Guyana Times - Wednesday, June 8, 2021

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CDC gets massive support for flood-affected communities Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 4672

THE BEACON OF TRUTH TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021

$10B in supplemental funds being sought to assist with flooding – VP Page 3

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

“We can’t afford to be losing our P10 people to COVID-19” – PM …urges Coomacka residents to get vaccinated

…assessment of potential losses underway

Bypassing locals will be met with tougher local content policies – President Ali

2 seriously injured in P11 Essequibo Coast accident

Page 7

…warns foreign investors to adhere to local content policy

More 1st dose Sputnik vaccines arrive in Guyana

Flood-affected Region 7 Page 13

Page 9

Probe launched into Psychiatric Hospital fire – Health Minister P12

…2 more deaths, 53 positives recorded in 24h

Page 15

Pensioner perishes in New Amsterdam fire

All levels of Govt working to bring relief – Region 7 Chair to residents

…says most dreadful situation region has ever faced

COVID-19 deaths in vaccinated countries decline – WHO Page 11

Over 25,000 households P14 across 300 communities affected by flooding – CDC “Good luck! Stay out of trouble” – Judge tells P8 brothers acquitted of murder

2 NEWS

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

CDC gets massive support for flood-affected communities

Falcon Logistics Inc Managing Director Jennifer Falconer handing over the cheque to CDC Director General, Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig

A

s the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) continues to assist

flood-affected communities, they are continuing to get massive support from local

CDC Director General, Lt Col Kester Craig accepts a fuel donation from GuyOil Chairman Paul Cheong

businesses.

On Monday, the Guyana Oil Company (GuyOil) donated 10 drums of fuel to aid

in relief response to the extensive flooding in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

At a simple handing

Stena Drilling representative donating towards CDC relief efforts

over ceremony on Monday at GuyOil’s Providence facility, company Chairman Paul Cheong is quoted by the Department of Public

Information as saying that the agency is doing its part to help lessen the discomfort of persons affected by the flooding.

TURN TO PAGE 11

NEWS

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TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS OPENINGS BRIDGE

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

Tuesday, June 8 – 03:00h – 04:30h and Wednesday, June 9 – 03:30h – 05:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Tuesday, June 8 – 15:35h – 17:05h and Wednesday, June 9 – 16:15h – 17:45h.

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

WEATHER TODAY

There will be thundery showers and sunny intervals during the day. There will be light rain showers at night. Temperatures should range between 23 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-Easterly to North-Easterly between 1.78 metres and 4.02 metres.

High Tide: 15:25h reaching a maximum height of 2.44 metres.

$10B in supplemental funds being sought to assist with flooding – VP …assessment of potential losses underway

W

hen the National Assembly resumes sittings on Thursday, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government will be using the occasion to seek supplemental funding to the tune of $10 billion to assist with flood mitigation measures throughout the country.

This was revealed by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, who was at the time taking part in an interview on Globespan. According to the Vice President, it is hoped that the rains will subside but the Government

ture in the context of climate change would be vital.

“We have to plan for the future. We have to find solutions by building bypass canals, where if we want to open up more lands in the inner depth of the country so you can bypass the settlement and take inner water into the Atlantic Ocean. And we’re considering that even now,” he said.

“So, there are a lot of lessons to be learned and a lot of money to be (spent).

Infrastructure we have to put in. To mitigate the impact of future flooding be-

Low Tide: 08:59h and 21:11h reaching minimum heights of 0.69 metre and 0.78 metre.

CDC staffers during an assessment

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

COMMODITIES Indicators

US$

Change %

Crude Oil

$71.49/barrel

-0.56

Rough Rice

$238.41 /ton

-0.02

London Sugar

$459.30/ton

-1.54

Live Spot Gold

USD Per Ounce

Bid/Ask

$1897.50

$1898.50

Low/High Change

$1881.30 -2.20

$1904.60 -0.12%

isn’t waiting on that to assist those affected by the torrential rainfalls and flooding that have plagued communities particularly in Region Six, Seven, Eight, Nine and 10.

“We’re hoping the rainfall can subside and we can return to economic activity.

We’re going on Thursday to the Parliament for supplementary provisions to address the flooding issues.

We’re seeking $10 billion in supplementary provisions.

This will help us to address infrastructure that has been damaged, roads that have been washed away, bridges etc.”

“It would help us to give enough help to the farmers, the miners, all of those who have had their livelihoods disrupted so we can give them some help to get back to productive activities. And of course, it would assist us in continuing to provide immediate assistance. That’s hampers, et cetera.”

According to Jagdeo, the Government has given out over 15,000 hampers to help victims of the flooding, through the Civil Defence Commission (CDC).

However, he noted that the needs of the people are greater.

The Vice President also recalled the study done

by Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) on the 2005 floods and the economic impact. Jagdeo noted that at the time, it was found that Guyana lost approximately 59 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

He noted that moving forward, planning for the fu-

cause of climate change.

And this will happen with frequency. That you would have high intensity rainfall that would lead to accumulation.”

The torrential rainfall and flooding, in addition to uprooting lives, have also

affected the livelihoods of persons as well. From agriculture to mining, few in flood-affected areas have escaped unscathed.

Representatives of the CDC, Health Ministry, Regional Democratic Council (RDC) and Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) conducted flood assessments in several communities in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) over the weekend.

An assessment conducted in Sub-District 2, Mahdia, found that several homes, farms, roads and mining equipment have been destroyed by floodwaters. Tumatumari Hill Foot to Two Miles is flooded, making it difficult for vehicles to traverse. Food prices have hiked due to shortages and access to drinking water is a major concern, with water harvesting being a challenge in hard-to-reach communities.

In addition, in El Paso/ Tumatumari, five households with a total of 21 persons were independently

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo

evacuated to the homes of relatives who reside on higher ground. The team also assessed the flood impact at El Paso which is home to approximately 35 families (160 persons).

Five households (16 persons) which are located on the water front were severely impacted by floodwater which rose to about 15 feet.

This resulted in contamination of drinking water, damage to food, household items, boats and engines among other things. As a result, families were relocated to higher ground. Those who reside on the hills experienced flash floods, but the water has since receded. (G3)

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guyanatimesgy.com

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021

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

World Food Safety Day

T

he bounties of the world can feed every human being on earth, yet in many countries people, especially children, who cannot fend for themselves, are slowly starving, often to death.

Graphic, grievous pictures proliferate on the Internet and in various media outlets, of intrepid media operatives’ brave forays in war-torn countries, revealing the suffering of millions of hungry adults and children.

The United Nations has designated June 7 as World Food Safety Day under the ambitious theme: “Safe food now for a healthy tomorrow;” but, given extant global dynamics, this ideal is far from being achievable in a global context.

Guyana was once described as “The food basket of the Caribbean”, but in years gone by food security had become collateral damage as the nation’s agriculture sector collapsed, some foodstuff essential to culinary needs and diets were banned, while importation of unrestricted food items became impossible because of unavailability of foreign currency.

After years of rebuilding, there was a turnaround in the agricultural sector and agro-based industries, to the extent that, long before a People’s National Congress (PNC)-led coalition again assumed administrative office in 2015, Guyana had achieved the UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on food security.

The rice industry was in its highest and most successful period prior to elections of May 2015. Guyana had reached 635,000 tonnes in 2014, but the first crop of 2016 failed to reach 300,000 tonnes, and the industry, and the entire agricultural sector in general, continued to rapidly decelerate.

Then President David Granger and his Agriculture Minister had proclaimed that the rice industry was “not Government business”.

According to the General Secretary of the Guyana Rice Producers Association (RPA), Dharamkumar Seeraj, liberalisation of the economy by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration has facilitated growth in the agricultural sector.

He asserted that the liberalisation and free-trade policies initiated by the PPP/C Administration re-energised the sector; and the support of successive PPP/C Governments had been intensive, extensive, and impactful; albeit many of the enabling synergies had to be strenuously fought for against negative constraining factors by the coalition.

The decimation caused by the current catastrophic floods, just as farmers were gradually returning to the fields because the causes for concern that had driven them away from the agri and agro-processing sectors were being addressed, is not a deterrent to Guyana’s hardy farmers, because they know that the PPP/C Administration would utilise every empowerment and enabling facilitator to restore viability to their operations.

Climate change and other external factors have proven somewhat deleterious to the sector, but by and large, the rice industry in particular, and the agriculture sector in general are nowhere near the straits they were in 1990.

The Jagdeo Initiative on agriculture is a strategy for removing constraints to the development of agriculture in the Caribbean. It builds upon past regional efforts to develop a Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and identifies 10 key binding constraints faced by the sector.

Subsequently, the Grow More Food Campaign was launched in 2009 to further boost food security in the country.

Head of Government in the Caribbean Community (Caricom) quasi-Cabinet with responsibility for Agriculture, Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali has said that the first step to ensuring food security and sustainability is to eat local, at a forerunner to the United Nations 2021 Food Systems Summit programmed for September as part of the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

Dr Ali iterated that the fora create a platform for synchronisation of programmes to strengthen initiatives for food security and provide ameliorative solutions to the challenges of climate change.

It is within this context that one must judge the role Guyana’s Government is playing in empowering farmers and creating an enabling culture that has prioritised Guyana’s agricultural sector, and the attempt by then President Bharrat Jagdeo to address the issue of food security in Caricom, which is evocative of the PPP’s commitment to regional integration, especially as adumbrated by the CSME.

These Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) boys enjoying a sweet treat while travelling through floodwaters as their community continues to be affected by flooding as a result of heavy rainfall (Office of the President photo)

We cannot let suicide win

Dear Editor, During the past week, I became aware of two teenagers whose lives were cut short by suicide. I also learned that there were two adult suicide cases prior to and within the last week. While I am unaware of what the triggers were for a permanent end to those lives, I am concerned that persons are voluntarily ending their lives. Every life lost to suicide could have been saved. We cannot let suicide win.

You may be feeling that there is no solution to your problem, difficulties, worries or whatever caused you to contemplate taking your life.

It may be that at the moment you are so overwhelmed that you are not able to think clearly about other possibilities, other solutions, other alternatives, other ways of coping.

Suicide is final - if you succeed in taking your life - there are no second chances and nobody really knows

what will happen when they die. It may be difficult to take in at this moment in time but the feelings you have may be temporary you may not always feel this way. There are persons who have been in the exact same position as you and have found the strength to come out of it and have gone on to find happiness and fulfilment in life and are able to cope with life more easily. They have found alternatives to suicide and were glad that they did not take their own lives.

You may feel helpless because the pain you are experiencing has become unbearable. Just talking to someone else about how you are feeling can take some of that weight off your shoulders. There may be other things you can do to help yourself to cope, to change things, to survive. It is incredibly sad that you feel so bad that you want to die.

You may be telling yourself that other people would be better off without you

but those people would not want you to take your life.

You may feel that nobody cares about you anyway but there are people who will care if you allow them to care for you. We care deeply that you are thinking of ending your life, that you see no hope, no alternative, but something so final as death.

You may be trying to convince yourself that your loved ones would be better off without you but if you were able to see the devastation that it causes families and friends of persons who commit suicide you would not think that way.

If you cannot see a reason to carry on living, try and give others the chance to explore with you whether they can help you to find a reason for you to carry on.

Give someone a chance to do that for you. You have nothing to lose. If you are determined to kill yourself there is no hurry - there is no need to take immediate action. Give yourself

the next few days to see whether there are any alternatives, talk to a friend, a relative, a helpline, a social worker, look at some of the websites where other people have felt suicidal but found alternatives to killing themselves. There are alternatives to suicide so give yourself some time to find some support, some help with coping and talk to others about how you are really feeling. Allow others to care for you just as you would if your best friend came and told you he/she was suicidal - talk to yourself as you would a friend.

Please see your life as precious and valuable. Call the Suicide Helpline on 223-009 or Childcare and Protection Agency Hotline on 227-0979.

You don’t have to have airtime in your phone to call. The call is free. Please reach out.

We need you. Don't let suicide win.

Dear Editor, I find it sad that in a time when Guyana is experiencing a natural disaster, several agents of the Opposition continue to play on the emotions of the citizens in an attempt to peddle misinformation and cause division. The rains and floods have not discriminated against persons based on who they would’ve voted for during the last Regional

and General Elections. The people chose and today the PPP/C is in Government.

This fact needs to be accepted and respected.

His Excellency, President Irfaan Ali and all Ministers of Cabinet along with other PPP/C Members of Parliament have been visiting flood-affected areas across the country engaging citizens and offering assistance regardless of race

or perceived political affiliation.

Contrary to what is reported during their many unsubstantiated social media rants, the Opposition has demonstrated that it is incapable of delivering to the citizens of this country.

The President himself has been leading flood-assessment outreaches across the country. Rather than sending officials from the

various Ministries, the Head of State has been on the ground engaging the people and delivering relief to those affected. These acts must be respected and commended.

Minister Zulfikar Mustapha’s activities must also be commended. The agriculture sector is one of, if not the most affected by the ongoing flood situation in Guyana.

With regards, Shaundell Shipley

Desist from using flooding to gain political mileage and promote division

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

guyanatimesgy.com

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021

5

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

Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon should at least clear the air!

Dear Editor, Guyana has been inundated by floodwaters ever since the May-June rains began, and we are in a national disaster. In some cases, whole communities are under water with loss of crops and livestock with the at-

tendant loss of livelihood, we are certainly in a disaster zone never before witnessed in this country. The Government for its own part is working overtime going out into those communities that are most affected, offering assistance by way of

drainage as well as distributing food hampers and sanitary supplies. It is a mammoth task set before us and as such we are calling on every citizen, organisation, corporate affiliations, religious bodies to come play their part.

Psychosocial needs of teachers and students Dear Editor, In a letter recently to the Guyana media, social activist Vidyartha Kissoon opined on the need for systematic psychosocial support for students and teachers during the pandemic.

The Caribbean Voice (TCV) will argue that such support needs to be ongoing, pandemic or no pandemic.

In fact, some years ago TCV, via an agreement with Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) had embarked on such a campaign, offering training in schools in Regions Six, Four and Seven before being forced to cease because of a lack of response from the GTU with respect to costs sharing as the training session were proving too costly for our limited resources.

Responses from many teachers were very positive with one of them writing on FB that she was so happy that at last their psychosocial needs were being addressed.

As well, TCV had held a number of meetings with the Ministry of Education with respect to similar sessions for students which

were already been offered at a number of private schools.

Feedback from principals of public schools who had approached us was that we needed to get permission from the MOE so we requested an across-the-board access to public schools, since, given our limited time and resources it would be impossible to approach the MOE each time we had to go to a school. This request was refused. However, at one meeting, MOE decided to incorporate our training curriculum into the Family Life and Heath curriculum so that it would become an available tool for all public school students but was never done.

At the time our training were offered absolutely free of charge, with some support from the local business community and all costs were covered by TCV. Now TCV is making yet another offer: given the rise of virtual training which is so much more cost effective, and which enables us to draw trainers from our members across the Caribbean (we have teams & contacts in Guyana, Barbados, Trinidad

& Tobago, Jamaica, Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Bermuda, Suriname) North America and the UK (where we have membership and contacts), TCV is willing to pick up back the psychosocial training campaign for teachers in collaboration with the GTU, MOE and Ministry of Social Protection. As well, we can train selected teachers across Guyana under a train the trainer programme to turnkey the training to other teachers so that each school can then be able to provide necessary psychosocial support to all students. We are willing to meet to work out the details and also willing to collaborate with stakeholders in Guyana on these campaigns. We guarantee that our fees will be a fraction of whatever can be offered by entities in or out of Guyana and we are in the process of fine-tuning online training with respect to suicide and abuse prevention across the Caribbean.

Sincerely, The Caribbean Voice

Now, one would have thought that the astute PNC Opposition would come on board to help the suffering Guyanese people, but, up until this time we have not seen nor heard, of any effort worthy of note, coming from the Opposition. I am talking about an Opposition party who once sat in the seat of Government of this country and one who “blazed” a good life trail far and wide.

We are calling on them to step up to the plate, come on board and help us!

We have grown highly suspicious of that good life “story” these past 5 years 5 months and would not like a repeat of it, so in light of the foregoing it would be refreshing that the Opposition authorities come forward and provide us with some positives. I am also a curi-

ous bystander who is worried sick at the Opposition’s stance on this disaster relief effort, because they are not coming forward as caring and responsible individuals with anything honest and tangible, what is there in the public domain is only scandals that are most damaging to the party’s reputation and to the nation as a whole.

It is alleged that the party’s hierarchy have collected some cash donations from corporate citizens, that should be handed out to flood victims.

Further, there is widespread circulation of a matter involving a prominent Opposition person in Region 10, who has stockpiled the relief items and is at the present moment selling those items to the public. This is a reprehensible

act under any circumstance and should be addressed urgently by the Leader of the Opposition. I would like Mr Harmon to shed some light on these damning allegations made out against his party affiliates. Certainly, if he wants to have any credible place in the eyes of the public, then Mr Harmon should at least come forward and say something to clear up any misconceptions that may exist in our minds.

We would like a public explanation or maybe an apology of some sorts, to clear the air. Because in the final analysis we would like to know that we can at least have a viable alternative to the PPP/C, or are we flogging a dead, disgraced horse?

Respectfully, Neil Adams

Desist from using...

Many farms and pastures are now inundated and he has been on the ground almost every day engaging those who were affected.

The Minister has assured residents that every effort is being made to ensure floodwaters are drained in addition to the systems being put in place to minimise further instances of flooding.

Although most areas are still severely flooded, it would be unfair to say that the Government has not made attempts to remedy the situation or that the Government is only engaging persons in perceived PPP/C strongholds.

Noticeably enough, the

NDIA has been mobilising machines and mobile pumps to pump water on a 24-hour basis and clear clogged drains and canals in various communities.

The GLDA has also been supplying livestock farmers with feed and treatment for their animals. Efforts were also made to relocate animals after sections of the Cookrite Savannah have become inundated. Other agencies of the Ministry of Agriculture have also commenced flood-assessments in many if not all of the affected farming communities. Minister Mustapha has also openly pledged to assist farmers to return to the land once this period

FROM PAGE 4

passes.

The CDC has also been working, through the regional bodies, to provide hampers with food items and cleaning supplies to every household. To date, thousands of hampers have been distributed to affected persons across the country.

I am appealing to those persons with political influences to desist from using this very unfortunate occurrence to gain political mileage and promote division.

Once again, I stand in solidarity with those who were affected and hope relief comes your way soon.

Yours sincerely, Raymond S Chapman

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TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021

Page

Foundation ◄

Questions 1

Monday’s answers

Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent’s Narrow Room

By William Wordsworth

A

helpful way to learn facts and important information about people is to create a timeline. As you read a biographical text, you can draw and record important information or dates about the person. Then, you can place the dates and events in a timeline to show their understanding of important facts in chronological order.

What you need:

Biography of someone you would like to research Construction paper

What you do:

1. Give a short description of the person you have chosen to study.

2. Read a biography about the person.

3. Discuss the details of the person’s life and why they are famous or remembered.

4. Reread the book or text and write down notes. Draw pictures first and then go back to add sentences.

5. Cut out the details and place them in a timeline.

Ask yourself some of the following questions: Which detail is the most important?

Which detail is the least important?

Why would you choose to add this detail over another?

Would this person’s life have been different if you eliminated one of their important life events?

How did one event impact another event?

Once you have all the finalised events in place, glue the events on construction paper. (Adapted from education.com)

Nuns fret not at their convent’s narrow room; And hermits are contented with their cells; And students with their pensive citadels; Maids at the wheel, the weaver at his loom, Sit blithe and happy; bees that soar for bloom, High as the highest Peak of Furness-fells, Will murmur by the hour in foxglove bells: In truth the prison, into which we doom Ourselves, no prison is: and hence for me, In sundry moods, ’twas pastime to be bound Within the Sonnet’s scanty plot of ground; Pleased if some Souls (for such there needs must be) Who have felt the weight of too much liberty, Should find brief solace there, as I have found.

WORD SEARCH

NEWS

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TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Bypassing locals will be met with tougher local content policies – President Ali …warns foreign investors to adhere to local content policy

P

resident Dr Irfaan Ali has issued a stark warning to foreign companies who do not adhere to expectations for local content in Guyana, cautioning that such actions can force the Government to change its policy and tighten up even further on local content.

During his feature address at the opening of Italian investor Saipem’s fabrication facility on Saturday, President Ali had a message for other investors. He urged them to take their local content commitments seriously, lest the Government’s hand be forced to tighten up the policy.

“I’ve made it very clear.

And I am very transparent. You don’t have to guess me. Logistics is not scientific work. Logistics should easily go to Guyanese. Don’t tell me I need a foreign logistics firm to tell me how to do brokerage services. Or how to clear someone at the airports. Or how to hire taxis, rentals to use in the industry.”

“And then the very logistic companies would come

President Irfaan Ali

and own twenty properties and do the rentals themselves. It will not go down well. Don’t second guess me.

Whether you’re a sub-contractor or not, it will not go down well. You will push us to change our policy.”

Additionally, the President noted that it should be a part of these investors’ own business model to collaborate with the local Private Sector. And he noted that the Guyanese Private Sector also has an opportunity to service neighbouring oil and gas sectors, such as Suriname which has been discovering oil in its own waters.

“The Local Content Policy is very clear. If Guyanese have the capability and are competitive, they have to be given the opportunity. They have to be given the business opportunity. And in any good business model, good corporate social responsibility, investors should find it not only essential, but part of their value. Part of their own internal value, to collaborate with the local Private Sector. So that we could build the capacity and create opportunity.”

After assuming office in August last year, President Ali established a High-Level Local Content Panel to re-

view policy initiatives on local content in the petroleum sector and provide guidance for the development of Guyana’s Local Content Policy and Legislation.

The panel, chaired by Shyam Nokta, compiled and submitted the Local Content Report. Also on the panel were Carl Greenidge, Carvil Duncan, Anthony Paul, Kevin Ramnarine and the Natural Resources Ministry’s Legal Officer Sasha Rajkumar-Budhan.

The end product was a list of recommendations and subsequently, a draft Local Content Policy that the Government had released in February of this year.

The stakeholders’ con-

sultation on Guyana’s draft Local Content Policy for its petroleum sector started in February and President Dr Ali himself opened the discussion from which authorities were expected to receive feedback and comments for the finalisation of the critical document.

Approximately 140 stakeholders were engaged by the panel on the compilation of the report. The report outlines several recommendations to improve the country’s policies and legislation.

Government is likely to hire experts to examine and incorporate comments and suggestions emanating from these stakeholder consultations into the final pol-

icy document that will be presented in the National Assembly.

Among the key objectives of the Local Content Policy are to enhance the skills and competencies of Guyanese citizens; promote maximum use of Guyanese in the petroleum sector workforce; maximise the use of locally sourced goods and services in the petroleum sector; enhance the capacity of Guyanese businesses and supply chains to become internationally competitive; enhance and make worldclass the training, technology, innovation and research and development base of Guyana, just to scratch the surface. (G3)

8 NEWS

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

“Good luck! Stay out of Pomeroon trouble” – Judge tells brothers man jailed for armed acquitted of murder robbery

Life...

O T

Fidel and Phillip Williams

wo brothers of Rockview, Essequibo River, have been acquitted of the February 9, 2016 murder of Naldinho De Costa Souza, the Brazilian dredge owner who was found dead with his throat slit. Following a trial before Justice Navindra Singh on Monday, a 12-member jury returned not guilty verdicts in relation to both brothers. Accordingly, they were discharged and told “good luck and stay out of trouble” by Justice Singh, who informed them that they were

free to go.

The two brothers were formally charged with the crime last week after they were arraigned at the High Court in Essequibo. They had initially pleaded not guilty to the charge which alleged that on February 9, 2016, at Fish Creek, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), they murdered Souza. The brothers were represented by Attorneyat-Law Lachmi Dindayal, while State Counsel Tiffini Lyken presented the case for

Dead: Naldinho De Costa Souza

the prosecution.

According to reports, Souza, called “Vandam,” of Boa Vista, Brazil, was found with his throat slit in his Fish Creek, Cuyuni River mining camp on the day in question. His corpse was found next to a sluice box, and a quantity of raw gold was missing. After Souza was killed, his killers fled the scene. Police later issued a wanted bulletin for Fidel and Phillip Williams, who were apprehended in 2018.

A

Anthony Lamazone

nthony Lamazone of Pomeroon River, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), was on Monday sentenced to four years’ imprisonment on a robbery under arms charge.

The 37-year-old man appeared before Magistrate Esther Sam at the Anna Regina Magistrate’s Court where he pleaded guilty to the charge which stated that on June 2, 2021, he robbed Collin Cornelius at gunpoint.

...after the flood K...OK... your Eyewitness concedes it may be a tad premature to speak about life after the flood.

But he knows from his Sunday School catechisms that even after the great flood of Noah, the waters had to recede. And as a matter of fact, he’s aware that Noah didn’t wait till that blessed moment to make plans on survival: he built that Ark and stocked it with animals to ensure the continuity of life. And the Great Flood of Genesis mightn’t be such a hyperbolic metaphor to describe our plight – since the meteorological crystal balls are predicting that our rains will extend into August!!

But what lots of folks gloss over when talking about Noah’s flood, is that a whole lotta plants and animals had to have perished under the deluge. And that’s what we’ll first have to confront in Guyana. Already we heard about scads of cattle perishing out in Kokerite Savannah in Berbice and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Cattle in the Rupununi? Chickens in Black Bush? Can you imagine what happened to all the other smaller animals like rats that live in the ground and underbrush of the thousands of square miles that are under water?

The carcasses of these dead animals, of course, will lead to all sorts of water-borne diseases infecting the already beleaguered and hapless residents battling the rising waters. In the 2005 floods that were restricted to the coastland – and thus more heavily reported on – leptospirosis that spread from rats became a new killer disease. Then, of course, there will be the bacterial and other germ-caused diseases that will inflict those persons who’re forced to be immersed up to their chins for hours at a stretch in the putrid waters.

The point of it all is that there will have to be one big clean-up after the waters recede. This is number one.

After that? NOTHING!! That’s right...absolutely nothing will be done!! Your Eyewitness predicts everyone will go back to doing EXACTLY what they were doing before... just like after 2005. Forget all the talk about moving inland, building houses on higher stilts or foundations, cleaning canals, enforcing laws on dumping garbage, etc, etc. All the talk we heard – and are continuing to hear – about the aforementioned is just that: TALK!! Which, apart from adding to global warming with the hot air spewed, will never get translated into action.

So, what will life be after the flood? The same lifeand-death struggle between the political parties – led by the PNC, which will never accept it lost the elections – come hell or high water.

We’re in the midst of the “high water” and the PNC is girding its loins to give us the “hell”! ...with the PNC narratives Yes...the PNC doesn’t have a “narrative” – singular – but any number of “narratives” from the various factions jostling to displace Granger and the Corbin faction that foisted the Sanctimonious Gangster on them. When he was preening around town with his vacuous smile and dropping on his knees at the drop of a hat, he was declared to be a “strategic genius” who’d establish a thousand-year Wakanda in its Caribbean Lebensraum!

But after he was ignominiously voted out by the people at the polls – and booted out by the international community when he tried to do a “Burnham rig”, he’s every former PNC myrmidon’s favourite punching bag!

The common wail is that he didn’t stare down the US and the West – as they like to believe Burnham did back in the day. They feign amnesia on Jagan’s inability to be as politically adroit and pragmatic as his present successors!

One young stripling is calling for a local Idi Amin!! ...with COVID-19 After witnessing the ebb and flow of the evermutating COVID-19 virus returning in “waves” - some becoming “tsunamis” like in the US and China – folks are finally realising we’ll be dealing with this threat for a long time!

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

9 More 1st dose Sputnik vaccines arrive in Guyana NEWS

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

…2 more deaths, 53 positives recorded in 24h

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he Health Ministry has received another shipment of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine from Russia.

The shipment, which consists of only 1st dose vaccines, was delivered at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), and will add to the existing national vaccination campaign.

It was previously reported that there was a delay of second doses for the Sputnik V vaccine administration but the population was advised that the interval to receive the

Dr Frank Anthony to return for their second jab. In the latest COVID-19 update, he also explained that many persons are also due for their second AstraZeneca shot to complete the immunisation process.

“We have noticed this in Region Seven and in Region Two. I want to make a special appeal to those persons who, in these two regions have received their Sinopharm first dose to come back and get their second dose. We know that we have, over the last three months or so, immunised a lot of people with

board showed an increase of 53 new cases as the total confirmed cases in Guyana moved to 17,718. For the first week of June, there have been 604 new cases and 641 recoveries.

Active cases have reduced to 1787: 17 patients in the Intensive Care Unit, 95 in institutional isolation and 1675 in home isolation.

Additionally, two persons were placed in institutional quarantine.

Some 15,520 of the 8746 males and 8972 females that tested positive have since re-

GUYANA COVID-19 DASHBOARD JUNE 07 UPDATE

NUMBER OF NEW CASES

53

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL ISOLATION

95

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN HOME ISOLATION

1675

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN COVID-19 ICU

17

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL QUARANTINE

2

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (FEMALES)

8972

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (MALES)

8746

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES IN GUYANA SINCE 2020

17,718

NUMBER OF RECOVERED CASES

15,520

TOTAL 1st DOSE VACCINATED FULLY IMMUNISED

210,777 76,115

TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS

411

DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES SINCE MARCH 2022 REGION 1

1145

REGION 2

490

REGION 3

2067

REGION 4

8381

REGION 5

600

REGION 6

1197

REGION 7

1228

REGION 8

370

REGION 9

1005

REGION 10

1235

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

Keep a physical distance of at least 6 feet.

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

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

last dose can extend up to 12 weeks.

Some 235,463 jabs of the Russian-manufactured vaccine were previously delivered from a State purchase.

Government had first purchased 200,000 doses and then secured another 600,000 for Guyana. The shots continue to arrive in tranches, enabling immunisation for 400,000 persons.

COVAX is also close to delivering on its promise of 100,800 doses; adding to donations of 80,000 AstraZeneca from India, 20,000 Sinopharm from China and 3000 AstraZeneca from Barbados.

As of Sunday, 210,777 persons in Guyana received their first dose of the vaccine, measuring just over 42 per cent of the adult population. Some 76,115 or 15.2 per cent of this number have been fully immunised, meaning that they would have taken both doses of the respective vaccines.

Persons from Regions Two (Pomeron-Supenaam) and Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), who took their first Sinopharm dose were on Monday urged yet again by Health Minister,

their first dose AstraZeneca.

Many of those persons are now due for their second dose and we want them to come to any one of our vaccination sites because we have the AstraZeneca second dose to be administered. We really want people to come and get their vaccines. I hope people don’t delay,” he asserted.

Vaccines can be accessed from some 100 fixed and mobile sites that are located across the country.

New deaths, cases

Two more deaths from the novel coronavirus have taken the country’s death toll to a startling 411. A total of 13 deaths have already been reported for the first week of June.

The fatalities are two women: a 70-year-old female from Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) and a 65-year-old from Region Four (DemeraraMahaica). They died at a medical facility while receiving treatment.

Four deaths were previously reported for Sunday and two on Saturday.

Monday’s updated dash-

covered. Guyana has tested 161,788 persons since the virus was first detected back in March 2020.

From the new positives, six were from Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), seven in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), 23 in Region Four (DemeraraMahaica), four in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), three in Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), four in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), one in Region Eight (PotaroSiparuni) and five in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).

Confirmed cases in Region One (Barima-Waini) and Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice) still at 1145 and 1235.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has outlined that the most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, dry cough, and tiredness. Other symptoms that are less common and may affect some patients include loss of taste or smell, aches and pains, headache, sore throat, nasal congestion, red eyes, diarrhoea, or a skin rash.

Sputnik V vaccines arriving at the CJIA on Monday

10 NEWS

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

“We can’t afford to be losing our people to COVID-19” – PM …urges Coomacka residents to get vaccinated

Prime Minister Mark Phillips speaking with residents of Coomacka in Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice)

P

rime Minister Mark Phillips has urged residents of Coomacka in Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice) to take advantage of being vaccinated against

COVID-19. During a recent visit to the community, the Prime Minister took the opportunity to offer advice to residents, as the region is deemed to have the lowest

vaccination uptake in the country.

“If you haven’t taken the vaccine, do come forward and take the vaccine...because the vaccine will protect us

Berbice man found dead in canal

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he body of a Goed Bananen Land, East Canje, Berbice man was on Monday morning discovered in a canal located one street away from where he lived.

He has been identified as 57-year-old Devanand Ramtor, a labourer who was attached to the Rose Hall Town Sugar Estate.

The man had left his home Sunday morning to head to Adelphi Village to fix his bicycle but never returned.

His wife, Hemwattie

Dead: Devanand Ramtor

Boodhoo, had gone in search of him but was unsuccessful in her efforts.

According to Boodhoo, she later contacted the Police, who formed a search party but they too were unsuccessful.

The man’s body was then discovered on Monday in the canal. On Sunday evening, the dead man’s son had discovered his bicycle bracing a culvert about 12ft off the Goed Bananen Land Public Road.

Investigations are ongoing. (G4)

from getting the severe form of this COVID-19. If you get COVID-19 and you’re vaccinated it would just be a mild form of COVID-19.

Just remember...if you’re vaccinated, that’s a form of protection from you having to be hospitalised with COVID-19. We have a small population, we can’t afford to be losing our people from COVID-19 at a time when the Government is spending millions of United States dollars to buy the vaccine and to give it free to the people of Guyana,” the Prime Minister told residents.

He said Guyana is presently one of the few small countries in the world where the Government has decided to purchase vaccines to be

given free of cost to its population, as he explained that everyone else apart from Guyanese living in Guyana are also entitled to have access to the vaccine.

“The Venezuelans are taking the vaccine.

We got about forty thousand Venezuelans living in Guyana. They’re coming forward and taking the vaccine. In Lethem, we have the Brazilians who are coming over to Guyana and taking the vaccine. We want the Guyanese to take the vaccine too, wherever you are...

Because the more people take the vaccine is the better for us as a population to get past this COVID-19 disease,” the Prime Minister said.

He continued that in order for life to get back to a state of normalcy, people must be vaccinated.

“We’re not forcing you but we’re encouraging you, because that’s the only means that make any sense right now to protect people... wearing a mask, sanitising, social distancing and taking the vaccine,” he urged.

The Prime Minister related that he has already had his second dose of vaccine. He noted that some people may want to relax after taking the vaccine as he noted that it is okay to do so. He said for those who are working they can take the vaccine and take the day off to relax and recover from any possible side effects.

Shopkeeper remanded for robbing taxi driver at knifepoint

D

ennis Johnson, a shopkeeper whose left leg is amputated, was on Monday remanded to prison for robbery under arms following his appearance before Principal Magistrate Sherdel IsaacsMarcus at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

The 25-year-old of Caneview Avenue, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown, denied the charge which stated that on May 20 while in the company of another and armed with a knife, he robbed Ulric Da Silva of a motor car, HC 8838, valued at $3,600,000, a cell phone valued $4000 and $4000 in cash. The accused robber was remanded to prison until June 8, 2021.

The prosecutor said that Johnson hired Da Silva to transport him home. The court was told that Da Silva picked up Johnson at Bachelor’s Adventure, East Coast Demerara. Upon arrival at his destination, the prosecutor said that Johnson held Da Silva at knifepoint.

With the help of his accomplice, Johnson allegedly relieved the taxi driver of the items. He and his accomplice then made good their escape. Following the robbery, Da Silva lodged a report with the Police. At that time, Police were able to recover the car, but no one was arrested.

On June 4, the taxi driver visited the Brickdam Police Station to enquire about another matter when he saw Johnson in custody and alerted Police ranks that he was the person who robbed him. During his address to the court, Johnson said that the Police came to his house and arrested him.

Thereafter, he said that he was taken to the Brickdam Police Station and placed on an identification parade, but no one pointed him out. According to the defendant, after he

Remanded: Dennis Johnson

lodged $10,000 station bail, Da Silva walked into the station and claimed that he robbed him.

The defendant told the Magistrate that Da Silva was “lying on him.” He said that he does not indulge in criminal activities, except for the sale of small quantities of narcotics. The Police prosecutor objected to bail being granted to Johnson on the basis that he is a repeat offender. In the end, the presiding Magistrate remanded the defendant to prison.

Larceny charge

Meanwhile, in another matter, a 21-year-old mason of Guyhoc Squatting Area was also remanded to prison on a larceny charge.

Shamar Davis denied the charge which stated that on May 1, 2021 at Avenue of the Republic, Georgetown, while in the company of others and armed with a gun, he stole $600,000 cash from David Wilson.

The prosecutor said that Davis was positively identified by the virtual com-

plainant because there was a brief confrontation between them. The prosecutor added that there is a video circulating of the incident which Wilson has already provided to the Police.

According to the prosecutor, Davis is under investigation for several crimes by the Alberttown Police Station.

When given a chance to speak, Davis told the court that a Police rank shot him in the leg. The defendant said that on the day in question, he was riding his motorcycle when a Police rank stopped him and asked him to produce his driver’s licence.

Because he did not have a licence, Davis said he rode away. According to him, another Police rank drove up and opened fire on him. He also said that he was beaten by Police ranks. The defendant said he was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital and later escorted to the Brickdam Police Station where he was informed of the allegation levelled against him. (G1)

NEWS

11

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

COVID-19 deaths in vaccinated countries decline – WHO …positive cases, deaths reported to WHO decline – Director General

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he World Health Organisation (WHO) in its documentation of statistics from around the world to keep track of the novel coronavirus has identified a trend, whereby new cases have been on the decline for the past six weeks.

Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus shared this information during a press conference on Monday, where he added that deaths have also been decreasing for the last five weeks.

There are 173,005,553 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 3,727,605 deaths reported to the Organisation.

As of Saturday, a total of 1,900,955,505 vaccine doses have been administered.

Even with an overall global plunge in statistics, the number of deaths reported last week increased in three out of the Organisation’s six regions: Africa, the Americas and the Western Pacific.

“The number of new cases of COVID-19 reported to WHO has now declined for six weeks, and deaths have declined for five weeks…

Globally, we continue to see encouraging signs in the trajectory of the pandemic,” Dr Ghebreyesus posited.

He continued that there is still a mixed picture around the world, regarded as a two-track pandemic. It is whereby many countries still face an extremely dangerous situation, while some of those with the high-

2 seriously injured in Essequibo Coast accident

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wo Essequibo Coast, Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) young men were seriously injured following a motorcycle accident.

Injured are Lakeram Singh of Affiance Village and Krishna Singh of Airy Hall. The two, both 22 years old, are currently patients at the Suddie Hospital nursing injuries to their heads.

Reports are that the accident occurred at about 20:30h at Riverstown Village on Sunday evening.

According to reports out of Region Two, the pillion rider, Krishna Singh, and the rider, Lakeram Singh, were riding motorcycle CF 9313, proceeding north along the western side of Riverstown Public Road while the motor car, PXX 5401, owned by a 30-yearold, was proceeding south on the eastern side when the motorcycle collided with the

The motorcycle which the two injured men were riding

left side of the car.

Both men fell on the roadway and received injuries to their heads. They

were rushed to the Suddie Public Hospital in an unconscious state by the driver of the car.

CDC gets massive support...

est vaccination rates are considering ending restrictions.

“In countries with the greatest access to vaccines, we are seeing a decline in mortality among older age groups. In these countries, the public health and social measures that have helped to protect people are being eased, but they must be eased cautiously, and adjusted in line with viral circulation and response capacities.”

During the briefing, the Director General warned that the Delta variant, previously known as the “Indian variant” is one of concern and lifting restrictions too quickly could prove disastrous for those that are not vaccinated. This variant is a sub-lineage of the B.1.617.2 strain.

“Many countries don’t have that option, because they don’t have enough vaccines. In these countries, the continued use of tailored public health measures is the best way to suppress transmission. The inequitable distribution of vaccines has allowed the virus to continue spreading, increasing the chances of a variant emerging that renders vaccines less effective,” he added.

Statistics show that six months since the first vaccines were administered, high-income countries have administered almost 44 per cent of the world’s doses, leaving low-income countries with just about 0.4 per cent vaccination.

Dr Ghebreyesus stressed, “The most frustrating thing about this statistic

WHO Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

is that it hasn’t changed in months. Inequitable vaccination is a threat to all nations, not just those with the fewest vaccines. Several countries have made significant pledges to share doses.

We’re grateful to those countries and we look forward to those pledges being fulfilled in June and July.”

At the World Health Assembly, he would have called for a massive global effort to vaccinate at least 10 per cent per cent of the population of all countries

by September, and at least 30 per cent by the end of the year.

To reach these targets, there is need for an additional 250 million doses by September and 100 million doses just in June and July.

“I also call on all manufacturers to give COVAX first right of refusal on new volume of vaccines, or to commit 50 per cent of their volumes to COVAX this year. COVAX is the best way to distribute vaccines quickly and equitably. Sharing vaccines now is essential for

ending the acute phase of the pandemic. But it’s also clear that in an emergency, low-income countries cannot rely solely on imports of vaccines from wealthier nations. Investing in local production is critical, for COVID-19 vaccines and for producing routine immunisations and other health products.”

The WHO has pledged to continue supporting countries, identifying bottlenecks and providing solutions to these issues. The agency is in receipt of expressions of interest from a number of companies interested in transferring their technology and establishing production plants.

“We continue to call on companies with mRNA technology to share it through the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool – the result can be a win-win for both the owner of the know-how as well as for public health.

The biggest barrier to ending the pandemic remains sharing: of doses, of resources, of technology.” (G12)

FROM PAGE 2

Vieira 66 Logistics, Hardware Depot and Digicel Guyana donating to the CDC relief efforts

“We know many of our brothers and sisters not only on the coastland but in the hinterland-interior area, have been suffering tremendously from the flooding that is happening and we want to reach out and try to assist in taking the relief to them,” Cheong said while issuing a call for businesses, citizens and non-govern-

mental organisations to join the CDC’s relief efforts.

“At this time in our country’s history, all of us need to come together and work to ensure that our Guyanese brothers and sisters live through and come through this [disaster]. People have to return to a proper livelihood and whatever we can do to help them, we need to

do,” the Chairman added.

Accepting the donation, Director General of the CDC, Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig said the disaster response body needs similar contributions to execute its mandate.

“For us to respond effectively, we need collaboration and support like these… we need it to happen quickly,”

Craig noted.

Meanwhile, Falcon Logistics and Stena Drilling also donated towards flood relief efforts. In a joint donation, Falcon Logistics Inc and Stena Drilling donated $4.2 million to the CDC towards flood relief efforts countrywide.

Craig said that the timely donation will be used to

support relief efforts in several critical areas.

Managing Director of Falcon Logistics Inc, Jennifer Falconer, who spoke on behalf of both companies, said they are elated to help in this humanitarian venture.

Also on Monday, Vieira 66 Logistics donated $200,000; Hardware Depot

donated 15 cases of bleach and 2000 face masks while Digicel Guyana donated five mobile phones to support the ongoing flood relief efforts countrywide.

Over the past weeks, numerous businesses, both large and small, along with citizens have been donating towards the CDC efforts.

12 NEWS

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Probe launched into Psychiatric Hospital fire – Health Minister

Emergency services at the facility on the evening of the incident

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ays after a fire at the National Psychiatric Hospital in New Amsterdam, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), patients have been secured and an investigation is in full swing to determine the course of action.

Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony said on Monday that an investigative team was sent to conduct a full probe into what transpired. From the recommendation, authorities will decide on the next step.

“We’re also going to have a

number of people go up as part of an investigation team to have a look at what took place and that team is supposed to be there today (Monday).

They would conduct an investigation as to what went wrong and why this happened. We should be able to have that report and based on the recommendations in that report, we’ll take additional steps,” the Minister said.

He informed that immediate measures are to house patients properly as well as contingency plans to prevent a recurrence. Several persons

that were housed at the Fort Canje facility are still nursing burn injuries.

“It’s unfortunate that we had the fire. But we had some aggressive psychiatric patients at the Fort Canje Hospital. We are taking some measures on how we can deal with this in the future. As of now we have to take immediate steps to ensure that the patients are housed properly. The night when the incident occurred, we had to remove the patients to safety.

Some of the patients were initially transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital because a number of them would have incurred burn injuries,” Dr Anthony underscored.

Following an assessment of the damages, works will commence to rebuild the facility and relocate displaced patients.

“Those arrangements, we hope will be temporary arrangements.

Yesterday (Sunday), a team went down to Fort Canje. We were able to do an assessment of the damages done to the building and hopefully, we’ll be able to

start the repairs of that building so that persons can go back at the hospital there. As of now, we have been able to safely house the patients that have been displaced because of the fire.”

Reports are that the fire was started on Saturday evening by inmates who were displaying signs of violence and aggression.

This publication had reported that some 32 patients were housed in the admission ward and there was only one nurse attached to the ward at the time of the incident. The Police and the Guyana Fire Service arrived in a timely manner and the firefighters were able to extinguish the small blaze without having to enter the building.

However, a second fire was started, again by the inmates, which caused some of the patients to suffer from smoke inhalation. According to the official, the second fire was set in the ceiling of the building.

She related that some of the patients succeeded in ripping out the door made of iron bars and escaped.

The damaged section of the National Psychiatric Hospital in New Amsterdam, Berbice

This resulted in a mass exodus of patients trying to make their way out of the

compound of the NPH. All escaped patients accounted for. (G12)

12 cases completed at Essequibo, Berbice Criminal Assizes

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total of 12 cases have been completed at the Essequibo and Berbice Criminal Assizes. The February 2020 Essequibo Criminal Assizes is still in progress. Seven matters were presented before Justice Navindra Singh.

Of these seven cases, five were for murder and, one each for manslaughter and rape. In one of the murder cases, the jury found the accused guilty and he was sen-

tenced to 75 years’ imprisonment with the possibility of parole after serving 50 years.

In the other four cases, there were six accused persons. Five of them pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter and were sentenced respectively to four and half years, 15 years, 20 years, 17 years, and four years’ imprisonment.

Another accused who was jointly indicted with two

of the accused who pleaded guilty pleaded not guilty, and will go on trial.

The accused in the rape matter pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment, while the accused in the manslaughter case was acquitted after the Trial Judge upheld a no-case submission.

Meanwhile, the February 2020 Berbice Criminal Assizes remains in progress with 101 matters listed to be heard. Five mat-

ters were completed before Justice Jo Ann Barlow.

Of these five matters, three were for murder, and one each for attempt to commit murder with an alternative count of felonious wounding and rape of a

child under 16 years. In the case for attempt to commit murder with the alternative count, there were three accused indicted together.

The number one accused pleaded guilty to the first count and was sentenced

to nine years’ imprisonment. The number two accused was found guilty by the jury on the alternative count and was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment.

The number three accused was acquitted. The accused in the rape matter pleaded guilty and will be sentenced on June 10.

In one of the three cases for murder, there were three accused jointly indicted.

They were all found guilty by a jury and they too will be sentenced on June 10. In the other two trials, the Trial Judge directed the juries to return not guilty verdicts for the accused persons. (G1)

NEWS

13

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Flood-affected Region 7

All levels of Govt working to bring relief – Region 7 Chair to residents …says most dreadful situation region has ever faced

would reduce in those areas,” the Regional Chairman expressed.

He noted that the flooding is threatening the economic viability of many villages.

“Especially for the economic activities, we understand that its affecting lots of farms especially in Quebanang, Kamarang, in Paruima, lots of farms have been affected and NAREI has done an excellent job in tabulating some of the damages that has been done and we know that in collaboration with the Government we will able to provide some type of relief to those persons that have been affected.”

He explained that the region’s “biggest concern” is that villages in both the Upper and Lower

Houses in Region Seven under water [DPI photo]

R

egional Chairman for Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) Kenneth Williams is pleading with citizens to keep the faith, assuring that authorities at all levels of Government are working together to bring relief to those who are affected by the current floods.

All regions across the country have been affected by flooding from heavy and intense rainfall over the past two weeks. In fact, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) has reported that over 25,000 households from across 300 communities have been affected since May 18, 2021.

Some of the hardest hit villages in Region Seven are Kamarang, Kako, Quebanang and Jawalla.

Other affected villages are Karrau, Itaballi and Batavia.

In Kamarang, some 78 farms and 15 houses are inundated while in Kako, 12 houses and 171 farms are affected.

The Regional Chair noted that the water levels in these villages

fluctuate depending on the intensity of the rainfall in any given day.

In a brief interview on Monday, the Regional Chairman noted that

this natural disaster is the worst to hit the region in recent times.

“We are still under the cuff, we are still facing on the most dread-

ful situations our region has ever faced and we recognise that villages like Paruima, Kamarang and Quebanang are still under tremendous strain because of the high levels of water,” he noted.

“We are working fiercely to bring relief in the form of food hampers in collaboration with the CDC. We recognise the people’s pain, we recognise their struggles that they are going through,” the Regional Chair expressed.

“We are working with the best intentions at heart and we are hoping that the people of the Middle [Mazaruni] and the Upper Mazaruni recognise that even though in Bartica Central we are

not experiencing that, the region in collaboration with the CDC will be visiting in those areas as often

as possible to help and to bring some sort of relief in the form of hampers and cleaning supplies,” he added.

The Regional Chair revealed that on Thursday last, hundreds of relief hampers were distributed to affected residents. These include 285 food hampers, 417 cleaning hampers, 258 bottles of bleach, 100 mosquito nets, and 192 bottles of disinfectants.

Additionally, the Government is preparing some 600 food and cleaning hampers to be distributed to Region Seven communities severely affected by flood.

“We expect the water to reduce this week but for certain areas, we are still seeing certain levels of inundation and we wish that would change, and we are hoping with God’s grace that the water level

Mazaruni district continue to report “economic devastation to their livelihood” as flood waters either continue to rise or remain stagnant.

On Saturday, President Dr Irfaan Ali visited Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) where he pledged to assist the flood-affected residents. He was accompanied

by Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha and Director General of the CDC, Lt Col Kester Craig.

They also visited several communities in the region to hear from the residents and to assess the flood-related damages. Among the areas visited were Olive Creek, Kamarang and Jawalla.

Additionally, the President flew over several communities to gauge the scope of the flooding.

World Food Safety Day

Growing food industry requires strengthening staff understanding, capacity – Health Minister

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espite the many challenges from dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, the strengthening of staff understanding and capacity has been a necessity in dealing with the growing food industry.

This is according to Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony in his World Food Safety Day message on Monday.

This year, World Food Safety Day, which is celebrated on June 7 each year, was celebrated under the theme “Safe food for now and tomorrow”.

Dr Anthony also said that in addition, field operatives are now more equipped in dealing with the increased demands, adding that while the pandemic is not over, the public and all workers within this health sector are urged to get their vaccines and wear protective equipment where applicable. “The MOH will continue to support the Veterinary Public Health Unit’s effort in ensuring that all products for local consumption and export are wholesome for human consumption,” Dr

Anthony said.

The aim of World Food Safety Day is to draw attention and encourage action to prevent, detect and manage foodborne risks, which in the long run contributes to food security, human health, economic prosperity, agriculture, market access, tourism and sustainable development.

With multiple public health departments, the Health Minister said that the Ministry serves to ensure that every person has access to safe and nutritious

food, which is important for sustaining life and promoting good health.

He added that the VPHU is tasked with promoting human health by taking the necessary steps to minimise the risks and spread of diseases between man and animal and animal food products.

Over the years, the VPHU, he noted, has maintained a risk management system used to check compliance with various processes and facilities via local and international food safety standards and practices.

14 NEWS Over 25,000 households across 300 communities affected by flooding – CDC TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Additional flood relief supplies from the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) for the Regional Democratic Councils of Regions Two and Three for distribution (CDC photos)

T

he Civil Defence Commission (CDC) said that since May

Commission noted that it is working with stakeholders includ-

by the CDC. The Aroaima Nursery and Primary Schools currently accommodate 36 residents, with 33 at Kwakwani Primary School, 7 at Kwakwani Secondary School Hostel and 42 at Hururu Day Care Centre.

Earlier this month, President Dr Irfaan Ali assessed severely affected communities along the Upper Berbice River in Region 10 including Lamp Island, Kwakwani, Bamboo Landing, Hururu Mission and Landern’s Ville where he assured residents whose homes and farmlands are under water that the Government and stakeholders including the CDC will ensure that they receive water, food and health supplies.

dition to hampers distributed through local organs and Central Government.

During visits by Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips and Amerindian Affairs Minister, Pauline Sukhai, a total of 1200 food and cleaning hampers were distributed to residents in areas including Rockstone, Coomacka, Spikeland, Old England, Three Friends, Malali, Nottinghamshire, Muritaro and Kara Kara.

The Human Services and Social Security Ministry also distributed personal care and hygiene packages for babies, women and girls, and the elderly.

Monitoring of water-borne diseases continue by the Health Ministry,

Organisations to provide food, cleaning supplies and shelter to flood-affected res-

Volunteers and staff of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) and Reserve Officers of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) packing flood relief hampers Additional supplies for distribution to flood-affected residents in Region 7 communities

18 it has received reports of over 25,000 households in more than 300 communities across the country being impacted by flooding.

On Monday, the

ing Central Government, Neighbourhood Democratic Councils, Regional Democratic Councils, the Private Sector and Non-Governmental

idents.

All regions across the country have been affected by flooding due to heavy rainfall.

Kwakwani in Region 10

(Upper Demerara-Berbice) is one of the most impacted community with a total of 90 residents evacuated to shelters being managed

To date, the CDC has dispatched 2250 food hampers and 2000 cleaning hampers to support affected residents in the region. This is in ad-

which has already dispatched a team to conduct assessments and provide medical supplies.

Fake Instagram account found impersonating Dr Ashni Singh

Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh

T

he Finance Ministry on Monday said that there is a fake Instagram account impersonating Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh.

In a statement, the Ministry said that it was brought to the attention of the Minister that a fake Instagram account was created in the name of Senior Minister in the Office of the President with

The fake Instagram account

Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni K Singh. “The account is named ‘hon.dr_ashni_singh’ and is accompanied by what appears to be a copy of the official logo of the Ministry of Finance as seen above,” the Ministry said, adding that it wishes to clarify to the general public that the Minister does not own

nor has any affiliation with this Instagram account. “…therefore, any person or persons interacting with the account are not doing so with the Honourable Minister. Steps have been taken and action is currently underway to have this fake account removed,” the Ministry said.

NEWS

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TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Pensioner perishes in New Amsterdam fire

Dead: Martin Lindy

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pensioner of New Amsterdam, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), is now dead after his house went up in flames on Sunday evening.

Dead is 67-year-old Martin Lindy, a former boat captain with the now-defunct Berbice Mining Enterprise.

The fire erupted at around 22:00h at Trinity Street, New Amsterdam.

While investigators are still probing the origin of the blaze, family members of Lindy have not ruled out suicide or foul play.

Lindy was living alone at

the time.

According to one neighbour, she heard him called to her and telling her that there was a fire and to take her children and leave the building. The neighbour said she complied but returned to her house to pick up valuable documents and was told by Lindy again to leave her building. The two buildings are situated a few feet apart.

The neighbour said it was then she saw smoke billowing into the air and called the Fire Department which responded promptly.

However, the neighbour

claimed that while she was informing the firemen that someone was in the building, the officials - who were already engaged in firefighting - were arguing between themselves as to whether they should break into the building. One argued that since no Police Officer was at the scene they should not break into the building.

A senior Fire Officer subsequently arrived on the scene and got instruments to break in.

Lindy’s body was seen lying a short distance from the door. He was taken to the New Amsterdam Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Initial investigations revealed that the fire may have started in one of the bedrooms.

Investigators have also discovered that several pieces of electrical devices were plugged in and have not ruled out the nature of the fire as being electrical.

Only recently Lindy was admitted as a patient at the New Amsterdam Hospital for ingestion of a poisonous substance.

According to one neighbour, the pensioner had claimed that he picked a fruit from the yard which had a chemical on it.

However, his cousin-in-law Nicola Luther, who is also his attorney-in-fact told this

The house at Trinity Street, New Amsterdam, on fire

publication that the man’s wife had left the chemical in the refrigerator and he accidentally consumed it.

The couple was recently divorced and is before the court for division of property.

Luther said Lindy had been in constant contact with her and reported all of the challenges he was facing.

Among them was that his wife had put padlocks denying him access to the lower flat of the building and had refused his requests to reconcile.

She also shared several voice notes the now dead

man sent to her.

“My wife bring a divorce paper and give me and I never see her back,” one of the voice notes from Lindy said.

“When the firemen open the door, it is right there they saw him on the floor and he did not have on any shirt, so apparently he was sleeping.”

Persons reported seeing Lindy going home about one hour prior to the inferno.

Asked about the reported attempt at suicide, she said that he told her a story which he repeated to a probation officer.

Acceding to her, the officer claimed that Lindy told her he deliberately ingested the poison but when she was there Lindy said at the time he was disoriented and had no recollection of meeting the officer and held out that the story he was then presenting is what transpired.

Nevertheless, Joan DeCuna Lindy told reporters that she was out of town when she received information that her house was on fire.

She said she had no idea what had transpired.

An investigation has been launched. (G4)

56 farms at Paruima destroyed by floodwaters …Sukhai assures flood victims of Govt’s support

Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai addressing Paruima residents

A

merindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai has assured flood victims of Paruima, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), of the Government’s continued support to help them cope with the devastation.

Sukhai was accompanied by teams from the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission.

The Department of Public Information reported that the Minister told the gathering that their safety is a priority.

She added that the Irfaan Ali-led Government

will not neglect the people in their time of need, noting that the Administration will make interventions to ensure that they are safe.

Head of CDC’s assessment team in the Upper Mazaruni district, Captain Hubern Collins told residents that the agency is responding to their needs.

“It was hard to get here.

It was a very long [boat] ride and all of those things but the CDC insisted that we come to this village here because you are far out and, of course, the village is very important and your experiences will teach us a lot, in how to handle this flood,” he

said.

Meanwhile, Extension Officer of the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) in Paruima, Leyland Williams said some 56 farmers were affected by the flood, which was caused by heavy rainfall and overtopping of the Kamarang River.

Williams said years ago villagers farmed on the mountains, but relocated to lower grounds as wild hogs would destroy their farms.

However, now that the farms are on lower grounds, the water has caused many cassava tubers to rot.

Sukhai has since instructed the Village Council to ensure residents’ welfare is not compromised by the floods. She also cautioned residents to avoid the floodwaters, especially as the pandemic prevails.

The more than five feet of water has already begun receding in the village. She said more assessments will be conducted in other areas.

Assessments have already been done in Waramadong, Kako, Jawalla, Kamarang, Quebanang, Imbaimadai, Omanaik, Kambaru and Abou.

The Minister’s assessment is part of a wider Government plan to ensure persons affected by

the countrywide flooding receive support.

Government Ministers have been fanning out across the country to ensure residents are safe and

provisions have been made for them as they endure the floods.

President Ali is leading the mission. To date he has already visited commu-

nities in Regions Two, Six, Seven and 10, assuring persons of Government’s support in the wake of this natural disaster.

16 NEWS

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Antigua PM calls Killing of Canadian Muslim family for tax cuts in with truck was hate crime – Police airline ticket prices F in the Region our members of a Canadian Muslim family who were killed on Sunday when a pickup truck jumped the curb and ran them over were targeted in an anti-Islamic hate crime, Canadian police said on Monday.

“There is evidence that this was a planned, premeditated act, motivated by hate,” Detective Superintendent Paul Waight of the London, Ontario, policedepartment told reporters.

“It is believed that these victims were targeted because they were Muslim,” Waight said.

Police arrested the suspected attacker, 20-year-old Nathaniel Veltman, on Sunday. His truck swerved off the road, over the curb, struck the family and then drove off at high speed, police said, citing witnesses.

P

Members of the Selamati lay flowers at the fatal crime scene where a man driving a pickup truck jumped the curb and ran over a Muslim family in what Police say was a deliberately targeted anti-Islamic hate crime, in London, Ontario, Canada, June 7, 2021 (Reuters/Carlos Osorio)

Prime Minister Gaston Browne

rime Minister, Gaston Browne, says the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has provided Caribbean governments with the opportunity to implement tax cuts for airline tickets across the Region.

“Now is the time for us to cut the taxes even by 50 per cent and I do accept that you may not be able to determine the elasticity of pricing on travel demand because naturally regional and intra-regional remain relatively low during this period of COVID. “But the fact that you are not collecting, or you hardly collecting anything at this time it is not revenue you are giving away. You can’t give away what you are not earning,” said Browne, who intends to his use chairmanship of the regional integration movement, Caricom, next month to push the initiative.

He said the leaders of the sub-regional Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) are supportive of the initiative since there are

other financial benefits to be obtained as a result.

“I have said to my colleagues within the OECS that now is the time. I can tell you that my colleagues are looking at it seriously and I believe we should be able to convince them to do something now,” Browne said, adding that the cut in taxes could be for a temporary period.

“It could even be for a temporary period. If we say, look between now and the end of the year to 12 months I have no doubt that one, it will result in incremental revenue and at the same time it will also give us some idea…maybe the price elasticity of these tickets…that carry a heavy component in terms of government taxes.

“I am of the view too that is one of the ways to incentivise fully vaccinated persons. We can have a bubble involving fully vaccinated persons to allow them to check travel intra-regionally and without any quarantine. (Antigua Newsroom)

Abdullah Alzureiqi and his daughter Hala say a prayer at the fatal crime scene

Eyewitness Paige Martin told reporters a black truck blasted past her and ran a red light as she was walking, and then she came upon the scene and saw “chaos”: “It was just absolutely like something that you never want to see.”

Veltman, described as a London resident, has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. He is due in back in court on Thursday after being remanded to custody on Monday.

Veltman does not have a criminal record, and is not known to be a member of a hate group, police said. He was arrested in a mall parking lot without incident while wearing a body-armor-type vest, police said. There is no evidence he had any accomplices.

Police have not yet released the victims’ names, but the London Free Press said that among the dead were Syed Afzaal, 46, his wife, Madiha Salman, 44, and their 15-year-old daughter, Yumnah Afzaal. Syed Afzaal’s 74-year-old moth-

er, whose name is not yet confirmed, also died. Their 9-year-old son, Faez Afzaal, is in the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

The attack was the worst against Canadian Muslims since a man gunned down six members of a Quebec City mosque in 2017. London Mayor Ed Holder said it was the worst mass murder his city - 200 km (120 miles) southwest of Toronto - had ever seen.

“We grieve for the family, three generations of whom are now deceased,” Holder told reporters. “This was an act of mass murder, perpetrated against Muslims, against Londoners, and rooted in unspeakable hatred.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Twitter that he was “horrified” by the news, adding that “Islamophobia has no place in any of our communities. This hate is insidious and despicable - and it must stop.”

Waight said police in London were consulting with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and prosecutorsabout potentially filing terrorism charges.

“This is a terrorist attack on Canadian soil, and should be treated as such,” said Mustafa Farooq, head of the National Council of Canadian Muslims.

“There are some very, very scared people out there,” Holder said.

London, which has about 400,000 residents, has a large Muslim community and Holder said Arabic is the second-most-spoken language to English in the city. (Reuters)

NEWS

17

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

MTA bus crashes through front of Colonial Pipeline: US Brooklyn brownstone, 16 injured recovers most of ransom,

Firefighters respond after an MTA bus crashed into a building on Lincoln Road and Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, New York on Monday. (Gardiner Anderson/for New York Daily News)

A

n MTA bus crashed through the front of a Brooklyn brownstone Monday after the driver’s foot got stuck between pedals — leaving 16 people injured and obliterating the facade of a groundfloor doctor’s office.

The B49 bus was traveling south on Bedford Ave. in Prospect Lefferts Gardens when it slammed into at least three vehicles, jumped a curb and smashed through the front of a three-story building on the corner of Lincoln Road at 1:55 p.m., witnesses and authorities said.

“It sounded like a house collapsing,” said Adrian Sandy, 40, who lives on the opposite corner from where the bus crashed.

None of the 16 people hurt in the crash had life-threatening

injuries, authorities said.

Witnesses at the scene who came to the aid of the bus’s driver said he told them his foot became wedged between the brake and the accelerator, causing him to lose control of the 40-foot 13ton vehicle.

The front of a doctor’s office on the first floor was obliterated by the crash. The windows of a second-floor residential unit were blown out and the building’s internal bricks were left exposed by the wreck.

A tenant who lives on the building’s third floor said he was preparing for a work Zoom call when he heard the bus smash into the cars outside.

“I heard a hit, I looked out the window and I stood back and waited,” said the tenant, who

decline to give his name. “I felt the impact. I’ve seen a lot. This is nothing for me — I’ve been in earthquakes.”

Darius Jones, 33, was in the passenger’s seat of a van struck by the out-of-control bus. He raced out of his vehicle and pried the rear door of the bus open to help the passengers and drivers get to safety.

“I though it was going to catch fire. Everyone was screaming,” said Jones, who works for a glass installation company.

The driver’s arm was bleeding and covered in debris and pieces of rubble from the building after the crash, witnesses said.

“He said his foot got stuck,” Jones said of the driver.

Andrea Clarke, 60, who lives across the street, said the driver also told her his foot got stuck between the accelerator and the brake.

“Bedford is crazy,” said Clarke, who’s lived in the neighborhood since the 1970s.

“They’ve got to do something about it. I’m kind of freaked out.”

Clarke said a car crashed into the same building roughly 20 years ago.

The bus driver is 59 years old with 13 years of experience at the MTA, the agency’s head of buses Craig Cipriano said during a news conference.

An initial investigation found “no mechanical defect” caused the crash and it appeared the bus “was not going at a high rate of speed,” Cipriano said. (Ny Daily News)

justice department says

T

he US has recovered most of the $4.4m (£3.1m) ransom paid to a cyber-criminal gang responsible for taking the Colonial Pipeline offline last month.

DarkSide - which US authorities said operates from eastern Europe and possibly Russia - infiltrated the pipeline last month.

The attack disrupted supplies for several days causing fuel shortages.

According to the firm, the pipeline carries 45% of the East Coast’s supply of diesel, petrol and jet fuel.

On Monday, Deputy AttorneyGeneral Lisa Monaco said investigators had “found and recaptured” 63.7 Bitcoin worth $2.3m - “the majority” of the ransom paid. The US government has recommended in the past that companies do not pay criminals over ransomware attacks, in case they invite further hacks in the future. It has since urged companies to increase security measures against ransomware attacks like this.

Commerce secretary Gina Raimondo said on Sunday that President Biden would raise the issue of such attacks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in a meeting planned this month.

Colonial Pipeline took itself offline on Friday 7 May after the cyber-attack.

In a statement Joseph Blount, chief executive of the Colonial Pipeline Company, said his firm was grateful for the “swift work and professionalism” of the FBI, which helped to recover the ransom.

“Holding cyber criminals accountable and disrupting the ecosystem that allows them to operate is the best way to deter and defend against future attacks,” he added.

In America’s ongoing fight against the scourge of ransomware, this is a major victory.

Stealing back a ransom is, to my knowledge, a first and it shows how far the US is willing to go to deter cyber-criminals.

It sends a powerful message to the gangs who have been operating with impunity for years in states like Russia.

Perhaps deliberately, the DoJ are being vague about exactly how they did it.

All they are saying is that the “private key” to the criminal’s Bitcoin wallet is in the “possession of the FBI”.

With this key, which is effectively a password, agents were able to simply log in and send the digital coins to another wallet they control.

The cyber-security world is abuzz with rumours and theories about how they got hold of the password.

Perhaps the key was found on seized servers, or gifted by an angry insider, or handed over by a cooperative company used as part of the criminal infrastructure.

Either way, it’s a big moment and it is sending shockwaves. (BBC)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021

Regional

Outgoing Caricom SG says Union denies rejecting for LIAT workers “we have achieved a lot” T O

u t g o i n g mented on the progCarib be an ress being made unCommunity der the Caricom Single (Caricom) Secretary Market and Economy General Irwin LaRocque (CSME). suggested that “another “I think we have mechanism” be utilised before us now an opin getting member counportunity, the decitries to strengthen their sions the heads have existing cooperation and taken that we will go collaboration for the fuwith the coalition of ture development of the the willing,” LaRocque Region. said.

LaRocque was “Some are calling speaking on the televiit the coalition of the sion programme “Annou willing, some are callPale” (Let’s Talk), host- Caricom Secretary General Irwin LaRocque ing it enhanced cooped by Dominica Prime eration. But those who but I think there could be Minister Roosevelt are ready to go forgreater achievements if we ward, let us go forward with Skerrit on Sunday.

“One of the things I have were all working in con- it, leave the door open for noticed that we can only cert.” others to come along.”

LaRocque leaves office move as fast as the slowThe CSME allows for est member state and that next month after 11 years the free movement of goods, slows us down quite a bit, as the Region’s top pub- skills, labour ,and services so I think if we had anoth- lic servant at the Guyana- across most of the 15-memer mechanism going for- based Caricom Secretariat ber regional integration ward, we could achieve a lot and will be replaced by Dr grouping and LaRocque Carla Bennett, a national of said it was important for the more,” LaRocque said.

“We have achieved a lot. Belize, who will be the first Caribbean to make progDon’t get me wrong. I am woman selected for the post. ress in that regard. (Excerpt LaRocque also com- from CMC) not trying to minimise that,

Haiti postpones June 27 constitutional referendum

H

aiti on Monday postponed a constitutional referendum scheduled for June 27 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but did not give a new date for the vote in the latest twist in its political crisis.

President Jovenel Moise has been ruling Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, by decree after legislative elections due in 2018 were delayed and following disputes on when his own term ends.

In addition to presidential, legislative and local elections in September, Moise had wanted to submit a new draft of the island nation's constitution to a popular vote on June 27.

Last month he had vowed to go ahead despite international criticism that

the process is not "inclusive, participatory or transparent" enough in a country plagued by political insecurity and criminal gangs.

But on Monday an official statement said the decision to postpone was motivated by "difficulties" the electoral council faced as it tries "to assemble and train all the temporary staff for the realization of the poll" in the face of the pandemic.

A new date would be set "after the recommendations of the health authorities and the technical advice of the executives of the electoral institution," it said.

On May 24 Haiti declared a state of health emergency due to the increase in cases of COVID-19. But organising the vote had already appeared complicated thanks

to growing insecurity.

Over the weekend clashes between two gangs in a poor neighbourhood in densely populated Portau-Prince forced hundreds of residents to flee their homes, taking refuge in nearby churches and gymnasiums.

Moise, who faces anger and demands he resign amid the government's failure to reign in criminal violence, is on his sixth prime minister in four years.

In addition to the political crisis, kidnappings for ransom have surged in recent months, further reflecting the growing influence of armed gangs in the Caribbean nation.

It also faces chronic poverty and recurrent natural disasters. (AFP)

he Antigua & Barbuda Workers Union (ABWU) denied reports that it had rejected an offer made by the Government to provide a compassionate payment to the former employees of the cash-strapped regional airline, LIAT. Speaking on radio, ABWU General Secretary David Massiah said the Union was still awaiting a response from a May 19 letter sent to the court-appointed administrator of the airline, Cleveland Seaforth on the payment to the former workers.

A story posted on the Facebook page of Prime

P

Both candidates have called for calm

Castillo, the son of peasant farmers, has pledged to shake up the Andean nation’s Constitution and mining laws, spooking copper producers and local markets, which fell sharply in

trading on Monday as he gained in the race.

The tightness of the result could lead to days of uncertainty and tension. The vote underscored a sharp divide between the capital city

carte blanche. We said 50 per cent of total earnings of all their entitlements, and they never came back to us.

LIAT, which is currently under a court-approved administrator arrangement in Antigua and Barbuda, is undergoing restructuring in an effort to stave off liquidation.

The airline, which is owned by the Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica and St. Vincent & the Grenadines (SVG), owes millions of dollars in severance and other entitlements to terminated workers from across the Region. (Excerpt from CMC)

Salvadoran woman freed from jail after 30-year abortion sentence

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Salvadoran woman who had served nearly a third of her 30-year prison sentence on charges of terminating her pregnancy and violating El Salvador’s harsh abortion ban was released on Monday, activists said.

Sara Rogel was arrested in Sara Rogel was released on Monday October 2012 after going to a hospital (35 miles) southeast of capwith bleeding injuries caused ital San Salvador, was iniby what she said was a fall tially ordered a week ago, while carrying out chores at home. Then a 22-year-old student, Rogel was prosecuted and sentenced for killing her unborn daughter.

“Sara never deserved to be in prison,” feminist activist Morena Herrera said.

“While in mourning for the heart-breaking loss of her pregnancy, Sara should have been with her famiS Vice President ly. Instead she was unjustly Kamala Harris imprisoned for nine years.” said on Monday Her release from a jail in she had “robust” talks with Zacatecoluca, 56 kilometres Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei on the need to fight corruption to help deter undocumented immigration from Central America to the United States.

At a news conference Lima and the nation’s ruwith Giammattei, Harris ral hinterland that has prosaid a US task force would pelled Castillo’s unexpected work with local Prosecutors rise. to punish corrupt actors in “All we want right now is the region. democracy, that everything The Biden be democratic. That whoevAdministration has idener wins, the other accepts it tified corruption as an unand doesn’t start any trouderlying cause of the povble,” said Lili Rocha, a voter erty and violence driving in Lima after some scuffles record numbers of Central had broken out overnight.

Americans to go to the Lucia Dammert, a United States Peruvian academic based In the build-up to Harris’ in Chile, predicted that the visit to Guatemala, her first coming days would be volofficial overseas trip, differatile, with potential chalences of opinion emerged lenges to the votes, requests about the fight against graft, for recounts and potential with corruption fighters fetfor street protests by suped by Washington being critporters of the losing side. icised by Giammattei.

(Excerpt from Reuters) “We had a robust, candid

Peru socialist Castillo extends narrow lead in polarised vote

eruvian socialist Pedro Castillo edged ahead of right-wing rival Keiko Fujimori in the country’s presidential election vote count on Monday, taking a razor-thin but growing lead in the official tally on the back of a late surge of rural votes.

The official count from Sunday’s election showed outsider candidate Castillo with 50.2 per cent and Fujimori on 49.8 per cent, with over 95 per cent of the vote counted. The leftist candidate had trailed overnight, but started to take the lion’s share of ballots as the count progressed to steadily haul himself clear.

Minister Gaston Browne said the Union had rejected the offer of a 50 per cent severance payment entitled to the workers to be paid in cash and bonds.

According to the story, Browne indicated that the offer would not change.

But Massiah said: “We think that the offer is something that we would have to base on what we hear, most of us whilst we are not happy that that is what it is, 50 per cent is better than nothing, so we never discarded it.

“I mean there are a number of stuff that we still think needs to be answered. It can’t just be

offer

but Rogel was forced to remain in detention until a deadline passed for the Attorney General’s office to appeal her release.

El Salvador has one of the world’s strictest bans on abortion. It does not permit exceptions, even for rape or if the mother’s life is at risk, and prison sentences can stretch up to 40 years.

In recent years, some rulings have been reversed, with several women released from jail after serving parts of their long sentences. (Reuters)

Harris has “robust” Guatemala graft talks, tells migrants: “do not come”

U

and thorough conversation,” Harris said at the news conference after a three-hour meeting with Giammattei, who said they had discussed US concerns about developments in Guatemala.

Washington has criticised the removal of a senior judge from Guatemala’s top court, in what Giammattei has argued was a legitimate process.

On the immigration front he announced a new processing centre for migrants sent back from Mexico and the United States, which could increase capacity. He said the focus of the two countries should be on creating prosperity.

Most Guatemalan migrants leave because of poverty, he said, and come from a few rural municipalities.

Harris said Guatemalans should not take the dangerous journey north.

“Do not come. Do not come. The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our borders,” she said. (Excerpt from Reuters)

guyanatimesgy.com

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021

19

Around the World

OILNEWS OIL NEWS Oil dips on profit-taking after logging 2-year high on OPEC+ curbs

O

il prices pulled back on Monday after touching twoyear highs on expectations of improved demand and OPEC producers keeping supply curbs in place.

Prices retreated from session highs early, and analysts cited pressure from Chinese data showed crude oil imports fell to a year's low in May. "That took away some of the enthusiasm that the oil bulls had seen," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago.

Brent crude settled at US$71.49 a barrel, falling 40 cents after hitting US$72.27 a barrel, its highest since May 2019.

US West Texas Intermediate settled at US$69.23 a barrel after touching US$70 for the first time since October 2018.

Investors may have sold some contracts to take profits when WTI hit the round number of US$70, said Jim Ritterbusch of Ritterbusch and Associates.

"Regardless, fresh highs suggest sustainability of this bull move with some higher values likely lying ahead," Ritterbusch said.

Crude has risen for two weeks, with Brent up by 38 per cent this year and WTI rising 43 per cent, helped by nascent recovery from pandemic-related demand disruptions and supply curbs by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies.

The producer group known as OPEC+ has boosted oil prices by sticking to supply restraints through July. On Monday, OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo said OPEC+ expects inventories to fall further in coming months.

Analysts expect oil prices to remain buoyant, with pullbacks brief, due to increased global demand following decisions by the United States and Europe to loosen COVID-19 restrictions, while India has begun to ease its latest lockdown.

"With some improvement in the pandemic situation in India and the recovery in the US, China and Europe remaining on track, oil should remain a buy on dips," said Jeffrey Halley, analyst at brokerage OANDA. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Pakistani train smashes into derailed carriages, 36 killed

A

train in Pakistan smashed into derailed carriages of another train on Monday, killing at least 36 people, authorities said, the latest accident to highlight the decrepit state of a railway system that dates to the 19th century.

Several passengers were still trapped in mangled coaches strewn across the tracks in the southern province of Sindh, according to railway officials.

Police officer Umar Tufail said at least 36 people were killed and his men could see four more bodies in the wreckage.

"We have not been able to take them out so far, but an operation is underway for that," he told reporters

at the site. "We have saved three more people; they are injured."

More than 70 passengers were admitted to various hospitals, another Police Officer Kamran Fazal told Reuters.

A Pakistan Railways spokesman said several carriages of the first train spilled across the adjacent track after the derailment in the Ghotki district.

Within minutes, the second train, coming from the oth-

Fire at Indian chemical factory kills 18

E

ighteen people were killed in a fire on Monday at a chemical factory in the western Indian city of Pune, Police said.

The Police said 20 people had survived the blaze and the charred bodies of all those killed had been recovered. An inquiry has been ordered by the district administration.

The fire was at a plant where chemical manufacturer SVS Aqua Technologies makes products including hand sanitizers, local media reported.

Footage shared on social media showed a thick plume of smoke billowing out as fire crews fought the

WHO says can’t force China to give more info on COVID origins

A

top World Health Organisation official has said the WHO cannot compel China to divulge more data on the origins of COVID-19, while adding it will propose studies needed to take understanding of where the virus emerged to the “next level”.

Asked by a reporter how the WHO will “compel” China to be more open, Mike Ryan, director of the agency’s emergencies programme, said at a news conference that the “WHO doesn’t have the power to compel anyone in this regard.”

“We fully expect cooperation, input and support of all of our member states in that endeavour,” Ryan said on Monday.

There are competing theories that the virus jumped from animals, possibly starting with bats, to humans, or that it escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan, China.

The Wuhan lab leak theory has recently become the subject of renewed public debate after several prominent scientists called for a full in-

Rescue workers stand as people gather at the site following a collision between two trains in Ghotki, Pakistan June 7, 2021

er direction, smashed into them.

"The track has got issues on several points, the coaches are old, some as old as 40 years," railway official Tariq Latif told Geo News TV. "I've told high-ups several times: 'Please do something about it'," he said.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry blamed the crash on what he said was corruption by previous Government, saying the exact cause of the accident was yet to be known, and an inquiry had been opened.

The two trains were carrying a total of 1388 passengers, he told Parliament in a speech telecast live.

Accidents on the decaying rail system are common.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

blaze.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences on Twitter. His office said the next of kin of these

killed would receive 200,000 Indian rupees (US$2750) from a relief fund, and people who were injured would receive 50,000 Indian ru-

pees.

SVS Aqua Technologies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Carbon dioxide in the air at highest level since measurements began

D

espite a massive reduction in commuting and in many commercial activities during the early months of the pandemic, the amount of carbon in Earth's atmosphere in May reached its highest level in modern history, a global indicator released on Monday showed.

Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, said the findings, based on the amount of carbon dioxide in the air at NOAA's weather station on Mauna Loa in Hawaii, was the highest since measurements began 63 years ago.

The measurement, called the Keeling Curve after Charles David Keeling, the scientist who began tracking carbon dioxide there in 1958, is a global benchmark for atmospheric carbon levels.

Instruments perched on NOAA's mountaintop observatory recorded carbon dioxide at about 419 parts per million last month, more than the 417 parts per million in May 2020.

Because carbon dioxide is a key driver of climate change, the findings show that reducing the use of fossil fuels, deforestation and other practices that lead to carbon emis-

Downtown Los Angeles is seen behind a tree burned by wildfire before expected heavy rains, as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Los Angeles, California, US, January 28, 2021

sions must be a top priority to avoid catastrophic consequences, Pieter Tans, a scientist with NOAA's Global Monitoring Laboratory, said in a report on the emissions.

The amount of carbon in the air now is as much as it was about 4 million years ago, a time when sea level was 78 feet (24 metres) higher than it is today and the average temperature was 7 degrees Fahrenheit higher than it was before the Industrial Revolution, the report said. (Excerpt from Reuters)

US approves first new Alzheimer's drug in 20 years

In this file photo from February, Peter Ben Embarek, a member of the World Health Organisation (WHO) team tasked with investigating the origins of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), attends the WHO-China joint study news conference at a hotel in Wuhan, Hubei province [Aly Song/Reuters]

vestigation into the origins of the virus.

The hypothesis that the virus was accidentally leaked from the lab was largely disregarded by scientists in the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak.

China has repeatedly denied that the lab was responsible for the outbreak.

Members of a WHO team that visited China earlier this year hunting for

COVID-19’s origins have said they did not have access to all data, driving continued debate about the country’s transparency.

Then-US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insisted last year that there was “significant evidence” that the virus came from the lab, while releasing no proof and acknowledging that there was no certainty. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

T

he first new treatment for Alzheimer's disease for nearly 20 years has been approved by regulators in the United States, paving the way for its use in the UK. Aducanumab targets the underlying cause of Alzheimer's, the most common form of dementia, rather than its symptoms.

Charities have welcomed the news of a new therapy for the condition.

But scientists are divided over its potential impact because of uncertainty over the trial results.

At least 100,000 people in the UK with a mild form of

the disease could be suitable for the drug if it were to be approved by the UK regulator.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said there was "substantial evidence that aducanumab reduces amyloid beta plaques in the brain" and that this "is reasonably likely to predict important benefits to patients".

In March 2019, late-stage international trials of aducanumab, involving about 3000 patients, were halted when analysis showed the drug, given as a monthly infusion, was not better at

slowing the deterioration of memory and thinking problems than a dummy drug.

But later that year, the US manufacturer Biogen analysed more data and concluded the drug did work, as long as it was given in higher doses. The company also said it significantly slowed cognitive decline.

Although many doctors are doubtful of aducanumab's benefits, its US approval could be a huge boost to dementia research, which is traditionally underfunded compared with cancer or heart disease. (Excerpt from BBC News)

20

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021

guyanatimesgy.com

ARCHIE

ARIES (March 21April 19)

Keep your facts straight.

Think before you make a move. Be direct when dealing with problems and finding solutions. Evasiveness is not acceptable. Be open and receptive to others’ input.

Work with what you TAURUS have. Designate a space that (April 20- is conducive to getting things done. A disciplined approach May 20) to work will help you build trust and respect. It’s OK to do things differently.

DILBERT

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

PEANUTS

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SUDOKU

Keep life simple and stay focused on what’s meaningful to you. Too much of anything won’t make you happy or help you get ahead.

Maintain integrity, and follow your heart personally and professionally. A minimalist attitude will pay off.

CANCER (June 21July 22)

Put more energy into things that matter to you.

Express your feelings. Offer innovative ideas that will help make your life and the lives of those around you more efficient.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Offer alternatives when faced with opposition. Be willing to cooperate and compromise. The easier you make it for others, the more respect you will gain. Handle things with smarts, not brute force.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Say little, but do a lot.

Put your heart into what you believe is best for you and those you love. Don’t listen to someone pushing his or her agenda. An unexpected opportunity will arise.

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Figure out what’s important to you. Consider what it will take to reach your goal and how taxing it will be on you physically before you proceed. Don’t commit to something you can’t pull off.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

A change will make you feel better about your future.

Add to your qualifications.

Explore something that interests you. Don’t hesitate to do things differently. An investment will pay off.

You’ll gravitate toward SAGITTARIUS unusual situations. Do your (Nov. 23homework before you get inDec. 21) volved in something new. A partnership won’t provide what it claims. Look at the fine print before you sign.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

SATURDAY'S WORD - DOMICAL

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

Distance yourself from people who ask for too much.

Don’t wait until you are angry to put an end to a difficult situation. Choose your battles wisely, and put your energy where it counts.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

Beware of erratic people who can’t make a decision or fall short of your expectations. Stay focused on what you are trying to achieve, and use intelligence to get your way.

PISCES

Spend less time analyzing a situation and more time doing what you want. Make an adjustment at home that will help you accomplish your goals. A creative outlet will help ease stress.

(Feb. 20March 20)

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021

Pakistan selectors lean towards experience for Windies tour

P

akistan have recalled fast bowlers Mohammad Abbas and Naseem Shah for the Test tour of West Indies, while including the uncapped batsman Azam Khan for the five-match Twenty20 International (T20I) series.

Abbas, 31, and the 18-year-old Naseem, both missed recent series against South Africa and Zimbabwe, but have found favour with selectors for the July 27 to August 25 tour.

Veteran leg-spinner Yasir Shah, who earned Pakistan a dramatic 2-1 series win on their last tour of the Caribbean four years ago, has been included subject to an improvement in his fitness.

The 35-year-old missed the tour of Zimbabwe with a knee injury and is yet to fully recover.

In any case, selectors have included 33-year-old uncapped leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood, 34-year-old leftarmed spinner Nauman Ali, and 27-year-old off-spinner Sajid Khan for the trip.

Another left-armed spinner Imad Wasim, 32, has been recalled for the T20 series after missing Pakistan’s last three assignments.

Pakistan will first travel to England for three OneDay Internationals (ODIs) and three T20Is from July

8 to July 20 before heading to the Caribbean on July 21.

“We have remained consistent in our selection and kept the same core of cricketers who have been in the set-up for a while,” said Chief Selector Muhammad Wasim.

“This is an extremely important and critical tour for Pakistan as we will be playing the ICC

[International C r i c k e t Council] Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League ODIs against England, as well as the T20Is against England and the West Indies as part of our preparations for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. “The Jamaica Tests will count towards the ICC World Test Championship.”

He continued: “As such, keeping in view the above and in consultation with Captain Babar Azam and Head Coach Misbah-ul-Haq, we have tried our best to maintain the winning com-

binations but at the same time recalled four experienced players and rewarded uncapped Azam Khan for his do-

mestic p e r f o r mance, while also giving him the required confidence for the future challenges.

“Mohammad Mohammad Abbas

Abbas has regained his form, Naseem Shah and Haris Sohail have reclaimed the required fitness standards, while Imad Wasim has been recalled considering the T20 World Cup is likely to be held in the UAE [United Arab Emirates] and he enjoys an excellent record there.”

Azam, meanwhile, is an aggressive 22-year-old right-hander with a strike rate of 157 in T20s and is poised to make his debut in the Caribbean, with the first two matches set for Barbados and last three carded for Guyana.

a place in the semis.

"It means a lot to me, especially as I have lost in the fourth round a couple of times so it feels good to get over that hurdle," 24th seed Gauff told reporters.

"Today I played probably my best match so far in the tournament."

Gauff looked supreme-

ly composed throughout and her serving would have done justice to her idol Serena Williams.

She served no double faults and such was the accuracy and power of her serve that Jabeur won only nine points off it.

"I think she never served like this before, and

NBA play-offs 2021: Kawhi lauded for leading Clippers to Game 7 win over Doncic-inspired Mavs

The first Test is set for Sabina Park in Jamaica August 12-16 with the second match bowling off August 20 and ending August 24.

Stylish right-hander Babar Azam, who averages 42 in Tests and 47 in T20Is, will captain both sides on the Caribbean tour.

SQUADS

TEST – Babar Azam (Captain); Mohammad Rizwan (Vice Captain); Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; Abdullah Shafique; Abid Ali; Azhar Ali; Faheem Ashraf; Fawad Alam; Haris Rauf; Hasan Ali; Imran Butt; Mohammad Abbas; Mohammad Nawaz; Naseem Shah; Nauman Ali; Sajid Khan; Sarfaraz Ahmed; Saud Shakeel; Shaheen Shah Afridi; Shahnawaz Dahani; Yasir Shah and Zahid Mahmood.

T20Is – Babar Azam (Captain); Shadab Khan (Vice Captain); Arshad Iqbal; Azam Khan; Faheem Ashraf; Fakhar Zaman; Haider Ali; Haris Rauf; Hasan Ali; Imad Wasim; Mohammad Hafeez; Mohammad Hasnain; Mohammad Nawaz; Mohammad Rizwan; Mohammad Wasim Jr; Sarfaraz Ahmed; Shaheen Shah Afridi; Sharjeel Khan and Usman Qadir.

Gauff dominates Jabeur to reach French Open quarter-finals A

merican teenager Coco Gauff reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final with a crushing 6-3 6-1 defeat of Tunisia's Ons Jabeur in the fourth round of the French Open on Monday.

The 17-year-old capitalised on a nervous start by Jabeur and never let her opponent off the hook in a clinical display.

Jabeur, like Gauff a former junior French Open champion, tried to mix things up with her trademark drop shots, but nothing could disrupt her opponent's flow.

Gauff wrapped up the win in less than an hour on her fourth match point and is yet to drop a set in the tournament.

She will face Czech Barbora Krejcikova, who swept American Sloane Stephens aside 6-2 6-0, for

21

that was her best day today," 25th seed Jabeur, who matched her run to the fourth round last year, said.

"It was very hard for me to return today. I think she deserved it today, and I will have to get back to work. But, honestly, not really a lot to regret."

With unseeded Krejcikova the next hurdle for Gauff, the odds on her lifting the title are shortening rapidly.

She has now won nine matches in a row -- her longest winning streak on the professional circuit -- having claimed her first claycourt title in Parma in the build-up to Roland Garros.

"I just feel like this has been the most consistent tennis I have played at this level. Hopefully, I can keep that going," she said.

(Reuters)

R

eggie Jackson paid tribute to Kawhi Leonard for instigating the Los Angeles Clippers’ crucial Game Seven win over the Dallas Mavericks to secure progression to the NBA Western Conference semi-finals.

The Clippers were 126111 victors on Sunday as they finally got the job done in the last game of the series, going some way to exorcising their 2020 demons.

Last year, the Clippers missed out on a spot in the Western Conference finals as they blew a 3-1 lead over the Denver Nuggets, who eventually saw them off 104-89 in Game Seven in September.

The Nuggets became the first NBA team to overcome a 3-1 deficit twice in the same playoffs and had been used as a stick to beat the Clippers with practically ever since.

While the Mavs put the Clippers under pressure, with Luka Doncic setting a new Game Seven record for 77 points scored or assisted, it was not enough as two-time Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) Leonard played a starring role.

Although he did not match 22-yearold Doncic’s stunning 46-point haul – which made him the youngest player in NBA history to average 35 points each game in a play-off series – Leonard only just missed out on a triple-double, recording 28 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists.

Almost half (13) of those points came in an emphatic opening quar-

ter, which Jackson felt was vital in setting the tone.

“I think it all started with Kawhi,” Jackson said. “Kawhi came in with a mentality that he was going to take this game today.

“He was going to come in and lead and wasn’t going to be shy about his play at all. He really got it going early and once he got it going early, guys had to load up and defences had to change their coverages.”

As for the Clippers moving past the disappointment of 2020, Coach Ty Lue seemed relieved to look past it.

“Last year was last year,” Lue said. “We talked about it when the season started, that’s over and we’ve got to look going forward.

On the other side of the coin, much like Leonard in last year’s semi-finals, Doncic’s brilliance came to nothing in the end.

The Slovenian was the star of the series, with numerous Clippers applauding his performances after Game Seven, but he cut a dejected figure and feels he has not proven anything about himself because he is paid to win.

Asked what he felt he had proved, Doncic said: “I mean, nothing yet. We made the play-offs twice since I’ve been here. We lost both times. At the end, you get paid to win.

We didn’t do it.”

The Clippers will go on to face top seeds the Utah Jazz in the semi-finals after they eased past the Memphis Grizzlies 4-1 in the first round.

(Sportsmax)

22

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021

Blackwood happy with preparation in inter-squad match

J

ermaine Blackwood said last week’s West Indies inter-squad four-day match has been important for his preparation for the South Africa series, especially following a lean run against Sri Lanka recently.

The right-hander, named Vice Captain of the provisional 17-man squad announced Friday for the two-Test series beginning this week, struck an entertaining 85 in the first innings and followed up with 22 in the fixture at the Daren Sammy National

Stadium, St Lucia which ended Thursday.

After managing only 42 runs from four innings in the two-Test series against the Sri Lankans March, Blackwood explained the key to a return to form was spending time at the crease.

“In the Sri Lanka series, I really didn’t bat any time.

I didn’t really spend much time at the crease, so I just tell myself that I just want to bat as many balls as possible,” the Jamaican said.

“Most of the time, once I bat over 100 deliveries I normally score runs, so I just tell myself once I bat over 100, 150, 200 deliveries, I know I’m going to score runs.

“I wasn’t really looking

to score runs, I was more like trying to bat as long as possible.”

Blackwood has been one of the leading West Indies batsmen since the resumption of international cricket last August following the break owing to the novel coronavirus pandemic, averaging 35 on the threeTest tour of England and 54 on the two-Test tour of New Zealand.

In Bangladesh earlier this year, he averaged only 28 amid the Caribbean side’s stunning two-Test series sweep.

Blackwood, who captained the losing side in the inter-squad match, said the fixture had been an important one, especially with the quality of players involved.

“We have the 30 best red-ball players here and, as you can see, we have

some very good talent,” said the 29-year-old, who averages 30 from 37 Tests.

“We have some very good young batters as well, and some good bowlers as well, and I think they went out there and showcased their talent very [well].

“It’s very good for our cricket to see that we have a lot of young fast bowlers and we have a lot of batsmen [ready] to step up and come through as well.

“Some of the guys got a taste of it to see what the next [stage] is going to be like, and I think it’s a learning experience for everybody and for them as well and, once they learn, it will be all good.”

West Indies face South Africa in the opening Test bowling off at the Daren Sammy National Stadium on Thursday. (CMC)

CWI President Skerritt pays visit to Under 19 “Rising Stars”, offers words of advice

at how we improve the skills of these young players in the ongoing COVID environment. Things have been going really well and we are pushing on diligently as we try to get our players ready for the ICC Under-19 World Cup next year.” (Windies Cricket)

Reggae Boyz 1-1 draw with Serbia a step in the right direction – Damion Lowe

R

eggae Boyz Captain Damion Lowe described the team’s 1-1 draw against Serbia in Japan on Monday morning as a step in the right direction for the team that are preparing for the CONCACAF Gold Cup and FIFA World Cup qualifiers later this year.

In the match played at the Miki Athletic Stadium, Andre Gray gave Jamaica the lead in the 29th minute when after winning a race to the ball with Serbian goalkeeper Djordje Nikolic, passed into an empty net.

The Reggae Boyz lead held until the 61st minute when defender Strahinja Pavlovic pulled the Serbians level.

Lowe, who played in central midfield for Jamaica, said he was encouraged by the outcome, especially considering that the players were still getting accustomed to playing together.

“I am happy, it’s a good result, a step in the right direction and I am looking forward to great things from

this crop of players with many more additions,” he said. “It’s a new crop of players, we’re not properly gelled yet, we need some more time together, but with the other guys coming in, with this performance it’s all up from here.”

As for his performance, Lowe, who normally plays centre-back, but was moved farther up the pitch by Head Coach Theodore Whitmore, said he believed he acquitted himself well.

“It’s always an honour to represent the country. The Coach asked me to play a role today and I just did it to the best of my ability,” he said.

“I am not used to the role, because I don’t play it often, but I am a versatile player and if the Coach asked me to get the job done, I will do my best. Today, I feel like I did what I had to do. I’m satisfied with my performance.”

Jamaica will next play the Japanese Olympic team on June 12. (Sportsmax)

Historic England v West Indies broadcast wins BAFTA award

C

ricket West Indies (CWI) President Ricky Skerritt spent some quality time with five Under-19 cricketers in Nevis on Saturday, June 5.

Skerritt was accompanied

by Nevis Cricket Association President Carlisle Powell.

The five “rising stars” are among nearly 50 players who are currently undergoing COVID-sensitive virtually-coordinated training across the Region. It is all part of the preparation system that has been put in place by Head Coach Floyd Reifer for producing possible selectees for the West Indies Under-19 squad.

President Skerritt said: “COVID-19 must not be allowed to completely stop the

preparation of our youngsters for doing battle on the global stage when we host the ICC U-19 CWC [International Cricket Council Under-19 Cricket World Cup] next January. I want to thank Coach Reifer and his colleague coaches from across the Region who have been working so creatively and diligently with these talented U-19 players, in an effort to get them to be at their very best. In spite of the challenges, I am confident that our U-19 squad will be ready in time for the big event.”

Reifer thanked Skerritt and Powell for their outreach to the players and words of advice.

“We have put togeth-

er a scientific, holistic programme for the young men across the Region. We are tapping into all the skills that they have – batting, bowling, fielding and wicket-keeping. We have mental skills training and also have a nutritionist on board, and many conversations on Zoom as we look to make sure all systems are in place,” Reifer said.

“I want to thank all the coaches across the Region who have been putting in a lot of great work with our young players as well as the Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams and our High-Performance Manager Graeme West.

“We have to be creative how we do things and look

L

ast July during the Sandals tour of England, West Indies made a hugely-significant international trip during the global COVID-19 outbreak – the first series in bio-secure venues.

The series was also significant as it also saw the West Indies wear the BLM logo on their shirts

following the murder of George Floyd in America.

The broadcast of the series was historic and left a powerful impact before a single ball had been bowled as analysts Michael Holding – the legendary West Indies bowler and Ebony Rainford-Brent – former England all-rounder with Caribbean roots, com-

bined to demand an end to injustice. The Sky Sports Cricket production team has won another major award for the broadcast. On Sunday, it was announced it earned a BAFTA award in the sport category for live coverage of the first Test between England and West Indies at Southampton. (Windies Cricket)

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Golden Jags hunting last win today A

lthough the result of today’s match will not alter their futures in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying process, both Guyana and Puerto Rico are taking an optimistic view of their final game – they’re in the hunt for three points.

It is the final game in Group F of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers for the Golden Jaguars against Puerto Rico, who are also out of the competition.

During a virtual media engagement on Monday, Golden Jaguars Captain Matthew Briggs shared his disappointment at Guyana being out of the running, but maintained his positivity about future engagements.

“Obviously, we’re disappointed to not go further in the World Cup Qualifiers, but we’re looking forward to tomorrow,” Briggs stated.

The recently-appointed Captain shared, “We’re going to go into the game one hundred per cent and try to put our mistakes right that cost us the game the other day. But in all, we’re just looking forward to this game and preparing for the Gold Cup against Guatemala.”

On a similar note, Head Coach Marcio Maximo called the game a “good test”, as the Golden Jaguars head into Gold Cup qualification in July.

“I think that they’ll be a good test for us. It’s

a good test for us before Guatemala game. So, we’re still in our line, use a lot of youth players on the pitch, give experience to them and tomorrow (today) we hope we’ll take a good result,” Maximo said.

“Of course, we respect Puerto Rico, they improved a lot in the last few years, but we are confident that we can make a good game.”

Like Guyana, Puerto Rico are hoping to end their run in the qualification tournament on a high note, as Coach Dave Sarachan promised that his players were going out to win. “… we still have a job to do within our group, we still have goals and aspirations as a young team and as a country to get results

23

inst St Kitts last Friday

The Golden Jaguars in action aga

to help us in the bigger picture when it comes to competitions like Nations’ League, Gold Cup competitions,” Sarachan said.

“We’re going to step on the field tomorrow (today) and try to win the game.

The XI we choose, we’ll have confidence that we can do that.”

Guyana will take on Puerto Rico, today, Tuesday, June 8 at Warner Park, St Kitts. Kick-off is expected at 16:00h (4 pm) local time.

Group F leaders St Kitts and Nevis have already gotten the green light to the next round of the World Cup 2022 Qualifiers, follow-

ing Trinidad and Tobago’s draw with The Bahamas.

St Kitts have three wins from as many games, with nine points, while T&T sit at second with five points from a win and two draws.

Puerto Rico currently have four points, while Guyana have three and The Bahamas have one.

Narine, Dhanpaul lead Majestic CC to comprehensive win … Majestic CC topping table 5 weeks in a row A glimpse of Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr; Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle and National Sports Commission Chairman Kashif Muhammad assessing work at the National Gymnasium

Ramson Jr optimistic about developmental work at city venues T C

Damion Vantull scored a nineball 21 to steady the ship

oming out of the coronavirus pandemic, sport, especially in the Georgetown area, should not be short of top-quality facilities, as administrators are working to improve several venues around the capital city.

Giving an update on the facilities, which include the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue; the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Homestretch Avenue; the Racquet Centre, Woolford Avenue and the Colgrain pool on Camp Street, Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr shared that he was quite optimistic about the improvements.

“We have some pretty significant projects going on.

“It’s getting there, it’s

definitely getting there.

You’ve got a couple more things to be done.”

Going into more detail, the Sport Minister gave a glimpse of what he hopes to achieve for the venues and by extension, the development of sport.

“At the Racquet Centre – I’m hoping, rain has been a little difficult with us, our timeline is unusually delayed, but we’re hoping that within another couple of months we’ll be in a strong position to open the facility,” Ramson Jr disclosed during a walkabout, around some of the facilities on Friday last.

“On this one (the Gymnasium), we’ve just started our new basketball court here, with our new washroom/shower, changing facility – out-

door facility,” he highlighted.

“That’s important for what the multipurpose intention, objective, plan for the Gymnasium [is].”

“It is intended that this Gymnasium turns into a multipurpose sporting facility, that people from all around Georgetown can come and have a safe space for them to come and be able to play many sports at the same time, day and night,” the Minister explained.

About the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, the Minister revealed, “We have a couple of projects there as well, one has started, one is about to start.”

“And we have quite a few projects that are going on for Colgrain,” he added.

he action continued on Sunday in the NYNCL 40 tournament, with Majestic CC seeing off New York Zalmi CC in a one-sided affair. This was thanks to the efforts of the in-form Derick Narine and bowling brilliance of Avi Dhanpaul.

Their opponents were no easy walk-overs, making them work for their victory. Majestic CC are a team that usually dominate their opponents with ease, but on Sunday, New York Zalmi CC stretched them.

However, with determination and great effort, the winning team got over the line. A little bit of Guyanese talent and flair was all the extra push they needed.

Batting second, Majestic lost Chris Patadin for one as they chased 199, but Narine, the leading run-scorer in the tournament, anchored the innings, playing each ball on its merit. The young

Derick Narine scored a matchwinning half-century Avi Dhanpaul bagged 3-50

batsman showed that he could not only be aggressive but that he had patience and control to build an innings.

Dhanpaul, the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, and Narine then put together a handy partnership. The pair already had chemistry in the tournament, taking Majestic to many wins. So, they knew each other well and knew what to do to get the job done.

Narine was bowled for 52, inclusive of three boundaries and two maximums while Dhanpaul, being his usual aggressive self, posted 22 off 19 with four boundaries. But the job wasn't done when both Guyanese lost their wickets. Zalmi seemed to be on the verge of pulling things back. Karamchand Ramnarine then took up the battle with 41 off 40, but he lost his wicket as well and a few more Majestic wickets

fell. It seemed as if Majestic were about to register their first loss, but in came Damion Vantull, who blasted 21 from nine balls including two boundaries and one maximum to steer the game in favour of his side. In the end, the match down to the final over and Majestic won by one wicket with three balls to spare. They ended on 201-9 in 29.3 overs.

Earlier in the innings, Zalmi batted first and were able to post 198 all out in their allotted 30 overs.

This was thanks to the efforts of Ali Imran (64) and Hamad Hussain (59). The pair were the only two to score anything of substance, as Dhanpaul managed to restrict Zalmi with figures of 3-50. Also chipping in were Ramnarine and Subra Das with two wickets each and Robin Rooplall with one.

Narine has thus far scored 315 runs from five matches with a high score of 164 while Dhanpaul has bagged 13 wickets from his five matches.

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021

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

Golden Jags hunting last win today

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NSC, P&P Insurance Brokers backing Edghill’s Olympic dream

T

he National S p o r t s Commission (NSC) has promised to support Olympicsbound Chelsea Edghill while P&P Insurance Brokers has already put its words into action with a financial contribution to the table tennis player’s Tokyo Olympics preparation.

On Monday, accompanied by Guyana Table Tennis Association Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle and table tennis sensation Chelsea Edghill (GTTA) President Godfrey Munroe and Ninvalle praised Edghill, highher mother, Deirdre Edghill, the lighting the wow factor of her athlete, who would be particiachievement of being identipating in the Olympics for the fied by the International Table first time, made a courtesy call Tennis Federation (ITTF) as on recently-appointed Director one of two players in the world, of Sport (DoS), Steve Ninvalle. who were outstanding enough Describing the 23-yearto receive a wildcard spot in the old as an exemplary athlete,

July 23- August 8, Tokyo Olympics.

In emphasising the importance of garnering as much support as possible for the table tennis player, Ninvalle committed to working along with the GTTA to lend support to the athlete.

The former Youth Olympian and Caribbean U-21 champion expressed her gratitude to the Director of Sport.

P&P makes a play!

P&P Insurance Brokers, which has long been a supporter of athletes and sports in Guyana, on Monday, handed over a financial contribution to Edghill at its office at 273 Lamaha Street, Georgetown.

In brief remarks, Account Executive Jaya Panday said that the company was very happy to support Edghill and wished her

Jaya Panday hands over a sponsorship cheque to Chelsea Edghill

all the best. She said P&P has an outstanding record in the discharge of its corporate social responsibility and the contribution was just another manifestation of that.

Panday also congratulated the table tennis player on all the hard work she has been putting

in and said she was sure that Edghill would make Guyana proud.

In response, Edghill thanked Panday and P&P Insurance, and promised to do her very best. She also noted that over the years, P&P Insurance has consistently supported table tennis.

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