority to pronounce on Government’s legitimacy.

“The question of the legitimacy of the Government has to be determined by an election petition. It is not a case of the Leader of the

Opposition or the Leader of the Party just deciding the Government is legitimate.

Legitimacy comes from elections in this regard,” he told the media.

He added, “If perchance, it (the election petition) comes out saying that the Government was elected properly, then they will be legitimate”.

The recount of the 2020 General and Regional Elections showed the PPP/C winning the elections with 233,336 votes. At that time, caretaker President David Granger, on August 2, 2020, conceded defeat, stating that his party’s concerns would be filed in an elections petition.

Three weeks ago, Chancellor of the Judiciary, Yonnette CummingsEdwards made the decision to grant Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, and the Vice President – in his capacity as People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary – leave to

appeal to the CCJ, the decision of December 21, 2021, to hear the election petition number 99.

The Court of Appeal had handed down a 2 to 1 majority ruling that it had jurisdiction to hear an appeal against Chief Justice Roxane George’s decision to dismiss election petition #99 based on improper service/non-service on the second-named respondent, former President David Granger, within the statutorily prescribed time.

The petition, which was dismissed on January 18, 2021, was filed by Monica Thomas and Brennan Nurse and challenges the results of the March 2, 2020 national elections with the intent of having Granger declared the duly-elected President.

The majority ruling was delivered by Chancellor of the Judiciary, Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Justice of Appeal Dawn Gregory, SC, while Justice

of Appeal Rishi Persaud had a dissenting judgement.

In their ruling, Justices Cummings-Edwards and Gregory held that to oust the Appeal Court from hearing the appeal against the Chief Justice’s ruling would defeat the purpose of Article 163 of the Constitution of Guyana.

As for the Chancellor, while she noted that she considered all the precedence relied on by the Attorney General, she said they failed to invalidate the Court of Appeal’s jurisdiction to hear the appeal.

Voters’ list

Meanwhile, the party stated that it intends to request a meeting with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to discuss, among other things, the creation of a new voters’ list ahead of the Local Government Elections (LGE) billed for this year.

In a statement, the

PNCR expressed concerns that the over $750 million allocated to GECOM for LGE preparations does not cater to a new voters’ list.

“It is the desire of the PNCR to participate in both Local Government Elections and General and Regional Elections with an accurate voters’ list that is acceptable to all stakeholders. GECOM must therefore commit to producing a voters’ list that is clean in time for the next Local Government Elections,” the Aubrey Norton-led political grouping said.

To this end, the PNCR said it will discuss the issue with its coalition partners and subsequently seek a meeting with GECOM. “At that meeting, the party will clearly articulate its position on the above demands and will work with all stakeholders to ensure that all the contentions are addressed and resolved, paving the way for credible

elections,” the party said.

The $750 million for LGE preparations is part of an overall $4.1 billion allocation to GECOM in Budget 2022 and was examined and approved by the National Assembly during its consideration of the estimates on Monday.

In this matter, Norton said the party is planning to engage GECOM on the need for a clean voters’ list before moving ahead with the polls.

However, he was reticent in outlining the party’s touted approach.

“There are a number of methods that can be used.

There are provisions that exists to remove people that have migrated. There are measures that can be taken to remove the dead and importantly, Houseto-House Registration can play a critical role. We prefer when we engage the Elections Commission to address these issues,” the PNC Leader informed.

12 NEWS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10,, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

GuySuCo will be fixed in 4 years – CEO Singh

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) Sasenarine Singh

C

hief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) Sasenarine Singh has assured that the often cash-strapped entity will not be a burden on the Guyana Government forever.

According to the CEO, the organisation is working assiduously to reach to a point whereby it will no longer need financial support from Central Government to fund its operations.

Singh made these commitments on Monday night during a social media programme titled “Globespan 24×7” where he explained that the $6 billion allocated to GuySuCo this year will be used to “re-engineer” the sugar industry.

The GuySuCo boss reminded that when the four sugar estates were down in 2016 and 2017 under the APNU/AFC Administration, a significant number of machinery and equipment became permanently damaged.

Despite recommendations from a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) commissioned by the then President David Granger, the APNU/AFC Administration closed the Wales, East Demerara, Rose Hall and Skeldon sugar estates, sending some 17,000 workers on the breadline.

When the PPP/C Administration assumed office in August 2020, efforts were made to reopen these estates. From October 2020 to date, over 1380 persons were hired/rehired to work in the sugar industry.

“My first visit to Albion, Blairmont and Uitvlugt [estates]…it started with the discovery, in late 2020, of an environment, that I would call, a boneyard of steel and mud that was waiting to be pushed over because that was what happened on theses grinding estates.”

Against this backdrop, the GuySuCo CEO reasoned

that significant monies had to be spent to address these problems.

“In 2019, $76 million alone were invested on these three estates. In 2021, we invested 37 times more than that,” Singh explained, indicating that the money being received from Central Government is being put to good use.

“What is needed for GuySuCo to re-engineer itself is a capital investment; that is where the Government is putting its money to make sure that all the tools and parts and field equipment and factory machinery are being re-engineered and replaced,” he posited. “…it’s such a huge project. What is wrong with the government investing to enhance the socio-economic energy of rural communities that has limited opportunities?”

According to the Head of the sugar company, the organisation has a five-year strategic plan which will see the reduction of production costs and increased profits – which will eventually make the entity “cash neutral”.

“With a good strategic plan, the right amount of resources at the right time

and when I’m talking about resources, I’m talking about capital, talent, machinery… this industry is fixable within four years,” Singh expressed.

“GuySuCo is not going to be a drain on the Government forever and that is why this strategic plan clearly has a roadmap whereby GuySuCo will become cash neutral in the near future,” he added.

GuySuCo, he further contended, “has no choice but to re-engineer its business whereby we have to move up the value chain, we have to be able to rationalise our cost, we have to become more efficient, we have to be able to make that model work whereby we’re producing sugar to sell to markets where we can make profits.”

And according to the CEO, this plan is already in action.

“When I arrived, 64 per cent of our sugar was being sold on the world market which is a price between US$320 to US$380. Today, 64 per cent of that sugar is being sold in the package and bag sugar market at double that value. We had to re-engineer the revenue stream and the revenue had to be fixed and that was fixed last year,” he explained.

“We know clearly what we’re doing about the revenue. This year, we’re going to be focusing on ensuring that the cost structures are rationalised, to bring cost of production down,” Singh added.

The five-year strategic plan also aims to improve the mechanising of all the estates such as the refurbishing of generators across the industry, the building of 250 new punts, the creation of a new packaging plant at Albion which will begin this year, the expansion of the packaging plant at Blairmont, among other initiatives.

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Govt reinstates subsidised laptops nixed by APNU/AFC to CPCE teachers T

he Government has returned a programme it had introduced before 2015, which provides subsidised purchases of laptops to teachers enrolled at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE).

evening.

“Before the PPP/C left office in 2015, we had a programme, a rotating fund where each student was given the opportunity to purchase at a heavily subsidised cost, a computer, and that

This was disclosed by Education Minister Priya Manickchand, during the scrutiny of budget estimates for her Ministry on Tuesday

programme was crashed and collapsed and neglected, and not followed by the APNU/AFC. It was replaced by nothing, even though

that party had come into office promising one laptop per teacher,” Manickchand was quoted by DPI as saying.

The Minister said the Government has $36 million in that account, and intends to restart the programme.

The process for procurement, she indicated, has already begun, so that teachers in the CPCE training programme can benefit from access to subsidised laptops.

This will be especially useful for the teachers, given the increasing need for technology in education, brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Manickchand said due to the fact that CPCE is the only training college for teachers in the country, it was important for Government to resolve the closure of the institution

Education Minister Priya Manickchand

due to the pandemic.

“When we came into office in August of 2020, CPCE was closed completely without any prospect or plan for reopening, and we took a policy decision that we would go fully although not solely online.”

Due to space constraints, the Minister noted that CPCE could hold up to 535 students, but when it went online, that number shot up to 3000. This steep increase in students is what is responsible for a significant increase in the allocations for training and development in this year’s budget for the Ministry. Also catered for in that budget are provisions for stipends, as well as products and services necessary for online teaching.

UG launches foundation aimed at improving operations

University of Guyana (UG) Chancellor, Professor Edward Greene

University of Guyana (UG) Vice-Chancellor, Paloma Mohamed-Martin

fter eight years of planning, the University of Guyana has finally launched its foundation specifically designed to improve the operations at the tertiary institution.

Chancellor of the University, Professor Edward Greene related that the University of Guyana Foundation (UGF) will be operating under the guidance of UG’s ambitious “Blueprint 2040.”

He stressed that the foundation will follow the guidelines already outlined by the university in his presentation, and clarified that the rollout of “Blueprint 2040” will take place in the next four to five terms, which will be when the university has completed 75 years of existence.

The goals of UG’s ambitious “Blueprint 2040”, which the UGF will use as a guide, are to produce at least one graduate per Guyanese household, become a leader in technical and applied knowledge, become the centre of excellence for research relevant to Guyana’s development, become the de facto strategic partner for Guyana’s development and produce

skilled graduates fit for purpose and success.

The foundation has highlighted four grand challenges as a way of moving forward to aid in the advancement of UG. One of these is investing in human capital for a sustainable future which is to create and sustain scholarships and partnerships with international academic institutions and international research/innovation centres to rapidly increase the number of UG faculty members obtaining terminal degrees and post-doctoral fellowships as well as to promote post-graduate studies at UG. Another is expected to create a green university for a green Guyana and a sustainable global environment to develop sustainable housing for students on all UG campuses and create safe spaces, walkways, and sidewalks and beautify/landscape the Turkeyen and Tain Campuses as well as UG’s other campuses across Guyana.

Thirdly, modernising essential systems and services to further preserve Guyana’s special collection at UG Library, upgrade UG’s student complex and

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student facilities on all campuses and also create dedicated sports facilities including a modern sports complex.

And lastly, accelerating innovations through centres of excellence and research institutes to develop an institute for the empowerment of women and girls and develop a Creative Arts Centre to advance the Fine and Performing Arts and Guyana’s Cultural Enterprise by promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.

However, ViceChancellor, Paloma Mohamed-Martin outlined the need for the UGF, alluding to the fact the foundation will aid in the funding of the university. Martin stated that the university has been largely growing over the years, and with the growth, there is a need for more funding to commence operations and services offered by UG. “We have a very serious resource gap that we’ve always had to fill. Take for instance this year, and this has happened in successive years, the university has been expanding, its resources are not expanding … so for instance this year, we need $11 billion for our operations. This year we have 3.5 [billion], which is the biggest budget we’ve had in our history, but it still leaves a gap of $6.5 billion for us to fill,” she revealed.

Martin further stated that the gap affects every aspect of UG’s operations, service, quality, teaching-learning environment, numbers, brand, and reputation. With the UGF, this gap is expected to be filled.

The simple launching event sought attendance from many high-profile alumni, trustees, and major private investors of UG who make up the Board of the UGF. Showering congratula-

tions on UG for the launching of the foundation was

also Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand through

a congratulatory video message.

14 NEWS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

High Court quashes M&CC’s decision to increase compliance certificate fee A decision by the Mayor and City Councillors (M&CC) of Georgetown to raise the fee for a certificate of compliance has been set aside following a ruling by High Court Judge Gino Persaud, who found that it was unlawful and ultra vires the Municipal and District Councils Act and the Deeds Registry Act. On June 20, 2019, then Town Clerk Sharon HarryMunroe on behalf of the M&CC, published a notice which informed the public that the cost for a certificate of compliance will be increased by 0.5 per cent of the current market value of the property. The Guyana Bar Association (GBA) was aggrieved by this decision.

Attorneys-at-Law Pauline Chase and Teni Housty in their capacity as representatives of the GBA, wrote the Council twice requesting reasons for its decision under the Judicial Review Act. Such reasons were not provided and the GBA instituted legal proceedings in which it was contended that the decision was unlawful.

purports to do.

It also argued that the effect of the M&CC’s decision has proven financially detrimental, stating that the cost to obtain a certificate of compliance has increased from a flat fee of $10,000 to hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on the valuation of the property.

general rates receipt, current market valuation, valid identification card; letter of administration and death certificate (if owner(s) are deceased), agreement of sale, deed of gift, and the affidavit of donor and done (if the property is to be transferred as gift/trust) and the fee of 0.5 per cent of the current market valuation of the property.

The Bar Association, in its case, argued that the exorbitant fee demanded by the Council is unreasonable and contrary to the policy of and ultra vires Section 16 (a) of the Deeds Registry Act which

Financially detrimental

The GBA argued that the documents demanded by the M&CC to apply for a certificate of compliance are not necessary for the Council to ascertain and certify from its records whether rates and taxes have been paid on a particular property up to a specified time. It described the demand for the documents as being burdensome, frustrating to commerce, superfluous, and unnecessarily adds costs and time.

The M&CC was requesting the following documents to process transactions: 2019

High Court Persaud

Judge

Gino

is to ensure that immovable property is not conveyed by way of gift or voluntary sale without the payment of rates of taxes and not to act as an additional tax as the Council

Prevent fraud

The Council deposed that its decision was a policy-making one to prevent fraud in applications for declarations of title by ascertaining that the persons to whom certificates of compliance are issued have a legal interest in the property.

It contended that its power/discretion to request the submission of the set of documents is an implied or ancillary power or discretion flowing from Sections 16 (a) of the Deeds Registry Act and courts are not to substitute their views on how such discretion is exercised.

Among other things, the M&CC relied on Section 301 (35) (36) of the Municipal and District Councils Act as the statutory basis which authorises it “to prescribe fees” and in the instant case has allowed it to fix the new percentage basis fee based on a current market valuation of the property.

The M&CC submitted that the separate and conjoint meaning of “establish” and “control” under Section 301 (35) of the Act means that it is authorised to “prescribe fees and charges” in respect of anything which it has to verify, substantiate, prove or control. The Council further contended that there is nothing in the legislation that prohibits it from setting fees and charges on a per-

centage basis as opposed to a flat fee. It also contended that the new fee is not a tax but a levy by a public body.

Serious financial injury

Having examined Section 206 of the Municipal and District Councils Act, Justice Persaud found that such a power to levy a charge for a certificate of compliance as a

ry out its statutory mandate and its fiscal provisions guide its income, expenditure, and financial reporting in the interest of accountability, Justice Persaud held that it is not empowered to raise additional revenue by increasing the cost for the issuance of a certificate of compliance.

The High Court judge said that it is an established

“This is undoubtedly a serious financial injury to the ratepayer…it cannot be too strongly emphasised that Local Government Councillors are not legislators. Their duty is not to re-structure the law but to exercise honestly and on a proper consideration of all relevant factors the discretions which Parliament has entrusted to them” – Justice Persaud percentage of the value of the property does not exist.

He ruled that the decision was beyond the M&CC’s powers and the figure of 0.5 per cent of the current market valuation of the property to be transferred was not explained in any way at all.

In quashing the decision, he reasoned that Parliament could not have intended a double levy on a ratepayer within the same year which is exactly what became the position in 2019.

He said, that year, the Council instituted a double levy on the ratepayer which coincidentally is also a fixed percentage on the value of the property simply to obtain a certificate of compliance which is nothing more than a document verifying that the rates and taxes are paid up in respect of a property to be transferred to a new owner.

Such verification by issuing a piece of paper in writing [certificate of compliance] is purely a ministerial function and cannot cost 0.5 per cent of the value of the property to be transferred; this is a pedestrian exercise, the Judge pointed out.

While he noted that the M&CC is expressly empowered to raise revenue to car-

principle that a local authority owes a fiduciary duty analogous to that of a trustee to ratepayers to have regard to their interests. He noted that the M&CC also has a duty in this regard not to overcharge ratepayers while adding that the fees for the provision of administrative services must be reasonable and not exploitative.

He, therefore, held that the Council has undoubtedly breached its fiduciary duty owed to ratepayers with the double levy in a single year when a property is intended to be transferred. Moreover, he found that this policy decision was not a utilitarian calculation of the public good.

“The object of a policy of any statutory body cannot be whimsically and arbitrarily decided upon for reasons which have nothing to do with its statutory functions contemplated under the Act,” Justice Persaud added. The M&CC had sought to justify its decision and gave a reason as preventing fraud.

However, Justice Persaud said that the Act does not contemplate this as a function that falls within the remit of the M&CC. In fact, he made it clear that this was none of the

Council’s business and it had absolutely no authority in considering fraud in property transfer as a factor that led to the policy decision.

To this end, the Judge said there is no doubt in his mind that the increased fee is a heavy penalty. The High Court judge termed the Council’s decision “a penal blow to ratepayers”.

He added, “It is a double burden on the ratepayer who has to pay off all outstanding rates and taxes before transferring his property and then pay an increased fee to obtain a certificate of compliance based on a fixed percentage of the current market value of the property. This is undoubtedly a serious financial injury to the ratepayer.”

The Judge ended his judgement with this salutary warning: “It cannot be too strongly emphasised that Local Government Councillors are not legislators. Their duty is not to re-structure the law but to exercise honestly and on a proper consideration of all relevant factors the discretions which Parliament has entrusted to them.”

Welcomes decision

The Council was ordered to pay $150,000 in costs to the GBA, which was represented by Attorney-at-Law Kamal Ramkarran, while Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde and Attorney-at-Law D Sukhdeo appeared on behalf of the M&CC. The GBA was in high praise of the court’s ruling.

In a statement Wednesday, the Bar Association noted that from time to time, in fulfilment of its mandate to uphold the rule of law, it participates in litigation before the courts.

“The Bar Association welcomes the decision of His Honour as it grants much relief to the property owners within the city of Georgetown who have had to suffer staggering costs and an unnecessarily complicated process resulting in hardship and financial loss,” the missive reads. (G1)

NEWS

15

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

1 dead, 1 hospitalised after street brawl turns deadly

Baird’s reputed wife: Devon Grandison

Dead: Aubrey Baird

By LaWanda McAllister

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father of three lost his life on Tuesday evening during a street brawl at Wortmanville, Georgetown.

Reports are that the man was brutally stabbed by another man of the same community.

Dead is 40-year-old Aubrey Baird of 22 E Hardina Street, Wortmanville. He was stabbed to death by Bryan Matterson, a 46-yearold man of Princes Street, Wortmanville, who has since been hospitalised at the Georgetown Public Hospital after he was beaten by residents following the murder.

Reports are that on Tuesday around 21:00h, the two men started fighting; however, it was not clear what led to the confrontation.

When <<<<Guyana Times>>> visited the scene, this publication was told that during the fight, Baird allegedly hit the suspect with a piece of wood, and in return the suspect stabbed him multiple times to his chest.

However, family members said at the time of the stabbing, Baird was intoxicated and was unable to defend himself.

After stabbing Baird, the suspect reportedly jumped onto his bicycle and attempted to ride away from the scene, but was apprehended by public-spirited citizens and given a sound beating.

Baird was taken to the hospital where he was admitted, but died while receiving medical attention.

Meanwhile, the man’s reputed wife, 23-year-old Devon Grandison told this publication said the clothes vendor was hanging out

with friends when the incident occurred.

“He came home, he eat, he was down here liming with his friends… they said some man pass and he [the suspect] feel offended that they were laughing…I don’t know what transpired because I was in my bed. I heard some say Aubrey get jook up, and when I run downstairs, the two of them

this year, and give his children a better life than he had. It wasn’t easy for him growing up. From the age of 10, he had to start working and now he died at 40,” the woman said, unable to hold back her tears.

Baird had sold clothes for the past 13 years in the vendors’ arcade in Georgetown to maintain his family. His reputed wife said she was

The area where Baird was stabbed

pect had stabbed a man just recently, which almost resulted in him losing his life.

“He stabbed a man at Sweet Point …. an old lady was passing the other day and he spit on the woman. If you look at him, he always threatening to kill you…,” the man said.

The suspect who is said to have a “mental issue” is also being accused of killing his biological brother in 2015. In an interview with

another section of the media, the suspect’s brother said that the man has been threatening members of his family for years.

“He tell we he gone put all ah we in the burial ground, just like he put Mario [the suspect’s dead brother] in the burial ground…this is not no surprise to me, because this banna always threatening to kill…”, the suspect’s brother said.

In 2019, the suspect was

remanded to prison on an attempted murder charge, which stemmed from his alleged stabbing of his neighbour.

It was alleged that on September 27, 2019 at Princes Street, Wortmanville, he stabbed his neighbour, Ronald Bettencourt with intent to commit murder.

The suspect was previously charged with assaulting the same neighbour.

2 nabbed for brazen Croal Street robbery

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The injured suspect

were in the trench fighting.

It’s like Aubrey didn’t even realise that he get jook and so much,” the tearful woman said.

Grandison said her husband was a great father to his children, and he was taken away from them by his heartless killer. She said while persons were alleging that the man was from the community, she has never seen her husband’s killer before. She related that her reputed husband had many plans to give his children a better life. According to her, he was already trying to renovate their home, and was going to finish it this year. “…that was his goal for

now thinking about how she was going to make ends meet since her husband was the sole breadwinner of their family.

“This is really hard… now he is gone I don’t know what to do… I can’t say what is my next move for now,” she said.

As such, the grieving woman has called on the Police to conduct a thorough investigation, since she needs justice for her reputed husband.

Nuisance

Residents in the area told this publication that the suspect has been a nuisance for years. Jermaine Eastman said that the sus-

ess than 24 hours after a video circulated on social media of a brazen robbery, Police said they have arrested the suspects.

Two men are now in Police custody in relation to the robbery with aggravation that was committed on a 33-year-old businessman of Foulis, East Coast Demerara (ECD), which occurred on Tuesday at Croal Street, Georgetown.

Police said the victim was robbed of a cell phone valued $48,000 and $700.

One of the suspects, a 25-year-old male, was arrested on Tuesday evening at about 22:00h at Tucville Housing Scheme, while the other, aged 21, was arrested on Wednesday at around 01:00h at a house on David Street, Kitty.

When arrested, Police said the suspect was found with the victim’s cell phone.

On Tuesday, the victim was walking on Croal Street when he was accosted from behind by the second sus-

The suspects robbing the businessman on Croal Street, Georgetown

pect who choked him, while the first suspect approached from the front, pushed his hand into the victim’s rightside pocket and took out the money.

The victim became unconscious during the ordeal and was left lying on the ground, as the perpetrators

took his valuables before making good their escape.

The entire ordeal was captured on CCTV and prompt investigations led to the suspects being apprehended.

The suspects are presently in custody pending charges. (G9)

16 NEWS Govt engaging new bidder for Demerara River bridge THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

…as negotiations with previous bidder collapse over financing costs

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Public Works Minister Juan Edghill

t has been revealed that the Government is engaging the second responsive bidder, a Chinese consortium, to construct the new Demerara River bridge.

This comes after negotiations with the first preferred bidder, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd, fell through.

Vice President Bharrat

Jagdeo recently disclosed that negotiations with China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd to construct the Demerara River bridge did not progress. During his interview with VICE News, Jagdeo revealed that the cost of financing was too high with the first company.

“We went to open public tender. Companies from

around the world, they bid.

And in the final bid they had the lowest price bid. So, they had the lowest bid. So, we did open public tender and companies form all around the world, from Europe etcetera, they all bid,” the Vice President said.

“On the bridge, you mentioned the bridge. The number one ranked company, we said we’d start the negotiations with the number one ranked company, the Chinese company. We’ve just terminated the negotiations with them, because the cost of financing is too high. And that has just happened and we’ve now moved to the second ranked company,” Jagdeo explained.

Jagdeo made it clear that the intention of the Government is to bring the cost of financing down, hence they have moved on to the second responsive bidder.

The second responsive bidder is a Chinese consortium comprising of China Railway Construction International and China Railway Caribbean Company Limited and the China Railway Construction

The Demerara River bridge

Engineering Group, which had submitted a bid of US$260.8 million.

Public Works Minister

Accused to know fate today in Berbice triple murder

Confessed killer: Carlton Chaitram

Murder accused: Tameshwar Jagmohan

Confessed killer: Rakesh Karamchand

Dead: From left: Pawan Chandradeo, his son, Jaikarran Chandradeo, and his Brother-in-law Naresh Rooplall

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nother accused in the Black Bush Polder (BBP) 2016 triple murder will know his faith today after Justice Sandil Kissoon sums up the trial and the jury presents its verdict.

On trial for the July 2016 triple murder is Tameshwar Jagmohan, known as “Guava,” of Mibicuri South, Black Bush Polder.

He is accused of murdering Pawan Chandradeo, 38; his son Jaikarran Chandradeo, 15; and his brother-in-law Naresh Rooplall, 33, at Mibicuri Backdam.

It is alleged that between July 21 and 22, 2016, while in the company of others in the BBP, he murdered the trio.

On Wednesday, the prosecution closed its case and Jagmohan gave an unsworn statement before the defence

closed its case.

Justice Kissoon is expected to address the jury today.

When the case opened in January, four persons were on trial for the triple murder but the number one accused Jairam Chetram, 24 - pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter.

State Prosecutor, Attorney-at-Law Abigail Gibbs told the court that the quartet had gone into the backdam to steal fuel from a farmer and they killed the trio who was there on a fishing expedition.

The trio was killed because they may have witnessed the theft of fuel.

According to Gibbs, Chetram had given Police a caution statement in which he confessed to the killings.

According to Gibbs, “In his

words, he said ‘When abbe start fa lash the back pon the tank me see two men and a lil boy run coming so we have the gun with eight load, this is daddy gun, and me buss two load in the air and three a them run’ and they stood next to his boat.”

She told the court that according to the statement Jairam gave to the Police, he then went after the trio and realised that it was Suresh (Pawan Chandradeo), his son (Jaikarran Chandradeo), and another man (Naresh Rooplall – his brother-inlaw). She noted that the accused told investigators that he knew Suresh because he used to work with “all awe.”

It was then he decided that, “We can’t lef no evidence. Me shoot them one, one and them fall down pon

Juan Edghill meanwhile also disclosed the change in negotiations during the consideration of the budget estimates for the Public Works Ministry on Tuesday, following questions on the status of the proj-

Confessed killer: Jairam Chaitram

a dam, and I load back the gun, I go over them head and I shoot them at them head.”

The trial Judge ordered a probation report which should be presented in court today, following which sentencing will be handed down.

After that guilty plea, the other two accused also pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter.

Carlton Chaitram, called “Lyma” of Mibicuri, BBP, and Rakesh Karamchand called “Go-To-Front,” who are both represented by Attorneys Marceline Bacchus and Chandra Sohan, entered the three separate guilty pleas on February 2.

Probation reports have also been ordered for them and are expected to be presented on February 17.

Meanwhile, Forensic Pathologist Dr Vivikand Brijmohan, who was the last witness for the prosecution, told the court that all three victims died as a result of shock and haemorrhage due to gunshot wounds.

He said the teenager was shot to his temple and the bullet went through his head, shattering his skull and disfiguring his brain.

His father also received similar injuries while Rooplall’s entire brain was removed from his head by the pellets from the shotgun.

Jagmohan is being represented by Attorney-at-Law Surihya Sabsook. (G4)

ect. He too cited financing costs.

“Currently we are negotiating with the second ranked responsive bidder. Because negotiations are ongoing, disclosures on this matter would be very concerned and I will be very restrictive in what I say. But I can tell you negotiations are ongoing and the next meeting is tomorrow morning,” the Minister said.

Edghill also fielded questions on why $21 billion was budgeted for the project if the request for proposals includes the preferred bidder financing the project. In response, Edghill explained that the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government remains committed to delivering the four-lane high span Demerara River bridge as promised to the people of Guyana. He explained that while the bids include the companies financing the bridge, the budgetary allocation is to undertake preparatory works.

“The Government of Guyana has provided this sum to ensure that all the necessary things that need to be done when we engage the pre-

ferred bidder, our contribution to get that project kickstarted and for it to be built in two years, we are getting that done now.”

“This $21 billion that the Honourable Member is asking about, I want to assure him and all the people of Guyana, it is to ensure at all cost we get the bridge, we get the best price and that the interest of Guyana is served when we finalise a contract with whoever will be doing the construction of this bridge,” Edghill said.

Last year, Cabinet had granted its no-objection for China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd to construct the bridge at a proposed cost of US$256.6 million. The contract was awarded based on a Design-BuildFinance (DBF) model with financial terms and conditions which would be no less favourable than those submitted in the preferred bidder’s price proposals. The proposed construction cost by China State Construction was in fact the lowest amongst all bidders.

Initially, the Government had pre-qualified nine firms to submit bids for the construction of a two-lane dual carriageway (4 lanes) hybrid cable-stayed centre span bridge with concrete box/T beam girder approach bridge structure.

The pre-qualified firms were invited to submit bids to construct the bridge using a Design-Build-Finance (D-B-F) contract and Design-BuildFinance-Operate-Maintain (D-B-F-O-M) contract.

At the pre-bid meeting, held on June 28, 2021, it was agreed that the closing date for submission of bids would be October 5, 2021. Only five of the pre-qualified bidders submitted bids, of which four obtained the required minimum score for the technical proposal. (G3)

Police suspect murder after woman’s body found hanging from tree

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olice have launched an investigation into the death of a woman whose body was found hanging from a tree at her Yarrowkabra, Soesdyke-Linden Highway home.

Dead is 48-year-old Edith Reuben, a housewife who was discovered sometime between 00:30h and 06:00h.

Investigators from Regional Division 4B (East Bank Demerara) are trying determine the circumstances which led to the woman’s demise.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Reuben lived with her reputed husband who told Police that they, along with several neighbours were consuming alcohol on Monday last. However, after some time the others left for their respective residences, except for a male.

The woman reportedly stayed on her verandah consuming alcohol while her husband and the other man re-

tired to bed.

At about 04:00h the male guest awoke the woman’s reputed husband, to indicate to him that he was leaving their home. After acknowledging, the woman’s husband went back to sleep.

Two hours after, he awoke and made the gruesome discovery of his reputed wife’s motionless body hanging from a mango tree in the yard.

The body was taken down and escorted to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where she was pronounced dead.

A statement from the Police’s headquarters on Wednesday stated that so far, they “will only say that the positioning of the deceased’s body suggests she was murdered and her body placed at the scene.”

The male guest who overnighted at the couple’s home has not been located.

Investigations are continuing as Police await a post-mortem. (G9)

NEWS

17

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Austrian company gets contract for maternal and children hospital …as talks advance on project

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iscussions between the Governments of Guyana and Austria are being finalised in relation to the construction of a much anticipated maternal and children hospital in Georgetown.

This is according to President Dr Irfaan Ali, who told reporters on the sidelines of an event on Tuesday evening that the Government of Austria, a central European nation, will be carrying out the project.

“The discussions are fairly advanced and in its final stage. We would have already moved to the award [of the contract] so it is just now finalising the final details and having the project move to implementation,” he stated.

According to the Head of State, the project is being executed with a Design, Finance, Build (DFB) model and the contract is being awarded to Austrian company, VAMED, which is a global provider for hospitals and other facilities in the healthcare sector.

Based on information on its website, the VAMED group’s international portfolio comprises the entire value chain from project development via the planning and

President Dr Irfaan Ali

construction of a healthcare facility, to highly specialised commercial, infrastructure, and technical services.

While there was no further information on the project details including the cost of constructing the maternal and children hospital, the Guyana Government has already set aside some $12.4 billion for the state-ofthe-art paediatric and maternal hospital in Budget 2022 that is currently being scrutinised in the National Assembly.

In March 2021, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony had announced that

Government is looking to establish a maternal and children’s hospital, which will offer specialised care to patients. At the time, it was noted that Guyana was already having talks with bilateral agencies in order to get this project off the ground.

However, last September on the sidelines of the 76th Session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, President Ali met with Austrian President, Alexander Van der Bellen, in New York City to discuss strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two nations.

During that meeting, the Guyanese Leader had disclosed that his Austrian counterpart had expressed interest in constructing the maternal and children’s hospital, among other things, here.

With this state-of-theart facility here, specialisations such as children’s cardiology services that were started at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) will be transferred to the hospital that will be developed.

Back in 2020, the Health Minister had revealed that there were significant local and foreign interest from

the Private Sector in constructing speciality hospitals in Guyana.

“In terms of speciality hospital, apart from maybe Government investing, there has also been a lot of interest from the Private Sector, locally and foreign, to invest in developing specialised services. So, we are very favourable to such investments,” the Minister had said.

At one point, the Government of Guyana was in the process of constructing a speciality hospital of its own at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara. To fund it, the former People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Administration secured a US$18 million line of credit (LOC) from the Indian Export-Import (EXIM) bank.

This hospital would have provided specialised services to Guyanese and eliminated the need for persons to travel overseas for expensive, lifesaving treatment.

Back in 2012, the contract to construct the hospital was awarded to an Indiabased company, Surendra Engineering Corporation Limited, but was subsequently terminated after the firm breached several of its contractual obligations. At

that time, just over US$4 million of the funding was spent on preliminary works.

After the former APNU/ AFC Government entered office in 2015, it proceeded to hand over the contract to Fedders Lloyd Corporation, which was subsequently blacklisted by the World Bank for unrelated procurement breaches.

With that, the speciality hospital project hit its final snag. As a result, the coalition Government used the remaining US$14 million from the LOC to fund upgrading existing regional hospitals. Those works are still ongoing.

In the meantime, at least one local company, Cardiology Services Incorporated, headed by Guyanese Cardiologist Dr Mahendra Carpen, has pub-

licly indicated its interest in building a speciality hospital in Guyana.

However, the company was unwittingly vested with land under the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/ AFC) Government by the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), while the Government was in a caretaker status.

With the change of Government, the company has since returned the land to ensure there is a fair and transparent land allocation process. Dr Carpen had signalled his intent to work with the current Government to bring the speciality hospital to fruition. (G8)

3 new COVID-19 deaths recorded, 17 in ICU …Govt working to procure COVID-19 pills – Health Minister

GUYANA COVID-19 DASHBOARD FEBRUARY 9, 2022 UPDATE

NUMBER OF NEW CASES

H

ealth Minister Dr Frank Anthony announced that the Government is currently working with different companies to procure both the Pfizer and Merck COVID treatment pills.

During Monday’s COVID-19 update, the Minister stated that while the Government cannot manufacture these pills, they are currently working with private companies to acquire same.

“What we are working on currently is to make sure that we can secure both the Merck drug and the Pfizer drug and so we have been trying to work with different companies to see if we can get that into Guyana.”

As Guyana is yet to acquire this treatment regimen, the Minister continues to encourage that persons get vaccinated.

“The appeal would be to get people to be vaccinated and hopefully we can get more people coming out to

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL ISOLATION get these vaccines.”

Meanwhile, the Minister revealed that the Health Ministry is currently monitoring 4358 active COVID-19 cases, with another 167 new cases being detected within the last 24 hours.

A breakdown of the new cases showed 28 in Region One (Barima-Waini); 13 in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam); 19 in Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara); 62 in Region Four (DemeraraMahaica); two in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice); five in Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne); three in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni); one in Region Eight (PotaroSiparuni); 14 in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and 20 in Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice).

There are currently 91 persons in hospitals across the country with 68 persons at the Ocean View Facility.

Of those, 17 persons are in the ICU.

New deaths

The Health Ministry reported on Wednesday that three new COVID-19 deaths were recorded. These are an 86-year-old woman from Region 10 who died on Wednesday; a 72-year-old man from Region Two who died on February 7 and an 80-year-old from Region Three died on February 8.

These three new deaths now take the total COVID-19 death toll in Guyana to 1188.

So far 427,336 or 83.3 per cent of adults have received a first dose of the COVID vaccines while 319,596 or 62.3 per cent have received a second dose of the COVID vaccines.

For the 12 to 17 age cohort, 32,978 or 45.2 per cent have received a first dose of the Pfizer vaccines while 23,528 or 32.3 per cent have received both doses.

In terms of booster doses, 43,715 persons have received their doses.

167 98

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN HOME ISOLATION

3289

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN COVID-19 ICU

17

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL QUARANTINE

25

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (FEMALES)

33,355

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (MALES)

28,546

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES IN GUYANA SINCE 2020

61,901

NUMBER OF RECOVERED CASES

57,309

TOTAL 1st DOSE VACCINATED FULLY IMMUNISED TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS

DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES SINCE MARCH 2020 REGION 1

2420

REGION 2

2388

REGION 3

7938

REGION 4

30,733

REGION 5

2303

REGION 6

5604

REGION 7

2395

REGION 8

866

REGION 9

3801

REGION 10

3453

HERE IS HOW YOU CAN BE SAFE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Wear a face mask.

427,336 319,596 1188

Keep a physical distance of at least 6 feet.

Wash your hands or use handsanitizer If you have any symptoms, call the COVID-19 Hotline.

GET MEDICAL ADVICE ON COVID-19 FROM MOH 24/7 HOTLINE NUMBERS: 2311166; 226 7480; 624 6674; 624 2819; 624 3067 OR 180/181.

18

guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022

Regional

Homes engulfed as deadly Nicaragua sentences Journalist landslide hits Colombia to 13 years for “conspiracy” A

Rescue teams have been searching in the mud and debris for more survivors

A

landslide triggered by heavy rains has killed at least 14 people in central Colombia, officials say.

Another 35 people were now in hospital after several homes were engulfed in the Dosquebradas municipality, Risaralda province, on Tuesday.

The officials issued a photo showing a gash in

the lush foliage covering a mountain overlooking the area.

Other residents living close to a swollen river nearby have been moved to safety.

Rescue teams have been searching in the mud for more survivors, Colombia’s disaster management officials said.

“A very loud noise scared us. We went out and saw a

piece of the mountain on top of the houses,” taxi driver Dubernei Hernandez told the AFP news agency.

“I went to that place and it was a disaster, with people trapped.”

Hernandez said he helped dig up two bodies and a survivor. At least five homes were buried by the mud, he added.

There are fears that the death toll will rise further.

Landslides are common in Colombia and houses built on steep hillsides are at particular risk during the country’s rainy season.

In 2019, at least 28 people were killed after a landslide hit the south-western Cauca province.

Two years earlier, more than 250 people were killed when a landslide hit the town of Mocoa, in the southern Putumayo province.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Judge in Nicaragua has sentenced former presidential hopeful and Journalist Miguel Mora to 13 years in prison for “conspiracy to undermine national integrity”.

Mora was the latest in a series of Opposition political figures to be convicted and sentenced after trials lasting a few hours. The trials of the 46 Opposition figures, including seven presidential hopefuls such as Mora, started on February 1.

The US and European Union have slapped sanctions on members of President

Daniel Ortega’s Government for crushing internal dissent and for undemocratic practices.

Mora’s lawyer, Gerardo Gonzalez, told the 100 percent Noticias television station — where Mora served as Director until he was imprisoned — that the sentence was handed down on Wednesday.

Mora’s hopes to run in the November 7 elections were truncated when Ortega ordered him and six other contenders arrested in May and June, allowing Ortega to run almost unopposed.

On Tuesday, sportswrit-

El Salvador frees woman jailed for homicide after miscarriage, says rights group

“No to the IMF”: Thousands protest in Argentina against debt deal

Demonstrators take part in a protest against the Government’s agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in Buenos Aires, Argentina, February 8, 2022

T

housands of Argentines marched through the streets of Buenos Aires on Tuesday to protest against a likely deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to revamp more than US$40 billion of debt the country cannot pay back.

The protesters paraded through the capital with banners saying “no to paying the IMF” and “no to an IMF deal”, a sign of rising tension in the South American nation over the tentative agreement struck late last month.

Argentina and the IMF announced a breakthrough in talks in late January to revamp a failed 2018 loan, which would see debt payments pushed back, but involve pledges to meet certain economic targets agreed with the lender.

That agreement still needs details ironed out and approval from both Argentina’s Congress and the IMF Board.

“No to the Government’s deal with the IMF,” said Celeste Fierro, a protest leader, wearing a T-shirt reading “scams are not

paid”.

“They want us to pay with more (fiscal) adjustments, with more precariousness and taking more out of us, that is why we cannot allow the submission of our people to the designs of the IMF.” IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said last week that while an agreement had been reached in principle with Argentina on a new standby loan, “hard work” still lay ahead.

In Argentina, splits have appeared in the ruling Peronist coalition over the deal, with one prominent lawmaker stepping down from his position in Congress in opposition to it.

Juan Carlos Giordano, a representative for a leftist group in the march, said that the debt deal was akin to making working-class people foot the bill and that the funds should be used to pull people out of poverty.

“The aim is to defend wages, defend work so that the money goes to combat social ills,” he said, blaming the previous Government of conservative Mauricio Macri for taking on the IMF debt.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

T&T girl, 16, held for stealing taxi driver’s car

P

olice in Trinidad arrested a 16-year-old Tunapuna girl on Tuesday night after she stole a taxi driver’s car.

Police said the 63-year-old driver was standing outside his white Nissan Tiida on the Eastern Main Road, Curepe, near the bus terminal around 20:00h when the girl asked to

go to North Street, St Joseph.

The girl got into the front passenger seat of the car before climbing into the driver’s seat and driving off with the car.

The man called for help and two other cars chased the girl along the Eastern Main Road.

Police from the Northern

Division Emergency Response Patrol joined the chase and arrested the girl.

Police took her to the St Joseph Police Station where her mother was called in.

She was then taken to the booking centre.

St Joseph Police are continuing enquiries. (Trinidad Newsday)

er and Government critic Miguel Mendoza was convicted on similar charges, as was former Foreign Minister Francisco Aguirre Sacasa, 76.

Both are expected to be sentenced soon.

Among those already convicted are former Sandinista rebel commander Dora María Tellez, 65, who led an assault on the National Palace in 1978 during the Somoza family dictatorship, holding congress members hostage in exchange for the release of rebel prisoners. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Elsy, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison and spent a decade behind bars for alleged aggravated homicide after suffering a miscarriage, poses for a picture after being released from jail in San Salvador, El Salvador, February 9, 2022. Agrupacion Ciudadana por la Despenalizacion del Aborto/Handout via Reuters

S

alvadoran authorities on Wednesday freed a woman who had served a decade of a 30-year sentence on charges of aggravated homicide after suffering a miscarriage, according to a local rights group.

Elsy, 38, whose last name was not released, reported an obstetric emergency in June 2011 while working as a domestic worker, according to the organi-

sation, which said she was immediately arrested and shortly after charged with aggravated homicide.

Salvadoran authorities did not respond to a request for comment or confirm the release. Reuters was unable to independently verify the details of the case.

The Citizen Group for the Decriminalisation of Abortion in El Salvador, which released a photo that

it said depicted Elsy after her release from jail, said her original court case was full of irregularities and without presumption of innocence.

“We celebrate Elsy’s release after 10 years. Her erroneous 30-year sentence for aggravated homicide is over.

We must continue to fight tirelessly to free those who remain deprived of liberty,” said the group’s President, Morena Herrera, in a statement. “(Elsy) was separated from her son, who only had her. Now, more than 10 years later, she will be able to reunite with him and her family,” the organisation added.

Over the last 20 years El Salvador, which has banned abortion under all circumstances, including cases of rape and incest and when the woman’s health is in danger, has criminally prosecuted some 181 women who suffered obstetric emergencies. Since 2009, 61 of them have been released, according to the feminist organisation. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Peru’s Castillo names loyalist as PM amid recurring Cabinet crises

P

eruvian President Pedro Castillo swore in his fourth Cabinet in just six months in office on Tuesday, picking a loyalist as Prime Minister, in a bid to end his Administration’s recurring crises.

Castillo, a former schoolteacher and member of a Marxist-Leninist party, handed the premiership to Anibal Torres, the Justice Minister in the previous Cabinet.

The previous prime minister resigned last week after just four days in office due to allegations of do-

mestic violence against his daughter and late wife.

The Prime Minister who came before that had resigned over disagreements with Castillo over appointments of Police officials.

Castillo kept on investor-friendly technocrat Oscar Graham as Finance Minister, the role given to him in last week’s shortlived Cabinet.

An Opposition attempt to impeach Castillo in December on grounds that he was morally unfit for office failed to gather enough votes in Congress.

Castillo’s new Cabinet still needs to be confirmed by the Opposition-controlled Congress, which could reject it and force the President back to the drawing board.

Castillo won approval for his first two Cabinets, while the third one fell apart before the vote.

During the swearing-in ceremony, Castillo appeared without his signature broadbrimmed hat. He has worn the hat, customarily worn in his home province of Chota, for almost all public appearance since taking office.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022

19

Around the World

OILNEWS OIL NEWS COVID cases surpass 400 Oil rallies on big drawdown in US crude stocks, strong demand

O

il prices rallied on Wednesday after US crude inventories dropped by nearly 5 million barrels and fuel demand rose to an all-time high, underscoring the market's ongoing tightness.

Brent crude futures settled up 77 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to US$91.55 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) ended up 30 cents to US$89.66 a barrel.

US crude stocks fell by 4.8 million barrels last week to 410.4 million barrels, their lowest since October 2018, while overall product supplied, a proxy for demand, hit a record 21.9 million barrels per day over the past four weeks, Government data showed.

The heavy activity and ramp-up in US refinery processing augur for a tight market for coming months.

"The data was decidedly bullish hands down - everything was bullish, with inventories at their lowest level in years," said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group.

The market has also been supported by concerns about ongoing threats to supply in United Arab Emirates, which has been hit by attacks from Yemen's Houthi group, and over Russia due to the presence of thousands of its troops near Ukraine's border.

The Biden Administration responded to high prices by again stating this week that it has been talking with large producers about more output, as well as the possibility of additional strategic releases from large consumers, as it did late last year.

That helped spur some of Wednesday's trading, which saw laterdated contracts outperform the front-month, said Flynn at Price Futures Group.

WTI for December delivery, for instance, gained 96 cents on the day, reducing the current backwardation in the market.

Backwardation is a condition where near-term contracts are priced higher than longer-dated ones, indicating a tight market.

Following the close of trading, the White House said US President Joe Biden and King Salman of Saudi Arabia spoke on Wednesday, which included a discussion of maintaining stable global energy supplies.

The bullish US energy data offset the prospect of increased supply from Iran, which has put some downward pressure on the market this week as Washington resumed indirect talks with Iran to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

An agreement could lift US sanctions on Iranian oil and quickly add supply to the market, although a number of vital issues need to be resolved.

"It doesn’t look like the Iranian deal going to be signed tomorrow but there are some positive developments there," said Claudio Galimberti, senior vice president of analysis at Rystad Energy.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

million as Omicron grips world G

lobal COVID-19 cases surpassed 400 million on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, as the highly contagious Omicron variant dominates the outbreak, pushing health systems in several countries to the brink of capacity.

The Omicron variant, which is dominating the surge around the world, accounts for almost all new cases reported daily. While cases have begun to level off in many countries, more than 2 million cases are still being reported on average each day, according to a Reuters analysis. Deaths, which tend to lag cases, have increased by 70 per cent in the last five weeks based on the seven-day average.

Customers shop at a supermarket, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Sha Tin district, in Hong Kong, China, February 7, 2022

While preliminary evidence from several countries have shown that Omicron is milder than previous vari-

ants, a large volume of cases can potentially overburden healthcare systems globally.

It took over a month for

COVID cases to reach 400 million from 300 million, compared to five months for the cases to reach 300 million from 200 million, according to a Reuters tally. The pandemic has killed over 6 million people worldwide.

The top five countries reporting the most cases on a seven-day average - United States, France, Germany, Russia, and Brazil – account for roughly 37 per cent of all new cases reported worldwide, according to Reuters analysis.

About half of all new infections reported worldwide were from countries in Europe, with 21 countries still at the peak of their infection curve. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Major breakthrough on nuclear fusion energy

E

uropean scientists say they have made a major breakthrough in their quest to develop practical nuclear fusion - the energy process that powers the stars.

The UK-based JET laboratory has smashed its own world record for the amount of energy it can extract by squeezing together two forms of hydrogen.

If nuclear fusion can be successfully recreated on Earth it holds out the potential of virtually unlimited supplies of low-carbon, low-radiation energy.

The experiments produced 59 megajoules of energy over five seconds (11 megawatts of

The walls of the JET reactor were changed to a material made from beryllium and tungsten

power).

This is more than double what was achieved in similar tests back in 1997.

It's not a massive energy

output - only enough to boil about 60 kettles' worth of water. But the significance is that it validates design choices that have been made for an even bigger fusion reactor now being constructed in France.

"The JET experiments put us a step closer to fusion pow-

er," said Dr Joe Milnes, the head of operations at the reactor lab. "We've demonstrated that we can create a mini star inside of our machine and hold it there for five seconds and get high performance, which really takes us into a new realm."

The ITER facility in southern France is supported by a consortium of world governments, including from EU member states, the US, China and Russia. It is expected to be the last step in proving nuclear fusion can become a reliable energy provider in the second half of this century.

Operating the power plants of the future based on fusion would produce no greenhouse gases and only very small amounts of short-lived radioactive waste. (Excerpt from BBC News)

US and Canada warn of economic hit from Ukraine tensions: Russia SpaceX satellites are tumbling trucker protest sees room for diplomacy out of orbit after solar storm

S

paceX’s newest fleet of satellites is tumbling out of orbit after being struck by a solar storm.

Up to 40 of the 49 small satellites launched last week have either re-entered the atmosphere and burned up, or are on the verge of doing so, the company said in an online update Tuesday night.

SpaceX said a geomagnetic storm last Friday made the atmosphere denser, which increased the drag on the Starlink satellites, effectively dooming them.

Ground controllers tried to save the compact, flat-panel satellites by putting them into a type of hibernation and flying them in a way to minimise drag. But the atmospheric pull was too great, and the satellites failed to awaken and climb to a higher, more stable orbit, according to the company.

SpaceX still has close to 2000 Starlink satellites orbiting Earth and providing inter-

net service to remote corners of the world. They circle the globe more than 550 km (340 miles) up.

There is no danger from these newly falling satellites, either in orbit or on the ground, according to the company.

SpaceX described the lost satellites as a “unique situation”. Such geomagnetic storms are caused by intense solar activity like flares, which can send streams of plasma from the sun’s corona hurtling out into space and towards Earth.

Since launching the first Starlink satellites in 2019, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has envisioned a constellation of thousands more satellites to increase internet service. SpaceX is trying to help restore internet service to Tonga through this network following a devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami in late January. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

P

rotesters blocking border crossings between Canada and the United States risk hurting the auto industry, the White House warned on Wednesday as Ottawa urged an end to the 13-day demonstration against coronavirus mandates.

The Ambassador Bridge, a key supply route for the US auto industry in Detroit, has been shut for inbound Canada traffic since Monday night.

Another border crossing in Alberta has been closed in both directions since late on Tuesday.

Starting as a "Freedom Convoy" occupying downtown Ottawa opposing a vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border truckers mirrored by the US Government, protesters have also aired grievances about a carbon tax and other legislation.

"I think it's important for everyone in Canada and the United States to understand

what the impact of this blockage is - potential impact - on workers, on the supply chain, and that is where we're most focused," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday.

"We're also looking to tracking potential disruptions to US agricultural exports from Michigan into Canada."

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem called for a swift resolution.

"If there were to be prolonged blockages at key entry points into Canada that could start to have a measurable impact on economic activity in Canada," he said.

"We've already got a strained global supply chain.

We don't need this."

The protests were disrupting jobs and the economy's supply chain and "must end before further damage occurs," Canada's Emergency Preparedness Minister, Bill Blair, told reporters in a press briefing. (Excerpt from Reuters)

R

ussia's EU ambassador has told the BBC his country still believes diplomacy can help de-escalate the crisis over Ukraine.

Vladimir Chizhov said Moscow had no intention of invading anybody, but warned it was important not to provoke Russia into changing its mind.

It comes after a flurry of diplomatic activity on Monday and Tuesday.

Russia has repeatedly denied any plans to invade Ukraine.

But with well over 100,000 troops massed near the Ukrainian border, some Western countries including the US have warned that a Russian attack could come at any time.

In 2014 Russia annexed Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula. Since then, there has been a long-running conflict in eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists control swathes of territory and at least 14,000 people have been killed.

On Thursday Russia is set to start 10 days of joint military drills in Belarus, Ukraine's northern neighbour and a close ally of Russia.

Some 30,000 Russian troops are expected to take part.

A Kremlin spokesman said the joint drills were serious but he pointed out the nature of threats was higher than before.

Chizhov, however, told the BBC that Russian troops currently stationed in Belarus would return to their permanent bases after the exercises.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the drills were "escalatory" amid the high tensions in the region.

After two days of intense diplomacy led by French President Emmanuel Macron, there is some suggestion that a renewed focus on the socalled Minsk agreements which sought to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine - could be used as a basis to defuse the current crisis. (Excerpt from BBC News)

20

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022

guyanatimesgy.com

DAILY HOROSCOPES

ARCHIE

(March 21-April 19)

Trust in your instincts, experience and knowledge. Use your talents and resources to get the lowdown on a position or opportunity that is perfect for you. Hash out any concerns with someone close.

It’s up to you to bring about change.

Initiate what you want to happen, and don’t stop until you are satisfied with the results. Don’t expect everyone to help you. You’ll learn much.

DILBERT

(April 20-May 20) Put everything you’ve got into getting ahead. Don’t listen to anyone trying to talk you into slacking off. Do what’s necessary, and you will gain respect and benefits for your hard work.

(May 21-June 20) Spread your wings by trying something new and exciting. Engage in something that uses your talents in a fun, unique manner, and you will make a splash that leads to recognition.

(June 21-July 22)

PEANUTS

(July 23-Aug. 22)

Protect your ideas and reputation.

Don’t expect everyone to play fair. Keep your eyes open, and don’t give anyone information that might incriminate you.

Shared expenses will turn into a problem.

You’ll have an unusual outlook regarding your relationships with others.

Discuss your thoughts, concerns and intentions, and you’ll come to an agreement that can enhance your life.

CALVIN AND HOBBES (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Check out something that can boost your qualifications, skills, knowledge or experience. Listen to complaints, but don’t give in to anyone trying to make you feel guilty or inadequate.

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Handle domestic and financial matters carefully. If you let your emotions take charge, you are likely to overspend or get involved in a stressful joint venture. Listen to people you trust.

SUDOKU (Oct. 24-Nov. 22)

Choose your words carefully to avoid misinterpretation. Express your true feelings and what you want and expect from someone close to you. Distance yourself from anyone excessive.

(Nov. 23-Dec. 21)

LAST PUBLISHED WORD -- GOSLINGS

Implement the changes you want to incorporate into your daily routine. A disciplined approach to fitness, health and financial prudence will push you in the right direction.

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Get organized at home. Take care of those less able to fend for themselves.

Stick to the basics, and you’ll have time for what’s important. Be kind to others and you’ll receive kindness in return.

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Don’t trust anyone playing mind games. Stick to what you know and trust, and go directly to the source if something interests you. You stand to prosper if you take command.

(Feb. 20-March 20)

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022

21

STR Wood Inc National Online Blitz Championships…

Meusa wins unbeaten, Kandavel is Junior Champion

Best Female Jessica Callender

C

andidate Master (CM) Wendell Meusa is the new National Online Blitz Champion after playing nine rounds undefeated in the STR Wood Inc-sponsored tournament. The former national champion will now be awarded the top prize of $40,000.

Irshad Mohamad came in second with eight points, only conceding one match to Meusa and receives a prize of $25,000.

In third is CM Ronuel Greenidge who finished with seven points, with $15,000 as his prize.

The chess championships were held on Tornelo.com last Saturday, February 5 and saw nine rounds of fierce competition among junior and senior players.

In the fifth round, tournament winner Meusa faced off against

Junior Champion Tejasvarun Kandavel

runner-up Mohamad. The opening was a clear indicator of both players’ experience, but Meusa led the game towards a favourable position as an unfortunate trade left stark weaknesses in Mohamad’s structure. With that, Meusa confidently led the game towards the endgame where he traded his queen for Mohamad’s two rooks. On the verge of checkmating, Meusa made a fatal mistake which Mohamad took advantage of. The position had completely flipped to Mohamad’s favour. In a panicked frenzy, Mohamad attempted to convert his advantage into a crushing win, but his time had elapsed. Meusa walked away victoriously from one of the most entertaining games of the tournament.

Former national champion,

FIDE Master (FM) Anthony Drayton placed four after finishing on six points while Frankie Farley finished fifth on 5.5 points.

Reigning Junior Champion Keron Sandiford was unable to retain his title after losing to Tejasvarun Kandavel in the final round of the tournament.

This game ended up being the deciding factor whether Sandiford would hold on to his title or if the 11-year-old Kandavel would succeed in taking it away. The juniors played the opening moves immaculately, showing good preparation on both sides of the board. After 10 moves of the quiet opening had passed, chaos erupted. Sandiford threatened Kandavel’s king on the king side while Kandavel blew open the centre to attack Sandiford’s

Lukaku’s goal sends Chelsea into Club World Cup final

uncastled king in the middle. One attack was more potent than the other as Kandavel, either through sheer luck or brilliance, played an incredible pawn and knight sacrifice stranding Sandiford’s king in the middle of the board with nowhere to go. Three moves later, Sandiford resigned, making way for Kandavel to be crowned the 2022 Junior Blitz Champion after a decisive 18move victory in the final round.

Kandavel finished the tournament on 5.5 points after defeating five of his opponents and drawing his match against Jessica Callender, who received the Best Female prize. Callender

STR Wood Blitz Champion Wendell Meusa

finished the tournament on five points after winning four of her games and drawing two matches.

Both Kandavel and Callender will be rewarded with trophies and cash prizes of $20,000.

The tournament was supervised by FIDE arbiters John Lee and Anand Raghunauth.

The Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) has expressed its thanks to STR Wood Inc for sponsoring the National Blitz Championship last weekend. STR Wood Inc specialises in the harvesting and production of all species of wood used in construction, bridge building, utility poles and furniture making. STR Wood Inc

is an associate of STR Group.

The Group, through its associate companies, has been a proud sponsor of chess tournaments over the years, especially in the junior categories. STR graciously affirmed “that chess teaches planning and foresight, increases concentration and memory and helps a person develop problem solving skills, critical thinking and creativity. STR Group commits our continued support to the Guyana Chess Federation in its laudable efforts to make chess more accessible to all.

We encourage other corporate sponsors to do the same”.

Antetokounmpo scores 44 in Milwaukee Bucks' win over LA Lakers

Giannis Antetokounmpo helped inflict a fifth defeat in seven games on LeBron James' Lakers

G

Romelo Lukaku scored his first goal in six games in Abu Dhabi

C

helsea will meet Brazilian side Palmeiras in the Club World Cup final after edging past Al-Hilal at the Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Romelu Lukaku scored the only goal in the first half.

The Blues will now look to lift the only trophy that has evaded them across Roman Abramovich's 19-year ownership of the club.

Boss Thomas Tuchel missed the game as he was isolating after testing positive for COVID-19.

Chelsea dominated from the start against the Saudi Arabian side, and their breakthrough came from Lukaku just after the

half-hour mark.

Kai Havertz's left-wing cross was inadvertently headed into the Belgian's path by Yasser Al Shahrani, and he rifled home from point-blank range.

It was Lukaku's ninth goal of the season and ended a six-game drought, after he missed a couple of opportunities earlier in the match.

Two minutes after the break, Havertz burst through on goal and clipped the post from a tight angle, despite having Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech for support in the area.

Asian champions Al-Hilal

barely threatened until Mohamed Kanno shot over from distance after combining well with former West Bromwich Albion midfielder Matheus Pereira.

Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga then denied Moussa Marega from eight yards out, while Odion Ighalo and Kanno saw shots blocked as Chelsea struggled to put the game to bed.

But the European champions held on in the end and, in Saturday's final, will have the chance to avenge defeat in this competition a decade after their last appearance. (BBC Sport)

iannis Antetokounmpo scored 44 points as the Milwaukee Bucks extended their winning run to four games by beating the Los Angeles Lakers 131-116.

Antetokounmpo was 17 for 20 in shooting and also had 14 rebounds and eight assists in a devastating performance.

Bobby Portis hit 23 points while Khris Middleton scored all 21 of his in the first half for the Bucks.

LeBron James managed 27 points and eight assists for the Lakers, who lost for the fifth time in seven games.

Elsewhere, Devin Booker scored a game-high 35 points as the Phoenix Suns beat the Philadelphia 76ers 114-109.

Mikal Bridges chipped in with 23 points for the Suns, who won their third straight game to improve their season record to 4410.

Joel Embiid led the 76ers with 34 points and 12 rebounds, making it his 21st consecutive game with at least 25 points.

Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown each scored 22 points as the Boston Celtics handed the struggling Brooklyn Nets their ninth consecutive loss with a 12691 rout.

The Nets' record since Kevin Durant suffered a knee injury in the middle of January stands at two wins and 10 defeats as they dropped to eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

Elsewhere, the Atlanta

Hawks regrouped after backto-back defeats to beat the Indiana Pacers 133-112, while the Memphis Grizzlies eased past the Los Angeles Clippers with a 135-109 success.

The New Orleans Pelicans overcame the Houston Rockets 110-97, the Dallas Mavericks beat the Detroit Pistons 116-86, and Nikola Jokic was one of four Denver Nuggets players to hit 20 points in their 132-115 win over the New York Knicks.

The Minnesota Timberwolves secured a 134114 away win at Sacramento Kings, and Orlando Magic were also successful on the road, beating the Portland Trail Blazers 113-95.

(BBC Sport)

22 Prasidh Krishna's miserly four-for leads India to series win THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022

I

ndia's hit-the-deck bustle trumped West Indies as the hosts defended 237 to wrap up the One-Day International (ODI) series, with one game left.

Prasidh Krishna led the way for India, returning extraordinary figures of 4 for 12 in nine overs and reminding everyone why he was picked ahead of Deepak Chahar once again.

On an Ahmedabad track that offered extra bounce and zip throughout the game, Krishna relentlessly dug the ball into it and discomfited a Kieron Pollardless West Indies line-up. Thirtysix of the 54 balls he bowled were

short or short of a good length, according to ESPNcricinfo's logs.

Shardul Thakur, too, regularly pounded the deck and was rewarded with the wicket of Jason Holder. Holder spliced a shoulder-high short ball from Thakur, which left West Indies 76 for 5 in the 22nd over.

Akeal Hosein and Fabian Allen rallied briefly with a 42run stand and then Odean Smith gave India a mini-scare at the death before Krishna, fittingly, sealed the deal for India with a wicket-maiden.

The final exchange was a game of cat and mouse. Smith,

SCOREBOARD

INDIA INNINGS Rohit Sharma (c)c †Hope b Roach 5 Rishabh Pant †c Holder b Smith 18 Virat Kohli c †Hope b Smith 18 KL Rahul run out (Hosein/†Hope) 49 Suryakumar Yadav c Joseph b Allen 64 Washington Sundar c Joseph b Hosein 24 Deepak Hooda c Hosein b Holder 29 Shardul Thakur c Brooks b Joseph 8 Mohammed Siraj c†Hope b Joseph 3 Yuzvendra Chahal not out 11 Prasidh Krishna not out 0 Extras(b 2, lb 2, nb 2, w 2) 8 TOTAL(50 Ov, RR: 4.74) 237/9 Fall of wickets: 1-9 (Rohit Sharma, 2.6 ov), 2-39 (Rishabh Pant, 11.1 ov), 3-43 (Virat Kohli, 11.6 ov), 4-134 (KL Rahul, 29.4 ov), 5-177 (Suryakumar Yadav, 38.5 ov), 6-192 (Washington Sundar, 41.6 ov), 7-212 (Shardul Thakur, 45.6 ov), 8-224 (Mohammed Siraj, 47.3 ov), 9-226 (Deepak Hooda, 48.1 ov) BOWLING O-M-R-W Kemar Roach 8-0-42-1 Alzarri Joseph 10-0-36-2 Odean Smith 7-0-29-2 Jason Holder 9-2-37-1 Akeal Hosein 6-0-39-1 Fabian Allen 10-0-50-1

WEST INDIES INNINGS (TARGET: 238 RUNS FROM 50 OVERS) Shai Hope †c Yadav b Chahal 27 Brandon King c †Pant b Prasidh Krishna 18 Darren Bravo c †Pant b Prasidh Krishna 1 Shamarh Brooks c Yadav b Hooda 44 Nicholas Pooran (c) c Sharma b Prasidh Krishna 9 Jason Holder c Hooda b Thakur 2 Akeal Hosein c †Pant b Thakur 34 Fabian Allen c †Pant b Mohammed Siraj 13 Odean Smith c Kohli b Washington Sundar 24 Alzarri Joseph not out 7 Kemar Roach lbw b Prasidh Krishna 0 Extras (lb 5, nb 3, w 6) 14 TOTAL(46 Ov, RR: 4.19) 193 Fall of wickets: 1-32 (Brandon King, 7.3 ov), 2-38 (Darren Bravo, 9.1 ov), 3-52 (Shai Hope, 16.2 ov), 4-66 (Nicholas Pooran, 19.4 ov), 5-76 (Jason Holder, 21.6 ov), 6-117 (Shamarh Brooks, 30.5 ov), 7-159 (Fabian Allen, 38.5 ov), 8-159 (Akeal Hosein, 39.2 ov), 9-193 (Odean Smith, 44.6 ov), 10-193 (Kemar Roach, 45.6 ov) BOWLING O-M-R-W Mohammed Siraj 9-1-38-1 Shardul Thakur 9-1-41-2 Prasidh Krishna 9-3-12-4-1 Yuzvendra Chahal 10-0-45-1 Washington Sundar 5-0-28-1 Deepak Hooda 4-0-24-1

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

who is amongst the biggest hitters in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), muscled Thakur for back-to-back sixes and shovelled a full toss from Siraj for four.

He took the chase deep, with at least two overs from either Washington Sundar or Deepak Hooda yet to come.

When Sundar returned to the attack for the 45th over, West Indies needed 48 from 36 balls with two wickets in hand. Sundar bowled a nerveless three-run over while also having Smith caught at deep midwicket. He bowled into the pitch and hid the ball away from the swinging arc of Smith.

The start, too, had been fairly positive for West Indies.

Brandon King and Shai Hope hit four boundaries in six balls off Thakur and Siraj to take them to 31 for 0 in seven overs. Krishna came into the attack in the next over and struck with his third ball when he gleaned extra bounce to have King nicking off for 18 off

20 balls. In his next over, he got a length ball to kick up and seam away to also have Darren Bravo edging behind. He then returned to the attack to hit an in-between length and have stand-in Captain Nicholas Pooran caught by Rohit Sharma at wide slip for 9.

Krishna also bothered Shamarh Brooks with a sequence

of prancing deliveries. Brooks, however, weathered that hostile spell and was more fluent against spin, taking Yuzvendra Chahal and Sundar for 34 runs off 37

balls. Brooks looked to line up Hooda too, but ended up holing out to long-on to give him his first international wicket.

Earlier in the afternoon, India's batters were given similar treatment by the West Indies seamers. Kemar Roach, who sprayed the ball around in the

first ODI, tightened up in the second, using the crease and seam movement on offer to his advantage. He also found substantial extra bounce, having Sharma nicking off for 5 in his second over. Smith, who got a game in the niggleenforced absence of Captain Pollard, seized his opportunity by dismissing both Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli in the same over.

The returning KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav, who made his second ODI half-century, then struck up a 91-run fourth-wicket partnership to drag India to a total they could defend.

With Rahul returning to the team after missing the series opener because of a family commitment, India rejigged their batting line-up. While Rahul slotted in at No 4, Pant was bumped up to open with Sharma. After surviving potent opening spells from Roach and Alzarri Joseph, Pant tried to swing his way out of trouble against Smith. After carving a short ball for four, he took on another short ball, only to sky

a pull to Holder, who snagged it near square leg.

Smith – and Joseph – had similarly tested Kohli with lifting deliveries, but the all-rounder ultimately bested him with a length ball. Kohli went for a drive, lost his shape and nicked off for 18 off 30 balls. India were 43 for 3 in 12 overs at that stage.

It could have been 64 for 4 had wicketkeeper Hope not dropped a regulation catch to reprieve Rahul, when he was on 4, in the 18th over. Rahul broke free when Hosein bowled a half-tracker first ball, which was clattered over midwicket for six.

Rahul then charged at Hosein, pumping him over his head for six. From being on 7 off 23 balls, he moved to 49 off 47 balls before running himself out in the 30th over.

As for Suryakumar, he kept milking the spinners and passed fifty. However, when he looked to hit a higher gear, he misjudged the length of an Allen dart and top-edged a sweep to short fine leg for 64 off 83 balls. Allen combined with Hosein to tighten the screws on India, despite a late cameo from Hooda (29 off 25 balls).

Hosein and Allen bowled five overs between them in the last ten while giving away only 22 runs for the wicket of Sundar. Sundar, however, had the final say as India secured an unassailable 2-0 lead. (ESPNcricinfo)

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23

Volcanoes final-wicket pair frustrates Guyana Harpy Eagles wickets each.

Earlier, Volcanoes won the toss and elected to bat first. Veteran Devon Smith struck a composed half-century, his 64th at the First-Class level. The 40-year-old, who played 43 Tests for the West Indies, struck nine fours in the 87 balls he faced.

Young Alick Athnaze made a career-best 68 from 134 balls, featuring in a 49-run partnership with Smith for the second wicket. Kimani Melius was struck down by a Clinton Pestano bouncer and re-

W

tired hurt. While skipper Kaveem Hodge fell cheapy for 10, caught at slips off Paul, Keron Cottoy added 62 runs with Athnaze.

Cottoy struck six fours in his 39. At one stage, Volcanoes were 190-4, but the likes of Motie, Permaul, and Paul made inroads.

Things quickly went downhill as Volcanoes slumped to 215-9 in 72.2 overs.

Harpy Eagles were looking to wrap things up, but the final pair of Preston McSween and fellow pacer Sherman Lewis added an unbroken 62 runs.

McSween was unbeaten on 47 from 54 balls, slamming two sixes and four fours.

He took a liking to Test spinner Permaul and he evaded the short stuff from the Harpy Eagles pacers. Motie ended with 3-61 from 24 overs, Permaul had 3-75 from 23 overs, and Paul claimed 3-63 from 20 overs. Harpy Eagles will want to close off the Volcanoes innings when the second day bowls off from 10:00h Eastern Caribbean time.

Keemo Paul swung the ball early

indward Islands Volcanoes ended the first day of their Cricket West Indies (CWI) Regional Four-Day championships on a pos-

itive note against the Guyana Harpy Eagles at Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad and Tobago.

The Volcanoes were 277-9 after 89 overs, with

final pair Preston McSween and Sherman Lewis adding a valuable 62 runs.

Keemo Paul, Veerasammy Permaul, and Gudakesh Motie had picked up three

BCB presents 2 more pitch covers with sponsorship from Dr Tulsi Dyal Singh

T

he Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) under the leadership of Hilbert Foster continues to fulfil its commitment to the cricketing public of Berbice.

On Monday last, the Board handed over the last two pitch covers it had promised the county. The covers, which remain the property of the BCB, would be stored at the Edinburgh Cricket Club and the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC), MS. Foster disclosed that last year, the BCB decided to invest heavily in purchasing pitch covers in an effort to cut down on the amount of time lost to rain. The BCB President stated that the Board was concerned that important matches like quarter-finals, semifinals and finals were being affected by rain and thus some tournaments were delayed for a long time.

The county had fewer than three covers, but they were the property of clubs with most of them in poor condition. The first cover obtained by the Board was handed over to the Albion Cricket Club, while the second one, sponsored by Matt Bruer of Australia, was handed over to the Cotton Tree Cricket Club. The Cotton Tree cover is being used for BCB tournaments in the West Berbice area.

The third cover was sponsored by Vitality Inc and is in the care of the Upper Corentyne Cricket Association for usage in the Upper Corentyne area. Each cover is 100 feet by 34 feet

Veerasammy Permaul had three wickets

Meusa eyes chess supremacy this year

C

BCB President Hilbert Foster hands over covers to Joel Pike of RHTY&SC and Egbert Edwards of Edinburgh

and easily protects the pitch in the event of rain. Two sets of the covers were used during the Guyana Senior Team Best of Best trials.

The set of pitch covers handed over on Friday to the Edinburgh Club would be used for games in the East Bank/New Amsterdam area while the one in the care of the RHTY&SC would add to the Albion-based covers for cricket in the Lower/Central Corentyne area.

Foster expressed thanks to overseas-based Guyanese Dr Tulsi Dyal Singh for his sponsorship of the two covers, which were

purchased at the combined cost of $680, 000.

He urged all the clubs to take care of the covers as it was an investment of over $1.6 million from the BCB. Edinburgh President Egbert Edwards hailed the BCB for the outstanding work it was doing in the county to develop the game. Foster also disclosed that among the other plans for 2022 are assisting clubs and youth players with cricket balls, gear, cycles, school bags, educational grants, catching cribs, and grass cutters among other items.

andidate Master (CM) Wendell Meusa has put the local chess fraternity on notice, following an unbeaten tournament victory over the last weekend. After missing out on the National Senior Chess Championships in 2021, Meusa is approaching the sport with renewed vigor and intends to win it all in 2022.

Over the weekend, Meusa played nine rounds undefeated to clinch the STR Wood Inc National Online Blitz Championships, a practice that he wants to carry out throughout the year’s tournaments.

Speaking exclusively with Guyana Times Sport this week, Meusa indicated that he has been putting in the work with top-ranking local and foreign players behind the scenes.

“I never left the sport; I was always working quietly behind the scenes. Since the beginning of the pandemic two years ago, we practically transformed everything to online chess. So, we do virtual teaching right now, all of our classes are virtually done, most tournaments are played online,” the chess player shared.

He added, “So that’s where I have been most of my time.”

Detailing his tough loss at last year’s Championships,

Wendell Meusa

Meusa says that fatherhood has played a role in his absence from recent tournaments, but he has been working to make a resounding comeback.

“My greatest challenge right now is the fact that I’m a father. I’m a father of 2, so, now I don’t have as much time to dedicate to chess, because I’ve been dedicating some of that time to my family,” he explained.

Meusa went on to reveal, “After Taffin [Khan] won the National Championships, I took it upon myself to regroup, recheck my strategies, go over my opening ideas and such.

I’ve been training with some IMs, some friends of mine, we’ve been training behind the scenes.

“So, I am planning to go ahead with taking back this

title.”

Essentially, the CM is pretty confident that he can dethrone the 2021 Champion, if granted a fair chance.

“I’m confident in myself.

To be honest, I know my level of skill. When I came to Guyana, I was a very highlyranked player, when I was in Guyana, I wasn’t able to boom or bloom, so I focused more on the growth part and spreading the sport.

“But I’m very confident I can and I could have done it last year, playing against Drayton. I’m confident I can win the title, the question is not about my ability, the question is ‘bout the time and the availability due to the fact that I’m a father and I have other dedications as well,” Meusa commented.

Aside from the competitions, the CM- ranked player is keen on continuing his work in teaching the sport.

“I have some personal goals; I’m going after that title again and hopefully I can assist. I’m still working to contribute to the growth and development of chess in Guyana.”

“This year, I’m just trying to make sure I keep sharp, stay fit and looking forward to play for Guyana,” he said, taking a peek into the future.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022

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

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BCB presents 2 more pitch covers with sponsorship from Dr Tulsi Dyal Singh Pg 22

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