Guyana Times - Monday December 28, 2020

The Salvation Army Red Kettle: A long-lasting Christmas tradition P14

Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana Issue No. 4512

THE BEACON OF TRUTH MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020

Mother, 11-year -old daughter found murdered in home — alleged killer on the run guyanatimesgy.com

PRICE

WHAT'S INSIDE:

APNU/AFC land transactions reek of criminality – Finance Minister

Page 12

...as Govt gets to bottom of land giveaways

P10

Govt hoping to provide free education at UG by end of 2024 — President Ali See story on page 2

Former President Granger lauds PPP/C’s COVID-19 cash grant initiative Page 7

$80 VAT INCLUDED

Guyana-Venezuela border controversy case

Case management hearing set for January 15, 2021 Page 15

Region 5 duo latest COVID-19 fatalities P13 — 4 new cases recorded from 152 tests

Corentyne P2 man perishes in Sunday morning fire

Triumph man killed in row over money on D’Urban Street P2

Guyhoc Park man shot dead during home invasion Page 12

APNU/AFC Govt ignored recommendations for improvements — AG

See story on page 3

...attributes ... attributes this as factor in continued lack of transparency

Access roads at No 52/74 in deplorable state — residents forced to stay at home during rainy season

P14

2 NEWS

MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Govt hoping to provide free education at UG by end of 2024 — President Ali

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n keeping with his party’s manifesto promise, President Dr Irfaan Ali has announced that the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government is working to provide free education at the University of Guyana (UG) by the end of 2024.

The Head of State was at the time delivering a virtual address at Guyana’s 50th Republic Awards Ceremony and Cultural Presentation organised by the Guyana Consulate in Canada on Sunday evening. President Ali told the audience that his Government is working on creating a 21st century education system in Guyana.

“We are providing 20,000 scholarships. We hope to provide free education at the University of Guyana by the end of 2024. In our Emergency Budget for 2020, we made provisions for doubling the uniform allowance and increasing by 50 per cent the cash grant per student, from $10,000 to $15,000. We are committed to increasing this by almost

President Irfaan Ali

300 per cent in the coming years,” he stated.

Despite the difficulties faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the President has prioritised education since entering office in August.

Last week, he told residents of the mountainous community of Kato in Region Eight (Potaro– Siparuni) that they will soon receive an information communication technology (ICT) hub in their community, which will provide internet access.

The President, who had also announced the re-intro-

duction of the One Laptop Per Family Initiative from 2021 during that visit, again mentioned this on Sunday evening as he underscored his Government’s hope of providing all Guyanese students with the necessary tools to prepare them for a competitive future.

President Ali said the next decade in Guyana would be transformational in all aspects of development, and that all Guyanese would benefit. He told the diaspora audience about the improvements earmarked in health care, infrastructure and agriculture, among other areas.

“This is just a snapshot of the plans which are unfolding in our country. We are accelerating the pace at which we do things because we recognise that we need to ensure that the present generation benefits from development,” the Head of State noted.

Back in October, during an interview with senior journalist Gordon Moseley, President Ali had assured that his administration would keep its manifesto promise of delivering free university education to students during this present term in office.

“It will be a reality.

Within the five years, you will see free university education,” the President had said when questioned about this.

However, at the time he strayed from giving a specific timeline, only saying, “You will get it within the five years.”

In addition to free university education, the Aliled Government is working to roll out its 20,000 scholarships initiative in the new year.

Corentyne man perishes in Sunday morning fire

T

he charred remains of an elderly man were found on Sunday morning after a fire of unknown origin completely destroyed his one-flat wooden home at Jackson Creek, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

The dead man has been identified as 61-year-old Roy Rajbanse. Based on information received, the fire started about 06:00h. At the time of the blaze, the now dead man was alone at his home, which had no form of electricity and was located in an isolated area, surrounded by bushes.

Passersby observed smoke and huge flames emanating from the home and immediately raised an alarm. The house was reportedly already engulfed in flames, but at the time, persons were not aware that Rajbanse was trapped in the inferno.

The Guyana Fire Service and the Police were summoned to the area. The firefighters reportedly took a while to travel to the area

and most of the house was already gutted when they arrived. Nevertheless, the firefighters swung into action and were able to put out the blaze.

It was after the fire was contained that persons started to enquire about the home’s elderly occupant.

Soon after, the firefighters reportedly found the remains of the elderly man.

Guyana Times understands that the elderly man lived with his 24-year-old son Christopher Ally, a fisherman who is currently at

sea.

On Saturday evening, this publication was told, Rajbanse and a friend, Raymond Jordan, a farmer of Moleson Creek, were imbibing and smoking cigarettes in front of his house.

The men subsequently became intoxicated.

Rajbanse reportedly went into his house while Jordan went home. A few hours later, the house was ablaze.

The remains of Rajbanse were taken to Bailey’s Funeral Home to await a post-mortem.

Triumph man killed in row over money on D’Urban Street

Dead: David Barcley

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young father was in the wee hours of Sunday killed along D’Urban Street, Georgetown after an angry mechanic allegedly slammed into him with his motor car.

The dead man has been identified as 29-year-old David Barcley, also called “Justin Blake”, of Truimph, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

Based on information received, the young man was driving along D’Urban Street when his motor car encountered mechanical problems. However, he reportedly contacted a mechanic for some assistance.

The mechanic reportedly turned up at the location and fixed the problem, but Barcley was reported-

ly short $700 to pay him.

Guyana Times understands that the mechanic’s fee was $4000, but Barkley only had $3300. This led to an argument.

During the argument, the mechanic reportedly jumped in to his car, drove off ‘with a speed’ and slammed into the young man. After he was struck, Barcley was dragged several feet. The mechanic then fled the scene, leaving the injured man on the roadway.

Persons in the area who witnessed the incident rushed to the aid of the young man. He was picked up and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he succumbed at the Accident and Emergency Unit while receiving medical attention.

The incident was reported to the Police and an investigation has been launched.

The identity of the suspect was related to the Police.

NEWS

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MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS OPENINGS BRIDGE

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Monday, December 28 – 03:00h-04:30h and 13:30h-15:00h and Tuesday, December 29 – 03:30h-05:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Monday, December 28 – 14:55h-16:25h and Tuesday, December 29 – 15:40h-17:10h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Light to heavy rain showers are expected throughout the day and the night. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius.

APNU/AFC Govt ignored recommendations for improvements — AG ...attributes this as factor in continued lack of transparency

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or years, the Audit Office of Guyana has unearthed wastage of taxpayers’ dollars, corrupt practice and other fiscal malfeasance; and, in the process, has made recommendations for how loopholes can be corrected. According to Auditor General Deodat Sharma, however, the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) Government ignored much of his recommendations.

In his 2019 Audit Report,

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

High Tide: 15:26h reaching a maximum height of 2.54 metres.

Low Tide: 09:01h and 21:28h reaching minimum heights of 0.81 metre and 0.65 metre.

The Audit Office of Guyana

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Sharma noted that it became an annual practice for the former Government to keep repeating the same mistakes that he warned about in prior reports. In fact, as at 2019, some 83 per cent of his prior year recommendations remained unimplemented.

“Each year, my office issues recommendations to Ministries, Departments and Regions that are designed at improving systems and practices at these entities and improving the Government’s governance and accountability mechanisms. Five hundred and ninety-three recommendations were made in my 2018 Audit Report. We reviewed each recommendation to determine what action, if any, was taken by the respective accounting officers.

At the time of reporting in November 2020, 100 or 17 per cent were fully implemented, 202 or 34 per cent were partially implemented, while 291 or 49 per cent were not implemented,” the AG said in his report.

Sharma expressed concern over the lack of political will or action towards implementing his prior year

The former APNU/AFC Cabinet

recommendations, as evidenced by the fact that 83 per cent of his prior recommendations are yet to be implemented.

“In addition, in many instances, recommendations are repeated each year without appropriate action, and as a result, weaknesses and issues that impacted negatively on Government’s governance and accountability mechanisms continue to occur.

Once again, I encourage the Government, through the Ministry of Finance,

the Accountant General’s Department, and the respective Heads of Budget Agencies, to take appropriate actions and put measures in place to address these recommendations,” the AG said in his report.

In his 2019 report, the AG highlighted a number of prior year matters that had still not been resolved.

For instance, the Public Security Ministry has some $6.9 million in items that it procured since 2017 still outstanding.

TURN TO PAGE 7

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guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020

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

Delayed Gratification and Development

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s we attempt to retool our educational system to prepare us for the 21st century aided by oil revenues, we should note that our schools are still almost exclusively concerned - especially at the younger ages - with developing children’s cognitive skills. Now there is nothing wrong with this in and of itself: studies have shown consistently that there is an unequivocal and unambiguous correlation between cognitive ability and later success in life.

But as one study pointed out, “there is convergent evidence that, independently of cognitive skills, children’s selfcontrol, ie the ability to control their impulses and to delay gratification, is highly important for academic, economic, and health outcomes during adolescence and beyond.” Addressing a symposium on the 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery, former President Desmond Hoyte in a speech titled, “Looking beyond the horizon” pointed out that this was an even greater challenge for post-slave societies, such as Guyana is.

He noted that slaves had been forced to be “constantly preoccupied with the exigencies of the moment” and asserted this was “one of the most pernicious consequences of slavery.”

He concluded: “And so, lacking a social motive, he developed no interest in, or aptitude for, making long term arrangements.

Moreover, the colonial polity which succeeded the era of slavery did not provide the former slave and his descendants with significantly greater incentive or opportunity for cultivating these pursuits. Thus, there persists in our society, even to this day, a reluctance to focus too intently on the future.”

We must accept that this attitude remains one of the major fetters of our development both in terms of our national and individual stunted growth needs. But, as Mr Hoyte pointed out, the attitude was socially constructed and therefore it can also be socially deconstructed and replaced with attitudes that foster the willingness to plan and work for the future.

While we might have rectified some (but certainly not all) of the debilitating premises of our post-slavery schooling that continued to hegemonise our minds into the last half a century, we have a far way to go Because we often find that even the willingness to develop cognitive skills, or in parents to promote such skills in their children, many are still stuck in living for the moment. And crucial to moving from the cramped and crabbed present into a liberating future of economic, academic and other measures of success, is the ability of children to control their impulses and delay gratification, as the study cited above showed.

In most instances, successful individuals were able to bootstrap their way upwards through imitating the habits of other successful individuals and groups. But we do not have to allow the process to be based on “luck and chance”. The studies have shown that when youths are placed in selfcontrol situations in a structured manner and allowing then to experience the potentially negative consequences of impulsive behaviour they will increase their ability to delay gratification.

The same goes for teaching them the benefits of a future time perspective. There are now programs out there to impart future thinking.

While all children can benefit from this kind of training, with our scarce resources, it may be best to identify and begin with youths that exhibit low self-control and are therefore suffer the greatest risk of ending up as ‘failures”. As the authors of the study that prompted this refection suggest: “Because children from disadvantaged backgrounds often score low on self-control ability and may also be those for which parents may least be able to promote these skills, interventions as part of the formal education may therefore serve distributional purposes.

Instead of redistributing (economic) outcomes later in life, such early interventions allow children from disadvantaged backgrounds to develop better self-control skills. In this way, it is possible to redistribute along the whole spectrum of life outcomes, including outcome categories that are otherwise hard to redistribute, like health, occupational skills, and education.”

Some of Guyana’s most talented and versatile performers graced the stage on Christmas Eve Day to help the First Family usher in the Christmas Season. In photo, two young Guyanese perform a Christmas song using flutes which created the perfect atmosphere for the festive season

Prosecute unaccounted-for expenditures under the coalition Dear Editor, Thanks for the reports on inadequate accountability under the coalition regime (GT Dec 27 and other dates). The Auditor General has reported countless cases of neglect or complete lack of accountability in state expenditures. Some border on fraud, especially when there are no receipts to support expenditures, or names of shops where goods were purchased. Those of us who study economics call it theft, or fraud. To that I will add ‘racketeering’.

As the audited reports reveal, there was what economists would describe as blatant theft of money from the treasury through all kinds of skullduggery, gimmicks, and make-believe work to fill pockets. Whose? We don’t know. But the theft involved Government officials and cronies receiving money under false pretenses – contracts or state land given out to partners, with kickbacks coming to Government officials. Some call it “crony capitalism”, I call it “racketeering”, which is a crime in USA and other democratic countries. But in economics, racketeering is mostly tied to labour, financial fraud, and other illegal acts within unions.

In Guyana, there are no known or reported cases of individuals held for racketeering, not in unions, although there is lack of accountability in unions also. The theft of Government funds and fraudulent acquisition and distribution of land are more than what is defined under

“crony capitalism”, or cronyism. In Guyana, such fraudulent business activities by (ex or former) Government officials and their partners in Private Sector need a new term, that I coin as “racketeering economics” or “crony economics”.

I am not referring to labour union or mafia racketeering, a type of crime studied in sociology by criminologists.

Racketeering economics is linked to Government officers, as opposed to labour union bosses. It is an organised criminal enterprise, with political officers and their partners in private business; and labour leaders hardly have a role in it, although some union leaders are defending those involved in such financial crimes.

Racketeering economics is a structured, criminal enterprise of business activities by officials engaging in underhand illegal economic activities to defraud the state.

These Government officials use state funds for personal gain. (Just to be clear, and not to blame all Government officials, only a handful of officials under the previous Government and their partners in the Private Sector were involved in racketeering; they know who they are, and they are shameless).

Racketeering economics is when Government officers engage in institutionalised fraudulent business dealing, enriching themselves or business partners by pilfering state funds. It is the act of self-enrichment through illicitly-derived income - ac-

quiring Government funds in contracts, or land deals through make-believe projects; huge amounts of money are doled out to partners, with resulting kickbacks.

It involved tens of billions of dollars annually, unaccounted for in non-existent activities, or projects or payments for goods or services that were never delivered or performed, or over-priced.

The contractor got free money, and officials got a nice cut. Regrettably, some prominent business folks in legitimate organisations were part of the enterprise.

Unfortunately, the predecessor Government sanctified such illegal acts, and authorised payments knowing they were not performed, and, as such, the creation of the term “racketeering economics”. The illegal acts included direct and indirect

theft of state cash and land, drug trafficking, fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, forgery, extortion, robbery, bribery, blocking investigation, obstruction of justice, ignoring authorised audits, among others.

Racketeering activities have devastating consequences for Guyana’s economy as a whole, both public and private institutions and businesses. Drastic measures must be undertaken to end racketeering. Those big fish involved in racketeering should be made examples of with demonstrating effects to discourage theft of Government funds and land.

Auditor General Deodat Sharma must refer his findings to the Police for investigation and prosecution.

Yours truly, Dr Vishnu Bisram

NIS back again in the news Dear Editor, NIS is again in the news regarding its lackadaisical approach in dealing with NIS pensioners, failing to realise that the pensioners kept them in their jobs, therefore NIS employees should be focused on professional public relations.

As an overseas NIS pensioner, I use its website (which is very useless) that caters to chatting with an agent. I tried on several occasions to chat with an agent, to address my concerns; unfortunately, no-

one is available. I even sent messages, and still got no response from NIS. What an intolerable situation.

Hopefully, the CEO would take note of these irregularities and try his best to eliminate them.

The other consideration that needs attention is the submission for overseas NIS life certificate, electronically via scan PNG image, which is faster and safer than postage.

Sincerely, Albert Persaud

guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020

5

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

Ethical behaviour is a responsibility for all political party members Dear Editor, Our democracy depends on our trust in politicians, who are elected to serve the people and who have the common good in mind. Without this trust and acceptance, a representative democracy is unimaginable. The People’s Progressive Party/Civic is an institution of central importance to our democracy.

The actions of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), our leaders, elected representatives, candidates, constituency associations, volunteers, and paid staff make a significant contribution to the vibrancy and integrity of democracy.

In their daily work, they cannot easily be replaced.

Politicians are held to a higher standard than most other persons, and rightly so.

Rigorous criteria are therefore needed for political representatives, not only regarding the perception of their public service, but also their general behaviour. They must accept full ethical responsibility for their decisions, actions and omissions, and strive to serve the common good.

With that being said, PPP/C party members must stop operating as if we are in Opposition, and behave as winners of the 2020 General Elections held on March 2, 2020.

During the last five years, we witnessed a growing decline in trust among the general public towards APNU/ AFC, due to scandals involving corruption, bribery and conflicts of interest, which have damaged their reputation and affected their political forces, their politicians and members of their party all across Guyana, including Ministers at various levels.

Their influence on some ele-

ments of GECOM was also an increasing source of concern.

According to a recent report on the Special Audit done by the Auditor General, the former APNU/AFC Government was in breach of the Procurement Act of 2003.

Such breaches of public trust by public office holders and politicians represent an ongoing challenge to the legitimacy of democratic institutions and processes. They negatively affect public accountability and political credibility, and they must be addressed at all levels of society. However, this is why ethical behaviour is a responsibility for all political leaders and their party members.

To strengthen people’s confidence in politics, the PPP/C is committed to playing a key role in the fight against corruption and conflicts of interest, together with upholding the duty to preserve the highest standards of integrity.

The PPP/C is not willing to accept unethical behaviour within its political family, and we will maintain a clean and transparent culture of politics at the service of our citizens. The PPP/C’s code of conduct not only affirms the central principles of our party, but also provides guidance in case questions arise from citizens, media, interest groups or businesses.

These core values shall guide the conduct of all our members, party groups, member associations and their representatives. Decency, honesty and responsibility are values that have a tradition in our party. Passion, too, and a sense of responsibility and of proportion are the most important characteristics of all.

Your personal integrity, credibility, fairness, transparent

We salute you, the great people of Guyana Dear Editor, There could have been a million Charrandases, yet the elections would have been cheated, and the PNC-led Coalition would still be in power. This is my summation of the whole affair in a place called Guyana.

Yes, Mr Charrandas did a noble and heroic deed, but his actions would have paled into oblivion had it not been for the diligent work of Dr Jagdeo, Mr Nandlall, the international community and the PPP/C Team, these were the main strike bowlers that got the illegal PNC out.

But far more important and of utmost significance; I shall repeat: of utmost significance, are the people of Guyana, who booted the PNC out of power; and to them I owe my supreme trust and regard. The people of Guyana stood by us, the people of this great country did not let us down, they stood the test, they came out in their

numbers and voted for the party that would make a difference in their lives. Again I say, ‘Thank you, Guyana’.

To this end, we are eternally grateful for the efforts of our dear people, and in whose interest we must govern. We cannot flag or fail in our responsibility to the people, we must give back to Guyana; yes, to all of Guyana.

With the PPP/C Team at the helm, our country will never be the same again. Our country will be transformed, the party is here for the people, I am saying that irrespective of political affiliation, colour, creed, religion or sexual orientation; for all its people, who will find an equal place.

In this happy and joyous celebratory season, I wish everyone a merry Christmas and a prosperous new year! May God bless Guyana.

Respectfully, Neil Adams

behaviour and accountability are also required.

The abuse of entrusted power for private gain, or the abuse of an office is in contradiction, not only with the principles of our democratic societies, but with the values of the PPP/C, for which the common good is central.

These are principles and values which guide our actions.

Whether you are PPP/C or APNU/AFC, politicians must be independent and incorruptible; and those who exercise power must be bound by a higher moral standard. Our politicians will respect the democratic principles of the rule of law, and should be able to balance and weigh competing interests. They need to be level-headed, and not be consumed by extremism or populist simplicity. They are there to serve the various communities, they should never forget that they are there at the service of the people, and must have the common good in mind. They must have the courage to take unpopular decisions if these are in the interest of the people. They must be able to make longterm decisions if our democracy is to advance.

Compromise and consensus are an integral part of politics; personal attacks on opponents or members are not, however, and should have no place in our political discourse.

We must avoid the conflict of interest by always ensuring a clear separation between party and public responsibility. As we celebrate Christmas, we should all use this time that symbolises Guyana’s unity and our Guyanese cultural heritage. We should use Christmas as an opportunity to display all the good of our society, and forget all of the racial and ethnic differences that we have and give to those in need, realising that the greatest gift is the gift of giving.

Sincerely, David Adams

A time for resolutions?

Dear Editor, The end of the leap year 2020 is fast approaching, and many concerned individuals, professional and amateur, are busy trying to predict, prophesy and presage what the future, the New Year 2021, will bring, happen and reveal.

All will unhesitatingly agree unanimously that this year has been quite a challenge, with the disastrous COVID-19 pandemic asserting number one position as the highest ordeal to deal with and overcome.

Naysayers, soothsayers, optimists, pessimists, astrologers and fortunetellers are fully occupied with foretelling what the stars promise, and what luck (good and/or bad) will materialise. What prognosis and portents their forecasts will reveal may be significant, important, consequential or meaningless, contingent on accuracy, belief, faith, wish, fate, luck, Karma or coincidence. One can react indifferently, invariably happy, sad, overwhelmed, depressed, energetic, lethargic, passionate or apathetic.

Looking into the crystal ball, scribes cried that the New Year promises a bumpy road ahead, strewn with changes, revolution, protests, marches and riots. We have to brace ourselves for more surprises and restrictions. Focus will be on air, air travel, space and space communication, which will affect life on earth. The issue of how people are treated and human rights will be addressed. Global warming will once again prevail, with climatic conditions encountering disasters relating to extreme weather conditions affecting high winds, tornadoes, cyclones and hurricanes.

There is a potential surge expected in possible airline accidents, crashes and mishaps.

Violence and terrorist attacks will pervade in Europe, Asia and Latin America, even Canada and Australia are singled out for uprisals, with America feeling the blunt.

Controversies will surround the act of humanitarianism, charities and whistleblowers. The internet will occupy a different role, with original thinkers and new ideas floating around due to cyber-attacks interfering with internet security.

Commerce will redefine the purchase of goods, and economists will be forced to revalue currency with the stock market creating havoc with deadly fluctuations.

COMMODITIES Indicators Crude Oil Rough Rice London Sugar

US$ $51.29/barrel $224.154/ton $408.60/ton

Live Spot Gold

Change % +0.18 -0.00 +0.29

USD Per Ounce

Bid/Ask

$1887.30

$1888.30

Low/High Change

$1878.70 +8.60

$1891.80 +0.46%

The relevance of virus control will take on a new meaning as unexpected changes will dictate questioning the role of medical science in relation to finance.

Will forecasts become outcasts?

At this time of the year, it is customary also to start planning for the upcoming year and to make resolutions. There are many serious individuals who will plan their work and work their plan, while others will fanaticise with fun and frolic, and plan without the rigid intention of accomplishment. Many will start and fail, and also others will fail to start. Many succeed with their goals and aspirations at the end of the year; then, again, many earnestly commence, but circumstances, foreseen and unforeseen, prevent a hundred percent success.

Perhaps, it may be a matter of approach, attitude, aptitude and application. The usual questioning and querying will quay up the inquisitive minds of questioners for juicy answers, sarcasms and interests.

Usually, the first thing on the agenda is weight watching, to start a programme on exercising and dieting. Joining the gym, personally working out, buying training equipment and costume are enthused ideas. Simple walking, jogging, swimming, cycling or uncompetitive outdoor games can be effective. Cutting out bad habits, excessive eating and drinking, and concentrating on healthy food intake would occupy major relevance on the planning sheet. Next in line may be to quit smoking or heavy consumption of alcohol.

All these are health-conscious commitments meant to improvise body function. Moving along may be the realisation to attend a place of worship and attain spiritual upliftment. This may change the complete outlook of how one lives, and adopt a new way of life. The possibility of wanting to improve on educating oneself may seriously knock continuously at the back of the mind. Registering with a learning institution blossoms a different perspective for advancement at work, with the hope of promo-

tion and earning a higher pay.

Such enthusiasm encourages initiative and zeal.

The desire to become affiliated with a sports club influences a follow-up to an ignored ability, pumping up sparks of the old touch of class. The significance of joining a society engaged in charitable work adds a greater dimension to the worth of humanity and sacrifice. Relinquishing relationships with irrelevant associations and recouping with more meaningful bondage justifies the call of wisdom to occupy a space on the chart. The artistry of a forgotten hobby ignites a passion to replicate its replacement, and this can unfold to new heights and meaningful pastimes.

The library may attract your attention to recommence reading and writing. Visiting places, people and things may enliven an added speculation as a mark. Giving more time to family affairs and relationship, playing indoor games, or giving free time to teaching young ones is a fabulous thought to brighten the spirit. A journey in musical involvement is quite relaxing and pleasing to the heart.

The abovementioned ideas are thought-provoking and can stimulate a new approach to one’s life, and promise a glimmer of hope for changes. These are not only simple, but easy-toreach targets which can motivate and activate a productive direction in life.

Whatever resolutions you pen, do include one that will provide peace, joy and happiness; one that will make you significantly more productive and compassionate to humanity.

If one’s life is shrouded with irregularities, uncertainties or questionable activities, then it’s time to seek a different approach to the New Year, one that can provide peace of mind.

A quick reflection on this year’s occurrences is a good guideline to take your pick, make the freedom of choice and not to repeat a mistake twice. Good luck and Happy New Year.

Respectfully, Jai Lall

I

t was to teach mankind the greatness of Divine love that Jesus came. He resolved on three tasks: one, to be filled with Divine love and to share it with others - this was the main purpose of his life; two, he should not succumb to praise or censure in carrying out his mission; three, to inspire in others the conviction that the Divinity within is omnipresent. Jesus considered spreading the gospel of love as his foremost task. He encountered many ordeals in carrying out his mission, but he regarded them all as challenges to be overcome. He was determined to treat pleasure and pain, and sickness and failure with equanimity. He could not bear to see anyone suffer. Every human being is potentially a messenger of God. Humanness demands that everyone should manifest the Divinity within himself. Everyone should be a real messenger of God and strive to promote peace and security in the world.

There is no other path to be followed. God’s message is sacred and totally free from self-interest. (Divine Discourse, Dec 25, 1995)

Shri Sathya Sai Baba Organisation

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MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020

Page

Foundation ◄

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Æsop’s Fables

FOR CHILDREN

Bar Graphs

raphs are useful ways to display information or data.

A bar graph uses bars to compare two or more things, people or places. The bars in this type of graph may be horizontal or vertical, not both. Each bar represents a number.

Because the data is shown visually, the bars can be compared to one another. Sometimes, different coloured bars that represent different things are used.

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

The key tells you that the black bars stand for boys and the

back to the vertical axis to find out how many boys and how many girls voted for sponge cake. 400 boys + 300 girls = 700 students.

Exercises: 1) Use the graph below to identify the third most-liked fruit at this time of the year.

2) According to the bar graph below, what was the least favourite holiday drink for students? grey stand for girls. The horizontal line, or ***axis***, at the bottom of the graph names different types of cakes. The vertical axis tells you how many boys and how many girls voted for that kind of cake.

How many boys voted for fruit cake?

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

O

How many students voted for sponge cake?

Step 1: Find sponge cake on the horizontal axis. Look at the top of each bar in the sponge cake section and follow that line

Materials: 2 sturdy paper plates wax paper confetti, glitter, small bells, or anything that is festive and/or makes noise Glue Star Template Scissors number stickers party bits washable paint Here’s how to make the noisemaker: Place the numbers 2020 onto the

back of the paper plate and glue them in place I used a hot glue gun to make

sure they stayed on.

Cut out a 10-centimetre (4inch) star and paste it onto the paper plate.

Place confetti and glitter in the centre of the paper plate.

Add the small bells and other noisemakers.

Next, glue another paper plate on the first, rim to rim.

Make sure there are NO cracks!

Lastly, if you want it to look super sparkly, paint it with glitter paint! (Adapted from teachingmama.org)

ne day a stag came to a sheep and asked her to lend him a measure of wheat. The sheep knew him for a very swift runner, who could easily take himself out of reach, were he so inclined. So she asked him if he knew someone who would answer for him.

"Yes, yes," answered the stag confidently, "the wolf has promised to be my surety."

"The wolf!" exclaimed the sheep indignantly. "Do you think I would trust you on such security? I know the wolf! He takes what he wants and runs off with it without paying. As for you, you can use your legs so well that I should have little chance of collecting the debt if I had to catch you for it!"

WORD SEARCH

NEWS

7

MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Former President Granger lauds PPP/ C’s COVID-19 cash grant initiative

F

ormer President David Granger has lauded the COVID-19 cash grant initiative of the Irfaan Aliled People’s Progressive Party/Civic Government.

The $4.5 billion relief programme is aimed at distributing $25,000 cash to every Guyanese household to offset the burden imposed by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Granger recently received his grant and, in a video, posted to social media, he commended the initiative.

“I think this is a laudable initiative. A lot of people have lost their jobs as a result of this disease.

There’re a lot poor people in Guyana, always.

I’m sure that this will, although it’s not much, it will help to provide some relief at this time of the year,” the former Guyanese Head of State said when asked about his thoughts on the initiative.

In reiterating that many persons have lost their jobs during the pandemic, the former President said: “They’ve had a very difficult year and this is certainly gonna be welcomed.”

Like the rest of the world, Guyanese have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. With many businesses having to downsize, or even shut down, employees have felt the impact of this situation which has trickled down into households.

One month after taking office in August, the PPP/C Government had announced a $25,000 cash grant as relief for households across Guyana.

to distribute the money.

Disbursements commenced in the hinterland regions, that is, Regions One (Barima-Waini), Seven (CuyuniMazaruni), Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).

The initiative then went to Regions Two (PomeroonSupenaam), Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara, Five (Mahaica-Berbice), Six (East BerbiceCorentyne) Former President David Granger receiving his $25,000 cash grant and 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice).

This was among a range In an update on the of COVID-19 relief measures designed to bring im- cash grants last week, mediate relief to persons Government said the distribearing the brunt of the bution exercise is currentCOVID-19 pandemic, stim- ly ongoing in Region Four ulate economic growth, put (Demerara-Mahaica).

As of two weeks ago, Guyanese back to work, and remove the heavy tax bur- it was reported that some households in dens implemented by the 11,968 previous Administration. Region Four have received totalling apThe cash grant has served payments as a timely economic impe- proximately $299 million. tus and has catalysed busi- Government is expected to distribute some $3.4 billion ness activity everywhere.

President Ali, in his ad- to 136,000 households in the dress to the nation at the Region.

Government has remindtime, spoke about ensuring the citizens are taken care ed citizens that the payof, and this is one initiative ment is $25,000 per princidesigned to do such. The pal household and not one President’s expectation, and per family.

“We know that some his Administration’s, is that the process remains peace- households are big, and, in some cases, more than one ful and free of abuse.

Over the past few family may be living in a months, special teams have household. However, where been dispatched to commu- such situation exists, the nities in various regions distribution clerks and re-

gional supervisors are required to note such instances so that those families can be taken into consideration in the future. The regional distribution teams are, therefore, issuing the cash grant to the primary householder, and wherever there are OTHER family members or tenants, as the case may be, those persons are being issued with a ‘pink form’, which will serve as the instrument to be used to verify those candidates for future consideration.”

Primary householders are required to have a valid form of identification in their possession to receive the grant.

Meanwhile, the names, addresses and contact information of persons who were not at home during the distribution exercise will be collected, and arrangements will be made for them to collect their grants at a later date.

It was noted that at close of business daily, distribution clerks are required to surrender unused cash along with their receipt books for security control.

“At the end of the distribution exercise, each clerk submits their receipts of payments to be audited by the regional authorities and subsequently by the internal audit department of

the Ministry of Finance. In this manner there is careful scrutiny to ensure that receipts issued are reconciled with cash grants distributed. Any discrepancies are investigated, and necessary action taken.”

There have been several complaints about the payment of the cash grants from citizens. Acknowledging this recently, President Ali told reporters that the Auditor General has been asked to audit the entire cash grant distribution.

Distribution is currently underway on the East Coast and East Bank of Demerara and in Sophia, Greater Georgetown.

AG says former APNU/AFC...

The Auditor General had to urge the Ministry, which has since been renamed the Home Affairs Ministry, to comply with the Stores Regulations and to follow up with suppliers to have outstanding items from prior years delivered.

There is also the then Ministry of the Presidency, which spent $19 million to purchase Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) cameras in 2015, which are yet to be delivered.

“However, it was noted that the Ministry had engaged the Attorney General’s office on this matter,” the Auditor General wrote in his report, while adding that the then Ministry of Presidency, since renamed Office of the

President, had informed him that they were following up with the Attorney General’s Chambers on the matter.

In his recommendations, the Auditor General urged the Head of the Budget Agency to follow up with the Attorney General’s Office on the matter, and to ensure that an update on the fiveyear-long outstanding supply of the cameras is submitted.

There are also overpayments dating from 2015 in the sum of $2.3 million that the Ministry of the Presidency is yet to recover.

This overpayment was incurred when work was being done to erect a fence and security lights at building E-

FROM PAGE 3

Castellani Compound.

The then Ministry of the Presidency (it has since been renamed Office of the President with the change of Government) also neglected to carry out various recommendations the AG made in his 2018 report, such as directives to cut down on the number of contracted employees, and instructions to correct breaches of Section 80 of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act. Failure to act on the non-delivery of items that suppliers were contracted to provide, as well as failure to recover monies overpaid for construction works were also highlighted by the AG in his report.

8 NEWS

MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Police seek legal advice on way forward in Better Hope murder PI Post-Boxing Day...

A

dvice is being sought from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on how to proceed with the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the murders of Better Hope, East Coast Demerara moneychanger Aaron Latchman and his daughter Arian Latchman, after one of those accused of the murder escaped from the Lusignan Prison recently.

Jointly charged for the capital offence are 25-year-old Mark Rufino, a labourer of Parika Facade, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), the prison escapee, who remains on the run; 37-year-old Paul Chan, called “Long Hair” or “Anthony”, a bus conductor of Dennis Street, Sophia, Greater Georgetown; 44-year-old Troy Abrams, called “Rasta Man”, a vendor of Middle Street, Agricola, East Bank Demerara (EBD); 37-year-old Lloyd Sadloo, of Mocha Arcadia, EBD; and 41-year-old Sean Thomas, called “Yankee”, an electrician of William Street, Kitty, Georgetown.

During a recent court hear-

ing, presiding Magistrate Alisha George sitting at the Vigilance Magistrates’ Courts granted the prosecution leave to seek advice from the DPP on how to proceed with the matter given that the five accused men are jointly charged. The prosecution will report to the Magistrate on January 29, 2021.

According to Police reports, on that fateful day, the father and daughter had just returned to their Lot 58 Robert Street, Better Hope, East Coast Demerara home when they were attacked by armed men.

Holding Latchman and his 19-year-old daughter at gunpoint, the alleged robbers took the duo into the upper flat of their house, where they demanded money.

After receiving a bag containing an undisclosed amount of cash, the men then shot the duo before escaping from the scene in a white Toyota Carina 212 motor car, which was parked some distance away.

Neighbours reported hearing gunshots and rushed to the vic-

H

Murdered: Aaron Latchman and his daughter, Arian Latchman

tims’ assistance. The father and daughter were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

Post-mortem examinations conducted on the bodies revealed that the father was shot thrice, while his daughter received one fatal gunshot wound. A motor car used by the bandits that belonged to the dead businessman was found at Front Road, La Penitence, Georgetown. During a search of the vehicle, an illegal firearm and several rounds of ammunition were found.

Two of the accused murderers – Abrams and Sadloo – are known characters to the Police

and the courts. Abrams was convicted in 2016 for two counts of robbery committed against America Street money changers Rayburn Fraser and Osaffo Ward. He was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for the offence.

Meanwhile, Sadloo, who is said to be the alleged mastermind of the double murder, had a murder case discharged against him in 2012, but was later convicted in 2016 for narcotics trafficking. The convict made another court appearance in 2018, when he was charged with several armed robberies.

He is currently before the court on charges for illegal possession of guns and ammunition.

Man accused of mob killing remanded to prison

A

man accused of being part of a mob that murdered B Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown resident Kevin Campbell, 25, was remanded to prison following his appearance at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Courts.

Shay Carter was not required to plead to the indictable charge which stated that on March 21, 2020, he murdered Campbell.

It was reported that Campbell was stabbed and chopped multiple times about his body by a gang of about 12 men.

Following the incident, he was hospitalized, but died a week later without regaining

Murdered: Kevin Campbell

consciousness.

Reports are that Campbell went to the aid of his younger brother, Brandon, who was attacked by two men and stabbed to the chest with a pair of scissors.

While an injured Brandon was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, his brother remained at home.

During that time, a group of men armed with cutlasses and a pitchfork invaded his premises and began firing chops and stabs at Campbell.

Campbell reportedly collapsed to the ground as the men made good their escape. The injured man was picked up and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he was admitted.

Magistrate Ruschelle Liverpool instructed Carter to make his next court appearance on February 3, 2020.

…musings aving now segued successfully from Christmas into Boxing Day - both being public holidays in our postdecolonized, 50-year-old Cooperative Republic your (black cake-dazed) Eyewitness remains in a state of reverie. Why do we still have Boxing Day as a holiday, he wonders? Isn’t this the day that the English nobility - after feasting high off the hog - would distribute their left-overs in boxes to the poor of their estates? And the dregs of Scotland and Ireland - who were sent over to act as “overseers” on the sugar plantations - adopted the practice to literally “lord it over” the slaves and indentured labourers!

Now Burnham, who declared us a “Republic” in 1970 and “cut all ties with Imperialist Britain”, had insisted he was very woke. After all, he regularly cussed out the “white man”, and launched our decolonisation drive by doing away with “suit and tie” - not to mention grapes and “ice apples”!

So, you’d think he’d have done away with this reminder of the yoke of the imperialists, wouldn’t you?

But then this was a man who dropped his Guyanese accent after less than a mere five (adult) years in England, and retained the Churchillian upper-crust twang - complete with pauses and all - to his dying day! No wonder he ordered the banned grapes and ice apples smuggled in for himself, and died not long after he enjoyed some (banned condensed milk”)!

If your (still dazed) Eyewitness had his druthers, he’d abolish Boxing Day at the drop of a hat, and replace it with “Guyanese Day” or some such local commemoration - at another spot on the calendar. He realises this will pose a problem for all those who’ll have to report to work the day after Christmas with splitting hangovers, but we’re independent now, aren’t we?

Now, your Eyewitness enjoys his Christmas revelries (and reveries) as must as the next man (or woman), but he wonders, since we’re a secular state, why this quintessential Christian holiday is celebrated so ostentatiously by the state? Even though the US is 90% Christian, displays commemorating Christmas on public property are prohibited, since this is considered as “promoting” one religion over others.

Finally, your Eyewitness wants to know: Why does the Government shut down from Christmas through New Year?

And don’t tell him this isn’t the law! This is the fact…and everyone in Government seems to accept it. There was some tough talk by the Finance Minister - following some remarks by the President in Essequibo - about the NIS dealing more expeditiously with subscribers. Did they try even getting IN TOUCH with the NIS between Christmas and New Year?

It’s even more difficult than a reporter getting an interview with David Granger! …anti-corruption campaign The Auditor General (AG) Report for 2019 on Governmental Spending was handed over - as required by law - albeit a bit late - earlier this month to the Speaker of the House. And ever since - as it’s dissected by the media - there’s been a daily litany of looting of the coffers of the state by APNU/AFC operatives at every level of Government. Never has so much looting been committed by one administration in such a short time.

After detailing the continued financial transgressions from his 2018 report on the new St Roses School Building - where $90 million was paid over for foundations that still aren’t complete, yesterday’s “loot du jour” focused on the GDF. This is the institution that’s mandated to protect us from foreign aggressors, and to back up the Police with domestic challenges. The Report pointed out that they spent over $92M to service a mere 30 vehicles!!

The highlight, however was spending $181M to fuel up a single vehicle!

Guess they went to the moon and back!! …codswallop Your Eyewitness could’ve been knocked over with a feather by an editorial writer of the Stabber describing a Minister’s position as “codswallop”! Now, is there anyone in Guyana who’s familiar with this British slang?

What pretensions!

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

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MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

10 NEWS

MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

APNU/AFC land transactions reek of criminality – Finance Minister ...as Govt gets to bottom of land giveaways

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he current Government is still getting to the bottom of the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) government’s giveaway of state land, but one thing is for certain: the transactions seen thus far reek of criminality.

This was explained by Senior Minister in the Office of the President, with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh. In an interview with this publication, he noted that some of the former Government’s worst transgressions with state resources can be seen in the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).

“We have seen, whether it is NICIL or another vehi-

Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh

transferral of land without any level of scrutiny or tendering.

“In fact, even more astonishing, the transferral of land without even payment of a cent. So, in the first instance, what our technical teams have been doing

The National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL)

cle, we have seen a number of transactions that suggest the most outrageous violations of transparency; essentially, what would best be described as a complete free-for-all. Complete giveaway of land. The most astonishing set of circumstances. For example, the

is trying to get to the bottom of these transactions, which suggests outright criminality.”

He noted that, in the short term, Government will have to identify these dubious transactions and take corrective action. In

the longer term, however, the strategy for the agency will be developed moving forward.

“I think we need, first of all, to take comprehensive stock of what exists in relation to these transactions: what remedial actions are needed to address the perversity we’ve observed in these transactions, and then I think that will determine how we go forward,” Dr. Singh said.

Upon entering office in August, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government had found a slew of questionable transactions engaged in by the former Government following the No Confidence Motion (NCM) back in December, 2018.

For instance, it has been revealed that the former APNU/AFC Government vested almost 100 acres of prime State land at Ogle, East Coast Demerara (ECD) to eight different companies. All told, the total value of the lands is some $2.9 billion, but NICIL received only approximately $64 million in payments.

NICIL has also taken flak for the leasing of several plots of land at Peter’s Hall by two companies, A-Z Pharmaceuticals headed

by Eddie Doolal, and Life 1 Pharms Incorporated headed by Avalon Jagnanan.

These lands were leased and then flipped for a profit.

Of interest, too, is the fact that in both lease agreements, a clause was deliberately modified to state that “the lessee may divest the land, may part

Police Constable crashes ATV into pedestrian

A

45-year-old pedestrian was injured on Christmas Day after a Police constable lost control of the all-terrain vehicle (ATV) he was driving and it crashed into him.

Police Headquarters in a statement said the accident involving Police Constable Lyle and 45-year-old Shawn Peters occurred on the Den Amstel, Public Road, West Coast Demerara.

Enquiries revealed that ATV CJ 3400, owned by the Guyana Police Force, was proceeding at a fast rate of speed. The Police Constable alleged that while he was proceeding, the ATV developed a mechanical problem that caused him to lose control. As a result, he collided with the Back Street, Den Amstel resident.

The pedestrian fell onto the roadway and received injuries to his leg. He was picked up in a conscious state by an ambulance and taken to the Leonora Cottage Hospital, where he was treated and discharged. As for the Police constable, a breathalyzer test conducted on him showed that he had .14 and .15 micrograms of his blood alcohol concentration which is above the legal limit of alcohol consumption.

Investigations are ongoing

with possession, may assign it to a third-party interest”.

However, Guyana’s State Lands Act stipulates that whenever State lands are leased, the lease agreement must indicate that the lessee “shall not” part with lands (possession) or “shall not” assign the interest in the said agreement without the consent of the State.

Meanwhile, the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC) has also been in the news for the questionable transac-

The Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission

tions it conducted under the former Government, which resulted in certifi-

cates of titles being issued to persons for lands sold below market value.

Man allegedly chops drunken sonin-law for behaving disorderly

A

55-year-old fisherman of Marihaba, Village, Moruca, North West District, Region One (Barima-Waini) is now in Police custody after he allegedly chopped his drunken son-in-law to the face for behaving disorderly.

Police in a statement said the incident occurred on Christmas Day at the aforementioned village.

According to the Police, 29-year-old Clive Benn left

his father-in-law’s home at around 16:00h and went to a queh-queh celebration, where he consumed alcohol.

At about 21:00h, the young man returned home and started behaving in a disorderly manner. His father-in-law tried to speak with him, but he became annoyed, armed himself with two knives, and approached his father-in-law.

In retaliation, the elder-

ly man allegedly grabbed a cutlass that was nearby and dealt his son-in-law a chop to the face.

After he was chopped, Benn ran away and was taken to the Waramuri Health Centre by public-spirited citizens. He was seen by a doctor and discharged. His father-in-law was contacted, told of the allegation, and arrested. Police have said investigations are ongoing.

224 ranks cut ties with the Police Force in 2019 – AG Report

T

he 2019 Auditor General’s report has revealed that 224 ranks severed employment with the Guyana Police Force (GPF) for various reasons during the reporting year. While these reasons were not outlined in the report, rogue elements have always been an issue with the Police Force for the past years.

For the year 2020, several Police ranks were placed before the courts for offences such as narcotics smuggling, assault, corrupt transactions, rape, manslaughter, and causing death by dangerous driving. Most times, ranks with pending court matters are interdicted. Some of them are also charged departmentally.

Recently, Police Constable Troy Munroe was charged with manslaughter, and released on $150,000 bail over the July 25, 2020, fatal shooting of an unarmed man, 39-year-old Cecil Sampat. The incident occurred at Durban Street, Georgetown.

Another Police constable, Simion Alder, was charged with three counts of causing death by dangerous driving.

He was reportedly under the influence of alcohol when he crashed the motorcar he was driving, instantly killing three persons, including a Guyana Defence Force rank.

The 21-year-old Police rank was granted $300,000

bail. The deadly crash happened in August 2020 at Whim Public Road, Corentyne, Berbice.

In its recent report on Guyana’s human rights record, the US’ State Department noted that corruption by Police officers was frequent. In fact, the report found that there remains, “a widespread public perception of corruption involving officials at all levels, including the Police and the Judiciary.”

Meanwhile, members of the Guyana Police Force are currently partaking in a job satisfaction survey. The survey is to determine the level of performance, job satisfaction, leadership, and communication of the law enforcement body.

“We propose to determine the level of satisfaction of the employees in the workplace, and what are the probable measures to be taken based on the responses to

the survey. This is important to identify resorts to motivate higher performance as we seek to maintain law and order in Guyana. We support the view that it is crucial to retain an effective and proficient workforce as critical to the institution’s performance,” the GPF had stated in a release to the media.

To improve the services provided by the Police Force, the Home Affairs Ministry has launched the Public Trust, Confidence and Satisfaction survey, which is intended to determine citizens’ satisfaction and confidence with policing services.

According to the Ministry, the survey will also determine if citizens who have interacted with law enforcement officers within the last 12 months were treated fairly and with dignity during their interactions. The survey will close on January 2, 2021.

11

MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

12 NEWS Mother, 11-year-old daughter found murdered in home MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

— alleged killer on the run

By LaWanda McAllister

C

uban National Yoel Rodrigues is now on the run after he allegedly murdered his 34-year-old Guyanese partner and her 11-year-old daughter sometime between Christmas Day and on the evening of Boxing Day, at their Princess Street, Lodge, Georgetown home.

The bodies of Tara Krishnaran and her daughter Larissa Singh were discovered at about 21:00h on Boxing Day. Based on reports received, father of the dead woman told Police that the suspect, a Cuban national, and his daughter were heard arguing at about 17:30h on December 25. This was followed by a scuffle between

Dead: Tara Krishnaran

Dead: Larissa Singh

with her.

However, at about 20:30h, the man went to his daughter’s room to check on them, and it was then the gruesome discovery was

from the scene.

At the home of the dead woman, the dead woman’s brother Amar Krishnaran narrated what he was told happened to his sister and niece.

“Normally when they go to work, they does make he [the father’s] food and put it on the table…he didn’t see the food on the table and didn’t know what happened…as the time was going by during the day, he didn’t see the little girl coming out to feed the puppy…”, he said.

Amar said the father waited for hours for his daughter and he did not see her or the child come in, so he decided to go to the room to check.

“He went and pull the blind and he saw my niece lying on the ground right there…she was motionless and the room was dark, so whatever glimpse he saw of the mother on the bed, that was it…so he took his foot and touched her [the child’s] hand and there were no movements”, the tearful man said.

It was then the 69-yearold man realized that something was amiss.

The house where the bodies were found

them.

However, the man did not take it seriously, since the couple would normally fight. As such, he retired to bed.

At about 08:00h on December 26, the father woke up but did not check on his daughter and granddaughter, since he thought she had gone to work and had taken her daughter

made. Both the mother and daughter were lying motionless, on a bed and on the ground respectively. Wound were discovered at the back of the woman’s head, left side temple, and left side of the face, while the child sustained a stab wound to her neck. It is suspected that she was also raped.

A blood-stained hammer and a knife were retrieved

Rebekah Krishnaran, the elderly man’s daughterin-law, told this publication that her father-in-law, who is not able-bodied and requires help to move around, tried to make his way to the door to get help, and realised that the doors were locked from the outside and the keys were missing.

She said that after realising this, the man slowly managed to get his phone and called her to come to the scene.

“He called me and my husband and said it looks like this guy killed them in the room, and it could be that he is in there too… When we came we had to break the locks on the door… The mother was hit to the head with a hammer, twice, once in the back of her head and once to her left temple, and the child was on the ground, her throat was slashed, and she was only wearing a top and was wearing no bottom or undergarments…”, she explained.

Rebekah said Tara’s lover was always jealous, and would constantly verbally abuse her, but it never got to

the extent of him physically assaulting her.

“They had a conflict once and he hit her, but it was not too serious that we thought he would have done this…”, she said.

She added that her sister-in-law and the man has been living together for about 10 months, and have been dating for about a year.

She said when she asked her father-in-law what the argument between the deceased and the suspect was about, he recalled it was about the suspect, the now dead woman and her daughter going to spend Christmas Day with her brother.

Rebekah explained that her father-in-law also related that he recalled hearing his granddaughter screaming once, but he took it for nothing, since she would usually scream suddenly when she sees centipedes that are always crawling into the house.

The woman said that following the discovery of the bodies, checks were made in the elderly man’s room, where it was discovered that all his money was missing. It

The suspect that is on the run

is believed that the suspect stole the money while her father-in-law was asleep.

“I am happy that he was asleep when he took it because that money might have cost him his life too”, she said.

She described Tara as “the life of the party”, and her niece as a very jovial child.

The bodies are currently at the Lyken’s Funeral Home awaiting a post-mortem. Investigations are ongoing.

WBD woman relieved of motor car, vehicle later found in GT

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he police are making every attempt to locate a brown-coloured Toyota Carina 212 motorcar that was stolen from a Recht-Door-Zee, West Bank Demerara (WBD) resident on Sunday.

Based on information provided, the owner of the motorcar, a 48-year-old woman, and her 31-year-old brother were driving along

the Canal No. 1 Polder access road at about 7:20h when the suspect stopped them and solicited a lift.

On arrival at the Bagotville Junction, the woman parked the car in front of a supermarket and went in to purchase some items with her brother. The car’s keys were reportedly left in the ignition with the suspect seated in the back

passengers’ seat.

However, after spending about five minutes in the supermarket, the duo returned only to discover the car missing. The matter was reported to the Police who made checks for the suspect but were unsuccessful.

The vehicle was subsequently found in Georgetown with the assistance of public-spirited citizens.

Guyhoc Park man shot dead during home invasion

T

wenty-eight-yearold Shawn Robinson of Guyhoc Park Squatting Area, Georgetown succumbed to a gunshot injury while receiving medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital on Sunday.

Based on reports gathered, the young man was shot on Saturday at about 18:36h at Guyhoc Park Squatting area by a person or persons unknown.

Police preliminary investigations revealed that at about 18:50h on the day in question, the Police received a report of an alleged shooting from an anonymous caller. The shooting reportedly occurred in an alleyway at Guyhoc Park Squatting Area.

The caller reportedly told the Police that, and that the victim was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital for treatment.

As such, a team of Police ranks visited that hospital to speak with the victim, but at that time, he was seeking medical attention for a gunshot wound to his left side

Dead: Shawn Andrew Robinson

chest.

At the time, his condition was regarded as serious. He succumbed in the wee hours of Sunday. The Police are conducting their investigation into the circumstances that led to the man’s demise.

At the home of the dead man, his mother Beverly Bowen told <<Guyana Times>> that she received a phone call on Saturday afternoon informing her that Robinson was shot at his home.

“I understand that when he came in, someone or some persons were in the house

waiting, who they are I don’t know as yet”, she said.

Bowen said her son was in the company of his friend at the time when the incident occurred. She said her son’s friend entered the house first, and the suspect/s pounced on him immediately. Upon hearing the commotion, her son went to enquire.

“He has a broken foot and it has steel inside, so when he go inside and asked what is going on inside my house, whoever it was just pulled out they gun and shoot him… the other boy managed to run away, and somebody took him [her son] to the hospital”.

The dead man’s mother said her son was rushed into immediate surgery, but the doctors were unable to save him. She said she is yet to hear from the Police, but she is hoping that they find the person who killed her son.

Up to press time, no arrests were made, but Police are continuing their investigations. A post mortem is expected to be conducted later in the week.

NEWS

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MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Former Govt consultants chastised for approving deficient work – Auditor General says negligence cost state millions

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upervising consultants at various Ministries and Departments are usually the gatekeepers who ensure the Government gets its monies’ worth and that contractors do not rip off the state.

But according to Auditor General Deodat Sharma, the negligence of these consultants has in the end wound up costing the state millions.

According to Sharma in his 2019 report, there were several instances wherein supervising consultants failed to act in the best interest of the Government.

One such case is with the

The AG described the St Rose's project as one case where the Government returned to the drawing board after being given substandard designs

Region 5 duo latest COVID-19 fatalities – 4 new cases recorded from 152 tests

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wo more persons who tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) died on Saturday, according to the Health Ministry in a statement to the press on Sunday. This now takes the total number of deaths from the pandemic to 164.

The Ministry on Sunday revealed that these latest fatalities are a 53-year-old male and a 74-year-old female both of Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice).

These persons died while receiving care at a medical facility.

Guyana last recorded COVID-19 deaths on December 22, when an 88-year-old male from Region 7 (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and a 68-year-old woman from Region 4 (DemeraraMahaica) died.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry also reported on Sunday that four new novel coronavirus cases were recorded within a 24-hour period from the 152 tests that were conducted.

According to the Ministry’s updated COVID-19 dashboard, the total number of confirmed cases in the country now stands at 6293, of which 3254 are males and 3039 females.

Of the total, only 449 are currently active cases. This includes six patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and 443 persons in isolation. That is, 13 in institutional isolation and the other 430 in home isolation.

There also are 10 persons in institutional quarantine.

To date, some 5680 persons have recovered from the life-threatening virus here; that is, 28 more recoveries than what was recorded the previous day.

Meanwhile, Guyana has tested some 37,451 persons for the novel coronavirus thus far.

Of the four new cases recorded on Sunday, three were detected in the Demerara-Mahaica Region 4, which now has 2692 cas-

es. The other case was recorded in Region 10 (Upper Demerara- Upper Berbice), which now has 514 cases.

The figures in the other eight regions remained the same, with 931 COVID-19 cases in Region One (BarimaWaini), 187 in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), 443 in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), 95 cases in Region 4 (MahaicaBerbice), 304 in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), 537 in Region 7 (CuyuniMazaruni), 194 in Region 8 (Potaro-Siparuni), and 396 cases in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as at Sunday, some 79,232,555 confirmed cases were reported globally, along with 1,754,493 deaths.

The WHO also reported on Sunday that in the Region of the Americas, that is, Latin America and the Caribbean, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased to 34,403,371, while the death toll has gone up to 840,247.

Since taking office, the PPP/C Government has embarked on a massive testing drive to ensure that all positive cases, especially asymptomatic cases, are detected.

This has resulted in a high number of cases being detected.

Nevertheless, Guyanese are reminded to observe the protocols of the COVID-19 EMERGENCY MEASURES (NO. 12), which are in effect until December 31, 2020. This order emphasises, among other things, the need for correct and consistent use of a face mask when leaving your home; the importance of maintaining the six-feet physical distance from others; and the need for good hand-hygiene to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

If anyone is displaying any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19, or need any additional information, kindly contact the COVID-19 Hotline on 2311166, 226-7480 or 624-6674 IMMEDIATELY, or visit us at www.health.gov.gy

contract to construct the St. Roses High School.

“The Ministry of Education made full payments on a contract to a consultant for design and supervision services for the construction of St. Roses Secondary School, which included the foundation designs. However, the foundation was later deemed inadequate, and the Ministry had to engage the services of two additional consultants to redesign the foundations for the school,” Sharma detailed in his report.

Courtney Benn Contracting Services Limited (CBCSL), the contractor who was initially awarded the contract, worth over $350 million, through the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) to construct the school, has since been booted off the project.

Last month, it was revealed that Attorney General Anil Nandlall, on

behalf of the Government, wrote to the CBCSL informing them that the contract was being terminated on the grounds that they had failed to complete the project in a timely manner and in accordance with work schedules. “…Your company has committed a fundamental breach of the terms of the contract, and as a result thereof, the Government of Guyana hereby exercises its right to terminate the contract with immediate effect,” Nandlall set out in his letter.

Another case highlighted by the AG was the construction of the Ministry of Finance’s new Annex building, for which an advance payment of $64.5 million was made in 2017. The AG noted that as at December 31, 2019, $26.5 million out of that advance payment had not been recovered, while the bond for the remaining balance expired since last year.

There were also issues with the then Ministry of Public Telecommunications, which made full payments to an engineering firm for design and supervision services to renovate a call centre building in Linden.

“However, our physical verification on September 4, 2020 revealed that there was no representative from the consultant on site to supervise the works. Further, the roof sheeting installed did not meet the specifications in the contract, while materials valuing $16.2 million, already paid for, were not on site.”

Other instances of super-

Auditor General Deodat Sharma

vising consultants dropping the ball include projects to expand the offices of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) headquarters, where, according to the Auditor General, the consultants “prepared and recommended full payments in several instances for works which were not completed by the contractors at the time.”

It was a similar case at the Ministry of Public Health, which engaged a consultant to supervise the construction of its head office building. The AG noted that valuations for payments were prepared without any breakdown of the works being paid for.

“Instead, only a summary sheet with the sums being paid for was prepared and submitted by the consultant, recommending payment to the contractor. In addition, it was noted that payments totalling $26.4 million were made as lump sums for variation works which, as a consequence, could not be measured and quantified.”

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MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Access roads at No 52/74 in deplorable state — residents forced to stay at home during rainy season

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he poor condition of several access roads within the No. 52/74 Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) has made it impossible for residents to enjoy the holiday weekend.

These roads have been damaged by tractors that traversed the rice cultivation area and the damage has been exacerbated by the inclement weather. Due to the condition of the roads, many were forced to stay at home.

On resident, Krisondat Dipnarine of Number 64 Village, who is part of the fishing industry, told the Guyana Times that when it rains, there is little or no access to the roads, which are now referred to as dams.

“To do my fishing work, when rain (falls) I can’t work. I got to park up till we get back dry weather again.

We complain to the NDC and nobody doing nothing.

Even the street drains want to clean, and nobody doing it,” Dipnarine said.

“Tractor man brucking up this dam. We nah get track fuh walk; dis dam so bad is bare mud,” Chris Persaud of

The access roads at No 52/74 area

Number 59 Village said, as he described the situation in his native Corentyne dialect.

Six families depend on the access road at Number 59 Village, but it has been totally destroyed. One of those residents is 79-yearold Marina Seeram, who revealed that whenever it rains, she cannot get out, due to the state of the street.

It rained a few days before Christmas, and continued until Boxing Day. Former Regional Councillor Gobin Harbhajan, who is also a resident of the area, explained that all of the streets are inaccessible to residential communities.

“It is very hard for them to have access, especially with their vehicles or motorbikes. They have been complaining for a long time.

There are councillors who live within the area. They need to look into the interest of the people,” he said.

As such, he is suggesting that a meeting be held with rice farmers, who should be advised not to bring their tractors into the residential areas.

“They could refuel before the residential area and go back, but to bring the tractor out every day, 90 percent of the main dams are damaged,” Harbhajan said.

“We go into the NDC several times to get this dam

with your boots or slippers on, you could slide and get

fixed. They would maintain it, but we can’t walk because the street is extremely bad. If you try to walk

yourself dirty, so you have to take it off and hold it in your hand,” Paul Shean Thomas of Number 60 told Guyana

distributed.

“We want everybody to know that Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Christ. So, we just want to share the same love to everyone that God has extended to us,” he added. He emphasised that this would not have been possible without the donations from the kettle campaign, and for this reason, he always encourages persons to give.

Also, after all the Christmas activities are hosted, monies remaining from the Red Kettle campaign are used to feed school

his wife, Mireille, were appointed Divisional Leaders to Guyana on July 17, 2017.

They hail from Haiti and have three lovely daughters.

Times.

Harbhajan further revealed that the NDCs collect millions of dollars annually from Central Government to repair those dams.

“It is like throwing the money away. You are going to do (the road) and it last for six months and it is unfair for the residents who live at the back. It is also unfair for anyone who wants to come and visit their family, or if they have a sick and they want to get the person out. The taxi drivers will not come in,” he explained.

Harbhajan is calling on the authorities to allow residents to erect bars across the streets to prevent reactors from getting into those streets.

These cross streets are situated in every village, and are referred to as the Middle Walk. In some villages, the residents have erected cross bars that prevent heavy duty machinery from entering. Those streets are accessible to residents.

When large vehicles need to access the streets to provide service to residents, the bars are temporarily removed.

The Salvation Army Red Kettle: A long-lasting Christmas tradition

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hristmas is all about sharing and caring, but the sad truth is that many persons, including children, are deprived of the festive celebration not because they are naughty, but because of financial constraints. For over a century, the Salvation Army has been helping those in need by providing them with basic necessities.

And through its traditional Red Kettle Campaign, the Salvation Army has been able to raise thousands of dollars to provide for the less fortunate with hot meals, clothing, crisply wrapped toys and other social services, especially around Christmas time.

The campaign usually starts a month before Christmas and volunteers would be seen positioned at busy downtown locations ringing a bell, urging passersby to drop a little spare change in the kettle.

During an interview, Divisional Commander of the Salvation Army, Major Matignol Saint-Lot, explained that the funds ac-

In late October 2020, President Dr Irfaan Ali declared the Salvation Army Christmas Kettle open. Also in the photo are Major Matignol Saint-Lot (extreme left); Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Nicholas Boyer-Deygoo and National Security Advisor to the President, Captain Gerry Gouveia

quired from the campaigns are used to carry out a food parcel distribution which is extended to all the Salvation Army branches in Guyana.

He said that to be the recipient of hampers containing mainly food supplies, persons would have to go through a registration process.

The Salvation Army has branches at East La Penitence, Alexander Street, Wortmanville, Queenstown and Bent Street, all in Georgetown. It also has

news@guyanatimesgy.com

branches at Mahaicony, Linden, Vergenoegen on the East Bank of Essequibo, and in New Amsterdam, Berbice.

There is also a branch on the Essequibo Coast.

According to Major SaintLot, during the Christmas season, the Salvation Army would visit the Salvation Army Men’s Social Centre, the Georgetown Public Hospital, the Salvation Army Women’s Home, the Dharm Shala, and the Palms.

“When we go there, we sing carols, we tell Christmas stories, and offer persons a package of love because it is Christmas…”

It is also customary for the Salvation Army to visit inmates of the Camp Street, Georgetown prison, visiting them on Boxing Day to spread Christmas cheer. There, volunteers would interact with prisoners by sharing motivational speeches. Major SaintLot also revealed that the Salvation Army would host Christmas brunches and parties for those who are a part of the youth and elderly groups of the organization.

At these activities, gifts, tokens, and goodie bags are

Christmas Angel Tree Programme

A few days before Christmas, the Salvation Army launched its first-ever “Christmas Angel Tree Program”. The programme saw 70 children receiving electronic tablets to assist in online classes during the school closure amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chairman of the

noted the importance of building capacity among young people, enabling them to take up leadership positions.

A commitment was given for this to be an annual initiative.

The Salvation Army was founded in 1865 in London, and is a Protestant Christian Church. It is also an international charitable organisation that assists many families in Guyana. It has a presence in more than 130 countries around the world.

Some of its community

The children displaying their new tablet computers

children and anyone who needs assistance throughout the year.

Major Saint-Lot confessed that he loves feeding the homeless.

Major Saint-Lot has expressed gratitude to the many government agencies and businesses that have, over the years, been making donations in cash or kind. The Salvation Army itself raises its own monies through various fundraising activities. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Salvation Army was able to successfully carry out most of its activities.

Major Saint-Lot and

Salvation Army Advisory Board, Edward Boyer, urged the children to take good care of the tablets and to ensure that they are utilised for the purpose intended.

Additionally, Boyer expressed special thanks to the sponsors who have supported the Salvation Army throughout the year, as well as Major Matignol Saint-Lot for accomplishing their goal of bringing joy to the children.

Chief Education Officer Dr. Marcel Hutson lauded the Salvation Army for this much-needed initiative and the relief efforts towards those in need. Dr. Hutson

and social services include hunger relief for individuals and families through food banks and feeding programmes; shelter for the homeless; support for those needing housing; rehabilitation for those struggling with addiction, and longterm care and palliative care.

Christmas assistance such as food hampers and toys; after-school programmes, camps, and school nutrition programmes for children and youth; and lifeskills classes such as budgeting, cooking for a family, and anger management are also included.

NEWS

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MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Guyana-Venezuela border controversy case

Case management hearing set for January 15, 2021

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aving ruled via majority that it has jurisdiction to hear the border controversy case between Guyana and Venezuela over a week ago, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has set January 15, 2021 for case management.

During this hearing, the World Court, which is located at The Hague, Netherlands, is expected to decide on the time to be allocated for the different elements of the hearing – presentation by the two sides and responses, then deliberation by the judges.

This is according to Guyana’s Agent in the matter, Carl Greenidge. In a recent Letter to the Editor published in a section of the media, he explained that none of these elements could take a year each, and if Venezuela continues to abstain from participation, at least two elements will be suppressed.

As such, Greenidge noted that he does not think that the second leg of the ICJ hearing should take more than two to three and a half years.

“The average time between the lodging of the complaint and the decision by the Court was 4.9 years.

As might be expected, the actual time taken is a function of the complexity of the case and, of course, whether or not it is contested.

Guyana’s application was

filed on March 29, 2018. On the foregoing basis alone, there is no reason to expect another decade of deliberations or pleadings. It is true that some cases have taken as long as nine years to be completed however, Guyana is not at the commencement of the process. We are already two and a half years into it,” Greenidge, a former Foreign Affairs Minister, asserted in the letter.

On December 18, the ICJ ruled in a 12-4 majority decision that it has jurisdiction to entertain the application filed by Guyana concerning the Arbitral Award of 1899, which sets out the boundary between Guyana and its neighbour, Venezuela.

On June 30, 2020, the ICJ, which has its headquarters in the Netherlands, heard oral arguments via video conference from Guyana’s legal team headed by Sir Shridath Ramphal on the question of its jurisdiction to adjudicate in the matter.

The case is premised on a border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela in which the Spanish-speaking country has laid claim to more than two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass in the Essequibo region, and a portion of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in which more than eight billion barrels of oil have been discovered.

After a failed Good Offices process between the two neighbouring countries, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres in 2018 referred the border controversy matter to be resolved by the World Court.

Two months later, Guyana filed a case seeking a final and binding judgment that the 1899 Arbitral Award remains valid and binding on all parties, and legal affirmation that Guyana’s Essequibo region, which contains much of Guyana’s natural resources, belongs to Guyana and not Venezuela.

However, the Government of Venezuela has claimed, in a letter dated June 2018 to the World Court, that the UNSG exceeded his authority under the 1966 Geneva Agreement when he referred the case to the ICJ, and therefore the court lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate the matter. On this basis, Venezuela has indicated that it will not participate in the proceedings.

But ICJ President, Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, explained in the ruling almost two weeks ago that both Guyana and Venezuela have consented to judicial settling when it signed the Geneva Agreement, since the judicial process via the ICJ is one of the means available to the SecretaryGeneral in determining the controversy. “…the Geneva Agreement refers to a decision by a third party with regard to the choice of the means of settlement. The Court therefore begins by ascertaining whether the parties conferred on that third party, in this instance the Secretary-General, the authority to choose, by a decision which is binding on them, the means of settlement of their controversy,” Judge Yusuf said in the rul-

F

mation about her whereabouts can contact her relatives on 686-4645 or 257-0233 or the nearest Police Station.

he lifeless body of 53-year-old Dhanpaul Ramdai, a cane harvester of Philadelphia, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), was found lying in front of the washroom door of his home on Saturday evening.

According to information received, Ramdai returned home about 18:30h after he went to take a few beers with his friends.

CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)

INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES Missing: Yogeeta Sooknanan

sleep together and on Wednesday night, I get up, but I didn’t put on the light because the place was dark…When I come downstairs, I hear the phone ring and it was her. Then I run up to check and raised the alarm that I couldn’t find her,” Nandranie explained.

Relatives have since filed a missing person’s report. The family of a 24-year-old man was questioned, since it is believed that the teen is with him.

Persons with any infor-

ing.

With a date for the case management hearing set, the World Court is now preparing to hear Guyana’s substantive application.

Greenidge had previously stated that Guyana’s legal team for the Border Controversy case, which is led by Sir Shridath Ramphal and includes several local and international professionals, had started strategising since before the December 18 ruling, and is in a state of readiness for when the matter is called up.

In his letter, Greenidge explained that as Guyana’s Agent in the case, he is responsible for overseeing the preparations, finalising strategy, liaising with the Government to ensure that it is informed of the needs for

Cane harvester found dead after leaving bed to use washroom

Teen missing after visiting T grandmother for holidays ifteen-year-old Yogeeta Sooknanan was supposed to spend the Christmas holiday in Cane Grove on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) at her grandparents but she was discovered missing on Christmas Eve Day. Sooknanan, also called “Devina”, had lived with her grandparents since she was an infant and recently moved to Berbice with her parents to prepare for the upcoming Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.

Her grandmother, Nandranie (only name provided) told Guyana Times that the teen arrived at her house a few days before she disappeared. On Wednesday last, the woman said she retired to bed and when she woke up the following morning, the teenager was missing.

She received a telephone call later, allegedly from her granddaughter, stating that she was not coming home.

“She come to spend Christmas holiday. We

Guyana Agent Carl Greenidge

successful prosecution of the process, and ensuring that the Advisory Council (AC) is familiar with Government policy, for example.

Meanwhile, Sir Shridath, one of Guyana’s two coagents, is responsible for coordinating the inputs of the legal counsel and advocates. In addition to being internationally renowned as a negotiator, he brings unique first-hand experience of the specific technicalities, policies and events surrounding negotiation of the Geneva Agreement and the deliberations of the related Mixed Commission which are so central to the Court case.

The liaison with the team of international lawyers has been Permanent Secretary of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Ambassador Elizabeth Harper; while the other CoAgent is Director General at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Ambassador Audrey Waddell, who has been coordinating the domestic team.

That team includes several prominent individuals, such as Ambassador Cedric Joseph, Dr Barton Scotland, Professor Duke Pollard, Ambassador Rudy Collins, Senior Counsel Ralph Ramkarran (Private Sector rep.) and Gail Teixeira (political rep. for PPP/C).

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF?

Upon returning home, he had a meal and retired to bed.

However, around 21:00h, his wife told Police that he woke up to use the washroom.

As he was doing so, a loud sound was heard and his wife went to check. It was then she discovered him lying motionless in front of the washroom door

faceup.

Ramdai was picked up and rushed to the Leonora Cottage Hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival.

His body was taken to the Ezekiel Funeral Home to await a post-mortem. No marks of violence were visible on the body. The Police have launched an investigation into the man’s death.

SYMPTOMS

People with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness.

Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. People with these symptoms or combinations of symptoms may have COVID-19:

Cough

Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

Or at least two of these symptoms:

Fever People who think they may be affected by coronavirus need to call the Public Health Ministry hotline 227-4986/624-3067 for further advice. They should not go to their GP, A&E, pharmacy or hospital.

If you have come into contact with somebody who may be infected, you may be told to self-isolate. People needing to do so should take "common-sense" steps to avoid close contact with other people.

(Adapted from BBC News)

Headache

Chills

Sore throat

Repeated shaking with chills

Muscle pain

Children have similar symptoms to adults and generally have New loss of taste mild illness. or smell

16 NEWS

MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

2nd National Risk Assessment nears completion – as Guyana gears for 4th round of mutual evaluation

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uyana is one step closer to its fourth round of mutual evaluation by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force/Financial Action Task Force (CFATF/FATF), with its second National Risk Assessment nearing completion.

With the oil and gas sector emerging, the National Risk Assessment has become necessary as it identifies money laundering and terrorist financing risks to the country.

Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Matthew Langevine, said the second Risk Assessment evaluates new and emerging industries to determine whether money laundering threats exist, and how those threats could be addressed in a timely manner.

“We are almost finished

Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Matthew Langevine

the second National Risk Assessment, and what that does is it helps us to understand how the financial sector is changing. We have a new and emerging oil sector and, internationally, there are many risks and threats to money laundering,” Langevine told DPI.

Guyana was commended for completing the critical assessment ahead of its regional counterparts, at the recently-held Caribbean Development Bank and World Bank virtual conference on corruption, compliance and cybersecurity.

Langevine said the second assessment is at a “very advanced stage.” An initial report has been completed by a 70-member working group from the Private and Public Sectors. That report will be shared with the World Bank, which will in turn provide guidance, where necessary.

The FIU head said he is optimistic that the National Risk Assessment Report will be completed early in the new year.

Meanwhile, Langevine noted that Guyana contin-

ues to collaborate with other stakeholder agencies across the region in its preparation for the fourth round of evaluation.

Earlier this month, the country completed the CFATF Annual Plenary, and participated in the Heads of FIU forum. Langevine posited that continued co-operation and collaboration with regional partners allows the Unit to be effective.

The FIU also used the period of the pandemic to ensure staff completed online training programmes that were available through the United Nations Organisation for Drug Control (UNODC), and other agencies.

“A key part to ensuring that we are ready is ensuring that we develop our staff, and 2020 provided an opportunity because of the

UG spreads Christmas cheer to vulnerable children

pandemic to do a lot of online training. Our staff are increasingly becoming more prepared and competent in terms of completing the work of the FIU and making our job easier,” he told DPI. Guyana, along with several Caribbean countries, will be assessed at the fourth round of mutual evaluation

in 2022. During that round of compliance monitoring, the CFATF will conduct reviews to assess the countries’ levels of implementation of the organisation’s recommendations, providing an in-depth description and analysis of the system for preventing criminal abuse of the financial system.

Man found dead with gunshot wound to head

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man whose only name was given as “Tricksie” was found dead with a gunshot wound to his head by Police who were on a mobile patrol along Alexander Street, Georgetown on Friday.

The Police have said they received information that a male was seen lying motionless on Robb Street, and went to the area to inquire.

There, they saw the man lying on his back, in a pool of blood. He was clad in a white jersey and a dark-coloured pair of three-quarter pants, and had what appeared to be a gunshot wound to his temple area.

Police say that about 12

inches from his right shoulder, a 9mm Glock pistol was found, with a 9mm round of ammunition in the breach.

Also, a 9mm spent shell was found at the scene.

The man was picked up and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC,) where doctors confirmed his death.

The body is presently at the hospital’s mortuary awaiting proper identification and a post-mortem examination.

Police have since confirmed that the man had taken his own life. This was detected from CCTV footage that was retrieved from a nearby grocery store.

Apprenticeships for UG students, non-violent prisoners Lesa Somrah presenting the gifts to the Convalescent home

Lesa Somrah presenting the gifts to Joshua Home

cores of children from the Joshua House and Convalescent Home were in smiles as the Public Relations Division of the University of Guyana (UG) donated scores of items to the respective homes.

This was done in the

Santa’s Helpers initiative started in 1993 as a collaborative effort between the faculty of Natural Sciences, and the Public Relations Department. However, it has since evolved over the years.

“We usually do the community outreach in the surrounding communities of the University of Guyana…however, due to COVID and the regulations, we have decided to contribute to orphanages, two orphanages in Georgetown…The Santa’s Helpers are dear to us, and we hope to sustain it because we see the need to give back”, she said.

Both the Joshua House

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place of the annual Santa’s Helpers Christmas community outreach, which had to be postponed due to the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus.

Public Relations Officer (PRO) of UG, Lesa Somrah, told Guyana Times that

and Convalescent Home were gifted with toys, cleaning detergents, and food items that were donated by staff of the tertiary institution.

Joan Stephens Deveaux, Care Giver and Supervisor of the Children Convalescent Home located at Durban Backlands, and Administrator of the Joshua House, Gladys Accra, expressed gratitude to the University of Guyana for their kind gesture.

Meanwhile, the Public Relations Divisions of UG thanked faculty, staff, and everyone who contributed to making the event a success.

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he Labour Ministry will be providing apprenticeship programmes to University of Guyana (UG) students and persons incarcerated for non-violent offences. This apprenticeship allows them to benefit from both classroom teaching and workbased training.

This was announced by subject Minister Joseph Hamilton during a recent interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI).

He noted that the Ministry has engaged the tertiary institution about the programmes that are expected to be rolled out in 2021. The Minister explained that the programme would ensure graduates acquire the necessary skills and training they need to succeed in the world of work.

“People are graduating by the hundreds at the university, but when they leave, they can’t land a job because they have no experience. So how do we deal with that?

And so this programme will address that,” he said.

Hamilton added that the programme will be similar to that offered at UG’s Medical Science Faculty, where students are required to complete internship programmes before practising medicine.

“The same thing we must do for economists, accountants, engineers, so that in that one year they are honing their skills, and so when they go and apply for a job, they can bring that on their CV.” Additionally, discus-

Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton

sions are ongoing with the Home Affairs Ministry and the Guyana Prison Service to provide a similar training programme for those persons who were incarcerated for non-violent offences.

Several training programmes are already being provided to inmates at the various correctional facilities.

This, he said, is part of the Government’s plan to reintegrate people once they leave the prison system.

The training and other topics will be further discussed at a technical conference being organised by the Ministry for March next year.

Members of the Private Sector and heads of Council for technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions are among those who will be participating in the conference.

NEWS

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MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Nashville explosion: Camper van Uganda: Bobi Wine says blast suspect named by Police bodyguard killed in

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olice investigating a camper van blast that injured three people in Nashville on Christmas Day have named a suspect after DNA was collected at the scene.

Officials in the US state of Tennessee said the DNA matched that of Anthony Quinn Warner, 63.

The FBI said there was no indication of additional suspects and that it was too early to suggest a motive.

The blast outside a telecoms office disrupted communications systems in Tennessee and four other states.

During a press conference on Sunday, federal investigators said they believed that Warner, who worked in IT and had extensive experience with electronics, was the sole individual responsible for the blast and had died at the site.

The powerful explosion damaged buildings and felled trees

They said the blast was probably deliberate, and that it was Warner's remains discovered at the scene.

According to public records, Warner had until recently lived in Antioch, a suburb of Nashville, where Police searched a home on Saturday.

Neighbours also reported seeing a camper van at

the premises, local media reported.

Earlier, CBS News reported that a DNA sample had been collected from Warner's mother.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Douglas Korneski said officials had received about 500 tips relating to the explosion.

"We're still following leads, but right now there is

no indication that any other persons were involved," he said. "We reviewed hours of security video surrounding the recreation vehicle which saw no other people involved."

Public records cited by US media show Warner had wide experience with electronics and alarm systems.

He was a long-time resident of Nashville and had worked as a freelance computer technician with an estate agency.

His former employer, estate agent Steve Fridrich, told the Nashville Tennessean that Warner had resigned unexpectedly this month after four years with the company. Fridrich said the move had been "quite out of character".

A neighbour in Antioch described Warner as "a computer geek", USA Today reported. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Trinidad: Attempted murder accused on the run posts Christmas greetings on Police Facebook page

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social media user purporting to be the man wanted by Police for skipping bail took to Facebook to comment on the issue.

Up to Saturday, Roger "Bissoo" Bissoon, 44, who Police charged in 2016 with the attempted murder of a woman, remained at large.

Responding to calls from social media users to give himself up to the Police, the man purporting to be Bisson said on the TT Police Service official Facebook page: "Ah don't know what these people have against me so with all those lies."

Using GIFs on Friday, he wished Merry Christmas to many people who commented on his fail-

ing to reappear in court.

Police contend that he doused an estranged female relative with acid at a house at La Romaine in February 2016.

Several people expressed their displeasure that attempted murder is a bailable offence.

A social media user said Bissoon was staying in an abandoned house in Shaw Park in Tobago.

Southern Division Police said someone called the San Fernando Police Station on Christmas Day, saying people had spotted him at Gopaul Lands in Marabella. Police checked, but could not find him.

Police said the search was ongoing "throughout Trinidad and Tobago" for the labourer.

Senior Police said when bail is granted to people, the onus is on the accused and bailors to ensure they appear before the court on the adjourned date. The court can revoke bail if the conditions to the bond are not met.

On Friday, a Police statement said a San Fernando Magistrate in September 2016 placed the accused on TT$100,000 bail with a surety.

Bissoon failed to appear in court for subsequent hearings, and a magistrate issued a warrant for his arrest.

Police said Bissoon last lived at Ramjohn Trace, Penal, and Palm Drive in San Fernando.

It is not the first time that Police have launched

From bean to bar, Haiti's cocoa wants international recognition

A

lthough small in the face of South America's giants, Haiti is slowly developing its cocoa industry, earning better incomes for thousands of farmers and refuting the stereotype that culinary art is the preserve of wealthy countries.

Haiti's annual production of 5000 metric tons of cocoa pales in comparison to the 70,000 metric tons produced per year by neighbouring Dominican Republic, but the sector's development is recent in the island nation.

Feccano, a federation of cocoa cooperatives in northern Haiti, became the first group to organise exchanges in 2001 by prioritising farmers' profits.

"Before, there was the systematic destruction of cocoa trees because the mar-

ket price wasn't interesting for farmers who preferred very short-cycle crops," said Guito Gilot, Feccano's commercial director.

The cooperative now works with more than 4000 farmers in northern Haiti.

By fermenting its members' beans before export, Feccano has been able to target the market for fine and aromatic cocoa.

"Feccano's customers pay for quality: they don't have the New York Stock Exchange as a reference," Gilot said.

Smelling potential, Haiti's Private Sector began investing in the cocoa industry, which until then had been supported solely by Non-Governmental Organisations and humanitarian efforts.

By setting up its fermentation setter in 2014 in

Acul-du-Nord, the company Produit des iles (PISA) entered the market. But the logistical challenges are many.

"The producers we work with farm less than a hectare, often divided into several plots, whereas, in Latin America, a small producer already owns four or five hectares," said Aline Etlicher, who developed the industry at PISA. "We buy fresh cocoa, the same day as the harvest so the farmer no longer has the problems of drying and storing that they would have if they sold it to an intermediary," the French agronomist said.

Maintaining organic and fair-trade certifications for the cocoa is delicate, but the Haitian style has made its mark abroad. (Excerpt from VOA)

a manhunt for his arrest.

For three months after the estranged relative reported the acid attack, he went into hiding. Police found him at the home of his sister and her husband at Palmyra. (Excerpt from Trinidad Newsday)

violence ahead of poll

Bobi Wine was campaigning on Sunday in parts of central Uganda where he has considerable support [File: Abubaker Lubowa/ Reuters]

A

bodyguard for Ugandan Opposition leader Bobi Wine was killed and two Journalists injured on Sunday amid violent confrontations between security forces and followers of the singer and lawmaker who is challenging the country’s longtime leader.

A tearful Bobi Wine, whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, said his bodyguard had died of his injuries after being allegedly run over by a truck belonging to the military police.

The victim, Francis Senteza, was attacked while helping to transport a Journalist injured during an earlier confrontation between the Police and a group of Bobi Wine’s supporters, he said.

Authorities did not immediately respond to the al-

legation that Senteza’s death was a deliberate killing.

Bobi Wine was campaigning on Sunday in parts of central Uganda where he has considerable support. As his convoy tried to proceed from one rally to the next, Police fired tear gas into the crowd, injuring at least two Journalists.

Cameraman Ashraf Kasirye, a member of a TV crew that follows Bobi Wine wherever he goes, suffered a serious head injury.

“We are hoping against hope that he will live,” Bobi Wine said of Kasirye on Twitter.

Another journalist, Ali Mivule of local broadcaster NTV, was injured after a tear gas canister hit his leg, according to his employer. His condition was said to be stable. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Civilians flee Ain Issa, northeast Syria as clashes escalate

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t least 9500 people have fled their homes in Ain Issa, northeast Syria, following an escalation in clashes between the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (TSNA) and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in mid-December.

The SDF – the military forces of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), also known as Rojava – who control Ain Issa, report daily shelling on the city from Turkish-backed forces for the past week. The sound of fighting could be heard from sunset until noon.

Ain Issa sits approximately 45 kilometres (28 miles) by road from Tel Abyad, a city flanking the Turkish border and captured in October 2019 during Ankara’s Operation Peace Spring.

Operation Peace Spring was launched following the abrupt withdrawal of United States troops from Syria to secure a so-called safe-zone on Turkey’s border by clearing the region of People’s Protection Units (YPG) fighters.

The SDF comprises the YPG, which Turkey considers to be linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Labelled a “terrorist” or-

ganisation by Turkey, the US and the European Union, the PKK has waged an armed uprising against the Turkish state since the 1980s.

The Turkish Government stated the safe-zone would span 32km (20 miles) deep from the Turkish border into Syria and 444km (276 miles) wide from the Euphrates

River to Iraq in order to settle up to two million Syrian refugees currently hosted by Turkey.

The operation resulted in Turkey capturing the cities of Tel Abyad and Ras alAin near its border and controlling an area 20km deep into Syria. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020

Regional

IDB approves record US$21.6B in lending to Caribbean countries in 2020

T

he Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) says it mounted an historic effort in 2020 to assist its 26-member countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to manage the economic and social impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and lay the groundwork for recovery and sustainable growth, approving a record US$21.6 billion in new financing.

In response to unprecedented need in the Region – the world’s hardest-hit by COVID-19 – the Washingtonbased financial institution said it “rapidly reformulated tools and fast-tracked operations” that led to increases of 11 per cent in sovereign guaranteed approvals and 55 per cent in disbursements, compared to 2019.

In all, the IDB said it approved US$12.6 billion for public-sector projects in 2020.

IDB Invest, the IDB

IDB President Mauricio ClaverCarone

Group’s Private-Sector arm, supplemented these efforts with US$9 billion, including US$6.7 billion in approvals and US$2.3 billion in mobilisation.

IDB Lab, the group’s innovation incubator, increased its operations by 40

per cent, from 90 projects to 126, of which 20 were pandemic-related.

“We must use this crisis as an opportunity to capitalise on the creativity, resilience and optimism that have always been our Region’s hallmark,” said IDB President Mauricio ClaverCarone in a year-end address to the Bank’s Board of Directors.

“We are proud that the IDB Group has contributed to many of these efforts in 2020, and we intend to be a leader in working with the Region on its recovery in 2021,” he added.

The IDB said its response to the pandemic totalled US$8.076 billion, focused on financing for immediate public-health needs, safety nets for vulnerable populations, economic productivity and employment, and fiscal measures to help mitigate economic impacts. (Excerpt from CMC)

Trinidadian charged with murdering Jamaican to appear in court

A

25-year-old man, who has been charged with the murder of Neil Johnson — a Jamaican national, is scheduled to appear in court today in Trinidad.

Kadeem Williams, also known as “Circles” from the community of Laventille, along the east-west corridor of the country, has also been charged with possession of firearm and ammunition.

The Police report that on

the morning of December 16, Johnson, from May Pen, in the central Jamaican parish of Clarendon, was in the company of another man along the Brian Lara Promenade, when they were approached by an armed assailant who announced a hold-up.

During the incident, the gunman — later identified as Williams — fired several shots in the direction of the men before running off.

Officers on patrol in the

area observed the gunman running along the promenade and apprehended him shortly after.

A silver Glock 48 pistol loaded with a magazine and five rounds of ammunition were found in his possession.

Johnson, who suffered gunshot wounds, was taken to hospital for treatment, where he died the next day.

Following investigations, Williams was charged on Friday. (CMC)

Caribbean medical practitioners urge community to take COVID-19 vaccine

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s many in the global community, including the Caribbean community in New York, express fear, reluctance or hesitance about taking the COVID-19 vaccine, some Caribbeanborn physicians and other medical practitioners are urging community members to take the vaccine when it becomes available.

Speaking with the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), at least three Caribbean physicians — a Trinidadian, a Guyanese and a Vincentian — said taking the vaccine was the right and judicious thing to do.

“It’s important that people take the vaccine,” said Dr Yolande Thomas-Badal, a

Trinidad-born internist and Emergency Room physician at Interfaith Medical Centre in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, New York, who recently took the COVID-19 vaccine at her hospital.

“The vaccine is our first best defence from contracting COVID-19,” added Dr Thomas-Badal, stating that she took the vaccine, because it “offers protection”.

“Also, I have a 91-yearold mother, and I don’t want my mother to be infected,” she said, disclosing that “I just got married, on April 13, 2019, and my husband will be coming up (from Trinidad and Tobago), and I don’t want him to get infected”.

“You have to think of the other people who you’re around,” Dr Thomas-Badal continued. “Being on the frontline and seeing patients with coronavirus; and, if there’s anything to help me to prevent coronavirus, I’ll do it.”

She noted that “a lot of minorities have underlying medical problems, such as diabetes, cancers, and coronavirus (is) killing a lot of my people”.

Dr Thomas-Badal said some of her patients were reluctant to take the vaccine, saying that “they don’t trust” it.

But Dr Thomas-Badal stressed that “education is our best defence”. (Excerpt from CMC)

Venezuelan drownings: 41 in a boat for 8 – report

T

hirty-one Venezuelans drowned off the coast of Guiria, Sucre after being crammed into a small boat designed for eight people, which capsized on December 6. The boat, My Memory, did not have proper safety equipment yet set out in rough seas with waves two to three metres high, amid bad weather including strong north-westerly tradewinds.

These were the findings of an investigation announced

by Venezuelan Minister of Internal Relations (MRI), Admiral-in-Chief Carmen Meléndez, as reported in a Venezuelan economics magazine, Banca y Negocios (Banking and Business.) The online publication on Friday carried an article headlined – MRI determines causes of Güiria tragedy and rejects ‘political manipulation’ that affects relations with Trinidad.

The article revealed that on top of those who had

In this November 11, 2020 file photo, Venezuelan migrants arrive illegally at Los Iros beach, Erin. On December 6, 41 migrants drowned in Venezuelan waters while attempting a similar crossing from Guiria to Trinidad (File Photo/Lincoln Holder)

drowned the boat had been carrying in total some 41 people. It lamented, “The causes of the maritime accident in which more than 30 Venezuelan migrants died en route to Trinidad and Tobago, were due to the overloading of the boat and that the passengers were sailing without the minimum security (safety) conditions, in the midst of strong waves.”

The article said it pro-

vided the Venezuelan Government’s summary of the police and forensic investigations undertaken so as to explain a tragedy which had grieved not just the people of Guiria, but all Venezuela. It said the incident revealed in the extreme, the daily tragedy experienced by millions of Venezuelans forced to leave the country by the economic and social crisis. (Excerpt from Trinidad Newsday)

Barbados-born former detective joins NY City Council race Brazil’s Vice President tests

A

Barbados-born, retired New York Police Department (NYPD) detective has thrown her hat in the race for the 46th New York City Council District in Brooklyn and has expressed strong confidence that she would emerge victorious.

Dr Judy D Newton, who retired from the NYPD on April 30, 2012, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) on Sunday that she was focused on her campaign, “reaching out to voters in the district and putting a winning team together”.

The 46th District encompasses the Brooklyn neighbourhoods of Bergen Beach, Canarsie, Flatlands, Georgetown, Gerritsen Beach, Marine Park, Mill Basin, Mill Island, and Sheepshead Bay.

Dr Judy D Newton

Dr Newton said her goals are “simple”.

“To represent the people of the 46th District, especially working families.

“I’m running on a platform of rebuilding, preserving, and restoring the community and district by putting families first,” she

said.

“I believe that the damage done to families in the district by the twin pandemics of poverty and COVID-19 are also aggravated by high unemployment, joblessness.”

Dr Newton said “the unintended consequences and fall-out occasioned by these issues need someone who can roll up their sleeves and get to work, putting our families’ interests first”.

“My immediate priority will be to address breadand-butter, kitchen table and pocket book issues facing families in the district,” she said. “If I was not confident of winning, I would not be running. I could not sit idly by and watch my community struggle in pain and go to hell in a basket.”

(Excerpt from CMC)

positive for coronavirus; 344 new deaths recorded

B

razil’s Vice President, Hamilton Mourão has tested positive for the coronavirus, his office said on Sunday, when the country registered 344 new COVID-19 deaths.

Mourão, President Jair Bolsonaro’s deputy, is the latest in a long line of senior Brazilian officials to contract the virus. Bolsonaro, a prominent coronavirus sceptic, was infected in July, and recovered.

In a statement, Mourão’s office said he tested positive on Sunday afternoon, and that he would isolate in Jaburu, his official residence.

Separately, Brazil’s health ministry on Sunday

reported that Brazil registered 344 new COVID-19 deaths, and 18,479 fresh coronavirus cases.

Brazil now has nearly 7.5 million confirmed cases, and a total of 191,139 deaths from the virus since the outbreak began, according to the Health Ministry figures.

More than 80 million confirmed cases of coronavirus have been detected worldwide since the pandemic began a year ago and 1.76 million deaths, according to an AFP tally based on official figures Sunday.

In total, 80,145,185 cases and 1,756,060 deaths have been recorded. Last week, an average of 580,000 new cases were registered every

day.

Europe is the world’s hardest-hit region, passing the 25-million-case mark on Friday and with 546,000 deaths.

After Europe, the US and Canada make up the second worst-hit region with 346,636 deaths out of 19,479,293 cases.

Next on the list are Latin America and the Caribbean with 15,139,172 cases and 496,524 deaths; Asia (13,670,958 cases, 215,100 deaths); the Middle East (3,887,085 cases and 88,611 deaths),; Africa (2,640,778 cases, 62,234 deaths) and Oceania (30,919 cases and 944 deaths). (Excerpts from Reuters and AFP)

guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020

19

Around the World

EU starts mass vaccination in OILNEWS OIL NEWS “touching moment of unity” Saudi Aramco T

makes 4 oil and gas discoveries

S

tate-controlled Saudi Aramco has made four new oil and gas discoveries, the country's Oil Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Sunday.

The first discovery, comprising unconventional Extra Light Arab crude, was made at the al-Reesh field, northwest of Dhahran, where Aramco is headquartered. Extra Light crude and associated gas flowed from three wells at the field.

The discovery — in the Eastern Province of the country where Aramco's oil and gas facilities are located — is of special significance, Prince Abdulaziz said, because it proves that Arab Extra Light crude can be produced from the Tuweiq Mountain formation.

Another oil discovery, al-Ajramiyah, was made northwest of the city of Rafhaa on Saudi Arabia's northern border. The Oil Minister did not specify whether the al-Ajramiyah find comprises conventional or unconventional crude.

Two further finds comprised non-conventional gas.

Aramco is now delineating the fields to determine their size and capacities, said Prince Abdulaziz.

Aramco, which has a crude production capacity of 12 million barrels per day and reserves of around 260bn bl, focuses its exploration activities on gas, rather than crude, and is working to include shale gas in its portfolio. The company produced 8.978 billion ft3/d of natural gas in 2019, much of it conventional. (Excerpt from argusmedia.com)

Central African Republic election held amid violence

he European Union has begun a coordinated vaccine rollout to fight COVID-19, in what the bloc's top official says is a "touching moment of unity".

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Saturday the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had been delivered to all 27 Member States.

Some countries started administering the jabs on Saturday, saying they were not prepared to wait another day.

The EU has so far reported more than 335,000 COVID-19-related deaths.

More than 14 million people have been infected, and strict lockdown measures are currently

The first person to get the jab in France was a care home resident named as Mauricette, 78

in place in nearly all the member states.

The vaccine rollout comes as cases of the more contagious variant of COVID-19 are confirmed in several European nations as well as Canada and Japan.

Trump signs pandemic aid and spending bill, averting Government shutdown

U

S President Donald Trump on Sunday signed into law a US$2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package, officials said, restoring unemployment benefits to millions of Americans and averting a partial federal Government shutdown.

Trump, who leaves office on January 20 after losing November’s election, backed down from his threat to block the bill, which was approved

by Congress last week, after he came under intense pres-

sure from lawmakers on both sides.

The Republican President, who golfed on Sunday and remained out of public view even as the potential Government shutdown loomed, had demanded that Congress change the bill to increase the size of stimulus checks for struggling Americans to US$2000 from US$600.

It was not immediately clear why Trump changed his mind as his resistance to the massive legislative pack-

7 killed in knife attack in China's Liaoning province

P

had called on people not to vote.

Officials said that thousands of people did not receive their voter cards and correspondents note that the legitimacy of the result is likely to be questioned.

However, the head of the UN mission in the country said that despite the closure of some polling stations, there was a large turnout in many areas.

Ballots were cast in presidential and legislative races, with UN peacekeepers patrolling the capital, Bangui.

Bozizé, who is barred from standing and is under UN sanctions, denies Government claims that he is plotting a coup by backing the rebels' advance.

But shortly after voting started, he expressed support for the rebels, urging people not to vote. (Excerpt from BBC News)

age promised a chaotic final stretch of his presidency.

White House officials have been tight-lipped about Trump’s thinking, but a source familiar with the situation said some advisers had urged him to relent because they did not see the point of refusing.

“Good news on Covid Relief Bill. Information to follow!”

Trump said in a cryptic message on Twitter earlier on Sunday evening. But he offered no explanation.

Democrats are on board

A

t least seven people have been killed by a knife-wielding attacker in north-eastern China, media reports say.

Another seven people were reported wounded in the mass stabbing, which took place in Kaiyuan, a small city in Liaoning province.

Police have arrested a suspect, the State-run Xinhua news agency reports, although a motive remains unclear.

Witnesses described seeing a man stabbing people seemingly at random.

Violent crime is relatively rare in China, but the country has seen unrelated knife attacks in recent years.

They have usually been carried out by people living with mental illness, or seeking revenge against officials or individuals known to them.

The suspect in Kaiyuan began attacking people at random just after 08:00 local time, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) newspaper reports.

Police said an officer was injured while confronting the suspect. No other details on casualties have been provided.

An eyewitness told the SCMP that the attack started outside a school and most victims appeared to be middle-aged or elderly women.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

with the US$2000 payments, but many Republicans have opposed it in the past. Many economists agree the financial aid in the bill should be higher to get the economy moving again, but say that immediate support for Americans hit by coronavirus lockdowns is still urgently needed.

Unemployment benefits being paid out to about 14 million people through pandemic programs lapsed on Saturday, but will be restarted now that Trump has signed the bill.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Boy Scouts of America accuse Girl Scouts of starting “war”

A

The head of the UN mission in the country said that despite the closure of some polling stations, there was a large turnout in many areas

eople in the Central African Republic (CAR) have voted in an election overshadowed by violence between Government and rebel forces.

President FaustinArchange Touadéra is seeking a second term and has accused his predecessor, François Bozizé, of fomenting a coup with rebel groups.

The Government rejected calls from the Opposition to postpone the vote because of the insecurity.

In the run-up, three United Nations peacekeepers were killed by unidentified assailants.

The CAR is a resource-rich but deeply unstable country that has seen several coups since independence from France 60 years ago.

The rebel groups, who have seized several towns close to the capital Bangui,

News of the new variant triggered travel restrictions around the world last week.

The EU has secured contracts for more than two billion vaccine doses from a range of drug companies.

"Today, we start turning

the page on a difficult year.

The #COVID19 vaccine has been delivered to all EU countries. Vaccination will begin tomorrow across the EU," von der Leyen tweeted on Saturday. " T h e #EUvaccinationdays are a touching moment of unity.

Vaccination is the lasting way out of the pandemic," she added.

German Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Saturday: "This really is a happy Christmas message.

At this moment, lorries with the first vaccines are on the road all over Europe, all over Germany, in all federal states. Further deliveries will follow the day after tomorrow. (Excerpt from BBC News)

recruitment drive by the Boy Scouts of America is proving "highly damaging" to the Girl Scouts, lawyers acting for the latter organisation say.

The "infringement" meant many parents mistakenly signed their daughters up for Boy Scouts, thinking it was Girl Scouts, lawyers said.

In response, the Boy Scouts accused the Girl Scouts of starting a "ground war".

The Boy Scouts dropped the word "boy" from its recruitment programme, and opened up to female members, in 2018.

It said at the time that it was renaming the Boy Scouts programme Scouts BSA as it prepared to allow girls to join.

But the Girl Scouts said the change would erode their brand, calling the move "uniquely damaging" to them, filing an initial lawsuit in November 2018 against trademark infringement.

Last month, lawyers acting on behalf of the Boy Scouts asked a judge to throw out the lawsuit, which suggest-

ed it could not use "scouts" or "scouting" in its recruitment material for girls.

In the latest filing at the Manhattan federal court on Christmas Eve, the Girl Scouts described the new recruitment programme as "highly damaging" to its organisation, having caused an "explosion of confusion" among parents.

"As a result of Boy Scouts' infringement... [there have been] rampant instances of confusion and mistaken instances of association between Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts," the papers stated, adding that the organisation could provide proof of such instances.

In a statement released on Saturday, the Boy Scouts said this was "not only inaccurate – with no legally admissible instance of this offered to date in the case – but it is also dismissive of the decisions of more than 120,000 girls and young women who have joined Cub Scouts or Scouts BSA". (Excerpt from BBC News)

20

MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020

guyanatimesgy.com

ARCHIE

ARIES (March 21April 19)

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

DILBERT GEMINI (May 21June 20)

CANCER (June 21July 22)

PEANUTS

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SUDOKU

Plan your actions carefully, and reach out to people who offer different points of view. A joint venture will lead to greater prosperity.

Romance is favored.

Don’t let someone’s uncertainty hinder your ability to do what’s best for you.

Don’t feel responsible for the incompetence of others.

Do what’s right.

Deal with people and the problems that are holding you back. Put more effort into what you want. Focus on fitness, preparation and achieving what you set out to do.

Someone will use the information you share against you if given a chance. Be smart, and deal with partnerships fairly. Offer incentives, and the rewards will exceed your expectations.

Refuse to let what others do or say tilt you in a direction that isn’t going to help.

Be aggressive. Nothing happens overnight, but each step you take matters.

Protect yourself from negativity or risks that can affect your health or emotional well-being. Choose a positive alternative.

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Someone you least expect will leak information that can hurt your status and reputation. Focus on an opportunity, and prepare to work hard to accomplish your goal.

SCORPIO

You have lots to offer and plenty to lose if you don’t verify the information. Do the groundwork and consider doing your own thing rather than getting involved in a joint venture.

(Oct. 24Nov. 22)

SAGITTARIUS Trust the experience you (Nov. 23have to help you. Refuse to Dec. 21) let vague information or a false implication lead to a mistake. If you want something done, do it yourself.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19) FRIDAY'S WORD -- HOLIEST

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

Consider what will make you happy, and assess what it will take to turn your intentions into something concrete. Don’t take a risk with your health or emotional well-being.

Channel your drive into something that will help you advance. It’s time to change your strategy and focus on what makes you happy and brings you closer to your lifelong goal.

Take a step back and assess whatever problem you face before you initiate a change. Use your intellect and the information you receive wisely.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020

21

India v Australia: 2nd Test…

Ajinkya Rahane century headlines dominant day for India

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century of the highest calibre by Ajinkya Rahane put India in control of the second Test after it appeared Australia would bowl themselves back into contention. Instead, with the help of a string of middleorder allies, chiefly the recalled Ravindra Jadeja in an unbroken stand of 104, Rahane lifted his team to an advantage of 82.

Australia started the day well - Pat Cummins producing a magnificent eight-over spell that removed both overnight batsmen, Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara, and included barely a delivery off line - but tailed off during the final session, which included shipping 45 runs in 11.3 overs of the second new ball.

Rain brought a slightly early finish, what ended up being the final delivery of the day bringing Rahane his third life, when he fended a short ball to point against an increasingly frustrated Mitchell Starc, but the chance burst out of Travis Head's hands as he hit the turf.

They had two other opportunities to remove Rahane - one a miss and the other a drop. On 57, he edged Starc between Tim Paine and the lone slip, Steven Smith, moments after the off-side field had been strengthened at the expense of the cordon.

Then, on 73, in the first over with the second new ball, a chance went to hand, Rahane jabbing at a full, wide delivery from Starc, but Smith was late to react above his head at second slip. By the end of the day, Australia were ragged and in need of regrouping.

Rahane needed treatment for what appeared to be a back problem twice during the afternoon session (and later for blows on the hand and neck), but it did not disrupt his almost zen-like progression at the crease. His 12th Test century, and second at the MCG, came up from 195 balls with a fierce square cut against Cummins, a hallmark of an innings where his strokeplay flourished when he wanted it to. Rarely did he miss the chance to score amid over after over of keeping out the good balls, the softness of his hands ensuring that when the edge was found, it usually went to ground. His most prolific scoring area, with 20 runs, was third man.

India managed just 54 runs in the first session, and Australia will have come away feeling they could have had more than 2 wickets. Cummins was magnificent - he beat Pujara with the first delivery of the day, close to enough for Paine to burn a review - and Josh Hazlewood could have

had Gill in the second over, when Paine was unable to hold an inside edge diving to his left.

Cummins eventually lured Gill into an expansive drive to end a promising maiden Test innings, and in his next over, he claimed the huge prize of Pujara, although this one owed everything to Australia's captain, as he flung himself in front of first slip to hold a low chance that would not have carried. That was, however, to prove the exception in the fielding effort. At the time, Australia's 195 was looking considerable, and Cummins was rested with a spell that read 8-4-12-2.

India, with Rahane absorbing a lot of pressure, did very well to take the sting out of the session, whittling the deficit down well inside three figures before Nathan Lyon, who found considerable turn on occasions to suggest a fourth-innings run chase will be a demanding prospect, removed Hanuma Vihari with a gloved sweep.

Up to this point, Australia had controlled the run rate so that, despite a small firstinnings total, they always had a little bit of breathing space. That changed with the arrival of Rishabh Pant, who brought impetus and quickly skipped to 24 at a run-a-ball

with some measured, selective strokeplay.

It appeared to help free up Rahane, too, although that was also the reward for his hours of earlier hard work.

Pant was cut off by Starc, bringing up his 250th Test wicket, when he edged a cut with India still behind and Australia hopeful of something close to parity, but that door was slammed shut. Jadeja, effectively brought in as Virat Kohli's replacement, played a central role with an innings of maturity and patience. By the close, when he had faced 104 deliveries, he had struck just one boundary - a neat backfoot punch off Cameron Green.

He showed a defence to match Rahane's, and resisted trying to take on Lyon.

As the wind suddenly swirled around the MCG, Starc got a delivery to climb at Rahane but it was the India captain's day. He was getting treatment from the physio when, in what was perfect timing for India, the rain arrived and the umpires called play off.

Few deserved the comfort of the dressing room more than Rahane. India have a chance to take stock and resume tomorrow. However, Rahane may already have defined this game. (ESPNcricinfo)

Ajinkya Rahane celebrating his century

SCOREBOARD Australia 1st Innings 195 all out India 1st Innings Mayank Agarwal lbw b Starc 0 Shubman Gill c †Paine b Cummins 45 Cheteshwar Pujara c †Paine b Cummins 17 Ajinkya Rahane (c) not out 104 Hanuma Vihari c Smith b Lyon 21 Rishabh Pant †c†Paine b Starc 29 Ravindra Jadeja not out 40 Extras (b 12, lb 6, nb 2, w 1) 21 TOTAL (91.3 Ov, RR: 3.03) 277/5 Yet to bat: Ravichandran

Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Mayank Agarwal, 0.6 ov), 2-61 (Shubman Gill, 21.6 ov), 3-64 (Cheteshwar Pujara, 23.4 ov), 4-116 (Hanuma Vihari, 44.4 ov), 5-173 (Rishabh Pant, 59.1 ov) BOWLING Mitchell Starc Pat Cummins Josh Hazlewood Nathan Lyon Cameron Green

18.3-3-61-2 22-7-71-2 21-6-44-0 18-2-52-1 12-1-31-0

Man City see off Newcastle to go 5th in Premier League M

anchester City secured their customary home win over Newcastle, as Ilkay Gundogan and Ferran Torres scored the goals that moved them up to fifth in the Premier League.

The triumph was City's 12th in a row in this particular fixture; and the margin of victory could have been far more, had Newcastle keeper Karl Darlow not produced two excellent first-half saves to deny Kevin de Bruyne, then an even better one to repel a close-range shot from substitute Sergio Aguero near the end.

In addition, John Stones and Raheem Sterling both wasted glorious chances after the break, and Bernardo Silva hit a post from an acute angle.

However, City had far too much for their visitors, and after a difficult start to the season, have now moved into a position from which they can mount a title challenge, having previously been in the top five for a paltry only one day and five hours all season.

For Newcastle, it felt like an exercise in damage limitation on a grim night weather-wise. The Magpies had 24% possession and just two shots on target, as manager Steve Bruce opted not to risk top scorer Callum Wilson at the end of a difficult 10 days, which has seen his team collect a single point from three league games, and exit the Carabao Cup at the hands of Championship outfit Brentford.

Although both sides lost two players to coronavirus-related issues, the damage to Newcastle caused by the loss of Allan Saint-Maximin and captain Jamaal Lascelles was far more significant than that inflicted on City by the positive tests for Kyle Walker and Gabriel Jesus revealed on Christmas Day. Even without Jesus, Pep Guardiola could afford to leave Sergio Aguero on the bench, the City boss preferring to use Torres in the centre-forward role instead.

The decision was vindicated both by the result and Torres's seventh goal of the season. It was not the hardest of finishes: Federico Fernandez slid in to

block Joao Cancelo's low cross, but succeeded only in providing Torres with a clear sight of goal from eight yards. That goal doubled the advantage given to City by Gundogan, who capitalised on Raheem Sterling's 14th-minute cut-back.

Remarkably, the goal allowed City to equal the Premier League record of a side scoring in 24 consecutive games against the same club. But it may well be of concern to Guardiola that his side failed to increase their tally. They have still only scored more than twice in a single home game in the Premier League this season, although this was their fourth clean sheet in that run. (BBC Sport)

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MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020

ICC announces teams of the decade: Gayle, Pollard in T20 team — Taylor, Dottin in Women's T20 team

M

ale stars Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard are the two West Indians in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC’s) T20 Team of the Decade; and Windies’ Women stars Stafanie Taylor and Deandra Dottin made

mer India captain MS Dhoni as the leader of both sides. The T20I side is comprised of four players from India, two from Australia, two from the West Indies and one each from Sri Lanka, South Africa, and Afghanistan.

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the cut in the ICC Women's T20 Team of the Decade.

The T20I side is comprised of four players from India, two from Australia, two from the West Indies and one each from Sri Lanka, South Africa and Afghanistan.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the Men’s T20I and ODI Teams of the Decade on Sunday, and named for-

Current Indian captain Virat Kohli, pacer Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma are the other Indians in the T20I team. Former South African skipper AB de Villiers and West Indies’ “Universe Boss” Chris Gayle are also included in the lineup.

The ICC T20I Team of the Decade comprises: Rohit Sharma, Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli,

AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell, MS Dhoni (c), Kieron Pollard, Rashid Khan, Jasprit Bumrah, and Lasith Malinga.

The ICC ODI Team of the Decade, also led by Dhoni, comprises star Indian batsmen Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. In the team, David Warner and Rohit have been picked as openers, while former South Africa cricketer AB de Villiers is picked as a middle-order batsman.

Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan and England’s Ben Stokes are the two all-rounders in the team.

The pace attack includes Australian bowler Micthell Starc, New Zealand’s Trent Boult, and Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga.

ICC’s ODI Team of the Decade: Rohit Sharma, David Warner, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Shakib Al Hasan, MS Dhoni (c), Ben Stokes, Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult, Imran Tahir and Lasith Malinga.

The ICC also announced the Test Team of the Decade and named Virat Kohli as the skipper. In the

line-up are notable names like Alistair Cook, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, and Kumar Sangakkara. The bowling side is covered by Dale Steyn, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, and Ravi Ashwin.

ICC’s Test Team of the Decade: Alistair Cook, David Warner, Kane Williamson, Virat Kohli (c), Steve Smith, Kumar Sangakkara, Ben Stokes, Ravi Ashwin, Dale Steyn, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.

In the women’s T20I Team of the Decade, India’s Harmanpreet Kaur and Poonam Yadav have been picked, and Australia’s Meg Lanning has been named captain of that side. The bowling department includes Anya Shrubsole, Megan Schutt, and Indian spinner Poonam.

ICC’s T20I Team of the Decade: Alyssa Healy, Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates, Meg Lanning, Harmanpreet Kaur, Stafanie Taylor, Deandra Dottin, Ellyse Perry, Anya Shrubsole, Megan Schutt, Poonam Yadav. (Hindustan Times)

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Messi to miss Eibar match — Barcelona grant captain extended Christmas break

L

ionel Messi will miss Barcelona's clash with Eibar on Tuesday, having been granted an extended Christmas break.

The club captain and his family went to Rosario for the festive period, and he is not expected to be back in Catalonia until the new year, ahead of the LaLiga match against Huesca on January 3.

Barca returned to training on Sunday, after being given four days off following a 3-0 victory at Real Valladolid.

The club confirmed Messi is expected to be back at the Camp Tito Vilanova facilities after the league meeting with Jose Luis Mendilibar's men at Camp Nou. According to Sport, head coach Ronald Koeman granted Messi permission to spend longer in Argentina, as he looks to keep the sixtime Ballon d'Or winner fully fit and firing. After a difficult start to the season following his failed attempt to leave the club, Messi has recovered some form, scoring six of his seven league goals in 2020-21 in his most recent eight appearances.

Barca are fifth in LaLiga, eight points behind leaders Atletico Madrid, having played a game more. (Sportsmax)

223-7230-1 (Ext 55)

MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020

Romario Shepherd is all smiles after a West Indies net session

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Shepherd credits preparation for scoring maiden First-Class century

23

By Brandon Corlette

D

uring his time in New Zealand, Romario Shepherd enjoyed a purple patch with the bat, scoring his maiden first-class century in challenging conditions against a New Zealand A side.

Shepherd hit 232 runs at an impressive average of 77.3, including a career best 133* and an unbeaten 77. The Berbician has credited his maiden first-class ton to the preparation he had undergone prior to the first-class match in New Zealand.

"I did a lot of batting in practice. I had a lot of net sessions before that game, so I was timing the ball well; so, I was confident," Shepherd said as he spoke exclusively with this daily publication.

This well-built all-rounder, who plays his cricket for Tucber Park in New Amsterdam, has said he cherishes that New Zealand experience, especially since he was not one of those initially selected.

"When I get that call, I was really excited to showcase my talent, especially in the first game of the tour. I decided to pull my weight," he explained.

Shepherd played rescue roles in that A series, batting at number 9 with the Caribbean team reeling at 113-7. "We were under pressure,

Shepherd batting during practice

so I bogged down well with Raymon (Reifer)," Shepherd said.

West Indies’ next assignment will be the tour of Bangladesh, with One Day Internationals (ODIs) and two Test matches. If given the opportunity on that tour, Shepherd said, he would continue to put in the good work, and the results would follow.

Reflecting on his year in cricket, Shepherd

noted that 2020 was a year in which he continued to apply himself after making his debut. "This year was a follow-up for me, and I am looking to improve as I go along," Shepherd disclosed.

The 26-year-old Shepherd has a first-class record that is better than that of most of his Caribbean counterparts. In 25 first-class matches, this right-arm speedster has taken 74 wickets at

Shepherd batting during his maiden century in New Zealand

an average of 24.62, with a best bowling figure of 5-24.

Moreover, his value increased exponentially when he showed his ability with the bat against that New Zealand ‘A’ side.

BCB/Brian Ramphal Awards Programme…

Lambert gets highest award; Hetmyer, Permaul, Shepherd among awardees — Shepherd sponsors BCB U-13 tournament

From left: Veerasammy Permaul, Anthony Bramble, Romario Shepherd and Nial Smith (Brandon Corlette photos) Clayton Lambert receiving a special award from Guyana wicket-keeper Anthony Bramble

By Brandon Corlette

T

he Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) has honoured several Berbice players and former player Clayton Lambert under a special Brian Ramphal Awards Programme, in a ceremony which was held at the cricket board's office in New Amsterdam.

Consistent left-arm spinner Veersammy Permaul, who continues to seek a West Indies recall, has been honoured by the Hilbert Fosterled BCB for taking the most wickets in the 2020 Cricket West Indies (CWI) Regional 4-Day tournament; while Anthony Bramble has been recognised for his wicket-keeping skills, having

effected the most dismissals for a Guyanese at the Regional level.

West Indies all-rounder Romario Shepherd has been honoured for scoring his maiden firstclass century against the New Zealand A side, while Guyana Jaguars pacer Nial Smith has been recognised for making his first-class debut.

And West Indies star Shimron Hetmyer and the promising Kevin Sinclair were also honoured in their absence.

BCB President Hilbert Foster has hailed these awardees as proud sons of the Ancient County and of Berbice Cricket, and he added that they are all recognised as outstanding ambassadors of the county. He urged them to continue working hard.

Each of the awardees received a trophy and medal from the BCB. Additionally, the BCB honorued former Berbice captain and West Indies player Clayton Lambert with its highest award, Tribute to Heroes.

BCB boss Foster described the former national and West Indies opener as an outstanding Berbice hero and positive role model. The award was presented by BCB Vice President Albert Smith.

Additionally, the RHTY&SC, MS presented its highest award, The Dolphin Award of Excellence, to Lambert. The former opener, whose highest score was 263 not out vs Windward Islands at Skeldon, has said he was humbled to be honoured, since he is a very proud Berbician.

Lambert also praised Foster for his outstanding work as President of the BCB. He urged the West

Indies cricketers as well as the National cricketers from the Ancient County to work hard.

The BCB further presented Lambert and his wife with special gifts, along with a Christmas cake with the written words thereon, "Berbice Hero."

Meanwhile, West Indies all-rounder Romario Shepherd has come on board to support the BCB by sponsoring an Under-13 cricket tournament for clubs in the Ancient County. BCB President Hilbert Foster sought the promising all-rounder, who plays for Tucber Park, to secure his support, and he readily agreed to assist.

President Foster expressed gratitude to Shepherd for remembering his Berbice roots and also for investing in the future. Foster has assured Shepherd that the tournament would be well organised and would achieve all of its objectives.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020

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

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credits preparation for scoring maiden FirstBCB/Brian Ramphal Awards Programme…

Class Lambert gets highest award; century Hetmyer, Permaul,

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Shepherd among awardees — Shepherd sponsors BCB U-13 tournament

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