Guyana Times - Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Guyana to host virtual G77 Summit on Thursday

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Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 4452

THE BEACON OF TRUTH WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020

PRICE

After years of delay

$227M Mabaruma solar farm finally operational

$80 VAT INCLUDED

WHAT'S INSIDE: See story on page 9

Union raises concern over presence of almost 100 foreign workers at Aurora P10 …says fewer than 20 members rehired

NWD man P2 chopped to death by cousin …4 murders recorded in 2 days

…RDC aiming for 24-hr electricity by December

PPP/C Govt will respect freedom of the press – PM

See story on page 3

…assures State ads will be equitably distributed

Nagamootoo Amna Ally fingers responsible James Bond for downfall as PNCR of AFC – member resigned who received US$1M payment party member Massive land scandal

See story on page 10

Page 9

Anna Catherina chopping murder

“Nobody didn’t want to help we” – eyewitness recalls moment friend bled to death Page 11

$12M gen set commissioned

by APNU/AFC P11 non-functional COVID-19 P12 death toll reaches 121 …Health Ministry to ramp up testing to 1000 per day

Dubai eyes investments in Guyana’s agri P13 sector

2 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NWD man chopped to death by cousin …4 murders recorded in 2 days A

Kwebanna, North West District (NWD) youth reportedly went berserk on Monday evening and chopped one of his cousins to death. Dead in 35-year-old Kamal Wilson of Kwebanna, Region One (Barima-Waini).

Based on reports received, on the day in question at about 19:30h, the now dead man went to check his generator which was located at the back of the yard - some 20 feet away.

Whilst doing so, Wilson observed the suspect walk-

Dead: Bibi Nasmonisha Ramjit

ing towards him armed with a cutlass. Without any conversation, the suspect dealt several chops to Wilson’s head, neck and shoulder.

In the height of the ordeal, the now dead man began to scream for assistance and managed to run into his house and lock the door. By this time, the suspect made good his escape.

Shortly after, the deceased’s father reportedly went to check on his son since he would have heard his cries. As he arrived at his son’s home, he saw the injured man lying on the

Dead: Sanjay Hanoman

floor in a pool of blood. He was picked up and tak-

en to the Kumaka District Hospital but on his way, he related to his father what had transpired.

Wilson was treated and admitted a patient in a serious condition. He nevertheless, would have succumbed a few hours later. A report was made to the Acquero Police Station which led to the arrest of the suspect, who remains in custody as investigations continue.

Guyana Times was told that Wilson and the suspect had no previous misunderstanding thus leaving relatives and members of the community in shock.

The police are yet to recover the murder weapon. Wilson’s body was taken to the Kumaka District Hospital Mortuary awaiting a post-mortem.

Meanwhile, sister of the murder accused, when contacted, explained that after her father’s death due to COVID-19, her brother was in distress. She noted that while she could not defend his actions, she is calling on the police to conduct a psychiatric evaluation.

“Only recently, he started to talk some crazy stuff…

He told me that he saw angels dancing around him… snakes running him and so on…I think after dad passed and my mom was placed in quarantine, that has severely had an impact on him,” the sister noted.

She further stated that she was not at the scene and as such could not say what really transpired.

“All I can say is whatever Samuel did, he did not do it in his right senses...he did not do it willfully.”

The sister also stated that her now dead cousin was a quiet individual and would not get into a fight.

“He is someone who would walk away, if an issue arises,” the woman stated.

Over the past week-

Dead: Kamal Wilson

end, three persons were murdered.

On Sunday evening, 85-year-old Bibi Nasmonisha Ramjit of Old Road, La Grange, WBD, was found gagged and murdered in her home.

The woman’s house was reportedly ransacked, thus leaving investigators to work with the theory that the woman was killed during the commissioning of a robbery. The elderly woman lived alone. No arrests were made.

Also on Sunday, the lifeless body of 33-yearold Allensford Consford Sargon, a miner, was found outside a popular drinking spot at Quartz Stone Landing, Cuyuni River, Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni).

Two incise wounds were found on his head and throat. Then, 19-year-old Sanjay Hanoman, a construction worker of Fourth Street, Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara (WCD), bled to death after he was chopped.

It was reported that Hanoman and the suspect were standing at Bus Shed Street, Anna Catherina, when the suspect – who was armed with a cutlass – chopped the construction worker to his leg and rode away on a bicycle. The suspect, a 19-year-old, was subsequently arrested.

Miner allegedly shot by rowdy customers

T

he police have launched an investigation into a shooting incident that left one man injured at Iyana Backdam, North West District (NWD), on Saturday evening. The injured man has been identified as 35-year-old Paul Bacchus, a miner of Moruca, NWD. Based on reports received, on the day in question at about 18:30h, Bacchus went to a shop to make a telephone call to his relatives and while doing so, he was disturbed by a group of persons who were also at the shop imbibing and playing loud music. As such, Bacchus asked the persons to lower the volume of the music so that he could continue his telephone call but

they refused and began verbally abusing him.

However, the victim told the police that he left the shop and went to urinate and whilst doing so, he heard a loud explosion which sounded like a gunshot. As he attempted to run, he realised that he was shot to his right thigh.

He reportedly collapsed and lost consciousness. After some time had elapsed, he regained consciousness and was told by a friend that he would be taken to seek medical attention.

Bacchus remains hospitalised under guard since the information he provided to detectives could not be confirmed or denied.

The police are continuing their investigations.

NEWS

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS OPENINGS BRIDGE

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Wednesday, October 28 – 03:00h – 04:30h and 14:30h – 16:00h and Thursday, October 29 – 03:30h – 05:00h and 14:30h – 16:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Wednesday, October 28 – 14:35h – 16:05h and Thursday, October 29 – 15:10h – 16:40h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Sunshine will prevail during the day. There will be clear skies at night. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 31 degrees Celsius.

Winds: South South-Easterly to Easterly to East North-Easterly to North-Easterly between 1.78 metres and 3.12 metres.

High Tide: 14:47h reaching a maximum height of 2.44 metres.

Low Tide: 08:21h and 20:41h reaching minimum heights of 0.81 metre and 0.76 metre.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2020

LOTTERY NUMBERS G

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FREE TICKET

9 Bonus Ball

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2020 DAILY MILLIONS

01 15 16 22 24 LUCKY 3

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Afternoon Draw

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PPP/C Govt will respect freedom of the press – PM …assures State ads will be equitably distributed

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n the heels of the previous Government stifling some media enterprises by withholding State advertisements, the new PPP/C Administration has assured that it will not engage in such practices as it respects the freedom of the press and the critical role the “fourth estate” plays in national development.

The commitment was given by Prime Minister Mark Phillips during a recent interview with this newspaper at his office at Colgrain House, Georgetown.

The Prime Minister – who has responsibility for the country’s information sector – was asked how his Government intends to ensure the fair distribution of State ads to media entities in Guyana.

According to the PM, the new PPP/C Administration has already started the process of ensuring equal distribution of advertisements in the newspapers, noting that very soon, even online outlets will start to benefit.

“We’ve removed the discriminatory practices. If you look at the newspapers now, there are State ads in all of the newspapers in Guyana,” PM Phillips pointed out.

Minister of Public Affairs, Kwame McCoy had previously announced that online media houses have now been added to the list of existing agencies to receive Government advertisements.

PM Phillips explained that this is a step in the right direction since online media entities are becoming more and more popular – especially among the younger population – in accessing the news.

Under the previous David Granger-led APNU/ AFC Administration, State ads were drastically reduced from newspapers that were critical of the then coalition Government.

The situation intensified during the electoral season, when the former regime was facing widespread criticisms for its failure to hold elec-

Evening Draw

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DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS IN PUBLICATION. PLEASE CALL THE HOTLINE FOR CONFIRMATION - TEL: 225-8902

COMMODITIES Indicators

US$

Change %

Crude Oil

$41.20/barrel

+1.80

Rough Rice

$223.83/ton

-0.40

London Sugar

$396.60/ton

+0.25

Live Spot Gold

USD Per Ounce

Bid/Ask

$1907.10

$1908.10

Low/High

$1895.90

$1912.70

Change

-0.50

-0.03%

223-7230-1 (Ext 55)

Prime Minister Mark Phillips

tions as was constitutionally required after it was defeated by a No-Confidence Motion on December 21, 2018.

For this newspaper, advertisements generated through the Department of Public Information’s (DPI) Advertising Department reached an all-time low by the end of October 2019 – with the media house receiving only one State ad for the month of September and none for October.

The issue was formally raised with DPI’s Director at the time, Imran Khan, but the matter was never addressed.

In its official correspondence to DPI, Guyana Times had pointed out that the publication only received a total of $20,930 in ads from the State agency in September 2019. This, it was outlined, is against the backdrop of advertisements being proliferated consistently to the other dailies, especially to the Stateowned Guyana Chronicle and Kaieteur News, during the same period.

Another daily newspaper, the Stabroek News, re-

ported that it was facing similar discriminatory practices. Stabroek News had accused the Government of attempting to muzzle the media house for being outspoken against the coalition’s violation of the Constitution of Guyana following the December 2018 passage of the NoConfidence Motion.

Information received by this newspaper had shown that between January 1 and September 19, 2019 – a total of $177,114,612 was paid by DPI for newspaper ads. Of that amount, Guyana Times only received a mere eight per cent, while Kaieteur News got 37 per cent, Stabroek News received 30 per cent and Guyana Chronicle 25 per cent.

Meanwhile, during the period of June 2015 to September 2019, the data showed that Guyana Times only received 10 per cent of ads, while Stabroek News got 26 per cent; Kaieteur News, 27 per cent, and Guyana Chronicle received 37 per cent.

But PM Phillips said those practices are of the past, noting that the PPP/C Government welcomes constructive criticisms.

“The Government continues to be criticised by many of the newspapers

in Guyana but we still put State ads there…freedom of the press…is an issue that we respect and hold highly as we seek to govern Guyana,” the Prime Minister expressed.

“Like any Government in any country, we will be criticised, we know that. For the criticisms that we consider constructive, that itself will help us in reformulating our policies that will better help us to govern,” he added.

In October 2019, the then Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo had argued that all private media outfits should benefit equally from the State ads, despite their editorial position.

Jagdeo, who himself was criticised for the unequal State ads distribution during his presidency, admitted that his approach was wrong at that time.

Based on his past decisions on this matter, Jagdeo – who is now Vice President – had noted that going forward, the new PPP/C Administration will have a new approach in this regard.

“Looking forward, I think we must have, in the new Government, an arrangement where all the private media benefit from State assets. State ads must not be used in a punitive manner,” Jagdeo had posited. (G11)

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guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020

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

Noise nuisance

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oise nuisance is becoming unbearable, and citizens are crying out for stronger action to be taken against persons disrupting the peace and quietude in their communities. School children are prevented from studying; workers who come home after a hard day’s work are prevented from relaxing and preparing themselves for the next day’s challenges; and the sick and elderly who want to relax in a peaceful and quiet environment are unable to do so, due in some cases to loud noises emanating from huge speaker boxes.

Over the past few years, there have been several letters written to the editor in which citizens have expressed their disgust and frustration at the level of noise nuisance in their neighbourhood. It is even more shocking that, even in the midst of a pandemic, persons still persist with loud music as if they are unconcerned that the music might be affecting persons.

What is even more unfortunate is that no one dares object to this level of disrespect that is being foisted upon citizens. In some cases, when there is a complaint made against a particular liquor shop or individual for blasting their music to the fullest, the person making the complaint is verbally or even physically abused. Sometimes out of fear citizens remain quiet, and are left with no choice other than to endure the level of discomfort.

There is also a general perception, whether justified or not, that the Police have not been very proactive in addressing these concerns. Several letter writers have expressed the view that even after several calls have been made to the Police station for action to be taken against the perpetrators, the lawless behaviour still continues. Is it a case that the relevant follow-up etc. was not done? In most cases, even after a warning has been issued by the Police, the perpetrators comply for a while, but, not long after, engage in the same behaviour.

We believe that higher fines and stricter penalties are needed to curb noise nuisance once and for all; hence serious consideration should be given to revising the necessary laws accordingly. There are several issues which must be considered when updating the legislation, as those may not have been very clearly spelt out or catered for before. Among them are limits to the amount of permits and licences that should be granted within a zoning area; the overall operations of liquor shops, how they are constructed etc; guidelines for hosting social events; criteria to be used to issue permits for those events, or businesses which are in close proximity of each other; and fines to be imposed when there is a breach of the law. Also, with recent technological developments, it is necessary to go back to the drawing board.

Curbing noise nuisance in the society is a constant struggle which must continue, and all stakeholders must play their part. Policy makers must look into the discomfort of the people and amend the laws to alleviate this.

In the meantime, we urge citizens who are affected to continue lodging reports of noise nuisance at the nearest Police station or divisional headquarters, so that some form of action could be taken against those found culpable.

Citizens should also form themselves into groups and lobby their representatives to revise the necessary laws as part of helping to build a more decent, peaceful and modern society.

As a people, we must also make the conscious effort to abide by the laws and guidelines set out by the Government.

The current COVID-19 guidelines dictate that no more than 10 persons can be gathered for a social outing. It is also stipulated that entities such as bars and parties are prohibited in the interest of securing the health of Guyanese during the pandemic.

What we have found, however, is that persons are not adhering to these rules, and this is contributing to the rise in COVID-19 cases, with consequent deaths being recorded.

The change has to start with us.

First Lady Arya Ali greets US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch on Tuesday at State House where they had discussions on her initiative to mobilise support for vulnerable groups across Guyana (Office of the First Lady photo)

Lack of basic financial literacy, common sense, rationality can be detrimental Dear Editor, Recently on a Globespan Forum, the thematic discussion was centred on “Diaspora Engagement and Participation”, where the Foreign Secretary was an invited speaker on the said forum. To this end, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation under the new regime has embarked upon a renewed and aggressive approach to engage the Guyanese Diaspora to be part of, and, advance Guyana’s long-term national development – in a comprehensive fashion. In so doing, the Ministry is currently crafting a Diaspora Engagement Strategy and Plan of Action with support from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), which will be launched in December 2020.

The Globespan forum was intended to discuss this strategy in a meaningful and constructive manner by engaging the Foreign Secretary, who is leading this effort, but instead, the moderator went a bit off tangent and sought to ambush the Foreign Secretary on the Canjie oil block and went on to reference a series of propagandic articles published in the Kaieteur News on a daily basis.

If one were to review the recording of the discussion on Globespan, one would observe that the Foreign Secretary offered pellucid responses to the questions posed, though they were irrelevant to the thematic discussion on the programme. Yet, the moderator went on to push what seemed to be a pre-planned agenda for whatever reason.

Now, let’s cut to the chase and address an important dimension of the

campaign being peddled on a daily basis by the said media house – that is, Guyana has billions of (US dollars) in oil resources which it implies that the people of Guyana are being deprived of. In this regard, and as far as the campaign that the media house is driving is concerned, I would personally be happy to lobby to the President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana to give to the owner of that media house an oil block. This will allow the media house owner as a local investor to take his own money and raise more capital if necessary; so as to invest in and to extract the resources worth billions offshore and distribute to the people of Guyana – a better deal as the case may be.

Let us understand the nature, the magnitude and the risk factors of the investment offshore that everyone is getting excited about and somehow think oil is the saviour and Guyana will somehow become rich overnight. The Liza phase one development alone is a US$5 billion capital investment.

This sum is greater than Guyana’s GDP which is a mere US$4 billion or less.

This means that if you take all the money available in the banking sector locally and all the money of the State combined, it would not be enough for this single investment which is just a fraction of the oil finds. Further, the investment recovery period for that sum at a production capacity of 120,000 barrels per day and at an average price of US$50 per barrel, would be about eight years at a discount rate of 20 per cent, and this is a best-case scenario. In a worst-case scenario with oil price at

US$35 per barrel and same production level, the recovery period will be about 12 years – while noting that oil will no longer be sustainable below US$35 dollars.

The reality before us is such that Guyana found oil at a bad time when the global industry is changing – global demand for oil will crumble as climate change policies and renewable energy are on the rise globally. Therefore, the global oil industry is rapidly coming to an end and the oil companies are well aware of this. It is for this reason; oil companies will not agree to any substantial changes in the oil contracts.

I wrote more than two years ago that the life of Guyana’s oil industry will be 20 years and the oil companies and Guyana have a safe window of 10 years to milk the maximum benefit from the resource – after which, oil price will become extremely volatile.

Only now other international analysts like those for Bloomberg, for example, have recognised this and are now publishing similar analyses. Further, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, this will only exacerbate the already high uncertainties of the industry in the future. Those who are interested can read my analyses at the links below as I wish not to regurgitate these extensive pieces here: https://guyanatimesgy. com/the-changing-dynamics-of-global-oil-economicspart-3/ https://guyanatimesgy. com/oil-economics-changing-global-trends-demand-supply-dynamics/ https://guyanatimesgy. com/the-changing-dynamics-of-global-oil-economicspart-1/ https://guyanatimesgy.

com/the-changing-dynamics-of-global-oil-economicspart-2/ Having said that, one would recognise that if the publisher of a certain media house and a few so-called experts who know nothing about finance much less the economics of the industry; were to take their own savings in the bank and invest in oil companies offshore or buy their own companies, will they wait for 8-12 years to collect dividend/return on their investment?

More so, for an industry that is extremely volatile.

Will they even invest in stocks for the long term?

In fact, strictly speaking, the US$5 billion investment offshore is not the people of Guyana’s money, it is investors’ money and students of finance would know that the greater the risk, higher the reward and the higher the risk premium. Of course, greater the loss if the risks manifest – which can sometimes be suicidal.

The purpose of this essay is in the interest of public debate and is for the people to understand the realities of the oil industry globally – the specific context as put forward herein and that it is not an industry to be excited about or even to be upset about the oil contract. The focus needs to be diverted instead to stronger local content development, and, how to best invest the earnings from the industry and not how much we can earn per se; that really does not exist, but rather, is a superficial notion at best. Let’s focus, henceforth, on the bigger picture and don’t get distracted with trivial and trashy propaganda.

Yours faithfully, JC Bhagwandin

guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020

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

All sectors of our economy must move forward in unity Dear Editor, Sugar from times immemorial has been a bedrock and a symbol of economics and politics. From the economic standpoint, sugar brought prosperity to the colonial masters who brought our fore-parents here to grow the crop. After slavery was abolished, indentureship kicked in to fill the void and let me pause here to say that indentureship was not a move to cause racism as is taught at many Caribbean institutions of higher learning, far from it, the colonial masters wanted a cheap and robust labour force to do the task and the Indian quite nicely filled the void. The colonials could care less where that labour came from, suffice it to say that the labour was a smooth continuum from the Africans.

And this is the narrative that is being peddled to this day - that the Indians were brought here to undermine the Africans, hence the socio-political dilemma of our politics here in Guyana, that Indians should be viewed with suspicion and a people who would undermine African livelihood. Those are the narrow myopic lenses the present-day politicians would like us to view all issues pertaining to the races.

But before I delve into the socio-political aspect of our discourse, let me say that the Indian indentured labourers filled the place of the African slaves admirably, quite to the content and satisfaction of the British, who kept up that trade in persons until the time of their freedom in 1917.

Now, after the freedom of

the indentured peoples, there was the intermingling of the races in this single geographical space called Guyana, later political leaders began to emerge and the political aspect of our existence began to take shape. It began as something of a labour movement and the agitation for better working, better living conditions and better pay at the forefront of their agitation. These labour calls later on graduated into political entities or parties that would later represent the interests of the people of this country.

We must note that in the world of work, the intermingling of the races took strict racial and political lines, with Africans for their part heading for the urban areas where they went into the public service. Indians on the other hand remained ru-

ral and in the sugar industry in particular. Those Indians in the urban setting went into commercialised business ventures. Bauxite and gold and the now-defunct balata bleeding industry were mainly populated by African workers, in fact, Linden was formed and mainly exists because of bauxite.

So, I have put before you the geopolitical scenario of our situation here in Guyana and the genesis of our politics, against this backdrop I want you to view recent developments as they unfold.

So, anything that affects the public service or Region Four and 10 areas has a general appeal to the African PNC-oriented public service unions and the reason for their response in like manner. My problem is not with their speaking up for the so-

Truth and politics are strangers to each other Dear Editor, As I await Vincent Alexander’s promised response to my “substantive” positions on our ethnic security dilemmas, I will examine his contention on the liberating potential of “truth” in his letter: “Let the discourse of the committed continue”. (Guyana Times 1027-20). Now, as Vincent would know, this thing called “truth” has become a very slippery concept in the last half-century or so, especially in the context of politics. Apart from the philosophical ambiguities, my working assumption has always been that truth and politics are strangers to each other.

The political philosopher Hannah Arendt, however, argued that the problem of politics and truth was central to politics in particular and life in general. She ad-

vised in “Truth and Politics” that we should take care to specify exactly what kind of truth we have in mind when we invoke the terms: historical truth, empirical truth, trivial truth, some truth, psychological truth, paradoxical truth, real truth, philosophical truth, hidden truth, old truth, self-evident truth, relevant truth, rational truth, impotent truth, indifferent truth, mathematical truth, half-truth, absolute truth, and factual truth. There is no such thing as “the truth”; only truth in reference to something particular.

Let us take the presumably simplistic type of truth, empirical truth, which is addressed by the “correspondence theory of truth”: a statement is “true” if it corresponds to an empirical fact we can verify. Like if I assert

that “Vincent has a beard”, this is “true” - unless he shaves it off. But even empirical truths become problematic when politics enters the picture. As when the empirical truth that “33 is the majority of 65” - once we are considering discrete objects like Members of Parliament or cricket balls - was disputed by one political party.

Vincent concluded his letter with the exhortation, “Let the discourse of the committed continue. Acceptance of, and coming to terms with, the truth shall set us free.” But this is where “truth” becomes really tricky. In discourses, we share our understanding of our common reality and quickly discover that it is more accurate to speak of “understandings”.

Arendt called these “factual truth”, which as I said earlier, sedi-

ment into narratives that often conflict because so much of our “truths” are subjective.

One of these invoked, conflicting “truths” in Guyana, for instance, is which group “suffered more”. One way to resolve this particular conundrum is to acknowledge, as I said when I delivered my eulogy to Ronald Waddell, “all of us have been dragged to this Babylon, and we all have reason to weep as we remember our Zions.”

What I am suggesting is that notwithstanding our several ethnic orientations and truths, we have to craft a common narrative that infuses a civic Guyanese nationalism to deliver justice and equity through its institutions to all Guyanese.

Sincerely, Ravi Dev

May Dean Mervyn Jones rest in peace Dear Editor, Dean Mervyn Jones, Australian cricketer turned television commentator died on September 24, 2020, while covering the present IPL matches. He played 52 tests, scored 3631 runs, highest score 261 runs, average 46.55. He had 11 centuries and 14 fifties. In the ODIs, he played 164 matches, scored 6068 runs, highest score 145, average 44.61. He smashed 7 centuries and 46 fifties. He was a top-order righthand batsman.

News of this irreparable loss of life jarred my mind and I immediately recalled the famous/infamous “wristband incident” during the first one-day finals between West Indies and Australia in 1993. These matches were played between the fourth and fifth test matches during the tour.

The real action started when Australia was chasing 240 to win the first of the finals. The home team lost two early wickets and Dean Jones went in to bat. He had not even faced a delivery when umpire Terry Prue went

to Ambrose and said Dean Jones had asked for Ambrose to remove his wristbands as there was a perceived issue with the white ball clashing with the white wristbands.

Ambrose taught that he was joking as he (Ambrose) was wearing wristbands on each hand throughout his career. Initially, they were red, gold and green but then the ICC ruled that they must be white. In addition, Dean Jones had faced Ambrose before with those wristbands with no complaint from him.

According to Ambrose, he used to sweat a lot and didn't want to get the ball wet and needed something dry to wipe his brow with. He also had a white rag tucked in his trousers, which he used to dry his fingers to stop the ball from slipping out of his fingers. It was not a fashion thing for him.

Ambrose was angry. He refused. He told the umpire that it was piffle. Captain Richie Richardson and Ian Bishop joined in the confabulation. The conversation became heated. It went on for several minutes. For the

sake of the game, Ambrose relented and took off both wristbands and handed them to the umpire.

Ambrose in his book, “Curtly Ambrose - A Time To Talk” with Richard Sydenham elaborated. "After Jones's request, I thought: 'You should not have woken a sleeping lion.' I was furious and started to bowl twice as fast and seriously wanted to knock Dean Jones out with the ball. I was really upset.

I couldn't bowl too short because of the rules and regulations in one-day internationals but I still manage to send a few towards his ribcage and made his life pretty uncomfortable, though he negotiated me well. I didn't get him out but I didn't intend to; I just wanted to make his life uncomfortable for that stupid request. " Ambrose disclosed that what many people did not know is that an over after Dean Jones had made his request and he was standing at the non-striker's end he whispered to Ambrose that if Ambrose wanted to put his wristbands back on, he

would not have a problem.

Ambrose opined, "He realised what was happening but by then it was too late to put the lion back to sleep. I thought, ‘you made your bed, brother; you're in some serious trouble now,' I finished with 5 or 32 and we won the game quite easily. I understand that his teammates were not too happy with him and rightly so. I should have thanked him for motivating me."

West Indies went on to win the one-day series.

Sometimes in life, if we want to be successful, we must turn our negatives into positives or our weaknesses into strengths as Ambrose did in Australia.

Many more interesting facts about that “wristband incident” and the 1993 tour “Down Under” can be gleaned from Ambrose's book alluded to above.

May Dean Mervyn Jones rest in peace.

Yours faithfully, Clinton Conway Assistant Commissioner of Police (Retired)

called rights of the people they claim to represent, my problem is when you see your sector as superior to others to the point where you want to see the demise of another. The motive behind this is political and that’s my problem. Clearly, the PNC wants to see the demise of the sugar industry - there is no doubt about that - because according to them, Indians are the ones who would suffer most when the industry falls.

However, they fail to realise that it was sugar that kept us afloat all these years and has been a bedrock of our existence. Sugar carried us; at one stage it was taxed to support the Africandominated bauxite industry. But the race-hate that has so blinded the eyes of the Opposition; they would deliberately hide these realities from their constituents.

I am saying if sugar goes under, in like manner the entire country will go under, sugar is integrally tied to the upward mobility of our country.

So, whether it is Patrick Yarde's asinine remark when he boldly said "take the sugar money and give it

to the nurses" or Harmon's hypocritical statements to the squatters at Success, all of these are geared to one sad end, that is, to see the demise of sugar and the ultimate goal of bringing down the Government. But my advice to those in the political Opposition, that will not happen, because for this nation to move forward, all sectors in the economy must be allowed to develop harmoniously. Progress in any country must see every sector, every last one, moving forward in harmonious unity, no one sector supersedes the other.

All the sectors must move progressively forward to the benefit and development of our country.

Housing and planning have to go along harmoniously with all the other sectors, so must agriculture, which has and will continue to be a bedrock of this nation. Let not politics and racism blind our eyes to the realities of our existence here. Let there be no hindrances to the peaceful and progressive path already set forward by the PPP/C. Respectfully, Neil Adams

Time for a review of laws banning dual citizens’ right to sit as MPs Dear Editor, The dual citizenship debate has raised its head in Guyana once again inevitably bringing up questions of divided loyalties and allegiance.

Guyana allows dual citizenship, but it stripped dual citizens of the right to sit as MPs — something that's available to all other law-abiding adult citizens Albeit dual citizenship can potentially create multiple loyalties, when someone has to make a choice, he/ she can also prioritise one’s country of birth, present residence and high-level political involvement over the country where one is merely a naturalised, non-resident or ordinary citizen.

Dual citizenship has rapidly increased all over the world in the past decades.

About half of all sovereign states in the world nowadays tolerate or even accept multiple nationalities for various reasons.

It is certainly no coincidence that many countries (including Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the USA) with common origins and legal systems to those of Guyana do not, or no longer, prohibit dual nationals from serving in their national legislatures.

For example, while Guyana bars dual nationals with US citizenship or other non-Commonwealth citizenship from sitting in Parliament, the USA does not. In fact, there are Congressional representatives who are citizens of the USA and Israel for example.

Well-liked former British parliamentarian, the Late Bernie Grant was born in Guyana and was never required to renounce his Guyanese citizenship.

For individual dual nationals, effectively renouncing foreign citizenship in order to stand as a parliamentary candidate, should not be one of the necessary sacrifices required of those who seek, or even merely attempt, to serve as a representative in Guyana’s Parliament.

The laws that imply that allegiance to the State must be single and undivided are now outdated and compels a review. The potential minor risks about allegiance associated with dual citizens do not justify preemptive, lifetime and group-wide bans.

Albeit unlikely; the way the Constitution is interpreted right now, one might argue that Nicolas Maduro could permanently paralyse the Guyanese Government by unilaterally conferring Venezuelan citizenship on all Guyanese parliamentarians.

With globalisation, dual citizenship is becoming more common and beneficial for not only the individuals but also the countries involved and Guyana should join the trend more prominently.

Having dual citizenship does not make a person any less loyal to their country of birth. It's time to review this aspect of our laws.

Sincerely, Kirk Hollingsworth

6

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020

Page

Foundation ◄

Æsop’s Fables

FOR CHILDREN

S

ometimes you want to solve a problem to find an unknown number. The unknown number is called a variable.

Variables are usually expressed as letters. Variables are used with numbers and symbols in algebra, a kind of Maths used to find the value of unknowns. An algebraic expression is a group of letters, numbers and operations. b 3= 12 x y

Examples: x + 17 ( p- 63) x 3 (36 ÷ a) + 9

When you have a variable in a multiplication expression, you do not need to use the x symbol. So 12 x y is usually written 12y. The 12 is called a coefficient, which is a number that multiplies a variable.

Exercises: Express by writing each expression in word form 1) a 2) ((y - 4))/32 3) x + 4 4) 2b + 20 5 7) 3p – 4 8) (24 – 6) m + 2

1) Equality Property of Multiplication 3) Zero Property of Multiplication 5) Equality Property of Addition 7) Yes

Tuesday’s answers

5) 7n – 7

6) 4z + 5 (9)

2) Equality Property of Division not by zero 4) Zero Property of Multiplication 6) Zero Property of Multiplication 8) Yes

A

rabbit left his home one day for a dinner of clover. But he forgot to latch the door of his house and while he was gone a weasel walked in and calmly made himself at home. When the rabbit returned, there was the weasel’s nose sticking out of the rabbit’s own doorway, sniffing the fine air.

The rabbit was quite angry — for a rabbit —, and requested the weasel to move out. But the weasel was perfectly

content. He was settled down for good.

A wise old cat heard the dispute and offered to settle it.

“Come close to me,” said the cat, “I am very deaf. Put your mouths close to my ears while you tell me the facts.”

The unsuspecting pair did as they were told and in an instant the cat had them both under her claws. No one could deny that the dispute had been definitely settled.

WORD SEARCH

7

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

8 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Man committed to stand High Court trial for murdering ex-father-in-law

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man who allegedly killed his former father-in-law during a scuffle on June 21, 2020, was on Tuesday committed to stand trial at the Demerara High Court for the murder.

At his initial court appearance, Zakir Hossain was not required to plead to the indictable charge which stated that on June 25, 2020, at Riverview Ruimveldt, Georgetown, he murdered 54-year-old Alexi Gomes.

However, following a Preliminary Inquiry (PI), Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan told the court that sufficient evidence was

Dead: Alexi Gomes

presented by the prosecutor against Hossain to face a Judge and jury for the hei-

nous crime he committed.

Hossain's trial is expected to commence at the next practicable sitting of the Demerara Assizes.

It was reported that on the day in question, Gomes saw his grandson in the company of his former sonin-law in the area and stretched out his arms to hug the child but Hossain reportedly got angry and punched him.

It was also reported that a scuffle ensued between the now dead man and his son-in-law during which Hossain picked up a piece of wood and dealt him several

blows to the head.

The man fell onto the roadway in an unconscious state but was picked up by a relative and escorted to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), where he was treated and admitted a patient. He nevertheless, succumbed a few days later.

As such, the suspect was arraigned for murder when he made his appearance at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

A post-mortem performed on the body of Gomes revealed that he died as a result of blunt trauma to the head.

Building bridges...

O

…and connecting nce again, a new Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) is in the news. The last time it was in the news was right after the PNC (let’s cut to the chase) slid into office in 2015 and their Infrastructure Minister Patterson, promised he’d have a new DHB ready by 2018. Well, that promise is in the same category with Burnham’s promise to deliver hydroelectric power on the Mazaruni. Fifty years later, all the Guyanese people got was HYDROcele!!

One thing about the PNC…they can sure “talk fat”! But all they end up fattening are their bank accounts. SOCU has been disbanded, so we wonder whether the Police have taken over the SOCU case against Patterson - to recover the $153 million he forked over for some Dutch company to give him a cockamamie plan for the Bridge. Rather than the confusion and congestion caused by the old floating bridge RETRACTING to allow ships to head upriver, the new one would’ve been RAISED to deliver the same confusion and congestion!!

Anyhow, here we have a newly-minted PPP Infrastructure Minister, who’s hit the ground running with a much more realistic plan. He announced that he’s already received FORTY expressions of interest. He also announced that the new Bridge would be sited a mile upstream from La Grange on the West Bank to Peters Hall on the East Bank. Now, right away this would’ve caused conniptions in the PNC camp, since Stanley Ming had already snapped up the land where Patterson’s bridge would’ve landed at Versailles. But don’t shed tears for Stanley…his bread is well buttered elsewhere - like in Parika!

Now back to the new DHB. With the Govt pushing right ahead, the Bridge construction should generate quite a few hundred jobs. Your Eyewitness believes these should be reserved for those poor GuySuCo workers from Wales, who were cruelly fired by the PNC. There will be more than enough need for unskilled labour to keep them busy. With these modern bridges, much of the components are prewelded in a “Fabrication Yard” and taken to the site for assembly.

The Govt shouldn’t be waiting for the Bridge to be going up before they look for welders; Guyana just doesn’t have enough of them with the necessary competency.

They should be recruiting the teenage children of the Wales workers who want to go into the “technical” field, and start training them. Over in Berbice, the Bridge across the Corentyne River should also be the catalyst for training welders and other skilled workers there. Make sure the Surinamese don’t get all the gravy.

Your Eyewitness reminds one and all that “moutar different from guitar”. PPP are the real deal when it comes to building bridges - literally and figuratively!! …and flipping land In the real estate business (buying and selling land and property), there’s the notion of “flipping”. No, it’s not a swear word, as in “the flippin’ house”!! It’s when someone buys the property with no intention of using it or living there, but merely to resell it ASAP for a hefty profit; so, the old business maxim of “buy low and sell high” really applies in this tactic.

Well, now that the PNC have been thrown out of office at the polls, the Guyanese people are beginning to understand why they failed so miserably to deliver on their promise to develop the country. THEY WERE ALL TOO BUSY DEVELOPING THEIR BANK ACCOUNTS!! We just discovered that one PNC Executive who became famous for carrying around the handbag of a once powerful top doe (who only had “PNC friends”!) made hundreds of millions by flipping lands at Peters Hall to some Chinese companies.

In his case, the PNC Exec didn’t just buy low and sell high…HE DIDN'T EVEN BUY!!

He “got” for free! …across rising seas Your Eyewitness worries that all of our best laid plans with the focus on infrastructure on our coastlands will soon go awry. The sea, after all, is inexorably rising, and we are below sea level, to begin with.

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

NEWS

9

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

After years of delay

$227M Mabaruma solar farm finally operational

Massive land scandal

Amna Ally fingers James Bond as PNCR member who received US$1M payment

…RDC aiming for 24-hr electricity by December

PNCR member James Bond

G The solar farm at Mabaruma

T

he $227 million Mabaruma solar farm, which has long been delayed due to the non-delivery of certain components and even damage caused by freak storms, is finally operational and providing energy to residents.

In an exclusive interview with this publication, Regional Chairman for Region One, Brentnol Ashley made this disclosure. Ashley noted that the batteries necessary for storing power in the solar farm have finally arrived. This was the last remaining component needed for the farm to become operational.

“Currently that is now operational. I was informed by the electrical engineer that the batteries that will complement the working of the solar farm have arrived in the region and are being installed. So that will provide the reduction in fossil fuels during the course of the day.

But during the night there is no sun, so the farm wouldn’t

continue to function as we would like.”

Meanwhile, the Regional Chairman also revealed that the programme is likely to be expanded. At present, pilot projects are being done with smaller farms in communities that include Yarakita.

According to Ashley, it is also expected that electricity service will reach 24-hour capacity in Mabaruma by December.

“They are now doing pilot projects in smaller farms, in the village of Yarakita benefiting. And I’m sure with Government’s agenda of low carbon development, we will see additional use of solar.

The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs will be providing to the Amerindian population, solar (panels) they’ll be able to use for electricity,” Ashley added, a reference to the 2020 emergency budget.

Solar farms use photovoltaic panels to acquire energy through direct sunlight, which is then converted into clean, green elec-

tricity. In cases where weather patterns do not guarantee a steady supply of sun, batteries are installed to store electricity for backup distribution.

The Mabaruma solar farm has been in the works since 2017 under the former Government, as part of the Hinterland Electrification Project. The 400-kilowatt farm was designed and constructed by German company Meeco Group.

Work on the project was supposed to have been completed by 2018. But over the years, the project has been hampered by vandalism, non-delivery of items and faulty construction, which contributed to the project being damaged by a lightning strike.

Additional work on the project had to be done as late as May 2020, with a contractor being brought in to reinstall a number of components on the project including a damaged fibre optic cable and additional batteries. (G3)

eneral Secretary of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) has named party member, James Bond, as the recipient of US$1 million in payments for 20.8 acres of flipped State lands at Peters Hall, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

Ally made the revelation in response to Guyana Times’ article headlined “PNCR Executive Collects US$1M for flipped lands at Peters Hall” which was published on Tuesday.

“The PNCR wishes to inform the public that Mr James Bond is not an Executive Member of the PNCR. The PNC refers to an article published in the October 27, 2020 edition of the Guyana Times News Papers with the headline ‘PNCR Executive Collects US$1M for flipped lands at Peters Hall’ the ‘PNCR Executive’ use in the headline is erroneous,” Ali said in a written response.

Guyana Times in its report did not name the PNCR

member, but Ally in her statement confirmed that it was him, who received the payments.

The revelation about the land scandal was made

by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall on Monday in a video statement providing an update on the Government-promised investigation into the land giveaways by the David Granger Administration.

He said that over 50 acres of land were given away, through three different agreements, at Peters Hall by the then Government through the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL). The PNCR member, now identified as Bond, at the centre of the questionable transactions, was listed as the lawyer on record for the drafting of the three contracts.

The AG had revealed that in one instance, 20 acres of land was leased for 20 years to a company with its address listed as Third Street, Alberttown, Georgetown. The lands referred to as Plots A1, A2, A3, and A4 amounted to 20.8 acres, which were not valuated prior to the signing of the lease on May 9, 2018, for an annual fee of US$16,224.

The land was later sold to a company connected to the oil and gas industry for US$1 million, which did not go to the owner, rather to the attorney on record. The payments were disbursed in two parts at a commercial bank.

PNCR General Secretary Amna Ally

Nandlall said that the address for the company is the same address that the PNCR member has listed on his bank account as his place of residence.

He had indicated that as the Government continues with the review of all the land transactions, they are finding that the APNU/AFC flouted all processes used to lease or divest lands owned by the State. He added that there was a public process whereby members of the public would have been invited to either express an interest or put in a bid or make an offer to buy lands.

In instances where the lands were gifted away, the AG revealed that the David Granger-led Administration did not ask for any evidence of proposed projects to be executed on the lands nor did they assess how the usage of the land would impact the economy and benefit the Guyanese people.

TURN TO PAGE 11

10 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Union raises concern over presence of Nagamootoo responsible for downfall almost 100 foreign workers at Aurora of AFC – resigned party member …says fewer than 20 members rehired

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he Guyana National Mines Workers Union (NMWU), the recognised Union for workers of the Aurora Gold Mine, has raised questions over the presence of what it said is almost 100 Chinese nationals already at the site.

According to NMWU President, Sherwyn Downer, they have penned a letter to the Foreign Affairs Ministry seeking clarity on whether AGM, under new management in the form of Chinese company Zijin Mining Group, has applied for permission to bring and employ persons to work at Aurora.

“There are reports made to the union by our union branch representatives who are working at Aurora that an average of 90 Chinese workers are already in the country and at the worksite,” Downer wrote in the letter.

When questioned by this publication, Downer explained that only 15 to 20 of the workers who formerly worked at AGM and who belong to the Union, have been rehired. According to him, the support for the Union was well over 100 prior to AGM changing hands. He said that from his estimation, almost 100 non-unionised former employees of AGM have been rehired.

According to Downer, he has even written to Aurora’s Human Resource Director requesting clearance to visit while promising that all COVID-19 protocols will be

NMWU President Sherwyn Downer

followed. Downer said that there has been no response to this letter.

“The above-mentioned union which is the legally approved union for your company's rank and file employees, hereby makes a request for a site visit to meet with our members. All protocols will be observed by the visiting team of the union. Kindly submit a date for which is best for your company or give the union a choice to choose a date,” Downer wrote in a letter dated October 24.

Asked by this publication what the next step will be, the Union leader noted that he is mulling protest action. AGM, previously owned by Canada-based Guyana Goldfields, has since come under the control of Chinese mining company Zijin Mining Group Co after

it bought out Goldfields and its operations in Guyana.

Goldfields had moved to downsize its operations since May 2020, after facing constraints from the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with other financial woes. It was also linked to the company’s transition to underground mining.

After initially selling its operations to Silvercorp, another Canadian mining company, Zijin Mining Group made a superior offer to Goldfields that Silvercorp failed to match within the stipulated time. As a result, Zijin was able to clinch the deal.

Hundreds of local workers were laid off by Goldfields in the process, their job descriptions ranging from attendants to electricians to heavy-duty equipment operators and blasters. However, the company had said that former workers were being rehired in a phased manner.

Reports first emerged of AGM planning to bring in Chinese workers when the Private Sector Commission (PSC) wrote President Dr Irfaan Ali in September asking for his intervention, while noting that local content was at stake.

The reports were quickly debunked by AGM’s Director of Corporate Office, Compliance and Government Relations, Peter Benny. Nevertheless, reports of actual Chinese workers on site have persisted.

F

ormer Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo is said to be the reason for the downfall of the Alliance For Change (AFC).

Former AFC executive member Abel Seetaram, who tendered his resignation from the party on Tuesday, made this declaration.

According to Seetaram, the former prime minister was focused only on power, “and threw all of the values which the party stood for out of the window in order to achieve his objective.”

“The party made him the elder statesman of the party. In 2019, the party decided who it wanted as the prime ministerial candidate. Moses Nagamootoo did not endorse what the party wants. Moses chaired Cabinet and allowed decisions to be taken at Cabinet that hampered the lives of thousands of sugar workers. The downfall of the AFC is Moses Nagamootoo,” Seetaram told Guyana Times.

According to the former Councillor on the Region Five (Mahaica/Berbice) Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), the party was crippled when a decision was taken to join the coalition.

“Look at what he (Nagamootoo) did to the sugar workers, and we did not see him back in Berbice since, except him going to Whim to fancy himself. He did not go to meet the sugar workers because he had power,” Seetaram said, adding that the AFC was formed to represent the people, but lost its way.

In his resignation letter on Tuesday, Seetaram said the AFC party has been unable to make its own deci-

Former executive member of the AFC, Abel Seetaram

sions since coalescing with A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) in 2015.

Seetaram claims that, for five years, members of the party had been silent and its leadership had failed to address matters that are important to the party’s general membership. He also claims the party’s leadership had allowed the APNU/ PNC to trample them without voicing their concerns.

Seetaram’s resignation comes on the heels of another senior party member, Gobin Harbhajan, resigning. They have both claimed that since the AFC had coalesced with APNU, the AFC had become voiceless.

However, it took Seetaram almost six years to decide that the AFC was not an organisation he wanted to be associated with.

Speaking with this publication after tendering his resignation, Seetaram said his decision to leave the party was made after he realised that the party no longer had the political will to carry on.

Seetaram related sev-

eral instances wherein the agreement between the two coalition partners had been breached and the AFC hierarchy had remained silent.

In September, following a dispute over the election of a Vice Chairman for the Region Four Regional Democratic Council (RDC), AFC General Secretary David Patterson had tendered his resignation as General Secretary.

Sources had indicated that Patterson may have taken this step after coalition partner A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), which has a history of infringements against the smaller parties, had locked the AFC out of the Vice Chair position despite a previous agreement that Patterson had helped craft, which, according to reports, had stipulated that the AFC would get the Vice Chair positions in Regions Seven and Four. But following the election of the APNU candidate, former Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Captain Daniel Seeram, it was not to be.

AFC had nominated Neilson McKenzie for the Vice Chairman position, APNU had nominated Samuel Sandy, and the PPP had nominated Desmond Morian. Voting was along party lines, as APNU and PPP each cast their 14 votes for their candidates, and the AFC, with its five votes, backed McKenzie. Seeram then used his deciding vote to elect Sandy.

Since the time that it came into office after joining forces with the APNU in 2015, the minority AFC has been criticised for the submissive role it has been playing to the abusive APNU. (G4)

NEWS

11

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

$12M gen set commissioned by APNU/AFC non-functional

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ast year, top officials of A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/ AFC), including then Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman, cut ribbons and handed over a $12 million generator set to the Region One village of Waramuri.

Fast forward to October 2020, and not only is that generator set not working, but additional work has to be done on it by regional authorities. This was revealed

by Region One Regional Chairman Brentnol Ashley.

“The former adminis-

tration would have hastily (gone) (ahead) and commissioned a gen set in the village of Waramuri that was never operationalised. We are working right now to ensure that the wiring and installations are done, so that that village can also benefit from electricity supply,” Ashley explained.

“The plan of the RDC is to bring electricity to every resident, and to bring it (for) 24 hours. The village of Manawarin will now have an electricity grid before the end of the year,” Ashley explained in regard to another Region One village.

It was announced by the state media on November 19, 2019 that the generator set, which was supposed to provide power to 350 residents of Waramuri, was officially handed over and commissioned by Trotman.

The electrical system was supposed to supply power to the school in the village, as well as the health facility and Police station, while also providing power to the light-emitting diode (LED) lights that were installed in the sub-district.

“We have a President and a Cabinet who want to make a difference in your

Anna Catherina chopping murder

“Nobody didn’t want to help we” – eyewitness recalls moment friend bled to death

Dead: Sanjay Hanoman

F

amily members and friends of the construction worker who bled to death after he was chopped to his leg on Sunday are of the firm belief that the young man could have been alive today had persons assisted him to the hospital.

Sanjay Hanoman, 21, of Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara (WCD), was pronounced dead on arrival at the Leonora Cottage Hospital hours after he was chopped to his leg, allegedly by a 19-year-old Venezuelan national.

His friend, Steve Bharrat, witnessed the incident and bemoaned the fact that no one came to their assistance. He explained that even villagers within the community refused to help him take his friend to the hospital.

“When I was riding coming in, the Spanish boy and he alone was standing up on the road. I can’t know what [they] did talking and what the argument was about…But when I went by the barbershop, riding coming in, is when the man [suspect] went to his waist and cut [Sanjay],” Bharrat recalled.

He continued, “When I [was] riding coming, the suspect jump on the bicycle and ride through the cross-street with speed. I can’t go behind [him], I had to save [my] soldier because he was bleeding bad, bad,” the young man explained.

The grieving friend stat-

ed that he picked Sanjay up off the ground and carried him home, where this family washed his foot and tied it up.

“But no car didn’t want to come for the man [victim]. [They] ain’t want to come for the man. [They] say about blood and this and that…save the man life,” the friend lamented.

Meanwhile, Hanoman’s sister, Sangetta, who fought to hold back her tears, stated that her brother did not deserve to die.

She added that her parents worked tirelessly to provide for them, and now, with his death, the family does not know how to move forward.

“This just hurt me, to know that my brother gone and left me; our mother worked so hard to bring us up and to know that somebody can do him that, and he is not bad.”

According to the young lady, her brother never had issues with anyone in the community.

The sister lamented that “my brother worked hard for everything he wanted in this life,” but now, he will not be around to enjoy the fruits of his labour.

The distraught sister stated that her brother would usually take her out. She disclosed that last week, they went out, and if she had known that would have been the last time, she would have made it memorable.

“Only last week, he came and carried me out…he asked me ‘[sister] what you want, [sister] you good?’ And I would always say yes, bro.

That is the last I ever get from my brother. I never get to talk, touch my brother to see how he died, he just died and gone just like this,” the grieving sister said.

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) had initially stated that the victim was 19 years old, but family members have clarified that Hanoman was 21-year-old.

Meanwhile, the suspect has since been arrested and placed in custody as inves-

tigations continue. Family members and friends are calling for swift justice.

(Shemar Alleyne)

life,” Trotman was quoted by state media as telling residents at the commissioning ceremony.

The issue is reminiscent of the $227 million Mabaruma Solar Farm in Region One, which was sup-

posed to be commissioned since 2018 as part of the Hinterland Electrification Project. The 400-kilowatt farm was designed and constructed by German company Meeco Group.

Work on the project was

supposed to be completed by 2018, but, over the years, the project has been hampered by vandalism, non-delivery of items, and faulty construction, which contributed to the project being damaged by a lightning strike.

Amna Ally fingers James...

The State Lands Act of Guyana stipulates that when State lands are leased, the lease must state that the lessee must not part with possession without the consent of the landlord (the State) or shall not assign the interest in the lease without the consent of the landlord. If the lessee acts in contravention of that clause, then the State reserves the right to step in and repossess the lands.

However, in the case of the three agreements at Peters Hall, the PNCR member, in drafting the lease agreements, changed that to state: “the lessee may assign, sublet, grant any licenses or otherwise part with the possession and/or purpose and/

or dispose of the whole or any part of the demised property or any building or other erection at any time standing thereon or any right or privilege in relations thereto conferred by this agreement.”

A total of 30 acres was leased, in 15-acre blocks, to two companies with both companies having identical leases for identical blocks of land at an identical rental fee of US$11,700 per year for an identical 20 years. Ironically, both leases were signed on the same date – May 17, 2018. One of the companies has its address listed as EE Eccles, EBD, while the other is listed as Grove Public Road, EBD. Nandlall also stated

FROM PAGE 9

that the three companies – Alberttown, Eccles and Grove Public Road – appear to be shell companies since they have no assets nor are there any trace of their operations.

The Attorney General had revealed that both companies, by way of Deed of Assignment, sub-leased the land to a Chinese national of Wellington Street, Georgetown, for just $100.

The AG had said that the police, as well as the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), will have to now step in since it appears that there are elements of money laundering and fraud associated with the transactions.

(G2)

12 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

COVID-19 death toll reaches 121 …Health Ministry to ramp up testing to 1000 per day

T

wo more deaths from the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were reported on Tuesday, bringing the country’s death toll to 121. For October, 39 deaths have been recorded.

The latest deaths are those of two males, aged 81 and 82, both from Region Four (DemeraraMahaica). The deaths were announced hours apart, and both men died while receiving care at a medical facility.

The latest fatalities were recorded on Saturday following the deaths of a 78-year-old male from Region Four and an 86-year-old male from Region Eight – both of whom died while receiving care at medical facilities. These two deaths took last week’s COVID-19 fatalities to eight.

As of Tuesday, 35 new cases were reported. There are nine persons in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) – after six persons were removed.

Meanwhile, 88 persons are in institutional isolation, 814 in home isolation and 33 in institutional quarantine. Guyana has recorded 3030 recoveries while the active cases stand at 944.

Of the newly-reported cases, 13 are from Region One (BarimaWaini); one from Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam); six from Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara); 14 from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica); one from Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne) and two from Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper

Essequibo).

The number of cases in Regions Five (Mahaica-Berbice), Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), Eight (PotaroSiparuni) and 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice) still stands at 27, 375, 135, and 137 respectively.

To date, 2138 males have contracted the virus compared to 1923 females. The number of tests processed for COVID-19 is 18,685.

Region One spike

On Tuesday, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony gave an update on the situation in Region One – especially in Kwebanna where there has been a spike in cases. The latest statistics show a total of 92 active cases in the Region, but a team of health officers are on site, providing education on isolating and quarantining.

“We have seen a few cases more in Region One, and that is because of the monitoring and testing that we’ve been doing. So, we have 92 active cases in Region One. We have focused a lot of our attention in Kwebanna, where we’ve seen a spike in cases. Today, we have tested a number of persons and we have 61 active cases in Kwebanna.

We continue to have a team on the ground that is doing sanitisation of residential facilities and also, offering education and advice to the residents,” the Minister explained.

Testing

The PCR testing has continued for persons who display symp-

toms of the novel coronavirus. Dr Anthony said it was estimated that the situation would be brought under control within two weeks.

He highlighted that the antigen testing kits currently being procured would be sent to communities with an upsurge in cases. The

Ministry is also mulling the idea of purchasing other approved tests by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

“We have ordered the tests. As you can imagine, countries around the world are trying to (get) the same tests, so we have put in

an order with PAHO/WHO [Pan American Health Organisation/ WHO) and we’re awaiting the details on when that would be arriving and so forth. We have also looked into the possibility of ordering other tests that the WHO has certified,” Dr Anthony said.

Some 20,000 antigen tests have been ordered and would be deployed to various interior areas. This type of testing, he had explained, will be more practical for use in remote hinterland areas.

Presently, Guyana has the capacity to process between 450 and 600 tests per day. Authorities are working to increase this threshold to between 1000 and 1200 in the near future. This is a significant improvement from the 30 tests per day that were being processed when the new government took office.

The Health Ministry indicated that some regions were submitting fewer samples than others. To address this, they have been engaging officials to take a more proactive approach. The geographical size of the area and population density determine the number of required samples.

“There are other regions who have been sending less samples.

We have been engaging them and pointing out to them that the size of the region and so forth, perhaps they need to be more proactive and setting up other testing sites within the region. Those measures are being taken.”

13 Dubai eyes investments in Guyana’s agri sector NEWS

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

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representative from the Private Office of Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Gaspar Lino, recently met with Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha to discuss a number of investment opportunities in Guyana’s agriculture sector.

Lino is quoted in a press release from the Agriculture Ministry as expressing his country’s willingness to invest in Guyana’s agriculture sector in a number of areas.

Minister Mustapha,

Representative from Private Office of Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum in Dubai, Gaspar Lino

while giving an update on the meeting, said that the talks proved favourable and a detailed proposal of possible areas for investment would be submitted to the office of Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum soon.

“We were able to draft a preliminary list of areas for investments for Mr Lino. My office is currently in the process of compiling a detailed investment package for him to take back to Dubai. As a Government, we understand the need for investments in all the sectors. As we work

to revitalise and resuscitate the agriculture sector, the Ministry will be engaging a number of investors, both locally and internationally.

There are a number of incentives and investment op-

portunities available, and I can easily say that there has been no better time to invest in Guyana,” Mustapha is quoted by the release as saying.

Some of the areas in the

sector earmarked for investments are fertiliser production and assemblage, organic poultry rearing, coffee, cocoa, corn, soya bean, spices and online agriculture and product development.

GRA announces dates for rollout of new tax exemptions critical about the former Government’s handling – or lack thereof – of the mining sector. Last year, Ali had called out the then Government over its neglect of the sector and the burdensome taxes being imposed on miners. (G12)

Guyana Revenue Authority

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he Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has sought to clarify confusion in the public domain surrounding the tax measures outlined in the national 2020 Budget and their effective dates of implementation.

President Dr Irfaan Ali signed into law the measures aimed at easing the burdens of high tariffs that were introduced by the former Administration.

Effective from October 1, 2020 were the new or reduced licence fees for motor vehicles and traders; removal of the restriction on vehicles eight years and older, half-cut vehicles, and used tyres; removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) on exports, medical supplies, key inputs in the poultry industry, hinterland travel and construction supplies.

It also includes removal of VAT on capital equipment and machinery used in mining, forestry, agriculture, construction and manufacturing industries, and All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) used in the mining, forestry, agriculture and manufacturing industries and by Toshaos.

Effective January 1, 2020 are the Corporation Tax exemption for private medical and private educational institutions, increase in the mortgage limit to $30 million for Mortgage Interest Relief (MIR) eligibility.

Effective April 1, 2020 is the removal of VAT on electricity and water.

Along with publications of the new tax measures in the daily newspapers and social media platforms, GRA has also been disseminating the said information via its weekly television programmes “Focus on

GRA” and “Talk Tax” and weekly appearances on live radio.

Taxpayers are also advised to check the GRA website for copies of the legislative amendments and should any further clarification be required, they can make contact with the Authority’s PR Unit via email grapublicrelations@gmail.com and its Tax Advisory Services Section on 227-6060, extensions 1201 to 1204.

President Ali had fulfilled the manifesto promise of enabling these exemptions, as he noted they would bring immediate relief to the mining, forestry, agriculture and manufacturing sectors – all of which have been underperforming and all of which have been faced with tremendous difficulties under the previous Administration.

He also indicated that they would boost particularly the forestry, mining, and agriculture sectors. He pointed out that current estimates had the mining sector at far below capacity, owing to many miners downing tools and parking their equipment owing to a poor rate of return.

“The estimate is that 65 per cent of the productive capacity in the mining sector has been lost. So, this will help to recapitalise the sector and will help to bring back all the medium and small miners into productive capacity and operation.

It will help to create jobs, wealth, and, of course, the trickle-down effect on the rest of the economy. It will bring back the forestry operators. Forestry has had tremendous difficulties over the years,” Dr Ali noted.

While in Opposition, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) was

President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali was on Tuesday presented with the first elevation tourism map using GIS technology by Christina Kumar. Kumar, during the presentation, said that one of the driving forces behind the project was her desire “to see Guyana in an innovative way” (Office of the President photo)

14 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Gary Best’s trial

Defence Attorney asks court to throw out case P

rominent Attorneyat-Law Nigel Hughes on Monday asked the court to throw out the case against former Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Chiefof-Staff, Retired Rear Admiral Gary Best, who is accused of causing the death of former national cyclist Jude Bentley.

Best, 62, is on trial before Magistrate Rondel Weever in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, where Inspector Shellon Daniels is prosecuting the matter.

Best was accused of driving motor vehicle PRR 8182 in a manner dangerous to the public along Clive Lloyd Drive, Greater Georgetown thereby causing the death of Bentley on February 8, 2020.

It was further alleged

Former GDF Chief-ofStaff Gary Best

that on the same day and at the same location, he drove the motor vehicle while his blood alcohol level was 85 micrograms, which is above

the legal limit of alcohol consumption.

In relation to the causing death charge, Best, an executive member of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), pleaded not guilty and was ordered to post bail in the sum of $500,000. In relation to the charge of driving under the influence, he was released on his own recognisance (self-bail).

As a condition of bail, Best was ordered to report to the Police Force’s Traffic Headquarters on specified dates until the completion of his trial.

When the matter was called on Monday, Hughes, in presenting his no-case submission, contended that there was not enough evidence to find Best guilty of

Meanwhile, on the day in question, Best was taken into custody, but later complained of feeling unwell and, as such, was

rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he was admitted. Best, at the time, was an advisor to then President David Granger.

Murdered La Grange businesswoman was strangled to death – autopsy Dead: Former national cyclist Jude Bentley

the crime.

As a result, the matter was adjourned until November 4, 2020, to allow the Prosecutor to respond.

...16-year-old arrested

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n autopsy performed on the remains of 85-year-old Bibi Nasmonisha Ramjit, whose body was found in her Old Road, La Grange, West Bank Demerara (WBD) home, proved that she was strangled to death.

The post-mortem was conducted by Government Pathologist, Dr Nehaul Singh, who gave the cause of death as “asphyxiation due to manual strangulation”.

The Police have arrested a teenager on Tuesday evening in connection with the gruesome murder. This was confirmed by the Force’s Public Relations Officer, Royston Andries-Junor.

The elderly businesswoman, who lived alone, was found gagged and murdered on Sunday evening.

Her home at the time was reportedly ransacked, thus leading investigators to believe that she was murdered during the commission of a robbery. The now dead woman’s children are all overseas and would visit from time to time.

It was reported that about four months ago, the now dead woman, who operated a grocery shop, was terrorised, assaulted and robbed by several men who invaded her home. They escaped with a large sum of money.

According to a family member, Ramjit did not make a report to the Police,

Dead: Bibi Nasmonisha Ramjit

since she was fearful that the robbers would return.

One month after that incident, Ramjit was again robbed while she was sleeping in her hammock. It is believed that the same group of men who committed the first robbery entered her home and removed an undisclosed sum of money, which had been kept in one of the bedrooms of the house.

On the day Ramjit was murdered, one of her customers had gone to pay some money that he owed her, but after calling out several times and receiving no response, he thought something was amiss since both the doors to her shop and house were opened. As such, he went into the house where he made the horrific discovery. He reportedly raised an alarm and the Police were contacted.

NEWS

Ramsammy’s Ruminations The PNC firmly, shamelessly reaffirmed and boasted of its authoritarian credentials

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uyana and the world know, but the PNC brazenly, this week, went to extraordinary lengths to remind everyone in Guyana and around the world that it is a political party unabashedly committed to authoritarianism and dictatorship.

The PNC Chairperson declared to its members that if they are genuinely PNC, they must never question their leaders; they must, at all times, "follow the leader". She was unequivocal in letting its membership know the Dr Leslie Ramsammy PNC will not tolerate being questioned, that it is the PNC's way. Another of its senior executives, Aubrey Norton, declared that the present GECOM which desperately tried to rig the 2020 elections, and for which several senior management personnel, including the Chief Elections Officer and one of its senior Returning Officers, are on charges of elections fraud - needs no reform and no personnel changes. In short, the PNC is quite comfortable in retaining a GECOM machinery committed to rigged elections.

In 1990, when the PPP and others were calling for international observers for the 1992 elections, the then Leader of the PNC, serving as the President of Guyana, declared international observers for Guyana's elections would be tantamount to interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign country. In more recent times, David Granger, the present PNC leader, also when serving as President, warned that observers and others who dared to speak out against electoral fraud in Guyana must "mind their own business". The PNC even barred those outside of CARICOM from observing the recount. We must never forget it was Desmond Hoyte who called Aubrey Norton his "creature", screaming out that he appointed Norton as the Party's Chairman and he can fire him at his whim and fancy.

These dictatorial declarations and manifestations are not harmless. In practice, the PNC created fake voters’ lists for the 1968, 1973, 1980 and 1985 elections. They tried holding elections in 1990 with a fake voters’ list. They held a referendum in 1978 with a fake voters’ list. Not only did dead people vote in those elections, even children and horses voted in those elections. People voted multiple times in those elections. They took the ballot boxes to the army headquarters and kept party representatives away from the boxes. These rigged elections were so rigged that the world deemed them as more crooked than barbed wire.

Whenever they fail to rig an election, they try to take power through violence and protests. The 1961, 1962, 1963 and 1964 violent protests finally succeeded in forcing the British to hold elections with a system designed to keep the PPP out of power.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, they used "slow fyah, mo fyah" protests, and when those did not work, they tried using criminals and thugs to create havoc in the country. That, too, did not work.

In 2020, they tried to thief the elections in full view of the world.

Failing to thief the elections after a five-month attempt, they accused the PPP and the whole world of rigging the elections.

The PNC are barefaced riggers. But people have either forgotten or are too young to know that Forbes Burnham, the Founder-Leader of the PNC, tried in the early 1950s to thief the PPP from Cheddi Jagan. Failing to thief the leadership and the PPP, Burnham then formed his own party, which he called the People's National Congress (PNC). Thus, the PNC was born out of authoritarianism and efforts at thieving leadership.

Unlike the PPP, which was born out of a passion for independence and a quest for equality and equity for ALL people, the PNC was born out of greed for power. That legacy has persisted for more than six decades. Whatever the disguise, the PNC is still driven by its over-riding motivation: power at all cost. It is not driven by any principle; by any value; by a passion for ending poverty, or for equality; there is only one thing that keeps the PNC together - the burning desire for power.

This ugly truth is made uglier because, to remain a major political party, the PNC has used the race and ethnic card.

The PNC's effort to thief the 2020 elections in full view of the world, however, has been rejected by the Guyanese people and by the world. They have disgraced their supporters and every decent Guyanese. Just when it was possible for people to accept that the PNC might have changed, they brazenly reminded people who they are and what they stand for. But Guyana is no longer in the mood for dictatorship. In reminding the Guyanese people who they are and what they stand for, the Guyanese people will never trust them. Unless they change, they will never again have a chance at forming a Government in Guyana. Even if they genuinely change, it will take time for them to earn people's trust again. Now their reality is never in Government again, or a very long time from now. If they are not careful, they will be replaced by another party as Guyana's second largest political party.

COVID-19 threats

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Gate restricting access to Karaudarnau village breached

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illage councils along the Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) stretch have been closely monitoring activities in the respective communities to avoid any further spread of the novel coronavirus.

They have restricted access into the communities through checkpoints and gates. However, on Monday night, the gate at Karaudarnau village was broken. The matter was highlighted by the South Rupununi District Council, which called on persons to respect the work of Councils to protect their people.

“Residents of Karaudarnau and people of the South Rupununi, we urge you to please respect the Village Councils’ hard work towards keeping the deadly coronavirus out of our villages. Persons in Karaudarnau have been

The gate that was broken at Karaudarnau

working hard to safeguard everyone in your village,” the Council positioned.

Guyana Times was told that such actions have been reported in other communities,

including St Ignatius.

The SRDC had ordered a complete lockdown for 21 villages in that district. This was in light of coronavirus being detected in Indigenous communities across the country.

After the outbreak earlier this year, the District Council had blocked several illegal crossings along the Guyana-Brazil border. In a subsequent release, the SRDC had said due to the inadequate healthcare systems and supplies in the region, residents are extremely vulnerable to diseases, especially the novel coronavirus.

A few months ago, authorities in Region Nine were alarmed at the increase of the coronavirus cases in the district – the majority of which they said were imported from neighbouring Brazil.

TURN TO PAGE 16

16 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Gate restricting access Guyana-Brazil’s international border at the Takutu River Bridge was officially closed to prevent the spread of the deadly disease, but Brazilians were still making their way into Guyana.

Then Regional Executive Officer (REO), Carl Parker, had pointed out that the resi-

dents within the region were going about their daily business as though the country has returned to normalcy.

Moreover, the REO had expressed concerns that residents are also hiding these trespassers in their community.

The region’s first con-

FROM PAGE 15

firmed COVID-19 case was a dual citizen who had entered Guyana illegally from Brazil.

He later escaped from a treatment facility in Guyana and returned to Brazil. Several persons would have been exposed here to COVID-19 as a result of his movements.

17 Guyana to host virtual G77 Summit on Thursday G NEWS

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

uyana, as Chair of the largest negotiating group of developing countries in the United Nations - the Group of 77 (G77) and China - has committed to strengthening multilateralism for the benefit of all developing countries, including by presiding over global sustainable development and climate change negotiations, and efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Organisation.

The country was elected in November 2019 to the Chairmanship, demonstrating the group’s strong support and confidence in Guyana.

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and current Permanent Representative to the UN, Carolyn RodriguesBirkett said Guyana has taken up the Chairmanship of the G77 at a significant time.

“We assumed the Chairmanship in a very important year… it is the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations, it is also the year that begins the Decade of Delivery on Sustainable Development, but it is also the year where we have seen quite a bit of push back on multilateralism

Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett

and then added to that we have the COVID-19 pandemic,” Rodrigues-Birkett said in an interview with the Department of Public Information.

On Thursday, Guyana will host its virtual flagship event on the occasion of its Chairmanship of this major Group, under the theme, “Maintaining a Low Carbon Development Path towards the 2030 Agenda in the Era of COVID-19.”

This event aims to bring together ministerial and expert level representatives from the membership of the Group of 77 and China to achieve several objectives.

These objectives are: 1. To provide a space

for awareness, partnership building, knowledge sharing and lesson learning among the G-77 and China membership on climate action amidst the COVID-19 crisis, while recovering towards the 2030 Agenda 2. To reinforce the Group of 77’s position on key issues in the climate change discussion including climate finance and ecosystems-based approaches, while also contributing to maximising SDG co-benefits; and 3. To produce a presidential communique that highlights the main concerns and actions of the Group.

Given the existential threats posed by climate change, there is no room for delayed actions or reneging on commitments in this regard. It is against this background that the event will be hosted.

The Government has noted the need for parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement to maintain the importance of the climate crisis, in all actions and at all levels. The pandemic, it had noted, has exposed the vulnerabilities of our health and

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres

social systems, the fragility of our economies, the unsustainability of our relationship with nature, and the gaping inequalities in our world.

The poorest and most vulnerable have been the hardest hit, and face the most uncertain paths to recovery.

Decades of progress towards eradicating poverty and other deprivations stand to be reversed.

The virtual flagship event will also highlight the need for enhanced solidarity and greater systemic resilience, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rodrigues-Birkett further explained the importance of the event in pushing this agenda.

“What this event is go-

ing to do or is going to focus on is on maintaining a low carbon development path in the context of COVID, keeping our eyes on achieving the sustainable development agenda and this event is being held by us in our capacity as Chair of the G77 and China…What we are trying to do here is remind the world that yes, we have the pandemic and yes we have to deal with the pandemic, but that should not put a low carbon development pathway to sustainable development on the back burner.”

The response to the pandemic, the Government posited, must now aim to build fairer and more inclusive, resilient and sustainable societies and economies. It should strive to realise the transformations necessary to address the challenges related to climate change and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Therefore, the Paris Agreement on climate change and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, together with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, represent the global roadmap for the recovery from COVID-19 and for an equitable and sustainable future. They must

Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd

be at the heart of COVID-19 recovery plans.

“We must not forego to what we have committed to in the Paris Agreement, in several other agreement, in the Sustainable Development Goals, just because we have COVID now. In fact, we have to accelerate it even more so in light of the pandemic,” Rodrigues-Birkett said.

Among several other outcomes, the sessions to be hosted at the flagship event seek to explore innovative ways in which the global financial architecture can improve access for developing countries, to maintain a climate-resilient development pathway in the context of the 2030 Agenda.

Family of murdered teen calls out Police for slothfulness in investigations

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he family of 16-yearold Jumal Parks of Non Pariel Street, Albouystown, Georgetown, who was brutally murdered by three teenagers about two weeks ago, is urging the third suspect to surrender.

Thus far, the two teens who were arrested were later arraigned for the gruesome murder and were remanded to prison in November.

Parks was killed on Front Road, West Ruimveldt, while he was at Wanita’s Carwash his place of employment.

According to Police, the murder was committed by a 19-year-old labourer of Hunter Street, La Penitence; an 18-year-old unemployed male of West Ruimveldt along with a 17-year-old un-

employed male of East La Penitence, Georgetown.

Following a disagreement between Parks and the three teens a few days before he was murdered, one of the suspects armed himself with a piece of wood, and visited the car wash and reportedly called out to the now dead teen.

The teen did not pay heed but the suspects advanced towards him, thus resulting in him running into a nearby house where he was brutally beaten and stabbed to the left side chest and his right upper arm.

The stabbing was reportedly done by the 19-year-old while the others dealt him several blows about his body with pieces of wood.

Dead teen’s mother: Shondell Wright

In an interview with Guyana Times on Tuesday, the dead teen’s mother, Shondelle Wright, called for justice for her son’s death and urged the teen who is on the run to surrender to the

police.

She even expressed disappointment with the slothfulness of the police in handling the case. “Presently I am not pleased because I ain’t see no police come back to me and ask me how I making out… every day I ask and try to find out what the police doing because I want justice,” she said.

The aggrieved woman said the teen who the police claimed they cannot find is parading the road on a daily basis.

“Every day you go on the

Dead: Jumal Parks

road you seeing him. He does be in Albouystown by the block, and by the time the police come he does done gone.

He is on the road because everywhere my daughters them go, they seeing him. Every time we call the police, by the time they come he get away…”, she explained.

On this note, the family called on anyone with information that can lead to the arrest of the wanted teen to contact the nearest police station.

Investigations are still going

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guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020

Regional

Venezuela's Guaidó denounces forced 33 new COVID-19 cases, no disappearance of party coordinator deaths reported in Trinidad

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enezuela’s Juan Guaidó on Tuesday accused the Government of illegally detaining an Opposition activist, blaming it for what he called the forced disappearance of Roland Carreno of the Popular Will party.

Carreno was approached on Monday afternoon by unidentified people in vehicles without licence plates, Popular Will said on Twitter.

It added that the party had been unable to confirm his location after that encounter.

“He remains disappeared,” Guaidó, head of the Opposition-controlled legislature, wrote in a separate tweet. “We alert the world about his forced disappearance and we hold the dictatorship responsible for his physical and mental integrity.”

Guaidó did not provide further details about Carreno’s situation. The Government of President Nicolás Maduro frequently arrests Opposition adversaries, often without due process and in some cases leaves them incommunicado

Police Officers stand guard at the entrance of a detention centre of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) in Caracas, Venezuela, August 8, 2018 (file photo)

for hours or days.

Popular Will said it had been unable to locate two men who were with Carreno when he was last seen.

The Information Ministry and chief prosecutor’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Carreno’s disappearance comes days after Leopoldo Lopez, one of the founders of Popular Will, left the residence of the Spanish Ambassador in Caracas, where he had taken refuge

since April 2019 after escaping house arrest, and fled to Spain.

After Lopez’s departure from the Spanish Ambassador’s residence, at least nine people were arrested. All Venezuelans, they included the residence’s cook, two bodyguards, and other employees.

Lawyers for the detainees said they were released between Sunday and Monday by the SEBIN intelligence agency. (Excerpt from Reuters)

here have been 33 new cases of COVID-19 reported within the last 24 hours in Trinidad and Tobago.

The total number of active cases has now dropped to 1276.

The Health Ministry’s release on Tuesday afternoon said no new deaths have been reported, and the total remains at 106.

Ten people have been discharged from public health facilities and there are 50 recovered community cases.

The total number of cases since March is 5568 and there are now 4186 recovered patients.

The total number of people tested to date in the public sector stands at 32,530.

Meanwhile, St Lucia recorded nine new cases of the coronavirus, including a 12-year-old child, on Monday.

The Health Ministry said that the new cases pushed the total of positive cases to 63, with 36 being active.

It said that the new cases continue to be diagnosed and captured from a wider range of communities.

“This situation requires us to constantly stick with the behaviours that can keep us at low risk. We need to keep ourselves on alert particularly when we are in plac-

es where we are comfortable and where we have frequent contact like our workplaces.”

The Health Ministry said it was also taking this opportunity to encourage “all to look out for one another”, adding “let’s encourage each other to act responsibly to reduce our exposure to the virus.

“Anyone with respiratory symptoms like cough, fever, sore throat should not be at work or in any public place. It is important that people who are unwell seek care promptly at the closest Community Respiratory Clinic.” (Excerpts from Trinidad Newsday and CMC)

Bolivian Judge annuls Evo Morales's arrest warrant

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Judge in Bolivia has annulled the arrest warrant which had been issued for ex-President Evo Morales last year for alleged sedition and terrorism.

Morales is living in exile after leaving Bolivia in November 2019 amid mass protests over allegations of vote rigging in the presidential election.

He said he would return to Bolivia if his Mas party won the re-run of the election, which it did on October 18.

The annulment paves the way for him to return without fear of arrest.

Following Morales's departure from Bolivia, an interim Government led by right-wing Senator Jeanine

Evo Morales currently remains in exile in Argentina

Áñez took over power.

She said at the time that Morales should "face justice".

Days later, the Interior Minister in the interim Government, Arturo Murillo, alleged that Morales had fomented unrest in the weeks following the disputed election.

Dozens of people died in clashes both between opposing political groups, and between protesters and the security forces.

Murillo produced audio recordings which he said proved that Morales had organised roadblocks which prevented food from reaching some of Bolivia's main cities.

He said the ex-leader's alleged role in the unrest amounted to "sedition and terrorism" and Prosecutors filed a criminal complaint.

Morales said that the recordings had been "manipulated" and questioned why the interim Government was not investigating the deaths of protesters instead.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

ECLAC says Region must grow at rate of 4% to eliminate poverty by 2030

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he Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) says the Region must grow at a rate of at least four per cent a year and carry out a sharp redistribution of income (of up to three per cent of GDP annually) in order to eliminate poverty by 2030.

This was revealed in a study, entitled “Building a New Future: Transformative Recovery with Equality

and Sustainability” presented on Tuesday by Alicia Bárcena, ECLAC's Executive Secretary, to the Commission's member countries and associate members during its 38th session, which is taking place virtually through October 28.

The ECLAC said this growth would only be possible if external constraints on growth are overcome through authentic competitiveness based on the development of

nations' human and technological capacities.

“Latin America and the Caribbean must move towards a big push for sustainability with a view to forging a new development pattern and towards implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. A virtuous combination of policies can make the proposal of growth for equality and equality for growth a reality,” the study said. (Jamaica Observer)

UWI, CCCCC sign agreement with PAHO

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he University of the West Indies (UWI) and the Belize-based Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) have signed an agreement with the sub-regional office of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) to enhance coordination and increase the climate resilience of health systems in the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) countries.

The UWI and CCCCC are the first of five partners to sign under the EU/CARIFORUM Strengthening Climate Resilient Health Systems Project, which is aimed at better preparing for and re-

sponding to climate threats.

The initiative is funded by the European Union.

The other partners are the Caribbean Community, the Caribbean Public Health Agency and the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology & Hydrology, along with three United Nations agencies – UN Environment; Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and United Nations Development Programme.

The UWI will focus on creating an interdisciplinary cadre of 16 climate change fellows from across the Region who are trained in climate change, health, and leadership.

It is expected that the establishment of this network

will facilitate collaboration and support of local leadership initiatives spearheaded by the climate fellows under the programme. UWI will also assist PAHO to track Caribbean public perceptions on climate and health over the next five years and increase public awareness and visibility.

Professor in the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the UWI-St Augustine and chair of the Technical Working Group – Climate Change and One Health Leadership, Chris Oura said the University was pleased to be partnering with PAHO on this timely and important EU-funded project. (Excerpt from CMC)

guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020

19

Around the World

OILNEWS OIL NEWS Oil rises 2% on US Gulf shutdowns, outlook weak

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rude settled higher on Tuesday as companies shut down some US Gulf of Mexico oil production ahead of an approaching storm, although surging coronavirus infections and rising Libyan supply limited gains.

Companies including BP, Chevron, Shell and Equinor ASA evacuated rigs or closed facilities. So far producers have shut 16 per cent, or 294,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil output due to Zeta, which weakened to a tropical storm on Tuesday from a hurricane on Monday, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

Brent crude closed up 75 cents, or 1.9 per cent, at US$41.21 per barrel by 1:22 EDT (1722 GMT). US oil gained US$1.01 cents, or 2.6 per cent, to US$39.57. Both contracts fell more than 3 per cent on Monday.

The storm-induced bump in prices may be short-lived, however, with demand expected to weaken anew with coronavirus cases rising.

“We have a lot of weakness...no vaccine, no stimulus, and the very real possibility of a contested election in a couple days, and a stock market that won’t react positively to that,” said Bob Yawger, Director of Energy Futures at Mizuho.

Libya’s production should rebound to 1 million bpd in coming weeks, complicating efforts by other OPEC members and allies to restrict output.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, are planning to increase production by 2 million bpd from January after record output cuts this year.

That would cut overall reductions to 7.7 million bpd - still an enormous amount by the standards of major oil producers, but it may not be enough to offset weak demand.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking last Thursday, did not rule out extending the cuts for longer.

“As the virus continues to spread, the odds of additional OPEC + production tends to diminish in helping to provide some balance to the market,” said Jim Ritterbusch, President of Ritterbusch and Associates.

The latest weekly US oil inventory figures, due later on Tuesday and today, are expected to show rising supplies.

Analysts polled by Reuters expect crude stocks to rise by about 1.1 million barrels. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Donald Trump setback in rape defamation case

A

US Federal Judge has dismissed an effort by the Department of Justice (DoJ) to defend President Donald Trump in a case brought by a woman who accuses him of raping her.

Columnist E Jean Carroll accused Trump of assaulting her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s.

In a lawsuit, she argued the President defamed her when he denied her claim and said she was "totally lying".

The DoJ had sought to put itself in the dock as defendant, instead of Trump.

Citing a law designed to protect federal employees from being sued over actions stemming from the performance of their duties, the Department argued that he was serving in his capacity as President when he denied Carroll's allegation.

But Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Federal District Court in Manhattan argued that the US President was not an "employee" within the meaning of that law - the Tort Claims Act. The case was filed in New York state court in November 2019 and Trump

E Jean Carroll said she was happy the judge had recognised some "basic truths"

was represented by his personal lawyer Marc Kasowitz.

The DoJ had raised this to a federal court level, where the case would pit Carroll against the US Government - not Trump as a private citizen.

Experts say the move would have brought the lawsuit to an end as the Federal Government cannot be sued for defamation.

Judge Kaplan's ruling means the original case can go ahead.

In a 61-page ruling, Judge Kaplan said Trump's comments "concerned an alleged sexual assault that took place several decades before he took office, and the allegations have no relationship to the official business of the United States". (Excerpt from BBC News)

Several dead in blast at religious school in Pakistan’s Peshawar

A

n explosion at a religious school in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar has killed at least seven people and wounded 109 others, Police and health officials said.

The blast occurred at the Speen Jamaat mosque, which also serves as a religious school for the local community in the city’s Dir Colony area, at 8:30 am local time (3:30 GMT) on Tuesday, a police official told Al Jazeera shortly after the blast.

It was not immediately clear how many children were among those killed or wounded, as the students gathered at the school included many who were adults.

Rescue workers collect the remains of victims after a blast at a religious school in Peshawar

Speaking to local television station Geo News, the provincial police’s bomb disposal unit chief Shafqat Malik said the device used was sophisticated and involved a timed detonation.

At least 83 of those

wounded were being treated at the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), the city’s main Government hospital, while 26 others were brought to the Naseerullah Khan Babar hospital.

Tariq Burki, an official at

the Lady Reading Hospital, said five of the wounded were in critical condition.

Burki confirmed that there were four children among those wounded and that all of those killed, as well as most of the injured, were aged between 20 and 40.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility following the attack.

Pakistan has battled the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Pakistan Taliban, since 2007 when the group was formed and held sway over several districts, carrying out frequent attacks against civilian and security targets across the country.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

New study links air pollution to 15% of COVID-19 deaths

L

ong-term exposure to air pollution may be linked to 15 per cent of COVID-19 deaths globally, according to a new study.

Published in the journal Cardiovascular Research on Tuesday, the research from German and Cypriot experts analysed health and disease data from the United States and China relating to air pollution, COVID-19 and SARS – a respiratory illness similar to the new coronavi-

rus disease.

The authors combined this with satellite data of global exposure to particulate matter – microscopic particles – as well as ground-based pollution monitoring networks, to calculate the extent to which air pollution could be blamed for COVID-19 deaths.

The authors said the deaths linked to COVID-19 and air pollution represent-

ed a “potentially avoidable, excess mortality” and that exposure to particulate matter in air likely aggravated “co-morbidities that lead to fatal outcomes” of infection

by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

“If both long-term exposure to air pollution and infection with the COVID-19 virus come together then we have an adverse effect on health, particularly with respect to the heart and blood

vessels,” said the paper’s co-author Thomas Munzel.

He said that air pollution made known COVID-19 risk factors such as lung and heart problems more likely.

Specifically, the team noted that particulate matter appeared to increase the activity of a receptor on lung cell surfaces, ACE-2, which is known to be involved in the way COVID-19 infects patients. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

US warns of threat posed by China, signs military pact with India

T

he United States and India signed a pact to share sensitive satellite and map data on Tuesday as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned of the threat posed by an increasingly assertive China.

Pompeo, who arrived in New Delhi on Monday along with Defence Secretary Mark Esper, said after talks with their Indian counterparts that the two countries had to work together to confront the threat China posed to security and freedom.

The annual US-India strategic dialogue comes at a time of heightened tension in the region, with Indian troops confronting Chinese forces on their disputed Himalayan border.

The new defence pact the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement on Geospatial Cooperation was a “significant milestone” that would foster cooperation between the militaries of both countries, Esper told the news conference.

The United States planned to sell more fighter planes and drones to India, Esper added. The pact will give India access to a range of topographical, nautical and aeronautical data that is considered vital for targeting of missiles and armed drones.

US President Donald Trump has made being tough on China a key part of his campaign to secure a second term in next week’s

India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh speaks next to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper and India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar during a joint news conference after their meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India, October 27, 2020

presidential election and Pompeo has been trying to bolster allies to counter China’s growing influence in the region.

India has its own problems with China.

In June, 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash

with Chinese troops on their high-altitude border, hardening the mood in India against China and driving Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Government to seek closer military ties with the United States. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Philadelphia: Protests after Police fatally shoot black man

P

rotests have broken out in Philadelphia after Police shot and killed a 27-year-old black man they said had been armed with a knife.

The shooting happened on Monday afternoon when two officers responded to a report of a person with a weapon.

Police said the officers opened fire when the man, identified as Walter Wallace, "advanced towards" them.

An investigation has been

opened.

Hundreds took to the streets to protest against the shooting.

The protests, which began late on Monday and continued into the early hours of Tuesday, turned violent at times, the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper reported.

Images from the scene showed a police vehicle set on fire. There were also reports of looting.

Some 30 officers were injured, most of them from being struck by objects such as bricks and stones, according to preliminary information from Police cited by the Associated Press (AP) news agency.

One officer was in hospital with a broken leg and other injuries after being struck by a pick-up truck, police said.

More than a dozen people were arrested, Police said.

Large protests broke out

in Philadelphia earlier this year following the police killing of 46-year-old AfricanAmerican man George Floyd in Minnesota. Footage showed white police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck, while he repeatedly said he was unable to breathe.

Floyd's death sparked protests around the world against racism and police brutality. (Excerpt from BBC News)

20

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020

guyanatimesgy.com

ARCHIE

ARIES (March 21April 19)

You’ll get fired up quickly if you let your emotions take charge. Rethink your plan before you start something you cannot finish.

Concentrate on what you can do to improve your life.

Before you make a TAURUS move or life-changing de(April 20cision, consider your moMay 20) tives and the consequences of your actions. Do what’s right for you and your loved ones.

DILBERT

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

CANCER (June 21July 22)

PEANUTS

How you handle matters will determine who listens to you. Don’t follow someone’s lead. Do your own thing, and chart a path for better days ahead. Start a new fitness routine.

VIRGO

An investment looks promising.

An updated look will help convince others that you are ready to be proactive. Be a leader, not a follower, and good things will transpire.

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

SCORPIO

SUDOKU

Be observant, not vocal. When dealing with someone who can be volatile, it’s better to let things unfold naturally. Keep the peace, and avoid turmoil and interference.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

(Aug. 23Sept. 22)

CALVIN AND HOBBES

Personal improvement is favored. Refuse to let someone interfere with your plans or personal life.

An important relationship may require you to make a change.

(Oct. 24Nov. 22)

Personal improvements will lift your spirits and encourage you to be more disciplined when it comes to your health and well-being. Let go of things and people that drag you down.

Use discretion and avoid an emotional situation. Pay attention to what’s going on around you. Knowledge will be your passage to new beginnings. Education will be crucial.

Home is where the heart SAGITTARIUS is, so make it a place of comfort and convenience.

(Nov. 23Dec. 21) You can improve your relationships with honesty, kindness and equality.

Romance is in the stars.

YESTERDAY'S WORD – PLEATS

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

Be careful what you say. If you act in haste, you will have regrets. Include the people you love in your plans. Be prepared to take advantage of whatever comes your way.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

Put more thought into how you earn your living.

Don’t jump into something prematurely for financial reasons. Make personal growth, knowledge and fitness priorities.

Don’t let confusion set in. Too many choices will leave you wondering what to do next. Head in a direction that will encourage positive change and less stress.

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020

21

“Gayle is the greatest T20 player of all time,” says KXIP’s Mandeep Singh K

ings XI Punjab’s (KXIP’s) opening batsman Mandeep Singh believes West Indies star player Chris Gayle is possibly the greatest T20 player of all time, and Singh insists that Gayle should be in no hurry to retire.

Singh and Gayle crafted a crucial 100-run partnership

that led KXIP to an 8-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Monday; and temporarily into the playoff spots, after KXIP had found themselves rooted to the bottom of the table just two weeks prior.

The win, the team’s fifth in a row, coincided with the return of veteran batsman

Gayle to the line-up. The big West Indian had found himself sitting on the bench for the team’s first 7 games, and the team had struggled, returning one win against seven losses during that time.

Since coming into the line-up, Gayle has scored 117 runs, including two half-centuries, and has brought a

sense of energy to the team.

“Chris makes the game so easy. I told him, ‘You should never retire’,” Singh said in a post-match interview. “I’ve been lucky to play with the likes of Chris Gayle; AB; Gilchrist; Virat Kohli.

I started out with Chris in 2010…I’ve been fortunate to know him as a friend. He’s

World 100m champion Christian Coleman hit with 2-year ban

C

hristian Coleman, the world’s fastest man, will miss the Olympic Games next year after being told his explanation for one of three missed drug tests was “simply impossible”.

Coleman has been handed a two-year doping ban.

The American sprinter, who powered to 100m victory at the World Championships last year, claimed he had been out Christmas shopping in December 2019 when testers arrived at his house, but said he had returned during the 60-minute time slot for testing.

Coleman also told investigators he had watched the kick-off of an American football game at 8.15pm; which he claimed meant a doping control officer must have clocked off early.

However, this explanation was emphatically rejected by an independent tribunal, which imposed on him a ban that would be in effect until 13 May 2022.

“Shopping receipts show that the athlete was shopping at least from 7.13pm, also purchased a Chipotle at 7.53pm and finally purchased 16 items from a Walmart Super Centre at 8.22pm,” the tribunal said.

“The athlete’s evidence was that he returned home briefly at sometime between 8pm and 8.10pm, ate his Chipotle while watching the kick-off, and then went out again. We do not accept the athlete’s evidence.

“It would have been simply impossible for him to purchase a Chipotle at 7:53pm (the store being 5-9 minutes to his residence), drive home, park the car, go into his residence, eat the Chipotle, then watch the kick-off of the football game which only started at

8:15pm, and thereafter go out again in his car, drive to the store and pick up 16 items at the Walmart Supercenter so as to be able to pay for them by 8:22pm.”

The 24-year-old Coleman, who earns close to a seven-figure salary from his sponsors at Nike, was also told that if his explanation was true, he should have seen the two doping control officers stationed outside his house.

“Two DCOs, who also did not discover him, stated that at no time was a light turned on in the house – on a dark December evening,” the tribunal stated. “It is obvious that in fact the athlete did not go home until after making his 8:22pm purchase. We are comfortably satisfied that this is what happened.”

Coleman did not contest his first missed test on 16 January 2019, but disputed his filing failure on 26 April 2019, and whereabouts failure on 9 December. But the tribunal ruled against him, calling his attitude to his obligations “entirely careless, perhaps even reckless”.

“We understand that it is very difficult for a young man, blessed with the prodigious talent which the athlete obviously has, to find himself suddenly at the centre of the

public gaze,” it added. “But success of this nature, and the financial rewards that follow, also gives rise to responsibilities that must be taken seriously, and observed day after day, just as all other athletes in the Registered

Testing Pool must do too.”

This year, Coleman also criticised testers for not calling him when he was out shopping to see where he was, as they had done on previous occasions.

However, the tribunal ruled that testers were under no obligation to do this, given that they had repeatedly knocked on his door instead.

Last year, the American sprinter narrowly escaped a suspension on a technicality for three whereabouts’ failures. And the panel admitted its surprise that he had not learned from his experience to take much greater care in future in relation to his filing and whereabouts information.

“In fact, that is not at all what happened,” the panel stated. “Despite the nar-

row escape from a potential ban, and despite the fact that the athlete knew that he still had two whereabouts’ failures on his record, and – as he accepted in the hearing – was on high alert, by 9 December, the athlete went shopping throughout his 60-minute slot.”

Coleman, who has never failed a drug test, has 30 days to appeal the ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. He will appeal, “and this will be resolved well before the US Olympic trials”, Coleman’s lawyer, Howard Jacobs, has said. (Adopted from The Guardian)

so humble, he is so down-toearth. Like I said, he should never retire; he is always in great touch, I have never seen him struggle. He is probably the greatest T20 player of all time.”

What the stats reveal

A quick look at some of the stats does buttress Singh’s claims. Gayle has scored the most runs in T20 cricket (13,296); has the highest score (175); most sixes in an innings (18); and has produced the fastest 100.

He has also hit the most fours: 1,026. With 993 sixes, Gayle is just 7 away from a record 1000.(Sportsmax)

New York National Cricket League…

Majestic CC in convincing win over Pehowa Warriors CC – Patadin’s all-round brilliance, Narine’s red hot form responsible

I

n action in the New continued to destroy the York National Cricket opposition even though two League (NYNCL) more Majestics’ wickets fell over the weekend, Chris for a combined total of six Patadin and Derick Narine runs.

In the end, the Majestics were jointly responsible for the Majestic Cricket Club recorded 220 for 4 in their inflicting a convincing defeat allotted 20 overs, with Patadin on their Pehowa Warriors contributing 109 runs which counterparts as the Majestics included 13 boundaries and 4 continued their dominance of maximums.

The Warriors’ bowlers who this league.

In this match, Patadin took wickets were Sukwhinder scored a brilliant 109 runs off Singh, with 2 for 40; Lovejeet 56 balls and bagged 2 wickets, Singh, with 1 for 26; and while Narine contributed Sandeep Singh, with 1 for 27.

Needing 221 runs to a fine knock of 83 runs off win off 120 balls, the 54 balls as the Majestics Warriors had their decimated the work cut out for Pehowa Warriors them. They knew by 135 runs. they had to get going The Warriors from ball one, but were simply not up they didn’t get things to the task of contesting against the Majestics, their way, and were who commenced their eventually dismissed powerplay overs with for 85 runs.

The only person the pitch suited for to register a score batting.

Patadin and worth mentioning was Mandeep Singh, with 43 Narine laced into their runs off 28 balls. Every opponents, smacking boundaries and Derick Narine other batsman failed to read the line and maximums to every scored 83 part of the ground. Their length of the bowlers. combined class and aggression Bowling for the Majestics, tormented the opposition as Chris Patadin returned figures they put together a 160-run of 2-30; Pranay Subra Das returned figures of 3-25; stand.

Ramnarine Eventually, Narine got Karamchand out for 83, which included 7 registered 3 for 8, while Mark Pooran and Vijai Hansraj each boundaries and 4 maximums.

Patadin, however, bagged a wicket.

22

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020

Sunrisers keep season alive – as Saha, Warner thump Delhi Capitals T

he Sunrisers Hyderabad came into this game against the Delhi Capitals having to win everything to stand even the slimmest chance of qualifying for the playoffs. One wrong move could have ended their entire campaign right there and then. They were facing a lot of pressure, and yet they revelled in it.

David Warner batted like he used to: hard hands hitting through the line, and eyes only for the boundary. He made 66 off 34 balls.

Wriddhiman Saha provided another example of why he shouldn’t be underestimated as a batsman in T20 cricket. He made 87 off 45 balls.

On account of those two knocks, the Sunrisers put up 219 for 2 and smothered the Delhi Capitals with scoreboard pressure.

T h e Sunrisers

The partnership between Wriddhiman Saha and David Warner was worth 107 runs

Rashid all the way

and Saha produced 11 boundaries and 2 Wriddhiman Saha

Shimron Hetmyer executing a shot

are now sixth on the points table with 10 points, just two behind the Kings XI Punjab and the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Mayhem

Between them, Warner

maximums - and 77 runs in the powerplay.

Even as the world was debating why the Sunrisers had dropped Jonny Bairstow, their new set of openers were creating mayhem out in the middle.

Saha faced only 10 balls in the powerplay, but sent four of those to the boundary. He matched Warner shot for shot in an opening partnership of 107 in 58 balls.

The Capitals did try to one-up their tormentors.

R Ashwin, for example, concentrated on denying Warner any room outside off stump. After trying to manufacture some, the left-hand batsman decided to simply stand still and whack the ball angled into his pads over deep square leg for six.

Anrich Nortje, the fastest bowler of the tournament, dropped his pace and attempted to hide the ball from Warner. And this was as early as the fourth over.

However, it didn’t work, as the Sunrisers’ captain practically skipped across his stumps and cut the ball for four with such class that for a moment a cricket match felt like a Broadway musical.

Rashid Khan celebrating the wicket of Shimron Hetmyer

Incredible heights

David Warner

ed. Heck, He wouldn’t even let a bout of cramps come in the way of his helping his team win.

Saha had felt that twinge in his groin fairly early during his partnership with Manish Pandey, and yet he found the strength to hit 47 of the 63 runs that the Sunrisers made in that time - at a strike rate of 223.

Pandey managed just 11 off seven in that stand, but he finished with 44 off 31 to cap off a near-perfect batting effort. There were only three boundary-less overs in the entire innings.

On the back of such a dominant start, and with one of those openers batting deep into the innings, the Sunrisers reached incredible heights. Only once in their history have the Sunrisers ever put up a total bigger than the 219 they racked up in Dubai.

The biggest contributor to that total was Saha, who was hitting a boundary every 3.2 balls. He didn’t slow down, even after the field restrictions were lift-

Dangerous even without scoreboard pressure, Rashid is unplayable with it behind him. In a chase that required the batsmen to go at nearly 12 an over, Rashid Khan’s figures were incredible: four overs,

BOWLING A Nortje K Rabada R Ashwin AR Patel TU Deshpande MP Stoinis

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T h e Capitals h a d front-loaded their batting.

They had S h i k h a r Dhawan who hit four successive 50plus scores this season, including backto-back hundreds. Sandeep Sharma sent him back for a duck.

They promoted Marcus Stoinis at #3 and Shimron Hetmyer at #4, but spin consumed them.

When Rashid took his third wicket, the Capitals were 83 for 6 in the 13th over. The slide from there was slow, but completely inevitable. (ESPNcricinfo)

SCOREBOARD SUNRISERS HYDERABAD INNINGS (20 OVERS MAXIMUM) BATSMEN R DA Warner (c) c Patel b Ashwin 66 WP Saha † c Iyer b Nortje 87 MK Pandey not out 44 KS Williamson not out 11 Extras (lb 7, w 4) 11 TOTAL (20 Ov, RR: 10.95) 219/2 Did not bat: V Shankar, Abdul Samad, JO Holder, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma, T Natarajan, S Nadeem Fall of wickets: 1-107 (David Warner, 9.4 ov), 2-170 (Wriddhiman Saha, 14.3 ov)

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DELHI CAPITALS INNINGS (TARGET: 220 RUNS FROM 20 OVERS) BATSMEN R AM Rahane lbw b Rashid Khan 26 S Dhawan c Warner b Sandeep Sharma 0 MP Stoinis c Warner b Nadeem 5 SO Hetmyer b Rashid Khan 16 RR Pant † c sub (SP Goswami) b Sandeep Sharma 36 SS Iyer (c) c Williamson b Shankar 7 AR Patel c sub (PK Garg) b Rashid Khan 1 K Rabada b Natarajan 3 R Ashwin c Abdul Samad b Holder 7 TU Deshpande not out 20 A Nortje c sub (PK Garg) b Natarajan 1 Extras (lb 4, w 5) 9 TOTAL (19 Ov, RR: 6.89) 131 Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Shikhar Dhawan, 0.3 ov), 2-14 (Marcus Stoinis, 1.6 ov), 3-54 (Shimron Hetmyer, 6.1 ov), 4-55 (Ajinkya Rahane, 6.5 ov), 5-78 (Shreyas Iyer, 11.3 ov), 6-83 (Axar Patel, 12.5 ov), 7-103 (Kagiso Rabada, 15.6 ov), 8-103 (Rishabh Pant, 16.1 ov), 9-125 (Ravichandran Ashwin, 17.6 ov), 10-131 (Anrich Nortje, 18.6 ov) BOWLING Sandeep Sharma S Nadeem JO Holder Rashid Khan T Natarajan V Shankar DA Warner

O-M-R-W 4-0-27-2 1-0-8-1 4-0-46-1 4-0-7-3 4-0-26-2 1.5-0-11-1 0.1-0-2-0

223-7230-1 (Ext 55)

23

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020

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

guyanatimesgy.com

West Indies confident ahead of NZ tour B

RIDGETOWN, Barbados – The members of the West Indies team based in the Caribbean departed from Barbados on Tuesday evening for the tour of New Zealand. All these squad members have completed COVID-19 tests and were all given a clean bill of health to travel.

On arrival in New Zealand, the squad will be based in Christchurch, where they will quarantine before commencing training and warm-up matches. There are two squads, one for the three-match T20 International (T20I) Series and one for the two ICC World Test Championship matches which follow immediately afterwards.

Six reserve players will travel with the Test squad to prepare and ensure replacements are available in case of any injury; and, along with other members of the T20I squad, will form an ‘A’ Team to play two four-day matches concurrently with the Test team.

This is the West Indies second tour in 2020, they being the only international team to fulfil two away tours during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Johnny Grave, CEO of CWI, has said the organisation is fully committed to ensuring the game thrives amidst the challenging environment.

“As the players and support staff depart on the journey to New Zealand, we wish them the very best. This is a very important tour for us as we build towards defending our ICC T20

World Cup title and also complete another series in the ICC World Test Championship. Fans all around the world have been missing their favourite sports, so we want to continue to play our part to bring joy and smiles to the faces of those who support and enjoy our cricket,” Grave said.

“This itinerary and schedule took a lot of detailed planning, and we want to thank everyone who played a part in putting it together. In the present COVID-19 environment, everything requires great attention to detail.

Our medical and logistics teams here have been working very closely with their counterparts in New Zealand to ensure everyone would be in a safe environment, which is also conducive to exciting and entertaining cricket on the field.”

Phil Simmons leads the coaching staff as Head Coach. The coaching staff includes Roddy Estwick, Monty Desai, Rayon Griffith, Andre Coley and Trevor Penny as the Assistant Coaches.

The T20I Series will start with the defending World Cup champions facing the Black Caps at Eden Park in Auckland for a match under lights.

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

West Indies will then travel to Hamilton for the first Test at Seddon Park, and then south to Wellington for the second match at the historic Basin Reserve.

The T20Is will be the start of an 11-month schedule of matches building up to the ICC T20 World Cup, rescheduled for October 2021 in India.

The opening contest at Eden Park will have added significance, as this is the venue where the two teams met in their first T20I contest back in 2006.

That match ended in a tie which forced a dramatic bowl-off, won by the home side. Three years later, the teams met again at the same venue, and played to another tie, which was decided by the first ever T20I Super Over, won by the West Indies. (CWI) FULL SQUADS T20I Squad: Kieron Pollard (captain), Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Fletcher, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers,

Rovman Powell, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr, Kesrick Williams Test Squad: Jason Holder (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Chemar Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Keemo Paul, Kemar Roach.

Test Reserves: Nkrumah Bonner, Joshua DaSilva, Preston McSween, Shayne Moseley, Raymon Reifer, Jayden Seales.

Team Management: Phil Simmons (Head Coach), Rawl Lewis (Team Manager), Roddy Estwick (Assistant Coach), Monty Desai (Assistant Coach), Rayon Griffith (Assistant Coach), Trevor

Penney (Assistant Coach), Andre Coley (Assistant Coach), Ronald Rogers (Strength & Conditioning Coach), Denis Byam (Physiotherapist), Neil Barry Jr. (Physiotherapist), Zephyrinus Nicholas (Massage Therapist), A.R. Srikkanth (Team Analyst), Dario Barthley (Media & Content Officer) Match Schedule: November 27: 1st T20I at Eden Park, Auckland November 29: 2nd T20I at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui November 30: 3rd T20I at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui December 3-7: 1st Test at Seddon Park, Hamilton December 11-15: 2nd Test at Basin Reserve, Wellington

Sunrisers keep season alive – as Saha, Warner thump Delhi Capitals

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