Guyana Times Friday March 6, 2020

Karen Cummings threatens to revoke int’l observers’ P10 accreditation Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 4217

THE BEACON OF TRUTH FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020

PRICE

APNU/AFC rigging gambit

WHAT'S INSIDE:

US, UK, EU, Canada reject Region 4 unverified count …call for GECOM to re-tabulate from SOPs ...businesses up in arms

$80 VAT INCLUDED

See story on page 9

Elections 2020

High drama with Region 4 RO as illegal, P2 unverified results declared …as GECOM staff disappears with laptop, flash drive with critical info

GCCI slams GECOM’s top brass over handling of elections P14 results

No transparency, credibility in Region 4 results – Carter Center See story on page 3

…Commonwealth, EU, OAS, Caricom call for verification of results from SOPs

PPP files injunctions to block declaration of unverified results

… businesses on complete shutdown

Mahdia miner killed by P11 security guard

Attempted robbery

P8 Selfconfessed bandit fined $70,000

Page 7

…GECOM officials in contempt as it defies injunction

Joint political parties unite in call for int’l sanctions against APNU/AFC Page 15

…want restricted travel, freeze of State and personal assets, safeguards for oil money

Giftland to P14 close until “rule of law” is followed …urges other businesses to do same

2 NEWS

FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Elections 2020

High drama with Region 4 RO as illegal, unverified results declared …as GECOM staff disappears with laptop, flash drive with critical info

Presidential Candidate for the PPP/C, Dr Irfaan Ali

I

n what can be described as a clear violation of Guyana’s electoral laws, the Returning Officer (RO) for District Four (DemeraraMahaica), declared unverified results as the controversy into the verification of the District’s Statements of Poll (SOPs) continue.

Guyanese voted in the constitutionally overdue elections since Monday and all the districts, with the exception of District Four, have followed the clearly outlined process of verifying each SOP before the RO makes their declaration of results.

declaration by 22,000 added out of nowhere. Not verified,” he added.

Jagdeo went on to question the figures presented by Mingo. The PPP/C released all of the SOPs for Region Four and based on that indication, the Party amassed enough votes to take the Presidency.

“They sat and looked at what the size of the margin of the PPP was and then made a declaration to do that without verifying. This is thievery right before your eyes. Now the international community has seen it,” he said.

Marred by controversy

Following the declaration of the unverified results,

The declaration of results for electoral district number four has been marred by controversy every step of the way.

Starting on Tuesday, when RO Clairmont Mingo complained of tiredness and suspended the verification until Wednesday. However, on Wednesday, Mingo fell ill and was briefly hospitalised, which stalled the process again.

Nevertheless, the RO went on to declare results even before the process of verification and tabulation was completed or even recommenced.

This brought strong objections from all the contesting political parties, with the exception of the Governing coalition – which the results favour.

General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C), Bharrat Jagdeo, said that the declaration by Mingo is in contravention of the law and with record numbers of international and local observers, the Government is stealing the elections.

“So instead of the verified Statements of Poll where APNU(/AFC) got 114,000, they now have APNU(/AFC) at 136,458 so they added 22,000 to the APNU(/AFC) column when the PPP was 80,000. Now it’s come down to 77,329; so that will give a 50-something thousand difference exactly what we had.

We had 52,000 lead,” Jagdeo said shortly after the declaration was made public.

“So this is the manufactured figure now that went out on the declaration by Mingo. Fraudulent…so now I expect that the observers would start speaking. This is totally fake. A fraudulent

Recount

said that in the normal situation, the RO would call out the numbers on all of the SOPs which party agents would verify and accept or raise objections. On the basis of that, they would request recounts if they are not satisfied. But in this case, the parties were not afforded the opportunity to do that in relation to District Four.

He added that the parties also never received a copy of the declared results nor were they told of it. Rather, they learnt of it via a release from the Department of Public Information.

“This is a blatant theft.

We have to be prepared to fight. We are going to do whatever it takes. The international community is here, they are very strong, and they are very upset. This is a threat to Guyana but we also can’t take this sitting down. If we allow this to succeed then a corrupt cabal can take over our country.

This is not a banana republic,” Jagdeo contended.

Protests against unverified results

Just after noon, reporters were stationed outside of the Ashmin’s building at the corner of High and Hadfield

PPP General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo speaking to the media

Guyana Presidential Candidate Robert Badal said Mingo’s actions are akin to rigging of the elections.

“We really don’t know what is happening because nobody with authority is giving a statement. It is a totally flawed declaration… it is tantamount of rigging an elections. We want to see all the SOPs being disclosed so that it is cleared and opened,” he said.

In cahoots

Jagdeo along with his Party members have been accusing Deputy Chief Elections Officer Roxanne Myers of being in cahoots with the Government and deliberately attempting to

through Roxanne Myers and Lowenfield. After the RO made the declaration, he was escorted out of the building by the Police. So even if we wanted to follow the statutory process, we could not have found him,” Jagdeo said.

Missing Chairperson

Glaringly absent from the drama that unfolded at the Command Centre was Chairperson of GECOM, Retired Justice Claudette Singh. In addition, the Commission has been deafeningly silent on all that transpired with the tabulation and verification of Region Four’s results.

Representatives from all

International observers at the Command Centre

Jagdeo indicated that the party was left with no other choice than to request a recount of the entire region.

He explained that they have been unable to officially submit their request to the RO since he left the building shortly after declaring the results. However, the observers, as well as foreign diplomats, have been briefed on the next step.

“This is totally fake, pay no attention to this. Check the SOPs for yourselves. See how they are going to get away from all this SOPs. Let GECOM provide the SOPs to support this. Now I think the next move is to deny the recount. Now that the declaration has been made we don’t have the choice but do that to make a request for a recount…if we don’t do that, then they can go ahead and say that the PPP didn’t request anything. We going to request a recount in all the boxes if we can’t get a declaration on the basis of which one were altered,” he noted.

The former President

Streets, Georgetown, which houses the Office of the Region’s Returning Office as well as GECOM’s Command Centre, when they heard a loud commotion in the building. When the media entered the building, ongoing, was a shouting match between the PPP/C, the smaller parties, and members of the governing coalition.

The reason behind that was the declaration of the unverified results. RO Mingo apparently entered into the room where verification was supposed to be ongoing, told observers and agents alike that he would be making a declaration of the results.

This led to objections from all of the stakeholders but he still persisted. The combined parties, with the obvious exception of APNU/ AFC, began to protest shouting “No” while he stood from the third floor of the building reading out numbers which would later be declared as the official results from District Four.

Meanwhile, Change

rig the elections in their favour. He came to that conclusion that Myers allegedly produced a spreadsheet with numbers that were inconsistent with that of the SOPs. This caused a stall in the process and a decision was made to revert to the use of the SOPs. On Thursday, Jagdeo also accused the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, of supporting the rigging of the elections since he was missing for the entire day.

“Lowenfield disappeared.

Nobody can find him. Mingo came and we heard he made a declaration. So far only APNU knows the declaration. None of the observers saw a copy of it and Roxanne Myers said she had it. I suspect Roxanne Myers is in contact with Congress Place,” he said.

Myers was hired under a controversial process under the leadership for former Chair of GECOM, Justice James Patterson.

“APNU working

of the parties tried throughout the day to meet with the Chairperson in an effort for her to oversee the process but the calls went on deaf ears.

Following the declaration, the PPP/C secured an injunction from the High Court to order compliance with the laws but the Chair was inaccessible for those papers to be served.

Later in the evening, Singh exited the building from the back entrance.

Consequences

With the international community safely observing the elections in Guyana, Jagdeo said that the unverified declarations would be met with sanctions – something the PPP/C would see to the end.

Laptop and flash drive fiasco

After the high drama at the Command Centre on Wednesday, that is, Mingo being hospitalised and Myers coming with a flawed spreadsheet, the verifica-

tion process was suspended.

However, CEO Lowenfield sought to restart the process by getting Deputy Returning Officers (DRO) to come out and work. The process recommenced late Wednesday night but encountered difficulties shortly after.

The Data Clerk that was assisting the DRO complained of being tired and it was agreed that they would take a break. After the 15 minutes break, when work was supposed to resume, the Clerk said he could not function anymore and took a laptop along with a flash drive and left the room.

Eyebrows were raised following the removal of the items and it was later discovered that the Clerk was in another room in the building, working on the computer with the flash drive inserted.

Presidential Candidate for the PPP/C, Dr Irfaan Ali, explained that it was a delaying tactic on the part of the Commission.

“It is challenge after challenge to get GECOM to verify and have Region 4 results declared. The process was stopped many occasions for different reasons.

The GECOM officer who was calling out the figures said he was tired. He came out and said he would speak to the CEO and we asked where the CEO and he said he was not in the building.

He proceeded to pick up the flash drive and a computer and proceeded out of the room. Moments later we found him in another room with the computer opened, with the flash drive plugged in and working on it,” Ali reported.

In addition, the Parties’ representatives were asked to leave the room which the staffer was in but they refused.

“We can for no reason understand why we had a commitment from the CEO and there were no internal arrangements made for shifts at that point. Our concern is the flash drive not so much the details…what is suspicious is that it was observed that gentleman continued to work on the flash drive. We took pictures of the screen we were looking at up to the point we stopped. This process needs to be completed,” The Citizenship Initiative Presidential Candidate Rondha Lam said.

Following that commotion, the verification process was suspended until 09:00h on Thursday.

Bomb threat

When 09:00h came on Thursday, no recounting had started. Instead, what the Parties got was a bomb threat.

Assistant Commissioner Edgar Thomas told reporters that they received reports of a bomb threat and ordered the building evacuated.

NEWS

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FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

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

Friday, March 6 – 03:00h – 04:30h and 14:30h – 16:00h and Saturday, March 7 – 03:30h – 05:00h and 14:30h – 16:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Friday, March 6 – 13:30h – 15:00h and Saturday, March 7 – 14:30h – 16:00h.

No transparency, credibility in Region 4 results – Carter Center …Commonwealth, EU, OAS, Caricom call for verification of results from SOPs

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Partly cloudy will prevail during the day. There will be clear skies at night. Temperatures should range between 20 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: North-Easterly to East North-Easterly between 1.34 metres and 4.91 metres.

High Tide: 01:55h and 14:15h reaching maximum heights of 2.26 metres and 2.41 metres.

Low Tide: 07:46h and 20:22h reaching minimum heights of 0.96 metre and 0.72 metre.

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Head of CARICOM Cynthia Combie-Martyr Co-Chair of Carter EOM, Jason Carter

Centre

Head of The Commonwealth EOM, Owen Arthur

nternational organisations that have Elections Observation Missions here in Guyana to monitor the electoral process have come out swinging at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) for declaring unverified results for Region Four (DemeraraMahaica).

In fact, the United States-based Carter Center has declared that there was no transparency or credibility in the Region Four results since the verification process – which had commenced since Tuesday and was stalled at least five times before – was completely abandoned.

In a statement on Thursday evening, the Center expressed deep concern over the announcement of results that had not been verified, thus critically undermining transparency as well as preventing international observers and political parties from observing tabulation. “[Wednesday and into Thursday] the transparent verification of results from District Four was stopped, and the fact that there was no transparency about the results that were ultimately announced [Thursday], means that those results lacked credibility. We don’t know, and no one else can verify, that the results that were announced were the correct results or not. We just don’t know, and we don’t know because there was no transparency in the process for announcing those results,” Co-Chair of the Carter Center’s Observer Mission, Jason Carter, told reporters on Thursday evening outside the GECOM Command Centre, which also housed the Office of the Region Four Returning Officer (RO).

According to Carter, his mission had already lauded GECOM for a transparent process following Monday’s polls. He noted that there was an agreed procedure, where the parties were able to verify the Statements of Poll during the verification but this was ended without completing the verification process.

“These results, therefore, came as a result of a process that we can’t identify and because we can’t identify it,

and the other international observers and neither political parties, nobody really knows whether these results were accurate or not,” he contended.

The Carter Center, according to the Co-Chair, as only observers for these elections, had previously impressed upon GECOM its desire for transparency.

“So, there are opportunities for the election to have credibility, but both sides, all sides – everyone in this country, whether you’ve think you’ve won, which I think both sides have claimed they’ve won.

If that’s true then what they want is to win in a credible and transparent way,” he noted.

I

EOM,

To this end, Carter asserted that there was still an opportunity for this election to gain credibility, since there are a number of aspects within Guyanese law that could be utilised to return to the transparent verification procedures that had been in place and as such, urge GECOM to abide by those rules to reflect the will of the people of the country.

“I believe that there’s a dispute and there’s been a request for a recount – that’s one option. Of course, GECOM has to cooperate with respect to receiving that request and pursuing that by the rule of law. There’re other verification procedures that could be put in place, that were in place [Wednesday and Thursday] … by looking at the Statements of Polls,”

Head of EU EOM, Urmas Paet

Carter posited.

He pointed out that the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, had on Wednesday implemented a system for the verification of the SoPs that was effective for all the parties.

The Carter Center’s calls for the resumption of the verification process in a transparent manner were echoed by the other international observer missions here in Guyana.

The European Union (EU) Election Observation Mission (EOM) said in a statement, also on Thursday, that having been observing the tabulation process for Region Four since the March 2 polling day, the Returning Officer declared results before the legally required tabulation process was completed.

TURN TO PAGE 7

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FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020

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

Barefaced theft and lawlessness

T

he events currently unfolding in Guyana have left citizens, both here and abroad, in shock and lost for words, as they cannot believe that what is happening before their very eyes is actually real. Many young persons have expressed, via social media and other platforms, that they had only heard of such happenings taking place in the post-1960 era under the Forbes Burnham-led PNC, when he blatantly rigged elections to hold on to power.

We have seen how the APNU/AFC Government used every trick possible, following the No-Confidence vote they faced in December 2018, to stay in power; and now we are witnessing their refusal to give up power after their obvious defeat at the elections on March 2. What we have noticed over the past few days are blatant and shameful acts by the APNU/AFC, working in collusion with others to steal the elections in front of the watchful eyes of international and local observers, the entire diplomatic community, and international and local media personnel.

The main bone of contention in all of this fracas, which is being generated in the streets and elsewhere, are the elections’ results.

What ought to have been a simple, straightforward process prescribed for in law has been turned into a national crisis and a major embarrassment for the country. The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) finally declared the results of Region 4, after a series of delaying tactics by various employees, but those results have not been verified by the prescribed statutory procedure, as was the case for the other regions. These unverified results are starkly different from those in possession of the political parties, observers and other stakeholders.

GECOM, more particularly the Chairman and Chief Elections Officer, have failed the nation. They have lost all credibility as they presided over a process which was highly questionable and fraudulent. It is clear from the SOPs signed by all parties in the presence of observers who the winners of these elections are.

The process of verification at the level of the Returning Officers, in this case Region 4, should not have had any significant difference, if any at all. GECOM officials deviated from a lawful process, and proceeded to use a spreadsheet document using figures that were at complete variance with the SOPs and which were designed to buttress APNU/AFC totals.

When the dust is settled, a thorough investigation should be carried out into the workings of GECOM; more particularly, the counting, tabulation and declaration of results of the elections.

What has happened on this occasion must never be allowed to happen again.

Despite the obvious fiddling with the figures, the APNU/AFC are still insisting that their party has won. For a losing group to claim victory and stage celebratory parties is highly irresponsible and dangerous.

It is not certain what the next steps would be, as the PPP has since secured an injunction to prevent the process from moving forward until the results are verified. However, the GECOM PRO violated the injunction by publicising the unverified Reg 4 figures.

If David Granger is allowed to be sworn in as President, it means that Guyana would have an illegal government, and the country would face severe sanctions.

That said, we wish to thank the various observers and the countries to which they belong for their service to Guyana at this critical moment. Our hope is that they would remain here until the process is completed, to ensure that, in the end, democracy prevails. All of the observers were able to do their work with a great deal of dedication, and even insults, as a government official was heard threatening to remove the accreditation of the observers yesterday because they stood strong on the side of Guyana’s democracy.

The fight for the return of free and fair elections and to be ruled by a democratic government was not an easy one; it was long and hard. We are now in 2020, and we had thought that, by this time, the nation had matured politically and leaders would act responsibly to save their country from descending into chaos and confusion and going backwards. Unfortunately, this is not the case; we have leaders who would hold on to power at all cost, even at the expense of seeing their country being destroyed.

In the interest of the nation, we ask the political parties, especially the APNU/AFC, to let their followers know the truth of the election results to prevent the country from descending into chaos. It is time that sanity returns to Guyanese society.

guyanatimesgy.com

guyanatimesgy.com

FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020

Under Siege Dear Editor, Today, Khemraj Ramjattan and Cathy Hughes accused Russians of interference in the elections, and suggested my involvement. In fact, it was said that I was sighted at the Marriott today with the Russians.

I returned to the US on Tuesday, three days ago; I am not in Guyana, to suggest otherwise is an outright lie.

I have not met any Russians during my last visit to Guyana.

It is incredible that former Ministers and this illegal Government seem happy to fabricate information without facts, hiding behind so-called “security issues” and made-up statements that are blatant lies. It is time that this abuse of power stops.

APNU now has Guyana under siege. The happenings today in this small, recently oil rich country are the type of story that would make a Tom Clancy thriller. Today’s events will

provide fertile material for such. Other than the fiction that APNU won the elections (they lost by 18K votes), the rest is the harsh reality of an APNUled dictatorship. And the saga unfolds.

I can only conclude that APNU personnel are clutching at straws. They have lost the 2020 elections, and now seem intent on subterfuge.

Sincerely, Winston Brassington

Destroying Process must our democracy be followed in declaring elections results

Dear Editor, The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) recognises the blatant and naked attempts to undermine the will of our people as expressed through the March 2 National and Regional Elections. It is obviously clear that the lawful process has been abandoned and unverified data which lacks any basis or correlation with the source documents have suspiciously shown up.

The entire episode has cast doubt regarding the impartiality of the Guyana

Elections Commission (GECOM) and the senior officials of the Commission.

The perpetuation of fraudulent polls, we contend, is not helpful to our nation and its people.

We join in calling on the GECOM to follow the established procedure as was pursued in the other nine administrative regions to comply with respect to Region Four. Results by any other process cannot be deemed acceptable.

Sincerely, FITUG

Dear Editor, The Private Sector Commission is appalled at the blatant and deliberate attempts by GECOM to destroy our democracy by derailing the tabulation process of the 2020 elections’ results and attempting to subvert the will of the people.

It is clear to all that the Chairman of GECOM is allowing, without objection, the attempts to perpetuate election fraud under her watch.

The tabulation process has certainly raised doubts about the integrity of the GECOM Chair, the Chief Elections Officer, and some of their staffers.

The threats to withdraw accreditation from the International Observers fur-

ther erode confidence in the process.

The PSC is calling on GECOM to recommence the verification of the remaining Statements of Poll for District 4, which would lead to a credible declaration of the results.

The PSC is clear on the implications of not having a democratically elected Government. We cannot allow our country at this time to be isolated and sanctioned by the international community.

We call upon President Granger to ensure that the electoral process is completed in accordance with the law.

Sincerely, Private Sector Commission

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FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020

Page

By Kristi Pahr

YouTube gets a bad rap from a lot of folks. Parents tend to think the massively popular video platform is only good for cat videos, toy unboxings or zoning out on Minecraft channels, but there are actually a ton of excellent, high-quality educational shows and channels available on YouTube.

Many are great for motivating elementary students, gearing up interest in art or music in tweens, or brushing up on complex math or science for highschoolers. YouTube can be an asset and a boon to your child’s learning.

Curious to know what some of these unmissable educational shows are? Read on for a list of shows categorised by age.

Elementary

SciShow Kids This phone show started in 2014 and is hosted by Jessi and Squeaks, her robot rat.

Twice a week they answer fun and complex questions like “Why Does Ice Cream Hurt My Head?” and “Why Do We Cry When We’re Sad?” Making science fun and accessible, SciShow Kids is a wonderful choice for screen time, supplementing school lessons or finding answers to your kid’s endless list of questions.

Foundation

It’s Okay to Be Smart Produced by educational stalwart PBS Digital, It’s Okay To Be Smart encourages curiosity and host Joe Hanson makes learning fun with kid-friendly topics like “Flatulence and You: It’s Okay to Fart” and “How Poop Shapes The World.” It’s not all about poop though; he also tackles serious scientific concepts about climate change and the properties of light.

Flocabulary Flocabulary uses hip-hop to teach everything from language arts to history, for all ages. Covering topics ranging from the original 13 colonies to how to manage anxiety. Flocabulary teaches standardsbased lessons in a fun and memorable way.

MathAntics Covering basic arithmetic all the way up to algebra, MathAntics might be just the homework help your child needs.

Breaking down complicated mathematical concepts into easy to understand basics, hosts Rob and Jeremy make math interesting.

Tweens

The King of Random “Imagine a cross between MacGyver, James Bond and the Myth-busters” sums

up The King of Random pretty well. With fun experiments, host Grant Thompson pushes the envelope of “don’t try this at home” and shows kids top-tier science in a safe way.

theory, gear reviews and more, Marty can help your kids learn not only the what of basic lessons but the how of technique.

Coma Niddy Host and rapper Mike really likes science. Every month, Mike releases a new science-themed rap song and they are all awesome. He covers everything from deep space to scientists of colour.

This show is a great choice to complement middle school core sciences.

Crash Course Crash Course is the YouTube channel you didn’t know you needed. Entire

courses in one channel, on everything from sociology to ancient myth, taught by qualified and entertaining instructors, this channel is great for students looking to go beyond their school lessons and parents who might want to brush up or learn something new. (parentmap.com)

High schoolers

Minute Physics The channel tagline, “Simply put: cool physics and other sweet science” sums it up pretty nicely. Wave and particle physics, special relativity, dark matter, every cool thing about physics and advanced science is here. Whether your high schooler is struggling with advanced concepts or just thinks physics is awesome, Minute Physics is a great use of their screen time.

Marty Music Host Marty Schwartz makes top-tier guitar instruction available to everyone.

With daily updates covering lessons,

M

egan McDonald has written dozens of books for children, including picture books, historical fiction, mystery, and series books for beginning readers. She is probably best known for the delightful adventures of Judy Moody and her little brother, Stink — now translated into more than 20 languages (‘Fleur Humeur’ in French!). But have you met Amanda Frankenstein who loves bugs and nothing but bugs? Or the hermit crab who is searching high and low for the perfect home?

In McDonald’s first book, Is This a House for a Hermit Crab?, readers are introduced to Hermit Crab who has outgrown his home. He crawls along the sand “scritch-scatch, scritch-scratch” searching for a new place to live. A tin can is too noisy, a plastic bucket is too big. Nothing feels just right until he takes shelter inside an empty sea snail’s shell.

Select an animal that fascinates you and find out about its habitat, life cycle, behaviour, social structure — and its home. Is it a cave, hive, nest, burrow, or tree hollow? Take the point of view of the animal and write a one-page descriptive essay using specific details and rich language to describe your home and why it’s perfect for you. Include a drawing if you wish. (startwithabook.org)

NEWS

7

FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

PPP files injunction to block declaration of unverified results …GECOM officials in contempt as it defies injunction

Attorney Anil Nandlall speaking to the media

T

he People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) on Thursday obtained an injunction from the High Court of Guyana to stop the declaration of unverified results in District Four (Demerara-Mahaica Region).

This move was taken after Returning Officer (RO) Clairmont Mingo attempted to declare the regional results from Monday’s poll without completing the verification of the Statements of Poll – a process that had been halted several times since Wednesday.

Representatives from the various political parties that contested Monday’s elections as well as both local and international observers had staked out at the GECOM Command Centre, which also housed

the Office of the Region Four RO. A series of events on Wednesday and throughout the night had risen suspicions and tension among those persons who remained in the building to see that the verification process was completed.

But an attempt on Thursday morning by Mingo to declare the region’s results without completing the verification process caused an uproar in the building as the representatives from the various parties, with the exception of the APNU/AFC coalition, objecting to this.

This forced the PPP/C to immediately move to the courts.

The injunction was filed by former Attorney General Anil Nandlall on behalf of a private citizen, Reeaz Holladar, and named RO

Mingo, the Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) as respondents.

The application was heard and granted by High Court Judge, Justice Navindra Singh, who ordered that the declaration be halted until all the procedures outlined in the Laws of Guyana were followed.

“It is HEREBY ORDERED AND DIRECTED THAT an injunction be and is hereby granted restraining the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), either by itself, its servants and/or its agents, and each and every one of them, from in any manner whatsoever, declaring the total number of valid votes of electors for each List of Candidates recorded in the Guyana National and Regional Elections 2020, until and unless the Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, Election District Number Four… and/or the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, complies with and ensure the compliance of the process set out by the provision, letter and spirit of Section 84 of the Representation of the People Act, Capt. 1:03, Laws of Guyana.”

After obtaining the injunction, Nandlall was accompanied by two Marshalls

No transparency, credibility...

“We, therefore, urge the Guyana Elections Commission to resume the tabulation of results for Region Four in compliance with Section 84 of the Representation of the People Act,” the EU EOM stated. Meanwhile, the OAS Electoral Observation Mission in Guyana said that the Mission was present during the several efforts to review and verify the Statements of Poll in Region Four. It added that although results were announced, the Mission notes that the process did not reach its proper conclusion as stipulated in the electoral code and that, subsequently, the results published by GECOM do not meet the established standards.

The Mission stated that it also notes that legal remedies were pursued by the Opposition People's Progressive Party /Civic (PPP/C) but that these were unsuccessful.

“The OAS calls for this impasse to be resolved peacefully, employing the relevant provisions in the law. Published results

should not be acted upon until that time. The courts should determine the best possible way forward. Any solution should be open and transparent and guarantee that all parties involved in this election have access to the maximum opportunities for redress under the law,” the statement read.Additionally, the Caribbean Community (Caricom) expressed concern about the allegations being made about the Guyana elections with respect to the tabulation of results based on the SOPs in Region Four.

“The Community calls on the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to ensure that all legal and procedural processes are faithfully complied with in respect of the vote count and the declaration of results to ensure that the outcome of the polls expresses the will of the people of Guyana. We call on all parties and Guyanese to remain calm while these issues are resolved,” the regional bloc said in a missive.

Meanwhile, the

FROM PAGE 3

Commonwealth itself made it clear that it wanted GECOM to go back to tabulating from the SOPs. According to Chairman of the Commonwealth observer group, Owen Arthur, the process is still not complete.

“It is the clear view of the group that the tabulation of the final election results has not yet been completed and verified according to the established procedures and relevant legal statutory provisions,” the former Barbadian Prime Minister asserted.

He went on to stress: “We strongly urge the Guyana Elections Commission and all parties involved to ensure the process properly follows the legal steps dictated by the laws of Guyana and is in line with the country’s international commitments.”

The Commonwealth has been lending support to GECOM in preparation for these March 2020 General and Regional Elections and had deployed two senior electoral advisers to assist the local elections body.

Returning Officer (RO) Clairmont Mingo

from the High Court to serve the order on the parties. They arrived at the GECOM Command Centre sometime after 16:00h.

However, they were unable to serve the court order since Mingo had already left the premises, while

Lowenfield was not seen for most of the day. Persons claimed that he was in the building but no one could access him.

Meanwhile, the GECOM Chairperson, Retired Justice Claudette Singh, was in the building reportedly being held “hostage” in a room with little to no access to her.

Instead, the Marshalls served the order to the Commissioners attached GECOM. But this was done in vain as the declaration had already taken place. Parties’ representatives and even the international, as well as local observers who were in the Command Centre, had reported not witnessing this exercise.

Then, at about 17:30h, the Public Relations Officer

Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield

(PRO) of GECOM, Yolanda Ward, shared copies of the declaration, which indicated the number of votes each party would have gotten – figures which completely differed from those the PPP/C has insisted it obtained in Region Four.

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Attempted robbery

Self-confessed bandit fined $70,000

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haquille Mentore of Kitty, Georgetown, who was reportedly involved in an attempted robbery of a woman in Campbellville appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday.

The 20-year-old pleaded guilty to the charge, which stated that on February 18, at William Street, Campbellville, Georgetown, he stole a bag containing articles valued at $49, 240, which belongs to Louisiana Campbell.

Police Prosecutor informed the court that on February 18, Campbell was walking along William Street, Campbellville, when she was confronted by Mentore and his now-dead

Charged: Shaquille Mentore

accomplice, Randy Bowen.

The court also heard that Mentore snatched the woman’s bag containing articles and attempted to escape. However, an alarm was raised by public-spirited persons, who then gave chase and the men ran into the yard of a licensed firearm holder where they were

shot.

Bowen died at the scene and Mentore was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where Mentore was admitted for gunshot injuries to both legs. Mentore was discharged from the hospital and charged for the offence.

The young man is no stranger in court as he was sentenced to 15 months in jail on January 17

by Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus after he admitted to stealing a phone valued $140,000 from Nicholas Gangaram on Croal Street, where he stated that he needed money to buy a bicycle.

The Chief Magistrate to the prosecution and Mentore’s plea of mitigation

A day of infamy…

Dead: Randy Bowen

fined him $70,000. Failure to pay the fine will result in him serving eight weeks in jail. He was further placed under the supervision of the probation officer for 12 months.

GDF rank who died following fireworks explosion laid to rest

Dead: Seon Rose

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he 31-year-old Guyana Defence Force (GDF), who sustained 90 per cent of burns after the fireworks for the nation’s Jubilee Republic Anniversary exploded, was laid to rest on Thursday.

GDF Corporal 21331 Seon Rose’s funeral service was held at Church of God, Buxton.

Corporal Rose and three other ranks of the 21 Artillery Company were preparing for Guyana’s 50th Republic Anniversary annual fireworks display when the fireworks exploded at the Coast Guard Unit in Ruimveldt, Georgetown.

Reports are that the explosives were being loaded onto a truck on a barge by the GDF ranks when the explosion occurred.

Corporal Rose was badly burnt and was rushed to the GPHC for emergency medical treatment. However, despite tireless efforts by doctors at the hospital, the military rank succumbed to his injuries while receiving treatment.

The three other injured ranks were Issaiah Gordon, Terrence Neil and Andrew Garnett –who were treated and discharged. A Board of Inquiry has since been probing the matter.

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…in Guyanese history t has been well said, “Fool me once, shame on you – fool me twice, shame on me.” But what about if you allow yourself to be fooled a dozen times?? What does it say about you?? And this is the question the Guyanese people must answer as they witness the tragedy – orchestrated by the PNC – unfolding in front of them and the international community. The PNC rigged elections in 1968, 1973, 1978 (referendum), 1980; and 1968 to hold on to power. And their supporters – by and large – went along with their “explanation”.

Will they go along again?? After all, “dis time na laang time” when the GDF moved at the onset of the night to seize the ballot boxes in one fell swoop as the PNC ordered in 1973. This is the age of social media where almost every move the PNC makes to do the dirty is now recorded and streamed into their supporters’ (and the world’s!) screens.

They can’t plead ignorance.

That the PNC’s been pulling the strings behind the curtain of the law that makes GECOM “autonomous” would’ve been clear to even Ray Charles, if he were still around! The “tired” pregnant ladies who couldn’t read another line on Wednesday afternoon? There they were in living colour the following day, with the fella who slipped out with a flash drive filled with GECOM data. Later you see him being grilled by the Police – and contradicted by Observers – when he tried to deny he’d transmitted the data so that it could be manipulated and resent to him!!

Then, of course, there was Harmon, Chairman of APNU, blurting out that he’d received calls from the “Guyana Elections Commission and an employee from the Reg 4 GECOM counting office” that PPP officials were barging in and threatening employees. Now even if such actions actually occurred, why should employees from (putatively) the most autonomous entity in Guyana (for obvious reasons!!) be calling a PNC party official??

The videos kept streaming. Karen Cummings going over to the Counting Office, pulling all the foreign observers into a room and telling them she was ordered to yank their accreditation if they were “involved” in the elections.

Well, duh!! Weren’t they invited into the country to be “involved” in ascertaining whether the elections were free and fair?? Then, of course, came the denouement: with Volda Lawrence – chairwoman of the PNC – screaming from an escalator in the Counting Center at the Media and PPP officials, and then walking out.

Not long after, we see the RO, who’d miraculously recovered, declaring the results without a tabulation!!

What say the PNC supporters now?? Have you any shame left?? …for all who stay quiet But the onus for speaking out doesn’t only rest with the PNC constituency – even though they have a greater moral responsibility to do so – having given their support to that party through the years. All Guyanese have to stand up and be counted right now. Over the past year, we saw the PNC try one gambit after another to give themselves an advantage in the long-delayed elections. Even the Observers criticised their use of government resources to campaign.

But when, with all of that advantage, they couldn’t accept a transparent count of the votes that express the will of the Guyanese people, we know the days of the Burnhamite dictatorship are nigh upon us. Though now cliched, Martin Carter’s cry: “we’re all involved; we’re all consumed”, is most pertinent. All Guyanese must now draw a line in the sand: the votes be transparently counted. This isn’t a matter for the courts: there’s no need for a ‘gloss’ on the law broken.

The RO’s illegal declaration cannot stand!! …and farce Khemraj Ramjattan exposed himself to more derision when he claimed that he’d expelled three “Russians” with “cyber hacking equipment”. He insisted the Russians can now cyber-hack our elections – which only use pencil and paper!!

The Russians can now read minds??

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

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APNU/AFC rigging gambit

US, UK, EU, Canada reject Region 4 unverified count …call for GECOM to re-tabulate from SOPs ...businesses up in arms

British High Commissioner Gregory Quinn

US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch

fter the controversial and unverified declaration of Region Four results without verifying the Statements of Poll on Thursday, the international community has united in rejecting the illegal declaration and urging the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to return to the statutory verification process.

This was communicated in a joint statement issued by British High Commissioner Gregory Quinn, United States Ambassador SarahAnn Lynch, Canadian High Commissioner Lilian Chatterjee and European Union Ambassador Fernando Ponz-Canto.

In their statement, the

group noted that “based on our observation of today’s GECOM proceedings at their Region Four office and the fact that the full count was not completed, we question the credibility of the Region four results published by GECOM today”.

“We urge the Guyana Elections Commission and all relevant actors to expeditiously complete the tabulation on the basis of the statement of polls. We call on all Guyanese to remain calm and patient and for all leaders to exercise responsibility and restraint,” the envoys, representing the most powerful countries in the world, said.

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The

Appalled

western

democra-

cies’ sentiments were in sync with the local business community which insisted that the electoral process that undergirds democratic governance should not be subverted.

One of the largest business conglomerate, the Beepat Group, vowed to close the largest mall in Guyana until GECOM resolves the counting issue in Region 4. The owner, Roy Beepat, called upon other businesses to follow his lead.

Meanwhile, the Private Sector Commission (PSC) made it clear that they are appalled at GECOM’s attempts to trample on the statutory process.

The Commission also noted that GECOM’s actions are occurring under the watch of Chairperson Retired Justice Claudette Singh.

“The PSC is appalled at the blatant and deliberate attempts by GECOM to destroy our democracy by derailing the tabulation process of the 2020 elections results and attempts to subvert the will of the people. It is clear to all that the Chairman of GECOM is allowing without objection the attempts to perpetuate election fraud under her watch.”

“The tabulation process has certainly raised doubts about the integrity of the GECOM Chair, the Chief Elections Officer and some of their staffers. The threats to withdraw accreditation from

EU Ambassador Fernando Ponz-Canto

the International Observers further erodes confidence in the process.”

The Commission urged GECOM to return to the verification process. It also urged President David Granger to step up and ensure that credible elections are held, lest Guyana falls under the international sanctions that come with being a pariah state.

“The PSC is calling on

GECOM to recommence the verification of the remaining Statement of Polls for District 4 that will lead to a credible declaration of the results. The PSC is clear on the implications of not having a democratically-elected government.

“We cannot allow our country at this time to be isolated and sanctioned by the international community. We call upon President Granger to ensure that the electoral process is completed in accordance with the law.”

During an interview with this publication, PSC Chairman, retired Captain Gerry Gouveia, made clear the implications for if President Granger is elected through a rigged process.

According to him, the international community could come down on Guyana “like a ton of bricks”.

“We have called on (GECOM) to return to the tabulation process. They must go back in and finish the tabulation process.

Without that tabulation pro-

Canadian High Commissioner Lilian Chatterjee

cess, these elections will be nil, the President would be illegal and the government would not be a democratically elected government.”

“The international community would come down on our country like a ton of bricks. If these elections are not endorsed by the international community, Guyana as a country will face enormous challenges internationally,” Gouveia also said.

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Karen Cummings threatens to revoke int’l observers’ accreditation curately”.

Moreover, at one point, Arthur held out his accreditation badge to Cummings, saying that he would hand it involuntarily.

As the Head of the Commonwealth Mission continued speaking, Cummings was handed a cell phone by Deputy Chief Elections Officer Roxanne Myers. She began talking to someone on the line and then she was heard saying, “okay, I am coming out”.

Dr Cummings then exit-

Dr Karen Cummings being confronted by Head of the Commonwealth Observer Mission, Owen Arthur

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n a move that completely stunned stakeholders and attracted the wrath of at least one Elections Observer Mission here, former Foreign Affairs Minister Karen Cummings on Thursday morning threatened to revoke the accreditation of foreign organisations here to observe the 2020 General and Regional Elections.

The threat was issued during a meeting with some observers at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Command Centre at High and Hadfield Streets, Georgetown amid much commotion following a fifth dramatic delay in the verification of the results for Region Four (DemeraraMahaica).

Cummings, a candidate for the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC), was accused of trying to in-

timidate the international missions that are keenly observing the electoral process in Guyana.

She told the international observers that she was instructed to withdraw their accreditation, but she was not in agreement that it should be done; she did not reveal who gave her those instructions and why.

However, her comments were quickly countered by observers in the room, who argued that her remarks are considered a form of intimidation.

“It comes across as intimidation that you are trying to intimidate the observers when you speak about taking away accreditation,” one of the observers is heard saying.

Thereafter, the APNU/ AFC representative attempted to apologise, saying “the last word you are hearing from me is to continue doing your job”.

To which, the person responded by saying that “it doesn’t take away from the fact that you made a threat that you were told to take away accreditation”.

At this point, Head of the Commonwealth Observer Mission in Guyana, former Prime Minister of Barbados Owen Arthur intervened and confronted the former Foreign Affairs Minister.

“I speak on behalf of the Commonwealth, the largest organisation of people in the world, and I am not going to have, not me, the Commonwealth disrespected by a threat to take away the accreditation,” Arthur declared.

Dr Cummings then attempted to apologise.

But Arthur posited that “I am going to speak to the Commonwealth SecretaryGeneral shortly…and I have a duty to her to report accurately and I cannot now avoid speaking ac-

ed the room.

In brief remarks on the situation during an interview with members of the international and local media earlier in the day, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo described the act as “obscene”.

After Dr Cummings began to receive many criticisms, the APNU/AFC released a statement, claiming that her comments were misunderstood.

“It has been brought to our attention that com-

ments made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Karen Cummings to Members of the International Observer Missions are being shared on social media. We wish to make it clear that the Government of Guyana welcomes the presence of all Observer Missions and are open to their recommendations. We regret any misunderstanding the comments of the Foreign Affairs Minister may have caused,” the APNU/AFC said.

Marcus Bisram murder PI

Magistrate refuses to visit 3-year-old crime scene ꟷ says a PI is being conducted and not a trial

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s the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the murder of 26-yearold carpenter, Faiyaz Narinedatt, continued at the Whim Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, Magistrate Renita Singh rejected a proposal for the court to visit the crime scene which is more than three years old.

Presently, Marcus Bisram is at the centre of attention after he was implicated in the murder of the carpenter.

However, as the PI continues, the prosecution had requested its lone witness be cross-examined but the defence argued that there were file photos and videos at hand that can be revisited and as such objected to the request.

In her ruling, Magistrate Singh told the court that the PI is about accessing evidence and not conducting a trial.

“This court is not trying the case,” she said while noting that it could only be a Judge and a jury that can

Marcus Bisram being led away from court on Thursday

try the case.

Magistrate Singh recollected that the witness had told the court that he was about 15 feet away from the scene when he heard a sound.

However, she noted that Court is not tasked with determining whether the witness heard a sound 15 feet away but rather to determine if the information provided by the witness could be used as evi-

dence against Bisram.

The Magistrate sited several cases in explaining the Court’s decision not to visit the scene while adding that there were no complications in the evidence before the Court.

According to the Magistrate, an application to visit the scene was a premature one.

“There is no uncertainty with the evidence. The main objective is that the witness claimed that he heard and a visit to the scene would not assist in determining if the witness heard what he said he heard.”

Meanwhile, State Prosecutor Stacy Goodings was absent but Attorneyat-law Mondel Moore substituted for her. In addition, the two lead defence attorneys were also absent.

Attorney-at-Law Glen Hanoman who is also a part of the defence team told the court that his colleague Sanjeev Datadin was engaged with some matters at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) while Dexter Todd was at the High Court.

NEWS

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EU castigates GECOM’s fractured legislative framework …is particularly voluminous, fragmented and unclear

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European-led Observer Mission to Guyana for its 2020 General and Regional Elections has lambasted the country’s fractured electoral legislative framework which does not ensure any legal certainty or transparency.

The observation was made by Mission Head, Umras Paet, who on Wednesday, gave the EU’s preliminary assessment of the 2020 poll and said while Guyana has committed itself to core conventions and declarations pertaining to the conduct of democratic elections, there is no harmonisation of the legal framework with international treaties undertaken.

He was adamant that fundamental freedoms necessary for exercising electoral rights are generally respected and that no effective protection of human rights is available as any possible enforcement or judicial review of human rights must be addressed through a Human Rights Commission and its respec-

tive tribunal.

Both, he reminded, are legally provided for since 2001, but not yet established.

Turning his attention directly to the legal framework, Paet said while there is provision for a reasonable basis for competitive elections, it does not ensure legal certainty and transparency, and it is not easily accessible.

According to the EU Mission Head, Guyana’s electoral laws are particularly voluminous, fragmented and unclear.

It was noted that the detailed provisions in the Constitution are expanded by several electoral laws with multiple amendments that reference and amend each other without being consolidated, creating significant inconsistencies.

Election laws must also be read in conjunction with court judgements, according to Paet, but conceded these are not always published or easily available.

Key legislation includes the Constitution,

the Representation of the People Act, the National Registration Act and the Elections Laws Act (1996).

The three acts are amended by the election laws and by the Local Democratic Organs Act. The framework is further supplemented by other acts, most notably the National Assembly (Validity of Elections) Act and GECOM orders and notices.

It was also noted that legally, GECOM has a right to issue directions and instructions orally but most of its internal regulations are not publicly available, further limiting accessibility and transparency.

The EU in its report said identified shortcomings include unregulated registra-

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mining camp.

Nonetheless, at about 23:30h, the now-dead man and his 21-year-old friend stopped along the roadway and were conversing when they were confronted by a man carrying a shotgun.

The gunman, identified as a security guard commonly referred to as “Tallman”, allegedly shot Caesar to his left foot and gun-butted him. He then fled the scene.

Caesar was immediately picked up and taken to the Mahdia District Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

His body is presently at the hospital’s mortuary awaiting a Post-Mortem as Police continue their hunt for the suspect who remains on the run.

Paet told media operatives while there is a reasonable time frame of 28 days after the formal publication of results within which post-election peti-

tions about results and candidate qualifications can be filed, there are no timelines for rendering decisions and, therefore, the right to effective remedy is not ensured.

…1 nursing head injury, brother broadsided with wood afternoon, the matter worsened after the two men reportedly approached the brothers and began to physically assault them.

One of the two men, according to the recording, picked up a large piece of wood from the roadway and dealt several blows to Persaud’s body.

A relative of the two brothers stated that the men were defending themselves and that it was Persaud’s

Injured: Avinash Persaud, who is currently nursing wounds to his eye, face and head after he and his brother were attacked by his former colleague and an accomplice

24-year-old miner was shot and killed by a gun-toting security guard at Black Water Backdam, Kanawaruk, Mahdia, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) on Wednesday evening.

The deceased has been identified as Akeem Caesar of Wismar, Linden, Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice).

Prior to the man’s death, he had been imbibing with his friends at a popular bar in the area when an argument erupted between himself and another man.

The verbal row quickly escalated into an altercation which saw a 21-yearold miner intervening and stopping them.

However, after the fight ended, Caesar and his friends headed to their

Head of EU Observer Mission to Guyana, Umras Paet

Ongoing feud leaves 4 in Police custody

Mahdia miner shot dead by security guard

Dead: Twenty-four-year-old miner Akeem Caesar

tion and operations of political parties, very limited regulation of campaign finance, lack of provisions prohibiting misuse of State resources, lack of opportunity for prisoners and detainees to vote, no guarantee for women’s representation in the National Assembly and no possibility to stand as an independent candidate.

It was observed too that GECOM has not established any formal complaint mechanism and the electoral dispute resolution is available only via judicial dispensation.

As such, all election-related disputes must be raised only after the elections by way of election petitions to the court with a possibility of further appeal.

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man is now nursing head injuries while his brother and two others sustained minor injuries following a brawl at Wales, West Bank Demerara (WBD) on Wednesday.

Avinash Persaud, who is hospitalised as a result of the injuries he received, and his brother were reportedly standing in front of their yard at Wales when they were approached by two other men.

A verbal confrontation erupted followed by an altercation. The incident was captured on Close Circuit Television (CCTV) security cameras on a neighbour’s house.

It is alleged that Persaud was employed with one of the two suspects but after he left the job, they continued to verbally taunt and insult each other.

However, on Wednesday

father who summoned the Police.

However, Persaud and his brother were arrested along with the two suspects as the Police launched an investigation.

“They were just defending themselves; they were already beaten up by those two, and then the Police locked them up as well. They didn’t start anything; they didn’t throw the first punch or such. This is not fair,” she

lamented.

Police Commander of Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Assistant Police Commissioner Simon McBean confirmed that the fight was as a result of an ‘old grievance’ between Persaud and one of the suspects.

He noted that the file is presently being completed and legal advice will be sought on the way forward.

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GCCI slams GECOM’s Giftland to close until “rule of law” is followed top brass over handling …urges other businesses to do same of elections results …businesses on complete shutdown

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he Georgetown Chamber of Commerce (GCCI) is the latest body and locally-accredited observer of the 2020 General and Regional Elections to flay the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) over what some are now calling a “bungled tabulating process” that has led to a virtual shutdown of businesses in Region Four— the country’s main business thoroughfare.

GCCI President Nicholas Deygoo-Boyer on Thursday met with members of the local media corps at the business support organisation’s Waterloo Street, Georgetown office and reported that the business community is particularly concerned over the slothful release of the elections results—a situation that has since been having a deleterious effect on the economy.

“The business community has almost ground to a halt until we get these results,” Deygoo-Boyer said and pointed to a report of a bomb threat at the Office of the Region Four Returning Officer for GECOM.

Precautions out of fear

According to the GCCI President, “what we need to do is to get back into a normal transparent process” and that the divisions within the fabric of society are being ripped open where “Guyanese are being pitted against Guyanese and tensions are rising”.

He noted that there has been no directive sent out by the GCCI regarding the closure of several businesses since Monday and that these business persons were taking precautions out of fear.

Addressing the business community, the GCCI President was adamant that “we are trying not to say something until it’s true” and that GCCI is “not trying to say we expect major disruptions but when you start getting bomb threats”

he asked rhetorically before positing “the situation is fluid”.

Deygoo-Boyer refrained from commenting on whether the delays in the announcement by GECOM were deliberate save to say “I don’t see a clear push from management, I wouldn’t speculate whether it’s deliberate”.

The GCCI President was adamant that what was observed was the lack of a clear work plan and executive plan by the management of GECOM. Deygoo-Boyer told media operatives that there was no clear direction from the GECOM Chairperson, Retired Justice Claudette Singh, or Chief Elections Officers Keith Lowenfield that these officials would only seek to intervene “when these things happen”… “From the top down there has not been enough direction….as a result, process has been delayed”.

He told members of the media that there appeared to be a lack of clear Standard Operating Procedures for

GECOM’s staff.

According to the accredited observer, while Elections Day and the first day of the counting of votes went smoothly, by Wednesday evening, the situation had deteriorated and referenced attempts by GECOM officials to use a ‘mysterious’ spreadsheet of information which was found to have contained several glaring inaccuracies showing more votes in favour of a particular parties, a situation that was not reflected on the SOPs. According to the GCCI President, this led to parties vehemently objecting and as a result saw the intervention of the Chief Elections Officer after which a meeting of the full commission was held.

The count was resumed using the prescribed method of SOPs but a staffer later complained of feeling tired.

The GCCI executive member who assumed monitoring activities for the body at 01:00h the next morning said that by the time the count had restarted under a new Deputy Returning Officer, one of GECOM’s staffers complained of feeling tired after about 15 minutes of counting after which he left the room with a flash drive went to another room.

That staffer reportedly returned for the computer at which point an uproar was created through the objections by the others.

He said too that the Police forensic lab has since been called in to check on the computer to see if it had been tampered with.

The Giftland Mall

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he Giftland Group of Companies has announced its intention of closing the facility in wake of recent incidents involving the General and Regional Elections process.

This comes in light of a series of events which unfolded at the Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) operations site on Hadfield and High Streets involving the verification of Statement of Polls since Tuesday evening.

In a statement, Giftland Mall indicated that all services will be at a standstill until the “rule of law” is followed. This includes international practices and protocols surrounding the elections results. Further, companies in Guyana were urged to follow suit.

The mall comprises of several attractions and small businesses which can be affected with the absent sales.

“The Giftland Group of Companies wish to state that unless all internationally accepted elections practices in relation to the lawful procedures of voter results are strictly followed and accepted by the International Observers following the submitted SOPs, that we will close the Giftland Mall and all services until such time as the laws of the coun-

try are abided with, we will also urge all other businesses to do the same until such time as the rule of law is followed,” Giftland indicated.

While their business operations will be halted, schools have recorded low turnouts as persons await the announcement of the results.

Just Wednesday, it was reported that the attendance at schools is at its minimum. Guyana Times visited several schools across the city and the presence of students was significantly low as parents and guardians remain in heightened fear of post-election issues.

Speaking with this publication, Principal of the St Joseph High School, Nathran Raghubensi, confirmed that the turnout was low as he stated, “Our attendance as of today (Wednesday) is very poor, and it is due to the elections result that is not yet out,” he said.

Meanwhile, students of Houston Secondary on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD) were sent home early because of the tense atmosphere in the city over the verification of Statements of Polls.

When contacted, Education Ministry Public Relations Officer (PRO) Murtland Haley seemed

very much surprised to have heard that students were sent home.

“I am not aware that any schools were closed or students were sent home, so I can’t comment to say why.

We will be investigating that,” he said.

Meanwhile, in the commercial zone around Georgetown, employees of the few businesses that opened told this publication that they were sent home early from work as a result of the tension over the results declaration.

On Tuesday, the city of Georgetown was reduced to almost a ghost town as the country awaits the official declaration of results by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

Though Tuesday was not a holiday, businesses remained closed as the commercial district was at a standstill.

When this publication visited several parts of the business hub, a few persons were seen walking in the desolate streets.

Meanwhile, at the Private Sector Commission’s press conference, Chairman of the Private Sector Commission Gerry Gouveia advised that persons be patient and wait on the official declaration of results by GECOM.

PAHO releases Go.Data to combat coronavirus outbreak

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he Pan American Health Organisation/ World Health Organisation has deployed a new investigation tool, Go.Data, which can visualise chains of transmission and other important factors during outbreaks and virus epidemics.

It was brought forward now that the coronavirus or COVID-19 epidemic has taken its effect and is managed by a “group of public health partners” and the Global Outbreak and Response Network coordinated by WHO. Deputy Director of the Department of Health Emergencies at PAHO/ WHO and Incident Manager for COVID-19, Sylvain Aldighieri has indicated that this technological ad-

vancement can provide significant assistance to the region.

“Go.Data is a powerful tool that will enable countries of the Region to investigate cases and outbreaks, and to manage contacts relating to the COVID-19 public health emergency of international concern,” Aldighieri indicated.

Zeroing in on this investigative tool, the organisation said that it can be used

as a responding agent in any outbreak.

This includes “functionality for case investigation, contact follow-up, visualisation of chains of transmission including secure data exchange and is designed for flexibility in the field, to adapt to the wide range of outbreak scenarios. The tool is targeted at any outbreak responder”.

Go.Data is the initiative of a group of public health

partners and is managed by the Global Outbreak and Response Network coordinated by WHO. It can be used by medical professionals and public health professionals, and allows for the collection of case data, ranging from laboratory results, hospitalisations and other variables, and enables the control and monitoring of contacts.

According to the PAHO/ WHO, this tool was introduced since 2019 in response to the Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, as well as for the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh. WHO is now working with its member states to make Go.Data available for the response to COVID-19.

“This innovative tool

has allowed health professionals in the field in Africa to collect real-time digital data of people affected

by Ebola, as well as information on their contacts in order to track health status and prevent expansion of the outbreak. Go.Data is the best tool for supporting the response to COVID-19 at this stage of the epidemic,” said Raquel Medialdea, from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

This application can be used both online and offline with a laptop, tablet or mobile phone and can be easily adapted to any disease, outbreak and country context.

Globally, there have been over 92,000 reported cases of the coronavirus with approximately 3168 deaths.

NEWS

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FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Joint political parties unite in call for int’l sanctions against APNU/AFC …want restricted travel, freeze of State and personal assets, safeguards for oil money

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epresentatives of six political parties last evening hosted a joint press engagement where they called on the international community to not recognise an “illegal” David Granger Administration— should he be sworn in—and for sanctions to be instituted.

The sanctions being called for are not against the country but rather individuals in the administration—sanctions such as the restriction of movement and the freezing and seizing of assets owned overseas and that revenues from Guyana’s oil reserve be held in a safe account until the country can resolve its current political brouhaha.

At the Sleep Inn International Hotel, the parties represented were the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C), the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), The New Movement (TNM), the United Republican Party (URP), A New and United Guyana (ANUG) and Change Guyana (CG).

The charge was led

by General Secretary of the PPP, Bharrat Jagdeo, who also extended a clarion call the Chancellor of the Judiciary and the Chief Justice “to not be a part of the shameful act of stealing an election”.

Jagdeo said too, “we have to call on people to take a stand”.

brink of an emerging dictatorship and “we now have to go back to our colonizers and ask them for help”.

He was adamant that “we need sanctions, we need their money frozen, we need the oil money to be put in some special account where they have no access to it….. they need to take a strong stand against this abuse of the democratic system, against the abuse of the Guyanese people”.

The Change Guyana Chairman was adamant that the status quo could only see Guyana becoming an impoverished state worse than Haiti.

Presidential Candidate for the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), Lennox Shuman, posited that President Granger had, in fact, telegraphed his position, when on the campaign

trail, he announced that Region Four would be the final battleground.

Shuman posited that this illustrates that the President was aware of the plan afoot and questioned the coalition: “if you are so confident in your victory and you are confident in numbers presented to public, why not permit the process to run its course then. At the end of the day, we have results that can stand”.

Presidential Candidate of the PPP/C, Dr Irfaan Ali, speaking to recourse available in the meantime for the parties to explore in order to remedy the situation, disclosed that the Party had already begun initiating moves to have a full recount of Region Three—a process that is catered for under the laws.

The PPP/C would have up to noon today to file that request with the Returning Officer.

ANUG’s Timothy Jonas, in his contribution to the discourse in support of the international sanctions, said that this was the only efficient leverage available to the country.

He said the international community should be approached with a view that a Granger administration sworn in on the basis of unverified results should not be recognised and economic sanctions must be applied to individuals.

still applies”, Mr Acevedo told local media.

The 39-year-old twice World Player Of The Year had travelled to Paraguay to promote a book and a campaign for underprivileged children.

Another man who travelled with the brothers - 45-year-old Wilmondes Sousa Lira - has also been held.

Ronaldinho was the

2004 and 2005 World Player of the Year and enjoyed the prime of his career at Spanish giants Barcelona.

He won the World Cup in 2002 alongside fellow superstar forwards Ronaldo and Rivaldo.

Ronaldinho’s net worth is estimated at £80-100m and he is reported to charge around £150,000 for a single promoted Instagram post. (BBC)

Representatives from the political parties – People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C); the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP); The New Movement (TNM); the United Republican Party (URP); A New and United Guyana (ANUG) and Change Guyana (CG) – who hosted a joint press conference on Thursday evening to address the issue of the illegal declaration made by the Region 4 Returning Officer

According to the PPP General Secretary, every Guyanese should be mobilising and standing ready to fight for their rights.

He was adamant that “we live in a democratic system and there are rules” and that “there is a plot to steal the elections”.

The Opposition Leader accused the coalition of using personnel within the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to execute its plot to hijack the elections.

He was adamant that should Granger be sworn in on the basis of unverified results, he would be “illegal, not credible and would not be treated as such”.

Jagdeo was adamant that after the Returning Officer had purportedly made a declaration, none of the observers or other par-

ties were aware of this development save for the coalition representatives.

That process of declaring the results, he said, was supposed to be done in presence of parties who would then sign onto the declaration.

According to Jagdeo, realising that something sinister was afoot, the Party opted to upload all the SOPs publicly and allow anyone to tabulate the results and was adamant that should GECOM comply with the laws .“There is no way Granger can be sworn in,” Jagdeo said too. He has been in communication with several groups from the international community and there will be non-recognition of the government if Granger goes the route of being sworn in based on the unverified results.

Change Guyana’s Chairman, Nigel Hinds, in supporting the calls of the opposition PPP and its General Secretary, told media operatives that what exists currently in Guyana is a blatant disregard of the Constitution and that “we are now living in a state of lawlessness”.

He pointed to what observers and parties have called a nullified declaration by the Region Four Returning Officer (RO) who would have declared results for the region without first verifying the SOPs as is provided for the Representations of the Peoples Act. Describing the actions of the incumbent coalition as an “abomination,” Hinds was adamant that the coalition government has brought the country to the

Coronavirus: White Ronaldinho held in Paraguay over House concedes US fake passport claims lacks enough test kits

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he White House has acknowledged the nation does not have enough coronavirus test kits as cases of the disease ticked upwards on both US coasts.

Vice-President Mike Pence said the Trump administration would not be able to meet its objective of delivering one million testing kits this week.

Congress meanwhile moved with unusual speed to approve a bumper emergency aid package to combat the outbreak.

Globally, authorities have confirmed more than 92,000 cases of the virus.

The vast majority - more than 80,000 - are in China, where the virus originated.

Worldwide, more than 3,000 people have died.

The US death toll from the coronavirus climbed to 12 on Thursday, with all but one of the victims in the north-western US state of Washington.

There are now more than 200 cases of Covid-19 in 20 states. In Washington, officials in the Seattle area announced 20 new cases of the

virus, bringing the total in that state to 70, according to its health department.

Nine of the US dead so far were from the same nursing home in suburban Seattle, which is now being investigated by authorities to see if it followed infection-prevention guidelines.

Some major Seattlearea businesses, including Microsoft and Amazon, have shut down some operations or urged employees to work from home.

New York saw its caseload double overnight to 22, all of them in or near the city. The city’s mayor called on the federal government to send more test kits urgently.

About 200 people have been quarantined in the US state of Rhode Island because of their links to a school trip to Italy that has resulted in three cases of the coronavirus.

San Francisco reported its first two cases of the coronavirus on Thursday. And the US state of Maryland confirmed its first three cases, in the Washington DC suburbs. (BBC)

F

Former Brazil football player Ronaldinho

ormer Brazil forward Ronaldinho is being held by police in Paraguay for allegedly using a fake passport to enter the country, authorities say.

Police searched a hotel in the capital, Asuncion, on Wednesday, where the star had been staying with his brother.

Paraguay’s interior minister told ESPN Brazil that the pair had not been arrested but are under investigation.

Minister Euclides Acevedo also said they deny wrongdoing and are co-oper-

ating with the authorities.

In July 2019, the player reportedly had his Brazilian and Spanish passports confiscated over unpaid taxes and non-payment of fines for illegally building on a nature reserve.

“Ronaldinho will be heard at eight in the morning on Thursday at the prosecutor’s office,” minister Euclides Acevedo told AFP, adding that customs authorities would also be investigated.

“I respect his sporting popularity but the law must also be respected. No matter who you are, the law

16

guyanatimesgy.com

FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020

Regional

US warns against Patrick Manning’s son all travel to Haiti eyes Sando East seat T

he United States on Thursday warned its citizens to avoid all travel to Haiti owing to a surge in crime, including a risk of kidnapping.

The State Department raised its travel alert to the highest possible level for the poorest country in the Americas, which is in the throes of both a political and security crisis.

"Violent crime, such as armed robbery and carjacking, is common. Kidnapping is widespread," the State Department said.

"Kidnappers may use sophisticated planning or take advantage of unplanned opportunities," it said.

It warned as well of the risk of violent demonstrations and said that Haitian emergency services such as ambulances are "limited or non-existent".

The United States has already curtailed activities of embassy staff in Haiti,

The State Department raised its travel alert to the highest possible level for the poorest country in the Americas

who are barred from using any public transportation or taxis or travelling anywhere between 01:00 and 05:00h.

Public anger has been boiling for months against President Jovenel Moise, who in May was accused of involvement in a major corruption scandal.

The political uncertainties have slammed the

brakes on international investment, and a third of the population faces severe food insecurity, the last stage before famine, according to the World Food Programme.

The number of kidnappings for ransom has soared, as has the more commonplace gang-related violence in poorer urban neighbourhoods. (Excerpt from AFP)

Total of 51 persons refused entry to Jamaica over COVID-19 fears

A

total of 51 travellers who attempted to gain entry to the island were sent back to their original destination since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton made the disclosure at the National Disaster Risk Management Council meeting at Jamaica House Thursday morning.

Dr Tufton said 197 travellers were interrogated outside the normal immigration line of questioning since the outbreak.

“Seventy-seven landed and were sent home for monitoring – we clas-

sify that as home quarantine. Fifty-one were refused landing, so those were courteously asked to return to their original destination.

Sixty-eight persons were placed in national facilities with 62 quarantined, and six placed in isolation.

Twenty-three people are still in quarantine. Today we are reviewing the numbers for the day because it is actually an on-going daily occurrence. There is now one person in isolation as of yesterday, I am told,” Dr Tufton disclosed.

Dr Tufton said the decision to restrict travellers based on risk assessment was a strategic move to de-

lay the virus from entering the island.

Emphasising that the outbreak is now in over 60 countries worldwide, he said it has spread in almost 40 countries in the last two weeks alone.

He added that the internal spread within countries is also galloping.

“That is why in the interest of that strategy of delay, we had to place travel restrictions on some countries and we are observing other countries and we coordinate with immigration and with the airlines to monitor other countries of interest,” he added.

(Jamaica Observer)

Brazil's Bolsonaro to meet Trump on Saturday – sources

B

razil’s right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro is preparing to meet US President Donald Trump on Saturday at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, four people familiar with the Brazilian leader’s travel plans told Reuters.

Representatives for both sides were expected to finalise the plans in a meeting at the presidential palace in Brasilia on Thursday, the sources said, requesting anonymity because the talks have not been made public.

A US official confirmed to Reuters on Thursday that the two Presidents were likely to meet. Brazil’s Foreign Relations Ministry declined to comment.

One of the people familiar with the matter told

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro

Reuters that Bolsonaro said he was “called” by Trump.

Last week, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said a meeting between the two leaders “was a given”, although the Brazilian Government has kept the possible encounter

confidential.

Asked about a meeting between the leaders at a Thursday briefing, Brazil’s presidential spokesman Otavio Rego Barros said, “There is a possibility.”

Two of the people familiar with the matter said the meeting would be closed to the press, without any public statements.

A preliminary schedule for Bolsonaro’s US visit, which does not list a meeting with Trump, shows the Brazilian President in Florida from Saturday to Tuesday. He is due to meet with a senior US military official, attend an investor seminar and visit a plant run by Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Late Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s son, Brian Manning

L

ate Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s son Brian has

launched his bid to follow in his father’s footsteps as the People’s National Movement’s San Fernando East Member of Parliament.

Manning on Thursday submitted a letter of consent to be nominated as a candidate for the constituency. The letter is being sent to the constituency executive secretariat.

San Fernando East is one of 25 constituencies which were mandated last week by the PNM’s leadership to seek General Elections nominees. The batch has until March 30 to submit nominees.

Incumbent San Fernando East MP Randall Mitchell has also indicated an intention to seek nomination.

Manning was ap-

proached to consider seeking nomination by a number of constituents, the T&T Guardian confirmed.

Several PNMites in the area said Manning’s entry was a bid to unite the party.

In his consent letter, Manning stated, “It is an honour to have been raised and nurtured in the constituency of San Fernando East. It is here that I learned the value of courage, resilience and wisdom.

I believe the time has come for me to give back.

“After careful consideration with my family, I hereby give consent to be nominated as a candidate to serve the people of San Fernando East in the next general election. (Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

Nicaraguan Police Force sanctioned over “violent repression”

T

he United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on the Nicaraguan National Police over accusations of human rights abuse, in the Trump Administration’s latest move to pressure the leftist Government of President Daniel Ortega.

The Treasury Department said in a statement it blacklisted Nicaragua’s Police over its role in significant acts of violence, including “using live ammunition against peaceful protesters and participating in death squads, as well as carrying out extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and kidnappings”.

Three National Police Commissioners were also blacklisted: Juan Valle Valle, Luis Alberto Perez Olivas and Juan Pastor Urbina.

“The Ortega regime has utilised the Nicaraguan National Police as a tool in its campaign of violent repression against the Nicaraguan people,” US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in the statement.

The sanctions freeze any US assets held by Nicaragua’s National Police and the three target-

Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega speaks during the oath of the Commander in Chief of the Nicaraguan Army General Julio Cesar, at the Revolution Square in Managua

ed Commissioners and prohibit Americans from doing business with them.

The Treasury Department has previously imposed sanctions on two officials of Nicaragua’s National Police for human rights abuses.

Demonstrations began in Nicaragua in 2018 over planned cuts to welfare benefits and later spread into broader protests against what critics see as Ortega’s increasingly authoritarian-style rule.

The protests left more than 300 people dead, according to rights groups.

“The United States urges the Ortega regime to im-

mediately stop repressing the Nicaraguan people, respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, and allow the conditions for free and fair elections and the restoration of democracy in Nicaragua,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement on Thursday.

The Nicaraguan Government has called previous US sanctions on officials, including Ortega’s wife, Rosario Murillo, who is also the country’s Vice President, a continuation of “imperial” designs on the small Central American country. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Government of Barbados warns against misuse of social media

T

he Government of Barbados has cautioned residents against the abuse of social media to spread false and malicious information designed to mislead the public.

This warning comes in response to the latest example of such abuse which appeared in the form of a viral WhatsApp message

on Wednesday.

The false and very offensive message was created to appear as if it had come from the Barbados Government Information Service.

The message misinformed the population about Government’s workplace policy in respect of Covid-19.

This is too serious a mat-

ter and the Government has warned that it will report to the Police this and other similar offences under the Computer Misuse Act, to stamp out this practice.

The Government urged persons to desist from such actions, adding that it strongly condemned this reckless behaviour. (Nation News)

guyanatimesgy.com

OILNEWS Coronavirus: OPEC plans output cut to support oil prices

S

ome of the world’s biggest oil producers have proposed output cuts in a bid to support crude prices that have been hit by the coronavirus outbreak.

The price of oil has fallen by about a quarter since the virus began to spread internationally, with demand for fuel expected to decline.

Oil exporters’ group, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has now agreed to cut supply by 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) until June.

It wants non-OPEC states, including Russia, to contribute 500,000 bpd.

The proposal will be discussed at a meeting today of a group known as OPEC+, which includes Russia.

Following the OPEC meeting, which took place at its headquarters in Vienna, the group said that the coronavirus outbreak created an “unprecedented situation” with risks “skewed to the downside”.

Travel restrictions have been a central element in the official response to the health crisis, especially in China where it started, and in some of the countries the virus has spread to.

That has affected the movement of people and goods. In addition, many people have chosen to reduce their own travel even when official restrictions would not have forced them to do so.

This has hit demand for oil, which accounts for more than 90 per cent of global transport fuel.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) – a rich countries’ organisation – expects demand for crude oil to decline in the current three-month period, which would be the first quarterly decrease in more than a decade – that is, since the financial crisis.

At the time of its last oil market report in mid-February, the IEA was still expecting demand to increase for this year as a whole, but it slashed its forecast for how much it would grow. If its forecast turns out right, it would be the weakest since 2011.

That’s a forecast, but the impact on the cost of oil is already apparent. OPEC is trying to turn that round.

When the group has been in that situation in the past, it has often responded with production cuts.

It is currently limiting its production in response to earlier price falls, in an agreement that is due to expire at the end of the month. Now, the group wants to cut further and for longer.

But OPEC accounts for about a third of total global production, so it always faces the issue that it suffers the pain of cutting production while other producers get the benefit of the higher prices that may result.

The group is currently operating under an agreement with a number of non-members to limit production, an arrangement which has been in place since late 2016.

The most important, by far, of these is Russia. It is currently producing more oil than any OPEC member including Saudi Arabia.

OPEC members would like Russia and the other nations in OPEC+ to commit to further production cuts now. So far, Russian officials have been unwilling to commit to more cuts.

The rise of shale oil production in the United States adds to the challenge OPEC faces in seeking to manage prices.

The US is now the world’s biggest producer and shale oil producers can respond quickly with additional production if prices rise.

So, if OPEC+ does make some progress, it is likely to stimulate more US production which tends to limit the upward move in prices. (BBC News)

FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020

17

Around the World

“This is not a drill”: WHO urges the world to fight coronavirus

I

taly reported 41 new deaths from coronavirus on Thursday, bringing the death toll to 148, the second highest outside of China, where just over 3000 people have died since the outbreak began in December.

The virus has reached all 22 regions of Italy, and prompted Rome to take unprecedented measures, including suspending all schools and universities and unveiling a US$8.4-billion rescue plan.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom reported its first death from coronavirus on Thursday, an elderly person with underlying health conditions, while Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia and South Africa reported their first cases.

In the United States, Congress has voted for a

US$8.3 billion emergency funding package to fight the coronavirus as the death toll rose to 11.

Globally, more than 95,000 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the vast majority in China.

Palestinian Govt confirms seven virus cases, declares two-week tourist ban

The Palestinian Government confirmed the number of coronavirus cases in the occupied West Bank had risen to seven and declared a two-week ban on tourists visiting cities and sites, including Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity.

Meanwhile. the US does not yet have enough coronavirus tests to meet anticipated demand, Vice President Mike Pence has said, adding that the Coast Guard has de-

US Congress backed emergency funding to help the United States tackle the growing coronavirus outbreak (Lindsey Wasson/Reuters)

livered tests to a cruise ship off the coast of California.

“We don’t have enough tests today to meet what we anticipate the demand going forward,” Pence said during a visit to Minnesota.

The Paris marathon has been postponed from April 5 to October 18 owing to the coronavirus outbreak, or-

ganisers said on Thursday.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that the organisation is concerned that the “level of political commitment” in some countries do not “match the level of the threat we all face”. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Elizabeth Warren bows out of US presidential race

Former Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren speaks during a primary election night rally in Detroit, Michigan [File: Patrick Semansky/AP Photo]

E

lizabeth Warren, who electrified progressives with her

“plan for everything” and strong message of economic populism, dropped out of

the Democratic presidential race on Thursday.

The exit came days after the one-time frontrunner could not win a single Super Tuesday state, not even her own.

Speaking to reporters Thursday outside her home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Warren said she would likely endorse one of the two major candidates left in the race, Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders, but “not today”.

“I need some space and I need a little time right now,” she said, standing next to her husband, Bruce Mann,

and golden retriever, Bailey.

Warren’s voice cracked when she talked about meeting so many little girls while campaigning around the country for the past year and knowing they “are going to have to wait four more years”, at least, to see a woman in the White House.

Warren added: “I have no regrets at all. This has been the honour of a lifetime.”

Warren’s exit extinguished hopes that Democrats would get another try at putting a woman up against President Donald Trump. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Dubai’s ruler abducted Facebook removes daughters and threatened “deceptive” Trump former wife – UK Judge census ads

D

ubai’s ruler ordered the abduction of two daughters and orchestrated a campaign of intimidation against his former wife, a British judge has ruled, in what is likely to be a major blow to his reputation as a Middle East reformer.

Judge Andrew McFarlane said he accepted as proved a series of allegations made by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum’s former wife, Princess Haya bint al-Hussein, during a custody battle over their two children at London’s High Court.

Haya, the half-sister of Jordan’s King Abdullah, fled to London on April 15 last year with the children, Jalila, 12, and Zayed, 8, fearing for her safety amid suspicions that she had had an affair with one of her British bodyguards.

Her lawyers argued that Mohammed’s treatment of two older daughters by another marriage showed her children were at risk of be-

F

US President Donald Trump Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum

ing abducted too.

As part of the custody case, Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Court division in England and Wales, made a series of “findings of fact” about allegations raised by Haya, 45, during hearings over the last nine months.

After the ruling became public on Thursday, Mohammed said it only represented “one side of the story”. (Excerpt from Reuters)

acebook has removed a series of misleading adverts from the Donald Trump campaign promoting “the Official 2020 Congressional District Census”.

The adverts made it appear respondents were taking part in the official 2020 US census, which begins on March 12.

They were promoted by a fundraising group backed

by Republican officials and Trump’s re-election team.

“There are policies in place to prevent confusion

around the official US census,” Facebook said.

“This is an example of those being enforced,” said the spokesperson.

The adverts began running on Facebook on March 3. Clicking the link takes users to a general survey focusing on Republican talking points.

The adverts were paid for by the “Trump Make America Great Again Committee”, a part of Trump’s official re-election fundraising efforts. (Excerpt from BBC News)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020

ARCHIE

ARIES (March 21April 19)

TAURUS

DILBERT

(April 20May 20)

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

CANCER (June 21July 22)

PEANUTS

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

VIRGO

CALVIN AND HOBBES

(Aug. 23Sept. 22)

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

SUDOKU

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

Speak your mind. Head in a direction that helps you utilize your skills and qualifications. If you socialize, you will encounter someone who can help you succeed.

Keep your thoughts to yourself until you have flushed out any flaws that may draw opposition. Learn by watching others, and you will know precisely how to get your way. Romance is featured.

You’ll have different choices to make. Don’t give in to peer pressure. Do what’s right and best for you, and don’t look back. Someone you respect will give you good advice.

Work on your to-do list. You’ll be surprised at how much you achieve and the help that’s offered.

Once everything’s done, plan something enjoyable.

Entertainment doesn’t have to be expensive.

A positive attitude will affect the way things unfold.

The joy you bring others will improve your day. Discuss personal plans with someone special.

Gather facts, make choices and see what happens.

Someone who has something unique to offer will attract your attention. A good idea will lead to a new adventure.

Travel, communicate and find out where you stand with people whom you’d like to get to know better. An unusual opportunity will come your way. Go over your options carefully.

Follow a creative dream.

Someone will try to put a damper on your day or stand in your way. Make choices based on your needs. A change will lead to personal growth.

Don’t take a financial risk.

SAGITTARIUS Someone close to you will (Nov. 23withhold information. Refuse Dec. 21) to let anger overcome you.

Patience and understanding will bring the best results.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

If you mix business with pleasure, you will do well.

Your power of persuasion will help enlist the supporters needed to get things done on time. Romance is featured.

AQUARIUS

Take care of personal business. Make changes at home that will add to your comfort and ease your stress. A compromise will help keep the peace with a loved one.

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

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

Listen to others and assess situations, but don’t be too eager to share your opinions or sign up for something that will benefit someone other than yourself. Do your own thing.

FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020

19

NBA round-up:

Porzingis, Doncic lead Mavs to OT win K

ristaps Porzingis scored 34 points, and Luka Doncic added a 30-point triple-double as the host Dallas Mavericks defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 127-123 in overtime on Wednesday.

Seth Curry added 21 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 18, and Delon Wright had 10 for the Mavericks.

Doncic added 17 rebounds and 10 assists, and Porzingis had 12 boards and five blocked shots. Dallas improved to 6-3 in the past nine games.

In just his 122nd career game, Doncic set the Mavericks’ franchise record for triple-doubles with 22.

Brandon Ingram scored 27 before fouling out, Lonzo Bell had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Zion Williamson scored 21 for the Pelicans, who lost their third straight.

Nicolo Melli hit a 3-pointer over the 7-foot, 3-inch Porzingis to tie the score with 7.9 seconds left and force overtime.

Portland Trail Blazers: 125, Washington Wizards: 104

Star guard Damian Lillard returned from a groin injury to contribute 22 points and five assists, helping Portland post a blowout home victory over Washington.

Carmelo Anthony scored a team-high 25 points as four Trail Blazers topped 20 points. Hassan Whiteside registered 24 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots, and CJ McCollum added 22 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Bradley Beal recorded 29 points, six rebounds and six assists, but couldn’t prevent Washington from losing for the sixth time in eight games.

Beal stretched his franchise-record streak of consecutive 25-point outings to 20. He fell one-point shy of scoring 30 or more points in a 10th straight road game.

Oklahoma City Thunder: 114, Detroit Pistons: 107

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 27 points, Dennis Schroder supplied 23 points and nine assists, and visiting Oklahoma City downed lowly Detroit.

Danilo Gallinari tossed in 19 points with seven rebounds and four steals, while Chris Paul added 16 points and six assists for the

Brooks each added 12 points for Memphis, which won its third straight game to even its record at 31-31.

Jonas Valanciunas collected 16 rebounds and Gorgui Dieng grabbed 14 boards for the Grizzlies, who have won by an average of 31.7 points during the streak.

Taurean Prince scored 15 points for Brooklyn, which lost for the sixth time in eight games. Caris LeVert and Chris Chiozza each tallied 14 points for the Nets, and Joe Harris had 13. LeVert was coming off a 51-point game on Tuesday.

Thunder.

Christian Wood scored a career-high 29 points, and grabbed nine rebounds for Detroit, which has lost nine of its last 10. Brandon Knight had 18 points a n d seve n a s sists, while Jordan McRae claimed off waivers earlier in the day, contributed 15 points in his Pistons debut.

Miami Heat: 116, Orlando Magic: 113

Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) and Dallas Mavericks forward Kristaps Porzingis (6) celebrate during the second half against the New Orleans Pelicans

Duncan Robinson scored 27 points and Goran Dragic added 25 points, as host Miami topped Orlando on a historic shooting night for the Heat.

Robinson went 9-for-12 from 3-point range to account for all of his scoring, as Miami hit a franchise-record 22 three-pointers.

Dragic added nine assists on a big night for the Miami bench, as the reserves accounted for 10 of the Heat’s other 13 three-pointers.

Terrence Ross scored a game-high 35 points for Orlando. Nikola Vucevic added 22 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists, while shooting 9 of 16 from the floor.

Boston Celtics: 112, Cleveland Cavaliers: 106

Jayson Tatum scored 32 points, Semi Ojeleye added a career-high 22, and injury-depleted Boston outlasted host Cleveland.

Boston started a makeshift lineup, with Brad Wanamaker and Grant Williams joining Daniel Theis and Marcus Smart.

Tatum returned from illness, however, and powered the Celtics with 5-of-10 shooting from the 3-point arc, nine rebounds and six assists.

Cleveland kept pace with Boston all night behind a career-high 41 points from Collin Sexton, marking the third time this week that Sexton set a career scoring mark.

Milwaukee Bucks: 119, Indiana Pacers: 100

Khris Middleton scored

eight of his 20 points in a third-quarter surge that propelled Milwaukee past visiting Indiana.

Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded game highs in points (29) and rebounds (12) for the Bucks, who have won seven of their past eight games.

Donte DiVincenzo finished with 19 points, and Eric Bledsoe had 16 to go with a team-high seven assists, while Wesley Matthews contributed 15 points.

T.J. Warren had a teamhigh 18 points for Indiana, which had a four-game winning streak snapped.

Ja Morant had 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Kyle Anderson and Dillon

Minnesota Timberwolves: 115, Chicago Bulls: 108

Malik Beasley scored 24 points, D’Angelo Russell added 19, and both players contributed to a long-range barrage as Minnesota beat

Chicago in Minneapolis.

Minnesota drilled 19 three-pointers and boasted six players in double figures while leading by as many as 14 in the fourth quarter. Naz Reid (16 points, 11 rebounds), Jarrett Culver (13 points), Juancho Hernangomez (12 points) and Jordan McLaughlin (10 points, seven assists) rounded out a balanced attack as the Timberwolves earned their second win in a row.

Chicago lost for the 11th time in 13 games, despite a game-high 26 points from rookie Coby White.

Shaquille Harrison added 17 points for the Bulls, while Lauri Markkanen (13), Thaddeus Young (13), Denzel Valentine (11) and Tomas Satoransky (10) followed in double figures.

(Reuters)

Coronavirus: Premier League ditches pre-match fair-play handshakes

Utah Jazz: 112, New York Knicks: 104

Bojan Bogdanovic and Donovan Mitchell each had 23 points, and visiting Utah never trailed in beating New York.

Rudy Gobert finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Jazz, who won their third straight to move within a half-game of the idle Houston Rockets in the race for the fourth seed and home-court advantage in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

Julius Randle scored 32 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for the Knicks, who had their two-game winning streak snapped.

Memphis Grizzlies: 118, Brooklyn Nets: 79

Josh Jackson scored 19 points, and fellow reserve Tyus Jones recorded 18 points, six assists and five rebounds, as Memphis posted a convincing win over Brooklyn in New York.

Norwich and Liverpool shake hands before their Premier League match

T

he Premier League has announced that the pre-match handshakes between both teams and officials will not take place until further notice because of fears over the spread of coronavirus.

The measure comes the day after the government asked the league "to step up its contingency planning".

The teams will still line up as usual but the home team will walk past the away side without shaking hands.

There have been more than 90,000 cases of the virus in 87 countries.

A statement on the Premier League's website said: "The Premier League

fair-play handshake will not take place between players and match officials from this weekend until further notice based on medical advice.

"Coronavirus is spread via droplets from the nose and mouth and can be transmitted on to the hands and passed on via a handshake."

Premier League leaders Liverpool announced on Thursday that they would not be having mascots at Anfield.

They have also cancelled staff travelling to any highrisk countries and "reminded everyone of good hygiene practices".

The club also said there will be "hand sanitisers and/

or antibacterial handwash in all the washrooms at Anfield" as well as hygiene information posters.

Last week Newcastle manager Steve Bruce said the club had stopped their morning handshake ritual while West Ham boss David Moyes said the players would be fist bumping instead of shaking hands.

Southampton also banned players from signing autographs or taking selfies with fans.

League One club Sunderland have also told their players to not go abroad during their upcoming break.

(BBC Sport)

20

FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Rain, Wolvaardt fail to stop Australia from making final

A

ustralia staved off the rain threat and South Africa’s counterattack for a five-run victory in a last-over thriller at the SCG to set up a final date with India in the 2020 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup on Sunday.

Even after getting their full quota of 20 batting overs in, the defending champions remained on the verge of getting knocked out with rain threatening to wash off the possibility of South Africa’s chase. South Africa’s 135run target was revised soon enough to 98 off 13 overs as a consequence.

Then, the Megan Schuttled bowling attack did well to curb South Africa’s brisk start with three wickets in as many overs but met with a 47-run counterattack from Sune Luus and Laura Wolvaardt who showed they weren’t ready to give up as yet. Schutt put an end to that show and Jess Jonassen defended 18 off the final over, albeit barely, to maintain their spotless record against South Africa in T20Is to put Australia in their sixth successive T20 World Cup final and one win away from title #5.

How did Australia go after being put in?

Surviving an LBW call early on, Alyssa Healy launched a flurry of boundaries to give Australia the kind of start they would have needed with the rain threat looming large. She picked a couple of them off Shabnim Ismail and two back-to-back ones off Mlaba. Chetty dropped a sitter off the final ball of that over which could have potentially cost South Africa dear, but Ayabonga Khaka got her caught at midwicket off an inswinger to limit the damage to zero.

Mooney then welcomed van Niekerk into the attack with two boundaries in the 11-run over to cap off the powerplay at 48/1.

van Niekerk slog-swept over deep midwicket to welcome her and, more importantly, give South Africa a move on after two quiet overs at the start. The South African captain then turned the strike over the next ball and Lizelle Lee targetted the offside for a boundary more. Lee got greedy and attacked again, only this time she mistimed to Gardner who ran across from long-on. Schutt’s lethal inswinger cleaned up van Niekerk by the end of the third over, and Delissa Kimmince lured Mignon du Preez into a drive off a slower ball that Lanning caught superbly at cover. Three big fishes in as many overs and Australia already had one foot in the final.

Game, set, match then?

Meg Lanning made an unbeaten 49 (Getty Images)

De Klerk leads South Africa’s fightback

Replacing Marizanne Kapp is never easy. Nadine de Klerk had done that against Thailand earlier in the group stages, but a high-pressure semifinal was going to be the real test. And the medium-pacer stepped up beautifully, taking out a well-set Mooney and the dangerous Ashleigh Gardner in succeeding overs in the middle period and then returning to snap the Lanning-Haynes partnership that was beginning to transfer the pressure back on the bowlers. Mooney came charging down despite a boundary in the over, played across the line and lost her leg-stump as the ball snuck through the gate.

Gardner was undone driving loosely away from the body and Haynes was beaten by a slower ball she failed to connect with as she attempted to take the aerial route. With 3 for 19 in their four overs, that included 10 dots, de Klerk had done everything in her might to fill

in the big boots.

Lanning to the rescue

The scoreboard may say a run-a-ball 49 only, but in the context of the game, it was as big a contribution as any. The Australian captain had made her intentions clear early on itself when she shimmied down the track to get to the pitch off the ball and lofted van Niekerk over mid-off into the stands. She followed it up with a swivel pull for four off de Klerk’s first ball of the night. But, the pressure of a home World Cup, the need to conserve wickets for an upper hand in DRS calculations with the impending rain and the fall of three quick wickets itself sent Australia in conservation mode.

Australia, who were scoring at 8 RPO for the first eight, got only 18 runs off the next five, and took 36 deliveries before Lanning got them their next another boundary. She was even offered a reprieve by Trisha Chetty who missed the stumping off Chloe Tryon and didn’t exactly have a day to re-

member. Lanning brought the 100 up for Australia in the following over, but the game-changer was the 17th over off Khaka where she picked three boundaries and Australia fetched a total of 17.

Sydney rain, Act II

South Africa did well to not concede a boundary more in the final two, restricting Australia to 134/5 off their 20 which was below-par on the SCG wicket. However, the heavens opened up again and briefly threatened another washout. Earlier in the day, England had to endure the heartbreak with rain playing spoilsport and India getting a walkover by virtue of having topped their group. Australia would have met the same fate had rain not abated. It did clear out barely nine minutes away from the cut off time, and as it did, South Africa’s revised target was a stiff 98 off 13 overs.

Three early birds

Not quite.

Laura Wolvaardt put on a show, and gave Australia a se-

rious scare. Luus slogged Jonassen straight down the ground, but Wolvaardt went a step ahead as she went down on one knee, didn’t middle it very well but still sent the miscue flying into the sightscreen.

Nicola Carey missed her yorkers twice, and Wolvaardt dispatched both through the gap between cover and mid off. The attempted yorker but eventual full toss from Schutt was smoked over cow corner for another six.

But, earlier in the over, the Australian had taken out Luus at the other end and knocked the wind out of South Africa’s sails. In the meanwhile, Kimmince and Carey had hit back with wide yorkers to squeeze in a few dots, giving Jonassen 18 to defend off the last six, which she did albeit with a couple of hiccups along the way. (Cricbuzz)

SCOREBOARD Australia Women Innings (20 overs maximum) AJ Healy † c van Niekerk b Khaka 18 BL Mooney b de Klerk 28 MM Lanning (c) not out 49 JL Jonassen c Ismail b Mlaba 1 A Gardner c †Chetty b de Klerk 0 RL Haynes b de Klerk 17 NJ Carey not out 7 Extras (lb 8, w 6) 14 TOTAL (20 Overs, RR: 6.7) 134-5 Did not bat: S Molineux, DM Kimmince, G Wareham, M Schutt Fall of wickets: 1-34 (Alyssa Healy, 4.4 ov), 2-68 (Beth Mooney, 8.3 ov), 3-69 (Jess Jonassen, 9.1 ov), 4-71 (Ashleigh Gardner, 10.2 ov), 5-103 (Rachael Haynes, 16.1 ov) BOWLING S Ismail (4-0-20-0) A Khaka (4-0-29-1) N Mlaba (3-0-18-1) D van Niekerk (2-0-20-0) N de Klerk (4-0-19-3) CL Tryon (3-0-20-0)

Sophie Molinuex’s World Cup began with a six that

South Africa Women Innings (target: 98 runs from 13 overs) L Lee c Gardner b Molineux 10 D van Niekerk (c) b Schutt 12 S Luus c Mooney b Schutt 21 M du Preez c Lanning b Kimmince 0 L Wolvaardt not out 41 CL Tryon c Lanning b Jonassen 1 N de Klerk not out 6 Extras (nb 1) 1 TOTAL (13 Overs, RR: 7.07) 92-5 Yet to bat: T Chetty †, S Ismail, A Khaka, N Mlaba Fall of wickets: 1-20 (Lizelle Lee, 2.5 ov), 2-23 (Dane van Niekerk, 3.6 ov), 3-24 (Mignon du Preez, 4.5 ov), 4-71 (Sune Luus, 11.2 ov), 5-79 (Chloe Tryon, 12.1 ov)’ BOWLING M Schutt (3-0-17-2) JL Jonassen (3-0-281) S Molineux (2-0-161) DM Kimmince (3-0-161) NJ Carey (2-0-15-0)

India into maiden Women’s T20 World Cup final after washout

I

ndia were through to their first ever Women’s T20 World Cup final after torrential Sydney rain washed out any hopes of even a truncated contest against England, a side they had never beaten in T20 World Cups in five attempts. This now leaves India with the delicious prospect of playing in front of a packed MCG crowd on March 8, also celebrated as International Women’s Day. They will meet the winner of South Africa and Australia, also due to be played at the SCG, later on Thursday. In the event of that match also being abandoned, India will meet South Africa in the grand finale as the rule book favours group-toppers in case of a washout.

The rain would come as a crushing blow for England, who were denied an opportunity to top their group despite having the same number of wins as South Africa.

However, South Africa finished with an extra point after their Tuesday’s clash against West Indies at the Sydney Showground Stadium was abandoned without a ball bowled.

Earlier that evening, Thailand were denied a chance to push for their first ever World Cup win, over Pakistan. So, the weather leading up to semi-final day was dodgy in Sydney. The absence of a reserve day would have only added to England’s anxiety.

Thursday dawned dark and grey, with heavy morning showers leaving the ground staff with little or no

Sydney Cricket Ground was wet on semi-finals day (Getty Images)

opportunity to look beneath the covers. That meant even scheduled inspections were out of question.

For India, though, the

opportunity to contest in a final is in many ways an opportunity well-deserved.

They played an intensely competitive tri-series in the

build-up in Australia, where they beat both England and Australia in the round-robin phase. Then they topped their pool here, a no mean

feat given because they had Australia and New Zealand to contend with. (ESPN Cricinfo)

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020

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WDCA’s President’s Cup T20 Competition…

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Zeeburg defeat All Youths B ꟷ Renee, Drakes dominate match

I

n the West Demerara Cricket Association’s President’s Cup T20 Competition, the Zeeburg Sports Club battled the ‘All Youths B’ Team on Sunday in a one-sided affair that resulted in a 141run triumph for Zeeburg through the dominant performances of Ronaldo Renee, Travis Drakes and Andre Seepersaud.

Played at the Zeeburg ground, where many of their record-breaking victories have been recorded, Zeeburg won the toss and batted first, fully expecting the outcome to be business as usual.

However, things did not go their way, and they found themselves tied down from the first delivery bowled as, maintaining a disciplined line and

length, the All Youths side had their opponents struggling for runs.

Fortunately, that situation did not last for long, as Ronaldo Renee came to the crease and blasted the ball to all parts of the Zeeburg ground. In the end, Renee added 68 runs to the Zeeburg total, inclusive of seven boundaries and three maximums.

He was also supported

by Zeeburg’s ever-reliable batsmen: Ricardo Poloram and Yutesh Dhanpaul, who each scored 21; and Ushedeva Balgobin, who led from the front with a handy cameo. Zeeburg were thus able to post 1756 in their allotted 20 overs.

The only bowler to make an impact for the ‘All Youths B’ was D Persaud, who took 2-22.

Needing 176 for victory from 120 balls, ‘All Youths B’ also faltered from the first delivery bowled. They made horrible use of the powerplay overs, and were indecisive in rotation of the strike. They failed to put away the bad balls, and made a mockery of themselves when they attacked the good balls.

Travis Drakes with his medium pace exacted revenge for the Zeeburg side by producing pace, swing and bounce from his deliveries, while maintaining a proper line and length.

Drakes ended with figures of 4-11 as ‘All Youths B’ were bowled out for 34 in 14.2 overs. Supporting Drake’s efforts, Andre Seepersaud was able to snare 2-11.

WDCA President’s Cup T20 Competition…

Ronaldo Renee contributed a brilliant 68 for Zeeburg

“Hit It For 50” schools’ windball cricket competition…

Underdogs Belle Vue Tucville, Soesdyke, Business School defeat CI Western Warriors by 49 runs record victories

A

ction in the “Hit It For 50” schools’ windball cricket competition that was played during the course of the week produced notable wins for Tucville and Soesdyke Secondary, and for The Business School, among others, in the male and female categories being contested at the National Gymnasium.

S o e s d y k e Secondary battled Tucville

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The only bowler to do any damage was Johnathan Alves, who managed to bag two wickets.

Needing 137 for victory, North Ruimveldt gave their opponents a scare, before excellent bowling from R Ramjatan, who managed to take 2 wickets at key moments in the game, restricted them to 111-3.

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The victorious Belle Vue

he latest action in the West Demerara Cricket Association’s President’s Cup T20 Competition has seen the underdogs Belle Vue Cricket Club triumph over the mighty Cornelia Ida Western Warriors in a thrilling encounter played on Sunday at the Zeeburg Sports Club ground.

Belle Vue, having won the toss, batted first and posted 189-7 in their 20 overs.

Representing Belle Vue, West Demerara Under-17 Captain Nicholas Rajpat made a brilliant 72 not out off 43 balls (9x4,1x6).

This level-headed batsman showed his class in not aggressively attempting to smash many maximums, although he spanked some im-

pressive boundaries.

His efforts were ably supported by: Colin Boucher, with 26 off 14 balls (5x4); Randy Ramrup, with 23 off 19 balls (2x4,1x6); Ravi Prasad, with 18 off 11 balls (4x4); and Krishna Singh, with 12 off 6 balls (1x4,1x6).

Bowling for CI Western Warriors, M. Razack produced figures of 3-37 off 4 overs, and Nicholas Pooran, 2-28 off 3 overs.

CI Western Warriors, in replying to Belle Vue’s 1897, made 140-6 in their 20 overs. The Warriors had a bad day at the office, with S. Brown being the only one to turn in a valiant effort, as he scored 60 not out (11x4,1x6) off 28 balls. He seemingly was the only player who could read the pitch, and his aggressive disposition had

the Bell Vue bowlers obviously worried.

After his wicket had fallen, everything went downhill for the CI Western Tigers; although N. Shivkumar, with 35 (3x4,2x6) off 30 balls played a resistant knock alongside N. Khan, whose 13 not out (1x4) came off 14 balls. However, neither batsman received support in producing their handy cameos.

Bowling for Belle Vue, Paul Ashby returned figures of 2-29 off 4 overs, which included 1 maiden; Randy Ramrup returned figures of 2-33 off 4 overs; and Safraz Baksh and Colin Boucher each bagged one wicket.

Thus Belle Vue jumped in celebration as they recorded yet another win to their name.

Tyrell Henry and Yanick Norton contributed 96 and 57 runs respectively to The Business School total

Secondary in a thrilling encounter in the female category.

Batting first, Soesdyke posted 75-2, with Shanan Petal contributing a fighting 36. This, however, was not enough to prevent Tucville from steamrolling the Soesdyke side and ending on 81-1, of which Kaiza London blasted a quickfire 37.

In the male category, Soesdyke Secondary battled newcomers North Ruimveldt Multilateral. Batting first, Soesdyke made a dominant 136-3 through Tyrell Henry’s 96 not out, which included 12 towering sixes.

Ramjatan managed to restrict Yanick Norton to 57 when he could have won the game for his school.

The final match of the day involved The Business School battling East Ruimveldt in a one-sided affair. Batting first, The Business School posted a commanding 161-2 through the efforts of Jeffrey Blair and Damon Gentle, who recorded 70 and 60 runs respectively.

In reply, East Ruimveldt struggled to post 113-2, with Ranaldo Baldeo scoring a valiant 56 in a losing effort.

22

FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championships…

“THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT” ꟷ says Head Coach Dr Ivan Joseph

D

r Ivan Joseph, Head Coach of the Lady Jags, Guyana’s female Under-20 Football Team, has expressed both pride in this team, and satisfaction with the way they have had performed in the CONCACAF W o m e n ’ s U n d e r - 2 0 Championships, after they bowed out of the competition on Wednesday evening.

This Guyana team lost the quarterfinal game to Haiti through a hat-trick from Haitian midfielder Melchie Durmonay, but Head Coach Dr I v a n Joseph has explained that the team were fully aware of the challenge they were up against.

“I looked at it (the challenge) and I saw the scores of Haiti going into the game, and I would be lying if I said that the team wasn’t a little nervous. (In Haiti’s) last game, they beat Barbados 12-0, so this team has been rolling through the tournament. If they went on to win this tournament, I

wouldn’t be surprised,” Dr Joseph noted.

Giving Haiti their rightful praise for a game well played, Coach Dr Joseph also commended the Guyanese XI, who fought valiantly until the final whistle was blown. “ W e played one of t h e v e r y b e s t

counter, Dr Joseph highlighted Haiti’s constant training and preparedness, while touch-

their own school system; they’ve been training 11 and a

cheering us on. We felt your love and support, and we appreciate the support of all of you.

We look forward

teams we’ve seen in the tournament.

Haiti was physical, fast, technical, tactically sound, well organized and disciplined; and we were over-matched.

Having said that, I’m proud of the way the (Guyanese) girls played. They fought with heart, they hustled to the end, they were committed, they worked hard, I’m proud of the effort and how they portrayed themselves in this tournament,” he explained.

Delving deeper into what Guyana lacked going into this quarterfinal en-

Action was intense in Wednesday evening’s CONCACAF U-20 game featuring Guyana and Haiti

ing on the fact that the Guyanese team are not so privileged.

“If you look at Haiti, you could see what the investment of the government, the Federation and FIFA can do. That team has been together; they have their own academy,

half months a year, retraining 5 hours a day; and they have a full-time staff of three. And for us to even be able to be on the field as them is a testament to how well this team has played,” Dr Joseph explained.

This Head Coach has thanked the

Guyanese diaspora for their support during the tournament, and has expressed his optimism about the future for Guyanese female football.

“I just want to say a quick ‘Thank you!’ to all our fans and supporters back in Guyana, who have been following along and

to what’s to come; the future is bright,” he enthused.

Haiti, USA, The Dominican Republic and defending champions Mexico are the final four teams in the CONCACAF U20 championships.

(Jemima Holmes)

GCB’s Superbet Senior Female Inter-County Tournament…

Berbice, Demerara record superb performances done by the Berbicians.

For the Select U-19 team, Jamie Campbell took 2-76 as she accounted f o r the wickets o f

C

Mandy Mangru receiving an award from GCB Assistant Secretary Anil Persaud

aptain of the Berbice Trophy Stall Senior Female Team, Shabika Gajnabi, continued to prove herself in a class by herself when she stroked an unbeaten 215 against the Select U-19 Team in a match played at the Everest Cricket Club ground yesterday.

Gajnabi slammed 25

fours and six maximums in her brutal knock in the opening round of the Guyana Cricket Board’s Superbet Senior Female Inter-County Tournament.

The Berbice Trophy Stall Female Team racked up 4122 in 37.4 overs, with senior cricketer Tremayne Smartt also contributing an unbeaten 64 in the demolition job

Marian Samaroo (08) and S h e r i c a Campbell (39), while Berbice’s opening batter Katana Mentore was run out for 25.

However, rain had the final say in this match, and the Select Under-19 Team did not get a chance to post a score.

And in a match played at Enmore, Demerara’s off-spinner Mandy Mangru spun webs around a jaded Essequibo

t e a m ,

who w e r e bowled out for 18 runs scored in 13.3 overs.

M a n g r u bagged 5-2 in 3.3 overs, while skipper Akaze Thompson claimed 3-9 in three overs. Extras contributed seven, the topscore for Essequibo.

Demerara cruised to a nine-wicket win, with Mangru ending on six while Latoya Smith made seven.

The second round of play will be on Saturday, March 7, when the Berbice Trophy Stall will meet Essequibo at Enmore, while the Select U-19 Team will play Demerara at GCC, B o u r d a .

(Brandon Corlette)

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020

23

CWI/PCL Regional 4-Day Tournament…

Singh braves weather and Cornwall's craftiness Story and Photos by Brandon Corlette

S

howing great resistance to the wiles of the Leeward Islands bowlers, Vishaul Singh registered an unbeaten 53 on a rain-hit opening day of play in Guyana’s seventh round clash against the Leeward Islands.

This was in the Cricket West Indies (CWI) Professional Cricket League (PCL) Regional 4-Day Tournament, wherein the Guyana Jaguars ended that first day on 115-4 at the Guyana National Stadium, after only 54 overs of play were possible.

West Indies off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall was responsible for the destruction with 4-41 in 21 top overs,

Rahkeem Cornwall bowls

which included five maidens.

The Guyana Jaguars had won the toss and elected to bat first. They made two changes to their batting line-up, with Tevin Imlach opening the batting and Gudakesh Motie replacing Keon Joseph.

Imlach and the outof-form Tagenarine Chanderpaul had a slow start to the innings, adding only 13 runs in nine overs. After Imlach’s defence was breached by Cornwall -- the right-hander being bowled all ends up for two --

Leon Johnson cuts one during his promising innings

Chanderpaul was trapped in front by the same bowler one run later, after scoring only nine runs. Chanderpaul’s scratchy innings came to an end after he had faced 40 balls.

The senior left-handed duo of Vishaul Singh and his skipper Leon Johnson then joined forces, but rain descended on the Providence Stadium with the score on 30-2.

Rain interrupted play on four occasions during the day. The first came at 10:59h, when the score was at 64-2; then again when the score was at 68-2; and still again when the score was at 82-2, when tea was taken. A two-hour, 16-minute delay was the longest of the four delays.

Johnson and Singh added 73 runs to the score, before Cornwall bowled Johnson for 35 after he had hit five elegant fours in his 89-ball innings.

Johnson departed with the score on 87-3 after 42.3 overs. Then Christopher Barnwell hit one to mid-wicket and was the fourth of Cornwall's wickets, with the score on 99-4.

Barnwell made eight from 10 balls.

Singh and Raymon Reifer

Vishaul Singh en route to a gritty half-century

then ensured there was no further hiccup as Jaguars ended on 115-4 after 54 overs. Singh battled for 131 balls and hit four boundaries

in his brave innings.

Jaguars will be resuming the day with the aim of posting a decent first innings total.

SCOREBOARD Jaguars 1st Innings Tagenarine Chanderpaul lbw b Cornwall Tevin Imlach b Cornwall Leon Johnson b Cornwall Vishaul Singh not out Christopher Barnwell c Jangoo b Cornwall Raymon Reifer not out Total (4 wickets, 54.0) (4 extras) 115

9 2 35 53 8 4

FOW 13/1 (8.6) Tevin Imlach 14/2 (12.2) Tagenarine Chanderpaul 87/3 (42.3) Leon Johnson 99/4 (44.2) Christopher Barnwell Bowling Sheeno Berridge (1-0-1-0) Jeremiah Louis (14-5-27-0) Rahkeem Cornwall (21-5-41-4) Kian Pemberton (9-1-29-0) Terance Ward (7-1-12-0) Kieran Powell (2-0-5-0)

Superbet backs GCB Female Inter-County Tournament ꟷ set to brand Regional Team, which is to be submitted by March 13

P

Sponsor Superbet, GCB officials and players at the launch

opular online betting website Superbet has thrown its support behind the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) for the Female Inter-County Tournament and the upcoming Regional Women's Tournament.

At a simple launching ceremony held at the Everest Cricket Club before the first ball was bowled in the clash between Berbice and the Select U-19 Team, Secretary of the Guyana Cricket Board, Anand Sanasie, expressed his gratitude to the sponsor of this tournament, Superbet.

"For a very long time, the GCB has been looking to secure sponsors for ladies’ cricket. As you know, we invest heavily in the Under-17 Franchise, which we hope to take at the senior level. As we know, finance is always a

constraint," Sanasie posited.

Highlighting that Superbet is on board for the Inter-County Tournament as well as the Regional Women’s Tournament, Sanasie disclosed, "Those selected (to play) in the Regional tournament will be carrying the Superbet brand.”

The GCB Secretary added that postponing the tournament was not an option.

"For those who are worried about the current situation with the Guyana elections, we would have to hope that things pan out okay, and we will be having added security (to ensure) that players are protected," Sanasie declared.

The Senior Regional Women’s Tournament will be played in Guyana, and the Female Regional U-19

Tournament will overlap.

This means that there will be two separate teams sub-

mitted. These timelines were set by Cricket West Indies, and the local boards

must meet these timelines, Sanasie explained.

Sanasie has thanked Superbet for its inaugural sponsorship of this tournament.

Meanwhile, GCB Territorial Developmental Officer (TDO) Colin Stuart has posited that the sponsorship is a positive intervention for Guyana’s cricket and its marketing unit. He opined that the GCB is widening its arms in partnering with corporate Guyana, and noted that Superbet has the distinct benefit of effectively addressing the needs of three critical development areas: in the field of player promotion, namely the current highest domestic female championship tour-

Nickoli Primo, Anand Sanasie and Colin Stuart (Brandon Corlette photos)

nament; the U19 age group category of female players; and, in general, the critical area of female cricket, which is an area of needed growth.

He further stressed that this dovetails with the GCB’s plans to structure women’s cricket in a comparative manner, as is done for male focused cricket, and the inaugural Superbet sponsorship inevitably lends support to such a cause.

Speaking on behalf of Superbet, Marketing Assistant Nickoli Primo was high in praise of the GCB, and highlighted Superbet’s profound interest in collaborating on such a venture, which has immense potential to enhance the cricketing lives of those involved: the U19 girls and senior female players.

He indicated that the two forces, GCB and Superbet, have the capacity and ability to transform the management of female cricket to the extent that those participating females can reap great rewards.

The tournament will be played in three rounds. In the second round, which is slated for March 7, Berbice will play Essequibo at Enmore, while the Select U-19 Team will meet Demerara at the GCC, Bourda.

The final round will see Berbice and Demerara playing at GCC, Bourda, while Essequibo and the Select U-19 will meet at Enmore on Sunday, March 8. (Brandon Corlette)

FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020

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