Guyana Times - Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Guyana uses plasma antibodies to treat COVID-19 case Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 4270

THE BEACON OF TRUTH WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020

PRICE

GECOM, APNU/AFC destruction of democracy: Day 58

33,000 face masks for a recount: what’s next?

– GECOM Commissioner …Guyanese were warned about “forces” working against exercise Page 3

...COVID-19 Task Force directs masks be changed every 30 mins

COVID-19 confirmed cases now 75

…only 14 new tests conducted

Page 10

…disembarking staff will be quarantined for 14 days A British Airways Boeing 787 chartered to transport rotating ExxonMobil workers landed at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) on Tuesday. It is the first time such an aircraft has landed in Guyana

1 dead, several injured in highway accident Missing: Romario Denheart

Dead: Christopher Nicholson

$80 VAT INCLUDED

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Special audit likely for $1B Ocean View P11 rebuilding Auditor General

5-year-old P13 drowns while on fishing trip

Page 7

British Airways given permission to transport ExxonMobil workers

Page 12

P7

Missing: Freeman Denheart

4 missing in Berbice boat mishap Page 14

Guyanese man commits suicide after P12 eviction troubles in T&T Fire destroys West Ruimveldt P13 house

Taxi driver P13 under investigation for making sex tape with teen Mother recalls horrifying tale of daughter brutally stabbed by abusive P8 husband

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NEWS

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Wednesday, April 29 – 09:00h – 10:30h and Thursday, April 30 – 09:30h – 11:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

33,000 face masks for a recount, what’s next? – GECOM Commissioner

…Guyanese were warned about “forces” working against exercise ...COVID-19 Task Force directs masks be changed every 30 mins

Wednesday, April 29 – 07:40h – 09:10h and Thursday, April 30 – 08:50h – 10:20h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY There will be sunshine during the day. There will clear skies at night. Temperatures should range between 21 degrees Celsius and 31 degrees Celsius.

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

High Tide: 08:22h and 21:10h reaching maximum heights of 2.38 metres and 2.21 metres.

Low Tide: 14:34h reaching a minimum height of 0.84 metre.

SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 2020

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COMMODITIES Indicators

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GECOM Commissioner Sase Gunraj

N

ews that the Guyana Elections C o m m i s s i o n (GECOM) will have to procure a minimum of 33,000 face masks for the recount of the March 2 polls is being is seen as demonstrative of observations made by Barbadian Prime Minister, Mia Mottley that there are forces that are averse to the activity meant to deliver credible elections.

The position was adumbrated on Tuesday

by Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) GECOM Commissioner, Sase Gunraj, who during a radio interview lamented the guidelines that have been imposed by the National COVID-19 Task Force.

News reports surfacing on Tuesday indicated that the Task Force has recommended to the Commission that personnel involved in the recount process be outfitted with Personal Protective Equipment, namely, face masks, to reduce the possibility of transmission of the virus.

The Task Force has told the Commission that its staff would have to dispose of and use a new face mask every 30 or 60 minutes.

Having already approved the use of 10 counting stations at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, utilising a total of 132 persons working 10-hour days, it would amount to a minimum of 33,000 face masks to be procured and used by the Commission in order to proceed with the recount while complying with the Public Health Ordinance’s Emergency Measures.

The PPP Commissioner railed against the suggestion, saying “I don’t know who is responsible for the extrapolation of that requirement to say that we need 33,000 masks”.

According to Gunraj, the diktat “is bordering on heresy now because you are reading that these masks have to be changed every thirty or sixty minutes”.

The attorney-at-law used the occasion to point out that it is a matter of public notoriety that PPE is in short supply the world over”.

He observed that this has even led to trade wars

between several counties.

Gunraj drew reference to the fact that there are persons in the local healthcare institution who are currently “begging for donations of these very important pieces of equipment”.

Pointing out that frontline doctors are not even being provided with PPE, Gunraj questioned: “who is making up these rules” and which health guideline stipulates that face masks be changed every half hour.

Forces behind the scene

In questioning the Task Force’s motivation behind the recommendation, Gunraj drew reference to the fact that Mottley on March 17 – following a decision to leave Guyana after the work of the high-level delegation had been frustrated by a court challenge – observed that there are forces in Guyana averse to the recount, saying “it all comes down to that”.

Not wanting to sound pessimistic, according to the Commissioner, he questioned: “if you see things like these being popped up and spanners being thrown into the work you ask yourself what next.”

Unaware of Caricom team’s arrival

Additionally, Gunraj said that the Commissioners have not been informed of any word from the Caribbean Community (Caricom) with regards to a delegation that it will be fielding to observe the recount process.

This is despite a public announcement by the Task Force that it has received word from Caricom that its delegation would arrive in Guyana on Thursday and

has also requested special permission which was granted for travel to the country.

According to Gunraj, despite the news reports from the Task Force announcing the arrival of the delegation, the Commission is yet to be formally notified.

He indicated that the Commission is set to meet today at which point in time the Commissioners are expected to be updated.

TURN TO PAGE 10

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guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020

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

Saluting their bravery

T

he nation is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Caricom highlevel observer team to oversee the national recount; and more particularly to validate the process so that a rightful winner of the March 2 General and Regional Elections could be declared and a government sworn in.

It is close to 60 days after the elections were held and the results are yet to be officially declared. Guyana is perhaps the only country in the world that has had elections and after such a long time, a winner is yet to be officially announced. The nation’s patience is running thin. Everyone wants to get the process over with and move on with their lives. At the moment, the country is at a standstill, with families and businesses, both large and small, feeling the squeeze due to the country facing two major setbacks at the same time – the coronavirus pandemic and the political crisis.

Considering all that has happened with the discredited District Four Results and the never-ending drama that followed, Guyana has one more chance to get it right; this of course has to do with the national recount being conducted in a transparent and credible manner. With the CARICOM team expecting to arrive on Thursday, we hope the recount process would commence with haste and the team would be given all the necessary support to carry out their task.

The fact that they have agreed to come, even at a time when their own countries are also battling to control the coronavirus pandemic, is quite commendable and Guyana owes them a debt of gratitude for their efforts. Leaving one’s family and the comfort and safety of one’s own home during this time is not an easy decision.

Many others who have made similar sacrifices over the past few weeks, including the international and local observer teams, the diplomatic corps in Guyana, party leaders and agents must all be saluted for their bravery and efforts in preventing the elections from being stolen. Many of these stakeholders have stood up, sometimes risking their own lives, to those who were bent on derailing the elections. These forces must never be allowed to carry out their selfish, dangerous actions. Democracy must be allowed to prevail.

That said, the task ahead remains incomplete; there is one last effort being made, via the recount, to have the process finalised to the satisfaction of all stakeholders and all must remain vigilant.

The post-elections events have been a national embarrassment and made this country a laughing stock in the eyes of the world.

President David Granger has always claimed that he will abide by the Constitution, but he has done very little to convince the nation that he is a man of his words. His firm grip on power following his government’s defeat via a no-confidence vote in December 2018; and now more recently, his coalition’s refusal to allow a transparent count of the votes cast in the March 2 polls raise even more questions about his commitment to what he promises he will do.

As we stated yesterday, the Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice (Rtd) Claudette Singh has already started on the wrong footing by siding with the proGovernment Commissioners and voting against key measures which would have brought greater transparency and acceptance of the elections results. Her justification for taking this route has been rejected.

One cannot understand what is the rationale for her rejecting the proposal to allow the Audit Office of Guyana or a private audit firm to aid and scrutinise the exercise, while at the same time retaining questionable staff members who were front and centre in their attempts to foist on the nation, fraudulent elections results.

Also, Justice Singh’s rejection of the proposal to have the recount livestreamed can never be accepted. Almost every stakeholder involved in the elections had signalled support for going this route, more so, because it would have boosted public confidence in the process, which would have also made it easier for the results to be accepted by all parties.

Justice Singh herself, in her written submissions to the court, had highlighted the importance of GECOM and the electoral process enjoying public confidence so that the election results would be accepted by all. This is exactly what the live streaming of the process and the other proposals contained in the PPP’s motions would have done.

We restate that there is only one way to bring an end to this political mess; that is, by having the votes recounted in an expeditious and transparent manner to the satisfaction of all parties involved.

An artwork called “Beyond Crisis” by French artist Guillaume Legros, aka Saype, and created with an eco paint made out of chalk and coal over a 3000 sqm field is pictured in Leysin, Switzerland (Valentin Flauraud/SAYPE/Handout)

33,000 masks: latest invention to hold on illegally Dear Editor, The announcement today

by GECOM PRO Ward that “at least 33,000 masks will be needed for the national recount of votes” left the majority of the Guyanese people in disbelief. Now on the 57th day, there is yet another subterfuge to delay the recount of the votes of March 2 General and Regional Elections!

Another indication that we are entangled in a web of deception, corruption and insanity.

The source of this bizarre announcement emanated from the recommendations of a five-person medical team from the Ministry of Public Health who did a site visit to the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on April 20. The fact that it took 8 days for this information to become public is rather interesting, especially when there is no indication that the Commission made such a decision. Of course, this development is even more suspect when this information is released coincidentally after the announcement the evening before, that the Caricom high-level team will be arriving on April 30.

The report of the five-member team to the Minister recommended that “disposable or surgical masks should be changed/disposed of every 30 to 60 minutes” which it claimed follows WHO guidelines. As a result, with the vote recount expected to take at least 25 days, GECOM Secretariat calculated that at minimum 33,000 masks would be needed if they are changed every hour or 66,000 if changed every half hour.

The absurdity of this recommendation flies in the face of the WHO guidelines “Advice on the use of masks in the context of COVID-19”, Interim Guidance, April 6, 2020, which advocates “Replace masks as soon as they become damp with a new clean, dry mask; Do not re-use single-use masks; Discard single-use masks after each use and dispose of them immediately upon removal.” Note

the WHO guideline has no requirement to change the mask every 30-60 minutes. How did these health wizards come up with such a crazy recommendation? Maybe the answer lies in a statement the Minister, as Chairperson of the PNC, made a year ago with regards to the qualification she was looking for in a doctor.

Further, this team even “advised against the use of tents for prolonged periods, that is, more than 2-3 hours and likewise the housing of staff for more than 1012 hours in a 24 hours cycle,” which was another laughable recommendation considering in many developed countries, tents are being used to house COVID-19 patients and those in quarantine, and, even here, tents are being used in front of many public buildings and hospitals to screen people entering.

Not surprisingly, GECOM, according to Ms Ward, is supporting all the recommendations of this team, in sharp contrast to its unwillingness to obey the Chief Justice’s court orders of March 11 and 12 with regard to the way the verification and tabulation of Region Four votes was to be executed.

The fact that there is a global shortage of surgical and N95 masks, and, more especially here in Guyana, seems to have escaped this MoPH team. The fact that the National COVID-19 Stakeholders’ Forum is on a daily basis being approached to provide these masks and gloves to health practitioners in every part of Guyana makes that recommendation even more ludicrous.

The WHO guidelines are very careful to point out that the use of masks by the public should in no way lead to a mask shortage for health workers which would place a nation’s health personnel at risk. That is why it recommends cloth masks for civilian gatherings, which are washable and re-usable, coupled with social distancing and hand and surface sanitising.

Surgical masks are, therefore, not needed for this recount.

Maybe the health team is unaware that right here in Guyana, doctors spend an entire day in the same mask doing surgeries and seeing COVID-19 patients due to the lack of procurement of medical supplies by the Ministry since 2019, long before the world knew about COVID-19. This team blithely seems to be unaware of the shortage of PPE for health staff right across the country, and, now is making a recommendation that would further reduce their access to masks and place them at greater risk than they are at the moment.

In fact, the Ministry does not have 33,000 surgical masks available in the country and it would take weeks to source this overseas even if they ordered weeks ago.

Of course, the genesis of all this is to create yet another impediment and further delays in holding the recount, to steal the will of the voters of March 2, 2020, and to extend the life of an already expired President and Government.

After 57 days since the March 2, 2020 elections, we are confronted with yet another unabashed travesty using the COVID-19 pandemic to violate the right of the Guyanese people to vote and choose their Government based on transparent, fair and credible results.

On April 24, 2020, the United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres publicly cautioned that “the crisis can provide a pretext to adopt repressive measures for purposes unrelated to the pandemic. This is unacceptable….. Those wishing to roll back human rights protections to take advantage of the crisis should think twice; …Basic principles of legality and the rule of law must be observed.

Yet practice in some countries raise concerns…”

Guyana has joined the category of those countries, referred by the UN SG, that is circumventing the democratic will of the people by using the

cover of the COVID-19 pandemic.

I hope that the United Nations and the OAS InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights, the WHO and the PAHO, have taken note of this latest development to undermine democracy and will stand up for the Guyanese people.

Isn’t it ironic that 53 days ago, March 6, 2020, Homeland Security News Wire reported that “results from the official certification of 80 per cent of the Statements of Poll already tallied, and counts of the official Statements of Poll published, but not yet officially tallied from the balance, show a 5 per cent victory by the PPP. That translates into 34 seats for the PPP, 30 seats for the APNU, and one seat for a minor party, in Guyana’s National Assembly. Under the country’s Constitution, the largest party automatically elects the President, who will be the PPP’s designate, Dr Irfaan Ali. However, APNU refuses to concede and the APNU-controlled Elections Commission refuses to complete the official tally of the results from the remaining 20 per cent of the country’s 2300 polling sites – each of which counted and reported the actual votes four days ago.

Instead, the APNU Government is engaging in increasingly desperate attempts to void the election, and change the already-reported results.”

Since that report, nothing has changed, the Granger-led APNUAFC coalition facilitated by GECOM continues to hold on to power with their fingernails. The 33,000 masks is the latest invention to hold on illegally. But we shall endure and however long it takes, and, despite how many new impediments they invent, this too will pass. The PPP/C will be the new Government, Irfaan Ali will be the President of Guyana.

Sincerely, Gail Teixeira

guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020

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

An open letter to ABCEU and international observers

Dear Editor, The March 2 elections can be easily concluded by completing the tabulation of the Region Four SoPs, which will take less than 24 hours. Alternatively, there exists a precedent for GECOM to issue the SoPs to a third party such as the EU or the PSC. The recounting of votes is therefore not necessary but this is where we find ourselves.

Only the Region Four votes need to be recounted but we will not oppose the recounting of all ten regions in the interest of removing doubt. Everything now hinges on the recount being done transparently and accurately. However, as we have seen the Chairman of GECOM, Claudette Singh, has voted down the motions put forward to enhance transparency. This

can only mean one thing, that further attempts will be made by the riggers. The transparency measures were meant to safeguard and instil much-needed confidence in the process after Mingo and company’s earlier attempts to rig the Region Four vote. Their removal is, therefore, definitive and it further confirms that the Chairman does not care about credibility

and cannot be relied upon.

In our opinion, the recount is being set up to fail. All GECOM needs to do is revert to their usual self-imposed delays so that the observers are frustrated into leaving. The riggers would then take over which is why live streaming had to be voted down. Guyana is, therefore, on the precipice and in this hour of need, we are appealing to ABCEU

Dear Editor, Most of us already know that APNU has conducted gross corruption and electoral fraud as they simply are a rebranding of the PNC apparatus. The PNC rigged elections for twenty-eight years prior to 1992 and those who did not witness that era now have the unceremonious privilege to see the destruction of our country from 2015 to present.

However, the purpose of GECOM, as prescribed in our Constitution, is to protect our democracy from any political party that seeks to destroy it and deprive us of our democratic freedom.

Sadly, since the passing of the No-Confidence Motion (NCM) to this present moment, GECOM has neglect-

ed its mandate and chose to support an undemocratic Government in its quest to impose its will on us.

It should have been ninety days after the NCM was passed that elections should have been held and it is only GECOM that kept Granger and its cabal in power from that time to now. It was not until March 2 that the world saw clearly, the cruel intentions of GECOM as they openly attempted to rig the elections for APNU when that unconscionable Mingo went on to declare a fraudulent result in favour of APNU. GECOM then doubled down its efforts to protect its unjust position as they continuously attempted to put APNU back into power.

GECOM has caused irreversible damage to Guyana both socially and economically. The pain and anxiety due to losing our most important democratic right and the economic impact on families across the country are the results of cruel minds that deliberately inflicted pain on us all without regards for the rights of the people.

Now GECOM has one last chance to redeem itself and restore our Constitution to its rightful place. As the recount is about to start, we are, however, fearful of the attempts already being put in place to sabotage the process. We must hold firm that all stakeholders will do their part to ensure the recount is done fairly.

Claudette Singh must know that the history books have already started writing her name in it and it is not a good start for her. She will be remembered for her actions in the last two months that destroyed our country, but she can also be remembered for making her wrongs right. Claudette Singh must understand that she is legally responsible for protecting the people’s rights and not the interest of APNU. Guyana has suffered too much already by the hands of a few. It is time we get to move on and rebuild our country with the rightfully elected President, Dr Irfaan Ali.

Dear Editor, One reasonable conclusion that can be drawn from the events of the last eight weeks is that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) cannot be trusted to deliver a credible recount. The mere fact that this constitutional agency is part and parcel of every effort thus far to rig the outcome of these elections does not impart any confidence in the Guyanese people that the recount will be credible and transparent.

Once again, the very forces that have successfully thwarted a timely and credible conclusion to these elections will be hard at work on multiple fronts to disrupt

and/or taint the process.

This will certainly threaten the outcome assuming we get that far. Expecting anything else is an exercise in futility. While we are all hoping for the best, we should be prepared for the worst.

Most importantly, we must be prepared to fight tooth and nail to preserve and/or win back our most sacred democratic right. The time-honoured democratic tradition of one man, one vote is at stake. It is the most powerful tool of non-violent reform available to every free citizen. Therefore, any further attempts to diminish or destroy this right should be met with downright con-

demnation and a zealous response by all Guyanese.

Although the international community remains watchful, they too must be very wary of the various ploys by GECOM to stymie a timely resolution to this electoral nightmare. Until now, our diplomatic friends have been very patient with GECOM and the powers that be. However, they can no longer afford to allow the current situation to continue unabated. While they are allowing for due process to take its course, the longer this socalled war of attrition plays out, the worse off the country will become. With each passing day, Guyana falls deeper into the abyss which fur-

ther threatens the country’s long-term social, economic, and political stability. Thus, the longer this situation persists, the more challenging the prospects of current and future generations to navigate the road that lies ahead.

And the last thing the international community needs in this hemisphere is another aid-dependent country whose people cannot shape their own future.

With one eye on the ballots and the other on GECOM, only time will tell where we are headed. From all indications, it is not someplace good.

Dear Editor, It has been well over 50 days since Guyana went to elections and, to date, there is still no Government in place. Guyana and the rest of the world know there is a clear winner, but this was not the winner GECOM (headed by a former Judge) wanted or is colluding with a political party to fraudulently declare a different result from what the people voted for.

Many hinterland and forest-based communities have waited patiently for the election to be concluded. It has hurt the Government enor-

mously that the villages in Regions One and Nine did not vote as they would have liked, having spent millions of taxpayers’ monies attempting to sway our Amerindian brothers and sisters.

But we like all Guyanese have a choice, ‘one man, one vote’. It is this one man one vote constitutional right we the people in the hinterland and forest-based communities are asking the once esteemed former Judge Chairman to honour.

And not the naked attempt crookery we have witnessed since March 4.

With no Government in place and the uncoordinated and poorly managed COVID-19 response, the people in the hinterland are facing great suffering. Forest and mining activities and indeed nearly all commercial activities in communities have hit the rock bottom.

There is no money, little employment and Government services have basically shut down.

Starvation is creeping in, our children go to bed hungry, mothers are resorting to cooking soft rice and grass.

We fear there will be a hunger crisis just like in parts of

Africa.

We call on GECOM to please listen to the cries of our children. Blood is on your hands. Madam Chair, how can you watch our Amerindian children and hinterland children and turn your back on them and condone fraudulent elections. Everybody knows what is going on. The children go to bed each additional day hungry because of the delayed elections. Just do the right thing for our children’s sake.

and the international community to remain present for the entire recount even if that means staggering or rotating the schedule of the observer missions. We fear that if the international community is not present, APNU/AFC in collaboration with GECOM will proceed to steal the elections.

Alternatively, ABCEU can deploy more tangible and direct measures against

the riggers to stop them in their tracks before this spirals out of control.

Kind regards, Georgieana George Tacina Lorimer Ravie Ramcharitar Jaishree Lam Samaroo Ramtahal Anthony McCallum Basil Bedessie Shafik Rahman

GECOM’s last chance to redeem Join Dr Ali to help our students during the itself from injustice

Sincerely, Malcolm Watkins

GECOM cannot be trusted

Yours faithfully, Omchand Mahdu

Do the right thing for our children’s sake

Sincerely, Terence Williams

COVID-19 pandemic

Dear Editor, Schools are closed for an indefinite period. Based on the last advisory from the Ministry of Education, schools were scheduled to reopen on April 20, 2020, after the Easter break. However, this did not happen, and our school doors remain tightly closed even as students approach CSEC, CAPE, and other exit exams at the secondary level. Because of the long pause in learning, catching up will be difficult for many students, especially those who are attending public schools. We have seen complaints from teachers at public school regarding the difficulties they experience engaging their students online. Except for School of the Nations, which was able to use Zoom to continue classes, I am sure most of the schools in Guyana are a similar position.

The vast majority of students will have to “slug it out” on their own if they wish to write the exit exams this year. Those with the financial capacity to access online learning resources may survive the disruption caused by the closure of schools. However, the vast majority of students will suffer in Guyana since they don’t have access to the internet or computers.

Unfortunately, we would have been in a better place today if the APNU/AFC had continued with the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) programme to provide poor households with free computers, wireless routers, and internet access. In their infinite wisdom, however, the APNU/AFC abandoned this programme without any replacement.

While their counterparts in smaller Caribbean territories are weathering the COVID-19 crisis at home with online learning resources, learning by our local students has halted because they don’t have computers and internet. To date, the Government has not seen it fit to develop a solution since it is more concerned with colluding with GECOM

to rig the elections. Our students are not important. The cohort that is scheduled to write the exit exams this year will be the collateral damage. Indeed, these students are dangerously poised to join the more than 40 per cent who exit the secondary school system without a single subject. Yes, no one talks about this 40 per cent since the focus is always on the top performers.

For those who are interested in our youths, a solution is essential and not who we should blame. So far, Dr Irfaan Ali, President-elect, has implemented a solution.

Last Saturday, he started a programme for CSEC Mathematics that will be transmitted via the internet and local television stations.

This solution will work for those with as well as those without internet connectivity.

So apart from sharing masks and hampers, the President-elect is demonstrating that he is thinking about our youths. He has not left them out of his plan. The Private Sector can support this initiative by: 1. Providing free or cheaper data to students who have registered to sit the upcoming exams; 2.

Sponsoring recorded programmes for Mathematics, English and other subjects on television; 3. Providing loans to students to purchase tablets with sim cards that cost between 35000 to 60000.

4. Encouraging students to use the learning hub created by CXC. 5. Providing small cash grants to all students to ease the financial burden on parents who may be out of a job or earning less income.

6. Offering discounts on food items to customers with children at school.

Teachers who are familiar with the various subjects should also join other civic-minded persons like Dr Ali to help our students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sincerely, S Pasha

SEE ADDITIONAL LETTERS ON PAGE 16

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020

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Foundation

Guyana Times is pleased to publish the Education Ministry’s National Grade Six Assessment Past Papers. This is the second part of Social Studies Paper 1, 2013.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

NATIONAL GRADE SIX ASSESSMENT TIME: 1 hour 10 minutes 1. WRITE YOUR CANDIDATE NUMBER ON THE ANSWER SHEET AND UNDERLINE THE SUBJECT. 2. This test contains 40 questions. You are required to answer ALL questions. Four responses are given for each question.

The responses are A, B, C and D. Only ONE response is correct.

SOCIAL STUDIES

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

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

Here is an example done for you. letter next to the answer you have now Carbon dioxide is a chosen.

ANSWER SHEET (A) mixture (B) liquid A B C D 6. REMEMBER, each answer MUST only be shown (C) gas (D) solid by a heavy black line on your Answer Sheet.

A heavy black line has been drawn through the letter B on the answer sheet because 7. Remember only ONE answer must be provided Georgetown, the correct answer, is next to B. for each question.

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

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

(B) Opposition Members of Parliament (C) High Court Judges (D) Speaker of the House 21. Which company is associated with the activity above?

(A) BARAMA Company Ltd. (B) RUSAL (C) CGX Resource Inc (D) BOSAI

26. One of the functions of the lighthouse in Kingston is to (A) guide ships into Port Georgetown.

(B) prevent invaders from attacking Georgetown.

(C) warn citizens of hurricanes and high tides.

(D) count the number of aircrafts coming into Guyana.

Study the list of activities below, then answer question 27. (i) Departure Tax (ii) Landing fees for

Tourists (iii) VAT on local fruits (iv) Taxes from imported vehicles

22. In which year was sugar export the highest?

(A) 1992 (C) 1994 (B) 1993 (D) 1995 23. When it was a colony, Guyana (A) was responsible for itself

(C) had its own currency

(B) was ruled by Great Britain (D) had its own President

24. In Guyana, who does not attend Cabinet meetings?

(A) The President (B) The Prime Minister (C) Minister of Education (D) Opposition Leader 25. Which group of persons is not a part of the National Assembly?

(A) Government Members of Parliament

31. The words most likely suggest that the child (A) stole the money and the bag (B) stole the money and spent it (C) searched the bag and stole the money (D) searched the bag and stole it

27. Two ways by which government earns revenue are (A) i and ii (B) ii and iii (C) i and iv (D) iii and iv 28. One effect of global warming in the Caribbean is increases in the amount of (A) agricultural produce (B) production of minerals (C) water levels of the ocean (D) land for housing 29. Winds in excess of 75 miles per hour in the Caribbean are called (A) hurricanes (B) tornadoes (C) monsoons (D) cyclones 30. Which action shows that public property is being cared for?

(A) Leaving builder’s waste on the street (B) Painting the school building (C) Dumping garbage on the roadside (D) Throwing waste in the canals

32. Nazir should have (A) pretended as though he did not notice (B) asked her why she came to the meeting (C) told her to stand somewhere else (D) offered his seat to the elderly woman 33. Which group of activities would best illustrate co-operation among Caricom countries? (i) Understanding common history (ii) Solving common problems (iii) Having similar population size (iv) Pooling of resources (A) (I), (ii) and (iii) (C) (ii), (iii) and (iv)

(B) (i), (ii) and (iv) (D) (i), (iii) and (iv)

34. From which two products did Guyana earn the most foreign exchange?

(A) Sugar and fish (B) Bauxite and gold (C) Rice and fish (D) Sugar and gold 35. Which two commodities earned almost the same amount of foreign exchange?

(A) Sugar and gold (B) Bauxite and rice (C) Rice and timber (D) Bauxite and timber 36. Which two countries would most likely have purchased agricultural products from Guyana?

(A) England and France (B) Canada and Australia (C) USA and Japan (D) Jamaica and USA 37. When Guyana became an independent country changes were made to the (I) currency used (ii) national flag (iii) court system (iv) national leaders (A) (iii) and (iv) (C) (I) and (ii)

(B) (0, (ii) and (iii) (D) (I), (ii) and (iv)

TO BE CONTINUED

NEWS

7

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

COVID-19 confirmed cases now 75 …only 14 new tests conducted

Director of Primary Health Care Services, Dr Ertenisa Hamilton

T

he Public Health Ministry on Tuesday announced that the number of COVID-19 cases in Guyana has increased by one within 48 hours.

According to Director of Primary Health Care Services, Dr Ertenisa Hamilton, Guyana recorded

one new case, resulting in a total of 75 positives.

Out of the positive cases, the number of deaths remains at eight with 15 persons recovering.

Meanwhile, 53 per cent of the positive cases are males and 47 per cent are females.

There are five persons in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit, 19 in institutional quarantine and 52 in isolation. From the 478 persons, 403 returned with negative results.

“As response efforts continue, a review of our data reveals that much is left to be done to flatten the curve and contain the coronavirus pandemic in Guyana. We continue to see an increase in cases on a regular basis,” Dr Hamilton said.

Hypertensive patients vulnerable

Family Medicine Specialist attached to the

Buxton Health Centre, Dr Aneisha Moore-Thorne also appeared during the Ministry’s live update, bringing awareness to hypertensive patients who are at an increased risk of developing the most complicated form of the COVID-19.

Hypertension or high blood pressure commonly affects the middle-aged and elderly populations and is more common as people grow older.

“That means many of the same people with high blood pressure already overlap with the elderly population known to be at risk for contracting COVID-19 and for developing the very severe complications of the disease should they contract it. This risk worsens even more if the high blood pressure is not controlled,” the specialist highlighted.

She stated that even though COVID-19 is a new

One of the mobile testing units in Georgetown

pandemic, its symptoms are not new. In fact, many hypertensive patients have seen life-threatening reactions from these symptoms.

“Even though COVID-19 is new to us, what is known is that like any other viral illnesses such as the flu. It can damage the respiratory system and make it harder for your heart to work, something that already happens

with Hypertension. This, in turn, can lead to worsening symptoms.”

To monitor the blood pressure during this time, it is important to conduct regular testing. However, this must be taken after at least 15 minutes of rest. It is recommended by medical practitioners that a healthy lifestyle be practiced, ranging from exercises, a healthy

diet and low salt intake.

Medications should be timely consumed as prescribed by a doctor, and persons are advised to avoid stressful situations.

According to WHO, there are 2,878,196 confirmed cases with 198,668 deaths. In the region of the Americas, the number of confirmed cases is 1,140,520 with 58,492 deaths.

Guyana uses plasma antibodies to treat COVID-19 case

A

n approved vaccine or etiological treatment for the novel coronavirus is yet to be introduced but countries across the globe are considering other forms of treatment. Guyana Times was told that the first convalescent plasma transfusion for COVID-19 was done on Monday in Guyana.

Convalescent plasma is defined as the plasma that is extracted from the blood of a person who has recovered from a disease, and then transfused into a patient who is still battling from it.

When a person’s body is exposed to a foreign path-

ogen, the system produces antibodies to fight off the virus or disease. It works by binding and deactivating these invaders, preventing it from conquering the body.

Persons who have recovered from an illness tend to have a larger amount of antibodies in their system, which can linger for some time. These are contained in the plasma. Each virus is said to require its own antibodies.

During a recent engagement, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr Karen Boyle had shared that Guyana is willing to be part of the clinical trials to de-

Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr Karen Boyle

termine if this can be used to treat the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.

“We don’t have a cure yet. The world doesn’t have

a cure yet. There are some clinical trials that are taking place. In fact, Guyana is poised to possibly join some of those trials.”

On Monday, the DMO had said that a proposal was submitted to the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) to which the country has received a response.

The DCMO believes this can aid the country’s fight against the virus, which has claimed eight lives thus far in Guyana.

Dr Boyle asserted, “That plasma would be rich in antibodies [of] people who are overcoming the disease – people who have been sick and they’re now winning the battle…”

Treatment

According to a report issued by PAHO on the “regulatory considerations on authorisation” of convalescent plasma usage, experience with the usage of these antibodies as COVID-19

treatment is “limited” but preliminary results have demonstrated “potential usefulness”.

“Several controlled clinical trials are underway, to collect more quality scientific evidence to confirm the safety and efficacy of this intervention. In this context, the recommendations foresee its use under experimental conditions within the regulatory framework of each country,” PAHO indicated. TURN TO PAGE 11

8 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Mother recalls horrifying tale of daughter brutally stabbed by abusive husband

By Shemar Alleyne

T

he mother of the 30-year-old woman who was brutally stabbed on Saturday last by her abusive husband recalled the horrifying experience that her daughter endured over the years.

Colleen Daly, of Calabash Alley, North East La Penitence, Georgetown, is still at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where she remains a patient after she was stabbed about her body several times by her abusive husband, who later committed suicide.

In an interview with Guyana Times, the injured woman’s mother, Allison Daly, stated that Colleen called her on Friday night and informed her that she is “fed up” of the relationship.

“She called me and was

Colleen Daly

crying and saying that she ain’t able with this and I said this hour the night I want to sleep because I have to go to work in the morning and he keep going on and sharpening the knife threatening to kill her,” Allison explained.

Following that, the aggrieved mother explained

that she encouraged Collen to lodge a report with the police, but Colleen turned a deaf ear on her plea.

Moreover, Allison contacted her on Saturday and as she was on the telephone with her daughter, Glenn Forde launched his attack.

“She called me about five something [17:00h] and the story keep going on and he in her facing asking ‘where you went’ and these kinds of things and [she] told me, mommy man, I fed up with this boy and thing. She started talking to me and then I hear her start hollering for the neighbour for help because this boy going to kill me and I hear the commotion and then I know something he was doing to she.”

Allison recalled trying to contact the police, but all her efforts were futile.

“But nobody was going to her rescue and I left with

The new…

Dead: Glenn Forde

the phone in my hand because her phone fall out of her hands and I heard the commotion and then I cut off my phone and I start calling 911…and then I call my cousin give me a station number and while my neighbour calling the station, I keep dialling 911 and we ain’t getting through,” the mother said.

Daly and her reputed husband were together for over nine years. They have three children. According to the distressed mother, Forde has always been abusive towards her daughter.

“He always abusive to her, always. If she come here, he get a problem with that, everything is a problem, she doing a business that is a problem. She cannot go nowhere by herself and these kinds of things but sometimes when it get too much she would call me and say she ain’t able with it anymore.”

Get out of abusive relationships

She further described Forde as a “disrespectful person”, adding that he also threatened her on numerous occasions. She added that having witnessed her daughter’s anguish throughout the years, she is urging both men and women to get out of any abusive relationship.

Colleen was stabbed and chopped about her body multiple times and sustained injuries to her head, feet, and abdomen. She received severe injuries to her intestines.

On the day in question, Forde, also known as “Blackboy”, a fish vendor at the Meadow Bank Wharf, accused the woman of infidelity which led to the argument that eventually escalated.

But the woman’s mother refuted such claims, stating that Forde was the only man in her daughter’s life.

It was then that Forde picked up a knife, which he used to clean fish and dealt the woman several chops and stabs.

Believing that Daly was dead, the man then climbed onto the roof of his house, threw a two-by-four wood on the woman, and slit his throat. He then fell to the ground and died on the spot.

Daly was picked up by public-spirited persons and rushed to the hospital where she has undergone three surgeries. Her condition is listed as stable.

Y

…PNC gaslighting ou gotta hand it to the PNC. Hand what? The prize for conducting the most bold-faced rigging of an election. And not giving up. What makes it even more incredulous is that the Opposition PPP knew from the word go the PNC was planning a rig – even when the word “go” was delayed for a year by the PNC in the courts! It wasn’t as if the PPP deployed any deep analytical powers: rigging elections was the default mode of the PNC for more than half a century. They really can’t help themselves: in reflecting on their proclivity, locals would shake their heads ruefully and mutter, “When daag l’arn fuh suck egg…”

The PNC could’ve gotten away with their serial heists of the ballots between 1968 and 1985 ‘cause the aforementioned PPP had a leader who (internationally) put “The West on Trial” and (domestically) couldn’t do a thing about it. The PNC always knew they could count on (in Hoyte’s words) their “kith and kin” in the army, police, civil service and even so-called “independent and neutral” institutions like the Elections Commission. They were only eased out of office – but not of power – only when the US decided that the fella who’d put them “on trial” had run out of threatening friends.

During the twenty-three years the PNC were out of office, they tried every which way to leverage their power bases to get back into office. They were stymied by the leader who took over from the “West on Trial” guy – the PPP’s Bharrat Jagdeo. And the PNC have never forgiven him for this. It had to be galling to come up against a fella who used the “by any means necessary” techniques the PNC thought they’d patented!!

Demographic changes and looong incumbency proved the PPP’s undoing and when they were ousted in 2015, they knew the PNC weren’t going to go quietly into the night at the next elections. But they figured that since Guyana had suddenly reacquired strategic importance to the West because of the oil find and they’d shed their “fellow traveller” label, the West weren’t going to turn a Nelson’s Eye this time around.

But the PNC’s geriatric leader Granger – and his band of merry men and women in green, who’re all Burnham’s acolytes – plainly believe otherwise. Like Joshua of yore, they insist their invocations at Seven Ponds stopped time and the West is still with them. Once they maintain their legal fig leaf by having the Courts split hairs.

Their latest ploy is to gaslight the nation with their new narrative that the PPP doesn’t want the recount.

But can they gaslight the Western Ambassadors who saw the SoPs Mingoed?? …PNC? Ever since they were ousted in 1992, the PNC flailed around to erase the disreputable image they’d earned since the sixties with their Touton Macoute tactics. Like bumping off rivals such as Walter Rodney. Desmond Hoyte launched a PNCR(eform) by imitating the PPP’s “C(ivic) component.

That didn’t work, so back to the drawing board they went – and came up the PNCR One-Guyana which produced the very apt acronym: PNCR1G!!

Well, when the name tinkering didn’t do the trick (and it was always going to be a trick), they decided to change the leader and the name. So, in came Granger— who’d been Burnham’s go-to guy in the Armed Forces – and he used some inconsequential paper parties to produce – voila! – APNU. This gave them office in alliance with the AFC. But with the stresses and strains of the imminent sanctions that’ll be slapped on them, both the Coalition and APNU appear to be imploding.

So, what will it be?? An APNU (G) and an APNU (H)?? The more things change… …petition for sanctions It’s quite possible the Americans would have already sanctioned Granger’s rigging crew save for the COVID-19 pandemic. They don’t want to revive their “ugly American” image.

But now that over 6000 Guyanese citizens have called for personal sanctions, all bets are off!

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

9

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

10 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

British Airways given permission to transport ExxonMobil workers …disembarking staff will be quarantined for 14 days

A

British Airways Boeing 787 chartered to transport rotating ExxonMobil workers to and from the United Kingdom (UK) landed at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) on Tuesday.

It is the first time that this type of aircraft, known as a Dreamliner, landed in Guyana. It is understood that the flight is a direct one from Heathrow International Airport in London and was arranged so that the ExxonMobil workers could leave Guyana on Tuesday evening. It comes

The British Airways Boeing 787 chartered flight at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) on Tuesday afternoon

at a time, however, when Guyana’s airspace is closed

to commercial air traffic as a result of COVID-19.

33,000 face masks for...

Additionally, he was unable to say if any of the GECOM officials taking part in the recount process are being required to be tested for COVID-19 ahead of taking part in the process as has been demanded of the Caricom nationals before they depart their home countries.

The Caricom delegation had been re-invited by the Commission’s Chair, Retired Justice Singh, to take part in observing the recount of the March 2 General and Regional Elections.

A Caricom delegation chaired by former Attorney General and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Dominica, Francine Baron had travelled

to Guyana to take part in the recount process at the request of Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo purportedly with the agreement of caretaker President David Granger who had also initialled the aide-memoire, formalising the agreement.

It was later challenged by one of Granger’s candidates, Ulita Moore, which led to the team leaving the country without being able to witness the recount.

The second invitation was communicated to LaRocque this past week, however, his response was communicated with the Task Force instead.

Late Monday evening, the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) announced

FROM PAGE 3

that the approval was given and the team will arrive on Thursday.

LaRocque indicated to the COVID-19 Task Force that arrangements would be made for the members of the team to be tested in their respective country, using the World Health Organisation’s approved PCR COVID-19 test.

Mottley’s delegation had also included former Minister of Finance of Grenada, Anthony Boatswain; Senior Lecturer in the Department of Government of UWI, Cynthia Barrow-Giles; Chief Electoral Officer of Barbados, Angela Taylor; and Chief Elections Officer of Trinidad and Tobago Fern NarcisScope.

Director of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Egbert Field confirmed to this publication that the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) granted special permission for the flight. He also assured that the flight is not a commercial one.

Quarantine upon arrival

According to Field, ExxonMobil has set up its own facility for the workers who are coming to be quarantined for the recommended 14 days upon arrival at the airport. He said that this facility was vetted by the Public Health Ministry.

“It is a change over for Exxon operators out on the rig. It is not a commercial operation. They have been given specific authorisation and specific conditions on how the passengers will be

handled,” he said.

“They [disembarking passengers] will be quarantined for 14 days before they even go out on the rig. And those conditions have been examined by the Ministry of Health, [which visited] those facilities.”

Field further explained that at the end of the quarantine, the workers, who he said numbered around 50, will head straight to Exxon’s Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel offshore Guyana, with no contact with the locals.

Meanwhile, ExxonMobil has assured that the rotational workers were medically screened before being transported to Guyana. This is in addition to the 14-day quarantine they will undergo onshore.

“Our health experts are working with doctors and other medical personnel from the International SOS Group, a leading medical and travel security service company, to design and manage the staging area, and have consulted with the Ministry of Public Health and other relevant Government agencies,” the company’s Public and Government Affairs advisor Janelle Persaud said on Tuesday.

Since March 18, the Cheddi Jagan and Eugene F Correia International Airports were closed to commercial traffic, only operating for outgoing, cargo, medevac or specially authorised flights.

Extension of lockdown

Guyana joined several countries around the world in closing its airports to international flights as threats from the virus advanced.

The initial order was expected to last until March 31, but was further extended until May 3. However, Field earlier this week signalled a possible extension of the shutdown of the country’s international airports.

Field had indicated that discussions will be facilitated with the National COVID-19 Task Force and Public Health Ministry to determine whether the suspension will be lifted.

However, the likelihood of an extension is high, he said.

As the global pandemic deepens, travelling poses a higher contraction rate, especially from one country to another.

In fact, asymptomatic passengers can fly under the radar and infect other people without any awareness. Major air carriers around the world have opted to cease operations from popular destinations until the virus is contained.

One of the first was American Airlines, which announced since March that it would be suspending its flights to several locations across the world including Guyana in a bid to slow down the rapid spread of the virus.

11 Special audit likely for $1B Ocean View rebuilding – Auditor General NEWS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Auditor General Deodat Sharma

T

he arrangement between the caretaker Government of Guyana and the flood-prone Ocean View Hotel, which will see $1 billion being spent to rebuild the premise into a COVID-19 hospital, could come under a special audit.

This is according to Auditor General Deodat Sharma, in an interview with this publication. When asked, Sharma said that from the available reports, the arrangement may not have gone through the required process.

The Auditor General noted that in light of the coronavirus and the exceptional political circumstances, separate accounts for expenditures incurred are expected to be kept.

“And you’d have to go through the Procurement Board procedures [for agreement with Ocean View].

This doesn’t look like it went through the [expected] procedures,” Sharma explained.

He recalled previous instances where the Public Health Ministry’s use of the Ocean View Hotel to store drugs was audited and irregularities were found.

“So all of this will be under audit after things have calmed down. But they’re being looked at right now, for

a special audit when we get back to work,” Sharma said.

In the Auditor General’s 2017 report, he had found that drugs were being stored on the Ministry’s behalf in seven rooms at the hotel, which was termite infested. Among the issues the Auditor General had raised was the lack of a formal written agreement.

Since the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, Government has been retrofitting the flood-prone Ocean View International Hotel, Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, into a COVID holding facility.

The Pan American Health Organisation/ World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) had projected that Guyana could see 1400 cases, with about 81 per cent of those cases being moderate, 14 per cent severe and five per cent critical. In light of this, additional space would be required.

Caretaker Finance Minister Winston Jordan had subsequently revealed that over $1 billion will be spent on this project. Operational costs are not included in the $1 billion price tag.

There have been questions, however, as to who really owns the building and what will be the arrangement post-COVID. People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Presidential Candidate, Dr Irfaan Ali has been very critical of the secrecy surrounding the project. Former shadow Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony had also questioned what the arrangements are.

“We would like to see the contract, what are the arrangements, what obligations they would continue to have going forward. How long will this contract be in place? And if in a year’s time

Guyana uses...

Nevertheless, it sought to mention that challenges will arise in the large-scale collection, processing and distribution to meet potential clinical needs.

In the United States of America – which has recorded the highest coronavirus cases, antibody tests have also begun. Meanwhile, some countries have opted to issue immunity passports, allowing citizens to return to their normal social and work activities.

But the WHO contended, “At this point in the pandemic, there is not enough evidence about the effectiveness of antibody-mediated immunity to guarantee the accuracy of an “immunity passport” or “risk-free certificate.” People who assume that they are immune to a second infection because they have received a positive test result may ignore public health advice. The use of such certificates may, therefore, increase the risks of continued transmission.”

FROM PAGE 7

Plasma separation

For the plasma to be donated, it is first collected as a regular blood unit. However, instead of being placed in a bag, it is transferred to a centrifuge where the plasma is separated from the other components of blood.

The blood is returned to the body of the donator with a saline solution and the plasma serum is collected in a separate bag. This step is repeated until the desired amount is collected.

On a normal basis, one plasma contribution can yield up to four units. This is later transferred to the patient.

In the past, this form of passive immunisation has been used to treat patients suffering from the Argentine Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola, the H1N1 virus, the Spanish flu and other coronaviruses such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

Work ongoing at the flood-prone Ocean View Hotel

this thing is over, what happens? Is the Government going to be reimbursed for all this investment they made into the building?” Anthony had asked.

Back in 2008, the ownership of the Ocean View Hotel had passed to local businessman Jacob Rambarran. In the run-up to the 2015 elections, Rambarran had endorsed the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) coalition. One of the contractors on the renovation is a known People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) member.

12 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

1 dead, several injured in highway accident A

28-year-old man is now dead while three of his friends are injured after a trip to a creek along the LindenSoesdyke Highway on Monday.

The four were heading to the creek at 20:00h despite the national curfew.

Dead is Christopher Nicholson.

He died at approximately 07:00h on Tuesday in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Georgetown Public Hospital.

According to Police, around 20:00h on Monday, Nicholson was driving HD 576 with two teen passengers – girls aged 15 and 17 – and 23-year-old Rondewl Black to a creek when he crashed into a utility pole on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD).

Reports are that the car was

Dead: Christopher Nicholson

speeding when Nicholson lost control and slammed into the electrical pole.

The occupants of the vehicle,

who were attired in beach wear, were pulled out of the wreckage by public-spirited citizens and rushed to the hospital.

Several boxes of food and alcoholic beverages were found in the back seat of the vehicle.

Investigations are ongoing.

The national curfew – 18:00h to 06:00h- was implemented to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Since its implementation, a number of persons have been arrested for disregarding it. Also, on Monday evening, despite lockdown measures across the country, a heated cockfight was hosted at approximately 08:00h at Tarla Dam, Meten-Meer-Zorg, West Coast Demerara (WCD).

Persons were congregated ed in

The car that was driven by Christopher Nicholson

a large group even as calls for social distancing have heightened in recent days.

In fact, the gathering con-

sisted of more than 20 persons, many of whom were not wearing face masks.

Guyanese man commits suicide after eviction troubles in T&T

L

aw enforcement officials in Trinidad and Tobago are probing the death of a Guyanese man who was found hanging from a wooden beam at a shed at Orange Grove South, Trincity, Trinidad and Tobago.

Dead is 62-year-old Moonsammy Prasha, of Streatham Lodge, St Augustine, Trinidad.

According to media reports out of Trinidad, the

body was discovered at 09:10h Monday. Prasha was last seen alive by his brother at approximately 20:00h on April 25.

There are reports that Prasha was facing financial hardships and possibly an eviction, as a result of the current stay-at-home order which is in place in an effort to combat COVID-19 in the twin-island republic.

Investigations continue into the matter.

Ganja trafficking case dismissed against Timehri man

A

man who was charged with possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking in 2019 had the case dismissed against him by Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman.

Magistrate Latchman, in handing down her decision, said that the prosecution failed to prove that the man committed the offence.

Brian Howard appeared in the Providence Magistrate’s Court via Skype with his attorney, Bernard DaSilva.

The charge had stated that on January 29, 2019,

at Hyde Park, Timehri, East Bank Demerara, Howard had in his possession 214 grams of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking.

It was reported that Police ranks went to Hyde Park, Timehri, East Bank Demerara (EBD), where they met Howard. A search was conducted and 214 grams of leaves, seeds, and stems suspected to be marijuana was found. Howard was cautioned, arrested, and taken into custody.

However, as a result of insufficient evidence, the case was dismissed.

NEWS

13

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Fire destroys West Ruimveldt house 5-year-old drowns while A on fishing trip

A

five-year-old boy is now dead after he drowned on Monday near the Aqueduct area in Patentia, West Bank Demerara (WBD).

Reports are that at 15:00h on Monday, the child’s mother, who resides at Skull City, Patentia, took the youngster and two friends fishing.

The child’s mother told the Police that her son wanted to swim and she allowed him to venture out to where

there was a “small area of water”.

Shortly after he began swimming, the child went under. Efforts were made to rescue him, but by the time he was located, he was in an unresponsive state.

He was taken out of the water and rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH) where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

An investigation has since been launched.

n unoccupied West Ruimveldt house in the centre of a dispute was destroyed on Tuesday night after a fire of unknown origin started and spiralled out of control.

Based on information provided, the fire started at about 08:15h at the Lot 27 Shoppers Lane, West Ruimveldt, Georgetown property.

When Guyana Times arrived at the scene, the two-storey wooden structure was completely engulfed in flames. The Guyana Fire Service, stationed a short distance away, arrived with three tenders and a squad of firefighters. However, only two were used to quell the blaze.

With no possibility of saving the structure from devastation, they proceeded to drench nearby houses with water to prevent the fire from spreading.

Stephen Clark, a relative of the owner, explained that he heard of the fire

Number 63 Beach now becoming a dumping site

O

Plastic bottles line the Number 63 Beach

ne of Guyana’s premier tourist attractions – the Number 63 Beach – on the Corentyne, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), has now become a dumping site.

With measures in place to reduce the spread on the novel coronavirus which include encouraging persons to stay at home and not to congregate, the beach is now seldom visited.

More particularly, visitors who originate from the Corentyne visit the famous beach once in Guyana.

In fact, thousands flock the beach for Easter Monday activities. Sadly, however, the beach is now becoming a dumping site. Plastic bottles, discarded home appliances, kitchen waste, vegetation trimmings and dead animals are just some of the items which now line the Number 63 Beach.

A larger percentage of the plastic bottles move in and out at the edge of the ocean with every tide.

Plastic can have a

Beach falls under, saying the NDC should ensure that systems are in place to prevent the beach from turning into a dumpsite.

“I want to call on the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency], they need to come out and see what is happening up here. This is not what we bargained for,” he told the media.

He explained that there is a dumpsite between Number 54 and 55 Villages.

There, he said, persons should use to dispose of their solid waste.

“The NDC has not been

The Number 63 Beach is now becoming a dumping site

negative impact on marine life. Deaths are chiefly caused by the ingestion of plastics, starvation, suffocation, infection, drowning and entanglement. Seabirds that feed from the surface of the ocean are especially likely to ingest plastics that float, and then feed same to their chicks.

M e a n w h i l e , on Tuesday during a media trip to the beach organised by regional representative Gobin Harbhajan, he called out the Number 52-74 Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) which the

enforcing this.”

He called on the NDC to act in a more responsible way. According to the official, who also lives in the NDC area, persons who use the beach as a dumping site should be placed before the court.

Meanwhile, this publication also noticed that in many villages which fall under the NDC, scores of plastic bottles were floating around in drains.

When this publication visited the NDC office, it was closed.

The house completely consumed by fire

while on his way to purchase food.

According to him, it

could not have started by an electrical malfunction since the power was disconnect-

ed. Clark is contending that the fire was arson since the owners were in dispute with another party to sell the building.

“I got a phone call that fire was in the street and I wonder if is my house but I never knew that it is from the distance where I was. As I come closer, I saw the glare. That was long expected,” the man stated.

This publication understands that no one resided at the property since the owners are overseas.

Meanwhile, the Fire Department is still investigating the matter to determine the source.

Taxi driver under investigation for making sex tape with teen

P

olice in Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice) have launched an investigation into the making and circulation of a video on social media in which an underage girl was seen in a sexual act with a popular Linden taxi driver.

The video, which went viral on social media, shows the taxi driver and an underage girl sitting in the back of his car. In the video, the man unzipped his pants, revealing his genitals. The young girl is then seen performing oral sex as he videoed the act.

During the act, the taxi driver could be heard telling the girl to look at the camera but she was shaking her head from left to right.

The video has since caught the attention of the police, who have since launched a probe.

Only last week Wednesday, a 25-year-old businessman in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) was taken into custody after he allegedly had sex with a 14-year-old girl.

According to information received, the teenager and suspect became friends after she visited her mother’s shop in Region Seven late December 2019. At that time, she reportedly told the man that she was 16 years old, when, in fact, she was only 14.

The businessman told Police that he approached the teen’s mother and informed her that he has feel-

ings towards her daughter and as such, asked for consent to begin a relationship.

However, the teenager and her mother had a misunderstanding and she left her mother’s house and moved in with the suspect.

The mother, in turn, lodged a report at the police outpost in the area and an investigation was launched, which led to the man’s arrest. Guyana Times was told that after his arrest, the teen turned up at the station and informed the police that the businessman would usually give her money and she would hand over same to her mother. She also told the police that her mother had agreed to the relationship.

Both the mother and the man are under investigation.

Linden execution-style killing

Person of interest in Police custody

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olice in Linden have detained a person of interest in connection with the murder of a Linden clothes vendor, Glenroy Chapman, also called “G”.

The 43-year-old man was killed on April 13 in front of his Lot 130 Half Mile, Wismar, Linden home. He was shot seven times as he sat in front of his yard talking with a friend.

This publication understands that the person of interest, who is also a Lindener, was being sought

by Police for some time now and had managed to elude ranks. Ranks reportedly conducted numerous searches of houses in Linden as they hunted for the suspect. Reliable sources have indicated that the suspect turned himself in to Police for questioning on Monday as ranks continued the search of his home for possible evidence linked to the crime.

Regional Commander, Superintendent Hugh

Dead: Glenroy Chapman, also called “G”

Winter on Tuesday confirmed that someone was held and remains in custody in relation to the case but noted that they weren’t considered the “prime” suspect.

“We’re doing some investigations...based on information that we have received, we’re trying to put the pieces together”, he told this publication.

According to Police,

at the time of the shooting, the deceased, who was a father of eight, was seated in the company of a male friend on a bench underneath a shed when a lone gunman approached them and discharged several rounds in his direction. Upon seeing this, the other young man reportedly fled the scene. At the time of the incident, the deceased’s common-law wife and children were inside his house, however, no one else was injured.

When Police arrived at the scene, Chapman’s body was examined and discovered to have multiple gunshot wounds to the upper torso. At the scene, Police discovered five 9mm spent shells and a warhead.

Several other persons were earlier questioned in relation to the incident, however, the suspect, who was reportedly clad in a white T-shirt, slim built and approximately 6’5 in height has since remained at large.

Investigations are still ongoing.

14 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

4 missing after Berbice PSC Head threatens legal action against River mishap Guyana Chronicle T columnist he Guyana Defence Force Coast Guards have launched a search for four persons who went missing following a boat mishap the vicinity of Sand Hills, some 60 miles up the Berbice River.

Reports are the incident occurred on Tuesday evening and villagers are alleging that a ‘marijuana boat’ collided with the vessel and sped away after the accident.

Those missing are Julian McKenzie and Godfrey Lindy, both of Sand Hills; Freeman Denheart, 55, and his son, Romario, 23, of Pepper Street, Heatburn Village, East Bank Berbice.

Reports are that the

Missing: Romario Denheart

quartet was in a small boat travelling to Sand Hills sometime after 19:00h when a larger boat, powered by two 75-horsepower engines, collided with

them.

Villagers who rushed to the scene on Tuesday night reported that the boat was broken into pieces. This publication was told that all that was seen of the four men were several slippers floating in the river.

This newspaper was told that the boat which collided with the quartet had left from Fort Canje on an expedition up the Berbice River on Tuesday morning.

Residents of the community claimed that the captain of the boat which sped away was a resident from Waruni - a village close to Sand Hills. According to residents, the boat is a

Missing: Freeman Denheart

known marijuana transport.

Following the incident, the Coast Guards were contacted and dispatched to the area. Up to press time, the quartet had not been located.

Police are investigating.

PSC Head Gerry Gouveia

Columnist Adam Harris

hairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Gerry Gouveia has threatened legal action against newspaper columnist, Adam Harris, over a number of libellous statements, he (Harris) made, via an article published by the Stateowned Guyana Chronicle.

The allegations against the top Private Sector official were reportedly made in an Op-ed column titled; “Gerry Gouveia’s interest in the elections may be a case of self-interest”, carried on page 9 in the Sunday, April 26 edition of the Guyana Chronicle.

Gouveia, through his attorney, Christopher Ram, has since written to Harris demanding an unqualified public withdrawal of the allegations, a proper apology in terms to be agreed and published; with commensurate prominence given to the original article.

According to Ram, the said article levels a number of gravely defamatory charges against his client.

These allegations include; that Gouveia is persistent in trying to have the ballot boxes for some of the electoral regions closed to public scrutiny; that he needs the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) in office and that he has collected the Value Added Tax of hundreds of millions of dollars but failed to pay these sums over to the Guyana Revenue Authority; and that this matter was decided by the court and that he has appealed the decision.

Ram said the article also makes allegations about an investigation into a transaction involving State assets and imputing impropriety on the part of Gouveia.

According to the attorney, these allegations are completely false and have no basis in fact. “As you can

imagine, the publication of the article has caused immense damage to our client’s reputation and immense pain and distress to him and his family. The injury suffered by our client has been aggravated by your disreputable conduct which falls far below the standards of an experienced columnist in a newspaper owned and funded by the State.

“Our client intends to ask the court to conclude that the said article was malicious in intent and written with complete indifference to the truth in an attempt to besmirch his reputation and desire for the early conclusion of the March 2020 elections. Our client will also be asking for substantial damages to be awarded against you and the newspaper in order to deter it and you from behaving in a similar manner in the future,” Ram indicated in his letter to Harris.

Gouveia, through his attorney, is also demanding that the offending article be removed from the newspaper’s website.

Gouveia said he is willing to bring the matter to an end if the article is withdrawn and the necessary public apology is offered by the columnist.

The PSC had fielded a team of observers for the March 2 polls. The organisation has since been actively involved in joining with other stakeholders in pressing for a credible recount process and for a winner to be declared based on those results.

The PSC had also appealed to the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Organisation of American States, the European Union and the Carter Center to return to Guyana for the commencement of the recount

by GECOM.

China assists Guyana in COVID-19 fight C

I

n an effort to help stop the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Government of China has assisted Guyana with several items to aid Guyana’s fight against the pandemic.

Public Health Ministry Permanent Secretary Collette Adams on Monday accepted the items from the People’s Republic of China.

During the presentation, China’s Deputy Chief of Mission in Guyana, Chen Xilai reminded the representatives from the two countries of how much his country has suffered since the novel coronavirus emerged in Wuhan Province last year.

The Deputy Chief recalled that hundreds of thousands have been affected as a result of the outbreak.

The donation from China comprises 500 protective face masks; 500 Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), and 100 infrared thermometers. Also included in the gift from the Chinese are 500 medical goggles; 500 pairs of disposable gloves, and 500 isolation shoe covers.

It was noted that the relationship between Guyana and China dated back to 1972; however, Xilai said that he wanted the two friendly nations to “work together” to win the battle against the deadly pandemic.

China’s Deputy Chief of Mission in Guyana, Chen Xilai with the donation

news@guyanatimesgy.com

He assured Adams that Guyana could look forward to more donations from his country in the battle against COVID-19.

“There is more to come,” Xilai promised.

Just recently, Guyana received close to $100 million from the United States Government to aid in the local fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been causing havoc in countries around the world.

Guyana had approached the World Bank last month for a US$5 million loan to tackle COVID-19, which has claimed eight lives and infected 75 locally. However, that loan is still pending.

The World Bank had launched its first aid operation to bolster the capacity of 25 nations to fight the COVID-19 outbreak.

On Tuesday, Guyana confirmed one new case bringing the total of positive cases to 75.

NEWS

15

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Ramsammy’s Ruminations GTT reduces price for select Granger, APNU/AFC, GECOM proved beyond a shadow of doubt they cannot be trusted

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nce again a high-level Caricom team is being sent by Prime Minister Mia Mottley to provide oversight for a recount that was supposed to begin for more than 50 days now. The team showed up before, on March 14, and left on March 17, after it became clear that “forces within GECOM are determined to prevent the recount”, as Prime Minister Mottley of Barbados concluded.

There have been many twists and turns, including the need to fumigate the Conference Centre where Dr Leslie Ramsammy the recount was supposed to happen, the need to sanitise all GECOM’s buildings, the intervention of the court, time to prepare a plan, the need for Moses Nagamootoo to determine if the COVID-19 Task Force will approve the recount, the need for David Granger to overrule Nagamootoo, Lowenfield demanding 156 days for the recount, and many other silly things.

Once again, GECOM promises that the recount will happen.

They insisted, however, they must wait for Caricom to signal when they can come. Caricom has gone one better - they will arrive tomorrow (Thursday).

Even as Caricom has told GECOM, all of Guyana and the world that they will arrive for the recount on Thursday, GECOM has not yet (as of Tuesday afternoon) informed anyone when the recount will start. Is it going to be déjà vu? The last time, the high-level Caricom team sat around, waiting patiently, watching in amazement as big men and women grotesquely twisted themselves to prevent the recount. Caricom is coming again and GECOM has not yet, with just 24 hours before the team arrives, announced the start of the recount.

Other observer teams are supposed to be present, including local observers, and international observers, such as the Carter Center, the Commonwealth, the OAS and a Caricom observer team.

These teams have said they are willing to come and see the process completed. But they clearly were not prepared to wait around and they left. Now they have to come back. GECOM has not said when they will start. Clearly, however, with the Caricom team here, there is an urgency to start. No one trusts GECOM and everyone knows that they are like a puppet on a string, waiting on their APNU/AFC masters for the next twist in this sordid game.

In the meanwhile, GECOM has wrangled itself into establishing ground rules that reduce to almost zero, any transparency and accountability for the recount. They have rejected any live streaming and/or any recording of the recounting process, rejected the presence of experts who could record the results and provide independent tabulation. They have crafted a weird, confusing recount procedure, with several regions being counted simultaneously. These are all provisions to corrupt the process and the results. All of this while demanding an open-ended process, with no end in sight. Who, therefore, can trust that GECOM’s intentions are pure?

GECOM has also refused to provide copies of Region Four’s Statements of Poll. These are public properties. They were posted up at Polling Stations and it is activists of APNU/AFC that removed many of those SoPs that were posted on buildings, in some cases even reposting fake SoPs. There are two sets of Region Four SoPs at GECOM. One set that was handed over to the Returning Officer of Region Four, the disgraced Clairmont Mingo, and a second set in the possession of Keith Lowenfield. Neither of these sets of SoPs has been made available to the PPP Commissioners who have demanded they see these SoPs. The SoPs are not the private properties of Keith Lowenfield or Mingo.

They belong to the people of Guyana and GECOM is entrusted with the responsibility to preserve and keep them safe. Every Commissioner has the right to see them and examine them. Were they corrupted? Did someone try to alter the results in each of the SoPs? Is this why these have become so secret? Is it that there is something very sinister and ominous to hide?

Given the circumstances, GECOM is not trusted, not just by the PPP leadership, but by the leadership of, at least, nine other political parties. Civil society does not trust GECOM. Local and international observers do not trust GECOM. Thus, Justice Claudette Singh has a responsibility to go the extra mile to provide a level of trust. Instead, she supported a cabal at GECOM to move backwards and to reduce transparency and, therefore, heighten suspicion.

Even as GECOM itself is seen largely as an instrument for rigging the results, their masters, APNU/AFC, is actively fomenting even greater distrust. One of its hatchet men, Vincent Alexander, has openly claimed that the recount is not necessarily going to be useful, as the original fake declaration by Mingo stands and that GECOM is bound by that declaration.

The Chair herself now insists that all the declarations remain in place. The court threw out the Region Four declaration. The agreement to recount all the regions means that after the recount, those results stand. Why the double-speak? Then there are the sycophants who insist the ballot boxes must be destroyed and that there must be an interim Government, that the status-quo continue until 2025.

Who can trust these people?

corporate broadband services G

TT has lowered its prices for select broadband services for its corporate customers to assist them in managing and optimising their operations during and after COVID-19.

Data speeds will also be upgraded.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Justin Nedd said the intent was to provide both technical and financial assistance for businesses as a direct response to the threat posed to the survival of companies during and after this global pandemic.

“We have said that we are in this together.

Internationally and regionally, companies are

facing the same business continuity challenges, in terms of providing a consistent quality of service to … customers, keeping staff employed, coping with reduced demand, and so on.

Businesses have had to ad-

just to a new normal in a very short space of time, and in Guyana, we would like to ensure that we do our best to ensure that our customers are able to traverse this difficult period as best as possible,” Nedd ex-

plained.

“We appreciate that in meeting the needs of corporate customers, their individual needs will differ.

As such, our team have been and will continue to reach out to our customers, so that their individual needs are met and that their staff and business remain connected and able to service their stakeholders during this time,” Nedd said.

GTT also recently announced free mobile services for doctors and nurses, as well as its “2 for 2” ongoing promotion as part of the company’s efforts to keep its customers connected during the COVID-19 pandemic.

our business in order to meet the evolving needs of our valued customers.”

Meanwhile, the airline noted that it would continue to operate its scheduled 767 freighter flights, offering up to 120,000 pounds of cargo capacity to and from Miami.

Even with opened airports, major carriers have opted to cease operations from popular destinations until the virus is contained.

One of the first to do so was American Airlines, which announced since March that it would be suspending flights to several locations across the world, including Guyana, in a bid to slow down the rapid spread of the virus.

A few days later,

Caribbean Airlines announced a suspension of international fights after the Government of Trinidad and Tobago closed its borders and stopped external flights.

In an issued statement, the airline stated that domestic flights would continue. It went on to say that customers holding tickets for international service beyond March 23, 2020, could hold them for future travel.

Headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago, the carrier provides its services across the Region, in particular linking Caribbean States and North America.

Prior to its closure of certain services, the airline had implemented a number of measures in preparation.

Caribbean Airlines now offering chartered cargo flights

L

ockdown measures have pushed some companies to modify their operational arrangements, and Caribbean Airlines has been the latest to do so, with the introduction of a chartered cargo service.

Recognising that some countries within the Region were suffering from shortages, the carrier indicated via a statement that this service would sustain a constant supply of goods within the Caribbean zone.

It went on to say that there has been a noteworthy demand for cargo lifts in several Caribbean countries that have been affected by the limited operation at their ports and the closure of borders to passenger traffic. This is all in light of the coronavirus pandemic, which continues to sweep through the Region.

The Caribbean Airlines cargo service will utilise the airline’s fleet of Boeing 737-800 and ATR72 aircraft. These can carry up to 18,000 pounds of essential goods to and from Antigua, Barbados, Curaçao, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Nassau, St Lucia, St Maarten, St Vincent, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and other destinations.

These chartered flights will be subjected to the regulatory requirements outlined by each jurisdiction and airport to which they

operate.

Caribbean Airlines Cargo General Manager Marklan Moseley stated, “In these unprecedented times, our cargo operations are crucial to securing the urgent supply of essential goods within the Caribbean.

We will continue to adapt

16

guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020

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

A recount provides opportunity for Nagamootoo’s last lap major contesting parties to cry foul

Dear Editor, GECOM is about to conduct a recount of the General and Regional Elections held on March 2, 2020, which was forced upon our country by the Returning Officer for District Four, Mr Clairmont Mingo, failing to complete a credible tabulation and verification from the Statements of Poll, as ordered by the court, for District Four.

The declarations made by Mr Mingo and accepted by the Chief Elections Officer, Mr Keith Lowenfield, were seen to be fraudulent and in defiance of the Order of the Court by all of the contesting parties (except APNU/ AFC), by all of the local observers, by all of the international observers and by all of the Heads of Missions from

the UK, the USA, Canada and the EU, all of whom were present and witnessed the fraud, including me.

The votes had already been counted and declared at the place of poll in every District and publicly posted. The Statements of Poll for every District, except District Four, had been tabulated and verified from the Statements of Poll in those Districts and publicly declared.

Copies of the Statements of Poll of every District are in the possession of the contesting parties and the Chief Elections Officer. The results of the elections are already known because the Statements of Poll for District Four have been added up along with the re-

sults officially declared for Districts One-Three and Three-10 by the contesting parties and the observers who have possession of all of the Statements of Poll.

All that was necessary to complete the elections was the intervention of the Chairman of GECOM to have the District Four Statements of Poll credibly tabulated and verified against the Statements of Poll in the possession of the Chief Elections Officer.

It is glaringly obvious that her refusal to intervene and then later refuse again to stop, not one, but two fraudulent declarations by Mingo, has led the nation into a wholly unnecessary recount.

We are now going into

a recount in which a completely compromised Chief Elections Officer is in control, other compromised GECOM officers are likely to be involved and using a format imposed by the Chairman using her casting vote which is a prescription for confusion.

We face a recount which provides the opportunity for both of the major contesting parties to cry foul at whatever result is produced. I, for one, will have very little faith in a recount, which should never have had to happen, being credibly concluded. For the sake of our country, I very much hope that I am wrong.

Dear Editor, I refer to an article “PSC executives rally around Chairman Gerry Gouveia” Kaieteur News, April 28, 2020. This was in response to a letter written by Mr Beni Sankar questioning Gerry Gouveia’s role as Chairman.

Firstly, let me say that I am the President of the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce and has represented our Chamber for about six years as a member of the Council of the PSC. During the last six years I attended Council meetings, I can vaguely recall seeing Mr Sankar there at one or two meetings the most. I don’t think his organisation at present is a financial member.

I was taken aback read-

ing Mr Beni Sankar’s letter on social media talking about the elections and attacking the PSC Chairman. Honestly speaking, I was very saddened, more for Mr Sankar after reading his letter than feeling sorry for Mr Gouveia, who is absolutely capable of defending himself and the PSC. Saddened because from Mr Sankar’s letter, one can be forgiven for seeing a man in the twilight of his life quite envious of the younger, very capable Chairman whose own businesses have been very successful and his approach to the governance of PSC has been inspirational in the past year at the helm of the organisation.

Mr Gouviea has built a very good network of cooperation and frank discussions with

the ABC countries, the EU and any many other international organisations that come to Guyana to do business. I know I have attended many of those meetings.

The substance of Mr Sankar’s criticism of Mr Gouveia to me is more personal than substantial, eg, “Transport officer for the diplomat”. The man owns an airline business and is a pilot and Mr Beni know this.

He has a quarrel with Mr Gouveia that he, Mr Gouveia, “claimed results for District Four lacked credibility”. On this note, Mr Gouveia is in illustrious company. The OAS, Carter Center, The Commonwealth, the EU, and Caricom made it absolutely clear that the results for District Four was not “credible and lacked transparency”. As a matter of fact, no less than the Secretary of State of the United States of America made it absolutely clear that the recount should be “free, fair, transparent and credible”.

Nowhere in Mr Sankar’s letter has he condemned the blatant and crude attempt to rig the results of Region Four in favour of APNU, but he had a problem with the PSC calling for recounting of Region Four only. There were absolutely no issues with the other nine regions prior to the Region Four declaration but that issue subsequently became a red herring when calls came for the recount of Region Four.

Finally, the issue of a letter sent to the OAS where Mr Beni said: “Many in the PSC said that they were not consulted or shown the letter.” These are the facts on this matter and I will leave it to the readers to decide Mr Gouveia’s fate here; whether he should be blamed. Our national election was held on March 2 and by end of

March, we still had no results, thus, the PSC decided to write a few organisations seeking help for the country with the crisis. I received as head of the Central Corentyne Chamber on March 28, 2020, copies of letters to be sent out to international organisations and I understand this was also sent to 22 organisations with a time to respond by March 30 if there were objections to the contents. No one sent any dissent and the letters were sent out on March 31. When the contents of the letters hit the press two days later, 3 organisations out of 22 made objections.

In closing, I would like to say I have attended numerous meetings of the PSC Council from 2014 and the PSC, with different Chairmen, was quite a professional organisation.

In 2015, under Chairman Ramesh Persaud, the PSC, which observed the 2015 elections, duly informed President Ramotar that in the view of the organization, the PPP lost in a free and fair election. Today, when the same PSC is battling blatant attempts to rig an election, all kinds of ridiculous accusations are made against it and its Chairman, Gerry Gouveia. Gerry Gouveia, from my personal interactions, has been very fair in conducting meetings of the organisation before the elections and has done an incredibly good job after the elections, fighting for Guyana in the face of barefaced attempts to hijack an election in front of the world in the year 2020.

Yours sincerely, Kit Nascimento

Gouveia in forefront condemning attempts to hijack elections

Sincerely, M Raffik Council Member, PSC President Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce

Dear Editor, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo’s decision to tango on GECOM’s dance floor with his 14-day quarantine of the high-level team from Caricom that was invited to observe the recount of the votes was appalling. His poor and absurd decision to quarantine the Caricom high-level team was so idiotic that it was quickly squashed by his boss, President Granger on the very next day. Many believe that when this disgraceful episode is recorded by historians, Nagamootoo would be viewed as one of the most hopeless and comical Prime Ministers in the history of Guyana.

In the first instance, he should have used better judgment in making such an important and sensitive decision. He should have kept politics out for the simple reason that he is a major stakeholder in the March 2 stalled elections results, which some believe was a clear case of conflict of interest. Also, a large section of the population believes that the 14-day quarantine of the Caricom team was a political decision aimed at stalling or disrupting the recount of the March 2 election votes. This solidifies the belief espoused by the Honorable Prime Minister of Barbados and the Chair of Caricom, Mia Mottley that there are forces at work to derail the results of the March 2 elections. Weighing in on this issue was Kaieteur News prominent columnist, Freddy Kissoon, who described Nagamootoo’s decision as asinine conduct at the worst level. Is this the man who was designated to lead the PPP? In relation to the health

pandemic, Guyanese continue to be deprived of a comprehensive programme to seriously safeguard them from the deadly coronavirus. The truth is neither Nagamootoo nor Harmon, Chairman and CEO respectively of the COVID committee is trained or has the experience to deal with a pandemic of this magnitude and hence the prevention of the spreading of the disease.

Many in the public are at a loss as to what Nagamootoo continues to do to advance his political aspirations. Following the passage of the No-Confidence Motion against the coalition on December 21, 2018, Moses Nagamootoo was one of the chief architects to advance the voodoo arithmetic of the 32 ½ man rounded to a whole number of 33 plus one equal 34 needed to pass the motion.

Who taught him such arithmetic?

What is clear is Prime Minister Nagamootoo, who has been in politics for more than 50 years is on his last lap as a politician, but it seems as though he is blind to this looming scenario. Very soon, he will no longer be the Prime Minister, therefore, this is an opportune time for him to exit the political stage.

However, he believes that he is irreplaceable and that the country needs his stewardship. This kind of selfishness shows that he is in serious denial which is a defining attribute of the man, Moses Nagamootoo.

Sincerely, Leyland Chitlall Roopnaraine New York

Guyana urgently needs legitimate Govt Dear Editor, The production cost of oil is US$35 per barrel (bbl) and it is being sold at US$18 per bbl; a loss of US$17 per bbl? By simple calculation, Guyana collects every seventh million of production for which we will earn US$18 million; by the same token, a loss of $119 million is accrued during the production of the seven million bbl. May I ask who is/are responsible for picking up this tab?

If it is Guyana, then we must sit with the operator and work assiduously to lower the production costs; if it is our partners, then we must not only assist in every way possible to lower production costs, but we must also be willing to readjust our deal to make this venture viable in the short-term and profitable in the long-term for all concerned.

We must engage with the oil companies as true developmental partners to determine the short, medium, and long-term viability of the industry. Guyana must be willing to stand with our partners and help in whatever measure we can to ensure we

get the most from our oil resource and if there is a period where it is costing us more to pull it out of the ground than we can make selling it, we have to agree to halt production if asked by the operator. We have spoken of partnership with the oil companies and much like a marriage; one has to take the bad with the good to make it work. Guyana must use this period to readjust our thinking about oil as simply a ‘crude’ commodity to be lifted and sold. This is the time to think ‘value-added’; for example, petroleum-based synthetic fertilisers would bring extraordinary value to our agricultural sector. The petroleum downstream must become part of the Guyanese dream.

Guyana urgently needs her legitimate Government to take control to ensure this fledgeling pillar of the economy is not destroyed as others were in the recent past. Every day lost comes with a cost attached. Sed fugit interea, fugit inreparabile tempus.

Respectfully, Robin Singh

guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020

17

Regional

Peru prison riot over coronavirus PM Mottley in fears leaves 9 dead UN video launch

N

ine inmates were killed and scores of guards wounded when rioting broke out at a prison in Lima after two inmates died from COVID-19, authorities in Peru said Tuesday.

The riot broke out Monday at the city's Castro Castro prison. By nightfall, authorities said the situation had been brought under control, giving an initial toll of three dead before gradually revising the figure upwards to nine.

Aside from the nine killed, 60 prison guards, five Police Officers and two inmates were wounded in the unrest, the National Penitentiary Institute (INPE) said in a statement.

The death toll from

Inmates of Lima's Castro Castro prison protested following a deadly riot amid growing fears over the spread of the coronavirus

COVID-19 in Peru's overcrowded prison system has risen to 15, following the deaths of two inmates over the weekend, while more than 600 inmates are infected.

The riot at Castro Castro was the latest in a spate

of prison unrest linked to growing fears among inmates over the spread of the virus.

On Tuesday, inmates at Lurigancho – the country's largest prison located north of Lima – staged a two-hour protest demanding protec-

tionwide lockdown that began on March 24 to control the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has infected more than 5142 people and killed 233 in the country.

Indigenous groups, faced with their own challenges and risks in fighting COVID-19, are taking matters into their own hands.

More than 15,000 unarmed guardians from the Guardia Indigena (Indigenous Guardians or Guards), a civilian community de-

fence force, have mobilised throughout the country to prevent the virus from reaching Indigenous reserves, enforcing the command #QuedateEnElTerritorio, or "stay in the territory".

"We already have the infrastructure in place from dealing with the violence for so long," Robert Molina, a coordinator of the force, told Al Jazeera.

He directs the Guardian programme for the Regional Indigenous Organisation of

tion against COVID-19.

"We're dying. Don't let us die infected. We need medicine," read a banner held up by some of the prisoners.

The protest ended when the Lurigancho warden signed an agreement with the prisoners concerning their medical attention, a prison systems spokesperson told AFP. A relative of one of the inmates outside the prison pleaded for an early release.

"They are condemned to a prison sentence, but not to death here. Please, we are asking for mercy for them," the woman, who identified herself by her first name, Vilma, told AFP. (Excerpt from AFP)

Indigenous in Colombia take on armed groups – and coronavirus

S

ince he was a teenager, Edinson Quiguanas has helped patrol the roadside checkpoints on the outskirts of his Indigenous village in rural Colombia.

This time, his orders are different: no one enters and no one leaves.

"Before, we protected the community by watching for armed groups," he said.

"Now the threat is something you can't see."

Colombian President Ivan Duque ordered a na-

Cauca (CRIC). The mountainous, south-western state of Cauca has always been one of the most war-afflicted parts of Colombia throughout its more than 50 years of armed conflict.

Communities caught in the crossfire for generations formed the Guardia as a grassroots peace-building mechanism, but now they face the unprecedented challenge of blocking a pandemic. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

B

arbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley joined several prominent women around the world to participate in the United Nations’ Rise for All video launch on Monday.

Convened by UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed, Rise for All brought together women leaders to mobilise support for the UN roadmap to tackle the development emergency, as laid out in the United Nations Framework for the immediate socio-economic response to COVID-19.

This global advocacy effort to save lives and protect livelihood, urges leaders in all countries, across all sectors, to address the human crisis of the pandemic. It calls for solidarity and urgent action in response to the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic.

During the three-minute video, which was shown on UN WebTV, Mottley said: “Each country can start to prioritise during this moment, when the world is being asked to pause; that we can come back fitter and better.”

Noting that the pandemic can be fought, the Prime Minister continued: “We can do it working together, but we need to respect each other, to see each other and to hear each other.”

She stressed that the COVID-19 battle could be won with solidarity.

The other prominent women featured in the

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley

video are: the President of Ethiopia, Sahle-Work Zewde; the Prime Minister of Norway, Erna Solberg, who is the Sustainable Development Goals Advocate of the Secretary General; Sustainable Development Goals Advocate of the Secretary General, Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser; Sustainable Development Goals Advocate of the Secretary General, Dia Mirza; UN Women Goodwill Ambassador of Pakistan, Muniba Mazari; along with the Executive Directors of UNICEF, Henrietta Fore, of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, and of UNFPA, Natalia Kanem.

(Excerpt from Nation News)

Argentina's coronavirus patients, Premier says Bermuda may medical workers harassed start slowly rolling back

T

he first thing Fernando Gaitan did when he saw the note posted inside the elevator of his building was cry. Days later, when he received another one on his door, he felt a stabbing pain.

"You're going to infect us all," said the initial anonymous letter directed at doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare workers on the front line of coronavirus pandemic. "Go away."

The second note told Gaitan, a pharmacist in the Argentine capital, that if anyone in the building gets sick, "it will be the last thing you do in your life".

"I cried, because we're obviously living a very tense situation and I'm a human

A health worker rests her back against a wall at the Manuel Belgrano hospital in San Martin, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina [Agustin Marcarian//Reuters]

being like everyone else," said Gaitan. "I honestly couldn't believe it. Because I'm heading out to work and exposing myself."

For weeks, Argentines have taken to their balconies every night to applaud and cheer on healthcare workers who are putting themselves

in the line of fire to combat the novel coronavirus.

But an uglier behaviour has also taken root, with several stories of harassment and threatening of medical professionals who are being accused of posing a risk to the community they are seeking to help.

It is not just doctors who are targeted, but COVID-19 patients, or those who are suspected of carrying the disease.

Marisol San Roman, who contracted the illness while studying in Madrid, has received a deluge of vitriol through social media channels. She has been called a leper, threatened with death, told her house will be lit on fire. She says she has heard worse stories from others who reach out to her in fear and indignation. Last week, someone torched the car of a doctor in the province of La Rioja who had tested positive for coronavirus.

The behaviour has been vehemently rejected by Argentine officials. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

PAHO Director calls for continued immunisation to avoid risk of other outbreaks

T

he Director of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), Dr Carissa F Etienne on Tuesday urged vaccination programmes to continue during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If we fall behind on routine immunisations, particularly for children, we risk

outbreaks, thus overwhelming hospitals and clinics with preventable diseases in addition to COVID-19,” said Dr Etienne.

In a press briefing updating the situation, Dr Etienne said: “Until a vaccine for COVID19 is available, immunisations can and must be de-

livered by the health services alongside the response to the pandemic. If countries fail to do this,” she added, “the impact on our health systems would take months or even years to reverse.”

Dr Etienne maintains that a priority for countries must be to vaccinate, to protect health workers, the elder-

ly and vulnerable populations from other respiratory infections—such as influenza and pneumococcus—which can lead to more hospitalisations and may be harder to diagnose in the context of COVID-19.

Vaccination Week is being commemorated this week. (Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

restrictions next week

P

remier David Burt says the territory could “start a very slow rolling back” of coronavirus restrictions next week, as officials beefed up capacity to test for the virus.

Speaking late Monday during a press briefing, he said the Cabinet would meet on Tuesday to consider the next steps after the latest round of shelter-inplace restrictions ended on Saturday.

“We will not return to life as we knew it before COVID-19 for the foreseeable future. The reopening of the airport, closed to regular flights since March 20, would also be discussed at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, he said.

Meanwhile, Bob Richards, who was Finance Minister during the One Bermuda Alliance Administration between 2012 and 2017, said pay cuts for civil servants should be on the table as the Government deals with the huge fiscal impact of the COVID-19 crisis.

According to Richards, the Progressive Labour

Premier David Burt

Party (PLP) Government was likely to face a revenue shortfall in the region of US$200 million this fiscal year as projected tax income failed to materialise from the battered economy.

The national debt stood at BMD$2.67 billion before the crisis began.

For his part, Curtis Dickinson, the current Finance Minister, has identified capital spending, hiring freezes, training and supplies as areas where he can cut spending. (Excerpt from Reuters)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020

Around the World

As Germany lockdown eases, spread of coronavirus worsens

F

irst signs that the transmission of the novel coronavirus has again picked up were visible in German official data, just as the country attempts a cautious easing of its lockdown measures.

The reproduction or infection rate - under close watch by health authorities - mounted again to approximately 1.0, meaning each infected person passes the virus on to one other, figures from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for disease control showed late on Monday.

Ministers and virologists have hammered home the

Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil and a worker wear protective masks at the Volkswagen assembly line after the company restarts Europe's largest car factory after coronavirus shutdown in Wolfsburg, Germany [Swen Pfoertner/Pool via Reuters]

importance of squeezing the number below 1.0.

The country has seen days of intense media and political debate after Chancellor Angela Merkel warned

Germany's federal states against loosening their lockdowns too quickly.

Since mid-April, the infection rate had sunk as low as 0.7 before inching up again.

Meanwhile, the mortality rate from COVID-19 has also been rising day by day.

By Tuesday, it had reached 3.8 per cent, according to RKI figures, which remains well below some neighbouring countries such as France.

The latest data showed 156,337 cases in Germany and 5913 deaths.

Rising infection and mortality rates could pose a puzzle for authorities, as a population chafing at lockdown measures is just beginning to enjoy some refound freedoms and an initial united front in politics and media crumbles.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Fuel truck bomb blast kills dozens in Syria's Afrin – Turkey

A

t least 40 civilians have been killed in a fuel tanker bomb blast in a northern Syrian town controlled by Turkishbacked opposition fighters, according to Turkey's Defence Ministry.

The Ministry said in a Twitter post that another 47 people were wounded in Tuesday's explosion in a crowded street of Afrin.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Turkey blamed the at-

tack on the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).

Ankara accuseD the YPG of being the Syrian offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged an armed rebellion against Turkey since 1984. The PKK is considered a "terrorist group" by Ankara and many Western capitals.

Syrian activists said the blast on Tuesday burned several people to death, including some who were

stuck inside their vehicles.

In a hospital yard, 10 charred bodies were covered with blankets next to ambulances. In an ambulance nearby, two charred bodies were inside, according to videos and photos circulated by activists.

The blast set several cars and shops on fire and tanker trucks were used to fight the blaze.

Similar explosions in areas controlled by Turkeybacked opposition fighters

have killed many people in recent months, attacks that Ankara blames on Kurdish fighters.

Turkey and allied Syrian opposition fighters took control of Afrin in a military operation in 2018.

Ankara supports the Syrian opposition in the war against President Bashar al-Assad, but has worked closely with his ally, Russia, to secure and monitor local ceasefires. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Coronavirus: Putin admits PPE shortage as lockdown extended

R

ussian President Vladimir Putin has admitted that there is a shortage of protective kit for medics as the country battles the coronavirus.

This was despite a big increase in production and imports, he said.

Putin warned that the peak of the coronavirus infection rate had not yet been reached in the country, and the population must remain vigilant.

Russia's lockdown aimed at containing the spread of COVID-19 was extended until May 11.

It has more than 93,000 coronavirus cases, with 867 recorded deaths.

The President said there was still not enough protec-

President Vladimir Putin visited coronavirus patients at a hospital in Moscow last month

tive equipment for health workers on the frontline of the crisis.

"Compared to before, [we're producing] a lot. But compared what we need, it's still not enough," he said during a televised briefing.

"Despite increased pro-

duction, imports - there's a deficit of all sorts of things," he added.

Medics have complained about working without proper protective clothing, especially in Russia's regions.

Russia is now produc-

ing 100,000 protective suits for medics per day, up from 3000 a day in March, he said. Production of masks has also increased more than 10 times, to 8.5 million per day in April.

Putin said that while the Government had managed to "slow the spread" of the epidemic, Russians would have to self-isolate for longer.

He said the lockdown would continue for two more weeks, though he instructed the Government to draw up recommendations

by May 5 for a gradual easing of restrictions.

"The deadly danger of the virus remains," he said.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

UK on track for one of Europe's worst virus death tolls

B

ritain is on track to record one of the worst coronavirus death tolls in Europe, after data published on Tuesday showed nationwide fatalities topped 24,000 nine days ago.

A day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke of success in dealing with the outbreak, the new figures showed the week ending April 17 was Britain’s deadliest since comparable records began in 1993.

The Office for National Statistics said 21,284 people had died in England by April 17 with mentions of COVID-19 on their death certificate. Together with figures from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the total United Kingdom death toll was at least 24,000 as of April 19.

Unlike the hospital death tolls announced daily by the Government, Tuesday’s ONS figures include deaths in community settings, such

as care homes where overall fatalities have trebled in a few weeks.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Tuesday that daily figures for deaths in the community would be published from today.

Overall, Tuesday’s figures for COVID-19 deaths in England and Wales up to April 17 were more than 50 per cent higher than the daily toll for deaths in hospitals initially announced by the Government.

The figures underline the scale of the challenge facing Johnson as he returns to work after recovering from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and the dangers of relaxing Britain’s lockdown too soon.

He warned on Monday that it was still too dangerous to relax stringent measures wreaking havoc on the economy, for fear of a deadly second outbreak. (Excerpt from BBC News)

OILNEWS US oil prices swing as coronavirus fuels storage fears

U

S oil prices endured another day of volatile trading on Tuesday as concerns over storage capacity prompted fears the American crude benchmark could again plummet into negative territory. The West Texas Intermediate contract for June delivery fell 20 per cent to a low of US$10.07 a barrel in early London trading, before clawing back nearly all of its losses to settle 3.4 per cent lower at US$12.34.

The volatility came on the heels of a 25 per cent plunge in the price of the same contract on Monday. Extreme price swings have rocked global oil markets in recent sessions. Last week, WTI crude for May delivery fell to negative US$40 a barrel shortly before expiry, marking the first time in history that the price of an oil contract had fallen below zero. The coronavirus pandemic has reduced demand for oil by close to a third, raising concerns that a glut of unwanted supplies will overwhelm global storage capacity. Oil tanks have been filled up or booked out by traders, while the amount of crude and fuel being stored on vessels at sea has surged, with IHS Markit putting seaborne crude stocks at 175 million barrels, up from 100 million in late March. Robert Rennie, Sydney-based Head of Market Strategy at Westpac, said the industry was approaching the limit of its storage capacity, including floating storage, which was having a “depressing effect” on prices. Traders said the only resolution would be for production to start shutting down or throttling back, but most oil companies are hesitant to make the first move. Oilproducer group OPEC and its allies such as Russia are due to start cutting about 10 per cent of global supplies from early May — though that may be accelerated — but the size of the demand drop at the peak of lockdowns and travel restrictions is closer to 30 per cent of the normally 100 million-barrel-aday global market.

Volatility in crude markets has been exacerbated by exchange-traded funds. The tumble in US prices on Monday was driven by the world’s largest oil-backed ETF starting to sell off its positions in June futures contracts, moving into contracts for later delivery. S&P GSCI, one of the largest indices tracking a basket of commodities, said on Tuesday it would make an “unscheduled” move out of the June WTI contract at the close of trading — as long as prices were not already in negative territory — adding a further wave of selling pressure as funds following the index will need to shift positions in response.

Brent crude for June delivery also initially slid on Tuesday, hitting a low of US$18.73 a barrel before rebounding to US$20.46, ending the trading session 2.4 per cent higher. The international oil market last week dropped below US$20 a barrel for the first time in almost two decades. Prices for physical cargoes in the spot market for delivery in the next couple of weeks are even weaker. The price of dated-Brent, a physical benchmark based on a basket of North Sea crudes that is assessed by pricing agency S&P Global Platts, fell to US$13.65 a barrel on Monday, down almost 15 per cent on the day — a sign that traders have little appetite for cargoes anywhere in the world. Other energy markets have also been hit, with the price for cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) falling to the lowest on record, trading at less than US$1.90 per million British Thermal Units. That is down more than 60 per cent from the start of this year. Equity markets in Europe shrugged off volatility in oil prices to push higher. That enthusiasm did not bleed into trading on Wall Street, where stocks struggled between positive and negative territory for the day. Brokers said broad support from big central banks had provided some support for stock markets. The Bank of Japan on Monday said it would buy an unlimited amount of Government bonds and keep interest rates low. Investors are also focused on meetings this week by the European Central Bank and US Federal Reserve. (Excerpt from Financial Times)

guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020

19

ARCHIE

ARIES

(March 21April 19)

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

DILBERT

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

CANCER (June 21July 22)

PEANUTS

CALVIN AND HOBBES

Be prepared to answer questions that will change how others view you. A passionate, persistent approach to getting what you want will pay off. A physical challenge will ease your stress.

Don’t leave anything to chance. Say what’s on your mind and do whatever is necessary to get your point across. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by an unexpected turn of events.

Offer only what’s reasonable if someone asks for help. Choose how you delegate your time, services and cash. A steady pace will lead to respect and financial gain.

If you take charge, you will get things done your way and on time. Refuse to let less productive people or obstacles slow you down. Let your experience and intelligence guide you.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Avoid getting drawn into chaotic circumstances. Focus on yourself, your loved ones and how best to avoid situations that involve outsiders. It’s time to reflect and make adjustments.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

The changes you bring about will affect the way you live and how you view the world around you. Trust and believe only in facts, not in hearsay.

LIBRA

Bypass the nonsense that someone is spouting or causing. Take care of your responsibilities and move on to things you enjoy doing.

Health, fitness and updating your image are encouraged.

(Sept. 23Oct. 23)

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

SUDOKU

Present, promote and discuss your options with someone who shares your sentiments. Dealing with those who oppose you will be a waste of time. It’s up to you to get things done.

SAGITTARIUS Protect partnerships from people who like to meddle in (Nov. 23Dec. 21) others’ business. Don’t share your plans, secrets or passwords. Romance is in the stars.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

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

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

Put your plans in motion.

Making changes to your living space will encourage you to move forward in other aspects of your life. Reach out to those who share your interests.

Distance yourself from anyone putting pressure on you. Do what’s best for you.

Building strength and stamina is encouraged.

Make a positive change regarding your finances or how you earn your living.

Don’t hesitate to participate in events that are geared toward reform and helping others.

20

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020

Coronavirus: World Athletics launches US$500,000 fund for struggling athletes

W

orld Athletics has launched a US$500,000 fund alongside the International Athletics Foundation (IAF) to help athletes affected financially by the coronavirus pandemic.

The world of sport has been decimated by the outbreak of COVID-19, which has seen the Olympic Games in Tokyo postponed by a year until 2021.

That had a knock-on effect with the World Athletics Championships, originally scheduled for 2021 in Oregon, being pushed back by 12 months, while the 2020 European Championships have been cancelled.

A World Athletics statement said the fund would be used to help athletes who have lost the majority of their income from the suspension of international competition.

Resources from the 2020 and 2021 budgets of the IAF,

of which Prince Albert II of Monaco is honorary president, will be allocated to help athletes.

World Athletics President and IAF Chair Sebastian Coe will front "an expert multi-regional working group to assess the applications for assistance, which will be submitted through World Athletics' six Area Associations".

Olympic champion and 1500 metres world record-holder Hicham El Guerrouj and Olympic pole vault champion Katerina Stefanidi are among the members of the working group, which will convene in the coming week for talks over how to award and distribute grants to individual athletes and to assess means of raising additional monies for the fund.

"I would especially like to thank Hicham for bringing this idea to us, and Prince Albert for his strong support

of this project," Coe said.

"I am in constant contact with athletes around the world and I know that many are experiencing financial hardship as a consequence of the shutdown of most international sports competition in the last two months.

"Our professional athletes rely on prize money as part of their income and we're mindful that our competition season, on both the

track and road, is being severely impacted by the pandemic.

"We are hopeful that we will be able to stage at least some competition later this year, but in the meantime, we will also endeavour, through this fund and additional monies we intend to seek through the friends of our sport, to help as many

athletes as possible."

El Guerrouj added: "The pandemic is causing economic pain to people from all parts of society, including athletes, and this is a time when we must come together as a global community to help each other.

"I am delighted that Seb and World Athletics reacted so positively to my suggestion that we create a fund for athletes, and have made it happen with the support of the International Athletics Foundation.

"The suspension of competition has had a huge impact on many professional athletes because they can't earn prize money so I'm really pleased that we have found a way to assist them."

Prince Albert II said he hoped the initiative could help athletes continue preparations for next year's Games.

"I created more than 35 years ago the International Athletics Foundation with the late Primo Nebiolo to encourage and promote athletics and grant financial assistance to athletics federations and the most deserving athletes," he said.

"Since its inception, the Foundation has distributed for these purposes more than US$30 million. I am delighted that we can put our resources behind this initiative so we can make a difference to the lives of athletes who are suffering financially at this time.

"We hope that this support will help those athletes preparing for international competition, including next year's Olympic Games, to sustain their training, support their families, and that this will relieve them of some stress in these uncertain times." (Sportsmax)

Andy & Jamie Murray: Tennis Tokyo 2020 Olympics will be Scotland hope brothers play “scrapped” instead of delayed closed-doors event again, says Games chief T

T

he postponed Tokyo Olympics will be "scrapped" if they cannot take place in 2021, says Games chief Yoshiro Mori.

Tokyo 2020 is now scheduled to run from July 23 to August 8 next year after being delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Health experts have cast doubt on whether the Games could be held next summer without a vaccine or effective drugs to treat COVID-19 being found.

When asked if the event could be moved again to 2022, Mori replied: "No." "In that case, the Olympics will be scrapped," he added.

However, the Tokyo 2020 President said he was confident the rescheduled Games would go ahead.

"This Olympics would be much more valuable than any Olympics in the past if we could go ahead with it after winning this battle," he told Nikkan Sports.

"We have to believe this, otherwise our hard work and efforts will not be rewarded."

The President of Japan's

Yoshiro Mori

medical association, Yoshitake Yokokura said on Tuesday it would be "difficult" to hold the Olympics in 2021 without vaccines or effective drugs being developed.

"I am not saying that Japan should or shouldn't host the Olympics, but that it would be difficult to do so," he said.

"If the infections are under control in Japan, it will still be difficult to hold the Games unless the pandem-

ic is over in the rest of the world."

Most experts think a vaccine is likely to become available by mid-2021, though others have warned there is no guarantee a vaccine can be successfully developed.

Mori added that the Olympics and Paralympics – which will now run from August 24 to September 5, 2021 – could share opening and closing ceremonies as a way of cutting costs.

"Given that the situation has dramatically changed, we have to review key areas, including the ceremonies," he said.

"It's going to a considerable cut in costs and a big message of victory against the global crisis – but it's not easy."

However, Mori said he had not yet asked the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee whether they would agree to such a plan, and acknowledged that tickets had already been sold for the separate opening and closing ceremonies.

(BBC Sport)

ennis Scotland hopes to persuade Andy and Jamie Murray to play in a behind-closeddoors event in Scotland.

Jamie Murray is in advanced talks with the Lawn Tennis Association about putting on a London event, with the tennis tours currently suspended amid the coronavirus outbreak.

That would feature him and his brother.

"Some of what Jamie's doing in a British context, we're trying to do in a Scottish context," said Tennis Scotland chief executive Blane Dodds.

"Once we've got more structure and funding attached to it, we'll contact Jamie and get his thoughts.

Bouncing some ideas off him is our next plan.

"It's unique that we have players actually in Scotland right now, and when lockdown finishes, that will still be the case as international travel will probably be the last thing that gets unlocked."

Jamie Murray's England-based event this summer will feature topranked UK players going head-to-head in singles and doubles.

Jamie and Andy Murray's successful doubles partnership was instrumental in Great Britain's Davis Cup win in 2015

Dodds believes it will be "absolute gold dust" if both Murray brothers play, as there will still be a "world class" element to proceedings, but in more relaxed surroundings.

Andy Murray last played in November because of complications arising from a hip operation, but hopes to feature in the rearranged French Open in September, should it go ahead.

"It could end up playing very much into Andy's hands," Dodds said. "With Wimbledon being cancelled and the whole internation-

al calendar being put back, who knows how much international tennis will actually happen this year at all?

"Only Andy knows what his body's like, but any longer period that he can have to get back to full fitness is going to be hugely advantageous. It would be great to see him playing at the top of the game again."

Meanwhile, Dodds has planned talks with Judy Murray about the launch of a new programme aimed at pitching tennis in Scotland as a family sport. (BBC Sport)

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21

UEFA asks European leagues for decision on domestic seasons by May 25 E

uropean leagues have until May 25 to tell UEFA whether they want to complete or cancel their seasons.

Football is suspended in all European countries apart from Belarus because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Premier League has this week stepped up its plans to resume the season in what has been labelled “Project Restart”.

Arsenal, Tottenham, Brighton and West Ham have opened their training grounds to players for individual work.

The Premier League is hopeful of a potential June 8 restart and finishing at the end of July to fit in with UEFA's European competition plans. This would require full training to begin

by May 18.

Top-flight clubs will meet on Friday to discuss options for the restart.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said he had been in contact with clubs about re-

starting the Premier League "as soon as possible".

Professional Footballers' Association deputy chief executive Bobby Barnes said: "We have been assured of the intentions of all that there would be no resumption unless guarantees of safety could be given to the players.

"The overriding principle for all parties is the health and safety of all participants on and off the field, and of course the wider public."

The Scottish Premiership is suspended indefinitely and the season could yet be declared over, a move al-

ready taken with the second, third and fourth tiers north of the border.

On Tuesday, the French Government banned all sporting events, even without spectators, until September, signalling the end of the season for the top two divisions in the country, Ligue 1 and Ligue 2.

The Dutch top flight was abandoned on Friday with no promotion or relegation and no champions, while on Monday Belgian clubs postponed a vote on confirming the cancellation of their top flight until next week.

The deadline set by

UEFA is referred to in a set of guidelines on 'eligibility principles' for European competitions that the governing body's President and General Secretary have sent out to football bodies.

"Given the unforeseen and unprecedented situation [...] national associations and leagues are facing a situation whereby the completion of their domestic competitions may be at risk," they write.

Stakeholders are told they "should be in a position to communicate to UEFA

by May 25 the planned restart of their domestic competitions, including the date of restart and the relevant competition format".

It adds: "In the event that a domestic competition is to be prematurely terminated for legitimate reasons […] UEFA would require the national association to explain by May 25."

UEFA is understood to have set the date because of its next executive committee meeting two days later,

when decisions on the restarting of the Champions League and Europa League may be reached. It is viewed as flexible guidance, rather than a rigid deadline.

Last week, after a video call meeting of all 55 national associations, UEFA made clear it wants on-field performance to determine which clubs make up next season's European club competitions, despite the current shutdown.

UEFA urged clubs to "explore all possible options" to finish their seasons.

It accepted that in "special cases" some could be cancelled, but asked authorities to use "a different format" if needed in order for teams to qualify for European competitions.

If league seasons cannot be finished, it said national associations would need to select clubs to qualify for Europe.

UEFA said it could "refuse or evaluate" selected teams if necessary. (BBC Sport)

Ligue 1 & 2: France's top 2 divisions will not resume this season T he Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 seasons will not resume after France banned all sporting events, including behind closed doors, until September.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the 2019-20 sporting season was over as he announced plans to ease France's coronavirus lockdown on May 11.

French football's governing body had hoped to resume the season on June 17 and finish the campaign on July 25.

Football was suspended indefinitely in France on March 13.

It is not yet known whether Ligue de Football Professional (LFP) will choose to abandon the season with no promotion or relegation and no champions or base the outcome of

PSG are 12 points clear at the top of Ligue 1, with a game in hand

the campaign on current standings.

Defending champions Paris St-Germain are 12 points clear of Marseille at the top of Ligue 1, with 10 rounds of matches and one outstanding fixture left to

play.

Toulouse are bottom of the table, 17 points from safety, and 10 points behind Amiens. Nimes are 18th and in the relegation playoff spot, three points behind St Etienne in 17th.

The top five sides in Ligue 2 are separated by just four points, with Lorient and Lens currently occupying the automatic promotion spots.

The LFP had previously met on April 10 and voted to resume the Ligue 1 season.

However, Philippe said: "The 2019-20 season of professional sports, including football, will not be able to resume.

"It will be possible, on sunny days, to practice an individual sporting activity outdoors, obviously respecting the rules of social distancing.

"It will not be possible, neither to practise sport in covered places, nor team or contact sports."

European leagues have until May 25 to tell European football's gov-

erning body UEFA whether they want to complete or cancel their seasons.

The Dutch top flight was abandoned on Friday with no promotion or relegation and no champions, while on Monday Belgian clubs postponed a vote on confirming the cancellation of their top flight until next week.

The Head of the Dutch FA told BBC Sport he thinks it is "very doubtful" the Premier League will be able to complete the 201920 campaign.

UEFA has said it will use on-field performance to determine which clubs make up next season's European club competitions. If league seasons cannot be finished, it said national associations would need to select clubs to qualify for Europe. (BBC Sport)

Proposal to legalise ball-tampering “illogical” – insists West Indies great Holding

L

223-7230-1 (Ext 55)

egendary West Indies fast bowler turned commentator Michael Holding has described proposals to legalise ball-tampering, in wake of the threat posed by the coronavirus, as “illogical”.

The thinking behind the move stems from the fact that fast bowlers often use bodily fluids like sweat and saliva to polish one side of the ball, which impacts its aerodynamics. The method is particularly useful in aiding swing bowling. Under Law 41, however, all other actions which alter the condition of the ball are illegal.

Players are often known to scuff the ball with a sharp object carried onto the field, fingernails, or even teeth.

With concerns raised regarding the threat posed by bodily fluids in spreading the virus, however, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has considered amending the rules to allow the use of foreign substances on the ball, with the caveat that it is done in front of the umpire. The proposal has found favour in some circles, but Holding did not agree.

“I have read that ICC is contemplating preventing

people from using saliva on the ball due to COVID-19 and allowing them to use foreign substances on the ball to keep the shine on, but in front of the umpire.

I don't understand the logic behind that,” Holding told ESPNcricinfo.

“Before they got to that point they said, if they restart cricket, it has to be played in a bio-secure environment. They were saying cricketers, for instance, would have to isolate themselves for two weeks to make sure that everything was fine for when they got to the venue before the match

started. And everyone involved (with the match) will have to do the same thing,” he added.

“Now if you are saying everyone is in the bio-secure environment, you are staying in the same hotel, you

are not moving for the length of time you are playing the matches, if that is the case, why are you worried about someone's saliva? That person, according to what you are doing, should be free of COVID-19.” (Sportsmax)

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Cricviz – Top power hitters in the CPL

T

he Caribbean Premier League have started broadcasting classic matches from the tournament and we at CricViz thought it would be apt to look back at some of the best power hitters in recent times in the competition. For this, we’ve taken into consideration our metric – Power Rating - to decide the top hitters in the CPL in recent times. We’re looking at all the players in the last four seasons of the competition to have played at least 150 balls, a large enough sample size to decide the best power hitters.

TEN. Nicolas Pooran: One of the most promising players from the Caribbean, Nicholas Pooran, makes it to #10 in our list with a power rating of 144. The left-hander excelled play-

Nicolas Pooran

last two CPL seasons, the New Zealander has scored 831 runs in 21 matches – more than any other player in the competition. Across his CPL career Phillips has preferred facing the angle from left arm bowlers - he

Rahkeem Cornwall

ing for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the 2019 edition, moving from the Tridents where he was also successful from 2016 to 2018. The 24year old from Trinidad was exceptional in CPL 2019, especially at the death scoring at 16.11 runs per over.

Of the 18 players to have faced 30+ balls at the death in CPL 2019, none scored as quick as Pooran.

NINE. Alex Hales: England’s Alex Hales from the Tridents makes it to #9 with a power rating of 146.

The right-hander scored a

has scored at 9.31 runs per overs against left arm bowlers compared to 7.87 rpo against right arm bowlers.

SEVEN. Chris Gayle: The Universe Boss, undisputed T20 King, Chris Gayle makes it to #7 with a power rating of 150. With 2354 runs in the CPL, no player has scored more runs than the Jamaican. Gayle has registered 162 sixes in the CPL – more than any other player. No T20 list that talks about hitters is ever complete without a mention of Chris Gayle.

Chris Gayle

boundary once in every five deliveries in CPL 2019 – more often than any of the other players from Barbados Tridents.

EIGHT. Glenn Phillips: Jamaica Tallawahs’ opener - Glenn Phillips, slots into number eight in the list with a power rating of 148. In the

SIX. Shane Watson: Shane Watson who played two seasons for St Lucia in 2016 & 2017 as their icon player makes it into the list at #6 with a power rating of 151. In his two seasons in the CPL, Watson was severe against seamers striking at 9.94 runs per over com-

pared to a significantly lower 6.45 runs per over against spinners. He was very effective at the death, scoring at 11.41 runs per over with a power rating of 170 and scored almost half his run in the ‘V’ down the wicket.

FIVE. Fabian Allen: The 24-year old, part of the current Windies fire power with his big hitting capabilities slots into #5 with a power rating of 156. Playing for the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Allen has quickly become one of the most lethal strikers of the ball in the CPL. Across all CPL seasons of all players to have faced at least 150 balls in the competition, Fabian Allen has a strike rate of 181.2 tied with Andre Russell as the best strikers. Lethal against the

seamers, Allen could soon become a CPL superstar and very promising prospect for the Windies in the International setup.

FOUR. Andre Russell: A Windies power list without Andre Russell is not a list.

The big hitting Jamaican, renowned for his exploits in T20 leagues across the world, slots into #4 in the list with a power rating of 164. Russell is well known for his ability to accelerate at the death in T20s. In the CPL what makes him rather special is his prowess to score quickly in the middle overs, striking at 9.87 runs per over in the phase.

Of all players to have faced 100+ balls in the phase in the CPL, none have scored quicker.

THREE. DJ Bravo: Probably a surprise at #3 in the list, DJ Bravo with a power rating of 165, finds himself higher than most of the other big Windies power hitters. Well, a look at the numbers shows why it isn’t very surprising with his versatility. Adept at playing both spin and pace effectively, Bravo excels playing through the onside against spinners and lethal on the offside against seamers. Scoring at 14.75 runs per over towards backward point against seamers – a trademark shot for the man

Andre Russell

from TKR, a clear example of his strength using his timing and power.

TWO. Evin Lewis: Evin Lewis with a power rating of 172, slots into the second position in the list. Touted as the next Chris Gayle, Lewis is exceptional in the powerplay, especially when there’s pace on. What makes Lewis all the more special in the form he carries into the middle overs. In the powerplay he scores at 8.9 runs per over, but that jumps to a higher 10.26 runs per over in the middle overs. Once set, Lewis’s onside play makes him the special player that he is. In the middle overs, he scores at staggering 16.7 runs per over through the onside playing only 7% false shots, scoring almost 40% runs playing his trademark pull shot.

ONE. Rahkeem Cornwall: Rahkeem Cornwall, the big Antiguan with his highly successful 2019 season tops the list with a power rating of 190.

A very clear, aggressive role to execute in the powerplay, Cornwall had a breakthrough season in 2019. A perfect mix of attack and power - no player has a higher attack rating & power rating compared to Cornwall.

The big hitting opener has scored at 10.02 runs per over in the powerplay. Of all players in CPL history, none have scored at a quicker rate in the first six overs. Whilst he’s played numerous seasons of Caribbean Premier League before this year, 2019 has been the moment when he crossed over, and when people really started to take notice. (Cricbiz.com)

BCB benefits from new pitch covers as cricket development continues in the Ancient County

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espite the coronavirus crisis affecting global sport, the vibrant Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) is using the off-season to strengthen its capacity to further develop cricket and also make a positive difference in the lives of the less fortunate.

With the Berbice cricket season closed since late February, the BCB office has also been closed, but the staff is still being paid. The BCB is currently hosting a coronavirus food hamper drive along with 10 cricket teams of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC), to distribute 500-600 hampers to less fortunate families across Berbice as well as face masks in its efforts to combat the deadly virus.

Meanwhile, the BCB is also on the verge of creating a Berbice cricket flag and emblem as it forges ahead with its vision.

The flag would be flown at all BCB cricket finals and events while the emblem would also be placed on all BCB souvenirs, including inter-county caps, T-Shirts, and cups.

In another major development, the BCB has re-

ceived two pitch covers. The covers are 50 feet each with a width of 20 feet and will be stored at the Albion Cricket Ground on a full-time basis. The donation was made possible with the assistance of former BCB President Anil Beharry, who obtained support via his Friends of Berbice Cricket programme. Those making donations were Noreen Gaskin of Sentinel Security, Tyler and Mia, Kalvin Somrah, Renwick Beharry, Raj Rebhel Mathura, Ian Bhagwandhin and Khemraj Tageram.

A delighted Foster stated that the policy of his board was to become self-reliant in an effort to cut operational costs, so that more funds can be pumped into developmental programmes, such as coaching. With the BCB now having its own cricket covers, the Competition Committee would now be in a better position to organise semi-finals and finals at traditional venues, where there might be no covers.

Under Foster’s leadership, the BCB has organised semis and finals at non-traditional venues like Fyrish, No 69, Cotton Tree, No 72 Cut and Load

BCB President Hilbert Foster

and Hampshire in an effort to promote the game at the grassroot level, and this would be expanded when the cricket season restarts later in the year. Since the election of the Foster-led administration, the BCB has also undertaken the complete restoration of its New Amsterdam head office and obtained items for the smooth operation of its business. The BCB hopes in the future to purchase its own

vehicle, construct a modern indoor cricket facility, and host a Premier Professional League for its cricketers.

The President expressed gratitude to the contributors to the Friends of Berbice Cricket Fund and reassured them that the covers would be taken care of. The first iteration of the fund in 2018 raised $830,000, which was used to purchase cricket balls for clubs across the county.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

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No point in punishing Gibbs for his critique of Cornwall R

ight across the globe, retired athletes are often asked their opinions on the current state of their respective sports.

Sometimes their responses are good, something not so much. After all, what they offer are opinions and as the saying goes, “everybody has one”.

Many times those comments are positive in nature and go down well with the public. However, there are times when the opinions are critical of the current stars and those tend to attract a certain level of vitriol.

Just recently, Lance Gibbs, the first spin bowler in history to take 300 Test

wickets and was the second bowler in history to break that threshold behind Fred Truman, was asked to offer his opinion on the quality of the spin bowlers who currently ply their trade in regional cricket.

Speaking on Mason on Guest in Barbados, he said he was not particularly impressed with the current crop. He was also critical of Rahkeem Cornwall, whom many would argue is the best spinner in the region and has been for a couple of years now.

Cornwall’s 300 wickets from just 62 matches and 13 Test wickets from just two Tests, I would assume, sug-

gest that he possesses some talent that could one day help take the West Indies back near the top of world cricket once this pandemic subsides.

Gibbs was particularly critical of Cornwall’s runup that is two steps. He argues that taking only two steps before he delivers prevents Cornwall from finding a rhythm, which Gibbs believes could make him a better bowler.

However, as many fans are wont to do, they lashed out against Gibbs, instead of analysing what he said and putting it into proper context.

Here is the thing; there

have been many instances in the past two decades or so when we have seen spinners thrive regionally only to be embarrassingly exposed when promoted to the Test side against world-class opposition.

Devendra Bishoo, Nikita Miller, and Veerasammy Permaul are just a few names who have excelled regionally but then were literally beaten into submission

by Australia, England, India and so on. And it's not just the spinners. Devon Smith plunders regional bowlers every season only to be found wanting when asked to open for the West Indies.

The way I look at it,

COVID-19 Pandemic

GFF stands in solidarity with the health-care workers

T

he Guyana Football Federation wishes to commend the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), health-care and other frontline workers who are engaged to keep our country safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This was said by President Wayne Forde as the GFF’s Secretariat con-

tinues to observe social distancing measures and football operations continue to be scaled down due to the ongoing pandemic.

Forde commended the efforts of the MoPH “to confront this disease by actively promoting awareness, providing care and support for those affected and for keeping the public

GFF President Wayne Forde

well informed.”

“The Guyana Football fraternity stands in solidarity with the health care workers who are on the frontline of this battle and would therefore urge the general public to behave in a manner that values and respects their enormous courage and sacrifice,” Forde added.

FIBA freezes 3x3 basketball rankings T

he International B a s k e t b a l l Federation – Fédération Internationale de Basketball (FIBA) announced the freezing of individual rankings, teams and selections of 3×3 bas-

ketball. The suspension will end only when FIBA’s activities, halted by the coronavirus pandemic, resume.

In terms of Guyana and its 3x3 ranking, the men’s team are 152nd, while the women are unranked. This ranking was determined by the nine top performances of the players in the last 12 months. Normally, the 3×3

…Guyana ranked 152

basketball season starts in April each year, but as the entity has now suspended all competitions since March, the beginning of the year for the sport will be delayed by a few weeks. So, the decision to freeze the

scores was widely agreed.

The Federation said competitions held before the halt in activity will continue to distribute points, but these will only be counted after the resumption.

The service life of previous event points will also be extended and with a hard cutoff of October 1, 2021. It is worth remembering that

ranking is a fundamental element for the 3×3 basketball organisation model. Individual rankings determine the positioning of teams and selections. In addition, several competitions are based on the ranking to define their classifieds.

Guyana shot off its inaugural 3x3 competition in 2019 as it featured a classic thriller in the Rawle Toney/ Mackeson 3x3 tournament.

The match-up saw Pitbull emerging victorious. When the COVID-19 period has ended, many 3x3 teams will be anticipating the second

edition of the tournament.

FIBA has said that it would continue to monitor the situation on a regular basis, and would evaluate the options for the continuation or ending of the respective competitions, when and if the situation allows.

The FIBA 3x3 rankings are a key component of the 3x3 basketball system; federations qualify to national team competitions based on the Federation Ranking and teams are granted privileged access to the professional circuit based on the Team Ranking.

Lance Gibbs

Gibbs might be well off base with his critique. Who knows, Cornwall could go on to eclipse Gibbs’ haul of 309 Test tickets and become known as the greatest off-spinner ever to emerge from the Caribbean.

However, where is the harm in hearing what Gibbs has to say and maybe taking something positive away from his critique?

Among the comments I read on SportsMax’s Facebook page from those reactions to Gibbs’ comments is that somehow he is envious of Cornwall and by extension the modern players.

I have been trying my best to put myself in the shoes of the 85-year-old legend, but I struggle to think of a reason he would be envious.

If I have 300-plus Test wickets and another man has 13, it would be a long time before I have anything to be worried about, anything.

Clearly, my success would indicate that I have some level of experience and possess a modicum of understanding why I enjoyed success throughout my career.

What we fans of sport need to accept is that even though we love the contemporary players, no one is above improving and not all opinions, no matter how unflattering they might be, mean someone has an axe to grind.

The only way anyone can get better at their craft is to take on board constructive criticism that can help improve weak areas and make strong areas stronger.

Sometimes as fans, we let emotion get the better of us. Gibbs was asked his opinion, he did not volunteer it and I do not see where he said anything wrong. Maybe if Cornwall developed a better rhythm he could get even more bounce, turn, and snare many more wickets for the West Indies in the future.

We will never know unless he tries it. So let's not punish the messenger here.

Gibbs, like all of us, wants to see the West Indies do well once more. Sometimes bitter medicine is hard to swallow but often, it does us a world of good. (Sportsmax)

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020

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

Cricviz – Top power hitters in the CPL guyanatimesgy.com

COVID-19 Pandemic Page 23

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GFF stands in solidarity with the health-care workers FIBA freezes 3x3 basketball rankings …Guyana ranked 152

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BCB benefits from new pitch covers as cricket development continues in the Ancient County

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