Guyana Times --Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Frontline P workers, vulnerable women to receive COVID-19 relief 10

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

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Issue No. 4395

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

US Govt ready to work with Guyana – Mike Pompeo tells President Ali

PRICE

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Guyana records 2 more COVID-19 deaths P10&14 …72 new cases, curfew reverts to 6pm to 6am

Airport's closure extended until September 30 P16

See story on page 9

Submit proof of relinquished foreign citizenship – Parliament Clerk to MPs

Ponzi scheme operators P11 slapped with 10 new charges …granted $1M bail each

See story on page 14

President to announce sweeping incentives for local Private Sector Page 3

…aims to reduce cost of energy by 60% in 3 years

Mingo, GECOM staff on bail for misconduct, electoral fraud charges See stories on pages 7 & 15

Clairmont Mingo

Sheffern February

Enrique Livan

...APNU files election petition; no SoPs submitted …lawyer now claims SoPs “irrelevant”

P8 15-yearold charged for killing nephew, brother-in-law P16 Fight for democracy brought about unity among smaller parties – TNM, URP reps

Chief Prison Officer killed, 2 critical in Homestretch Ave crash P11

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NEWS

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE BRIDGE OPENINGS OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Tuesday, September 1 – 04:30h – 06:00h and 14:30h – 16:00h and Wednesday, September 2 – 05:00h – 06:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Tuesday, September 1 – 16:10h – 17:40h and Wednesday, September 2 – 16:40h – 18:10h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Expect thundery showers and light cloud during the morning. There will be sunshine after noon.

There will be clear skies at night. Temperatures should range between 21 degrees Celsius and 31 degrees Celsius.

Winds: South-Westerly to Southerly to South South-Easterly to Easterly to East North-Easterly to Easterly to East South-Easterly between 1.34 metres and 4.02 metres.

High Tide: 16:17h reaching maximum height of 2.49 metres.

Low Tide: 09:52h and 22:06h reaching a minimum heights of 0.68 metre and 0.7 metre.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 2020

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24 26 28

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DAILY MILLIONS

SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 2020

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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

$45.10/barrel

+0.11

Rough Rice

$220.86/ton

-0.55

London Sugar

$359.70/ton

0

Live Spot Gold

USD Per Ounce

Bid/Ask

$1973.90

$1974.90

Low/High

$1953.50

$1975.43

Change

+6.50

+0.33%

President to announce sweeping incentives for local Private Sector …aims to reduce cost of energy by 60% in 3 years

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resident Irfaan Ali is set to announce soon, sweeping incentives that will be injected to boost the operations of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), as Government looks to strengthen ties with the body which he praised for its role in returning democracy to Guyana. The President made this disclosure on Monday when the PSC held its 28th Annual General Meeting (AGM) via Zoom video conference.

The meeting was attended by members of the diplomatic community, members of the business community and PSC’s immediate past President Captain Gerry Gouveia, who has since been appointed Advisor on National Security to the President. The Head of State told those gathered that the PPP/C Administration recognises the important role the PSC played over the past five months in ensuring Guyana returned to a democratic society.

He said, too, that Government is confident that its relationship with the Private Sector will evolve for the benefit of the country.

“The role of the Private Sector Commission, the worth of the Private Sector Commission got an additional boost with your performance over the last five months. The role the Private Sector Commission played in ensuring that we are here today, in a democratic environment is enough to convince anyone that the Private Sector Commission is not only an important stakeholder, but one of the strongest stakeholders in advancing Guyana’s prospects and developmental opportunities,” President Ali noted.

Incentives According to him, Government will be announcing a set of incentives for local investment in health, education, environmental services, manufacturing, tourism, processing, livestock, agriculture, technology, financial services and infrastructure. Further, the President asserted that his Government intends to facilitate a more robust Private Sector – one that brings new investment, expands production, increases exports and improves competitiveness and innovation.

On this aspect, President Ali stated that Guyana has talked forever about improving its competitiveness, but there is a one to two-year waiting period on construction and development permits and approval for business plans. He was keen to point out that such issues are frustrating investors coming to Guyana. He added that this is among the many areas Government will work closely with the Private Sector to fix. “…This requires a strong approach. An approach that would create a single window for building permits and approval that will require legislative change, that will require institutional change. So, this is one of the things we have to address in terms of improving our competitiveness. We have to look at reducing the time for construction permits to at least three months. We are hoping that the Private Sector Commission can work with

President Irfaan Ali as PSC held its 28th Annual General Meeting (AGM) via Zoom video conference

the Government in outlining a clearly defined strategy as it relates to the competitiveness programme for Guyana.”

He added, too, that Government will work with the PSC to come up with measurable goals to address these issues. “We cannot do this alone.

We need the Private Sector to work with us on this.” Turning his attention to the country’s export market, the President said: “We have some issues with the export of our fish to the [United States]. We have to work with the US and the PSC in resolving this. We have to identify the issues and resolve the issues so that we can get back those markets.”

Hydro project Notwithstanding the above, the President explained that in order to increase competitiveness, Guyana needs to address the issue of energy and energy cost. In this regard, he disclosed that Government is committed to bringing back the hydropower project for Hinterland and riverine communities. And to make this a reality, he said that Government is already in talks with India for a US$10 million loan.

“The objective here is to bring down the cost of energy

by in three years’ time by almost 60 per cent. So, we must have a net surplus of energy.

Enough energy to develop a proper manufacturing and processing sector, whilst we bring down the cost of that energy by almost 60 per cent. This is another aspect of improving our competitiveness.”

Better ties According to President Ali, Guyana needs to foster better relations with the PSC of Trinidad and Tobago, which has a presence in Guyana.

“We have the Private Sector from Trinidad and Tobago operating in Guyana now and we are not making use of that presence. Our Private Sector needs to let the Private Sector from Trinidad and Tobago un-

derstand that we have had difficulties especially with our agricultural programmes and they need to be the champion of change in that market for us…,” he told those gathered for the virtual meeting.

Very shortly, the President said, he is going to outline a definitive and very clear development trajectory of the PPP/C government for the next five years. He, however, cautioned that the PSC cannot operate in a vacuum.

On that note, he stated, “We cannot have the local Private Sector operating in a vacuum. You cannot plan your future developments if you do not know where gas would land. You cannot plan your future if you do not know where is the new agriculture frontier. You cannot plan your future development if you do not know what are the new goal poles the Government is envisioning…”

New PSC Chairman Meanwhile, Nicholas Boyer has been appointed the new Chair of the Private Sector Commission.

He has replaced Captain Gerald Gouveia, who decided not to serve a second term after taking up the position as Advisor on National Security to President Dr Irfaan Ali. Boyer is also the President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) – another major Private Sector umbrella group.

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 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

Addressing mental health and the pandemic

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he World Health Organisation (WHO) and its partners: United for Global Mental Health, and the World Federation for Mental Health, recently pointed to the fact that mental health is one of the most neglected areas of public health.

According to the health partners, billions of people around the world have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which is having a further impact on people’s mental health.

In their recent report, WHO and its partners note that close to 1 billion people are living with a mental disorder, 3 million people die every year from the harmful use of alcohol, and one person dies by suicide every 40 seconds.

However, in spite of the magnitude of the mental health crisis, relatively few people around the world have access to quality mental health services. According to the health partners, in low- and middle-income countries, more than 75 per cent of people with mental, neurological and substanceuse disorders receive no treatment at all for their condition.

Furthermore, stigma, discrimination, punitive legislation and human rights abuses are still widespread.

The health partners explained that the limited access to quality, affordable mental health care in the world before the pandemic, and particularly in humanitarian emergencies and conflict settings, has been further diminished due to COVID-19, as the pandemic has disrupted health services around the world.

For this reason, WHO, together with partner organisations United for Global Mental Health and the World Federation for Mental Health, has called for a massive scale-up in investment in mental health.

According to the health partners, countries spend on average only 2 per cent of their health budgets on mental health. “Despite some increases in recent years, international development assistance for mental health has never exceeded 1 per cent of all development assistance for health. This is despite the fact that for every US$1 invested in scaled-up treatment for common mental disorders such as depression and anxiety, there is a return of US$5 in improved health and productivity,” they explained.

Due to COVID-19 pandemic, many countries are bracing themselves to deal with a host of accompanying social and economic problems, which no doubt are taking a toll on communities everywhere. The lockdowns implemented, even though they were necessary to contain the further spread of the virus, come with their own challenges; and countries, including Guyana, must immediately plan how they will address the huge negative social impact this will have on people as much as possible.

We have already reported on the notable worldwide spike in cases of domestic violence due to increased tensions in the household, resulting from the huge impact the virus is having on families. The United Nations recently pointed to reports from countries around the world which suggest that “restrictions in movement, social isolation, coupled with increased social and economic pressures are leading to an increase in violence in the home”.

It should be noted that in Guyana, long before the COVID-19 pandemic, households were experiencing extremely tough economic times. In addition to destruction of the mining, rice and manufacturing sectors, the previous Government’s closure of the sugar estates had caused thousands to be jobless and in poverty. This resulted in a host of social problems affecting communities across the country.

Worldwide, data also confirms that medical professionals and other key frontline workers are experiencing significant mental health problems linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A key part of the UN appeal is for mental health care to be incorporated into all governments’ COVID-19 strategies, given that national average expenditure on it is just two per cent.

Importantly, the WHO and its partners have called on everyone to do something life-affirming: as individuals, to take concrete actions in support of our own mental health, and to support friends and family who are struggling; as employers, to take steps towards putting in place employee wellness programmes; as governments, to commit to establishing or scaling-up mental health services; and as journalists, to explain what more can and must be done to make mental health care a reality for everyone.

Commander-in-Chief President Mohamed Irfaan Ali shares a photo moment with newly-promoted Guyana Defence Force officers on Monday. Receiving promotions were Commander of the Coast Guard, Colonel Gary Beaton, who was promoted to Substantive Brigadier and Lieutenant Colonels Ronald Hercules, Julius Skeete, Omar Khan and Kenlloyd Roberts, who were promoted to the rank of Substantive Colonel. Also in photo is Chief-of-Staff Brigadier Godfrey Bess (Office of the President photo)

With 12th sitting of Parliament today, it is time to move on with our lives Dear Editor, “The United States is closely monitoring the tabulation of votes in Guyana…we join the OAS, Commonwealth, EU, CARICOM and other democratic partners who are calling for an accurate count. We commend CARICOM’s role in seeking a swift democratic resolution, and it is important to note that the individuals who seek to benefit from electoral fraud and form illegitimate governments/regimes will be subject to a variety of serious consequences from the United States”.

Those words were uttered

by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking earlier in March 2020 at the State Department. He was signalling another country’s intention to punish all those who directly and indirectly thwarted the democratic process in Guyana, and the US did just that!

What do you expect the concerned country to do? Sit and twiddle her fingers and say your guilty ones are forgiven? Caretaker President David Granger himself had warned, also earlier in March, after the election, “It is my sworn duty as President to uphold the Constitution and keep our citizens safe. I intend to do so. I will not allow political malefactors to hijack our democracy and compromise public order and human safety. Law and order will be maintained.”

President Ali is only following a precedent set by the past President, and is abiding by Granger’s intention to allow law and order

to be maintained by bringing to justice all those who had participated in the obstruction of the smooth flow of the election process.

Thank you, Mr. Granger, for your good advice and guidance for President Ali to adhere to and implement.

The popular will of the people must never be compromised by fraudulent actions and behaviours, nor by intimidation.

The APNU/AFC Party denied Guyana democracy when they refused to accept the consequences of the NCM since in December 2018. Granger’s appointment of Patterson as GECOM Chairman was unconstitutional.

Signing contracts and agreements during December 2018 and August 1st, 2020 is not in accordance with the “caretaker mode.” Attempting to steal an election and illegitimately gain power is a criminal act. Collusion and corruption by embezzlement is fraud.

Encouraging and inciting violence is working against the law and being disrespectful of human safety. Organising illegal gatherings and protesters is not abiding with COVID-19 regulations and keeping with the law.

Who are the perpetrators of all that Granger had cautioned against? Only the APNU/AFC Party and Granger himself, who are the delinquent ones, culpable and capable of being inglorious hypocrites of the highest order.

Again, in March 2020, Granger had pleaded with all sides of the divide, saying: “Guyanese are asked to

contribute to ensuring that we maintain law and order at all costs. Guyana is a lawful state. We must allow the institutions which we revere, and on which we rely, to work to ensure that there will be a fair outcome to the issue which we now face.” Isn’t this good advice for Joe Harmon, the current “Hammy,” the seemingly tough bully who is a self-imposed “Leader of the Opposition” and proclaiming that he wants to carry the fight to the PPP/C Party in Parliament?

He is a substandard tactician, a technician whose attrition for such a position will only encourage further partition; an arithmetician whose opinion for the election recount result would seriously question his role as an academician; his diabolical ambition is fruition for parliamentary prohibition and, as such, Guyanese admonition for suspicion is in keeping with a tradition composed of an inhibition filled with apprehension.

Would an educated, youthful Guyanese generation, whose members are conscious and serious about being upright in moral dignity and law-abiding as citizens; whose judgements are not derailed by blindness due to discrimination; who are educated to make correct judgmental decisions, and whose minds are scripturally influenced for guidance, seriously consider such an imposter to truly represent their interest and that of this country, especially when considering his unscrupulous past?

Let the games begin.

Another “war-break” began

with the filing of the election petition yesterday, the Belladrum protest is its existentialism. All the battles fought by the APNU/ AFC Party were lost to the PPP/C Party. It is of paramount importance, though, that Guyanese pay heed to the teachings of Granger, a historian, whose fatherly message to this nation can carry a far-reaching effect, especially to himself and his APNU/AFC Party followers.

He said after the election, “Guyanese will continue to live with each other.

We must not allow ourselves to be provoked into taking any action which will engender hate or disharmony.” It is in the same vein that Dr. Irfaan Ali had accepted the presidency and has stressed that Guyanese are not separated by class, ethnicity, religion or political persuasion.

Philosophising a prediction, President Ali had surmised, “There is only one future, and that future requires a united Guyana; that future requires a strong Guyana; that future requires every Guyanese to play a part in building our country, ensuring that we leave a better Guyana for the next generation.”

With the 12th Parliament sitting today, all Guyanese eagerly wait for Guyana to once again get rolling under the PPP/C’s mantle, and for the opportunity for the materialisation of both presidents’ dreams. Guyanese need to move on with their lives and to exit their hibernation.

Respectfully, Jai Lall

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

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We need Oil and Gas Institute for the industry

Dear Editor, Guyanese are not really skilled or prepared to provide meaningful local content in oil. Providing bhajji or greens and fruits is not local content; every business has to buy food, so Exxon has to spend money on those local products. Local content really has to do with the development of local skills, technology transfer, and use of local personnel as well as local manufacturing in the oil and gas sector for industrialisation.

Local content is building a workforce to take over the management of the oil industry eventually, towards complete ownership once the oil companies have recovered their costs and earned fair amount of revenues above and beyond their investment.

All oil and gas-producing countries have ‘local content’ requirement in agreements signed by MNCs into their regulatory frameworks. The objective is to create jobs and train locals for the jobs that

require technical skills.

Countries strategically direct local content to transfer technology into the country to accelerate industrial development. Guyana has no local skilled individuals in O&G, so we must train them.

In Guyana, the previous Government let the nation down in its handling of the oil and gas industry, by not having stringent requirements and inclusion. Local content should have been specified as skills and management-related, not

Darren Wade’s comments incited others to vilify and threaten me Dear Editor, During the afternoon of 26th August, 2020, I was at CID Headquarters, Eve Leary interviewing and taking instructions from a client that I was retained to defend.

Visiting clients in Police custody has been an important aspect of my work as a criminal defence lawyer for many years. The detainee’s constitutional right to instruct his chosen legal adviser without delay is a right that I have very vigilantly protected whenever necessary.

I have, however, always understood that the Police would require sufficient time to make a written record of my visit, and to provide a suitable space to facilitate private communication between myself and my client.

Unfortunately, there are no designated areas in any of our Police stations for lawyer and client communications.

As I left the compound that afternoon, I was accosted by a colleague, Darren Wade, who berated me in the presence of the press for joining with the Police in the interrogation of his client, Mr Clairmont Mingo. He repeated similar sentiments in various Facebook postings.

During my time at the CID Headquarters on that day, I did not speak with Mr Mingo, I did not interact with him, nor did I witness his questioning by anyone. I am also completely unaware of any information that he may have provided to the Police.

Mr Wade’s statements about me were untrue, de-

famatory, and incited others to vilify and threaten me.

Because Mr Wade is a young and enthusiastic lawyer, as I once was, I have no interest in pursuing the legal avenues available to me, but I am constrained to put myself on record as refuting his allegations and statements against me.

While the ranks of politicians in Guyana are made up of many members of our mutual profession, it would serve my colleague well to remember that political theatre such as was recently displayed by him may very well harm his standing within the legal community and this noble profession.

Dear Editor, The call has been made for the immediate release of Clairmont Mingo from Police custody. This call comes from party supporters and fellow villagers in Belladrum. Their complaint is that he has done nothing wrong, and is held by law enforcement only as a matter of the ruling party’s witch-hunting exercise.

Well, I am not so sure of that witch-hunting talk, but suffice it to say that we must let a court of law decide whether he is innocent or guilty of the crime for which he has been charged. Let a court of law try him and resolve this issue speedily. Our court system is well equipped to deal with such issues.

Now, those who insist that Mingo is innocent must realise that this man committed a fraud before an international audience, and for that he must bear responsibility.

Manufacturing figures from unknown sources and proffering explanations he could not defend caused us to be in for a long wait on the results of the March 2nd, 2020 Elections. In fact, it was only after five long, nerve-wracking months that the true and verified results could be ascertained.

We all watched Mingo’s arrogant and mindless antics on public display. For such actions who would not want to see this electoral fraudster facing the judicial firing line.

Therefore, no amount of protest or witch-hunting talk would clear the air.

The same goes for the IT Specialist Enrique Livan, another one of those in the rigging clique, who feigned tiredness and sought time out to go home to get some sleep.

However, he was later caught with flash-drive and computer falsifying figures in an adjoining room. He, too, would have his day in court, to give an account of his actions.

CEO Lowenfield was even worse. He manufactured and submitted four different tallies, none of which bore any resemblance to the original SOPs. He, too, would have to atone for his reprehensible acts. Could anyone in his right mind countenance such actions of The CEO without any scrutiny? Certainly not!

Mr Lowenfield would be hard pressed to produce the evidence pertaining to all of his illegal declarations.

Lastly, Government Minister Volda Lawrence would have to explain how her signature was found on the Region 4 SOPs. Why was her signature affixed to that document? Was she an employee of GECOM? Certainly not!

So, if this is not being part of a rigging cabal, then what is?

Volda Lawrence was intricately involved in the affairs of the Commission because she was a fraudster just like the other names mentioned. It is the

most logical explanation to this whole sordid affair.

These and other fraudulent acts this former Government employee will have to answer for in a court of law. All illegalities would have to be addressed as we get a comprehensive audit of the events of Elections 2020.

But far more important is the fear that one of these fraudsters is going to spill the beans and the intellectual authors behind this whole rigging plan would be revealed. There will be a lot of diarrhoea when that occurs, and some of the top brass in the PNC would be embarrassed to the max.

Granger has already claimed presidential immunity, and has gone into seclusion, leaving the rigging party to face the heat. I cannot see any one of those in the rigging cabal being brave enough to play hero when the heat of a court case becomes unbearable.

The PNC/PNCR/APNU whatever the term you would want to call them - must realise that rigging is dead, and all those who form part of that grouping will be stamped out for good. Some healthy jail time would do the trick, sending a clear and unambiguous message that we will not stand for any form of rigging in our elections. Fraud and fraudsters will be annihilated.

Sincerely, Glenn Hanoman

All those of the rigging clique must face justice

Respectfully, Neil Adams

purchasing louki (squash) or ochro. We have to think strategically for the future by training people for oil, not to supply pumpkin and payaya alone.

Guyana must look ahead with a development plan.

We need a survey on our varied businesses to get a sense of what expertise is available locally that can supply local content to O&G, and to push for their employment of our tens of thousands of unemployed. A survey is also needed on skills needed in the oil and gas industry: how many personnel are needed, and what training would be provided to them? After training, jobs can be obtained from the oil sector.

The foreign staff would have to be replaced by local staff in years to come. So, we need to prepare for a transition. Guyana must move towards a skilled mindset. We must start training of personnel now, and look for establishment of institutes.

I think we should give consideration to transforming the Port Mourant Training Centre (PMTC) into a partial oil-and-gas institute to train skilled workers for the oil industry. We can twin it with the needs of the sugar factories. Such an institute should be a premier oil-and- gas institute in the region.

I have some ideas and suggestions in this endeavour, having engaged oil and gas experts in Trinidad, and having spent an inordinate amount of time in India engaging in management consultancies at tertiary institutions. That the PMTC provided skills to so many, who went on to become first rate engineers in the UK, Canada, USA, and Trinidad and elsewhere, earning triple-digit US dollar salaries, means the PMTC can do the same for oil and gas here.

I am from Port Mourant, and am familiar with the discipline and skills ingrained in those who were trained in the

technical aspects of GuySuCo factories. Had it not been for my interest in medical sciences, I would have to sought admission at the PMTC, which was very competitive for those seeking entrance and a career in the technical field. Trainees at PMTC come from all over the country, and those youngsters are turned into disciplined engineers.

The PMTC can do for our budding O&G what it did for sugar. The institute can train people for local content participation – on land logistical management, EPA, health and safety, how to clean up oil spills, handle emergency, transportation logistics, food chain supply, and the technical aspects of drilling, piping, supplies, etc. It can also provide training for locals in overall administrative aspects of O&G and on the wider scope of the industry.

Yours truly, Dr Vishnu Bisram

Sport Minister Charles Ramson made site visits to Region 10

Dear Editor, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson, Jr, was recently in Region 10, and made visits to two sporting facilities: Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC), and the Bayroc Sports Complex (BSC).

The Minister met with the executive body of the MSC to discuss the club’s future, but was dismayed at the deteriorating condition of the facility, and as such, indicated that the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government is committed to providing accessible recovery and reconstruction funding to this sports facility.

The Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) was built by the Demerara Bauxite Company (DEMBA), which started mining bauxite in the area in 1916.

The MSC ground is the main events centre for the Linden area. Apart from cricket, the ground hosts soccer, basketball, volleyball, tennis, track and field, cycling, field hockey, and various cultural and social activities, such as the popular Linden Town Week. The main pavilion accommodates indoor events such as dominoes, billiards, table tennis, darts and the like. The pavilion also has two bars.

The MSC has produced a few past cricketers, among whom are Vincent Adams, Vibert Benjamin, Basil Butcher, Robert Calvern, Paul Dunbar, Lenny Fraser, Compton London, ‘Gunner’ Melville, Compton Parkinson, Vibert ‘Fisher’ Rogers, Wayne Stuger, Jeff Trotman, Gordon ‘Bull’ Waddle, Monty Weekes and Vibert Wright.

MSC previously participated in the Case Cup - the first division competition in the county of Demerara. It also played Northcote and Wight Cup matches.

Minister Ramson articulated the PPP/C Government intention to change young people’s lives and create a more inclusive and healthier nation, since sporting activities

SEE ADDITIONAL LETTERS ON PAGE 17

have the power to change lives.

Being physically active is one of the best things a person can do for their physical and mental health.

He indicated that all young people in Linden should be able to grow up embracing the same opportunities and benefiting from the same initiatives, such as being able to engage in football sessions. He said that reconstruction of the MSC is vital to break down barriers to participation in sport for the benefit of young people.

He also said that being active can also bring about positive changes beyond participation, and impact positively on the health, wellbeing, skills and learning of young people, and on the health of communities by ensuring a more inclusive nation.

During his visit to the construction site of the Linden synthetic track, Minister Ramson and a technical team inspected the work and asked several important questions about the project, while the Minister expressed his satisfaction with the work ongoing at the construction of the Linden Synthetic Track.

Minister Ramson expressed satisfaction with the transformation of the Bayroc Community Centre Ground, where the track is currently being laid, and also with the quality of work being produced by the contractors and workers; and said he is confident the work would be completed within the deadline.

The Minister declared that Region #10 has always positively contributed to development of sporting activities in Guyana, and that the athletes have always represented Guyana well at international competitions. He encouraged the former national athletes who came out to meet his team to take pride in the facility and to also ensure the contractors deliver the highest quality of work, since the track will con-

tribute to the improvement of athletics in Region 10 and the country at large.

Builders Hardware and General Supplies are constructing the $179M Linden Synthetic Track, which will have all amenities for all field events. The area at the centre of the track will be developed into a world class football field. Phase four includes laying of the synthetic material of an eight-lane, 400-metre track.

Development of the pavilion and the additional space surrounding is a project that will be undertaken at a later date.

IAs Active Communities Youths and Development Workers explained the positive impact that the synthetic track will have on the young people. “Taking part in a club like this gives young people a purpose. They can learn to focus on something positive through sport, and escape from what can be a chaotic upbringing.

“The sense of belonging you get from taking part in a regular group is invaluable to someone who has experience of care.

You become part of a different kind of family. One young lady said that she used to come and watch on the side lines as she didn’t think she would like football. She now comes every week and plays against boys here. Football has become a positive driving force and passion in her life.”

The Minister explained that at the Ministry of Sport, young people are at the heart of what they do, because they believe that young people should have a voice in sport, and he said this project is an excellent example of that.

He said the Guyana Government and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport will do everything in their power to make a meaningful difference for young people in Region #10 and Guyana.

Sincerely, David Adams

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

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Foundation

SUMMER OF LEARNING

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Æsop’s Fables

T

o add or subtract fractions with unlike, or different denominators, you have to change them into fractions with common or like denominators. This process is called finding the common denominator.

Example: Add 1/2 + 1/12 = 6/12 + 1/12 = 7/12 Subtract 1/2 - 1/12 = 6/12 - 1/12 = 5/12 To find a common denominator in these fractions, first: look at the denominators, 2 and 12. What number is a multiple of both 2 and 12? A simple way to find the common multiple is to multiply the two numbers. 2 x 12 = 24. In some cases, there is a smaller number that is a common multiple that would be easier to work with. In these examples, 12 is a lower common multiple than 24, so it will work as your com-

Here’s how to make them:

* Gather these items – big scissors, about 2 feet of yarn, hole puncher, marker, two toilet paper rolls and a glue gun * Hot glue the two toilet paper rolls together parallel to each other. * Punch holes in the upper right and left sides of the binoculars. * Tie each end of the yarn through the holes. Make sure the yarn is long enough to go around your neck. * Write your name or decorate the binoculars any way you’d like.

Use your binoculars to observe nature around your neighbourhood. (Adapted from Nature for Kids)

FOR CHILDREN mon denominator. In each fraction, multiply the original denominator to make it become the common denominator.

Then multiply the original numerator by that same number.

Exercises: Add or subtract fractions 1) 5/2 - 1/3 2) 8/5 + 7/9 3) 3/4 + 11/14 4) 24/12 - 3/2 5) 5/10 - 36/77 6) 2/3 + 8/10

A

dove saw an ant fall into a brook. The ant struggled in vain to reach the bank, and in pity, the dove dropped a blade of straw close beside it. Clinging to the straw like a shipwrecked sailor to a broken spar, the ant floated safely to shore.

Soon after, the ant saw a man getting ready to kill the dove with a stone. But just as he cast the stone, the ant stung him in the heel, so that the pain made him miss his aim, and the startled dove flew to safety in a distant wood.

WORD SEARCH

NEWS

7

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

APNU files election petition; no SoPs submitted …lawyer now claims SoPs “irrelevant”

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he A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) has filed the election petition challenging both the March 2 General and Regional Elections and the National Recount that followed it – without the benefit of their long-awaited Statements of Poll (SOPs).

The petition was filed at the High Court at around 10:00h on Monday, by Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde, on behalf of applicants Claudette Thorne and Heston Bostwick. Also representing the petitioners are Trinidadian Senior Counsel John Jeremie and Attorneys-at-Law Raphael Trotman and Olayne Joseph.

After the petition was filed, Forde was joined by APNU leader and former President David Granger, as well as “presumptive” Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon and AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan.

In his interaction with the media, Granger claimed that the petition documents evidence his party has of irregularities at the March 2 polls. He expressed hope that the Judiciary gives due consideration to their evidence.

“We have compiled a dossier of anomalies and irregularities. And APNU/AFC coalition I convinced that if due consideration is given to those anomalies and irregularities, it will be shown that the declaration which was issued on August 2nd,

is incorrect. So, we have set out today (Monday) to establish the invalidity of that declaration.”

There is, however, the matter of the Statements of Poll, which are tabulated at every Polling Station on election night and, when combined, usually form the basis for the declaration of election results.

APNU/AFC has so far stubbornly refused to release their SoPs, despite the fact that this would have provided the coalition with some basis for claiming they won the elections. They have made this claim despite the 33-day recount establishing that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) won the elections by 15,416 votes.

Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, who is before the courts on charges of misconduct in public office, conspiracy to issue fraudulent declarations of the election results in Region Four (DemeraraMahaica), could have also benefitted from the SoPs. When asked about it, Forde noted that nothing has changed and there’s no relevance in releasing the documents.

“As we’ve said repeatedly, the elections were not decided on the Statements of Poll. The elections were decided on the recount. So, if we’re challenging the results of the elections, it must be on the basis of the Statements of Recount and those documents. It is not

which had validated the use of Order 60 to cater for the various disputes and contentions that arose after polling day, ie the fraudulent declaration of District Four (Demerara-Mahaica) results by Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo.

Null and void

From left: Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde, AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan, “presumptive” Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon and APNU Leader David Granger, as they pose with their election petition outside the High Court

relevant to the issues we’re asking the courts to determine,” Forde explained.

After the 2015 election, the People’s Progressive Party filed an election petition that never saw the light of day after languishing for years in the High Court.

According to Forde, APNU/ AFC wants their petition expedited.

Petition

The 35-page election petition names the representatives for all the political parties who contested the elections, including Granger for APNU/AFC and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo

for the PPP/C. In the petition, APNU/ AFC contend that Mingo made a valid declaration of votes and that Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield complied with Section 96 of the Representation of the People Act when he provided GECOM with a report using declarations that included Mingo’s.

They also referenced High Court Judge Franklyn Holder’s ruling in Jagdeo and Holladar v the Returning Officer, where he had ruled to the effect that only an election petition could set aside Mingo’s dec-

laration.

The petition contends that Order 60 of 2020, which established the recount that produced the PPP/C as the winner of the elections, is unconstitutional and inconsistent with the provisions of the Representation of the People Act. However, Chief Justice Roxane George had already ruled on July 20, 2020, that the recount order was valid and must form the basis for declaring the winner of the General and Regional Elections.

She had upheld a previous ruling by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ),

APNU/AFC is also seeking an order to declare the elections null and void and in violation of the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act and Order 60.

They are also seeking to nullify the declaration of current President Dr Irfaan Ali as the winner of the elections.

While APNU/AFC have not included their SoPs in the petition’s supporting documents, they did include the form that Mingo used to declare the results for Region Four, with controversial APNU member Carol Joseph as his witness. On the form, Mingo listed the total number of valid votes for all lists as 217,425 and gave APNU/ AFC 136,057 votes and the PPP/c 77,231 votes.

In reality, the recount and audit of the ballot boxes found that a total of 202,077 votes were cast in Region Four, with 116,941 for APNU/AFC and 80,920 for PPP/C. It, therefore, means that Mingo conjured up in excess of 15,000 phantom voters for which there are no ballots, in order to gift a win to APNU/AFC... a conjuring they are yet to explain. (G3)

8 NEWS

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

15-year-old charged for killing nephew, brother-in-law

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juvenile was on Monday slapped with two murder charges in relation to the deaths of two of his family members, including a three-year-old child.

The teenager appeared via Skype at the Charity Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Annette Singh.

It is alleged that on August 13, 2020, at Bat Creek Upper Pomeroon River, Essequibo, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), he murdered Ramdat Singh.

He is also accused of killing three-year-old Kissoon Williams. Williams succumbed to his injuries on

August 14, 2020.

The prosecution is contending that on August 13, the teenager, who was reportedly in self-isolation after he tested positive for COVID-19, attacked family members.

One of the women and three children were stabbed about their bodies while the other’s throat was slashed.

The deceased, along with the injured persons, were rushed to the Charity Hospital, where Ramdat Singh was examined by a doctor on duty, who pronounced him dead.

The injured persons were all transferred to the Suddie

Dead: Ramdat Singh

about 19:00h and involved an unknown vehicle.

At the time of the accident, the now dead man was only wearing a pair of black three-quarter pants and sported a “funky dread” hairstyle.

Police investigations revealed that the now dead man was walking along the

roadway and a loud sound was heard by residents. As a result, persons ran out from their yard and reportedly saw a motor vehicle speeding away without any lights.

At the time, the place was dark since the street lights are not working.

Upon checking, they saw the pedestrian lying on the

Public Hospital, with two of them being rushed to the theatre for emergency surgery. The three-year-old eventually succumbed to his injuries.

After committing the act, the teen fled the area.

However, he was later found and arrested in the presence of his father.

A search was conducted on the teen, and Police found stab wounds to the chest and a cut around his neck. The teen confessed that he attempted to take his own life.

He was remanded to the Juvenile Holding Centre until September 21.

“Crab” killed in hit and run

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vagrant commonly called “Crab” and “Sheriga” was on Sunday evening killed in a hit-and-run accident along the Timerhi Public Road, East Bank Demerara.

Based on information received, the accident took place in the vicinity of Bounty Farm Limited at

parapet in a pool of blood in an unconscious state.

He was picked up, placed into a vehicle and escorted to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where he died while receiving medical attention His body was taken to Lyken’s Funeral Home awaiting identification and post-mortem.

The Sanctimonious Gangster...

I

...emerges from sulking?? t’s not as if Granger was always in the public eye personally when he was president...but being in that position, the minutiae of his routine were grist for the media mill, and the file photos were regularly trotted out.

So you got used to his simpering, vacuous smile. But right after Claudette Singh made that declaration on Aug 2 which hit him like a blow to the solar plexus after dancing around the ring for five months - he finally had to vacate State House, and the man just disappeared!!

Your Eyewitness at first thought he might’ve been doing penance for the hell he’d put the Guyanese people through.

Not the real “sackcloth and ashes” bit, of course, but one of the studied poses he’d adopted to signal he was a “church man”! You know, like dropping to his knees in churches - once a camera was in sight to record the “act of piety”, of course! But since he locked himself away behind those green walls he threw up at his brother’s house at Pearl...we might never know exactly what pose he struck.

But your Eyewitness finally concluded that the man whom a Caribbean diplomat revealed had been dubbed a “Sanctimonious Gangster” by the CariCom heads of government, was just sulking!! Fits with his character that was revealed under the pressure of defending his elections heist, doesn’t it?? Granger, we discovered, is a man who always insists on getting his own way...from appointing the GECOM Chair to insisting that majorities are constituted by “half-men”!

And if he doesn’t get his way, like a spoilt brat, he sulks. And when he sulks, he hits out at whoever he feels is in his way.

In his post-August 2 sulking bout, he hit out at the entire top tier of the PNC - which had expediently placed him at the helm for his unctuous demeanor. But had never really taken him, and were jockeying and jostling to succeed him.

In one fell swoop, he got rid of Volda, Basil and Norton to place his former “aide de camp”, Lil Joe, as the Opposition Leader - and heir apparent!

Now lo and behold, Granger finally emerged -after thirty days and thirty nights - to present the PNC’s elections petition to the High Court - claiming that the PNC wuz robbed! He took time out to insist that Mingo is a “quiet, peaceful, modest man, mature man”. Maybe. But the question is: “Was he an honest man?”

Finally, your Eyewitness hopes Granger understands there’s a protocol by the Courts in hearing elections petitions.

He gotta stand in line behind the PPP which filed THEIR petition back in 2015!! ...endorses blocking roads The PNC has always insisted that GECOM is an “autonomous” and “independent” institution. Even when Granger unilaterally appointed Patterson as its Chair, or insisted he should submit a list of names to himself...”independent” it was!! When GECOM R.O. Mingo did the dirty with the Reg 4 SOPs...he was “independent” - and ditto when CEO Lowenfield used the concocted numbers to insist the PNC had won!!

So it was more than passing strange that the PNC has come out in force - lawyers and executives - to support Mingo who’s been charged for committing fraud during the elections counting. With Granger himself praising Mingo and throwing his support yesterday for a protest by Mingo’s fellow villagers at Belladrum - to illegally block the traffic on the ONLY road to the rest of Berbice!! While protesting is a democratic right - protests cannot infringe on the just-assacrosanct rights of other citizens.

If Mingo were independent, why would the PNC be so involved with defending his alleged fraud??

Who does the Sanctimonious Gangster think he’s fooling?? ...Cussing Greenidge Poor Carl Greenidge. For a decade he remained mum about the PNC elections rigged to make Granger leader.

Now that Carl dared criticise Granger for degutting the leadership corps, the Sanctimonious Gangster has cussed him out something nasty!! Ewww!!

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

9 US Govt ready to work with Guyana – Mike Pompeo tells President Ali NEWS

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

President Dr Irfaan Ali

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nited States (US) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a steadfast agitator for democracy in Guyana during the five months of attempted election rigging, has reached out to President Dr Irfaan Ali to extend congratulations and to pledge the support of the US on developmental issues.

This was revealed from the official social media account of Pompeo, where he revealed that he spoke with President Ali on Monday and personally congratulated him on his victory in the March 2 General and Regional Elections.

“Democracy ultimately prevailed in Guyana. The United States stands ready to work with our Guyanese

neighbor after this historic transition,” Pompeo announced on his social media account.

Meanwhile, a statement from Spokesperson for the United States Department of State, Morgan Ortagus, revealed that Pompeo had told Ali about the desire of the US to work with his Administration on a range of issues including economic prosperity.

“Secretary Pompeo congratulated President Ali on his electoral victory, which reflected a free, fair, credible, and transparent electoral process that respects the rule of law and the will of the Guyanese people.”

“The Secretary added that the United States looks forward to working with

Guyana to advance shared values, economic prosperity, and security in the region,” Ortagus said in her statement on Monday.

ABCE diplomats that included US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch,

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

UK High Commissioner Greg Quinn, Canadian High Commissioner Lilian Chatterjee and EU Ambassador Fernando PonzCanto, were among the first

to congratulate President Ali after his swearing-in on August 2.

The community made it clear that much needs to be done by the new Government, in terms of addressing the social and economic needs of

COVID-19 measures extended

Curfew reverts to 6pm to 6am …travel restrictions for Regions 7, 8, 9 remain in place

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he Health Ministry has gazetted an update to the COVID-19 guidelines which would see the national curfew being reverted from 21:00h (9 pm) to 05:00h (5 am) to 18:00h (6 pm) to 06:00h (6 am). The update becomes effective from today.

According to the gazetted document, the new measures will be in effect until September 31 until advised further.

The Government made a rapid assessment of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and has found that it was fragmented and incapable of administering the public health, economic and social measures needed to keep the population safe. The Order notes that the current measures are extended to allow for further assessments and consultations to develop updated protocols to aid in the combatting of the COVID-19 spread.

These emergency measures are made pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2)(b) of the Direction by the President, given under the Public Health Ordinance, Cap 145, and

published in the Gazette, Legal Supplement – B, 16th March, 2020.

Travel to Regions Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) remain prohibited unless for essential purposes. In the three COVIDprone regions, gatherings are restricted to more than 5 persons. Mining operations are permitted under the strictest of guidelines.

From 06:00h to 17:00h, stakeholders will be able to access services at banks, markets, supermarkets, grocery shops, gas stations, postal or shipping services, funeral homes, beauty salons, barbershops, hardware stores, clothing or stores; or other maintenance services.

Strict disapproval has been placed on the opening of cinemas, hosting of private parties, competitive sporting events, banquets, receptions, bars, rum shops, wakes or vigils, gyms, spas, clubs, discotheques, meetings of fraternal society, private or social clubs; and other social activities.

According to the modified document, all persons are required to wear a mask, cov-

ering the nose and mouth, when in public. Failure to comply with the mandatory mask requirement would make persons liable under Section 152 of the Public Health Ordinance. Both private and the public sector will have their staff on rotation while those in the health sector will be subjected to priority treatment.

Places of worship shall remain open with restrictions to 25 per cent capacity with other guidelines for sanitisation and social distancing.

A provision has been instituted to allow 90 minutes at parks, seawalls and creeks as long as six feet distancing is enabled.

Meanwhile, restaurants are allowed outdoor dining with tables six feet apart and a maximum of four persons that are three feet apart per table. Food services are still permitted to conduct delivery and curbside pickup.

The international airports – Cheddi Jagan and Eugene F Correia, will also remain closed except for outgoing, cargo, medevacs, and special authorised flights and technical stops for fuel only. (G2)

the people and pledged their support for Guyana’s future development.

“We look forward to working with President Ali and his Government as it confronts many immediate challenges, including the need to address the social and economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and the development needs of Guyana’s people,” the ABCE representatives stated.

“We also look forward to seeing this government at its onset reach across political divisions to united Guyanese of all ethnicities, races and regions, around meaningful progress on constitutional reform and reconciliation. As friends of Guyana, we look forward to working with all to continue to support Guyana’s development for the benefit of all its people.” the envoys added Besides President Ali and the PPP/C, the diplomats had also extended thanks to all the other parties and observers (domestic and international), as well as Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chair, Retired Justice Claudette Singh who declared Ali the President and initiated the process for him to be sworn in.

It was Justice Singh who persisted despite nu-

Spokesperson for the US State Department, Morgan Ortagus

merous attempts to undermine her, in ensuring that the certified results of the recount were used to declare the President. The ABCE country representatives, therefore, thanked her for her courage in upholding Guyana’s Constitution.

All four ABCE diplomats have, in fact, played crucial roles in ensuring that democracy prevailed in Guyana. One of the most pivotal moments in the elections was on March 13, when the four diplomats walked out of the tabulation process for District Four at the Region Four command centre in Ashmins building.

At the time, former Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo was using figures that did not cor-

respond with the Statements of Poll (SoPs) in the possession of political party representatives and observers, to tabulate and make a declaration.

Mingo’s figures would have resulted in a win for the APNU/AFC. The diplomats registered their disapproval and non-acceptance of the RO’s conduct by walking out and subsequently issuing a strongly-worded statement alerting Guyana and the world to what was happening.

The rest is history. The lack of credibility in Mingo’s two declarations resulted in then Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo and then President David Granger agreeing to a National Recount, which eventually showed that the PPP/C won the elections with 233,336 votes, while the APNU/AFC coalition garnered 217,920.

Amid APNU/AFC’s refusal to accept the results, the ABCE countries and other international and regional partners had maintained pressure on the former Government to concede defeat. This was especially the case with the US, which led the way by slapping visa restrictions on a number of senior functionaries who it deemed to be “undermining democracy” in Guyana.

10 NEWS

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

As testing increases

72 new COVID-19 cases recorded W ith 72 new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as of Monday, Guyana’s figures of positive cases recorded have risen to 1306.

On Sunday, there were 50 new cases. Statistics from the Health Ministry’s dashboard showed a gender breakdown of 646 males and 660 females that have been infected thus far.

There are 12 persons in the designated Intensive Care Unit – a reduction of one. Meanwhile, 87 persons are in institutional isolation, 129 in institutional quarantine and 451 on home isolation. The total recovered cases stand at 718 – an increase of 31.

A further dissection showed that 15 new cases were detected in Region One (Barima-Waini), one in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam), five in Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara), 43 in Region Four (DemeraraMahaica) one in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), six in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and one in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).

The other regional figures remain the same with six in Region Five (MahaicaBerbice), 15 in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and 75 in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

To

produced immunoglobulin to the SARS-CoV-2 and does not indicate if someone is currently infected with that virus.

“The Ministry is therefore asking members of the public to desist from comparing these two distinctly different methods of testing (molecular-PCR and antibody-IgM/IgG), since the rapid antibody test is not approved to detect active COVID-19 cases. Using the

rapid test, persons may be misled to believe that they may or may not be infected,” the statement said.

The Ministry reiterated that only the molecular-PCR test can credibly identify infected persons and anyone presenting with sign or symptoms of COVID-19 should have a nasal swab and molecular-PCR test done to ascertain their status.

Frontline workers, vulnerable women to receive COVID-19 relief

A

This dashboard does not reflect the two most recent deaths

date, 8295 tests were conducted.

WHO approved

As Guyana continues to respond to the pandemic with interventions to curtail the deadly virus, the Health Ministry has addressed concerns about testing for COVID-19. Within the last few weeks, it was noted that a plethora of concerns and even misinformation were

circulating about the different testing methods and laboratory confirmation.

It assured members of the public that the test conducted by the National Public Health Reference Laboratory (NPHRL) is molecular Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The Ministry has also noted that antibody rapid

tests are available, which may indicate if someone was exposed to the virus.

The Ministry in a statement said that it has a process to register these new test kits and allow their use for screening purposes only, adding that these rapid tests are not recommended to diagnose COVID-19.

The rapid test can only indicate, from a sample of blood, if an individual has

s the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Guyana’s frontline workers have been valiantly reporting for duties and risking their health to keep the nation safe. In recognition of their brave efforts, these workers will be provided with critical support from Government.

This is according to Human Services and Social Security Minister, Dr Vindhya Persaud, who made this revelation on Monday during a virtual press conference.

The Government, through the Child Care

Assistance programme, will be providing care packages to various categories of essential workers, including healthcare workers, police officers, fire officers, prison officers, security officers and members of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).

“Another vulnerable population that is very close to my heart and this Ministry works with is children. And our Child Care Assistance programme will be rolled out very soon.

It will provide packages for essential workers,” Dr Persaud said.

TURN TO PAGE 13

NEWS

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Ponzi scheme operators slapped with 10 new charges

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uban national Yuri Garcia-Dominguez and his Guyanese wife, Ateeka Ishmael were on Monday slapped with 10 additional charges alleging that they swindled millions of dollars from Guyanese in a major Ponzi scheme.

The husband and wife duo appeared via Skype before Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

The new charges levelled against them allege that between May 2020 and July 2020, with intent to commit a felony, they conspired with persons, known and unknown, to obtain a total sum of over $60 million from 10 persons under false pretence.

The couple, who was represented by lawyers, Glen Hanoman and Dexter Todd, pleaded not guilty to the charges. They were instructed to post bail in the sum of $1 million each.

They return to court on October 5.

Last Thursday, the couple appeared at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court where they were arraigned on 13 charges, which alleged that they obtained the sum of $24.7 million from 13 persons by false pretence. They were granted a total of $3.9 million bail each and will report to court on September

Cuban national Yuri Garcia-Dominguez and his wife, Ateeka Ishmael

18 for those charges.

Also on Thursday last, the couple was slapped with an additional six charges at the Sparendaam Magistrates’ Courts. They appeared via Skype and were not required to plead to the allegations that they obtained over $1 million from six victims under false pretence. The duo was remanded to prison until September 21.

Dominguez, the principal of Accelerated Capital Firm Incorporated (ACFI), had claimed that monies collected from Guyanese investors are stored in offshore accounts in several foreign jurisdictions, including Belize, the United

States, and Germany.

ACFI, in a recent statement, said funds are available in its Bitcoin Wallet to refund investors, and asked for authorities to allow them to reopen a bank account to be able to issue the reimbursements.

Attorney General Anil Nandlall had written to Dominguez’s lawyers, indicating that the Government is willing to facilitate that request so that Guyanese can get back their money.

But Guyanese authorities said they have found no monies in bank accounts in Belize belonging to the ACFI principals.

This is according to the multi-stakeholder group,

headed by Nandlall, established by the Government to investigate the allegations of fraud and other criminal activities connected to the alleged illegal pyramid scheme.

In a statement issued last Wednesday, the stakeholder group said, “Intelligence accumulated from reliable counterparts in Belize confirm that no company bearing the name “FK Choice” is registered with the local or the international Registry of Companies in that jurisdiction, as alleged by Yuri Garcia Dominguez.”

The operation of the alleged Ponzi scheme came to the fore after numerous complaints were made by persons who had invested with the company. The Guyana Securities Council (GSC) had informed the new Government that ACFI is not licensed to collect monies from the public, and that its operation violates several pieces of legislation across the fiscal regulatory architecture.

Under the Anti-Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Act, it is required for all investors to provide the source of funds and ensure that the financial activities and money laundering risks associated with a customer are properly recorded.

Chief Prison Officer killed, 2 critical in Homestretch Ave crash

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he Chief Prison Officer attached to the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) was on Monday morning killed while two others are now battling for their life following a two-vehicle collision along Homestretch Avenue, Georgetown.

Dead is 38-year-old Prince Cox of Nabacalis, East Coast Demerara (ECD), while Leslie Thornhill, 21, and Javon Hector, 27, are injured. The fatal crash occurred at about 08:00h.

Based on reports received, motor car PYY 7942, which was driven by another prison officer, was proceeding west along the southern side of the road while an X-Trail, PWW 4425, driven by a 22-yearold man, was proceeding east along the northern side of the road.

According to Police, the motor car driven by the prison officer, while overtaking a line of vehicles, ended up in the path of the X-Trail and as a result, the driver attempted to pull in the corner to avoid a collision.

However, the X-Trail collided with the left side front door and fender of motor car PYY 7942.

This resulted in both drivers as well as the occupants of motor car PYY 7942 receiving injuries.

They were all picked up and rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), where Cox was pronounced dead on arrival.

Meanwhile, both drivers of the

Dead: Chief Prison Officer Prince Cox

vehicles were admitted and are said to be in critical conditions.

Meanwhile, Cox’s wife, Olivia Cox, explained that she received a phone call stating that her husband was involved in an accident but by the time she reached the hospital, she heard that he had died.

She described her husband as a loving man to her and their three children, aged 19, 12 and six.

“The last biggest thing that I can remember is that he insisted that despite all the crazy things that are happening around us, is for us to take the children on a family trip of which we did last week Sunday to the seawalls,” she said, not realising that it would have been the last family outing with him. She also related that she took photos, which she will cherish for a lifetime.

Cox’s body is currently at the hospital’s mortuary awaiting a post-mortem examination (PME) as the investigation continues. (Shemar Alleyne)

12 NEWS

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

GDF to play greater role in Guyana’s development – President Ali C

ommander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and President Dr Irfaan Ali promised to transform the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) into a more community-oriented body intended to play a bigger role in the development of Guyana.

The President made the commitment on Monday when he pinned five newly-promoted GDF Officers with their new badges of rank. He urged the Officer to see themselves not only as distinguished men and women in the Army, but to play a key role in community and national development.

Those officers pinned by the President at a sim-

Julius Skeete, Omar Khan and Kenlloyd Roberts, who were all promoted to the rank of Substantive Colonel.

Four of the officers, except for Colonel Julius Skeete, were also awarded the Military Service Medal.

Colonel Skeete received his national award in 2018.

The Head of State also said the Government would like to make the military more community-oriented, engaged and aligned with national development goals, particularly as Guyana continues to emerge as an oil economy.

“Guyanese must not only see these distinguished men and women in uniform as just members of the

President Mohamed Irfaan Ali (centre) accompanied by Prime Minister, Brigadier (retired) Mark Phillips; Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall; Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn; Chief-of-Staff Brigadier Godfrey Bess and the newly-promoted officers

men and women, with tremendous skill sets and experience and the know-how.

President Ali, accompanied by Chief of Staff Brigadier Godfrey Bess (right), pinning the promotion badge and Military Service Medal on Substantive Colonel Omar Khan

ple ceremony at State House were Colonel Gary Beaton, who was promoted to the rank of Substantive Brigadier, and Lieutenant Colonels Ronald Hercules,

Army. They must see you as a key and integral part of [the] development, of their community and national development. Our military is blessed with great

The time has come for us to harness this great potential in our military to uplift and build communities all across the country,” the President said at the cere-

mony.

He said that the Defence Board has begun discussions on a strategic way forward on how the military will become integrated into the community life of Guyana.

“The time has come to harness the potential of the military to uplift and build communities all across our country and this will be the focus to make the military more community-oriented, community-engaged and more in line with the national development thrust of our country,” he added.

President Ali urged the GDF to think outside the box as a course is chartered in which the military will be actively involved in the development shift and advancement of our country. This, he said, comes on the heels of the “emerging oil and gas sector, new security challenges, new border challenges. The military has to and must play a key role in the emerging needs of our country”.

He said that the promotions were long overdue and are necessary to strengthen the leadership of the Army.

He noted that the elevation of these officers manifests the Defence Board’s intention to ensure the Force is continuously manned by a team of professional and highly motivated officers.

“I congratulate Brigadier Gary Beaton on his appointment. His promotion is duly deserved. I commend him for his outstanding and committed service. His service is worthy of emulation.

His elevation to the rank of Brigadier should serve as an incentive to others to strive for greater professionalism and excellence in the discharge of their duties. I also extend congratulations to the other newly-appointed Colonels. Their promotions are meritorious and overdue. I charge these five officers to give their full support to the acting Chief of Staff, who retains my confidence. Other promotions will follow in the future,” the President said.

The Commander-inChief said promotions are essential to entrench a system of meritocracy and to reward performance, qualification and experience and his Government will ensure

that it adopts a policy to ensure that all those deserving of promotion are so elevated.

“The second purpose of today’s (Monday’s) ceremony was to confer the Military Service Medal on four officers. The Constitution of Orders of Guyana at Article 32 (1) provides that the Military Service Medal may be awarded in respect of military service by Members of the Guyana Defence Force in action or other distinguished service beyond the call of duty. As President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and in the exercise of the duties of that office, I was pleased to confer the award to [these officers]. I congratulate the recipients; they are richly deserving of this honour. The nation acknowledges and salutes their splendid service,” President Ali said.

Members of the Defence Board, including the Prime Minister, Brigadier Mark Phillips; Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall and Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn also attended the ceremony.

Diamond hospital to be closed for 6 weeks for “SMART” upgrade

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he Diamond Diagnostic Centre, the main provider of healthcare for those living along the East Bank of Demerara, will be closed for six weeks, from September 1 to October 16, 2020, to facilitate the construction of a SMART Hospital.

This is according to a notice published in the daily newspapers.

As a result, the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) will handle all emergencies. The regional hospital was identified as a COVID-19 quarantine facility but Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony has since confirmed that persons in quarantine at that facility will remain there.

When contacted on Sunday, Director of Medical and Professional Services at GPHC, Dr Fawcett Jeffrey said he does not believe that the additional patients coming from Diamond Diagnostic Centre will be a real burden on the GPHC, even

Director of Medical and Professional Services at GPHC, Dr Fawcett Jeffrey

though the hospital has limited accommodation due to the COVID-19 situation.

“We would have to compress wards to cater for more patients, but once we can free up some more space, with the use of [Infectious Diseases Hospital], I

do not think it will be a real burden on GPHC.” Dr Jeffery related that while it would be additional work for that hospital’s staff, they are ready and capable of managing.

He noted that sacrifices have to be made, and if that includes the temporary closure of the hospital for upgrades that will better the quality of medical attention offered to citizens in the future, then he is in support of it.

In January 2018, the Public Health Ministry unveiled a billboard at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre as part of the Smart Healthcare Initiative to provide upgraded and environmentally friendly services. The centre on the East Bank of Demerara was identified as one of the five health facilities to be upgraded.

The other facilities identified are Mabaruma and Lethem Regional Hospitals, Leonora Diagnostic and Treatment Centre, and the Paramakatoi Health Centre.

The works are projected to

cost US$950,000 at Leonora, US$910,000 at Lethem, US$837,000 at Mabaruma, US$515,000 at Paramakatoi and US$920,000 at Diamond. The United Kingdom-funded project is designed to help reduce mortality, morbidity and economic losses from natural disasters, to which many Caribbean nations are vulnerable.

The “SMART Hospital” concept refers to a health facility which is both safe and utilises green technology.

Hospitals and other health facilities embracing this concept must provide standard and efficient healthcare before, during, and even immediately after the event of any natural or manmade disaster.

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Old Age Pension

Govt considering home delivery for hinterland regions

Human Services and Social Security Minister, Dr Vindhya Persaud

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he Human Services and Social Security Ministry is exploring a number of efficient ways to have old-age pension paid to Guyana’s senior citizens.

These include pension payment delivery to over 3000 pensioners who are bedridden and to those living in the Hinterland regions. Also under consideration is direct deposits to pensioners’ bank accounts and the use of alternate payment venues like Western Union and MoneyGram.

This announcement was made on Monday during a virtual press conference held by Human Services and Social Security Minister, Dr Vindhya Persaud. According to her, the Ministry is currently considering avenues for making the system of pension delivery better during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. In this regard, it will be implementing a few more measures in order to make the system of pension payments more efficient so as to ease con-

gestions at the post offices.

Presently post offices are the only payment venues, resulting in congestion and little to no adherence to social distancing.

Expounding on the direct pension payments, she explained, “What we doing with that is increasing the access by persons in that area. In other words, it will not only be the post offices.

There will be mobile units and more staff from the Ministry so that persons will not have to go long distances to access the payments. So, we are increasing our outreach. Unfortunately, because of the terrain, we cannot deliver directly to each home, even though we will be delivering in the Hinterland to those persons who are shut-in. This is making sure that we are closer in villages so that they do not have to travel long distances.”

Dr Persaud announced that plans are currently in place to have Western Union and MoneyGram locations added to the list of pension

Shaik Baksh appointed GWI CEO

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ormer Housing and Water Minister, Shaik Baksh has been appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI).

This is going to be the second time that Baksh is heading the public utility entity. He replaces former CEO Dr Richard Van WestCharles.

Baskh served in the sector for a number of years. He held the post of Housing and Water Minister from 1998 to 2006.

He also served in the capacity of CEO at the Guyana Water Inc from 2012 to 2015. The Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) in a statement on Monday said that Baksh holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management from the University of Guyana and an MSc in Management from the University of London.

He has also worked as a lec-

turer at the University of Guyana.

The previous Head of GWI, Dr Van West-Charles, was relieved of his duties and asked to proceed on leave until October 29, 2020, when current Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal took up office just about a month ago. Chair of the GWI Board, Dr Garvin Cummings had written to Van WestCharles, instructing him to proceed on his accumulated leave. Additionally, he was instructed to hand over all property and records belonging to GWI in his possession.

When asked about this decision, Croal had related that the Ministry is heading in another direction and it is in keeping with the restructuring and vision of the new People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government.

He noted that Van WestCharles’ contract would come to an end in October of

New GWI CEO Shaik Baksh

2021.

Back in June, Van WestCharles – son-in-law of the late LFS Burnham – joined the APNU/AFC coalition in calling for the March 2 General and Regional Elections to be scrapped following irregularities. Van West-Charles was appointed CEO of GWI on October 1, 2015. (G2)

Frontline workers, vulnerable...

“I really want to thank those workers who are going out every day under very challenging circumstances and risking their lives, delivering service to all of us across Guyana. This initiative will be opened to frontline workers in both private and public sectors where direct payments will be made to childcare facilities.”

She, however, pointed out that there will be a number of criteria to meet, among them being children below the age of seven, and direct payments will only be made to licensed childcare

facilities. “This is a project that we will pilot and before the end of the year or very early next year we will look at how we can expand it.”

Dr Persaud disclosed that the assistance for essential workers will be available within the first quarter of 2021.

Persons can access the programme through forms that will be dispatched to their respective employers.

The forms will also be available via the Ministry’s website. In the meantime, the Ministry, through its various partners, will contin-

FROM PAGE 10

ue to provide assistance to women who are victims of gender-based violence.

“There is no infinite number of hampers, but we will try to reach out to as many women based on the information we have at the Ministry and with other partner women organisations. We do have women that need that help right now,” the Minister added.

The Ministry will continue working closely with the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) to assist those in need.

File photo: Scores of persons lined up outside the Bourda Post Office, Georgetown, despite social distancing guidelines

payment venues. This, she added, will be done within the quarter of this year.

Once they are added, she stated that they will become long-term payment venues since they are easily accessible to the public.

“We are hoping to have that started within the last quarter of the year. We are going to be in talks with those entities because banks are in specific places, post offices are in specific places. We are looking at other venues that are easily accessible by the public. Western Union and MoneyGram and

other similar entities will be approached. In fact, the discussions will happen this week to see if there can be payments [there] in addition to the post offices. [It will be done] in the same manner as at the post offices so that we do not have lines at any one place.”

In an effort to safeguard and protect the elderly, on April 29, 2020, the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) announced early pension payments. The GPOC disclosed that it had implemented a new alphabetised process which will

be used only during the first five payment days of the month in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and 10.

Minister Persaud said that this system remains in place. Moreover, she also said that the Ministry has collaborated with the GPOC, the Ministry of Health and several Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to develop appropriate and safe payment procedures for the elderly.

There are currently a little over 59,000 registered pensioners.

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Submit proof of relinquished foreign citizenship – Parliament Clerk to MPs

Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs

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lerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs has written to all incoming Members of Parliament (MPs) reminding them of Article 155 (1) of the Constitution and asked for proof that those who once held foreign citizenship, have relinquished such.

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

Isaacs reminded that in 2019, the Court of Appeal ruled conclusively on the matter that a person was

not eligible to be elected a member of the National Assembly if they held dual citizenship.

“I am, therefore, asking those Members who held allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or State during the Eleventh Parliament, and have relinquished same, to submit proof of relinquishment to me. Further, I am advising all other Members to ensure that they are in conformity with Article 155 (1) (a) of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana,” Isaacs said in his letter.

The issue of dual citizenship came up after December 21, 2018 when Alliance For Change (AFC) MP Charrandas Persaud voted in favour of the no-confidence motion, which toppled and effectively led to the booting of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition Government.

At that time. a number of dual citizen MPs were sitting in the National Assembly on both sides of the aisle. From the APNU/AFC coalition those MPs were Minister of State, Joseph Harmon (United States citizenship); Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge; Business Minister Dominic Gaskin and Public Service Minister Dr Rupert Roopnarine

(all British citizens) along with Persaud who held Canadian citizenship. They

had to all resign as MPs. On the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) side

Adrian Anamaya, Odinga Lumumba, and Gail Teixeira all held foreign

citizenship.

The Government used Persaud’s dual citizenship as a weapon in its arsenal seeking to overturn the no-confidence motion, arguing that Persaud was not qualified to be in the National Assembly and as such, his vote in favour of the motion was invalid.

This argument also formed part of the opinions presented to the then Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Barton Scotland in the hopes that he would reverse the no-confidence motion – something the Speaker ultimately refused to do.

In February of 2019, acting Chief Justice Roxane George had ruled on the case filed by Compton Reid over the dual citizenship of Persaud. While she ruled that the no-confidence motion was validly passed, Justice George reaffirmed Article 155 (1) of the Constitution.

As a consequence, both sides of the aisle had agreed that going forward, dual citizens would not be sent to Parliament. Teixeira, Harmon and Greenidge all gave up their citizenships, although only Teixeira and Harmon will be returning to the National Assembly for the 12th Parliament which opens today. They have both renounced their foreign citizenship. (G2)

Guyana records 2 more COVID-19 deaths T

he Health Ministry on Monday reported that two more persons have died from the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), taking Guyana’s death toll to 41.

The patients were an 89-yearold man from Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), and a 47-year-old woman from Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

According to the Ministry, upon admission to the medical health facility, a swab test was done on both patients, and following their death, the results returned as positive.

The day prior, the dreadful disease claimed the lives of four other persons. The first person was an 80-year-old man from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica). He was a patient of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation’s (GPHC) designated Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

His death was followed by a 78-year-old woman, who died while receiving treatment at the Lethem Hospital on Sunday morning.

Shortly after her death, a 53-year-old woman from the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) died at the GPHC at around 13:00h.

Later in the evening, 32-yearold Alician Sinclair, who was battling for her life in the GPHC’s COVID-19 ICU, succumbed.

Since August 16 to date, the Ministry has now recorded a whopping 17 COVID-19-related deaths – the highest since patient zero.

Severe pneumonia, deteriorating lungs

On Friday, the Ministry reported three COVID-19 deaths but did not release their age or gender. However, one of the persons was 73-year-old James Downer of Melanie, East Coast Demerara (ECD), who was suffering from severe pneumonia compounded with a bad lung.

His son-in-law, Devon Edwards, recalled the series of events leading up to the man’s demise, explaining that on August 14, 2020, his father-in-law had returned from Region One (Barima-

James Downer, one of the three COVID-19 deaths recorded on Friday last

Waini), where he works.

According to Edwards, Downer visited him at Kuru Kururu, Linden-Soesdyke Highway.

“When he came here, we thought that he drank a little bit and was drowsy because of how he

came out of the vehicle, he did not come out normal. He sat down in the chair outside, and his daughter was talking to him, and he did not sound normal, so she called me, and I said ‘paps, what going on?’”

The elderly man went to take a nap but later family members noticed that he had not eaten.

“By the time we could reach the health centre, they did not want to see him since he came from an interior location. They said that we have to carry him straight to Diamond (hospital), so I took him to Diamond, and they did the checks and so on, but they did not say if it was COVID he had,” Edwards noted.

Edwards further added: “But they did their normal checks and signs, so they did another check and they said that he had to keep him in. So, I told them that they should test for the COVID because he came from the interior location, and his blood count was really low.”

Downer was then admitted and taken to the Georgetown

Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), where doctors informed family members that the man was suffering from severe pneumonia, and his lungs were in a bad condition.

“They called me the 24th of August 2020 and said that he was tested positive for COVID. Soon as I got that call, I closed up, and we went and got tested. Since then, we are home all the time isolated because we decided that we are going to isolate ourselves until the results come out,” Edwards asserted.

The grieving man has lambasted the health authorities for their slothfulness in processing COVID-19 results. He noted that it has now been 17 days since they have been in home isolation and have not gotten their results.

The man noted that he currently has a funeral to plan for his father-in-law and needs his results back so that he can go ahead with the funeral arrangements along with his business, which has been closed. (Shemar Alleyne)

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Mingo, GECOM staff on bail for misconduct, electoral fraud charges

Clairmont Mingo surrounded by APNU/AFC supporters as he left the court

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ours of intense drama surrounded the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Monday, where embattled former District Four (DemeraraMahaica) Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo was charged with four counts of misconduct in public office.

Two other employees, Enrique Livan and Sheffern February, were also slapped with charges of electoral fraud.

Mingo appeared before Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan and was represented by Attorneys-atLaw Nigel Hughes, Ronald Daniels and Darren Wade.

The charges read that on March 5 and 13, 2020, he willfully misconducted himself at High and Cowan Streets, Georgetown – while holding the position of Returning Officer – by declaring the District Four results without ascertaining the total votes cast in favour of each list by adding the recorded votes in accordance with the Statements of Poll.

By means, he attempted to alter the results of the March 2 elections in Guyana’s largest voting district in favour of the APNU/AFC – which was refusing to accept electoral defeat and has been accused of attempting to undermine

Bail was granted in the sum of $150,000 for each charge, which amounted to $600,000.

The State, which was represented by Tariq Mohammed, would have objected to bail given the gravity of the offence. He alluded to statements from the Head of the Office of American States Observer Mission, Bruce Golding who would have said that he had never seen such a “transparent effort to alter the results of an election”.

However, Mingo was asked to lodge his passport and will have to report to the Criminal Investigations Department at Eve Leary every Friday. The matter will continue on September 25.

After the matter concluded, Executives of the APNU/AFC coalition including David Granger, Joseph Harmon, Khemraj Ramjattan and David Patterson waited outside the courthouse to support Mingo; they would have also met with his wife.

Charged: GECOM staff Sheffern February

Charged: GECOM IT Officer Enrique Livan

His attorney, Hughes, is still contending that his client is innocent.

Two Fridays ago, the Police Force announced that it was investigating alleged criminal conduct by Mingo and others, including Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, who is currently

– the leading party of the APNU faction of the coalition – was charged in relation to the unverified declaration of results for Region Four. Private charges were filed against her and Mingo

by Charles Ramson Jr, accusing them of forging official electoral documents in an effort to defraud the country.

Last Tuesday, Mingo was arrested at a house at Mahaicony and taken to the CID Headquarters, where he was questioned in relation to electoral fraud. He remained in custody after the Guyana Police Force was granted an extension of time by the High Court to continue their investigation.

Former President David Granger, “presumptive” Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon and AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan arrive at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to offer support to Clairmont Mingo, who was charged for electoral fraud

the will of the people.

As such, the said wilful misconduct amounted to a breach of the public’s trust in his office without any reasonable excuse or justification.

As he exited, coalition protesters broke the cordoned barricades and rushed over to the court in a crowded manner, defying the COVID-19 guidelines.

facing private criminal fraud charges before the courts.

The following Monday, Volda Lawrence, Chairperson of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR)

Other charges Meanwhile, two other employees of the Guyana Elections Commission were also charged on Monday.

Enrique Livan, who is an Information Technology Officer at the Secretariat, was charged with conspiracy to defraud.

The charge read that between March 4 and 5, he unlawfully altered the figures while the numbers from the

Statements of Poll were being recorded, with intent to defraud the people of Guyana.

Livan was involved in the infamous flash drive incident at the GECOM command centre in the Ashmins building at the corner of High and Hadfield Streets, Georgetown.

Livan was previously questioned by Police on the evening of March 4, 2020, when the tabulation of votes for District Four at the Office of the Returning Officer was obstructed. Party agents and other observers became suspicious when Livan, after complaining of feeling tired and wanting to conclude the tabulation process, left the room with a flash drive and computer – both of which were being used during the tabulation process.

On the other hand, Sheffern February was also slapped with two charges of conspiracy to commit fraud.

The charges cite that on March 13, 2020, at High and Cowan Streets, with the intent to defraud the public of Guyana, while being a Clerk at GECOM for District Four, she did not use figures from the Statements of Poll, which resulted in a false declaration being made for the General Election. The second charge was in relation to the Regional Elections under the same circumstances.

She was not allowed to plead to the charge and was granted $150,000 bail on each charge, totalling $300,000.

This matter will continue on September 25.

Both defendants were represented by Attorneys Eusi Anderson and Latoya Roberts; and Senior Counsel, John Jeremie. According to Anderson, the constitutional rights of his clients were breached. (G12)

Police, protestor injured in Belladrum protest

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policeman, as well as a protestor, have been injured during violent protests at Belladrum, and its neighbouring villages in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice).

Though the protests actions have diminished, the Guyana Police Force said it remains on alert to respond to any unlawful activities.

On Sunday evening, Police were once again forced to resort to the use of tear gas as protestors defied orders to disperse. The protest was being led by supporters of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) but despite warnings to observe the COVID-19 curfew, the defiant protestors instead confronted law enforcement officers.

The Riot Unit in full engagement gear was on the scene. In a statement, the police said it is reiterating its concern over the unlawful activities being conducted by protestors of Belladrum and its neighbouring villages, West Coast Berbice, and on the Upper East Coast of Demerara.

“While the Police Force recognises the constitutional rights of citizens to peaceful protests, when such protests degenerate into a series of unlawful activities, the Police Force would have to take necessary action,” the release said in part.

It added that over the recent days, members of the Police Force

Riot Police at the scene at Belladrum, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) where APNU/AFC protestors blocked the roadway

have been making diligent efforts in the maintenance of public safety and the movement of traffic which has been impeded for several hours throughout those communities.

“It is important to note that the police have shown considerable restraint and have been constantly calling on the protestors to desist from the unlawful acts, but to no avail,” the release said while noting that there was subsequently an escalation and the Riot Unit was deployed.

“During these activities, a male

protestor was shot and injured with rubber bullets and a policeman received injuries to his eyes from obstacles thrown at the police,” the police said.

Residents of Belladrum took to the streets on Thursday with placards demanding Clairmont Mingo, the Returning Officer charged for electoral fraud, be released from Police custody. At the time, he was in custody pending a court appearance on Monday morning.

Police had arrested the Region Four Returning Officer a few days

prior as they continued an investigation into electoral fraud.

Mingo along with two Guyana Elections Commission staff – Enrique Livan and Sheffaun February – were charged for electoral fraud stemming from the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections, when they allegedly altered to results to favour a win for the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC).

On Thursday, the protestors began blocking the main thoroughfare by burning tires. The protest action continued on Sunday, whereby protestors lifted an old building which was once used as a shop and placed in in the middle of the road, thus obstructing the flow of traffic as they chanted, “Free Mingo.” Police were able to restore some level of order during the afternoon, allowing the hundreds of vehicles trapped on both sides to pass. However, as the dark hours closed in, the protestors returned to the streets and defied the request by the police to return to their homes. Old vehicles and more tires were brought onto the street and set afire. The police on several occasions tried to clear the roadway and were initially successful.

Realising that they were losing the battle, the protestors turned on the police, throwing missiles at them.

It was then that the Riot Unit went into action after several warnings.

On Monday morning, as the hours wound down for Mingo to make his court appearance after being slapped with four charges in relation to electoral fraud, villagers took to the streets again, blocking the roadway at several locations. The protest was stretched beyond the county of Berbice into Demerara on the west side of the Abary Bridge which borders the two counties. The police were subsequently able to restore order and up to press time, the villages surrounding Belladrum were quiet but uneasy.

ADHR

Meanwhile, in a statement the Association for Democracy and Human Rights (ADHR) which is a Non-Governmental Organisation which promotes democratic rule within Guyana called for an end to the Belladrum protest action.

“We ask that the leaders of APNU/ AFC discontinue their efforts to mislead the residents of Belladrum and that they desist from inciting further protest action. These actions are only reflective of the PNC [People’s National Congress] back in 1929 after they lost the General Elections that year,” the statement read. (G40)

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Fight for democracy brought about unity among smaller parties – TNM, URP reps

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he fight for democracy and the rule of law to prevail in Guyana following the blatant attempts to derail the March 2 General and Regional Elections has brought about unity amongst the smaller parties that contested the polls.

This was the view expressed by Leader of The New Movement (TNM), Dr Asha Kissoon and Executive Member of the United Republican Party (URP) Rawle Aaron during a recent interview programme “Insight”, both of whom added that if the opportunity presents itself again, they are ready to take on the challenge.

“It brought about a unity among the parties standing up for democracy. TNM and my team members, along with the PPP/C and all new parties stood up and said that they will not accept it.

And throughout that process, along with the support of international observers, we were able to have democracy in Guyana,” Dr Kissoon said.

Dr Kissoon, a newcomer to politics, recalled that the problems started with District Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, getting “sick” and subsequently reverting to a fake

Leader of TNM, Dr Asha Kissoon

spreadsheet to declare concocted results for that District.

“That’s where all the parties had a clash with the APNU/AFC because they tried to support those numbers”.

Dr Kissoon noted the fight to get Mingo and others to comply with the law and do what is right for the country was not an easy task, but the smaller parties, along with the PPP/C, local and international observers and the diplomatic community stood up and resisted what was taking place.

“So yes we came from that far, but we were able to show the Guyanese people how serious we were about

standing up for them,” Dr Kissoon added.

Similarly, Aaron posited that Guyanese can now boast of a new democratic Government being in place, but getting to this stage was not a very easy task.

He reminded that Mingo’s insistence in using a spreadsheet to document as against verified Statements of Poll (SoPs) to present his declaration for District Four was blatant, but a collective fight by the various stakeholders ensured that a fraudulent Government was not foisted on the nation.

“Let us remember that it was a fight and a struggle by a collective set of political parties that caused the swearing-in of Dr Irfaan Ali,” he asserted.

No influence

Meanwhile, both Dr Kissoon and Aaron shut down claims that they (small parties) were influenced by the PPP/C in relation to their actions following the five-month battle to ensure that credible results of elections were declared.

According to Aaron, President Irfaan Ali has indicated on several occasions that he is committed to working with all stakeholders to push Guyana forward.

He noted that the URP is

willing and ready to support any initiative of the current Government that would result in citizens improving their lives.

“We have supported the efforts of the PPP/C from the time they entered office, because we believe that what they are doing is favourable, and Dr Ali wants to ensure that every Guyanese participate in this country.”

“Of course persons are going to label you, but they are labelling us in relation to an act that the URP participated in, that we believe that is going to cause democracy to prevail in Guyana; and if we had an opportunity to do it again, we would do that again,” Aaron added.

Dr Kissoon noted that her party is in a unique position since, along with A New and United Guyana (ANUG) and Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) combined, it has been allotted one parliamentary seat.

She made it clear that her party is not linked to any of the major parties, but intends to work with the present Government because it has extended an invitation to so.

“I believe that we can move forward as a country by working together, there is no doubt about it. We must stand up as a people united

Executive Member of URP, Rawle Aaron

and push for the things that are going to improve the lives of Guyanese people,” she posited.

Kissoon added: “Yes, we can sit down, we can work together to have things done; we stood up for democracy and we will continue to do that.”

On Monday, Mingo was placed on $600,000 bail over four charges in relation to criminal misconduct, after allegations were raised that he attempted to alter the March 2 elections results in favour of the former APNU/ AFC Administration.

In fact, it was Mingo’s attempts to alter the results of the elections that led to the National Recount exer-

cise which ultimately proved the major irregularities in figures being called by the Returning Officer when compared to the actual numbers of votes cast.

Other senior officials of GECOM are also being investigated, including the Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield – who is also currently facing private criminal fraud charges before the courts.

Former Government Minister Volda Lawrence also recently appeared before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer to private criminal fraud charges.

The PPP/C Government had affirmed its commitment to launch a forensic review into the events that unfolded after the March 2 polls and holding persons accountable for attempting to subvert democracy in Guyana.

President Ali, during his maiden address as Head of State, had said that his Government has an obligation to the nation and to themselves to ensure that no other generation of Guyanese is subjected to such unlawful behaviour which transpired for five months, when the country was embroiled in a major political and electoral impasse.

Entrance exams slated Airport's closure extended for September 23 – MoE to September 30

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he Education Ministry on Monday announced that the entrance or placement examination for re-migrants, public and private school students is scheduled for September 23.

Interested stakeholders were informed that the application forms are available at the Department of Education at Brickdam and all others across the country. The deadline to submit this form is September 11.

To complete the registration process, re-migrants are required to submit a copy of travel documents, report booklet and the application form. In the case of private school students, they must supply a copy of the report booklet, birth certificate and application form. For public school students, a copy of the booklet and application form is needed and students must gain an average of 70 per cent and above.

Earlier this year, students across the country sat the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).

These were facilitated after the COVID-19 pandemic reached Guyana’s shores and were carefully monitored through implemented guidelines.

The Cheddi Jagan International Airport

W

To facilitate the exam amid the coronavirus threats, the Ministry had mandated that only examination candidates, invigilators and other authorised persons will be allowed into the school compounds.

All other persons, including parents, media personnel and the general public were advised not to enter any school compound. Along with this, desks and benches were placed six feet apart, with adequate hand-washing facilities at the entrances. Some students were provided with packages and masks.

As the Ministry deliberates on the reopening of schools, it was indicated that it would be closed indefinitely for September.

Teachers of the Grades Five and Six classes at the primary level were given a chance to share their

concerns with Education Minister Priya Manickchand on Friday, as it pertains to examinations and teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 800 educators and senior officials joined in addressing the situations facing the different regions, and how they can be solved to continue class sessions, specifically for children who will be sitting the National Grade Six Examination.

Since mid-March, schools were closed as a measure to ease the spread of the coronavirus. Online platforms were enabled as the new tool to reach students but there have been some setbacks.

Minister Manickchand noted that a massive training programme will soon be launched to enable teachers to get the training required.

(G12)

ith the sharp rise in coronavirus (COVID-19) cases and deaths in Guyana, the Government has once again extended the closure of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) until September 30.

This is according to a gazetted order dated August 31, 2020, affirming that the phased reopening of the international airports will continue to be delayed. The extension also comes just hours before the previously issued directive is set to expire.

Previously, scheduled international flights in Guyana had been continuously suspended since March 18. The gazette, however, explained that limited repatriation flights, outgoing flights, cargo flights, medivac flights, technical stops, and special authorised flights will continue to operate.

GCAA had previously implemented Regulations and Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) to miti-

gate the spread of COVID-19 virus. This had changed the way in which airports and aeroplanes were allowed to operate, including the number of passengers they could carry.

In the interim, the Government had approved a number of flights to repatriate Guyanese citizens and residents stranded in the Caribbean and North America. Eastern Airlines has weekly flights from Miami and New York scheduled through the end of October, while a Caribbean Airlines flight from Trinidad has been scheduled for September 9.

Guyana has seen a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases with a confirmed total of 1306 inclusive of 72 new cases and a death toll of 41.

As of Monday, the 6 pm to 6 am curfew has been reimplemented.

On Sunday, there were 50 new cases. Statistics from the Health Ministry’s dashboard showed a gender breakdown of 646 males and 660 females that have

been infected thus far.

There are 12 persons in the designated Intensive Care Unit – a reduction of one.

Meanwhile, 87 persons are in institutional isolation, 129 in institutional quarantine and 451 on home isolation. The total recovered cases stand at 718 – an increase of 31.

A further dissection showed that 15 new cases were detected in Region One (Barima-Waini), one in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam), five in Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara), 43 in Region Four (DemeraraMahaica) one in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), six in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and one in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).

The other regional figures remain the same with six in Region Five (MahaicaBerbice), 15 in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and 75 in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

To date, 8295 tests were conducted.

guyanatimesgy.com

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

17

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

Citizens attacked in vicinity of Replace the Ethnic Relations Demico’s downtown premises Commission with a diversity commission Dear Editor, I am forced to bring the attention of the authorities to an incident I observed on Sunday, August 30, 2020 on the premises of the DEMICO outlet in downtown Georgetown.

I was walking by the Demico Building towards the Guyana Police Force Mobile Unit when, all of a sudden, I heard the loud voices of females behind me, and as I turned around, I observed a confrontation involving a female and others on the premises of the DEMICO Outlet.

I was clueless as to what was happening, and then I saw a dirty-looking, dark-complexioned female, about 5’ 6” in height, with very short hair, running towards my direction. I stepped aside and saw a mob chasing her, and I distinctly heard voices from the mob saying, “She just juk some women, and she only playing mad!”

I stood there looking at

the female runner being chased, and she ran upstairs of the mobile unit and tried to close the door behind her to prevent the mob that was chasing her from gaining access. I didn’t venture closer, but I overheard the mob, which got closer, saying, “Look how she juk up them women, and she ain’t mad, she playing mad!”

I then observed two females, with help from public-spirited citizens, being taken on the steps of the mobile unit for the Police officers to have a look at what the suspect had just done.

Apparently, the two females were bodily harmed, because an ambulance arrived shortly after and took them away, perhaps to the GPHC. This all happened in mid-morning, because I headed to my destination of Parika and reached there a few minutes before noon.

Kudos must be given to those public-spirited citi-

zens who came to the rescue of the two injured females.

Over the years, and via the press, I have always said that Government needs to rid the city of the homeless, vagrants, and mentally challenged persons, among others.

Who would have been held responsible if those two females had died from the injuries they had sustained?

Perhaps the Guyana Police Force, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, can give the public more details about what happened to the two injured females? The Ministry of Social Cohesion, whose function I think it is to cater to these people on the streets, urgently needs to address this situation. Perhaps I am naming the wrong Ministry, but can someone please forward this observation to the relevant Ministry?

Yours faithfully, T Pemberton

Dear Editor, I noticed that the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) is asking for $220.8 million in the budget. This has been a totally useless Commission, not partially useless, but totally useless, and it should be scrapped immediately.

I suggest it be replaced with a Diversity/Affirmative Action Commission (using some Affirmative Action features of the US system). The Opposition should be okay with this, because they believe in power sharing, and this is the kind of power sharing we need.

Pictures of the new Ministers visiting their ministries, in which was revealed that the overwhelming majority of employees are of one ethnicity, are quite troubling.

The new Minister of Public Service saying the awarding of scholarships was overwhelmingly for one ethnicity is cause for concern. This did not bother the PNC, because their “New Declaration

of Sophia” promulgated by Volda, was, “The only friends I got is PNC, so the only people I could give work to is PNC. And, right now, I looking for a doctor who can talk Spanish or Portuguese, and ah want one that is PNC.” I may have missed it, but I do not recall the ERC or churches denouncing this apartheid doctrine. For their previous 23 years, the PPP likewise ignored this diversity problem, (and it bit them in a place where they don’t want to be bitten), when a handful of people in one agency were willing to rig in favour of their preferred party.

I hope the PPP learned an important lesson on how important it is for the workplace to reflect our diversity in an era when “all lives matter.” This new Diversity Commission should be a number one legislative priority.

Only morons would keep the ERC and give them more money than other commissions are requesting. $220

Good to see so many senior ranks in Rosemary Lane (Tiger Bay) Dear Editor I recently perused in the press an article under the heading “Focus returns to Tiger Bay”. The missive reported on a visit paid to Tiger Bay; sorry, Rosemary Lane, by officers at the apex of management of the Guyana Police Force: Clifton Hicken, Assistant Commissioner, Operations; Royston Andries Junior, Assistant Commissioner, Police Public Relations and Press Officer; and Simon Mc Bean, Assistant Commissioner, Commander Region 4(A).

It was pleasing to note such high-ranking members of the Guyana Police Force visiting a depressed community. It was so nice to observe, in this virtual time, so many Police boots of various sizes and high quality literally pounding the beat at Rosemary Lane.

According to Dr. Kissoon of the Ministry of Health, who was a member of the visiting party, his reason for visiting was to let persons within the community understand the importance of wearing masks, washing hands, and practising social distancing to stop the spread of COVID-19. From the photograph in the newspaper, everyone had on a mask.

The Police also dealt with many issues and concerns affecting the residents, and promised to return to that location shortly for further interactions with them. The senior lawmen abandoned the traditional bird’s eye view that let them see everything from above, from the sky. Instead, during the visit, the trio assumed a worm’s eye view of things, trying to find whatever comes right in front of them - smell it, touch it, feel it, and see if they can do something about it.

Positive interaction be-

tween the Police and residents of Rosemary Lane, particularly the youths, is nothing new. It peaked when Laurie Lewis was Commissioner of Police.

However, over the past few years, due to diverse reasons, activities declined and almost flattened. Apparently, an attempt is now being made to raise the level of activity between the Police and members of that neglected community.

One tool to help law enforcement personnel tackle crime through problem-solving is what Cohen and Felson theorised as the Crime Triangle. It sits on three legs: the victim, the suspect and the location. Crime is presumed to be amenable to suppression if any of the three legs of the triangle is removed or neutralised. In the crime triangle, location is a critical element in reducing crime and the fear of crime.

At numerous locations, there are many issues operating that are causing crime to flourish; they may be political, economic, social, technical, legal, and environmental. (PESTLE). Unless the PESTLE is adequately addressed, crime will boom.

Many law enforcement agencies pay more attention to the suspects, less to the victims, and practically none to the locations. Braiden (1998) recommended another way to view the significance of location. In “The hunt and the habitat,” he said: “I can’t think of two special-interest groups more psychically opposed to each other than hunters and animal rights activists, yet there are two things they totally agree upon: the species will survive the hunt; it will not survive the loss of its habitat.

“What can policing learn from this basic principle

of nature? Well, if the basic principle is to eliminate the criminal species forever, then the best way to do that is to eliminate the habitat that spawns and sustains that species. Structured as it is, the criminal justice system puts 95 percent of its resources into the hunt, while the habitat is left almost untouched. We can never win by working that way, because the habitat never stops supplying new customers for the hunt”.

The challenges faced by the Police are numerous.

They defy any one-shot solution. The Police cannot solve crime alone. Rules without relationships lead to rebellion. The Police must establish and sustain effective partnerships with members in the communities they swore to serve and protect.

Sustainability must be the watchword. In fact, working in partnership with members of the communities is enshrined in the Mission Statement of the Guyana Police Force. Activities by the Police, like the one alluded to above, must be

replicated and sustained in all Police divisions. It is called Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving (COPPS). Not only are the Police required to solve crimes, but to work in tandem with members of the community to identify problems therein, and find solutions to them. It is not a project, it is not a programme, it is a culture; it must be a constant work in progress.

It will promote trust, and cater for greater public confidence in the Police. It will empower the Police to be proactive, rather than reactive, thus enabling them to do more intelligence-led policing. Green shoots will emerge. They will be fruitful.

However, in this COVID-19 era, the Police, in their community relations’ activities, must ensure that they and those they interact with protect themselves with their PPE, and adhere to other COVID-19 recommendations, or they will be in violation of COVID-19 Emergency Measures.

Stephen R Covey, in his book, “The 8th Habit from

news@guyanatimesgy.com

Effectiveness to Greatness,” posited that managers, leaders and organisations must move from effectiveness to greatness. I pray that God would inspire the Police to move from effectiveness to greatness. You cannot do policing without God; so it was in the beginning, and so shall it be in the end. I recommend Covey’s book as a must-read for all Police officers.

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

million to do what? What thing of substance have they done? Can we get a report?

The budget requests were as follows: Ethnic Relations Commission: $220.8 million; Public and Police Service Commissions: $150.6 million; Teaching Service Commission: $117 million; Judicial Service Commission: $10 million for current estimates; Public Procurement Commission: $206.4 million; Women and Gender Equality Commission: $58.3 million; Rights of the Child Commission: $46 million; Human Rights Commission: $25.9 million; and Indigenous People’s Commission: $24.3 million.

There had been so many violent, racist statements made, and the ERC has done little by way of investigation.

There were Facebook threats to harm our President, and a recent threat on our heroic Attorney General, and the ERC is still sleeping.

I was disappointed when the Ministry of the Presidency released photos, on March 7, during the rigging, showing the ERC Head hosting Mr. Granger as guest of honour at the Head’s birthday party at the Ramada. I thought this was quite insensitive, and the ERC head was either a willing pawn or was hoodwinked by the PNC to release those photos at that time. What message were they trying to send?

I ask the Guyanese nation: Do you agree the ERC must go? We can use that $220 million to build some streets in a needy village, or buy more machines to do COVID testing. There is only one machine in the whole country.

Sincerely, Dr Jerry Jailall

18

guyanatimesgy.com

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

Regional

Venezuela pardons dozens of Opposition politicians as election nears

V

enezuela said on Monday it had pardoned more than 100 Opposition politicians, including more than 20 legislators who had been accused of conspiring against President Nicolás Maduro, as the country heads toward parliamentary elections in December.

The effort signals that the ruling Socialist Party is seeking to boost participation in the upcoming vote, which part of the Opposition had vowed to boycott on the grounds that it is rigged.

Those pardoned via a presidential decree include legislator Freddy Guevara, who sought asylum in the Chilean diplomatic residence, as well as Roberto Marrero, who had served as chief of staff to Opposition Leader and congress chief Juan Guaidó.

Chief Prosecutor Tarek Saab said in a telephone interview said that the pardons were meant to “promote political debate” and to “strengthen the right to human suffrage”.

“If they return to any act of terrorism, violence, or coup-mongering, obvious-

Supporters of Venezuelan lawmaker Juan Requesens shout slogans in front of his house after he was put on house arrest in Caracas in August 2020

ly this benefit will cease,” he said.

Many of those mentioned participated in a failed 2019 rebellion that sought to persuade the military to drop their backing for Maduro, but ultimately failed to sway top commanders.

Some of those pardoned are imprisoned, while others have sought diplomatic asylum or are in exile.

Opposition Leaders say Maduro’s 2018 re-election was fraudulent, and have recognised Guaidó as the legitimate president. More than 50 other countries, including the United States, followed suit.

“Maduro isn’t president and I’m not a delinquent,” wrote lawmaker Americo de Grazia, who was mentioned in the decree. “If you want to contribute to peace, give Venezuela a pardon from your usurpation of power.”

The measure made no mention of Leopoldo Lopez, one of the Opposition’s most high-profile leaders, who was jailed in 2014 for leading protests against Maduro and is now living in the Spanish diplomatic residence.

Nor does it mention military officers locked up on charges of plotting to overthrow Maduro. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Brazil passes 3.9 million coronavirus cases, death toll at 121,381 – Health Ministry

B

razil reported 45,961 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 553 deaths from the disease caused by the virus in the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Monday.

Brazil has registered 3,908,272 cases of the virus since the pandemic began, while the official death toll from COVID-19 has risen to 121,381, according to Ministry data, in the world’s worst coronavirus outbreak outside the United States.

Meanwhile, according

to the BBC, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has announced he will be asking for volunteers to test the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Russia.

Russia was the first country to officially register a vaccine against the coronavirus on August 11.

But experts have questioned whether it has undergone the necessary testing.

The Venezuelan Government, which has received billions of dollars in loans from Russia, said it

would be willing to take part in clinical trials.

"In the coming days, we'll be asking for volunteers to get vaccinated," President Maduro announced on Sunday.

Russian scientists had said early-stage trials of their vaccine were a success – although the vaccine's approval by regulators comes before the completion of a larger study involving thousands of people. (Excerpts from Reuters and BBC News)

Pompeo hails US-TT links

U

nited States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said he looked forward to the continuation of the links between US and TT in his message on the occasion of Trinidad and Tobago’s Independence Day on Monday.

“On behalf of the Government of the United States and the American people, I extend my congratulations to the people of Trinidad and Tobago as you celebrate your 58th Independence Day.” Pompeo said the US valued the strong ties between the people of the US and TT and the initiatives taken to strengthen the partnership and the two countries’ economies.

“Our exchange programmes will continue to build personal and professional relationships be-

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo

tween our people in every field, from sports and youth civic engagement to public health and disaster preparedness.”

Pompeo said he looked forward to continuing the collaboration under the US-Caribbean Resilience

Partnership and USCaribbean 2020 Strategy.

“On this day of celebration, I send our best wishes to Trinidadians and Tobagonians for peace, prosperity, and good health in the coming year.” (T&T Newsday)

Jamaican latest COVID positive case in Barbados

A

34-year-old Jamaican woman who arrived in Barbados on a Caribbean Airlines flight on Sunday has tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19) according to a statement issued by the Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS) on Monday.

It said that the woman was the only positive case result among 123 tests done by the Best-dos Santos Public Health Laboratory.

She has since gone into quarantine and the BGIS said that one other person will leave isolation Monday after two consecutive negative tests for the viral illness.

Barbados has now recorded 174 cases of the virus, including 89 females. There are 21 people in isolation and 146 people have recovered. The island has recorded seven deaths.

On Saturday, the authorities said that three people, including a 33-year-old male visitor and a 42-year-old Barbadian man, who both arrived on a British Airways flight on August 25 had tested positive for

the virus.

They said that a 24-year-old Bahamian female student, who arrived Friday on Caribbean Airlines from The Bahamas via Jamaica, had also tested positive for the virus that has killed 844,000 and infected 25.1 million others worldwide since it was first detected in China last December.

(CMC)

Cuba puts new measures UWI undertaking regional study on COVID, says T&T Health Minister in place for COVID-19

T

he Trinidad and Tobago Government says it is awaiting the results of a University of the West Indies (UWI) study on whether the coronavirus (COVID-19) has changed within the Caribbean Community (Caricom), Health Minister Terence Deyalsingh said Monday.

Speaking at the virtual Health Ministry news conference, Deyalsingh said that he held talks with officials at the UWI two weeks ago on the issue, noting that there had been an increase in COVID-19 deaths in the Region.

“You use the word mutation, I would use the word changes. The virus has in fact seemed to have changed.

The University of the West Indies when I met with them two Thursdays ago, they are now looking to undertake a

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh during the virtual news conference (CMC photo)

study to see how the virus has changed, not only in Trinidad and Tobago, but for the Caribbean.

“As I said….COVID deaths rise in Caricom nations. This is a Caricom thing. Not a Trinidad thing, not a Tobago thing, a Barbados thing, a

Jamaica thing.

“So, with Professor Christine Carrington, who has been here several times, they are undertaking a study to see what is the exact feature of the virus circulating in the Caricom region now.

They have the machinery; they were supposed to acquire all the consumables. They will do it and as soon as they will have it, they will let us know,” he said, adding “so we are awaiting the University of the West Indies to tell us where we are, how the virus has in fact changed over time”.

Deyalsingh also disclosed that the number of deaths had risen by one to 22 with 36 new positive cases of the virus being recorded over the past 24 hours in Trinidad, pushing the total to 1727. (Excerpt from CMC)

T

he authorities in Cuba announced that new measures will be implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19 across the island.

The decision was made following reports of more cases in some provinces in east central Cuba last week.

In response to the report, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero called on the health authorizes to work quickly to identify the COVID-19 contagion chains and prevent the spread of the disease in the country.

With the objective of eliminating the virus, Havana authorities announced a package of measures that reinforces the fight against coronavirus in the most affected territory.

Among the provisions to come into force as of September 1 are that mobility of people will be restricted from 6 pm to 5 am (local time).

These provisions include state and private transportation. Interprovincial trips will be suspended, except cargo vehicles, especially food.

Control at the 12 access points to the capital will

be strengthened, as part of the measures to restrict entry/exit to the city.

In addition, work visits to the provinces by domestic companies and institutions, will be suspended for 15 days.

To date, the Spanish speaking communist island has had just under 4000 cases of COVID-19 and 94 deaths. (CMC)

guyanatimesgy.com

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

19

Around the World

OILNEWS OIL NEWS Oil dips as prices struggle to break through demand uncertainty

O

il prices dropped on Monday, with Brent slipping from a five-month high as global demand remained below pre-COVID levels while US production edged up.

Brent crude futures settled at US$45.28 a barrel, down 53 cents, or 1.2 per cent. US West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 settled at US$42.61 a barrel, down 36 cents, or 0.8 per cent.

Brent still closed out August up 7.5 per cent for a fifth successive monthly price rise. WTI logged a fourth monthly gain at 5.8 per cent after hitting a five-month high of US$43.78 a barrel on Aug 26 when Hurricane Laura struck.

Still, with key economies around the world limply recovering from coronavirus lockdowns, analysts said the market could remain oversupplied with fuel.

“The issues over demand just aren’t showing signs of any real improvement,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital in New York.

At the same time, US oil production climbed 420,000 barrels per day in June to 10.44 million barrels a day, the US Energy Information Administration said, putting further pressure on prices.

Oil output in the US Gulf Coast was lower as energy companies continued efforts to restore platforms and refineries shut before two storms struck last week.

“There is still some concern about the lagging effects of Hurricane Laura and what that’s going to mean for refinery operations as well as the impact on demand and exports,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago.

The US Department of Energy said the West Hackberry Strategic Petroleum Reserve site in Louisiana “sustained considerable damage” from Hurricane Laura.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company told its customers on Monday it will reduce October supplies by 30 per cent, up from a 5 per cent cut in September, as directed by the United Arab Emirates Government to meet its commitment to the recent OPEC+ agreement.

A mildly improved forecast of Germany’s 2021 growth and a survey on Monday showing strength in China’s services sector supported oil prices, analysts say, but hurdles for crude going forward remain.

China’s crude imports in September are set to fall for the first time in five months as record volumes of crude are stored in and outside of the world’s largest importer, data from Refinitiv and Vortexa showed. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Scientists see downsides to top COVID-19 vaccines from Russia, China

H

i g h - p r o f i l e COVID-19 vaccines developed in Russia and China share a potential shortcoming: They are based on a common cold virus that many people have been exposed to, potentially limiting their effectiveness, some experts say.

CanSino Biologics’ vaccine, approved for military use in China, is a modified form of adenovirus type 5, or Ad5. The company is in talks to get emergency approval in several countries before completing large-scale trials, the Wall Street Journal reported last week.

A vaccine developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute, approved in Russia earlier this month despite limited testing, is based on Ad5 and a second less common adenovirus.

Vaccines are seen as essential to ending the pandemic that has claimed over 845,000 lives worldwide. Gamaleya has said its two-virus approach will address Ad5 immunity issues.

Both developers have years of experience and approved Ebola vaccines based on Ad5.

Researchers have experimented with Ad5-based vaccines against a variety of infections for decades, but none are widely used. They employ harmless viruses as “vectors” to ferry genes from the target virus – in this case the novel coronavirus into human cells, prompting an immune response to fight the actual virus.

In China and the United States, about 40 per cent of people have high levels of antibodies from prior Ad5 exposure. In Africa, it could be as high as 80 per cent, experts said.

Some scientists also worry an Ad5-based vaccine could increase chances of contracting HIV. In a 2004 trial of a Merck & Co Ad5-based HIV vaccine, people with pre-existing immunity became more, not less, susceptible to the virus that causes AIDS. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Coronavirus: US passes 6 million COVID-19 cases

T

he US has now surpassed six million cases of COVID-19 - almost a quarter of the world's total, according to America's Johns Hopkins University.

It said the country added one million new infections in less than a month. More than 183,000 people have now died.

In the UK, France and Spain, the infection rate dropped compared with Sunday's figures - but the tallies may be readjusted later on.

It comes as children across Europe prepare to return to schools this week.

Global infection cases have now surpassed 25 million, with more than 846,000 COVID-19 related

The US recorded one million new coronavirus infections in less than a month

deaths.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that the emergency authorisation of vaccines required a "great deal of seriousness and reflection".

The UN body's chief scien-

tist, Soumya Swaminathan, said every country had the right to approve drugs without full trial, but it was "not something that you do lightly".

The WHO says that 33 potential vaccines are current-

ly up for clinical trials, and a further 143 are in pre-clinical evaluation.

The country reached its one-million mark in 99 days, on 28 April, and 43 days after that the number of infections doubled.

Three million cases were confirmed within the next 28 days, rising to four million on July 23, after only 15 additional days.

The five-million mark was surpassed in another 17 days and it took the US 22 more days to top six million infections.

Although the number of new daily cases has been declining in recent weeks, the US remains by far the world's worst-hit nation.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Baltic States impose sanctions on Lukashenko and other Belarus officials

L

ithuania, Latvia and Estonia imposed travel bans on President Alexander Lukashenko and 29 other Belarusian officials on Monday, signalling impatience with the West’s cautious approach by announcing sanctions without waiting for the rest of the EU. The three small Baltic states have led calls firm measures against

Lukashenko, who is accused by opponents and the West of rigging an Aug 9 election to prolong his 26year rule.

The sanctions target officials they accuse of having a role in vote-rigging and violence against protesters since the election. The inclusion of Lukashenko was a prod to other European countries, so far reluctant to back measures against

him personally.

Belarus expressed “sincere disappointment” and signalled it would retaliate in kind to what it called “hasty steps”.

The European Union has been working on a list of individuals in Belarus to target with similar sanctions, expected to exclude Lukashenko.

Western countries have mostly been cautious, wary of provok-

ing an intervention from Russia.

The three Baltic states are all members of the EU and NATO, and Lithuania and Latvia border Belarus.

Lithuania has been hosting Belarusian opposition presidential candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who fled there after the election her supporters say she won. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Hamas says deal reached to end escalation of violence with Israel

H

amas, the Palestinian group running the besieged Gaza Strip, has announced it has reached a Qatarimediated deal to end the latest escalation of violence with Israel.

The Israeli army has carried out attacks on Gaza almost daily since August 6 in what it says is a response to the airborne incendiary devices and, less frequently, rockets launched into southern Israel.

Monday's announcement came amid a flurry diplomatic activity from Qatar whose envoy delivered the latest tranche of US$30 mil-

lion in aid Gaza before holding talks with Israeli officials in Tel Aviv.

Sources close to the Qatari delegation said the Israelis told al-Emadi they were willing to resume fuel deliveries for the power plant and ease their blockade - if there was an end to the fire balloons.

Financial aid for the impoverished territory from gas-rich Qatar has been a major component of the latest truce first agreed in November 2018 and renewed several times since.

Mediation efforts have grown more urgent in recent days as authorities in Gaza have detected the

Israel has bombed and carried out attacks on Gaza almost daily since August 6 [Mohammed Shana/Reuters]

first cases of local transmission of the coronavirus.

Hamas has imposed a lockdown in the coastal enclave, which is home to two million Palestinians.

Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza after

Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Israel says the blockade is needed to keep Hamas from expanding its arsenal, but critics view it as a form of collective punishment.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Tensions as India, China accuse each other of border violations

T

ensions between India and China again have flared up again, with the nuclear-armed countries accusing each other of trying to seize territory across their disputed Himalayan border.

An Indian army statement on Monday alleged that China had carried out "provocative military movements" in the border area overnight from Saturday to Sunday.

Indian troops pre-empted Chinese army's activity

on the Pangong Tso Lake in Ladakh, part of which was transgressed by the Chinese soldiers in May, the statement said, adding that Indian troops took steps to thwart the Chinese attempt to "unilaterally change" facts on the ground.

In response, the Chinese Foreign Ministry rejected the accusations, while China's People's Liberation Army regional command later alleged that India was "seriously violating China's territorial sovereignty"

with its operation staged on Monday and demanded that Indian troops withdraw.

There was no immediate reaction from the Indian side.

Army officials from the two sides were meeting to resolve the latest border dispute that comes more than two months after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in fighting that broke out between the two sides in Ladakh's Galwan Valley.

For months, troops have been locked in a face-off in

the western Himalayas, where each side accuses the other of violating their nearly 3,500km-long (2,000mile) border, most of which remains undemarcated.

The recent border tensions are the most serious in more than half a century.

Accusing each other of instigating the violence, both sides pledged to safeguard their territory but also to try to end the standoff that dramatically changed IndiaChina bilateral relationship.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

20

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

guyanatimesgy.com

ARCHIE

ARIES (March 21April 19)

Keep your life moderate and straightforward, and pay close attention to your physical well-being. When you’re uncertain, take some time to slow down and reflect.

Send a message that will TAURUS inform peers, relatives or (April 20friends of a decision you’ve May 20) made. The support you receive will gain you needed support.

A personal change will bring you closer to a loved one.

DILBERT

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

CANCER (June 21July 22)

Virtual travel and research will pay off. A creative pursuit will help you make positive changes at home. How you handle a partnership will determine how much help you receive.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Don’t feel that you must make a change because someone else does. Put your energy into what makes the most sense and brings the highest return.

Avoid taking a physical risk.

PEANUTS

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

CALVIN AND HOBBES

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

SUDOKU

Refrain from sharing personal information with someone who can affect your reputation. Work quietly on your own until you are happy with what you accomplish. Someone will try to make you look bad or take advantage of you.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21)

A change of pace is required. Set new goals that will challenge you. A new hairstyle or fitness routine will lift your spirits and prompt you to pursue your dreams. Romance is favored.

Sit back and take in what’s going on around you.

Observation will buy you time and save money. Do your own thing, and refuse to get roped into someone’s misfortune.

Plan something special for a loved one. Take the initiative, and make a change at home that will add to your comfort and happiness. A creative pursuit looks promising.

Don’t trust anyone with personal information, passwords or possessions.

Concentrate on taking care of business and staying out of trouble. Limit yourself to pursuing personal growth and better health.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

Investments, partnerships and joint ventures will be full of changes. A relationship will take a positive turn. A better lifestyle and romantic escapades are heading your way.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

Go at your own pace. You don’t have to keep up with anyone or follow someone taking a path you don’t care for. Concentrate on what matters to you, and don’t lose sight of your goals.

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

Let your intuition guide you. Personal gains, love and romance are within reach; all you have to do is be honest with yourself and others. Your heart will lead you in the right direction.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

21

Coach concerned about Tallawahs batting

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LTHOUGH the Jamaica Tallawahs claimed a vital win on Saturday to boost their chances of advancing to the playoff stage of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2020 tournament, veteran cricket coach Junior Bennett says their batting remains a cause for concern.

The 37-run victory against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots — the Tallawahs' third in six games — pushed them into fourth place in the six-team preliminary standings with six points.

Opening batsman Glenn Phillips was the architect of their success in Port of Spain, hitting a 61-ball unbeaten 79 to help the two-time for-

mer CPL champions to 147-6 from their allotted 20 overs. Jermaine Blackwood added 27.

The Tallawahs bowlers, who have been miserly on the slow, bowler-friendly surfaces in Trinidad and Tobago, did the rest by dismissing the Patriots for 110.

Medium pacer Carlos Brathwaite grabbed 3-11, while spinners Veerasammy Permaul and Sandeep Lamichhane each captured two wickets.

“It was a welcome win by the Tallawahs, and it was good to see the way Glenn Phillips applied

himself to see us home. I am hoping that our batting will be a bit more consistent go-

ing forward,” Bennett told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

Saturday's win put the

Tallawahs back on track for a top-four play-off spot, after they had slipped to fifth place.

Last season, they missed the play-offs after winning only two of 10 games.

Three-time CPL Twenty20 winners Trinbago Knight Riders, who have been perfect from six outings, lead the preliminary table with 12 points. They are followed by second-placed St Lucia Zouks (10 points), last season's losing finalists Guyana Amazon Warriors (six), title holders Barbados Tridents (four), and last-placed Patriots (two).

In past seasons, the CPL's preliminary games were staged at a number of venues across the region. However, due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, all games in this edition are being played behind closed doors at Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad, and at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in

Tarouba.

From the outset, the pitches have generally been sluggish in pace, and with them being heavily used over the past two weeks, the circumstances have not improved.

Batsmen have struggled to score freely, leading to mostly low-scoring contests.

While the Tallawahs bowlers have impressed, their batting unit has passed 150 runs only once in six outings.

“I think we're bowling fairly well. I am only worried about the inconsistency of our batting,” emphasised Bennett, the former Jamaica senior team cricket coach.

“The batters are finding it difficult to cope with how the pitches are playing. I know, with so many matches being played, that the pitches will deteriorate quickly and make life difficult for the batsmen,” he explained. (Jamaica Observer)

Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood recalled for Australia T20I and ODI series Tour de France: Caleb Ewan sprints to stage win as J os Buttler, Mark Wood and Jofra Archer have been recalled to England's T20I and ODI squads for the forthcoming series against Australia, but there is no return for Test captain Joe Root, nor for Jason Roy, who is yet to recover from a side strain.

The exclusion of Root is perhaps the most contentious decision, given his starring role in England's run to the final of the last World T20 in India in 2016, as well as his stated desire to get back into the set-up, as shown by his starring role with bat and ball for Yorkshire against Derbyshire in the T20 Blast this week.

However, explaining the decision, Ed Smith, England's national selector, said Root’s workload as England's Test captain made his inclusion in the squad illogical - especially if, as is currently the case, he's unlikely to be part of England's first-choice XI. "I don't think any door is closed to Joe Root," said Smith.

"He's a brilliant cricketer, an outstanding man. He's also England's Test captain. And at the moment, we are setting up in a particular way as an XI in T20 cricket, and Joe's not in that.

"He plays so much cricket, he gives so much to England every time he plays, and the decision is that it's not right for him that we have him in the squad if he's not likely to be starting. That could easily change. I think we've all seen that Joe's an exceptionally adaptable and outstanding batsman, and he could easily come back into the reckoning. But at the moment, that's where it stands."

England's two white-ball squads also include a recall for Sam Curran, who was not considered for selection against Pakistan, after being a part of the Test bubble, while Tom Banton has been retained in

Alaphilippe stays in yellow

Mark Wood

both formats after impressing with a hard-hitting half-century in the first T20I against Pakistan.

Dawid Malan has been retained in the T20I squad after his match-winning 54 not out in the second T20I on Saturday, and Sam Billings is also involved in both squads after his starring role in the ODI series’ win against Ireland last month.

Saqib Mahmood, England's quickest bowler in the Pakistan T20Is, makes way for the return of Wood and Archer, for whom the recall offers a first taste of international white-ball cricket since the World Cup final against New Zealand at Lord's last summer. Mahmood will remain with the squad as a reserve, alongside Liam Livingstone in the T20I squad and Joe Denly in the ODI squad.

However, David Willey, who was the unlucky man to miss out of England's World Cup squad last summer, has once again been omitted from both formats despite claiming eight wickets and scoring 97 runs for once out in the series against Ireland.

"It is of course extremely disappointing from David's point of view," said Smith.

"He's playing good cricket and still has ambitions to be in all the England white-ball sides.

Jofra Archer

But that's one of the unfortunate consequences of having a lot of strength in depth.

Sometimes players who've done very well even recently still can't find a place in the squad, and that's the situation with David.

“Everything he achieved against Ireland has been noted, his performances over a number of years of course are well understood by the selectors. But in this instance, we are giving opportunities to other people."

The Australia series is the first time that England have been able to select their strongest available whiteball squads since the South Africa tour in February, with the selectors operating separate Test and one-day squads throughout the summer due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

"We still want to field our strongest XI in these games," said Smith. "It's a wonderful opportunity to finish the summer on a really strong note.

And after all the hard work that everyone's put in behind the scenes - administrators, coaches, captains, players - we feel it's a really good opportunity to finish the summer strongly against Australia.

There's no more iconic rivalry in cricket, as we all know."

England had hoped to be able to turn to Roy once

Jos Buttler

again, after he was rested for the Pakistan series as a precaution. However, the ECB have confirmed he will not be ready for the T20I leg of the Australia series, starting at the Ageas Bowl on September 4. He will stay in the team's bio-secure environment, with a view to demonstrating his fitness for the ODIs, which begin at Emirates Old Trafford on September 11.

Moeen Ali, who has struggled for form since his return to England availability, has been retained in both squads.

However, Ben Stokes remains unavailable for selection after being granted compassionate leave to visit his father in New Zealand, following his cancer diagnosis.

England T20I squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood Reserves: Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood England ODI Squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood Reserves: Joe Denly, Saqib Mahmood (ESPNCricinfo)

Caleb Ewan showed his sprint credentials by outlasting Peter Sagan and Sam Bennett in Sisteron

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ustralian sprinter Caleb Ewan took victory in a sprint finish to stage three of the Tour de France in Sisteron, denying Sam Bennett and Peter Sagan after a soporific day’s racing exploded into life in the final half hour of competition.

Monday saw the peloton head north away from the coast and into the mountains, from the Cote d’Azur to the Alpes de Haute Provence, and a three-rider break slipped clear inside the first kilometre amid sunshine and showers.

The all-French trio — Anthony Perez (Cofidis), Jérôme Cousin (Total Direct Énergie) and Benoit Cosnefroy (AG2R La Mondiale) — had conflicting interests, Cousin was seeking a stage win, with his compatriots duelling over mountain points. Perez and Cosnefroy were happy to contend only the categorised climbs, leaving a frustrated Cousin with no option but to go ahead alone, which he did with 13km remaining.

Behind him the peloton, with some still recovering from injuries sustained in Saturday’s crash-littered stage and others mindful of

the Tour’s first summit finish, at Orcières-Merlette on Tuesday, were happy to ride at touring pace with the overall leader, Julian Alaphilippe, taking no chances. The Frenchman stayed out of danger to maintain his narrow lead over Adam Yates in the general classification.

Perez collected enough points on the Cols de Filon, Paye and Lèques to secure the King of the Mountains jersey for stage four, but disaster struck on the descent from the latter climb. Chasing back to the main bunch after a puncture, Perez crashed into his team car at 60km per hour, breaking his collarbone and prematurely ending his Tour. orty kilometres from Sisteron, the day’s climbs behind them, the peloton picked up speed and with 16km remaining, reeled in a weary Cousin to set up the contest for the final sprint.

It had looked like a battle between Peter Sagan and Ireland’s Sam Bennett, but a late surge saw Ewan (LottoSoudal) beat them both and claim the fourth Tour stage win of his career. (The Guardian)

F

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GUYANATIMESGY.COM

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

Tallawahs in quest to upset Knight Riders’ flawless streak T

he Jamaica Tallawahs will take on the Trinbago Knight Riders in the twenty-first match of CPL 2020 today: Tuesday, 1st September, at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in Trinidad.

This is the first match of the third leg of the tournament, with the action returning to the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium from the Queen's Park Oval.

title.

The Tallawahs come off a comfortable win over the Patriots, and have three wins from six games.

Jamaica Tallawahs

The Jamaica Tallawahs posted a decent total of 147, riding on Glenn Phillips's 61ball 79. Nkrumah Bonner, who opened the batting, and Jermaine Blackwood were

very well to restrict the Patriots batsmen. Carlos Brathwaite bowled very well on a sluggish track, and picked up three wickets while conceding runs at an economy rate of 3.00. The three spinners were very economical and kept things very tight.

Fidel Edwards was the only expensive bowler, but he, too, picked up some key wickets.

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Permaul, Lamichchane, Edwards.

Sandeep and Fidel

Trinbago Knight Riders

The Tallawahs would look to upset the Knight Riders in their CPL game today

The Knight Riders come off an improbable win over the Barbados Tridents, thanks to a blazing 28-ball 72 from Kieron Pollard. They sit at the top of the table with six wins from six games, and look like firm favourites to win the

the only other major contributors with the bat. Chadwick Walton was made to bat down the order, and could make way for Andre Russell, who's set to return to the side after recovering from an injury.

The Tallawahs bowled

Predicted Playing XI:

Glenn Philips (WK), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Rovman Powell (C), Asif Ali, Andre Russell/Chadwick Walton Carlos Brathwaite, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Veerasammy

Narine’s brilliance takes Majestics into finals

T

The Trinbago Knight Riders weren't at their best for most of the previous game, but got past the finish line thanks to a special innings from Kieron Pollard. Chasing 149, the top order collapsed, as only Lendl Simmons stuck around, searching for a partner.

Pollard, however, enabled them to score 66 runs in the last four overs, with some help from Khary Pierre. DJ Bravo, who missed the game, should come back in place of Sikandar Raza.

They were also not that effective with the ball, as they allowed the Tridents' batsmen to build partnerships.

Jayden Seales and Akeal Hosein were the pick of the

bowlers, though the former could be replaced by Ali Khan, if he's fit to play.

Predicted Playing XI

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Tion Webster/Sunil Narine, Lendl Simmons, Colin Munro, Tim Seifert (WK), Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard (C), DJ Bravo, Akeal Hosein, Khary Pierre, Fawad Ahmed, and M Ali Khan/ Jayden Seales.

CPL Match Prediction

Despite winning the last couple of games, the Knight Riders haven't looked their best. With uncertainty over when their star players would return, the Knight Riders look like a weaker team than the in-form Tallawahs. With Andre Russell set to return in this CPL match as well, they could be the first team to break TKR's winning streak.

(Sportskeeda)

Windies all-rounder Rahkeem Cornwall eyes successful Test career

223-7230-1 (Ext 55)

NOW!

The victorious Majestics Cricket Club

he action continued in the semifinal of the Commonwealth Cricket League Premier Division, when MMZ Cricket Club battled Majestics Cricket Club in a thrilling encounter played in the Eisenhower State Park in Long Island, USA. In the end, the Majestics, led by an aggressive 92 from Derick Narine, triumphed.

At the spin of the toss, MMZ chose to bat first because the wicket showed promise. Openers Azrudeen Mohamed and Imraan Hassan took to the crease, but after facing six balls, Hassan departed for a single run. The batsmen refused to choke in this vital match, thus a few wickets still fell, but Keith Edie top-scored with 42, which gave MMZ a fighting chance. Edie’s knock

included 3 boundaries and one maximum.

Edie's 42 was MMZ’s only substantial score, as no other batsman was able to hold on; they all fumbled in the field, making foolish mistakes at key moments. In the end MMZ ended on 131 for 9 in their allotted 25 overs.

Bowling for Majestics, Christopher Patadin took 2-29, Derick Narine 1-24, Nicholas Ramratan 1-9 and Karamchand Ramnarine 1-23.

Needing 132 for victory in 25 overs, the Majestics had their work cut out for them.

They needed their openers to click for them and book them a spot in the final.

Derick Narine took on the role of main aggressor and smashed the ball to every part of the ground. It was a oneman show of pure aggression

mixed with class as he scored a quickfire 92 off 37 balls, which included 2 boundaries and 12 maximums.

Eventually Narine’s wicket fell when he needed just 8 more runs for a century, and the team, needing just 7 runs for victory, tried to attack the ball and got trapped LBW. However, the damage had been done, and it was all over for MMZ. Despite Patadin falling for 28, Narine had done the damage, and the Majestics Cricket Club ended on 132 for 2 in 13 overs. boBling for MMZ, Rabindra Rooplall took 2-9.

The finals of the Commonwealth Cricket League Premier Division will continue on Sunday at the same venue.It will see the Majestics taking on Deccan Challengers.

Rahkeem Cornwall is currently playing with the St Lucia Zouks

R

ahkeem Cornwall has played only three Test matches, but if he gets to have things going his way, he would be playing a lot more before he puts his bat away for good.

The gigantic 27-yearold Antiguan all-rounder is currently playing for the St Lucia Zouks in the 2020 Hero CPL, and it is an opportunity to perhaps get his foot in the door of the international franchises that have signed many of his Caribbean colleagues, who have flourished.

However, Cornwall’s primary focus is on becoming a permanent fixture in the West Indies senior Test

side.

“If I can play the T20 format and travel the world and play leagues, it would be good; but my aim is to be one of the most successful Test players out there,” Cornwall said in a recent interview.

“Playing Test cricket is the art of cricket; everyone wants to play Test cricket and do well. I have already played the format, I just want to make sure I get what I am really looking for in Test cricket, and when my times comes to retire, I don’t have any regrets.”

In the three Tests he has played, Cornwall has taken 13 wickets. (Sportsmax)

223-7230-1 (Ext 55)

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

23

Botha “still very confident” Warriors would make ‘semis’

By Jemima Holmes

W

ith a demanding week ahead and three more games to go for the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) before the Hero Caribbean Premier League semifinals, the Warriors’ Head Coach Johan Botha is very assured of the team’s ability to qualify for the final four.

Head Coach Botha shared his thoughts on the team’s performances during a virtual press conference on Monday morning. He said he and the team are “still very confident” about their chances of qualifying and making it to the 2020 final of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) tournament.

“We’re still very confident.

I think yesterday (Sunday) was very crucial; we needed that, we needed to stay in contact with the top four. I think tomorrow (today) is a big one.

Barbados is right there with us in a similar position. We

T

The Warriors celebrate during one of their games

obviously respect them as a team, we know they have some very good players within their team, so I think the next two games against them is definitely going to be crucial,” Botha posited.

What will be crucial for the Warriors is to pick up wins in their three remaining games: against the defending

champions Barbados Tridents and the St Lucia Zouks.

Botha touched on this fact, noting that the Warriors would need to build on their momentum from the previous game, and declaring that even two wins would suffice for the local franchise.

“I think we’ve got to win at least two out of the next

three. I think, talking about the Tridents, they were in a similar position last year this time, and they navigated through that phase and obviously went on to win the tournament. So, we’re obviously hoping to get a bit of momentum late (in the) tournament,” he stated.

Continuing, he said, “We

Warriors aiming to tumble feeble Tridents in Match 22

he Guyana Amazon Warriors will take on Barbados Tridents in the twenty-second match of CPL 2020 today: Tuesday, 2nd September, at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in Trinidad.

The Warriors come off a comfortable win over the Patriots, courtesy of a stunning 45-ball 100 from Nicholas Pooran.

They are placed third in the points table, with three wins from seven games.

The Barbados Tridents, meanwhile, have lost another game that they should've won. They failed to chase a target of 93 set by the Zouks. They're placed fifth in the points table, with just two wins from seven CPL games, and need to win every game henceforth to stand any chance of making it to the playoffs.

Guyana Amazon Warriors The Guyana Amazon Warriors' game was defined by Nicholas Pooran's blazing hundred, which enabled them to chase down 151 with 15 balls to spare.

Electing to bowl first, the Warriors did a decent job with the ball.

The Warriors' bowlers should look to exploit the Tridents' weakness with the bat in the next CPL game

Naveen Ul-Haq and Keemo Paul, were also expensive.

Brandon King's poor tournament continued with the bat, while Kevin Sinclair couldn't make much of an impact.

Hetmyer got out for a duck.

Coming in at a precarious position, Pooran took the aggressive route and smashed ten sixes on the way to his hundred.

Ross Taylor provided Mitchell Santner and Rashid Khan have thus far been impressive him with good support.

Kevin Sinclair, who replaced C Hemraj in the side, bowled a brilliant spell of off-spin in which he conceded just nine runs in his four overs, picking up a wicket in the process.

The other spinners had a decent game as well, but Ashmead Nedd was perhaps a tad expensive. Romario Shepherd had a good game, but the other two pacers,

Predicted Playing XI: Brandon King, Kevin Sinclair, Shimron Hetmyer, Ross Taylor, Nicholas Pooran (WK), Keemo Paul, Chris Green (C), Ashmead Nedd, Romario Shepherd, Naveen-Ul-Haq, and Imran Tahir.

Barbados Tridents The Barbados Tridents choked yet

again from a clear-cut winning of position, as they failed to chase down a sub-par total of 93. Hayden Walsh did very well to recover from the mauling in his previous CPL game to pick up a three-wicket haul. The other bowlers Rashid Khan, Romario Shepherd and Joshua Bishop - all had a great game.

Johnson Charles was the only one who batted well, and even he threw his wicket away playing a rash shot.

The other batsmen fell victim to poor shot selection as the Zouks kept things tight with spin. Credit is due to Darren Sammy, who led the Zouks admirably.

Mitchell Santner should replace Joshua Bishop, while Shamarh Brooks could come in place of Corey Anderson Predicted Playing XI: Shai Hope (WK), Johnson Charles, Corey Anderson/ Shamarh Brooks, Kyle Mayers, Jason Holder (C), Ashley Nurse, Rashid Khan, Mitchell Santner, Raymon Reifer, Nyeem Young, and Hayden Walsh Jr.

CPL Match Prediction

The Tridents will be very low on morale after their devastating losses in the CPL, and a strong Warriors side could prove too much for them to deal with.

Prediction: Guyana Amazon Warriors would win the CPL match.

(Sportskeeda)

haven’t, to be honest, played at our best. Yesterday (Sunday) was a good start. Hopefully and with three games in three days – hopefully we could get some momentum tomorrow (today) and then carry it for the next two days.”

Going into their backto- back games on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the Warriors’ batting lineup will be is focus for the coaching staff and fans, as the Warriors struggled to find their rhythm before Sunday, when Nicholas Pooran slammed his maiden T20 century.

Botha admitted that this area was one of concern for him, especially having tail enders coming in the 15th and 16th overs. However, his disposition is still positive about the batting lineup.

“It’s good to see the spinners dominate, but yeah, the wickets have been a bit tough, and probably adding not a lot of game time coming in to it all…but I still think if we play our game plan to our best, we should make enough runs; we just haven’t done that. We’ve lost early wickets, that’s something we didn’t do last year,” Head Coach Botha explained.

On the other hand, the former Australian-South African cricketer-turned- coach was happy with the bowling department, which has remained consistent throughout the tournament.

“Very happy with our bowling group. I think the guys have really shown our spirit as a team in the field.

Everyone has really been committed in the field, the bowling unit has bowled well.

When we have gone for a bigish over, someone on the other side has pulled it back nicely; so that’s something we’ve really focused on, to bowl partnerships. But in saying that the wickets have assisted the bowlers, the guys have de-

livered what we’ve asked of them,” On the topic of individual performances, Botha posited that Nicholas Pooran’s ton on Sunday was long in the making, owing to his quality performances over the years for the Warriors.

“He wants to be one of the best players, not only in the CPL, but in the world. I think that’s sort of his drive at the moment. He’s a young man with a lot of responsibilities.

He showed a couple of glimpses before yesterday, played a couple of good knocks,” Botha commented.

Asked about the new additions to the squad in Ashmead Nedd and Kevin Sinclair, who both had spectacular debuts, Botha answered, “Our two young players are both spinners, and, at the moment, obviously the wicket has helped us with that.”

Both continued, “Ashmead, he’s just bowled really well straight up. The guys have helped him settle in very well. He was with the squad last year, not an official member, but he was in Guyana and trained with us, so I think that made him feel a lot more comfortable.”

“Kevin, what a character. He’s got a lot of energy; he was great yesterday. I’m so happy for him that he got a really good start in his CPL career, and he’s been a guy on the bench (who) has had energy straight through, doing everything that’s asked of him; and hopefully he can put in a couple more good performances for us,” Botha answered regarding Sinclair.

The Guyana Amazon Warriors will play their 8th game today, September 1, against the Barbados Tridents. They will have backto-back games all week, facing the St. Lucia Zouks and the Tridents again on September 2 and 3.

Archery Guyana continues development of Para-Archery

Flashback to 2017 Level 1 Coaching Seminar where visually impaired Archer Ganesh Singh hit a bullseye under the coaching of Phil Graves

A

rchery Guyana has established a Specially Convened Committee that is mandated to develop the sport of Para-Archery.

This initiative by the Board of Directors of Archery Guyana follows on the heels of its attendance at the recently held World Archery Americas Meeting on the development of Para-Archery, conducted via the Zoom Platform.

This interactive session was chaired by MJ Rogers of the USA, and Guyana was represented at this import-

ant Introduction to ParaArchery seminar by five Archery Guyana members, who were tasked to continue development in this area: Mr. Mohamed Khan, Mr. Nicholas Hing, Mrs. Vidushi PersaudMcKinnon, Mr. Ganesh Singh and Mr. Shane Rampertab.

The Committee is scheduled to meet soon with the other member, Para-Archery Coach Mr. Umasankar Madray, who has for the past year been working for further development in this area.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

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

guyanatimesgy.com

Pg 23

Warriors aiming to tumble feeble Tridents in Match 22 Pg 23

Pg 22

Botha “still very confident” Tallawahs in quest Warriors would to upset Knight make ‘semis’ ‘semis’ Riders’ flawless streak GUYANA TIMES - www.guyanatimesgy.com, email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, NEWS HOTLINE: 231-8063 EDITORIAL: 223-7230, 223-7231, 231-0544, 225-7761 SPORT: sport@guyanatimesgy.com SALES AND MARKETING: 231-8064 - marketing@guyanatimesgy.com - PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY GUYANA TIMES INC.