Guyana Times - Monday January 18, 2021

P15

Canadian aunt, uncle of Kamala Harris reflect on her upbringing, historic achievement Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 4532

THE BEACON OF TRUTH MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021

Sheriff-Mandela project on course for August 2021 completion – Min Edghill Page 3

...contractor, ... contractor, sub-contractors working on schedule

AG moves to court to have Haitians’ case against Govt tossed out — after applicant claimed he was duped into filing lawsuit

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Attempted P8 murder convict to face jury for murdering accomplice

Man, woman drown in separate incidents over P2 weekend

Page 7

CJ to rule on fate of APNU/ AFC’s 2nd election petition today

See story on page 9

PNCR’s Amna Ally admitted to GPHC's Cardiac ICU Page 9

Govt mulls reopening of bauxite industry in new Region 10 areas Page 10

Page 10

P13 57 new COVID-19 cases detected from 339 tests

3 Guyanese P14 to compete in International Chutney Monarch

Electrical P2 engineer assaulted for honking horn at men P15 NA man murdered in row over alcohol

2 NEWS

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Man, woman drown in separate incidents over weekend

A

20-year-old woman of Hotoquai Village, North West District (NWD), and a 33-yearold man of Bamia LindenSoesdyke Highway, are now dead after they reportedly drowned over the weekend.

Police said the body of 20-year-old Danielly Daniels was found sometime between 07:00h and 07:40h at Morwhanna, NWD, on Saturday.

It was reported that at about 10:00h on Friday, January 15, 2021, Danielly left Hotoquai Village to visit her aunt who resides at Morwhanna, NWD. According to the dead woman’s aunt, she last saw the now dead woman at about 07:00h the previous morning sitting on the wharf with her mobile phone in her hands. However, at about 07:40h, the young lady was nowhere to be seen. As such, an alarm was raised and a search party was formed to look for the missing woman.

It was during the search, one of the persons who was part of the search party went into the water and found Danielly submerged.

Her motionless body was pulled from the water and taken to the Mabaruma Regional Hospital where she was seen and examined by a doctor on duty, who pronounced her dead.

The body is at the hospital’s mortuary awaiting a post-mortem. An investigation is underway.

Meanwhile, 33-yearold Jiachim Perez Peters of Friendship, East Coast Demerara (ECD), reported-

ly drowned on Friday after he allegedly fell overboard while travelling along Sand Landing, Canje Creek.

Police preliminary reports stated that an operator of Bamia, LindenSoesdyke Highway, reported that he along with five others who are employed by A V R Sawmill located at Sheet Anchor, East Canje, Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), joined a punt which was attached to a small boat and powered by an outboard engine.

At the time of the incident, the boat was captained by a resident of Fort

Ordinance, East Canje, Berbice.

According to the captain of the boat, at about 18:00h, while in the vicinity of Sand Landing (Kari-Kari), Canje Creek, he was navigating a turn but looked ahead to see if the path was clear.

Upon doing so, he observed someone in the water about 20 feet from his boat.

As such, he reportedly called out to the other occupants of the boat and turned off the engine. Shortly after, two of the occupants of the boat went into the rough water to assist the man, but were unable to do so.

As a result, Peters submerged under the raging water. It was then the captain realised that the man was one of the occupants of his boat. The matter was reported and a search party was launched to recover the body.

The boat captain and the occupants were detained as investigations continue.

Businessman relieved of gun, ammo

A

28-year-old gold miner was on Saturday robbed by two men of his licensed firearm and matching ammunition at Eye Lash Backdam, North West District, Region One (Barima-Waini).

Based on information received, on the day in question at about 04:00h, the businessman, who was identified as Hanson Forde of Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), was on an All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) heading to Chi-Chi Backdam, NWD, and whilst in the vicinity of the Eye Lash Backdam Junction, he was intercepted by two men - both wearing masks.

One of them was reportedly armed with a shotgun and the other, with a cutlass.

They then ordered the victim to turn off his vehicle, to which he complied.

The suspects then removed the victim’s haversack from his back, which contained a phone charger, a battery pack and a flash drive.

Guyana Times understands that the suspect who was armed with the cutlass then removed the victim’s licensed .32 Taurus pistol which he had stuck to his waist. The pistol’s serial number is FHP 37012 and it had a magazine containing seven (7) live rounds of ammunition. After relieving the man of the items, the two men made good their escape.

The matter was subsequently reported to the Police and an investigation was launched. The Police are yet to make an arrest.

Electrical engineer assaulted for honking horn at men

A

n electrical engineer was on Saturday assaulted by four men after he honked his car horn at them along First Street, No 77 Village Housing Scheme, Corentyne, Berbice.

The injured man has been identified as 37-yearold Hemchand Gokel of No 77 Village.

According to information received, the now injured man was driving along a street in his village at about 20:30h when he came across a group of four men standing in the middle of the road.

In an effort to have the men clear the roadway, Gokel honked his horn at them. He, however, noted that this attempt proved futile. He subsequently drove at a slower pace and managed to pass them.

However, Gokel told the Police that after he passed the men, one of them threw an object at his car and as such, he exited to scan for damages. It was at that time, the men armed themselves with pieces of wood and attacked him.

Gokel was dealt several blows about his body. He, however, managed to en-

ter his car and drive away.

The injured man was subsequently taken to the Skeldon Hospital by his relatives where he was admitted. A Police report was made and an investigation was launched.

On Saturday, it was also reported that a group of men attacked a construction worker at the Fuel Care Gas Station, Blankenburg, West Coast Demerara (WCD), after he honked his horn at them to clear the roadway.

The attackers were reportedly consuming alcohol at the time and became enraged at the man’s action and in response, they broke the car’s windows.

This led to a scuffle among the driver of the car and his attackers. In retaliation, the men armed themselves with knives and a cutlass in an effort to maim or disfigure the driver but upon seeing this, he ran to the Den Amstel Police Station, leaving his car behind.

A report was made and quick action by the Police led to the arrest of the suspects. The men are expected to make their court appearance soon.

NEWS

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MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS OPENINGS BRIDGE

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Monday, January 18 – 09:00h – 10:30h and Tuesday, January 19 – 09:00h – 10:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Monday, January 18 – 07:25h – 08:55h and Tuesday, January 19 – 08:00h – 09:30h.

Sheriff-Mandela project on course for August 2021 completion – Min Edghill ...contractor, sub-contractors working on schedule

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY

Sunshine will prevail during the day. There will be clear skies during the night. Temperatures should range between 21 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius.

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

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill

High Tide: 07:55h and 20:14h reaching maximum heights of 2.4 metres and 2.42 metres.

Low Tide: 13:47h reaching a minimum height of 0.82 metre.

T

he Sheriff-Mandela expansion, a badly managed project under the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government, is on course for completion

It was revealed last year that $2.7 billion of the total funding has already been spent on the project. An additional $553 million had to be allocated in last year’s emergency budget by the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government to complete the project.

Back in September 2020, Edghill had informed the National Assembly that with all the money spent on the project, it should have already been completed.

However, he had noted that it was “badly mismanaged.”

The Public Works Minister had explained that when the PPP/C took office in August last year, there was no work being done, adding that this was not due to COVID-19 alone. He noted that the other reason was because of non-compli-

and works have since commenced for the project to be completed and delivered.

He, however, noted that due to the deteriorating state of the road, remedial works had to be done before mov-

Project began since August 2018, with the contract for the project being awarded to Chinese company Sinohydro Corporation Limited since November 2017.

However, there was a

Workers at Mandela Avenue’s road project

Traffic being directed at the Sheriff-Mandela project site

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by August 2021.

This was indicated to Guyana Times during a telephone interview with Public Works Minister Juan Edghill, who acknowledged that there is some inconvenience to commuters when it comes to using the road, but noted that the Government is on the ball with the contractor and everything is proceeding as planned.

“I can tell you, we’ve moved from zero as of August 2020 when I assumed office, to where we are now. Because when we came in, there was nothing taking place. And the concerns right now is because of the inconvenience because of the pace of the work,” Minister Edghill explained.

“So, I am satisfied to an extent that work is being done. There are a number of sub-contractors on-site, getting things done. Work is moving apace. And I would want to ensure that we meet the deadline of August and that’s what we’re working towards.”

The road upgrade project is being funded through a US$66 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

But the former Government has come in for some heavy criticism over its handling of the project.

ance with environmental standards which resulted in the IDB being forced to cease disbursements to the project.

Edghill had said that the contractor is back onboard

ing to asphalting.

The Minister had also expressed that if the issue is getting specialists from China in the country due to COVID-19 restrictions, he had already assured the contractor that the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) is prepared to facilitate special charter flights to come here so as to ensure the work is not ceased.

“We will not use COVID-19 as an excuse for non-delivery of services to the people of Guyana, they deserve to have the road and we are working to have that,” the Minister had assured the National Assembly.

Work on the Sherriff Street-Mandela Avenue

period in 2019 when the IDB had halted funding for the project due to health and safety violations by the contractor. The matter was further compounded by the election impasse, but following the return to office of the PPP Government, the IDB was re-engaged.

The project, which will cover approximately seven kilometres of road between Sheriff Street and Mandela Avenue, involves the relocation of utilities; the installation of lane and shoulder improvements; placement of sidewalks and paved shoulders; traffic signals, traffic signs, streetlights, drainage; a pedestrian overhead walkway; culverts, bridges, and a roundabout.

4

guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021

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

Constitutions and constitutionalism

T

he announcement that the Standing Committee on Constitutional Reform has been constituted reminds us that periodically, Constitutions must be modified to deal with contingencies that arise to challenge the national well-being. Constitutions describe the allocation of state powers amongst the various branches as defined by the Constitution itself, prescribe the rules by which those powers would be conferred, and also include procedures by which the Constitutions may be altered.

In a fundamental sense, therefore, it is, or should be, the embodiment of the social contract crafted by the peoples of a country for their governance. In a divided society such as Guyana it is most important that the institutions created by the social contract are seen as just: “justice is the first virtue of social institutions as truth is of systems of thoughts.”

It is ironic that the British who have done so much to entrench the modern idea of Constitutions as written rules that all citizens of a State have to be governed by – the rule of law – themselves do not have a written constitution. The anomaly, however, should remind us that rules, in and of themselves, may be necessary, but are not sufficient to ensure the consent of the governed.

The rules have to be embedded within and be supported by a wider political culture that gives life to the rules. This British idiosyncrasy of doling out written constitutions to its colonies while refusing to do the same for itself masked the reality of the need for the development of the wider network of informal traditions, accommodations, informal quid pro quos that make the British unwritten constitutional rules function.

Western constitutionalism arose out of the struggle for personal freedom and escape from arbitrary political will. Guyanese should certainly resonate to this struggle.

Constitutionalism is a foundation stone of Liberalism and defines a political scheme in which law, rather than men, is supreme. Political authority is exercised according to law, which is to be obeyed by all, including the governors, who cannot depart from it by whim. By definition then, a constitutional government is a limited government.

After our history under the People’s National Congress (PNC), we Guyanese should appreciate that the fundamental problem of organised society is the use and abuse of power – how men may best prevent its abuse and direct it to good ends. This notion is rooted in the fallibility of man… the belief that no man or group of men is good enough to be entrusted with absolute power over other men. This tendency is exacerbated when a country has groups that are racially or ethnically different, as Guyana, since it becomes so much easier to demonise the “other” and resort to extreme measures to assert one’s position.

The Constitution can be regarded as a social contract, agreed to by the Government and which defines its legitimate political actions. This implies that all State power emanates from the people, and that sovereignty and all reserved powers remain with the people.

Constitutionalism, then, is infused with the ideology of Liberalism, which views men as naturally free and rightbearing individuals who need and establish Governments that they can, may, and should control. Additionally, the ideological telos, as indicated by the protection of the property rights, favours private capitalism, but, as mentioned before, allows a great deal of flexibility towards the socio-economic system. In Guyana, where we cannot pretend that our values were shaped by some commonality looming out of a hoary past, it should be self-evident that the several groups need to sit down together and craft a social contract.

The premise for any constitutional change in our country must be that the rules of the political game can be structured to accomplish three tasks: institutionalise moderation on divisive ethnic themes, contain the destructive tendencies, and pre-empt the centrifugal thrust caused by ethnic politics.

We have to state our democratic objectives and choose institutions which may deliver them and then incorporate those rules in our Constitution.

Maya and Kamala Harris with their aunt, Chinni Subash, centre, in Montreal in the mid-1970s. When she was 12, Harris and her sister moved from California to Montreal with their mother (Submitted by Chinni Subash)

Is APNU/AFC undermined by “the truth hurts”?

Dear Editor, The brutal, cowardly and dastardly attack by a mob of anarchists coerced and inspired by President Trump’s treasonous insinuations, left a trail of deaths, damages and disaster. Encouraging the crowd to revolt and spreading lies about election irregularities and fraud (all election petitions denied by the courts), Republican Senator, Mitt Romney, challenged and pleaded with President Trump to “tell the American people the truth.”

Barbados Prime Minister and Past Caricom Chair, Mia Motley, refused to support election rigging and would not condone Granger and his APNU/AFC party’s actions to impede GECOM’s work to conclude a smooth election process. She exclaimed, “The truth hurts….I have nothing more to say. The truth hurts but what we must never do in Caricom is to avoid the truth and avoid our principles.”

Guyana’s election ended up being prolonged by some five months of gruelling, laborious, painstaking and costly delay by the callous APNU/ AFC party, led by a heartless caretaker President David Granger. He refused to accept the legitimate recount result from a Caricomappointed election observer committee.

Aided and abetted by GECOM’s officers and APNU/AFC party representatives, Mingo and Lawrence, attempted many times to tamper with the election results and manipulated the configuration of the figures in order to manufacture avoiding a loss for the APNU/AFC party and deny the PPP/C party a win. Former Prime Minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding, who led an OAS observer team for the March 2, 2020 General Election in Guyana remarked, “I have never seen such a transparent effort to alter the results of an election. If each of the party genuinely believe it

has won then, they should have no fear of the current recount, and they should all support it.”

Charrandas Persaud’s yes vote in December 2018 had tilted an advantage to the PPP/C party, thereby securing the majority in the No-Confidence Motion initiated against the then ruling APNU/AFC Government.

Granger and cabal had refused to accept the fact that 33 is the majority of 65 and the issue went all the way to the CCJ who proclaimed a denial to the APNU/AFC party.

The OAS Secretary General, Luis Almagro, had defended Caricom’s efforts to support people’s freedom of choice in the Caribbean when he had declared, “if democracy fails in any Caricom country, it fails in the larger community. As an institution, Caricom cannot allow this to happen in any member state.”

Back in 2019, President Granger had unilaterally appointed James Patterson as GECOM’s Chairman and after being challenged by the PPP/C party, the CCJ revoked his appointment.

Granger and his APNU/ AFC cabal did challenge Caricom’s election recount result and wanted to institute their fictitious result figures as purported and submitted by GECOM CEO, Lowenfield, but again, the CCJ refused to accept dishonesty and denied their application. While Trinidad’s Prime Minister, Dr Rowley had refused to return to Guyana to observe the election circus under GECOM’s politically-dictated scrutiny, influenced heavily by the APNU/ AFC party, on his return home, he did express much disappointment and concern about transparency and the deliberate attempts by that party and GECOM’s officials to engage in skullduggery.

He concluded, “I am worried that an election a month ago is now a courthouse matter and I am getting a feeling

that this is not going to end well. I hope I am wrong.” He was right. Granger and his band of rebels did not immediately accede to the CCJ’s decision. The St Vincent and Grenadines Prime Minister, Ralph Gonsalves had warned, “A rogue clique within Guyana cannot be allowed to disrespect or disregard, with impunity, the clear, unambiguous ruling of the CCJ. The time for decisive action is shortly upon us.”

With the COVID-19 pandemic taking a severe toll on the people and the country continuing to slide in poverty and suffrage, Granger recklessly denied the will of the people and did not adhere to the CCJ’s ruling. He and his band of villains maintained office and power and indulged in corruption and malpractice. Ralph Gonsalves had called Granger “a sanctimonious gangster.” The US Ambassador in Guyana had to point out, not that the US wishes it, but there could be “serious consequences if the democratic process, the rule of the law, and the principles of democracy are bot followed in Guyana.” It wasn’t until the US intervened with visa sanctions on all contributing towards undermining democracy, did they finally agree to US Secretary of State’s call to “step aside” and accept the PPP/C party to be installed as the new Government with Dr Irfaan Ali as President.

With the confessions of the accused murderers of the Henry cousins, the DPP has recommended the Police institute charges. The Police were accused of partisan policing and were under severe fire from Granger and the APNU/AFC party and other related Afro Guyanese associations, to solve the case which they deemed was politically motivated. “This is not about recrimination. It is about justice. We must not tolerate sloppy Police work.

We must not tolerate partisan policemen protecting the

perpetrators, we must not tolerate suspects being sheltered and sent on their way,” said Mr Harmon. Mr Granger lauded the residents for sending a message that “we are not going to put up with this nonsense.” “We call on the Government to protect us and if the Government does not give us the full protection we deserve, we are going to take any reasonable measure to defend ourselves,” said Mr Granger who is also the leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR).

“We can’t reverse what has happened but we will do our utmost to avoid a recurrence,” he said.

The Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn, had responded with, “Unfortunately, Messrs Granger and Harmon descended on the communities and in their statements and rhetoric created an atmosphere engendering unfounded suspicions leading to racial polarisation and attacks. Further loss of life, injuries and property loss are being experienced! This escalation in violence rests squarely at the doors of these two gentlemen and specific known political agitators of their ilk!!” Like Mia Motley said, “The truth hurts,” and the inconvenience of truth makes people shudder and cower. Some cannot handle the truth while the likes of Trump and Granger cannot speak the truth and prefer to hide behind a garrison of lies, deceits and dishonesty.

They shut themselves behind closed doors to make cowardly attacks and rush back to their isolated and lonely dens. Now that the truth is out, will Granger, Harmon and the rest of those who were basking in a state of denial while preaching and promoting racial division and ethnic violence step out and face the truth?

Respectfully, Jai Lall

guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021

5

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

Let the criminal case begin Dear Editor, Three men were earlier this past week charged with the murders of the two Henry boys - Isaiah and Joel Henry - on the West Coast of Berbice. Charges have been laid and a trial will soon commence into this crime that has so gripped our country for months now. This is a major breakthrough in a four-month-long investigation which at times seems to be going nowhere, but finally, we seem to be seeing light at the end of the tunnel, as some headway is made in this case.

What is of great significance is that the Police are in receipt of a confession statement from one of the accused, a confession which mirrors the happenings on that fateful day. And to make it more transparent and above board, that confession was not beaten out of him nor was he in any way coerced into a confession. In fact, in an unprecedented

move, the Guyana Police invited the media to witness, as well as bear coverage of, his hour-long testimony.

Clearly, he is not a madman, nor is he in any way affected by psychiatric issues, and if so in the ensuing trial the presiding Judge can order a thorough medical examination of the confessant if needs be. If he is not in any way mentally incapacitated then he is fit to stand trial.

Now, from my observation, this latest development sets an entire case meant for the history books of criminal justice in this country as a whole lot more will be uncovered as the trial proceeds. Many unanswered questions will be answered and those murky areas that lay hidden from our view will soon become clear. So, let the trial begin!

Immediately, emotions run high as questions, criticisms, opinions and the lot come to the fore. Some

questioned whether these guys are the right persons charged for the heinous crimes, or whether this is really a breakthrough in the case or simply junkies picked up and forced into making a confession. But emotions are not evidence, feelings are not facts, so let us get started.

In a summary of the last week’s events, certain questions become real issues and I have come up with the following points: 1. Firstly, to the politicians who condescended on the West Coast Berbice village and incited a political riot, this is the time for them to be concerned. The facts of the case thus far do not make for a politically motivated killing which is something the Opposition should be mindful of. They exploited a matter for political purposes over and beyond what it is. This also caused the killings of two innocent victims who had nothing to

do with the Henry boys so the Opposition should hang their head in shame as to the misery and near civil war they could have started.

2. To the racist mobsters, they too need to stop and think of the hurt they have caused, I am talking about the senseless roadblocks, the beatings and robberies, even murders, of Naresh Singh and the Hairgobin gentleman. This senseless bloodletting of persons who clearly had nothing to do with the Henry boys’ murders, were all disgraceful acts meant to divide our nation. In the absence of solid evidence, persons should never allow themselves to be so driven into a mad frenzy of killings, Guyana can ill afford such madness. Let those so designated do their investigations and let sober and rational decisions take precedence.

3. To the family of the Henry boys, what were they doing there, did they

go there to pick coconuts or was it mangoes, or was it what we will soon find out.

Initially, the family said that they had no knowledge of the boys having enemies, well much of that theory would soon find answers as the trial gets going.

4. To the human rights organisation who brought a man here to spend a vacation - because the question is asked what can a forensic expert find in a few hours of “sightseeing” when in effect a matter of such magnitude would require weeks of investigation, if not months?

Is this not the reason why this expert is now asking for the Police’s investigation report for him to plagiarise a document to the satisfaction of the GHRA and the family so affected?

5. To the villagers and wider Guyanese community, we can now sigh a sigh of relief that progress is made into the murders of the two cousins.

Finally, I would say this is not going to be another Courtney Crum Ewing case,

that’s for sure, nor will it be another Roger Khan fiasco. By the way, the political Opposition without a charge being filed, or a case being called, could make the opinionated, propagandistic statement that over 500 youths were killed by Khan.

So my question is with so many lives lost - and this is according to their theory - why wasn’t there a trial, why wasn’t Khan tried?

It boggles the mind that so many lives could have been lost and there was no trial.

These so-called racial killings are still being trumpeted far and wide by the Opposition for the simple fact that there were no charges laid nor was there a trial.

So to the Opposition and those who are so inclined to believe their narrative, please take heed that this case of the Henry boys will see trial and definitive answers will be made at its conclusion. I rest my case.

Dear Editor, The Opposition Leader is critical of Government hiring a lobbying firm when, according to him, the MoFA has the capacity and capability which can perform acts as the lobbying firm, making it a nonsensical move (“Govt hiring lobbyist to do what Foreign Affairs Ministry could have done – Harmon” KN Jan 16)

Didn’t the former AG hire a number of legal luminaries to do work when the Ministry of Legal Affairs and AG Chambers have the resource personnel to perform acts as the luminaries, making it a nonsense move?

A case of the pot calling…

Due consideration must be given to mental health A case of the pot calling Dear Editor, Now that “Government has initiated the formal process for the commencement of preparation for Budget 2021” The Caribbean Voice (TCV) urges that due consideration be given to mental health, both in terms of adequate budgetary allocation and necessary policies and programmes, in order to ensure that Guyana is prepared to address both the mental health crisis arising out of the pandemic and the growing mental health needs within a fast-expanding economy.

In this context, there is urgent need to update the 1930s Mental Health Ordinance so that it jells with the latest in mental health advancements and includes technology as an instrument both for diagnosis and treatment. As well, the dragged-out renovation of the National Psychiatric Hospital (NPH) needs to be urgently completed and mechanisms put in place to prevent inmates from walking out and wandering into the community, becoming a danger to themselves and others. And we suggest that consideration be given to a mechanism to get all the mentally ill off the streets and into the NPH so they can be helped. In this respect, we also suggest that those han-

dling/transporting the mentally ill be provided with basic training to prevent undue roughness and violence as is often the case.

Also, the integration of mental healthcare within the current healthcare system, started under the previous PPP/C Government has been travelling at a snail’s pace and ought to be sped up so that basic mental healthcare becomes accessible for every Guyanese. Within this framework, there is a need for clinical counsellors in every public health hospital with regular visits to community health centres and schools, although ideally, counsellors ought to be placed in all schools. Additionally, all public health hospitals should include psych wards, accessible via prominent signage, so that those in need of help do not have to travel far distances to obtain same, or encounter difficulties in finding the psych ward once they arrive at a hospital.

Meanwhile, TCV appeals to the Government to bring back the lay-counsellor training programme started under former Health Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, and then subsequently ditched with no explanation provided. That programme had already been yielding results when it was brought to an end. And it’s needed now

more than ever before, especially since it provides scope for a proactive approach to mental health within every community in Guyana.

Another measure that should be put in place is the setting up of protocols to license counsellors so that quacks would not be able to run around creating more harm than good. As well, there should be a clear pathway to facilitate mandatory reporting of those needing mental healthcare so that they would have access to necessary assistance.

Also, mental health parity must be facilitated so that there would be equal treatment of mental health conditions and substance use disorders in insurance plans

and healthcare services, as obtains for physical healthcare.

TCV also firmly believes that mental health should be included in the Government’s Occupational Health & Safety mandate so that businesses across Guyana and all governmental workplaces, including the army, Police and prison and teaching services can incorporate same. Finally, TCV strongly urges that the justice system be mandated to use psychiatric assessments and counselling referrals as needed in a consistent, regular manner rather than selectively.

Sincerely, The Caribbean Voice

Respectfully, Neil Adams

Sincerely, Shamshun Mohamed

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MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021

Foundation ◄

Page

Æsop’s Fables

FOR CHILDREN Complete the following test items

(1) There are five hundred thousand, three hundred and fifty four people living in the city of Longe. How would you write that number in standard form?

(2) Sara is collecting newspapers for a recycling contest at her school. She needs 384 newspapers to win the contest. So far she has collected 289. Rounding to the nearest ten, how many newspapers Sara still needs to collect?

(3) Calculate a) 25 x 15 = b) 9 x 56 = c) 83 x 92 = (4) Nafeeza bought five pizzas for her class, but her classmates only ate three-quarters of each pizza. How would Nafeeza express the amount of remaining pizza as an improper fraction?

(5) Calculate

$13.50 + $10.00 + $23.25 =

$1090.00 – $735.25 =

$7.07 + $2.93 =

Materials

Scissors Tape Thread Plastic straw Paper Pencil

(6) Sebastian has been measuring the rainfall for the past seven days. He measured the following amounts: 9mm, 7mm, 2mm, 6mm, 10mm, 2.5mm, and 1.57mm.

Rounding to the nearest tenth of a millimetre, what was the total amount of rainfall during the seven-day period?

(7) Calculate a) 79 ÷ 55 = b) 35 ÷ 70 = c) 630 ÷ 8 =

(8) Johnny is mixing the paint he will use to paint his wooden scooter. He needs one part blue to two parts red. If he is using 1 pint of red paint, how many pints of blue will he need? What will be the resultant colour?

(9) Calculate

20% of (150 ÷ 5) = What is 50% of 4/5? Express the number in both decimal and fraction form.

(10) Mana has a rope that is 17.25 metres long. If 30% of the rope has been painted black, what portion of the rope has not been painted? How many metres is that equivalent to?

Instructions

Fold the paper in half and draw a fish on the folded paper, ensuring that the top of the fish is along the top of the paper.

Cut out the fish, so that you cut both of the folds with the crease connecting the paper fishes.

Tape the straw along the crease, then tape the fish bodies together excerpt the tops of the tails.

Put a long piece of thread through the straw and tape each end to a wall or any kind of support to create a line along which you can blow your fish. (Adapted from madebyjoel.com)

WORD SEARCH

NEWS

7

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

AG moves to court to have Haitians’ case against Govt tossed out — after applicant claimed he was duped into filing lawsuit

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ttorney General and Senior Counsel Anil Nandlall has moved to the court to have the case brought by Allandres Archer on behalf of 26 Haitians who were being deported, dismissed in the wake of Archer’s revelation that he was duped into taking the government to court.

In the Notice of Application filed by Nandlall, the High Court was alerted about a video made by Archer on January 6, in which he had alleged that he was duped into

Attorney General Anil Nandlall

hiring Attorney-at-Law Darren Wade to take the

government to court back in December and he was thus pulling out from that action.

“The court must satisfy itself that the proceedings do not suffer the defect of lack of authorization from he who seeks to move the court… the respondent in a video recording obtained from the National Communication Network (NCN) indicated that the respondent had no knowledge that he was the person bringing the action against the government of Guyana, represented (by Nandlall).”

Guyana saved over $500M on new ferry contract – Edghill ...savings will construct stellings at Morawhanna, Kumaka, Port Kaituma

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ublic Works Minister, Bishop Juan Edghill related that the award of a US$12.7 million ($2.6 billion) contract to Garden Reach Shipbuilders Engineers Limited (GRSEL) for an ocean-going passenger and cargo vessel to ply Region One (Barima-Waini) has saved Guyana US$2.8 million ($588 million).

The savings, he stated, would be invested in the construction of new stellings at Morawhanna, Kumaka and Port Kaituma, North West District (NWD).

These revelations were made by Edghill in a letter to the editor published in one of the daily newspapers on Sunday.

His letter was in response to a statement made on Friday, January 15, by his predecessor, David Patterson, on the contract awarded to GRSEL on Wednesday, January 13. The Minister said the only other bidder, Shoft Shipyard Private Limited’s (SSPL) priced tender for the vessel was US$15.3 million (over $3 billion).

In his letter, Minister Edghill denounced Patterson’s assertions, while noting that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration would not accept nor tolerate mediocrity.

“The proposed contract Patterson left when he omitted office in 2020 was not the same contract the Government of Guyana penned. Therefore, the statement issued

by Patterson is rendered null and void.

Patterson clearly is looking for political popularity at this time. Further Editor, because of Patterson’s lack of knowledge on the newly-penned contract, we wish to enlighten the former Minister with the facts,” the letter stated.

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill

Edghill further explained that the project was stalled for almost two years as the previous Government failed to secure India Exim Bank’s no objection to the award of the contract for the new ferry.

However, over the past four months, the PPP/C Administration negotiated a contract with GRSEL that meets every specification of the second round of Tender.

“Had Patterson been in Government today, the people of Guyana would have been paying US$2.8M more for less. Yes, you read correctly. But, not under my watch. Editor, I assure the people of Guyana that they will be getting more for less,” Edghill noted.

He posited that the design-build nature of the contract would provide the Ministry with the opportunity to review and approve every plan or drawing submitted by GRSEL before construction of the vessel commences.

TURN TO PAGE 10

Businessman Allandres Archer

According to Nandlall in his application, all Attorney’s have a duty to ensure that their clients understand the contents of whatever documents they sign and the consequences from such documents.

He noted that the fact that the applicant did not know what he got himself into, renders the proceedings filed in his name null and void. Additionally, Nandlall pointed out that an Attorney-at-Law cannot represent someone who has indicated he did not authorize the proceedings.

In that light, Nandlall is seeking an order from the High court, staying Archer’s previous case until Nandlall’s application is determined. He is also seeking an order to strike out Archer’s case, as well as any further orders the court deems just and costs.

Moreover, the Attorney General has raised questions regarding the very

documents Archer signed.

In a recent broadcast of ‘Issues in the news’, Nandlall revealed discrepancies in the signatures of the documents… discrepancies he wants the police to investigate.

“I have looked at the signatures of the documents purportedly signed

by Archer. The court documents. And the signatures are radically different. I want to hand over this entire matter to the police,” Nandlall had said.

The 26 Haitians who were at the center of the court case were suspected to be victims of human trafficking and were detained by the Guyana Police Force and subsequently placed in protective custody at the Hugo Chávez Centre since November 2020.

It was reported that 13 of the Haitians were first picked up by Police, acting on reasonable suspicion and information, at a hotel on South Road and taken to be interviewed by agents of the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) unit.

The remainder were picked up on November 8 after being intercepted at a Police roadblock in Linden. At the time, the Police became suspicious that they were being smuggled to Brazil through the Georgetown-Lethem route.

Chief Magistrate Sherdel Issacs-Marcus had subsequently issued

Attorney-at-Law Darren Wade

deportation orders after being approached by the Immigration Office.

However, the Association of Haitian Nationals in Guyana successfully approached acting Chief Justice Roxane George on December 3, to block the deportation until the constitutionality of their detention came up for the hearing of arguments.

Before that hearing with Archer as the applicant, however, the 26 Haitians suddenly vanished. When this publication visited the guest house they were staying at last month, it was confirmed that the 26 Haitians, including children, were no longer there.

Guyana Times was told that on December 17, two Route 94 mini-buses (which operate the Georgetown to Lethem route) picked up all the Haitians from the South Road building and left.

8 NEWS

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Attempted murder convict to face jury for murdering accomplice

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tafrei Alexander, who was sentenced to life imprisonment back in 2018 for the near-death shooting of a man, will go on trial for the capital offence of murder on Thursday, January 21, 2021. A jury has already been empanelled to hear the case.

Alexander, also known as, “Ratty” and “Mad Dog” was accused of murdering Terrence Maxwell Thomas between December 8 and 11, 2015. Alexander has since pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to him by Justice Brassington Reynolds when he appeared at the High Court.

It was reported that Alexander and the now dead man were arrested for the robbery/murder committed on Wismar, Linden businesswoman, Shevon Gordon.

She was killed on April 4, 2015. However, while in custody at the Mackenzie Police Station, Alexander and Thomas escaped. The Police had issued wanted bulletins for their arrest.

After some time,

Murder accused: Stafrei Alexander

Alexander was recaptured and during interrogation as to the whereabouts of his accomplice, he allegedly confessed to murdering the man.

He reportedly told detectives that he did not want Thomas to implicate him in the murder of the businesswoman and as such, on the day they escaped, he reportedly dealt Thomas several blows to the head with a piece of wood and dumped him in the Demerara River in the vicinity of West Watooka,

Wismar, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

The body was discovered sometime later and was identified as Thomas’ via fingerprints.

Alexander was also charged for the murder of 44-year-old Richard Remington which occurred between February 9 and 12, 2015. The decomposing remains of Remington were found in a clump of bushes along a track in the vicinity of Matthews Lane in Christianburg/Cholmondeley Hill, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice). He had been shot three times, including once to the head.

Back in 2018, Alexander was found guilty by a jury on an attempted murder charge and was sentenced to serve life in prison. On March 23, 2015, in the county of Demerara, he discharged a loaded firearm at Curtis Thom with intent to commit murder. The facts of the case are that the two men were not friends, even though they resided in the same commu-

nity.

On the day in question, Thom had held a christening at his Laing Avenue, Georgetown home to welcome his baby daughter. When the event concluded and the guests left, Thom went to the back of his yard to clean up and feed the dogs. It was then Alexander walked past him and grumbled something.

As Thom was entering his home in a facing backwards, he saw Alexander standing next to him holding a shiny gun. Alexander shot him twice and he collapsed to the ground and started to bleed.

The injured man was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he underwent surgery and remained a patient for seven weeks.

During the trial, Thom testified that he was able to see his shooter with the aid of lights attached to his home and surrounding buildings.

Alexander was among several high-profile inmates who escaped when a fire destroyed the Camp Street prison back in 2017.

Looking back...

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...ruefully he lives of some men mightn’t be as “sublime” as Wordsworth concluded about the “great” ones, but they still leave some footprints in the sands of time by the time they depart. So it was of Clifton Mortimer Llewellyn John, who didn’t bother much with his first two names during his long sojourn of 95 years on Earth, but did quite well for himself as “Llewellyn John”.

First of all, being born in 1925, he would’ve spent his formative years during the Great Depression, which exemplified the truism that when the US and UK sneeze, Third World colonies like us catch the cold! Not much has changed, has it? John became a lawyer by 1952 the old-fashioned way – through correspondence courses while clerking in a law office (of his father). Reflecting the flavour of the times, he was then a member of the League of Coloured Peoples.

That was the organisation that catered for the “Mixed”, light-skinned, upper-class, conservative mulattoes who preferred to be called “Coloured”. As could be seen from John’s membership, African Guyanese could also qualify if they were of a certain social standing. Being a lawyer gave him that standing. Such fellas would usually marry up to a genuine light-skinned Coloured to cement their position and so did John. She was an outstanding soprano who sang the Guyana National Anthem at the National Park in 1966 when the Union Jack was brought down and the Golden Arrowhead was hoisted for the first time.

John joined Burnham after he split from Jagan’s PPP and formed the PNC in 1958 – along with other LCP politicians like John Carter. He was rewarded with the critical portfolio of Min of Agriculture in 1964 when the PNC was ushered into office by the British with the UF. He oversaw the shift of spending away from Agriculture which the PNC had complained the PPP used to reward its supporters.

In 1967, he became Home Affairs Minister and was put in charge of the new registration process which Burnham instituted in preparation to rig the 1968 elections. He swore, like Burnham, that this registration had nothing to do with the elections list – but which it did to subvert the Elections Commission that had responsibility for this critical task. The padded list facilitated the rig. He then was moved on (and down) to the Local Government Ministry in 1969. By the time of the 1973 big rig and the shift to co-operative socialism, he was left out from the PNC list to Parliament. He was too “right wing”.

He went off to launch his People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), which contested elections desultorily into the new millennium.

Sounds like the history of Guyana, doesn’t it? ...at Local Govt Elections Did you follow the storm in the teacup by the PNC over Amna Ally’s insistence that GECOM Chair Claudette Singh meet her (and her alone) before any meeting with the full Commission? Now, why would Amna want to hold a private tête-à-tête with Claudette? After the three PNC Commissioners walked out when Claudette put her foot down, they said Amna wanted to discuss the LGE that’s due this coming November.

What’s there to discuss about the LGE? GECOM knows it has to be held, so does the Govt – and certainly the Opposition. If any of the parties think there’s a problem, isn’t it the responsibility of the full Commission to address it? But we know where Amna’s coming from, don’t we?

The PNC’s scared sh*tless of another drubbing at the polls and they want to have an excuse to have it delayed.

Your Eyewitness will bet dollars to donuts that they’ll demand a new voters list!

That, of course, will delay the inevitable by a year! ...at COVID-19 vaccination India has just started the rollout of their COVID-19 vaccination programme for their 1.3 billion citizens. In the meantime, it looks unlikely that we’ll get going before July.

Mask up!

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

9 CJ to rule on fate of APNU/AFC’s 2nd election petition today C NEWS

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

hief Justice (ag) Roxane George is expected to decide today, the fate of the second election petition filed by the Opposition APNU/ AFC seeking to vitiate the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections.

The petition is being challenged by Attorney General Anil Nandlall with the support of People’s Progressive Party/Civic General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo, who are asking the High Court to strike it out.

In the November 10, 2020 application, Nandlall urged the court to dismiss the second election petition filed by the coalition on the grounds that it was served in breach of the requirements under Section 2 of the National Assembly Validity of Elections Act. At today’s ruling, Justice George is expected to hand

Chief Justice Roxane George (ag)

down her decision on the preliminary arguments relating to the defective service of the petition and whether former President and Leader of the APNU, David Granger, is a necessary party in the proceedings.

Lawyers for petitioners Monica Thomas and Brennan Nurse during the December 1, 2020 hearing had asked the court to overlook the deficiencies in the service of the petition on Granger, who is the second respondent and Head of the APNU/AFC List of Candidates, hence, spare their petition from being tossed out.

The former President was served on September 25, 2020, which is 10 days after the petition was filed on September 15.

As such, Trinidadian Senior Counsel John Jeremie, representing the petitioners, urged the Chief Justice to disregard the date on the acknowledgement of service and focus on the date on the affidavit.

However, when questioned by Justice George who made the error, the

PNCR’s Amna Ally admitted to GPHC’s Cardiac ICU

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eneral Secretary of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) – the largest party in the APNU/AFC Opposition – Amna Ally, was on Sunday admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) after falling ill in Essequibo.

Guyana Times understands that she was suffering from shortness of breath and was rushed to the Suddie Public Hospital in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam).

Ally was subsequently medivacked to the city and is being treated in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU). Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon on Sunday evening, when contacted, confirmed that the former Social Protection Minister

PNCR General Secretary Amna Ally

under the coalition regime was in the hospital and is being treated by Cardiologist, Dr Mahendra Carpen.

“She’s at the Georgetown Hospital still and they’re doing some tests on her. That

is as much as I can say because that is a medical issue which I don’t want to pronounce on… But is not that she’s any critical condition.

She’s talking and everything – she’s having conversations and so on,” Harmon told this newspaper.

This is the second time that Ally has been rushed to the hospital in recent years.

Back in June 2018, the then Social Protection Minister was rushed to the GPHC after complaining of feeling unwell.

A release from Government at the time had stated that “Ally is in good spirits and resting comfortably.”

It was noted that as a precautionary measure, Ally was kept for observation and was slated to travel overseas to seek further medical evaluation.

Attorney General Anil Nandlall

lawyer could not say.

In fact, during a case management hearing in October 2020, the Chief Justice had pointed out that service of the petition on the second named respondent in the matters – APNU/AFC’s leader David Granger – was “out of time”.

She had noted that according to the rules, the petition must be served within five days of filing on the respondents, but the court records show that the petitions were served until September 25.

Nevertheless, during the December hearing, AG Nandlall had lambasted the petitioners’ lawyers in court for proving unable to explain the mix up regarding the date of service and went on to call on the court to dismiss the petition.

Meanwhile, Granger’s legal team had made ef-

forts to extricate him from the case by using Section 27 of the Validity of Elections Act and gave notice that he would not be contesting the petition.

But Nandlall had argued that by using this Act, Granger himself has acknowledged that he is a properly named party in the case.

Section 27 (2) of the Validity of Elections Act states “A respondent who has given the prescribed notice that he does not intend to oppose the petition or for whom any person has been substituted shall not be allowed to appear or act as a party against the petition in any proceedings thereon.”

“A respondent, your honour, must mean a properly named respondent. So, by filing that notice to say that he is not opposing that petition, Mr Granger has implicitly or rather, expressly accepted that he is a properly named respondent. That is what the Section gives him the power to do… Mr Granger cannot contend that he is not a proper party in the petition and then use a mechanism in the Act that is directed to proper respondents. He cannot have it both ways, your honour,” Nandlall had contended in court.

Only Friday, Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon said during a press conference that the APNU/AFC is anticipating a favourable rul-

Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon

ing.

“We do expect a favourable ruling but it is the court that will make that determination and so we don’t want to prejudge what the judge is going to say. But once there is a favourable ruling, we look forward to the substantive hearing of the petitions before the court.

So, what we expect is some timelines will thereafter be set for the substantive trial. If, in fact, there is an adverse ruling on one of the petitions, I believe if that is so then we have the right to appeal,” he contended.

Harmon went on to say that the coalition is looking forward to the substantive cases being heard by the court so that the contentions in their petitions can not only become a record of the court, but also known to the international community.

10 NEWS

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Govt mulls reopening of bauxite 3 arrested after damaging industry in new Region 10 areas car windows, lights commencement of the bauxite operation, not necessarily with RUSAL, because our major concern is not RUSAL, it is the workers in Region 10 getting back to work.”

Back in 2020, close to 600 persons lost their jobs after the company suspended its operations in Guyana. At that time, the most important issue for the Government was secur-

Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton and Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips speaking with residents of Kwakwani during a presidential outreach to Region 10

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abour Minister Joseph Hamilton during a recent outreach in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) hinted that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government is considering reopening the bauxite industry in that region, thus creating jobs for the locals.

He was at the time addressing employment options for workers in the bauxite industry who have been affected by the closure of Russia Aluminum’s (RUSAL) operations here.

He related that following

a meeting in 2020 between the Labour Ministry and RUSAL, the company was asked to submit a report to the Natural Resources Ministry which is presently being examined.

Hamilton also posited that during that process, Oldendorff Carriers Guyana Incorporated ceased its operations as well and shipped its major barge out of the country. These actions also led to unemployment.

While the Government would continue to have engagements on this matter, the Minister noted: “For us, what we want is a re-

A section of Kwakwani residents at the Kwakwani Workers’ Club during a Cabinet outreach in Region 10

Hamilton expects that the Natural Resources Ministry would continue to examine the matter closely even as preparations for Budget 2021 are ongoing.

“Once, I suspect, the Government has a good proposal of the situation, we will consider it, so that we can have a re-activation of the bauxite industry in this part of the country.”

ing employment for workers.

RUSAL, founded in 2004, has a 90 per cent stake in Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI) and possesses licences to develop Linden, Kwakwani and Ituni deposits in Guyana. The Government owns the remaining stake in the company.

$2M ATV set on fire at Big Creek, NWD

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Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) man received the shock of his life on Saturday after his $2 million AllTerrain Vehicle (ATV) was set on fire by unknown persons.

Based on reports received, the vehicle belonging to Elton Ault was

allegedly set on fire at around 06:00h at Big Creek Landing, North West District (NWD), Region One (Barima-Waini).

It was reported that Ault had left the motorcycle at his mother’s premises - behind her shop - and went to bed on Friday evening.

However, at around 06:00h the following morning, he was alerted by an individual that his bike was on fire. The man reportedly sprung out of bed and made his way to the area where the vehicle was parked.

Upon his arrival, he saw his motorcycle engulfed in flames. With the help of the

man who alerted him, they managed to put out the fire.

Following the incident, a report was made to the Police and an investigation was launched. The man reportedly told Police that he was not sure of the motive for the incident while adding that he does not have enemies.

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hree men were recently arrested after they allegedly damaged the windows and lights of a car belonging to a man with whom they had a confrontation at a service station.

The incident occurred at about 19:15h at Blankenburg Gas Station, West Coast Demerara (WCD), on Friday.

Reports are Harricharran Alfred, 49, a construction worker of Zeelugt New Housing Scheme, East Bank Essequibo, went into the service station, where he saw three individuals standing in the path leading to the gas pump consuming alcohol.

The man honked his horn on them and one of the suspects became annoyed and threw a glass bottle on the front windscreen of Alfred’s car, causing damages.

Alfred reportedly exited the vehicle along with his two sons and confronted the suspect. An argument ensued which resulted in a scuffle. It was during this time the suspect who threw the bottle armed himself with two knives whilst another armed himself with a cutlass.

The victim told Police that this caused him and his sons to become afraid, and they ran to the Den Amstel Police Station, where they reported the matter.

Police upon arrival at the scene observed the back window, front window, two headlights and four side windows of the said vehicle broken and fragments on the roadway. The men were arrested and are expected in court before the end of the week.

Guyana saved over...

It also provides for the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) to travel to India periodically to carry out inspections of the vessel before payments are disbursed to the shipbuilder.

Additionally, the training of pilots, engineers and other crew members on the navigational, safety and other aspects of the new vessel was also included in the project.

The new vessel will ensure that future travels to

FROM PAGE 7

the Northwest District and other parts of Guyana are faster, safer and more efficient. Moreover, the vessel would be modern and built according to the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) Classification Society and will meet every single requirement for maritime operations.

Funding for the ferry was sourced through a $3.6 billion combined grant and line of credit from the Government of India.

NEWS

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MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Audit of pre-contract costs must be a priority – Ram — sloppiness of former Govt caused Guyana to accept pre-contract costs

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ith the sloppy handling of the oil and gas sector by the former Government causing Guyana to accept oil giant ExxonMobil’s quoted pre-contract costs, oil and gas commentator Christopher Ram has pegged the audit of the costs as something that must be a priority.

During a panel discussion on the oil and gas sector, Ram reminded that as per the agreement the former A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/ AFC) Government signed with Exxon, Guyana was supposed to challenge the pre-contract cost by April 30, 2017.

“We did absolutely nothing, it passed without any action on Guyana’s part. We have had, by default, to accept those costs to be reimbursed to Exxon and its partners as pre-contract costs,

Christopher Ram

purely because we’ve been sloppy,” Ram said.

He acknowledged that there are various audits Exxon has to go through, but in his recommendations noted the importance of making the ongoing audit being executed under the current People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government a priority.

“Guyana has two years to audit the accounts and records of the contractor, under the agreement.

There is the Guyana Revenue Authority audit. There is the statutory audit. But those come nowhere close to meeting the standards that you would expect in the kind of audit conceived and accepted under the agreement.”

According to Annex C of the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) Guyana signed with Exxon, pre-contract cost “shall include four hundred and sixty million, two hundred and thirty-seven hundred thousand and nine hundred and

eighteen United States Dollars (US$460,237,918) in respect of all such costs incurred under the 1999 Petroleum Agreement prior to the year ended 2015.”

There is an additional sum of approximately US$400 million from 2016 to 2017, which it is believed will also come under the rubric of cost oil. The former Government – A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) – has received much criticism for agreeing to these costs without an audit being done.

The former Government finally contracted a company, British consultancy firm IHS Markit, at a cost of US$300,000 ($62.6 million) in 2019. The contract had to be extended in May of 2020 without cost, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, former Energy Department Head, Dr

Mark Bynoe had said that this was due primarily to the flight restrictions.

IHS Markit is the product of a 2016 merger between two companies, United States (US)based IHS and London-based Markit. Its data and information services business caters to industries such as automotive, energy, financial services, defence and maritime.

The company is no stranger to Guyana’s oil sector, having published a number of write-ups and analyses on Guyana’s efforts to develop its capacity. This includes “Guyana’s deepwater areas will remain competitive, despite changes to fiscal terms (IHS Markit, 2018)” and “How activity in the Guyana mini basin is booming with five exciting discoveries since 2015 (IHS Markit, 2017)”.

Bar Association mourns loss of member Llewellyn John

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he Bar Association of Guyana is mourning the loss of its member, Senior Counsel Llewellyn John, who died on Saturday.

It said in a statement on Sunday that with the passing of the veteran lawyer, the records of The Bar Association of Guyana will be amended by the appending of an asterisk at the end of the name of one of the longest-serving legal practitioners and supporters of the profession.

“As members of the legal profession, we seek to distinguish ourselves amongst our colleagues and thereby make our own unique impact on the law and the society in which we practise, the profession.

The legal career of Senior was one of distinction and impact, in the legal profession and the Guyana society,” the Association noted.

John’s service was recognised

in 2015 with the award of the Cacique Crown of Honour (CCH) – Guyana’s third-highest national award. He has been part of and participated in over fifty years of the transformation of the legal profession, pre-independence, post-independence, pre-republican status, the 1980 constitutional reforms, the fusions of the legal profession, the 2003 constitutional reforms, the 2016 Civil Procedure Rules.

Again, his work was rewarded in 2017 with the personal achievement of admission to the Inner Bar. “The name [Clifton Mortimer Llewellyn] John, was a constant presence. His distinctive dress of the Nero Collared Suit, his command of the Queen’s English, and a resounding voice which enhanced his stature, all elements of a distinguished gentleman in

the Law. “For the Bar Association, we have lost a constant supporter.

Senior has never waived in his support for the Association. His name is recorded as present at most meetings throughout the decades of our existence. Senior in recent years has even served as a member of the Bar Council, sharing his experience, guidance and wisdom with another generation of attorneys-at-law.

With his passing, we have lost a colleague, mentor, supporter and friend,” the Bar Association noted in the missive.

SC John died on Saturday at his Croal Street, Georgetown law office. He was 95 years at the time of his death. He married Evelyn Rose Arthur in 1956 and had five children – Helen, Richard, Dina, Marie and Hannah.

Born on January 25, 1925,

The late Llewellyn John

John spent most of his working

life as a solicitor and attorney-atlaw. His legal career spanned six decades and lasted until his death.

He entered politics at a very young age and was part of the Forbes Burnham team that travelled to London to negotiate Guyana’s Independence from British rule in 1961.

One of John’s most significant representation in court in recent times was his involvement in the series of litigations filed post the March 2, 2020 General and Regional elections, when the country was plunged into a political and electoral deadlock.

He was also a longstanding member of the People’s National Congress (PNC). The party and its leader, former President David Granger, in a statement on Saturday evening, extended condolences to John’s family, particularly his children.

Guyana hands over chairmanship of the G77 + China to Republic of Guinea today — UNDP Rep lauds Guyana’s successful leadership of G77 and China

Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd in discussion with UNDP Resident Representative Jairo Valverde

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oreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister, Hugh Todd on Saturday virtually had a meeting with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative, Jairo Valverde.

During the meeting, the UNDP Resident Representative

extended congratulations to the Co-operative Republic of Guyana for its successful Chairmanship of the G77 + China throughout 2020.

Further, he thanked the Government of Guyana for the opportunity to collaborate on Guyana’s Chairmanship of the G77 + China. Noting the

challenges posed by COVID-19, Valverde lauded the efforts of the staff of the Ministry to organise and produce the virtual flagship event on climate change held under the theme “Maintaining a Low Carbon Development Path towards the 2030 Agenda in the Era of COVID-19”.

“We are honoured to have been able to hold the Chairmanship of the Group of 77 and China (G77 + China)”, Minister Todd stated.

Further, the Foreign Affairs Minister emphasised the role of His Excellency Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, in leading the charge of the flagship event. “The outcome of the event speaks directly to his leadership and contribution to the Chairmanship of the G77 + China,” Todd added.

According to the Minister, the technical support provided through Guyana’s partnership with the local UNDP office proved instrumental in the success of Guyana’s Chairmanship.

Minister Todd also commended the commitment and efforts of the Permanent Representative of

Flag of the Republic of Guinea

Guyana to the United Nations, Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett, her team, and the staff of the Ministry.

They also discussed financing for small states in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the reclassification of Caribbean economies, among mutual areas of interest.

Guyana will officially hand over the Chairmanship of the G77 and China to the Republic of Guinea today, Monday, January 18, 2021.

The UN continues to be a strong and trusted development partner of Guyana that has aided in the promotion of the implementation of the global development agenda in the country.

12 NEWS Local agro-processor dreams of establishing factory MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

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nne Bristol-Peters is known for her many talents, which she has managed to turn into business ventures.

However, the vibrant mother of two, born in the village of Little Diamond, never thought one day she would become a successful agro-processor.

Anne’s agro-processing journey began in 2013 when she made her first batch of hot sauce in the comfort of her kitchen at her Hope Lowland home on the East Coast of Demerara. During that period, Anne sourced all her packaging materials locally and her product had a mere black and white label.

Visiting the market twice a week to sell her hot sauce was not an easy task; however, the positive feedback from her customers inspired her to increase her supply and seek new markets. Upon approaching the Guyana Shop Manager, she was advised about the requirements for her products to be placed on supermarkets shelves.

This advice not only led to the acquisition of her Business Registration and Food Facility Licence but she also managed to improve the quality and packaging of her products significantly.

Through the Guyana Marketing Corporation, Anne’s Products has been afforded many opportunities for recognition and growth. Anne’s Products is

Some of the products made by Anne Bristol-Peters

also marketed persistently on the Guyana Shop’s social media platforms and at promotional events. Besides GMC, Anne also credits Guyana Manufacturing & Services Association, Small Business Bureau, and Rosh Khan who have all played an instrumental role in her journey to success.

Challenges that Anne faced over the years include the high cost of packaging materials and the laborious process of having to fill

each container manually.

As such, she hopes that the Government can provide subsidies to small agro-processors like herself, and desires to one day be able to own a filling machine.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Anne took the opportunity to expand her production facility at her Hope Lowlands residence.

Anne is confident that one day her vision of acquiring land to build her own factory and providing employ-

ment to many will come through.

Today, Anne has managed to expand her product line to nine different condiments and produces Mauby. Though she provides employment to three persons, she is actively present in the operations of her business. Her advice to persons who are interested in starting their own business is “Better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all”.

I started with one product and now I have ten products in various supermarkets across the country. It is not a walk in the park but with hard work and determination you will succeed.” She encouraged the general public to support local agro-processors by purchasing their products as it helps to grow the economy.

Anne’s Products can be found in the Guyana Shop and at all major supermarkets such as DSL, Bounty, Massy Stores, Coss Cutters and various Chinese supermarkets across the country.

Through a relative, Anne’s

Anne Bristol-Peters shares her infamous mauby to a customer

Product has been able to enter the St Marteen and Canadian markets.

From January 18, 2021, the Guyana Shop will have a two-week promotion on Anne’s Products - purchase any two Anne’s Products, and you will be given a free

bottle of Anne’s Products Mauby.

Persons desirous of starting their agri-business are encouraged to contact the Guyana Marketing Corporation Agri-business Development Department for assistance.

GPL metering issues at Bath Settlement to be probed

Minister within the Public Works Ministry Deodat Indar

have been paying a certain bill for the past 20 years and as soon as a new meter went on, their bill went up threefold and that was 90 per cent of the complaints here this morning.”

“The head of the metering section [of GPL] is here to go through every single account and do an investigation to visit every home in their area where the complaints came from to see what is going on,” the Minister said.

While investigations are ongoing, no resident

Meanwhile, concerning allegations of poor customer service at GPL’s Onverwagt office, the Minister called on the staff to execute their public duties with high standards of professionalism.

Member of Parliament (MP) Faizal Jafferally and Regional Chairman for Mahaica-Berbice, Vickchand Ramphal were also present at the meeting.

Since assuming office, Minister Indar, who has oversight of the energy sector, has met residents in numerous communities that

will face disconnection, the Minister stressed. He noted that the decision was taken since the cause of the significant differences between bills is unknown.

Indar said a report from the probe would be submitted to his office to guide further decision-making.

may have concerns about GPL. Two Saturdays ago, the Minister engaged residents of Lust-En-Rust and pledged to ensure that the community receives firsttime access to electricity.

GPL was given two weeks to deliver on that promise.

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n investigation has been launched into complaints from residents of Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice (WCB), that there are faults in the new metering system installed by the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL).

Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar during a meeting on Friday in the community assured residents that the Ministry will get to the bottom of the issue.

Speaking with the Department of Public Information (DPI), Minister Indar related “Their claim is not unreasonable, that they

NEWS

13

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

57 new COVID-19 cases detected from 339 tests T

he Ministry of Health on Sunday reported that 57 new novel coronavirus cases were detected over a 24-hour period.

According to the new statistics released by the Ministry, the total number of confirmed cases in the country now stands at 6908 – 3544 males and 3364 females.

Of these, however, only 573 cases are currently active. These include three patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the remaining 570 in isolation, that is, 45 persons in institutional isolation and the other 525 in home isolation.

In addition, there are 34 persons in institutional quarantine.

The COVID-19 death toll remains at 170 with the last fatality recorded on January 10 when a 65-yearold male from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) died while receiving care at a medical facility.

To date, some 6165 persons have recovered from the life-threatening virus here, that is, 39 more recoveries than what was recorded the previous day.

Meanwhile, Guyana has tested some 44,238 persons for the novel coronavirus thus far.

Of the 57 new cases recorded on Sunday, two were detected in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam);

three in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); 15 cases in Region Four (DemeraraMahaica): nine in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice); 19 in Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne); four cases in Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni); one in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and another four cases in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

The figures in the oth-

er two regions – Region One (Barima-Waini) and Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) – remained the same.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), as of Sunday, some 93,194,922 confirmed cases were reported globally along with 2,014,729 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 41,329,493 while the death toll in the region has gone up to 954,545.

At the mark of the two millionth death from the COVID-19 pandemic, United Nations (UN) Secretary General, António Guterres last Friday said the deadly impact of the pandemic has been made worse by the absence of a global coordinated effort.

“In the memory of those two million souls, the world must act with far greater solidarity. Now is the time.

Safe, effective COVID-19 vaccines are being rolled out — and the UN is supporting countries to mobilise the largest global immunisation effort in history. We are committed to making sure that vaccines are seen as global public goods — people’s vaccines,” he noted.

According to the SG, this requires full funding for the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator and its COVAX facility – which is dedicated to making vaccines available and affordable to all.

“The world’s leading economies have a special responsibility. Yet today we are seeing a vaccine vacuum. Vaccines are reaching high-income countries quickly, while the world’s poorest have none at all.

Science is succeeding — but solidarity is failing. Some countries are pursuing side deals, even procuring be-

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres

yond need. Governments have a responsibility to protect their populations, but ‘vaccinationalism’ is self-defeating and will delay a global recovery,” Guterres contended.

He went on to note that COVID-19 cannot be beaten one country at a time. To this end, the UN SG called on manufacturers to step up their commitment to work with the COVAX facility and countries around the world to ensure enough supply and fair distribution.

“We need countries to commit now to sharing excess doses of vaccines. This would help vaccinate all healthcare workers around the world on an urgent basis and protect health systems from collapse. Others on the frontline, including humanitarian workers and high-risk populations, must be prioritised. To gain public trust, we must boost vaccine confidence and knowledge with effective communica-

tion grounded in facts… Our world can only get ahead of this virus one way — together. Global solidarity will save lives, protect people and help defeat this vicious virus,” SG Guterres asserted.

Guyana has signed onto the COVAX facility, a body of organisations including the WHO, aimed at ensuring there is equal access to and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines across the world.

Already, systems have been put in place locally to prepare for the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccines including special storage facilities, training for the administration of the vaccine and the establishment of a special vaccine committee to oversee its rollout.

In addition, the Government has also commenced work on reviewing the country’s immunisation laws, which only make provisions for vaccination of children.

14 NEWS

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

3 Guyanese to compete in International Chutney Monarch

T

Vicadi Singh

hree Guyanese have been shortlisted out of a total of 65 applicants around the world to participate in the International Chutney Monarch which will be held virtually in Trinidad and Tobago. The artistes are Vanita Willie, Vicadi Singh and Tony Cuttz.

The others who made it through to compete in the competition are Joel Davis, Navin Yankaran and Keith Bishop of Canada; Damian Sookram and Prince JP of New York.

In an interview with Guyana Times, Joel Pharous said he is representing Guyana and New York, and continues to make music for Guyanese fans. He was ecstatic for being shortlisted for the International Chutney Monarch 2021.

He entered the competition with his newest single “It is over” which has been creating some vibes on both the local and international scene. The song was written by the father of three and recorded in his studio in Queens, New

Tony Cuttz

Vanita Willie

York. It was mixed and mastered

by Maha Studios out of Trinidad and Tobago.

This single was released about six months ago and has secured more than 600,000 views on Youtube. He is optimistic to reach the finals of the competition. He, nevertheless, is working on another single titled “Love You” which will be released for Valentine’s Day. The humble Guyanese artist remains thankful to his fans, family and supporters as he embarks on this new and exciting journey.

However, the Trinidadians have dominated the lineup with several seasoned artistes shortlisted to compete. The Trinidadian lineup includes Saleem Beharry, Daddy Chinee “Ricardo Melville, Rasika Dindial, Riz & Theatrics, Surendra Ramoutar, Derrick Seales, Nigel Gobin, Russel Mohammed, Rajesh Sylvester, Prince Navin Prabhoo, Krishna Ramdass, Sangeeta Harrypersad, Amit Sagram, Anthony Batson, Neeshad Sultan, “Dr Tunes” – Kess Ramroop”, Mr

Nice Vibes, Jairam Dindial, Veejai Ramkissoon, Reshma Ramlal, Shiva Lakhan, Nisha Ramsook, Adesh Samaroo, Edward Ramdass, Cherish Ragoonanan, Dubraj Persad, Kenneth Supersad and Avinash Sookraj.

However, at the close of registration on Friday, January 15, 2021, 65 artistes had registered to compete in the 26th Annual Chutney Monarch but after screening, 36 artistes will now move to the second stage of the competition.

Of the 65 registered artistes, 13 applications came through agents in Canada, the United States and Guyana.

The semi-final round will be pre-recorded and packaged into two segments and will be aired on January 30 and 31, through the CSM Official Media Partners, CNC3, Sangeet106.1 and through various social media pages which include Facebook and YouTube.

A “text 2 vote” element is being reintroduced in 2021 to make the event more interactive and more

Saleem Beharry

exciting for the viewing public that will now be open to persons across the globe.

The show will be pre-packaged and open only to an “online” audience.

Nevertheless, over the years, Carnival’s biggest audience has now become the “online” audience, and this presents opportunities for Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean artistes to showcase their culture to the world.

“We must congratulate all artistes, producers, musicians, songwriters, video producers, and dancers for the efforts that have been made during this very trying time not only in Trinidad and Tobago, or the Caribbean, but the world at large. Our agents in Guyana, Canada and the USA have also done an amazing job in getting their artistes on board and registered, as this will make this year’s event more global and more encompassing for the Chutney Soca industry,” Director of CSM, George Singh stated in a release to the media.

Prince JP

In addition, the event will be fashioned to a similar format as other internationally renowned TV shows such as AGT and The Voice, and will be fun and exciting to look at. The “text 2 vote” element will also add to ensuring that the event is interactive and getting full audience participation.

Meanwhile, the biggest challenge this year will be sponsorship but the committee is confident that it will be able to achieve the goals set out.

“We are still presently in talks with our annual sponsors - the NLCB and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism - that have been very supportive over the last 20 years of this event. Producers are also looking at setting up a link for people to be able to donate to the event if they wish to do so. It must be reiterated, however, that the event will remain ‘free’ to the viewing public. The option to donate will be voluntary,” Singh noted.

The grand final of the CSM will be aired on Carnival Saturday, February 13, 2021.

Dynamic duo produces 3D printed face shields to fight COVID-19

Creative Director Elton Newton

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ealising the immense burden that has been placed on health resources and the limited availability of personal protective equipment (PPEs), team Dynamic 3D made a decision to put their 3D printers to work with the aim of fighting the

Founder Malcolm Wills

Rehabilitation.

The team also consists of the Creative Director, Elton Newton, who is also a final year student at the University of Guyana.

Upon their search for a solution, they stumbled upon 3D printed face shields that are currently being produced in the US for front line

could be used locally by medical staff as a means of personal protective equipment.

“After brainstorming and researching, we realised that we could play a pivotal role in the fight against this novel virus with the production of our shields. We also saw the number of disposable face shields that had been procured and immediately thought that the production of our reusable an-

be used again” Wills told Guyana Times in a telephone interview.

He further explained, “our production process is also environmentally friendly since [all] of [the] materials used are biodegradable”.

of Youth Business Summit, where they presented their business pitch that focused on 3D printed prosthetics.

The young business partners were among eleven entrepreneurs who successfully secured funding for their

COVID-19 pandemic.

Dynamic 3D - the pioneers of 3D printing in Guyana - has been in operation since 2018 and was founded by Malcolm Wills, a 24-year-old youth entrepreneur and University of Guyana student pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Medical

The 3D printed face shields produced by Team Dynamic

The 3D printed shields at work

news@guyanatimesgy.com

healthcare workers and community health workers.

Wills and Newton decided to create their own version of 3D face shields that

timicrobial shields would be a cost-effective solution.

These shields can be sterilised with a simple bleach solution and are ready to

To date, the team has produced over 200 3D face shields that have been distributed mostly to interior communities inclusive of South Pakaraima, Region Nine, (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo); Paramakatoi, Region Eight (PotaroSiparuni); Kamarang, Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni) as well as Region Four, (Demerara-Mahaica) In 2018, the duo participated in the Department

business ventures. The team used the grant to purchase their 3D printers and began production from thereon.

Dynamic 3D focuses on various applications of 3D printing for the production of medical devices, prosthetics, decorative pieces, merchandise, and almost any other item you can think of.

More of Team Dynamic’s work can be seen on their Instagram page “Dynamic 3D”.

NEWS

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MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Canadian aunt, uncle of Kamala Harris reflect on her upbringing, historic achievement

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n the aftermath of the deadly siege on Capitol Hill nearly two weeks ago, Vice Presidentelect Kamala Harris took some time to call her aunt and uncle in

takes the oath of office outside the Capitol — becoming the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent elected to the vice-presidency — she will be thinking of

who had taken a position teaching at McGill University and conducting research at the Jewish General Hospital.

Harris lived in the city for five years, graduating from Westmount High School in 1981.

Chinni Subash recalled that as Harris's career progressed, her niece was eager to hear her aunt's perspective on various Canadian issues.

"As Kamala got more involved in politics, she showed a keen interest in understanding how things worked for us," she said. "Like our health care system, ... how Canada was managing the Syrian refugee crisis and stuff like that. She was

Chinni and Shankar Subash, the Canadian aunt and uncle of Vice Presidentelect Kamala Harris

talked more about family matters rather than the political situation either in Canada or the United States," he said.

"The time was spent more on

Harris, left, is sworn in to a second term as District Attorney of San Francisco by US Senator Dianne Feinstein, right, in 2008. Harris's mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, centre, looks on (Submitted by the Harris family)

Canada to let them know she was safe.

"These days her life is so busy, they are very brief conversations, but she wanted to show me everything was OK," said Chinni Subash, the younger sister of Harris's late mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, on Rosemary Barton Live.

The Vice President-elect was in Washington, DC, when a mob of pro-Donald Trump rioters stormed the US Capitol on Jan 6 as Congress voted on Presidentelect Joe Biden's victory in the Nov 3 election.

As Washington locks down and law enforcement braces for further violence ahead of Wednesday's presidential inauguration, Harris told NPR on Thursday that "we cannot yield to those who would try and make us afraid of who we are."

And she said that when she

her mother.

Shyamala Harris instilled in her children the importance of education and extracurricular activities, Subash recalled, adding that she still has handmade Christmas gifts crafted by Kamala Harris and her sister, Maya, in her possession.

Subash told CBC Chief Political Correspondent Rosemary Barton that her older sister would be "very proud" of her daughter today.

"I don't know if you've seen the picture when [Kamala] was sworn in as District Attorney of San Francisco," she said. "My sister looks so proud. She was so proud of her daughters because they were exhibiting the values that she had taught them all her life."

Harris showed “keen interest” in Canadian issues When she was 12, Harris and her sister moved from California to Montreal with their mother,

Shankar and Chinni Subash with their niece, California Senator Kamala Harris, right, in the US Capitol. Harris will resign from her Senate seat on Monday, two days before her inauguration as vice-president of the United States (Submitted

by Chinni Subash)

very interested in understanding how things were done here."

But Shankar Subash, Chinni's husband, said politics is not top of mind during gatherings with Harris.

"When we get together, we

having fun."

Harris referred to her aunt in 2020 DNC speech Harris gave her aunt a shoutout during her address at the Democratic National Convention last summer when speaking about

the importance of her family and her heritage.

"Family is my uncles, my aunts — my chitthis," Harris said, using a Tamil word to refer to the younger sister of one's mother.

"I was actually very touched," Chinni Subash said. "I mean, with everything that she has to take care of these days ... I was very touched and very honoured that she acknowledged us."

That sentiment extends to the incoming President himself.

Biden administered the Senate oath of office to Harris back in 2017, an event Chinni Subash and her husband attended in Washington.

The President-elect took the time to learn how to pronounce the names of Harris's family members, the couple said, and recalled being impressed by the time Biden spent learning more about her relatives.

But when Harris is sworn in as Vice President on Wednesday, her aunt and uncle won't be attending the scaled-down event.

Instead, they'll be watching from their home in Canada due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It's a little bit early, but my idea would have been to have a nice glass of champagne," Chinni Subash mused. "But the swearing-in is in the morning, so maybe I'll enjoy it in the evening." (Apple News)

GWI announces major upgrades NA man murdered for Linden water treatment plants in row over alcohol ─ Covent Garden, Grove plants to become fully functional

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esidents of Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) can expect improved water supply in the new year, as the Guyana Water Inc (GWI) plans to execute major upgrades and maintenance works to the five existing water treatment plants in that region.

GWI’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Shaik Baksh related that the Mackenzie, West Watooka, Amelia’s Ward and Wisroc water treatment plants were functioning at reduced capacity.

“We have five water treatment plants in Linden alone and there is a problem there…because nothing has been done in Linden over the last five years to upgrade and maintain the systems,” he told the Department of Public Information (DPI) in a recent interview.

Baksh stated that funds

GWI Chief Executive Officer Shaik Baksh

for those works were included in the 2021 National Budget. “We have to upgrade the water treatment plants before they collapse,” he added.

The CEO added that works would also be done at water treatment plants at Covent Garden and Grove on the East Bank of Demerara.

Those plants have not been fully functional over the past three years.

Upgrades were done to the Eccles plant during the latter part of 2020. Baksh said the residents were now receiving treated water through their taps and there have been minimal complaints from those areas.

“The plants were not operating as treatment plants: that is Eccles, Covent Garden and Grove. Actually, raw water was coming through those plants. Also, the water was treated by a chemical known as Sequest and we have discontinued that because it is a huge cost. This Sequest to treat iron content in the water cost this utility over four years, $1.8 billion, and we are now flushing the wells and there are minimum complaints,” Baksh explained.

Works would also be done to improve water quality at the wells in the Essequibo Islands.

These projects, Baksh posited, are part of GWI’s overall plan to provide 80 per cent access to treated water by 2025, in keeping with the World Health Organisation (WHO) standard of 0.3 milligrams per litre of iron content or less.

Currently, 96 per cent of Guyana’s population has access to water; however, the treated water coverage that meets the WHO standard is only 52 per cent from a total of 27 water treatment plants.

Therefore, the Government plans to construct new water treatment facilities to meet the standard and to improve and expand the transmission and distribution network to maximise coverage from existing treatment plants. There are also plans to install water meters to monitor and control demand and increase revenue.

A

New Amsterdam, Berbice labourer is now dead following a row with a neighbour over alcohol.

Dead is 40-year-old Mark Griffith of Lot 49 Smithfield, New Amsterdam, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

According to the Police, Griffith was picked up from a trench bleeding heavily from his chest and taken to the New Amsterdam Hospital ,where he succumbed to his injuries while receiving medical attention.

The Police said that Griffith’s sister, Samanda David, 44, claimed that her brother would consume alcohol and get into arguments with her and the neighbour known as “Smokey” on a regular basis.

She said on Sunday her brother was at home consuming alcohol all day by himself and about 15:00h she, him and “Smokey” began arguing over alcohol and food.

According to David, “Smokey” had a cutlass in his hands at the time, and she intervened and was successful in getting them to stop arguing.

However, about 10 minutes later, she was alerted that something had happened and when she rushed out of her house, she saw her brother lying in a trench bleeding from the chest. Police have arrested the suspect.

Divisional Commander Jairam Ramlakhan said the suspect was under the influence of alcohol up to press time. (G-4)

16 NEWS

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Govt commits to enacting robust campaign finance laws …political parties must account for elections campaign funding – Attorney General

Attorney General Anil Nandlall

T

he financing of political parties without transparency and accountability can lead to corruption. Given Guyana’s oil boom, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government has committed to enacting robust campaign finance laws that will ensure the receipt of funds by political parties is under legal control.

This was disclosed by Attorney General Anil Nandlall during a recent interview on a local radio programme.

During the discourse, he reminded that one of the PPP/C’s manifesto promises for the 2020 General and Regional Elections was to enact campaign financing style legislation and other measures in Guyana.

“Hold us accountable based on our manifesto promise,” the Attorney General asserted. He went on to explained that we have reached a stage in today’s democratic world where concepts such as campaign financing legislation can no longer be toyed with.

“The world has become too democratised, the world has become too transparent. Governance has become too accountable to leave these issues in a nebulous way; they must be regulated. There

paigns.

must be transparency when it comes to where a political party gets its financing from. It [the political party] must be able to make that type of information public for national and international scrutiny.”

Against this backdrop, he is committed to having campaign finance laws passed before the next elections.

“Our manifesto made promises for this five-year period. It will be delivered before this five-year period in accordance with our manifesto. It may happen before the end of the year,” the Attorney General stated.

He, however, noted that

Carter Center

A PPP/C rally during the 2020 elections plained that things may which fielded an electorLaws about campaign take a long time to be im- al observer mission for finance are outlined in plemented.

Guyana’s 2020 General the Representation of the “Government by its and Regional Elections, People Act. Mission Head, the late Bruce Golding – Former Prime Minister of Jamaica observed that the Act states that candidates and their agents must submit a report on their expenses to the Guyana Election Commission (GECOM) upon the conclusion of an electoral process.

He, however, noted that the provision sets a limit on expenses at US$250 per candidate. He noted, too, that the Act does not make provision for the disclosure of the sources of contributions received by candidates or their agents, neither are there effective enforcement mechanisms.

According to Golding, An APNU/AFC rally during the 2020 elections period there are no expense reports that are submitted it will depend on the prior- very nature is a slow ma- recommended that exist- by candidates though it is ity of the Government. chinery. Things take a long ing legislation be revised required by law and there For instance, Nandlall time to happen, to mate- and modernised to include are no limits on campaign pointed out that if an rialise, to be implement- clear limits on campaign expenses, neither are election is not looming ed because Government spending. there reports on contrithen campaign financing must act transparently The OAS mission also butions or donors. It was laws may not be a priori- and with accountability at recommended that the also observed that there is ty. “Obviously, campaign almost every level. That laws should be amended no “guidance on the use of financing relates to an slows down governmental to include identification of State resources.” election. But it should be process…” the Attorney the sources of funding, the The mission said that done in adequate time in General noted. prevention of anonymous consideration should be preparation for elections.” donations, and the limita- given to the inclusion in Given that the nature of tion of private and in-kind such a regulatory frameClear limits the Government is a buThe Organisation of donations to political and work of State funding for reaucratic process, he ex- American States (OAS), electoral campaigns. political parties and cam-

In its final report on the 2011 General Election, the Carter Center said the need to create legislation to cater for campaign financing was important and even reiterated that in its 2015 report.

“To ensure realisation of the right and opportunity to be elected, legal reform is necessary to improve campaign finance laws. Legislation should be strengthened to routinely require disclosure of contributions and expenditures. Consideration also should be given to establishing reasonable limits on donations and expenditures to ensure that the free choice of voters is not undermined or the democratic process distorted by disproportionate expenditures on behalf of any candidate or party. A monitoring and enforcement body with oversight authority of compliance with campaign finance regulations would also be a positive contribution to Guyanese politics,” the report stated.

The Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc (TIGI) has also weighed in on the issue of campaign finance laws. According to TIGI, political financing laws are about protecting the State from corporate and other interests and ensuring that incumbents avoid corrupt use of State resources, and ensuring access to resources for all recognised political parties among other issues.

The Alliance For Change (AFC) was pushing for the implementation of campaign financing laws. But after five years in Government, the party and its senior coalition member - the A Partnership for National Unity APNU) - failed to deliver on this.

Ex-cops accused of killing businessman to lead defence today

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he Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the murder of businessman Godfrey “Saga” Scipio continues today and will see murder accused, former Police Officers Derwin Eastman and Jamison Williams leading their defence.

The PI is being conducted by Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

The two men are jointly charged for the murder of Scipio, which took place on October 12, 2017, in Kitty, Georgetown. In November, Magistrate Azore had ruled that a prima facie case was made out against the duo at the close of the Prosecution’s case.

From left: Murder accused: Former Best Cop Derwin Eastman, Aubrey Bobb, and Jamison Williams

In response, Eastman, who had been adjudged Best Cop in the Police Force several times, and Williams elected to lead their defence and call witnesses to testify on their behalf.

Also charged with the murder is Aubrey Bobb, a 26-year-old ex-convict of

Kitty. Bobb was the first to be charged and later implicated the two former Policemen in a caution statement he gave to law enforcement.

In February 2019, Bobb was committed to stand trial at the High Court for the businessman’s murder following the conclusion of

a separate PI. It was reported that 64-year-old Scipio was gunned down just as he exited a popular Kitty hotel with a female companion during the furtherance of a robbery. He later succumbed at the Woodlands Hospital.

In his statement to

the Police, Bobb claimed Eastman was the mastermind behind the brazen daylight killing. He accused the former Best Cop of hiring him as the hitman and even providing weapons to facilitate the smooth execution of the plan.

Eastman reportedly had everything planned out, even assuring the hitman that a lady would deliver the target to the spot while directing that the killing be executed in such a way as to appear like a robbery gone wrong.

Notwithstanding the assurance of protection given by Eastman, reality struck when Bobb returned home the next day

Murdered: Godfrey “Saga” Scipio

to find Eastman, in the company of other Police ranks, ready to arrest him.

He had claimed that he was forced to make a false confession as he was intimidated by Eastman’s presence at every step of the interrogation.

17 US capitals see few protesters after bracing for violence L NEWS

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

aw enforcement officers far outnumbered protesters at state capitol grounds on Sunday, as few Trump supporters who believe the President’s false claim that he won the 2020 election turned out for what authorities feared could be violent demonstrations.

More than a dozen states activated National Guard troops to help secure their capitol buildings following an FBI warning of armed demonstrations, with rightwing extremists emboldened by the deadly attack on the US Capitol in Washington on January 6.

The FBI and other federal agencies have warned of the potential for future violence leading up to Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday, as white supremacists and other extremists seek to exploit frustration among Trump supporters who have bought into his falsehoods about electoral fraud.

National Guard members stand guard outside the US Capitol ahead of US President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, in Washington, US, January 17, 2021

Security officials had eyed Sunday as the first major flashpoint, as that is when the anti-Government “boogaloo” movement made plans weeks ago to hold rallies in all 50 states.

But by late Sunday afternoon, only handfuls of demonstrators had taken to the streets alongside much larger crowds of law enforcement officers and media per-

sonnel.

“It was a non-event today and we are glad it was,” said Troy Thompson, spokesman for the Department of General Services, the agency that protects the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg.

On Sunday afternoon, Police opened streets around the building that had been blocked off in anticipation of

Portugal's health system on brink of collapse as COVID-19 cases surge

P

ortugal’s public health system is on the verge of collapsing as hospitals in the areas worst-affected by a worrying surge in coronavirus cases are quickly running out of intensive care beds to treat COVID-19 patients.

“Our health system is under a situation of extreme pressure,” Health Minister Marta Temido told reporters on Sunday afternoon after a visit to a struggling hospital. “There is a limit and we are very close to it.”

The health system, which prior to the pandemic had the lowest number of critical care beds per 100,000 inhabitants in Europe, can accommodate a maximum of 672 COVID-19 patients in Intensive Care Units, or ICUs, according to Health Ministry data.

The number of people in ICUs with COVID-19 reached 647 on Sunday, ac-

bigger crowds.

Only a few Trump supporters had shown up, including Alex, a 34-yearold drywall finisher from Hershey, Pennsylvania who said he had been at the January 6 siege of the US Capitol, but did not storm the building. He declined to give his last name.

Wearing a hoodie emblazoned with “Fraud 2020”, he said he believed November’s presidential election was stolen and wanted to show his support for Trump. He

noted the lack of protesters at the Pennsylvania capitol on Sunday.

“There’s nothing going on,” he said.

A similarly small group of about a dozen protesters, a few armed with rifles, stood outside Michigan’s capitol in Lansing on Sunday afternoon. One wore fatigue pants, a tactical vest, and blue Hawaiian shirt, a trademark of the anti-Government boogaloo movement.

“I am not here to be vio-

lent and I hope no one shows up to be violent,” said one man standing on the lawn in front of the capitol. The man, who refused to give his name, wore a “Make America Great Again” hat and waved a “Don’t tread on me” flag.

Tens of thousands of security personnel from the National Guard and law enforcement agencies have descended upon Washington, DC, to bolster security ahead of Wednesday’s ceremony.(Excerpt from Reuters)

Biden plans decree blitz to dump Trump policies

D

etails are emerging of a raft of executive orders planned

by US President-elect Joe Biden as soon as he takes office this week.

Biden will issue decrees to reverse President Donald Trump's travel bans and rejoin the Paris climate accord on his first day, US media report.

The President-elect is also expected to focus on reuniting families separated at the US-Mexico border, and to issue mandates on COVID-19 and mask-wearing.

He will be inaugurated

on Wednesday.

In the hours after Biden sets foot in the White House, he will embark on a blitz of executive actions designed to signal a clean break from his predecessor's Administration, according to a memo seen by US media.

The executive orders are just one part of his ambitious plan for his first 10 days in office, according the memo.

The President-elect is also expected to send a major new immigration bill to Congress, as well as focusing on passing a US$1.9 tril-

lion stimulus plan to help the country's economy recover from coronavirus.

Biden has also said his Administration would aim to deliver 100 million COVID-19 jabs in his first 100 days in office – describing the rollout so far as a "dismal failure".

"President-elect Biden will take action – not just to reverse the gravest damages of the Trump Administration – but also to start moving our country forward," incoming White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain wrote in the memo. (Excerpt from BBC News)

DRC honours Patrice Lumumba 60 years after his assassination cording to health authority DGS. The Portuguese Association of Hospital Administrators said the number of coronavirus patients needing hospitalisation was likely to dramatically increase over the next week.

Three days into a nationwide lockdown, the country of just 10 million people reported 10,385 new cases and 152 fatalities on Sunday, bringing the total number of infections to 549,801, with the death toll increasing to

8861.

According to ourworldindata.org website supported by Oxford University, Portugal had the highest number of coronavirus cases in Europe per capita over the last seven days.

Most new cases were concentrated in Lisbon, where many patients at the city’s public hospitals have already been transferred elsewhere, including to health units in the country’s second biggest city Porto.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

T&T Opposition Leader warns of possible food crisis

O

pposition Leader Kamla PersadBissessar is urging the Government to take immediate steps to allow food importers sufficient foreign exchange to prevent a possible increase in food prices.

In a statement on Saturday, she said citizens continued to complain about increases in the prices of basic food items at the supermarket while the Government was not doing anything to alleviate the burden, particularly on the poor.

Persad-Bissessar recalled that under her Administration in an effort to keep food prices manageable over 6000 items were made VAT free.

In contrast, she said the Government had reduced VAT from 15 per cent to 12.5 per cent, but reduced the number of items that were once exempted.

She said the country was yet to see any benefits from the proposed TT$500 million stimulus investment into agriculture aimed at boosting food security.

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar

She called on the Government to expand the list of food items to be exempt from VAT and develop the domestic food production to avoid a possible food crisis. (Trinidad Newsday)

Patrice Lumumba was removed from his post as Prime Minister shortly after independence [File: Getty Images]

T

he Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has honoured independence hero Patrice Lumumba, marking 60 years since his assassination in a plot linked to the fledgeling country’s colonial master, Belgium.

President Felix Tshisekedi on Sunday paid tribute to the charismatic political leader at a site in the capital, Kinshasa, where a memorial is to be installed in his honour.

Lumumba became the country’s first democratically-elected Prime Minister after independence from Belgium in 1960. His Government lasted just three months before he was overthrown and assassinated by firing squad.

Lumumba’s body will

never be recovered, however.

Shot by Katangan separatists and Belgian mercenaries on January 17, 1961, during the first, chaotic months of independence, his body was dissolved in acid.

The only part of his body ever recovered was a tooth seized from a Belgian Policeman who, by his own account, took it while helping to dispose of the body.

Last month, Tshisekedi said Belgium would return the tooth to his family in time for independence anniversary celebrations on June 30.

Juliana Lumumba, the slain leader’s daughter, wrote to Belgium’s King Philippe last year, at the height of Black Lives Matter protests, asking for its return.

Prominent Congolese gynaecologist Denis Mukwege, the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, also paid tribute to Lumumba, calling him “one of the greatest heroes in history”.

Lumumba was a “man of determination who fought to the end for the freedom, the sovereignty of the #DRC and to straighten the heads of our people,” he wrote on Twitter. “A model of courage for the youth.”

Lumumba was removed from his post as prime minister shortly after independence and then delivered to his death at the hands of the Katangan separatists and the mercenaries. His supporters and some historians accuse the CIA of having ordered his killing. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021

Regional

Brazil approves 2 COVID-19 US Coast Guard to help combat vaccines for emergency use illegal fishing in the Caribbean

T

B

razil’s health regulator has granted emergency approval to two COVID-19 vaccines as the country gears up for a mass inoculation campaign during a devastating second wave of the pandemic.

The Anvisa regulator on Sunday approved vaccines from China’s Sinovac Biotech and Britain’s AstraZeneca for emergency use in Brazil, which has recorded more than 209,000 deaths linked to the novel coronavirus since the start of the crisis.

Anvisa’s Board of Directors voted unanimously to approve both vaccines after almost five hours of deliberations.

Minutes after the vote, Monica Calazans, a 54-yearold nurse in São Paulo, became the first person to be inoculated in Brazil, receiving the Chinese vaccine known as CoronaVac. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a coronavirus sceptic who has refused to take a vaccine himself, is under pressure to start inoculations as the country’s death and case counts continue to mount rapidly.

Brazil has recorded

Nurse Monica Calazans, 54, receives the Sinovac coronavirus vaccine at Hospital das Clinicas in São Paulo, after Brazilian health regulator Anvisa approved its emergency use [Amanda Perobelli/Reuters]

more than 8.45 million cases of COVID-19 to date, according to Johns Hopkins University, the third-highest tally in the world after the United States and India.

Delays with vaccine shipments and testing results have held up vaccinations in Brazil so far, however.

Bolsonaro’s Government was planning to kick off a national immunisation programme this week, but it is still waiting on shipments of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

São Paulo Governor Joao

Doria, who oversees the Butantan biomedical centre that partnered with Sinovac in Brazil, said on Sunday that widespread vaccinations could start immediately.

But Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello told a news conference that the Government would start distributing the vaccines to states this morning. Brazil could eventually vaccinate one million people per day, he said. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

he United States Department of State says it is “proud” to support the US Coast Guard (USCG) Operation Southern Cross as part of the US’s efforts to build regional maritime security partnerships and counter illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the South Atlantic, including the Caribbean.

The State Department, in a recent statement said that the multi-month inaugural deployment of the new USCG Legend-class National Security Cutter, the Stone (WMSL 758, will strengthen cooperation and enhance security throughout the region.

In Guyana, on January 9, the State Department said the USCG Cutter Stone and the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard “engaged in a series of cooperative exercises that support combatting IUU fishing, the first such operations conducted

The US State Department says it is “proud” to support the US Coast Guard (USCG) Operation Southern Cross as part of the US’s efforts to build regional maritime security partnerships and counter IUU fishing

in conjunction with a new ship-rider agreement ratified in 2020”.

The USCGC Stone will also perform the full range of USCG statutory missions “as circumstances warrant”.

So far, the Stone crew has already interdicted one gofast vessel in the Caribbean, seizing over 900 kilograms of cocaine on January 7, to the south of the Dominican

Guatemalan forces clash with migrant caravan

T&T citizens mark 300 days stranded abroad

G

ary Mahabir, the founder of the “T&T Citizens Overseas” WhatsApp group, is a Trinidadian who has been living in New Jersey, USA, for more than 30 years.

He has been organising food and necessities to Trinidadians stranded in the US and assisting nationals scattered around the world to return home.

Saturday marked 300 days since nationals have been stranded in countries abroad as the Government closed T&T’s borders to contain the spread of COVID-19.

As of December 23, 2020, 17,211 people made exemption requests to enter T&T.

Of that figure, there were 9557 exemptions granted, leaving more than 7654 people, residents and non-residents, still outside, as T&T’s borders remain closed.

With their allotted travelling money exhausted, as they cannot legally work in the Diaspora, many are still awaiting their exemption cases to be processed at the Ministry of National Security. As the days increase, their despair, depression, and anxiety grow.

To literally survive to get food to eat and a roof over their head, several people have resorted to receiving handouts, food from soup kitchens and lodging at shel-

ters meant for the homeless, and the grim situation has forced some into prostitution.

Mahabir said the situation had become so desperate for some Trinidadians, that several women were selling themselves to get accommodation in various countries which was reported on some sites and was confirmed by a Trinidadian in South Asia.

He said nationals faced many challenges and difficulties as they exhausted their limited travelling money and wore out their welcome by family and friends.

(Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

Expert denies rumours of explosive eruption at La Soufriere

T

he National Emergency M a n a g e m e n t Organisation (NEMO) has dismissed reports of explosive eruptions of La Soufriere after residents of North Leeward reported seeing “fire” at the volcano, which has been erupting effusively since late December.

“The magma continues to flow out of the crater, so that is a normal part of an effusive eruption,” NEMO Director Michelle Forbes said on NBC Radio around 22:40h (local time).

“We are asking persons to remain calm. There is no

explosive eruption at the moment. There is no evacuation order for anywhere above the Dry River or any community in St Vincent and the Grenadines at this moment.”

Forbes said.

“That is a normal part of an effusive eruption,” she said, noting that Professor Richard Robertson, a geologist from the Seismic Research Centre in Trinidad, which is monitoring the volcano, had spoken about this glow weeks ago.

And, in a separate call to NBC Radio Saturday night, Robertson, who is original-

ly from Rose Hall, urged the public to remain calm, saying the glow at the volcano is expected.

As a result of the effusive eruption, a second dome is growing inside the volcano alongside the one that resulted from the explosive eruption of 1979.

“As the dome gets bigger — and it has gotten bigger — people will begin, on the western flanks, especially in Chateaubelair, will begin to see what we call in volcanology, incandescence or glowing of the dome,” Robertson said.

(Excerpt from CMC)

Republic.

“The United States is a global leader in efforts to tackle IUU fishing, including through work in multilateral institutions to strengthen the rules governing international fisheries and bilateral engagement with the world’s coastal, port and market states,” the State Department said.

(Excerpt from CMC)

Hondurans taking part in a new caravan of migrants heading to the United States clash with Guatemalan soldiers as they try to cross into Guatemalan territory, in Vado Hondo, Guatemala, January 17, 2021

G

uatemalan security forces on Sunday used sticks and tear gas to beat back a large migrant caravan bound for the United States, just days before the advent of a new US Administration, which urged travellers to abandon the journey.

Between 7000 and 8000 migrants, including families with young children, have entered Guatemala since Friday, authorities say, flee-

ing poverty and violence in a region hammered by the coronavirus pandemic and back-to-back hurricanes in November.

A large section of the caravan clashed early on Sunday with Guatemalan security officials, some 3000 of whom had mustered by the village of Vado Hondo, about 55 kilometres (34 miles) from the borders of Honduras and El Salvador.

“We want the

Guatemalans to let us past,” said Joaquin Ortiz, a Honduran in the caravan.

“Because we’re not leaving here. We’re going to carry on. I want to get through, because it’s horrible in our country. There’s nothing in Honduras.”

The coronavirus pandemic has battered Honduras’ economy, which last year suffered its worst contraction on record.

The large contingent of Guatemalan security officers managed to stop the migrants from advancing beyond Vado Hondo, with perhaps as many as half of the people in the caravan dispersing into the nearby hills or heading back the way they came, according to a Reuters witness.

Elmer Espinal is travelling with his monthsold daughter. He said they were tear gassed by the Guatemalan security forces.

Authorities sent buses and trucks for migrants who wanted to voluntarily return home. (Excerpt from Reuters)

COVID-19 deaths recorded in St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines

S

t Lucia recorded two new COVID-19related deaths on the weekend, bringing to eight, the number of fatalities attributed to the virus.

In addition, there have been 34 positive cases, bringing the total number of cases diagnosed in the country to date to 611.

Health officials say a

69-year-old man and a 49-year-old man both died from complications related to the virus.

And St Vincent and the Grenadines on Friday recorded its first COVID-19 death – a 49-year-old female with multiple pre-existing conditions.

The National Emergency Management Organisation

(NEMO) said that the woman went to the hospital services on Thursday evening, with difficulty breathing.

She later tested positive for COVID-19.

Further, NEMO announced that 62 new COVID-19 cases have been confirmed, 61 of which are nationals with no history of recent travel. (CMC)

guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021

19

Around the World

OILNEWS OIL NEWS Libya’s oil output drops as pipelines creak from war-era neglect

L

ibya’s oil output has dropped by about 200,000 barrels a day after the closure of a leaking pipeline, underscoring how difficult it is for the country to maintain its production following almost a decade of civil war.

The OPEC member’s output has fallen to around 1 million barrels daily in the wake of Waha Oil Co’s decision to shut the pipeline taking crude to the eastern oil port of Es Sider, the country’s biggest. The state-owned National Oil Corp., which controls Waha and made the announcement late Saturday on Facebook, said the repairs could take two weeks, though it hopes they can be completed in half that time.

The pipeline “could no longer continue to operate due to the large number of leaks, and it’s worn out,” the NOC said.

“What happened with Waha today happens daily with other companies that suffer from a budget shortage. They are also under the threat of having to reduce their production and to even halt it completely.”

Libya’s daily production surged to 1.25 million barrels this month from almost nothing in September after a truce between rival military forces. That caused problems for the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, which are restricting supply to bolster oil prices following their coronavirus-triggered collapse last year. Due to its strife, Libya is exempt from the curbs.

The country’s been at war for much of the period since former leader Moammar Al Qaddafi was toppled in 2011.

The Tripoli-based Government, which is recognised by the United Nations, and the self-styled Libyan National Army, led by Khalifa Haftar, stopped fighting around June.

Yet their forces are still encamped near the central city of Sirte and thousands of foreign mercenaries are present throughout the country. The two sides are trying to form a Unity Government to run Libya until elections scheduled for December.

While Libya has Africa’s largest crude reserves, the NOC is struggling to fix oil fields, storage tanks, pumping stations, pipelines and ports. Some have been damaged, while others are corroding because of neglect. The NOC said it lacks the money to carry out the repairs. (Excerpt from Bloomberg)

“Clashes kill 48 people” in Sudan's Darfur region

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lashes between different ethnic groups in Sudan's West Darfur state have left 48 people dead, Sudan's news agency said, quoting the doctors' union.

The fighting in the state capital, El Geneina, began on Saturday after a row in which a man was stabbed to death.

A state-wide curfew has been imposed and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has sent a delegation to investigate.

A conflict in Darfur that began in 2003 forced millions to flee and, despite a peace process, tensions remain.

Saturday's violence comes

less than three weeks after peacekeepers from the United Nations and African Union handed over security to the Khartoum authorities after 13 years there, reports the BBC's Youssef Taha.

Similar clashes in El Geneina last year, which saw

Arab pastoralists fight with non-Arab groups, caused hundreds of casualties.

The most recent fighting, which also left nearly 100 injured, was centred around a camp for people who had been displaced by the Darfur conflict. A deadly row be-

Ugandan Opposition party says it will challenge election result; 2 dead in protests

U

gandan opposition leader Bobi Wine’s party said on Sunday that it was preparing to challenge President Yoweri Museveni’s election win and condemned what it called the house arrest of Wine, as news emerged of two people killed in protests over the result.

Protests broke out on Saturday after results from Thursday’s election were announced in two areas, Luwero district north of Kampala and Masaka to the southwest, and security forces killed two people and arrested 23 in total, NTV Uganda reported on Sunday, citing local Police.

No other details were immediately available about the protests.

A nationwide internet blackout since the day before

2 Afghan female Judges shot dead in Kabul ambush

T

wo female Judges have been killed by unknown gunmen in an ambush early on Sunday in Afghanistan’s capital.

The attack on the Supreme Court Judges took place as they were driving to work, Ahmad Fahim Qaweem, a court spokesman, said. Kabul Police confirmed the attack.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack and spokesman for the Taliban armed group Zabihullah Mujahid said the group was not responsible.

Violence has surged across Afghanistan in recent months despite ongoing peace talks between the Taliban and Government – especially in Kabul where a new trend of targeted killings aimed at high-profile figures has sown fear in the city.

The latest attack comes two days after the Pentagon announced it cut American troop levels in Afghanistan to 2500, the lowest in nearly two decades.

UN peacekeepers ended their mission in Darfur last month

tween two men escalated into a fight involving armed militias, the AFP news agency reported.

A peace deal involving most, but not all, groups in Darfur was signed last year.

The Darfur conflict began under the presidency of Omar al-Bashir, who was overthrown in 2019 and is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes and genocide in the region.

Justice for the people of Darfur was a key rallying cry for civilian groups who backed the ouster of the president after nearly three decades in power. (Excerpt from BBC News)

the vote has slowed the flow of information about the process.

“We have evidence of ballot stuffing and other forms of election malpractice and after putting it together we are going to take all measures that the law permits to challenge this fraud,” Maathias Mpuuga of Wine’s National Unity Party (NUP) told a

news conference.

On Saturday the electoral commission declared Museveni the winner of Thursday’s vote, with final counts showing the President won 59 per cent of votes to Wine’s 35 per cent.

Announcing the results, the commission congratulated Ugandans on a peaceful and successful process.

The United States and Britain issued statements on Saturday calling for investigations into fraud reports and other concerns over the electoral process. The campaign and election were marked by a deadly crackdown by security forces on opposition candidates and their supporters and an internet shutdown.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

South Africa struggles against “relentless” COVID-19 surge

S

outh Africa’s health services are buckling under the strain of soaring COVID-19 infections driven partly by a new variant of coronavirus spreading across the country.

Medical professionals warn that the “relentless” infection wave that has seen more than 130,000 new COVID-19 cases and 4000 related deaths in the last week alone threatens to overrun both public and private hospitals.

“As soon as beds open, there are more than 10 people waiting to fill them – we cannot cope,” a medi-

cal officer working at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Johannesburg told Al Jazeera.

“This has been relentless and far worse than the first wave of infections.”

The new variant, referred to as 501.V2, has been found in all of the country’s nine provinces, as well as beyond the country’s borders, leading several countries to ban flights from South Africa.

The variant has been associated with a higher viral load, leading some scientists to believe it is more transmissible and possibly a major contributing factor in the surge in infections.

Others, however, urge caution as more studies are being carried out, with some officials blaming the current surge in infections to a lack of adherence to coronavirus containment measures and “superspreader” events during the festive period.

The Government is aiming to inoculate two-thirds of South Africa’s 59 million population within the next 18 months, but some medical experts say the goal is unrealistic due to the country’s already overstretched resources and apparent tardiness in securing an adequate supply of vaccine doses. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Russia detains Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, faces clash with Western nations

P A resident washes a road after gunmen killed two female Judges working for the Supreme Court in the capital

Afghanistan’s Supreme Court was a target in February 2017 when a suicide bomb in its car park killed at least 20 court employees and wounded 41.

In recent months, several prominent Afghans – including politicians, journalists, activists, doctors and prosecutors – have been assassinated in often brazen daytime attacks in Kabul and

other cities.

Afghan officials have blamed the Taliban for the attacks, a charge the militia has denied. Some of these killings have been claimed by the ISIL (ISIS) armed group.

Earlier this month, the US military for the first time directly accused the Taliban of orchestrating the attacks.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

olice detained prominent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on arrival in Moscow on Sunday after he flew home to Russia from Germany for the first time since he was poisoned last summer, triggering a political clash with the West.

The move, which could see Navalny jailed for 3.5 years for allegedly flouting the terms of a suspended prison sentence, may reignite political pressure on the West to tighten sanctions on Russia, especially against an $11.6 billion project to build a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany.

In a case that drew wide international attention, Navalny was poisoned last summer by what German military tests showed was a Novichok nerve agent, a version of events the Kremlin rejects.

Navalny recovered in Germany and after he said last week he planned to return home, the Moscow prison service (FSIN) said it would do everything to arrest him once he returned, accusing him of flouting the terms of a suspended prison sentence for embezzlement, a 2014 case he said was trumped up.

Navalny’s supporters

have said incarcerating one of President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent domestic critics could turn him into a Nelson Mandelalike figure and an increasingly popular symbol of resistance to the Kremlin.

Putin allies point to opinion polls that show the Russian leader is far more popular than Navalny, whom they call a blogger rather than a politician.

Navalny said Putin was behind his poisoning. The Kremlin denies involvement. It says it has seen no evidence that he was poisoned. (Excerpt from Reuters)

20

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021

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

Channel your energy into helping others. An emotional encounter handled with patience will encourage a better relationship with someone dear to you. Take your time and evaluate your options.

Spend more time getting ready and less time fretting over what might go wrong.

Use your imagination to develop a solid plan. Don’t let someone’s uncertainty hold you back.

Align yourself with informative individuals, and share data that will bring you closer to a decision. Knowledge will be key when it comes to reaching your goals and achieving your dreams.

Keep your emotions out of professional matters. Avoid joint ventures and shared expenses. Put your money and possessions in a safe place, and protect yourself from manipulation.

Discuss your plans with someone close to you. The feedback you receive will lead to an unexpected opportunity. Don’t make a premature decision. Time is on your side.

You may desire change, but before you engage in something new, look at the potential consequences.

Focus on self-improvement, health and personal growth before you venture down an unfamiliar path.

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Uncertainty will lead you in different directions.

Observe what’s going on around you. Emotions will mount if you let someone dictate what you can do. Do your research.

SCORPIO

Consider the best way to get what you want. A change, if implemented correctly, can give you the nudge you need to head in the right direction. Get your finances in order.

(Oct. 24Nov. 22)

SAGITTARIUS Make adjustments that will add to your com(Nov. 23fort and security. Peace of Dec. 21) mind will follow correct actions. Take control of your life and happiness.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19) SATURDAY'S WORD -- NEOPHYTE

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

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

Take pride in what you do, question every move you make and pursue things that make you feel good. Adjust when necessary, and find new ways to work with what you already have. Review, recycle and renew.

Observe what’s going on around you, and you will recognize what can help or hinder your road to success. Your experience will encourage you to keep things close to the vest and to rely on surprise.

Ask for expert advice before making a move, and it will clear up uncertainty. You’ll accomplish more if you keep up with what’s trending. A financial gain is foreseeable.

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021

21

New GFF Disciplinary Committee receives FIFA-approved code G

uyana Football Federation (GFF) President Wayne Forde has presented the FIFA-approved Disciplinary Code to the newly-appointed Chairman of the GFF Disciplinary Committee, enabling the Committee to begin its work with a priority on resolving outstanding cases.

The new composition of the Committee was proposed by the GFF Executive Committee and approved by the GFF Congress in December 2020. It includes Chairman Eusi Anderson, who serves as General Counsel at CSM-DANCO; State Counsel Shawnette Austin and former Guyana Trades Union Congress Vice President Lancelot Baptiste.

The Congress voted to replace the former Disciplinary Committee following a long period of inactivity and a lack of communication that led to a backlog of outstanding disciplinary matters. During a meeting with the new Chairman on Friday, GFF President Forde underlined the urgent need to address and resolve the list of outstanding cases as soon as possible.

“It is vital that the new Disciplinary Committee moves swiftly to provide clarity on matters that have remained unresolved for far too long,” President Forde said. “We look forward to seeing progress on those issues as we work to enhance the

governance and reputation of football. The Executive Committee has every confidence that the new, highly-qualified members of the Committee will act with integrity and professionalism in the interests of good governance.”

The GFF Disciplinary Committee is one of three independent judicial bodies within the framework of the local football governance structure, alongside the Ethics Committee and the Appeal Committee.

It examines and passes judgement on all disciplinary matters relating to GFF members, affiliates, officials, players, clubs, intermediaries and match agents.

“I am humbled by this appointment as the Chairperson of the Disciplinary Committee of the Guyana Football Federation. I look forward to working with the football fraternity in Guyana, our partners in the Caribbean and our partners globally to improve the circumstances of football in Guyana,” Anderson said.

“Undoubtedly, there will be challenges; undoubtedly, there will be opportunities; but my resolve remains to bring the best of my skills, ability, and time to bear in this new dispensation. I look forward to serving everyone in football and working with the local fraternity to build strong strategic partnerships for the overall improvement of football.”

Dasrat, Nandu, Ashiek Motor Spares among latest set of donors to BCB Year of Investment

Powell to lead Jamaica Scorpions in Super50 T

— King, Allen, Cottrell, Thomas among big names

T

he Jamaica Cricket Association ( J C A ) Selection Panel has named the Scorpions Super50 squad for the upcoming regional tournament.

The squad reads: Rovman Powell (Captain); Derval Green (Vice Captain); Aldaine Thomas; Oshane Thomas; Brandon King; Paul Palmer; Fabian Allen; Jamie Merchant; Jeavor Royal; Odean Smith; Sheldon Cottrell; Dennis Bulli; Javelle Glenn; Romaine Morris and Andre McCarthy.

The Jamaica Scorpions are scheduled to play regional teams including T&T Red Force, Windward Volcanoes, Leeward Hurricanes, and Barbados Pride in Antigua.

The Association said the Scorpions were due to arrive in Antigua on February 4 for the series, which will run until February 27.

The JCA's Chief Executive Officer

(CEO), Courtney Francis stated that the “mixture of players, fresh minds, different experience and exposure will allow this team to grow into their own”. He expressed hope that the players represent with national pride, c o m - petitive fierceness and create their own history, in a time where history is being made.

The Scorpions tournament schedule is below:

Tuesday, February 9, 2021: Jamaica Scorpions v T&T Red Force (D/N) Monday, February 15, 2021: Windward Volcanoes v Jamaica Scorpions Thursday, February 18, 2021: Barbados Pride v Jamaica Scorpions Sunday, February 21, 2021: Leeward Islands Hurricanes v Jamaica Scorpions Wednesday, February 24, 2021: Semi-Final 1 (D/N) 5th v 6th Thursday, February 25, 2021: Semi-Final 2 (D/N) Rest/Practice Saturday, February 27, 2021: Final (D/N)

he Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) continues to benefit from the assistance of former national players who are based overseas, along with several passionate supporters of Berbice cricket.

The BCB in the first two weeks of 2021 has attracted close to $7 million worth of support in the form of financial sponsorship and necessary items.

The main feature of the successful marketing drive has been the massive support the BCB has obtained from former and current players, including Clayton Lambert, Ray Joseph, Leslaine Lambert, Kevin Darlington, Kevin Sinclair, Romario Shepherd, Shimron Hetmyer, Mahendra Nagamootoo, Vishal Nagamootoo, Narsingh Deonarine, Hemnarine Chattergoon, Jeremy Gordon, and Troy Halley.

The latest former players to come on board are former National Captain Damodar Dasrat; former West Indies Under-19 allrounder Arjune Nandu; former Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) player Mankarran Singh and businessman Ray Ali of Ashiek and Son Motor Spares.

Nandu, a former member of the historic Port Mourant Cricket Club, donated $80,00 towards the hosting of a one-day, four-team tournament at the Port Mourant Ground. Nandu, who played for Guyana at the junior and senior level, also represented the West Indies at the Under-19 level.

Port Mourant, UG Elites Tain Block Four and Tamarind Root

Arjune Nandu; Ray Ali (in centre) handing over a donation to BCB Assistant Secretary Ameer Rahaman, and Damodar Dasrat are the latest BCB donors

will play each other for the Arjune Nandu Challenge Cup. Singh, the former RHTY&SC and Port Mourant opener, is also on board with sponsorship for a one-day, four-team tournament at the Kennard Memorial Ground.

The winner of the tournament will carry home a financial prize and the Mankarran Singh Trophy.

The four competing teams are Ramnarine Memorial, Kildonan, No 43 and Kennard Memorial.

Both Nandu and Singh stated that they were delighted to support Berbice cricket as it was on the move.

For his part, former National Captain Dasrat positively responded to a request from BCB President Hilbert Foster for a donation of a laptop. The laptop will be used by Public Relations Officer Simon Naidu to issue press releases and assist in the publications of magazines, educational materials, etc. Dasrat, a former Berbice Captain who had

the distinction of dismissing Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar during his career, was a useful medium pacer and solid middleorder batsman. He now resides in Canada, and stated that he was delighted to give back to the BCB as it had played a major role in his development as a cricketer.

Meanwhile, Ali, the proprietor of Ashiek Motor Spares of No 2 Village, Canje, donated $50,000 towards obtaining inter-county caps for the Berbice Under-15, Under-17, Under-19 and female cricket teams. The BCB, in 2008 under the presidency of Keith Foster, introduced the Berbice Cap System, which continues to date.

Ali, a former executive of the Young Warriors Cricket Club, stated that he was a keen follower of Berbice cricket and always wanted to come on board as a sponsor. The Berbice Cap System, he noted, was a good way of making sure that players have memories of being a Berbice player.

22

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021

Phil’s top priority: “Don't want to get into playoffs anymore” for World Cup W

est Indies Coach Phil Simmons is clear that he does not want West Indies to go through the qualifier route for the 2023 World Cup, like they had to the last time, and wants to start strongly in Bangladesh to avoid that eventuality.

"It is mighty important [to get a good start], because you have to catch up in the series," Simmons said of the fallout of starting poorly in Dhaka on Sunday. "We don't want to get into the playoffs anymore. To catch up in the series is going to be really hard, so we need to start well."

West Indies had to play the World Cup qualifier in 2018 after failing to secure direct entry into the tournament, and then went through along with Afghanistan after they finished in the top two – with Afghanistan winning the qualifiers – in Zimbabwe.

The three-One-Day-International (ODI) series in Dhaka from later in the week will be the first engagement for either side in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Super League. Where the participating teams finish in the league will determine who qualifies directly for the 2023 World Cup – the top seven teams and hosts India would be certain participants – and who must go through the playoffs, to be held

West Indies Head Coach Phil Simmons

in Zimbabwe again.

West Indies have already missed playing ODI series against New Zealand and Netherlands be-

Pollard hits century in Red Force practice match

cause of the COVID-19 pandemic, making the ODIs in Bangladesh vitally important. Their first match in Bangladesh is being held today, when they play an intra-squad one-day game in Savar, near Dhaka. "[I want to see] the guys put in place what we have been practising –- how we score runs, how we set fields and how we bowl to those fields," Simmons said of his expectations. "These are the little things we will try to implement in the main game. So we will try to do them tomorrow too.

"We are close enough [to finalising the XI], but the practice game will be the best indicator. It will give us the notice that we need, [and] give us the idea what the players bring to the table in a game situation. So tomorrow is the final straw."

Having reached Dhaka only last Sunday, Simmons, however, emphasised that the team could have done with more training, like they had on their tour of New Zealand last November.

"It is never enough for me," he said. "I think that I would have liked the sort of time we had in New Zealand – but this is what we have, and we try to fit in as much as we can in that period."

(ESPN cricinfo)

NBA: Kevin Durant and debutant James Harden star in Brooklyn Nets win K evin Durant and debutant James Harden starred as the Brooklyn Nets claimed their third consecutive win with a 122-115 victory over the Orlando Magic.

Durant scored a season-high 42 points to set a new franchise record of at least 25 points in nine straight matches. Harden, who joined from the Houston Rockets this week, added a 32-point triple-double in his first appearance.

However, Kyrie Irving was missing for a sixth game for personal reasons. Irving was fined US$50,000 by the NBA on Friday after attending a crowded indoor party without wearing a mask.

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Kieron Pollard is entering the Super50 in good form

W

est Indies white-ball Captain Kieron Pollard hit a hundred to lead the Pollard XI to a comfortable three-wicket win over a Cariah XI on Friday at the Queen's Park Oval, Port-of-Spain in another Trinidad and Tobago Red Force practice match.

Chasing 275 for victory, the Pollard XI were in a dicey position at 64-4, as Terrence Hinds (2-39) and Mark Deyal (3-43) tore through the top order.

However, Pollard and Denesh Ramdin (44) put on 162 for the fifth wicket.

Pollard hit 12 sixes and four boundaries in his 65-ball knock of 113 to haul his team back into the contest.

Khary Pierre (29 not out) and Bryan Charles (18 not out) put together an unbroken 40-run stand for the eighth wicket to clinch victory for the Pollard XI. Earlier, the Cariah XI looked as they would canter to victory when they posted 274-1 in their fifty overs.

Jeremy Solozano (55) was the only man out after a 111-run partnership with Isaiah Rajah. Rajah went on to score 110 off 138 balls and put on an unbroken 163-run partnership with Tion Webster (81 not out). Webster had opened the innings with Solozano, but left the field temporarily with the score at 5-0.

He resumed his innings after the loss of Solozano. The T&T Red Force 15man squad for the CG Insurance Regional 50-over Cup was named on Friday. The tournament runs February 7-27 in Antigua and Barbuda.

Summarised scores: Cariah XI 274-1 in 50.0 overs (Rajah 110 not out, Webster 81 not out, Solozano 55; Charles 1-49) vs Pollard XI 277-7 43.5 overs (Pollard 113, Lewis 45, Ramdin 44; Deyal 3-43, Cariah 2-24, Hinds 2-39). Pollard XI won by three wickets.

T&T squad for CG Insurance Super50 Cup: Kieron Pollard (Captain); Darren Bravo (Vice Captain); Evin Lewis; Lendl Simmons; Jason Mohammed; Nicholas Pooran; Sunil Narine; Denesh Ramdin; Imran Khan; Akeal Hosein; Ravi Rampaul; Jadon Seales; Kjorn Ottley; Anderson Phillip, and Khary Pierre. (LoopTT)

Harden moved to the Nets from Houston as part of an initial threeteam deal involving the Cleveland Cavaliers. That became a four-team deal on Saturday when further moves involving the Indiana Pacers were officially announced.

Nets guard Caris LeVert – originally announced by the Nets as moving to Houston – has now joined the Pacers, who have sent two-time All-Star Victor Oladipo to Houston.

However, Indiana say LeVert will be sidelined indefinitely after a small mass was found on his left kidney during a medical examination.

The outfit said their new signing will have further tests.

Elsewhere, DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points as the San Antonio Spurs secured a 103-91 home win over the Houston Rockets. The Detroit Pistons earned their first away win of the campaign with a 120-100 victory over the Miami Heat, as Jerami Grant scored 29 points.

Norman Powell made six three-pointers as the Toronto Raptors beat the Charlotte Hornets 116-113, while Ja Morant returned from an eight-game absence to score 17 points as the Memphis Grizzlies edged past the Philadelphia 76ers 106-104.

Damian Lillard sunk 36 points as the Portland Trail Blazers overcame the Atlanta Hawks 112-106. (BBC Sport)

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GUYANATIMESGY.COM

23

A fall from grace: Jaguars Super50 timeline since last championship win Guyana team played three matches – lost two and had one win. Sarwan made 64 runs while Richard Ramdeen made 60 runs.

In only three matches, the leg-spinner Bishoo claimed 10 wickets while Esuan Crandon had five scalps.

By Brandon Corlette

I

t has certainly been a fall from grace for the Guyana Jaguars in the Super50 format since that famous KFC championship win in 2005 at Bourda. As the next Super50 looms, the Jaguars will be aiming to capture the title and rewrite the history books.

2012-13 season

Things went downhill for the Guyanese men in the 2012-13 season, recording four defeats and two wins. Leon Johnson made 204 runs in six matches while Trevon Griffith had 152 runs. Ronsford Beaton claimed nine wickets while Bishoo and Paul Wintz had eight wickets each.

KFC Cup 2005

It took the brilliance of a left-handed Berbician to lead the Jaguars to that 50over title. It was Sewnarine Chattergoon who made a career-defining 119 as Guyana chased down 247 for victory against Barbados at a packed Bourda. The men from Guyana recorded six wins in that tournament and one tie.

Ramnaresh Sarwan was the leading run-scorer for the side, hitting 462 runs, including three hundreds and two fifties, in six innings. Sarwan's aggregate remains the highest for a Guyanese batsman since that championship win. The man who landed Guyana the title in 2005 – Chattergoon – scored 325 runs in the season.

Mahendra Nagamootoo claimed 12 wickets in the tournament while Neil McGarrell had 11 victims.

KFC Cup 2006

The Guyana team did not defend their title the following season; they suffered four defeats and recorded only two wins. Narasingh Deonarine scored 217 runs and Royston Crandon had 196 runs in a poor follow-up season. Nagamootoo and a young Veerasammy

Nagico 2014-15 Super50

It was a similar story for the Guyanese team with three wins and two defeats. This time the Guyanese team lost in the final against Trinidad and Tobago when they were bowled out for 65. That was the year the magician, Sunil Narine did the dam-

Leon Johnson is eager to win a Super50 championship

A

2018 season

Carlos

Brathwaite-

and recording four wins in the 2019 Super50 Cup, Jaguars went two steps

Ramnaresh Sarwan was prolific in the 2005 season, scoring 462 runs

ing 150 runs while Travis Dowlin made 146 runs.

Current Captain Leon Johnson played two matches that season. McGarrell and Royston Crandon claimed six wickets each in that ordinary season.

President's Cup 2009-2010

Entered the President's Cup. It was the end of the KFC Cup and in the 200910 season of the Region's 50-over competition, many Guyanese thought this was

The Guyana Jaguars have looked strong on paper over the years

Jaguars finished second in 2018 against CCC

Permaul had eight wickets each, while Esuan Crandon, the current Head Coach of the Jaguars, had six wickets.

KFC Cup 2007-2008

In the four matches played in this season, Guyana recorded two wins and two defeats.

Chattergoon made the most runs for the team, scor-

the year when the Guyana team would have their hands on the championship.

Guyana won three matches in the tournament, but they lost the final to arch-rivals Trinidad and Tobago. It was young Darren Bravo and Kieron Pollard this time who kept the Guyanese team without a Super50 title. In that sea-

son, Deonarine scored 186 runs while Sarwan made 170 runs. Royston Crandon had nine wickets and a young Devendra Bishoo claimed eight wickets in that heart-breaking tournament.

2010-11 season

It was a year when the title was shared by Leeward Islands and Barbados. The

age and Jason Mohammed, the current West Indies ODI Captain, scored a century in the final.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul scored 154 runs in that season, including an unbeaten 98 in the semi-final while Raymon Reifer made 115 runs. Permaul had a haul of 11 wickets in that season while Bishoo claimed nine.

2016-17 season

Four defeats and four wins. That was the score for Jaguars in yet another title-less season. Johnson was the man with the bat, scoring 243 runs while Assad Fudadin had 237 runs. Reifer had 16 wickets while Beaton (14) and Permaul (12) also had good returns.

led Combined Campus and Colleges (CCC) took a six-wicket win over the Jaguars in the final. It was an almost perfect season for the Jaguars, with the side recording five wins and that final defeat. The valued franchise player Reifer led the batting charts with 323 runs while Christopher Barnwell had 282 runs.

Griffith also scored 235 runs in that season.

The then red-hot Clinton Pestano had 15 wickets in the tournament while the Jamaican Ramaal Lewis had 13 wickets. Romario Shepherd and Permaul took 10 wickets each.

2019 season

Suffering four defeats

back, finishing with a similar number of wins and defeats as in the 2016-17 season. Barnwell was Mr Consistent, scoring 351 runs with the bat while a returning Jonathan Foo made 334 runs. Permaul (11); Reifer and Lewis (10) were among the wickets for the Jaguars.

2021 season?

Owing to the global pandemic, no Super50 tournament was played in 2020.

However, the tournament will be played in 2021, and the Guyana Jaguars will be aiming to move one step closer to that title as the team did back in 2005. The 2021 Super50 squad is expected to be named shortly.

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021

Team Guyana in 2011

Powell to lead Jamaica Scorpions in Super50 — King, Allen, Cottrell, Thomas among big names Page 21

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

A fall from grace: Jaguars Super50 timeline since last championship Page 23 win Page 22

Phil’s top priority: "Don't want to get into playoffs anymore" for World Cup

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