Guyana Times - Thursday, June 12, 2020

GTT donates hundreds of surgical, KN95 masks to Suddie Hospital P16 Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 4314

THE BEACON OF TRUTH FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020

Caricom will not tolerate anybody stealing an election – incoming Chairman …says will not stand idly by to watch recount results set aside …as APNU/AFC now claims over 237,000 votes tainted

PRICE

$80 VAT INCLUDED

WHAT'S INSIDE:

DPP withdraws appeal against Judge’s P15 decision to free Marcus Bisram

Page 9

APNU/AFC’s wasteful spending ballooned domestic debt – Ali

Page 3

...says working to halt downslide in order to return economy to vibrancy

Granger must account for $333M spent daily while pussyfooting on GuySuCo – GAWU Page 7

“My son P14 surrender, but the shop man still shoot he” – mother of dead bandit US Embassy issues P14 “security alert” ahead of elections result declaration

…as Union questions whether caretaker Govt let industry collapse

5 homeless after fire ravages Corentyne home See stories on pages 10 & 16

Food and Drug Department P10 warns against “deceptive condensed milk”

– as 11 vehicles burnt after Lusignan auto workshop goes up in flames

Mingo’s conduct warrants “greater punishment” – Nandlall See story on page 11

…after withdrawing contempt of court case

P13 Guyana records 2 new COVID-19 cases … active cases now stand at 54

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FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NEWS

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FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Friday, June 12 – 10:00h -11:30h and Saturday, June 13 – 11:00h -12:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Friday, June 12 – 09:05h -10:35h and Saturday, June 13 – 10:10h -11:40h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY

Thundery showers are expected to prevail throughout the day, with light rain showers in the evening. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-Easterly to Easterly between 1.78 metres and 3.57 metres.

High Tide: 09:08h and 21:50h reaching maximum heights of 2.24 metres and 2.16 metres.

Low Tide: 15:15h reaching a minimum height of 0.98 metre.

COMMODITIES Indicators

US$

Change %

Crude Oil

$38.55/barrel

-8.25

Rough Rice

$263.16 /ton

+0.39

London Sugar

$387.00/ton

-1.80

Live Spot Gold

USD Per Ounce

Bid/Ask

$1725.00

$1726.00

Low/High

$1719.00

$1747.00

Change

-2.10

-0.312

APNU/AFC’s wasteful spending ballooned domestic debt – Ali

...says working to halt downslide in order to return economy to vibrancy

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residential Candidate of the People’s Progressive/ Party (PPP/C), Irfaan Ali, has criticised the incumbent A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) over its “wasteful spending” over the past five years.

During a virtual presentation on Thursday, Ali posited that this spending by the Coalition administration has resulted in the ballooning of Guyana’s domestic debt.

“Over the last five years, the Government has basically overspent $100 billion dollars.

That has obviously ballooned up our domestic debt, and it has led to large fiscal deficits,” he asserted.

This comes on the heels of recently published balance statements of the nation’s accounts showing that not only have Guyana’s general reserves been depleted to $0, but the account is also now running an overdraft to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars.

Ali, whose party has emerged in the lead at the March 2 elections following a National Recount of the votes cast, and is now awaiting a formal declaration by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on June 16, painted a gloomy picture of the current state of the economy.

He noted that almost every sector is suffering a major decline and is on the verge of financial collapse – a situation which he said was caused by political instability not just over the past three months of electoral impasse, but since the December 2018 passage of the No-Confidence Motion against the Coalition Administration.

“What we are seeing in the economy is a contraction in growth… Your country has been going through what I term a political crisis, and of course that has a significant impact on economic activity and also the business climate in our country,” Ali posited.

According to the PPP/C Presidential Candidate, most of the key job-creating sectors, such as mining, forestry, agriculture, tourism, construction, manufacturing and services, have declined.

In fact, he pointed out that political instability coupled with an economic crunch and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have seen unemployment spiking to some 25 per cent.

These, he surmised, are among immediate challenges his party will face during its impending transition into Government.

“We will have to put back people to work, and implement the right measures to support the reopening of businesses and recreating energy in the economy to create jobs,” he stated.

Ali went on to highlight that there is also significant decline in the country’s revenues. Based on the trend, he estimates that revenue will contract by a projected five percent.

“So, if the projection holds true and you have reduction in

PPP/C Presidential Candidate, Dr Irfaan Ali

revenue of over five per cent, then that is a reduction of almost US$10 billion from the revenue side. And this is coming at a time when we need to find resources to help not only business, but to help workers, to help families…,” he contended.

Ali also noted that bankruptcy in the household sector is at an all-time high. He explained that as at December 2019, nonperforming loans stood at over $10 billion, and with the current political situation and COVID-19, this situation is expected to worsen.

Meanwhile, the PPP/C Presidential Candidate further outlined that the oil sector has contracted by as much as eight per cent. He explained that Guyana’s first oil shipment had brought in revenue to the tune of US$55 million, but the revenue earned from the last shipment is more than US$20 million less as a result of low oil prices on the global market.

“So, while we benefit from cheaper import of oil and oil products, we are now an oilproducing country, and what we’ve seen is a decline in our

revenue from oil sale…,” Ali asserted.

Turning his attention to the sugar industry, which is facing a total shutdown due to financial crisis, Ali reminded that the coalition had promised that while some of the estates would be closed, the others would have been offered the necessary support to stay operational.

“The sugar sector is not on the verge of collapsing anymore, but is now in total financial chaos. The Government has announced that there is no money for the industry,” Ali related.

In this regard, he promised that efforts to rescue the sugar sector would be made as soon as the PPP/C transitions into Government.

The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) had written caretaker President David Granger on May 15, detailing the company’s dire financial situation and appealing for a bailout, but the Government had responded by saying the treasury is in no position to bail the corporation out at the moment.

To this end, Ali underscored the urgent need to put systems in place to fix these issues. He promised that his administration “will ensure the productive sector gets back going, to have the right mix of incentives and measures…to bring back energy to the economy, to reignite construction and to rebuild confidence in Guyana.

“We are working now to look at the priorities. How we can cut back expenditures, how we can ensure that the productive sector gets back moving…to ensure the downslide is halted so that we can return our economy to vibrancy…I want to assure you that we are ready to work with every Guyanese, all stakeholders, in moving our country forward together for the betterment of all Guyanese,” Ali assured.

On this note, he is hoping that GECOM would do the “right thing”, so that there is a “smooth transition” of Government, so as to allow the economy to become re-energised for the benefit of the country and its people.

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guyanatimesgy.com

FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020

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

APNU/AFC slaps sugar workers again

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t the dawn of A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) taking office in May 2015, Guyana’s sugar industry was the first target of cruel pronouncements under the guise of have to make hard necessary decisions.

Many of the decisions on the future of the industry were done without thought for the ordinary sugar workers whose lives would be directly affected, many of whom would not be able to provide for their families. In its tenure in office – four years legitimately and one year of hanging on to power after the No Confidence Motion was passed – the APNU/AFC has destroyed the lives of thousands of sugar workers, those of their families, and the lives of those who directly depend of business from these workers.

All of this was done without any fact-based approach, which including a socio-economic impact study that was recommended by a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) set up by the very APNU/AFC Administration. To compound all that has occurred over the past five years, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is now saying that it has run out of cash to meet basic expenditure such salaries, maintenance, and bare essentials.

It comes as no surprise that, again, the unsympathetic approach by the APNU/AFC has been unleashed and the sugar industry has been left out in the cold. Caretaker Finance Minister Winston Jordan slapped sugar workers and the sugar industry as a whole in their faces when he said on Wednesday that there is no money in the treasury to help bail them out.

Given the wanton spending and lack of visionary projects over the past five years, Jordan’s response was almost predictable. The Bank of Guyana’s record, as reported by this newspaper, shows how bankrupted the APNU/AFC has left Guyana. According to the BoG gazetted Statement of Assets and Liabilities, the country’s general reserves have been depleted to $0 and the account is also now running an overdraft to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars.

This is in addition to an alarmingly depleted gold reserve.

As illustrated in the May 23, 2020 publication of the Official Gazette, the General Reserve is -$290,667, 332. It also shows Public Deposits have been depleted to below $0, also recording a negative balance of -$88,629, 401,855. Guyana’s Contingency Reserve account also reflects an alarmingly low amount of $2.3 billion.

In contrast, when APNU/AFC took office in May 2015, the Bank of Guyana’s Statement of Assets and Liabilities reflected gold reserves were stocked at $15 billion. The latest figures show that the gold reserves have been depleted by the APNU/AFC Administration to less $1 billion — now standing at $715 million.

This reflects a difference of $14.3 billion spent by the sitting Administration during its time in office, not accounting for the additional sales of gold that would have cycled through the financial system over the course of the five years in office. In 2015, Guyana’s General Reserve had in its coffers just about $6 billion, while the Contingency reserve held $4 billion. Today, those savings have been eroded to below zero dollars, to now reflect considerable overdrafts.

The General Reserves now stand at minus $291 million, while the Public Deposits now account for an $89 billion red mark or overdraft against the country. While the Contingency reserve stood at $4.8 billion when the APNU/AFC coalition took office, the current accounts reflect a balance of just about 2.3 billion.

This state of affairs of our economic standing is dumfounding.

Under the APNU/AFC Administration, sugar workers have not only been plunged into poverty, but have been humiliated in the process, as their dignity was stripped as thousands were suddenly made incapable of providing for their families.

Given the state of our financial standing, it is obvious that APNU/AFC cannot offer any relief mechanism to the additional thousands of workers who are now on the breadline.

We support the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union’s statement on Wednesday that the Granger-led regime has turned its back on the sugar belt and, from all appearances, is prepared to drive a large section of Guyanese into poverty.

What a shameful mess made by the APNU/AFC in a mere five years. It will now be up to the new Irfaan Ali- led Administration to take up the tedious task of having to revive the industry which was destroyed, demolished and shattered by the APNU/AFC.

Mr Green needs a lesson in Guyanese History Dear Editor, I write to share my concerns with you in respect to a letter appearing in the Letters to the Editor Column written by Hamilton Green of the Thursday June 11, 2020, edition of Kaieteur News newspaper, which letter speaks of a certain date in June 1964, some 56 years ago.

Mr. Editor, Mr. Green -who appears rather senile in the manner of his diction and of his memory of a certain date in June 1964 -seemingly wants to impress upon the readers of his letter that his recollection of things that happened in Guyana in June 1964 are the only important precursor event relevant to June 2020; and that 56 years ago, our business back then had nothing to do with non-Guyanese persons; and that it was all only an internal Guyanese affair, a sort of secret society.

Mr. Editor, Mr. Green needs a lesson in Guyanese History. I don’t know how on earth right-thinking persons of Guyanese descent in the nineteen sixties could have even thought of electing a politician like him to serve them. Well, I did hear talk that he had had himself rigged in to office, and thus served illegally and illegitimately as a Prime Minister of our great nation, but in a period which is now referred to as “Guyana’s Dark Sixties”.

As a former Caribbean History CXC teacher at Skeldon Line Path Secondary in 1991, I am still very well aware of West Indian leaders’ input into the affairs of Guyana, as many British leaders who lived at the time were involved in politics.

In this letter, Mr. Green even goes on to try to give advice to Guyanese political leaders in present day.

Give me a break! How someone with his questionable past and from so dated a period -- and now holding a non-relevant capacity in the current national affairs of

Guyana, or within the past 30 years in national politics -- could even try to do this sort of thing is beyond me.

He should be leaving that job to people like Mr. Granger of APNU, or Mr. Dominic Gaskin of the AFC. Giving advice is surely not his forte, I propose.

I know of Mr. Green.

He is a has-been politician who is like a spent bullet after leaving a gun’s chamber – of ABSOLUTELY no use in our political arena today. Georgetown fired him.

He left the City a disgraced mayor and went into seclusion, and I guess was hoping that the legal officer attached to City Hall would not find him to serve him court documents in efforts to retrieve all the funds unlawfully unaccounted for by him.

Our Guyanese society, and I would like to think most Guyanese who recently voted, are strenuously trying to rid themselves of people like him in our political arena, as people like him are only bent on stealing from the coffers to fill their own pockets, and don’t really give a hoot for the poor people who sleep on their floors with little or no food in their kitchens, and those who climb on the backs of their fellow Guyanese and unfairly take what isn’t theirs.

I would like to advise Mr. Hamilton Green, other long forgotten past Parliamentarians, and others who may still be interested in learning some things about running a country and allocating its resources, that to make a country strong and economically viable in a period 20–25 years into this century; a country having come from a society last century where slavery was the order of the day; much urban planning is required by the leaders. There has to be much steadfast teamwork, sterling display of citizenry and great commitment is necessary.

The 2021 community leaders must avoid imple-

menting programmes that result in making us become poorer, for I often get dreams of my fellow Guyanese who are seen still sleeping “hungry belly” and then waking up to a vicious life of dire poverty.

Editor, we Guyanese went through WW2 in the 1940s as part of the Allies team, to place human dignity and democracy on the forefront of human existence, and we suffered through the aftermath of the economic model of plantocracy in the 1950s. We started eagerly upon a course in the 1980s as a Co-operative Republic, and we have been given a written guide.

GUYANA has oil, which is given to us by God, and this takes shrewd, and savvy politicians to manage that sort of enriching resource.

The job of being a politician needs a committed Guyanese, not a mere citizen. He or she must be an individual who acts unlike a “morbid sleepy Joe” at the top; or a dual citizen with a safety valve; or a racist, bigot, or sinful person. The vocation of a Guyanese politician demands a higher calling from the rest of our populace. Such an individual must also attend proper post-secondary schools to reinforce their knowledge, as knowledge is surely an ingredient of the job functions of a politician.

They must study courses in Political Science, Economics, Business Administration, Law, Sociology, Psychology, Public Policy, Urban Studies, etc., and become knowledgeable of the tools and mannerisms necessary to make one adept at allocating resources diligently and effectively in a society; because, sooner or later, power will be invested in their hands, and they ought not to abuse the use of power, but to use it wisely when needed. They should go to schools like the University of the West Indies or such like universities, which have

programmes catering to Guyanese students entering their roster every academic term.

I can think of a few such politicians in the Caribbean over the past century, who have made their marks and have helped their countries greatly; none were Guyanese.

We were fortunate as a people, as we did not have to fight a war to secede from our mother country, and we got independence handed to us at a time when British plantation owners were losing their grip in colonies like British Guiana. This is what I used to teach my students at Skeldon Line Path Secondary.

Mr. Granger has served Guyana for 4 years. Whether viewed as a loved leader or a dictator, democratic hegemony becomes a learning lesson for us Guyanese; and as the world turns, so does Guyana.

But let us not leave our country behind, and please let us not dwell on any day in June 1964, as the writer of that letter would like us to do.

For surely by doing so, we stand to get distracted from keeping our eyes on the ball.

Rather, let us look at June 2020! Today matters!

Take a look at what people like Tim Jonas, Bharrat Jagdeo, Lenox Shuman, etc., well respected politicians are advising us about our times, and understand the predicament we, as a nation, are in.

We all know that a few can’t rule the majority – South Africa is a good example. Majority rule is the better option. I trust that come July 2020, Guyana would hopefully be in a position to say, “I’m back!!!” and in a big way, much like the famous coined phrase of a former California Governor, and a true politician of great ilk in the Western Hemisphere.

Dear Editor, Guyana is bleeding. Our people await anxiously for GECOM to declare the winner of the March 2 elections.

While our people are fatigued by the sloth and the machinations of GECOM and the indecency and shenanigans of David Granger’s APNU+AFC, Guyana is reeling.

On Monday, GuySuCo admitted they wrote David Granger begging him to assist them from closing down because they have no money, putting 10,000 people out of jobs. On Wednesday, the Ministry of Finance admitted what the PPP has been saying for months: that Ministry has bankrupt-

ed the country.

They responded to GuySuCo that, as much as they would like to help, the Ministry has no resource available to do so. They did not call it bankruptcy, they called it “an inability” to meet the financial needs of GuySuCo. These two reports affirm the financial mess Guyana is in, as reported in the Bank of Guyana’s most recent Report. In March, the deposits in the Bank of Guyana showed an overdraft of $82B; this increased to $92B by April. In a single month, APNU+AFC has accumulated an overdraft of $10B. In May 2015, the depos-

its were a positive $8.5B. APNU+AFC spent out all of that money, most of the $25B gold deposits, and then went into overdraft of $92B by end of April. It is possible that the overdraft is in excess of $100B right now.

In the meanwhile, they refuse to tell the nation what happened to the $US18M bonus that EXXON paid Guyana in 2016, and have steadfastly refused to account for the $30B loan they took on behalf of GuySuCo. The Ministry of Finance confessed that SPU/NICIL disbursed about $9B of the $30B GuySuCo loan to GuySuCo. Just over $20B of that loan is unaccount-

ed for. GuySuCo does not need APNU+AFC to find the money it needs to operate; more than $20B from the loan is available, but that money is hidden. We have no idea if they have used it for non-GuySuCo expenses.

As the GuySuCo tragedy unfolds, threatening another 10,000 sugar workers with loss of jobs in addition to the more than 7,000 who have already lost their jobs, NICIL has sold GuySuCo lands, more than $4B worth, but GUYSUCO did not directly benefit from such sales. In fact, $2.5B from land sales went to cover interests on the loan, with another $1.5B to be paid soon.

Sincerely, M Shabeer Zafar Barrister Solicitor Notary

Swearing in new President critical, not only because he won, but our country is bleeding

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

guyanatimesgy.com

FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020

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

“You can fool Lindeners sometimes, but you can’t fool them all the time” Dear Editor, On Tuesday June 09, 2020, the PNCR faction of the APNU-AFC mustered a team and travelled to Linden to meet with their executive members and supporters to do damage control.

They then engaging in radio and television programmes which were riddled with falsehoods and exaggerations – obvious deceptions of the sort that clearly warn careful listeners of this obvious truth: they were listening to liars.

The APNU-AFC leaders lie cleverly by taking things out of context, or using phony comparisons.

Sometimes they only exaggerate, which is a common flaw of politicians; but they do it more often, more blatantly, and more shamelessly than most.

Using Linden to spread the race card will not materialise. Lindeners: we are considered by every Guyanese as smart and educated people in this region, and you would have seen the truth unveiled at the end of the recount process by Chris Jones and Sherod Duncan.

Fact#1: Lindeners, the tabulation of Statements of Poll (SOPs) was interrupted in District Four (DemeraraMahaica) after Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo switched from the legal procedure, which ensures transparency. Each SOP had to be exhibited to stakeholders present to enable comparison with their copies. However, Mingo diverted to a procedure in which the purported numbers from the SOPs were incorporated into a consolidated spreadsheet, which led to immediate calls for transparency from both local and international observers.

Mingo had fraudulently inflated the number of votes for the Coalition during the tabulation, but this was exposed by stakeholders who were in possession of the Statements of Poll (SOPs) from the 897 polling stations in the district.

The APNU-AFC has refused to release its SOPs, which it claims are proof of its victory, while the copies of the SOPs released by the PPP show that party comfortably winning the elections by more than 15,000 votes.

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has also refused to release its SOPs, despite doing so in the past.

Fact#2: Lindeners, after recourse to the High Court, when all the parties except APNU/AFC protested the sleight of hand that facilitated inflation of the votes for that party, following a High Court decision, Mingo was ordered to revert to the prescribed procedure, but he submitted totals that varied substantially from those of other parties, and had the APNU/ AFC ahead, rather than the PPPC. Contempt of court proceedings against Mingo will be held on Thursday June 11,

2020, over his failure to comply with several court orders issued by Justice George in relation to the counting and tabulation of votes for district #4, the largest electoral district.

Fact#3: Retired Justice Claudette Singh, Chairwoman of GECOM, agreed to a recount of all the votes, which had been proposed by caretaker President David Granger and agreed to

by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo after an intervention by several Caricom leaders.

Since then, both leaders have recommitted to accepting the results of the recount.

Fact#4: Lindeners, the OLE is quite large when compared to the actual size of the country’s population.

They were built in with several built-in safeguards, such as indelible ink on voters’ index fingers, and the deployment of political party representatives at polling stations in our country’s electoral system; it was almost impossible for people to cheat.

There is no necessary relationship between a bloated list and APNU assuming that all the people who were dead voted. PNC/R had scrutineers in every electoral office. Those scrutineers would have familiarised themselves with the neighbourhood and the district. The fact that APNU+AFC personnel turned up suddenly with death certificates after the elections, the question now lingers: Why did they not use that information to query people’s legitimacy?

Fast#5: Lindeners, 460,352 valid votes were cast in the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections out of 661,378 registered voters and a total estimated population of 750,000 persons. At the 2015 polls, 411,970 valid votes were cast from a register of 583,444 persons and a total population of 750,000 persons. Guyana has a very “itinerant” population, and there was no way of removing people who have died overseas.

Fact#6: The Constitution of Guyana, this is, Art 177 (2) (b), states: “Where there are two or more Presidential candidates, if more votes are cast in favour of the list in which a person is designated as Presidential candidate than in favour of another list, that Presidential candidate shall be deemed to be elected President and shall be so declared by the Chairman of the Elections Commission…”

The recounted and tabulated results show that the PPP/C won 233,336 votes, and APNU+AFC 217,920 votes, and three small political parties - A New and United Guyana, Liberty and Justice Party, and The New Movement – that contested the polls separately won a total of 5,190 votes, which entitle them to one seat in the 65seat National Assembly.

Fact#7: GECOM is yet to officially declare the results, but the Organisation of American States (OAS), which

include the 14 Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states, has already said the recount results could be used to declare a credible result and install a government on the basis of the will of the people.

It was the APNU-AFC caretaker Government that said the CARICOM election scrutineers’ report would be among those to be considered by GECOM before it declares the results. However, it was the same APNU-AFC coalition candidate and former Member of Parliament (MP), James Bond, who accused APNU+AFC agents of a “criminal collusion”.

He said, “Those agents, socalled agents, that persons are saying belong to APNU+AFC who were in those places when these things happened”, shame on you. If you were there at all, shame on you.

Shame on you.”

The untruths from the PNCR-APNU-AFC leaders cause me to get both philosophical and nostalgic for a moment, when listening to them trying to convince the people of Linden and Region #10. My message to the APNU-AFC leaders is: “You can fool the Lindeners sometimes, but you cannot fool them all the time.” This is one time “Lindeners are fed up with your falsehood”, and will do the right thing for our community.

The voices from the domestic and international communities – local Church leaders; the Private Sector Commission; the US State Department; Ambassadors of the US, EU, UK, Caricom and OAS, have been calling for an acceptance of the recount by all the parties, leading to a peaceful transition for the new government that has been chosen by the people of Guyana.

I can also tell you that the power of the objectivity paradigm ensured that pretty much every statement asserted must be based on a verifiable fact. What we heard from the APNU-AFC representatives on radio and television were far from verifiable facts.

Lindeners, you need accurate and honest information from your APNU-AFC leaders. It is you, the people, who decide for yourselves which side you find more trustworthy or persuasive.

There’s a part of human nature that, rather than wanting to know what’s accurate and true, wants to believe certain things, whether true or not. I’m not one who thinks David Granger is a genius, but if he is a genius, his genius is rooted in his understanding of the truth. It’s not that PNCR are clever about it, they blatantly lie all the time. In the age of fact-checkers, their lives are easily and quickly identified and publicised. But this easy access to a catalogue of their lies has no apparent influence on the bond between the PNCR and the roughly 40 percent of the electorate that supports them, or at least “approves”

of them, as measured by approval polls.

I assume, and more than assume, that some portion of this 40 percent knows that the PNCR leaders lied a lot, and wishes they would lie less, but doesn’t disapprove of that aspect of their leadership as much as they approve of some of their failed policies.

I don’t know, and probably can’t know, how many of their supporters viewed it that way. I try to respect their beliefs, which differ from mine on many of these electoral issues and policy issues.

But maybe it’s because I’m an ‘old school’ person who was indoctrinated in the importance of factual accuracy – it’s hard for me to understand a willingness to excuse such lying. Still, they are free to make that choice.

The APNU-AFC is trying to create an ethnic contest. The racial division tune by the PNCR leadership is dangerous and deceptive in Linden. Conveniently, this

is once again distracting the people of Linden from the prize ahead.

I worry more about those, presumably most of their supporters, who cannot bring themselves to acknowledge the lying. It’s frightening. It’s cultish.

And I assume that many, or most, members of that cult don’t read what is written in the news media. How can the APNU-AFC on national television claim to the people of Linden that they have won these elections?

Lindeners, you are too intelligent and smart to allow these PNCR Leaders to pull you by a “nose ring” and continue to deceive the people of Linden and Region #10.

If you doubt the level of the PNCR mendacity as I’ve described, you must refer to our media houses for the fact checks on the various falsehoods you heard.

Lindeners, I encourage you all to align yourselves with a People’s Progressive

Swearing in new...

Thus GUYSUCO had $34B of its own money, albeit mostly a loan, but they have no control of those funds; the APNU+AFC-controlled NICIL controls the money.

The greater tragedy is that this same Government forced Guyana to spend close to $1B for a recount exercise for the March elections when they knew full well that the Statements of Poll were accurate. We spent $1B for a totally needless exercise, while 10,000 sugar workers are facing a close-down of the remaining sugar estates.

Guyana is in a mess as a result of APNU+AFC’s squandermania.

In accordance with the Constitution, Dr. Irfaan Ali is deemed the President of Guyana. Swearing in Dr. Irfaan Ali as Guyana’s new President is urgent, not just because the PPP won the elections of March 2, but because our country is bleeding.

The elections were held more than 100 days ago.

Twice we have had the real results. On the evening of 2nd March, 2339 presiding

officers counted the votes and published the results at each one of the 2339 polling stations. The PPP published their copies of the SOPs online on March 5. Some of these SOPs were published in the Stabroek News, but GECOM and APNU+AFC hid their copies.

The recount, however, is finished; it was needless and it was expensive. There are better ways to use $1B; a caring Government, a decent and honest President, would know that.

The swearing in of President Ali is no longer about the winner deserving to be sworn in immediately. This is about the desperate need for an effective Government now. There is an urgent need for a Government to take control and stop Guyana from reeling into economic calamity.

Already, Guyana has been set back for decades. It was only in December last that there was euphoria that OIL finally is part of Guyana’s economy. Yet, six months later, Guyana’s economy is stag-

Party/Civic comprehensive full range of policies and programmes. We all need a society which is free, prosperous, socially just, globally competitive, and which serves every Guyanese equitably.

Every Guyanese must have an opportunity for a good education, access to good paying jobs, be able to start their own business, raise and provide for your family, own your own homes, live in a safe and secure environment, and retire with dignity.

Every Guyanese must have full access to quality healthcare, safe water, be able to participate in sports and recreation, and freely practise their religion and culture. We believe our hard work and sacrifice, bolstered by an economy strengthened by an oil and gas sector, must guarantee the next generation of Guyanese a brighter and brighter future.

Sincerely David Adams

FROM PAGE 4

nant and Guyana’s financial and macro-economic status is one of bankruptcy.

For David Granger to callously and illegally cling on to the Presidency while Guyana is falling into the abyss is indecent, dishonest and criminal. But even with the desperate economic times, APNU+AFC is raping the resources of the country. The latest information is that assets of the State, such as State lands, are being willy-nilly distributed to their sycophants, family and friends. In the meanwhile, illegal ministers are busy reappointing boards.

This is why it has become desperately urgent for the new Government to be sworn in. It is not just because the PPP and Dr. Irfaan Ali won; it is because unless it is done now, Guyana will be completely bankrupt, State assets will be illegally distributed, and we will need decades to recover. Even OIL will not help.

Dr Leslie Ramsammy

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FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020

Page

Foundation

Guyana Times is pleased to publish the Education Ministry’s National Grade Six Assessment Past Papers and CXC questions.

Below are Mathematics Paper 1, 2012 and CXC Maths.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

NATIONAL GRADE SIX ASSESSMENT

MATHEMATICS PAPER 1

TIME: 1 hour 10 minutes READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU ATTEMPT TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS.

Only ONE response is correct.

1. WRITE YOUR CANDIDATE NUMBER ON THE ANSWER SHEET AND UNDERLINE THE SUBJECT.

3. If you are not sure of the answer to a question, then choose the one which you think is BEST. On your answer sheet, draw a heavy black line through the letter you have chosen.

2. This test contains 40 questions. You are required to answer ALL questions. Four responses are given for each question. The responses are A, B, C and D.

4. BE SURE THAT THE QUESTION NUMBER IN THE BOOKLET IS THE SAME AS THE ONE YOU HAVE USED ON YOUR ANSWER SHEET.

1. What is the value of the underlined digit in 8888?

(A 8000 (B) 800 (C) 80 (D)

Here is an example done for you.

ANSWER SHEET 1. The sum of 4 and 5 is (A) 1 (B) 9 1. AOC D 1. A B C D (C) 20 (D) 45 A heavy black line has been drawn through the letter B on the answer sheet because 9, the correct answer, is next to B.

next to the answer you have now chosen.

6. REMEMBER, each answer MUST only be shown by a heavy black line on your Answer Sheet.

7. Remember only ONE answer must be provided for each question.

5. If you make a mistake, erase the line cleanly, then draw a heavy black line through the letter

6. Which of the following is a circular base pyramid?

8. How many edges are in the cuboid above?

(A) 4 (C) 12

2. What is the prime number between 20 and 25?

(A) 21 (B) 22 (C) 23 (D) 24

9. The set that is equivalent {a, b, c} (A) {2,3,4,5} (B) {d, e, f,} (C) {7,8,9} (D) {i, ii, iii, iv)

Study the multiplication exercise below carefully, then answer question 3.

10. Which one is a subset of {V, ÷,1,

Study Figure 1 below carefully, then answer question 7.

11. Which of the following represents a percentage relationship?

(A) 9 ÷ 7 (C) 79% (B) 7:9 (D) 7.9

3. What is the multiplicand?

(A) 299 (B) 230 (C) 23 (D) 13

12. Which one represents a pictograph?

4. A factor of 12 is (A) 36 (B) 24 (C) 13 (D) 6 5. Which figure has two right angles?

7. The formula for finding the perimeter for the regular hexagon in Figure 1 is (A) 6 s (B) 5 s (C) 4 s (D) 3 s Figure 2 below is a cuboid. Use it to answer question 8.

13. How many decades are there in a millennium?

(A) 10 (C) 500 (B) 100 (D) 1000 14. One hundred twenty-one million twelve thousand can be written as (A) 121 000 012 (C) 121 012 000 (B) 121 001 200 (D) 121 120 000 15. 238.24 ÷ 100 (A) 0.2382 (C) 23.82 (B) 238.2 (D) 2.382 16.

CXC MATHS 1 (a) Simplify (i) 3n5 x 4n2 (ii) Solve for x 4(x=10) – 7 + 8x (b) Simplify (i) 9y2 – 1 (ii) 2p2 -4p – 20

NEWS

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FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Granger must account for $333M spent daily while pussy-footing on GuySuCo – GAWU …as Union questions whether caretaker Govt let industry collapse

Caretaker President David Granger

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he caretaker David Granger regime has turned its back on the sugar belt and, from all appearances, is prepared to drive a large section of Guyanese into poverty, leaving the industry’s workers’ representatives to question where the Administration spent a whopping $333 million on a daily basis over the past month.

This was the supposition by the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) on Thursday, in responding to the Finance Ministry’s adumbration that the Treasury was presently incapable of providing financial support to the sugar industry.

GAWU has since accused

the Administration of “pussyfooting” around on the request that was made by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) for financial support since the middle of last month – May 15, 2020.

“This unwarranted delay in addressing GuySuCo’s survival plea brings into focus the level of importance Government places on the sugar sector. In fact, this type of action contradicts the grand statements often made by Government officials about its commitment to reorganising and reforming the sugar sector,” GAWU said.

It was pointed out that while the Finance Ministry in a statement on Wednesday “seems to admit that the Treasury is empty and the country is bankrupt”, the Corporation’s written “request and plea did not attract the President’s attention until a copy of the correspondence found its way into public eye”.

The Ministry’s statement followed a reported engagement between de facto President David Granger and his Ministers of Finance and Agriculture and coincided with a report by Guyana Times which highlighted the state of affairs in the sugar industry.

GAWU on Thursday

try, had explained that the COVID-19 situation and reduced national income were making it prohibitive to assist GuySuCo. The Union has since used

missive, said: “we, like many Guyanese, must ask: where did this money go? Certainly, it did not reach the hands of thousands of Guyanese who need the State’s help at this time. We believe the use of the large sum may be an interesting story in itself.”

The Union used the occasion to also remind that President Granger committed a year ago that he would ensure that monies were released to the sugar industry –monies secured under a $30 billion bond backed by

the occasion to juxtapose and point out that “this explanation is given at a time when overdraft in the public bank account skyrocketed by $10 billion in the month of April alone, which is approximately $333 million per day”.

As such, GAWU, in its

Government assets.

This promise failed, and according to GAWU, “the industry lost one year of investments for its reorienting and reorganising programmes”.

As such, it contends, “dithering by the Administration

“…we, like many Guyanese, must ask: where did this money go? Certainly, it did not reach the hands of thousands of Guyanese who need the State’s help at this time. We believe the use of the large sum may be an interesting story in itself” – GAWU noted that GuySuCo wrote President Granger since mid-May, informing him of the Corporation’s financial state and a need for urgent support, and that Finance Minister Winston Jordan and Agriculture Minister Noel Holder had also received copies of the letter.

GAWU has since iterated that the action or inaction on the part of the Administration “raises the question whether the caretaker Government had any intention to address the issue or whether it was prepared to allow the industry to close its doors under the cover of election noise”.

The Union, in a public missive on Thursday, lamented “it is almost unimaginable that a Government would aid and abet such a situation which has enormous social consequences”.

The Finance Ministry, in its statement pointing out its inability to provide financial support to the indus-

GAWU General Secretary Seepaul Narine

has extracted a significant opportunity cost from the industry” .

According to GAWU, the decision by the Granger Government, “in our view, does not serve to meaningfully address the concerns raised by the GuySuCo Chairman in his correspondence”.

In fact, the Union contends “that it is no more than a tangible demonstration of the coalition’s unsympathetic regard for the sugar industry and the thousands of Guyanese who depend on it for a livelihood”.

GAWU continued, “the Administration’s disdain for the sector is well-established and documented. It is an ignominious period for an industry that literally caused the formation of, and built Guyana.”

8 NEWS

FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Repeat offenders get 4 years each for $13M theft

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orty-six-year-old Patrick Smith, of Cortha Street, Albouystown, Georgetown, and 25-year-old Linton Trotman, of Guyhoc Park, Georgetown, were on Thursday sentenced to four years in prison after they were charged with a $13 million theft.

The two men made their virtual appearance before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly via Skype at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts and were found guilty of the charge which stated that between January 10 and 11, 2019, at King Street, Georgetown, they broke and entered Bassant’s Trading and stole

Jailed: Linton Trotman

$13 million in cash, property of Bissoondyal Deodasingh.

According to reports, on January 10, 2019, Deodasingh secured the mon-

ey in a safe on the second floor of the building, but when he turned up the following day, he discovered that the safe had been tampered with and the cash was missing.

Police subsequently reviewed the Close Circuit Television (CCTV) footage and based on evidence, arrested the suspects. Trotman was allegedly found with $410,000 in his possession while $2 million, along with the documents, was later recovered.

A third suspect, Elton King, allegedly admitted to dropping off and picking up the two men in his vehicle, along with another man after they committed the act.

King allegedly received $1.3 million as his share.

Furthermore, when King was questioned, he denied knowing the two accused and any involvement in the

Jailed: Patrick Smith

robbery. Based on advice received from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), no charge was made out against King, and he was used as a witness for the prosecution.

It was revealed that both defendants had been previously charged and had pending matters in the court; as such, Magistrate Daly sentenced the duo to four years in prison.

Vendor committed to stand High Court trial for attempted murder Crime scene photographer

Revelana Smith, also known as “Ducky”

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wenty-five-year-old Revelana Smith, also known as “Ducky”, a vendor of William Street, Kitty, Georgetown, was on Thursday committed to stand trial in the High Court for the attempted murder of her child father’s girlfriend.

This ruling was handed down by Senior Magistrate Leron Daly, at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, who noted that the evidence presented during

the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) was satisfactory and sufficient. Thus, Smith will now face a jury.

The charge against Smith states that on March 26, 2019, at Pike Street, Kitty, Georgetown, she wounded Renetta Bharrat, a Policewoman, with the intent to commit murder.

Facts presented during the PI stated that on the day in question, the Policewoman received a phone call from her boyfriend, who has a child with Smith requesting that they meet in Kitty.

On arrival, Smith exited a car with a cutlass in her hand and began chopping Bharrat about her body.

Smith then made good her escape while Bharrat was picked up and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where she was admitted.

In fact, Smith is a known troublemaker as she was slapped with an eight-month sentence for assaulting an inmate while being imprisoned at the La Penitence Police Station for the crime committed on Bharrat.

testifies in “Gully Bop” murder PI

Murder accused Shamar Harvey

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he Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the murder of 18-year-old Christopher Mansfield continued at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday with the testimony of the crime scene photographer.

Standing trial for the murder of the teen is 21-yearold Shamar Harvey of Lot 135 King Edward Street, Albouystown.

The PI is being heard

by Senior Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts with evidence being led by Police Prosecutor Richard Harris.

Kevin Thomas, who is

Dead: Christopher Mansfield

stationed at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), took to the stand and give a detailed account of what he saw when he visited the crime scene on March 31, 2019.

Police stated that now dead teen was attacked by three males, who were armed with a cutlass, knife, and gun respectively. During the attack, the young man, also known as “Gully Bop”, was stabbed, chopped, and shot dead.

The teen, formerly of Barr Street, Albouystown, was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

PPP and a…

W

…bankrupt Guyana – again hen the PPP acceded to office in 1992, after 28 years of PNC elections’ rigging, they inherited a treasury that was even more bare than Mother Hubbard’s cupboards. Her cupboards just didn’t have anything in them, but the Treasury the PNC left had actually owed foreigners so much money they could’ve literally taken over the country if they wanted to. They didn’t want to, because it was such a wreck on every front. The PPP had to spend a decade just wiping out those debts.

But it took up time and effort, and money that could’ve been deployed to develop the country. Very few people remember the Herculean effort of Bharrat Jagdeo to fill all those holes left by the PNC before he went on to transform Guyana from a Highly Indebted Poor Country to a High Middle Income Country.

That’s what the PNC inherited in 2015: the country with the most consistent growth record in the region over the previous two decades -- that transformed the lives of ordinary citizens by doubling living standards from what it had been in 1992! Imagine, the PPP brought us to a point where there wasn’t just a chicken in every pot, but a car in every driveway!!

But what did the PNC do with that inheritance after their five years?? Once again emptied the Treasury, that’s what!! Take, for instance, our “General Reserves”. These are assets that are readily available (liquid) to finance our national expenses - if we have an imbalance between what we purchase and what we export. You can think of them like the money in your bank account that allows you to spend that little extra when needed - beyond your monthly salary.

Well, the sad truth, dear reader, is that not only are our Reserves depleted, but we owe $290 million, which the PPP will have to find the day they’re sworn in!! Now, talking about bank accounts – governments also have these: they’re called Public Deposits. They come mainly from the taxes you and businesses pay to the Government. But guess what?? Not only have these been zeroed out, but we have a NEGATIVE BALANCE of $88 billion! That is: the Govt has actually used cash that they don’t actually have- from the banking system, which left less for the private sector to use!!

Do we need to go on?? You can now understand why GuySuCo can’t be bailed out - even if Granger hadn’t mean to kill it!

So, once again, the PPP will be forced to clean up the PNC’s mess before they can get to implement all the plans they have for Guyana. But that will never be acknowledged.

It’s déjà vu all over again!! …kleptocratic PNC The PNC stole more in their 5 years than what they’d accused the PPP of stealing in 23!! In 1992, corruption was one of the main causes for the collapse of Guyana’s economy under the PNC. Hoyte had even conducted a CoI into the phenomenon after he took over in 1985!! But one of the mistakes of the PPP administration was not to go after the miscreants who bled us dry – when they took over.

Take the GNCB, for instance. Billions and billions had been lent to PNC friends and cronies, but they were allowed to get off scot free – under Jagan’s policy of “No victimisation; no recrimination”. History must not be allowed to repeat itself: the crooks who’ve looted our Treasury must be brought to justice – if only to tell those in the new PPP administration that, this time, things have to be different.

The looting has intensified in the last three months. A reformed SARA and SOCU plus the FIU must go after these looters.

It’s not just Mingo!! …mysterious instruction from Mingo Why did Mingo want the papers – including counterfoils, voters’ lists, and excess ballots, from those 29 boxes?

Wasn’t to game the recount – the PNC’s not that “far see”!

More mundanely, he wanted the unused ballots to stuff elsewhere?

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

9 Caricom will not tolerate anybody stealing an election – incoming Chairman NEWS

FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

…says will not stand idly by to watch recount results set aside …as APNU/AFC now claims over 237,000 votes tainted straight and plain.”

According to Dr Gonsalves, however, “Caricom is not going to tolerate anybody stealing any election”.

He went further to note that very many times, “a lot of Opposition parties when they lose, or anybody who loses, say so and so thief.”

The incoming Caricom Chairman observed, howev-

GECOM Chair, Retired Justice Claudette Singh

I

ncoming Chairman of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), St Vincent and Grenadines Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves is adamant the 20-member bloc of nations, “will not stand by idly and watch the recount (of ballots cast in the March 2 Guyana General and Regional Elections) which is properly done, for the results to be set aside”.

Dr Gonsalves was at the time speaking on a radio programme and was asked to weigh in on the electoral state of affairs in Guyana and was adamant, “St Vincent and the Grenadines stands firmly for democracy and respecting the will of the people so that will tell you where we are. I don’t have to say anything more. I am

He said it was expected that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) “will honour that recount and declare the winner in accordance with this recount”.

He surmises that subsequently, “anybody who then wants to challenge anything after can go to court, but you have to declare the winner in accordance with the recount”.

“When you take part in an election, there’s always a chance you may lose and if you lose, take your licks like a man” – Dr Ralph Gonsalves er, “…we get the reports, follow the laws and who wins, wins”.

According to Dr Gonsalves, “when you take part in an election, there’s always a chance you may lose, and if you lose”, he quipped, “take your licks like a man”.

Reiterating that “I am satisfied that Caricom will not stand by idly and watch the recount, which is properly done, for the results to be set aside”, Prime Minister Gonsalves said “we expect the Caricom Observer Mission to deliver its report and we expect that what is the recount would be honoured”.

Reaffirming his Caricom position, the St Vincent and Grenadines Prime Minister reminded that an election – “stripped of all the regulations here and there” – is essentially three separate though connected elements.

This, he explained saying, “what happens before the election day – that’s the process of registration, putting the machinery in place for the elections... free and fair elections” and “what happens on elections day”.

According to Dr Gonsalves, “there were no complaints about those two processes; nobody said it was a sham elections or irregu-

larities were such as to undermine the efficacy of the poll”.

He noted that the third question which was outstanding was the counting of the votes and “that’s why in the first statement that (Barbadian Prime Minister) Mia Mottley made, as Chair of Caricom, she said each vote must be counted, each vote has to be counted”.

Dr Gonsalves was adamant “this is where you had the basis for the recount…

And the reason why it’s an election and not a selection, you have to count the votes and you have to count them honestly”.

Guyana’s incumbent A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) has since lashed out at the incoming Caricom Chairman, calling his public utterances, “a public position that is prejudicial to the integrity of the process and its eventual outcome”.

Additionally, the APNU/ AFC coalition, in a public statement on Thursday, expressed concern “that as the incoming Chair of the Caricom, Dr Gonsalves has chosen to pronounce on a process that is still ongoing, and proposes to direct a constitutional body in another Caricom Member State, in the execution of its duties”.

Reminding that exercise

Caricom Chair Mia Mottley

was convened under the auspices of the outgoing Mottley, with Caricom being regarded as the “the most legitimate interlocutors”, APNU/AFC added that the “Caricom Scrutineering Team has not yet submitted a report of its findings to GECOM (Guyana Elections Commission) as it is mandated to do in keeping with the gazetted Order.”

The coalition was adamant the recount exercise as agreed to by all political parties with Caricom, and which is set out in the gazetted Order, enumerates a very clear four-staged process, the first of which is the just-concluded tabulation phase.

GECOM, the coalition reminded, is currently engaged in the second stage of the exercise, in which the Chief Elections Officer (CEO) is required to compile a matrix of the tabulated results along with a summary of the Observation Reports in

Incoming Chairman of the Caribbean Community, Dr Ralph Gonsalves

which are recorded the irregularities uncovered in the examination of each of the 2339 ballot boxes.

The political grouping is now claiming that its allegations that have since been recorded in the Observation Reports emanating from the recount process “indicate some 7929 instances of irregularities which directly affect the validity of 257,173 votes.”

The coalition – which according to the recounted figures, has lost two of the seats it held in the National Assembly, along with control of Government and the Executive Presidency— has since complained that Caricom leaders should “refrain from any actions or utterances that could undermine the legitimacy of the process and its credible conclusion”.

10 NEWS

FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

11 vehicles burnt as fire guts Food and Drug Department warns against “deceptive Lusignan auto workshop condensed milk”

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A

The workshop in flames

n auto mechanic is left counting his loses after a fire ripped through his autobody workshop located at Dentist Street, Lusignan, East Coast Demerara (ECD), destroying some 11 vehicles belonging to customers.

The blaze reportedly started around 8:20h on Thursday, and it took the joint efforts of public-spirited citizens and the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) to bring it under control.

The popular workshop was completely destroyed leaving millions of dollars in losses.

The cause of the fire is unknown, but according to Shiv Latchman, the owner of the workshop, he was at Enmore, ECD, when he received a phone call informing him that the shop was on fire.

“One of the guys them called me say that the place is on fire. So, I left what I was doing, and when I come, this is what I reach. I don’t know what started the fire or where the fire started from; all of them tell me is that it started at the back of the house,” he

Firefighters as they arrived at the scene

said.

Latchman further stated that, “all what they said was that they hear noise and see smoke and try to bring out the rest of the vehicles that were in the shop, and that was it. There are millions of losses, and all my equipment, materials – millions lost.

I had about 10 or 11 vehicles that everything burns. Plus, the vehicle on the road, parts for the vehicle was in the house”.

According to witnesses, they heard a loud explosion followed by the huge fire.

Speaking with Guyana Times, a customer who lost his $6 million vehicle in the inferno said he only heard of the blaze when he called to inform the auto mechanic that he was bringing a part to be replaced on his car.

“Actually, we were out on the road now getting parts for the vehicle, because the vehicle is a brand-new vehicle. The vehicle is a 2019 vehicle which was involved in an accident about two months ago, and there are no parts in the country for that vehicle. It is

a Honda City. So, we had to access parts either from Japan or Brazil because they have a company there that makes parts for Honda, but because of the coronavirus, we were not able to source any parts. So, we decided to get a private person who made some inroads in terms of getting the parts, and we went to the Bank this morning (Thursday) to get the monies, because the parts came up to quite a sum,” he explained.

As such, he called the person to tell him that he would drop the money for the part, but instead had to rush to Lusignan where he saw his vehicle destroyed by fire. The depressed customer noted that his vehicle was new and he had not insured it.

Meanwhile, the workshop’s employees managed to save three vehicles, but the rapidly spreading fire and accompanying intense heat prevented them from saving the others.

Latchman had been operating his business at the location for the past two decades. He also confirmed that the business was not insured.

he Government Analyst-Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD) issued an advisory against the importation, distribution, sale and use of a deceptive, misleading and foreign labelled brand of sweetened condensed milk – “Nouveau! New! Promex Nova Leite Condensado Cheio”.

It noted that this milk was not exclusively from a diary source as advertised, but was rather a mixture of milk solids and edible vegetable oil. The GA-FDD noted that this was called ‘filled milk’ and the label misrepresented this, since it was not clearly indicated.

Additionally, the Department explained that labels of any sweetened condensed filled milk should not have a pictorial representation of a cow or any other dairy animal. The label must also carry the disclaimer: “Not suitable for children less than 2 years”.

Such a disclaimer is necessary, because the digestive system of children is not sufficiently developed to process the contents of filled milk.

The GA-FDD said Promex Nova is a very serious public health risk to consumers, especially when the label misrepresents the contents, ultimately making it

intentionally deceptive and misleading while in a foreign language.

According to the Laws of Guyana, Food and Drugs Act, Chapter 34:03 Part IV: “condensed milk or sweetened condensed milk shall be milk, or a milk product, from which water has been evaporated and to which sugar has been added, and shall contain not less than:- 28.0 per cent of milk solids and 8.0 per cent of milk fat; and may contain Vitamin D”.

Also, Part II (6) (1) of the Food and Drugs Act states that: “any person who labels, packages, treats, processes, sells or advertises any food in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive or is likely to create an erroneous impression regarding its character, value, quality, composition, merit, or safety is guilty of an offence”.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 15

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FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Mingo’s conduct warrants “greater punishment” – Nandlall …after withdrawing contempt of court case

Attorney Anil Nandlall

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ormer Attorney General Anil Nandlall has withdrawn the contempt of court proceedings filed against embattled Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo in light of new evidence emanating from the recently concluded National Recount.

The exercise found that Mingo had heavily inflated figures during the tabulation process back in March to favour the incumbent A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Coalition, to given them a landslide lead over the Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).

As such, Nandlall indicated that Mingo’s conduct warrants far greater consequences.

“The gravity of Mingo’s fraud and the dangers to which he exposed this nation and its people warrant far greater punishment than mere contempt of court proceedings. So, at the appropriate time, Mingo’s conduct will be properly addressed,” he told Guyana Times during a brief interview following Thursday’s virtual court

hearing in the contempt of court case against RO Mingo that was up for ruling.

On March 12, Nandlall, on behalf of his client Reeaz Holladar, had filed the case after Mingo breached the relevant electoral laws regarding the tabulation of the Region Four votes, and further violated a previous order by the High Court directing him to comply with Section 84 (1) of the Representation of the People Act, Chapter 1:03 during the tabulation of the votes recorded in the District in accordance with the Statements of Poll (SoP).

In fact, in a subsequent statement on Thursday, Nandlall reminded that at the hearing of the contempt case on March 13, the acting Chief Justice Roxane George “went to great lengths in explaining to the respondents, including Mr. Clairmont Mingo, the various ways by which her Orders can be obeyed by the use of the Statements of Poll. For example, he can either hold it up or he can project it on a screen, but whatever method he uses, it is the Statements of Poll which must be the basis of the tabulation, and the other participants in the process must be allowed a fair opportunity of observing the process and see the Statements of Poll.”

According to Nandlall, the matter was adjourned at that time for Mingo to continue the tabulation exercise in compliance with the court’s “kind and expansive exhortations”; but instead, he went on to commit even more egregious violations of the court’s orders that evening, and proceed to make the contentious declarations on March 13.

“Obviously, this evidence was not available at the time when the contempt proceedings were filed [on March 12].

Subsequently, the National

Recount exercise commenced and was concluded on June 9, 2020. This exercise produced volumes of evidence establishing Mingo’s contemptuous conduct. Again, most naturally, this evidence was not available at the time when the contempt proceedings were filed,” the attorney contended.

Furthermore, Nandlall disclosed that he had previously filed applications for leave to file supplementary affidavits to put before the court this new volume of evidence, but this was not favourably considered by the court.

It is against this backdrop that Nandlall filed a Notice of Withdrawal on Wednesday – the day before the court was expected to hand down a ruling.

During the virtual hearing on Thursday morning, Nandlall told the court it is in the best interest of the administration of justice that they get an opportunity to put before the court these “very relevant and probative evidence” that was not available before; that is, information emanating from the recently concluded National Recount.

However, the Chief Justice admonished the lawyer, pointing out that it is “most unacceptable” at this late stage in the proceedings for such an application to be made. She reminded that she had previously raised the issue with Nandlall on whether the case reached the threshold of contempt proceedings, and even enquired whether he was still proceeding with the matter, to which he had responded in the affirmative.

During the hearing, Nandlall conceded, “…I should have said that I would await the outcome of the recount…”

Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George

Moreover, Justice George argued that the court cannot consider counsel’s strategy, pointing out that he was considering non-legal issues.

She further contended that the applicant was aware that the evidence was every “deficient” from the “get go” of the proceedings, and yet he had gone ahead to waste the court’s time.

“The litigant had over a month…I raised the issue from very early, whether the affidavits as filed met the threshold for contempt proceedings…But yet you proceeded [with the matter as is]. This is most unacceptable,” the judge posited.

The Chief Justice eventually accepted the Notice of Withdrawal despite objections from Mingo’s lawyer, Senior Counsel Neil Boston.

However, she was conflicted on the issue of cost.

Justice George was considering applying same against Nandlall, especially since his client Reaz Holladar is now deceased. Holladar died on March 28.

But Nandlall’s associate in the matter, Attorney Devindra Kissoon, argued that if the applicant is substituted, then the cost could be levied against Holladar’s estate instead.

Nandlall had initially made an application for Padmini Bhiro to be substituted in the matter, but later withdrew the application, which was still pending before the judge.

Nevertheless, the Chief Justice hesitantly agreed.

She granted the substitute application and appointed Padmini Bhiro as the administratrix of Holladar’s estate, so that the cost could be paid.

As such, the cost was set at the total sum of $450,000 – $150,000 each for Mingo; GECOM Chair, Justice Claudette Singh; and Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield, who were also named respondents in the contempt proceedings.

The three Governmentnominated Commissioners at GECOM: Vincent Alexander, Charles Corbin and Desmond Trotman, were also named parties, but according to the judge, there is no evidence to show they were served; hence the cost was only redeemed by three respondents.

Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo

After setting the costs, Chief Justice reminded that “…this is contempt of court proceedings, not ordinary proceedings… The court doesn’t shut you out [from bringing matters], but this is a clear case where, from the get go, it was very obvious that…the evidence was thin…it lacks specifics. Contempt proceedings are very, very serious proceedings.”

However, in his statement, Nandlall pointed out that at none of the previous hearings were any concerns raised about the contempt application being “deficient.”

“No comment was made at [the March 13] hearing about the application being deficient… at this early stage, the very contempt proceedings were able to achieve much in the national public interest,” he contended.

12 NEWS

FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

GECOM legally bound to declare winner Digicel makes timely donation to several orphanages based on recount results – Datadin ...Art 177 needs no gloss: leaves no room for discretion

Attorney-at-Law Sanjeev Datadin

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ow that the national recount of votes cast in the March 2 General and Regional Elections has been completed, the role of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is limited to declaring the winner in accordance with the result of the recount process – and nothing else.

Attorney-at-Law Sanjeev Datadin, expressed this view during a local programme on Kaieteur Radio, where he outlined clearly that only the courts could pronounce on issues of credibility of an election, adding; “GECOM is a statutory body and is obliged to comply with the laws.”

“Once the citizens vote, and you have figured out what their votes are by counting their ballots, GECOM has no discretion,” Datadin, a candidate for the

People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) argued.

He further outlined that GECOM has “absolutely phenomenal powers, but those powers only extend to administering the elections”.

“GECOM cannot take a position that it cannot declare a winner. GECOM knows what the count is,” he insisted.

The Attorney further cited Article 177 2 (B) of the Constitution which speaks to the “deeming provision”. He explained that this provision means that as long as the votes have been counted and tabulated, the Presidential Candidate who heads the List with the most votes is deemed the President “and GECOM shall declare that”.

“It wasn’t that GECOM will go and consider what they think they need to consider,” he argued.

“That is the way it is, when you lose an election; one side feels very down and one side feels very up; that’s the history of the way elections go,” he expressed.

Datadin agreed with many of the legal experts that complaints about irregularities in an election must be taken to a court by way of an elections petition, since “it is only a Judge that has the power to annul an election or to reverse a declaration”.

During the recount exercise, the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition had raised

Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield

a number of allegations which were proven to be false, most of which still ended up on the controversial ‘observation reports’.

Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield is expected to present his report to the Commission for deliberation by June 13 and the Commission would then have no more than three days to declare a winner.

The preliminary tabulated figures have so far placed the Opposition PPP/C in commanding lead over the incumbent APNU/AFC coalition.

The PPP/C is projected to take 33 of the 65 seats in the legislative assembly while APNU/AFC will take 31 seats. The remaining one seat is expected to be held by the joinder alliance comprising the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP); A New and United Guyana (ANUG); and The New Movement (TNM).

CEO Gregory Dean with the items that were donated

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n light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, Digicel Guyana made a timely donation to several children’s homes and the Kingston community emergency food drive at a simple ceremony at its head office in Kingston.

The company has a history over the years of supporting vulnerable children in Guyana and that continues to be high on the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) agenda.

Since its entry into the local market, Digicel has supported many charities, by making contributions to the Hararuni Girls Home, funding the reconstruction of the Mahaica Children’s Home, supporting the Guyana Special Olympics, and supporting the development of youth through sports among other initiatives.

Digicel Guyana’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Gregory Dean said: “It has always been our mandate to support youths whenever we can, and more importantly in this time of COVID-19.

We have also always enjoyed a good relationship with our neighbours in

Kingston and are happy to help them with their drive to support persons in the community.”

The orphanages receiving donations were the Shaheed Boys Orphanage, Prabhu Sharan Orphanage, Hope Children’s Home. Representatives from these homes were present and expressed gratitude to Digicel for always thinking of them and for their continued support.

Dean further stated that “Digicel remains committed to assisting in the fight against the COVID-19 virus and will continue to provide support to this national effort as necessary”.

Among the measures taken in this regard, the company has donated Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to frontline workers, zero-rated calls to the Public Health Ministry’s hotlines, and provided free access to the Education Ministry; Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO); World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Public Health Ministry websites.

TURN TO PAGE 14

NEWS

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FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

US Embassy issues “security alert” ahead of elections result declaration

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ith fears of post-election declaration protests looming, the US Embassy in Georgetown on Thursday issued a “security alert” and guidelines for its citizens, in the event of such occurrences.

The security alert was issued on the US Embassy’s website, advising US Government personnel to take precautions.

The statement reads: “Host country security and law enforcement will likely have an increased presence before and after the announcement of the elections results in the coming weeks.

It is possible that large crowds could gather at Government venues. US Government personnel have been advised to take precau-

come violent.

The official declaration for Guyana’s March 2 General and Regional Elections is expected to be made soon.

Only on Wednesday, the

According to Presidential Candidate Irfaan Ali, the Top Cop assured that all systems are in place to deal with such situations should they arise.

Guyana records 2 new COVID-19 cases

…active cases now stand at 54

tions to prepare for any unexpected disruptions to their normal routine.”

The US Embassy, located in Kingston, Georgetown, went on to share a list of actions their personnel should take in the event that their fears come to fruition.

Personnel were advised

to avoid large gatherings and demonstrations, monitor local media sources such as radio and television reports, and exercise caution if they unexpectedly wound up in the vicinity of a protest.

The US Embassy was also keen to note that even peaceful protests could quickly be-

Accomplice confesses to plotting robbery against Linden businessman

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s Police continue their investigation into the robbery which left a 22-year-old bandit – identified as Kevin Batson of 161 First Alley, Wismar, Linden – dead, ranks have since arrested his accomplice who was found hiding in a house not far from the scene and confessed to planning the robbery against the businessman.

Police, acting on intelligence, went to a house at Victory Valley, Wismar, where they were able to arrest the man.

Upon his arrest, a search was carried out on his person during which an unlicensed pistol with two live ammunition, a toque, gloves, dove spray, and several pieces of garments with suspected bloodstains were found.

He has since given a detailed account of what transpired during the robbery.

On Wednesday, Batson was shot dead by a businessman who he had robbed of a sum of cash, a cellphone, and several other items.

According to Police, Batson, along with his accomplice, went to the businessman’s shop on Wednesday and ordered a garden rake

People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) met with Police Commissioner Leslie James to discuss a number of issues, including the possibility of post-elections violence.

Some of the items retrieved from the dead bandit

and opted to pay before the item was delivered.

It was then he whipped out a handgun and struck the victim to his face and head before relieving him of his valuables.

As the perpetrators were making their escape, the store owner pursued them. In an attempt to scare the businessman, Batson opened fire, but the businessman drew his licensed pistol and returned fire, hitting him.

Police Officers were summoned to the scene and they also discharged several rounds in the direction of the perpetrators, but the men managed to make good their escape.

A search was later carried

out in the area, and Batson was found in some bushes. At the time, his right hand which appeared to have been bleeding was wrapped with a red bandana.

Upon searching the injured suspect, Police found the businessman’s cellphone, a sum of cash, and several other items belonging to the victim as well as a quantity of marijuana.

Batson was then taken to the Mackenzie Hospital Complex, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. His body, which bears several suspected gunshot wounds, is currently at the Pensioners’ Mortuary awaiting a post-mortem.

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ut of 44 tests that were conducted in the last 24 hours, Guyana has recorded two new COVID-19 cases bringing the total number of cases to 158 thus far.

As of Wednesday, the statistics remained at 156, the same as the previous day, but that number climbed by two on Thursday.

Nevertheless, COVID-19 deaths remain at 12.

To date, the total number of persons tested is 1920 with the number of negative results being 1762.

Currently, 92 persons have recovered, 54 active cases are in institutional isolation, one patient is in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and 22 persons are in institutional quarantine.

Giving an update, Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Shamdeo Persaud focused on the reopening of schools on Monday, when students would be prepared for the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) and the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams in July and August.

Parents are asked to teach their children the proper way to wear a face mask, practise the handwashing techniques recommended, and educate them on the dynamics of social distancing.

“Parents, I wish to remind you that you must have the conversation with your young ones about the health guidelines that must be followed during the time they will be at school so that they can be safe from contracting the coronavirus disease … Please show them step by step how to put on the mask and to wear it appropriately. Remind them not to touch the front of the mask, and to use the straps to remove it when taking a snack,” he advised.

A mask, if worn incorrectly, can also put persons at risk of contracting the virus. Dr Persaud advised that if a mask is to be taken off to eat, it should be placed in a ziploc bag until it is to be worn again.

“Remind them to wash hands properly, and as soon as they have finished, to put on the mask again. Parents, you can give them an extra mask, just in case the one they are wearing falls or becomes soiled. Remind them to wash hands after using the restroom and not to play around that area, but to return immediately to their classroom.”

Parents/guardians are asked to provide their children with their own sanitisers and alcohol-based wipes to be used as often as possible.

He further added, “Most importantly, let them under-

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud

stand that things are going to be different at school because of the virus; you have to give them the mental support because you know how challenging preparing for the Grade Six Assessment can be.”

Guyanese are still encouraged to use the mobile units or visit one of the COVID-19 facilities if they are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19 or if they have been in contact with someone who tested positive.

Globally, the total number of cases is 7,145,539, with 408, 025 deaths. In the Region of the Americas, the total number of positive cases is 3, 415,174 with 185, 863 deaths.

14 NEWS

FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Enmore family allegedly beaten by Police for playing loud music

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n Enmore, East Coast Demerara (ECD) family was allegedly brutally beaten by Police for reportedly playing loud music.

The incident was caught on camera by neighbours, which shows the lawmen attached to the Enmore Police Station beating, slapping, and dragging the family to a vehicle.

Reports revealed that about 15:30h on Tuesday, Police Officers visited the home of the family asking for the owner of the car that was parked on the road playing the music.

One of the occupants of the house told the ranks that the owner was sleeping.

According to an eyewitness, the ranks then broke a window, entered the house, and dragged the owner of the car out of his bed to the Police vehicle.

It was revealed that minutes later, other officers come out of the vehicle and started brutalising the family.

The window the ranks broke in the house and dragged the man out of his bed

A female occupant of the home in efforts to secure evidence took her phone out to record, but it was taken away and thrown into the vehicle. Another occupant of the home tried to do the same, and was stamped about his body.

They were all arrested

Digicel makes timely donation...

FROM PAGE 12

Digicel encourages customers to stay safe and remain indoors to help stop the spread of the coronavi-

rus and to only use information from trusted sites like PAHO, WHO, and local Government websites.

The company has also introduced several measures that will allow customers to stay connected during this time. Some of these measures include Free Night Talk from 9pm6am, removal of Credit U transfer charges, and TopUp bill payments by postpaid customers. Digicel’s customer care agents can be reached by dialling 100, or through Digicel’s Live Chat (available on the website or MyDigicel app) and its various social media platforms.

Customers are encouraged to utilise Live Chat as their first means of contact. Visit Digicel Guyana https:// www.digicelgroup.com/gy/ en/mobile.html for more information.

and taken to the Enmore Police Station.

When contacted, Regional Commander, Assistant Commissioner Royston Andries-Junor revealed that on Tuesday the family was issued a warning by the Police against playing loud music.

He said that while the officers were on patrol in the area, they heard the music coming from the same location. Upon proceeding, the ranks realised that the loud sound was emanating from a car.

The Assistant Commissioner said that the cops proceeded to investigate, and found several per-

sons imbibing alcohol at a house.

The Commander further explained that the officers warned the family, but they were verbally and physically abusive to them. “…. the ranks summoned backup which led to a patrol responding to render assistance using the said vehicle in video. Injuries received by the ranks include abrasions about the body and wounding to the head for which stitches were administered.

The Police assaulting in the video was a reaction after being cuffed and kicked by the said female, which, of course, is not captured in the video,” the Commander explained.

“My son surrender, but the shop man still shoot he” – mother of dead bandit

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he mother of 22-yearold Kevin Batson who was shot dead following a robbery in Linden, Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice) on Wednesday said she believes his life could have been spared after which he could have been made to face the justice system for his actions.

Raynetta Valladares explained that she did not condone the actions of her son, but she believed the incident could have ended differently.

Batson was reportedly shot by both the store owner and by Police as he and an accomplice fled with a number of items belonging to the owner of the store.

“According to what I heard, because I wasn’t there; I heard that the shop man shoot Kevin and when Kevin run, he surrender, put up a red bandanna waving. That is what the witness them saying, and the Police them still shoot Kevin. About two shots after the man already shot him. So, I’m very hurt about the situation, because they murder my child, but I don’t know who is the Police that went on the scene...nobody is telling me anything,”

Dead bandit: Kevin Batson

Valladares told Guyana Times on Thursday.

She continued that she was not briefed by ranks following the incident, as she was only allowed to provide basic information about her son and his living arrangements.

She noted that while she was being influenced by others to pursue justice over the way her son was killed, she was left with no other alternative but to perform his final rites.

“Because the fact remains, he wasn’t to go and do what he went to do. I’m a mother and I don’t encourage certain things. He wasn’t to do it,

and at the same time, I feel like the Police wasn’t to kill him...I think they should’ve arrested him and let he stand trial and do he time... but I don’t know who to go to, what to do to get justice for him, but I’m just going to bury him and let God have his way,” Valladares said.

She described Batson, of 161 First Alley, Wismar, as a very “short tempered” individual who had moved out from her home about two months ago following an argument. At the time of the incident, he was staying with friends.

“He does get angry fast and you can’t talk to he. He

does get vex quick and I does can’t deal with it, so he went with his friends them staying,” Valladares explained.

She indicated that apart from that, her son was a very loving and giving child.

“If he gets something and you need it, he would give you, that is how he was, but he was very high-tempered. I wouldn’t run away from the fact, but he was a very loving child,” the woman said.

She noted that prior to Wednesday’s incident, her son was never involved in any criminal activities of such magnitude.

“You would hear people saying he always in a ‘cuss out’ on the corner and a fight, he get chop up over a lighter and these things, but to hear he went and thief, I never hear that,” Valladares said.

The woman said, according to her understanding, her son was asleep when his accomplice woke him to carry out the act. She noted, however, that he had a mind of his own.

Batson, who was unemployed at the time of his death, reportedly robbed the Linden businessman at his hardware store situated at One Mile, Wismar at approximately 14:30h on Wednesday.

He was shot by the businessman and succumbed to his injuries at Linden Hospital Complex (LHC).

NEWS

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FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

DPP withdraws appeal against Judge’s decision to free Marcus Bisram

DPP Shalimar Ali-Hack

Justice Simone Morris- Ramlall

he Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack on Thursday withdrew an appeal challenging Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall’s ruling in the Marcus Bisram matter on the basis that the High Court does not have the jurisdiction to hear the matter.

Less than two weeks ago, Justice Morris-Ramlall released murder accused Bisram from prison af-

ter she ruled that the DPP acted in contravention of the law when she ordered Magistrate Renita Singh to commit him to stand trial for the murder of carpenter Fayaz Narinedatt.

Justice Morris-Ramlall also declared that Bisram’s arrest and subsequent incarceration were unlawful and ordered his release from the Camp Street Prison.

However, on Monday, June 8, 2020, the DPP filed

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an appeal with the Full Court against this judgement. Presiding over the case were Justices Sandil Kissoon and Jo-Ann Barlow, who were expected to deliver a ruling via video conference. However, the matter was withdrawn by the DPP. The DPP office in a brief comment stated that the High Court was the wrong place to file the appeal and instead it should have been filed with the Court of Appeal.

This has been the third time that the matter against Bisram has been brought before a local court.

As such, Bisram’s Attorney, Sanjeev Datadin is contending that “this is a blatant harassment and abuse of power” by the DPP. In fact, Datadin states that the last move left for the DPP is to move to the Court of Appeal, which he believes is a waste of time.

“We believe that does not make any sense. The substance of the appeal makes no sense. The Judge in the High Court was very clear on what she ruled, and it is

Marcus Bisram

very clear on what the law is in this hearing,” Datadin stated.

On March 30, Magistrate Singh upheld the no-case submission by Bisram’s battery of lawyers at the Whim Magistrate’s Court in the East Berbice-Corentyne region. However, Bisram’s freedom was short-lived when DPP Ali-Hack directed Magistrate Singh to reopen his case and commit him to stand trial in the

High Court. He was committed to stand trial on April 6.

Datadin, Bisram’s lead counsel, challenged the orders in the High Court and argued that the DPP acted in contravention of the statutes when she issued her orders.

He contended that the DPP’s decision was unreasonable, unlawful, malicious, made in bad faith and contrary to the rules of natural justice. He also argued that there was no legal foundation for the DPP to order the Magistrate to commit his client. Datadin sought, from Judge MorrisRamlall, several other orders inclusive of Bisram’s immediate release.

Bisram was accused of ordering the death of Narinedatt between October 31 and November 1, 2016. On March 7, 2017, an arrest warrant was issued for Bisram, who was in the US at the time. The warrant was issued on the allegation that Bisram instructed five other men – Harri Paul Parsram, Radesh Motie,

Dead: Fayaz Narinedatt

Niran Yacoob, Diodath Datt, and Orlando Dickie – to kill Narinedatt because the carpenter retaliated when Bisram made sexual advances to him.

In November 2018, he was extradited to Guyana after a US Appeal Court two months prior ordered his extradition after denying both a rehearing of his appeal and a motion to stay the extradition. (Shemar Alleyne)

Another knee on the Caribbean’s neck

By Sir Ronald Sanders

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he failure of the world’s richest nations to respond adequately to the abrupt and rapid decline in the economies of developing countries, including the Caribbean, is resulting in huge increases in unemployment and poverty, and could, ultimately, erode democracy and the rule of law.

As a new World Bank report issued on June 8 rightly states: “A major natural disaster on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic would be economically devastating for some countries in the Caribbean region”. Yet, the G20 countries have engaged in public relations exercises that point to their “pledges” to inject up to US$8 trillion into the global economy.

But there is no evidence of this money being delivered, or that it is accessible by every country that needs it.

The G20 has also failed to be responsive to the issue of suspending debt

payments and rescheduling them on realistic terms that would allow countries to use scarce funds to help keep their economies afloat and prevent a large number of their people from collapsing into abject poverty.

Instead, several G20 countries in the creditors’ organisation, called “The Paris Club” are insisting on debt payments by countries whose revenues have dropped so precipitously that they can barely meet basic domestic obligations.

What is worse is that the Paris Club is refusing to authorise the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to provide funding to these debtor countries under emergency facilities.

When the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on economies around the world became patently obvious, the heads of the World Bank and the IMF called for official creditors to suspend debt repayments by the world’s very poor countries and those eligible for sup-

Sir Ronald Sanders is Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the United States and the Organisation of American States

port from the International Development Association.

But despite appeals to recognise that some Caribbean countries, regarded as ‘middle and high-income’, also needed urgent attention, the main policymakers of the two institutions did not budge on changing their criteria.

Since then, it has become clear that COVID-19

Food and Drug Department warns...

The members of the National Food Safety and Control Committee from all regions in Guyana were briefed on the circulation of this product at a previously-held virtual meeting on June 10, 2020 and were advised to seize it upon sight.

The GA-FDD added that the product would be refused entry into the country should it be intercepted at any ports of entry or in the Guyana Revenue Authority

(GRA)-Customs ASYCUDA system.

The Department reminded all importers, distributors, and wholesalers not to engage in the practice of trading products intended for use by Guyanese consumers that are deceptive, misleading, or labelled in a foreign language. It warned that these were all practices prohibited by Guyana’s Food and Drugs Act Chapter 34:03, and le-

FROM PAGE 10

gal action could and would be taken against defaulters in the very best interest of the public’s health and consumer safety.

Consumers are also being advised, especially during this period with restrictions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, to pay closer attention to labels and not to purchase items that are improperly labelled or those that are in a foreign language.

will deliver a debt blow to these countries from which there will be no short or medium-term recovery. They simply cannot pay the debts now.

Against this backdrop, the Washington-based journal, “Latin American Dialogue”, published on June 10, asked me to respond to the question of how prepared are Caribbean countries for this year’s hurricane season in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic?

I provided this answer: “The COVID-19 pandemic has decimated Caribbean economies many of which lost at least 20 per cent of their GDP in the first quarter of 2020 and are forecast to experience a further 10 per cent decline by the end of August.

Unemployment has reached unprecedented high levels and Government revenues have drastically declined while expenditures

have increased extraordinarily to contain the coronavirus and treat its victims, including through the purchase of medical supplies and construction of facilities for infectious diseases.

Debt levels have also risen, and many Governments are unable to service repayments which, even before the pandemic, were absorbing as much as 48 cents of every dollar. Consequently, Government spending on hurricane preparations has been diverted to mount programmes to feed the poor and to support the unemployed.

Payments for insurance of properties against hurricanes have lapsed through unemployment and business closures, rendering communities unable to rebuild easily in the wake of destruction by storms.

Many Caribbean countries are denied access to concessional financing from the International Financial Institutions on the sole criterion that they are classified as middle and high-income countries, even though they share many of the structural limitations of less developed countries. The Paris Club is also opposing suspension or rescheduling of debt payments on the same basis.

“Therefore, there is little more that Caribbean countries can do to prepare for dangerous storms this year.

Regrettably, the G20, which could help, have remained wedded to policies that fail to recognise the dire cir-

cumstances of Caribbean countries, abandoning them to a fearsome hurricane season that could damage them even more severely.”

The picture could not be any clearer. COVID-19 is devastating Caribbean countries, categorised as ‘high-income’ as much as it is hurting low- and middle-income ones, adding to their debt burdens and threatening a far-reaching sovereign debt crisis.

COVID-19 has worsened the problem; countries are facing high health-care costs, collapsing revenues, no capacity to service debts, and a struggle to keep their economies afloat.

There is an urgent need for a stop to sovereign debt payments to official and private creditors, to give Caribbean countries a chance to cope with yet another shock to which they did not contribute, but that now puts another knee at their necks.

If the G20 allocated a mere 0.5 per cent, or US$40 billion, of its pledged global injection of US$8 trillion to Caribbean countries to pay off Paris Club debt and for new soft loans, the region will have a fighting chance.

This problem will not go away by ignoring it.

Caribbean Governments and Private Sectors must ensure it is not ignored by rich Governments and the international bodies they control.

The Caribbean is not owed a living, but it is owed the right to live.

(CNGMedia)

16 NEWS

FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

5 homeless after fire ravages Corentyne home ed. There were some challenges which developed, and support came from New Amsterdam Fire Station.

The top floor would have been engulfed in flames when the first arriving unit got here. We had some other support that would have come subsequently; that is, the Albion Fire Unit and a unit from New Amsterdam.”

The Senior Fire Officer was high in his praise for the efforts of residents and other public-spirited persons who rendered assistance during the period of firefighting.

“Definitely, there were some things that were challenging to us, especially the terrain. We had difficulty getting the truck to take water from the trench, but we would have overcome those hurdles and I am happy to

The aftermath of the fire

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ive persons were rendered homeless after a fire completely destroyed their Port Mourant, Corentyne, Berbice home on Thursday. The fire reportedly started in the upper flat of the house, and quickly spread through the building, giving the occupants no time to salvage any household item.

Although the fire tenders arrived at the scene moments after they were summoned, their work was hampered by mechanical issues which saw the pump refusing to start.

Public-spirited citizens, however, formed a bucket brigade and were able to save two nearby houses from going up in flames.

An occupant of the destroyed house, Thagepattie Jhagru, explained that she was in the lower flat of the building when she was informed that the house was on fire. As she checked, she saw flames coming through one of the windows from the upper flat of their Lot 279 Ankerville, Port Mourant

home.

At the time, she says, no one was in the upper flat, but her three children were in the lower flat.

“I wish I know what caused the fire. My husband was in the hammock and I was in the kitchen, and he tell me, ‘Look! Fire…’ I run upstairs to look for the children,” she explained.

She said that by the time she got to the upper flat it was engulfed, hence she could not say in what part of the house the fire started.

“There are no points upstairs because it is solar we are using. Is only the on-and-off light switch upstairs,” she explained.

However, in responding to the fire call, one unit from the Rose Hall Town Fire Department arrived on the scene, but the firefighters could not get the pump to pull water from the canal in front of the burning building.

A lorry with field workers attached to the Albion Sugar Estate was at the time passing, and stopped to render assistance by collect-

One of the occupants of the house, Thagepattie Jhagru

ing buckets which they used to form a bucket brigade to save two nearby buildings.

By this time a unit from the New Amsterdam Fire Department, some 18 miles away, arrived and started to douse the building with water.

Divisional Fire Officer Haimchandra Persaud admitted that there were some challenges at the scene.

“The Rose Hall Fire Department, which is in close proximity, respond-

Tourism Recovery Committee established to cushion COVID-19 impact

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he Department of Tourism has forged a new collaboration with the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG), and the Small Business Bureau to form a Tourism Recovery Action Committee (TRAC) in addressing the devastation on the sector by the impact of COVID-19.

In a statement, the Department said the Committee was established after analysing the negatives facing the tourism industry locally and globally. Guyana was just beginning to witness a positive record from its tourism industry when the pandemic struck. Now there are zero travels, suffocating the industry.

Spearheading the Committee will be caretaker Business Minister Haimraj Rajkumar, and a meeting will be convened this week to finalise immediate actions.

Participation from the public and private sectors is welcomed, along with input from municipal and regional entities and international organisations.

According to the release, TRAC “will be recommending research-based solutions and define viable strategies for the tourism sector in

Guyana through a process of multi-agency and multi-stakeholder collaboration aimed at accelerating recovery from the adverse economic and other impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

In the next year, the Committee will work to stimulate tourism through assistance from specialists and advisors.

“These advisory sub- committees will be exploring and proposing solutions in areas such as safety and sanitation, strategic marketing, tech-innovation, international partnerships, finance and resource mobilisation, communications management, ports and frontiers, product resilience, research and data collection,” the Association noted.

Newly-appointed Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), Carla James, had indicated last month that in these challenging times, they are preparing for the rebound and improving the quality of services offered to return stronger. At that time, she predicted that Guyana’s domestic market is expected to recover as soon as the pandemic is over.

“We do have to, in this moment, do what we can to prepare for the future. It is a difficult time, and a lot of businesses would be extending the

Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority, Carla James

partial lockdown. It is understandable that they have to make hard decisions regarding keeping employees and staying in business. But at the same time, I think it does present an opportunity to improve the products and services that we currently offer; and in part of preparing for that future, we know that the local domestic market is the market that is going to recover first,” James was quoted as saying.

Back in April, the GTA had ventured into partnership with local tourism promotion company Tourism Guyana via a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to showcase what the country has to offer for both locals and international travellers.

The house on fire on Thursday

say that the two neighbouring buildings were saved and it (fire) was confined to the building of origin,” he

added.

An investigation into the cause of the fire has been launched.

GTT donates hundreds of surgical, KN95 masks to Suddie Hospital

G

TT recently donated hundreds of surgical and KN95 masks to the Suddie Regional Hospital on the Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).

This donation is part of the company’s “Celebrating Guyanese Heroes” initiative.

“As a company we are compelled to support our frontline workers, especially during these unprecedented times, as they demonstrate commitment by taking care of the nation,” stated GTT’s Public Relations (PR) Manager Jasmin Harris.

“The pandemic has highlighted the critical role that our frontline workers play and we feel duty-bound to assist in whatever way we can; we are in this together and the masks are necessary,” Harris added.

Receiving the donation on behalf of the Suddie Hospital was Dr Sonia Gray.

She indicated that it was a much-needed donation and

GTT’s Delita Weithers hands over masks to a representative of Suddie Regional Hospital

would help to assist the doctors and nurses at the hospital in fulfilling their duty to the patients in a safe manner. “We would like to thank GTT for this donation. This addition to our stock will help to ensure we are protected while performing our daily duties,” Dr Gray stat-

ed.

One hundred KN95 and 200 surgical masks were donated.

GTT continues to support doctors and nurses on the frontline with the provision of free mobile service throughout the pandemic.

Man who allegedly raped friend’s wife gets bail

A

Corentyne labourer was on Thursday placed on bail in the sum of $100,000 after appearing before Whim Magistrate Renita Singh to answer a charge of rape.

Twenty-seven-year-old Grafton Clarke of Kildonan Village, Region Six (East Berbice/ Corentyne) pleaded not guilty to the charge, which detailed that on June 4, 2020, he committed the act on a 23-yearold woman.

It was reported that the 23-year-old woman and the accused were imbibing when he asked her to accompany him to the foreshore. Upon arriving at the foreshore, she was reportedly held at knife point, and the suspect and another man carried out the act on her.

The suspect, Guyana Times understands, is a friend of the woman’s husband, who in anger reportedly gave the suspect a thrashing before handing him over to the Police.

Suspect: Grafton Clarke

The suspect is expected to make his next court appearance on June 29.

guyanatimesgy.com

FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020

17

Regional

Crowds of shoppers head to Dominican presidential contender Brazil malls reopening in big tests positive for COVID-19 cities at heart of pandemic J B razilian shoppers lined up for hours and crowded into malls as they reopened on Thursday in the country’s two largest cities, epicentre of a still surging coronavirus epidemic in the South American nation.

Traffic jams formed in streets crowded with pedestrians outside shopping malls in São Paulo, where business resumed at 16:00h for four hours after 83 days of closed doors.

Inside stores, strict distancing rules were followed and most shoppers wore protective masks even though Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has downplayed the gravity of the virus and pushed local authorities to lift quarantine measures.

According to the Brazilian shopping centres association Abrasce, lockdowns have cost the country’s 577 malls more than 25 billion reais (US$5 billion) in lost business.

Tens of thousands of jobs have been lost and 10 per cent of the shops have folded for good, the lobby group said.

In Rio de Janeiro, malls opened a week earlier than

People wait in line to enter Cidade São Paulo shopping mall, as malls reopen amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in São Paulo, Brazil, June 11, 2020

planned as businesses starved of income pushed authorities to lift restrictions even as public health experts warned it was too early to avoid a resurgence of contagion.

“I came to buy something quickly and then I’m leaving,” said Mariana, in a wellspaced line outside a mall on Rio de Janeiro’s south side where a shopping chain man-

ager said people were not lingering to window shop after purchases.

Brazil has had the world’s worst outbreak of the pandemic after the United States, with 40,919 deaths and more than 802,828 confirmed cases as of Thursday.

São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states have suffered 42 per cent of the fatalities. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Mexican President eyes regulatory changes, critics decry power grab

M

exican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday backed a proposal to merge three regulatory bodies into one in a move the Opposition criticised as a power grab that could jeopardise oversight.

The senate leader of Lopez Obrador’s National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), Ricardo Monreal, on Wednesday presented the plan to combine energy regulator CRE, antitrust watchdog the Federal Economic Competition Commission (COFECE), and telecoms regulator IFT. “If we’re going to save money, I’m for it. Because there was a lot of waste in the

creation of (regulatory) bodies,” Lopez Obrador said at a regular daily news conference.

Lopez Obrador has promised to reduce public spending to free up more resources for the poor and his flagship projects.

The merged body would be called the National Institute of Markets and Competition for Wellbeing, have five Board Members and would generate annual savings of 500 million pesos (US$22.4 million), according to a document presented by Monreal.

The Opposition National Action Party criticised the proposal as a power grab and a member of the central bank’s board nominated

by Lopez Obrador warned it could undermine oversight.

“The autonomous bodies tasked with competition and regulation face powerful economic agents in the market,” the board member, Gerardo Esquivel, said on Twitter.

“That’s why we should think about how to strengthen them so they can do their jobs better, and not how to weaken them or undermine their authority,” added Esquivel, whose wife, Graciela Marquez, is Mexico’s Economy Minister.

Lopez Obrador criticized his predecessors for backing large, bureaucratic regulatory bodies. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Warao Queen calls on Mayor to remove Columbus Statue

T

he Queen of the Warao Nation, Donna Bermudez-Bovell, is calling on Mayor Joel Martinez to convene an urgent meeting to discuss the removal of Christopher Columbus from his place of public reverence in Port of Spain, following his public pronouncement to engage the matter on Wednesday.

The contentious statue is located on the corner of Independence Square and Duncan Street, in the capital city.

In a news release issued by the Cross Rhodes Freedom Project, the Warao Nation

Queen lamented the fact that Indigenous people continue to be un-represented in the built environment of the capital city.

“Archaeological evidence shows that the Indigenous people of this country have been here for at least 7500 years and that Port of Spain was an important Indigenous settlement,” Bermudez-Bovell said. “It seems the city even now prefers to celebrate the architect of native genocide.”

She added: “We want one of our freedom fighters to replace Columbus to reconnect this country with its whole past. Our history did not start

500 years ago.”

“Two and a half years have passed. Charlotte Street is now Chinatown, and Indigenous people still have to bear this insult to our ancestors and our dignity,” she said.

The release notes that in 2017, the Director of the Cross Rhodes Freedom Project, Shabaka Kambon, an honorary member of the Warao community, joined Indigenous elders at the mayor’s office to publicly handover a letter asking His Worship to facilitate a national dialogue. (Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

ust three-and-a-half weeks away from the Dominican Republic's presidential election, leading candidate Luis Abinader said he and his wife have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

The country is one of the worst-affected by the coronavirus pandemic in the Caribbean and Latin America, with one out of every 500 people infected, and remains in a state of emergency.

Still, presidential and legislative elections are set to go ahead on July 5, after being postponed from the original date of May 16 due to the outbreak. Some 7.5 million Dominicans are expected to cast their ballot at home and abroad.

"Be tranquil because with God's grace we will recover quickly," Abinader, 52, said on his social media accounts late on Wednesday.

The leader of the Opposition social democratic Modern Revolutionary Party said his doctors had forecast a rapid recovery given he was not a high-risk

patient, adding that he and his wife were self-isolating at home.

A poll by the company Mark Penn/Stagwell published at the end of May, suggests that Abinader is

ly wish him a quick recovery.

"We ask God for his quick recovery and good health," President Danilo Medina wrote on Twitter. "You have all our support and solidar-

Dominican Revolutionary Party candidate Luis Abinader speaks to the media in Santo Domingo [Kena Betancur/Reuters file photo]

leading the race with 39 per cent support, two points above the governing party candidate, Gonzalo Castillo.

If neither candidate obtained an absolute majority in the first round, they would face a runoff on July 26.

Abinader's opponents were among those to public-

ity."

The fact the Dominican Republic is such a tourist hub was a major contributing factor to the spread of coronavirus in the country.

In total, some 21,000 cases have been reported among the 10.6 million inhabitants, of which 550 have died.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

TT$20.2M vacation bonus for SEA teachers

T

rinidad Education Minister Anthony Garcia on Wednesday announced that the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) will take place on August 20.

Furthermore, Standard Five teachers who will be called out to prepare the students for this activity, starting from July 20, will be paid stipends to the tune of some $20.2 million – which will effectively be a vacation bonus of sorts.

Garcia made the announcement at Wednesday’s Health Ministry virtual press conference on COVID-19.

The exam, initially carded to take place in April, was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic and an October date was initially considered. However, in announcing the August date, Garcia admitted the Ministry was asking SEA teachers to come out to prepare students during their vacation.

“We understand and we accept the fact that that would be a period when teachers would be on vacation. We want to respect the right that our teachers are supposed to have an opportunity of enjoying their vacation period,” Garcia said.

“As a result, we are asking our teachers (of Standard Five classes) to make themselves available ... so they may impart that knowledge

and those teachings so that our students would have an opportunity, every opportunity, of performing to the best of their ability.”

Bearing this in mind, he said Cabinet had decided to offer teachers a stipend ranging from TT$400 to TT$900 per day.

“This is not salary. It is a stipend because during the vacation period teachers would be getting their regular salaries,” Garcia said.

He said teachers will be working normal school hours – 8:30h to 15:00h – during the period, which will be 23 days not counting the actual day of the exam (August 20). (Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

Good news for frustrated Jamaicans in the Caribbean

J

amaican Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister Kamina Johnson Smith says nationals stranded in the Caribbean will be arriving on flights to Jamaica soon.

“We have now scheduled flights to bring Jamaicans home, not just students, but all nationals who have been impacted by COVID restrictions and had flights cancelled on them since we closed our borders,” the Minister said during a virtual press conference Thursday evening.

Johnson Smith said flights from Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados are expected to arrive on Saturday.

“We are also working on finalising flights from The Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda, which will round out our largest population of Jamaicans stranded in the Caribbean,” she said.

The Minister praised this as good news for frustrated Jamaicans overseas.

“These persons were travelling for business or vacation or school, or some short-stay programme, and were caught by the borders and therefore didn't have the resources to continue to sustain a comfortable existence or to sustain themselves at all,” she said.

Johnson Smith noted that 154 Jamaicans arrived from the United Kingdom on Sunday and added that

Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith

the country has been welcoming people from Florida and New York primarily.

The Minister added that people who want to come back home must complete the JAMCOVID application. (Jamaica Observer)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020

Around the World

Ramping up fight, Trump brandishes sanctions over ICC war crimes probe P

resident Donald Trump on Thursday authorised sanctions against any official at the International Criminal Court (ICC) who investigates US troops, ramping up pressure to stop its case into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.

In an executive order, Trump said the United States would block US property and assets of anyone from The Hague-based tribunal involved in probing or prosecuting US troops.

"We cannot – we will not – stand by as our people are threatened by a kangaroo court," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement to reporters.

"I have a message to many close allies around the world – your people could be next, especially those from NATO countries who fought terrorism in Afghanistan right alongside of us."

The court responded by stating that its President O-Gon Kwon "rejects measures taken against ICC", calling them "unprecedented" and saying they "undermine our common endeavour to fight impunity and

P

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addresses reporters on the International Criminal Court alongside Attorney General William Barr

to ensure accountability for mass atrocities".

US Attorney General Bill Barr alleged, without giving detail, that Russia and other adversaries of the United States have been "manipulating" the court.

Using Trump's "America First" language, Barr said the administration was trying to bring accountability

to a global body.

"This institution has become, in practice, little more than a political tool employed by unaccountable international elites," he said.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell voiced "serious concern" and said the court "must be respected and supported by all nations".

Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok said he was "very disturbed" by the US move, and said The Netherlands supported the court on its soil.

Human Rights Watch said Trump's order "demonstrates contempt for the global rule of law."(Excerpt from AFP)

decide by the end of June whether the current deadline for negotiating a deal should be extended beyond the end of December.

The UK has said it will not agree to an extension, even if the EU requests one.

A UK Government spokesman said both sides had also agreed on an "intensified" schedule of weekly talks throughout the month of July.

This will involve a mix of formal negotiating rounds and smaller group meetings in London and Brussels, if coronavirus guidelines allow, he added.

European Council President Charles Michel and European Parliament President David-Maria Sassoli will also take part in the video call on Monday.

Von der Leyen said she was "looking forward" to the

meeting, while UK chief negotiator David Frost said he was "very pleased" an "intensified talks process" had been agreed.

But he said the Government's policy on not extending the transition period – during which the UK stays in the single market and customs union – "remains valid". (Excerpt from BBC News)

Earlier coronavirus second wave feared in Europe after mass protests

E

urope could face a surge of COVID-19 infections in the coming weeks caused by mass protests in the continent over the last days, politicians, European Union officials and experts said on Thursday.

Tens of thousands of protesters have crowded together in Europe’s big cities in recent days to demonstrate against racism after the killing in the United States of George Floyd while in Police custody.

“If you advise everybody to keep one and half meter from each other, and everybody just stands next to each other, holding each other, then I don’t have a good feeling about that,”

Oil prices crash on fears of 2nd wave of COVID-19

O

Brexit: Boris Johnson to hold crunch EU-UK meeting next week rime Minister Boris Johnson will hold post-Brexit trade talks with European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen via video link on Monday next week.

The United Kingdom and EU have said no major progress has been made towards a deal after four rounds of talks this year.

Both sides are due to

OILNEWS

Demonstrators attend a protest at Alexanderplatz in Berlin, Germany, June 6, 2020 against Police brutality and the death in Minneapolis Police custody of George Floyd

Jozef Kesecioglu, who chairs the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, told a conference.

Asked whether there could be a surge of infections

in the coming two weeks, he said: “Yes, but hopefully I’m wrong.”

British Health Minister Matt Hancock said people should not attend large

gatherings of more than six people, including demonstrations.

“I understand that people want to show their passion for a cause that they care deeply about. But this is a virus that thrives on social contact, regardless of what your cause may be,” he said at a daily news conference.

Most European countries have passed the peak of the outbreak and are gradually reopening business and borders, as infections went gingerly down in past weeks.

Before recent protests, scientists expected a second wave only after the summer.

But mass gatherings might impact this positive trend.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

il has had a turbulent year. Crude prices went negative for the first time in history, followed by one of the biggest rallies the industry has ever seen. And now, just when the market is starting to seem somewhat stable, COVID-19 strikes again.

A resurgence of COVID cases in the United States and a gloomy economic forecast from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has investors scrambling, with oil prices on track to hit their biggest daily decline since April 27. Once again, oversupply and lack of demand have taken centre stage.

On Wednesday, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that US oil inventories rose by 5.7 million barrels, defying predictions of a 1.45-million-barrel build. Adding even more pressure to oil prices, the US Federal Reserve noted that unemployment rates were set to settle near 9.3 per cent by the end of the year, adding that it could take years to return to prepandemic employment levels.

COVID-19 has been the main culprit in the market collapse.

While many states have already reopened with some strict guidelines, things don't seem to be going as planned.

It took the United States nearly three months to hit the one million confirmed cases mark, yet it only took six weeks to double it. On Wednesday, the US crossed the two million mark, with many states reporting significant spikes following attempts to ease lockdown restrictions.

As of Thursday morning, the US has reported over 113,000 COVID-related deaths, and healthcare experts across the globe are warning that the pandemic is nowhere near over, encouraging individuals to maintain social-distancing practices and to wear face masks in public.

Though COVID-19 has taken a clear toll on global economies, some suggest the oil market, in particular, simply rose too quickly.

Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst, Asia-Pacific at OANDA said: "The fall in oil prices is just as much about timing as COVID-19 cases though, coming as both equities and oil were looking overbought on any measure of short-term indicator.

"Some sort of correction had been overdue after the massive increase in speculative long positioning, and oil's breath-taking rally over the past month."(Excerpt from Oilprice.com)

US is “trouble maker” in China-Canada relationship, Chinese envoy to Canada says

T

he United States is using the case of a senior Chinese telecoms executive who was arrested in Vancouver on a US warrant 18 months ago to create friction between China and Canada, China’s envoy to Canada said on Thursday.

“The US has been taking advantage of Canada, and the US is the trouble maker of China-Canada relations,” the Chinese envoy to Ottawa, Cong Peiwu, told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Huawei Technologies Co’s Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, a Chinese citizen and daughter of Huawei’s billionaire founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested on a bank fraud warrant issued by US authorities.

Meng says she is innocent.

Asked whether he thought Canada’s judiciary was independent, Cong pointed to comments US

President Donald Trump made in December 2018, which he said showed the Meng case was “a political incident rather than a simple judicial case”.

In that interview (here), Trump said he would intervene with the US Justice Department in the Meng case if it would help secure a trade deal with Beijing.

“We believe that actually this is a grave political incident plotted by the United States to bring down Chinese hi-tech companies,” the Ambassador said.

Cong did not say whether China would retaliate for a Canadian court’s decision last month, which will prolong Meng’s legal battle to avoid extradition.

Shortly after Meng’s arrest, Beijing detained two Canadians on national security charges and halted imports of canola seed.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

guyanatimesgy.com

FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020

19

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

Averting the danger ahead: A personal appeal to President David Granger

By Prof. Daniel K. Gibran

Y

ou and I go back a long way. We served our country when we were soldiers once and young. And while you soldiered on and grew into a well-respected officer as the years went by, I, on the other hand, left the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) after a four-year stint to pursue an academic career.

Many years later, I was delighted to learn that you distinguished yourself both as a soldier and as a student of Military History and International Relations. You have earned the respect of many of your fellow officers.

You have a stellar background both as a practitioner and as an academic.

Your foray into Party and then National Politics at the end of an illustrious military career speaks volume of a man who believes in and breathes public service. I applaud you. When the voters of our country handed your Coalition victory, elevating you to the highest office in the land in 2015, you created history.

But your tenure as President did not chime with the high expectations of the Guyanese people. They did not vote for a self-styled, soi-

disant political leader, but for a leader who embodied the virtues of moral rectitude and integrity, one who espouses a high regard for the rule of law and for democracy. They voted for David Granger, and in their minds, David Granger was a decent and an honest man, a man who speaks truth to power, and a man whose words they trusted and valued.

Today, as the country languishes in the obfuscating and turbid waters of political turbulence mostly the creation of your Party, the people who voted you as their president in 2015 are now seeing a very different man whom they once trusted and revered. And so they asked, what has become of that man? You are not speaking today as you once did.

They hear mixed messages made up of words flowing from your lips that they can hardly recognize. And so they asked, is it the same David Granger? Then they hear a man denying reality made so clear in the Recounting process. And so they asked once more, is this really our David Granger?

Your continued denials and obstructions are imperilling the safety and progress of our country. In a democrat-

Daniel K. Gibran, Ph.D. (Retired). Professor of International Relations and Security Studies and Fulbright Scholar. Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN U.S.A.

ic state we pay a heavy price, but it is a price worth paying.

Regardless of which political party wins a national election thru a fair and transparent process, the will of the majority must prevail. We have a right to our personal preferences in political party and leadership. But these preferences cannot and must

not trump the will of the people as expressed in their elected choice.

Both the SOPs and the RoPs unmistakably show that the PPP/C won the 2020 General Election. You have no choice, Mr. President, but to accept that reality and graciously concede. It is time for our country to move on. Do

not become an obstacle; the people will not forgive you.

Return to the old way and be the man we once knew.

You would do well to heed the immortal words of the prophet Daniel to the grandson of King Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, “You are weighed in the balances and are found wanting.” Belshazzar’s night of revelry and debauchery came to a swift end. For the past three months, you and your advisers have followed the example of Belshazzar, who exhibited a wanton disregard for that which was sacred.

Your recalcitrance and useless gamesmanship have betrayed the sacred trust the people of Guyana once placed in you. And whatever smidgen of decency, dignity and decorum is left in you, I urge you to turn a deaf ear to the clanging cymbals of hollow voices coming from your advisers and listen to the still, small voice within you that says to you, “Follow the way of righteousness and do the right thing.”

I can assure you that doing the right thing would bring you peace of mind, and in time would restore your high esteem in generations to come. And they would not ask, but say, “David Granger

was a decent and upright man who stood for personal principle and country”. It is time that you put the safety and security of our country before personal aggrandisement and a naked grab for power. Walk away while it is still day. Do not allow the sun to set on your tenure as President.

Finally, on a more personal note: I recalled your visit to Toronto weeks after your victory in 2015. I flew from Nashville, TN, just to offer you my congratulations. And I was heartened to hear your vision for our country that you so eloquently expressed when you addressed that vast assembly of overseas Guyanese.

But in that speech, you took a few minutes to mention how pleased you were to meet again a Corporal who served in the Medical Corps of the GDF but is now a professor of Political Science and International Relations in the U.S., and a distinguished graduate with a Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. I was so proud of you to have remembered a little guy from Hague Back Dam, West Coast Demerara.

I want to be proud of you again. Just one more time, Mr. President. (Caribbean News Service)

Granger needs no CARICOM report to give concession of defeat Dear Editor, After stealing an entire year of the life of the country by delaying elections to March 2020, Mr. David Granger now tells voters in his recent address, “I encourage everyone to await the completion of…the reports of the…

CARICOM observers…”

A man who complains of “character assassination” but embellishes in what may be called “constitution assassination,” the true motif of the Coalition tenure in office. His heightened embrace of CARICOM as a most “legitimate interlocutor” on the elections is a ploy to stall a formal concession of electoral loss.

He ought to be cognisant of CARICOM’s statements on the record and their subsequent witness to the bona fides of the recount.

Said another way, CARICOM’s report cannot now be dispositive.

Moreover, Mr. Granger has more than what he needs to concede defeat and end having the security of the republic in a vulnerable state.

He needs no CARICOM report to do that. In contrast, he has already shown, in December 2018, that he was terrified by that profound word “defeat,” as it appeared in Article 6.

A CARICOM report which is likely to include that very word, or shades of its usual incandescent terror, is therefore a waste of time, which is always of the essence following a “defeat” of government pursuant to a (no) confidence vote.

Emphasis on this report is reason to see that CARICOM is being used as a means to an end, with the report itself likely to be rejected by Congress Place.

Further, this talk of CARICOM being a most “legitimate interlocutor” of the elections is arguably an inverse use of the phrase borrowed by Mr. Granger to create space from which he may try to impress upon the transformational leadership of that regional body’s current Chair to provide for another Mustique.

To this extent, CARICOM is being used as

PNC propaganda to help distract from, and stall, Mr. Granger’s concession of defeat, just as Mr. Granger invented “GECOM’s readiness” to distract from calling a timely election pursuant to Article 106 (7).

Every time Mr. Granger tells people to wait, they fall quickly in line, regardless of what the Constitution says.

Now, as Guyana waits again, Mr. Granger is busy making his preparation to set the elections aside based on unfounded claims of “massive” irregularities, including at least 41 dead souls who, with all fingers intact, rose up Lazarus-like and voted.

Electors should not be misguided; they should instead celebrate their right to prepare for a declaration and a lawful transition from a de facto to an

Mainstream media should cut ties with David Hinds, Lincoln Lewis and Henry Jeffrey

Dear Editor, Opinions vented after Guyana's March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections by columnists Dr. David Hinds, Mr. Lincoln Lewis and Dr. Henry Jeffrey, demonstrate total disregard for the majority will of the Guyanese people and for the law.

Election results for these well-educated men are no longer about credible, free and fair elections; it is not about having a democratic transition and ensuring the winner of the elections be quickly sworn in to office.

Instead of appealing to our better traits, these men are appealing to base instincts. The numbers extracted from the votes cast are irrelevant in their pronouncements, yet these same columnists embrace numbers for a hodgepodge of unrealistic, insignificant and/ or unverifiable claims.

In summary, they want the votes

cast at the March 2nd elections to have no relevance only because the ballot count and recount shows that APNUAFC lost the elections.

Arising or descending from their fallacious reasoning, these goodly gentlemen demand, as necessary, shared governance in some ambiguous form.

Invariably, and not surprisingly, there is one exception to the ambiguity of the shared governance mantra: the arrangement begins with David Granger as Executive President of Guyana, exactly as obtained prior to the elections.

The shared governance has no beginning, the purpose of the proposal is to reverse the election results. It is "treat the loser as a winner syndrome" that defies logic, constitutional law, and democratic normalcy; which common sense, custom, and the law rightfully opposes.

Every society should have media for informed and intelligent discussions from opposing platforms. However, when columnists descend to promoting racist and inhumane views, it is incumbent upon the editors of the media, especially the mainstream media editors, to sanction these rabble-rousers and anti-democratic provocateurs from promoting division within our society.

Otherwise, our fledgling democracy would only be undermined by the biased and self-serving pronouncements of these partisan insiders.

It is past time for our mainstream media to distance themselves from having columnists that are intent on suppressing the voting will of a diverse majority.

Sincerely, Nigel Hinds

elected Government. It is theirs to enjoy; this is part of their voting rights.

Nothing here is a gift from Mr. Granger.

Sincerely, Rakesh Rampertab

20

guyanatimesgy.com

FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020

ARCHIE

ARIES

(March 21April 19)

Don't be fooled by what someone else says or does.

Be confident and take the path that suits you. You are responsible for your happiness. Be a leader, not a follower.

Use intelligence when TAURUS (April 20- faced with a situation that reMay 20) quires you to make a choice.

Don't let fear set in or cause you to waffle when you should be decisive.

DILBERT

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

CANCER (June 21July 22)

Share your ideas. The contributions made will prompt a positive change in the way you move forward.

A chance to turn something you enjoy doing into a profit looks promising.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Don't participate if you have reservations about what someone else is doing. Call on experience to help you decide where best to put your time and energy.

Romance is encouraged.

PEANUTS

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

CALVIN AND HOBBES

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

SUDOKU

A friendly gesture will have an alternative motive attached. Be careful not to sign up to do someone else's dirty work. Protect your reputation, position and status.

A change will energize you. Delve into something you find exciting and fit it into your daily routine. A heart-to-heart talk will help to rectify an emotional situation. Make health a priority.

Stick to a budget and live within your means. When uncertain, stay put. Focus on making physical changes that will boost your confidence. Love is featured.

SCORPIO Expand your mind, your (Oct. 24- interests and your friendNov. 22) ships. A positive change you make will enhance your relationship with someone you want to get to know better. A creative pursuit will pay off.

Leave nothing to chance.

SAGITTARIUS Cover your back and don't (Nov. 23offer information to anyDec. 21) one prying into your affairs. A steady pace forward will bring the best return.

Nurture a meaningful relationship.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

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

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

A change of plans will keep you moving in a direction that offers something new and exciting. Be prepared to adapt as you go, and you will get good results.

Personal growth begins with you. Look at your current setup, consider what will make it better and concentrate on moving toward your destination of choice. Romance will enhance your life.

Be careful with whom you share information and how you treat the ones you love. If you take someone for granted, you can expect to be treated the same in return.

FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020

21

Windies July Test tour to England…

"W

ho knows how long I can keep playing for in the coming years?" It is a phrase that will be music to the ears of supporters of England's Test team.

After an enforced break from the game because of COVID-19, 37-year-old James Anderson does not have any plans to retire just yet, although he admits that England may have to rotate their fast bowlers during the three back-to-back Tests against West Indies next month.

Pending government approval, the series is set to begin at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on July 8. The second Test will follow at Emirates Old Trafford on July 16, and the third will take place between July 24 and 28, also in Manchester.

It is commonplace for teams to play two Tests back-to-back, but the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated playing three matches in quick succession, with only three days’ break between each one, in order to reduce the time the England and West Indies squads need to stay inside bio-secure "bubbles".

Given the hectic schedule, and the three Tests against Pakistan to follow later in the summer, Anderson believes there might have to be some rotation of England's quicks in order to mitigate against injury and burn-out.

"There are concerns;

we're not going to have had any competitive cricket before that first Test match, and we've got three Tests in quick succession," he said.

"There are obviously things we need to look at in terms of workloads and whether we play all three as bowlers, or whether we rotate.

“I'm sure the medical staff and coaches are doing their due diligence on that.

It's something we'll have to look at in a few weeks' time," he said.

With the likes of Jofra Archer and Sam Curran establishing themselves in the Test squad over the past 12 months, and the return to fitness of Mark Wood, England's fast-bowling depth has increased in recent times.

Anderson, Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes will all be in the mix for selection for the West Indies series; as will Somerset's Craig Overton, Warwickshire's Olly Stone, and Lancashire's Saqib Mahmood, recipients of the new ECB fast-bowling contracts. Sussex's Ollie Robinson was included in the ECB's return to training group, too.

Anderson, who returned home early from the tour of South Africa at the start of the year because of a rib injury, has also been back in training for the last three weeks; first at Emirates Old Trafford, and now with West Indies in quarantine there, at Chester Cricket Club.

After being dogged by in-

jury problems for the last 12 months, which had forced him to miss all but one day of last summer's Ashes series, Anderson has reported no ill-effects from getting back into the swing of things.

"I'm fine! Really good at the minute," he said.

"Training has been going really well. I managed to tick over quite well during lockdown. Luckily, I've got enough space to fit half my run-up in on my drive; so when I came back to training at Lancashire, it's not been going in cold, I've been ticking over. I felt like I hit the ground running pretty well. I've enjoyed being back," he said.

Might Anderson make next winter's Ashes series in Australia, less than 18 months away?

"I have not really thought that far ahead, to be honest," he said. "I'm just trying to gear up to the start of this summer. I had a few months off bowling properly and doing some good strength work. I think it definitely will have helped me. But I haven't thought too far ahead, basically because the last 12 months with the injuries that I've had. I just want to get back to playing and make sure I don't get any injuries, as has happened in the previous times I have come back.

“I am fully focused on getting my body in the right place and my game in the right place. Who knows how

We're not going to have had any competitive cricket before that 1st Test: Anderson © Getty

long I can keep playing for in the coming years?

It's not a case of proving myself to anyone else. I think when I played those two Tests in South Africa, it's almost proving to yourself that you can still do it.

The five wickets at Cape Town helped me, if there were ever any doubts about retirement, it certainly told me I was able to keep going, I am able to perform at the top level.

“I think that's really important for me at this stage of my career. As long as I can prove to myself that I am good enough to keep playing, good enough to keep my

place in the team, then I will keep going. The last year has been frustrating for me.

Before that, my injury record was pretty good.

“I'm hoping it was just a dodgy 12 months, and hopefully my body is in a good place now to be able to cope with whatever's to come in the next 12 months," he said.

The West Indies squad arrived in the UK on Tuesday, June 9, ahead of the series, and will undergo a 14-day quarantine period at Emirates Old Trafford, using the on-site hotel. They will be able to train, albeit with social distancing in

place, during that period; and once the 14 days are over, they will then play two intra-squad warm-up matches in Manchester before travelling down to the south coast for the first Test.

"I think it's great for the game, brilliant that we're closing in on getting some Test cricket played after a decent lay-off," Anderson added. "From our point of view, we're very grateful the West Indies are coming over here. With what's going on in the world, I can imagine it's a scary decision for a lot of them, for all of them, to make the journey over." (cricbuzz)

--No masks, and no ball boys or girls will be used

P

layers and coaching staff will not be required to wear masks at stadiums when the Premier League restarts on June 17; but players will be encouraged not to spit or clear their noses, and not to break social distancing rules during goal celebrations.

There will be no ball boys or girls used during matches; a system of sterilised replacement balls will be used. Aston Villa v Sheffield United will be the first game when the league returns on 17 June.

In Germany's Bundesliga, players and staff have been required to wear masks at all times, except during play. In the Premier League, they will not have to wear masks at all, even in the changing room or on the bench, although the fourth official as well as doctors and physios will have to wear masks.

The Premier League announced on Thursday that a minute's silence will be observed to remember those who have died with coronavirus before the first matches.

Heart-shaped badges in tribute to frontline NHS staff will also be worn on kits.

Clubs have agreed to a range of medical and operational protocols for the restart of the season; this was done at a meeting on Thursday. There will be strict limits on those allowed into stadiums on match days, and grounds will be split into zones, including the tunnel and pitchside.

In total, only 300 persons would be allowed in each stadium, with no more than 110 in the 'red zone', including players, club staff, and officials.

There will be deep cleaning of corner flags, goalposts, substitution boards and match balls before and after each fixture.

Some extra disinfection, such as of the substitution board after it is used, is likely to take place during matches and at half-time, while other work will be carried out during drinks’ breaks, if they are permitted by the league.

The medical protocols stipulate how squads and coaching staff must travel to and from games, observing social distancing. Clubs will be encouraged to fly on longer ‘away’ trips to limit use of hotels, and every player and coach will be temperature checked before they arrive at the stadium.

Players will have to hand sanitise when they enter and leave the field of play.

Premier League clubs returned to training in May

Meanwhile, players are working with the Premier League on a Black Lives Matter tribute, but details are yet to be finalised.

Options discussed by players this week

included taking a knee, putting a Black Lives Matter logo on shirts, and replacing players' names by the phrase Black Lives Matter. (BBC Sport)

22

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020

-there must be equality across the world

A

fter

touching down in England to embark on a historic Test series, West Indies' captain Jason Holder has said his team must prepare to embrace the "new normal". He admits that the shift in global narrative from the COVID-19 pandemic to the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests could help to galvanise his squad in such extraordinary circumstances.

Speaking after West Indies' arrival at Emirates Old Trafford, where the squad will train in isolation for the next three weeks before decamping to Southampton for the first Test on July 8, Holder acknowledged that he and his team-mates felt "pretty safe" after a smooth transfer from Manchester Airport on Tuesday morning.

He added that he was relishing the opportunity to get back to playing cricket, after months when he had just "sat at home doing nothing".

The tour's status as a global event has escalated in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in the USA and the surge of protests in support of the BLM movement; and at Holder's arrival press conference, the lines of questioning veered between provisions for playing cricket in the midst of a pandemic and responses to issues of racism in cricket, including those voiced this week by West Indies' former captain Daren Sammy.

"It's not going to be a normal bilateral series here in England," Holder admitted. "But at the end

of the day, this is where we are with the state of world cricket - the state of the world, per se.

No doubt, it will be different; but we just have to get on with it and try to make the most of the circumstances in these trying times."

West Indies arrived in England as holders of the Wisden Trophy, after a thrilling 2-1 series win in the Caribbean last year in which Holder himself excelled with a double-century in Barbados. And though he insisted that England would be favourites this time around, he acknowledged that the challenge of beating the hosts in their own conditions and at this moment in time might provide "extra motivation".

"West Indians are fuelled and motivated in different ways," said Holder. "In previous series, particularly against England, people have said things prior to the series’ beginning, and that has fuelled a lot of things within us as West Indians.

Who knows, this could be something serious we could build on, and we could get some real positive energy through the group.

“Only after we sit down and discuss and get a common sense of where everybody's mind is at will we then formulate our plans,” he offered.

When asked if West Indies would join the BLM protests during the Tests, perhaps by taking a knee in the manner of the NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, Holder insisted that he could not speak on behalf of his team-mates, until they had decided as a squad how

to respond.

"As a group, we have to sit down and have our discussions," Holder said. "I don't want to speak out of context or on behalf of other players. We have different races within our group too. It is a sensitive time, where we've got to be mindful of everything. "[Racism] is a crime throughout the entire world, and (is) something that will probably be an ongoing discussion way past our lifetimes," he added. "I think the greater message that could be brought from the entire experience is unity. I think (that) regardless of race, your kind, religion, this is a situation for all of us to unite as one.

"What has happened recently around the world has impacted the world, and the response from people around the world has been tremendous.

At the end of the day, you must acknowledge it; and protesting or standing up for what you believe (in) is seen as noble and courageous, and something (that) I myself would never sit and disapprove of.

"For me, the greatest thing at the end of the day is unity.

We must all come together, there must be equality across the world. It could be a massive ongoing debate, but equality and unity (are) the main (things) I would pick up from this.

"We had a brief discussion around it earlier, and a lot of things around it come from

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education as well; so, I think it's a perfect time for people to educate themselves about what goes on in other peoples' experiences of the world. Only then can you have a better sense of what is going on around you.

“To be honest, a lot of people live and not know exactly what goes on around them, and this is the perfect time to educate yourselves around it and make a change."

Holder added that he had not personally experienced racist abuse in cricket, but acknowledged recent incidents involving Moeen Ali - who was labelled "Osama" by an Australian fielder during the 2 0 1 5 Ashes; and Jofra Archer, who

called out a spectator at Mount Maunganui during last winter's tour of New Zealand; as well as the case of his former teammate Sammy, who was dismayed to discover he had been labelled with a racist nickname during his time at Sunrisers Hyderabad.

"I would be foolish to sit here and say that racism is not prevalent in our sport," Holder said. "I haven't followed all of what Sammy has said, but in terms of racism in general, it is definitely all around us. For me, the only solution is finding unity and equality in all races.

"I just want equality to excel - to get everyone on the same page, so we can have less fighting, less killing, less adversity in society. For me that is the main message I would like to contribute." (Espn cricinfo)

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English County Cricket's Greatest Overseas Player…

T

he Football Association has suspended Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli for one match over a post on social media about coronavirus.

Alli, 24, put on Snapchat in February a video in which he joked about the outbreak and appeared to mock an Asian man. The England international has also been fined £50,000 and ordered to undertake an education course. He will miss Spurs' home

who sold the video on his private account to the media.

In a statement, Alli said: "In response to the FA decision, I would like to apologise again for any offence caused by my behaviour. It was an extremely poorly judged joke about

Dele Alli

match against Manchester United on 19 June.

The video posted by Alli showed him wearing a face mask in an airport lounge, before the camera moved to show a man of Asian appearance, and then zoomed in on a bottle of antiseptic handwash.

In his hearing, Alli said he had "very quickly" realised the video may have the "potential to cause upset", and had deleted it before catching his flight. He said he had been "betrayed" by a friend

a virus that has now affected us more than we could ever have imagined. I'm grateful that the FA has confirmed that my actions were not racist, because I despise racism of any kind. We all need to be mindful of the words and actions we use, and how they can be perceived by others."

More than 41,000 people have died with coronavirus in the UK, and more than 416,000 have died worldwide.

(BBC Sport)

“T

he Master Blaster”, Sir Vivian Richards, has been voted English County Cricket's Greatest Overseas Player.

This honour has been bestowed on Sir Vivian Richards by BBC Sport users who voted on the best players from each of the 17 counties. Each winner then went through to an overall vote. When the final votes were tallied, the former West Indies captain had secured an astonishing 43.2 per cent of the final vote, finishing ahead of another former West Indies captain, Sir Clive Lloyd (9.2 per cent), and ex-New Zealand all-rounder Sir Richard Hadlee, who won 8.5 per cent of the vote.

Richards represented Somerset and Glamorgan during his English domestic game, and was named the best overseas player at both counties. The 17 county winners then went through to the overall vote. Richards won 90 per cent of the Somerset votes and 38 per cent of the Glamorgan votes, where he spent four seasons.

According to the BBC, Richards hit 58 centuries in his 14,698 first-class and 7,349 one-day runs for Somerset; until 1986, when he and Garner were ousted as overseas signings and Botham resigned in protest, but not before the county had won five one-day trophies from 1979 to 1983.

Meanwhile, the left-handed batsman Sir Clive Lloyd won the Lancashire vote with 66 per cent of the vote. The “Super Cat” represented Lancashire from 1968 to 1986, and played 219 first-class games for Lancashire, hitting 30 centuries while scoring 12,764 runs. With Lancashire, he won the first two one-day league titles (1969 and 1970) as well as four Gillette Cups between 1970 and 1975.

Sir Curtly Ambrose was the top man at Northamptonshire with 47 per cent of the vote. Between 1989 and 1996,

Sir Viv Richards

Ambrose took 318 wickets in 78 first-class matches and 115 wickets in 95 one-day appearances for Northants, while helping Northants to the NatWest Trophy at Lord's in 1992.

West Indies opener Desmond Haynes won 52 per cent of the Middlesex vote.

During his five seasons there, between 1989 and 1994, the Barbadian batsman made 7,071 runs in 95 matches at an average of 49.10, scoring 21 centuries along the way. He also made six more centuries in one-day cricket, scoring 4,105 runs for Middlesex in 96 matches, and helping Middlesex win three trophies: The County Championship in 1990 and 1993, plus the Sunday League in 1992.

Fast-bowling legend Malcolm Marshall took 826 first-class and 239 List A wickets in his 11 years with Hampshire, spread between 1979 and 1993. He also scored 5,847 first-class runs, including five centuries and 26 fifties, and a further 2,073 in one-day cricket. These significant contributions saw him win 47 per cent of the Hampshire vote.

Another West Indies fast bowling great, Michael Holding, won 51 per cent of the vote at Derbyshire where, between 1983 and 1989, he took 224 first-class wickets in 66 games and claimed 154 oneday scalps. (Excerpted from Sportsmax)

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Windies July Test tour to England‌

23

--calls for Pooran's Test entry

Sir Andy Roberts

F

ormer West Indies fast-bowling great Sir Andy Roberts has questioned the selection of some of the players who are currently in England to play the three-match Test series, and has opined that Nicholas Pooran should be playing red ball cricket, which he believes would help the Trinidadian in the long run.

During his extended comment on the latest Mason and Guests Cricket Show, Roberts chuckled when host Andrew Mason asked about Raymon Reifer's selection.

Raymon Reifer "That's one of the names people are talking about. Why they chose Raymon Reifer? Is it to bowl steadily from one end, or they think (because) he is a left-armer he will make a difference? What is Raymon's strength? Does it depend a

lot on swing or containment? These are some of the things we need to look at," Roberts explained.

Roberts, who played 47 Test matches for the West Indies and took 202 wickets, was surprised that Oshane Thomas was not selected in the final 14-man squad.

"He should be there! He has what the others want, and that is pace," he said.

In terms of Kraigg Brathwaite being selected, Roberts also had question marks on this selection.

"Based upon his past record or the last outing that he had in the professional set-up, why are you taking him? His past record does not show much," Roberts opined.

While Roberts declared it would be great if West Indies pulled off a victory, he believes the team would have to work hard for that.

This native of Antigua and Barbuda is hoping that the West Indies can find one or two players who would become household names after this tour. He believes that the key for fast bowlers is to bowl within themselves, and don't try to do too much, the performance would be creditable.

"Maybe had it not been for the coronavirus, we would have not seen most of those names," he opined.

Now 69 years old, Sir Andy Roberts noted that West Indies touring England during this period is a chance nobody else is willing to take.

Windies Test Squad is comprised of: Jason Holder (Captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Kraigg Brathwaite, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shane Dowrich, Chemar Holder, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Raymon Reifer and Kemar Roach.

Reserve players are: Sunil Ambris, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Keon Harding, Kyle Mayers, Preston McSween, Marquino Mindley, Shayne Moseley, Anderson Phillip, Oshane Thomas and Jomel Warrican. (Brandon Corlette)

Kraigg Brathwaite

Nicholas Pooran

BCCI President, Sourav Ganguly says:

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly

T

he BCCI is open to hosting the IPL in "empty stadiums," as long as the tournament is conducted in 2020.

In a letter sent to the state associations on Wednesday, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly said the board remained "optimistic" about the IPL, which was postponed indefinitely in April in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The BCCI is working on all possible options to ensure that we are able to stage the IPL this year, even if it means playing the tournament in empty stadiums," Ganguly said in the e-mail, accessed by ESPNcricinfo. "The fans, franchisees, players, broadcasters,

sponsors and all other stakeholders are keenly looking forward to the possibility of IPL being hosted this year."

The IPL remains BCCI's biggest money spinner annually, with the board deriving a large portion of its revenue from its lucrative league, thanks to the record media rights deal worth INR 16,347.5 crore (approx.

US$2.55 billion) signed in 2017. If there is no IPL this year, the BCCI stands to lose around INR 4,000 crore (US$530 million approx.) from the media rights deal.

The biggest challenge for the BCCI is finding a window for the IPL, which created a free window for itself in April-

May owing to its success since 2008. However, with the fate of global tournaments like the Asia Cup, Men's T20 World Cup, and the series that form part of the World Test Championship hanging in the balance, the IPL also remains undecided.

In case the T20 World Cup gets postponed, the BCCI would want to capitalise on the window left vacant, and is confident that it could put the tournament together in a short span of time, subject to permission from the Indian Government.

According to the data collated by the Indian Government, the country currently has over 137,000 active cases of people infected

by COVID-19, with over 8000 deaths.

Indian Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju recently said the fate of the IPL would be decided not by the BCCI, but by the Indian Government. "In India, the Government has to take a call, and it will take a call depending on the situation," Rijiju was quoted as saying in the media. "We cannot put health at risk just because we want to have a sporting event."

However, Rijju did not rule out India hosting the IPL behind closed doors if there was a sense of normalcy. "It is difficult to confirm dates, but I am

sure we will have some kind of sporting event this year.

We have to learn to live with the situation where sporting events will have to be carried forward without spectators in stadiums and sports venues," he said.

Both the franchises and players, including those from overseas, are enthusiastic and open about playing behind closed doors. During its meeting in March with the eight franchise owners, the BCCI had discussed various options, including hosting the tournament without crowds in a few venues that would minimise travel and pose fewer logistical challenges.

"Recently, a lot of players, both from India and other countries participating in IPL, have also shown their keenness on being a part of this year’s IPL," Ganguly said.

"We are optimistic, and the BCCI will shortly decide on the future course of action on this."

Ganguly also said the BCCI was on the verge of finalising guidelines for the return of cricket in India, and would be sharing them with the state associations.

India's domestic season begins in September, but state associations want clarity on what the calendar looks like.

Recently, Rahul Johri, the

BCCI chief executive, had indicated that the domestic calendar would see a revamp.

"The COVID-19 virus is highly contagious, and BCCI has taken cognisance of same," Ganguly said. "The BCCI is in the process of developing a COVID-19 Standard Operation Procedures (SOP) for all State Cricket Associations. Essentially, this SOP is being made with a view to providing our Members with a standard set of guidelines which will help the Associations to resume cricket in their respective areas. The BCCI has engaged medical specialists for the drafting of this SOP." (EspnCricinfo)

FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020

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

guyanatimesgy.com

Windies July Test tour to England…

--calls for Pooran's Test entry

Pg 23

Pg 23

-there must be equality across the world Pg 22

BCCI President, Sourav Ganguly says:

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly

Jason Holder addressing the media prior to the departure

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