Guyana Times - Friday July 16, 2021

Finance Minister launches NIS community outreaches countrywide Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

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THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Issue No. 4710

FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021

Govt's Private Sector-driven development policy must benefit all Guyanese Page 3

PRICE

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

70% increase in rapes reported between January and June – Top Cop …48 road deaths

P7

– Pres Ali to PSC

Deadly eviction row

Labourer charged with murder of GRA worker P8

Granger’s unilateral acceptance of shell parties violates PNC’s constitution Page 10

Accused chain snatcher P8 remanded

…party’s Central Exec demands election of “new leadership” by year end

APNU Councillor evicted off land by former APNU/AFCappointed REO See story on page 14

$3.2B cash grant initiative

Parents denounce APNU’s Coretta McDonald saying grant “wasting money” Page 12

…“thank God for this, because it has been …requesting Govt's intervention to retrieve land such a hard time” – struggling parent

25% of adult population fully vaccinated – Health Minister …3 more COVID-19 deaths, 51 new cases recorded

Pages 9 & 11

70% MMA-ADA farmlands remain intact despite prolonged P16 flooding

Private plane damaged P10 during take-off at Kamarang Contract P13 signed for new walkway bridge at Wakapao

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FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NEWS

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FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS OPENINGS BRIDGE

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

Friday, July 16 – 10:00h-11:30h and Saturday, July 17 – 10:30h-12:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Friday, July 16 – 08:15h-09:45h and Saturday, July 17 – 09:15h-10:45h.

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

WEATHER TODAY Sunny conditions are expected with light rain showers in the mid-afternoon hours. Clear to partly cloudy skies are expected at night. Temperatures should range between 21 degrees Celsius and 31 degrees Celsius.

Winds: North-Easterly to East North-Easterly between 1.78 metres and 4.02 metres.

High Tide: 09:03h and 21:33h reaching maximum heights of 2.48 metres and 2.44 metres.

Low Tide: 15:02h reaching a minimum height of 0.75 metre.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 14, 2021

LOTTERY NUMBERS K

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Bonus Ball

THURSDAY, JULY 15, 2021

DAILY MILLIONS

08 14 15 20 21 LUCKY 3

7

3

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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

$73.47/barrel

Rough Rice

$237.78/ton

0.00

London Sugar

$436.00/ton

+2.52

Live Spot Gold

-1.76

USD Per Ounce

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$1827.30

$1828.30

Low/High Change

$1819.80 -2.10

$1834.70 -0.11%

Govt's Private Sector-driven development policy must benefit all Guyanese – Pres Ali to PSC

W

hile the Guyana Government is pushing to strengthen relations with the Private Sector, President Dr Irfaan Ali recently emphasised to stakeholders the importance of ensuring that not only the country but its people benefit from investments.

He made this comment during an address to a business forum organised by the Private Sector Commission (PSC) on Wednesday evening under the theme: “The Private Sector in an emerging Guyana”.

President Ali reminded the gathering that the Government was pursuing a development agenda that catered for strong local private support, which would, in turn, benefit all citizens.

“There is no apology about this policy. Any company that is operating here must understand that they’re operating here not only for their own profit, which is important, which is fair, but also for the development and advancement of Guyana and Guyanese— that is critical,” he asserted.

According to the President, this structure is not only for the oil and gas sector but for all industries in the country.

The Head of State went on to underscore that public-private partnerships were integral to the progression of Guyana and should be the cornerstone of development going forward.

He posited that these partnerships should not only be transactional or project-tied but become more established.

“We build policies together, we solve problems together, and we look at opportunities and open those opportunities. The local Private Sector has shown us that they have the ability to take the risk, and they have the wherewithal to make the investments,” he stated.

As such, the President noted that regular engagements between the two bodies going forward were extremely important.

“It’s very important that we reach at a forum like this to bring all our thoughts together and deal with the multifaceted nature of the challenges that we face…

“That is what we have to discuss today. How do we ensure the new economy involves you? And how do you ensure you get involved in the new economy? It’s two sides of the same coin. I expect that when we sit here together that you can bring ideas to the table, you can bring projects to the table, and we can work on making decisions together; that is important,” the Head of State explained.

According to President Ali, once decisions are made together, there will be greater ownership of those decisions and greater respect for those decisions. This, he pointed out, will create a more transparent and open environment, which is critical to development.

Moreover, during Wednesday’s engagement, the Head of State also gave an update on Government’s robust infrastructure development plan. He said that big projects, including the four-lane highway from Mandela Avenue to Diamond; a new four-lane high-

President Dr Irfaan Ali addressing the gathering at Wednesday’s business forum hosted by the PSC at the Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown

way in the West Demerara region; and six additional lanes along the East Coast of Demerara, would open up thousands of acres of land for development.

This, he added, would result in other major infrastructural development, including an industrial site on the East Coast of Demerara and an industrial zone for the oil and gas sector at Wales on the West Bank Demerara in the Wales Development Authority.

“What we’re hoping to achieve is, if not total, close to total local involvement and local Private Sector involvement in this development. And that is why understanding the scale of what Government is going to do is so important,” he stressed.

The President further emphasised that the local Private Sector must always be part of the equation as the country advanced.

“So, any company coming in to invest must understand that they have to rap at the door of the local Private Sector here too, and involve you in the process going forward. But do not expect the Government to

spoon-feed opportunities. We have to work and make the policy known, but you also have to be aggressive,” he charged.

The gathering at the business forum was also reminded that the Government is working to significantly increase the ease of doing business by way of a Single Window Approval System.

During the event, President Ali was accompanied by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo and Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh.

The forum was attended by members of the PSC along with representatives from various Chambers of Commerce from across the country as well as foreign Chambers.

After his address, the Head of State and Vice President responded to questions.

Participants were able to seek clarification on various matters including access to finance for micro, small and medium-sized businesses, capacity building to increase the technical capabilities of the workforce, the importance of regional development, the strengthening of local con-

tent, and the creation of public-private partnerships.

Other issues discussed were infrastructure development; improving competitiveness (locally and regionally); incentives; taxation; improving tourism; the forestry sector; financial services and the labour market.

The PSC business forum’s aim was to sensitise the business community on plans and opportunities within the various sectors in Guyana.

In introductory remarks, PSC Chairman Paul Cheong noted that the Private Sector was committed to working with the Government to advance development within Guyana. He underscored the importance of the Private Sector as a strategic partner in promoting economic growth and collaborative work within several sectors, including agriculture, energy, and infrastructure.

The Chairman endorsed and commended the work done by the Government and reaffirmed the PSC’s commitment to collaboration in building a brighter and more prosperous Guyana. (G8)

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guyanatimesgy.com

FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021

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

Trusted law enforcement body O

ver the years, great efforts have been made to reprofessionalise and re-capitalise each arm of the joint services. Gradually, the ranks, with rare exceptions, began taking pride in their uniform and profession, with dire consequences for the criminal population.

Governments changed and there was a paradigm shift in the actions/inactions of the various ranks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), again with rare exceptions, in direct correlation with the multiplicity of infractions of the law by lawmakers then in Government who were trampling on the Constitution in myriads of ways.

Subsequent to the PPP/C’s accession to the nation’s administrative offices in August of 2020, the new Government, through strategic placement of senior ranks, once again embarked on a dynamic crusade to create a people-friendly, proactive Police Force.

However, every organisation is a microcosm of the wider society, and the GPF is no different. Inasmuch as the society at large has criminals rampaging in every community, so too there are rogue cops defaming the entire Force and creating distrust between law-abiding citizens and the GPF. The rogues take bribes. In the past some ranks have been accused, rightly or wrongly, of lending their weapons to bandits and of setting free persons who were captured with great effort and at great risk to their fellow officers.

They have even been accused of perpetrating criminal activities themselves, and it is only just that, when caught, they should be dealt with in more punitive ways than those meted to civilians, because they are supposed to be guardians of the laws of the land and protectors of the society, so their felonious actions are tantamount to crimes against the State, and consequently are treasonous.

Some of these ranks disgrace their uniforms and the organisation to which they belong. They bring disrepute to the entire force with their criminal actions, and should be dealt with condignly by their own counterparts in the service, as in a case where one Policeman nabbed three bribe-takers.

The minibus conductors know all the traffic Policemen who take bribes, and their stories of persecution by those delegated to protect travellers from lawless road-users who commit traffic violations that endanger lives are many. Amnesty should be offered to those who were coerced into paying bribes by the disreputable brigade of lawmen in exchange for their providing crucial and credible evidence in court.

The law banning music from minibuses is constantly being flouted, even within hearing of Police ranks, most of whom ignore the cacophony because they themselves feel that music, even the cacophonous and vulgar variety, is no crime but is instead very enjoyable and should be tolerated, with anyone objecting being deemed a troublemaker. In this regard, they abdicate their responsibility to be guardians and enforcers of the law, regardless of personal opinions and preferences.

The travelling public is still being held to ransom, because if they complain about loud and crude music, speeding or overcrowding, they are most often abused, and sometimes even ejected from the bus.

Sometimes, instead of respecting and heeding a request to turn down or off raucous and vulgar music, the volume is turned up to excruciatingly higher decibels. The public sometimes have no recourse but to endure the assault on their hearing organ, just to reach their destination.

The rogues in the GPF have to be weeded out by loyal and honest members of the force themselves in sting operations, cognizant of the fact that defamation ensuing from the criminal actions of even one rogue cop impacts the reputation of the entire force, not merely the renegades. The distrust of the public for the Police intensifies rather than wanes, and there are numerous instances when members of the public, fearing a negative response, prefer to suffer in silence rather than report crimes committed against them.

The trickle-down effects of crimes committed by rogue cops affect every Police rank, even those who have performed heroically in the line of duty, risking and sometimes losing their lives, who have given service to their country and their countrymen beyond the call of duty; so it is incumbent on those honest, dedicated and professional Police ranks to identify, isolate and eliminate the criminals within their midst, so that the GPF once again becomes a highly efficient, trusted lawenforcement body that fulfills its mandate by protecting and serving the nation.

People play chess in Estafeta street in Pamplona, Spain, during the “Chess Run” tournament (AFP)

Shouldn’t Georgetown be moving forward in oil economy?

Dear Editor, I would like to express my considerable disappointment, having observed the very basic and stop-gap repairs that are currently being carried out to the almost 90-yearold Municipal Abattoir building located on Water Street, Georgetown, which was damaged by a falling crane a year and a half ago.

One would have thought that the opportunity of this accident would have been taken to tear down this dilapidated building, which has been around since 1933, if there were any City Fathers and Mothers and Administrators with any vision or foresight at the City Council. Instead, they seem pretty proud of themselves to be propping up an old ‘slaughterhouse’, rather than building a new and modern abattoir and meat processing facility - one built to international standard, where the Council can have it ISO-certified to allow for the export of meats to other parts of the world.

The floor needs to be ripped up and re-laid to remove those cracks and holes that encourage the growth of micro-organisms. The current old concrete floor cannot even take the pressure of falling animals, some weighing as much as eight hundred pounds.

The gates securing the pens of the lairage, where animals are placed approximately 24 hours before being slaughtered, are all broken and/or severely damaged, with rails etc missing.

The lairage has no shed to protect the animals from

harsh weather conditions such as are currently being experienced - another abominable state of affairs.

Can you believe that the abattoir uses a fireside to get access to hot water, instead of a proper industrial heating system? This is how they process the heel, the tripe, the face and runners.

The abattoir is also in dire need of plumbing fixtures.

They need modern scales to weigh the animals, better water supply, a pig dehairing machine, and the list goes on.

There is vast potential for Guyana’s agriculture sector in boosting beef and pork production with the long-term aim of tapping into the international market for meat, but the City Council needs to step up to the plate. Unfortunately, with square pegs in round holes at City Hall, such a plan cannot even be conceptualised.

The City Council is in a time warp, somewhere still in the 1930s, when the abattoir was built. I know the tune that they will sing, that they are cash strapped; that is the tune the old cow died on. All they have to do is issue municipal bonds, as all cities do to raise capital, and within a couple of years that money would be repaid. But, as they say, “You can’t be arguing with individuals who refuse to broaden their perspectives.”

It is just such a dichotomy that at the national level there is such transformative, progressive and insightful planning, whilst at the level of the city, the capital and only city, there is such a lack of vision, and primitive thinking wherein the administrators

seem brain dead. Shouldn’t the City and the country be moving forward together in the new oil and gas economy?

Best regards, Deodarie Putulall

Looking forward to unprecedented takeoff of shrimp industry Dear Editor, This is really a big project to look forward to. I am talking about the plans afoot for the Government, via the Agriculture Ministry, to invest some $58M to improve shrimp production in Region Six. Shrimp business, as we know, is quite feasible, and I think that to make an input therein is most wise. We know that shrimp has a variety of health benefits. It is high in several vitamins and minerals, and is a rich source of protein.

Eating shrimp may also promote heart and brain health, due to its content of omega-3 fatty acids and the antioxidant astaxanthin.

Shrimp, in many places, is the most important internationally traded fishery commodity in terms of value.

In many tropical developing countries, it is the most valuable fishery export; the employment aspect is also significant. So, from both a health and financial outlook, the shrimp industry is destined to be profitable, and Guyana must maximise.

I remind readers that, true to promise, this investment goes back to March this year, when Agriculture Minister Mustapha held a session with

fisher folk and shrimp farmers at the Albion Sports Complex, Corentyne, Berbice. On that occasion, he had stated that “…as part of President Irfaan Ali’s master plan for aquaculture, the necessary investments would be made to boost the industry.” Therefore, it is like from ‘word of promise’ to actual implementation.

The idea here is to utilise the $58M towards enhancing and developing shrimp ponds throughout the Region, as a means of increasing the annual production to 500,000 kilos by year-end. Shrimp production currently stands at between 150,000 kg and 200,000 kg annually. This will be the day indeed. I am sure many shrimp lovers are salivating as, even locally, on a good day, shrimp is not the most affordable of sea products.

The Minister summed it up well, stating, “We are doing this not only to increase your livelihood in terms of income, but we are doing this to increase the capacity of the shrimp production in Region Six; and at the same time, you will also create employment for people.”

Yours truly, Baldeo Mathura

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FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021

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

The worst Opposition ever Dear Editor, Dr Rouf Ahmad Bhat wrote in the introduction to his Paper titled ‘Role of Opposition Party in Democracy’ (the International Journal of Science and Research) that, ‘The Opposition is as important as that of ruling party.

They ensure that the acts of the ruling party are not detrimental to the interest of general public or nation at large.

The role of the Opposition party is not to oppose every decision of the ruling party. Rather, it is the duty of the Opposition party to support the ruling party for the acts that are in the interest of the nation. The Opposition parties play a very significant role in a democracy as representatives of the people. The Opposition act as watch dog of the system. In such countries where there is a two-party system in vogue, the Opposition party forms a shadow cabinet to exercise vigil over the performance of the Government.’

In a previous letter, I had stated that the PNC has never been a government ‘of the people, by the people and for the people’, and in this letter, I wish to submit that PNC has never been an Opposition which reflects the will of the people. In fact, it has been equally worse as an Opposition, if not more detrimental to this nation.

What the PNC did from 1961-1964 had set the trend which this nation can expect anytime the PNC is in Opposition. The Wismar massacre in May 1964 had set that tone, and since then Indians have been living

in perpetual fear of reprisals any time the PNC is in Opposition. This reprisal is because they supported the PPP or are deemed to do so.

Since the 1992 General Elections, the APNU had been in Opposition for 23 years, and thereafter from August 2020, and they have continued to act against the interest of this nation, including their own members and supporters. An important point to note is that the PNC is the dominant political party in the Coalition, and it is the PNC which is the de facto Opposition, as it was the de facto party when in Government. It is always the PNC in power or out of power, the other parties, such as the AFC, simply did the biddings and were simply window dressing. These little pawns, completely devoid of any self-respect and dignity, hang on for dear life if even just to enjoy ostentatious lifestyle, which strained the Treasury.

It is an undeniable historical fact that the PNC never behaved as a responsible Opposition, and displayed this nefarious trait as soon as it lost an election. The PNC rigged all the elections: 1968, 1973, 1980 and 1985, and the Referendum of 1978; and for 5 long months, attempted to rig the 2020 Elections. Another undeniable fact is that whenever the PPP won an election, the PNC greeted this with mayhem, violence, burning, looting and even murder. What is notable is the fact that this trend started in 1961, when the PPP won that election by garnering more than double the votes won by

the PNC. The PNC began its trade mark behaviour: there were mass demonstrations, a general strike, and severe and aggravated inter-racial violence piloted by the PNC. This provided the British authorities with the excuse they needed just a few weeks after the election to suspend a legitimate government. They sent in the British troops, and the Governor declared a state of emergency. This was tried successfully again in 1998 when The Herdmanston Accord reduced the PPP’s term in office by 2 years just to quell the violence against the Indians.

The Indo-Guyanese ‘benefited’ from being the prime target of looting, burning and race-based violence during the period 1964 to 1992, when the PNC was in Government, but this began with renewed vigour after the 1992 Elections and lasted intermittingly for 23 years until 2015, and then raised its ugly head again after the PPP won the 2020 Elections.

The PPP supporters must pay dearly for voting their party into Government.

It is these 2 periods as the Opposition which highlight the ineptitude and incompetence of the PNC to serve the Guyanese people. There is no disputing the mayhem and violence which marked its tenure as the Opposition, but what is equally dangerous is the penchant of the PNC in opposition to work relentlessly to derail the socio-economic programmes and policies which were implemented to better the lives of Guyanese.

This began in earnest after the 2011 Elections, which

saw the PPP as a minority Government. It must be recalled that the APNU had received 26 seats, the AFC 7 seats and the PPP/C 32 seats and this 1 seat majority was used to its fullest to hold this nation at ransom and to be the basis for the no-confidence motion in October 2014.

Unconscionable budget cuts saw the socio-economic stagnation of our dear country, as many developmental projects came under the ‘scissors’, which Nagamootoo gleefully executed year after year. These acts were detrimental to our socio-economic development, and should never have been done. This is not what a responsible opposition should have done. But hit is the trademark of the PNC in opposition. They never supported the Government, and their foremost concern was to get into power, feather their own nests and rape the Treasury.

Fast forward to 2020, the Opposition has already begun to unleash mayhem and violence, as was evidenced by its protests of being ‘robbed’ at the 2020 Election polls, and the encouraging of violence against Indians on the West Coast of Berbice.

Indians were once again the prime target of these acts of terrorism, which were supported by the Opposition.

With four more years to go until the 2025 Elections, it is anyone’s guess what is in store, especially when the Opposition Leader is already making threats of civil unrest.

In a democracy, an Opposition party should play

Surprised at McDonald’s position on cash grant

Dear Editor, I am surprised that APNU/AFC’s Coretta Mc Donald is opposed to the education cash grant distribution that is currently in progress across Guyana.

McDonald seems very confused, as this initiative will benefit thousands of children from all geographic locations in the country. Her position on this matter contradicts earlier held views when she was at the forefront of the teachers’ struggle after the APNU+AFC Government denied them their benefits and other emoluments for three years.

Back in September 2018, in an address to striking teachers who had assembled at the Woolford Avenue office of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU), McDonald said the nation’s educators had received more under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration than what they were getting under the Coalition Administration.

She stated that it was under the PPP/C that teachers, for the first time, received additional benefits apart from a salary increase.

She graphically detailed back then, “If we look at what transpired under the PPP Government when they were in power and what is transpiring now… remember we didn’t want the five percent. We made noise about it. But with the five percent we got a whole lot of non-salary benefits.”

She went on to explain, “For the first time in the history of this country, our teachers were able to get clothing allowance, duty free concessions, and allowances for additional qualifications. While the PPP Government was in power — and you know I don’t want to sound political, but we have to make the comparison because of all the untruths they peddling out there…”

This head of GTU went as far as to say that the then David Granger-led administration was playing with teachers’ emotions “to say to us that this thing is just three-and-something years since they in the Government. And this is the party that most of the teachers supported”.

No one knows what transpired in the period

after this, but McDonald found herself on the candidate list of the APNU+AFC for the elections which followed. There is a view that she took her 30 pieces of silver for betraying the teachers, whose interest she was supposed to serve. Her shifting of positions relative to the interest of teachers and their students supports this view, as it is the same PPP/C that is investing in the education sector, only this time around, they are restoring a good that the APNU+AFC had obliterated.

Let us look at the details of this rollout. It is that “… the parents of over 172,000 learners, who, for the first time since 2015, will benefit from their “Because We Care Grant.” This resuscitated initiative is to aid in alleviating some of the financial burdens on these parents, many of whom have been hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of the sugar estates, which are only now beginning to return to normal functioning order.

I am compelled to ask again why would Coretta McDonald, this A

Partnership For National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Parliamentarian and General-Secretary of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), try to discourage teachers from participating in the distribution of the grants? This woman of influence, when her APNU+AFC leaders were short-changing the sector, spoke out, and made a comparison of how the PPP/C was pro-sector, looking out for the teachers. The Cash Grant was of course up and running at the time when the PPP/C was reaching out to the teachers, so she certainly was not against that.

I call on Ms McDonald to be candid and rational. She needs to be honest and humane, and instead of seeking to impede the work of the Ministry of Education, she should be helping where fostering recovery of many homes is concerned. She shouldn’t shift positions when it comes to matters of teachers and their students to align with her current politics.

Yours truly, Attiya Baksh

a very significant role ‘as representatives of the people’.

The Opposition must ‘act as watchdog of the system’, but in Guyana, the Opposition acts as a predator. If we can do a bit of transposition to Abraham Lincoln’s immortal Gettysburg speech, ‘this nation must have a new birth of freedom, and the Opposition must be an Opposition of the people, by the people and for the people’ We cannot afford

to perish as a nation because the Opposition is self-serving. The Opposition must change its course.

I encourage Mr Harmon to read Dr Bhat’s Paper. In the last election, the APNU/AFC was elected by the people as the country’s Opposition, and they must honour that office, not dishonour it.

Yours sincerely, Haseef Yusuf

Ridiculous narratives

by Opposition Dear Editor, From the moment the Government announced that it will be moving ahead with the reintroduction of the “Because We Care” and School Uniform cash grants, the Opposition APNU+AFC began peddling all sorts of ridiculous narratives, as they opposed it, especially on social media.

Just recently, Aubrey Norton wrote an epistle criticising this initiative. Norton contends that the reintroduction of the cash grant should be rejected by all Guyanese, as it is a “slap in the face”, and is not sufficient. He forgets that it was his government that denied these kids close to $1.8B annually when it stopped this initiative upon assuming office in 2015. In my opinion, the amounts of $15,000 plus $4,000 may not be anything substantial to Norton and his cohorts, who are accustomed to raking in the hundreds of thousands every month. But, for the ordinary Guyanese, $19,000 will definitely go a long way.

I would like to point out that in the January 30, 2020 publication of the Guyana Chronicle, there was an article which was headlined “President promises cash

grants for families with school children”. This article reported on the promises made by the then President David Granger, as he addressed residents of Region 2. Granger’s exact words were “We will put oil money in your homes and households…we will ensure that every family with a child in school gets a cash grant… the money will come to you”.

I find it so amusing that the entire coalition has banded together in opposition to this initiative when they themselves had promised the same to Guyanese while campaigning for re-election in 2020. In this regard, I think the only logical conclusion that can be made is that the APNU+AFC is opposing just for the sake of opposing. They have no actual reason to be against it, since it is geared at benefiting every single child in the public school system.

Why would they be so hellbent on taking away such provisions from the Guyanese people? I personally call on all Guyanese to reject these efforts that are being made by the hypocrites of the Coalition to hinder development and progress in Guyana.

Respectfully, Anson A Paul

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FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021

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Foundation ◄

Question 1

Thursday’s answers

By John Masefield

Before the unseen cock had called the time, Those workers left their beds and stumbled out Into the street, where dust lay white as lime Under the last star that keeps bats about.

Then blinking still from bed, they trod the street, The doors closed up and down ; the traveller heard Doors opened, closed, then silence, then men’s feet Moving to toil, the men too drowsed for word.

The bean-field was a greyness as they passed, The darkness of the hedge was starred with flowers, The moth, with wings like dead leaves, sucked his last, The triumphing cock cried out with all his powers ; His fire of crying made the twilight quick, Then clink, clink, clink, men’s trowels tapped the brick.

I saw the delicate man who built the tower Look from the turret at the ground below, The granite column wavered like a flower, But stood in air whatever winds might blow.

Its roots were in the rock, its head stood proud, No earthly forest reared a head so high ; Sometimes the eagle came there, sometimes cloud, It was man’s ultimate footstep to the sky.

And in that peak the builder kept his treasure, Books with the symbols of his art, the signs Of knowledge in excitement, skill in pleasure, The edge that cut, the rule that kept the lines.

He who had seen his tower beneath the grass, Rock in the earth, now smiled, because it was.

How many thousand men had done his will, Men who had hands, or arms, or strength to spend, Or cunning with machines, or art, or skill !

All had obeyed him, working to this end.

Hundreds in distant lands had given their share Of power, to deck it ; on its every stone Their oddity of pleasure was laid bare, Yet was the tower his offspring, his alone.

His inner eye had seen, his will had made it, All the opposing army of men’s minds Had bowed, had turned, had striven as he bade it, Each to his purpose in their myriad kinds.

Now it was done, and in the peak he stood Seeing his work, and smiled to find it good.

It had been stone, earth’s body, hidden deep, Lightless and shapeless, where it cooled and hardened.

Now it was as the banner on man’s keep Or as the Apple in Eden where God gardened.

Lilies of stone ran round it, and like fires The tongues of crockets shot from it and paused, Horsemen who raced were carven on’t, the spires Were bright with gold ; all this the builder caused.

And standing there, it seemed that all the hive Of human skill which now it had become, Was stone no more, nor building, but alive, Trying to speak, this tower that was dumb, Trying to speak, nay, speaking, soul to soul With powers who are, to raven or control.

S

ummer is a great time for new experiences and field trips, near or far. After visiting new places, write reviews of your adventures and create a summer scrapbook. Did you try the new ice-cream shop on the corner, see the newest Pixar movie in 3D or explore all the animal habitats at the zoo?

Record your thoughts and experiences. All you need is a three-ring binder, some inexpensive scrapbook paper and adhesive — or y o u can buy a scrapbook album from a local craft store. You can add things like menus, ticket stubs, museum tour maps, autographs and trail maps to accompany the r e views. If you have a digital camera and printer, you can include your own photos.

(Adapted from startwithabook. org)

WORD SEARCH

NEWS

7

FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

70% increase in rapes reported between January and June – Top Cop …48 road deaths

Police Commissioner (ag) Nigel Hoppie

W

hile the Guyana Police Force (GPF) continues to report a decline in serious crimes and accidents across the country, there has been an exponential increase in the number of rape cases reported so far this year.

This was revealed by acting Police Commissioner Nigel Hoppie during his address at the Police Force’s 182nd awards ceremony, where ranks were rewarded for the recovery of illegal firearms, interdiction of narcotics, and the arrest of wanted persons.

The Top Cop disclosed that during the period January to June this year, there were a whopping 153 reports of the offence of rape, compared to 90 reports made last year. This represents a 70 per cent spike in rape cases.

Meanwhile, other serious crimes during the first half of this year recorded a contrasting decline.

There was an 18.7 per cent decrease in serious crimes recorded at the end of June, with robberies under arms declining by 36.3 per cent and murders going down by 16.7 per cent, with 65 homicides this year compared to 78 during the same period in 2020.

“Overall, at the end of June this year, seven women have been the victims of murder compared to 20 for the same period last year.

Of the seven victims, six were killed during domestic-related incidents, while

of the 20 victims last year, 10 were due to domestic violence,” the Top Cop explained.

He also reported that some 112 fields with 89 acres of cannabis sativa (marijuana) have been located and destroyed.

Additionally, 34 illegal firearms were recovered by the Police to date in 2021 – 17 pistols, eight revolvers and nine shotguns.

As it relates to traffic, Commissioner Hoppie reported a 32 per cent decrease in fatal accidents as of July 10 with 48 accidents resulting in 52 fatalities this year compared to 71 resulting in 74 fatalities for the same period in 2020

According to Commissioner Hoppie, a lot of good work has been done by the Force in fighting crime. He highlighted: the dismantling of a criminal group responsible for robbing customers leaving gold vendors’ establishments; the suspects in the arson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Linden office being arrested and charged; suspects in the murders of the Henry cousins and Haresh Singh being arrested and charged; the murder of taxi driver Kenrick Trim being solved with the perpetrators on trial currently before the courts; and Answar Stoll murderer Leon Waddle be-

National Security Advisor Gerry Gouveia, Permanent Secretary Mae Toussaint Jr Thomas, Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn and Police Commissioner (ag) Nigel Hoppie with some of the ranks who were rewarded on Thursday

(CPGs) were recognised and rewarded with over $17.7 million in incentives along with other prizes.

However, while the Force acknowledged these

CPG members who were rewarded pose with officials including Top Cop Nigel Hoppie and Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn

– reflecting a consequential 30 per cent decline in the death toll.

It was outlined that pedestrians and motorcyclists account for the major categories of road users who have lost their lives this year. Some 17 pedestrians and 12 motorcyclists were killed on the roadways thus far.

The Top Cop revealed that some 21 of these fatal accidents were as a result of inattentiveness, while speeding accounts for 18 of those fatal accidents.

Traffic enforcement so far this year throughout the country has resulted in 8719 cases being filed for speeding, 459 cases for driving under the influence and 10,188 for unlicensed driver.

ing apprehended in a chicken pen by detectives and later charged.

“The fight continues as we interdict criminals and illegal arms and ammunition. The threats of illegal narcotics, domestic violence and Trafficking in Persons continue to plague the society ,and every effort will be maintained as we work assiduously to reduce these threats to society. Indeed, while the Police have no direct control of crime, no effort is spared to exercise crime control by utilising methods of prevention and detection of crime,” the acting Police Commissioner posited.

During Thursday’s awards ceremony, some 3258 Police ranks and 28 Community Policing Groups

ranks for going beyond the call of duty, the Top Cop disclosed that this was not being done without rogue cops whose actions thwart crime-fighting efforts.

“We are not going to be naïve and bury our heads in the sand. We have members of the law enforcement community who are faced with allegations of rape, robbery, manslaughter, assault and corruption, neglect of duty,

but who were dealt with condignly, having either been placed before the courts or on disciplinary charges, accordingly. Presently, there are 29 ranks before the courts on various charges,” Hoppie disclosed.

Meanwhile, the Top Cop said that the Police Force’s Social Crime Prevention Programme is continuing in all the Regional Police Divisions, with particular emphasis on youths and strengthening Policecommunity relationships.

Its main focus is aimed at empowering youths to develop skills and moral values in order to become productive and meaningful contributors to society, and building public trust.

Notwithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic and its ensuing restrictions, in keeping with the GPF’s thrust to build public trust and confidence, the acting Commissioner said there has been significant involvement in community work and community outreach with emphasis on moulding youths.

Outlining that Police work was generally for a cause and not applause, Hoppie said he was confi-

dent that the Police Force would continue to perform at a high level.

To this end, the Top Cop said: “… I reiterate my call and urge members of the Force to be professional in their behaviour and conduct, showing courtesy towards members of the public, and to avoid corrupt practices. Let us build bridges with the public and thereby improve on our public image in order that we can enhance public trust and confidence that are so essential. We in the Police Force cannot do it alone. We need the understanding and support of the public that we serve.”

Since the commencement of the awards ceremony in 1990, the Police Force has paid out a total of $448.8 million in cash incentives to deserving Police ranks.

After congratulating this year’s recipients, the acting Police Commissioner encouraged those ranks yet to receive such rewards to make a greater effort in order to also benefit from these incentives.

The GPF awards ceremony coincided with the celebration of its 182nd anniversary. (G8)

8 NEWS

FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Deadly eviction row…

Labourer charged with murder of GRA worker

A

45-year-old labourer has been charged with murder following the killing of his mother’s tenant, Dwayne Daniel Taitt, a 24-year-old law enforcement officer at the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).

Police filed the murder charge on Thursday against Rawle Lamaison of Durban Backlands Squatting Area, Georgetown, and the accused was arraigned before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in that Georgetown Magistrate’s Court. He was not required to plead to the indictable charge, which stated that on June 12, at Middleton Street, Campbellville, Georgetown, he murdered Taitt, a father of two. The case continues on August 12.

Based on reports, the now dead man had been renting an apartment from Lamaison’s

Dead: Dwayne Daniel Taitt

Remanded: Rawle Lamaison

mother Jacklyn Lamaison, and he had been living therein with his reputed wife and two-year-old daughter for the past six months.

The landlady had reportedly ordered the family to leave the premises by July 14, 2021. However, at around 00:30h on June 12, the family was awakened by a loud banging on their door.

When Taitt opened the door, he was confronted by Rawle Lamaison, who was armed with a knife and

shouting at him to “move out”. Police said Lamaison began attacking Taitt, causing him to run onto a street.

Lamaison then pursued Taitt and stabbed him to the chest before fleeing.

The injured man was picked up by his reputed wife and a security guard, and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The suspect was subsequently arrested and charged.

Reports are that Taitt was awaiting a refund of his security deposit before vacating the premises.

Accused chain snatcher remanded

Remanded: Terrence Bastiani

A

mason who is accused of robbing a man of his phone and gold chain was on Wednesday remanded to prison.

Twenty-five-yearold Terrence Bastiani of Albouystown, Georgetown appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to face a charge detailing that on February 20 at James Street, Albouystown, Georgetown, while being in the company of another and armed with a gun, he robbed Delon Walcott of a phone valued at $200,000 and one gold chain valued at $110,000.

Bastiani pleaded not guilty to the charge, and his lawyer Adrian Thompson, during a bail application, told the court that his client was never pointed out on an identification parade.

However, the Police Prosecutor related that Bastiani was positively identified by the complainant. According to the prosecutor, the two men are known to each other.

On the day in question, according to the prosecutor, Watson and his girlfriend were standing at the corner of James Street when Bastiani held them at gunpoint. During the process, Bastiani relieved Watson of the articles mentioned in the charge.

The prosecutor opposed the defendant being granted bail, citing the serious nature of the offence and the fact that a gun was used during the commissioning of the robbery. This case has been adjourned to July 28. (G1)

Opening up…

T

...our continental destiny he first law of geography states that “Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things.” Makes sense, doesn’t it? If places, for instance, are closer to us than other places, we should know the closer places better!

But the fella who promulgated that law didn’t take into account the reality and logic of European Empires!!

Take, for instance, our neighbours Suriname, Venezuela and Brazil. They’re literally physically joined to us on the east, west and south in our common continent of South America…can’t get closer than that!

But are we more “related” to those countries than, say, Britain (the self-declared “mother” country) which is 4,622 miles north across the Atlantic Ocean? Hell no!!

Yet we know the daffodils of England, its Cathedrals, palaces, rivers and towns even more intimately than our own landmarks…and certainly much less that our neighbours’!! Quick now…close your eyes and try to picture the Thames River in London and the Rio Branco that flows through Manaus just south of Lethem. Get the point?!

Well, all of that’s gonna finally change, so we can paraphrase the Americans who opened up their continent to say loud and clear without any irony, “GO SOUTH, YOUNG MAN - AND WOMAN!! After fifty years of planning and dreaming, we’re finally going to connect our Georgetown to Linden Highway to Lethem. From where we can cross over the Takutu Bridge into Boa Vista and on to Manaus or all the highways to the rest of South America or Central America!! The President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is in town, having signed the cheque to start and complete the allweather Highway from Linden to Mabura. And then on to Lethem!

“Almost one half of Guyana’s potential will be linked one way or the other to just opening that corridor…we are using Linden to Lethem, but I am referring here from the deep-sea port in Georgetown all the way to connectivity to Brazil,” the man announced. He should also have mentioned that the Government plans that new Silicon City on the Highway and - rather than adding more congestion into Port Georgetown - will be linking it to the Deep-Water Harbour over in Berbice. And we know that the Surinamese are busy with their plans to connect their highways with ours via that Bridge across their Corentyne River!!

Ain’t this great? Imagine the freedom we’ll have: to be able to just jump into our cars and drive thousands of miles like the Yanks do just to visit friends. And those we’ll have aplenty - from all over the continent!!

Our oil will be the honey that’ll seal the deal!!

…manufactured rage South Africa continues to burn - literally. At the latest count, more than TWO HUNDRED MALLS have been looted and stripped bare, and them razed to the ground!! Women have been raped. To date, 72 persons have been killed - most of them from being trampled by fellow looters trying to get first dibs on the choicest merchandise! The perpetrators are Zulus, claiming they’re protesting the imprisonment of ex-President Zuma, who’s also Zulu. He’d been convicted of siphoning off almost US$1BILLION from his struggling country when he was President!

Some have “explained” the vandalism and violence as expressions of extreme resentment by the poor of what those malls represent - the good life. Your Eyewitness finds this ironic. They’re POOR, but defending the theft of US $1billion that could’ve been used to lift them out of poverty??!! He’s reminded of those in Guyana who’re also defending those in the PNC who pilfered state assets ranging from gold bracelets to prime real estate!!

While complaining that they’re still the “poor and the powerless”! …on sugar workers’ plight One wise guy suggested that GAWU “motivate” their sugar union members to show up for work, cause there’s a 27% absenteeism in the industry. How would he motivate workers earning $2200 daily?

Maybe they should riot?

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

NEWS

9

FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

3 more COVID-19 deaths, 51 new cases recorded W

ith another three reported deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic on Thursday, the local death toll has taken a jump to 506.

According to the Health Ministry, two persons from Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) - a 65-year-old man who died on July 13 and a 59-yearold man who died on July 14 – are included in the latest figures. A 61-year-old woman from Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), who died since June 28, is the third person.

On the previous Wednesday, four deaths were announced: a 43-yearold from Region One, a 55-year-old from Region Three, an 83-year-old from Region Six and a 75-year-old from Region 10.

Thursday’s dashboard showed an increase of 51 new cases in one day. The total confirmed cases in the country have now increased to 21,274. There are 10 patients being monitored in the

Intensive Care Unit, 83 in institutional isolation, 1130 in home isolation, and one in institutional quarantine.

Some 19,545 of the 10,385 males and 10,889 females that tested positive have since recovered. Guyana has tested 205,962 persons since the virus was detected here.

An analysis of new cases shows 14 in Region One (Barima-Waini), five in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), 10 in Region Four (DemeraraMahaica), three in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), 11 in Region Six (East Berbice -Corentyne), one in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), one in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), and three in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice). The number of cases remain unchanged in Regions Two (PomeroonSupenaam) and Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) at 592 and 380 respectively.

Approximately 57 of the active COVID-19 patients in Guyana are currently hospi-

talised in facilities across the country.

Over at the Ocean View facility, four children who have tested positive are being treated – one of them in the Intensive Care Unit. The Infectious Diseases Hospital currently houses 42 patients.

“We have 57 persons who are currently in hospital across the country. Fortytwo of those persons are at the Ocean View facility, and of those, we have 11 who are in the ICU. Of the 11 persons currently in the ICU, we have one child that is there, and in the hospital per se, we have four children.

One child remains in the ICU. The three others are in the regular wards,” Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony informed on Thursday.

Additionally, two persons are at the West Demerara Regional Hospital, three are at the Mahaicony Hospital, five are at the New Amsterdam and Skeldon Hospitals; and two are at the Linden Hospital Complex.

According to the World

Rape accused found not guilty

A

man has been found not guilty of rape at the Demerara High Court.

The 12-member mixed jury took under two hours to reach its unanimous verdict.

When his trial opened before Justice Jo-ann Barlow, Ronald Ali had denied the charge which alleged that he, on May 1, 2019, engaged in sexual penetration of a woman without her consent.

State Prosecutors had contended that the woman had left her home at around midnight on May 1, 2019 to attend a Linden Town Week show. She left the party alone at around 2:15am the following morning for her residence.

Upon arrival at the car park, the woman said, she boarded a silver-grey motorcar. She described the driv-

er as someone who was thinbuilt and who appeared to be in his late 40s.

The prosecutors alleged that the taxi driver, whom the woman later identified as Ali, took an unusual route and ended up at Washer Pond Road, where he stopped and told her he had forgotten his wallet.

After receiving consent from the woman to go back for his belongings, the taxi driver did so, but after he drove past the Amelia’s Ward Police Outpost and headed onto the Linden Highway, the woman grabbed his jersey and pleaded with him to take her home, but he continued driving.

The woman said that when she tried to exit the vehicle, the driver kept pressing the safety; all the

windows were wound up. He then began driving at a fast rate of speed onto a lonely, dark, and bushy area, before switching off all the lights in the car.

According to the prosecutor, the driver demanded that the woman come over to the front seat, and she complied because she was afraid that he would hurt her. The court was told that the woman looked away for a few seconds and when she looked back, she saw the driver holding his penis.

He forced her to perform oral sex on him, the prosecutors said. After the ordeal, he dropped her off at a corner and drove away.

The woman then boarded another car and headed home. She later confided in her cousin about what had transpired. (G1)

GUYANA COVID-19 DASHBOARD JULY 15 UPDATE

NUMBER OF NEW CASES

51

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL ISOLATION

83

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN HOME ISOLATION

1130

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN COVID-19 ICU

10

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL QUARANTINE

1

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (FEMALES)

10,889

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (MALES)

10,385

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES IN GUYANA SINCE 2020

21,274

NUMBER OF RECOVERED CASES

19,545

TOTAL 1st DOSE VACCINATED

240,392

FULLY IMMUNISED

123,050

TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS

506

DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES SINCE MARCH 2020 REGION 1

1286

REGION 2

592

REGION 3

2429

REGION 4

9645

REGION 5

703

REGION 6

1717

REGION 7

1272

REGION 8

380

REGION 9

1763

REGION 10

1487

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

Keep a physical distance of at least 6 feet.

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

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

Health Organization (WHO), countries around the globe have reported 188,128,952 confirmed cases, with 4,059,339 deaths. In the Region of the Americas, there are 74,239,667 confirmed cases, while the death toll in the region has gone up to 1,949,777.

Authorities are urging

the public to continue observing all COVID-19 preventative measures, particularly masking in public, social distancing, and frequent hand washing and sanitising. The measures also include a 22:30h (10:30pm) to 04:00h (4am) national curfew that is in effect until July 31, 2021.

If anyone is displaying any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19, or need any additional information, contact the COVID-19 Hotline: 2311166, 226-7480 or 624-6674 immediately, or visit the Health Ministry’s website at www.health.gov.gy (G12)

10 NEWS

FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Granger’s unilateral acceptance of shell parties violates PNC’s constitution …party’s Central Exec demands election of “new leadership” by year end

A

s the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) celebrates its 10th anniversary on Thursday, the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of its largest party, the People’s National Congress Reform, lashed out at Leader David Granger over his “one man” decision to induct two new parties into the Partnership despite the objection by the PNCR’s highest decision-making forum.

In a statement on Thursday, the PNCR’s CEC said that Granger and General Secretary Amna Ally continue to disregard the decision of the Committee with their involvement and acceptance of the two new parties into the APNU. Last month, APNU announced that the Equal Rights and Justice Party (ERJP), founded by Jaipaul Sharma, and the Guyana National Builders Movement (GNBM), founded by Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, have joined the partnership.

But according to the CEC of the APNU’s leading party, the PNCR never agreed to accept the two parties. “…We know nothing about these parties! They were never launched nationally, and we are unaware of what benefits they bring for the PNCR to even consider accepting them into the Partnership. That’s why we

marks.

APNU Leader David Granger

suspect them as “shell parties”,” the missive from the CEC detailed.

It was against this backdrop that the members of the Committee had mandated Granger, who is currently leader of both PNCR and APNU, to put on hold further involvement with the two parties until the matter was discussed internally.

“One-man show”

Despite this, however, the Central Executive said Granger went ahead to not just announce the induction of the two parties into the Partnership but also even included them during Thursday’s celebration of the APNU’s 10th anniversary.

In fact, not only were representatives from the two parties present for the virtual programme, but SaraboHalley gave the closing re-

In response, the PNCR CEC posited that Granger’s actions were undoubtedly unconstitutional and an affront to the party’s membership. The Committee added that it would not allow Granger to reduce the PNCR to a “one-man show”. “…We are now witnessing this latest disregard of the party’s decision, compounded by Mr Granger affixing the symbols of these two non-approved parties onto a programme purported to be that of the APNU for its 10th anniversary celebrations. That is a “oneman show” which the Party will not allow Mr Granger to get away with. Therefore, the Party does not recognise these two shell parties as part of the APNU,” the CEC asserted.

Exceptional event

Meanwhile, during a virtual celebration earlier Thursday morning, Granger, who had led the APNU/AFC coalition to office in 2015 and under whose leadership the coalition fell to a No-Confidence Motion and eventually lost the 2020 elections, welcomed the two new parties into APNU. “We were able to welcome the Equal Rights and Justice Party and the Guyana National Builders Movement both of which are

led by persons who have already served not only in the parties which left the Partnership but also in the coalition Government and we welcome them heartedly,” he noted.

Granger had previously said that these two new parties have strengthened the APNU after two of its five founding parties – the Justice For All Party (JFAP) and the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) – resigned from the Partnership last year.

Nevertheless, the APNU Leader went on to outline during Thursday’s programme that the creation of the Partnership was the most exceptional event on the political landscape in the past decade. He said the APNU took the bold step of breaking the stranglehold of winner-takes-all paranoid politics.

He went on to commit the five parties within the APNU to working to achieve its Decade of Development: 2020-2029 – a framework for a 10-year plan that will accelerate faster economic growth, greater employment and increased economic opportunities.

Notwithstanding this pledge by Granger, the PNCR CEC said a "Congress Convening Sub-committee” was currently working on holding the party’s overdue Congress to elect new lead-

ership.

“It is for this reason that we have begun to meet with you across all regions so you can be informed of the state of our party and join in saving our party. It is for this reason we are meeting to inform you that there will be a Congress before the end of this year… Members of the PNCR, let us come together, hold Congress, elect

new leadership, and continue the development of this great party to take back office at the next General and Regional Elections,” the CEC detailed in its statement.

The PNCR CEC’s blatant announcement of plans to oust Granger from the helm of the party comes as he celebrated his 76th birthday.

(G8)

Private plane damaged during take-off at Kamarang

A

privately owned Cessna 206 aircraft was damaged during takeoff from Kamarang, Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni).

On Thursday evening, the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) said it received a report that at about 17:20h on Thursday, a privately operated CESSNA

206 aircraft encountered a propeller strike during takeoff at Kamarang airstrip.

According to the GCAA, the aircraft has been substantially damaged, but no injuries have been reported.

“The GCAA’s inspectors will conduct an investigation into this accident,” the GCAA has said.

11 25% of adult population fully vaccinated – Health Minister NEWS

FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

first dose…I want to appeal to people, because we do have first dose Sputnik and we have enough to give persons who want to receive the first dose Sputnik, but we’ve starting with those whose vaccination for second dose would become due.”

Along with the Sputnik V shots, both first and second doses are also available for the Sinopharm jabs. For the AstraZeneca vaccines, many persons are now due for their second dose.

Like Sputnik, AstraZeneca has a four-to12-week interval between doses, but persons are advised to take their second

G

Second dose uptake has led to 25% immunisation coverage

uyana has officially vaccinated just over 25 per cent of its adult population - representing 125,464 persons - with both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

This achievement brings the country one step closer to herd immunity, a feat which can be achieved only if approximately 85 per cent of the country’s eligible population is inoculated.

Recent statistics were announced by Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony on Thursday, when he

shared that some 241,010 persons, or 49.5 per cent of the adult population, have taken their first dose. These persons are scheduled to return for their second dose when the waiting interval has expired.

Anthony welcomed the uptake seen thus far, as he stated, “I am very pleased with the uptake. A lot of people have come forward to get their second dose, but we also have first doses and we’re encouraging persons who have not been vaccinated as yet to come for those

shot at 12 weeks. For the Sinopharm vaccine, the second dose can be taken four weeks after receiving the first shot.

This week, it was revealed that the COVAX facility will be sending additional vaccines between this month and September. The Johnson and Johnson shots, purchased through the CARICOM-African Union Agreement, is expected to arrive in August.

Through an African Union/Caricom Agreement, Guyana is procuring 148,000 doses of vaccines – a portion of which would include Johnson and Johnson

single-dose vaccines.

The COVAX mechanism, which had sent over 62,400 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines, is expected to make another delivery this month.

The facility had committed to sending vaccines to cover 20 per cent of the eligible population.

Government had first ordered 400,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine; 200,000 first doses and 200,000 second doses. From that, Guyana has already received the 200,000 first doses as well as 61,000 of the second doses.

The country then placed a second order for 86,000

doses, comprising 43,000 first doses and 43,000 second doses. However, while all of the first doses from this second order were received, only some of the second doses have arrived. Another consignment is scheduled to arrive in the new week.

This month, a consignment of 100,000 Sinopharm jabs was delivered to Guyana as part of a state purchase. The full tranche will be used to immunise 50,000 people.

Because this vaccine does not require the ultra-cold storage, it is advantageous in the vaccine rollout to remote communities.

12 NEWS

FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

$3.2B cash grant initiative

Parents denounce APNU’s Coretta McDonald saying grant “wasting money” …“thank God for this, because it has been such a hard time” – struggling parent

G

uyana Teachers Union (GTU) General Secretary Coretta McDonald is coming in for major criticism having labelled Government’s $3.2 billion cash grant initiative for public school students, which is currently being distributed, as a “waste” of money.

McDonald, who is also an A Partnership For National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Member of Parliament (MP), appeared on an online programme, where she opined that the $19,000 cash grant and uniform voucher allowance to families across Guyana with school-age children was a waste of money from the country’s coffers.

“If you do that for every region across this country, you’ll understand how much monies. We’ll, we’ve already gotten the figure, $3.2 billion. If you do that for five years, check and see how much money this

of Parliament criticised the initiative, some teachers , along with parents, called her out publicly for her position. Several letter writers have already taken to the letter pages in the local newspapers to express dissatisfaction with the sentiments shared by McDonald.

GTU fees

APNU/AFC MP Coretta McDonald

Government is wasting foolishly,” the Opposition member was quoted as saying.

The GTU official did not divulge her reasons for this position and efforts by <<<Guyana Times>>> to contact her proved futile.

As the Opposition Member

In a letter to the editor, Randy Mangru, in calling out McDonald said that it was sad to know that according to observations, reports and complaints, the GTU has failed to properly represent its workers.

“The question is has the Union lived up to its objective?... the GTU has been collecting Union dues from teachers continuously, but let’s just focus on the past 15 months. What form of relief has the Union leadership/executives taken up since then? None! Did the Union bar-

gain with the Government for a stimulus grant/bonus in the faith of “proper conditions of service and renumeration?”

No! Did the Union bargain for hazard pay for those teachers who have had face-to-face in-

We are here to give every single nursery, primary, secondary age child who’s in a public school, or applied to come to a public school, this grant,” the Minister is quoted as saying on Thursday.

“Monthly total dues collected by the Union would amount to $5,600,000 monthly. Calculating since the COVID-19 pandemic began [locally] which will total to 15 months, the Union would have collected a whopping total of $84,000,000 for the past 15 months.

The question now is what has the Union leadership/executives done with the money collected in the past 15 months?” teraction with Grades 10 and 11 in the midst of a pandemic, exposing themselves and their families to COVID-19? Was there any form of relief (hamper distribution) to teachers?”

The letter writer went on to say that simple arithmetic shows that the GTU has been collecting $700 monthly each from its membership, which is in excess of 8000 teachers.

“Monthly total dues collected by the Union would amount to $5,600,000 monthly. Calculating since the COVID-19 pandemic began [locally] which will total to 15 months, the Union would have collected a whopping total of $84,000,000 for the past 15 months. The question now is what has the Union leadership/executives done with the money collected in the past 15 months?” the letter writer asked.

The “Because We Care” cash grant initiative commenced in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) on Wednesday. The initiative is expected to benefit some 172,000 students across Guyana.

On day two of the threeday exercise in the region, Education Minister Priya Manickchand said that there would be no discrimination as each child in the public school system would benefit.

“Whether you’re African, Chinese, Indo-Guyanese, Amerindian, Portuguese, mixed, you will leave here with your cash grant, because we’re not asking about your ethnicity. This morning, whether you are Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Rastafarian, nothing or Bahá?í, once your children are in school, you will leave here with the cash grant.

Meanwhile, in an interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI), a man confined to a wheelchair and struggling to provide for his three-year-old daughter, Vental Jainarine said he was thankful to the Government for the reintroduction of the cash grant programme.

Jainarine said following a boat accident which resulted in the loss of his right leg four years ago, he has been relying on public assistance and his sister to support his wife and young child. This, he said, has been a struggle.

He told the DPI that the grant “means a lot” as it would assist in purchasing the necessary school supplies for his daughter.

Naomi Doonauth, a mother of four, said the last year has been challenging for her as the COVID-19 pandemic has made it hard for her husband, who is a labourer, to find work to support the household. She disclosed that many times, the two would make sacrifices to ensure their children’s needs were met.

She told the DPI that the money would go towards purchasing whatever materials her children needed. “Just like me, many parents will say thank God for this, because it has been such a hard time.”

This is not the first time McDonald has been called out for obstructing the current distribution exercise. Education Minister Manickchand had chided the MP one day prior after she took to social media encouraging head teachers and teachers not to be a part of the distribution.

In fact, McDonald, in her post, stated, “Headteachers,

you were trained as an Educator not an Accounts Clerk! Distribution of cash to students/pupils is not your responsibility!”

In a social media post this week, Manickchand positioned that any person or political party which opposed assistance to a child was “bizarre”.

She further stated that it was also bizarre that Guyana was forced to wait five months after the General and Regional Elections to have a legitimate Government.

“It is bizarre to me that any person or political party or any of their affiliates would object to Guyana’s families being assisted with $19,000 per child. But then it was bizarre too that Guyana was forced to wait five months after our election to have a legitimate Govt.

The APNU/AFC just doesn’t do anything sensible, logical, or lawful. Reject them as they try to deny you this grant. We are here. And we will bring you this goodness,” the Minister said.

The $19,000 per child comprises the grant, which is valued at $15,000, and the school uniform and supplies voucher valued at $4000.

Government has committed to increasing the “Because We Care” cash grant incrementally each year until it reaches $50,000. The school uniform and supplies voucher was increased last year from $2000 to $4000, representing a 100 per cent increase.

The Education Ministry noted that the cash grant initiative “aims to serve each child before September 2021. This initiative of the Government is to assist families so that they can provide the necessary resources to their children so that they can not only remain in school but to also excel in their studies”.

Piloted back in 2014 under the previous People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration, the initiative was designed to assist parents with children in the public school system with some financial support, thereby raising the disposable income in households and increasing attendance rates.

It was scrapped in 2015 after the APNU/AFC Government took office. Last year, the new PPP/C Administration reintroduced the grant, raising it from $10,000 to $15,000 per child in addition to raising the uniform allowance from $2000 to $4000. (G12)

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FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Contract signed for new walkway bridge at Wakapao

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ome 2,000 residents living in the Amerindian community of Wakapao, Lower Pomeroon, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) will soon benefit from the construction of a 68foot walkway bridge to be built across one of their main waterways and its swampy surroundings.

During the symbolic signing of the contract, Region Two Regional Executive Officer (REO) Devanand Ramdatt related that the project was awarded through the

National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), and will be overlooked by the Works Committee. Approval of the project was granted by the Cabinet.

The contract has been awarded to Wakapao Toshao Lloyd Pereira to the tune of $3,679,130.

The construction is expected to commence within months.

Speaking with key stakeholders, Ramdatt called on Toshao Pereira to ensure that he delivers quality work, while

adding that he is grateful for a proper walkway in Wakapao that would provide safe movement for residents from one point to the next.

Ramdatt also noted that the walkway would benefit residents in the provision of transportation; prevent parents, especially pregnant mothers, from walking long distances; and afford safe movement across the waterways. He also said students, who otherwise would walk 3 miles by way of an alternative route to

Finance Minister launches NIS community outreaches countrywide

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inance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh announced on Thursday that he would be embarking on a series of countrywide outreaches to meet with residents on the ground and listen to their concerns in relation to any issues they may wish to address with the National Insurance Scheme (NIS).

This comes in light of Government’s expression of grave concern at the number of complaints received from contributors about delays in receiving their benefits and entitlements, most often as a result of incomplete records of their contributions to the Scheme.

In December 2020, during a presidential outreach in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), President Dr Irfaan Ali had called on the NIS to address the issues residents were having with their payments that had been remitted. At the time the Head of State heard multiple complaints about the Scheme at the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) office in Anna Regina.

He then instructed NIS Head Holly Greaves, who was among the high-level team that was at the public event, to “fix it now”.

The Head of State posited that all Guyanese should be treated fairly, and that all agencies and

Government offices should be working to enhance the people’s lives and the services they provide.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Finance Minister said that a team from the Ministry and the NIS will also be at hand during the outreaches to provide services. The first outreach meeting is slated to be held at the Giftland Mall, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown between 10:00h and 20:00h (10 am and 8 pm) on Saturday, July 17. The second outreach will be at the car park at Parika in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) on Sunday, July 18, from 10:00h to 16:00h (10 am-4 pm).

In a statement, the Minister said that the matters to be dealt with at the outreaches include compliance certificates, contribution statements, registration & replacement of NIS cards, signing and submission of life certificates,

submission of claims, and benefits and pension queries.

In December 2020, just one month after the commencement of his duties, Dr Singh met with the new NIS Board. At that meeting, he outlined his expectations, charging the Board to ensure these were met.

He had noted then that, “Over the last several years, we have seen the progressive decline of the Scheme. The NIS faces a number of challenges at the macro level and has come under severe threat. It is, therefore, going to take a lot of work to return the Scheme to longterm financial viability.”

The Minister had also emphasised the level of importance the Irfaan Aliled Government was placing on the Scheme and had reminded the Board that pensioners and retirees usually look forward to their pensions in a timely manner while current contributors expect to receive their benefits promptly.

In December 2020, a new NIS Board was appointed comprising Ramesh Persaud as Chairman and Board members Holly Greaves (ExOfficio); Faizal Jaffarally; Yvonne Pearson; Maurice Solomon; Satanand Gopie; Kathleen Jason; Seepaul Narine and Jillian BurtonPersaud.

Village Toshao Lloyd Pereira signing the contract in the presence of REO Devanand Ramdatt, Region Two Chairperson Vilma De Silva, Regional Vice Chairman Humace Oodit

get to school, would benefit from the bridge.

Meanwhile, Pereira added that he is very thankful for the prompt development, because the surrounding was a large wetland over the past years. He said the bridge was made from round logs that became hazardous, especially for elderly folks

utilising the walkway.

"It is quite an important kind of development that we are going to see in Wakapao… Pregnant mothers and elders are going to benefit from safe movement across the main waterways that were facilitated by round posts. The logs are a serious risk because if anyone slips or

loses balance they will fall into the water," Toshao Pereira said.

Pereira has extended gratitude to the Regional Administration for the timely intervention that would benefit some 2,000 residents and also facilitate more conducive and safer movement across the waterways.

14 NEWS

FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

APNU Councillor evicted off land by former APNU/AFC-appointed REO …requesting Govt's intervention to retrieve land

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Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) A Partnership for National Unity councillor is asking the current regional administration to help her retrieve the land she was evicted from by the then APNU/AFC-appointed Regional Executive Officer (REO).

The call was made on Thursday when the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) met for its July statutory meeting.

In September 2016, farmers who occupied land at Naarstigheid were given notices by the then REO Ovid Morrison, informing them that they can no longer use the land they had been farming on for decades. At the time, the REO had said that the Regional Administration wanted to utilise the land to construct a model farm, but the then RDC at the time had said that it had made no such decision, and the REO was acting on his own.

In November of that

APNU Councillor Shamie McAlmont

year, the farmers were bulldozed off the land, and in September 2018 they took Morrison to court, seeking damages in excess of $10M. In June 2020, Justice Simone Ramlall awarded special damages to the farmers and ordered that they return to the land.

Earlier this month, Local Government Minister Nigel Dharamlall told the farmers that they

can repossess the land off of which they had once made a living. Morrison had fenced and planted that land, and some of the produce were being harvested and sold. However, when asked back in 2019, Regional Chairman Vickchand Ramphal said he was unaware of where the funds were going.

On Thursday, councillor Shamie McAlmont claimed that up to last month she

was using the land to farm and earn. She said that proceeds from produce that she sold during the month of June totalled in excess of $40,000. However, she told the RDC that she is one of the farmers who were evicted from the land, as she asked the Regional Chairman to act in a just way.

“Some farmers get back their land. I was one of the first farmers to occupy land there, and I am now being pushed around, but other farmers get back theirs,” she said.

She has called on the RDC to ensure that she is allowed to continue farming. However, Ramphal noted that during the last RDC which he headed, the RDC did not remove anyone from the land.

“Councillor, could you say who took you off of the land?” he asked McAlmont, and got no response.

However, Councillor Delion Crawford objected, saying that there is no record of persons being forced off of the land. He said it was probably for a good reason that there was no record.

In response, Mohomed Rafeeoodin objected, pointing out that records at

Regional Chairman Vickchand Ramphal

the court indicate that Morrison had physically assaulted farmers in a bid to get them off the land.

Rafeeoodin also mentioned that a Judge ruled that the farmers were bulldozed off the land.

Back in 2016, Morrison had removed about 30 farmers who were from Bath Settlement and had been farming almost 50 acres on land. Those farmers then said that other farmers who lived at Hopetown and also were farming on the same plot of land which was leased from the Agriculture Ministry were not removed.

Meanwhile, at

Thursday’s meeting, McAlmont said she was given funding from the Mahaica/Mahaicony/ Abary-Agricultural Development Authority (MMA-ADA) to construct a building which is being used for processing fruits and vegetables.

Ramphal assured that the administration is encouraging value-added agriculture, and as such welcomed efforts to have food processed. He said he would ensure that McAlmont continues to utilise the building which was constructed after Morrison had evicted the farmers. (Andrew Carmichael)

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FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Over $300M for infrastructural works in Region 10 - Edghill …additional $30M for Linden Waterfront Development Project

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ublic Works Minister Juan Edghill has indicated that significant allocation has been budgeted and will be expended for infrastructural development works within Region 10 (Upper Demerara- Berbice).

He made the announcement during a recent visit to Linden for commissioning of the rehabilitated Washer Pond Road, and stated that $300 million will be expended for new infrastructural development works, while $30 million will go to the Linden Waterfront Development Project.

The Minister also updated officials on other developmental plans.

"Currently, we have a situation where the LindenSoesdyke Highway is a point of interest…We have awarded a contract, and a sum of about $150M is being expended for the upgrade of the Linden-Soesdyke Highway, to ensure citizens, residents of Region 10 as well as businesses and others travelling through to Regions 9, 7 and 8, that traverse through this township could get to Linden and onto their final destination also in a safe manner,” the Minister said.

Interlinked

He noted that Government is also committed to ensuring the construction of an asphalted, concrete all-weather road from Linden to Lethem, and will, in the last quarter of this year, be signing the contract

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill at Coomacka, Linden, Region 10, where water was overflowing following rainfall on Tuesday

for the first 125 kilometres of the road, which will be from Linden to Mabura Hill.

This, the Minister said, will cost about US$190M; and, as announced last week, the project is being funded by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Caribbean Infrastructural Fund.

He said focus is also being placed on continuing connectivity in Region 10 with the road from Orealla to Kwakwani, which is being done with support from the Natural Resources Ministry and funding from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission.

“The intent…is that with that road, aggregates - the whole quarrying industry -

trucks will be able to bring aggregates from the quarry for construction and for infrastructural development into Region 10 and other areas…and ultimately getting into the market for our entire road construction”, the Minister said.

He said that for this year, along with what was done last year, works are continuing under the Miscellaneous and Urban Road Programmes.

“In 2021, we’ll be spending about $20M; the contract has just been awarded for the rehabilitation and construction of Third Corner, East Amelia’s Ward, Linden under the Urban Road Programme.”

Under the Ministry’s

Urban Road Programme, he said, about $17M will be spent for the rehabilitation of a road at Half Mile, Linden; $12M on a road leading to the One Mile Primary School, and $16M for the rehabilitation of the “Side Road” at One Mile Primary.

He further stated that the Miscellaneous Road Programme will see the rehabilitation of the Kwakwani Road network, as he pointed out that internal roads in the community are in a “bad state”. These will benefit from rehabilitation at a cost of $11.5M. He said that apart from roads, emphasis will be placed on waterfront development, and observation and assessment of the usage of facilities will soon be carried out to determine at which area $30M will be spent.

“Be assured, every cent of the $30M will be expend-

ed this year in bringing improvement to the waterfront development, but at a spot and in a manner that will give maximum benefit to the people,” the Minister said.

River defenses

In relation to river defenses, the Minister said he is saddened that residents of Speightland are still suffering despite a contract being awarded for the completion of a major defense project.

He said that the first contract was terminated and awarded to a new contractor, since it was clear that the previous contractor lacked the capacity and resources to complete the job.

This, he noted, will be in a matter of weeks. He added that the Ministry has been seeking to build capacity in local communities, while urging contractors within the Region to bid for jobs and to employ people from within the communities. He

noted that if a contractor from outside the Region wins a contract, then a significant percentage of the work force must come from outside of the region.

Further, he urged young people to take advantage of training offered by the Board of Industrial Training through the Linden Technical Institute, and asked that the Linden Mayor and Regional Chairman assist in the development agenda.

“We want the town to look good. We want all the people of Linden to be happy…but development comes in phases, and we ask for your understanding. Let us continue to prioritise…”, he urged.

During his visit to the region, Edghill also inspected the Block 22 and Wisroc main access road, which is currently in a deplorable state.

16 NEWS 70% MMA-ADA farmlands remain intact despite prolonged flooding R FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

ice farmers in the Mahaica/Mahaicony/ Abary – Agricultural Development Authority (MMA-ADA) Scheme are getting back to the land after the floodwaters have receded.

About 70 per cent of the farmlands within the MMAADA Scheme remain intact despite the prolonged flooding, and many farmers are now getting back into cultivation.

Region Five (Mahaica/ Berbice) is the country’s largest rice-producing Region, with most of the rice being cultivated in the MMA-ADA Scheme.

Just less than 100,000 acres of land are under cultivation in the MMA Scheme, and about 60,000 acres have already been put into rice cul-

MMA-ADA Vice Chairman Mohamed Rafeeoodeen

tivation for the current crop.

Vice-Chairman of MMA/ ADA, Mohomed Rafeeoodin, said on Wednesday that on the Berbice side of the Abary River, close to 50,000 acres were saved there, with about 35,000 acres being primarily used for rice cultivation.

According to Rafeeoodin,

almost 60 per cent of that land is already sown.

“And the rest, farmers are on the ground doing land preparation, and some will be sown shortly, and it is expected that by the first week of next month, most of that will be sown – that is north of the main canal,” the MMA official explained to this publication.

Meanwhile, south of the main canal has about 14,000 acres under rice cultivation, but many farmers there are unable to access the land for cultivation purposes, as floodwaters still remain lingering.

However, that is not the case in the Mahaicony area.

“We were able to do empoldering so as to save 23,000 acres in the Abary/Mahaicony area; that is Burma/MARDS

A Rice field being prepared for cultivation

block.”

Rafeeodin explained that an embankment was made at Mora Point from the Abary façade to the Mahaicony façade. This exercise prevented water from the backlands from entering the front lands.

That area houses the Burma Research Station which produces most of the paddy which is used as seed throughout the country.

The Research Station uses 6,000 of the 23,000 acres there.

Rafeeoodin explained that on the southern side of the Mahaicony River there are about 9,000 acres, most of which is used for cattle rearing. Floodwaters remain there, preventing any access.

Animals were either removed or died.

However, on the left bank of the Mahaicony river, the situation has seen thousands of acres of rice being destroyed.

“On the right bank of the Mahaica River; in the DeHoop block, we were able to save about 15,000 acres, while we would have lost some there,”

Rafeeoodin explained.

The Agriculture Ministry, through its infrastructure arm the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), had about 50 hydraulic excavators in Region Five reduce the impact of the flood, get water off the land quickly, and preserve areas.

extended rainfall, which resulted in extensive flooding, the window period for cultivating rice was extended to mid-July. But rice farmers continue to prepare the land to go into the crop. Many of those farmers are eying early August.

The entire Region Five drainage and irrigation net-

Rice being sown in the Mahaica area

Meanwhile, the Guyana Rice Producers Association have advised rice farmers not the plant after the end of June.

However, because of the

work, which includes residential areas, depends on the MMA/ADA. That agency overlooks all of the primary drainage systems in the Region. (G4)

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FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

24 women from T&T, 70 COVID: WHO urges China children still in Syrian camps to co-operate better in virus origin probe A

ttorney Nafeesa Mohammed has said there are still 24 women from Trinidad and Tobago and 70 children stuck in detention camps in Syria.

She said she has not stopped advocating for them to be able to return to this country and reunite with their families.

In 2018, Dr Simon Cottee, professor of criminology from the University of Kent, found over 42 children had been taken by their parents from their TT homes to ISIS battlegrounds in the Middle East since 2015.

Most of the men who ventured there were killed in war, with their wives and children now being housed at these camps.

Mohammed has been advocating for their safe return over the past three years.

She resigned from the PNM during the campaign for the 2020 general election and said the Government was uncaring towards nationals in refugee camps in Syria.

But attorney general Faris Al-Rawi said Mohammed’s statement of resignation was “largely based on self-interest of herself and her family, to which the Government could not accede.

“Nafeesa is saying to TT, these persons who are citizens of TT, their husbands were killed in action. What action? ISIS?...Did they volunteer to leave this country as

ISIS fighters, take their wives who went willingly in support of ISIS, have children and God forbid they should expose their children.

“Those are breaches of the anti-terrorism laws in the world. So according to Nafeesa, forget that. ‘Don’t worry who may have been inculcated in ISIS or not. Just bring them home!’

“They didn’t leave on a holiday. They left for terrorism.

They were killed in action in ISIS.” In August 2020, the families of those being held at the Kurdish-run al-Hol refugee camp in northern Syria filed judicial review proceedings in the High Court challenging a delay by Stuart Young, then national security minister, in having them repatriated.

They said this was done because they had sent several letters to Al-Rawi but got no response.

In April 2021, Justice Joan Charles ruled there was neither a legislative nor a policy framework in place for repatriating nationals from conflict/war zones.

She said domestic law could not be enforced in another state’s territory without that state’s consent, and the group was not under the jurisdiction of the Syrian government or any state entity.

“Domestic law will not extend to matters occurring on foreign soil, over which Trinidad and Tobago have no

control. The 12 persons, the subject of the claim, are detained in circumstances under which TT has no control,” she said.

On Wednesday, the BBC reported that children in these camps “face a lifetime in prison” and “are being moved from desert camps to secure children’s homes and on to adult prisons.”

It described the process as “a conveyer belt of incarceration.”

Mohammed told Newsday of the 70 children born of TT mothers there, 56 were under 12.

She also said 33 of them were born in Syria.

She said all the women there have “a verification bundle of documents that they can easily obtain to verify the citizenship of the women and children. ”The administrative authority maintains a database....they can easily establish confirming that these children were born to these mothers.”

She said the women are in their 20s and 30s, with knowledge of at least one over 40.

“These are women and children, these are vulnerable citizens of our country who are in dire need of protection. The relatives have signed a document indicating their willingness to collaborate with the state agencies.”

She said the women are Diego Martin, Port of Spain,

San Juan, Couva, Claxton Bay, Rio Claro and Maloney, among other areas.

She said ISIS has collapsed, so any fear surrounding their returning home is misplaced.

In 2020, Al-Rawi proposed the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill.

Infographics from his office said the bill provided “measures for imposing a temporary exclusion order which prohibits an individual from returning unless permitted by the Minister of National Security and subjected to stringent restrictions and conditions including detention at a designated facility.

“This bill addresses returnees and foreign terrorist fighters and provides definitions which distinguishes between the two terms.”

The Opposition did not support it, with Opposition Leader Kamla PersadBissessar saying it gave the attorney general too much power.

Mohammed told Newsday the bill was the “nastiest and most draconian piece of legislation that you could ever dream of, that would criminalise these women and children.

“All that the State has to do at this stage – there is an avenue that is available for dialogue to begin with our country and the administrative authorities at the camps.”

(T&T NewsDay)

T

he Head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged China to be more cooperative with the WHO's second phase of the investigation into the origins of COVID-19.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for more access and transparency.

The first phase of the WHO's investigation ended in February.

It concluded that it was highly unlikely that the virus came from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, and that it probably originated in bats.

Speaking in Geneva on Thursday, Dr Tedros said the WHO needed access to raw patient data from just before and the start of the pandemic this time around.

China did not share this data with the WHO team during the first investigation, he added.

He also called for clear information about the laboratory in Wuhan, stating that as a medical professional himself, he knew accidents could happen.

This was the strongest indication yet that the WHO is still considering the lab leak theory, despite its experts saying this was unlikely, the BBC's

WHO Head, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for more access and transparency

Imogen Foulkes from Geneva.

reports

Speculation about a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology –- one of China's top virus research labs – began last year and was propagated by former US President Donald Trump.

Dr Tedros also warned against the idea that the pandemic was coming to an end.

The WHO's emergency committee said that new and more dangerous variants were expected to spread around the world.

"The pandemic is nowhere near finished," the committee warned in a statement.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

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guyanatimesgy.com

FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021

Regional

US says no plans to send troops, Scores pay respects to Mottley but charges could be brought family, view PM’s brother’s body there for President’s killing S cores of people gathered at Queen’s Park Steel Shed for the public viewing of the body of Warren Mottley.

The son of Sir Elliott and Lady Mottley and brother of Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley passed away on June 29.

He also leaves to

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resident Joe Biden on Thursday appeared to rule out the possibility of sending US troops to Haiti to stabilise the Caribbean nation following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

Haiti’s Acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph has requested troops from both the United States and the United Nations to help secure its airport and other infrastructure.

Biden said the United States was sending Marines to guard the US Embassy in capital Port-au-Prince to make sure “nothing is out of whack” and it is secure.

“But the idea of sending American forces to Haiti is not on the agenda at this moment,” Biden told reporters at a news conference at the White House.

Meanwhile, charges could be brought in the United States related to the killing of Moïse, a US senior official said on Thursday.

Moïse was fatally shot on July 7 at his Port-au-Prince

Haiti’s Acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph has requested troops from both the United States and the United Nations to help secure its airport and other infrastructure

home by what Haitian authorities describe as a unit of assassins, including 26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans.

“If charges can be brought in the United States, they will be brought,” the Administration official said.

“We have to tread carefully in Haiti, because what the US does carries a lot of impact. And so we have been very careful to ... make sure that we are supporting Haitian solutions to Haitian challenges,” the official said.

The BBC also reported that Colombia’s President Iván Duque says some of the Colombian suspects had “detailed knowledge” of the plan to kill the leader.

Duque said most of the Colombians had been duped as they were told they would work as bodyguards in Haiti.

But there was a smaller group among them with detailed knowledge of the operation, he told Colombia’s FM radio. (Excerpt from Reuters and BBC News)

Murders, killings by Police rose in Brazil last year, report shows

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oth murders and killings by Police rose in Brazil during 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic, according to new data published on Thursday, reversing gains made in the first years of President Jair Bolsonaro’s term.

The Brazilian Yearbook of Public Security showed homicides in Brazil rose four per cent in 2020, with 50,033 people killed, giving Latin America’s biggest country a murder rate of 23.6 per 100,000 people. Meanwhile,

the country’s Police killed 6416 people, up 0.3 per cent compared with the previous year, the report showed.

Violence in Brazil, the country with the world’s highest number of murders, fell during the first years of Bolsonaro’s Administration.

He was elected in 2018 with a promise to snuff out violent gangs and end years of corruption among the country’s political and business elite.

But Thursday’s report shows that some of those

gains have been erased, as a sharp rise in gun ownership, a measure pushed by Bolsonaro, has coincided with a rise in killings.

Nearly 200,000 new guns were registered in Brazil in 2020 after a loosening of restrictions, nearly double the number in the previous year, the data showed.

There are now nearly 1.3 million guns registered with Brazil’s Federal Police, the report said, over double the number in 2017. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Cuba protests: Tax on food and medicine imports lifted

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uba says it will allow travellers arriving in the country to bring in food, medicine and other essentials without paying import duties.

The announcement was made following the biggest anti-Government protests on the Communist-run island in decades.

Thousands took to the streets on Sunday to protest over food and medicine shortages, price increases, and the Government’s handling of COVID-19.

There will be no limit on such goods brought in by travellers from Monday.

However, the measure is only temporary and has been derided as “too little, too late” by critics of the

Government.

Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz announced the change on Wednesday at a meeting broadcast on State television.

His tone was much more conciliatory than that of President Miguel DíazCanel, who, as the protests spread, had called on Government supporters to take to the streets to “defend the revolution”.

In contrast, Marrero Cruz said the lifting of the import duties “was a demand made by many travellers and it was necessary to take this decision”.

He added that the Government would “assess things” after December 31.

Travellers to Cuba can

currently bring up to 10kg of medicine into the country tax-free. However, they must pay customs duties on the limited amount of food and personal hygiene supplies they are allowed to bring in.

Scrapping the import duties had been suggested by some Cubans as a way to ease the shortages of medicines and food on the island.

The Government had introduced the taxes to cut down on “mulas” (Spanish for mules), the name given to couriers who travel to Cuba from abroad heavily laden with foreign goods and currency. (Excerpt from BBC News)

mourn widow Shawn, children Emanuelle Amor and Laurenne Amor.

Among those in attendance include uncle Elombe and wife Donna ScottMottley from Jamaica; Dame Billie Miller; his cousin, Caricom Ambassador David Comissiong; Ann Lady Hewitt, Cheryl Lady Forde,

Opposition Leader Bishop Joseph Atherley, members of the Barbados Labour Party, the legal fraternity and the general public.

The funeral service will be held today at St Mary’s Anglican Church, but due to COVID-19 protocols, it will be a private affair, limited to 100 people. (Nation News)

Gang rivalry leads to eight murders in T&T

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wo women were among eight people murdered on Tuesday in Arima and St Augustine as Police fear gang warfare has now broken out over the murder of Kareem “Pinto Boss” Walters of Pinto Road in Arima on Monday.

Police say that at 08:40h, Dawn Mc Kenna, 40, of St John’s Road, St Augustine, was driving her Tucson motor vehicle east along the Arima Old Road in the company of her son, Jordan Mc Kenna, 19, and another man identified as Jeremy De Freitas, 18, when they were blocked by a silver Tiida.

Another vehicle pulled up on the roadway behind them from which two men alighted and opened fire on the three of them.

As one of the victims tried to run away, one of the killers pursued him over a gate and continued shooting.

They all died on the spot.

Police told Guardian Media that the killings indicate an upsurge in gang activities and they believed that it was part of an ongoing gang war over drugs and turf

Ten minutes later, five more residents of St John’s Road were killed and one wounded.

Officers of the St Joseph CID, while on the scene of the shooting, received information of a body found in a forested area approximately two miles away at Upper St John’s Road.

Police Constable Vitalis and other officers discovered

the bodies of three people— one female and two males— with chop wounds to their necks lying on the ground among some bushes. Police said they were all bound and gagged.

Police said the gunmen in all the attacks were believed to have been armed with high-powered weapons. (Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

PM tells Jamaicans to observe COVID protocols, or he will be forced to “take action”

P

rime Minister Andrew Holness on Wednesday warned Jamaicans that he could be forced to “take action” should citizens fail to observe protocols concerning the novel coronavirus, noting that since the Government revised the measures last month there has been a slight uptick in the number of people contracting the virus.

At the same time, he pointed out that several countries around the world have suffered setbacks in their fight against the virus as cases started to soar with the relaxation of restrictions.

Holness, who was addressing the opening of the newly-constructed Mount Salem Police Station in St James, said the only solution to Jamaica overcoming the pandemic was for each person to take personal responsibility.

“As your Prime Minister, it is my role to balance all the considerations. It is not an easy task. The arguments on both sides are strong and compelling, but ultimate-

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness

ly, I have a duty to the safety of the population. If it is that your behaviour threatens the safety of the population, then I will have to act and indeed not say anything further on this matter,” Holness said.

The warning from the Prime Minister came less than two weeks after the Government relaxed the restrictions imposed as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic, giving the citizenry more freedom, including the entertainment

industry which had been closed since March of last year when the country had recorded its first case of the novel coronavirus.

Holness said the Government was watching the numbers keenly, noting that a report from Chief Medical Officer Dr Jacquiline BisasorMcKenzie during Cabinet on Monday had indicated that there was a slight uptick in the positivity rates and hospitalisations. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

guyanatimesgy.com

FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021

19

Around the World

OILNEWS OIL NEWS

At least 44 dead, dozens missing as floods sweep through western Europe

A Oil prices sink again, as investors look out for more supply

O

il prices fell by more than US$1 a barrel on Thursday on expectations of more crude hitting the market after a compromise deal between leading Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) producers and a surprisingly poor weekly reading on US fuel demand.

Brent crude settled at US$73.47 a barrel, dropping US$1.29, or 1.7 per cent. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled at US$71.65 a barrel, down US$1.48, or 2.2 per cent.

The slide continued Wednesday’s losses, after Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had reached an accord that should pave the way for a deal to supply more crude to a tight oil market.

A deal has yet to be solidified, and the UAE Energy Ministry said deliberations were continuing.

“That’s still the big elephant in the room – we had a deal, we didn’t have a deal – and that’s raising concerns,” said Phil Flynn of Price Futures Group.

Talks among the OPEC, Russia and their allies, a group known as OPEC+, broke down this month after the UAE objected to extending the group’s supply pact beyond April 2022, saying the deal did not account for the UAE’s increased output capacity.

In the United States, a large drawdown in crude stockpiles did little to boost prices as investors focused on rising fuel inventories in a week that included the Fourth of July holiday, when driving usually surges.

“All that sense of gasoline optimism evaporated in just one week,” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho. “If you don’t need the gasoline, you don’t need the crude oil to make the gasoline, and that’s the only math that matters at the end of the day.”

Several banks, including Goldman Sachs, Citi and UBS expect supplies to remain tight in the coming months even if OPEC+ finalises an agreement to raise output.

OPEC, in its monthly report, said it still foresaw a strong recovery in world oil demand for the rest of 2021, and predicted oil use in 2022 would reach levels similar to those before the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Reuters)

t least 42 people have died in Germany and dozens were missing on Thursday as swollen rivers caused by record rainfall across western Europe swept through towns and villages, leaving cars upended, houses destroyed, and people stranded on rooftops.

As the water started to recede, stunned residents in the worst-affected towns inspected what was left of their homes and neighbourhoods.

In the town of Schuld, houses were reduced to piles of debris and broken beams.

Roads were blocked by wreckage and fallen trees, and fish flapped and gasped in puddles of water in the middle of the street.

"We have had two or three days of constant rain. Or maybe four, I lost track,"

As the water started to recede, stunned residents in the worstaffected towns inspected what was left of their homes and neighbourhoods

said Klaus Radermacher, who has been living in Schuld for 60 years.

"I saw the pizza store getting flooded, half an hour later the bakery was flooded.

There is a camping ground up there, so caravans and campervans came floating past, gas tanks. We were powerless against it. It came

India reaches out to South Africa amid unrest

W

orried over reports of violence against Indian-origin people in South Africa, New Delhi on Wednesday reached out to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government, which assured it that the attacks were not racially motivated.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor over phone. Sanjay Bhattacharya, secretary at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), also had a meeting with the High Commissioner of South Africa to India, Joel Sibusiso Ndebele, in New

Delhi.

Jaishankar discussed with Pandor the reports about Indians and Indianorigin South Africans being targeted in Durban, Johannesburg and several other cities in her country.

The unrest was triggered by protests and counter-protests over-incarceration of Ramaphosa’s predecessor Jacob Zuma, who recently started serving a 15-month-long prison term for defying a court order and refusing to testify in connection with a probe into alleged corruption during his stint in the office of the President of South from 2009 to 2018.

Over 70 people were

Lebanon: PM-designate Saad Hariri resigns as crisis escalates

L

ebanon Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri stepped down on Thursday after failing to form a Government for over the past eight months.

Hariri resigned following a brief meeting with President Michel Aoun at Baabda Palace.

“I withdrew from forming the Government,” he told reporters. “Aoun demanded some amendments, which he considered essential, and said we will not be able to reach an understanding with each other… And may God save this country.”

Aoun accused Hariri of already deciding to step down prior to their meeting.

“Hariri rejected any amendments related to changes in Ministries,

Hariri announces he abandoned cabinet formation after meeting with President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace on Thursday [Dalati Nohra via AP Photo]

their sectarian distribution, and the names associated with them,” the President’s office said in a statement.

In an interview with Lebanon’s Al Jadeed TV, Hariri said he selected his

so fast, I've never seen anything like it."

Eighteen people died and dozens were unaccounted for around the wine-growing region of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate state, Police said, after the Ahr River that flows into the Rhine broke its banks and brought down half a dozen

houses.

Another 15 people died in the Euskirchen region south of the city of Bonn, authorities said. People in the region were asked to evacuate their homes and emergency workers were pumping water from a dam south of Euskirchen town, fearing it could burst.

In Belgium, two men died due to the torrential rain and a 15-year-old girl was missing after being swept away by an overflowing river.

Hundreds of soldiers and 2500 relief workers were helping Police with rescue efforts in Germany. Tanks were deployed to clear roads of landslides and fallen trees and helicopters winched those stranded on rooftops to safety. (Excerpt from Reuters)

candidates based on their expertise and their ability to reform the economy, but Aoun did not.

“I resigned in 2019, because I wanted a government of experts, and if we formed Michel Aoun’s

Government, then the country won’t be saved,” he said.

“The main problem of this country is Michel Aoun, who is allied with Hezbollah, who in turn protects him. This is the equation in the country and if someone can’t see it, then they’re blind.”

Hariri’s office declined to comment to Al Jazeera.

Later Thursday, supporters of Hariri and his Future Movement party took to the streets, blocking roads with burning tyres and rubbish bins in several areas around Beirut.

Several dozen protesters at Beirut’s Sports City scuffled with Lebanese soldiers in riot gear who fired rubber-coated steel bullets. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Ramaphosa on Monday deployed troops to help overwhelmed police as the looting and burning of buildings spread (AFP)

killed and a large number of shops and houses were burned and looted across South Africa.

South Africa assured India that the Ramaphosa was doing its utmost to enforce law and order and asserted that early restoration of normalcy and peace was its overriding priority, a source in New Delhi said.

Regarding reports of arson and looting against Indians and Indian-origin South Africans, the South African side conveyed that opportunistic elements were taking advantage of the situation to engage in looting and violence. They emphasized that the ongoing events were criminal in nature and not political or racially motivated.

20

FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021

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ARIES (March 21April 19)

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(April 20May 20)

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PEANUTS

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CALVIN AND HOBBES

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SUDOKU

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Bend a little when dealing with domestic situations that require getting along with others. Do your part without complaint, and you will set the stage for a beautiful day.

A change will catch you off guard. Refuse to let anger get the best of you. Take a step back, rethink your options and choose to keep the peace. Romance is encouraged.

Play to win. Gather information, formulate a plan and set your sights on the results you want to achieve.

Personal and home improvements will encourage you to take better care of yourself.

Take pride in what you do, and refuse to let an emotional incident hinder progress. Arguing is a waste of time; rise above conflict and avoid disagreements. Use your intelligence to navigate your way to victory.

A change may not be welcome, but it will be the push you need to start something new. Look at the possibilities and do your part to ensure that what takes place is what you want. Romance is encouraged.

Handle money matters and your professional duties with care. The wrong move will have lasting effects. Common sense will help you maintain a stressfree lifestyle. A professional opportunity looks promising.

Choose your battles wisely. Refuse to let anyone use emotional tactics to push you in a direction you don’t want to go. Be good to yourself. Don’t be afraid to take on a challenge!

Refuse to let negativity or a lack of energy set in; follow your heart and pursue your dreams. It’s up to you to make things happen. Take responsibility for your happiness.

Don’t wait for an opportuSAGITTARIUS nity to come to you. Jump in (Nov. 23and do your part to get ahead.

Dec. 21) Turn on the charm, and show everyone how proficient you can be. Refuse to let anyone steal your thunder.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

Set goals that are doable.

Don’t let ego or your emotions get in your way. Pay attention to what others say, and hold yourself and others accountable. Run a tight ship.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

A joint venture will entice you. Maintain control of how much you spend, and don’t go overboard to impress others. Unreliability will surface if you are too accommodating or gullible.

PISCES

You’ll have a unique way of processing what’s going on around you. Your intuition will not let you down. Follow your instincts, and you’ll know when to say no to someone likely to fail you.

(Feb. 20March 20)

FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021

21

South African cricket was controlled by a clique of white players, says Roger Telemachus – Former fast bowler says they were in part responsible for his exclusion from the XI at the 2007 World Cup S

outh African cricket was controlled by a clique of white players nicknamed “the big five”, according to former fast bowler Roger Telemachus.

Testifying at the Social Justice and Nation-Building (SJN) hearings, Telemachus explained how the moniker was coined at the 2007 World Cup, where he was part of the squad but did not play a game.

“That is where the big five started. They control selection.

They control everything. They used to go to the coach and say this is how we are going to play.

This is where we gave the name to these players,” Telemachus said.

He did not name which players made up the clique, but when asked to confirm its makeup, Telemachus said: “This is a group of white players.”

This is not the first time a clique has been mentioned in South African cricket. Herschelle Gibbs wrote about a group of players

Roger Telemachus claims he was supposed to have played the semi-final of the 2007 World Cup, but didn’t because of political pressure

who controlled the national team in his autobiography in 2010, and the recent and turbulent overhaul of Cricket South Africa (CSA) also included references to a small set of players wielding all the power.

Telemachus claimed the clique was partly responsible for his being reduced to a passenger at the World Cup 14 years ago, but he also indicated there was political interference.

“A week before the semifinal, I was told I will definitely be playing the semi-final. I asked the coach what was the reason, and he said one of our fast bowlers has a niggle,” Telemachus said.

“But before that, Makhaya Ntini was out of form, and the day before, apparently they (team management) got an email from CSA that the ANC (African National Congress, South Africa’s ruling party) are putting pressure on them because there are no black African cricketers in the team.

“That is the reason why the coach came to me and said, ‘Sorry, this is the story, unfortunately you can’t play.’ He showed me the mail. My question to them was why can’t Roger Telemachus and Makhaya Ntini play together in the semi-final? No answers, nothing happened. I was left out.

I called my family and told them I am going to play and they should watch out for me. And then I was told I wouldn’t play. I almost got

physical with that coach. The assistant coach had to stop me. I was furious, I was hurt.”

Incidentally, neither Telemachus nor Ntini played in that match against Australia, which South Africa lost by seven wickets.

Ntini was dropped for the previous game against England, and was not brought back into the team for the knockout match, after struggling through the tournament.

Telemachus had not played an ODI since September 2006, did not feature at the World Cup, and never played again for South Africa. He claims he was given no explanation for why he was left out.

“When I confronted them, they couldn’t give me answers.

Even when we returned from West Indies, I never got answers.”

Asked how he thought the clique was formed, Telemachus

said, “they were good friends off the cricket field, good friends on the cricket field, they had their social lives together, even when there weren’t tours. That was how they hooked up and discussed things.”

While the SJN aims to provide a platform for those involved in cricket to recount historical incidents of racial discrimination, it is also looking at any continuing bias in the game today.

Telemachus recently lost his position as coach of the KwaZulu Natal provincial union to the Dolphins coach Imraan Khan.

This has been the norm since the dissolution of the franchise system last summer. Franchise coaches are taking over at most of the bigger provincial teams.

The Dolphins used to have two feeder teams linked to them - Kwa-Zulu Natal Coastal and Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland. The Inland team has appointed Michael

Smith, the former head coach of Martizburg College.

Telemachus, who has a Level 4 coaching certificate, took aim at the process South African teams use to appoint a coach, which he said was not based on credentials.

“The appointment of the national coach is unfair,” he said.

“The guy was never asked for an interview. He was appointed by the director of cricket (Graeme Smith). I’ve got no issues with Mark Boucher. I’ve got no issues with the guy who has been appointed KZN-Inland coach (Michael Smith). I have got issues with people who made these decisions.”

The SJN hearings are due to run for the next two weeks, after which transformation ombudsman Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza will produce a report and recommendations to CSA. (ESPNCricinfo)

Hamilton admits After Pant, one member of India’s it will be support staff tests positive for COVID-19 ‘tall order’ A to win 2021 BGP title

fter Rishabh Pant, four more members of the Indian contingent in England have been forced to quarantine for 10 days in London. This follows one of the support staff - training assistant/ net bowler Dayanand Garani returning a positive COVID-19 test on July 14.

Apart from Garani, those in quarantine include the bowling coach B Arun, wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, and reserve opener Abhimanyu Easwaran, who were identified as his close contacts.

The development comes as a big setback for India’s preparations for the five-Test series in England, which were already affected when Pant returned a positive test on July 8.

In accordance with the protocols laid down by Public Health England, all those deemed to be in close contact with the person/s affected need to be traced and isolated for ten days. It is believed that Arun, who is travelling with his family, Saha and Easwaran (both travelling alone), have all cleared the fresh round of tests conducted on Thursday.

A BCCI release on Thursday evening said Pant has not been staying at the team hotel, which suggests he is unlikely to have affected any other India player, and that he is “on his way to recovery”. Pant will be able to join the rest of the India squad after returning two negative RTPCR tests. The same rule applies for the four others who are currently in quarantine.

The BCCI release also said that “to mitigate any further risks”, the Indian contingent will be administered lateral flow tests every day.

It is understood that not all members of the Indian squad were aware of Pant testing positive. Even BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who sent an email to all members of the Indian contingent on July 13, asking them to exercise all possible COVID-19 precautions, did not mention Pant’s positive result in that note, seen by ESPNcricinfo.

In it, Shah stressed that while the Indian contingent had received the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine recently, that did not “guarantee total immunity or resistance against the dreaded virus”.

While British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that the United Kingdom would be rolling back most of its COVID-19 restrictions from July 19, he cautioned that the Delta variant, which originated from India, was transmitting quickly, and accounts for virtually all the cases recently in the country.

Shah, too, pointed to how

the new COVID-19 variant had been “spreading rapidly”, and said, “We are not out of danger zone” yet.

Citing the two bilateral series that were affected recently - the England vs Pakistan series and the Sri Lanka vs India series because of the rising numbers, Shah wrote, “It is advisable that places of mass congregation, crowded shopping malls/stores, and eateries and watering holes be avoided by you in the best interest of everyone.”

On Thursday, the Indian contingent, which had dispersed the day after the World Test Championship final defeat to New Zealand, reassembled in London to travel to Durham, where it will spend the next two weeks getting ready for the first of five Tests, which starts at Trent Bridge on August 4.

The Indians are scheduled to play a three-day tour game from July 20 at Chesterle-Street against a select county team. That match, Durham said on Wednesday in an official statement, would be “strictly” behind closed doors.

(ESPNCricinfo)

L

ewis Hamilton says winning an eighth Formula 1 world drivers’ title this year will be a “tall order”.

The Mercedes driver is 32 points behind Max Verstappen of Red Bull before this weekend’s British Grand Prix, after four wins in five races for the Dutchman.

Hamilton said: “It’s what I dream of and am working towards. I am massively driven, but it’s a tall order. Their performance has gone a little bit out of reach, but we are working as hard as we can to close back up.”

Hamilton has not won a race since the Spanish Grand Prix in mid-May, since when Red Bull have won every event, with Sergio Perez adding a victory in the Azerbaijan event to Verstappen’s four.

“When a challenge comes up, I face it head on,” Hamilton said in an interview for BBC Radio 5 Live’s British GP preview show.

“I have never run away from a fight. When we entered this season and we saw the challenge we had on, it was like, ‘Game on, love this, this is what we live for.’

It has been exciting.”

Hamilton has said the rule changes on bodywork and

aerodynamics made for this season to slow the cars down had affected Mercedes more than most other teams.

And he said that a rule change last season to prevent teams using high-power qualifying engine modes had also impacted Mercedes.

“These rules have impacted us massively,” he said. “We have had the engine scenario changed last year when we lost qualifying mode, and then this new rule shift has hit us hardest. We are doing the best we can. The cost cap has come in, which has made it even harder for development.

“All I know is that, whatever the outcome, there has been an immense amount of growth, and I am going to be here for longer than this year. It is not going to be the end of the world if we don’t, but we are going to give everything to make sure that we do.”

Hamilton ‘proud’ of dignity of England stars Hamilton this week launched the report compiled by his own commission into trying to understand the reasons for the lack of diversity in motorsport in the UK.

He said earlier this week that the racist abuse suffered

by England footballers Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho after the Euro 2020 final was “devastating to see, but shows that as a nation we have a long, long way to go”.

At Silverstone, he said he had found the players’ reaction to the abuse “hugely inspiring”.

Hamilton said: “The manager’s done a great job in creating a diverse team, which is amazing to see. And then at the end, bringing on these three black players and I was like, ‘Wow, they are empowering those individuals to go out and doing something great.’

“I could see the benefits: if we win, it will be magical, and a double win culturally also for the black community. And I could feel if it doesn’t go well, I know exactly what’s coming.

“It happened, and my heart just sank, and we saw the aftermath. What I was most proud of was the dignity and strength these players had, and how they handled it. That for me was hugely inspiring, and I couldn’t be more proud of those players.” (BBC Sport)

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GUYANATIMESGY.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021

Pakistan Women register first win on Caribbean tour

O

maima Sohail’s half-century and four-wicket hauls by pacer Fatima Sana and left-arm orthodox Nashra Sandhu scripted Pakistan Women’s victory over West Indies Women by four wickets in the fourth One-Day International at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium here on Thursday.

Pakistan overhauled the 211-run target with nine balls to spare, and Omaima, who posted her second half-century of the series, top-scored with 61 off 89.

The right-handed middle-order batter smashed four fours and led her side’s recovery after they were two down for 44, with Muneeba Ali (19 off 22) and captain

Javeria Khan (run-a-ball 10) back in the hut in the 10th over.

Omaima added 81 runs for the third wicket with opener Sidra Amin, who came into the national side after scoring a sparkling 108 not out for Pakistan Women ‘A’ on Tuesday, which helped the side to an 80-run win. Sidra scored 41 off 87 before she was dismissed in the 29th over off Shakera Selman’s bowling, which also accounted for Javeria.

Pakistan were taken over the line by Nida Dar (29 off 34, three fours) and Fatima (two off eight) as the two added 14 runs for the seventh wicket. For West Indies, Selman and Hayley Matthews each picked

Fatima Sana was player of the match

up two wickets.

Earlier, Fatima, the 19-year-old pacer, recorded her career-best figures after her captain elected to bowl upon winning the toss. The start of play was delayed by 45 minutes due to damp pitch.

Fatima made the most of the condition, and played a key role in providing her side with a profound start with the dismissals of openers Matthews (one off six) and Deandra Dottin (19 off 21) inside 7.1 overs. She returned in the death overs and picked up two more wickets, helping Pakistan to skittle West Indies out with two balls remaining.

I t w a s

Stafanie Taylor

SCOREBOARD West Indies Innings Hayley Matthews lbw b Fatima Sana 1 Deandra Dottin c Diana Baig b Fatima Sana 19 Kyshona Knight lbw b Diana Baig 88 Stafanie Taylor(c) c †Muneeba Ali b Nashra Sandhu 49 Britney Cooper c †Muneeba Ali b Nashra Sandhu 0 Chedean Nation b Nashra Sandhu 5 Chinelle Henry c Javeria Khan b Fatima Sana 9 Rashada Williams † b Fatima Sana 14 Anisa Mohammed c Javeria Khan b Nashra Sandhu 5 Shamilia Connell not out 2 Shakera Selman run out (sub [Syeda Aroob Shah]/ Nashra Sandhu) 1 Extras (b 4, lb 1, nb 1, w 11) 17 TOTAL (49.4 Ov, RR: 4.22) 210 Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Hayley Matthews, 1.4 ov), 2-29 (Deandra Dottin, 7.1 ov), 3-171 (Stafanie Taylor, 39.3 ov), 4-171 (Britney Cooper, 39.5 ov), 5-177 (Chedean Nation, 41.2 ov), 6-181 (Kyshona Knight, 42.1 ov), 7-194 (Chinelle Henry, 46.4 ov), 8-206 (Rashada Williams, 48.4 ov), 9-208 (Anisa Mohammed, 49.1 ov), 10-210 (Shakera Selman, 49.4 ov) BOWLING O-M-R-W-ECON-WD-NB Diana Baig 10-0-32-1-3.20-2-0

Fatima Sana 8-2-30-4-3.75-1-1 Nida Dar 9-1-48-0-5.33-1-0 Anam Amin 10-1-28-0-2.80-1-0 Nashra Sandhu 9.4-0-49-4-5.06-2-0 Omaima Sohail 3-0-18-0-6.00-1-0 PAKISTAN WOMEN INNINGS (TARGET: 211 RUNS FROM 50 OVERS) Muneeba Ali † lbw b Matthews 19 Sidra Ameen c †Williams b Selman 41 Javeria Khan (c) b Selman 10 Omaima Sohail b Henry 61 Kainat Imtiaz b Matthews 16 Nida Dar not out 29 Ayesha Naseem c sub (S Gajnabi) b Mohammed 14 Fatima Sana not out 2 Extras (b 6, nb 1, w 12) 19 TOTAL (48.3 Ov, RR: 4.35) 211/6 Did not bat: Diana Baig, Nashra Sandhu, Anam Amin Fall of wickets: 1-32 (Muneeba Ali, 6.4 ov), 2-44 (Javeria Khan, 9.3 ov), 3-125 (Sidra Ameen, 28.5 ov), 4-158 (Kainat Imtiaz, 37.3 ov), 5-175 (Omaima Sohail, 42.1 ov), 6-197 (Ayesha Naseem, 45.5 ov) BOWLING

O-M-R-W Shamilia Connell 6-0-36-0 Shakera Selman 9.3-1-34-2 Hayley Matthews 10-0-46-2 Anisa Mohammed 10-0-30-1 Chinelle Henry 10-1-42-1 Stafanie Taylor 3-0-17-0

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Netherlands legend Arjen Robben retires for second time

A Nashra’s two wickets in three balls in the 40th over which brought Pakistan back into the contest, as the left-arm orthodox broke a 142-run stand between West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor, who missed a half-century by one run, and Kyshona Knight (88 off 140, eight fours and a six) with the wicket of the former.

She sent Britney Cooper back without giving her an opportunity to open her account, and then accounted for Chinelle Henry (nine off 17) and Anisa Mohammed (five off eight).

Pacer Diana Baig was the other bowler to pick a wicket when she trapped Knight in front of stumps in the 43rd over.

The fifth ODI – the final match of the Pakistan women’s tour of the West Indies – will be staged at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Sunday.

rjen Robben has retired from football for the second time at the age of 37. The former Netherlands international initially hung up his boots in 2019, before reversing the decision and returning to his first club, Groningen, last season.

Injuries and the coronavirus pandemic marred the winger’s second spell, and he announced his decision on Thursday.

Robben won two Premier League titles, two League Cups and an FA Cup with Chelsea during a stellar career. He also played at PSV

Eindhoven, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, and won 96 caps for his country, scoring 37 goals.

He wrote on Twitter: “I have decided to end my active foot-

ball career, it was a very difficult choice. I want to thank everyone for their heart-warming support!”

Signed by Claudio Ranieri before he was sacked by Chelsea in 2004, Robben played a key role as the Blues won back-to-back titles under Jose Mourinho in 2005 and 2006. In 2007 he was sold to Real Madrid, but despite winning La Liga in his first season, it was at Bayern Munich where he showed his best form.

Robben joined the German side in 2009, and helped them to a treble four years later by scoring in the Champions League final win over Borussia Dortmund at Wembley. He stayed in Bavaria until his first retirement.

Having played in the 2010 World Cup final, which the Dutch lost to Spain, Robben quit international football in 2017 when the national team failed to qualify for the 2018 tournament in Russia.

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Unfazed Pooran looking forward to captaincy role in future

– backs Russell’s six-hitting approach

F

or the first time in his career, stand-in West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran has won a T20 International series.

The 25-year-old Pooran, who is also tipped to lead the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the upcoming Hero Caribbean Premier League, has said he is looking forward to leading teams in the future.

“Looking forward to it, to be honest. It gives you that sense of leadership, to be honest. You want to perform every game, but we know, as individuals, you can’t per-

form every game, you have more responsibilities. On this team, I am happy and thankful that there is a lot of knowledge in this team.

In this series, it’s been very easy for me,” Pooran said.

Looking at his personal game, Pooran was unfazed at not scoring heavy runs.

“Yes, I would like to score more runs, but I am not worried, I am getting starts.

Couple months ago I was not getting starts, so I am not worried about myself,” Pooran disclosed.

Additionally, Pooran is backing Andre Russell’s

approach in the final over, when West Indies required 11 runs from six balls to win the fourth T20I against Mitchell Starc.

“It’s easy to say we can get four runs from four balls. In the last over, it’s pressure! And when you are in that situation, then you know. Starc is a world class bowler, and our best hitter (Andre Russell) we back him 100% and he will do it again in the future,” Pooran said in a virtual media interaction on Thursday afternoon.

Pooran also said he was

WIPA confirm changes made to Cricket West Indies players’ contract

Pooran and his team backed Andre Russell to finish the match with sixes

proud of the West Indies team for restricting the Australians, who looked set to score over 200 runs at one stage during that fourth T20I. The Trinidadian said the West Indies team are closer to their best perfor-

mance.

“From stand-in captain, I believe we are getting there to perform to our best,” he said.

Looking ahead, Pooran said he is hoping the guys learn from their mistakes

and adapt faster, while putting in that good performance. The West Indies will play the fifth and final T20I against Australia today, Friday July 16, from 19:30h in St Lucia. (Brandon Corlette)

Allicock hoping to be role model to younger boxers

By Brandon Corlette

W

ayne Lewis, Secretary of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), has confirmed that changes have been made to the criteria of Cricket West Indies (CWI) international retainer contracts.

The changes will see injured players being protected, and players who dominate without meeting the evaluation period would be offered a contract.

Back in May, CWI announced the list of international retainer contracts for the 2021-2022 season, which saw a total of 18 players contracted, a decrease of 4 from last year. Former Test captain Jason Holder is the only player to retain his allformat contract.

The list of contracted players has been a hot topic, and certain territories have expressed disappointment at CWI after players did not earn an international retainer contract. Lewis has said that players who dominate within a certain period but fail to play the amount of games that were previously used for evaluation will now be considered for an international retainer.

“For you to be considered (for contract), you have to score a certain amount of runs, you have to have a particular strike-rate and average; and, similar to a bowler, but usually you have to play ex amount of games to qualify.”

“We are now saying that if a youngster comes on the scene and scores a lot of runs and take a lot of wickets, but

when the time comes he has not made it in terms of amount of games, we still offer him a contract. We will no longer evaluate a player because he did not play enough games,” Lewis said on the recent Mason and Gust programme in Barbados.

Additionally, players who have injuries will be protected.

“We will protect a player who have injury and is not able to play the minimum amount of games for evaluation,” Lewis explained.

Earlier in May, CWI VicePresident Dr. Kishore Shallow indicated that the regional board would explore how it can tweak the current criteria used to select players for international retainer contracts after CWI received widespread criticism following the announcement of contracts.

The Guyana Cricket Board, of which Lead Selector Roger Harper is a technocrat member, also made significant noise when they questioned the criteria, after no Guyanese male cricketer was offered a contract for this period.

The criteria used for awarding contracts for the 2021-2022 season indicated that players must participate in at least 50% of the matches, which is then tied to statistical factors regarding performance average and fitness.

According to Lead Selector Roger Harper, a batsman is required to average a minimum of 30 in Tests or OneDay Internationals, or have a Batsman Average and Strike

Rate combined (BASR) of 150 in Twenty20 Internationals.

From a bowling perspective, they would need a minimum average of 45 in Tests and ODIs, and a similar BASAR combination is used to reach the criteria in T20I. The evaluation period for the 2021-22 contracts covered performances and statistics from April 1, 2020 to April 1, 2021 (this was also supported by statistics from the previous 2019-2020 evaluation period).

WEST INDIES MEN’S INTERNATIONAL RETAINER CONTRACTS 2021-2022 All-Format Contracts: Jason Holder.

Red Ball Contracts: Kraigg Brathwaite, Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner*, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Da Silva*, Shannon Gabriel, Kyle Mayers* and Kemar Roach.

White Ball Contracts: Kieron Pollard, Fabien Allen, Darren Bravo, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein*, Evin Lewis, Alzarri Joseph, Nicholas Pooran and Hayden Walsh Jr. *Players offered contracts for the first time in 2021-2022 Players who are no longer receiving international retainer contracts are: All Format Contracts: Roston Chase.

Red Ball Contracts: Shamarh Brooks and Shane Dowrich.

White Ball Contracts: Sunil Ambris, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Keemo Paul, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd and Oshane Thomas.

From Left, Patrick Harvey, Wayne Castello and Alesha Jackman during a training session at the Andrew ‘Six Heads’ Lewis Gym in Albouystown

A

lthough his journey is far from over, Keevin Allicock is already an inspiration to his peers.

It is by now no secret that Olympic Boxer Keevin Allicock, who hails from Albouystown, had to overcome a lot of stigmas in his amateur boxing career, solely based on where he resides.

In spite of this, the Caribbean Champion and Youth Commonwealth Games silver medalist has made it to the biggest stage in Amateur boxing, The Olympics. And when probed about what this achievement can do for his peers and community, Allicock shared that he is hoping to become a positive role model.

“It’s really a blessing from God for me to stand here and represent where I’m from, because it’s really tough where I’m from, you know. And certain people talk bad about the community,” the 22-year-old told this publication.

He further stated, “So, it’s such an honour for me to do that and using myself as a model to teach the rest of the youngsters in the ghetto, to

know you can make a different choice. It’s a privilege to stand here and do such a thing.”

While Allicock sees his achievement as a privilege, there are a number of young and upcoming pugilists who are aspiring to emulate him. Most of these boxers train at the Andrew ‘Six Heads’ Lewis Gym in Albouystown, where Keevin also got his start in the sport.

Alesha Jackman, arguably Guyana’s best female youth boxer, related to this publication that not only is Allicock an inspiration, but he has been helpful throughout her recent training.

“A lot! A lot!” Jackman answered when asked by this publication how much of an inspiration Keevin is to her.

“Even though he’s not here, which in our time and Russia time is different, but every morning he makes sure he calls me and tells me, ‘Well, ‘I know you’re going to the competition, I have my hope in you’.

You know, he teach me certain things even before he left,” the female boxer shared.

She added, “So, it’s a lot of inspiration to me, because I

know he will bring home gold, and it’s like showing me my journey, and like I got to put my best foot forward.”

For Wayne Castello, the older boxer has been motivating him both in and out the ring.

“Keevin, he always helps us in our training. He always put in the work with us and shows us how to achieve our goals, in boxing and following God. He really helps us in different things,” Castello related.

Meanwhile, Patrick Harvey is hoping to be in Keevin’s shoes when the Next Olympic Games come around. Allicock’s achievement is one that they hope to emulate in the future.

“Well, Keevin is like a second coach to me. Getting to the Olympics is like a longterm goal for me, so definitely that’s where I’m going next four years,” he explained.

Keevin Allicock is currently training in Russia with Coach Sebert Blake as a precursor to his first Olympic stint. Allicock will be part of a 7-athlete team that would represent Guyana from July 23 to August 8.

(Jemima Holmes)

FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021

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

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Allicock hoping to be role model to younger boxers

– backs Russell’s six-hitting approach

Pakistan Women register first win on Caribbean tour

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