Guyana Times - Wednesday December 9, 2020

President Ali on Essequibo Coast today for outreach P

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

Issue No. 4494

THE BEACON OF TRUTH WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020

PRICE

7th Caricom-Cuba Heads of State Summit

President Ali urges review of regional food security strategy …pledges increased collaboration to combat COVID-19 risk See story on page 3

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Boys 15, 18 charged for raping 7-yearP8 old girl No need for P11 lockdown in Bartica – Health Minister …active cases further decrease, 3 new cases recorded

Former Presidents' meeting

Ramotar, Hinds laud initiative, confirm attendance …PNC snubs invite, Granger remains silent See story on page 7

Elisabeth Harper appointed PS of Foreign Affairs Ministry See story on page 19

Corporate Social Responsibility multimilliondollar costs will not be recovered – ExxonMobil Page 2

Divide deepens between APNU, AFC ...Granger blamed for PNC's “vindictive” treatment of party stalwart Page 9

No discrimination against Haitians, …as Cuba offers to help other immigrants – AG Guyana in round-up of illegals Page 19

Corriverton P19 municipal workers strike for better working conditions

“Hot Skull” P15 found guilty of killing footballer

Venezuelan dies in Cuyuni River boat collision P10 P18 Dr Madan Rambarran to chair GPHC Board …Glen Hanoman heads new GNBA Board

P15 Bandits terrorise, rob Berbice couple

2 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

President Ali on Essequibo Coast today for outreach

President Irfaan Ali

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resident Dr Irfaan Ali is in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) today for an outreach at Anna Regina, where he will meet members of the public.

This is according to a notice published by the Department of Public Information (DPI).

According to the notice: “Members of the Public are hereby advised that

President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, His Excellency, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali will meet with members of the public on Wednesday, December 9, 2020, in the boardroom of the Regional Democratic Council, Region 2, Anna Regina, Essequibo from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.”

The notice also affirmed that all COVID-19 guidelines will be observed.

Last month, Dr Ali hosted a similar outreach in Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), where he would have listened to concerns raised by residents, and in some cases, provided on-the-spot resolutions.

Corporate Social Responsibility multimillion-dollar costs will not be recovered – ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil Guyana President Alistair Routledge

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xxonMobil on Tuesday said that it has invested more than $285 million in contributions and sponsorships of various organisations and activities in Guyana during 2020. According to the US oil giant, nearly $140 million of this amount has assisted students, other vulnerable groups and the Government adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic. Other contributions, the company said, have helped women start businesses, train persons for jobs and assist in wildlife organisations study and conserve Guyana’s unique natural heritage, among other causes. “This is one of the tangible gestures

of our commitment to important social programmes here in Guyana. Contrary to one media report, these donations are funded directly by ExxonMobil and will not be part of the cost recovery mechanism under the Stabroek PSA,” ExxonMobil Guyana President Alistair Routledge said. Since 2015, the company said it has committed more than $2.7 billion to fund projects across all 10 regions. Among some of the programmes supported by ExxonMobil Guyana in 2020 are Iwokrama International Centre for rainforest conservation towards the Centre’s Science Programme including community relations, biodiversity, climate change and hydrology projects, fundraising, publications and capital equipment; National Centre for Education Resource Development (NCERD) to support creation and airing of educational-based programmes on television and radio for students preparing for national and regional examinations; Volunteer Youth Corps to-

wards continuous STEM education afterschool programmes. Additionally, the company offered support to specialists in Sustained Youth Development and Research (SSYDR) towards the Employment Attack 102 – Job Readiness Summer Camp which will benefit 150 disadvantaged youth from Regions Two (PomeroonSupenaam); Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); Four (DemeraraMahaica); Six (East BerbiceCorentyne) and 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) during the COVID-19 pandemic through training and linkages to livelihood opportunities; STEM Guyana to support the Virtual Academy programme for underprivileged students in 12 villages across eight regions and Rotary Club of Stabroek in partnership with BrainStreet towards supporting the continuing education of students during COVID-19. WeLead Caribbean and Blue Flame Women’s Group were also beneficiaries of assistance from the oil company.

NEWS

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

7th Caricom-Cuba Heads of State Summit

BRIDGE OPENINGS OPENINGS BRIDGE

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Wednesday, December 9 – 00:30h – 02:00h and 12:30h – 14:00h and Thursday, December 10 – 01:00h – 02:30h and 13:00h – 14:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Wednesday, December 9 – 12:00h – 13:30h and Thursday, December 10 – 13:00h – 14:30h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Sunshine will prevail during the day. There will be light rain and partly cloudy conditions at night.

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

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

High Tide: 11:57h reaching a maximum height of 2.37 metres.

Low Tide: 17:58h reaching a minimum height of 0.84 metre.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2020

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President Ali urges review of regional food security strategy …pledges increased collaboration to combat COVID-19 risk

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resident Dr Irfaan Ali has urged that the Caribbean Community (Caricom) review the inter-regional trade mechanism and its food security, in an effort to strengthen the bloc and place greater focus on an Agriculture and Food Security Strategy.

He made these pronouncements during his address to the 7th virtual Summit of the Heads of State of Caricom and the Republic of Cuba on Tuesday. In his inaugural speech at the summit, Ali stressed the importance of food and nutrition security for well-being and for ensuring greater human dignity among citizens.

“I further support (Barbados) Prime Minister (Mia) Motley’s call for us as a region to relook at our food security issue, to relook at our food strategy, at our agricultural strategy. And to do so in a way that will enable us to fulfil, as a region, our food requirement. To have the right mix of investment, to have the right agricultural portfolio that would meet the requirements of our regional food needs.”

The President also pointed to the importance of not only strengthening the agricultural sector, but creating the right environment to facilitate greater trade between Caricom and Cuba.

He noted that this is particularly in agricultural products, which the Caricom/ Cuba Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement (TECA) supports.

According to the President, in expanding agriculture and in making greater capital investment in the sector, the need arises for bigger markets. But the President also zeroed in on the role Cuba plays.

“And of course, Cuba plays an important part in terms of the size of our market. We can do this together, we can strategise together, and we can formulate this plan together. But importantly, as Prime Minister Motley said, we have to move into action, we have to move into a new decade of action, so that we can see in the near future, the results of these strategies.”

Ali also emphasised on

President Dr Irfaan Ali

the strong bilateral relations between Guyana and Cuba.

These ties exist in several areas, including technical cooperation, collaboration to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, disaster risk reduction as well as trade.

COVID

When it comes to the health sector, President Ali reiterated Guyana’s commitment to the global efforts aimed at bringing an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, while also acknowledging Cuba’s contribution to the public health sector.

He pledged the country’s continued collaboration with like-minded states and partners to protect the health of all citizens, ensure equitable access to quality essential health services, safe and affordable medicines, as well as access to vaccines when available.

“Cuba’s experience in public health is greatly respected. It is inconceivable for our region to confront such a deadly pandemic without utilising the public health experience and expertise of Cuba.”

In the area of technical cooperation, the President reminded all of the strong ties between Caricom and Cuba which have led to collaboration at various levels. The Summit, he said, therefore allows for reflection and reformulation of a programme of continued engagement between Cuba and the Community.

He also expressed gratitude to the Government of Cuba for their efforts in facilitating a Regional

Centre for Stimulating the Development of Children, Adolescents and Young People with Special Educational Needs Associated with Disabilities, located in Guyana.

The Centre aims to train persons to manage individuals with disabilities through evaluation and diagnosis, language therapy, occupational therapy, psychological treatment, prevention, rehabilitation and social integration services with a pedagogical and socially inclusive approach.

“This Centre allows us the opportunity, with adequate training, to build a more inclusionary society. I, therefore, wish to once again place on record our thanks for the valuable technical assistance made available by the Government of Cuba to facilitate the establishment of this Centre. I wish to emphasize my Government’s commitment to the fulfilment of the Centre’s objectives.”

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guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 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

“Commit to Quit”

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he World Health Organisation (WHO), earlier this week, launched a year-long global campaign for World No Tobacco Day 2021 with the tagline “Commit to Quit.”

The new Quit Challenge on WhatsApp and publication, “More than 100 reasons to quit tobacco,” was released to mark the start of the campaign. It is seen as another innovative step in getting more persons to quit tobacco use, and it is hoped that countries, including Guyana, will join the campaign fully as part of a broader objective of ensuring healthier populations.

According to the WHO, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to millions of tobacco users saying they want to quit. The campaign will support at least 100 million people as they try to give up tobacco through communities of quitters.

The WHO says the “Commit to Quit” campaign would help to create healthier environments that are conducive to quitting tobacco by advocating for strong tobacco cessation policies; increasing access to cessation services; raising awareness of tobacco industry tactics; and empowering tobacco users to make successful quit attempts through “quit & win” initiatives.

WHO, together with partners, will create and build up digital communities wherein people can find the social support they need to quit. The focus will be on high burden countries* where the majority of the world’s tobacco users live. According to WHO, both global and regional cessation tools will be rolled out as part of the campaign.

Quitting tobacco is challenging, especially with the added social and economic stresses that have come as a result of the pandemic. The WHO says that, worldwide, around 780 million people say they want to quit, but only 30% of them have access to the tools that can help them do so.

WHO released a scientific brief earlier this year showing that smokers are at higher risk of developing severe disease and being dead from COVID-19. Tobacco is also a major risk factor for noncommunicable diseases like cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory disease, and diabetes. Moreover, people living with these conditions are more vulnerable to contracting severe COVID-19. To create environments conducive to quitting tobacco, WHO has worked with partners and countries around the globe to implement tobacco control measures that effectively reduce the demand for tobacco.

We join with WHO and other partners in calling on all governments to ensure their citizens have access to brief advice, toll-free quit lines, mobile and digital cessation services, nicotine replacement therapies, and other tools that are proven to help people quit. “Strong cessation services improve health, save lives, and save money,” according to WHO. Guyana’s tobacco control law, enacted in 2017, follows several of the articles of the WHO Convention, and mandates the adoption and implementation of a series of tobacco control policies that make it one of the most complete tobacco control laws. These include: 100% smoke free environments in all indoor public spaces, indoor work spaces, public transportation and specified outdoor spaces to protect people from exposure to tobacco smoke; a ban on all forms of advertising and promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products; health warnings featured on 60% of tobacco products’ packaging, including images. It also includes a ban on the sale of tobacco products to and by minors; prohibition on vending machine sales; and a ban on the manufacture and sale of toys and candies, and any other goods in the form of tobacco products.

However, there is still much work to be done to win the battle against tobacco, as approximately 78% of all deaths here are caused by non-communicable diseases (NCDs); some of which we all know are strongly related to tobacco use.

We had pointed out several times before that having the necessary legislation in place is a good starting point, but there are many other challenges which health authorities here must address if Guyana is to really reduce the number of persons dying or becoming ill due to tobacco use or exposure.

These challenges relate to monitoring, and compliance and enforcement of the legislation to ensure that the population is protected from the dangers of tobacco use.

Dr Ruediger Krech, Director of Health Promotion at WHO, has reminded that millions of people worldwide want to quit tobacco, and therefore health partners and governments must seize the opportunity and invest in services to help them be successful.

First Lady Arya Ali shares a photo moment with ExxonMobil’s Country Manager Alistair Routledge and Senior Director (Public and Government Affairs) Karen Matusic on Monday following a meeting where discussions were held on private multinational corporations playing a greater role in advancing human development through corporate social responsibility (Office of the First Lady photo)

Renewable energy is a great investment opportunity in Guyana Dear Editor, A wide array of opportunities has arisen in Guyana within the renewable energy sector as the PPP/C Government set out ambitious targets to increase power generated from renewable sources and reduce dependency on fossil fuel.

The country already generates a significant amount of its energy requirement from bagasse (sugar cane-based biofuel) and wood. However, additional opportunities exist in solar power, wind power, hydroelectricity, and in other biomass and biofuels.

Investments in hydroelectricity in particular have a large number of opportunities for overseas investors, and is regarded as the most viable option for renewable energy supply in the country. Significant amounts of land and water resources are available for such undertakings, with 60 possible sites identified and a potential of 7000 MW of energy estimat-

ed from hydroelectric sources.

Solar energy has considerable potential, particularly in the hinterland regions of the country, which currently do not receive a supply of electricity from the national grid, and where buildings are sparsely scattered. Guyana’s climate makes solar energy highly feasible for both individual homes and larger solar projects, and additional opportunities exist for increased manufacture of solar panels to capture solar energy.

The third area of high potential is biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. Since taking office on August 02, 2020, our PPP/C Government has demonstrated capacity to mobilise efforts and recovery packages at historically unprecedented levels throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

While Government has announced a more ambitious climate commitment as part of its measures to achieve a sustainable and resilient economy post COVID-19, it has

taken several decisive actions to move forward with renewable energy.

Previous generations of Guyanese have made contributions to society that have shaped our present life. The Silent Generation grew up recycling and reusing. Baby Boomers are the reason we have Earth Day and legislation like the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts. Today, Millennials and Gen Zers are now carrying the torch around the globe. We may feel nostalgic about the past, but it’s good to recognise the benefits we reap from new technologies.

Fuels have been the providers of energy since the 1880s and 1960s. During that time, we went from lighting candle to tablets. Wind and solar energy are the new technology coming to reform the energy industry, and we need to embrace them.

Renewable energy can greatly benefit our communities’ economies. Increasing

renewable energy in Guyana will create thousands of new jobs. Wind and solar technicians have been the fastest-growing jobs. Expanding Guyana’s renewable energy through new legislation is essential to create a sustainable future that supports our economy. We may be presuming that renewable energy isn’t comparable to gas or fuel, but renewable energy isn’t the same industry we saw 10 years ago. Renewable options are becoming cheaper and easier to produce, and research advancements are only going to increase. This brings economic opportunity to communities nationally and locally, each generation brought advancements that made these opportunities possible.

We must keep building for the future generations, like those before us did.

Sincerely, David Adams

2021: Year to move beyond buzzwords and start buzzing

Dear Editor, Now that the political directorate has had a holistic review of the state of affairs, recognised all the complementary synergies in play, identified all the skills set to accomplish the tasks ahead, and obtained the right fit for each complexity that would arise, we should be assured that Year 2021 would be buzzing with accomplishments and activities.

We should see the following situations addressed with alacrity: 1. The urgent acquisition and professional management of the storage and inoculation of the COVID-19 vaccine in an effective and systematic way to safeguard the entire nation.

2. The building and fortification of our sea defence structure from Parika to Moleson Creek in a planned

programme to prevent flooding from rising tides.

3. The building of stateof-the-art primary health care hospitals in each of the 10 regions, with modern medical equipment and qualified medical staff in attendance, so that we can relocate to any region without fear of not having proper medical attention.

3. Improvement in the quality and delivery of our

technical and vocational institutions in each county.

Introduction of craft courses that would be more relevant and needed in the oil-andgas and hotel industries.

4. Proper maintenance of the drainage and irrigation systems in each region, done in a scientific manner to buttress on-spot works initiated by the minister on his management by walking around.

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guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 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

Open letter to incoming Chair of US Foreign Relations Committee

Dear Editor, The below letter was sent to Congressman Gregory Meeks in response to a racist pitch from Rickford Burke.

Dear Congressman Meeks, In this testing period of the COVID-19 pandemic, we hope that you and your family are well and in good health.

We take this opportunity to applaud your appointment as the new Chairman of the US House of Representatives’ Foreign Relations Committee.

We know that, given your wide experience, knowledge of politics and diplomacy, you will be well positioned to help fashion public and international policy and action.

Your visit to Guyana in January 2020, and your commitment to free and fair elections played an important

part in the upholding of democracy. Your principled position matched that of the US Secretary of State, Mr. Mike Pompeo, and it led eventually to the election of the PPP/C to form the new Government of Guyana.

We also recognise the role played by the US Embassy, the European Union, the Organization of American States, Caricom, the Canadian and British High Commissions, US State Department, and local stakeholders in defending the integrity of the electoral process.

Your position and that of the international diplomatic community was supported by 100 countries. They watched in utter disbelief the brazen attempt at an electoral heist of the 2020 elections in Guyana.

Scarcely had Guyanese begun to breathe easier consequent upon the PPPC’s accession to office than we have begun to witness a resurgence of serious threats to the democratic tradition of our country by a group of racist agitators, some in New York, who are bent on creating race tension and hatred. They advocate a subtle call to violence, as had happened in West Coast Berbice in September 2020, when it was reported that Opposition politicians were implicated in the disturbances.

The poisonous venom being spewed by Opposition operatives is quite unsettling, especially given that Guyana is on the cusp of significant economic transformation due to significant oil discov-

ery. On Nov 25th, for example, PNCR’s Brooklyn-based agent Rickford Burke issued a threat, and misguidedly accused the PPP/C Government of ethnic cleansing, and called for a revolution in Guyana, appealing particularly to young Afro-Guyanese to shut down the entire Guyana and make it ungovernable.

We cite here two examples of Burke’s subtle appeal to race. “Richmond Hill’s few thousand Indian votes pale in comparison to the number of other votes in Congressman Meeks’ district of 745,000 people. 52% of the people in this district are Black.” He continues: “Indians expect that because Meeks represents Richmond Hill, and they may have made financial contributions to his campaign, that he

5 months of rigging were very costly to some: US does not bluff Dear Editor, As an objective observer and a concerned Guyanese who is not a registered member of any political party in Guyana, I would say to all Guyanese, regardless of race or political affiliation, that they should never allow what happened in the aftermath of March 2, 2020 general and regional elections to occur again.

Everyone should put the country first, and stand up for what is right and just. The people of Guyana, especially the youths, who are 65 percent of the population, must never again experience such political trauma. What transpired at the Ashmin Building and at GECOM Head Office on March 4, 5, and 6 by the Returning Election Officer of Region 4 and others was reprehensible, scandalous, outrageous and beastly. It was a blatant attempt to steal the elections in order to remain in power, and those who perpetrate such vicious and thuggish acts and held the nation hostage for five months must face the full force of the law, and should be banished from politics and society.

The anguish and grief suffered by many during the five-month ordeal could have long-term consequences on their psyche. For 5 months, Guyanese witnessed an election filled with trauma, falsehoods, and threats of violence as the Government at the time tried to discredit the elections and overturn democracy in the country. In that period, a number of frivolous cases were filed in the courts, and appeals were made all the way to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ); but, as expected, they were all were dismissed or thrown out, credit to the sound judicial system in Guyana and the CCJ. Every effort was made by the ruling party at the time to deny victory to the PPP. They did not succeed, thanks

to the overwhelming support from ABC and EU countries, Caricom, the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Commonwealth of Nations, who fought with all their might to make sure that democracy prevails in Guyana.

If, as stated by APNU+AFC, that party had won the election, then all they had to do was to present their Statements of Poll (SOPs) to the public to support their claim. The PPP did, and its numbers matched those of the recount results. To this day, the coalition have not made their SOPs public, and they continue to tell their supporters that they had won the election and that the present Government is illegitimate.

It shows that they are on Mars, and not on Planet Earth. The truth is, the leaders of the coalition knew that they had lost the election, but they, like Trump, refused to concede in order to have a peaceful transfer of power, as was the case in 2015, when APNU+AFC won the election.

The ABC and the European Union diplomats were disgusted and appalled at the Region 4 Returning Officer’s barefaced attempt to produce fake and artificial numbers in front of the world in the advent of social media. He was not wise enough to anticipate the powerful impact of the social media, which helped to discredit his hoax.

The Western diplomats’ refusal to accept his scam has led to death threats and a series of scathing and disparaging criticisms of them, all of which were baseless, untruthful and spurious, to say the least.

Similar threats and criticisms were made against the Chairs of GECOM and CARICOM, the OAS, the Commonwealth of Nations, and in particular to the former Prime Ministers of Barbados and Jamaica.

Not even the Justices of the High Court in Guyana and the Caribbean Court of Justice, whose rulings were based on the Constitution, were spared the threats, criticisms and disparaging remarks. But, as the election saga continued, the recount of the votes showed that the PPP had won the election despite the fictitious, baseless and illegitimate claims put forth by the Coalition.

However, the courts had ruled that the Chief Elections Officer (CEO) of GECOM was not constitutionally appointed, as was falsely claimed by some, and that the recount votes which showed that the PPP had won the elections were legal and valid.

Therefore, the CEO was asked by the Chair of GECOM to issue a report based on the results of the recount votes. He did not. He presented a report which disqualified 275,000 of the 460,000, or 60 percent of the votes cast. It was rejected

by GECOM. As if his shameless and crooked action was not enough, the CEO issued a second report which disqualified 115,000 votes.

In both of his reports, he ignored the ruling of Guyana’s Appeals Court, the CCJ, and the Chair of GECOM. However, it is important to mention the two false reports were issued by the same CEO of GECOM who had earlier projected that it would take 156 days to recount the 460,000 votes cast, yet he was able to single-handedly count the same number of votes cast twice in less than seven days.

What a moron!

The five-month ordeal has disgraced the citizens of Guyana, stained the image of the country, and damaged its reputation in the international community, including among CARICOM member states, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the OAS. It was silly for the leaders

of the coalition to blame foreign intervention by the ABC and EU diplomats, and to concoct a claim that the diplomats supported the PPP. The fact is the coalition leaders were too preoccupied with overturning the election and maintaining power to realise that the same ABC and EU countries had supported the democratically elected APNU+AFC in 2015.

However, the PPP also has to share part of the blame for what transpired during the five months when democracy was threatened in Guyana.

For the 23 years when the PPP was in office, it did not make any serious attempt to change the structure of the Carter design of GECOM to better represent the interest of the people. The current GECOM structure, which comprises three commissioners from each of the two main political parties, means that the agency would be at an impasse in its decision-making process, given the fact that the commissioners are more likely to represent their party’s interest.

After four months in office, the Government should have established a Commission of Inquiry into the 2020 elections. The delay on such an important issue is uncalled for. Needless to say, the leaders of the coalition, including the former President, were warned on several occasions by the Western diplomats, especially the US, that their actions would result in severe consequences. They did not take the US warnings seriously. As it turned out, they were wrong, as most of them had their US visas revoked, and they are barred indefinitely from entering the US. It was a costly mistake, and they have learned the hard way. The United States does not bluff.

Yours truly, Dr Asquith Rose

must support the PPP’s agenda. The Congressman knows this corrupt strategy well. He has already been entangled in serious ethical challenges previously due to Indians’ nefarious designs.”

Congressman, your contributions to Guyana were recognised in an article in Guyana papers by Dr Bisram, who describes you as a champion of democracy and a person of integrity.

Burke is not concerned about working to alleviate the economic conditions of Guyanese, but he has a neurotic preoccupation with creating race conflict and social upheaval. His call to the Police Force and the Army to defy the PPPC Administration is reckless.

It is unfortunate that Burke also has the support of Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, to whom he has fed an avalanche of lies, deception, and distorted information. We wrote Hon Jeffries about this, but he did not respond. We wonder which person in good standing would ever want to be alongside a man who preaches race hatred and calls for revolution to effect changes!

Independent observers and scholars have recognised that the PPPC is governing for every Guyanese, and that

they (PPPC) embrace equality of opportunity for all. It is a sad commentary, however, that this type of Burkean acidic rhetoric has always been an implicit objective of the PNCR Party since 1992.

We know that your new portfolio will present many challenges that will keep you continuously engaged, but ask that you spend some of your precious time to understand our narrative of the situation in Guyana. Truth is not our enemy. We simply state that Guyanese are now breathing freely following the declaration of the 2020 elections’ results. Democracy has been given another chance to lay the groundwork for the country’s rapid development and (provide) the good life for all Guyanese.

Your Committee may even want to make a visit to Guyana to get firsthand information. The reality is that his party has lost the 2020 regional and general elections, and he and cohorts have decided to remain in denial and challenge the legitimacy of the PPPC Government with a barrage of falsehoods and deception.

Respectfully, Dr Vishnu Bisram, NYGDP Dr Tara Singh, NYGM

2021: Year to...

5. Potable and drinkable water flowing from the tap being available to each and every household in a systemic and phased manner.

6. Upgrading of the Ministry of Public Works’ Roads Division in each region with equipment and engineers to properly maintain and repair our public roadways.

7. Increasing of the national minimum wage to a livable amount, and restoration and honouring of collective bargaining with representative trade unions.

8. Restructuring of the National Insurance Scheme to make it more accurate and people-friendly.

9. Passing of legislation to reform both our electoral system and the operation of GECOM. Modernising all laws that were made in antiquity to bring them into conformity with modern enlightenment.

10. Devolution of more power to local government organs, and holding them accountable to operate by the

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

rule of law.

11. Turn-key housing projects in each county subsidised by the Ministry of Housing for the poor and powerless, so that they can live in dignity.

12. Utilising natural gas to generate cheap and reliable power, which is necessary for making the lives of citizens less stressful, and for creating a springboard to modernity.

13. Promotion of our cultural and ethnic diversity through song, dance, plays, nursery readers, art, village festivals, gymkhanas and sporting events in order to foster tolerance and eradicate stereotyping among our peoples.

14. Adoption of a zero-tolerance position against corruption in public office, with fair recruitment practices and equality in governance.

These are some of the things that should be buzzing in 2021.

Your sincerely, Reggie Bhagwandin

COMMODITIES Indicators Crude Oil Rough Rice London Sugar

US$

Change %

$48.84/barrel $221.54/ton $396.70/ton

+0.10 -0.28 -0.25

Live Spot Gold Bid/Ask Low/High Change

USD Per Ounce $1867.00 $1869.80

$1868.00 $1876.40

-3.30

-0.18%

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020

Page

Foundation

Æsop’s Fables

◄

FOR CHILDREN

Types of angles cont’d Complementary angles are two angles that form a right angle. Their sum will be 900.

Example: If angle A = 300, what is the measure of angle B? Step 1: Think: A right angle = 900 Step 2: Subtract: 900 – 30 0= 600 So angle B = 600

Exercises: Identify the complementary angles and vertical angles

1).

3).

When two lines intersect the angles opposite each other are called vertical angles.

Those angles are equal.

1) No 2) Yes 3) Yes

D

esign your own money based on the idea that currency uses symbols to convey meaning. Everyday objects such as coins and paper money can go unnoticed in our lives. We use them all the time, but how often do we really look at them? Taking the time to investigate a familiar thing in detail and then learning to design something similar will strengthen your observation skills, creativity, and appreciation for detail.

People have been using different kinds of money for 11,000 years! At first, people simply traded things they had, like cows, for things they wanted, like feathers and beads, in a system called bartering. Bartering worked well for thousands of years. Over time, communities developed different professions. Some people became politicians or priests, while others started businesses where they sold things like cloth and tools. The people who sold these goods no longer wanted to trade for cattle, instead they wanted something that was easy to carry and exchange. This is how early forms of money developed, starting in China around 3000 years ago. As a group, people decided to treat things like cowrie shells (shells from a small snail) as items of value.

They accepted these shells in return for beads or sheep, and then spent those shells on other things they wanted.

Several hundred years later, around the 600s AD, the Chinese developed paper money, which slowly became popular.

2).

Tuesday’s answers

You need A pencil or pen, markers or crayons (anything to draw with!)

Coins and bank notes of different denominations Use these shapes to start designing your money. Then decide what images to put on your money by thinking about what kinds of images are important to you. Make sure to include symbols on the money you design. Think about using the symbols you see on currencies, and definitely remember to include a few symbols that are important to you.

A

fox, swimming across a river, was barely able to reach the bank, where he lay bruised and exhausted from his struggle with the swift current.

Soon a swarm of blood-sucking flies settled on him; but he lay quietly, still too weak to run away from them.

A hedgehog happened by. “Let me drive the flies away,” he said kindly.

“No, no!” exclaimed the fox, “do not disturb them!

They have taken all they can hold. If you drive them away, another greedy swarm will come and take the little blood I have left.”

WORD SEARCH (Adapted from startwithabook.org)

NEWS

Former Presidents' meeting

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Ramotar, Hinds laud initiative, confirm attendance …PNC snubs invite, Granger remains silent

President Dr Irfaan Ali

F

ormer Presidents Donald Ramotar and Samuel Hinds have confirmed that they will accept President Dr Irfaan Ali’s invitation to meet with his predecessors, while lauding the initiative as a positive one that could even become a tradition.

President Ali had recently announced that he had invited the four extant former Presidents of Guyana to a December 15 meeting. The meeting would have seen the Presidents coming together to share ideas on how to work to move Guyana forward.

This publication made contact with two of those former Presidents, who not only confirmed their attendance but also lauded the initiative. Former President Ramotar, who served from 2011 to 2015, ex-

pressed hope that the initiative would not be the last.

“I think its laudable that he is making an attempt to reach out.

So, I think it’s a good initiative and I’m looking forward to it. This is the first encounter. And I hope its not the last,” Ramotar told this publication.

In an invited comment, Ramotar also spoke of the importance of Guyana’s national development trajectory being able to continue based on a framework even when governments and Presidents change after election cycles.

“We can have a common developmental plan that is agreed by all beforehand with the involvement of everyone, not just the political parties, but civil society, labour, the farming community. And if we can develop a national plan of that type, I think (it can work),” Ramotar said.

Great tradition Meanwhile, former President Hinds, who served as Head of State between March and December 1997 following the death of former President Dr Cheddi Jagan, was of the view that this meeting could be the start of a great tradition.

“It’s a good initiative. And I hope it can eventually become a tradition and serve to establish a sense of stability amongst our different par-

Former Presidents David Granger, Donald Ramotar, Bharrat Jagdeo and Sam Hinds

ties and between the leaders of our different parties,” Hinds said.

This publication was unable to make contact with former President turned Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, who served as President from 1999 to 2011 and former President David Granger, who served from 2015 to 2020.

PNC snubs But in an invited comment, People’s National Congress (PNC) General Secretary Amna Ally poured cold water on the President’s invite and reiterated her party’s non-recognition of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government.

“He (President Ali) doesn’t recognise the Opposition. (But), Granger has to answer for himself

(if he will go),” Ally said.

President Ali had announced the December 15 meeting at the Arthur Chung Conference Center on Friday last. According to President Ali, he is hoping this meeting will set the stage for similar engagements in the future.

“In my inauguration speech, I committed to convening a meeting between all former Presidents of Guyana, and I have named December 15 as a date of the first meeting,” President Ali announced.

“It will be an open-floor meeting, where we’ll bring together all the former Presidents. I think that it’s an opportunity for us to continue to share ideas, generate ideas; for us to talk about how we see Guyana’s development, different perspectives and then to work out

a model and a framework on how we engage in the future and how we will have continuous contributions,” the Head of State explained.

President Ali assumed office as Guyana’s 9th Executive President in August following five months of electoral and political deadlock following the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections.

The former David Granger-led APNU/AFC Administration had refused to concede defeat at the March 2 polls and demit office. In fact, even after a national recount confirmed the PPP’s electoral victory, the coalition continued with its delay tactics by moving to the courts. It took mounting international and local pressure for the new Government to be sworn into office on August 2, 2020. (G3)

8 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Boys 15, 18 charged for raping 7-year-old girl T

wo teenagers were on Tuesday morning arraigned for statutory rape committed on a 7-year-old female when they appeared at the Bartica Magistrate’s Court.

The boys, aged 15 and 18 of 2 ½ Miles Potaro Road, Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), appeared before Magistrate Ester Sam and were not required to plead to the charge.

As such, the 15-yearold was remanded to the Juvenile Detention

Centre at Sophia, Greater Georgetown, while the 18-year-old was remanded to the Lusignan Prison.

They will make their next court appearance on December 31, 2020, for filing of statements. The two teenagers were arrested by Police on Saturday for the abduction and rape of a seven-year-old girl.

The seven-year-old victim remains hospitalised.

It was reported that the child’s mother realised that her daughter was missing when she woke up some-

time after 04:00h on the day in question to use the washroom.

The woman has since related that she went into her children’s bedroom to check on them and noticed that her daughter was not in bed. She said that she made checks in the house but upon seeing the house door open, she raised an alarm.

Neighbours joined her in her search for the child and they found her in a bushy area a short distance from her home.

The child was covered in

blood, naked and in an unconscious state. She was picked up and rushed to the Bartica Hospital.

The search party also found one of the suspects in the area. The furious residents armed themselves with pieces of wood and dealt the suspect several blows about his body. During the beating, he revealed the name of his accomplice in the heinous crime.

He was subsequently arrested and charges were instituted against the teenagers.

Shaking up…

S

…GECOM urely, there can’t be a Guyanese alive who believes that GECOM - as the institution intended to deliver credible elections - can go forward without massive root-and-branch changes in its composition, structure, and modus operandi. We witnessed too much hanky-panky and tinkering in its operations by the PNC during the last five years to think otherwise. The challenge for President Ali’s Government is to take the (GECOM) bull by the horns to checkmate the PNC’s bullyism.

After all, in addition to observing the last (troubled) elections, the 3-member High Level Caricom Team conducted an analysis of GECOM. Inter alia, they recommended that “a political audit of GECOM, (its successes and failings, and the factors contributing to those), both the Commission and its administrative arm, is urgently warranted. It therefore behooves whichever political party emerges victorious from these elections to initiate an immediate political audit; as, in a very real sense, GECOM betrayed its obligations to behave impartially and independently in the best interest of integrity-based processes which (do) not favour any party or parties, whether in terms of operational or policy decisions”.

Your Eyewitness knows there needs to be held Local Government Elections (LGE) next year. This shouldn’t be delayed, since the PPP would never hear the end of the PNC’s strident screams about “the rape of democracy”.

That’s what they did after 1994, when LGEs were postponed, and they never mentioned that they’d agreed with those postponements year after year in the National Assembly.

Their representative, Vincent Alexander, couldn’t find agreement with the PPP’s Clinton Collymore on the LGE legislation! The present GECOM can proceed with the LGE, since its contradictions shouldn’t lead to the tensions of the General Elections of March 2. The stakes aren’t seen as big enough for the PNC to make as much trouble.

Structured discussions on the reforms can be initiated with the PPP putting forward a White Paper in the National Assembly. This White Paper should ensue from the CariCom-recommended “audit” that should be initiated immediately by the Government. The parameters of that White Paper have been well ventilated in the press over the last five years, and can be divided into three areas of concern: the GECOM Secretariat, the GECOM Commission, and their respective operations.

We saw the racially-biased hiring practices of the Secretariat queried by the ERC, but that query was derailed by the refusal of the then GECOM Chair and HR officials to provide data. With the ethnic orientation of Guyana’s politics reflected in the Secretariat’s functioning, its neutral staffing is key to rebuilding trust in the institution.

Then, of course, there’s the composition of the Commission. Can this be depoliticised?

And can the CEO know he’s a creature of the Commission? …old shibboleths on Suriname No, your Eyewitness isn’t talking about the “Bacoos” that are supposedly found in Suriname - but which the Trinis insist are OURS! He’s talking about the colonial-fostered idea that we have incommensurable notions on culture and nationalism, and must forever remain separate. If the truth be told, we were ruled by the Dutch till 1814, and as such if we hold on to the nationalist nostrum - our National Hero Cuffy was Dutch!!

Not to mention that the British, also, ruled Suriname between 1799 and 1815! We both have native Amerindians; descendants of African slaves and indentured Indians - and very porous borders. True, Suriname has descendants of indentured Javanese, but we have Portuguese! Point of the matter is that oil was struck off our common shores, and its development can deepen our commonality along with the Corentyne Bridge and the Open Skies Agreement just signed.

Both our countries are short of manpower, and we can use the synergies to craft closer bonds.

Guyaname? …border policy To those claiming the Government was “racist” to detain the 26 Haitians being smuggled to Brazil, what do they say about the refusal to allow 1000 Cubans from Suriname to enter?

Isn’t this the execution of a neutral border policy?

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

9 Divide deepens between APNU, AFC NEWS

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

…Granger blamed for PNC’s “vindictive” treatment of party stalwart

APNU Leader David Granger

T

he divide between coalition partners A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) continues to grow, with AFC member and former Executive Imran Khan calling out APNU leader David Granger for excluding “certain influential” party members from Parliament.

In a statement on Tuesday, Khan, who supported the very party during its attempts to rig the 2020 National and Regional Elections, criticised the fact that Granger, as leader of the APNU list, chose to exclude People’s National Congress (PNC) Chairperson Volda Lawrence. He called for the list system of choosing parliamentarians to be disbanded, though APNU/AFC while in Government never made any attempts to do this.

“The post-election treatment meted out to Ms Volda Lawrence by her own People’s National Congress is unjust, unconscionable and wrong. There is no sugarcoating it. Ms Lawrence was shockingly and unceremoniously denied a seat in the National Assembly.

This is an egregious wrong which must be corrected post-haste,” Khan said.

“In Guyana, Members of Parliament are not elected directly by the people. They

are in fact selected from a predetermined list, solely by the Leader of that list. In the case of the APNU+AFC coalition, the Leader of the list is Mr David Granger,” he also said.

According to Khan, the use of the list system by Granger is a recipe for “ineffective and docile Members of Parliament” who he noted would be primarily focused on remaining in the good books of the leader who chooses the parliamentarians, no matter how deficient that leader is.

He said that the injustice done to Lawrence must be corrected and she must be restored to the National Assembly post-haste.

“Every day that it is not fixed, the coalition's political future is imperilled.

Petty politics by an insecure, vindictive and fading caudillo adopting a sanctimonious posture must not ostracise and banish capable, competent and worthy leaders,” Khan also wrote in his statement, which was shared on social media by PNC members.

Since losing the March 2 General and Regional Elections, relations between the APNU and AFC coalition, which was already shaky, took a nosedive for the worst. The coalition has been marred by multiple resignations and even broken promises.

One such resignation was former AFC General Secretary David Patterson, who resigned from his party position back in September in the wake of a dispute over the election of a Vice Chairman for the Region Four Regional Democratic Council (RDC).

APNU, which has a history of infringements against the smaller party, locked the AFC out from the Vice Chair position despite a previous agreement.

The previous agreement that Patterson helped

President Ali urges...

In addition, the Guyanese Head of State also acknowledged the benefits of continued collaboration and engagement in the area of disaster risk reduction. Natural disasters, he reminded, are now among the greatest threats to longterm development worldwide, and more specifically, here in our region.

“Guyana welcomes the dialogue with Cuba in respect to reducing our region’s exposure to natural hazards and the concomitant risks to people, property and the natural environment. This dialogue can only aid in improving our preparedness for such events.”

Diplomatic relations

Caricom and Cuba continue to enjoy a strong relationship since diplomatic relations were established in 1972 with Barbados,

FROM PAGE 3

Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. The relationship has been underpinned by several formal institutional links including the triennial meetings of the Heads of State which commenced on December 8, 2002.

Caricom Secretary General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque opened the Summit in the virtual presence of President Ali, Heads of State and Foreign Ministers of the Caribbean Community and the Republic of Cuba.

The 7th Caricom-Cuba Summit is being convened against the backdrop of a global environment dominated by the coronavirus pandemic and its multifaceted repercussions. Cuba has been pivotal in providing assistance to Caricom member States by dispatching healthcare personnel.

craft had stipulated that the AFC would get the Vice Chair positions in Regions Seven and Four. But following the election of APNU candidate, former Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Captain Daniel Seeram, it was not to be.

However, Patterson has since somersaulted on his decision and withdrawn his resignation.

AFC had nominated Neilson McKenzie for the Vice Chairman position, APNU nominated Samuel Sandy and the PPP nominated Desmond Morian.

Voting was along party

PNC Chair Volda Lawrence

lines, as APNU and PPP cast their 14 votes each for

their candidates and the AFC, with its five votes, backed McKenzie. Seeram then used his deciding vote to elect Sandy.

Last month, prominent Linden AFC party member Vladimir Glasgow resigned from the party. In his resignation letter, he had cited that the party lost its way and had been consumed by the People’s National Congress (PNC).

Glasgow’s resignation comes hot on the heels of AFC member and former Region Five Councillor Abel Seetaram’s resignation late in October. In his resigna-

tion letter, Seetaram had also cited the party having lost its way and being subsumed by PNC. Former AFC Member of Parliament Audwin Rutherford also resigned in October of this year. He had also said that the AFC has lost its independent voice and with it, its principles.

Granger himself has come under attack from members of his own party, particularly embattled PNC member James Bond, who had lambasted the former President over the exclusion of Lawrence from Parliament.

10 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Venezuelan dies in Cuyuni River boat collision

A

Venezuelan national was on Sunday killed following a boat collision at Eteringbang, Cuyuni, Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni). The dead woman was identified as 74-yearold Maria Williams of San Martin, Venezuela.

Based on information re-

ceived, on the day in question at about 16:00h, Williams and a relative, Victoria Williams, were paddling in a canoe from San Martin Landing to Eteringband, Cuyuni River, when another boat powered by a 75hp Yamaha outboard engine slammed into them. The en-

gine-powered boat was captained by a young man also of San Martin.

However, after the collision, the canoe was damaged, causing the two women to fall overboard. It was then that the propellor of the engine came into contact with the now dead woman,

thus causing severe injuries to her body.

She was, nevertheless, retrieved from the river and taken to the San Martin Landing to seek medical attention but she later succumbed to her injuries. The captain of the engine-powered boat, Guyana Times understands, went into hiding. The matter is being in-

vestigated by local Police.

Back in 2018, 32-yearold Orlando Jose Rogas met his demise after the boat in which he was travelling encountered mechanical problems and capsized in the Cuyuni River.

It was reported that Rojas along with three other Venezuelan nationals were delivering 15 drums of fuel

from El Dorado, Venezuela, to San Martin, Venezuela, when the boat developed a problem with its engine, resulting in the vessel submerging.

The three other occupants reportedly swam to safety but Rojas went underwater and disappeared. His body was pulled a few days later.

Pedestrian critical after being struck by minibus

A

pedestrian is now a patient in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the New Amsterdam Hospital after he was struck by a minibus along the Chester Public Road, West Coast Berbice (WCB), on Monday evening.

The injured man was identified as 55-year-old Maxwell Mona, a labourer of Chester Village, WCB. Based on reports received, the minibus driven by a 34-year-old resident of Foulis Village, Enmore, East Coast Demerara (ECD), was

heading along the roadway when it was alleged the Mona suddenly ran across the road and into the path of the vehicle.

The driver reportedly applied brakes to avoid a collision but despite his efforts, the left side of the minibus came into contact with the pedestrian, thus resulting in him falling onto the roadway and sustaining injuries to his body.

He was subsequently picked up in an unconscious condition and taken to the Fort Wellington Hospital

where he was examined and treated by a doctor on duty. However, due to the severity of his injuries, he was transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital where he was admitted in the ICU. The driver was taken into custody as Police launched an investigation. A breathalyser test was conducted but no trace of alcohol was found. The police have also checked the area for surveillance cameras but none was detected.

Investigations are ongoing.

11 No need for lockdown in Bartica – Health Minister NEWS

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

…active cases further decrease, 3 new cases recorded

T

he Township of Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), is considered a COVID-19 hotspot according to the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF), however, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony is of the view that a total lockdown of the town is not warranted at this time.

“We are going to continue to monitor (the cases) and based on the epidemiological findings and so, if we believe there is a necessity to do that (lock down the town), we will do that but at this point, we don’t believe that that is necessary,” the Minister told the Department of Public Information on Tuesday.

The Ministry on Tuesday afternoon announced that Guyana recorded three new cases of the novel coronavirus as of midnight on December 7. This now takes the total number of confirmed cases to 5700.

There are currently 676 active cases with four persons in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit.

Based on the daily dashboard, 2941 males have been tested positive thus far while 2759 females contracted COVID-19. Some 34 persons are in institutional isolation while 39 are in institutional quarantine.

638 persons are isolating at home and 4870 recoveries have been recorded.

To date, 32,397 tests have been conducted.

Minister Anthony added that the Ministry has been conducting more tests

Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony

and monitoring the cases in Bartica and that is the reason for the increase in numbers. He explained that with Bartica’s peculiar position as one of the gateways to the interior, it puts it at even greater risk when it comes to the spread of COVID-19.

“One of the challenges we have is that Bartica is a community where people of other areas especially mining areas will be transiting through Bartica and therefore, we can expect if they are coming from areas suspected to have COVID they can bring that into the community…outside of that because we recognise that a lot of people are travelling through Bartica, by the end of the week we will be putting in some additional measures with operation COVI-CURB where we will be trying to make sure that persons coming into that area are checked so

Private Sector minimum wage

“It’s a question of timing” – PSC Chair says “not opposed” to increase …as GPSU calls for immediate pay hike

C

hairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) Nicholas Boyer has acknowledged that the current Private Sector minimum wage is not a “livable wage” but he argued that the business community’s ability to facilitate an increase is a “question of timing”.

“It’s gonna depend on a lot of factors…As long as we have the ability to pay increased minimum wages without having job losses, we definitely should increase the minimum wage,” Boyer said when contacted by this publication on Tuesday.

Last month, Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton had announced that he would be issuing an order to increase the Private Sector minimum wage from $44,200 to $60,000 for a 40hour week.

At the time, the Labour Minister had explained that the stakeholders involved – including the Private Sector – had no objections to the increase.

According to the PSC

PSC Chairman Nicholas Boyer

Chairman, the Private Sector is currently divided on the issue, but he personally believes that the minimum wage increase should be mandated in a postCOVID-19 world.

“My estimation of that would be in a post-COVID scenario once we’ve gotten vaccines distributed…once we’ve removed the lockdown orders due to COVID and we’re in a scenario where you have vaccine distribution and people no longer have to be concerned about COVID,” he explained.

TURN TO PAGE 16

that we can reduce the incidences of COVID-19 or persons with COVID-19 entering Bartica,” Anthony explained.

He added that the health team in Bartica has been doing a commendable job and that plans are in the pipeline to ramp up testing so that they can get a clearer picture of the situation on the ground. He reminded that most of the recorded instances of COVID-19 in the Township occur in persons who are asymptomatic and urged residents to continue wearing their masks and sanitise as often as possible.

The Minister explained that while national trends may indicate a high recovery rate, the situation on the ground and in the various regions can be starkly different. On that note, he urged continued precautionary measures.

Guyana is one of 92 countries that are part of the global COVAX network, meaning that it stands to

benefit from free vaccines for COVID-19.

“For us to move ahead with that process it requires that the Government of Guyana enter agreements with COVAX. They have given us a list of things that we have to go through and we have already signed letters

of intent to be part of the facility. We had to sign terms of reference to be part of the facility. This goes across to the board for all countries.

“We completed that letter and sent it off yesterday.

We have another one that is coming up which would be for the 14 (of December).

Right now we are examining all the issues relating to that. That has to do with indemnification so we are going to examine that and then on the 14th once we don’t have a problem with that, we are going to fill them up and send to COVAX,” he explained. (G2)

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

I

Make a list and a budget

f you’ve made a list of gifts to buy, you’ll have a good idea of how much money you’ll spend in total, although you still need to plan for unforeseen purchases and price variations!

If you’re a very organised person, you already have the expected amount in your bank account and will be able to pay cash for everything. Otherwise, you might wince at the list... In this case, calculate the amount

that you know you can realistically spend on gifts without affecting your family’s current expenses. This amount is your Christmas budget. Avoid putting impulse purchases on a credit card that you know you

won’t be able to pay for a long time. It is always possible to make good buys without spending a fortune.

Plan with the Internet

Instead of going on a long and exhausting tour of the stores, do some screen shopping! Almost all stores have a website, some of them even allowing you to check an item’s availability in a store near you. It’s a very practical way to save some time and avoid going across town to find a specific gift.

And you can shop whenever you want, night and day!

Visit many websites, take notes, compare and add pages to your “Favourites” bookmarks to give yourself some time to think about it.

Your purchase will be well thought-over and even more appreciated, especially since you'll probably have saved time and money!

Look for deals!

In recent years, Christmas deals start several weeks before Christmas.

Businesses compete to attract us with more and more deals. For once, keep store flyers instead of recycling

them and compare items in the stores’ printed and electronic publications. Some articles are sometimes at a 50 per cent discount to attract customers. It’s up to you to take advantage of these great offers, without buying too much of course!

As for online shopping, ask about the refund and exchange policies.

Choose your battles!

Shopping in the middle of the holidays is exhausting! On the weekends and some weeknights, malls are so packed that we get discouraged before we even complete our purchases.

If you can, try to go shopping at the beginning of the week. Monday and Tuesday nights are ideal to shop in relative peace! Otherwise, go early in the day on the weekends, which should give you enough time to do your shopping before the stores are full of customers.

Avoid dressing too warmly, take a coffee break to rest a little, do whatever it takes to make your outing fun and not painful. (Extracted from motherforlife.com)

Even though we do it every year without fail, gift wrapping may just be one of the most overlooked design choices of the entire holiday season. Here are some of our favourite modern ways to show the people you love how much you care before they even open the gift. (thespruce.com)

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

14

W

e all know our preoccupation with giving heart-warming, jaw-dropping, tear-jerking gifts for Christmas. But we also know we're not alone.

Giving gifts can be a stressful affair, whether it's picking your boss for Secret Santa -or attempting to convey how much your mum means to you through a particular scent of candle.

And let's not forget the pressures of unwrapping the gifts that have been so lovingly chosen. Some find themselves practising their gift-accepting faces for weeks prior to the main event, trying to hide the slightest hint of disappointment. In the words of The Big Bang Theory's Sheldon Cooper: 'Gift-giving is based on reciprocity. You haven't given me a gift. You've given me an obligation.'

But fear not, Santa's

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Little Helpers; these five failsafe – and surprisingly easy – rules will guarantee all important smiles come Christmas morning, courtesy of a series of psychological studies.

Reflect your “true self”

Yes, you heard correctly: Gift giving is more about you than your recipient. A study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology found that people feel a greater sense of closeness after receiving a present that reflects the giver's likes and dislikes. In a study of 122 students who bought each other iTunes songs, those who bought their friend a song they enjoyed themselves were rewarded with greater appreciation. In other words, gift giving is not just a test to prove how much you know about the person you're buying for. It's about

sharing yourself with them too.

Don't give gift bundles

Science says it is a mistake to bundle together a big gift – in terms of value – with a smaller gift, no matter how cute they look tied together with shiny string.

The Journal of Consumer Research published a study stating that we tend to 'average out' the value of our presents. So if you've bought someone a Cartier diamond tiara (oh, pretty please!), don't give them a plastic Claire's bangle at the same time. No matter how much they like the presents individually, the cheaper will devalue the dearer and thus, the study showed, the overall

happ i ness of the recipient will be diminished.

Stay on the same wavelength

Although we've always been told that opposites attract, when it comes to gifts it seems we want to feel in tune with our partners. As much as we hate to admit it, the sinking feeling when expectations don't quite meet reality (or when your part-

ner gives you a kettle – ever practical but not exactly romantic – after you've forked out for a nice watch) can put a damper on festivities. A paper in the Social Cognition Journal found that women are better at receiving disappointing presents, whereas men may end up seeing a shorter future for the couple if their gifts show a lack of common ground.

Find the bank balance

The gift-giving minefield is particularly perilous terrain for young couples.

University College London psychologist, Professor Adrian Furnham told The Sunday Times: 'Young, unattached men often view giv-

ing gifts as fiscal foreplay', adding that expensive gifts given early on in the relationship can be perceived as sexual bribes, while cheaper presents can make the young man in question look like a cheapskate.

Don't joke

Gift giving is serious business, so buy joke gifts at your own peril. Giving your mate prettily packaged cellulite cream is the equivalent of waging psychological warfare and collaterally taking out Christmas cheer all at the same time. Christmas is a time for love and comfort and suggesting someone has a BO problem by buying them deodorant – no matter how fancy or expensive – is untactful, unacceptable, and cowardly. For shame, Grinch.

So, with these words in mind, go forth and dole out the warm fuzzies and be safe in the knowledge that a hug is the best gift you can give, à la Sheldon Cooper. (Adapted from Elle)

NEWS

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Ramsammy’s Ruminations Bandits terrorise, rob Berbice couple A presidential forum with T present and former Presidents

I

– it is the right thing

once wrote of a dream that Guyana would have a permanent Presidential Forum, with all former Presidents constituting an Advisory Board which meets at least once per year with the present President, but which can also meet periodically during the year by itself.

Presidents have unique experiences, each facing their own moments of opportunity and crisis. Meeting among themselves, sharing their experiences, and putting what they learnt into the well-being of our country can only be a good thing.

In this regard, His Excellency Dr. Irfaan Ali must be commended for extending an invitation to all the former Presidents to have a discussion.

Each President has something to contribute, and meeting Dr Leslie Ramsammy among themselves as former Presidents with the present President, without party executives being present, provide a unique forum for cooperation, for exploring ideas, and for the former Presidents to lend a guiding perspective to the present President. This can only be a positive development for our country. Maybe this initiative will not bring all the positive results we expect and hope for; maybe nothing would really come out of such a meeting; but, surely, there is absolutely no downside to such an initiative. This meeting, therefore, should signal hope.

As expected, the usual suspects have come out with their poison swords brandishing. For example, Dr. David Hinds has deemed the initiative a waste of time, just a meaningless photo-opportunity.

Will there be a glorious chance of a good photo-opportunity out of this? You will have to be a fool not to think that this is truly fertile ground for a positive photo opportunity. That, in itself - the chance to see all past and present Presidents in one place, holding hands, talking together - is a grand example for our people to see our leaders showing solidarity and unity. Even if this first meeting is a social gathering, the Guyanese people can only be inspired by seeing their Presidents, former and present from both sides of the political divide, together. That some, like David Hinds, would see only negative vibes is only because they never want to see anything positive about Guyana.

Some, including Dr. Hinds, have expressed that there is unfairness in such a meeting, since three of the four past Presidents - Bharrat Jagdeo, Samuel Hinds and Donald Ramotar - are former Presidents from the PPP, and only former President David Granger is from the PNC. But the point of Presidents, former and present, meeting is for Presidents to meet, not political parties. Their perspectives will be from their position as former Presidents meeting the present President, not political opponents.

There are those who will argue, not without justification, that any such meeting will see these men recoiling into their political corners. That possibility exists, and is real; but it is also equally possible that these wise men will play a more patriotic role, and see themselves as Guyanese leaders who served as Presidents of their country and their people.

In the present circumstances, such a meeting has another advantage - it allows political opponents to put aside the acrimonious relations that enveloped our country during the ill-advised five months of one political group trying to derail the democratic process in Guyana. Instead of meeting as political stakeholders, the meeting of Presidents brings together men who have each served as the Head of State, with obligations to all citizens of Guyana, not just the citizens who supported one or the other political party.

The present conundrum of our democracy, wherein the Government and the Opposition have not found common ground on which to dialogue because the Opposition refuses to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Government, cannot be sustained. President Ali has presented an opportunity to start the political reconciliation.

The meeting between the former and present Presidents can pave the way forward to wider dialogue, with the former Presidents influencing their political parties to dialogue rather than to move further away from the central line of respect and dialogue.

President Ali’s bold initiative, visionary initiative, bolsters the opportunity for forging real unity in our country. Guyana is firmly on the road to a new economy, with oil-and-gas being a major player. Guyana has a chance of acquiring mega-investments in areas outside of oil-and-gas; continued political polarisation can only deepen division among our people precisely at a time when Guyanese should be united in the face of the influx of massive international investment. This investment is coming with or without Guyanese unity, but a united Guyana would allow our country to take full advantage of the new investments, and would allow our people to benefit from these investments.

A divided Guyana would permit the international investors to take away the wealth and benefits that our new economy can provide.

Every Guyanese, no matter what our political affiliation is, no matter where we live, no matter what our religion or ethnicity is, must find hope and inspiration in the meeting of the Presidents. I, for one, am inspired, hopeful and prayerful. I will pray our leaders are able to find a way to lead the unity movement in our country. We pray that our youthful President and his predecessors can together inspire our people to unite.

hree armed men executed a daring daylight robbery on a Berbice couple on Saturday but not before terrorising them. The victims were identified as 49-year-old Abdoelkajoem Bhoelan also called “Dutchie” and his wife 44-year-old Bibi Bhoelan of No 76 Village, Corentyne, Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

According to reports, the armed men escaped with a quantity of jewellery, US$500, an undisclosed sum of Guyana currency,

one Samsung Galaxy J8 and another Samsung Galaxy phone.

Based on preliminary investigations by the police, the housewife was in her yard doing her morning chores when she observed three men running into the yard.

One of them was armed with a black handgun while the other two were carrying a cutlass and a knife, respectively. They were all wearing masks with their noses and mouths partially covered.

However, the woman and

her husband were held hostage and taken into the lower flat of the home where they demanded cash and jewellery. Refusing to co-operate, the couple was dealt several blows about their body by the two men who were armed with the cutlass and knife.

They then started to ransack the house during which they found the US$500 in a kitchen cupboard. Shortly after, the traumatised couple was escorted to the upper flat of the house where they were tied up with white

plastic strips. They were also blindfolded with pillowcases.

Nevertheless, the husband eventually managed to free himself. He ran onto the veranda and raised an alarm. In retaliation, the three armed men made good their escape through a nearby street.

The police were contacted and a report was made.

The police have since dusted the scene for fingerprints and taken statements as they continue their investigations.

Alvin Jones also called “Hot Skull” making his way out of the courtroom

the chest after which the men left on two separate bicycles.

Daniels was picked up and rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Following Police investigations and information received, Jones was arrested and charged for the murder.

A Preliminary Inquiry (PI) was held into the fatal shooting during which the prosecution presented sufficient evidence against him to warrant a High Court trial.

“Hot Skull” found guilty of killing footballer

T

wenty-eight-yearold Alvin Jones also called “Hot Skull” was on Tuesday found guilty of the 2017 murder of amateur footballer Paul Daniels, who was gunned down during a robbery at Albouystown, Georgetown.

Jones, of Castello Housing Scheme, Georgetown, had pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to him by Justice Priya SewnarineBeharry last week.

However, on Tuesday a 12-member jury returned a guilty verdict after deliberating. After the verdict was read, the murder accused’s attorney, Stanley Moore, requested a probation report before his client is sentenced, which is set for December 22.

During the trial, several witnesses testified, including police ranks. The State was represented

by Prosecutor Shawnette Austin.

It was reported that during a robbery on February 2, 2017, at Independence Boulevard, Albouystown, Georgetown, Jones murdered Daniels.

Reports are that on the day in question, Daniels was at his girlfriend’s house when two armed men entered the house and relieved him of his gold chain and an undisclosed sum of cash.

As the men were escaping, Daniels reportedly attempted to chase after them, but instead, he was shot to

223-7230-1 (Ext 55)

16 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

“It’s a question of timing” – PSC Chair says...

“There’s lots of people in the Private Sector who disagree with me…the Private Sector is very well split between those who are in favour of making increase now and those who want to hold off,” Boyer added.

When asked what kinds of businesses are in favour

of putting off the minimum wage increase, Boyer could only say “mostly those who want to hold off are in vulnerable positions” and that increasing their payroll at this time would push them into a very “untenable situation”.

In further outlining why an increase at this time is

now the best route to take, Boyer highlighted that price has an inverse relationship to demand, and therefore “as you increase price, people demand less of the item”.

Similarly, he posited that “When you have a minimum wage, it’s a floor, not that everybody gets paid the mini-

mum wage but it’s a floor for the lowest wage possible you can pay. Once you increase that, you are going to have less labour demand. It’s very simple; businesses are going to look at what their sales are, they’re going to say they want their payroll to be a certain percentage of their sales and if their payroll costs them more, they’re going to adjust their payroll either by adjusting the hours persons work or by reducing the number of staff…That is how businesses work.”

He also contended that another issue is the lack of data on how businesses and Private Sector employment were affected by the pandemic.

“The issue here is…when you listen to the US news, they can tell you what their payroll report is, how much jobs were gained or lost… they can tell you things like

FROM PAGE 11

average salary and number of hours worked. Do we have that data or are we just talking out of our mouth?”

But even as the PSC Chairman made these arguments, the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), believes that a hike in the minimum wage is long overdue.

In a statement on Tuesday, the trade union organisation called on the PSC to immediately facilitate an increase.

“While the GPSU agrees that the economic situation was tenuous, employers in the Private Sector should make every effort to recognise the meagre wages paid to Private Sector employees and endeavour to lift these employees out of the suffering by implementing the increase. The increase is well deserved and should have been implemented years ago,” the Union said.

Under the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government, a tripartite committee was responsible for reviewing the matter of increasing the Private Sector’s minimum wage.

The committee had recommended an increase to $60,000 from the current $44,200 per month. In January 2017, the Private Sector’s minimum wage was increased from an hourly rate of $202 to $255, taking the monthly wage from $35,000 to $44,200. The Public Sector minimum wage currently stands at $70,000.

The PSC Chairman said the business community’s position has not yet been officially communicated to authorities at the Labour Ministry.

Boyer indicated that this will be done when the tripartite committee meets again to further discuss the matter. (G11)

NEWS

17

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Teen dies 2 weeks after Soesdyke crash …“she wanted to become a doctor” – grieving sister

By LaWanda McAllister

A

teenager, who was admitted a patient in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) following an accident along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway on November 22, has succumbed to her injuries, leaving her family completely devastated and demanding justice.

Eighteen-year-old Aaliyah Norton of Kurukuru, SoesdykeLinden Highway, who received injuries about her body, succumbed to her injuries on Friday evening, almost two weeks after the vehicle in which she was travelling was involved in an accident.

Reports are that the motor car was proceeding west along the southern side of the road, when an unknown vehicle, which was coming from the opposite direction, overtook another vehicle and ended up in the path of the vehicle the young lady was in.

Upon seeing this, the driver of the car allegedly pulled south to avoid a collision and the right side back tyre blew out.

As a result, the driver re-

Dead: Aaliyah Norton

portedly lost control, resulting in the vehicle toppling over and ending up in a trench.

In addition to her head injuries, both of the young lady’s arms were dislocated and she also suffered injuries to her kidneys.

When Guyana Times visited the home of the dead teen on Tuesday, her sister, Olivia Norton, recalled what transpired on that unfortunate day.

“When the accident happened, one of the boys that was in there with her, he call me at 9:39 pm (21:39h) that Sunday night when the accident done happen… he say Olivia,

Aaliyah deh home? He talk so normal like nothing didn’t happen… he ask me if she was home and I said no, he ask me if I was sure and I said no…”, she explained.

The dead teen’s sister said following the phone call, she waited hours for her sister to return home but she never did. It was at about 02:00h on Monday, November 23, that a neighbour informed her that her sister was involved in an accident.

“We heard that when the car toppled over, she get blackout or something. The boy that went in the accident with she, he said he could remember pulling out Aaliyah and everybody from the car and they all decided to run,” she said.

Olivia told this publication that their family was told that a relative of the driver of the motor car that her sister was in saw the accident while passing the area, and stopped to enquire because he knew the vehicle.

Upon inquiring, the man saw her sister’s ponytail floating in the nearby trench, and went to investigate.

It was then the man realised

that the teen was submerged in the water. She was immediately pulled out and rushed to the GPHC where she was admitted as a patient, and was showing signs of improvement.

Aaliyah’s sister said she had regained consciousness and was responding to her family members. She said her entire family was positive that the

teen was going to make a full recovery, but they were proven wrong.

“My sister had big plans, she wanted to become a doctor, I don’t have no other sister. It is me and her alone. We had it hard in life, and to know that my father struggled to take care of us and now she just gone, it is heartbreaking,” the grieving

sister said.

The driver who is responsible for the accident has not yet been identified.

However, the family expressed disappointment about the teen’s friends running from the scene following the accident, leaving her behind. They are hoping that one day, justice will be served.

18 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Dr Madan Rambarran to chair GPHC Board …Glen Hanoman heads new GNBA Board

T

he new Board of Directors was appointed for the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) to serve for a period of one year. Director of the Dr Yesu Persaud Clinical Education Centre at the University of Guyana (UG), Dr Madan Rambarran will serve as Chair for the Board’s tenure.

The Board already held its first meeting on Monday and its members include: Harryram Parmessar, Chartered Accountant, Parmesar Accountants; Malcolm Watkins, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health; Dr Amarnauth Dukhi, Head of Neurosurgery at GPHC, representing the Guyana Medical Association; Dr Fawcett Jeffrey, Director of Medical and Professional Services, GPHC (ex-officio member); Brigadier (ret’d) George Lewis, Chief Executive Officer, GPHC

nominee to the Board is yet to be named.

GNBA Board

GNBA Board Chair Glen Hanoman

(ex-officio member); Dr Emanuel Cummings, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Academic Engagement, University of Guyana, representing UG; Cleopatra Barkoye, representing the Guyana Nurses’ Association; and Dawn Gardener, representing the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU).

The Ministry of Finance’s

Meanwhile, Attorneyat-Law Glen Hanoman has been appointed as the Head of the Guyana National Broadcast Authority’s (GNBA) Board of Directors

by President Dr Irfaan Ali. The announcement was made by the Office of the Prime Minister on Tuesday.

It was noted that the appointments were made pursuant to the Broadcast Act No 17 of 2011.

A statement from the Government stated that the appointments of the Chair and members of the Board were made after significant examination of the most competent and available candidates of Guyanese patriots.

The appointment of Hanoman and members Valmikki Singh – spectrum specialist; Devi Sukhdeo – accountant; Robert

GPHC Board members share a photo immediately after the first meeting, which was held on Monday, December 8, 2020, at the GPHC Boardroom. From left to right, Harryram Parmessar, Malcolm Watkins, Dr Amarnauth Dukhi, Dr Madan Rambarran, Dr Fawcett Jeffrey and Brigadier (ret'd) George Lewis

Mohamed – broadcaster, and Jason Abdulla – digital communications specialist took effect from December 1. The Opposition and the Telecommunications Agency representatives are still to be named.

The Guyana National Broadcasting Authority is the legal body in Guyana with the responsibility to regulate, monitor, protect, improve and maintain the highest standards of broadcasting in Guyana. The

Government noted that the selection of such a diverse and experienced Board is indicative of its commitment to ensuring professionalism, equity and high standards in the broadcast industry in Guyana.

Unidentified man found floating in canal

S

hock waves rippled through the community of Palmyra, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), on Monday when residents in the area discovered the body of an unidentified male in a canal in the area.

Following the discovery, Police in Region Six have been trying to put the puzzle together to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the death of the unknown man.

Police said after the man was found, they were immediately summoned to the scene where the lifeless body was discovered in a canal at Palmyra. An investigation was carried out, and no marks of violence were found on the man’s body.

When he was found, he was clad in cream short pants, multi-coloured underwear and a green face mask covering his nose and mouth.

A blue vest and a shirt were also seen some distance away from the body.

Following the discovery, several persons were questioned in the area, but no one was able to identify him.

His body was later picked up and escorted to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. He was subsequently taken to the Arokium Funeral Home as he awaits identification and a post-mortem examination (PME). Investigations are

ongoing.

Just recently, an infant’s body was found floating in a canal at Crane Squatting Area, West Coast Demerara.

In a statement, Police said the body, which was measured twelve inches in length, was discovered naked, floating with the face upwards and the left hand missing.

Cops on the scene escorted the body to the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH), where it was formally declared dead. (G9)

NEWS

19

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Elisabeth Harper appointed PS of Foreign Affairs Ministry No discrimination …Audrey Waddell redirected to Guyana-Venezuela border controversy case against Haitians, other immigrants – AG A mbassador and former Prime Ministerial Candidate Elisabeth Harper has been appointed to serve as Permanent Secretary of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Minister Hugh Todd confirmed.

Todd told Guyana Times on Tuesday night that Harper’s appointment was effective immediately and he welcomes her in her new role.

Harper is a career diplomat and had served in the post of Director General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a number of years until she resigned in 2015 to run as Prime Minister with the People’s Progressive Party/Civic.

She was later hired by the APNU/AFC coalition as an advisor.

When asked about Audrey Waddell, who was appointed PS previously, Todd said that her efforts will be redirected to the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), to which she is co-agent.

“The current PS was also the co-agent on the ICJ team for Guyana and the hearing commences on the 18th

Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd

of December and we expect to get judgement on jurisdiction in favour of Guyana and after that, I think we will have a lot of work to do in terms of preparation for the case. In the meanwhile, I think she will be focused on that along with Former Minister and Foreign Secretary Carl Greenidge, who is also the leader for Guyana,” Todd related.

The Minister added that Waddell’s role will be more clearly defined in the coming days but as it stands, she has been redirected to ensure that Guyana receives a favourable outcome before the ICJ.

The ICJ is likely to rule by the end of 2020 on whether it has jurisdiction to hear the case filed by Guyana, which is asking for a final pronouncement on the validity of the Arbitral Award of October 3, 1899 (Guyana v Venezuela) regarding the boundary between the two countries.

On June 30, 2020, the ICJ, which has its headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands, heard oral arguments via video conference from Guyana’s legal team headed by Sir Shridath Ramphal on the question of its jurisdiction to adjudicate in the matter.

The case is premised on a border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela in which the Spanish-speaking country has laid claim to more than two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass in the Essequibo region and a portion of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in which more than eight billion barrels of oil have been discovered.

On January 30, 2018, Secretary General Guterres determined that the good offices process had failed to achieve a peaceful set-

…as Cuba offers to help Guyana in round-up of illegals

Ambassador Elisabeth Harper

tlement of the controversy. He then took a formal and binding decision, under Article IV, paragraph 2 of the Agreement, to choose a different means of settlement under Article 33 of the Charter.

On March 29, 2018, Guyana filed an application instituting proceedings against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. In its application, Guyana requested the Court to confirm the legal validity and binding effect of the Award regarding the boundary between the Colony of British Guiana and the United States of Venezuela, of October 3, 1899. (G2)

Corriverton municipal workers strike for better working conditions

W

orkers at the Corriverton municipality, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), are on strike. The workers are calling for better working conditions and improved wages and salaries.

Currently, the workers claimed, they are being paid below the national minimum wage.

One of the workers, Francine Charles, on

Meanwhile, Renita Rivet from the municipal’s finance department explained that the Local Government and Regional Development Ministry had issued a circular indicating how they should be paid but the municipality has not been following the orders.

The workers also vented concerns over what they say are poor working conditions.

They said they were

Corriverton municipal workers protesting

Tuesday, said that they have been earning less since the pandemic hit Guyana in March of this year. She said they are now not being paid for overtime work.

The Market Clerk said she is currently being paid $9301 weekly which represents less than half of what she previously earned.

“It has affected me tremendously because since COVID-19 everything has increased – bills increase…

When you go to the supermarket the price for everything is increased and now it is too much to deal with it with just $9000 to cover it,” Charles said.

threatened by officials from the municipality when they tried to oppose the treatment being meted out to them.

“That is why we are striking so that hopefully we will be able to resolve these issues,” Rivet said.

Meanwhile, Ameren Hakeem of the constabulary department explained that are also owed retroactive increases from 2019, and the Council has failed on its promises to have them paid. “Anytime we approach them they are always telling us that there is no money.”

His colleague James Charles said they are owed

for two years.

“We just want the money that the Council owes us.

They are threatening us because we are taking strike action. We should not be threatened because we are paying union dues.

General Secretary of the Guyana Labour Union Carvil Duncan alleged the town’s Mayor, Winston Roberts, has abused workers and used foul language toward them at meetings.

“I wrote the Mayor in my capacity as the General Secretary asking for a meeting to discuss the workers’ issues,” Duncan said.

The letter also stated that industrial action would be taken if the meeting was not held.

“Because of no response from the Mayor, we have come to the conclusion that he is saying to us, ‘strike if all you want to strike’.”

Duncan explained that as a result of the strike, new issues have emerged.

“We did not know that people were working at the Council for three years and receiving $9300 weekly which is less than $40,000 a month. The minimum wage as agreed upon is in excess of $45,000. So they are being paid below the minimum and coupled with that they are being exploited. The Mayor tells them that he is the boss and whatever he says goes. However, the Act does not give the Mayor that power. Based on the Act, the power lies with the Town Clerk,” Duncan said.

Meanwhile, in a correspondence to the Corriverton municipality, the Local

GLU General Secretary Carvil Duncan

Government Commission had suggested that since the Town Clerk was proceeding on annual leave, the Treasurer should act in the capacity of Town Clerk.

“However, he did not follow the instructions of the Local Government Commission and he brought someone from out of the municipality to act as Town Clerk,” Duncan, who is also the President of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions, said.

He noted that the person who is now acting as Town Clerk did not pass through the Local Government Commission for temporary employment.

Meanwhile, the acting Town Clerk told this publication that the Council, which met on Tuesday, has put systems in place since all of the market staff including the constabulary department are on strike.

Efforts to contact Mayor Roberts were futile.

(Andrew Carmichael)

F

Some of the Cubans at the Suriname border

ollowing criticism over attempts to deport a number of Haitians who came into Guyana but committed various immigration offences, Attorney General Anil Nandlall has made it clear that there is no discrimination involved but rather, a Government grappling with immigrants abusing Guyana as a transit point.

In an interview with Trinidad’s morning edition, Nandlall made it clear that the Haitians are by no means a unique situation as they are also dealing with thousands of Cubans who are aiming to use Guyana as a transit point to the United States.

“Currently we are dealing with a situation where it is believed, that there is a movement to assemble some 10,000 Cubans on Guyana’s soil before the end of December, to converge on the US embassy in Georgetown and/or to join a caravan that will go over to Brazil on its way to Mexico.”

“We have a thousand or more assembled at the borders of Suriname, attempting to cross illegally.

We have a complaint from the Brazilian Government to say that Guyana is being used as a transhipment point for people smuggling into Brazil. And we are being blamed for this. We are not an island. We are a mainland. And we have extraordinarily wide borders that are almost impossible to monitor and police.”

Nandlall also noted that the Government has treaty obligations it has to ensure Guyana abides by.

According to him, those obligations are at risk because, in the case of the Haitians, they do not have the capacity to hold them in Guyana and persons in the group have also been found to have lied to the authorities.

“The 26 Haitians for example. We simply don’t have the physical capacity to keep persons, among them persons who are here with two children and they are pretending to be the parents of those two children.

They have conceded that to the authorities. The parents of these children are somewhere in French Guiana.

But these people are said to be en route to Brazil.”

“You have children smug-

Attorney General Anil Nandlall

gling involved here, children being exported to be used as sex slaves internationally.

You have people smuggling.

This thing is extremely complex and this simplistic interpretation of it is quite unfortunate and leads to these assertions,” Nandlall said.

Cuba

When it comes to the Cubans, the Cuban Embassy in Georgetown sent out a diplomatic note in which it pledged the assistance of the Cuban Government in ensuring that its citizens stop using Guyana as an irregular transit point. The embassy noted that in many cases, these Cuban citizens are vulnerable to human traffickers.

“As we have stated during the migration rounds held in the past, we reiterate Cuba's willingness to receive all Cuban migrants who are today in Guyana in an irregular condition, and who wish to return, in accordance with those established in Cuban legislation. In these cases, the proper consular assistance and guarantees for a voluntary and safe return will be provided,” the statement said.

“The Cuban Government ratifies its willingness to continue working with the Guyanese immigration authorities, with the aim of implementing effective working mechanisms, in order to prevent Cuban citizens from continuing to use Guyanese territory as a space for irregular transit to the United States or other countries.”

Over the past few days, there has been a buildup of Cubans at Nickerie near the Suriname border, who were unable to cross into Guyana following the Government’s decision to postpone the resumption of the GuyanaSuriname ferry service and the cancellation of the Moleson Creek crossing. (G3)

20

guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020

Around the World

Caricom-Cuba Summit underway amid efforts to further strengthen relationship

C

aricom and Cuban leaders began their seventh summit on Tuesday, confident of improving upon the bonds that have thrived for more than four decades.

“Forty-eight years ago, the foundation was laid for the building of a strong and mutually beneficial relationship. This has been formally underpinned since then by instruments such as technical cooperation agreements and memoranda of understanding,” Caricom Secretary General Irwin LaRocque told the opening of the virtual seventh summit between the countries.

He said that this exemplary and solid model

Caricom Secretary General Irwin LaRocque (CMC)

of south-south cooperation stems from the historic and courageous act by Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, four newly-independent

Caribbean States, which in 1972, a period of strong political tensions at the international level, established diplomatic relations with the sister nation, Cuba.

“Over the years, the relationship has been continually enhanced and the dynamism has been encapsulated by the broadening of the areas of cooperation. These have taken into account the changes in the political, social, cultural and economic environment,” LaRocque said, adding “we have witnessed greater collaboration institutionally, in particular, in the fields of disaster risk management, climate change, tourism, trade and health”.

He told the summit that

this was also exemplified by the memoranda of understanding between Caricom and the Cuban Government in the areas of multi-destination tourism and disaster risk reduction, concluded at the last summit held in Antigua and Barbuda in 2017.

He told Cuba's President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, that these were issues to which special attention was given in reviewing the relationship between Caricom and Cuba at the Antigua summit, and determined that they were areas, along with air and sea transportation, which required priority attention. (Excerpt from CMC)

Trump sought contact with Venezuela early in his term, Maduro says

U

S President Donald Trump sought contacts with Venezuelan officials early in his term, President Nicolás Maduro said on

Tuesday, adding that he hoped to establish dialogue with US Presidentelect Joe Biden’s incoming Administration.

Venezuela and the

Nationwide power outage in Curaçao hits T&T’s Internet

A

massive blackout in Curaçao on Monday left businesses, schools and public entities throughout T&T without Internet connection during the first few hours of the working day.

As thousands across the country struggled to connect with their computer and cellular devices, the Telecommunications Authority of T&T (TATT) issued a A user attempts to access Internet statement indicaton an office desktop computer ed: “The problem arose due to a disruption of tirely lose service. an international cable link.”

Samaroo added, Digicel brought more “Fortunately, this sequence clarity in a statement it isof events did not totally insued later in the day. terrupt service since Digicel “Last week there was maintains another layer a significant subsea fibre of diversity in our network break between Guadeloupe that supported a signifiand Antigua. This affectcant percentage of our trafed some Digicel-Plus cusfic. However, the outage did tomers and, unfortunately, cause massive amounts of that problem is still being congestion on both our modealt with,” said Chandrika bile and fibre networks.”

Samaroo, Operations “Today’s outage has Director at Digicel. shone a light on some of the “To help maintain convulnerabilities of the internectivity, Digicel re-routnational networks that suped service through an alport T&T’s traffic across all ternate path via the same providers,” Samaroo noted. upstream supplier through This should be a catalyst Curaçao. On Monday mornfor closer analysis, discusing, however, there was a sion and collaboration by major island-wide power all industry stakeholders to outage in Curaçao that disaddress this national chalrupted that path as well. lenge,” he added.

Once that happened, serThe interruption also imvices here in Trinidad and pacted Barbados, Dominica, Tobago were also affected.”

St Lucia, St Vincent and Digicel said it took quick Grenada. (Excerpt from action to ensure that its Trinidad Guardian) T&T customers did not en-

United States cut off diplomatic ties last year after the Trump Administration, together with dozens of other countries, recognised Opposition Leader Juan Guaidó as the South American country’s rightful leader, arguing that Maduro had rigged his 2018 re-election.

Maduro calls Guaidó a US puppet seeking to overthrow his government to control the nation’s vast oil resources.

“We hope that once the new Government of Joe Biden is installed, that they have time to think, and we hope they open the possibility of dialogue between Venezuela and the United States,” Maduro told re-

porters at a news conference from the presidential palace in capital Caracas.

Maduro said that in early 2017 Delcy Rodriguez – Venezuela’s current Vice President who was serving as Foreign Minister at the time – was invited to Trump’s inauguration, but did not attend because it was “not convenient”.

He added that a Trump intermediary later invited him to a meeting with the US president during the United Nations General Assembly in late 2018.

Maduro said he was open to the meeting, but that the US “establishment” prevented the meeting from happening. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Deforestation razed 8% of Amazon in 18 years – study

T

he destruction is fuelled by logging, farming, ranching, mining and infrastructure projects on forest land.

Deforestation in the Amazon destroyed an area bigger than Spain from 2000 to 2018, wiping out eight per cent of the world’s largest rainforest, according to a study released on Tuesday.

The Amazon plays a vital role in curbing climate change, but destruction of the rainforest has only accelerated in recent years, found the study by the Amazon Geo-Referenced SocioEnvironmental Information Network (RAISG).

The report comes as world leaders prepare for a virtual summit this weekend aimed at breathing new life into the 2015 Paris Agreement climate accord, whose goals on slowing the warming of the planet are currently set to be missed.

Since the turn of the

millennium, 513,016sq km (198,077sq miles) of the rainforest have been lost, according to the updated Amazon atlas produced by the organisation, a consortium of groups from across the region.

It is RAISG’s first such atlas since 2012.

“The Amazon is far more threatened than it was eight years ago,” RAISG said in a statement.

The consortium found that after making gains against deforestation early in the century, the Amazon region has again slipped into a worrying cycle of destruction.

Deforestation hit a high of 49,240sq km of forest loss in 2003 – a record for this century – then eased to a low of 17,674sq km in 2010, the report said.

But the destruction has since surged to startling levels. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

OILNEWS OIL NEWS Oil steady as COVID-19 cases, lockdowns dampen vaccination news

O

il prices were little changed on Tuesday as the most populous US state tightened its pandemic lockdown through Christmas and COVID-19 cases surged in the United States and Europe, counteracting optimism that arose over vaccine advancements.

Brent crude futures settled at US$48.84 a barrel, gaining 5 cents.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled 16 cents lower at US$45.60 a barrel.

“There’s been this back-and-forth between being concerned about the lockdowns for the next few weeks and the expectations for a vaccine coming sooner than anyone had anticipated, which is giving us support,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago.

Oil prices were buoyed after the world’s first fully-tested COVID-19 vaccine shot was administered to a grandmother in Britain, but investors quickly returned their focus to ebbing fuel demand caused by the pandemic.

A sharp rise in coronavirus cases globally has led to a string of renewed lockdowns, including strict measures in California, Germany and South Korea.

Investors were also closely watching US lawmakers’ efforts to approve a new economic stimulus package needed to drive jobs growth and energy demand, and Friday was eyed as a possible deadline to avoid a government shutdown.

The OPEC+ group of oil producers is likely to hold their next meeting on Jan 4, after agreeing last week to raise oil output by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) next month.

US crude oil production is expected to fall by 910,000 bpd in 2020 to 11.34 million bpd, the US Energy Information Administration said, a bigger decline than its previous forecast for a drop of 860,000 bpd.

Data from the American Petroleum Institute due on Tuesday and from the US Government today is expected to show that US crude inventories fell last week while refined product stockpiles rose, according to analysts polled by Reuters. (Excerpt from Reuters)

In COVID-19 milestone for West, Britain starts mass vaccination

Margaret Keenan, 90, is applauded by staff as she returns to her ward after becoming the first person in Britain to receive the Pfizer/ BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at University Hospital, at the start of the largest-ever immunisation programme in the British history, in Coventry, Britain, December 8, 2020. Britain is the first country in the world to start vaccinating people with the Pfizer/BioNTech jab

A

90-year-old grandmother became the world’s first person to receive a fully-tested COVID-19 shot on Tuesday, as Britain began mass-vaccinating its people in a global drive that poses one of the biggest logistical challenges in peacetime history.

Health workers started inoculating the most vulnerable with the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, with the country a test case for the world as it contends with distributing a compound that must be stored at -70C (-94F).

Margaret Keenan, who turns 91 in a week, was the first to receive the shot, at a hospital in Coventry, central England.

The launch of the vaccine, one of three shots that have reported successful results from large trials, will fuel hope that the world may be turning a corner in the fight against a pandem-

ic that has killed more than 1.5 million people.

Britain, the worst-hit in Europe with over 61,000 deaths, is the first Western nation to begin mass-vaccinations and the first globally to roll out the Pfizer/ BioNTech shot.

But despite the relief of people receiving the first dose of the two-dose regimen, they will have to wait three weeks for their second shot, and there is no evidence immunisation will reduce transmission of the virus.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he expected millions to be vaccinated by the end of the year, and described the start of the drive as “V-Day”. But he cautioned people should respect social-distancing rules until spring at least, when he hoped the most vulnerable people would be vaccinated.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020

ARIES (March 21April 19)

21

Channel your energy into something constructive. Refuse to let uncertainty cause you to miss out on something that can push you to the top of your game.

Work alongside someone who shares your dream.

Examine documents, TAURUS make updates and cre(April 20ate a dialogue with someMay 20) one you live or work with to ensure your intentions are clear and the outcome is doable. Don’t let uncertainty set in.

DILBERT

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

CANCER (June 21July 22)

PEANUTS

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SUDOKU

Focus on partnerships and how to make the most of a situation that requires emotional adjustments.

Handle discrepancies carefully, and you’ll avoid a misunderstanding.

Look for alternative ways to get things done. Keeping the peace will encourage better relationships with those close to you. Expectations will be high, and payback expected if you ask for help.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Be observant. Protect yourself from persuasive individuals trying to take advantage of your generosity. Offer suggestions and a helping hand, but don’t pay for others’ mistakes.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Don’t expect to get the whole truth from someone close to you. Go directly to the source to verify facts.

Set the pace, and protect your rights.

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Expect someone to interfere with or upset your schedule. Being evasive will not help you gain support. Reach out to those who share your beliefs.

Rely on experience to guide you to victory.

SCORPIO

Make a personal change that will lead to more significant opportunities.

Consider a lifestyle that will ease stress and encourage personal growth.

Romance is favored.

(Oct. 24Nov. 22)

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21)

How you go about your business will set the stage for future endeavors. Speak up and share your thoughts, opinions and plans. Take control instead of letting someone else run the show.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

Getting your facts straight before you debate an issue will make you think twice about the information you share. Be selective, diplomatic and kind.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

Avoid situations that deal with institutions.

Stick to the tasks that require your attention. A financial gain will lift your spirits. An offer will be too good to refuse.

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

Expect someone to take advantage of you if you don’t stand up for your rights.

Work with the people you are dealing with, and find common ground to overcome any unfairness that prevails.

22

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020

Kohli fightback in vain as…

Australia avoid T20I sweep M

itchell Swepson's variations and Adam Zampa's control on a used SCG pitch threw India's pursuit of 187 off track and denied them a 3-0 sweep of the T20I series.

Swepson did not concede a single boundary, and took out three of India's top five, while senior leg-spinner Zampa returned in the 18th over to effectively kill the chase by drawing a top-edge from previous match-winner and finisher Hardik Pandya.

Virat Kohli was reprieved at least three times on a day where both sides' fielding veered from ordinary to extraordinary, but he couldn't turn his 85 off 61 balls into a match-winning effort.

Kohli holed out off Andrew Tye at the start of the penultimate over, and the late blows of Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar only drummed up some artificial excitement.

It was the pair of Matthew Wade and Glenn Maxwell that set up Australia's victory, punishing a sloppy Indian side with their muscle and innovation.

Wade's innings could have been cut short at 50 had India's review of an on-field not-out lbw decision not been declared "null and void" after left-arm seamer T Natarajan pinged the opener's

Swepson and Zampa ultimately saved the day for Australia.

Wade and Maxwell fire Australia's white-ball captain Aaron Finch returned to lead the team, after missing the second match with a glute strain; but he lasted just two balls, as Sundar removed him with a 101kph dart. Wade, who retained his place at the top, saw off the early swing from Deepak Chahar, and then began lining up the short deliveries to the boundaries.

Sundar was swatted over

Mitchell Swepson

midwicket, as was Chahar, with Wade claiming 34 of the 51 runs Australia made in the powerplay.

Sundar could have got Steven

Matthew Wade

front pad. Wade went on to convert his second successive fifty into a career-best 80 off 53 balls.

Maxwell, who got at least two lives, rolled out his trademark trick shots on his way to 54 off 36 balls; but Natarajan proved the point of difference in India's attack once again, reining in Australia at the death. However,

reverse-hits. And when Chahal did beat him in flight, Maxwell still adjusted and scooped him over long-on for six. Maxwell aced the match-up on Tuesday, taking 21 off nine balls at a strike rate of 233.33.

Maxwell also cracked 21 off Thakur, although at a lower strike rate. He produced the shot of the day when he jumped across off, fetched a wide length ball from Thakur, and shovelled it - like only he can - over the midwicket boundary.

However, the partnership

Smith too, on 18, with a 100+kph dart, but wicketkeeper KL Rahul missed a stumping. Smith added six to his tally before Sundar bowled him with a loopy offbreak. Maxwell then united with Wade, and put on 90 off 52 balls.

Chahal has had plenty of success against Maxwell in the past, but the batsman messed with his lines and mind with a variety of

ended when Thakur trapped Wade with a slower, dipping yorker in the 19th over. Natarajan then castled Maxwell in the final over to keep Australia at 186 for 5.

Kohli leads the chase Maxwell wasn't done yet.

He struck in the first over of the chase to dismiss Rahul for a duck, and gave up only 20 in his three overs.

Shikhar Dhawan and Kohli then worked past the early blow, with the India captain doing most of the heavy-lifting. Kohli walked down the track to Daniel Sams and whipped him for four, before belting Sean Abbott to the left of mid-off. He reached his fifty off 41 balls, and despite a rapidly rising asking rate, he gave his side hope when he hit back-to-back sixes off Sams in the 16th over.

Pandya then picked apart Tye, bringing the equation down to 43 off 18 balls.

T

Aliann Pompey, Guyana’s four-time Olympian and Commonwealth Games 400M gold and silver medallist, is expected to lead the panel discussion and presentation.

Multiple award-winning sports journalist Rawle Toney of the National Communications Network and the Guyana Chronicle is among the facilitators, which also includes Ishaka Jackman, Social Media Consultant and ICT Manager.

After the brief opening word from Yassin, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr, is slated to deliver an address to the participants.

Meanwhile, Yassin is of the view that “as technology (expands), it is important to understand how it works, and how to use it so as to develop

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Virat Kohli

catch to short third man for 20 off 13 balls. Swepson, though, had made a bigger impression, getting rid of Dhawan, Sanju Samson, and Shreyas Iyer.

After conceding just six singles in his first over, Swepson struck in the second, having Dhawan hole out to deep midwicket. He then cleverly varied his pace and trajectory against Kohli, denying him any swinging room. All up, Kohli managed only 17 off 14 balls from

Swepson. That India couldn't score a single boundary for more than six overs was down to Swepson and Zampa.

Kohli ended that dry spell when he hoisted Abbott for six in the 14th over, but by then Samson and Iyer were also gone. While Samson couldn't get hold of a dipping full-toss, Iyer failed to read a wrong 'un that zipped off the pitch. There would be no way back for India.

(ESPNcrickinfo)

SCOREBOARD AUSTRALIA INNINGS (20 OVERS MAXIMUM) MS Wade † lbw b Thakur 80 AJ Finch (c) c Pandya b Washington Sundar 0 SPD Smith b Washington Sundar 24 GJ Maxwell b Natarajan 54 MC Henriques not out 5 DJM Short run out (sub [Pandey]/†Rahul) 7 DR Sams not out 4 Extras (lb 1, nb 1, w 10) 12 TOTAL (20 Ov, RR: 9.3) 186/5 Did not bat: SA Abbott, AJ Tye, MJ Swepson, A Zampa Fall of wickets: 1-14 (Aaron Finch, 1.4 ov), 2-79 (Steven Smith, 9.4 ov), 3-169 (Matthew Wade, 18.2 ov), 4-175 (Glenn Maxwell, 19.1 ov), 5-182 (D’Arcy Short, 19.4 ov) BOWLING DL Chahar Washington Sundar T Natarajan YS Chahal SN Thakur

O-M-R-W 4-0-34-0 4-0-34-2 4-0-33-1 4-0-41-0 4-0-43-1

Legspin to win Zampa found turn and bounce to have Pandya miscue a

each athlete’s branding.”

The long-serving GOA head is encouraging every athlete and coach to register in order to benefit from exposure to the media.

Meanwhile, Pompey, who also serves as the Pan Am Athletes Commission President, believes “the state we’re in provides unique opportunities for us to finetune certain things, including how to effectively use social and news media to help us reach our athletic goals.”

“The content is timely, and presenters are knowledgeable. With the Olympics and qualifying events on the calendar for next year, and our athletes looking to attract sponsorship and agents, this seminar aims to teach participants how to

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INDIA INNINGS (TARGET: 187 RUNS FROM 20 OVERS) KL Rahul † c Smith b Maxwell 0 S Dhawan c Sams b Swepson 28 V Kohli (c) c Sams b Tye 85 SV Samson c Smith b Swepson 10 SS Iyer lbw b Swepson 0 HH Pandya c Finch b Zampa 20 Washington Sundar c Tye b Abbott 7 SN Thakur not out 17 DL Chahar not out 0 Extras (b 1, w 6) 7 TOTAL (20 Ov, RR: 8.7) 174/7 Did not bat: YS Chahal, T Natarajan Fall of wickets: 1-0 (KL Rahul, 0.2 ov), 2-74 (Shikhar Dhawan, 8.5 ov), 3-97 (Sanju Samson, 12.3 ov), 4-100 (Shreyas Iyer, 12.6 ov), 5-144 (Hardik Pandya, 17.1 ov), 6-151 (Virat Kohli, 18.1 ov), 7-164 (Washington Sundar, 19.2 ov) BOWLING O-M-R-W GJ Maxwell 3-0-20-1 SA Abbott 4-0-49-1 DR Sams 2-0-29-0 AJ Tye 4-0-31-1 MJ Swepson 4-0-23-3 A Zampa 3-0-21-1

GOA’s "Maximise the Sports Media" seminar set for today he Guyana Olympic Association’s (GOA’s) “Maximize the Sports Media” webinar is set for today, Wednesday, December 9, and activities would take place virtually on Zoom platform from 19:00h.

GOA President K A JumanYassin is encouraging all athletics administrators and other officials to participate.

Scores of athletes and officials have so far registered for the event, which the GOA President has deemed “very important, especially for athletes.”

“The aim of this virtual seminar on Maximizing Media is to enlighten our sports athletes about the importance of the media, which takes the form on many fronts,” Yassin said in a release issued by the GOA.

CLASSIFIED ADS

raise their visibility and market and brand themselves,” Pompey has said.

Jackman, having worked with a number of professional sports teams, specifically in the area of social media management, has said, “The opportunity is now at the fingertips of the athlete and association to influence their future. The vehicle is already available, come get your keys.”

For Toney, with more than 15 years’ experience as a sports journalist and as a sports news anchor, the timing is perfect, as he pointed to the fact that “being active in the realm of social media, using it as the avenue to build my brand, is something… that our athletes don’t truly understand.”

“With the Olympic Games about seven months away,

we know that athletes will be making a push to qualify for the biggest sporting event globally; and allowing the public to know more about them is important, not just for their sakes, but also for the GOA. So, I think I would bring a unique understanding of the sports media (to) the participants, taking my years of experience into consideration and the fact that I’m welltravelled and fully understand the landscape of the sports media,” Toney added.

Registration is ongoing, and persons can use the link information below to register, and may visit the GOA’s Facebook page for further information.

A certificate and a tee shirt would be provided to persons who register, log on, and participate in the programme.

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

23

PM Mark Phillips grateful

– that PM T20 Softball Cup tournament was played despite ongoing COVID-19 pandemic

By Timothy Jaikarran

G

uyana’s Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, an avid fan of softball cricket, is grateful that the 4th edition of the PM T20 Softball Cup cricket tournament was successfully played during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tournament was indeed a major success, and brought much relief to everyone.

The tournament featured some of Guyana’s top

softball teams battling for $200,000 in the respective Open, O50 and O45 categories. The emerging champions were Speedboat, Regal Legends and Fisherman Masters in that respective order.

Speaking with Guyana Times Sport, the Prime Minister when asked his views on the tournament, and responded: “Well, it’s a good feeling, in a sense, that we were able to go through a learning curve.

We learned how to deal with the pandemic, so to

Ecuador pledges participation in local boxing tournaments

speak, in that we have a set of protocols and a set of measures, and we were able to put those protocols in place to allow events like these to be restarted.

“As far as I am concerned, this is a success story because we had the protocols in place as much as you can see.”

The Prime Minister went on to declare that other sporting bodies are encouraged to restart their activities once they adhere to the COVID-19 protocols, and he said that while many may see the PM T20I Cup tournament as a start in that regard, he is hoping other sporting disciplines would follow in the future, rolling out their activities over the season.

He was adamant that other sporting activities would slowly be rolled out from December 2020 into 2021, and he noted that the COVID-19 pandemic would be there for a long time.

Prime Minister Mark Phillips

Among the sponsors of this year’s PM T20I tournament were Banks DIH, Chung’s Global, Danny Persaud (Youtuber) It’s our

life ARD, Regal Stationery and Computer Centre, Elegance Jewellery and Pawn Shop, Price Chopper Store, Star Party Rentals,

P&P Insurance, Dyna’s Embroidery, Caribbean Airlines, Crown Mining Supplies, and Dinar Trading.

Major League Soccer announces US$1B loss of revenue from coronavirus

next season is nobody has the magic date for when fans can enter stadiums, and it will vary state by state.

"We need to make a schedule. We can't wait for a vaccine, and we don't know what the reaction will be of fans returning to stadiums. It is not just about fans. FIFA has laid out their international dates and Concacaf has laid out Champions League dates. We will need flexibility."

GBA President Steve Ninvalle

By Jemima Holmes

T

he Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) is looking to step up the quality of competition at regional and international levels, and according to GBA President Steve Ninvalle, the formula is to have better opponents.

Ninvalle disclosed exclusively to Guyana Times Sport that he has sought participation from boxing powerhouse Ecuador for regional tournaments.

“What we will be doing whenever we host (championship) tournaments is that we will be bringing Latin America into it,” Ninvalle said as he made the disclosure to this publication.

The GBA President explained the rationale behind this move: “I don’t think we can wait anymore. Our level of boxing has been dormant, and it has remained (stagnated) at a certain level because of the fact that we have been fighting one set of people over and over.

“If we need to make an impact anywhere in one of the Olympic qualifiers, then we will have to step up our competition,” he concluded.

The GBA boss’s vision has, however, not been limited only to the Caribbean Boxing Championships which are slated for Guyana in 2021, but also for any other international tournament.

“So, with that said, I have spoken to the President of the Ecuador Boxing Federation, Alex Gonzalez, and he has already pledged his support for whenever (the tournament is held).

Not only (for the) Caribbean Championships, but whenever we have any international competition, Ecuador is willing to send a team,” Ninvalle shared.

This newly formed pact with Ecuador is not limited only to tournaments, but also extends to training opportunities and camps.

“Ecuador is also willing to host our boxers if there’s a training camp.

You would have known that Cuba, during the course of this year, sent their national team for encampment in Ecuador. So, Ecuador remains one of the powerhouses in boxing in this region, along with Cuba, Brazil and Argentina,” The GBA President revealed.

Quizzed about his view on whether or not the Caribbean Boxing Championships can be pulled off next year, with the coronavirus pandemic still lurking, Ninvalle answered in the affirmative, sharing that it would be based on one condition.

“Yes, I am optimistic, but it’s about the time. As it is right now, some of the Caribbean countries are not opened as Guyana is. So, we have to wait, not on us, but we’ll have to wait on them,” he said.

Guyana won the Caribbean Championships in 2016 and 2018, in both of the years in which it hosted the event. However, the Land of Many Waters missed out in 2017, when the event was hosted in St Lucia, and finished third in 2019, when competing in Trinidad and Tobago.

Seattle Sounders will play Columbus Crew in the MLS Cup final, after winning the Western Conference finals on Monday

M

ajor League Soccer has lost almost $1bn (£750m) in revenue during 2020, because of the coronavirus pandemic.

MLS was only two weeks into its historic 25th season when a halt was called to the campaign in March. It did not resume until July, with the “MLS is Back” competition in Florida, before a revised regular schedule resumed on 12 August.

"The overall [financial] impact is going to be deeper than we expected," said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. With the three Canadian teams forced to play all their matches in the United States, and Columbus Crew able to admit a crowd of only 1,500 when they host Seattle Sounders in the MLS Cup final on Sunday, the financial effects of the season would be felt for a long time.

"Revenue for the league

and its clubs is down almost $1bn compared to last year," added Garber, "but we also incurred expenses we were not intending to occur, including charter planes for the teams and creating the whole bubble around ‘MLS is Back’."

It has led to a difficult first season for the two expansion teams, David Beckham's Inter Miami, and Nashville, who made the Eastern Conference semi-finals, and it creates an uncertain backdrop for Austin FC, who will enter the league in 2021; and while plans continue around a March launch for the next season, huge uncertainty remains.

"We are concerned about the situation leading into 2021, and we are trying to figure out how to manage through it," said Garber.

"No business could sustain the kind of impact we sustained for two years in a row. The challenge for

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020

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

guyanatimesgy.com

Pg 23

PM Mark Phillips grateful

– that PM T20 Softball Cup tournament was played despite ongoing COVID-19 pandemic

Ecuador pledges participation in local boxing tournaments Pg 23

Pg 22

Kohli fightback in vain as…

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