Guyana Times - Sunday March 28, 2021

Nationwide coverage coverage from from the the best best news news team team in in Guyana Guyana Nationwide Issue No. 4601 guyanatimesgy.com

THE BEACON BEACON OF OF TRUTH TRUTH THE

SUNDAY, MARCH 28, 2021

Recommit to life’s more positive values - President to Guyanese Page 3

…urges restraint in Phagwah festivities amid COVID-19 pandemic

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

65 new COVID-19 cases recorded across 6 regions …423 new cases, 10 deaths in 1 week P29

Restrictions on cargo trucks still stand at DHB P36 …as damaged Retractor Span 9 is partially repaired

14-year-old raped by P31 security guard Former GPL Metering Manager new Harbour Bridge GM P38 Members of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha at the Shri Krishna Mandir, Campbellville during the Holika Dahan satsangh and burning of Holika on Saturday evening as the Hindu community ushers in the festival of colours (Dexter Ceres photos)

Oil and gas exploration

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Guyana among countries that will drive worldwide drilling

Motorcyclist 46.5MW power plant dies instantly set for June after slamming 30 completion into back Page 32

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…hindered by bad weather, of minibus COVID-19 pandemic — “He did not deserve to go out like this”- cousin

Phagwah – a festival that breaks barriers Page 19

File Photo

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$300M Region 8 Police Divisional Headquarters to be completed P30 soon

“Make your mind strong, you will soon lose your child” – mother says she was told P40

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SUNDAY, MARCH 28, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS

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

Sunday, March 28 – 04:00h – 05:30h and Monday, March 29 – 04:30h – 06:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Sunday, March 28 – 16:10h – 17:40h and Monday, March 29 – 16:40h

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

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Recommit to life’s more positive values – President to Guyanese …urges restraint in Phagwah festivities amid COVID-19 pandemic

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resident Dr Irfaan Ali struck an optimistic note on Saturday in his Phagwah Day message urging the population to continue showing restraint and discipline in their celebration of the holiday amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his statement extending greetings to Guyanese on the occasion of the holiday, the President reminded that Phagwah is usually celebrated by all ethnic groups.

However, he implored the population to be cognisant of the COVID-19 pandemic and to temper their celebrations in favour of a return to public celebrations next year.

“This year’s observances have had to be moderated on account of the coronavirus pandemic. However, the spiritual significance of this resplendent festival remains undiminished. As we celebrate Holi, let us continue to exercise the discipline and restraint which are imperative at this time to overcome the pandemic.”

“The vaccination campaign which we have launched will help to protect our people and, eventually, allow us to exit this pandemic. Of that, we can be sure! We can be confident that by next year we shall be able to return to the exuberant public celebrations traditionally associated with this most splendid and glorious festival,” President Ali said in his statement.

Ali also spoke of the significance of the celebration.

He recalled that Phagwah reminds all of the impermanence of life and its different seasons. The President took the opportunity to remind all to recommit to life’s more positive values.

“This is one of the coun-

President Irfaan Ali, First Lady Arya Ali and their son, Zayd covered in colourful powder as they usher in Phagwah 2021

try’s most colourful and cheerful festivals. It is enjoyed by persons of all ethnic persuasions and marked by public outpourings of fun, joy and happiness. Phagwah reminds us that our lives are like the seasons – subject to fortune, uncertainty and vicissitudes – but that renewal and rebirth follows every unwelcome circumstance.”

“Phagwah is a celebration of rebirth. It commemorates the regeneration of the land.

Also known as Holi, Phagwah is a time to renew our relations with and to reconcile with friends and family. The festival provides an opportunity to recommit to the values of love, friendship, empathy and sharing,” the President said.

Since Guyana’s first encounter with COVID last year, successive Governments have tried to restrict social activities that could help spread the virus. Guyana started its vaccination campaign in February with frontline health workers and then extended to persons 60 years and over.

Over 25,000 persons in Guyana have been vaccinated to date. However, with Government aiming to vaccinate 10,000 persons daily, additional vaccines will be needed. Initially, Guyana was slated to receive 100,800 vaccines in its first collection

from COVAX – a body of organisations including the World Health Organisation (WHO) that was established to ensure there is equal access to and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

But Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony recently disclosed that COVAX has significantly reduced that figure to now 24,000 doses for several countries in the region including Guyana. However, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) has

said that the remainder of the initial 100,000-plus vaccines will arrive here in May. Last week, the President had said they also reached out to the manufacturers of AstraZeneca in India but hit a stumbling block there as well. However, he had indicated that Guyana is looking at another India-manufactured COVID-19 jab – COVAXIN, which was the vaccine taken by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

It was reported that Guyana is looking to obtain some 400,000 doses of the COVAXIN, which has an 81 per cent efficacy. Additionally, the President had announced on Friday that the country is buying some 200,000 doses of the Russian manufactured Sputnik V vaccines to the tune of a whopping US$4 million.

The Health Minister has said that herd immunity, which is when enough people are immune to the virus that it is no longer a threat, will only be possible if at least 80 per cent of the population is vaccinated. (G3)

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Views Editor: Tusika Martin News Hotline: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544 223-7230,223-7231,231-0544, 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

Holi for nation-building

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t Independence, many bemoaned that we were given the paraphernalia and symbols of a state, but had not acquired the bonds of being a nation. It is felt that our subsequent imbroglios in the following 54 years - including the one in which we are presently enmeshed - are the consequence of this lacuna. How is this to be done? In 1983, Benedict Anderson offered, in his seminal book, “Imagined Communities”, a definition of what it takes to be a “nation”.

He saw “the nation” as an “imagined political community that is imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign”.

The nation is: Imagined because “members…will never know most of their fellow members…yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion.”

The nation is thus a socially constructed community, imagined by the people who perceive themselves as part of that group. This social construction is achieved through any number of discursive mechanisms, such as the media, which usually targets a mass audience or generalises and addresses citizens as the “public”. Unfortunately, much of our media is partisan and divisive. Public holidays are another device to create the togetherness envisage by “nation”. As the name implies, the “public” holiday offers the entire nation a day off from work or school, and the opportunity to both think about the event being celebrated or commemorated at the same time, if not the same space.

It is in this spirit that Phagua was included in the list of national Holidays. On Dec 12, 1962, with independence promised by the British following the 1961 elections, the PPP, then in charge of internal self-government, tabled a resolution in the National Assembly stating “that this Legislative Assembly recommends that a committee be set up to recommend significant and suitable national holidays for an independent Guyana.” Early in 1963, the committee was constituted to consult religious organisations on the holiday structure. Forbes Burnham offered a succinct rationale for the change in the Public Holiday calendar: “One of the difficulties in our community is that we have Christians living side by side with Muslims, and Hindus living side by side with Christians, and none of those three understanding even some of the basic tenets of the other two…I believe that if we were able to share the holidays, we at least would be invited to attempt to learn each other’s point of view, creeds, beliefs and attitudes, and that further education and information will undoubtedly lead to a greater understanding and bring closer to us the day when we have a Guyanese nation, as distinct from a country with a number of different people.”

After agitations, submissions and deliberations, several Hindu and Muslim festivals were recommended. Three from the former, including Holi, and two from the latter were recommended by 1964. The PPP, however, was removed from office at the end of that year, and after a hiatus of more than two years, in 1967, the new PNC regime was prompted to revive the proposals and legislated recognition to Holi and Divali as Public Holidays.

The 1967 legislation offered the rationale: “A driving force behind the changes made in the holiday structure was the facilitation of people of different persuasions to participate in the rich heritage that the diversity in the Guyanese culture provided. It was accepted then that one of the ways to achieve such participation was to grant religious holidays to Christians, Hindus and Muslims. At the same time, this perspective would have enabled the removal of those holidays that had no significance for the Guyanese heritage.”

From this standpoint of bringing all the various peoples in our multicultural nation together, no other festival does this like Holi. In the more than fifty years since it became a Public Holiday, Holi has been embraced by the widest possible cross-section of Guyanese. If life is all about happiness, then Holi is the festival that brings out this more than anything else in Guyana.

Happy Holi!

Messages Be motivated by what Phagwah signifies – PPP

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he People’s Progressive Party (PPP) takes this opportunity to extend greetings to all Guyanese, especially our brothers and sisters of the Hindu communities, here and in the Diaspora, on the occasion of Phagwah or Holi.

This joyous occasion has become a truly national festival that Guyanese from all spheres of society look forward to and participate in. Like our other national observances, Phagwah encourages the coming together of our people in the various events that are associated with it. Heralding the season of spring, the kaleidoscope of colours epitomises our nation’s rich diversity, in a demonstration of a vibrant fusion.

Unfortunately, the usual vibrant celebrations across our dear land will be curtailed this year due to the

COVID-19 pandemic. Our Party urges that all necessary precautions are taken, including wearing of masks, social distancing and compliance with guidelines issued by the COVID-19 Task Force. This is of utmost importance, even as the COVID vaccination programme is being rolled out across the country.

Further, the People’s Progressive Party urges that we be inspired by the

significance of Phagwah, through its pertinent messages which speak to, in general, the triumph of good over evil. This message becomes even more relevant on reflection of how our country and people navigated and overcame the various challenges faced within the past year.

Let us be motivated by what this colourful festival signifies and be emboldened in hope that, through resoluteness in the face of adversity and despondency, the messages of Phagwah speaks to truth inevitably prevailing.

As Guyanese mark the occasion, our Party once again extends best wishes and urges caution, tolerance and respect in the celebrations.

Shubh Holi to all!

People’s Progressive Party

Phagwah: a demonstration of vibrant intertwining of Guyana’s rich diversity – ERC

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he Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) takes this opportunity to extend to all Guyanese, especially our Hindu brothers and sisters, greetings on the occasion of Phagwah or Holi; a national holiday. Over time, this event has transcended religious boundaries to become a truly and much anticipated national festival. It is one that serves to bring Guyanese from all walks of life together as is evident by the sense of fun and frolic that have become its hallmark.

However, this year’s observances are hampered by COVID-19 and the Commission urges all to celebrate with restraint, but internalise its significance. Significant is its underlying messages of the triumph of good over evil as exemplified by the story of Prahalad and which continues to be an inspiration for the advancement of hu-

manity.

Characteristic of this joyous occasion is the plethora of colours that mix and engulf the landscape. That not only signifies the advent of spring and the blooming of flowers, but in the context of our dear nation, a demonstration of the vibrant intertwining of our rich diversity that creates that enviable and beautiful kaleidoscope that defines who we are as a people.

It is a reflection of what can be

achieved from a combination of efforts as we endeavour together for the realisation of our national motto. It is also demonstrative of how as a nation we embrace our cultural diversity. That, therefore, offers pertinent lessons for us all and an impetus for increased and sustained efforts to build upon our strengths and improve on weaknesses. It allows for the enhancement of our capacity to overcome inherent challenges to foster togetherness.

The Commission also takes this opportunity to urge utmost respect for the occasion and for it to be observed and celebrated as advised by the authorities. Phagwah also marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year; it, therefore, offers us all that opportunity to take stock in gauging our strengths and weaknesses and for the imbuing of a sense of renewal of our well-intended endeavours.

Phagwah 2021 comes as Guyana celebrates anniversary of defeat of anti-democratic forces – GAWU

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he Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) joins with the Hindu community and indeed all other Guyanese in celebrating this year’s Festival of Holi.

Though it has its roots in the Hindu community, this festival is generally recognised as an integral part of our Guyanese social and cultural history and Holi has evolved into a truly national celebration.

Holi, popularly known as Phagwah, is now embraced by numerous sections of the population and is yet another expression of our diversity. GAWU sees the togetherness in joyous colourful

celebration on this occasion as an example of the need to forge common efforts to bring about and ensure the well-being, peace of mind and steady enhancement of the prosperity of our people. The spirit of celebration is well manifested on this occasion and is testimony to the good prospects we have to strengthen our nation and overcome divisiveness.

GAWU realises that the messages of unity, goodwill and optimism exchanged during such festivals as Christmas, Mashramani, Eid and Phagwah are positive contributions to instil hope and productive relationships between our

people and build strong foundations for our future generations. In this regard, we feel that discriminating practices, whatever their form and a callous attitude to sections of the population will not serve to promote a national environment of trust, confidence and genuine togetherness so vital to peace and a healthy economy.

It is appropriate to recall the narrative linked to Phagwah which speaks of the defeat of intrigues and the triumph of a just cause. Indeed, as we take such sentiments into account, the GAWU cannot ignore that Phagwah 2021 comes as we celebrate the

one-year anniversary of the defeat of the anti-democratic forces in our society. The festival of Holi teaches that the overcoming of adversity and difficulty even in the face of daunting challenges is possible. Such teachings, undoubtedly, are instructive at this time of national anxiety.

May the understanding associated with festivals like Holi lead to a united and better country where our people of different faiths will take pride in our progress and developments, knowing that a secure future is the aspiration we all cherish.

Happy Holi 2021 from GAWU!

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Messages

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Phagwah is embraced by Phagwah: a celebration Guyanese and is unifying – GHDS of social cohesion – PNC

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s the world celebrates Phagwah, I extend fraternal and joyous greetings to all of Guyana on this lovely occasion. The Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha reminds all of the powerful and unifying messages enshrined in this ancient and lovely festival on the Hindu calendar which resonate with all people; the triumph of good over evil and removal of all negativities and vices, equality and brotherhood, the promotion of love and unity.

The word “Phagwah” is derived from the Hindu month, Phalgun. Its synonym, Holi, comes from the Sanskrit word “hola” meaning grains, reminding us of the festival’s linkage to agriculture and a bountiful harvest. It also heralds the advent of Spring and the Hindu New Year.

Phagwah or Holi is the festival that reminds us emphatically of the love we should share with all. Smearing colours representing the blooms of Spring on each other effectively erases differences and epitomises the message that the world is one family. The very act of smearing each other with these vivid colours effectually removes barriers and differences and sends visible signs that hatred and enmity must never win over love and unity.

Phagwah is embraced by Guyanese and is a unifying and inclusive festival that encourages people of all walks of

Prince Prahalad did. Holika Dahan epitomises the triumph of good over evil within and without. It reminds us all to stand strong against adharma (unrighteousness) and embrace the power of prayers.

As Prahalad did, let us always fight against injustice and unrighteousness so that all people can prosper in love, peace and unity. Every mandir must ensure that their Holika Dahan satsangh reverberates with prayers and chants and that upon the burning of File photo Holika that the melodies of life to participate and celebrate in tospring reverberate in the air. getherness. Over the years, in our beau- Chowtaal, ulaara, jati and dhamar will tiful land of Guyana, people of all walks remind us of the advent of spring. of life, ethnicity and faith have engaged You are invited to join the Guyana in playing Phagwah, and the world has Hindu Dharmic Sabha at the Shri admired our togetherness. Let that spir- Krishna Mandir, Campbellville for it always prevail in our country to forge Holika Dahan satsangh and burning of national fraternity, cutting across every Holika at 06:30 pm on Saturday, March divide to remind us that our destinies 27. are intertwined and that our common On Phagwah Day, attend your vargoal is the good of our country. ious mandirs for special Phagwah or Spiritually, Phagwah advocates im- Holi satsangh, pray, sing and colour plicit faith in God and urges the as- each other affectionately with abrack pirant to embody divine and positive and abeer spreading love and hope. qualities which will bring them closer Join the Guyana Hindu Dharmic to God. The festival also espouses opti- Sabha on Phagwah morning at the mism and a strong sense of confidence Rama Krishna Dharmic Mandir, Barr in Bhagwan Krishna to alleviate all ad- Street, Kitty, for special Holi satsangh. versity in our lives.

As you observe Phagwah under the I urge the Hindu community to at- COVID-19 pandemic environment, I entend their mandirs for satsangh and courage you to celebrate safely and in the burning of Holika, and to have deep adherence to the COVID-19 guidelines. and unflinching faith in Bhagwan as Holi ke Shubh Kaamnaye to all!

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he People’s National Congress Reform extends greetings to all Hindu devotees and to Guyanese citizens everywhere on the occasion of the joyous festival of Phagwah.

Phagwah is an ancient observance that still has sacred and secular significance in present-day Guyana and is enjoyed by everyone.

Its sacred significance has been related through the ages by the stories of the trials and triumph of Prahalad which remind us, today, of the virtue of a steadfast belief in God and the eventual triumph of good over evil.

Phagwah’s secular significance rests in celebrating the regeneration of nature, the fer-

tility of the land and the bountiful harvest which it provides to mankind.

Phagwah’s social and cultural significance can be seen in the way that it has broken down the barriers of separation, suspicion and insecurity in society. It is a festival of social cohesion that enriches the country’s multicultural character.

The People’s National Congress Reform, on this happy occasion, greets all Guyanese – regardless of their race, religion, region of residence, social rank, political persuasion or wealth – to eschew hatred and to contribute to the common good by strengthening social cohesion.

Happy Phagwah!

PPP/C’s commendable management of COVID-19 Dear Editor, I quote from the BBC: “COVID-19 has shaken the world, with more than 2.5 million deaths and 115 million cases confirmed.” As can be noticed, the effect of COVID-19 is massive and global. In this regard, Guyana has done very well in stymieing any colossal spread of COVID-19, and my attempt here is to proffer a reason for this commendable management of COVID-19 over

all that is in the areas of the healthcare workers, victims and procurement/distribution of vaccines.

Dear Editor, many studies are ongoing and many conclusions/ suggestions are emanating. However, one dominant theme is the “Role of Leadership” in containing and responding to COVID-19.

It is here where Guyana has excelled and is excelling under the leadership of Dr Irfaan

Ali and his PPP/C (People’s Progressive Party/Civic) Government. One major characteristic of this leadership is the consistent and prompt public dispensing of relevant information (apart from contingency operations involving financing, quarantining and offering of relief food measures).

In this vein, I make reference to the timely announcement from President Ali that “Early in the new week, the

vaccination programme will be expanded to all persons 40 years and older”. This, of course, follows on the heels of the ‘60 years and older’ vaccination campaign which targeted Guyana’s most vulnerable age group.

I hope that this kind of organised approach will not be taken for granted. I note that the president detailed that his “…aggressive expansion of the (COVID-19) programme…” re-

Institutionalisation of Phagwah in America Dear Editor, The spirit of Phagwah has traversed a great distance from India where it originated to the Indian diaspora globally including Guyana where it is a holiday.

Phagwa has been transplanted in New York over the last three decades and is now being celebrated in Florida, New Jersey, Bronx, Ft. Lauderdale, and Toronto, among other North American cities with great enthusiasm.

The vibrancy of the festival is cherished by Indo-Caribbean everywhere (and also enjoyed by others) and hence its public observance in places alien to Indo Guyanese Hindu culture. A phagwah parade Culminating with a large gathering is the star attraction of the festivities. The parade and celebration associated with Phagwah are institutionalized in the psyche of the IndoCaribbean population with some people from other ethnic groups also partaking in the festivities in NY. People eager-

ly look forward for the festival which has been transplanted by Indian (Hindu) immigrants from Guyana, Trinidad and Surinam and has become an institution in the Richmond Hill community, Bronx, Jersey City and elsewhere. Without a parade, there is no Phagwah celebration because there would be no public avenue to celebrate the joyous festival known for its vibrancy of colors. The parade has gained recognition in Queens and Bronx, elsewhere if not in the wider city with politicians offering assistance to help pull it off; mainstream media report on it. Politicians and community leaders march in it. And the police provide guidance and protection for the marchers.

Thus, congrats are in order for the conceivers, founders, planners and organizers of the annual parade which was initiated in 1990 by Kalicharran, Ramlalll, Dr Satish, Yashpal Soi, among others.

The parade has brought people together. Everyone who

played a role in starting the celebration should be recognized and applauded for his or her contributions never mind that they are divided and fail to see they are hurting the community through their division.

It is a great disappointment that the parade was not held last year and this year.

The festival was celebrated with fervour, zest and gusto among the several thousands who showed up for the parade annually for thirty years. Peoples’ clothing were dyed with hues of a spectrum of colours. Hugs and embraces were exchanged. Revelers thronged the streets and the park smearing faces with coloured powder and sprayed abeer to celebrate the festival of color and joy, which heralds the advent of spring. People hugged each other wishing “Happy Holi” as a dozen floats made their way with groups singing and dancing behind to the accompaniment of drums or loud chowtaal music.

The meaning of Phagwah is to bury differences and organizers have resolved conflicts to come together to plan the celebrations. Lord Krishna and Swami Dayanand preached that message. Unity would help in achieving a lot of goals and objectives for the Guyanese community whereas infighting would defeat the purpose of having organizations. With greater unity in the community on observing festivals, politicians would come forward to provide greater assistance to them. Let me take this opportunity to applaud the organizers of the parade for their hard work. I hope they will use their unity to help empower the community politically through the large number of people who celebrate the festival.

I, therefore, urge Guyanese community elders to work together to strengthen the community.

Yours truly Vishnu Bisram

sults from the fact that the Government has procured some 200,000 doses of vaccine, and currently is pursuing another 200,000 doses, “so as to be able to achieve herd immunity.”

Herd immunity, of course, is not the panacea, but when a community or a large part of the population of any area is immune to a specific disease, it helps like ‘big time.’ The overall effect of this approach is that when enough people are resistant to the cause of a disease, such as a virus or bacteria, and in this case COVID-19, then it has nowhere to go, even though not every single individual may be immune.

Added to this is that the President, I am sure after serious and professional consultation, informed the nation that “…a number of private sector agencies have been engaged to assist with the effort.” Readers need to realise that the COVID-19 pandemic is a global threat, and this entails that all be on board, especially those with even a bit of Medicare resource and expertise. I feel that this corporate approach will create a more acute awareness of the threat and repercussions of the disease.

And proof that this is not some kind of ad hoc knee jerk reaction from the PPP/C, I recall Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley gratefully saying how her “Government received 5000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine from Guyana…” and that she is expecting some 33,600 through the COVAX Facility soon.

This expectation is most forthcoming (for Barbados and Guyana) as “Guyana is (now well) set to receive its 33,600 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from the COVAX facility on Monday March 29th, thereby boosting the plans to begin vaccinating persons over 40 years old from Wednesday March 31.

Initially there were justified concerns about receiving the vaccines, as a period of silence was noted from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) COVAX facility on how much of the badly needed vaccines would be supplied to Guyana. Vigorous work then was enacted from the authorities here, and the PAHO/WHO website stated that indeed “…33,600 doses of the AstraZeneca jab are in transit to Guyana, and the shipment is expected on Monday.”

On a cordial note, I remind Guyanese that Mottley promised that the vaccines given to her country would be returned when necessary. Again, I commend the PPP/C Government; they have precluded selfishness and ostracisation. Ms. Mia Mottley was one of the champions who fought for Guyana’s salvaging of democracy.

On our part here as citizens, I hope we contribute to the fight to stave off the spread of the disease. We need to be COVID-19 conscious and adhere to the guidelines of using masks and observing strict hygiene and sanitation practices.

Yours truly, Attiya Baksh

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Fun and frolic… …in a COVID Holi?

For a festival that’s been around for thousands of years, Holi had to’ve survived all kinds of pandemics and pandemonium! Like invasions from the West by adventurers like Alexander, followed by the Persians, Moghuls and British etc, to the Huns from the East. The most recent depredations by the British, which precipitated famines that killed at least FIFTY MILLION, are the most horrifying; due, ironically, to their meticulous record- keeping. As late as 1943, some 3 million Bengalis died, not from drought, but from their grains being shipped out for the “war effort”.

But Holi came out unscathed.

In fact, Holi might’ve come out even stronger, since its message of “good overcoming evil” was probably the only thing that kept hope - even though not bodies! - alive. So, Holi will survive this COVID-19 pandemic of this second decade in this third millennium. But, just like human destructive elements like Churchill, natural disasters like this virus-transmitted killing machine need us poor slobs at the receiving end to do our part. Evil isn’t overcome on its lonesome!

So, today, on Holi 2021, let’s commemorate Holi sensibly.

We’ve all been reading, hearing and seeing the news: right this minute, both the rate of infection and the rate of dying are spiking from COVID-19. We know that the Government is doing its darndest to vaccinate, but with only India and China sparing the rest of the world a thought, the supply to vaccinate the 80% to give us “herd immunity” ain’t gonna be easy. Might take us the rest of the year. And even then, we can’t predict what mutating variants are forthcoming we just KNOW they are.

So, your Eyewitness hopes that last night, those of you who went to witness the burning of the Holika were wearing your masks and keeping your social distance. And when you were eating your roasted corn or coconuts, you kept away from the chanting crowd. And today, when you’re running around splashing water on folks in the morning hours, there’s absolutely no reason to take off your masks or get closer than the minimum 3 feet. Surely, dear reader, you can splash someone from that distance with your plastic bucket!?

And ditto in the afternoon, when you’ve changed into your cricketing whites to play with abeer and powder. And when offered those delectable, mouth-watering sweets, tell your friends, neighbours and families to put them in a bag for you to take home. Think of it like collecting sweets in a Guyanese version of “trick and treat” - “wet and treat”!

Phagwa, we know, has adapted itself to all sorts of contingencies…but it’s really us who have to adapt.

Remember we’ve got to survive to fight the good fight.

Happy Holi! …across the divides There’s a letter in the press insisting that we should “socialize and network across ethnic communities” if we’re to start pulling ourselves out of this mess we’re in. Makes sense to your Eyewitness. Much of our hostilities come from the negative stereotypes we’ve formed of each other.

And these stereotypes can be wiped out only if there’s more interaction between our warring tribes, to show that we ain’t that different from each other!

Well, today we have a MANDATE to publicly reach across communities and literally “interact”. Holi is a PUBLIC HOLIDAY that encourages us to participate in its traditions - which is to douse each other with water, abeer and powder, all in good fun. Your Eyewitness has observed, with delight, the increasing instances of “playing” Holi across communities. The Albuoystown community has been in the forefront of this phenomenon, which should be emulated across Guyana.

Let the joyous spirit and message of Holi ring through our land!! …NOT at CWI! We know “cricket isn’t just a game”, but lots of sparks will fly at today’s CWI AGM. Two factions are competing to lead it, and it doesn’t seem they’ve played the game that teaches teamwork!

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

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Phagwa: Speaking truth to power

By Ravi Dev

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recently participated in a virtual conference on Phagwa that involved academics, activists and the general public from India and most of the 18 or so countries to which Indentured labourers had been shipped from India between 1834 and 1917. Concerns were expressed by many about some of the changes that have crept into the celebration of the festival - also called Holi - both in India and in the Diaspora. For instance, one Trinidadian contributor feared that the festival could become just another bacchanalian carnival “wine-down”. Her presentation was titled “Cultural Appropriation, Secularization, Sacrilege, Desecration and Desacralization of Phagwa”. I would like to share a perspective on this concern.

Firstly, we have to accept that changes in any form of organised human activity is inevitable over the years. It is interesting that most persons from India see our customs as being fossilised in 19th century rural India, particularly from the Bhojpuri belt of Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Western Bihar, from where most of us Indians in the Caribbean originated.

But the perceived “problem” is partially semantic, because we are describing our activities originating from our Indian roots by using English words that come with their own connotations and history. We call Phagwa a “festival”, which in the West is a celebration of a usually (but not always) religious event. And here language already intercedes, since “religion” is a term to describe the organised and centralised Abrahamic institutions in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, which are quite at variance from Hindu Dharma”, which is more a “way of life”.

Carnival, for instance, as a western festival, is a celebratory one in the Caribbean, originally connected to Lent, a Christian occasion, but has become completely disjointed from its religious origins. Holi, on the other hand, actually is an “utsav” - an aspect of Hindu Dharma - with its own “Lakshanas”, or characteristics not all shared by festivals of western “religions”.

Utsavs are intended to performatively transmit selected values towards the general societal good of ensuring that truth prevails over untruth. And this, if you think about it, is the only way values can be actually transmitted: through action. “Do as I do, not as I say”, says the Hindu. The question to be asked, therefore, when we bemoan changes in the commemoration of Holi is “what is the value or values that are sought to be transmitted?”, and whether the changes bemoaned are helping or hindering that transmission?

Most Hindu festivals originated in antiquity, and were related to cycles of nature that brought the community together to commemorate the occasion; like, for instance, the beginning of harvest. Most of these commemorations became associated over time with stories that encapsulated particular values Dharmic leaders felt were needed to be transmitted.

The name itself, “Phagwa”, is derived from Phalgun, the lunar month that normally falls in March, and reminds us of the origin of the festival - towards the end of the harvesting season. The threshed stalks of rice or wheat would be burnt to celebrate the crops that delivered the life-sustaining grains.

The celebratory activity in the Braj Region of Uttar Pradesh was tied to that of the pure and innocent love between the children Radha and Krishna and the Gopis, whose love for the divine Krishna we should all try to emulate. In the Bhojpuri Belt, the associated “Dharmic” story is that of Prahalad and his father, King Hiranyakashipur. In South India, where some of our Indentured Indians originated, Holi is not even celebrated. Each story stresses specific values.

The story of Prahalad and his tyrannical father stresses the obligation to speak truth to power in the quest for good to triumph over evil. That the ruler was Prahalad’s father emphasises that no one should be allowed to run roughshod over others. We have a duty to stand up and be counted.

One participant from India in the Conference recounted that in her area, effigies of politicians and others who committed outrageous acts against society were burnt on Holi.

This goal of Dharma to create a harmonious society is not achieved spontaneously, but only through our concrete actions. Prahalad would have inherited the dictatorial powers accumulated by his father, but he stood up for truth, convinced others around him - including his fellow schoolchildren - and helped remove the tyrant.

Guyanese from all walks of life need to heed this lesson.

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oli, or Phagwah as it is commonly called, is an annual Hindu Festival of Colours celebrating the arrival of spring.

This festival was brought to Guyana by our East Indian fore-parents who first came to Guyana some 183 years ago.

Since these immigrants were the main labour force in the sugar industry which was the largest employer in the colony, the sugar estates gave Phagwah as a holiday to their employees The banks and most Government offices remained open but there was little activity and they usually closed early. After national independence, Phagwah was formally declared a public holiday.

Phagwah in Guyana is associated with the story of Prahlad’s faith against his evil aunt, Holika. The burning of Holika and the use of it for the playing of Holi is merely one account of the origin of Phagwah. However, there are other interpretations of Phagwah – the legend of Lord Krishna playfully applying colour to Radha is another account, there is also a celebration, with the beginning of spring being an instigating factor of the festival of Holi. The arrival of spring has been traditionally honoured in farming villages of India by using the brightly coloured blossoms to create powders used to celebrate the arrival of a new season.

Traditionally, Phagwah celebrations in Guyana consisted of dance, music, songs and colours. Families participated in the throwing of water in the morning, while the smearing of powder followed later in the day. Special foods are prepared, which often included the traditional “seven curry” and sweetmeats as Hindus observed their religious prayers and fasting.

However, contemporary Phagwah takes on the atmosphere of carnival. A variety of coloured powders is added to water to prepare the mixture that is applied to the others in such a way that they become unrecognisable Like many other holidays in Guyana, Phagwah has evolved, leaving behind some of the core aspects traditionally attached to the celebrations.

Phagwah is one of the many holidays in Guyana that are not limited to the religious festivities from which they initially emerged. The diversity of Guyanese society has a way of erasing

religious and cultural barriers, allowing persons of various religious backgrounds – a cross-section of ethnicities and different creeds – to integrate and participate in the celebration of traditions such as the Hindu festival of Holi. However, it is evolutions like these that often tamper with the rich, deep-rooted origin of cultural practices, often resulting in the deterioration or misinterpretation of the true significance and symbolism of these cultural practices.

The world is facing a difficult time dealing with the COVID 19 pandemic, for this year’s Phagwah holiday, set to be celebrated on Sunday, March 28, the Government of Guyana has imposed tight COVID-19 restrictions to prevent the further spread of the virus. All Phagwah events at the mandirs, chowtaal samelan and satsangh/services are permitted at a 40 per cent capacity. The Government is also encouraging mandirs to utilise their outdoor spaces if and where available.

Socially distanced gatherings for the burning of Holika are allowed, however, large Phagwah events involving hundreds or thousands of persons are strictly prohibited.

Gatherings on trucks, canters or other vehicles carrying alcohol are also not allowed.

The Ministry is encouraging persons to celebrate within their home circles and where social gatherings occur, persons are en-

couraged to wear masks at all times. Six feet social distancing is important in all activities according to the Health Ministry and frequent hand washing and sanitising should also be practised.

This is the first time Guyana and other countries around the world will be celebrating Phagwah under COVID-19 restrictions.

The Guyanese of Indian Ancestry Association wish the Guyanese population especially our Hindu brothers a blessed and peaceful Holi.

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ver the past years, Phagwah has become one of the most popular festivals not only in Guyana but also around the world. It is a time when Hindus put aside their differences and unite as one people to celebrate diversity.

In Guyana, there are no limits to the religious festivities and it is celebrated the same way as in India, a place where the festival originally emerged.

Phagwah, also known as Holi, the festival of colours, ushers in spring, the blossoming of love and for many it is a festive day for socialising, exchanging greetings and also repairing a broken relationship.

This festival signifies the triumph of good over evil.

On this day, Hindus traditionally wear white and indulge in dousing each other with water, abeer and various colours of powder.

In Essequibo, it is evident that many

The festival

One of the foundational principles of Hindusim is good only begets good and it is instilled in the minds of all Hindus from a young age. They are taught to do good deeds as a way of life. They are taught that one’s soul only attains Moksha (liberation in this life) through good karma (deeds). Around this time, we are quite often reminded about the consequences of good karma with the celebration of Holi - the festival of colours.

Holi, or Phagwah as we know it, is the Spring Festival celebrated on the last full moon day of the lunar month Phalguna (Phalguna Purnima), which usually falls in the latter part of February or March. There are several legends, depending on the area you are living in. However, the most common legend is the story of young Prahlad and his evil aunt Holika signifying the triumph of good over evil.

The legend

File photo

He said members of the Essequibo Praant will also be moving around to ensure that all the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 guidelines are observed.

Meanwhile, several temples along the Essequibo Coast were busy preparing their bonfire for the lighting of Holika.

Members said that only a few persons will be around to witness but they are hoping to also have it done virtually through Facebook feeds. Most mandir services are scheduled for 09:00 hours in the region after which persons would go home and spend the time indoors will families.

File photo: Members of the Hampton Court Mandir

persons of different religions and ethnic backgrounds partake in the celebration of Phagwah. The festival has proven to be one of the unifying ones in Guyana and in Essequibo, it is no different. It is a day where people put aside their racial prejudice and just partake.

This year, the celebration is somewhat different.

Regarding the continuing concerns in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony stated that it will be necessary to maintain restrictions towards the celebration.

Hindus will still be lucky to observe the festival but in a more conserved manner while adhering to all COVID-19 guidelines. In Essequibo, the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha temples will be involved in religious service, chowtaal signing and also the burning of Holika.

Mandirs are only allowed to have a 40 per cent capacity and mandir members are encouraged to utilise their outdoor spaces where available.

On the Essequibo Coast, many temples have already erected sinks and mask signs in observance of the festival.

Many temple leaders related that it is important that persons adhere to the COVID-19 guidelines in the dreaded pandemic.

Many families said that they prefer to be indoors and to spend the time preparing sumptuous meals and share around the villages.

“Virtual mela”

Pandit Kaydar Persaud also known as Pandit Prakash said that Hindus should celebrate the festival of colours while remembering the true significance of the “triumph of good over evil”.

“Since last year, the Hindu festivals are affected as a result of COVID protocols that were given rise to by the Minister of Health. Phagwah is celebrated with blossoming of love, the eternal and divine love of Radha and Krishna and also happiness and prosperity,” he said.

Persaud said that this year, the Essequibo Praant will be hosting a virtual mela and semi chowtaal samelans. He said that the mela will be aired on the local RCA channel and live on Facebook. The mela will feature dance performances and singers from the region.

The religious leader said the Sabha is very concerned about persons’ health and as such is encouraging small gatherings. He said that it is important that persons spend quality time with their families and stay together during the pandemic in the comfort of their homes.

There was once a demon king by the name of King Hiranyakashyapu who won over the Kingdom of Earth through years of prayers. He was the King of the demonic Asuras and according to the Bhagavata Purana, he was granted a boon (wish) that he could be killed by neither a human being nor an animal, neither indoors nor outdoors, neither at day nor at night, neither by astra (projectile weapons) nor by any shastra (handheld weapons), and neither on land nor in water or air.

After he received his boon, Hiranyakashyapu became so egoistical that he commanded everybody in his kingdom to worship only him. But to his great disappointment, his son, Prahlad, became an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu - the sustainer of the universe - and refused to worship his father.

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Essequibiansoptimisticabout Phagwah...

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Hiranyakashyapu tried several ways to kill his son Prahlad but Lord Vishnu saved him every time. Finally, he asked his sister, Holika, to enter a blazing fire with Prahlad in her lap. For Hiranyakashyapu knew that Holika had a boon, whereby, she could enter the fire unscathed.

Treacherously, Holika coaxed young Prahlad to sit in her lap and she herself took her seat in a blazing fire. The legend has it that Holika had to pay the price of her sinister desire with her life.

Holika was not aware that the boon worked only when she entered the fire alone.

Prahlad, who kept chanting the name of Lord Vishnu while in the fire with his aunt, came out unharmed, as the Lord blessed him for his extreme devotion. Thus, Holi derives its name from Holika. And is celebrated as a festival of victory of good over evil.

Holi is also celebrated as the triumph of a devotee. As the legend depicts that anybody, howsoever strong, cannot harm a true devotee and those who dare torture a true devotee of God shall be reduced to ashes.

After the fire destroyed the evil Holika, King Hiranyakashyapu became enraged and attempted to kill Prahlad himself. However, Vishnu, the God who appears as an avatar (form) to restore Dharma in Hindu beliefs, took the form of Narasimha - half human and half lion, at dusk (when it was neither day nor night), took Hiranyakashyapu at a doorstep (which was neither indoors

File photo: Members of the Golden Fleece Mandir playing Phagwah

nor outdoors), placed him on his lap (which was neither land, water nor air), and then eviscerated and killed the king with his lion claws (which were neither a handheld weapon nor a launched weapon).

Holika Dahan Holika Dahan or the burning of Holika will take place across

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Guyana on the night before the Phagwah celebrations. The festival of Holi gets its name from this very ritual of Holika Dahan.

The phrase Holika Dahan literally means burning Holika. The day when Holika is burnt is also known as Choti Holi or small Holi. The people create a bonfire on this day and celebrate the triumph of good over evil.

It is stated in the Vedas that one day before the Holikotsav, a sacred fire was burnt and specific mantras to ward off evil were recited during the burning ritual. The fire was burnt with the objective of destroying the demonic forces.

The sacred ash obtained from this fire ritual was known as the Bhumi Hari. This ash was smeared on the forehead of the person participating in the ritual to keep away evil spirits. To date, this ritual of offering food grains to the bonfire is followed.

The preparations of Holika Dahan start 40 days before the festival. People gather twigs, logs, dry leaves etc. Then on the night of Phalgun Purnima, the bonfire is set alight amidst chanting of the Rakshogana mantras which help to ward off evil spirits. The next morning the ashes of the fire are collected and smeared on the body before taking a bath.

The burning of Holika signifies the triumph of good over evil and that the bad forces around you can never win if you have a strong will. Holika represents the negative forces which get burnt against the strong will of human which is denoted by Prahlad.

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n Guyana, Phagwah is one of the festivals that brings everyone together.

It brings together Guyanese across all racial, religious and social backgrounds.

Traditionally, in Guyana, there are mass celebrations where hundreds of people gather to douse each other in water and apply colourful powder. However, COVID-19 has changed that and now gatherings are almost prohibited.

The festival of colours – even in a pandemic – is still breaking barriers and bringing people together.

You know Phagwah is around the cor-

the play. The wise wear old clothes, usually white, in anticipation of the mess!

Virtually anything goes.

Etiquette on Holi requires that one accept all overtures with an open heart, burying grievances to begin relationships afresh. People of all walks of life mingle and greet, applying vermilion on each other’s foreheads in an uninhibited exchange of goodwill.

Love, positive values and goodness are celebrated on Holi. Their triumphs over divisiveness and negative forc-

File photos

ner when you see brightly coloured powders for sale but nothing puts you in the mood more than hearing the distinctive voice of Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachan singing “Rang barse bheege chunar wali, rang barse”.

The song from the movie Silsila is synonymous with Phagwah celebrations in Guyana and even further afield.

Basically, translating to “colours are showering,” rang barse is perhaps the most well-known phagwah song among Guyanese despite their ethnic or religious background.

Phagwah is a community’s exuberant expression of joy to welcome the warmth of spring. In a reflection of nature’s abundance, Hindus celebrate with bursts of colour, camaraderie and shared abandon.

It begins on Purnima, full moon day, in the Hindu month of Phalguna (February/ March) and lasts for as long as 16 days.

On the day of Holi, people celebrate by playing, dancing and running in the streets. Water pistols are filled with coloured water and squirted on family, friends and strangers alike. Dye powders and water balloons are a big part of

es have been reinforced in legends, such as that of Holika and her brother Prahlad. The famous king Hiranyakashipu had earned a boon that made him virtually indestructible.

Blinded by this power, he thought he was God, the only being worthy of worship. His young son Prahlad was devoted to Lord Vishnu and refused to obey his father.

Infuriated, the king devised the cruellest punishments. In one attempt, Prahlad’s evil aunt Holika, who possessed the power to withstand fire, tricked him into climbing a burning pyre with her.

Prahlad’s love for true Divinity protected him from the flames. Holika burned while Prahlad lived. The bonfire of Holi is sym-

bolic of this victory of good over evil.

Coinciding with the advent of spring, the festival symbolises growth and fertility of the land for many Indians. Some Jains and Sikhs also partake in the festivities. The vibrant pigments used were traditionally made of ground vermillion, turmeric and neem, but synthetic pigments are common now.

Legend has it that Krishna noticed one day how much lighter Radha’s complexion was than His own. His mother playfully suggested that He smear Radha’s cheeks with colour to make Her look like Him, which Krishna did. The strong-willed Radha gleefully retaliated, and merry chaos ensued.

Another legend has it that Krishna celebrated this festival with His friends and

the gopis. They danced and frolicked, filling the air with colour in a joyous welcome of spring.

In keeping with the essence of Phagwah, Guyanese across the spectrum take the time out to enjoy this festival. It is a time when the motto “One People, One Nation, One Destiny” is truly lived. Despite differences throughout the year, Phagwah day is one that would see Guyanese smearing each other with colours or dousing with water as they all celebrate the triumph of good over evil.

Evidence of the ability of Phagwah to break the ethnic barriers can be seen at the different melas, street corners and even in the homes. It is truly a Guyanese thing to see non-Hindus preparing sweetmeats and having a ball of a time as Hindus would.

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ASSORTED SKIN AILMENTS

efore we focus on some miscellaneous skin disorders, allow me to mention an “aside”, within the context of ensuring that this column reflects more than “Pet Care”.

Rather, our objective is also to share interesting oddities in the animal kingdom.

The Guyana Times has a daily insert called “Ripley’s Believe It or Not”. Last week, on March 19th, there was a piece about Tapirs having multiple hooves. Let me share with you the following: A Tapir is a very interesting animal. It looks like a pig; Guyanese called it a “Bush Cow”; but in fact, even though it has multiple hooves on each foot, it is more associated with a horse.

Scientists have recognized that Tapirs have not changed much in over 50 million years. The Malayan Tapir is black and white, but the Amazon jungle Tapir is dark-brown/ black. There used to be a Wool Tapir in the highlands of Mexico, but this type might well be extinct by now.

Now comes, for me, the interesting part. Tapirs have been

found in Asia (Malaysia) and in (Central)/ South America – but nowhere else; not in Africa; not in Europe; not in North America. How basically the same animal is in Asia and South America, but nowhere else? What “migration bridge” did this animal use? Enough. Go figure. Oh, by the way, the Tapir is Guyana’s largest mammal.

Now, let us return to a few other (assorted) skin ailments afflicting our companion animals.

FLEA ALLERGY DERMATITIS (FAD)

Q: What is FAD? A: As the name suggests, FAD is an allergic reaction to fleas, or to be more exact, a reaction to flea saliva.

Fleas love dogs and cats. Unfortunately, it is not a symbiotic relationship. Cats and dogs hate fleas and begin to exhibit a skin rash when they acquire a flea burden. This much the scientists have established: It is the flea saliva to which some dogs and cats are allergic, and which causes the skin rash.

The hypersensitivity itself creates an itch/scratch reaction.

Interestingly, even after we have eliminated the flea infestation, the scratching continues; but it will subside within two weeks if there is no renewed flea reinfestation.

Q: Where does one look for the fleas?

A: The Fleas are mostly found crawling swiftly on the underbelly, the neck, around the area where the tail “joins” the body, and on the hind legs. By the way, fleas do not fly. They crawl and jump. Indeed, it has been calculated that if a flea had the size of an average adult man, it would be able to jump over the Empire State Building in New York.

Sometimes, it is difficult to see a black flea on a black cat or dog. I therefore advise owners (even before they bring the scratching animal to the Clinic) to place the dog or cat on an adequately sized piece of white paper, and then comb/brush the dog’s/ cat’s skin. Grains of sandy material can easily be seen on the paper; these are flea eggs and flea faeces.

Q: Treatment and Control?

A: You may find in textbooks and on internet searches that caregivers can kill the fleas by dusting the skin with insecticidal powders. I used to worry a lot in the past about recommending insecticidal powders, since – as the fleas try to escape the killing powder, they tend to burrow into the animal’s skin.

This produces a heightened itch/ scratch reaction. The animal begins to gnaw/ lick the sensitized area, and easily picks up the toxic insecticide, orally, therefore poisoning itself.

Nowadays, there are many products on the market which are relatively harmless, if ingested. However, do not attack the fleas with several flea-killing chemicals simultaneously. Only recently I had a client who used an anti-flea collar, together with an insecticide powder after having bathed the dog with an anti-tick/ flea shampoo. Such therapy is overkill. Please use insecticides under veterinary advice and supervision.

It must also be emphasized that it does not make much sense getting rid of the fleas from the animals, while leaving the surrounding environment (carpets, upholstery, cat/dog beds, etc.) untreated.

Q: How can the caregiver keep the environment (especially in the home) flea-free?

A: Under veterinary advice and supervision, one can: (i) use residue insecticides (the flea is an insect; the tick is not) that kill newly acquired (young) fleas, before they become mature and start to reproduce; (ii) keep repeating specific Insect Growth Regulators (IGRs) on the skin and on the premises; (iii) follow the vet’s advice relative to the choice of insecticide and the application methodology (oral, topical, injectable); (iv) utilize the services of a professional Pest Control company, which may introduce broadcast treatments (home sprays, “bombs”, etc.).

N.B. If skin lesions (scratch sores; raw inflamed skin with a secondary infection) emerge, supportive therapy with antibiotics/ anti-inflammatories may be introduced.

SEBORRHEA

Q: What is Seborrhea?

A: I am not sure that I should list Seborrhea as a disease.

There is a Primary Seborrhea, the cause of which is really unknown.

When I was practicing in Europe, an unusually high amount of Cocker and Springer Spaniels seem to be presented (at the Clinic) with a greasy skin, which was probably caused by an of skin oil (sebum). Emanating from the patient’s skin was a rancid, malodorous smell. My boss was convinced that this Primary Seborrhea (PS) stems from a hormonal (estrogen excess?) origin.

Q: What does Primary Seborrhea (PS) look like?

A: Q: What are the signs of a Secondary Seborrhea (SS)?

A: SS is not usually considered to be a disease in itself.

Instead, it is often associated with other genuine and specific ailments, for example, mange (mites).

Q: What is the treatment against Seborrhea?

A: Well, P.S. may not be easily curable, but the caregiver can manage the condition. I am a firm believer relative to the use of any shampoo containing Selenium. The frequency of shampoo baths would depend on the individual case. Once or twice a week could suffice. Leave the lather on the skin 1015 minutes, then rinse well. The vet will advise the caregiver, especially pertaining to any supportive use of antibiotics/ anti-fungal interventions. Cortisones may be also introduced.

Enjoy Your Phagwah and Easter Celebrations, while maintaining the valid COVID-19 precautionary and protective methods !

NEWS

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65 new COVID-19 cases recorded across 6 regions …423 new cases, 10 deaths in 1 week

Guyana is also expecting its first tranche from the COVAX facility next week.

Initially, Guyana was slated to receive 100,800 vaccines in its first collection from COVAX – a body of organisations including the World Health Organisation (WHO) that was established to ensure there is equal access to and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

However, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony disclosed on Monday that COVAX has significantly reduced that figure to now 24,000 doses for several

A

whopping 423 COVID-19 cases were recorded over the course of the week – 65 of which were detected on Saturday.

The statistics provided by the Health Ministry showed that new cases emerged from 665 swab samples that were sent for analysis. To date, there are 10,072 recorded confirmed cases in the country.

From the 5149 males and 4923 females that contracted the virus thus far, 8842 have completely recovered.

Guyana has managed to test 87,181 people since the virus was detected locally.

Apart from the 225 deaths, there are 13 patients in the designated Intensive Care Unit with 52 persons in institutional isolation, 992 in home isolation and 19 in institutional quarantine. Active cases have now surpassed 1000.

New cases A breakdown showed that new cases were recorded in six administrative regions; with three in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) seven in Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara), 45 in Region Four (DemeraraMahaica), two in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), six in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and two in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

The cases in Region One (Barima-Waini), Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), Region Eight (PotaroSiparuni) and Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) remain at 1028, 278, 246 and 440 respectively.

President Irfaan Ali on Friday disclosed that the

country is buying some 200,000 doses of the Russian manufactured Sputnik V vaccines to the tune of a whopping US$4 million. He explained that Guyana is paying US$20 per dose of the Russian vaccine. But according to the President, Government cannot put a price tag on the health of the citizenry.

“It’s very expensive but it is an expense that we can’t spare. The health of the population is very critical. This will call for some adjustments in the budget and so on, but, as I said we are not sparing any expenses on this. We are working on making the resources available to ensure every single Guyanese are vaccinated,” the Guyanese leader asserted.

In addition to the 200,000 Sputnik doses,

countries in the region including Guyana.

However, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) has said that the remainder of the initial 100,000-plus vaccines will arrive here in May. Unlike the massive bill for the Sputnik jabs, the COVAX batch will be given to Guyana free of cost.

To date, Guyana has received 3000 doses of AstraZeneca were from Barbados and another 80,000 doses of the same jab were from India. China also delivered 20,000 of

Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony

its locally manufactured Sinopharm vaccines.

The vaccination campaign started with frontline health workers and then extended to persons 60 years and older.

In the meanwhile, President Ali on Friday reassured that his Government will spare no expense in ensuring that its citizens are protected against the novel coronavirus. But in the same breath, he implored citizens to continues to adhere to the COVID-19 guidelines especially after getting vaccinated. (G12)

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$300M Region 8 Police Divisional Headquarters to be completed soon

T

he $300 million Regional Divisional Headquarters that is currently being constructed in Mahdia, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), is expected to be completed soon.

On Saturday Police officials said the new and modern station will serve as the divisional headquarters for the region.

The building houses, among other things, six spacious compartments, and will function as a multi-purpose one, housing various departments of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), including traffic and immigration.

According to the district’s Regional Commander, Senior Superintendent Michael Kingston, the area has been earmarked for a

regional hospital to be constructed next to the Police headquarters and an army base adjacent to the Police station.

Commander Kingston said the new building, which is a major disconnect to the current dilapidated cramped Police station, is in keeping with plans to decentralise the GPF. He added that it will add great value to the Police Force in his division.

Just a few days ago, it was announced that a newly built $200 million Police Regional Headquarters located in Anna Regina, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supernaam) will soon be commissioned in that district.

Police said that the building was designed to be more public-friend-

The Regional Divisional Headquarters under construction in Mahdia, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni)

ly and will facilitate a domestic violence office, a case management room, a witness protection room, an automotive case management system, an integrated crime information system, listening room (to reduce confrontation between perpetrators and victims), and offices.

The facility was visited by the Director of the Corporate Communications Unit, Mark Ramotar, and Deputy Director Stan Gouveia along with their team, as part of their regional visit to the Commander of the Division, Woman Superintendent Crystal Robinson.

The building will soon be formally handed over to the GPF by the Home Affairs Ministry.

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14-year-old raped by security guard

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Region One (BarimaWaini) security guard has been taken into Police custody for the rape of a 14-year-old girl.

Reports are that the incident occurred at Matthew’s Ridge, North West District, sometime between January 1 and 31 of this year.

Reports are that the teen and the suspect are known to each other, and the suspect reportedly took the 14-yearold to his home and engaged in sexual intercourse with her.

Ranks of the Matthew’s Ridge Police Station said they went to the suspect’s home and found the suspect and the teen together.

They were both cautioned and taken to Matthew’s Ridge Police Station as the investigation continues.

Just days ago, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) said they were investigating an alleged sexual activity with a child by a family member, which occurred between February

Motorcyclist dies after slamming into back of minibus …“he did not deserve to go out like this” – cousin

By LaWanda McAllister

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28 and March 1, 2021, in Region One (Barima-Waini).

The matter was unearthed by the Child Care and Protection Agency and reported to the Police on February 24, 2021. The perpetrator, who is also accused of similar offences by others, has fled the area.

In addition, a few weeks ago a close relative of a 10-year-old girl was arrested after he allegedly raped her while she was left in his care. The child is also from the NWD, and was left unconscious after the incident.

After the man committed the act, he reportedly threatened to kill the child if she reported the matter to anyone.

Nevertheless, the violated child confided in her grandmother, who immediately made a report with the authorities. The victim was later escorted to the hospital, where she was examined and a medical certificate was obtained.

Meanwhile, swift actions by the Police led to the arrest of the man, who remains in custody

orty-four-year-old Calvin Pitt also called “Brooklyn”, the owner of a Superbet outlet that is located on Russel Street, Werk-enRust, Georgetown, lost his life when the motorcycle he was riding crashed into the back of a minibus on the East Bank Demerara Public Road.

Based on information received, the man sustained head injuries, broken ribs, fractured legs and a series of other injuries following the incident on Friday.

The driver of the minibus, BMM 5344, told investigators that he was proceeding north along the EBD Public Road and while in the vicinity of Prospect, EBD, he felt a hard impact to the back of his vehicle.

As a result of the collision, Pitt, who was on motorcycle CK 6480, was flung into the air and flew into the rear windscreen of the minibus and then landed on the rear passenger seat. He was

Dead: Calvin Pitt, called “Brooklyn”

left with his lower body hanging on the outside of the back windshield of the bus.

He was picked up in an unconscious state and transported to the Georgetown Public Hospital. Police said that Pitt was admitted in a critical condition, and subsequently died around 15:30h on Friday.

Meanwhile, a breathalyser test was conducted on the minibus driver and no trace of alcohol was detected.

A notice of intended prosecution was served on the driver of the minibus and investigations have commenced.

Guyana Times reached out to Pitt’s girlfriend on Saturday, but she was too devastated to speak to the media. However,

the dead man’s cousin, Dialio Pitt, who resides in the United States, told this publication in a telephone interview, that his cousin’s death came as a shock to the entire family.

“Since I got the news, I haven’t been able to sleep or eat or anything. This is a lot…

Calvin did not deserve to go out like this,” the man said.

Dialio Pitt said his cousin experienced a horrible death and no one should have to die in such a manner. He said Pitt, who is also a well-known footballer, lived in the US for some time but returned to Guyana a few years ago.

“Most of his family lives in America but he went back to Guyana, everybody is over here [America]”.

Pitt was described by his family as a very humble person.

“Calvin loved football and that was his favourite sport, and not only that, he loved riding as well… he was just a regular guy… we are all going crazy and we are going to miss him,” Dialio Pitt said.

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46.5MW power plant set for June 30 completion …hindered by bad weather, COVID-19 pandemic

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he 46.5-megawatt power plant at Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara, has been scheduled for completion by June 30, alleviating the power woes currently facing a large fraction of the country.

This announcement was made after Prime Minister, Retired Brigadier Mark Phillips and Minister within the Public Works Ministry, Deodat Indar were updated on the construction works at the dual-fuel plant at the Power Generation Complex.

During the meeting, the

Government officials were briefed on the progress of the project. Prime Minister Phillips indicated that while there were some delays with COVID-19 restrictions and inclement weather conditions, “the project will be completed by June 30th and will make a great impact on the reliability of electricity in the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System”.

The US$50 million power plant will house the five Wartsila generators. Prime Minister Phillips had flagged GPL’s main issue in

the transmission and distribution system, which undergoes daily repairs.

Nevertheless, the PM posited that with this 46MW capacity added to the system, some of these woes will be alleviated.

Government has been working to build the Guyana Power and Light’s capacity to generate power using renewable energy (natural gas), with the ongoing construction of the 46.5-megawatt power plant. When completed and commissioned, the engines will be capable of using both heavy fuel oil (HFO) and the natural gas being piped in from offshore Guyana.

Giftland Group had started to supply the GPL grid with electricity in October 2020. It has a system that produces 6.7 megawatts of electricity, five megawatts of which is HFO [heavy fuel oil] fuelled. However, it only uses 1.6 megawatts during

Prime Minister Mark Phillips

prime operations at the Mall.

As such, Government tapped into the excess power supply to boost the capacity of the GPL grid, which currently has a generating capacity of 155 megawatts.

After starting with a good run, the Giftland Mall’s supply was disrupted after a surge in power blew its turbocharger. While

the incident occurred last December, Chairman Roy Beepat had said the system is expected to be back up in two months’ time.

According to the agreement between Government and Giftland, an average of US$46,000 is paid per month for power. This would translate to some $9.9 million per month to Giftland while GPL will additionally

be paying for fuel at around $25.6 million per month. In total, this deal works out to approximately $35.5 million per month.

In presenting the 2021 national budget, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh disclosed that electricity supply is estimated to have grown in 2020 by 1.2 per cent. With this figure slated to further increase this year, Government is pushing to expand its energy supply to Guyanese across the country with more reliable electricity at an affordable cost.

To this end, Government is embarking on piping gas to shore to meet the growing demand for electricity.

Conceptualised as a 210-kilometre pipeline to transport natural gas from offshore Guyana, the gas to power project will be the trailblazer to advance Guyana’s path to domestic energy security within the next three years.

(G12)

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A CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF THE GAS-TO-SHORE PROJECT (PART 2)

GUYANA’S NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY 1996

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here is a clear vision and direction in terms of the development of the country, and - interestingly to point out - the National Development Strategy (1996) recognised the need for the development of the country to move further south, given that more than 50% of the population is concentrated in Regions Three and Four, along the Low Coastal Plain.

This, in fact, explains the bypass road project connecting the East Coast and East Bank, which in turn will lead to the opening up of thousands of acres of land for housing development and industrial and commercial activities.

The road link connecting Brazil and Guyana through Lethem-toLinden will also result in the opening of thousands of acres of land for housing as well as commercial and industrial activities. In fact, the President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana has announced in the local press that Government is seeking to commence discussion to build a secondary city on the Linden Highway. In years to come (another 30-50 years), the Linden Town can become the new capital city of Guyana, and therefore such transformational development needs to start from now.

With this in mind, it can be seen that these are all consistent with the vision outlined in the 1996 Development Strategy to move development further inland; that is, further towards the south.

This, in turn, would result in the population moving further south. For example, the new housing development drive targeting the distribution of 50,000 house lots over the next five years – while noting that there are about 60,000 backlog applications in the system to be processed – is designed to start moving the population and the country’s development further south.

It is against this background that it makes economic sense to land the gas-to-shore project in Wales, on the West Bank of Demerara, which is almost adjacent to the Diamond/Grove area on the East Bank. Logically, if development is moving further south, the population is moving further south over the next two to three decades, and a secondary city is to be developed further south on the Linden Highway; then the gas-to-shore project would certainly yield long-term economic benefits, and it would be economically sensible to build it at the exact proposed location for these reasons. In so doing, this can result in efficient and cost-effective distribution channels, given where geographic development of the country is moving towards.

More importantly, the Government’s manifesto for 2020–2025 draws from that development strategy broadly, as the strategy was never fully implemented, owing to Guyana’s peculiar development challenges. At the West Institute International Academic Conference, this author presented a paper on Guyana’s economic and social development challenges, the main findings of which case study showed that there are four dynamic elements responsible for the under-development of Guyana. These are: (1) a huge human capital deficit in terms of education and skills of the population, (2) physical infrastructure deficit, (3) high cost of energy, which is one of the highest in the Western Hemisphere, and (4) the most crucial determinant is the inherent features of the political economy, which is underpinned by ethnic division and politically motivated crime and violence historically, and to some degree in the current political environment. It is noteworthy to mention that Guyana’s development has been increasingly stymied for the past ten years by the previous regime.

During the period 2015–2020, the previous regime failed to implement any major development plan.

Further, during the period when Guyana’s political dispensation changed for the first time in 2011 with a minority Government – the political Opposition at that time had control over the National Assembly with a one seat majority. Consequently, a number of major development and transformational projects were stymied – such as the Amaila hydroproject, a new high-span bridge across the Demerara River, and a specialty hospital, to name a few. These projects were blocked by the Opposition in the National Assembly, and it was this deadlock that forced a snap election in 2015, which resulted in the political Opposition forming the Government in 2015.

Moving forward

With respect to the National Development Strategy (1996), which remains relevant, the only limitation with it in the current context is that it now needs updating to include an industrialisation plan for the country.

This also has to take into consideration Guyana’s burgeoning oil and gas sector and the wealth that can be derived therein – which in turn ought to be utilised to bolster and fast track Guyana’s development plan.

By virtue of Guyana being on the cusp of an economic transformation, Guyana has an opportunity to become the driver of a transformative agenda within the region viz-à-viz an enhanced framework that would foster deeper regional economic integration of South America and the Caribbean with the rest of the world. This notion is premised against the backdrop of its arguably geopolitically potent location; its emerging petroleum industry; coupled with the increasing global interest in Guyana, especially from the United States, United Kingdom, European Union (EU), Canada, India, and the rest of the world. Within these respects, for example, Guyana’s geographic location in South America, which places it at an advantage in terms of access routes to the rest of the world, is an important factor that has to be considered in the Deep-Water Harbour project and the Brazil-Guyana Road Link project. These are two key transformative projects that can integrate more South-South cooperation in the area of trade and commerce, which would not only facilitate Brazil’s goods moving through Guyana, thereby creating new industries and commerce, but other South American countries’ goods being transported through Guyana to access the rest of the world’s markets.

To be continued…

About the Author: JC. Bhagwandin is a financial analyst, lecturer, and business & financial consultant. The views expressed are exclusively his own, and do not necessarily represent those of this newspaper or the institutions he represents. For comments, send to jbbankingadvice@ gmail.com.

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Oil and gas exploration

Guyana among countries that will drive worldwide drilling G

uyana, which has a plethora of oil exploration activities planned for 2021, is expected to be one of only a few countries that will drive exploration activities over the next two years. This is according to Norwegian oil and gas consultant Rystad Energy.

In its analysis, Rystad Energy noted that while oil exploration levels will recover over the next two years, they will not reach preCOVID levels such as the 73,000 wells that were drilled in 2019.

According to the consultancy firm, there is likely to be a 12 per cent increase in overall drilling, compared to 2020. When it comes to offshore wells, the company is expecting a 10 per cent increase. And the company cited Guyana as one of the countries that will contribute to this recovery.

“In the offshore segment, we expect drilling activity to increase year-on-year by about 10 per cent in both 2021 and 2022. This will bring the number of offshore wells drilled to nearly 2500 this year, from less than 2300 in 2020, and we forecast that the corresponding number

for 2022 will surpass 2700,” the consultant said.

“Such a healthy recovery is in fact poised to propel offshore drilling activity beyond pre-pandemic levels during the next two years, as the number of offshore wells drilled globally in 2019 was just shy of 2500… most of the deepwater growth comes from North and South America, where Brazil, Guyana and Mexico are the most prominent drivers of the upswing.”

According to analyst Daniel Holmedal, who was quoted in the analysis, the next few years will see South America and the Middle East replacing the North American shale sector when it comes to production growth.

“In contrast to previous years, when the North American shale sector led production growth, we expect the onshore and offshore shelf in the Middle East and the deepwater market in South America to be the main drivers of growth going forward.”

“To recover production levels, operators will have to launch new drilling plans in tandem with mainte-

Offshore Guyana will be a hotbed of exploration activities

nance and enhancement programmes for existing wells, opening significant opportunities for well service suppliers in the years ahead,” Holmedal said.

In sharp contrast to South America and the Middle East, Rystad noted that the deepwater markets in Europe and Africa are expected to remain relatively stagnant compared to other top regions in 2021.

Already, ExxonMobil has established an ambitious oil exploration plan for 2021 offshore Guyana. Over the past few weeks Exxon, the only company to have found and started producing oil in local waters, has been making preparations to drill simultaneous deepwater wells in both the Stabroek and Canje Blocks.

Esso Exploration and

Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), Exxon’s subsidiary, spudded the Koebi-1 well last week in the Stabroek Block using drillship Stena Carron. This particular well was spudded on March 3 and drilling will conclude on March 20.

Another well being drilled in the Stabroek Block is the Longtail-2 well. According to a notice from the Maritime

Administration Department (MARAD), this well is being drilled in the Stabroek Block by the Stena DrillMax from March 10 to March 27.

Meanwhile, Exxon had started drilling the Jabillo-1 well within the Canje Block, using the Stena Carron drillship, between March 10 and March 27. This publication understands that the Stena Carron, after drilling the Jabillo-1 well and maintenance activities, will resume drilling on the Koebi-1 well.

The Jabillo-1 well happens to be the second of three exploration wells Exxon has scheduled for drilling in the Canje Block in 2021. The other two are the Bulletwood-1 well and the still to be drilled Sapote-1 well.

Canadian owned CGX Energy also has plans to drill wells this year. Its Kawa1 well, which is earmarked for the Corentyne Block, will be drilled to a depth of approximately 6500 metres in 370-metre-deep water.

On the other hand, its Makarapan-1 exploration well will be drilled in the Demerara Block to a total depth of approximately 3500 metres in water depth of approximately 1000 metres. (G3)

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Better roads for Diamond residents B etter road networks are in store for the community of Diamond, East Bank Demerara, as the Housing Ministry finalises a plan to upgrade current infrastructure within the area.

Housing and Water Minister, Collin Croal announced during an outreach to the community that all roads which require a facelift will be included under this project, spanning from concrete to asphaltic works.

“After the evaluation is complete, we will move it either to a level of concrete or it will be asphaltic, depending on the assessment. Some are already asphaltic so if you have to rehabilitate them, then we’ll have to do in asphalt. Those that have to do from scratch, we will do it in concrete,” Croal directed.

These improvements are geared at easier accessibility for residents and commuters, especially with the OgleDiamond bypass road project

Minister Collin Croal addressing residents at the outreach programme

on stream for completion.

“That is our plan for here in terms of the road because this community will take on even importance of accessibility, because at the appropriate time, you will have the opening of this road network from Sixth and Seventh Street, Great Diamond all the way onto Eccles. Then before the year is complete, you will be

able to move on from Eccles to Mandela.”

The first phase of the overall Ogle-Diamond bypass project is from Sixth Avenue Diamond to Eccles and is expected to be ready for vehicular traffic by April 2021. The second phase, which is from Eccles to Mandela Avenue road link, will tie in with the overall four-lane project cur-

rently being built. The date for completion is pegged at November 2021.

He further stated, “It will ease the flow of the buildup of traffic. From the East Bank Public Road, you can now have an alternative access. At a governmental level through the Ministry of Public works, you will have by the end of the year, it is intended to start the

Pensioner found dead in home by neighbour

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he body of 72-year-old Chandradat Jaikaran of Number 64 Village, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), was discovered on Friday afternoon by his neighbour, who went to check on him.

According to reports, Jaikaran, who lived alone in a one-storey wooden and concrete house, died sometime between 17:20 and 19:30h.

The dead man’s neighbour told Police that the pensioner was a known alcoholic and would usually be at home making a lot of noise while behaving in a disorderly manner. On Friday, she said that

she heard cursing as he was sitting on his stairway.

Sometime later, the woman said the man became silent and she suspected something was amiss since he would usually be cursing and behaving disorderly for hours.

This caused her to investigate. She told investigators that she took her torchlight and aimed the light in the pensioner’s direction. She saw him lying motionlessly in his yard with blood oozing from his mouth. An alarm was raised and the man was taken to Skeldon Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

It was also reported that a

bruise was seen on the man’s left knee. An investigation has been launched.

Only two days ago, the lifeless body of an 81-yearold man was discovered at his North Sophia, Greater Georgetown premises in a state of decomposition.

He was identified as Budhan Singh, a pensioner of Block R North Sophia, Greater Georgetown.

Based on reports received, the now dead man lived alone at the said address for a number of years. His daughter, who lives on the East Coast of Demerara, told detectives that she visited him on

January 14, 2021.

However, she returned on Thursday and called out to her father but her calls went unanswered. Suspecting that something was amiss, she requested assistance to break the door in order to enter the house.

In doing so, she found her father’s decomposing body lying on the bed without clothes.

The Police were contacted and upon arriving at the scene, they inspected the body for marks of violence but none was seen. He was later taken to Lyken’s Funeral Home awaiting a post-mortem. (G9)

work from the other main bypass from Ogle-Eccles and obviously, from Eccles to here in Diamond.”

Works started on the new alternative road connecting Diamond and Eccles on the EBD corridor in order to ease the traffic congestion. The new alternative road will run from Sixth Avenue, Diamond, to the Windsor Estate Road that leads on to the Eccles Landfill Site Road. This will form a connection through the new Herstelling Housing Scheme and other schemes that are being developed along the EBD. These projects are part of the India-funded Bypass Road Project which would link the East Bank Demerara corridor

to the East Coast of Demerara, creating a new highway in the backlands.

While speaking on the water distribution, the Minister told residents that an assessment was conducted throughout the East Bank Demerara corridor, and another well will come on stream by August to supplement the water treatment plant.

“With that, we’re also drilling another well at Perseverance. With all of that, what you will see improvement in is the level of service on the East Bank. For those of you from Grove, you can also expect the quality of the water that you get will also improve,” Croal assured. (G12)

38 NEWS

SUNDAY, MARCH 28, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Former GPL Metering Manager new Harbour Bridge GM

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ormer Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Metering Manager – Loss Reduction, Wayne Watson has been appointed the new General Manager of the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC).

According to the

Public Works Ministry on Saturday, Watson was appointed with immediate effect by subject Minister Juan Edghill, following the recommendation of the DHBC Board of Directors.

Watson is the holder of a Master’s Degree in Strategic

Engineering from the Anglia Ruskin University, United Kingdom, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Guyana and has over 10 years of managerial and engineering experience in the power sector.

His core competencies include strategic thinking, integrated reporting, budgeting and forecasting, governance and risk management, ethics and professionalism, stakeholders relationship management, procurement and supply chain management, project management and team building and performance management.

Watson served in the positions of Loss Reduction Metering Manager, Loss Reduction Operations Manager, Assistant Engineer 1, Loss Reduction Operations Manager and Electrical Engineer.

He is also the holder of several other academic certificates.

Rawlston Adams stepped down amid a major scandal whereby taxpayers’ monies were spent to purchase extravagant gifts for senior Government officials.

Days prior to Adams’ resignation, Edghill had warned that persons will be held accountable for the gift-buying spree which occurred at the DHBC. An audit into the asphalt plant (which falls under the DHBC) found that $424,700 of taxpayers’ money was spent to purchase a hand band for former Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson, who is Edghill’s predecessor.

Additionally, a sum of $76,300 was spent to purchase a tie pin for the for-

Newly appointed DHBC General Manager, Wayne Watson

Former GM Rawlston Adams has been charged for conspiracy to defraud

mer Minister. Based on the records, the gifts were purchased for Patterson’s birthday celebration in 2017.

The investigation into the operations of the asphalt plant also revealed that Adams had spent in excess of $800,000 to purchase a bracelet for himself.

It further noted that gifts were also given to all other men within the Corporation, to an approximate value of $10,000 each, to mark the occasion of International Men’s Day. Meanwhile, both Adams and Patterson were also charged in January and are currently before the courts in relation to the sole-sourcing of a company to design a new Demerara Harbour Bridge.

They were granted $200,000 bail each for the joint charge of conspiracy to defraud.

The charges were brought by the Special

Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) after both men were hauled in for questioning.

Patterson was once cleared in 2019 by investigators from SOCU when it comes to the sole-sourced $62 million contract to Dutch company Lievense CSO for the design and feasibility study of the new Demerara River bridge.

But both the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) and the Auditor General had red-flagged Patterson for requesting from the then Cabinet that the feasibility contract be sole-sourced instead of being processed through the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB).

The PPC had found that after the bidding process was annulled because of non-responsive bidders, NPTAB had approved for the project to be re-tendered.

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Janet Jagan remembered at wreath- Encroachment of Essequibo laying ceremony in Region 2 Coast road shoulders a

traffic hazard – drivers

Members of the Woman Progressive Organisation and Progressive Youth Organisation standing at the monument on Saturday

R

egion Two Woman P r o g r e s s i v e Organisation in collaboration with Anna Regina Party Office hosted a remembrance service in memory of former leader President Janet Jagan.

The ceremony was held at Cheddi Jagan Play Park at Anna Regina on Saturday.

The activity was organised to coincide with the 12th death anniversary of Guyana’s first female President who fought alongside her husband Cheddi Jagan for freedom in times of colonial masters.

At the simple wreath-laying ceremony, PPP Representative and Regional Vice Chairman Humace Oudit reflected on the life of the late President and her husband Cheddi Jagan and their effort to build Guyana.

“She held the first female position in many elected organisations and as such, it made an impact to the citizens within the country where Guyana was gained on top in the northern hemisphere,” Oudit said in his reflection.

Reflections were also done by Progressive Youth Organisation (PYO) member, Ashmini Ramnarine; Major of Anna Regina Rajendra Prabhulall, and WPO Representative Nandranie Coonjah.

Wreaths were laid at the foot of the monument by representatives from the Women’s Progressive Organisation, Progressive Youth Organisation (PYO), the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Anna Regina Town Council (ARTC) and the Regional Administration.

Janet Jagan came to

British Guiana in December 1943 and worked for 10 years as a dental nurse in Dr Cheddi Jagan’s clinic. She almost immediately became involved in the labour struggle and was a member of the colony’s first-ever union, the British Guiana Labour Union. She worked with labour hero Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow. She was a founder of the Women’s Progressive Organisation (WPO), she continued to hold the post of President of this premier women’s association until her death. In March 2000 Janet Jagan poured her energy into the establishment of the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre. Author of several publications including works on the history of the PPP and rigged elections in Guyana, she also published five children’s storybooks.

Sand encumbering the public road at La Belle Alliance

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rivers utilising the Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) public road are calling on authorities to investigate the unnecessary encroaching of construction materials along the road shoulders.

This, drivers said, is a major traffic hazard for them. In addition to drivers, some residents have also raised their concerns about this trend.

Startling complaints

were made by hire car drivers and cyclists who stated that heaps of sand and construction materials are usually left on roadsides in front of construction sites and burial grounds for extended periods of time.

A drive along the coast revealed that there are piles of sand, cement, and wood improperly placed alongside Anna Regina and La Belle Alliance areas.

Motorists have also com-

plained that it is very dangerous for them because as they ride past sand heaps when the wind is blowing powerfully, sand usually ends up in their eyes, hence it can result in them losing control.

Motorists noted that while construction is a sign of progress, there is need for these items to be properly positioned so that they do not cause danger to those traversing the roadways.

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“Make your mind strong, you will soon lose your child” – mother says she was told

By Andrew Carmichael

A

mother of West Berbice, Region Five (MahaicaBerbice) is finding it difficult to cope with the views of some medical personnel that her 11-month-old baby would soon die.

The child is suffering from Macrocephaly, a condition in which the circumference of the human head is abnormally large.

According to Healthline. com, it may be pathological or harmless, and can be a familial genetic characteristic. People diagnosed with macrocephaly would receive further medical tests to determine whether the syndrome is accompanied by particular disorders. Those with benign or familial macrocephaly are

Yogeeta Chandrapaul and her 11-month-old daughter

considered to have megalencephaly.

Macrocephaly may be

due to enlargement of the brain.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 41

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“Make your mind strong, you...

A study was conducted in an inner-city tertiary maternity hospital in Lagos, Nigeria from May 2005 to December 2007, and shows that many infants survive the condition when the appropriate measures are taken.

Yogeeta Chandrapaul of Lot 21 ‘C’ Number 2 Village West Coast Berbice was told this publication that her daughter has no chances of a long life.

The eleven-month-old infant delivered one month premature.

She was born as a normal baby and according to its mother, the delivery was also normal.

“After a month and two weeks or head started to get bigger in size. I could not put on her clothes and let it squeeze for her head to pass through. If I do something like that it would make her cry,” Chandrapaul told this publication She noted that she has to travel from the West Coast of Berbice to take the baby to clinic at the Georgetown

Public Hospital (GPHC).

In addition to that, a child attends a clinic at the New Amsterdam Hospital and also the Health Center at Rosignol.

“It’s everything that hurts her hear when you interfere with her head. She does not like anyone the trouble her head. The forehead is very tender.”

The pediatric doctor she said has informed the mother of two that her baby daughter has a cyst.

“They say nothing can be

done because she has a huge amount of fluid in the infant’s head. They ask me to do an MRS scan and the scan showed that less than 20 percent of her head now is the brain.”

This can only be rectified through surgery. Doctors are not optimistic that the surgery will be successful.

“I think she has good common sense but the doctors are not recommending surgery,” the Mother says.

Although the baby head seems to be more than double the size of a normal infant at her age doctors are predicting that it will get even larger as time proceeds.

“They say that she’s not

FROM PAGE 40

going to live very long - she has a short life,” she told this publication with tears in her eyes.

However, the young mother is not giving up and thinks that all hope is not lost.

Anyone who wishes to contact Chandrapaul can do so on telephone number (592) 672-6663.

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Venezuelan soldiers kill civilians, Millions in Brazil thrown back into refugees who flee to Colombia say poverty as pandemic aid dries up

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enezuelans fleeing to Colombia to escape clashes between the Venezuelan military and irregular armed groups have accused soldiers of abuses, including killing civilians.

The flow of refugees, estimated at 4000 by an official in Colombia’s Arauquita Municipality, began on Sunday after Venezuela’s National Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB) launched an offensive against illegal armed groups in La Victoria, a Venezuelan town across the Arauca River from Arauquita.

Venezuela said it is investigating accusations that members of its military committed abuses, including detaining and killing civilians, as well as looting and burning homes.

“They raided our house and took everything from us.

When they arrived they broke everything, the doors; they entered and took everything I had in the house, the workshop,” mechanic Jose Castillo, who arrived in Colombia with

Venezuelan migrants are seen on the banks of the Arauca river after fleeing their country due to military operations, according to the Colombian migration agency in Arauquita, Colombia March 27, 2021

his pregnant wife and 12-yearold daughter on Friday, told Reuters.

“I couldn’t stay because they are killing people. They killed some neighbours and dressed them in Venezuelan army uniforms to pass them off as guerrillas,” Castillo said.

Reuters could not independently verify Castillo’s accusations, or those of other displaced Venezuelans who showed photos on their cell phones of dead people wearing camouflage uniforms with weapons next to their hands.

Dissidents of the demo-

bilised Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), who reject a 2016 peace deal with the Colombian government, are the targets of the military operations, according to the fleeing civilians.

But the victims were residents of La Victoria and its surroundings, they said.

Venezuela Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez told a press conference that two Venezuelan soldiers were killed in clashes along with six irregular fighters whom he called terrorists.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

atiana Araujo de Sirqueira, a 33-year old single mother of six, and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro are almost neighbours. But they inhabit different universes.

Sirqueira lives by a landfill less than a mile from the Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, along with 36 other families, and scrapes together cash by recycling trash.

She is one of Brazil’s 40 million or so “invisibles,” a term coined by Economy Minister Paulo Guedes for those without formal employment who had flown largely under the radar of Brazil’s Government - and society.

Last year, however, Sirqueira was not invisible. From April to December, she and some 66 million other Brazilians received the Government’s most generous cash transfer programme ever, emergency aid to help the most vulnerable through the pandemic.

That nearly US$60 billion burst of basic income softened

the economic blow of the coronavirus, boosted Bolsonaro’s popularity and beat back poverty — but its expiration at the end of 2020 is unravelling many of those effects.

Sirqueira now relies on the pre-existing ‘Bolsa Familia’ social benefit of up to 205 reais (US$36) a month, about a third of last year’s emergency aid, missing out on a smaller second round of the cash transfer programme that starts in April.

However, the Rio de

Janeiro-based think tank estimates that 12.8 per cent of Brazil’s population — some 27 million people — are now living below the poverty line of 246 reais a month, the most since the series began a decade ago.

With an eye on next year’s presidential election, Bolsonaro has been so keen to extend the programme, even if it wreaks havoc on the public finances, roils financial markets and irks Guedes. (Excerpt from Reuters)

US Virgin Islands reports strong tourism performance during pandemic

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he US Virgin Islands (USVI) Commissioner of Tourism Joseph Boschulte has reported that in an environment of deep declines in regional and international tourism arrivals, the territory has weathered the pandemic storm well, despite restricting leisure travel twice last year, from March through June, and then again in August and September.

While the Caribbean Tourism Organisation reports a 2020 Caribbean-wide stayover visitor decline of 65.5 per cent, down from a record 31.5 million stay-over visits to the region in 2019, USVI welcomed 415,749 air arrivals in 2020, representing a 35.1 per cent reduction year over year.

Global tourism declined 73.9 per cent over the same period.

Buoyed by a major uptick in airlift to the territory, which started over the Thanksgiving period and is being sustained over the ensuing months,

Commissioner Boschulte reported that tourism recovery has been strong with the territory experiencing an encouraging start to 2021, anchored by robust visitor arrivals throughout the current spring break period.

Data from analytics and marketplace insights company STR show a 29.1 per cent year-over-year (2020 vs 2019) decline in the USVI hotel occupancy rate, compared to a 52.5 percentage drop in the region. However, average daily rates in the USVI climbed by 43.3 per cent compared with a 2.4 percentage increase across the Caribbean.

In spite of the positive outlook, the commissioner said the Department of Tourism will continue to strengthen relationships with industry partners to help position the territory as a preferred visitor destination in the Caribbean.

(Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

PM Mottley: The rich must help us

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arbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has called on developing countries to write to the wealthy countries of the world to share their wealth to ease the impact of COVID-19.

Mottley made the call while addressing the Ministers of Finance of the African Union on Monday.

“Our health statistics are relatively good but our economies are devastated. Our governments are relative successful in treating the global pandemics health side, this has served to hide the true economic devastation of COVID from the world,” said Mottley who spoke as Chair World Bank Development Committee.

In her address she highlighted the unequal response to this devastation, highlighting the limited aid granted to eligible countries by the World Bank’s Debt Service Suspension Initiative.

“This initiative really needs to be examined by us, while the advanced economies have added near 11 trillion dollars of new debt relief. The 72 low-income countries eligible for relief under the debt service suspension initiative

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley

will be in the vicinity of 11 billion dollars, a thousand times smaller than the 11 trillion of new debt to the advanced economies,” said Mottley who also pointed out that due to the Caribbean and Africa’s colonial past much of the economic structure was already heavily dependent on “trade, travel, and foreign direct investment”.

Mottley warned that the impact of the pandemic on the economy offered a similar threat to that suffered by Latin America in the 1980s when a massive rise in the value of the US dollar left many economies in the region reeling. Mottley said she saw similar parallels given the massive debts several developing countries in the Caribbean and Africa were facing. (Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

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SUNDAY, MARCH 28, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

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guyanatimesgy.com

SUNDAY, MARCH 28, 2021

Around the World

OILNEWS OIL NEWS

Tunisia faces exodus of Western oil giants

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oyal Dutch Shell and Italy’s Eni are seeking to sell their oil and gas operations in Tunisia, industry sources said, as the North African country struggles to attract new investments following years of political instability.

Shell has hired investment bank Rothschild & Co to sell its Tunisian assets, which include two offshore gas fields and an onshore production facility the Anglo-Dutch company acquired as part of its 2016 US$53 billion takeover of BG Group, the sources told Reuters.

Shell tried to sell its Tunisian assets in 2017 but abandoned the process due to legal disputes with the Tunisian Government.

Rothschild did not respond to requests for comment. Eni and Shell declined to comment.

Eni, which has operated in Tunisia since 1961, has hired investment bank Lazard to run its sale, according to the sources.

Eni produced around 5500 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) in Tunisia in 2019 and has nine oil and gas production concessions and one exploration permit in Tunisia, according to its website.

The gradual departure of major western energy companies from Tunisia in recent years follows growing frustration with the country’s unstable regulatory and political environment since the 2011 revolution that has led to investments drying up.

It also comes as the world’s top oil and gas companies are seeking to sell tens of billions of dollars worth of assets to reduce debt and focus on the most competitive production.

Tunisia’s Energy Ministry told Reuters: “We have no official knowledge that these companies will sell their assets.”

Austrian energy company OMV also plans to sell its remaining oil and gas portfolio in Tunisia after gradually reducing its presence in the country, the sources said.

OMV declined to comment.

In 2018, OMV sold the majority of its portfolio in the country to Oslo-listed Panoro Energy for US$65 million. It produced around 4000 boed in 2019, according to its annual report.

Last year OMV and Tunisia’s national oil company started the Nawara gas field, the largest project in the country in recent years which is will increase OMV’s output by 10,000 boed at its peak, according to the company.

Mazarine Energy, backed by private equity giant Carlyle Group is also seeking to sell up to half of its stakes in its Tunisian oil exploration licences to accelerate their development, its CEO told Reuters last November. (Excerpt from Reuters)

India's Modi gifts Bangladesh 1.2 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine

I

ndia gave 1.2 million free doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to Bangladesh on Saturday, its Foreign Minister said, as Dhaka urged New Delhi to maintain a regular supply of shots to battle the pandemic.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the offering at the end of a two-day tour of Bangladesh to celebrate its 50th independence anniversary. The trip also marked Modi’s first foreign travel since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Bangladesh signed a deal in November with the Serum Institute of India, the world’s biggest vaccine maker, for 30 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The country of more than 160 million people has already received 9 million vaccine doses from Serum. India has also previously gifted its neighbour 2 million doses of the shot that Serum is producing for many countries.

India has told its international partners that it will prioritise domestic inoculations over exports of vaccines as it battles a rise in new infec-

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi

tions.

“Bangladesh has requested a regular supply of the remaining vaccines purchased from the Serum Institute,” the country’s Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said in a televised speech. Bangladesh has vaccinated more than 5.2 million people since the start of its inoculation campaign in February.

It has seen a spike in coronavirus cases in recent weeks, which the Government has blamed on crowding and citizens ignoring health guidelines. Latest figures showed it recorded 3674 new infections, the highest daily count since July 2, taking the total number of cases to 591,806, with 8869 deaths. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Myanmar: Dozens killed as army opens fire on protesters during “deadliest day”

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ozens of people have been killed by security forces in Myanmar, on the deadliest day since last month's military takeover of the country.

At least 91 deaths, including children, were recorded by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a local monitoring group.

"They are killing us like birds or chickens, even in our homes," resident Thu Ya Zaw told Reuters news agency in the central town of Myingyan.

"We will keep protesting regardless."

Protesters giving their anti-authoritarian three-finger salute

The lethal crackdown came as protesters defied warnings and took to the streets on the annual Armed Forces Day. US, UK and EU officials condemned the violence, with British Foreign

Minister Dominic Raab calling it a "new low".

The latest deaths would take the number killed in the suppression of protests in Myanmar since the February 1 coup to more than 400.

The military seized

control of the South East Asian country after an election which Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party won by a landslide.

Defying military threats, protesters gathered across Myanmar, also known as Burma, on Saturday.

State TV had warned in a broadcast the previous day that people "should learn from the tragedy of earlier ugly deaths that you can be in danger of getting shot to the head and back".

Security forces were out in strength trying to prevent rallies. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Several European countries expand COVID curbs; France “critical”

S

everal European countries have tightened measures to stem the spread of coronavirus in the face of a worrying rise in infections that is putting further pressure on healthcare systems.

In France, the Government on Saturday described the situation as “critical” as it added three more departments to the 16 already under tight restrictions.

Some 20 million people, including those in the greater Paris region, are classed as living in

high-infection zones. They are not allowed to travel further than 10km (six miles) from their home unless they have an essential reason.

Officers at train stations, airports and toll-paying motorways began on Saturday to enforce the travel restrictions.

Only shops selling food, and book and music stores are open and classrooms in high schools are only running at half the capacity.

The number of patients in intensive care units rose on Saturday to the high-

est this year, according to Health Ministry data.

Belgium, meanwhile, closed all businesses involving non-medical physical contact such as hairdressers for four weeks from Saturday.

Shops offering “non-essential” services can only receive clients with appointments.

For its part, Poland closed creches, playgrounds, furniture stores, as well as beauty salons and barbershops.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki urged peo-

ple to spend the upcoming Easter holiday at home with their immediate families, but stopped short of announcing restrictions on movement and a full lockdown.

And in Hungary, a record rise of infections and deaths has kept it from loosening lockdown measures, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.

Hospitals are under “extraordinary” pressure in Hungary, a hotspot as the pandemic hits Central Europe especially hard.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Colombia accuses Facebook freezes FARC dissidents Maduro's page over car bomb attack over COVID claim

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olombia on Saturday accused FARC dissidents of detonating a car bomb in the town of Corinto in the country’s Cauca province, which left 43 people injured, including 11 public officials, and caused material damages.

The attack, which took place on Friday, was condemned by the Government and a United Nations mission in Colombia.

“We express our solidarity with all those affected by this indiscriminate terrorist attack that took place... with a car bomb in front of the mayor’s office in Corinto,” recently appointed Defense Minister Diego Molano said in a recorded video statement on Saturday.

The attack was carried out by the Dagoberto Ramos Mobile Column, a dissident group of the demobilised Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Molano said.

Concrete measures need to be implemented in regions affected by vio-

lence to protect communities and give guarantees of security, the UN verification mission in Colombia said in a statement.

FARC dissidents reject a 2016 peace deal which ended the group’s part in Colombia’s armed conflict, which has left 260,000 dead and millions displaced.

Government officials and the armed forces estimate there are between 2500 and 3000 FARC dissidents throughout the country.

President Ivan Duque, in his nightly broadcast about the coronavirus pandemic on Friday, condemned the bombing.

“Those who use this type of practice are the enemies of peace in our country, they are the enemies of the Colombian people,” Duque said.

Colombia’s Government is offering a reward for information regarding leaders of the dissident FARC group, the Defence Ministry said. (Excerpt from Reuters)

F

acebook has frozen Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's page after he claimed without evidence that a herbal remedy could cure COVID-19.

He claimed in January that a thyme herb solution could cure the disease. He will be unable to post for 30 days.

The company said the leader had repeatedly violated its policies on coronavirus disinformation.

Maduro is not the only world leader to face a pushback from social media companies over COVID. US President Donald Trump and Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro have also faced action over COVID posts.

A Facebook spokesperson told the BBC: "We removed a video posted to President Nicolas Maduro's page for violating our policies against misinformation about COVID-19 that is likely to put people at risk for harm.

"We follow guidance from the WHO [World Health Organization] that says there is currently no medication to cure the virus. Due to repeated violations of our rules, we are also freezing

Nicolás Maduro holding up his unproven herbal remedy "cure"

the page for 30 days, during which it will be read-only."

Last year, Facebook deleted a video from Brazil's President Bolsonaro over a claim that the drug hydroxychloroquine was totally effective in treating the virus.

And previously a Twitter post by Maduro about a different fake remedy was also deleted.

In October, Facebook deleted a post in which Donald Trump claimed COVID-19 was "less lethal" than the flu.

It removed another in August that included a video of him falsely asserting that children were "almost immune from COVID-19".

COVID-19 disinformation on social media is a widespread problem. (Excerpt from BBC News)

guyanatimesgy.com

SUNDAY, MARCH 28, 2021

ARIES (March 21April 19)

45

Pay attention to what you have and whom you love. Look for the good in everything and everyone, and it will help you achieve what you set out to do.

Reach out and make connections.

Think before you act or say TAURUS something you’ll regret. Pay (April 20more attention to unfinished May 20)

business and less to what others are doing. You may have to rethink a certain position.

You’ll get a pick-me-up if GEMINI (MAY 28- you take time to pamper yourself. Quality relaxation will June 20) encourage you to use your time more efficiently. A lifestyle change will ease stress.

Romance is encouraged.

Take better care of your

CANCER health. A tempting offer will (June 21- not be in your best interest.

July 22) Look for a smart way to use your time and skills. A loaded situation will require delicacy.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Stop worrying about what everyone wants you to do and start doing what makes you happy. Sort out your feelings and restructure the way you delegate your time. Your happiness is your responsibility.

Pay attention to financial, VIRGO (Aug. 23- medical and contractual isSept. 22) sues before they escalate into

something you cannot handle independently. Refuse to let anyone take advantage of you.

Dilbert LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

Peanuts

Share your emotions and plans with a loved one. Sharing your desires will encourage someone to join your quest. An ambitious project will help you make a desired lifestyle adjustment.

Don’t share personal information, possessions or expenses. Uncertainty at home will prompt you to rethink your plans. Preparation will be the key to your success.

Don’t waste time.

Observe more and say less.

SAGITTARIUS If you share your feelings pre(Nov. 23maturely, you will face oppoDec. 21)

sition. Take time to deal with any obstacles. A well-laid-out plan will be difficult for others to dismiss.

Don’t trust anyone to hanCAPRICORN dle your affairs. Someone (Dec. 22will take advantage of you Jan. 19) financially. Use your ingenuity to protect yourself.

Protect against health hazards.

Calvin and Hobbes

Home improvements and

AQUARIUS investments look promising if (Jan. 20you handle matters yourself.

Feb. 19) Don’t let uncertainty cause you to miss out on a good deal.

Don’t let a change someone makes upset your plans.

Scrutinize partnerships.

PISCES (Feb. 20- Consider who is trying to Mar. 20) take advantage of you and who is being genuine. Trust will play a significant role in the way things turn out. Let your intuition lead the way.

:

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SUNDAY, MARCH 28, 2021

CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship 2020…

El Salvador stay alive with win over Haiti, Honduras top Group B after draw with Canada

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oshua Perez bagged a brace to lead El Salvador to a 2-1 win over Haiti in their Group B finale of the 2020 Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship on Thursday at the Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara, Mexico.

With the victory, El Salvador’s hopes of reaching the knockout round are still alive, pending the result of the Canada-Honduras

match.

El Salvador started off by poking and prodding the Haitian defence, before breaking through in the 19th minute with a superb strike from Joshua Perez, who received a pass in between a pair of defenders and fired in a left-footed shot to make it a 1-0 El Salvador lead.

The joy was shortlived though, as, less than two minutes later, Haiti

I was criticised for not scoring enough and showing off, says Kylian Mbappe

pulled level 1-1 when an El Salvador giveaway in their own half led to a quick break, with Roberto Louima fighting off a trio of defenders and beating El Salvador Goalie Tomas Romero for the equaliser.

El Salvador regained the lead right before halftime, with Perez following up his header that deflected off the post, and finishing with his left foot to make it 2-1 for El Salvador.

El Salvador was keen to add to their lead to start the second half, and had several looks at goal, but was unable to find a way past Haitian Goalie Alan Jerome. The reprieve sparked Haiti to life in attack, and Louima, along with Peterson Joseph, suddenly had the Salvadoran defence and Romero on their heels.

Danley Jean had one final look at goal for Haiti, but was unable to convert, allowing El Salvador to see things out to claim the win.

Meanwhile, Honduras claimed the top spot in Group B of the 2020 Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying championship by virtue of a 1-1 draw with Canada in their group stage finale on Thursday night at the Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The Catrachos completed the group stage with five points and a first-place finish, and will now face the United States in Sunday’s semifinals, the winner of which would advance to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Canada wrapped up their Group B campaign with five points as well, finishing second on goal difference, and will now take on host nation Mexico in hope of a first Olympic berth since 1984.

Honduras had a bright start, and Kervin Arriaga came within a whisker of the opening goal in the 9th minute with a right-footed shot that slammed onto the post and out.

Canada reacted well, and after missing on an earlier header, Derek Cornelius found the target in the 28th

minute on his second attempt, to give Canada a 1-0 lead by connecting on a cross from Patrick Metcalfe.

The Honduras response was immediate. In the 30th minute, Denil Maldonado was first to reach Edwin Rodriguez’s free-kick, and headed in past Canada’s Goalie James Pantemis to draw the Catrachos level at 1-1.

The second half started off with a good tempo, and Juan Carlos Obregon was set to give the Hondurans their first lead of the night in the 54th minute, but was unable to head into the net from just a few yards out.

In the 73rd minute, Luis Palma almost converted on a loose ball in the area, but the Honduran attacker saw his shot blocked by Pantemis.

In the end, Honduras was never able to find a second goal, but the result was enough to seal a first-place finish. (Sportsmax)

NBA ROUNDUP

P

aris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe has revealed he was criticised in the early stages of his career for "not scoring enough goals and showing off".

The 22-year-old leads the Ligue 1 scoring charts with 20 goals in 25 appearances this term, and has netted a further 10 in other competitions.

Mbappe has scored 120 goals in 160 outings for PSG overall since joining in August 2017 from Monaco, where he first made a name for himself at the age of 16.

But the French World Cup winner, who started his youth career with AS Bondy before moving on to Monaco, has admitted he was not always so prolific in front of goal.

"For a long time, in the youth teams I was criticised for not scoring enough goals and showing off," he told UEFA. "In today's football, you have to score. And to score, you have to practise and work hard in training."

Mbappe is now one of the most-sought-after names in world football, regularly earning links to the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid.

"When you're in the rough, no one else can make you get up," he said.

"You have to be mentally strong and do everything to understand that you can climb mountains. When I go out on the pitch, I tell myself that I have to give my best to be the best possible.

"I'm someone with ambition - it's a scary term, but I see it more as not wanting to set limits. I try to push the limits as much as possible, and I want to see where it can lead me."

Mbappe is currently away on international duty with France, and played 77 minutes of Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Ukraine in his side's opening World Cup qualifier. Despite that disappointing Group D draw, Les Blues are the favourites of many to go all the way in next year's finals in Qatar, four years on from their last triumph.

And Mbappe, who has 16 goals in 40 senior caps, is relishing the opportunity to add another World Cup to his collection in the month he turns 24.

"We want to win a second title," he said. "The World Cup is a culmination of effort, a goal that we work for over a long time. I had the chance to win it at 19, and it's something that helped me progress in my career. There will be other competitions, but my ambition is to win a second World Cup." (Sportsmax)

Harden returns with 44-point haul in Nets' victory

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ames Harden returned from neck soreness with a 44-point haul to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 113-111 win over the Detroit Pistons in the NBA on Friday.

As well as his personal Nets high 44 points, which included four three-pointers, Harden had 14 rebounds and eight assists.

Harden set up Blake Griffin for an alley-oop as the new recruit contributed 17 points against his former

side.

Detroit had an 11-0 final-quarter stretch, led by back-to-back three-pointers from Frank Jackson, to ensure a tense finale. But Cory Joseph missed a point-blank look to send the game to over-

time on the buzzer, enabling Brooklyn to improve to 31-15.

Lakers win without LeBron

The Los Angeles Lakers snapped their losing run without LeBron James with a 10086 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Montrezl Harrell starred off the bench with a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds as they steadied to 29-17 record.

Zion puts up career-best haul in defeat Former number one draft pick Zion Williamson put in a huge display with a career-high 39 points, going 16-of-19 from the field, 10 rebounds and five assists. But it

was not enough, as the New Orleans Pelicans lost to the Denver Nuggets 113-108.

Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic underlined his MVP credentials with 37 points, six rebounds and nine assists. He scored 22 of his 37 in the second half.

The Milwaukee Bucks were toppled by the Boston Celtics 122-114, with forward Jayson Tatum scoring 34 points and guard Marcus Smart adding 23. Tatum had an injury scare, but played on.

Reigning two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo was quiet by his standards with only 16 points, while he had eight rebounds and five assists. The Celtics stay in the playoffs hunt with a 22-23 record, while the Bucks slip to 29-15 in third in the East.

Donovan Mitchell had 35 points along with five rebounds and six assists as topof-the-table Utah Jazz defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 117-114 to secure their fourth straight win.

The Portland Trail Blazers edged the Orlando Magic 112105 without Damian Lillard.

CJ McCollum starred with 22 points, five rebounds and seven assists.

Chris Paul got the edge over Kyle Lowry as the Phoenix Suns won 104-100 at the Toronto Raptors. Paul had 19 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

Heat slide to sixth straight loss

The Miami Heat may have got busy on NBA trade deadline with the addition of Victor Oladipo, but he did not play as they lost their sixth straight, going down 110-105 to the Charlotte Hornets.

Timberwolves' 22-0 hot streak

The Minnesota Timberwolves' 22-0 run to secure their 107-101 win over the struggling Houston Rockets was the first 22-0 (or better) game-ending run since the Los Angeles Clippers in the 1998-99 season.

Friday's results

Brooklyn Nets: 113; Detroit Pistons: 111 Boston Celtics: 122; Milwaukee Bucks: 114 Phoenix Suns: 104; Toronto Raptors: 100 Denver Nuggets: 113; New Orleans Pelicans: 108 Minnesota Timberwolves: 107; Houston Rockets: 101 Portland Trail Blazers: 112; Orlando Magic: 105 Charlotte Hornets: 110; Miami Heat: 105 Indiana Pacers: 109; Dallas Mavericks: 94 Utah Jazz: 117; Memphis Grizzlies: 114 Atlanta Hawks: 124; Golden State Warriors: 108 Los Angeles Lakers: 100; Cleveland Cavaliers: 86.

(Sportsmax)

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

SUNDAY, MARCH 28, 2021

GTTA, Department of Education Region 6 conduct supervisory level training

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Devon Ramnauth delighted with Under-19 success

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Devon Ramnauth

T

he Guyana Table Tennis Association, in collaboration with the Unit of Allied Arts and the Regional Education Department of Region 6, conducted a Table Tennis Workshop at the Berbice Educational Institute on Tuesday March 23 with Physical Education Teachers from across the region.

This workshop, the second of two geared at providing schools with COVIDcompliant sporting activities for CSEC and CAPE, and for the region’s Physical Education Programme in general, was geared towards laying the foundation for establishment of structured table tennis in schools.

T h e workshops attracted more than 20 Physical Education and Sport teachers from a total of twelve (12) schools i n Region 6.

A key initial output was the monitoring and preparation of students currently preparing for CSEC and CAPE examinations.

These students would be

undergoing assessment for skills, competition orientation, knowledge of the rules, and other fundamental aspects of the sport.

Linden Johnson, an ITTF certified coach instructor in table tennis attached to the National Sports Commission, and General Secretary of the GTTA, was the main facilitator of the table tennis workshop. Johnson iterated that the GTTA has already provided the region with a number of table tennis tables, racquets and balls acquired through the GTTA’s partnership and memorandum of understanding with the Government and Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, and other stakeholders.

This agreement allowed for the implementation of a key strategic and developmental plan of the GTTA, which entails: the provision of equipment to schools across the country; training of teachers; orientation of students; formation of school

teams and clubs; and orientation in inter-house, inter-school, district and regional competitions with the goal of creating a robust, mass-participation, developmental feeder programme through the revitalising of a structured national table tennis programme in schools.

As such he outlined that this workshop will ensure the equipment is put to use with the implementation of structured national table tennis for schools and physical education programmes in the participating schools which form part of the GTTA’s strategic and developmental plan Nicholas Fraser, Head of the Physical Education Department in the Unit of Allied Arts, was on hand to support Johnson in hosting the workshop. Fraser provided teachers with a measurement tools to be used by teachers nationally to assess the skills of candidates in Table Tennis and will form the basis for a Skills Challenge and competitions which will be executed in the upcoming school term.

Osafa Dos Santos, Head of Department (Allied Arts) of the Berbice Educational Institute, was the local coordinator for the workshops.

He expressed his interest in assisting with the promotion of sports that schools could

safely implement in the Region during the COVID pandemic and Golf and Table Tennis are easy to learn and safe to do once properly managed. He stated that he was sure that the teachers in the region would be able to safely execute the programmes in their respective schools.

Special thanks are extended to the Regional Education Officer Bhagmattie La Cruz and the District Education Officer (Secondary) Satish Unit for their steadfast support in executing the Physical Education and Sports workshops.

Meanwhile the GTTA President Godfrey Munroe stated that he is pleased with this collaboration which provides the impetus for the Association’s developmental thrust. He was quoted saying “as these programmes become successful it would require champions within the regions and the GTTA has been making an effort to provide the structures necessary to ensure that the sport is developed nationally in a holistic and sustainable manner and it’s great to have the region teachers and Ministry’s support.”

Similar programmes in other regions are will soon be conducted.

evon Ramnauth, founder of the inaugural Devon Ramnauth Under-19 Youth Development tournament on the Essequibo Coast, Region Two, has expressed delight at thew success of the tourney.

Last weekend the sixteam T20 competition came to an end with the Queenstown Under-19 team emerging victorious against the Reliance Hustlers by 139 runs.

Ramnauth, a former senior Essequibo inter-county player who had represented Guyana at the Under-15 and Under-19 levels, stated that he is more than happy after rating the competition very successful.

“I [am] indeed proud and delighted with the first edition of the competition. We set our goals and, importantly, we achieved them because I want to see the continued development of cricket on the Coast,” Ramnauth mentioned.

Quizzed on the T20 version for the youths, Ramnauth responded: “I want to start with the most exciting version. Again, it is about development; it is about having cricket played on the Coast and to expose the youngsters who are talented,” Ramnauth, who is currently residing in North America (Canada), related.

He further stated that the tournament is here to stay, and he would invite more teams to participate. The next tournament could be as soon as coming August, with the increase of overs and coloured clothing

CLASSIFIED ADS

Sachin Tendulkar tests positive for COVID-19

SERVICES

– Yusuf Pathan also positive

S

achin Tendulkar announced on social media on Saturday that he has tested positive for COVID-19. The former India batsman and captain added that his symptoms were mild, that no one else in his family had been affected and that he has gone into isolation.

Tendulkar was recently involved in a T20 tournament that pitted former players from India, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, South Africa and Sri Lanka against each other. Crowds were allowed in to watch those matches in Raipur.

Former India allround-

Yusuf Pathan

SERVICES er Yusuf Pathan, who was Tendulkar’s team-mate in that tournament, also posted on Twitter that he has tested positive for Covid-19 “with mild symptoms.”

For over two decades, Tendulkar was an ever-present member of the Indian team as he rose to become one of the game’s greatest ever batsmen. He finished his career in 2013 with 100 international hundreds, 34,357 international runs and a World Cup winner’s medal. As for Pathan, he had won two World Cups - the 2007 World T20 and then the 2011 World Cup - before

and whiteball on that occasion.

Ramnauth said that on the first occasion, Essequibo Coast players were invited to play in order for him to see where the cricket was at; but the next tournament will have no Essequibo coast players participating.

In an effort to widen interest in the game, Ramnauth informed that they will have an Essequibo All-Star X1 to compete against Wakenaam, Pomeroon, Bartica, Leguan and East Bank Essequibo soon.

He also took opportunity to acknowledge the sponsors’ support throughout the tournament, and the support of fans and organisers.

He commented that the organisers had done a fantastic job in running off the four-week tournament, particularly during this extraordinary time created by the global pandemic. The South and Central Committees were thankful too for their role.

Ramnauth has singled out head-organizer Trevis Simon and the Public Relations Officer Divine Ross for their commitment.

“I can’t stop praising some of the guys to come out and do their job. Their commitment was remarkable, and I want to thank the teams for their participation as well; and this is for the betterment of Essequibo cricket,” Ramnauth declared.

The other teams that featured in the tournament are: Third-place playoff winner Golden Fleece Vikings, United Warriors, Rising Stars Spartans and Essequibo Eagles.

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According to Johns Hopkins University, which has tracked the spread of the pandemic since it first hit in 2019, India is third on the list of countries with the most Covid-19 infections and fourth on the list of most deaths.

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Ninvalle concerned about ‘mental state’ of boxers …upon return of the sport

W

hile the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on most sports and the way it’s played; the thought that sport could resume soon is alive and well, even with the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines across the world.

While this seems to

be a positive for all sports, Guyana Boxing Association President Steve Ninvalle is concerned about a number of areas that may affect the discipline and its athletes.

In a sit-down with the Evening News Sport, Ninvalle shared that his priority is the mental state of local pugilists.

“We don't know how much that is going to affect our boxers but then we need to have them psychologically evaluated. Not only

Comments from West Indian greats a confident booster: Nial Smith

By Brandon Corlette

I

f you have followed the recent Regional Super50 tournament in Antigua, you would have heard the West Indian greats and the commentators speaking highly of Guyana Jaguars pacer Nial Smith. The impressive speedster, who claimed eight wickets in the five matches he played, said these comments made by the West Indies greats will boost his confidence.

In a recent interview with this daily publication, Smith reflected on that tournament, the Best v Best experience and he also shared his aspirations in cricket.

"It's a good feeling hearing the legends, the senior guys talk good stuff about you.

That is a big confident boost for me going forward," Smith said.

In his first Regional Super50 tournament back in 2019, he had ordinary outings with the ball. That was not the case when he played in the most recent Super50.

He also featured in the Best v Best match in Antigua, where he claimed three wickets, with players who were selected based on performances in the previous Regional 4-Day tournament.

"Getting into the Jaguars set-up after and the (Cricket Guyana Inc). academy system, things went well for me with the intense training. I must commend Coach Crandon and Sheppy (Romario Shepherd) who give me alot of advise," Smith echoed. He further added that he began gym, something he was unfamiliar with and that aided in his strength as a fast-bowl-

Nial Smith bowling during a Jaguars practice match

er.

In the grand Super final against Trinidad and Tobago Red Force, the 25year old Smith bowled a deadly yorker that removed the West Indies captain Kieron Pollard. "I hold my composure under pressure and deliver since everyone was going for a lot of runs."

Smith described the Best v Best match, as an invaluable experience. "That was a great experience, playing among the current West Indies players. They had senior coaches around.

I was working with Corey Collymore, a former West Indies fast bowler, who showed me a few things in bowling."

Fitness is certainly as essential element for every athlete. When asked about his fitness, Smith once again credited the Jaguars franchise system for his fitness improvements. In addition to the strong Jaguars franchise system, the Tucber Park cricketer, Smith had played club cricket in Trinidad and

Tobago. He said those pitches were much more slower but he gradually learned and he was well-supported by his team mates at Cosmos and Barrakpore United.

He also had the opportunity to play against the likes of Lendl Simmons, Kieron Pollard and Jason Mohammed, which boosted his confidence upon return in Guyana. When asked about his aspirations to play for the West Indies, Smith said: "my goal is to get more fit, playing in the Best v Best, teh coaches told me I was someone good to look at. Fancying a West Indies call-up, I am not looking too far ahead. I am trying to do what is ahead of me right, keep doing good and improve as I go along and gain as much experience as possible," Smith explained.

In addition to his seven List A matches, he played seven First-class matches and took 20 wickets at 29.3 with two five-wicket hauls one of which he claimed one debut; his best figure is 6-55.

about the crowds, but how this pandemic has really affected them,” Ninvalle explained.

Piggy backing off his first point, Ninvalle highlighted that his next concern is the effect the global pandemic has had on the sport in general and how best competitions will be organized.

“February 15 last year was the last competition we would have had, we would have had more National Open or National Intermediate, no National Novice, you know, no Caribbean School Boys and Juniors tournament, no International tournament for over a year, so matter of fact the boxers who are a marked go to the Olympic qualifiers, have not fought in a competition since December, 2019.

Yes, they've been training but they've had no competition since December 2019,” Ninvalle related, in drawing a parallel to the need for competition.

The GBA President added, “So, it is important that we get them back into competition, that we get their feet wet again. And we trying to do as much as pos-

Guyana Boxing Association President Steve Ninvalle

sible as to make that a reality. When this is all over and I hope sooner than later, then we'll have to take a panoramic view of the effects of the COVID-19 and hopefully, we do not have a return to such a state.”

The Boxing boss went on to share that currently, the biggest struggle is to keep boxers in training, citing that the lack of competitions has caused some of the group to go astray.

“We also find ourselves, not in a unique position again, of having to cultivate, start, manufacture other ways of keeping our boxers to the fold, because many people are wandering off. Because of the fact that there's no competition going

on and if there's no competition, it's hard to have people training also,” Ninvalle underscored.

“So, we've got we're trying to come up with effective ways to keep them and not having to lasso people left, right and center.”

At the moment, two 4-member teams are in training for the Youth World Boxing championships in Kielce, Poland and the Tokyo Olympic Qualifiers in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in April and May respectively. The dates for those competitions are April 10-24 and May 10-16 respectively, with the Tokyo Olympics slated for July 23 to August 8. (Jemima Holmes)

Cycling action to commence at 7hrs today

C

ycling action will continue tomorrow with a 50-Mile Road Race being held from Carifesta Avenue to Mahaica East Coast Demerara and back.

Starting time of this event is 07hrs, and all participants are expected to adhere to the COVID-19 guidelines. Registration for this event commences at 6hrs.

Each participant is expected to wear a mask and have their temperature checked upon registration.

The cyclists will compete in three categories; namely, the Elite/Seniors, Masters/Veterans and the Juniors. In the Elite/ Seniors first place winner would receive $20,000, 2nd placed winner $18,000, 3rd placed $15,000, 4th $12,000; 5th $10,000 and

6th $8,000.

In the Masters/Veterans category, 1st place would pocket $15,000; 2nd place $12,000 and 3rd place $10,000.

The Juniors category would see the winner carting off $15,000, 2nd place winner $12,000 and 3rd place $10,000.

There will be a total of six Sprint Prizes up for grabs, each worth $1,000.

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