Guyana Times - Thursday, May 21, 2020

Mingo’s fraudulent declarations further exposed on pages 17 & 18

All SoRs are available on our website Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 4292

THE BEACON OF TRUTH THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020

Carter Center now blocked only by Granger ...GECOM exhausts all options for return Page 10

PPP/C demands definitive ‘end date’ for elections recount …agrees to 1-week extension to 25-day deadline Page 7

Page 14

Page 8

…Nandlall exposes selective application of COVID-19 order for political purposes

$80 VAT INCLUDED

WHAT'S INSIDE:

“We are desperate to come home” – Guyanese P12 stranded in US …struggling with limited finances, risk losing jobs

Guyana Goldfields begins to lay off P12 workers

…as GECOM again turns to APNU/AFC task force for more counting stations

Pro-democracy activists for court today

PRICE

Only credible elections recount could stave off sanctions – Jagdeo tells Granger P13 8 Presidential Guards test positive for COVID-19 P7&8 …decide between cemetery or your family – Health Director to “reckless” men

Mother dies hours after giving birth at Corentyne Health Centre

APNU/AFC refuses to sign off Region 2 recount after approving all SoRs See story on page 3

…refusal does not invalidate count – Commissioners concur

P2 ExxonMobil appoints new Country Manager for Guyana

Couple whom P9 coalition claims not in Guyana on E-Day voted for APNU/AFC

2 NEWS

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Several Corentyne houses ExxonMobil appoints new damaged by freak storm Country Manager for Guyana S

ExxonMobil Country Manager for Guyana, Rod Henson

E

xxon Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), the local branch of global oil giant ExxonMobil, will see some significant changes as its President, Rod Henson, leaves Guyana to take up a new job in Houston, Texas as Exxon’s global Vice President for wells.

According to a statement from ExxonMobil on Wednesday, Henson will be replaced by current President and General Manager for ExxonMobil Qatar Limited, Alistair Routledge.

Henson, whose new role will give him responsibility for all of Exxon’s global drilling activities, was quot-

ed as saying: “Alistair is very well suited to take our work in Guyana to the next level given his years of experience heading up ExxonMobil’s operations in Qatar”.

“This has been the best and most rewarding job I have ever had. Guyana is a great country with amazing people, and I was privileged to have an awesome team that made my time here truly rewarding,” he said.

According to the statement, during Henson’s tenure, he presided over a number of important operational milestones, including the production of Guyana’s first oil in December 2019.

According to Exxon, more than 4200 people now support its operations in Guyana, 2200 of whom are Guyanese.

Under Henson, Exxon made five discoveries in Guyana last year. These discoveries have pushed the total estimated recoverable barrels of oil equivalent to over six billion. In addition, Exxon was moving ahead with its Liza phase two project, which will contain approximately 30 wells, after receiving the requisite approvals from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

It made one discov-

Incoming Country Manager for Guyana, Alistair Routledge

ery for 2020, the Uaru discovery, which was announced in January. Uaru is ExxonMobil’s 16th oil discovery in the Stabroek Block.

The Uaru-1 well was drilled in a new reservoir, encountering approximately 94 feet (29 metres) of high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoir and was drilled in 6342 feet (1933 metres) of water.

Guyana lifted its first million barrels of profit oil in February, with oil tanker Cap Philippe transporting it from the Liza Destiny Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel and received its first payment the next month.

The past few months

have been a trying time for Exxon and the oil industry in general, however. Only recently, ExxonMobil had announced that it would seek to scale down its operations in the wake of the global uncertainty in financial markets caused by COVID-19.

In a statement, ExxonMobil Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Darren Woods had noted that Exxon was evaluating ways to cut back on its investment costs. With a presence in numerous countries, including Guyana, this could have serious implications for oil exploration and production, as well as the oil revenues for such countries.

“Based on this unprecedented environment, we are evaluating all appropriate steps to significantly reduce capital and operating expenses in the near term.

We will outline plans when they are finalised,” Woods was quoted as saying in the statement.

“We remain focused on being a safe, low-cost operator and creating long-term value for shareholders,” Woods also said, adding that ExxonMobil has faced numerous market downturns throughout its long history and, therefore, had experience operating in a sustained low-price environment.

everal families are now forced to rebuild sections of their homes after they were damaged by a freak storm on Wednesday.

The eerie sounds of the gushing wind mixed with heavy rain began at 07:00h, swirling through Number 36 Village.

Diane Henry told Guyana Times that she was doing laundry when the “tornado-like” storm started.

She said she called on her husband, who was in the house with the six other members of the family and by the time he came downstairs, she noticed a dark cloud coming from the back. Within The storm wreaked havoc on the Corentyne seconds, it was over her house. my neighbor house I see flyHenry said after it passed, the sky became ing.”

Villagers described the the roof of her house.

Another resident, who storm as, “frightening; this lives just a few houses away, thing just coming and zinc explained that she was in sheets flying…”

This is not the first time her hammock relaxing when she saw the lower flat of the that a storm has hit this village. The reconstruction house being torn apart.

“Even the vinolay from process has already begun.

3 APNU/AFC refuses to sign off Region 2 recount after approving all SoRs NEWS

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Thursday, May 21 – 04:00 – 05:30 and 14:30h – 16:00h and Friday, May 22 – 04:30 – 06:00 and 14:30h – 16:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Thursday, May 21 – 16:00h – 17:30h and Friday, May 22 – 16:35 – 18:05h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Expect sunny intervals during the morning hours followed by thundery showers for the rest of the day. There will be partly cloudy skies at night. Temperatures should range between 23 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-Easterly to North-Easterly between 1.34 metres and 4.02 metres.

High Tide: 15:57h reaching a maximum height of 2.56 metres.

Low Tide: 09:31h and 21:43h reaching minimum heights of 0.59 metre and 0.67 metre.

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…refusal does not invalidate count – Commissioners concur

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he governing coalition A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) on Wednesday refused to sign off on the “Certificate of District Tabulation” for Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) despite approving all Statements of Recount (SoRs).

Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Commissioners have since confirmed that the coalition’s refusal does not invalidate the recount.

The Certificate, dated May 20, documents that after the recount of the votes cast in that region at the March 2 General and Regional Elections, the Opposition People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) secured 18,785 of the 26,491 valid votes found to be cast in the district.

APNU/AFC managed to secure 7340 votes from the region—a difference of more than 11,000 votes.

The Certificate was signed, however, by Dr Frank Anthony for the PPP/C while Dexter George signed on behalf of Change Guyana for its 151 votes, representing the third highest number of ballots cast for an individual party in the region.

Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) Leader Lenox Shuman signed on behalf of his party and its 121 votes while Mark France of A New and United Guyana (ANUG) accounted for his party’s 85 ballots.

The United Republican Party was represented by Rawle Aaron, and that party picked up 64 votes. The People’s Republican Party (PRP) secured 64 votes also and was represented on the Certificate by J Balak while Rhonda-Ann Lam represented the Citizenship Initiative which picked up 18 votes in the electoral district.

GECOM Commissioner Vincent Alexander, during a subsequent radio interview, was asked by the moderator, Dr Yog Mahadeo, to address the predicament.

He likened the situation to that of the national registration exercise that had taken place under the laws of Guyana that provided for a verification period.

According to the Government-nominated Commissioner, the Opposition refused to participate and later complained.

He juxtaposed that activity and its legal implication with the national recount exercise currently underway at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC).

The Governmentnominated Commissioner at the electoral body reminded that the process was being conducted under the Constitution of Guyana in concurrence with related election laws.

As such, “if a party withdraws, then one of the things that faces us is that we are engaging a legal process and a party does not want to engage.”

According to Alexander, “I am not saying that is the position, but certainly, it puts us in that position.”

He noted additionally that as a Commission, there would not be ten separate declarations by regions, as is the case under the conventional process, but rather “what we will do is to receive those tabulations”.

He said having deliberated at this time, the Commission would then do one declaration.

PPP/C-nominated GECOM Commissioner Sase Gunraj, in an invited comment, also downplayed the failure to sign off on the certificate by APNU+AFC, saying it would not invalidate the recount result.

Day’s activities

Meanwhile with the addition of two more counting stations supplementing the recount’s original 10, at the end of day 15 another 71 boxes were counted, five less than the previous day.

Region Six saw the highest number of ballot boxes being

recounted by its designated counting stations – 20, while another 18 boxes were completed for Region Three.

Six boxes were completed for Region Seven while 13 more were done by the stations while Region Four had

14 more of its ballot boxes completed.

Total votes recounted for that Region to date sees the PPP/C with 20,203 votes while the coalition has so far secured 21,181 votes in the District.

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guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 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

Expeditious manner

T

he pressure is mounting from all quarters for the Guyana Elections Commission (GEOM) to immediately take the necessary steps that would see the National Recount of the votes cast in the March 2 polls move faster, in order to bring the electoral process to finality soon.

As at Wednesday, 789 ballot boxes were completed, and if the current pace continues, it is projected that the process would be dramatically longer than the 25-day timeline envisaged in the Recount Order.

This is unacceptable by any measure, considering it is now more than two months after the elections were held and a credible winner is yet to be declared.

It would be a travesty if the electoral body were to ask the nation to wait significantly longer for a credible winner to be announced. The nation is two weeks into the recount process, and by now all stakeholders, more so GECOM, would be well aware that given the current pace at which the process is moving, urgent steps would have to be taken to finish the exercise in good time.

The GECOM Chairperson, retired Justice Claudette Singh, must act now. As we have said several times before, she has all the power to do what is necessary to ensure the process is carried out in a transparent and expeditious manner. While she has again asked the APNU/AFC- appointed coronavirus (COVID-19) Taskforce for an assessment for two additional counting stations, she must by now be quite aware of the snail’s pace at which the very grouping operates.

As we race towards the proposed 25-day timeline, with room as agreed by the Opposition for an addition one week extension, Justice Singh and the entire Commission are well aware that it would be an indictment on the part of GECOM if they just sit quietly and allow the process to be dragged on for several more weeks.

On this basis, we urge the Commission to convene an urgent meeting to review what is taking place, and take corrective steps immediately. To begin with, we suggest the Commission expand the number of work stations to have more persons working at any given time. From the beginning, we had said that 10 work stations were inadequate, and would certainly not accomplish the task set out in good time. We are almost certain that the venue of the National Recount – the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) -- could easily accommodate at least five more work stations.

Secondly, the Commission could immediately expand the working hours from 11 to about 16, using a shift system wherein two sets of workers could be utilised. Here, again, this would allow for a larger number of ballot boxes to be counted at the same time, resulting in more boxes being completed each day.

At the moment, the A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) agents are hell-bent on creating confusion and dragging out the process unnecessarily.

From what we have seen so far, they are raising all sorts of issues which do not fall under the purview of a vote recount, but rather an elections petition. This, we know, is deliberate, as it has a direct relation to the push by Commissioner Vincent Alexander and others to have an ‘audit’ instead of a recount.

When the matter regarding the elections recount first surfaced, it was meant to do just that – a recount of the votes.

No one ever called for an audit. It was the understanding of all the stakeholders, including the Court, the international community, and observers, that a recount of the votes was needed in order to arrive at credible election results, which would be accepted by all parties and which could stand scrutiny of the international community and international observers.

We have said before that following the massive negative publicity she faced for her actions or inaction in relation to attempts by Clairmont Mingo, in collusion with others, to declare fraudulent results for District Four, Justice Singh has another opportunity to stand up to the forces that do not want what is best for the country.

With the recount ongoing, Justice Singh has a duty to seriously monitor the process, and intervene whenever necessary by taking corrective actions, not only to see the process through to its finality, but to ensure that it is done in an expeditious manner.

Granger’s Administration has taken Guyana down a treacherous path Dear Editor, I was incredulous after listening to the Benschop interview of Mr Granger on May 18, 2020 and reading the May 19th 2020 Guyana Chronicle report of the same interview, headed up, “I am confident” …President Granger not expecting a landslide victory but confident.”

Here was Granger, the former military officer, again at work. When all his minions were botching up their public relations narrative, here the man himself stepped forward to set things straight for his supporters.

I would not be wrong, nor would anyone else in Guyana, in assuming that Mr. Granger, as head of the APNU+AFC Coalition, is fully aware of the results of the SOPs of the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections in his party’s possession, which showed that not only did it not win, not even by a margin; but that it was resoundingly defeated by approximately 17,000 votes! Yet, he continues this masquerade to fool his supporters.

For him to say, 78 days after the elections, that he did not expect a landslide victory, but now advocates that, “We have to aim at a form of government that is I inclusionary…let’s not bother with landslide. …The parties are near equal. By formula — as has been laid out by my colleague Rupert Roopnaraine — people who win 51 per cent of the vote must not behave as if they won 100 per cent of the vote, and people who only got 49 per cent of the vote must not be treated as if they got no per cent of the votes, and I live by that…I would like to see an inclusionary form of government…one where we can sit down in a mature environment and discuss the issues facing our country. That is the only way forward,” is nothing but a bad joke or a farce.

Other than laughing uncontrollably at this farce being perpetuated on the Guyanese people, I am flabbergasted that Mr. Granger would expect the majority of Guyanese to conveniently

forget what his administration stood for, and still continues to stand for, since the May 11, 2015 elections.

His assumption of office was predicated on a less than 1% (4,000-odd votes) victory at the said polls. With such a hairbreadth difference, this “eureka moment” with regards to an inclusionary form of government clearly alluded him when he assumed office.

Who can forget the “ahwe first” and “we time now” policies of his administration?

Just to name a few: • Termination of 1,872 Amerindian Community Service Officers; • Terminated thousands of public servants for their ethnic and/or political affiliation; • Terminated 99% of Guyana’s representatives at our Foreign Missions; • Terminated Chief Executive Officers and high-level managers in all state corporations; • Terminated 99% of all Permanent Secretaries and Regional Executive Officers; • Replaced and stacked state boards with APNU+AFC activists; • E n s c o n c e d APNU+AFC activists as advisers in the Ministry of the Presidency and in every Ministry; • Held up appointments of judges for almost a year in violation of the constitution; • Revoked farmers’ land leases in contravention of court rulings; • Closed 4 sugar estates, leading to the “collateral damage” of 7,000 sugar workers being put on the breadline; • Neglected communities that were aligned to the PPP/C; • Neglect of Amerindian communities generally, and especially those that are sympathetic to the PPP/C; • Allocation of jobs and resources in the public sector based on affiliation to the APNU+AFC Coalition; • Using SARA and SOCU as political tools to hound down PPP/C leaders; • Aborted the

Commission of Inquiry into the assassination of Dr. Water Rodney; • Ignored and/or attacked any civil society individual or body that was critical and didn’t fall into line; • Turned the state media into the “rag sheet” of the APNU+AFC Coalition; • Gave himself and his Ministers 50-100% increases in salaries, benefits and allowances; • Introduced anti-working people tax measures, thereby increasing levels of poverty; • Introduced anti-business tax measures; • Appointed the Chairman of GECOM in violation of the constitutional provisions, until forced to correct this by the CCJ ruling and orders; • Excluded contractors and businessmen in the procurement process unless they were seen as “politically correct” a la APNU+AFC Coalition; • Violated the constitution on repeated occasions, most recent Article 106, following the defeat of his government with the NO Confidence Vote; • Established a partisan National Task Force on COVID- 19 in a time of a national health crisis; • Has done nothing to stem the astounding levels of corruption in his administration, which continue unabated to date.

In the National Assembly, a place in parliamentary democracies where there is some modicum of “give and take” based on longstanding norms and conventions, his administration hogged it all from June 2015: • Defeated every motion brought by the parliamentary opposition, even those which were non-partisan; eg: suicide prevention, rice farmers, sugar industry, interior roads, crime; • Defeated every amendment brought by the parliamentary opposition on any bill; • Suspended the Standing Orders to rush through large and complex bills at first reading, such as the Cybercrime Bill, amendments to the AML/CFT bills, and the Anti-Terrorism Bill;

• Refused to send bills to Parliamentary Special Select Committees for scrutiny; • Ignored the findings of the Auditor General reports, and took no corrective action.

Even as I write, Granger’s caretaker administration continues unrelentingly with the same polices of political and ethnic discrimination, exclusivity, highhandedness, and “party paramountcy” started in May 2015 — the very same policies that led to his defeat at the March 2, 2020 polls.

Is it because defeat is now staring him in his face that he has chosen opportunistically to pander to “an inclusionary form of government”?

No, Mr. Granger. In 2015, the two parties were 50.3% versus 49.7%; there was the golden opportunity to prove his commitment to an inclusionary government, which he squandered. Why should anyone trust Granger now?

The Granger Administration has taken this country down a treacherous path of political division, economic collapse, undermining the rule of law and the constitution as it merrily went along, confident that its time would last forever. Granger’s “eureka” moment has come five years too late. This will never be possible under Granger’s tutelage.

I have no doubt that there will be inclusionary governance, and we shall, as a people and a nation, work together to develop an inclusionary form of government, not by divvying up the spoils as Granger and others’ advocate, but through a national inclusive consultative process.

Whenever the recount is finished and the new President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, is sworn in, then the work will begin to reconstruct our country, to repair the damage of APNU+AFC Coalition’s five years of incompetence and party paramountcy, and to find a way forward and start the process that is truly inclusive.

Yours sincerely, Gail Teixeira

Recount has already established Mingo’s fraud Dear Editor, I am saddened to see that Adam Harris, someone I considered a friend and regarded with respect, now writing for the Chronicle, has abandoned all pretence at being a professional journalist to become a paid mouthpiece of

the PNC’s grab for fraudulent political power.

He attacks me, the Private Sector, and anyone else who defends the right of our people to a free and credible elections as “aligned to the PPP”.

I witnessed the Mingo

fraud first hand twice, along with every international and local observer present.

I have also seen the published SOPs of the elections, showing that the PPP/C has clearly won the elections.

The Recount has already established the Mingo fraud.

Label me as you wish, Adam, it will not change the facts, will not change the electoral result, and will not make you right.

Yours sincerely, Kit Nascimento

guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020

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Guyanese have spoken clearly on Election Day

Dear Editor, The Coalition is shadow boxing in semantics.

While its Leader said or inferred the elections were free and fair and “orderly,” this does not mean the elections (the fraudulent acts of Clairmont Mingo aside) lacked credibility. The press reported that PNC member, Mr. Aubrey Norton, went further and said: “You can’t check credibility from what happened on Elections Day…” – published in a section of on the media on May 16.

Maybe this commonplace procedure is prohibited in Guyana. Otherwise, I will show that he is wrong or that Mr Norton is trying to mislead the public.

Credibility in elections speaks to whether electors are able to enjoy voting rights in an inclusive, open, and legitimate manner without any fundamen-

tal unfairness. The gravamen of credibility is rooted almost entirely in Election Day when voting actually occurs. Not the day before or after, as it is common for national elections to be completed in a day, during which time the issue of credibility is established. Here is an example to show Mr. Norton to be wrong.

During the historic US Presidential Elections held on November 4, 2008, which a then US Senator Barack Obama won, I was a representative of the Michigan Democratic Party and was stationed at a polling precinct in Lansing inswing-state Michigan. At 8 pm Eastern Time (ET) ballots were still tabulated manually due to problem with voting machines. By 9 pm ET it was all academic as everyone realized who would win. By 11 pm ET the loser conceded, the elections

over.

Ours was not the only case of voting machines breaking down or of voters sent to the wrong precinct to vote because of late-hour redistricting (i.e., gerrymandering).These and other hiccups aside nationwide, the elections were regarded as free and fair.

Credibility was established before tabulation ended or without the losing candidate, US Senator John McCain, needing to use the word “credible.” Instead, in his concession speech he acknowledged gratitude “to the American people for giving me a fair hearing.” Yes, a “fair” hearing. No one said “you can’t check credibility from what happened” on Elections Day. Elections are trials. As an aside, our courts worldwide tell each accused that they are entitled to a “fair” trial and it is recorded at

law to be a “credible” or legitimate hearing. After his trial, the senator praised Senator Obama for inspiring African Americans “who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election….”

This is instructive to disenchanted and misled supporters of Mr. Norton’s party who are told elections do not serve their cause, and that they must now embrace manufactured leadership.

But equally important, Senator McCain said: “The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly.” Here, the Guyanese people have likewise spoken clearly. Their spoken word is memorialized for posterity on all lawful SOPs affixed to polling stations giving original notice to the world.

Mr. Norton cannot re-invent commonplace electoral procedure by juggling adjec-

Dear Editor, Guyana’s caretaker President David Granger continues to repeat his mantra: that his caretaker Government has done nothing wrong, and should therefore not be on the receiving end of any sanctions. Is this man for real? what a ridiculous and shameless statement!

The reality for many Guyanese is completely different from what David Granger and the APNU+AFC Coalition leaders believe.

David Granger continues to peddle misleading information through the media, leaving his supporters in disarray and the people of this country on the losing end. This leaves me to wonder if David Granger is either suffering from dissociative amnesia, or if it is selective amnesia?

Nothing surprises me anymore, I just call it how I see it: a spade is a spade, APNU-AFC are still on a mercy trail, thumbing their noses at honesty, integrity and decency.

Guyanese, let’s not be fooled by the “white lie” that David Granger keeps repeating, it is merely an attempt to excuse his caretaker administration for committing fraud, rigging, and spreading propaganda across Guyana and the world.

However, Guyanese citizens know the truth, the world knows the truth, everyone has spoken out, including the international community; only pathological liars will try to convince themselves and their cabal that they won these elections. This is the art of bullyism. The fraudulent declaration by Clairmont Mingo

for district 4, posted on the GECOM website and remaining there to date, is enough evidence of deception, trying to fool the people of Guyana while violating a court order.

Chief Justice Roxane George had ruled that the purported declaration of the Region 4 results by the Returning Officer was null and void. Clairmont Mingo had failed to carry out his statutory duty in the tabulation process set out in the Representation of the People Act. She also ruled that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) cannot declare a final result until the declaration for Region Four is properly done, the present recount will correct that episode.

In the interest of fairness, I ask that GECOM remove that fraudulent declaration which has been posted on its web site immediately. With 20% of the 879 ballot boxes honestly counted at present in the ongoing recount exercise, counting agents have already uncovered 52 instances where figures were altered by Clairmont Mingo.

The forging of these figures increased the votes in favour of the APNU-AFC and decreased the votes for the People’s Progressive Party. They increased the APNU/AFC count by two thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven votes, and decreased the Peoples Progressive Party/Civic votes by seven hundred and eighteen. This simply means that the votes were manipulated by over three thousand five hundred and forty-five in favour of David Granger, presidential Candidate for the APNU-AFC. If this is not considered

wrongdoing, David Granger and his APNU/AFC administration are living in denial and must stop avoiding the fact that the APNU/AFC committed fraud through District Four RO, Clairmont Mingo.

David Granger and the APNU/AFC know they lost the elections, but they continue promoting that the APNU/AFC won the elections as an expression of reverse psychology, the oldest trick in the book, while they continue to lie to the people of Guyana. However, their diehard supporters will soon see them for who they really are! As the truth reveals itself.

Caretaker President David Granger and APNUAFC Presidential Candidate, during his visit to the recount centre, met with those persons participating in the recount exercise. He also had secret meeting with the Chairperson of GECOM, Justice (retired) Claudette Singh; the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield; and staff of the Secretariat of GECOM. What is “most suspect”, David Granger held a meeting with the three members of the CARICOM team currently scrutinising the recount without any of the Opposition parties present. This must be considered a conflict of interest. It was clear to all that David Granger, the APNU-AFC Presidential Candidate, received preferential treatment during his visit on Sunday. This demonstrated clear bias on the part of GECOM. Why was the same privilege and treatment not given to Dr Irfaan Ali, the Peoples Progressive Party/Civic Presidential Candidate, when he visited

the recount center?

There are many questions lingering in my mind: Why would David Granger and his whole entourage meet with GECOM and the CARICOM three-member team? Why does David Granger keep insinuating that Caricom is the most legitimate interlocutor on the Guyana situation? this is very strange.

The caretaker Government has cited COVID-19 as an excuse to keep the Carter Center out, while it allowed hundreds of ExxonMobil oil workers in our country without qualms.

“Double standards,” yet David Granger speaks about respect.

Mr Granger, please earn your respect by allowing the Carter Center to return to Guyana. The Carter Center’s accredited observation mission remains committed to providing an independent observation of Guyana’s electoral process, including our recount. We need the Carter Center here with the recent move to increase the work stations at the center. The promotion of an IT officer to supervisor at one of these new stations has much to say about GECOM. This is the same person who was questioned extensively by the police on the night of March 4,2020 when the tabulation of votes of District Four was derailed. He was the one who left the room with the laptop and flash drive, which caused party agents to be suspicious. Having that particular IT officer at one of the stations as supervisor for the very District Four is much cause for concern.

Dissociative amnesia, or selective amnesia?

Sincerely, David Adams

tives some two months after poll date to silence this spoken word.

While it is recognized that as modern elections evolved, the language used to describe same have become laden with adjectives (“transparent, ”credible,” “orderly,” “inclusive”) meant to act as safety measures against ballot tinkering, the all-encompassing phrase “free and fair” is still the gold standard to establish legitimate balloting.

As such, when the Coalition Leader says the elections were “free and fair,” he naturally meant they were “free” of disorderly conduct. His “orderly “comment, therefore, is repetitive and unnecessary unless it was strategically used to give Mr. Norton and friends an arm with which to shadow box in semantics if need be.

Dear Editor, Condemning the representatives of the international community for “interference” is a line that the APNU+AFC Coalition is religiously sticking to, as evidenced by the comments made by President David Granger on the night of Monday, May 18, 2020.

Mr Granger’s talk of interference smacks of duplicity, given that he was more than supportive of the outspoken local representatives of the diplomatic corps in 2014, when former President Donald Ramotar prorogued Parliament. His duplicity is further seen in the fact that he was the one inviting foreign countries to sanction Guyana because a constitutionally-provided-for mechanism, prorogation, was employed.

In November 2014, he argued for sanctions as a means of modifying the behaviour of the Ramotarled government. He said: “Sanctions will inevitably affect all Guyanese citizens.

We will all suffer once there are sanctions. The question is, who will suffer most, and whether that period of suffering – which is bound to be short – is going to have the effect of bringing about a change in government’s behaviour. I do believe so.”

Editor, Mr Granger seems to be intent on promulgating obfuscation when it comes to the role of the international community and the statements made by their representatives since March 2, 2020. Obfuscation is clearly what he is playing at when he says: “I don’t know the motivation for such behaviour. Some of the behaviour was quite extraordinary, especially with regard to the conduct of some persons who enjoyed diplomatic status. It is all quite strange. People who should be representing the interest of friendly foreign countries should behave in such

a manner.”

First, the voices from the international community commenting on happenings in Guyana included: 1. The international election observer missions accredited by GECOM as Foreign Observers; 2. The representatives of the local diplomatic corps accredited by GECOM as Local Observers; and 3. The representatives of foreign governments.

The representatives of foreign governments have spoken out in support of democracy in Guyana, and against a clear attempt to rig the 2020 Elections. How is this interference? Why is this being condemned by Mr Granger?

The representatives of the local diplomatic corps, when asked, spoke out about what they saw firsthand.

How is this interference?

Sincerely, Rakesh Rampertab

Granger’s duplicitous views on international community’s role

Why is this being condemned?

The international election observer missions, which are probably the most important when it comes to adding credibility to our electoral process, have made public their preliminary reports. This is what they were invited to Guyana for. How is this interference? So why are they being condemned?

Is it because the voices of these groups add weight to the calls for a democratic transition of government, and this is not where Mr. Granger and his APNU+AFC Coalition expected to be right now; rather, they had hoped that Mr. Clairmont Mingo would have been successful in his attempt to tamper with the results of Region 4?

Whatever his reason, right-thinking Guyanese recognise the roles of these three groups in support of the fight for democracy in Guyana.

Sincerely, Nalinie Singh

SEE ADDITIONAL LETTERS ON PAGE 21

6

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020

Page

Foundation

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

Below is Science Paper 2, 2008.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

NATIONAL GRADE SIX ASSESSMENT

SCIENCE

Reading Time: 10 minutes Writing Time: 45 minutes Read these instructions carefully before you attempt to answer the questions.

1. WRITE YOUR CANDIDATE NUMBER CLEARLY ON EACH PAGE.

2. This paper contains SIX questions. You are required to answer QUESTION ONE and THREE others. EACH question is worth 5 marks.

Note: You must answer ONLY FOUR questions.

Be sure to answer FULLY the FOUR questions.

3. Write the answer in the space provided in this booklet.

4. Answers MUST be written in complete sentences where possible.

5. Each step of your work MUST be CLEARLY shown in this booklet.

6. If you have to erase, do so cleanly.

(1 mark)

(b) (i) Which tack took the longest to fall off the ruler?

(1 mark)

1. (a) What system of the human body is shown above?

(1 mark)

(1 mark)

Study the diagram below, then answer question 4.

(1 mark)

(c) Name the process by which the heat was transferred to all the tacks?

(1 mark) (d) State one reason why a wooden ruler was not used.

(1 mark) Study the diagram below, then answer question 3.

Diagram M Diagram N

(1 mark)

(c) Name one feature of the water lily that allows it to float on water.

(1 mark)

(ii) If a condom is not available, what must persons do to protect themselves from infections?

(1 mark)

(d) Which of the animals above is adapted to living in two different habitats?

(1 mark)

Use the information below to answer question 2.

Sunita attached 6 tacks, labelled U to Z to a metal ruler using wax.She heated one end of the ruler. All of the tacks fell off eventually.

4. (a) Name the feature of the turtle that helps it to survive a bush fire.

(1 mark) (b) State the feature of the fish that helps it to move smoothly through the water.

(1 mark)

(d) (i) How does the condom protect this organ from sexually transmitted infections?

(1 mark)

3. (a) Which diagram shows a permanent change?

(1 mark)

(ii) State why the diagram named at (a) (i) represents a permanent change.

(1 mark) (b) (1) Which diagram shows a physical change?

(1 mark) (ii) State one reason for your choice.

2. (a) Which tack fell off first?

(c) Which material above is biodegradable?

(ii) Why was the tack named in (b) (I) the last to fall off?

(1 mark)

x

(c) Name one function of the part labelled X.

DO NOT TURN OVER THIS PAGE UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO.

7. Look over your work when you have finished.

Study the diagram below, then answer question 1.

(b) Name the part labelled X.

8. DO NOT take away any part of this booklet.

(e) What does a bird with the type of beak shown above feed on?

(1 mark) Study the diagram below, then answer question 5.

(1 mark)

5. (a) Name the process by which the top soil is being washed down the hill.

(1 mark) (b) Name the activity in the diagram that led to the removal of the top soil.

(1 mark) (ii) How does this activity contribute to the washing away of the top soil?

(1 mark) (c) What name is given to the process of harming the environment by burning plastic bottles?

(1 mark) (ii) Name the practice of making tiles with the plastic bottles instead of burning them?

(1 mark)

TO BE CONTINUED

NEWS

7

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

PPP/C demands definitive ‘end date’ for elections recount …agrees to 1-week extension to 25-day deadline …as GECOM again turns to APNU/AFC task force for more counting stations

D

ays after the Guyana Elections C o m m i s s i o n (GECOM) was advised by the National Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Taskforce (NCTF) that it could establish no more than two additional counting stations at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre, the electoral body on Wednesday again wrote the APNU/ AFC- appointed body, seeking permission and guidance for the setting up of more workstations.

This, despite there being no physical changes to the venue from the time of the visit of health officials from the task force, when GECOM had requested to set up an additional six counting stations to supplement the 10 that the National Recount Exercise began with on May 6.

GECOM Public Relations Officer (PRO) Yolanda Ward confirmed the request of the taskforce by the Commission and said the establishment of more working stations was among the discussions being mulled by the Commission in order to ensure that the exercise is accelerated.

Permission or guidance

Speaking to the report that was provided by the Taskforce, Ward indicated to media operatives, “Being cognizant that it is of national importance that this recount exercise concludes as quickly as possible, it is the intention of the Chairperson

to write to the national taskforce again, to seek their reconsideration for an additional two workstations.”

Asked to clarify whether the request was for permission or guidance, taking into account the fact that the Chairperson had initially decided to go ahead and set up two additional workstations before receiving the imprimatur of the Taskforce, she said it was twofold.

According to Ward, “We seek permission as well as for an assessment to be done to determine the risk involved in the establishment of such.”

She conceded that the Commission had identified at least two additional proposed locations to the taskforce last week, but those have been turned down.

Defending the Commission’s resort to the taskforce as against invoking its independence, as is being touted by many, Ward told reporters, “We also need to be cognizant that we cannot, while constitutionally the Commission operates in an autonomous way, we cannot operate in isolation, and not being cognization of other factors that could affect our operations. We have to be conscious that we are dealing with a health situation.”

The letter from the Commission’s Chairperson, retired Justice Claudette Singh, to NCTF was dispatched on the same day the Commissioners

rently undertaking the exercise, taking into account Justice Singh’s stated desire to have at least 100 boxes completed in a given day.

Ali used the occasion to point out that the PPP/C’s recommendations to the Commission were geared at accelerating the process, while not sacrificing transparency for expediency.

Slothful implementation of decisions

PPP/C Presidential Candidate, Dr Irfaan Ali speaking with the media after the meeting with GECOM

and Chairperson met with Opposition Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C), when the party called on GECOM to come up with a definitive enddate for the exercise.

1-week extension

The meeting was held to primarily address the matter of the slothfulness of the recount activity, and for the Electoral Commission, since it is unlikely that the 25-day deadline would be met.

The PPPP/C Presidential Candidate Dr Irfaan Ali met with reporters following his meeting with the Commission, and was unmoving in his adumbration, “All of Guyana would like to know definitively what is the end date we’re looking at.”

Signalling that his party was not averse to a one week extension to the 25day deadline, he noted that the Commission was called on by the PPP/C to ensure that entreaties are made to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) delegation of observers in order to ensure that they can stay on for the completion of the exercise.

He reminded that the team had initially committed to a 25-day deadline.

Dr Ali told the media that during the meeting, his party representatives — including party General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo -- submitted a number of recommendations to the Commission. These, he said, include the introduction of a quota system for each of the 12 counting stations cur-

Lamenting aspects of the National Recount exercise that have been identified as among the culprits consuming time, the PPP/C Presidential Candidate told reporters encamped in the makeshift media centre outside of the Arthur Chung Convention Centre (ACCC) that the secretariat staff were in this case found wanting.

He qualified his position by explaining that decisions that are taken by the Commission are not being filtered efficiently to the recount staff. This situation, he said, has led to party agents rehashing issues during the recount exercise that would have already been addressed by the Commission.

He cited as example that this obtained in at least one occasion, which led to a three-quarter-hour delay in the process.

As such, it was submitted to the Commission to have the decisions taken being transmitted by

the Chief Elections Officer (CEO), in order to minimise miscommunication in the implementation of the Commission’s decisions, which had led to numerous delays.

Lamenting the absence of the implementation of the Commission’s decisions on dealing with recurrent objections being made, Ali reminded, “We can’t have the country being unsettled like this for such a long period… it is not good for business, it is not good for investors,” and suggesting the same fate nationally.

Reflecting on the two additional stations that were set up the day before, the PPP/C Presidential Candidate said that even with the additional resources, the recount exercise was still not addressing 100 boxes daily at a minimum, which would inherently demand additional time if more stations are not added.

He was also critical of the secretariat’s management of the recount process in terms of the logistics.

Qualifying his criticism, the Presidential Candidate observed that more than 40 per cent of the ballot boxes that remain to be recounted are in fact boxes from Region Four, and he juxtaposed the position with the fact that less than quarter of all the stations in operation are allocated to that region.

He was adamant that this is a situation that needs readjustment by the secretariat.

Decide between cemetery or your family – Health Director to “reckless” men …no new COVID-19 cases recorded

O

n Wednesday, the Public Health Ministry reported that there were no new COVID-19 cases recorded in the last 24 hours since Tuesday’s update, but noted that while males remain the most at-risk group, they were not adhering to the guidelines in place.

The latest COVID-19 update was done by Director of Primary Health Care Services, Dr Ertenisa Hamilton, who revealed that the number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases in Guyana remains at 125 – the same as Tuesday.

However, there were 26 more persons were tested for the novel coronavirus within the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of persons tested to 1295 of which 1170 are negative.

Additionally, the number of COVID-19 deaths in Guyana remains at 10, while there are three patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Director of Primary Health Care Services, Dr Ertenisa Hamilton

Meanwhile, 68 active cases are in institutional isolation, while another six are in quarantine.

The number of persons recovered from the life-threatening disease has increased by one to 47.

According to Dr Hamilton, men continue to be the most at-risk group.

She underscored the importance of family and loved ones in Guyanese society, and questioned why the males would deliberate-

ly jeopardise those persons’ health and put them at unnecessary risk of contracting the virus because of their “reckless behaviour”.

“Most of you are acting as if COVID-19 cannot touch you, that you are beyond its reach and that the health guidelines are a waste of time.”

The Primary Health Care Services Director further pointed out that this is the time that men must put that pride aside and exercise wise judgement to protect themselves and their families.

“I know many of you are macho and perhaps think that wearing a mask makes you seem less of a man, but there are times when you must put that pride aside and exercise wise judgement. This is the time, because COVID-19 is a silent killer and complying with the control measures is of paramount importance if your family is to be safe,” she implored.

According to the Ministry’s records, the ratio

of males to females positively confirmed with the disease is significantly skewed.

In fact, as of Wednesday that ratio was 71:54, while eight of the 10 victims who have died are males. Further, the age group under the lens is between 16 and 59.

“So, my dear males, I am sure that you want to be around to hug and kiss your loved ones at home rather than be six feet under the ground in a cemetery somewhere. COVID-19 will mash you up and break up that same home circle in which you find comfort. So, don’t wear the mask on your chins, don’t sit way up under your friend, give him some space; physical distancing is a must and get off the streets before 6pm. Home is the best and safest place.

Stay home,” she asserted.

Meanwhile, Dr Hamilton reiterated that residents in Region Nine (Upper TakutuUpper Essequibo) remained vulnerable and should ensure their safety against COVID-19, especially since the virus is ravaging neigh-

bouring Brazil.

The Portuguesespeaking nation is now the country with the third-highest number of confirmed novel coronavirus infections in the world, having recorded more than 250,000 cases with a daily death toll of over 1000.

According to the World

Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday evening, the total number of COVID-19 cases globally is 4,731,458 with 318,789 deaths. In the Region of the Americas, the total number of cases are 2,105,670 and the death toll is 125,843 – with Brazil being the epicentre in the region.

8 NEWS

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Pro-democracy activists charged, for court today

…Nandlall exposes selective application of COVID-19 order for political purposes

T

he recent decision of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to break up a protest in front of the Foreign Affairs Ministry and arrest participants, who were all in compliant with social distancing has led some to call it a suppression of the right to assembly and freedom of speech.

the protest was also arrested by Police and charged.

In an interview with this publication, former Attorney General and PPP/C Executive Anil Nandlall called out the selective application of the emergency orders. According to the former Attorney General, the COVID-19 orders are being

ready in place, but not a single person was arrested and charged.”

The former AG also criticised the unnecessary implementation of bail against Kumar.

According to Nandlall, the Police cannot have any reasonable suspicion that Kumar is a flight risk and thus, placing him

“C

Former AG Anil Nandlall

During the protest, participants wore masks and observed social distancing rules

The protest was against the Government’s blocking of the Carter Center observers from coming into Guyana to observe the national elections recount.

On Wednesday, it was revealed that the protesters, who were arrested and later released on station bail, have been charged.

One of the persons who was charged on Wednesday is former Director of Sport and former People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Member of Parliament, Neil Kumar.

According to the particulars of the charge, he is alleged to have breached No 2 (1) restriction on social activities in the COVID-19 emergency measures. The charge reads that he “hosted a meeting of a fraternal civic organisation”.

Kumar is scheduled to appear in Court Two at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts at 09:00h. He is being represented by Attorneyat-Law Glenn Hanoman.

Guyana Times was told that another person who was in the vicinity but not part of

abused for political purposes, in order to suppress the right to assembly.

“My information is the participants in that exercise were observing COVID protocols. Secondly, they were exercising a right to peacefully protest, a fundamental right specifically guaranteed to the citizens of this country by the Constitution. And once that right is being exercised, there is no COVID regulation that can take precedence over that right. Those charges are unconstitutional and constitute an abuse of power,” Nandlall said.

“Every day in this country, routinely, people are violating those protocols. You will recall that when I was appearing in court in relation to the election matters, every day in front of the High Court, there were dozens of APNU [A Partnership for National Unity] supporters at the barricade, hurling abuse and expletives at me, in the presence and hearing of dozens of policemen, women and the media. The COVID protocols were al-

on bail was an unjust measure. He noted that bail was not supposed to be used as a punitive measure.

Police defence

In defence of the GPF’s actions, Public Relations Officer (PRO), Superintendent Jairam Ramlakhan told this publication the COVID-19 emergency measures order was published by the Government in April and was scheduled to last until next month unless extended.

“The order (outlaws) assemblies. So, if the order says only a certain number of persons can gather at one time, you can’t have protests. How can you have that? The order is the order… it is there for you to judge,” he said, in in a brief interview with this publication.

Section one of the order, which was signed by caretaker Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence, states “except as otherwise provided in this Notice every person shall remain in the

confines of his or her home and its yard space.”

Section two lays out the various restrictions on “social” activities. The closest correlation that can be drawn to protests is section 2m, where restrictions are placed on “a meeting of a fraternal society, private or social club or civic association or organisation; or (n) any other social activity.”

On May 16, scores of protesters demonstrated in front of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, calling on the caretaker APNU/ Alliance For Change coalition Government to allow the Carter Center to return to observe the national election recount.

Three of the protesters were arrested by ranks of the GPF, who claimed that the protesters breached the Public Health Ordinance in relation to COVID-19. They were subsequently released on $20,000 station bail each.

PPP General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo, during a virtual press conference on Saturday, had contended that the protesters were adhering to all the safety protocols, such as wearing masks and practising social distancing.

3 men, woman busted with ganja in barrel, vehicle

The ganja that was found in the house at D’Urban Street, Georgetown

A

woman and two men are currently in Police custody after they were busted at D’Urban Street, Georgetown and Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara (ECD) in separate Police operations.

Reports are about 16:45h, Police, acting on information received, went to the home of a 33-year-old

woman at D’Urban Street, Georgetown where they conducted a search.

According to Police, about 80 pounds of marijuana was found in the house.

Two men, both unemployed, were in the house at the time of the search.

One of the men lives on the ECD while the other lives in Charlestown,

The parcels of cannabis found in the vehicle

Georgetown.

The woman is employed as a clerk.

Additionally, 390 grams of marijuana was found in the possession of the ECD man.

Police stated that the ganja was found in two barrels and a box wrapped in several packages.

Meanwhile, a 51-yearold driver/salesman of John Street, Georgetown was also arrested after a parcel of 284

Challenging…

grams of suspected cannabis was found in his vehicle.

Police, acting on information received on Tuesday, intercepted the vehicle at Perth Village, Mahaicony, around 08:00h. They subsequently conducted a search and found the parcel containing 284 grams of suspected cannabis. All of the suspects are being processed for court.

…the elections uriouser and curiouser,” cried Alice after she fell down the Rabbit hole - into what seemed to be an alternate universe, and discovered she’d been transformed into a giant. She tried to give herself what we’d call “a reality check”, to understand what the heck had happened to her. “I’ll try if I know all the things I used to know. Let me see: four times five is twelve, and four times six is thirteen, and four times seven is--oh dear! I shall never get to twenty at that rate! However, the Multiplication Table doesn’t signify: let’s try Geography.”

After trying to make sense of what the PNC is up to on this election, your Eyewitness has finally realised how poor Alice must’ve been feeling: curiouser and curiouser!!

Your Eyewitness has been trying to get a reality check himself, but, like Alice concluded, it doesn’t look like mathematics might help make sense of the surreal world into which all Guyana has been plunged after Mingo did his thing for the PNC on March 4th.

Did the PNC win the election or not?? A couple of days after the elections, the PPP were first off the block to announce they’d won. But they didn’t stop there. In an unprecedented move, they decided to release all their SOPs on the World Wide Web. In this “cell phone in every pocket” era, this meant that everyone and their uncle could check up on the PPP’s numbers by running down to their neighbourhood polling station and conducting a random check with the SOP posted on its door.

To date, no one has produced a pic of an SOP in any part of Guyana to call out the PPP. Now, if the PNC had won, your Eyewitness wondered, wouldn’t the logical thing to do be to show their SOPs to highlight where the PPP might’ve doctored their copies. After all, one PPP leader once confessed in a discussion on elections shenanigans that the PPP weren’t all “eunuchs and saints”!! Then came the next event that just didn’t add up – pardon the pun! – Mingo’s three card monte with the second batch of Reg 4 SOPs. Fast forward with the recount, and it’s gotten even curiouser and curiouser. Was the recount legal?

Were the PNC claims of the dead and migrated voting - without any proof - relevant? It all boils down to Granger, the Humpty Dumpty of Guyana.

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”

“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master — that’s all.” …the narrative Another surreal development in the elections’ imbroglio is the launch of a new narrative from the PNC side: the PPP haven’t only been riggers all along, but they’ve so clever at it they’ve escaped undetected and unscathed. The poor PNC have taken all the “rigging” flack, but now it’s all going to change. The deviousness of the PPP and their rigging machine will be exposed in the unfolding recount-as-audit!!

Your Eyewitness has already alluded to the PPP’s confession that elections in Guyana aren’t for the fainthearted, so he had his popcorn ready as the games began at the ACCC. Well, all he can say after some sixteen days is: if the PPP are this good, maybe GECOM should just declare them the winners of the game that both of them knowingly entered!! Cause, the PNC’s narrative is based on even less than squat: one of their politicians had to be bitch-slapped by Granger.

Another confessed all their claims of PPP’s perfidies are based on “dem bai seh”!! …change after elections Elections in Guyana are like Rorschach Tests: they reveal who we really are. And we’ll have to eventually deal with this. As Alice said, “It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.”

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

NEWS

9

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Couple whom coalition claims not in Guyana on E-Day voted for APNU/AFC

By Andrew Carmichael

P

ull quote: “We voted for ourselves, nobody voted for us. Any voting time I am always around, and make sure that I go and cast my vote. I would always be the first. We voted for APNU/ AFC”- Aubrey Nicholson

they were in the country on Elections Day, and had in fact, given their votes to the coalition.

The APNU/AFC Coalition had presented a list of names of persons whom they claim were not in the country on Elections Day, and therefore any votes cast in their

“We voted for ourselves. Nobody voted for us. Any voting time I am always around and make sure that I go and cast my vote I would always be the first. We voted for APNU/AFC” – Aubrey Nicholson A Berbice couple are now perplexed after the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Coalition claimed that they were not in Guyana on Elections Day, and therefore the votes cast in their names should be invalidated.

According to the couple,

names should not be valid.

Among those on the list are Shirley and Aubrey Nicholson of Kortberaadt Village, East Bank Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

“I feel bad, because I know I was in Guyana at the time. When I got the message yesterday (Tuesday), I was shocked because I know

we left the country on July 29 (last year) I think, and we came back on August 29,” Shirley explained.

The couple also presented their passports to prove that they were back in Guyana long before the General and Regional Elections of March 2, 2020.

In fact, Aubrey said he and his wife were the first to cast ballots at the Friends Primary School, which is situated at Sisters Village, EBB. “Is Tuesday me wife tell me that she hear that we did not vote, but we vote. When it is voting time, I does be the first person to go down at the school at Sisters (Village), and we went and vote,” he explained.

His wife explained that a car picked them up from their home and took them to the polling station on Elections Day. She noted that there were two polling stations there, and they were the only persons at their polling station.

“Nobody did not vote for us,” she said.

Her husband went a bit further to explain that he was the first to go in. He said the polling clerk made an error and had to use a second ballot

Shirley Nicholson

Aubrey Nicholson

paper for him to be able to exercise his franchise.

“We voted for ourselves; nobody voted for us. Any voting time I am always around, and make sure that I go and cast my vote. I would always be the first. We voted for APNU/AFC,” he stated.

With the National Recount underway, the APNU/AFC coalition has been arbitrarily objecting to the names of persons who would have voted at various locations across the country.

The situation went so far on Tuesday that the APNU/ AFC coalition objected to the

names of persons who would have voted for them at the polls.

According to reports, a coalition agent (name withheld) objected to 24 names of persons who supposedly had voted at the Belladrum Secondary School, West Coast Berbice. The agent objected on the grounds that the persons, whom he identified by the corresponding GECOM serial number, were in fact out of the country. It was eventually discovered that the ballot box in question contained 250 votes for APNU/AFC, while

COVID-19 patients; the largest number being 52 cases at one time and as recently as Sunday afternoon.

At the time of the statement on Monday, it was noted that the country had 61 active cases, but this has since increased by eight more cases. It was stated that more than 85 per cent of the total positive cases in Guyana are housed at the Diamond Isolation Unit, which has recorded more than 30 recovered cases.

This was revealed in a statement the Ministry had issued in response to a report by a local newspaper, which had reported that COVID-19 patients fear that the “poor conditions” of the facility were delaying their recovery.

Nevertheless, this news of the Presidential Guards has raised concerns, especially since once of the groups that have been deems as “more at risked of contracting the virus” is those diagnosed with

the PPP/C had only gotten three votes from that constituency, while two other parties contesting the district had secured a combined total of three.

It would mean that the APNU/AFC agent could only be objecting to at least 19 votes cast for the APNU/AFC. In fact, the National Recount is so far confirming the victory of the PPP/C and exposing the attempts to alter the results of the elections by Returning Officer for Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) Clairmont Mingo.

8 Presidential Guards test positive for COVID-19

E

ight ranks attached to the Presidential Guards Unit have tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

However, none of those ranks are from the VIP Close Protection Section.

This was confirmed by the Guyana Police Force (GPF), under which the unit falls.

In a statement on Wednesday evening, Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) Jairam Ramlakhan disclosed that the discovery was made during a random testing exercise of ranks within the department, in accordance with the guidelines given by the Public Health Ministry.

“They are currently convalescing in quarantine,” the Police PRO stated.

He explained that while the ranks are all part of the

Special Protective Service (SPS) Unit, they are not from the VIP Close Protection Section, whose ranks dress in all black and are assigned as security detail for the President and his family, and for the Prime Minister.

In fact, the ranks who were tested positive are from the uniform (khaki) ranks, and are usually posted at the security hut of state agencies and residences.

Meanwhile, Director of the Public Information and Press Service (PIPS) Unit of the Ministry of the Presidency (MoTP), Ariana Gordon, in a subsequent statement, confirmed that the COVID-19 positive Presidential Guards were never part of the Special Protective Service arm of the Unit.

“The ranks were therefore not responsible for the

close protection of President David Granger or his family. The President has been working remotely for some time, and has not been in contact with uniformed members of the Presidential Guard Unit,” Gordon explained in her statement.

These eight COVID-19 cases are not new cases, and have been included in the Ministry of Public Health’s figures which, as at Wednesday, stood at 125 confirmed cases. <<Guyana Times>> was told that these ranks are asymptomatic, and are being treated at an isolation facility at Diamond, East Bank Demerara.

Earlier this week, the Public Health Ministry disclosed that the Diamond Isolation Unit has, since its establishment, been taking most of the confirmed

cancer.

Back in November 2018, President Granger was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a type of cancer that develops in a network of vessels and glands spread throughout the body.

However, almost a year after his diagnosis and treatment at the Centre for Medical, Surgical Research (CIMEQ) in Cuba, it was announced in October 2019 that the Head of State’s condition was in remission.

10 NEWS

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Carter Center now blocked only by Granger ...GECOM exhausts all options for return

GECOM Commissioner Sase Gunraj

T

he return of US-based democracy watchdog Carter Centre is outside the remit of the Guyana Elections C o m m i s s i o n (GECOM) and is solely within the Executive and that of the President.

This position was adumbrated on Wednesday by the GECOM Public Relations Officer and

by Opposition Peoples Progressive Party Civic Commissioner Sase Gunraj during separate media engagements.

Addressing members of the press corps in the makeshift media centre erected outside of the Arthur

Chung Convention Centre (ACCC), Gunraj noted that there have been continuous questions posed to GECOM on the democracy watchdog group’s return.

“I want to say this very clearly: GECOM, the Guyana Elections Commission, the Chairman and Commissioners, have done, in our opinion, all that is necessary…We have stated and restated and overstated perhaps, that the persons accredited remain accredited.”

He was adamant that “the electoral process is an ongoing one, they were accredited for the electoral

process…the electoral process has not concluded, and as a consequence, their accreditation has not expired, they are welcome.”

Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Carter Center, Jason Carter

The PPP/C Commissioner used the occasion to reiterate that the Commission has written to all of the organisations that dispatched E l e c t i o n O b s e r v e r Missions for Guyana’s May 2 General and Regional Election, indicating that their accreditation remains intact.

“That, I believe, is the extent of the power of GECOM, and while I know that the Carter Center and

GECOM Chair, Retired Justice Claudette Singh

the other electoral observer missions are subtending, or their work is related to our work, there is only so much that GECOM can do,” he further noted.

Any further questions on this issue, he said, are better directed to the Executive.

Meanwhile, GECOM PRO Yolanda Ward also went on record to say, “I want to emphatically state that this is outside of the remit of the Commission.”

According to the Commission’s PRO, such issues are to be dealt with by the President.

She told reporters, “When it comes to international observers, there has been an established protocol, a legal protocol. And so the protocol, as always, is

that international observers go through the Executive, and once that approval and accreditation has been granted, it is then forwarded to GECOM.” She emphasised that “it is not for GECOM to do advocacy on that part, because it steps outside the parameters of the Commission.”

The Carter Center, through the U.S Embassy, has had denied by ‘caretaker’ President David Granger several requests to return to Guyana to continue with its mission as the recount exercise progresses.

Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs, Karen Cummings, on May 15 last, writing on behalf of Granger, told the US Ambassador that “…it may not be possible for the Carter Center and the IRI Advisor to participate in the overseeing of the recount of the votes cast in 2nd March 2020 General and Regional Elections, which as you are aware has already commenced.”

She, at the time, cast blame on emergency measures in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the imposition of a curfew and the closure of Guyana’s international airports.

In the letter, she also sought to remind the U.S Ambassador that the Caribbean Community (Caricom) high-level team

Caretaker President David Granger

remains the “most legitimate interlocutors” in the current political situation, a mantra since repeated by Granger.

When the Carter Center, which was very vocal on the lack of credibility in the declaration that almost returned the incumbent to office, initially applied for permission to enter Guyana to observe the recount, it was reported that the denial of their request came from the COVID-19 Task Force.

Days later, caretaker Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, who is part of the Task Force, revealed that the Carter Center being blocked from returning was due to the President not granting approval.

NEWS

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THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Keith Lowenfield defends compromised GECOM operative …calls conduct “diligent and professional” despite marked sloth at assigned station

C

hief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield on Wednesday defended the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) information technology staffer who was implicated in the shenanigans taking place

by Region Four (DemeraraMahaica) Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo in the days following the March 2, General and Regional Elections.

Lowenfield, in a public statement on Wednesday, said the staffer — Enrique Livan — continues to conduct “himself and execute his functions in a diligent and professional manner.”

The Opposition Peoples Progressive Party this past week lodged a complaint with the Commission, since it was alleged that the compromised staffer is the person who left with a flash drive containing sensitive election information at the Ashmin’s Building, High and Hadfield Streets, Georgetown, and was later caught in a room working with the flash drive.

He has since been placed as the supervisor for the counting station responsible for the votes cast in Region Four, effectively overseeing the recount of the votes for which he was implicated as

part of the plot to rig the 2020 elections.

The PPP/C had demanded an explanation, since his promotion had been perceived in some quarters as being linked to the visit one day earlier by ‘caretaker’ President David Granger at the recount venue at the Arthur Chung Conference’ Centre (ACCC).

Granger, at the time, met with the Secretariat’s management team, including Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield.

The Chief Elections Officer said the reports in the media are believed to have emanated from a letter sent to the Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission by a political party, which letter was subsequently circulated on social media. He explained that all workstation staff are on rotation; as such, Livan was assigned as supervisor of a recount workstation for District Four.

GECOM Public Relations Officer (PRO) Yolanda Ward had on Monday denied that the promotion of the IT staff had anything to do with the President’s visit, and had said that the appointment was in fact made out of necessity.

Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield

Ward told reporters encamped in the makeshift media centre outside of the venue that the staff member had to be moved to the position of workstation supervisor since there had been two other individuals that had been functioning in that capacity from the commencement of the exercise.

She told the media representatives that one of those persons was the Returning Officer for Region One (Barima-Waini) and that he has since left to return to Moruca for a week.

This, she said, led to the need for “that position to be filled with a supervisor.”

Providing a defense for the IT staff, the GECOM CEO on Wednesday said that on March 5 last, “Livan

was tabulating votes cast for lists of candidates for District 4 when counting agents accused him of stealing a laptop and flash drive and demanded to see the information therein.”

According to the statement from the Office of the Chief Elections Officer, Lowenfield was subsequently called in “after accusations and assaults were meted out to Mr Livan.”

The CEO’s statement said, too, that the Guyana Police Force also appeared to deal with the alleged theft.

Lowenfield has since affirmed that as a staffer, Livan could not be accused of theft of GECOM’s equipment, and that he had facilitated a verification of the information on the comput-

er and flash drive.

PPP/C Election Agent, party Executive Secretary Zulfikar Mustapha, in a strongly worded missive to the GECOM Chairperson, had accused Livan, since his promotion to station supervisor, of “deliberate sloth.”

The party, in its complaint to GECOM, had pointed out that on Monday, the workstation which the man was appointed to supervise completed recounting a single ballot box between 08:00 and 13:00h.

The party noted that the workstation “is recounting votes from District 4, an electoral district whose recount of the votes has been markedly the slowest of all the regions.”

Mustapha, in the letter, remarked that while a total of 1749 boxes remain to be recounted, 726 or over 40 per cent of these are from Region Four, and “it is our firm view that there is a deliberate sloth” in the counting of the ballots for that district.

12 NEWS

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

“We are desperate to come home” – Guyanese stranded in US …struggling with limited finances, risk losing jobs

Bibi Hussain

By Devina Samaroo

Y

asar Hussain is a civil engineer attached to a private firm in Guyana and he is at risk of losing his job, having been stranded in Coral Springs, Florida for roughly three months.

Compounding the situation, Hussain’s wife is six months pregnant and he is unable to be with her during this crucial time.

“She is there all alone; she has no one to help her.

Every time she needs to go to the clinic or need anything, we have to be dependent or try to be without and make do,” Yasar explained.

Additionally, he is worried about his job.

“I only took two weeks of leave to come here from my job and now I am on the verge of losing that job,” he revealed, noting that he was

not earning but still had bills to pay, plus additional expenses.

“The longer I stay here, it gets worse,” Yasar posited.

Yasar’s sister, Bibi and her husband, Kimmey Buchoon, are also experiencing similar struggles.

“We are in a situation here where we are being accommodated at a relative.

But at the end of the day, it’s two months plus that we are at relatives and this is not home for us,” Bibi explained.

“You feel like you’re becoming a burden.”

She noted too that “in terms of our finances, that’s a big problem, because we came with intentions of returning in two weeks, so now we’re stuck in a foreign land, having to buy food and to survive, but we are not getting any source of income here.”

According to her husband, “not because we’re in the States means we’re working and we’re happy.

Not everyone here came to work. We just came on a short vacation and now we’re stuck here.”

The Hussain family on March 14 travelled to Miami to attend a wedding and were slated to return in two weeks.

But on March 17, Guyanese authorities announced that the country’s international airports would be closed from midnight the following day, leaving those in the United States with lit-

lamented that his son has to experience.

No response

Yasar Hussain

John Ramsingh

tle notice to return home.

With a 24-hour notice of the intended closure of the airport, the Hussain family tried desperately to get a last-minute flight out of the US, but to no avail.

They have remained there for more than two months, and like many other Guyanese, they are pleading to come home.

For Lionel Jaikaran, former Deputy Mayor and a businessman, it is not easy being away from home.

Jaikaran is also stuck in Miami – where there are over 500 deaths due to COVID-19.

Apart from feeling homesick, Jaikaran is concerned about his business venture in Guyana.

“My business in Guyana has been affected tremendously. Since my wife is up here with me, she is not down there to act on my

behalf. So, there is a lot of loose ends that I need to tie up; I am dying to get back to Guyana,” he stated.

Additionally, he noted that as a result, his employees are being affected. “I am trying to get money to some of my employees to keep them going.”

The situation is no different for sports journalist John Ramsingh, who is stuck in Boston, Massachusetts.

Having departed Guyana since March 5, 2020 to go to Cape Town, South Africa to perform the role of Media Manager of the Over-50 World Cup Team, Ramsingh has since been caught in the global lockdown brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

With him being stuck in the US, Ramsingh noted that his son – who is preparing for exams – is worried – a situation Ramsingh

A group of Guyanese stranded in the US have since written the National COVID-19 Task Force, urging it to grant them permission to return home.

The letter, dated May 18, stated that the Guyanese are willing to abide by all established protocols to return home, including being tested.

Their appeal comes after the Task Force would have approved the return of several Guyanese students stranded in Trinidad as well as stranded cruise ship workers.

During an interview with Guyana Times on Wednesday, they indicated that no official response has been received in relation to their request.

This publication understands that there are more than 100 Guyanese stranded in New York and more than 80 in Florida – all yearning to return home.

The current lockdown measures – inclusive of the closure of the airports – are slated to last until June 3.

The Task Force has not yet announced whether it will extend or lift the restrictions.

Even if the authorities decide to extend the lockdown protocols, those stranded are begging to be allowed special authorisa-

Lionel Jaikaran

tion to return home to their loved ones.

“I humbly ask the Task Force to allow us to land in Guyana on our own expense.

We are no threat to the Guyanese people. We are just desperate to get home,” Jaikaran expressed.

“We are not asking any favours other than to allow us…we just want to get back home; it is going to be for our sanity and the sanity of those around us. Please allow us to return home,” Ramsingh said.

“We are citizens of Guyana, we belong there… we are here in a foreign land where they have no legal obligation towards us. The mental stress, and depression and anxiety, is overwhelming and so we are begging and pleading with those in authority,” Bibi noted.

Guyana Goldfields begins to lay off workers T

he National Mining Workers’ Union (NMWU) has slammed the non-implementation of the collective labour agreement, something that would have safeguarded workers’ rights even as the first set of layoffs begin at Aurora Gold Mine (AGM).

Guyana Times saw a list of 42 unionised employees, who were terminated.

They range from pump attendants and electricians to heavy-duty equipment operators and blasters.

According to NMWU President Sherwyn Downer, in a statement on Wednesday, as many as 104 permanent workers were sent home and four had their contracts not renewed.

“It is beyond disappointing that the union and company were not able to sign on to the collective labour agreement, as the (union) is just nine months old at AGM,” Downer said in a statement.

According to him, he inherited a situation at AGM where there were employees working there for more than two years on a contractual basis. Downer said that this exceeded the threemonth probationary period required by the labour laws.

“Hundreds of Guyanese lost years of service prior to 2015, when Goldfields start-

NMWU President Sherwyn Downer

ed production and poured its first gold bar in the said year. Many workers were only confirmed from 2015 and not prior to the same year despite working with the company for years, some from 2010 and way before that.

“Since the company started production in 2015, the employees were never given the opportunity to have an across-the-board increase in salaries. It was only done unilateral for (some),” Downer said in the statement.

When it comes to workers’ rights, the union leader also criticised the government for its lack of representation on behalf of workers over

the years. Reference was made to RUSAL and Troy Resource workers, who have also had troubles with their employers.

“With the facts and numbers of hundreds of Lindeners who lost jobs. As President of the NMWU, I’m asking the APNU/AFC Government if they are proud of this great loss of jobs to the Lindeners and tell the Guyanese people how many jobs were created for Lindeners as against the numbers lost.”

Downer acknowledged that notwithstanding the inertia of the Government on the issue, Guyana Goldfields did agree to ensure that workers who were made redundant receive their severance in a timely manner.

“The Government has done nothing or little to save the once thriving and successful mining industry which now seems to be falling apart and becoming history. The Labour Department remains in labour pains,” he said in the statement.

He added that it was hoped that whichever party formed the government at the conclusion of the ongoing national recount of votes cast on March 2nd would establish a Labour Ministry as against the Department; establish a labour court (and)

Aurora Gold Mine

review the one- week-peryear-served entitlement under the Severance Pay and Termination Act. “It is totally unacceptable for workers to just be paid a mere one week per each year after termination of services.”

Only recently, Guyana Goldfields had announced it would be making largescale layoffs of its staff at the Aurora Gold Mine.

Goldfields had blamed COVID-19 and financial challenges for its decision.

This was communicated in a letter from Goldfields Chief Executive Officer Alan Pangbourne, dated May 11, 2020. In defence of the decision, Pangbourne cited COVID-19 issues and other difficulties over the past few months. “… with great regret I am writing to all employees to inform you that we will be reducing the size of AGM’s workforce. This reduction in the workforce will take place at all levels, including both

national and expatriate employees as the company will transition its mining operation into a state of care and maintenance for an undetermined period,” the CEO’s letter to employees had stated.

Guyana Goldfields has had a rollercoaster year, with former CEO Scott Caldwell resigning and a shareholder’s dispute. It has also had to contend with workers striking over concerns about their severance.

NEWS

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THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Only credible elections recount could stave off sanctions – Jagdeo tells Granger T

he ongoing recount of the March 2 elections provides an opportunity for caretaker President David Granger to prevent sanctions from being imposed on Guyana, providing that the recount process is deemed credible and is accepted by the international community.

This is the view of People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo, who lamented that there were still attempts by some elements involved in the vote recount to prevent the process from being completed in a transparent manner.

“The recount is the only chance to avoid sanctions,” Jagdeo told media operatives during a virtual media conference on Tuesday.

Reminding that it was Granger himself, who advocated for sanctions in 2014 when then President Donald Ramotar had prorogued the Parliament, the PPP General Secretary said that the A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC)

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

leader was very much aware of the damage sanctions could cause Guyana.

Much controversy erupted following Region Four (DemeraraMahaica) Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo’s fraudulent declaration on two occasions, in the full view of international and local observers, party representatives

and the entire diplomatic community.

After the fraudulent figures were presented by Mingo using a mysterious spreadsheet, all the observers labelled the results as lacking credibility.

International powers – the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union – had warned that sanctions would be applied if the APNU/AFC leader were to be sworn in on the basis of the questionable results.

Breaking his silence for the first time on mounting calls for sanctions against officials of his administration over electoral fraud, caretaker President Granger admitted that if the international community were to move ahead in this regard, Guyana could be severely affected.

“Sanctions could harm Guyana in a very serious way,” Granger said on a local radio programme.

He said that those who call for sanctions must consider that they would be “extremely damag-

Caretaker President David Granger

ing” on the country for a very long time and he did not take such calls lightly.

“I do not take these as empty threats, and I would not like to see those sanctions inflicted on my country, on my people,” the caretaker President said.

In relation to Granger’s call for evidence that there were “malprac-

tices” by his party officials that could warrant such drastic measures, Jagdeo said there was solid proof that Mingo’s spreadsheets were fraudulent, as the current national recount is proving this to be so.

Jagdeo pointed to the first declaration by Mingo, which carried the signature of senior party executive Volda Lawrence, saying that no other region’s declaration carried the signature of any party official. This, Jagdeo said, shows that there was involvement by APNU/ AFC members at some level in Mingo’s declarations.

He noted that to date, GECOM has still not released the spreadsheets used by Mingo so that a comparison could be made with the current Statements of Recount (SoRs).

Notwithstanding this, Jagdeo said he was optimistic and was hoping that the recount process would be successfully completed in an expeditious manner, so that the country could move forward soon.

2nd suspect in LBI robbery arrested T he person who was with 20-year-old Kevin Thomas, also called “Cross-eye”, who was shot by Police following a robbery has been arrested.

Reports are the man was nabbed on Wednesday and was being questioned in connection with a daring motorcycle robbery that left an

accomplice dead at Victoria Road, Plaisance, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

According to Regional Police Commander of Division Four (C), Assistant Commissioner Royston Andries-Junor, the accomplice was arrested and was currently assisting with investigations.

On Monday, Thomas, of Plum Park, Sophia, Greater Georgetown, was fatally shot by Police after he and his accomplice opened fire on ranks following their theft of a motorcycle from a premises at La Bonne Intention (LBI), ECD. Thomas and his accomplice had stolen the motor-

cycle and were heading to Sophia, but upon noticing the duo’s suspicious actions, a mobile Police patrol decided to follow them.

After seeing the Police vehicle, the two young men decided to manoeuvre through several streets on an Elite motorcycle with registration number CK

1893, with the Police patrol in hot pursuit.

According to Police, they were closing in on the suspects when the pillion rider drew a handgun and started firing at them. They returned fire, hitting the motorcyclist and both riders subsequently fell off the bike. The shooter managed

to get up and escape while Thomas remained on the ground.

He was picked up and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he succumbed while receiving medical attention.

Thomas was no stranger to the Police after past infringements of the law.

makes 2nd donation of protective Region 2 farmers blaming China gear to help Guyana fight COVID-19 jaguars for cattle deaths C attle farmers in the New Road/Somerset and Berks area on the Essequibo Coast, Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam), are complaining that jaguars are killing and eating their young calves.

According to some of the cattle farmers, the jaguars have already killed about 10 calves within the past three months in the Dredge Creek area where there is a cattle pasture.

A farmer told Guyana Times that when he visited the pasture on Tuesday, the body of one calf was there, already killed and partially eaten by the jaguars. The farmer believes that someone or something may have prevented the jaguars from taking the dead animal into the dense jungle aback of the pasture where they are believed to be living.

The farmers explained that they suspected jaguars were preying on their livestock, since their young calves were disappearing from the pasture without any trace. They noted that upon inspecting the pasture, they saw jaguar footprints.

The farmers said that

the jaguars feed at nights and it is very difficult to secure their animals.

When contacted, Regional Executive Officer Dennis Jaikarran said he was not aware of the situation, but promised to immediately make contact with the wildlife authorities to bring some aid to the farmers.

The jaguar, Guyana’s national animal, is protected by the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act 2016.

According to the legislation, collecting, holding in captivity, hunting, killing, or otherwise molesting ‘protected’ species is prohibited.

In 2013, the Guyana Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Panthera Corporation, aimed at conserving the jaguar.

Last year, the Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission (GWCMC) was forced to launch an investigation into the killing of a jaguar during a hunting expedition in Guyana.

A photo of the dead jaguar began circulating on social media and sparked debates about the need to

protect the endangered species.

Also last year, the GWCMC took possession of a young female jaguar, which was being held at Lima Sands, Essequibo Coast, Region Two. The jaguar was captured by a Lima Sands resident, on May 22, 2019. However, much outrage was sparked on social media, after it was revealed that the resident was charging persons to see the animal, which was said to be in distress.

Under Section 69 of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act 2016, it is an offence to have wildlife in your possession or to display such to the public without the necessary authorisation. Any person who violates this will be liable to pay a fine of $750,000 to $2 million and face imprisonment of up to three years.

Communities with wildlife-related issues should report these to GWCMC so that the appropriate means can be developed to ensure the co-existence of animals and residents. The GWCMC had also warned that persons should not trap big cats – such as jaguars – during conflict situations.

Deputy Chief of Mission of the Chinese Embassy in Guyana, Chen Xilai hands over items to Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud

T

he People’s Republic of China, via the Ali Baba Foundation, on Tuesday made a second donation of 30,000 face masks and 1536 COVID-19 testing kits to the Public Health Ministry.

This contribution is aimed at fostering the efforts to protect the frontline response to COVID-19 while ensuring more persons are tested for the disease.

Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Shamdeo Persaud, who received the donation on behalf of the Ministry, disclosed that Guyana, as of March 18, conducted more than 1000 tests with 124 persons returning a positive result.

He added that testing

was increased to curb the spread of the coronavirus, and to further protect persons.

“We have been doing more testing; therefore, test kits are vital. We know that the frontline response to COVID-19 has always been to provide adequate protection for everyone who comes in contact with possible cases. So, the masks are vital in providing continuous high-quality services throughout the health system,” the CMO stated.

Deputy Chief of Mission of the Chinese Embassy in Guyana, Chen Xilai said the donation showed the concern and support of the people of China.

“This is a friendly ges-

ture from Ali Baba, a popular e-commerce company in China. It is a good example of Chinese companies shouldering social responsibility and also a demonstration of Chinese caring about Guyanese,” he said.

The Deputy Chief of Mission added that China has been contributing to the “containment and treatment” of COVID-19 all over the world.

The first donation from the People’s Republic of China comprised 500 face masks, 500 pieces of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and 100 infrared thermometers, along with 500 medical goggles, 500 pairs of disposable gloves, and 500 isolation shoe covers.

14 NEWS

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Mother dies hours Govt backflips, now grants US Embassy’s after giving birth request for 7th relief flight D at Corentyne Health Centre

Dead: Hafeeza Mohammed

A

25-year-old woman died hours after a midwife delivered her baby at the Fyrish Health Centre on Saturday.

Dead is Hafeeza Mohammed of Hampshire Squatting Area, Corentyne, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne).

Reports are the woman and her husband, who were married in August 2019, went to the midwife at the health centre to deliver their first child. However, the expectant mother was administered an injection and subsequently collapsed. While details are sketchy, it is understood that the delivery was successful. As a result of Mohammed’s condition, her husband rushed her to Anamayah Memorial Hospital, a few villages away, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

Director of Regional Health Services, Jevaughn Stephens, when contacted, said that an investigation has been launched into the incident. He added that deliveries should not be done at health centres.

While offering his sym-

pathy to the family of Mohammed, he said that a report on the incident has been complied and should be handed over to the Chief Medical Officer today.

The investigation commenced on Tuesday and was completed on Wednesday.

He noted that the autopsy report was also included in the file.

“We would have unfortunately lost a young mother.

It is our first recorded maternal death for 2020.”

He said the department has zero tolerance for maternal deaths.

Stephens noted that disciplinary action was likely to be taken against the midwife if there was any evidence to suggest that she acted out of her remit. Guyana Times was told that this was not the first time the particular midwife was at the centre of controversy. Based on previous incidents, she was allegedly told to stop performing such duties. However, she was subsequently given clearance to continue performing her duties. Meanwhile, Mohammed’s baby is said to be in good health.

ays after denying a request by the United States Embassy in Georgetown for another relief flight to repatriate its citizens, the caretaker APNU/ AFC Government has now granted permission for the operation of that flight.

In a notice to US citizens who are stranded in Guyana amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the Embassy revealed that the flight would be on Friday, as initially planned.

“Permission was granted for the seventh relief commercial flight operated by Eastern Airlines with direct service from Georgetown to Miami, Friday May 22, 2020 departing at 16:30,” the Mission said in its notice.

It was noted that this flight is open only to US citizens, legal permanent residents, and third country nationals with a valid visa or ESTA for transit.

British High Commissioner to Guyana, Greg Quinn, has also urged persons wanting to return to the United Kingdom (UK) to capitalise on the flight if they are holders of US visas or Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTAs).

The National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) last month extended the closure of the country’s international air1ports for the second time until June 3, when the nationwide cur-

few will be up for review, and will either be further extended or lifted.

Since the initial closure of Guyana’s borders, including its airspace, to incoming commercial flights on March 18, the US Embassy has been successful in seeking special permission from the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to have six relief flights to date, to take home their citizens and their families.

In fact, the Mission has assisted over 1000 US citizens as well as others, including Canadians and British citizens, to fly to the US. However, on Sunday it was revealed that a recent request for a seventh commercial relief flight this Friday from Georgetown to Miami was rejected.

This was indicated to US citizens who were stranded in Guyana and were on a waiting list for the next flight. The corre-

spondence had stated “… we regret to inform you that [the relief flight] was NOT APPROVED. U.S. citizens and LPR’s will need to continue to shelter in place until June 3rd, when Guyana’s airspace is expected to re-open to international air traffic.”

The last relief flight to the US was on May 4, when it was anticipated that representatives from the Carter Center and the International Republican Institute (IRI) would have been allowed to return to Guyana to observe the ongoing National Recount.

However, that permission was denied, and the flight came to Guyana empty.

Last week, it was revealed by US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch, that her office as well as the Carter Center from the US have made a second request to the

Guyana Government for the organisation’s Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) as well as IRI advisors to return to Georgetown to monitor the ongoing recount exercise of the ballots cast at the March 2 elections.

But despite the observers committing to the necessary COVID-19 protocols in place, caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister Karen Cummings, in a letter dated Friday May 15, 2020, informed the US Ambassador that “…it may not be possible for the Carter Center and the IRI Advisor to participate in the overseeing of the recount of the votes cast on 2nd March 2020 General and Regional Elections, which as you are aware has already commenced.”

Cummings cited the series of emergency measures, including the imposition of a curfew and the closure of Guyana’s international airports, for the denial of the request, and asked that her Government’s decision be respected.

However, even as the Granger-led administration insisted that the country’s international airports would remain closed to incoming traffic to protect Guyanese, the caretaker administration has been approving several flights for oil giant ExxonMobil to fly in its workers from countries around the world.

Cyclist killed in Corentyne accident

A

57-year-old pedal cyclist was killed along the Corentyne Highway on Wednesday after he was hit by a speeding car.

Dead is Marsha Adiana of Skeldon Riverside, Upper Corentyne Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne).

Reports are that at approximately 11:30h, motorcar HC 8511 was pro-

ceeding south along the eastern carriageway of the Princetown Public Road in Corriverton, Corentyne, Berbice and the pedal cyclist was proceeding north along the western side of the road when the driver allegedly swerved west and collided with the cyclist.

According to Police, as a result of the impact, the father of three fell onto

The car which hit cyclist Marsha Adiana

the road surface, where he received injuries to his body. He was picked up in an unconscious condition and taken to the Skeldon Public Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Police state that a breathalyzer test was done on the Crabwood Creek Corentyne car driver, but he was found to be below the prescribed alcohol limit. He is in custody assisting with the investiThe dead man’s bicycle gation.

ELECTIONS 2020 RECOUNT

15

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Comparison of Wednesday’s SoRs with PPP’s SoPs DISTRICT 4 STATEMENTS OF RECOUNT

DISTRICT 4 STATEMENTS OF POLL RELEASED BY PPP/C

16 ELECTIONS 2020 RECOUNT THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Comparison of Wednesday’s SoRs with PPP’s SoPs DISTRICT 4 STATEMENTS OF RECOUNT

DISTRICT 4 STATEMENTS OF POLL RELEASED BY PPP/C

STATEMENTS OF RECOUNT

17 Mingoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fraudulent declarations further exposed ELECTIONS 2020 RECOUNT

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

S

ince the commencement of the national recount of the votes APNU/AFC Government. cast on the March 2 National and Regional Elections, there have Below are additional instances from the National Recount Exercise been several instances which proved that Region Fourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Returning showing Mingo's fraudulent declarations of the March 2, 2020 General Officer, Clairmont Mingo has inflated the numbers in favour of the and Regional Elections.

18 ELECTIONS 2020 RECOUNT Mingoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fraudulent declarations further exposed THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

STATEMENTS OF RECOUNT

ELECTIONS 2020 RECOUNT

STATEMENTS OF RECOUNT

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THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

20 ELECTIONS 2020 RECOUNT THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

STATEMENTS OF RECOUNT

guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 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

Granger must stop making duplicitous statements

Dear Editor, Since the unilateral and illegal appointment of Patterson as the GECOM Chairman, there is no doubt that Granger is a master chameleon who is far worse and more dangerous than his mentor and dictator, Forbes Burnham.

On several occasions, he openly flouted the Constitution, and then shamelessly proclaimed publicly that he would uphold it. We have witnessed, after December 21st, 2018, the APNU/AFC Coalition has done everything possible to ensure that they have eradicated all credibility, exposing the deceitful and duplicitous nature of their Leader, Mr Granger. This man even disregarded the court’s rulings and declared that he has his own interpretation of the law.

Is this not the hallmark of a dictator?

The public is aware of the many instances when he and his attorney-general openly violated the Constitution under the pretext of upholding it.

It is not only the violations of the Constitution and the court rulings, but the many spurious and vexatious legal

circuses by the attorney general which have cost the taxpayers dollars. The circus to the CCJ alone cost approximately $440 million, then we have the other circuses, such as the house- to-house registration, the Mingo declaration, and the attempt to block the Recount.

This is not the end; we will have some more in the near future, after the recount is completed. We have already heard Basil’s statement, which will later be the basis for his next circus. A few days ago, he and his sidekick Roysdale Forde claimed that the National Recount currently ongoing is illegal.

“Our law did not cater for a National Recount,” Williams claimed. Basil is now doing to the Recount what Hughes did to the No Confidence Motion.

This may very well see another journey to the CCJ, especially with the GECOM Chair and CEO holding Mingo’s fraudulent declaration in ‘abeyance’.

It would seem that these two GECOM officials and the Coalition are unaware that the recount of Region 4 has so far exposed the huge extent of the Mingo fraud, which they

had aided and abetted.

On the other hand, Granger, as usual, is speaking with a forked tongue. He said in a live broadcast that “whatever declaration that GECOM or the Chairman of GECOM gives will be regarded as legitimate…any declaration coming from the Chairman of GECOM will be accepted by the Government of Guyana.”

We have seen before that Granger signed an aide memoir for the recount, and then a member of his party filed an injunction to block the recount, which he claimed was an independent legal action which is not in his control, despite being the leader of the APNU and the leader of the List. If that legal action was successful, then there would have been no recount, the Mingo fraud would have remained hidden, and Granger would have been sworn in as the President.

One must look deeper into Granger’s statement. Has he actually said that he will accept the results of the recount?

Absolutely not! He said ‘whatever declaration’ made by the GECOM’s Chair and the CEO. This can open the room

for another interpretation, especially with Mingo’s fraudulent declaration in ‘abeyance’.

In addition, will Granger stop Basil from making another futile and expensive journey to the CCJ? I doubt that Granger would ever do that.

This man wants to be Guyana’s next dictator. We have seen that Amna Ally’s statement is not conclusive, she said, “Whoever the Commission declares, so be it…we signed on, we wanted this.” It would have been a lot easier, definitive and pellucid to say, “We will accept the results of the Recount, whoever wins.”

We have also seen that the PNC is also making a futile attempt to discredit the Elections by claiming that the ‘dead voted’, as well as those who migrated. The PNC should know that this is their modus operandi, and was used by them exhaustively in all the General Elections from 1968 to 1985. However, in their haste to cast aspersions on the PPP/C, they have unwittingly exposed the fact that if indeed the ‘dead voted’ and the migrants ‘voted’, they voted for the APNU/AFC, and not

Congressman Hakeem Jeffries needs to be told the truth Dear Editor, Rickford Burke’s report to US Congressman Hakeem Jeffries is grossly inaccurate at best, and scandalous at worst. It appears as if his video report was heavily doctored to give a distorted view of the Congressman’s overall opinion on the electoral state of affairs in Guyana.

It is noteworthy that about 90% of the Congressman’s comments in the 12-minute video (https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=iT76fmywKi0) centred on “Russian interference” relating to Donald Trump’s election, rather than focusing on the Guyana situation. And Burke failed to include even a tiny mention of fraud to the Congressman.

The U.S. Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch, issued a candid and coherent statement on April 2 regarding the Guyana March 2 elections. The Ambassador accentuated that the intent of the U.S. officials’ voices is

a result of the shared values of the two countries and that that (U.S.) government is “entirely non-partisan about which party wins Guyana’s 2020 elections”. In spite of that statement, Burke declared to the Congressman (more than a month after that statement) that the U.S. Government officials are deliberately partisan to the Opposition (PPP) party.

Burke went further to accuse the U.S. Ambassador of having dinner on the night of the elections with someone who “allegedly funds Hezbollah, the terrorist organization.”

He also asserted, “We’ve had the U.S. Ambassador and the Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere forcing - bullying the government to relax all the emergency regulations… and allow them [the Carter Center and the Republican Institute] to come to observe the elections.” To say that this statement by Burke is ludicrous is an un-

derstatement, as there has been no bullying by any country to ignore the pandemic. (It is compelling to note that several planeloads of passengers arrived in the country within the last few weeks without the required strict COVID-19 requirements!)

The Congressman responded by stating the need for the U.S. to “monitor how democracy is playing itself out in different parts of the world”; he expressed his reprehension about “such an extraordinary way and in the manner that appears to favour one party - the opposition party - potentially to the detriment of the ruling party” in Guyana. While Mr. Jeffries underscores that “it is appropriate to broadly ensure that there is a free and fair election in Guyana”, his subsequent statement is very troubling. He seems to say in what appears to be an edit on the tape (at 6:53), “The people of Guyana should be able to

decide, as they've done in the past, in elevating PNC and the current Administration… and the ruling party – and the people of Guyana should be able to decide whom they see fit to lead them into the future.”

The most pre-eminent feature of the interview with Mr. Jeffries is what followed Burke’s concern about the talk of sanctions (11:43). It seems as if Burke did not want anyone to hearken to what the Congressman had to say about sanctions, so that part was (awkwardly and glaringly) doctored!

Rickford Burke’s allegation about US. partisanship is a farce. Congressman Hakeem Jeffries needs to be told the truth about attempts at fraud in Guyana, since he philosophises in that interview, “truth crushed to the ground shall rise again”.

Yours truly, Dr Devanand Bhagwan

David Hinds can use his academic energy to analytically examine Guyana’s electoral impasse Dear Editor, In a letter published in sections of the media on May 20, 2020, authored by David Hinds, he accused the western powers to “have openly chosen a side in the current standoff - they have taken the PPP’s side”. He graciously cites me as an authority for his supposition. “Speaking on a Globespan 24/7programme, on Monday, May 18, Anil Nandlall boasted that the PPP has all the diplomatic community, including CARICOM, on its side,” he poignantly wrote.

While I am humbled by the reference, I am impelled to posit that Mr. Hinds yanked that singular asser-

tion of mine from a one-hour live-streamed discourse without any reference whatsoever to the conversational context in which it was proffered, but situates it conveniently in support of a hypothesis which he narrates. In the result, he attributes to my statement a purport which I never intended.

In that discussion immediately prior to the statement to which Hinds made reference, I said words to the effect: “this is not a fight of the PPP or a fight for the PPP. This is a fight for democracy, a fight for righteousness, a fight for the rule of law, a fight for the future of Guyana. In this fight,

all of the Opposition parties; every major local organization, including the private sector, the religious organizations, the labour movement; the diplomatic community and the governments that they represent; CARICOM, the Commonwealth and the OAS are all on the same side.”

So, Mr. Hinds, when I said subsequently on the program that… “they are all on the side with (not on) the PPP”, it is the aforesaid to which I was referring.

In the circumstances, to hijack that lone contention of mine from the conversational cradle in which it was birthed to aid your postulation that

the western powers are in collusion with the PPP is as misconceived as the postulation itself.

Mr Hinds, at the risk of being presumptuous, perhaps a more beneficial use of your academic energy would be to analytically examine how and why, in the current electoral impasse, all of the local and international forces engaged, including the political parties, are currently aligned on one side, and only the APNU+AFC, in solitude, is on the other side.

Yours faithfully, Mohabir Anil Nandlall Attorney-at-law

the PPP/C. In conclusion, Granger should display a bit of honesty and integrity in the twilight of his political career, and do the honourable thing. The AFC’s Ramjattan had stated that should the AFC coalesce with APNU, it would be ‘dead meat’ but Granger has now allowed the PNC to become so ‘dead’ that no one will ever want a

‘resurrection’ again.

The PNC will certainly lose more than they will ever gain, even if they illegally hold on to power; so, it’s time to allow the recount to proceed expeditiously and credibly and accept the results.

Dear Editor, For starters, Ganesh Mahipaul’s press conference would go down as the best comic relief for 2020. He beat out Craig. (And to think this guy’s job is that of a PR Officer for a Region!). But others in contention for the prize were Williams, Bond, Norton, Hughes, Volda, Amna, Forde, Alexander, Patterson, etc.

The press slaughtered Mahipaul in the “abattoir” tent outside the Conference Center. Give us one shred of evidence of your many allegations that a dead person voted, or a person who was abroad voted, the media begged, as they peppered him with questions. Mahipaul could not. He said it’s hearsay, and they are doing “field work.” Should they not have done their field work in the claims and objections period before the list was finalised? The recount process should not allow the PNC to make unsubstantiated objections in the ballot box report.

That’s a waste of time. What would happen if the PPP had made similar tit-for-tat fake obstructionist objections? Does the PNC think it sounds cute or sensible to give a standard answer, “evidence will be produced at the proper time”?

That’s such a wicked delaying tactic by the PNC in prolonging the national agony.

So the PNC is making an abundance of obstructionist objections that will be tossed out readily, but what is the Chair and GECOM doing about all the evidence (not allegations) produced so far on Mingo’s fraudulent numbers?

Why has GECOM not asked the Police Commissioner to investigate and jail Apostle Mingo for electoral fraud?

What are they waiting for?

Why no private criminal legal action by a concerned civil society lawyer in the national interest? Should they also not investigate what the Chief and Deputy Chief have done to investigate Mingo’s fraud, and the flash drive guy’s role in the fraud? Instead, the flash drive guy gets an “employee of the year” promotion? Talk to us, GECOM. Explain yourself.

Where is the Police Report on the Police interrogating the flash drive guy? You, media people, need to pursue that report.

Can the media ask Alexander why a comparison of the SOPs and SORs is not important? Isn’t that the first thing you would want to do when you do the recount? The issue is the PNC/GECOM versus the rest of the world saying Mingo rigged the Region 4 numbers. The answer is in the comparison. Why a smart man like Alexander can’t see that?

Is he not part of Operation “Eagle Eyes?” Or is he just a kiskadee?

Now the PNC says we cannot have livestreaming of the count, a public process with the most widespread national interest, allegedly to protect the “confidentiality” of workers. So how come the same standard is not applied to the voters whose identities are being broadcasted in the media.

How would you feel if strangers are flashing a copy of your family member’s death certificate in public? Is that a breach of confidentiality? Is it okay for Felix’s Ministry to provide people’s personal data to facilitate the PNC’s fishing expeditions?

Even Mr. Granger is providing comic relief. He knows from the SOPs that the PNC lost. Why is he lying to his followers that they won, but barely? Why don’t he just come out and say he thought they won, but then he found out Mingo rigged. That way, Mingo gets thrown under the bus for all the electoral sins, and Granger regains some credibility as a church man who refused to be sworn in on the basis of fraudulent elections that lacked credibility in the count.

I am glad to see Granger worried about “sanctions” coming his way if they rig. That’s a good sign.

Lastly, why is the US Embassy intervening in our sovereignty again by giving us G$3 million worth of supplies to the CDC yesterday, on top of the almost US$500,000 given last week for fighting COVID-19? They should stop this colonial nonsense. The PNC should reject such intervention in our internal affairs and return the money pronto. Never mind Norway is not releasing our low carbon strategy funds (won during the PPP era); we cannot access our US$55M in Guyana’s Natural Resource Fund (NRF) account being held with the New York Federal Reserve Bank, because we don’t have a new Parliament in place; the World Bank has not yet acted on our request for US$5 million; and the CDB has not given us any money. (Thank you, Ambassador Lynch! You must be following that poem, “Do Good Anyway”).

If Granger does not like sanctions, which he advocated for against the Ramotar government in 2014, he must let in the Carter Center and other observers right away.

He should not listen to PNC strongman Hamilton Green, who was upset that Hoyte allowed free and fair elections in 1992.

Yours sincerely, Haseef Yusuf

Privacy violations are cause for concern

Sincerely, Jerry Singh

22

guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020

Around the World

WHO reports most coronavirus cases in a day as cases approach 5 million

T

he World Health Organisation (WHO) expressed concern on Wednesday about the rising number of new coronavirus cases in poor countries, even as many rich nations have begun emerging from lockdown.

The global health body said 106,000 new cases of infection of the novel coronavirus had been recorded in the past 24 hours, the most in a single day since the outbreak began.

“We still have a long way to go in this pandemic,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference. “We are very concerned about rising cases in low- and middle-income countries.”

Dr Mike Ryan, Head of WHO’s emergencies pro-

gramme, said: “We will soon reach the tragic milestone of five million cases.”

The WHO has come under fire from US President

Donald Trump, who accuses it of having mishandled the outbreak and of favouring China, where the virus is believed to have emerged late last year. This week Trump threatened to withdraw from the WHO and permanently withhold funding.

Tedros acknowledged receiving a letter from Trump, but declined to comment further.

Tedros said he was committed to accountability and would carry out a review into the response to the pandemic. Such a review was demanded by member states in a resolution this week that was passed by consensus, although the United States expressed reservations about some elements of it.

“I said it time and time again that WHO calls for ac-

rainforest as the outbreak slowly penetrates remote villages, but more than 100 have been killed by the virus in urban areas, health authorities, and Indigenous groups said.

“I fear a genocide,” said Arthur Virgilio Neto, mayor of Manaus, a city of two million people and capital of Amazonas state, in a video posted on social media late on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, in Mexico, demand for funerals is surging.

Like many people

around the world, Mexican funeral home owner Salvador Ascencio did not believe at first the coronavirus outbreak was going to be a big deal.

Then calls from grieving relatives began to pour in.

During the first 11 days of May, his small funeral parlour in a run-down part of Mexico City dealt with 30 bodies, a more than four-fold spike in daily funeral services compared to the same period last May. “I have never experienced a situation like this,”

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends the virtual 73rd World Health Assembly (WHA) during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Geneva, Switzerland, May 19, 2020

countability more than anyone. It has to be done and when it’s done, it has to be a comprehensive one,” Tedros said of the review, while declining to say when it would start.

Ryan said such assessments were normally conducted after an emergency is over.

“I for one would prefer, right now, to get on with doing the job of an emergency response, of epidemic control, of developing and distributing vaccines, of improving our surveillance, of saving lives and distributing essential PPE to workers and finding medical oxygen for people in fragile settings, reducing the impact of this disease on refugees and migrants,” he said. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Brazil registers 888 new coronavirus deaths, record of nearly 20,000 new cases

B

razil registered 888 new coronavirus deaths on Wednesday, with a record of nearly 20,000 new cases, taking the total to 291,579, the Health Ministry said.

The mayor of the largest city in the Amazon rainforest said the coronavirus pandemic is killing Indigenous people and warned of a “genocide” if Brazil’s right-wing government fails to protect vulnerable tribes.

So far 25 Indigenous persons have died in the

said Ascencio, 52, encircled by shiny wooden coffins in the cramped parlour of a business his family has operated since 1973.

“The truth is that what we are experiencing is horrific.”

Reuters surveyed 18 funeral homes and crematoriums across the capital, including several belonging to Mexico’s two biggest chains. They also reported rocketing demand for their services during the pandemic. (Excerpt from Reuters)

'Super cyclone' Amphan batters Bangladesh, India

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he strongest cyclone in decades slammed into Bangladesh and eastern India on Wednesday, sending water surging inland and leaving a trail of destruction as the death toll rose to at least nine.

High winds and torrid rains pounded coastal villages and cities, bringing down power lines, uprooting trees and inundating homes.

"The situation is more worrying than the coronavirus pandemic.

We don't know how to han-

Residents make their way along a flooded street to a shelter ahead of the expected landfall of Cyclone Amphan, in Dacope, Bangladesh, on May 20, 2020

dle it," India's West Bengal state leader Mamata

Banerjee told reporters late Wednesday.

"Almost everything is destroyed in the coastal villages of the state."

Authorities had scrambled to evacuate more than three million people from low-lying areas, but the task was complicated by the need to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

In Bangladesh, officials confirmed six deaths including a five-year-old boy and a 75-year-old man, both hit by falling trees, and a cyclone emergency volunteer who drowned. (Excerpt from AFP)

Pompeo calls China virus response “paltry” compared to damage done

U

S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took fresh aim at China over the coronavirus on Wednesday, calling the US$2 billion that Beijing has pledged to fight the pandemic “paltry” compared to the hundreds of thousands of lives lost and trillions of dollars of damage.

Pompeo rejected Chinese President Xi Jinping’s claim that Beijing had acted with transparency after the out-

break in China, and said if Xi wanted to show that, he should hold a news conference and allow reporters to ask him anything they liked.

“President Xi claimed this week that China is acting with openness, transparency, responsibility. I wish it were so,” Pompeo told a State Department news conference, charging that Beijing continued to withhold virus samples and access to facilities, to cen-

sor discussion, “and much, much more”.

US-China tensions have spiked in recent weeks, with Pompeo and President Donald Trump slamming Beijing’s handling of the outbreak. The United States has been hardest hit in the global pandemic.

At a time when many nations worldwide are urging unity and cooperation to ramp up the fight against the virus, Trump has pro-

posed quitting the World Health Organisation over its response and called it a “puppet of China” while Xi has pledged it US$2 billion.

“I look forward to seeing them fulfil that $2 billion commitment,” Pompeo said. “China’s contributions to fighting the pandemic are paltry compared to the cost that they have imposed on the world.” (Excerpt from Reuters)

OILNEWS Downside risks remain despite oil price rebound

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he last few days have seen money rushing back into oil, with all crude benchmarks climbing furiously, including Brent showing a 14 per cent week over week increase, rebounding from a short-lived dive in prices the week before. The super-contango being projected for May/Jun has vanished, with Jun/Jul structure almost flat.

While this strength does have a fundamental backbone in improving supply-demand fundamentals, the rate of increase may also have something to do with global monetary quantitative easing (QE), with the Fed balance sheet at nearly 30 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and growing.

With equity markets at almost pre-crisis levels and cheap money slushing around, speculators may be looking to move away from treasuries into metals and commodities. This has been true in the past and could well be happening again.

It isn’t all fundamentals however, markets continue to be driven by news cycles, with more unexpected news driving the steeper price changes. Fundamentally last week, there was more good news than had been expected and less bad news. Good news on the supply side included the IEA seeing tentative signs of faster rebalancing from the supply side, with Saudi output dropping to 2002 levels and Iraq reaffirming its commitment to meet the one million barrels per day (mbpd) cut in May-June. In the US, rigs fell for the fifth straight week by 20 per cent week over week to 370, with Cushing stockpiles declining for the first time since January.

Good news on the demand side included the IEA revising its 2020 demand forecast from a -9.3 mbpd decline to -8.6 mbpd decline, with Goldman upping its May demand estimate by 1.4 mbpd. Also on the demand side, South Korea and China appear to have arrested a second coronavirus wave with Chinese demand seeing a “V” shaped recovery.

But as before, especially in the near-term, buyer beware: while the oil price rally appears to have priced in almost all the optimistic news, it seems to be ignoring downside risks. For example, high Chinese refinery input may be an artificially bullish signal, as it is creating products beyond organic demand growth in China. Around 50 million barrels of Saudi oil is steaming towards America and threatening to upend the positive supply development. Poor refining margins will prevent any sharp refining throughput gains. And high inventories, both inland and floating (now the highest in history at 200 million barrels) will likely cap further gains in crude prices. (Excerpt from Oil Price)

CUT against CXC exams in summer

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housands of lives will be in jeopardy if any Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) tests are held before September.

That is the view of the Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT), which is urging the regional body against conducting its Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations during the summer.

In a statement issued on Monday night, the CUT expressed concern after the Council for Human and Social Development met on May 8 and said they would

support CXC’s position to hold CSEC examinations in July.

“The CUT believes that this unfortunate decision places the lives of thousands of students and teachers at risk, as all the issues surrounding the administering of the examinations have not been addressed,” the union said.

As a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, there has been some uncertainty regarding the staging of CXC examinations, which are conducted in May and June each year. (Nation News)

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020

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23

“Chanderpaul, Sarwan are my local heroes,” – Keemo Paul ...focused on evolving as batting all-rounder

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he humility of Keemo Paul is simply admirable. During an interview of Paul on the Maroon Hangout via Instagram live, he disclosed that Guyanese cricketing heroes Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan were his local heroes growing up.

"I basically looked up to Shivnarine Chanderpaul most of the time. He was a Guyanese and he was doing pretty well for the West Indies team back then," Paul disclosed.

"I looked up to him and Ramnaresh Sarwan as much as possible, because they were Guyanese and they were doing pretty well for the West Indies; and every time you looked, you will see them in the newspapers, and that sort of motivated me, to see a fellow Guyanese doing well," Paul disclosed.

The 22-year-old all-rounder further disclosed that he is aiming to become more of a batting all-rounder than the bowling all-rounder he is currently. "Growing up, I was a batsman during the Under-15/Under-17 days. I have always loved batting, but for the past years I've made it as a bowling all-rounder," Paul explained.

Paul served as replacement player for Sheldon Cottrell in the World Cup Qualifier, and his international career kick started then. "For now, the bowling is dominating; but I want that to change, I want to be someone that scores consistently in whatever position I come in for the West Indies.

That is something I am working hard on; I want to be a batting all-rounder," Paul explained.

The lad from Essequibo, who has had the privilege of playing all three formats of the game for the West Indies, also had a taste of the

ing a n all-threeformats player for the West Indies, Paul noted that it is tough. "Physically, it breaks you down.

You have to be eating right, and you have to put in the work.

Mentally, it is

Keemo Paul

Indian Premier League and the Hero Caribbean Premier League.

Speaking about how he deals with criticism on social media, he said, "For me, I try to stay off social media as much as possible. I don't post (many) pics, I tend to stay around my circle, and let my family be my strength. I don't allow this to bother me, at the end of the day, everyone has their opinion," the focused Paul noted.

Paul says he turns a deaf ear to negativity, and noted that negative comments act as a motivator to him.

"As a professional sports person, you have to expect that (positive and negative comments), but you gotta know how to take it while building and moving forward," he cautioned.

In the West Indies set-ups,

Paul and fellow Guyanese Shimron Hetmyer have, over the years, enjoyed a special bond. Paul describes Hetmyer as more than a friend, but as a brother, their having played Under-15 cricket together.

"Sherfane Rutherford also came in (the Windies set-up), and we are very close. We just try to motivate each other and support each other," Paul explained.

Sharing some sentiments on be-

tough, but you always have to be focused on what's ahead. I love playing for the West Indies, and this drives me to just perform; but I see this as something great," an impassioned Paul declared.

Asked what was ‘his favourite wicket’, Paul responded: “Virat Kohli”. If given the opportunity to bowl to a past international player or a Caribbean one, Paul noted that Jacques Kallis and Brian Lara would be those batsmen. (Brandon Corlette)

CWI gets assurances over players’ safety for proposed July Test tour

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223-7230-1 (Ext 55)

223-7230-1 (Ext 55)

NOW!

he West Indies tour to England this summer is becoming increasingly likely, following positive discussions between the medical teams and staffs of the English Cricket Board and the CWI on Monday.

Both boards have been in discussions since the start of the month, intent on charting a pathway to the West Indies’ travelling to England for three Tests in July.

Initially scheduled for June, the tour has been postponed because of fears over players’ safety, caused by the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

However, late last week, CWI notified 30 players that they should be prepared to travel and play in England in July if it is decided that the tour would go ahead.

It was also revealed that further discussions were set to take place on Monday.

CWI CEO Johnny Grave confirmed to Sportsmax.TV on Tuesday that those Monday talks had gone well. “The ECB is confident that they can deliver a safe plan for biosecure, behind-closed-doors cricket that will meet the UK Government’s guidelines, and will therefore likely secure their board's approval,” Grave told Sportsmax.TV today.

“We will have further meetings and discussions this week with the ECB, as we try and plan for the Test Tour taking place this

C

olombian cyclist Jarlinson Pantano has been banned for four years after failing an out-of-competition anti-doping test last year.

The 31-year-old Pantano, who had won a Tour de France stage in 2016, retired last June, two months after his provisional suspension for testing positive

Johnny Grave

summer in an environment where the number-one priority is the health and safety of all players and staff," he explained.

During an interview on Sportsnation Live on Nationwide Radio in Jamaica on Saturday, Grave reiterated that safety was the primary concern of the CWI. “We would have to be absolutely certain that our players and support staff would be in a safe environment in order for us to play cricket,” he said, while explaining the conditions under which the team would travel and play in the UK. “What it means at this stage is that we would use charter flights to first collect players in the Caribbean, and then to make our way across the Atlantic. We wouldn’t be on aircraft with any other passengers. There would be private charters for our players and team.

“Then, once we land in the UK, we would undergo a twoweek quarantine period which would be at a cricket facility, so the players would have the opportunity to play and train.

They would be the only ones in that secure environment,” he explained.

Grave said the hotel staff, ground staff and other personnel would be tested regularly, and would have to remain on-site for the duration. “Once they enter that bio-secure environment, no one would be allowed to come or go; so, they’d be in lockdown within a cricket venue with a hotel on-site,” he said.

According to Grave, the CWI medical and support staff have determined that the Windies would need at least four weeks to get the players into the condition that they need to be in to face England in the Test matches. (Sportsmax)

Jarlinson Pantano won a stage of the Tour de France in 2016

for the blood booster EPO. On Wednesday, he was banned by a tribunal of governing body the UCI until April 2023.

He had initially protested his innocence, but subsequently said he had lost the will to fight the case.

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020

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

guyanatimesgy.com

“Chanderpaul, Sarwan are my local heroes,” – Keemo Paul

Pg 23

...focused on evolving as batting all-rounder

Keemo Paul

Pg 23 Pg 23

CWI gets assurances over players’ safety for proposed July Test tour

The West Indies celebrate

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