Guyana Times - Thursday, July 1, 2021

1M barrels of oil purchased

by India to set sail on July 4 P9

Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Issue No. 4695

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021

PRICE

60 Haitians, 11 others abandoned, left starving for 7 days in Guyana's jungle

WHAT'S INSIDE:

APNU/AFC P7 granted immunity to diplomatic agency from law enforcement

See story on page 2

…agency used sweeping tax concessions to import luxury vehicles

...victims of migrant trafficking – Commander

Annette Ferguson arrested for cybercrime offence Page 3

…Police duty-bound to enforce law without fear or favour – Benn

Guyana gets additional US$6M from World Bank for more COVID-19 vaccines Page 10

…as 1st batch of Govt ordered Sinopharm arrives

Taxi driver killed, body dumped at Ogle

Cop robbed by teenagers in Lethem See story on page 11

Income support for farmers, relocation recommended by flood assessment team …as Govt briefed by CDEMA

COVID-19 death toll now at 469 after Region 4 man dies P14 …96 new cases recorded

Fight over birthday dress lands designer, UG student in P8 court

Region 10 records increase P10 in sexual violence cases

See story on page 5

See story on page 15

$80 VAT INCLUDED

Region 5 P16 farmers reissued land taken away under APNU/ AFC Govt

P5 Woman stabs brother during row over $1000

2 NEWS

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

60 Haitians, 11 others abandoned, left starving for 7 days in Guyana's jungle ...victims of migrant trafficking – Commander

R

egion 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) Police Commander, Superintendent Hugh Winter has confirmed that 71 foreign nationals who were found in the jungle at Kurupukari crossing were being trafficked.

He made this revelation during a weekly radio programme “The Police and You” on Wednesday evening.

The foreigners who were starving and out of water were sent from Kurupukari crossing to McKenzie, Linden, where they were

Region 10 Commander, Superintendent Hugh Winter

fed and handed over to the Immigration Department, who subsequently took them to Georgetown.

Sixty of the 71 foreign nationals are Haitians, while the remaining 11 are from several neighbouring countries.

The victims related to the Commander that they were in the bush for approximately five to seven days, an indication as to why they had to be fed prior to their journey to Georgetown.

Additionally, the Commander made note of two other incidents that oc-

The Haitians and other foreign nationals who were found at Kurupukari crossing

curred within that division, whereby persons were held against their will. “…we’ve had only two incidents for the year in respect to someone holding that person against their will,” he stated.

The perpetrators have since been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and have since been charged.

Only Wednesday last, President Dr Irfaan Ali signed an Immigration Revocation Order, which removed Haiti from the list of countries whose nationals are allowed a period of six months visa-free stay. Haiti was added to the list back in January 2019 by former President David Granger, through an order under the Immigration Act. This revocation was done as a result of the alarming discovery that more than 38,000 unaccounted-for Haitians have

arrived in Guyana since 2015.

On Thursday, Guyana Times reported that Police were investigating reports that at least eight Haitians were being held against their will after arriving in Guyana illegally from neighbouring Suriname.

This publication understands that a group of about eight Haitians – men, women and children, were promised that they would be taken to Brazil after arriving in Guyana illegally from Suriname.

Reports are that they are being held against their will by a man of Number 72 Village, Corentyne, Berbice, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne).

He reportedly took away their passports and has not been affording them Internet access.

In fact, Police are also in-

vestigating the report which stated that the man reportedly sent photos of Haitians to their relatives in their home country, demanding money.

When contacted, Regional Commander Jairam Ramlakhan confirmed that Police received the information and went to investigate. However, he noted that when ranks arrived at the location, neither the suspect nor Haitians were at the location. He said that an investigation has been launched.

Just over one week ago, Police in Berbice swooped down on a hotel in Skeldon, Corentyne, where they found 10 persons claiming to be Haitian nationals.

The five males and five females were not in possession of passports or any form of identification.

TURN TO PAGE 13

NEWS

3

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS OPENINGS BRIDGE

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

Thursday, July 1 – 09:30h-11:00h and Friday, July 2 – 10:00h-11:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Thursday, July 1 – 09:25h-10:55h and Friday, July 2 – 10:25h-11:55h.

Annette Ferguson arrested for cybercrime offence

…Police duty-bound to enforce law without fear or favour – Benn

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

WEATHER TODAY Light to thundery showers are expected throughout the day and into the night, followed by clear skies.

Temperatures should range between 21 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius.

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

High Tide: 09:30h and 22:03h reaching maximum heights of 2.29 metres and 2.24 metres.

Low Tide: 15:32h reaching a minimum height of 0.94 metre.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 2021

LOTTERY NUMBERS A

01 02 04 21 22 24

FREE TICKET

06 Bonus Ball

DAILY MILLIONS

02 03 04 07 18 0

LUCKY 3

4

1

1

1

Afternoon Draw

9

1

Opposition MP Annette Ferguson

F

ormer Minister and current Opposition Member of Parliament, Annette Ferguson was arrested by ranks of the Guyana Police Force on Wednesday for allegedly cyberbullying a senior member of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).

The Guyana Police Force has since said that Ferguson was arrested by ranks from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters, Eve Leary, after a report in relation to a cybercrime allegation was filed against her.

“The [complainant] is a senior member of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) who made the allegation against Ms Ferguson in relation to a Facebook social media post which falsely alleged that the said senior GDF rank will be in charge of a killing squad,” the Police said.

The Opposition MP was eventually released on her recognisance later Wednesday afternoon after being interviewed by investigators in the presence of her lawyer.

Nevertheless, investigations are ongoing and upon completion, the file will be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice.

Without fear or favour

Since her arrest, however, members of the APNU/ AFC Opposition have come out attacking the Police Force and the PPP/C

Evening Draw

DRAW DE LINE

04 08 13 15 17 18 20 SUPER

PAY DAY

PAY DAY

FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 2021

03 06 07 08 13 13

04 05 08 13 20

DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS IN PUBLICATION. PLEASE CALL THE HOTLINE FOR CONFIRMATION - TEL: 225-8902

COMMODITIES Indicators

US$

Change %

Crude Oil

$75.13/barrel

+0.49

Rough Rice

$242.1 /ton

- 0.24

London Sugar

$432.40/ton

- 0.21

Live Spot Gold

USD Per Ounce

Bid/Ask

$1771.00

$1772.00

Low/High Change

$1752.90 +0.08

$1775.30 +0.05

223-7230-1 (Ext 55)

Government. But Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn condemned this, especially remarks made by Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon in a statement.

Harmon had claimed that Ferguson was arrested on spurious grounds and that it was a clear case of political persecution against the Opposition Member.

The Opposition Leader also called for the withdrawal of what he said are “spurious, baseless and politically motivated charges.”

However, Minister Benn in a subsequent missive responding to Harmon, rejected the assertions made by the Opposition Leader.

“Mr Harmon, of all persons, should need no reminding that all persons – inclusive of Members of Parliament and, also, members of the APNU/AFC – are subject to the Laws of Guyana adherence to which the Guyana Police Force is duty bound to enforce without fear or favour,” Benn posited.

Further, the Home Affairs Minister went on to address what he described as Harmon’s now natural reflexive instincts of making unwarranted attacks about partisan “…political persecution…”, “…weaponizing of the Guyana Police Force…” along with dire warnings of civil unrest.

According to Benn, these are not only grossly untrue but are of malicious intent.

Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn

In fact, the Minister outlined that the Opposition Leader’s statement seems intent on continuing the effort to shield and protect from judicial review, lawbreaking by persons who

are intent on precipitating a breakdown of law and order and the undermining of democracy by initiating civil unrest.

“When viewed from its advocacy and reckless support of Ms Ferguson’s present gross indiscretions Harmon’s statement goes further by identifying the continuous resort to the racist and seditious playbook he has ready at hand,” Benn asserted.

Nonetheless, the Home Affairs Minister went on to call on citizens to be wary of, and vigilant, in rejecting and avoiding the dangerous invective in Harmon’s statement and to allow the normal due lawful and legal process to take its course in the probe into the allegations made against Ferguson.

4

guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021

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

Georgetown P

arking areas in downtown Georgetown that were specially prepared by the Police Traffic Department and designated for parking by minibuses plying various routes have been overrun by vendors plying their trade and private cars working as taxis, which, as a consequence, have created chaos and congestion in central areas in the city, as well as piles of garbage accumulated over time.

The garbage accumulation continues unabated, growing from little hillocks into mountainous piles of refuse, with no solution in sight. This appears to have started in 2014 as a deliberate attempt to derail the then People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government’s “Clean Up My Country” initiative.

Now, with insufficient space because of constrained parking allotments to park the buses for which the various areas were designated, bus drivers are forced to occupy areas not allotted for parking purposes, thereby creating traffic hazards and danger to pedestrians, as well as incurring the wrath of the Traffic Police.

Former Mayors Hamilton Green and Patricia Chase Green and City Councillors have, over decades, encouraged the lawlessness prevailing all over the city and its environs. Visitors come to this country to, among other things, enjoy our heritage sites, and a heap of garbage has accumulated just outside one of Guyana’s primary sight-seeing locations, specially promoted by the Tourism Ministry and tour operators – Stabroek Market.

This development is not only a public nuisance, but also constitutes a serious public health threat, with the attendant hazard of escalation of vector-borne and other serious diseases.

While the City Council condemns the business houses that are lax in paying their taxes, it simultaneously inhibits their businesses by allowing illegal vending outside the stores. This creates unfair competition, especially during special holidays and is wreaking havoc on the viability of legitimately-established businesses, because most vendors do not pay taxes, they have no overheads, are not subject to the various by-laws governing established trade, and worst of all, many create humongous garbage piles and litter that jam the waterways, with the consequence being an exacerbation in drainage problems in the city and its environs.

Georgetown has always fallen under the jurisdiction of the People’s National Congress (PNC), and from being the pride of Guyana as “The Garden City,” it has increasingly deteriorated, losing its pristine and idyllic environment.

Because it has become a microcosm of the decay of Guyana under the PNC’s watch.

Political leaders have a duty and responsibility to encourage citizens to respect the laws of the land in the interest of their constituency, in particular, and the nation as a whole; and illegal vending breaches the city’s by-laws in a multiplicity of ways.

However, every time there is a governmental effort to find alternative accommodation for vendors, there is a hue and cry by political protagonists, who organise protests.

Successive PPP/C Governments intermittently pump millions of dollars into clean-up campaigns in the city, but as long as illegal vending prevails, Georgetown would always remain a “garbage city”.

Oftentimes Government executes essential capital works that are the direct responsibility of the M&CC and that body in turn castigates the Government for not giving it the money allotted for that purpose. However, the corruption at City Hall seems to have become endemic, as was revealed by the Burrowes Commission of Inquiry.

Georgetown was once a pristine and extremely scenic city, legendary for its idyllic beauty. However, under successive PNC-run City Councils, the deterioration continues to escalate, to the point where it would be a Herculean task, and necessitate the injection of massive amounts of funding, with extremely wise, creative and honest management to restore Guyana’s capital city to its former glory.

Executive Director of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), Elizabeth Riley toured the Civil Defence Commission’s storage bonds at the National Gymnasium and the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana on Wednesday afternoon.

The tour of the bonds was facilitated by Director General of the CDC, Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig (CDC photo)

Canada is a warning: more and more of the world will soon be too hot for humans …without an immediate global effort to combat the climate emergency, the Earth’s uninhabitable areas will keep growing

By Simon Lewis

T

he climate crisis means that summer is a time of increasingly dangerous heat. This week in the Pacific north-west, temperature records are not just being broken, they are being obliterated. Temperatures reached a shocking 47.9 degrees Celsius in British Columbia, Canada.

Amid temperatures more typically found in the Sahara desert, dozens have died of heat stress, with “roads buckling and power cables melting”.

Another heatwave earlier in June saw five Middle East countries top 50°C. The extreme heat reached Pakistan, where 20 children in one class were reported to have fallen unconscious and needed hospital treatment for heat stress.

Thankfully, they all survived.

Additional warming from greenhouse gas emissions means that such extreme heatwaves are more likely and scientists can now calculate the increase in their probability. For example, the 2019 European heatwave that killed 2500 people was five times more likely than it would have been without global warming.

In most places, extreme heatwaves outside the usual range for a region will cause problems, from disrupting the economy to widespread mortality, particularly among the young and old. Yet in places in the Middle East and Asia something truly terrifying is emerging: the creation of unliveable heat.

While humans can survive temperatures of well over 50C when humidity is low, when both temperatures and humidity are high, neither sweating nor soaking our-

selves can cool us. What matters is the “wet-bulb” temperature – given by a thermometer covered in a wet cloth – which shows the temperature at which evaporative cooling from sweat or water occurs.

Humans cannot survive prolonged exposure to a wet-bulb temperature beyond 35C because there is no way to cool our bodies. Not even in the shade, and not even with unlimited water.

A 35C wet-bulb temperature was once thought impossible. But last year scientists reported that locations in the Persian Gulf and Pakistan’s Indus river valley had already reached this threshold, although only for an hour or two, and only over small areas. As climate change drives temperatures upwards, heatwaves and accompanying unliveable temperatures are predicted to last longer and occur over larger areas and in new locations, including parts of Africa and the US south-east, over the decades to come.

What can Governments, companies and citizens do?

First, cut off the supply of ever more extreme heatwaves by halving carbon dioxide emission this decade, then reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

Second, prepare for the inevitable heatwaves of the future. Emergency public health planning is the initial priority: getting essential information to people and moving vulnerable people into air-conditioned locations. Heatwave forecasts should include wet-bulb temperatures so that people can learn to understand the dangers.

Plans should account for the fact that heatwaves intensify structural inequalities.

Poorer neighbourhoods typically have fewer green spaces and so heat up more, while outdoor workers, often poorly paid, are especially vulnerable. The rich also buy up cooling equipment at high prices once a heatwave is underway and have many more options to flee, underscoring the importance of public health planning.

Beyond crisis management, Governments need to invest in making countries function in the new climate we are creating, including the extremes. In climate policy terms, this is known as “adaptation”.

Of paramount importance is energy supplies being resilient to heatwaves, as people will be relying on electricity for cooling from air-conditioning units, fans and freezers, which are all life-savers in a heatwave. Similarly, Internet communications and data centres need to be future-proofed, as these are essential services that can struggle in the heat.

Beyond this, new regulations are needed to allow buildings to keep cool and for transport systems, from roads to trains, to be able to operate under much higher temperature extremes.

Many of these changes can meet other challenges. Retrofitting homes to be energy-efficient is also the perfect opportunity to modify them to also keep us cool. For example, installing electric heat pumps to warm houses in the winter means that in the summer they can also be switched to run in reverse to work as a cooling system. Cities can be kept cooler with green roofs and more green spaces, which also make them better places

to live.

The final task is future-proofing agriculture and the wider ecosystems we all ultimately rely on. Heat can cause havoc with crop production. In Bangladesh, just two days of hot air in April this year destroyed 68,000 hectares of rice, affecting over 300,000 farmers with losses of US$39m (£28m). New heat-tolerant varieties of crops need developing and deploying. The alternative is higher food costs and food price spikes with the increased poverty and civil unrest that typically accompanies them.

Given these immense challenges how are Governments doing on climate adaptation? Very poorly. The Paris agreement on climate change obliged countries to submit their adaptation plans, but only 13 countries have done so. One of those is the UK, but Government plans were judged by its own independent advisors to have “failed to keep pace with the worsening reality of climate risk”.

The Glasgow Cop26 climate talks will need to put the spotlight on adaptation planning and funding for vulnerable countries. To curtail the impacts of ever-more ferocious heatwaves, reducing emissions will need to go hand in hand with adapting to the swelteringly hot world we are creating. Stabilising the climate by 2050 is well within the timeframe of one working lifetime, as is adapting to allow us all to prosper in this new world. There is no time to lose.

Simon Lewis is professor of global change science at University College London and University of Leeds (The Guardian)

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021

guyanatimesgy.com

5

News Taxi driver killed, body dumped at Ogle A

53-year-old taxi driver was on Wednesday found dead at Block 1 Ogle, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

Dead is Kenrick Trim of Belfield Housing Scheme, ECD. According to Police, Trim’s body was found at 09:00h at the end of Cul-deSac Street.

Police have since said that the man’s body appeared to have been dumped from a silver grey Toyota Premio car, HC 5311, which was parked a short distance away.

It is suspected that the taxi driver was killed during the execution of a robbery.

Trim was wearing a gold chain and ring when he left his home on Wednesday morning, but when his body was found his jewellery was missing.

The man’s son, Kenrick

Trim Jr told Guyana Times on Wednesday that he received a call from his mother about 11:00h informing

him the Police had said that they had found his father’s body at Block 1 Ogle popularly known as “Pradoville”.

olice have launched a probe into the wounding of Ricardo Mahadeo of Silk Cotton Dam, Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara) who was stabbed to his chest.

The incident occurred on Tuesday around 21:20h at Vergenoegen, EBE. Based on reports received, the 27-year-old Mahadeo had left his residence around 12:00h and gone to his aunt’s residence, where upon arrival he met his sister, her

boyfriend, and two cousins, who began consuming alcohol. It is alleged that the man gave his sister $1000 to buy a drink; however, after a few hours had passed with no sign of the beverage, an argument ensured.

It was at that time that his sister’s boyfriend intervened as the peacemaker. Mahadeo told Police that his sister took a bottle that she had in her possession, and dealt him a lash to the left side of his head, causing him to sustain injuries. He reported that in

anger the woman also took a piece of the same broken bottle and dealt him a stab to his chest.

The Police were summoned to the scene and the victim was rushed to the Leonora Cottage Hospital.

He was seen by a doctor on duty, treated and referred to the West Demerara Regional Hospital, where he was admitted a patient in stable condition.

Mahadeo’s sister went into hiding, but her boyfriend was arrested as investigations continue. (G9)

The young Trim said he immediately left work and went to the scene, where he met a detective there.

“I went to Sparendaam Station because that was in the vicinity; when I got there, they told me that the Police did not come back from the scene and that I should go there… I went and I saw the CID rank there and he told me that my father had some bores on his skin and it looked as though they punched him in his face,” the grieving son related.

The young man said when his father was found he was lying alongside his car, and was bleeding from

his mouth.

He said that his father would usually work taxi in the vicinity of Hinck Street, Georgetown, and had been working out of the location for about 10 years to take care of his family. His father, he added, had never been robbed previously.

According to the man’s son, his father left home on Wednesday morning for work, and he dropped his wife at the passport office, on the way. He said that was the last time his father was seen alive.

“It looked like whoever was the suspect, tried to escape with the car… they didn’t get to escape with the

car because of the mud. The car was stuck in the mud,” Trim Jr related.

The family said the man’s death came as a shock, because he left home on Wednesday morning full of life.

“This has left everybody in shock knowing that everybody saw him this morning joyful, making jokes with my mother… this really shocked everybody,” the young man said.

He added that the family was hoping that the perpetrators would be discovered so that they could get justice.

Police have since launched an investigation.

Dead: Kenrick Trim

Public harassment Woman stabs brother during row over $1000 by minibus touts P Dear Editor, This letter seeks to shed light on the plight that many public transportation users are forced to endure daily by bus touts.

Allow me to highlight one particular instance where I was on the bus park attempting to get into a minibus. Out of nowhere, I was aggressively approached by four men, forcibly beckoning me to enter the minibus they were touting. And if that isn’t terrible enough, one of the men even grabbed onto the bag I was carrying.

Much to my dismay, none of these men were wearing masks but yet they stood seemingly less than two feet away from me, with little to no consideration for my personal space or regard for the COVID-19 safety protocols and guidelines. The whole ordeal was quite traumatising for me. Both children and the elderly are subjected to this same awful treatment at the hands of these touts. This practice is beyond unacceptable The whole situation begs the question, what plans do

the relevant authorities such as the Guyana Police Force and the Minibus Association have to curb this issue which boils down to gross harassment? In my opinion and I am certain that my fellow Guyanese share the same sentiments, these touts need to be removed immediately.

I urgently call on the Guyana Police Force to address this matter which continues to cause distress and annoyance to citizens.

Sincerely, TC Graham

6

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021

Page

Foundation ◄

Question 1

Wednesday’s answers

By William Shakespeare (from Macbeth)

Writing Prompt: Democracy

W

hat is a democracy? A democracy means “rule by the people.” It is a form of government in which power rests with the people, either directly or through elected representatives. We choose our representatives through an election process.

Voting is the heart of our democracy. Every person over the age of 18 has the right to vote. It’s your way of making your opinion count in what kind of laws our country makes and other things our government does. Write a brief account of how people got the right to vote (Adapted from startwithabook.org)

Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble.

Fillet of a fenny snake, In the caldron boil and bake; Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog, Adder's fork and blindworm's sting, Lizard's leg and howlet's wing, For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble.

Cool it with a baboon's blood, Then the charm is firm and good.

WORD SEARCH

NEWS

7

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

APNU/AFC granted immunity to diplomatic agency from law enforcement …agency used sweeping tax concessions to import luxury vehicles

Former President David Granger

D

etails are only now emerging of the sweeping concessions and immunities the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government granted to a regional diplomatic intergovernmental agency it hosted in Guyana back in 2018.

The agency in question, the Partnership for Sustainable Land Management (PISLM), was set up by the former David Granger-led Government.

However, what was unknown until now was just how much members and non-nationals on this agency, headquartered in Guyana, benefitted from tax concessions and other perks.

According to the Host Agreement seen by this publication, the former APNU/ AFC Government granted the members of this body immunity from various arms of law enforcement. Members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), Guyana Defence Force (GDF), the Judiciary or administrative, were barred from entering any PISLM property unless they receive the consent of the agency’s Executive Director.

“All archives and records, correspondence, documents and other materials of PISLM shall be inviolable… PISLM, its property, assets and other facilities, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall enjoy immunity from every form of legal process except (if) it has waived its immunity; it is understood, however, that no waiver of immunity shall extend to any measure of execution,” the document states.

The scientific and technical staff of this agency were granted exemptions from paying income tax or National Insurance Scheme (NIS) contributions, as well as exemptions from paying customs duty and Value Added Tax (VAT) on any motor vehicles, personal and household items they imported within the first 12 months of their stay in

PISLM was formerly hosted by Trinidad and Tobago, until the agreement was signed in 2018 for it to be relocated in Guyana.

Following a high-level session of sustainable land management in 2018, Benn had said that the establishment of the office locally

plans. We are trying to make them more descriptive than prescriptive,” Benn had said.

Some of PISLM’s work had included organising a workshop for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) national fo-

Former Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan

PISLM Task Force Chairman Trevor Benn

Guyana.

According to information seen by this publication, a number of luxury vehicles were brought into Guyana using this provision. These vehicles include a 2019 Mercedes G550 and a 2021 Cadillac Escalade, which arrived just days ago.

This agreement was signed into effect on December 28, 2018, by then Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge. Also signing off on the document was Chairman of the PISLM Task Force, then Guyana Lands and Surveys Commissioner (GL&SC) Trevor Benn. Benn has since been dismissed from the GL&SC and is before the court on unrelated charges.

cal points from Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Haiti, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre with the aim of setting the agenda for these sustainable land management discussions.

Example of a 2019 Mercedes G550

would allow Guyana to play a leading role in sustainable land use.

“When it comes to the issue of sustainable land management, we are taking a number of steps, including for the first time in Guyana, we are going to be having a national land policy. We’re working on a national land policy, revising all of our land use

8 NEWS

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

IN THE COURTS

Fight over birthday dress lands designer, UG student in court

A

brawl between a fashion designer and a University of Guyana student has landed both of them before the court. Appearing before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan on Wednesday were 34-year-old fashion designer Keisha Edwards and Melissa Calder, 25, a UG student.

They both pleaded not guilty to the charge, which stated that on June 16, at Georgetown, they unlawfully and maliciously wounded each other. They were ordered to post $5000 bail each. The case has been adjourned until August 10, at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

The Police prosecutor told the court that Calder made a down payment of $30,000 to Edwards for

Keisha Edwards

her to make a dress for her birthday. After completing the dress, Edwards sent a photo to Calder, who told her that it was not the style she requested.

As such, the customer asked to be refunded $20,000. Edwards told her that she can make the necessary adjustments to the dress but Calder insisted

on having a refund.

Calder told the court that on June 16, she visited Edward’s studio to speak with her.

Calder said that she was told to wait outside because too many persons were already inside. After a while, the woman said that she re-entered the studio after which Edwards approached her and pushed her outside.

Calder recalled that she pushed her back.

Edwards, on the other hand, said that Calder became “heated” about wanting a refund and threatened to report the matter to the Police.

The fashion designer stated that she advised Calder to do as she pleased and she became angry and shouted that she would collect her money “today”.

Edwards admitted that she

Melissa Calder

stepped forward and pushed the UG student.

Meanwhile, in another case, Peaches John appeared in court on charges which allege that she behaved disorderly and assaulted a Policewoman at the Stabroek Police Outpost.

John also appeared before the Chief Magistrate. She pleaded not guilty to the charges.

It is alleged that on June 19, she behaved disorderly in a public place and resisted being arrested by and assaulted Shanwa PennWilliams, a Police rank acting in the execution of her duties. The defendant was released on $12,000 bail and will return to court on July 8.

She was also placed on a bond to be on good behaviour. According to the Police prosecutor, on the day in question, John visited the Police outpost to report a matter when she began speaking in a loud tone and using a series of expletives.

The prosecutor said that although the woman was warned about her behaviour, she continued. As a result, the Policewoman went to arrest her. During the process, John cuffed the Police rank to her head and kicked her to the abdomen. (G1)

Incitement…

S

…to murder ome say what’s playing out in Guyana is a Greek tragedy, but really, it’s not. Greek tragedies describe the pain and glory of the main character being rebellious, for a greater good. But while there’s a hell of a lot of pain for Guyanese by PNC’s shenanigans, there’s absolutely no glory – either to them or the country. And that’s because their actions have never been for the “greater good” which would give comfort – even if there’s suffering. They do say, no pain…no gain! But with the PNC it’s always about feeding their insatiable craving for power.

So, what prompted this chagrined rumination on tragedy by your normally ebullient Eyewitness? The charges against those four young men charged for the tragic murder of Haresh Singh, that’s what. And the tragedy is that this last murder wouldn’t have happened if the atmosphere in West Berbice hadn’t been poisoned by the political rhetoric that was spouted after the equally tragic, brutal murders of Isaiah and Joel Henry. These murders all occurred in a small close-knit community where everyone knew everyone regardless of their race, religion, ethnicity, or class. They literally ate from each other’s plates!

But Granger and Harmon –- locked in their insane insistence that their party was robbed by the PPP – ran down to West Berbice where one of the ambitious newbies to political office had already started to stir the cauldron.

The call for justice for the murdered Henry cousins was transformed to a call for justice against the PPP! In addition to claiming absolute authority to interpret the Constitution as far as elections were concerned, Granger divined that the murders were politically motivated! Which in Guyana means that they were RACIALLY motivated. And advised that the residents of the Henrys’ village should form “selfprotection” units.

The initial, clumsy political attempt to charge all in sight - -only to release them soon afterwards – placed the spotlight on Haresh’s family. The next week – we’re now finding out – he was at the wrong place in the back dam at the wrong time – after the brother of Isaiah and some friends had confronted the former’s relatives. This was a tragic denouement with no heroes – simply a nihilistic lashing-out by young men after their elders from outside the community – who should’ve known better – egged them on! Your Eyewitness notes that the father of Isaiah preached understanding of the bonds that had knitted the communities together and not to take steps to sunder those bonds.

So, what’s next? While there’s been no further violence following the W Berbice murders and the ensuing anti-Indian violence, the situation has deteriorated considerably.

The atmosphere’s been made even more incendiary with challengers vying to outbid Granger for leadership! …to stifle democracy In addition to attacking our fledgling democracy’s constitutional underpinning – and in the streets – the PNC has taken another tack. Filing defamation suits against critics at the drop of a hat. But it’s not just the critics: they invariably go after the media – or more to the point – the newspapers that are assumed to have “deep pockets”.

Another day, another defamation lawsuit.

Their lawyers are having a blast and laughing all the way to the bank as they haul in fees whether they win or lose – just like during the constitutional challenges. But what we have to note – and the PNC would have us forget – is that these defamation suits are actually being used to stifle the very essence of democracy. Which is that the people must be facilitated to participate in critiquing those who they’ve placed in office when, in their opinion, the latter are straying.

The letters-in-the press have become the equivalent of the Ancient Greece’ meeting place for citizens exercising “direct democracy”.

Save it! …to steal The PNC established a “Partnership for Sustainable Land Management” (PSLM). Its principals – including Trevor Benn of GL&SC fame – just imported a duty-free 2019 Mercedes G550 and a 2021 Cadillac Escalade!

Pilfering Never Ceases (PNC)!!

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

NEWS

9

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

1M barrels of oil purchased

by India to set sail on July 4 I

ndia, which has for some time been in discussions with Guyana about purchasing crude oil, has finally concluded a deal that will see the country’s top refinery purchasing 1 million barrels of oil that will set sail on July 4.

According to international news agency Reuters, Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has purchased 1 million barrels of crude oil from Guyana.

The oil, which comes from the Liza-1 field, sets sail on July 4 on a Greek tanker for India’s Paradip port and will arrive around August 8.

IOC is a State-owned oil and gas company headquartered in Mumbai, India, and administered under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. According to Reuters, this shipment of oil is a trial cargo.

Efforts by this publication to secure a comment from Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat were futile.

While IOC is the first Indian State entity to buy oil from Guyana, it was preceded by HPCL-Mittal Energy Limited, a joint venture between State-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Indian steel tycoon LN Mittal.

Back in March, this joint venture bought 1 million

to extend production cuts through April.

Guyana, with US oil giant ExxonMobil as the operator, began producing oil on December 20, 2019, in the Stabroek Block. Guyana’s oil revenues are being banked in the New York Federal Reserve Bank, where it is earning interest.

In March 2021, the Natural Resources Ministry had disclosed that to date, a total of 5,009,797 barrels of oil worth US$246.5 million have been lifted. This sum, added to the royalties the country receives, took the total in the NRF account to US$267.6 million. And if one considers earnings from the sixth lift in April

Indian Oil Corp’s Barauni oil refinery

barrels of oil from Guyana.

In an interview with this publication, Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr KJ Srinivasa had described India as an energy hungry nation.

“You know, we are an energy-hungry nation. We import about 86 per cent of crude… And obviously, your Liza oil – “light sweet crude” are the words used – seems to be well suited for our refinery. We are working on various options now,” he noted.

Dr Srinivasa further reminded that India had expressed interest to buy Guyana’s share of oil through a Government-toGovernment arrangement, which he pointed out would cut out any handling or commission fee.

India used to import a significant portion of its oil from Iran and Venezuela.

However, the sanctions imposed by the United States on these two nations has resulted in a massive reduction of those imports.

“We stopped receiving crude imports from Venezuela for last three, four months now. Every day, we used to get close to about 375,000 bpd from Venezuela,” the Indian High Commissioner had noted.

According to a Reuters article, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) share in India’s oil imports fell to historic lows between April 2020 and January 2021 after the body took a decision

and royalty payments, this amount is expected to have climbed to over US$300 million.

Guyana received its first payment of US$54.9 million for an oil lift dated February 19, 2020. The second lift on May 21, 2020, was valued at US$35 million; while the third lift, which occurred on August 9, 2020, was worth US$46 million.

The fourth lift of oil offshore Guyana occurred on December 9, 2020, and came in at US$49.4 million in value. And on February 5, 2021, some 997,420 barrels of oil were lifted from Liza Destiny. A sum of US$61 million was paid for that lift.

10 NEWS

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Guyana gets additional US$6M from World Bank for more COVID-19 vaccines

…as 1st batch of Govt ordered Sinopharm arrives

T

he World Bank on Wednesday approved US$6 million in additional financing for the Guyana COVID-19 Emergency Response Project to support affordable and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and ensure effective vaccine deployment in Guyana.

In a missive, the World Bank noted that the project will also support general preparedness, resilience, and overall health system

man resources, information systems, and waste management,” the statement detailed.

According to the World Bank’s Resident Representative for Jamaica and Guyana Ozan Sevimli, an efficient and equitable rollout of COVID-19 vaccines will be critical to save lives and restore economic activities in the country.

“The World Bank is closely coordinating with development partners and

The first batch of Sinopharm vaccines

strengthening.

“This additional financing to the Guyana COVID-19 Emergency Response Project will fund the acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines.

It will help the Government of Guyana strengthen health system functions that are necessary for immunisation, such as vaccine awareness communication, hu-

Government of Guyana counterparts to support the vaccination campaign, and long-term improvements to the country’s healthcare system,” Sevimli posited.

Further, it was noted that the US$6 million additional financing to this project also aims to increase overall health system preparedness to tackle future

emergencies.

The original project was approved in November 2020 to support Guyana’s pandemic response and strengthen the country’s health system. Already, the country has received US$7.5 million from the World Bank to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

With this additional financing approved by the World Bank on Wednesday, US$5 million approved today comes from the International Development Association (IDA). Guyana receives interest-free financing from IDA, with a maturity of 40 years, including a grace period of 10 years.

Meanwhile, the remaining US$1 million is a grant from the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Multi-Donor Trust Fund.

The pandemic has had socioeconomic impacts, including job losses, which disproportionately affect women.

In response, the World Bank Group has committed over US$125 billion to fight the health, economic, and social impacts of the pandemic, the fastest and largest crisis response in its history.

The financing is helping more than 100 countries strengthen pandemic preparedness, protect the poor and jobs, and jump

start a climate-friendly recovery. The Bank is also providing US$12 billion to help low- and middle-income countries purchase and distribute COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments.

Sinopharm delivery

However, even as the country continues to receive international support in its fight against the novel coronavirus, the Guyana Government has already secured more COVID-19 vaccines as it pushes to achieve herd immunity.

On Wednesday, the first batch from the 100,000 dos-

World Bank Resident Representative for Guyana Ozan Sevimli

es of the Sinopharm vaccine that were purchased

by Government arrived in Guyana from China. The remainder of the Chinesemanufactured jabs are ex-

pected by this weekend.

Speaking during his daily COVID-19 update, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony said this order of the 100,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine will see some 50,000 persons being fully immunised.

“The majority of those [100,000] doses came in… and we would now do the count to see exactly how many we have received. And the rest of shipment is going to be here by Saturday. So with that final shipment on Saturday, we should have all 100,000 doses in Guyana,” he noted.

TURN TO PAGE 12

Region 10 records increase in sexual violence cases

R

egion 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) Police Commander Hugh Winter said there has been an increase in sexual violence cases in his division for the year so far, when compared to statistics from the same period last year. “…we have seen an increase from last year to date…Deputy Commander and one of the ranks from the Sexual [Assault] Unit went on the radio station and sensitised the public about these rape matters that coming in Region 10, because a lot of rapes are reported that give the figure an increase from the corresponding period from

Commander Hugh Winter

last year to this year,” the Commander said during this week’s “Police and You” programme.

The Commander added that the victims were mostly

women and children. In this regard, he is urging parents and guardians to be cautious of who they entrust to take care of their kids.

“We are sensitising the general public, we want to ensure and tell the parents of those individuals to ensure that they look at these persons, talk to them, the pandemic is there and they’re at home so… sometimes they have idle minds.”

Meanwhile, the Commander revealed that overall, Region 10 has seen a decrease in crime.

In fact, he said for the year so far, crime in his division amounted to five per cent of all crime recorded across the country.

NEWS

11

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Man disappears during swim in Essequibo River

A

Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara (ECD) man is feared dead after he jumped into the Essequibo River, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) on Tuesday to take a swim and did not resurface.

Forty-year-old Mesesh Persaud, called “Ajai”, is believed to have drowned.

According to Police, the incident occurred about 10:30h on Tuesday, at River View, Essequibo River.

Reports are that Persaud and his friends were imbibing when he told them that he felt hot and that he was going to take a swim in the river.

He was seen jumping into the water, but did not resurface.

An alarm was raised and checks were made for him, but they proved futile.

A report was made at the Bartica Police Station, and ranks have launched a search as well as an investigation into the disappearance.

This incident came days after the Guyana Police Force (GPF) commenced a search to find the bodies of a boat captain and a

38-year-old businesswoman who allegedly drowned after the boat in which they were travelling capsized in the Takutu River, Lethem, Central Rupununi.

Missing are Walletta Rigby, of Blueberry Hill, Wismar, Linden, and an unknown male Brazilian national who was the captain of the boat at the time.

It was reported on Friday last, Rigby and her friend Shaunette Gonsalves, 48, a housewife of Beverly Hills, Lethem, crossed the Takutu Bridge and went to Bonfim, Brazil to purchase some products.

However, on the said night, the women entered a small wooden boat, cap-

tained by the Brazilian national on Brazil’s shores.

Gonsalves told Police while they were crossing the said river, the boat capsized as a result of the weight and strong current, and they reportedly went under water.

Gonsalves, however, managed to grab on to a branch of a tree and as she looked up for the others, they were nowhere in sight.

The following morning, Gonsalves was still holding on to the said branch, when she noticed two unknown Amerindian males passing in a boat and raised an alarm. She was rescued and immediately told them what transpired. (G9)

Cop robbed by teenagers in Lethem

A

Police Sergeant was on Tuesday evening robbed by three teenagers at Tabatinga, Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).

The 36-year-old cop was robbed by the suspects who are aged 15, 16, and 17.

The trio has since been

arrested. Reports are that Sergeant Kenyatta Bishops was robbed of some $90,000 which he had secured in his vehicle. Police said the vehicle had been parked on the road in front of Bishops’ friend’s residence.

When the cop checked the vehicle around 22:10h, he discovered the cash

missing. He immediately made a report to the Lethem Police Station.

Subsequently, the Police contacted the suspects and they were questioned. One of the suspects then admitted to stealing the money and led ranks to a location where the cash was stashed.

Albouystown man who plunged into drain after robbery remanded

A

ndrew Khan, the Cooper Street, Albouystown, Georgetown man who plunged into a drain to escape arrest by the Police after allegedly committing a robbery has been remanded to prison.

He appeared on Wednesday before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that on June 26, 2021 at Regent Street, Georgetown, he robbed Darshanie Persaud of a Samsung cellphone valued $116,000.

The robbery accused was remanded to prison until July 14. 2021.

The Police Prosecutor said

Prosecutor said that Khan rode up on a bicycle beside her and grabbed the phone out of her hand. The Virtual Complainant (VC) gave chase; as did two Police ranks who were in the area at the time, after an alarm was raised.

With the Police ranks hot in pursuit, Khan jumped into a nearby drain where he hid for almost an hour.

Robbery accused: Andrew Khan A recording showed several Police ranks wearthat on the day in question around 15:15h, Persaud and ing gloves, feeling in the drain her father were in a cellphone trying to locate the man. A store along Regent Street, citizen volunteered to go into Georgetown. She then left the the drain to apprehend Khan; store for a motor car, which however, while he was doing was parked along the road- so, Khan came out and surrendered to the Police. He was way.

While Persaud was wait- promptly arrested and taken ing to cross the road, the into custody. (G1)

12 NEWS

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Stockpile more food to prepare for disasters – Sukhai tells hinterland residents

A

merindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai on Saturday told residents of Itabac, Region Eight (PotaroSiparuni), to increase their agricultural production in a bid to cater for disasters such as flooding.

During the visit to Region Eight, Minister Sukhai interacted with residents on disaster preparedness. She also distributed hampers to those who were affected by flooding.

According to Sukhai,

Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai

the Government has been encouraging farmers, over the past years, to prepare themselves for rainy days.

“Over the years, we have said that you should begin to plant more than you are doing, and to begin stockpiling for disaster… you can’t only live for today, and live for a month and two months, you have to plan well to ensure that your food security is going to be something that you do not have to be at risk in a disaster,” she said.

Father slapped with attempted murder charge …after chopping stepson

A

man who sat and waited for the Police to arrest him after chopping his stepson several times about his body following an argument was on Tuesday charged with attempted murder.

Delwyn Lewis appeared before Magistrate Dylon Bess at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

He was not required to plead to the indictable charge which stated that on June 25, at Holy Place, Ekereku, Cuyuni River, Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni), he wounded Michael Fernandes with the

intent to murder him.

Lewis was released on $400,000 bail, and the case was adjourned to September 13, 2021.

The prosecutor revealed that Fernandes and the accused worked together at Ekereku Backdam. The court heard that on the day in question, about 09:30h, Lewis went to a mining camp to speak with Fernandes about his wife.

An argument ensued between the two men during which Fernandes picked up a piece of wood and attempted to hit Lewis, but missed.

Lewis then picked up a cut-

Charged: Delwyn Lewis

lass and dealt Fernandes several chops about his body.

The injured man was rushed to the hospital.

After the incident, Lewis sat on a chair and waited until Police ranks arrived and arrested him. (G1)

Some of the residents at the meeting

Sukhai lamented that the Government had supported the community by building a farine factory, but it was no longer operational.

“Today, where is that farine factory? That farine factory should have been making and storing farine.

Farine don’t spoil, it stays for a long time if you package it well and you store it safely. If you plant enough cassava, it can ensure that you can carry yourself through a disaster,” she said.

The Minister added the

farine factory would have been a great way to preserve food in times like these.

“We have to be careful with our development, we have to think long term. We have to make sure that we think differently, because if you had the worst of flood like some other villages, where even your house was under water, what would all of us do in Guyana?” she asked.

Minister Sukhai implored the residents to work together, to secure their food.

Earlier this month,

President Dr Irfaan Ali declared the widespread flooding affecting Guyana a national disaster.

Guyana has been inundated by heavy rains since May, which have caused widespread flooding. The devastation includes submerged buildings and vehicles, with adverse effects on crops, livestock and health.

A total of 28,228 households have been affected by flooding, some with water entering their homes, domestic animals and livestock in distress or farmland inundated. (G9)

Guyana gets additional...

The Health Minister noted on Wednesday that they are hoping to distribute these vaccines as early as possible to the various regions to be administered to persons.

“The Sinopharm vaccine is around [79 per cent effective] so it’s really good. It can prevent infection, it prevents hospitalisation and it also prevents people from dying once you have both doses of the vaccine… We have not seen in anybody

that has received both doses of the vaccines, having the severe form of COVID, meaning, they come into the hospital and ended up in the ICU or dying from COVID. So it is important that people understand this and get both doses of their vaccine,” Dr Frank stressed.

Back in March, the People’s Republic of China had donated 20,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine to Guyana, to offset the country’s immunisation cam-

FROM PAGE 10

paign. From that donation, 10,000 persons were vaccinated against COVID-19.

Sinopharm is one of three COVID-19 vaccines Guyana is currently using as part of its COVID-19 vaccination.

To date, some 233,134 persons have received their first dose – representing 47.9 per cent of the adult population, while 108,752 persons are fully vaccinated with both doses – accounting for 22.3 per cent of the adult population.

NEWS

13

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

CIOG distributes food hampers to flood-affected Mahaicony River residents – scores benefit from medical outreach in Berbice

F

The CIOG donated 180 food hampers to flood-affected residents along the Mahaicony River

lood-affected residents along the Mahaicony River in Region Five (MahaicaBerbice) recently benefited from 180 food hampers

body also thanked the Region Five Regional Democratic Council (RDC) for facilitating the donation.

Meanwhile, the CIOG

also hosted a Medical Outreach for the General

Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), on Sunday.

The services offered by the team at the outreach were blood pressure and glucose testing, blood donation drive, general medical check-ups, COVID-19 Vaccination, and medical assistance along with the dispensation of medication.

Along with the medical services, the public was able to obtain wide range of packages that catered for their daily needs that included women sanitary products, clothing, food items and footwear.

The CIOG will like to take this opportunity to extend their heartfelt gratitude to the many

Public at the Number 79 Masjid, Corriverton,

voluntary organisations, medical persons and mem-

Mahaicony River residents affected by floods received hampers from CIOG

from the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG).

The donations were done in collaboration with The International Development and Relief Foundation of Canada.

The families affected by the recent floodwaters were able to access 180 food hampers along with household detergents.

CIOG extended its gratitude to the Canadian Government and its people for responding with much-needed support to the heavy floods in Guyana. The religious

60 Haitians, 11 others...

One of the Haitians who spoke English told detectives that they were brought from Suriname by speedboat.

Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn last Saturday on the online programme – “Let’s Talk Politics” – stressed on the importance of the revocation, stating that the country has to take a responsible position in dealing with the trafficking and smuggling of persons by not being a participant in what is deemed to be a criminal and illegal act.

There have been mixed sentiments with regard to the revocation order made by the President.

Sir Ronald Sanders, Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organisation of American States (OAS), has since opined that it was a necessary step that needed to be taken to help curb the pressing issue of Trafficking in Persons (TIP). He pointed out that other Caricom nations have also taken this step.

Guyana’s Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall has since said that restrictions would also be imposed on Cuban and other nationals.

Efforts have also been subsequently made

FROM PAGE 2

by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Guyana in collaboration with the Human Services and Social Security Ministry to tackle the Trafficking of Persons through education campaigns throughout the 10 administrative regions.

Thirty-eight participants selected from all 10 administrative regions benefited from this training, and were equipped with the necessary skills to ensure the implementation of anti-trafficking efforts across Guyana.

As a result of this initiative, Trafficking in Persons is said to have decreased significantly in Guyana.

Persons being tended to during CIOG’s medical outreach at Number 79 Village, Berbice

bers of the general public for their collaboration and kind support in making this event a very successful one.

These include: Indira Jaffarally; the Imaam, President and Members of the Number 79 Masjid; the Upper Corentyne Road Safety Group; the Guyana Cancer Foundation; Guyana Medical Relief; National Blood Transfusion Services; the MOPH/ Reg #6 (COVID-19 vaccination team); Sleepy South America; Diaspora Auxilium Charity, and the USA Embassy Humanitarian Assistant Program Team.

The religious organisation thanked all the doctors, nurses, and the entire medical team who

gave their time and services voluntarily for this humanitarian outreach

The entire team combined their best efforts in assisting with the needs of

which was able to render assistance to over 100 persons from the surrounding communities.

the public and the CIOG thanks all for their efforts and sacrifices they made.

14 NEWS

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

COVID-19 death toll now at 469 after Region 4 man dies …96 new cases recorded

G

uyana’s death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic has gone up to 469 after another person who tested positive for the novel coronavirus died.

This latest fatality is a 52-year-old male from Region Four (DemeraraMahaica), who died on Tuesday while receiving care at a medical facility.

With this, the total number of deaths from the pandemic for the month of June has increased to 71. May became the deadliest month

with 99 fatalities since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus here last year, after surpassing April’s 66 COVID-19 death toll.

Meanwhile, some 96 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.

This is according to the updated dashboard on Wednesday, which indicated that the total number of confirmed cases has gone up to 20,055.

However, only 1546 of these are currently active

cases including 12 patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The other 1534 persons are in isolation, that is, 94 in institutional isolation and the remaining 1473 person in home isolation.

There are also six more person in institutional quarantine.

Additionally, some 18,040 persons have recovered from the life-threatening virus to date – 161 more recoveries than the figure reported the previous day.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic in Guyana last year, 188,859 persons have been tested for COVID-19 so far of which 10,261 females and 9794 males were positive cases.

Of the 96 new cases recorded on Wednesday, four were from Region One (Barima-Waini), seven cases from Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), nine from Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), a whopping 53 cases from the DemeraraMahaica region, five from

GUYANA COVID-19 DASHBOARD JUNE 30 UPDATE

NUMBER OF NEW CASES

96

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL ISOLATION

94

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN HOME ISOLATION NUMBER OF PERSONS IN COVID-19 ICU

1440 12

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL QUARANTINE

6

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (FEMALES)

10,261

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (MALES)

9794

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES IN GUYANA SINCE 2020

20,055

NUMBER OF RECOVERED CASES

18,040

TOTAL 1st DOSE VACCINATED

233,134

FULLY IMMUNISED

108,752

TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS

469

DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES SINCE MARCH 2020 REGION 1

1208

REGION 2

561

REGION 3

2286

REGION 4

9229

REGION 5

668

REGION 6

1542

REGION 7

1264

REGION 8

379

REGION 9

1510

REGION 10

1408

HERE IS HOW YOU CAN BE SAFE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Wear a face mask.

Keep a physical distance of at least 6 feet.

Wash your hands or use handsanitizer If you have any symptoms, call the COVID-19 Hotline.

GET MEDICAL ADVICE ON COVID-19 FROM MOH 24/7 HOTLINE NUMBERS: 2311166; 226 7480; 624 6674; 624 2819; 624 3067 OR 180/181.

Region Five (MahaicaBerbice), another nine cases from Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), five more cases from Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and the remaining four cases from Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice).

There were no new cases recorded in Regions Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) in the last 24 hours, according to Wednesday’s dashboard.

Spike in Region Nine

During his update on the COVID-19 situation in Guyana, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony disclosed that authorities are monitoring a spike in cases over the past two weeks in Region Nine.

“We have seen a spike in Region Nine and we’re working to curtail that…

We have right now, in Region Nine, about 354 active cases… We have cases in different parts in Region Nine but more cases in these Lethem and Sand Creek area,” he stated.

According to the Health Minister, there are currently 52 cases in Lethem, 50 cases in St Ignatius, 38 cases in Sand Creek and some 25 cases in Culvert City.

However, Dr Anthony

disclosed that none of these active cases are severe.

“Most of these cases have been mild and those who have difficulty breathing and so, those are the ones we will move to the isolation centre but we haven’t had many people coming to the isolation centre,” the Minister stated, adding that steps are being taken to control the spread of the disease.

Government launched its COVID-19 vaccination exercised in February and as of Tuesday, 233,134 persons have received first their dose – representing 47.9 per cent of Guyana’s adult population. So far, 108,752 persons have been fully vaccinated – accounting for some 22.3 per cent of persons 18 years and older.

However, Government is hoping to inoculate another 253,000 persons.

Currently, Region One is leading in terms of the highest percentage of vaccination with 59.9 per cent, while Region 10 continues to lag significantly behind with 14.6 per cent.

The immunisation figures in the other regions are: Region Two, 43.7 per cent; Region Three, 47.1 per cent; Region Four, 49.4 per cent; Region Five, 50.4 per cent; Region Six, 56.1 per

cent; Region Seven, 47.9 per cent; Region Eight, 32.7 per cent; and Region Nine, 46.6 per cent.

“We have Region 10 and Region Eight that are really lagging and therefore, we have to see how we can pick up the numbers in these areas,” Minister Anthony stated.

Meanwhile, as more people continue to get vaccinated, authorities are urging the public to continue observing all COVID-19 preventative measures, particularly masking in public, social distancing and frequent hand washing and sanitising. The measures also include a 22:30h (10:30 pm) to 04:00h (4 am) national curfew that is in effect until June 30, 2021.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), as of Wednesday, some 181,344,224 confirmed cases were reported globally along with 3,934,253 deaths.

The WHO also reported on Sunday that in the Region of the Americas, that is, Latin America and the Caribbean, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased to 72,186,963 while the death toll in the region has gone up to 1,896,955.

NEWS

15

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Income support for farmers, relocation recommended by flood assessment team

…as Govt briefed by CDEMA

Flood assessment team in Region 6

CDEMA Executive Director Elizabeth Riley briefing the Government team on the preliminary findings

P

reliminary recommendations by the Detailed Damage Sectoral Assessment team on the recent countrywide flooding are for income support for farmers, relocation of farms in some areas, procurement of planting materials and the provision of food supplies to affected persons.

This was among the major recommendations made to the Government on Wednesday, when Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, and a high-level team of Government Ministers were updated on the preliminary findings of the assessment team.

Among the key findings in the social sector were the displacement of individuals and families across communities and the fact that many children were unable to attend school as a result

of the disaster.

A statement from the Prime Minister’s office following the meeting stated that the assessment, which is being conducted by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) in collaboration with Guyana’s Civil Defence Commission (CDC), revealed that the floods were severe.

The preliminary findings were made by CDEMA Executive Director, Elizabeth Riley. The team found that all impacted areas experienced damages to crops and livestock and disruptions of livelihoods, adding that the damages have created a decrease in supply, which has substantially increased market prices.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Phillips said that the overall report, which will be submitted to the Government, will identify

the impact of the floods on various sectors and will be a guide in the Government’s recovery process.

“What it will help us to do is to start the recovery process in an informed manner, the contents in the report will aid us in determining the priority projects. What will happen now is that they will put together a detailed report that will be submitted to the Government and from there we will determine our next steps,” the Prime Minister added.

The CDEMA Executive Director, who arrived in Guyana on Wednesday, said that the team conducted a comprehensive analysis and examined a range of issues.

“We looked at water and sanitation issues …we also discussed impacts to housing and the potential steps that could be taken to address this, as well as infra-

structure and sheltering arrangements for persons who have been displaced,” Riley said.

She praised the CDC for its efficiency in coordinating an effective response to the disaster.

“We looked at the extent of which the coordination was being effected within the sectors and I think that one of the very good findings is that the Civil Defence Commission, under the leadership of Colonel Craig, has done an excellent job in the overall coordination thus far.”

To date, the CDC has coordinated and distributed over 34, 000 food hampers and over 26,000 sanitation hampers across the country.

According to information from the CDC, since May 18 there have been reports of persons affected by flooding. Those reports have now totalled over 51,000 households in more than 300 communities across all 10 administrative regions of the country.

Also present during Wednesday’s meeting, were Finance Minister,

Dr Ashni Singh; Public Works Minister Juan Edghill; Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat; Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha; Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony and CDC Director General, Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig.

Floodwaters receding

Meanwhile, the CDC on Wednesday evening said that due to moderately improved weather conditions and drainage of lands, floodwaters have begun to recede across the country, with several regions reporting significant decline in the height of floodwaters.

However according to the CDC, given the extent of the flooding there still remains some amount of water in some communities.

It noted that there has also been a slight increase in shelter operations, with a new shelter being established at the Rockstone Guest House, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) which is housing seven persons as at June 28. Overall, the number of persons oc-

cupying shelters has increased to a total of 239, and they are being housed in a total of 10 shelters activated in Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), Five (Mahaica-Berbice), Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

The number includes 30 persons at the Barama Building in Karawab, Region Two; seven persons at the Mortice Primary HM Building in Region Five; four at a shelter in Tabatinga in Region Nine; and 198 persons across seven shelters in Region 10.

There is a total of 133 females and 106 males in those shelters, the CDC said.

It also noted that floodwaters in the coastal regions have mostly receded, while there have also been significant improvements in Region Nine where waters have receded from several communities including the township of Lethem while in the other interior regions there has been significant drops in the water level.

Guyana, T&T Foreign Affairs Ministers meet …agree on deeper collaboration on regional issues; to strengthen bilateral bonds

G

Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd

uyana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd and his Trinidadian counterpart, Dr Amery Browne, on Wednesday met virtually where they agreed to greater bilateral cooperation between the two countries on domestic and regional issues.

Guyana’s Foreign Affairs

Ministry on Wednesday said that the two Ministers took the opportunity to reaffirm the bonds of friendship between Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. Additionally, they spoke of deepening and expanding cooperation between the two States.

“The Ministers undertook to bolster efforts at enhancing cooperation be-

tween their countries in the areas of trade, investment and energy through mechanisms such as the Framework Agreement on the Deepening of Bilateral Cooperation and the Memorandum of Understanding on Energy Sector Cooperation, respectively,” a statement from the Ministry said.

It was explained that during the meeting, the Ministers further agreed to pursue the holding of meetings of the High-Level Bilateral Commission, Executing Committee and Joint Working Group by the end of 2021 The Ministers agreed to continue collaboration in the Caribbean Community (Caricom) on advancing the Caricom agri-food systems agenda: prioritising regional food and nutrition security.

Both Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago sit on the Special Ministerial Task Force

T&T Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Amery Browne

(MTF) on Food Production and Food Security and have expressed mutual concern about the regional food import bill.

Minister Todd, the statement said, also took the opportunity to convey Guyana’s gratitude for Trinidad and Tobago’s continued support for the preservation and maintenance

of Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

With Caricom Secretary General Irwin LaRocque scheduled to soon conclude his term of office, the two Ministers articulated their shared appreciation for his outstanding service, and added that they are also looking forward to working with the Secretary General

designate, Dr Carla Barnett, once she assumes office.

The meeting is the first formal one between the two Ministers, although they have held informal discussions. Before the conclusion of the meeting, the Ministers agreed to meet again in the near future at a mutually convenient date and time.

Wednesday’s meeting came on the heels of recent events whereby Guyana and T&T were at odds on issues of COVID vaccines and flood relief. References Trinidad Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley made to Guyana’s vaccination campaign did not go down well in sections of society.

Guyana shares many cultural similarities with Trinidad and Tobago and diplomatic ties were established between the two countries since 1966. Guyana also has a large diaspora presence in the twin island republic.

16 NEWS Region 5 farmers reissued land taken away under APNU/AFC Govt L THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

ocal Government and Regional Development Minister, Nigel Dharamlall on Tuesday met with farmers whose lands were taken away by former Region Five Regional Executive Officer (REO), Ovid Morrison in 2016 under the APNU/AFC Government.

The farmers were given the green light to return to their lands following court proceedings. According to a Department of Public Information report, President Dr Irfaan Ali had given Minister Dharamlall a directive to engage the farmers and during Tuesday’s engagement, the Minister said the Administration is willing to work with the farmers during this phase.

“I am here…on behalf of the Government to ensure that the injustice that was done against you that we made good on the decision of the court. You are aware that a few years ago the last Government took possession of about 50 acres of land right in this area and repossessed without any due regard to

Farmer Karamchandra Basdeo

your livelihood. We are very happy that the court ruled in your favour,” Dharamlall told the famers.

He recommended that the farmers form a group, which he said would allow them to put together ideas and plans to improve production, which can significantly contribute to the Government’s food security agenda.

According to the DPI report, he also advised that they work closely with the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) for a smooth process back into production, noting

that priority must be given to persons who occupied plots before the court proceedings.

“The Regional Democratic Council will provide total access to you but just make sure that whatever you are doing, you do it within the law and the crops that you plant must be legal crops and that is what we would like to see moving forward,” the Minister is quoted as saying.

In 2016, farmers were forced off the lands at Bath, Naarstigheid and Fort Wellington, where they cultivated crops.

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, who while in Opposition, filed legal proceedings on behalf of the farmers against the former REO. The judgement was later awarded in favour of the farmers by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall.

Regional Chairman Vickchand Ramphal had described the action as wasteful spending, explaining that Morrison injected some $600 million to offset a model farm project, which did not benefit the region.

One of the farmers, Karamchandra Basdeo, said “I am very happy and thankful for the President and our Minister and everyone who helped. We thank you all so

Farmer Wilfred Arthur

much for helping us to start back life over at the age of 74.”

Another farmer, Wilfred Arthur, explained that the money made from selling his

produce sustained his family.

“I’m grateful that I get back the piece of land that I can restart the small farm that helped back up me and my family.”

Kato resident shines as GDF recruits 147 new soldiers

July is expected to be “wetter” than usual – Hydromet

C

h i e f Hydrometeorological Officer, Dr Garvin Cummings said the month of July was expected to be wetter than usual.

“The forecast at this point in time is indicating that for the month of July, we will continue to see wetter- than-usual conditions with the exception perhaps of Regions One, Two and Three. The other regions will record wetter

Chief Hydrometeorological Officer, Dr Garvin Cummings

than usual conditions,” Dr Cummings said in an update on Tuesday.

However, he noted that “as we move into August, you will find that conditions will return to the normal dryness that is expected”.

“August, September, October, we expect the conditions will be dry as usual,” he added.

With this forecast, Dr Cummings pointed out that concerns for flooding beyond July would be significantly reduced.

A

The newly recruited soldiers of the GDF (Photo: Cpl Marvin Frank - GDF G9 Branch)

20-year-old resident of Cato, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), is the Best Graduating Student of the Basic Recruit Course 2021-01.

Private Alan Xavier was among 147 recruits who completed the course, which began on Monday.

The graduation parade took place on the Patrick Williams Drill Square at the Colonel John Clarke Military School, Tacama.

Chief-of-Staff Brigadier Godfrey Bess in his address to the new batch of soldiers extended congratulations on their successful completion of the course and thanked them for choosing the military as their career of choice.

Brigadier Bess also underscored the importance of adherence to the Values and Standards of the Force.

He emphasised that while they have completed the process intended to refine their thinking and shape their mind and body to the task of service, it is also essential for them to remember what the organisation requires.

“Now it is expected that you inculcate positive thoughts which will be followed by positive actions that are meant to recognise you as upstanding citizens.

You are being welcomed into a profession that prides itself on discipline. It is one of our core values. We are expected to be disciplined in and out of uniform,” he stressed.

COS Brigadier Godfrey Bess presenting the Best Graduating Student Prize to PTE Alan Xavier (Photo: Cpl Marvin Frank - GDF G9 Branch)

The prize for Runner-Up Student was won by Private Quinton Crandon and the Best Military Knowledge prize was awarded to Private Raphael Edinboro. Private Shamar Dawson received the prize for Best Fitness while Private Shannan Smith gained the Best Shot award, and Private Akeem Bentick copped the Best Drill prize.

Second Lieutenant Jubal West, the Principal Instructor of Five Platoon which was adjudged Best

Platoon, noted that the most challenging aspect was maintaining the COVID-19 safety protocols and guidelines, with new teaching techniques and styles while ensuring that recruits adhered to the rules.

The Chief-of-Staff, officers and ranks of the Guyana Defence Force congratulated the graduates on their completion of Basic Recruits Course 2021-01 and wished them a memorable and meaningful career.

NEWS

17

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

UG professors win Guyana Innovation Award U

niversity of Guyana Professors, Subramaniam Gomathinayagam, Director, UG Berbice Campus and Raymond Jagessar, a senior Lecturer at the University’s Turkeyen Campus, were recently recognised by the “Guyana Innovation Prize Stakeholders” for their outstanding work in science and technology innovations in the fields of agriculture and foodbased science, respectively. Gomathinayagam lectures Biology of Plants, Biotechnology, and Plant Cellular Biology and Jagessar lectures Organic and Inorganic Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry. They were both recipients of grants for their innovative projects under the 2021 Innovation Guyana Prize.

Briefly describing his research project, an elated Professor Gomathinayagam said: “My project is to produce a biological agent named ‘Bio-Diamond,’ a biological control agent of plant diseases. My motivation and vision are for Guyana to become an ‘Organic Farming’ country. Therefore, my product ‘Bio-Diamond’ is to minimise the use of commercial chemicals and fertilizer.”

(GEDT).

The University views this development as exemplary and in keeping with its Blueprint 2040 goal #2 where UG becomes a Centre for excellence in providing solutions for

Professors Raymond Jagessar and Subramaniam Gomathinayagam

He added that the project is very useful and relevant as it allows students and staff the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the agriculture field and to increase awareness of the use of commercial chemicals and fertilisers. He expressed hope that the project could be used as a link between the farming community and the University of Guyana’s Berbice Campus in the near future.

Jagessar’s research was entitled; “Stone Wall Diamond Natural Antimicrobials and Antidiabetics.” In a brief comment, he explained: “My reason for getting involved in the project is to prevent antimicrobial resistance and diabetic surge locally. There has been an increase in diabetes, locally and internationally. Many synthetic antimicrobials to

date suffer from antimicrobial resistance due to improper use.”

He further highlighted: “The world is confronted with three escalated problems: COVID-19, global warming, and antimicrobial resistance. I have been researching in plant-based antimicrobials and natural antidiabetics at UG for the past fifteen and ten years, respectively, and will continue to do so.”

The Guyana Innovation Prize was established to support Guyanese researchers, thinkers, and doers by providing a competitive grant annually to some of the most commercially viable ideas. The grant is sponsored by the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) and Guyana Economic Development Trust

some specific problems faced by Guyana and the planet. Amongst these are agri and aquaculture and human resiliency. Last year UG also copped this prize when Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Dr

Lawrence Lewis won for his innovative work with biochar in soil restoration - a technology that may become very important in the rebuilding work that must be done in Guyana after the floods.

Ituni man beaten to death during row

R

anks of Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice) were called to a crime scene on Tuesday morning after a man was beaten by another man during a row at BQ, Ituni.

Dead is 56-year-old Fredrick De Souza of Ituni Village.

It was reported that about 09:00h, De Souza was killed by a 39-year-old male, also of Ituni.

Police have since said that they responded to an unknown caller, who stated that a male was seen lying on the roadway at BQ, Ituni.

Upon their arrival, Police ranks observed De Souza in an unconscious state.

At the time, the man bore wounds to his head, abdomen and feet, and was subsequently taken to the

Dead: Fredrick De Souza

Ituni Health Care Centre, then to the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC), where he later succumbed to his injuries.

Some time after the incident, Police arrested the 39-year-old suspect, who was observed to have a wound above his right eye.

When questioned about his injuries, the suspect said that De Souza had told him not to enter his yard, following a misunderstanding. He said that despite the warnings, he entered De Souza’s yard, and used a fence picket to dealt him a blow to the eye.

In retaliation, the suspect said he took away the piece of wood, and began inflicting injuries on the victim.

He was also escorted to the Ituni Health Care Centre, where he received treatment for his injuries.

He remains in custody as investigations continue.

18

guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021

Regional

Bolsonaro fires official after graft Haitian Journalist, activist killed claims as impeachment calls grow in Port-au-Prince shootings

W

ith over half a million COVID-19 deaths, Brazilians are fuming over missed opportunities to buy vaccines.

A Senate probe has unearthed alleged corruption, with Health Ministry insiders and pro-Bolsonaro lawmakers allegedly seeking to fast-track and overpay for an Indian vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech.

On Wednesday, when Brazil recorded 2081 new COVID-19 deaths, Federal Prosecutors and the Federal Police launched a criminal probe into the Indian vaccine deal, according to a document seen by Reuters.

The scandal has triggered fresh calls for impeachment against Bolsonaro, a divisive right-winger, who has underplayed the severity of the pandemic, railed against lockdowns, pushed unproven remedies, and sowed vaccine doubts.

On Wednesday, lawmakers from across the political spectrum, social groups and

A

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is pictured just before a ceremony at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, June 29, 2021

lawyers filed a collective impeachment request, the latest in over 100 similar filings that have gone unheeded by the Speaker of the Lower House of Congress.

Bolsonaro and Bharat have denied any wrongdoing.

On Wednesday, he came out swinging against the Senate probe.

“They can’t touch us,” he said in televised comments during a visit to the city of Ponta Pora on the Paraguayan border. “It won’t be with lies ... that they will get us out of here.”

He did not comment on the dismissal of the official, Health Ministry logistics chief Roberto Ferreira Dias, formalised in Wednesday’s official gazette, or the allegations against him.

On Tuesday, Brazil suspended the Indian vaccine contract, worth 1.6 billion reais (US$321 million). On Wednesday, the country’s health regulator suspended its emergency use application, citing incomplete paperwork provided by the intermediary selling the shot. (Excerpt from Reuters)

El Salvador’s appointment of new Judges raises fears of power grab

L

awmakers in El Salvador on Wednesday voted to keep the Head of the Supreme Court in place for three more years and appointed five new justices, triggering concerns that President Nayib Bukele is shoring up a bid to consolidate power.

Bukele’s New Ideas (NI) party and its allies hold a super-majority in El Salvador’s Congress, where lawmakers have now appointed 10 court judges in less than two months.

Supreme Court President Oscar Lopez was first appointed last month, just as Bukele’s legisla-

tive allies abruptly ousted five Judges as well as the Attorney General in a move that was harshly criticised by the United States and international rights groups as a dangerous power grab.

The new Judges to the 15-seat court will be able to serve for nine years.

Bukele said lawmakers voted in line with the Constitution and selected the Judges from candidate lists submitted by bar associations.

“Their decisions are totally legitimate and represent the power of the people,” Bukele said on Twitter.

However, during the

congressional session that began on Tuesday and stretched until dawn, lawmaker Dina Argueta from the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) warned that the new Judges were Bukele loyalists whose appointments marked a “concentration of power”.

Jose Miguel Vivanco, the Head of Human Rights Watch in the Americas, also expressed worry that the new Judges would not be impartial.

“I am concerned about the appointment of Judges to be made tonight,” he wrote on Twitter shortly before the vote. (Excerpt from Reuters)

conditions associated with a tropical storm or hurricane to land areas within 48 hours.

In relation to the Potential Tropical Cyclone Five, the NHC, in an advisory issued on Wednesday, said that tropical storm conditions could begin affecting the Eastern Caribbean by Friday.

“The system is expected to become a tropical storm before reaching the Lesser Antilles and tropical storm conditions are possible beginning Friday in portions of the Windward and southern Leeward Islands,” stated the NHC. “Heavy rainfall” across these islands, including Barbados, bringing with it the possibility of “isolat-

ed flash flooding and mudslides”, forecasters noted.

Tropical storm watches have been issued for some parts of the Windward Islands including Guadeloupe, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia, Barbados and Martinique.

In relation to the Greater Antilles, the NHC revealed, “There’s a risk of wind and rainfall impacts to the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Cuba, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the southern Bahamas through early next week, although the forecast is more uncertain than usual since the system does not have a well-defined centre.” (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

Journalist and a political activist are among at least five people killed in a spate of overnight shootings in Haiti’s capital Port-auPrince, the Government said on Wednesday, as a press freedom group urged authorities to conduct a thorough investigation.

Images showing reporter Diego Charles lying dead on the ground and activist Antoinette Duclair in her car circulated on Haitian social media. Duclair was dropping Charles off at his home when they were shot.

At least three other people were shot dead in the same neighbourhood

of Port-au-Prince, angering locals who protested by burning tyres in the road.

“We are investigating and call on the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation,” the Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) Americas programme said on Twitter on Wednesday.

The killings come amid a surge in gang violence in the Haitian capital that has displaced thousands of families over the past month.

“Since the beginning of this year, insecurity has been escalating. But the capital city is now facing an urban guerrilla, with thousands of children and wom-

en caught in the crossfire,” Bruno Maes, UNICEF’s Haiti representative, said in mid-June.

The uptick in violence is linked to changing gang alliances and territorial disputes, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said.

The country has also experienced months of political instability after President Jovenel Moise insisted that his term ends in February 2022 – despite opposition groups, civil society leaders and legal experts agreeing it expired this year. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Venezuela’s Maduro aims to “whitewash” image with concessions, Guaidó says

V

enezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is seeking to “whitewash” his image abroad with recent political changes seen as favourable to the opposition ahead of state and local elections in November, Opposition Leader Juan Guaidó said on Wednesday.

Venezuela’s electoral council this week lifted a ban on a major Opposition coalition that prevented it from participating in elections, and Maduro said he would no longer appoint “protectors” loyal to the ruling socialist party in states led by Opposition Governors.

However, on Wednesday, Venezuela’s comptroller Elvis Amoroso said that a February ban on Guaidó and some 27 other Opposition figures holding public office was still in effect.

Guaidó reiterated that he would be willing to negotiate with the Government over terms for free and fair elections in the once-pros-

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro speaks during an event with the youth of Venezuela’s United Socialist Party in Caracas, Venezuela, June 22, 2020

perous nation, now beset by a deep political crisis. The Opposition labels Maduro a dictator who rigged his 2018 re-election and has clung to power by persecuting rivals.

“It is natural for Venezuela’s democratic alternative to be sceptical about the word of the regime,” Guaidó told reporters, adding that Maduro was seeking to “whitewash himself...to buy time, to ease international pressure”.

Venezuela’s Information Ministry did not immediate-

ly respond to a request for comment.

Maduro says he is also willing to negotiate with the Opposition, but that his aim is to get US sanctions on the country’s oil industry lifted. He says Guaidó is a USbacked puppet who seeks to oust him in a coup.

The United States, the European Union, and Canada last week said they would be willing to review sanctions if any negotiations led to transparent elections.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Tropical storm watches issued in CDB President: Region needs bold some Eastern Caribbean countries approach to economic resilience

T

he US National Hurricane Center (NHC) has upgraded one of the two tropical waves it is monitoring to a “potential tropical cyclone”, increasing the potential of heavy rains affecting sections of the Caribbean, including Jamaica.

“NHC will initiate advisories on Potential Tropical Cyclone Five, located over the central Tropical Atlantic, at 500 PM AST (2100 UTC),” the centre tweeted on Wednesday afternoon.

According to forecasters, a potential tropical cyclone is a disturbance that is not yet a tropical cyclone, but which poses the threat of bringing similar

B

arbados and its neighbours must become economically resilient in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, says Caribbean Development Bank President, Dr Hyginus “Gene” Leon.

He gave this assessment Wednesday morning at the official start of the Barbadosbased financial institution’s 51st Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors, which was being held online.

Delivering his first Board of Governors’ statement, Leon said he expected his five-year term to be “challenging but potentially impactful”.

He added that “the confluence of unfinished structural challenges, evolving climate change, and amplify-

Dr Hyginus “Gene” Leon

ing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic leaves policy makers with little choice but to confront the creation of our future in a bold and decisive manner”.

“Since the first case of COVID-19 was recorded on March 10, 2020, the pandemic has wreaked havoc on Caribbean economies and societies. As a health crisis, the pandemic has placed a heavy burden on health systems, likely not designed for this kind of impact,” he said.

“From an economic per-

spective, it led to a collapse of economic activity with unprecedented negative growth rates; set back the steady gains in poverty alleviation and inequality; put in slow motion the educational advancement of our youth and underlined the pernicious vulnerability of export concentration.

“Our tourism-concentrated economies have been severely hit, as were counterparts worldwide; and many of our social protection systems hang precariously in the balance.”

Given these major challenges, Leon said the region needs to be resilient in its quest for sustainable and inclusive growth.

(Excerpt from Nation News)

guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021

19

Around the World

Joy and scepticism as Myanmar OILNEWS OIL NEWS frees hundreds held since coup Oil rises on lower M US stockpiles, demand recovery

O

il prices rose on Wednesday, heading for monthly and quarterly gains, after data showed US crude stockpiles were shrinking and an Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) report foresaw an undersupplied market this year.

The Brent crude contract for August, due to expire on Wednesday, was up 28 cents, or 0.4 per cent at US$75.04 a barrel by 11:22 (1522 GMT.) The September contract was up 17 cents at US$74.45 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 23 cents, or 0.3 per cent at US$73.21 a barrel.

Both benchmarks are just below highs last reached in 2018, and are set to record their seventh monthly gain in the past eight months.

A Reuters poll showed that Brent was seen averaging US$67.48 a barrel this year and WTI US$64.54, both up from May’s poll.

US crude stockpiles fell last week for the sixth straight week as refiners ramped up output in response to rising demand, the Energy Information Administration said.

Inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for WTI, slid to their lowest since March 2020.

“With continued decline of Cushing crude oil inventories and an upcoming OPEC+ meeting tomorrow, I expect crude oil prices will rise as the market has been crying out for more supplies,” said Andrew Lipow, President of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston. (Excerpt from Reuters)

World Bank says will boost COVID-19 vaccine funding to US$20B

T

he World Bank on Wednesday pledged to boost available funding for COVID-19 vaccine purchases and deployment to US$20 billion from a previous target of US$12 billion, citing a sharp increase in overall financing demand from developing countries.

World Bank President David Malpass said the global development bank had already provided more than US$4 billion to 51 developing countries for the purchase and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines, and would add billions for 25 more countries soon.

"Much more will follow in coming weeks," Malpass told reporters, noting that a total of 41 requests had been received from African countries, where less than half the population has been vaccinated.

In a joint statement, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Health Organisation urged G20 countries to embrace vaccinated population targets of at least 40 per cent by the end of 2021 and 60 per cent by the first half of 2022.

They also urged the G20 major economies, whose finance leaders meet next week in Italy, to adopt the goal of sharing at least one billion vaccine doses with developing countries this year, and to increase financ-

ing and eliminate trade barriers in the vaccine supply chain.

Malpass also redoubled his call for countries with surplus doses to release them and any options for more for use by developing countries, with adequate plans for distribution.

The World Bank was also continuing to press for greater transparency by Governments and pharmaceutical companies about vaccine contracts, options and agreements, he said.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

yanmar freed more than 2000 detainees on Wednesday, among them Journalists and others who the ruling military said had been held on incitement charges for taking part in protests, local media reported.

The release was described by some activists as a ploy by the ruling military to divert attention from an ongoing security crackdown.

The army has been under pressure from Western countries and Myanmar’s neighbours to release thousands of people detained during protests since it ousted the elected Government of Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.

Many of the military’s opponents have been held, some convicted, under a

F

in detention.

Military spokesman Zaw Min Tun said most of those freed had been charged with incitement for joining protests.

“A total of 2296 people

the run-up to the tiny former Yugoslav republic's six-month stint leading the 27-nation bloc.

Jansa, 62, is also close to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose disagreements with western Europe came to an ill-tempered head at a summit last week over a law that bans schools from using materials seen as promoting homosexuality.

Slovenia's priorities for its Presidency of the Council

of the EU include bolstering Europe's post-pandemic recovery, and its resilience, strategic autonomy, and rule of law.

But its turn at the helm from July 1 – setting the agenda of inter-government meetings and representing the EU in some international forums – may also put a spotlight on the growing rift within the bloc over its common values.

In western capitals, the increasingly assertive coali-

tion of eastern leaders is being watched with concern.

At last week's summit, where Jansa and Poland's Prime Minister were reportedly the only leaders to back Orban on Hungary's anti-LGBT law, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke of a fundamental "East-West divide".

"This is not a 'Viktor Orban problem' ... This is a problem that goes deeper," he said. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Families wait outside Insein prison after Myanmar's authorities announced it would free around 700 prisoners in Yangon, Myanmar, June 30, 2021

East-west rift over values as Slovenia assumes EU's presidency

A

mid high tension between east and west over democratic values, the European Union's presidency passes on Thursday to Slovenia, led by a nationalist who has a history of crossing swords with the EU executive in debates over democracy.

Prime Minister Janez Jansa, an admirer of former US President Donald Trump and a blunt tweeter, clashed with Brussels over media freedoms in

“Never seen anything like this”: 100s dead amid Canada heat wave

A

uthorities say nearly 500 people have died in Canada’s westernmost province across five days, as record-breaking temperatures raise serious concerns for vulnerable groups, including the elderly.

British Columbia’s chief

Ex-US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dies aged 88 ormer US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, one of the main architects of the Iraq war, has died at the age of 88.

Serving under President George W Bush, he was a leading proponent of the administration's "war on terror".

US forces launched a campaign in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks and invaded Iraq in 2003.

Rumsfeld resigned in 2006 amid the fallout of the conflict, but always defended his record.

Reacting to the news, President Bush described him as "a very good man" and an "exemplary public

law that criminalises comments that could cause fear or spread false news and is punishable by up to three years in jail. Suu Kyi is on trial for a similar offence, among others, and remains

have been released. They took part in protests but not in leading roles. They didn’t participate in violent acts,” he told Irrawaddy news site.

Reuters could not reach Zaw Min Tun for further comment.

Videos posted on social media showed a stream of mostly young detainees pouring off buses from Yangon’s colonial-era Insein prison, smiling, waving and embracing family members who wept as they arrived.

Others showed a succession of buses leaving the rear entrance of the jail, with passengers leaning from windows and waving at small crowds that gathered outside. (Excerpt from Reuters)

servant" who "never flinched from responsibility".

Rumsfeld's family said he died at home in the town of Taos, New Mexico, on Tuesday.

"It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of Donald Rumsfeld, an American statesman and devoted husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather," they said in a statement.

Born in Chicago in 1932, Rumsfeld's political and private career spanned decades.

He first came to Washington DC in the 1960s and served in multiple positions under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. (Excerpt from BBC News)

coroner Lisa Lapointe said on Wednesday afternoon that the BC Coroners Service received at least 486 reports of deaths between Friday and Wednesday afternoon – a total she said was preliminary and expected to increase.

The fatalities represent a 195 per cent increase

from the approximately 165 deaths that would normally occur in the province across a five-day period, Lapointe said.

“The last five days in British Columbia have seen an unprecedented number of deaths reported to the BC Coroners Service,” she said in a statement.

“While it is too early to say with certainty how many of these deaths are heat related, it is believed likely that the significant increase in deaths reported is attributable to the extreme weather BC has experienced and continues to impact many parts of our province.” (Excerpt from Al Jazeera )

Bill Cosby freed after top court overturns sexual assault conviction

U

S comedian Bill Cosby has left prison hours after his sexual assault conviction was overturned by Pennsylvania's Supreme Court.

The Judges said there had been a "process violation" by the prosecution, but admitted their ruling was unusual.

Cosby, 83, served more than two years of a three to 10-year sentence at a state prison near Philadelphia.

In 2018, he was found guilty of drugging and molesting ex-basketball player Andrea Constand.

Cosby is best known for

US comedian Bill Cosby

starring in the 1980s TV series “The Cosby Show” and was once known as "America's Dad".

Dozens of women have publicly accused Cosby of sexual assault, but he was

only tried criminally for the incident against Constand.

His conviction in 2018 was widely seen as a landmark moment in the #MeToo movement.

In a verdict issued on Wednesday, Pennsylvania's highest court found there was a "process violation", because Cosby's lawyers had made an agreement with a previous state prosecutor that he would not be charged in the case.

The former actor appeared frail as he slowly walked to waiting media outside his home, shortly after being released from prison. (Excerpt from BBC News)

20

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021

guyanatimesgy.com

ARCHIE

ARIES (March 21April 19)

TAURUS

DILBERT

(April 20May 20)

Put your energy where it counts. Self-improvement, living life your way and taking responsibility for your happiness are encouraged. Be honest with yourself and others, and you will gain respect.

Slow down, rethink your strategy and refuse to let anyone bait you into something that compromises you. Keep your feelings to yourself until you have time to figure out the best way to proceed.

Don’t take on too much or GEMINI make a lot of promises. Put (May 21- your energy where it will bring June 20) the highest return. Take credit for your accomplishments before someone else does. Call in favors from people who owe you.

PEANUTS

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SUDOKU

CANCER (June 21July 22)

Back away from unpredictable people. A steady pace forward will help you gain trust and respect. Share only what’s necessary. Listen, and you’ll gain insight.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Trust your instincts, not what someone tells you.

The changes others make will cause uncertainty, so have a backup plan in place.

Personal improvements will give you needed confidence.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Let things unfold naturally. Be prepared to make decisions when necessary and to trust in yourself. In the end, it’s you who needs to feel good about the decisions you make.

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Look for an efficient way to get things done. Abide by the rules and regulations to avoid taking a health risk. A meaningful relationship will improve if you discuss your intentions and plans.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

Don’t mix business with pleasure. A conflict of interest will leave you in a precarious position. Look for alternative ways to utilize your skills to reach your goal.

Follow through with your SAGITTARIUS plans and don’t look back.

(Nov. 23Take control of your life; disDec. 21) tance yourself from anyone trying to take charge or push you in a direction that’s not best for you.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

Emotions will surface when dealing with a friend, relative or colleague. Assess situations before you share your thoughts. Do your own thing if you suspect someone will interfere.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

Control your emotions to avoid a scene. Concentrate on what you are trying to accomplish at home that will improve your productivity.

Make fitness and health priorities.

PISCES

Lend a helping hand, but don’t let anyone take advantage of you. Having reasonable expectations will help you see the ins and outs of a situation you face with a friend, relative or loved one.

(Feb. 20March 20)

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021

21

South Africa chase elusive T20I silverware against the world champions

I

…West Indies believe they aren’t too far away from putting a winning performance together

f you’d given South Africa a 2-0 Test series sweep and an opportunity to win the T20I rubber with a game to spare before they’d set off for West Indies, they would have taken it in a heartbeat. This team landed in the Caribbean low on confidence, positive results and trophies, but they could leave having turned around all three.

South Africa can wrap up the series on Thursday and take an unassailable lead into the final match on Saturday, a result that will give Temba Bavuma and Mark Boucher their first series successes in T20I cricket as Captain and Coach and some breathing room to play with team balance. So far, it seems South Africa have yet to get it exactly right, with a middle order that appears a batter short and an attack that lacks sixth and seventh bowling options.

The only way to change that is to include more allrounders, but South Africa are resisting that and want to see this combination play together a little longer. If it works, who can argue? Especially if it gives them their first T20I series win in seven series. Yes, it’s been that long. Since September 2019, South Africa have drawn a series

against India and lost to England (twice), Australia and Pakistan (twice). While they have had a tough 18 months in all formats, the shortest one is what they most urgently need to get right, ahead of the T20 World Cup. West Indies, the defending champions, also have one eye on the tournament and packed their squad with superstars. For the most part, they have not really come off. Chris Gayle and Andre Russell have not had any stand-out moments in the series so far, Kieron Pollard’s form is a concern and while Dwayne Bravo has been excellent with the ball, he is batting too low in the line-up to make an impact.

The flip side of all that is that it has allowed the younger players to blossom.

Obed McCoy and Kevin Sinclair and Fabian Allen have shown the depth in the West

Indies ranks. If the big names can fire alongside them, West Indies will be even more difficult to beat.

In the spotlight Left-arm seamer Obed McCoy is the leading wickettaker (seven) in the series so far and is displaying the kind of skill that South Africa’s attack has lacked. Not only does McCoy have the advantage of a different angle (South Africa have Beuran Hendricks in reserve if they want to try that), but he has also mastered variations of pace.

His back-of-the-hand slower ball has had the better of the opposition batters and he poses a threat throughout the innings, making him a versatile option for Captain Pollard. McCoy is certain to feature in West Indies’ major tournament plans and would want to do his bit in helping

them in pressure situations like the next two matches.

It’s worth remembering that Imran Tahir has not retired from T20I cricket and South Africa could still call on him for the T20 World Cup if they want to, but Tabraiz Shamsi has given them enough reasons not to. Shamsi has established himself as the first-choice white-ball spinner with the dual ability to strike and hold an end. Shamsi put in his most economical performance in Tuesday’s match, which set South Africa on course for victory, and his overall numbers make him the most miserly bowler in the series. In 12 overs so far, Shamsi has conceded at a rate of 4.66 to the over and is the only bowler from both sides to give away less than six runs an over.

Team news Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis formed a relatively good pairing at the top of the order, but the experiment of promoting Jason Holder to number three and using Shimron Hetmyer at number four in the last game did not work. Gayle may find his way back in the team for this must-win game and more will be expected of Pollard and Nicholas

RHTY&SC receives massive boost from Diamond Insurance

T

he Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) Say Yes Programme on Tuesday last received a massive boost when insurance giants Diamond Fire and General Insurance handed over a carton of trophies worth $70,000.

The donation was handed over to club executives Ravindranauth Kissoonlall and Tyrone Pottaya by the company’s Port Mourant Branch Manager, Amzad Ayube during a simple presentation ceremony.

Club Secretary/Chief

Executive Officer (CEO) Hilbert Foster disclosed that the Say Yes Programme was one of the most important programmes of the club as it seeks to get youths to say yes to education , sports, culture, religion and life.

The club, on an annual basis, targets close to 70,000 youths in Berbice under the programme which also includes activities to get youths to stay away from crime, suicide, alcohol, drugs, and premarital sex.

Among the activities hosted as part of the Say Yes/ Say No programme are sport

tournaments, educational competitions, summer camps, distribution of sports gear and educational materials, television programmes, youth fair, job fairs and youth inspiration forums.

Foster stated that the donation of trophies was a major boost for the club as it prepares to host a series of educational and sporting competitions for youths along with award ceremonies.

He expressed thanks to the management of the company, especially Company Secretary Khemraj Goderdhan and Marketing Manager

Priscilla Mackintosh for their cooperation.

Ayube, in brief remarks, stated that Diamond Insurance have always recognised the important role that youth have in society. He stated that youths played a vital role in a country, building social cohesion and stability.

Diamond Insurance’s head office is located at 11 Lamaha Street , Georgetown, and it has branches at Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice; Port Mourant; Springlands; Henrietta on the Essequibo Coast; Helena No 1,Mahaica and Giftland Mall, Turkeyen.

Ticket sales launched for Malteenoes fundraiser

T

…fun & frolic for the entire family on Emancipation Day

he first Emancipation celebration was held on August 1, 1834 and it is this country’s oldest holiday. One hundred and eighty-seven years later, the Malteenoes Sport Club is staging a grand fundraiser on August 1, 2021 from 11:00h to 17:00h.

Tickets for the Emancipation Day Lunch will go on sale from today and can be purchased at the MSC clubhouse on Thomas Road, Thomas Lands (tel 2256509); Jacobs Jewellery & Pawn Shop at 16 Pike Street, Kitty; Star Party Rentals at 21 Craig Street, Campbellville and Exotic Prints at

43 Norton Street, Lodge.

Lunches will include cook-up with all meats or veggie, fried fish, conkie and metemgee and cost $1500. Lunches could be take-away while outdoor dining is offered.

There will also be prizes for

best African Wear; and children, men, women and people of all races can vie for prizes while those desirous of becoming members of the club will benefit from reduced membership fees and MSC T-shirts and caps at registration.

This fundraiser and membership drive is aimed improving at the Club’s facilities, especially the allweather practice nets, and getting more people to join the club, which was founded in 1902 and has several members who have played for Guyana and the West Indies at all levels.

Malteenoes recently got its first Olympian when table tennis player Chelsea Edghill, who will participate in the Tokyo Olympics, became the first Guyanese female Olympian in that sport. (MSC)

Pooran.

West Indies (probable): 1 Lendl Simmons, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Chris Gayle/Shimron Hetmyer, 4 Kieron Pollard (capt), 5 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 6 Jason Holder, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Dwayne Bravo, 9 Fabian Allen, 10 Kevin Sinclair, 11 Obed McCoy South African benefited from having an extra bowling option in their XI even though Aiden Markram’s primary focus should be adding impetus to the middle order. Apart from finding a spot

for Kyle Verreynne, there’s not much else South Africa can do to try and get more batters in, but they may still want to consider a seam-bowling all-rounder in place of one of the specialist quicks.

South Africa (probable): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Reeza Hendricks, 3 Temba Bavuma (capt), 4 Rassie van der Dussen, 5 Aiden Markram, 6 David Miller, 7 George Linde, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Anrich Nortje, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Tabraiz Shamsi (ESPNcricinfo)

400m world champion Salwa Eid Naser banned for 2 years, will miss Tokyo Olympics

B

ahrain's Salwa Eid Nasser, the 2019 400m world champion, will miss this summer's Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, as she has been banned for two years after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Wednesday partially upheld the decision issued by the World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal on October 14, 2020.

The ban takes effect immediately.

However, her results from the 2019 World Championships in Doha will remain.

“Ms Salwa Eid Naser is sanctioned with a period of ineligibility of two years, commencing on the date of notification of this award, with credit given for the period of provisional suspension already served between 4 June 2020 and 14 October 2020,” CAS said.

“All competitive results obtained by Ms Salwa Eid Naser from November 25, 2019, through to the date of notification of this award shall be disqualified, with all of the resulting consequences, including forfeiture of any medals, titles, ranking points and prize and appearance money.”

She will also have to pay 5000 Swiss francs to World Athletics and to the World Anti-Doping Agency as a contribution towards their costs connection with these arbitration proceedings.”

In the wake of the ruling,

the Attorneys representing the athlete – Dr Emir Crowne, Matthew Gayle and Kristie Irving have expressed concern about a part of the CAS ruling which can have serious implications for athletes.

"A majority of the panel says it is okay for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to re-characterise charges in the middle of an appeal. So, the majority of the panel said WADA can re-characterise a missed test as a filing failure if they want to. With all due respect to the majority of the panel, that can't be right. That cannot be a fair principle in any court system," Dr Crowne told Sportsmax.TV Wednesday morning.

The Nigeria-born 400m runner was charged with four alleged whereabouts failures by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) in June 2020. These included filing failures on March 16, 2019, and three missed tests on March 12 and April 12 as well as January 24, 2020.

However, the World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal ruled the alleged violation in April 2019 should not stand which meant Naser had not missed three tests.

Naser won the world title in a time of 48.14, the third-fastest time in history defeating Shanuae-Miller Uibo who ran a lifetime best of 48.37 and Shericka Jackson who also clocked a personal best of 49.47 for third.

(Sportsmax)

22 Fung, Clarke, Campbell, Grimes, Callendar, Ramsammy, Albert to represent Guyana at CAC

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021

…GBBFF boss confident about selected team

Darius Ramsammy

T

Roger Callendar

he Guyana Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (GBBFF) has shortlisted a team of seven athletes to represent Guyana at the Central America and

Nicholas Albert

Kerwin Clarke

Caribbean Championships (CAC) 2021 to be hosted in San Salvador, El Salvador, August 11-16, 2021.

The athletes making up the said team are Kerwin

Emmerson Campbell

Clarke, Rosanna Fung, Yanick Grimes, Emmerson Campbell, Roger Callendar, Darius Ramsammy and Nicholas Albert. The GBBFF is looking forward to

Pakistan Women A begin West Indies tour with commanding win

Yannick Grimes

having its President, Keavon Bess, lead its delegation along with at least one coach to ensure that the athletes are taken care of.

Speaking on behalf of the GBBFF was President Bess who said, “The GBBFF firmly believes that this team of seven athletes represent the elite stock of athletes that we have in Guyana. We are confident that this team will be able to medal at CAC in El Salvador. Rosanna Fung is one of the best female bodybuilding athletes in Guyana; Kerwin Clarke is the reigning and defending gold medalist at CAC 2019; Emmerson Campbell has done well at the regional and

Rosanna Fung

international competitions; Yanick Grimes copped a bronze at CAC in 2019 after coming out of a wide pool of athletes; Darius Ramsammy did well in his first competition and from then to now, has improved his physique tremendously; Nicholas Albert; who was the Novice Champion for 2020; has a nice and trimmed physique and we think he will do well in the bantamweight category; and Roger Callendar has transformed his body and we believe he can fit into the under 143lbs category, he is a beast and we know he can do well. All in all, we believe the entire team can go and

do well and make Guyana proud. We look forward to sponsorship and ensuring this team gets to El Salvador. We are certain that each athlete will be returning to the shores of Guyana with a medal, so we ask corporate Guyana and the entire fraternity of body building and fitness in Guyana for their support.”

The GBBFF has reached out to several corporate entities in Guyana for sponsorship and has also submitted a formal request to the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport for their support in ensuring team Guyana gets to El Salvador and represent the Golden Arrowhead.

West Indies name 13-member squad for 4th CG Insurance T20 International

T

A

n unbeaten 40 runs from Ayesha Zafar and two wickets apiece from Aimen Anwar and Rameen Shamim guided Pakistan Women A to a sevenwicket win over West Indies A in the first of a three-T20 series on Wednesday.

The visitors chased down the 97-run target in the 19th over of courtesy a solid 40-run opening partnership between Ayesha and Umaima Sohail (21 off 33, two fours).

After the departure of Umaima, Ayesha was joined

by Kainat Imtiaz and the pair knitted 23 runs for the second wicket before Kainat fell to Kaysia Schultz for six with the scoreboard reading 63 for two.

Captain and wicketkeeperbatter Sidra Nawaz (0 off one) was next to go without troubling the scoreboard.

Ayesha’s unbeaten innings included four fours, which came off 45 balls.

Earlier, a disciplined bowling performance by Pakistan had restricted the

Ayesha Zafar top-scored with 40

hosts to 96 for eight after Sidra’s decision to bowl first after calling correctly at the toss.

The hosts were provided what looked a promising start

by Captain Reniece Boyce and Rashada Williams before the former was dismissed by pacer Aimen Anwar in the fifth over.

Rameen’s two wickets in her successive overs – 10th and 12th – initiated a collapse as West Indies lost three wickets for seven runs. She finished with two for 10 from four overs.

The 13th over brought the crucial wicket of Williams, who top-scored in the innings with 33 off 39, thanks to pacer Maham Tariq.

The hosts had lost their

half of the batting line-up for 70 and were 74 for five after 16 overs when rain briefly interrupted the play.

Upon the resumption of the play, they could add only 22 more runs and lost three wickets. Following a string of dots, Aimen picked up her second wicket as she dismissed Cherry-Ann Fraser, Steffie Soogrim was stumped off Sadia Iqbal and Caniesha Isaac was run out on the last ball.

Aimen’s figures were two for 22 from four overs.

The next match between the two countries’ A teams will be played on Friday, which will be followed by the second T20I between West Indies Women and Pakistan Women.

(PCB)

he Cricket West Indies Selection Panel today named the 13-member squad for the fourth CG Insurance T20 International (T20I) against South Africa.

The match will be played at the Grenada National Stadium on Thursday, July 1 with the first ball at 2pm (1pm Jamaica Time).

Left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein has been named in the squad for the first time in the series with the West Indies trailing 2-1 in the five-match CG Insurance T20I Series.

Two-time World Champions, West Indies won the series opener by eight wickets on Saturday. South Africa won the second match by 16 runs on Sunday and secured a one-run win on Tuesday.

Roger Harper, Lead Selector said: “Jason Holder is out of the squad on planned rest with a view to managing his workload, while Shimron Hetmyer, who was a late replacement for Chris Gayle in the last game, remains in the squad. Kevin Sinclair makes way for Akeal Hosein in keeping with the Selection Panel’s quest to determine our best squad and best XI. The objective remains to win this game and the series.”

This CG Insurance Series forms part of the West Indies’ World Cup preparation with a total of 15 T20Is to be played across three months in the build-up to the ICC T20 World Cup to be played from

October 17 to November 14 in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

(Windies Cricket) FULL SQUAD Kieron Pollard (Captain) Nicholas Pooran (Vice Captain) Fabian Allen Dwayne Bravo Fidel Edwards Andre Fletcher Chris Gayle Shimron Hetmyer Akeal Hosein Evin Lewis Obed McCoy Andre Russell Lendl Simmons Travelling Reserves Sheldon Cottrell

Jason Holder Kevin Sinclair Oshane Thomas Hayden Walsh jr

CLASSIFIED ADS FOR SALE Mix Breed Puppies for Sale. Contact: Tel- 253-3114/692-0126.

TAXI SERVICE Elegant Cabs. 231-1494 / 2264277, Cell #: 625-6600. 24 hrs.

WANTED Female live-in for elderly woman at East Bank Demerara. Preparing indian dishes, light duties. 40 To 50 yrs old. Call: 638-4111

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

23

Connell's opening spell give West Indies Women win Deandra Dottin

Hayley Matthews

In reply, Pakistan Women lost early wickets to the pacey Connell. At 23-3, things quickly became dark for Pakistan, who further slipped to 57-6 in 12.3 overs. Connell ended with 3-23 from her four overs while Aaliyah Alleyne had 2-23 in four overs.

Ayesha Naseem and

Fatima Sana kept Pakistan hopes alive with a 70-run partnership. Naseem scored 45 from 33 balls including two fours and one six. Sana scored 24 as Pakistan's 20 overs expired with the score on 126-6. The two teams will now lock horns on Friday July 2, from 14:00h.

SCOREBOARD

L

ed by a solid opening stand from Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin, and a brisk opening spell from pacer Shamilia Connell, West Indies Women defeated Pakistan Women by 10 runs in the first T20

International at North Sound Antigua.

Batting first, West Indies posted 136-6 in 20 overs while Pakistan Women managed 126-6 in 20 overs. After a rain delay, Matthews and Dottin added 65 runs in 8.5 overs

to give West Indies Women the early edge. The middle-order lacked fire-power as Matthews top-scored with a 28-ball 32 and Dottin scored a 26-ball 31.

Captain Stafanie Taylor (11) and Kyshona Knight (23)

offerd some resistance while Chedean Nation made 14 and Kycia Knight scored 15 as West Indies posted a good score of 136-6. Bowling for Pakistan Women, Nida Dar bagged 2-15 and Fatima Sana had 2-32.

GBA appreciative of meeting with Ramson & co

Windies Women Innings Hayley Matthews c IramJaved b Nashra Sandhu 32 Deandra Dottin c Diana Baig b Nida Dar 31 Stafanie Taylor (c) lbw b Nida Dar 11 Kyshona Knight b Fatima Sana 23 Chedean Nation c Nida Dar b Fatima Sana 14 Kycia Knight † c Fatima Sana b Diana Baig 15 Chinelle Henry not out 4 Aaliyah Alleyne not out 0 Extras (b 2, nb 1, w 3) 6 TOTAL (20 Ov, RR: 6.80) 136/6 Did not bat: Shamilia Connell, Anisa Mohammed, Shakera Selman Fall of wickets: 1-65 (Hayley Matthews, 8.5 ov), 2-67 (Deandra Dottin, 9.1 ov), 3-93 (Stafanie Taylor, 13.6 ov), 4-110 (Kyshona Knight, 16.4 ov), 5-123 (Chedean Nation, 18.1 ov), 6-134 (Kycia Knight, 19.5 ov) BOWLING O-M-R-W Anam Amin 4-0-20-0 Diana Baig 4-0-36-1 Fatima Sana 4-0-32-2 Nashra Sandhu 4-0-31-1

Nida Dar

4-0-15-2

PAKISTAN WOMEN INNINGS (TARGET: 137 RUNS FROM 20 OVERS) Javeria Rauf b Connell 5 Javeria Khan (c) b Connell 7 Muneeba Ali † c Henry b Matthews 9 Nida Dar b Connell 9 Aliya Riaz b Alleyne 8 Iram Javed b Alleyne 11 Ayesha Naseem not out 45 Fatima Sana not out 24 Extras (b 3, nb 1, w 4) 8 TOTAL (20 Ov, RR: 6.30) 126/6 Did not bat: Diana Baig, Nashra Sandhu, Anam Amin Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Javeria Rauf, 0.6 ov), 2-14 (Javeria Khan, 2.1 ov), 3-23 (Nida Dar, 2.6 ov), 4-40 (Muneeba Ali, 7.6 ov), 5-40 (Aliya Riaz, 8.6 ov), 6-57 (Iram Javed, 12.3 ov) BOWLING O-M-R-W Shamilia Connell 4-0-21-3 Hayley Matthews 3-0-18-1 Shakera Selman 4-0-29-0 Aaliyah Alleyne 4-1-23-2 Anisa Mohammed 3-0-17-0 Stafanie Taylor 2-0-15-0

GFF pays tribute to “Servant Of Football” Mark Xavier Executive Members of the GBA take a photo opportunity with the Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr, Director of Sport Steve Ninvalle, Deputy DoS Melissa Dow- Richardson and NSC Chairman Kashif Muhammad

I

n the midst of rolling out several programmes geared towards the development of badminton, the Guyana Badminton Association (GBA) recently met with the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr and Director of Sport (DoS) Steve Ninvalle, among other key stakeholders, to keep them abreast with the

Association’s work.

According to a missive from the GBA, it was the first meeting with the team to introduce themselves and their activities while the Minister outlined the ministry’s responsibilities.

Present at the engagement, aside from the Minister and DoS, were GBA President Gokarn Ramdhani, Vice

President Ayanna Watson, Secretary Emelia Ramdhani, Treasurer Darrell Carpenay, Assistant Treasurer Marlon Chung and Committee Member Ryan Chang, alongside Deputy Director of Sport Melissa DowRichardson and Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC) Board

Kashif Muhammad.

According to the GBA, the Association is extremely happy with the outcome of the meeting and thanked the Minister and Ministry for meeting with them, while they look forward to great cooperation between the two entities in helping with the development of badminton.

More players, exposure will benefit hockey – Fernandes

I

t is by now no secret that the female indoor hockey team went winless during their stint in the USA last weekend, in the Pan Am Indoor Hockey Cup. On this premise, Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) President Philip Fernandes has admitted that the experience has opened the door for some changes to be made in the sport and shared some suggestions on how hockey in Guyana can be transformed for the better.

In the first instance, Fernandes shared that more players needed to be recruited.

“In order to see improved performances at this level, in the future, firstly, the Guyana Hockey Board needs to try to broaden the base of players.

We do a strong group of good players that form this team, but you know, when we’re

GHB President Philip Fernandes

exposed to things like injuries and so on, we need to have adequate replacements,” Fernandes opined.

“So we need to draw from a bigger pool to get the best talent.”

He then added, “The efforts of the junior competition and these kinds of things that the Hockey Board has been trying to do is in the right direction and that needs to be continued once the COVID situation

eases.”

On the other hand, more exposure to competition will benefit players, according to Fernandes.

“Secondly, exposure to high-quality competition is very, very, important. A lot of the teams here that we’ve played have a lot of experience playing internationals, playing friendly internationals, playing against top club sides from leading nations, while our players play a little bit of domestic competition, and then they come to this level, which is completely different and try to compete,” Fernandes explained.

The GHB President went on to say, “It does cost a lot of money, but I think it’s important for the GHB to try to find the means to expose our young players to high-

level competition, more consistently. So, when they do come to Pan Am Indoor cups and other qualifiers, they’re able to compete.”

Overall, the Hockey Board President is of the opinion that there was much to learn, in their losses, but the Pan Am Cup tournament provided a standard to aspire to.

“In terms of positivity from a tour like this, I think there is greater learning opportunities than when we actually win.

I think the young girls in particular were able to see at this tournament, the kind of level it takes to be successful at a Pan American standard competition,” Guyana suffered four losses, to USA, Argentina, Canada and Uruguay, in the Pan Am Indoor Cup which was eventually won by USA.

The late Mark Xavier

G

uyana Football Federation President Wayne Forde offered his deepest sympathies to the family of former senior men’s national team manager Mark Xavier, who tragically passed away this week.

Xavier, a passionate and long-term supporter of football in Guyana, served with distinction in his role as coordinating manager of the Golden Jaguars under former Head Coach Jamaal Shabazz.

He passed away on Tuesday evening in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit.

“Mark’s unwavering

commitment to – and passion for – football and his service to our community set an impressive example for others. He was a true servant of football,” President Forde said. “On behalf of the Guyana Football Federation and the entire Guyanese football fraternity, I would like to offer my thoughts, prayers and deepest condolences to Mark’s family at this difficult time.”

Xavier had recently made a donation to the Civil Defence Commission on behalf of XY Construction to support those impacted by the recent floods.

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021

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

Pg 22

Pg 23

Fung, Clarke, Campbell, Grimes, Callendar, Ramsammy, Albert to represent Guyana at CAC More players, exposure will GHB President Philip Fernandes (DPI photo)

…GBBFF boss confident about selected team

benefit hockey – Fernandes

Page 23 GUYANA TIMES - www.guyanatimesgy.com, email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, NEWS HOTLINE: 231-8063 EDITORIAL: 223-7230, 223-7231, 231-0544, 225-7761 SPORT: sport@guyanatimesgy.com SALES AND MARKETING: 231-8064 - marketing@guyanatimesgy.com - PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY GUYANA TIMES INC.