Guyana Times Monday, July 20, 2020

Political, P COVID-19 crises must pave way for new social contract – UN Resident Rep 11

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

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Issue No. 4352

MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020

US's security, economic and governance aid threatened if democracy undermined ꟷ US Ambassador Page 2

… says "will" of Guyanese must be respected

Sanctions will affect everyone if APNU/AFC continues to defy int’l community – Ramkarran Page 3

...Granger bemoaned effects of sanctions back in 2015

CJ to rule today on APNU/AFC agent’s petition to block recount-based declaration See story on page 7

PNC’s Alexander always insisted GECOM would use recount figures for declaration Page 15

Grant funding to Guyana plummets in 1st quarter of 2020 Page 9

ꟷ drop by over 90%, coinciding with period of election "rigging"

PRICE

$80 VAT INCLUDED

WHAT'S INSIDE:

P14 9 new COVID-19 cases confirmed in 3 hinterland Regions ꟷ active cases now at 159

Father of 2 stabbed P15 by wife during drinking spree

Cashier fights off armed bandit during attempted P8 robbery

Teen stabbed to death during argument over gold P14

21 Indigenous villages in Region 9 under lockdown amid COVID-19 pandemic P10

2 NEWS

MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

US’s security, economic and governance aid threatened if democracy undermined ꟷ US Ambassador … says “will” of Guyanese must be respected

US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch

U

nited States Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch said that if Guyana continues to thread down an undemocratic path then this could cause implicit danger for the ongoing partnerships between the two countries.

Ambassador Lynch made this remark during an engagement with the media on Thursday to discuss the visa restrictions imposed by the US on Guyanese Government and elections officials, and their immediate family members, responsible for or complicit in undermining Guyana’s democracy.

These restrictions were announced on Wednesday last by Secretary of State,

Mike Pompeo, who said in a subsequent statement that Guyana’s non-democratic trajectory is dangerous for its citizens and the hemisphere as a whole.

He had noted that this move by the US sends a clear message of the consequences of subverting democracy and the rule of law, which pose a danger to not just the North American nation but also hemispheric partners.

These sentiments were repeated by the US diplomat during her interaction with the media.

Asked about what danger was the Secretary of State referring to, Ambassador Lynch explained that the US has partnered with Guyana for years in several critical areas including the security front, governance front and prosperity front. These, she noted, are in danger.

“So, we look further to working with Guyana in the future [as] a secure, stable, prosperous country, as well as region. So, there are implicit dangers in all of those areas that we would like to avoid and we believe that we can do that best by working together as we have in the past…,” the US envoy had stated.

Caretaker President David Granger

Moreover, Ambassador Lynch further expressed that the turn of events since the March 2 elections is “highly disappointing”. She noted that after cautioning for several months about the consequences of undermining democracy, the US has stood by its words.

“We continue to hope that the will of Guyanese people will be respected and will prevail. This country has a very bright future and we look forward to partnering with a democratically elected Government in Guyana,” she asserted.

Following these visa sanctions by the US, Canada and the United Kingdom are also likely to follow suit.

In fact, the UK announced that it has already started

the process of putting “consequences in place” against individuals in Guyana.

Meanwhile, the US is not the only one with concerns about the impact of Guyana’s political and electoral impasse in the hemisphere.

The Organisation of American States (OAS) has been vocal on Guyana’s situation and only last week, called for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to remove persons hindering the democratic process as well as for

a credible conclusion of the protracted electoral process so that the country can remain a democracy.

In fact, the Permanent Council of the OAS will be holding a special virtual meeting this Tuesday, July 21, to consider the state of the electoral process in Guyana. The meeting is scheduled to commence at 14:30h and will be livestreamed on the OAS’ various social media platform.

However, the 35-member hemispheric body is not the only group of which

Guyana is a signatory that will be meeting to discuss the country’s ongoing electoral crisis.

The Caribbean Community (Caricom) is also expected to meet to discuss Guyana’s protracted electoral process. Current Chairman of the 15-member regional bloc, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr Ralph Gonsalves recently disclosed that the leaders from the various Member States are likely to also meet on Tuesday.

Man arraigned for killing ex-father-in-law

A

man who allegedly killed his former fatherin-law during a scuffle was on Friday remanded to prison by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan when he made a virtual appearance at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Zakir Hossain was not required to plead to the indictable offence which stated that on June 25, 2020, at Riverview Ruimveldt, Georgetown, he murdered Alexi Gomes.

It was reported that on June 21, 2020, Gomes saw the suspect and his grandson in the area and stretched out his arms to hug the little boy but

Hossain reportedly got angry and punched him.

It was also reported that a scuffle ensued between the 54-year-old man and the suspect during which Hossain picked up a piece of wood and dealt him several blows to his head.

The man was picked up in an unconscious state by a relative and escorted to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), where he succumbed a few days later.

A post-mortem examination (PME) revealed that Gomes’ cause of death was as a result of blunt trauma to the head.

Dead: Alexi Gomes

The matter was reported to the Ruimveldt Police Station, and Hossain was arrested following an investigation. The suspect will make his next court appearance today.

NEWS

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MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Monday, July 20 – 04:30h – 06:00h and 14:30h – 16:00h and Tuesday, July 21 – 05:00h – 06:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Monday, July 20 – 16:45h – 18:15h and Tuesday, July 21 – 17:10h – 18:40h.

Sanctions will affect everyone if APNU/AFC continues to defy int’l community – Ramkarran ...Granger bemoaned effects of sanctions back in 2015

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY

Thundery showers and light rain showers will prevail during the day. There will be partly cloudy skies and light rain showers at night.

Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: South South-Easterly to East South-Easterly to Easterly to East North-Easterly to North-Easterly between 1.78 metres and 3.57 metres.

High Tide: 16:35h reaching a maximum height of 2.53 metres.

Low Tide: 10:07h and 22:21h reaching minimum heights of 0.57 metre and 0.69 metre.

COMMODITIES Indicators

US$

Change %

Crude Oil

$43.14/barrel

-0.53

Rough Rice

$212.99 /ton

+0.13

London Sugar

$352.40/ton

0

Live Spot Gold

USD Per Ounce

Bid/Ask

$1806.90

$1807.90

Low/High

$1805.00

$1811.40

Change

-3.40

-0.19%

ANUG Presidential Candidate Ralph Ramkarran

F

ormer Speaker of the House, Ralph Ramkarran has expressed fears that if A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) continues to defy the international community to hold on to power, it will not go well for Guyana.

In his writings for the “Conversation Tree”, Ramkarran detailed the different stages of sanctions and the effects they can have on Guyana. Ramkarran, a Senior Counsel and Presidential Candidate for A New and United Guyana (ANUG), noted that it is not only APNU/ AFC and their enablers that have to worry.

“If APNU+AFC intends to continue thumbing its nose at the international community, and refusing to declare the election results based on the recount, the sanctions imposed on APNU+AFC and election officials will extend to their families, then their enablers, then will extend to economic sanctions, direct and indirect, against APNU+AFC and election officials, their families and the country as a whole,” Ramkarran stated in his column on Sunday.

Sanctions, according to Ramkarran, can impact not only Guyana’s economy but also its standing within the international community. In addition, sanctions will derail the funding for development projects that Guyana currently collects.

“International cooperation, including funding for projects, access to resources and loans will dry up. Guyana’s relations with the OAS (Organisation of American States), the Commonwealth and Caricom, will be adversely affected. Oil resources will become inaccessible. This is the future that awaits Guyana and its people.”

But it is not as if APNU/ AFC is oblivious to the effect sanctions can have on the population. Back in 2015, then Opposition Leader David Granger in an interview with Annette Ferguson had acknowledged the damage sanctions have on a country. In Granger’s own words at the time, it is the ordinary people that suffer the most from sanctions.

“Sanctions, inevitably, will affect all Guyanese citizens.

We will all suffer, once there are sanctions. The question is, who will suffer the most. And whether that period of suffering, which is bound to be short,

is going to have the effect of bringing about a change in Government’s behaviour.”

“I do believe so. Sanctions would have a short-term effect. And we all hope the Government would be wise enough to act so that sanctions are not prolonged. Other countries in the Commonwealth have been sanctioned for breach of democracy. And it is in the interest of Guyana to avoid these sanctions,” Granger had said during that interview.

Election impasse

It is now approaching five months since Guyanese went to the polls and voted. A National Recount had shown that the opposition People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) won the elections with 233,336 votes while the APNU/AFC coalition garnered 217,920.

Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chair, Retired Justice Singh had written to Chief Elections Officer

Back in 2015, then Opposition Leader David Granger seemed well aware of what sanctions would do to Guyana

on unsubstantiated allegations of dead and migrant voters, made by the APNU/AFC. Lowenfield’s actions caused an immediate uproar and the varying sides found themselves in the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) for the Irfaan Ali et al v Eslyn David et al case.

Among other decisions, the CCJ ruled that Lowenfield’s report which arbitrarily disen-

“Sanctions, inevitably, will affect all Guyanese citizens. We will all suffer, once there are sanctions. The question is, who will suffer the most. And whether that period of suffering, which is bound to be short, is going to have the effect of bringing about a change in Government’s behaviour” – Granger on sanctions, 2015 (CEO) Keith Lowenfield and instructed him to prepare a final report based on the recount.

Instead, Lowenfield had submitted a report invalidating over 115,000 votes based

franchised voters was invalid and that the concerns raised by the APNU/AFC coalition must be addressed in an elections petition.

The GECOM Chair wrote Lowenfield again, instructing him to submit his report

so that the President could be declared. However, Lowenfield then engaged in a back and forth with the Chair in which sections of the CCJ judgement were twisted and misconstrued.

He then submitted a fraudulent report to Retired Justice Singh, in which he included the fraudulent declarations of embattled Returning Officer for Region Four Clairmont Mingo, which inaccurately shows that the PPP/C gained 80,920 votes while the APNU/AFC received 116,941 votes in Region Four.

The inaccuracy of those numbers was widely proven during the recount exercise, as it was unearthed that Mingo heavily inflated the votes in favour of the APNU/AFC to give them a false victory.

Last week, seemingly fed up of the multiple efforts by APNU/AFC to thwart the work of GECOM, the United States announced that they are slapping officials in Guyana who are undermining democracy, with visa restrictions.

The decision was announced by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, during a press conference. According to Pompeo, these visa restrictions can also be applied to the immediate family members of those persons.

Pompeo did not name the officials who were targeted. Indeed, US Ambassador to Guyana Sarah-Ann Lynch has said that for privacy reasons, the names will not be disclosed. However, this publication has received reports that the list includes a prominent financier of the APNU/AFC Government, as well as several APNU/AFC Ministers, election officials and even judicial officers.

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guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, JULY 20, 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

The damage by the PNC T

he COVID-19 pandemic, which erupted in China last December and has now spread across the globe, has presented a unique challenge to even the most developed nations that have served as our model of development since independence.

In Guyana, peaking concomitantly with the elections crisis precipitated by the PNC’s insistence on clinging to power through the blatant rigging of the polls, the Government’s response has unfortunately been more political than medical. This posture guarantees that the disaster we have seen inflicted on the economies of the developed world will be more intense and long lasting here.

The Government launched what it dubbed a “Ministerial COVID-19 Task Force” on March 14, less than two weeks after the General Elections of March 2, which by then had become mired in fraud with the manipulations of Region Four Returning Officer (RO) Clairmont Mingo. The Task Force was headed by caretaker PM Moses Nagamootoo and included eight Ministers, but unlike Trinidad that experienced its first case at the same time, did not institute a coherent response immediately.

On April 5, a draconian national plan, patterned on a colonial-era response to epidemics, was finally unfurled. It involved a national curfew; restriction on working places to permit only essential services and the closing of the international airports along with powers given to the authorities to seize properties in the course of their dealing with the pandemic.

These martial-law type restrictions were viewed with great apprehension that was further heightened when on April 24, Joseph Harmon, the erstwhile head of the Ministry of the Presidency, was made the CEO of the Secretariat of what was now described as the National Coronavirus Task Force (NCTF). He immediately inserted himself into the political process by mandating there could only be 10 workstations at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) to conduct the recount of the ballots that had been agreed to by then to resolve the impasse occasioned by the Mingo corruption of the Statements of Poll tabulation. The Opposition had proposed at least double that number since the restricted number would have stretched out the recount to an unconscionable 25 days at best. As it turned out even this had to be extended.

The politicisation of the COVID response extended as far as insisting that the results of tests on suspected COVID infected patients be sent directly to the Minister of Health – not coincidentally, also the PNC Chair – rather than the medical personnel treating the patients. Finally, there was a surprise announcement by the NCTF that the decrepit Ocean View Hotel, on the outskirts of Georgetown, and owned by a Government supporter and financier, would be appropriated at an unknown cost and be converted to a dedicated COVID hospital at a cost of at least $1 billion. At this point, not even the building has been completed.

Against this background, it is not surprising that the COVID infection and death rates, continue to escalate with the latter almost double that of other countries. As such, it is expected that even though a phased loosening of the restrictions of the COVID plan has begun, Guyana’s economy will be adversely affected for a much longer period than say Trinidad and Tobago, where there was the very early and disciplined non-political response to the epidemic.

But in addition to the COVID blow to our economy, Guyana and Guyanese have received an even more vicious double whammy in the form of the forces the PNC has unleashed in the wake of their attempted heist of the elections. Directly, they have forced the international community, led by the US in the form of visa restrictions, to take action against those in the Government and GECOM who conspired to subvert democracy here. Almost certainly, these will be ratcheted up to more personal sanctions such as freezing of the perpetrators’ assets. But the greater damage will fall on the country, since the international business community that is critical to our economic recovery and development will have become very skittish in dealing with the country.

PNC violence after losing an election Dear Editor, It is now an undeniable historical fact that the PNC rigged the elections of 1968, 1973, 1980 and 1985 as well as the referendum in 1978 and from all the evidence, there are now desperate attempts to rig the 2020 elections. What is equally undeniable is the fact that whenever the PPP won an election, more often than not, the PNC greeted this with mayhem, violence, looting and burning.

When in 1961 the PPP won the elections, the PNC held mass demonstrations, a general strike and severe inter-racial violence. This ceased when the PNC coalesced with the UF and formed the 1964 Government and there was a marked hiatus through the entire rigging history of the PNC from 1968 to 1985 and then it began with great intensity again in 1992 after the PNC lost power and continued until the PPP/C lost the elections in 2015, except for 2006 and 2011.

In 1992, even as the voting process was in progress, the PNC transported several busloads and trucks of more than 1500 of their supporters to GECOM’s Head Office where they began violent demonstrations, claiming that their names were not on the voters’ list. They threw stones and other missiles at the building, breaking windows and even injuring the US Ambassador, Mr George Jones. The wellplanned protests then moved to the streets.

It was later found out that these persons were going to the wrong room to vote. The voting hours were extended by 1 hour to make amends.

Despite this, some persons from the mob began looting stores in the business area in Georgetown and violently attacking people in the streets, resulting in two deaths and extensive damage to property. It was only after the intervention of President Carter that the violence subsided.

There was no doubt that some persons in the PNC wanted to use the protests to claim that the 1992 elec-

tions were not free and fair and a point to note is that at one point the Region Four Returning Officer could not be located and refused to submit his figures (OAS Report) but the ‘Quick Count’ by The Carter Center had already placed the PPP/C as the victors. The Carter Center report also stated that “…violence, intimidation, and attempts to manipulate the process did occur…observers witnessed disturbances in Georgetown, Linden and New Amsterdam.” The PNC thus began a trend characterised by “slow fyah, mo fyah!”

In 1997, the OAS reported “a serious breakdown of the electoral process after the ballots were counted” and again the Region Four results were not being released, causing tension to escalate. The reports stated that “The Chairman and the Chief Elections Officer had announced that another reason for the delay in the Region 4 results was that the Statement of Polls were incorrect or incomplete or had been locked inside the ballot boxes”. During the verification process, Robert Corbin from the PNC withdrew his delegation from the process, alleging discrepancies.

However, they returned later. It would seem that Region Four votes were always targeted for manipulation after the attempt in 1992.

In this election, the PNC failed in its bid to prevent the swearing-in of Mrs Janet Jagan as the President.

However, the PNC alleged that the elections were fraudulent and refused to accept Janet Jagan as President.

This was so despite all the international observer groups and Caricom reporting that the elections were free from any manipulation. Now again we see this being played out in the courts with the PNC alleging that the 2020 elections were fraudulent.

Once again in the aftermath of the 1997 elections, illegal and violent protests by the PNC and its supporters created havoc to the lives of mainly Indo Guyanese who were brutally beaten, robbed

and molested. The PNC has a history of murders, rapes, discrimination, theft, lootings and riggings and it is always the Indo Guyanese bearing the brunt of it. Having done all these wrongs, the PNC was awarded with the curtailment of the PPP/C’s term in office by two years by the Caricom-brokered Herdmanston Accord.

In the 2001 elections, the PPP/C once again emerged the victor securing 35 seats as against 27 by the PNC. And again “there were serious incidents of violence and rioting in Georgetown, the capital city, following the announcement of the results”.

The Carter Center found that “the voters freely expressed their democratic choices and that the official results reflected the will of the voters”.

Despite this, it added that “Guyana’s electoral achievements have been marred by arson, post-election street violence…”

In 2006, The Carter Center report stated that “In comparison to previous elections, the most striking difference in this election was the absence of pre- and post-election violence and polling protests. These findings are consistent with the findings of the OAS, European Union, Commonwealth and EAB”.

It had seemed then that Guyana was reaching some semblance of political maturity.

The same pattern followed in 2011 but the real reason was that in 2006, the AFC arrived on the political scene and by 2011 it was apparent that they were working in tandem to topple the PPP/C from Government, thus there was no need for the PNC to tarnish its image on the international scene.

Then in 2015, they accomplished their mission. They coalesced and successfully took over the reins of power.

There was no post-election violence. However, what must be borne in mind was that the corridor of power in GECOM was subtly being shifted in favour of the PNC. It must be recalled that recounts requested by the PPP/C were

never granted and elections petitions languished in the courts.

However, the APNU/AFC coalition did not last long and with just over three years in Government, they were effectively ousted by a vote of no confidence on December 21, 2018. As they say, the rest is history and after more than a year later, on March 2, 2020, voters went to the poll.

But until now, more than four months later, and after several fraudulent reports by the CEO preceded by the usual shenanigans and attempted fraud by the Region Four Returning Officer that were in the making since 1992, the stymied electoral process is still being challenged in the courts by the PNC. However, in the meantime, as a prelude to what will follow, three Government buildings have already been set on fire, angry street protests have become a daily feature, an effigy of the GECOM Chair is burnt, threats to life and property are being made on social media whilst the leaders of the coalition have been stoking racial strife and disharmony by peddling to their supporters that they have won the 2020 elections but the PPP/C has defrauded them. The coalition knows fully well that they have lost the 2020 elections but is bent of attacking the entire world in their insane quest to hold on to power, like the Pied Piper, leading their followers to destruction.

There is no doubt that we are getting closer to a PPP/C Government being installed but the question is: Will Granger and the other coalition leaders know when enough is enough and concede to their supporters that they lost the elections? Will they display the same political maturity they did in 2006 and 2011? It is not too late for Granger to now do an aboutturn and ensure the survival of his legacy and his party, the PNC. Guyanese have had enough of ethnic violence!

The price is too high!

Yours sincerely, Haseef Yusuf

Granger’s hypocrisy, duplicity, deceit and lying have now come full circle

Dear Editor, When I first called David Granger a hypocrite, a month ago on 17th of March, and then questioned “his personal credibility and honestly”, on the 22nd March, I was severely criticised by former senior colleagues in the PNC and subject to insults and abuse on Facebook by the likes of Mark Benchop, Rickforde Burke and Mark Devonish, who all conveniently live in the USA and England, and who must not escape the sanction list.

David Granger’s hypocrisy, but much worse, his manifest duplicity and deceit and just plain lying have now come full circle.

This is a man, desperately holding onto power in the face of his party’s defeat at the election, who persistent-

ly claims that his party and his Government is innocent of wrongdoing and has never intervened or interfered in the decisions of GECOM. This is the man who has publicly sworn, more than once, that no matter what, he, his Government and his party, would abide by the decisions of the Chairman of GECOM. Granger’s exact words were: “as President of Guyana and Leader of the Government, it is my policy that any declaration coming from the Chairman of the Elections Commission would be recognised as legitimate by the coalition Government”.

The Chairman of GECOM has, in fact, just declared through her lawyer, KyteThomas, before the Chief Justice (ag) that she expects

the Chief Elections Officer, Lowenfield, to submit the elections results from the recount and that the case before her brought by Granger’s party representative, Misenga Jones, be thrown out.

It is, however, much worse than Granger failing to deliver on his promise to respect the position of the GECOM Chairman. Granger now has his Attorney General, supported by high-priced Trinidad lawyers at court, before the Chief Justice (ag) arguing that the Recount Order (Order 60) is itself illegal and that the results of the entire 33-day recount cannot be used by GECOM. Adding insult to injury, Granger now has his AG arguing before the court, that the Chairman of GECOM is obligated to accept the declaration

made by Lowenfield based on the fraudulent Mingo tabulation of District Four, to declare Granger President.

This is the same Granger, that, on 15th March, signed an Aide Memoir, together with Bharrat Jagdeo, “facilitated by Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados” witnessed by Secretary General of Caricom, Ambassador Irvin LaRoque and also witnessed

by Joe Harman and Raphael Trotman, to “supervise the recount of ballots…from all electoral districts in Regions 1-10…in accordance with the judgement of the court issued by Roxane George, Chief Justice (ag), on 11th March 2020” and to “abide by the outcome of a fair and transparent process for the recount”.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020

5

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

Violence, whether enacted It’s raining now, but the sun will shine again or represented, is wrong Dear Editor, As I watched the rain pouring outside my window, I said to myself “this is a ‘ nice’ rain”. What did I mean?

It was pouring, yes, but at the same time, the sun was shining through. I anticipated that the rain would soon cease. And it did!

Whenever I go online and see one race spouting hateful words at the other, I say to myself...what trash!! Utter nonsense! Don’t these people realise that while they tear each other apart those for

whom they think they are fighting are securely cloistered? Well protected? When we destroy public property, who will suffer? Those in high office whose bread is already well-buttered?

No. It’s ordinary people’s children! So let’s get a grip of ourselves! We display some measure of togetherness before elections, and regardless of the outcome of these elections, we can and must continue to live harmoniously!!

Negative reactions are

often fuelled by fear. We all fall prey to this emotion at some time or other, but it need not engulf us for it robs us of peace and fills us with distrust. Let’s join with the Psalmist and say: “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You... In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?” Psalm 56:3-4.

It’s raining now but the sun will shine again!

Respectfully, Claudia Heywood

USA’s Yvette Clarke and Hakim Jeffries hypocrisy unveiled Dear Editor, I write in response to to the recent statements made by Yvette Clarke and Hakeem Jeffries, in which they have condemned the international community and even their own Government for pressuring the Granger regime to accept that he has lost the elections. It has disappointed me as an endorser to the Democratic Party to see what these two Democrats have endorsed over the past days in my beloved country Guyana.

Congress Woman, Yvette Clarke has publicly condemned the international community and even her own country’s governing Administration, that is, the Trump Administration for quote “interfering in Guyana’s Electoral Process”.

The International Community has done nothing but call for a transparent electoral process in Guyana from the beginning and has now endorsed the call for a declaration using the National Recount data which was monitored by a high-level team from Caricom which was agreed upon by the then, Caricom Chair the Honourable Mia Mottley, the Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo and the caretaker President David Granger.

And recently, personal sanctions which were targeted at those responsible for undermining Guyana’s electoral process and democracy by the USA Government. So, I ask you now Congresswoman, how is calling for a democratic electoral process in Guyana “foreign interference?” And also, how is mounting pres-

sure on those responsible for undermining Guyana’s democracy “foreign interferences?”

Editor, allow me to turn my attention to Congressman Hakeem Jeffries. The Congressman has publicly condemned the USA Government for “intervening” in Guyana’s affairs and has condemned his own Government for putting personal sanctions on the Granger regime, who’s been using our judicial system and other tactics to delay the declaration of the results and hang on to power.

It is the very same Congressman that attended the victory party of the incumbent APNU/AFC back in 2015. And now it’s the very same Congressman, Hakeem Jeffries, and Congresswoman, Yvette Clarke, that wrote to the then Secretary of State John Kerry and called for investigations into the then President Ramotar Administration for quote “disenfranchised the Guyanese people” when the then President had prorogued Guyana’s Parliament.

So I ask now Congressman and Congresswoman, why haven’t you written to Secretary Mike Pompeo for the recent actions taken by the incumbent Granger regime, using our judicial system and other tactics to hang on to power.

I must say as a Guyanese citizen, it is “dictators’ endorsers”, like these two, Congressman and woman, that has gotten Donald Trump into the White House.

The hypocrisy of them is unveiling and we the viewers

Granger’s hypocrisy,...

Today, as you read this, once more, Granger and his lawyers, have the nation before the courts, this time actually attempting to throw out the recount to which he agreed to abide, and return us to a Lowenfield declaration of the count which the entire world, including this writer, witnessed and has condemned as fraudulent.

The words of an ancient proverb come to mind “those whom the gods wish

FROM PAGE 4

to destroy they first make mad”.

David Granger and his immediate family, with the marked exception of Dominic Gaskin and his wife, have earned themselves the place at the head of the list of the sanctions by the Americans, once they continue with this madness.

Sincerely, Kit Nascimento

are seeing it.

Yours truly, Randy Da Silva

Dear Editor, The recent display of effigial violence representing the GECOM Chairperson is a gross, reprehensible and egregious act. This act not only reflects the current political climate Guyana is experiencing but it is an act that can be transposed to violence against women and the vulnerable in the society.

It is a shame that no political leader of either of the main parties have sought to condemn such acts especially given that 1) the holder of the position was agreed upon by both parties; b) it is a historic milestone for women in leadership in Guyana and c) in a climate intensified by COVID-19, violence against women is still a pervasive issue plaguing the society.

For anyone who may have viewed the video posted on social media, this let-

ter is not targeting the participants within the video but rather questioning the authenticity of political leaders and their concerns for their country folk. I am discouraged, unenthused and frustrated presently but the present situation has exposed a lack of courage, will and responsibility among the political leaders.

This long and exhausted situation has further exposed the workings of power as self-serving and disenfranchisement of the ordinary woman and man only as pawns in an atmosphere of misguidance especially with the population being largely uneducated and or stifled at minimal educational levels.

Although Guyana has entered an interesting period, which can be analysed from many perspectives, going forward lies not only in

the hands of political leaders that has seemingly failed us in many ways, but it lies on the ordinary woman and man. We must not only think of ourselves as living within a system with a goal to sustain our lives and families but each of our personal lives is political.

The political, social and economic systems not only influence how we live our lives but we can challenge these systems as well.

Violence, whether enacted or represented, is wrong.

Whether it was the will of the people or the majority that won the elections, lives and livelihoods remain at stake; therefore, without acts of reconciliation and authenticity in leadership, I shudder to fathom looking ahead.

With regards, Lisa Edwards

No, Geoffrey’ you have it wrong…

Dear Editor, I wish to proffer a response to Mr Geoffrey Da Silva’s letter in Stabroek News of July 18, 2020.

My view is that the PNC has shot themselves, not only in the foot, but in their heart as well by their refusal to confront the reality of the outcome of the March 2 elections. I prefer to say PNC, as none of the other parties in that grouping can muster votes in the double figures. As for the AFC, they are now “dead meat”.

The PNC has been shameless in their attempts at bullying their way, so far, in remaining in Government. The pulse of the nation, including many, many of their supporters, and those who voted for them in these elections, in my opinion, have deserted them. One has to only see the numbers they have been able, not for the want of trying, to bring out for their ridiculous attempts at demonstrations.

They have succeeded in incurring the disbelief of not only locals, but regional groupings (Caricom, OAS included) and also further afield like the UK and observers like The Carter Center. In fact, except for a few who do not number the fingers on your two hands, they have no following in the Guyanese diaspora.

As a result of their shameless and insane positions, they alienated much of their support and would find it extremely difficult to win even twenty-five seats in the 2025 elections.

I would be the first to admit that this is not a scientific argument, nor am I a pollster, but I firmly believe that there are decent and fair-minded people in Guyana (like anywhere else in the world) who have seen and abhor the antics and statements of the PNC and would not trust them with their vote at the next election(s).

Try to get the pulse of communities,

my friend, as this should not be an “armchair” theoretically based opinion. One has to get on the ground to gauge people’s feelings.

Finally, whether you accept this or not, I have seen persons outside of the traditional ethnic enclaves who have moved over in supporting the PPP/C in the last elections.

I am convinced that this trend would continue, and hopefully, in the not too distant future, bring an end to the ethnic voting often referred to. This can surely be helped by the policies implemented in the future Government of the PPP/C, hopefully soon to be installed.

Thank you, Geoff, for giving me the opportunity for saying publicly what has been in my thoughts for a few weeks now.

Best regards, Harry N Nawbatt

,

6

MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020

Page

Foundation

Guyana Times is pleased to publish CXC English and Mathematics questions with specimen answers.

CXC QUESTIONS

MATHS

ENGLISH

B

The Tempest

By William Shakespeare Act 1 Scene 2 Cont’d

PROSPERO: I pray thee, mark me.

I, thus neglecting worldly ends, all dedicated To closeness and the bettering of my mind With that which, but by being so retired, O’erprized all popular rate, in my false brother Awaked an evil nature. And my trust, Like a good parent, did beget of him A falsehood in its contrary as great As my trust was, which had indeed no limit, A confidence sans bound. He being thus lorded, Not only with what my revenue yielded But what my power might else exact, like one Who having into truth, by telling of it, Made such a sinner of his memory To credit his own lie—he did believe He was indeed the duke, out o’ th’ substitution And executing th’ outward face of royalty, With all prerogative. Hence his ambition growing— Dost thou hear?

MIRANDA: Your tale, sir, would cure deafness.

PROSPERO: To have no screen between this part he played And him he played it for, he needs will be Absolute Milan. Me, poor man, my library Was dukedom large enough. Of temporal royalties He thinks me now incapable, confederates— So dry he was for sway—wi’ th’ King of Naples To give him annual tribute, do him homage, Subject his coronet to his crown and bend The dukedom yet unbowed—alas, poor Milan! — To most ignoble stooping.

MIRANDA: Oh, the heavens!

PROSPERO: Mark his condition and the event. Then tell me If this might be a brother.

MIRANDA: I should sin To think but nobly of my grandmother.

Good wombs have borne bad sons.

PROSPERO: Now the condition.

The King of Naples, being an enemy To me inveterate, hearkens my brother’s suit, Which was that he, in lieu o’ th’ premises Of homage and I know not how much tribute, Should presently extirpate me and mine Out of the dukedom, and confer fair Milan With all the honors on my brother. Whereon, A treacherous army levied, one midnight Fated to th’ purpose did Antonio open The gates of Milan, and, i’ th’ dead of darkness, The ministers for th’ purpose hurried thence Me and thy crying self.

TO BE CONTINUED

NEWS

7

MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

CJ to rule today on APNU/AFC agent’s petition to block recount-based declaration

Chief Justice (acting) Roxane George

A

ll eyes will be on Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George today as she is expected to rule on the APNU/AFC’s challenge which is seeking to block the elections declaration based on the National Recount figures.

In addition, the Chief Justice is expected to address the powers of the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, who is subordinate to the Commission or will be allowed free rein to submit whatever election results he wishes and become Guyana’s kingmaker.

Justice George is scheduled to make a virtual ruling on the Misenga Jones vs GECOM et al matter at 16:00h. Jones, who is an A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) supporter, is seeking, among other things, to compel GECOM to use the declarations from the ten Returning Officers (ROs) in order to declare a winner of the March 2 General and Regional Elections.

However, these declarations are tainted by the fraudulent declaration of Region Four Returning

Officer Clairmont Mingo, who was exposed by the 33day National Recount to have inflated APNU/AFC votes to give the incumbent President David Granger an overall win. Moreover, these declarations were invalidated by the Chairperson of GECOM herself, Retired Justice Claudette Singh.

Jones, whose financial ability to retain the high-profile former Attorney General of Trinidad, Senior Counsel John Jeremie, has stumped observers, is also seeking an order that the GECOM Commission does not have the constitutional authority to direct Lowenfield on what final report he can or cannot submit.

This is despite the clear provisions of Section 18 of the Election Laws (Amendment) Act No 15 of 2000. Section 18 states that “the Chief Election Officer and the Commissioner of Registration shall notwithstanding anything in any written law be subject to the direction and control of the Commission.”

Section 18 of the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, is buttressed by order 60 of 2020, which created the parameters of the recount.

Insubordination

Retired Justice Singh had written Lowenfield on June 16, instructing him to prepare a final report based on the recount which showed that the opposition People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) won the elections with 233,336 votes while the APNU/AFC coalition garnered 217,920.

Instead, Lowenfield had

GECOM CEO Keith Lowenfield

submitted a report invalidating over 115,000 votes based on unsubstantiated allegations of dead and migrant voters, made by the APNU/AFC. Lowenfield’s actions caused an immediate uproar and the varying sides found themselves in the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) for the Irfaan Ali et al v Eslyn David et al case.

Among other decisions, the CCJ ruled in a unanimous decision that Lowenfield’s report which arbitrarily disenfranchised voters was invalid and that the concerns raised by the APNU/AFC coalition must be addressed in an elections petition.

The GECOM Chair wrote Lowenfield again, instructing him to submit his report so that the President could be declared. However, Lowenfield then engaged in a back and forth with the Chair in which sections of the CCJ judgement were twisted and misconstrued.

He then submitted a fraudulent report to Justice Singh, in which he included the fraudulent declarations of embattled Returning Officer for Region Four Clairmont Mingo, which in-

Incumbent Granger

President

David

accurately shows that the PPP/C gained 80,920 votes while the APNU/AFC received 116,941 votes in Region Four.

Valid

APNU/AFC have moved mountains in their efforts to argue that the CCJ, by their ruling, invalidated the recount and thus the recount results cannot be used to declare a winner or instruct Lowenfield. However, this is an argument that was torn to shreds during Friday’s hearings.

Trinidadian Senior Counsel, Douglas Mendes, who represents PPP/C Presidential Candidate, Dr Irfaan Ali, and General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo, had argued that Jones erred in bringing her case to the acting Chief Justice since the case did not take the form of an election petition.

And an election petition is filed after a President is elected.

Mendes had argued that

the High Court does not have any jurisdiction to determine whether Section 22 of the Elections Laws (Amendment) Act is unconstitutional; whether Order 60 is valid; whether the recount is valid; whether the declarations made by Mingo were valid or not – all of which are being sought by the applicant, among other orders – simply because these are matters that are required by law to be determined via an elections petition.

“So, this case is a non-starter… All of [the] questions you are being asked to determine in these proceedings are questions which the Court of Appeal already said are to be asked under an elections petition [in the Ulita Moore case],” the Senior Counsel had posited.

Mendes had also stressed to the court that GECOM cannot and should not act on figures it knows are fraudulent. He had cited authorities in which the law is very clear whereby if unlawful advice is given then the party receiving the advice is not obliged to act upon it.

Sanctions

Whether those arguments will find favour with Justice George remains to be seen. It is now approaching five months since Guyanese went to the polls and voted, and the international community has demonstrated

GECOM Chair, Retired Justice Claudette Singh

that its patience with what it views as APNU/AFC’s attempts to frustrate the work of GECOM is wearing thin.

Last week, the United States had announced that they are slapping officials in Guyana who are undermining democracy, with visa restrictions. The decision was announced by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, during a press conference.

According to Pompeo, these visa restrictions can also be applied to the immediate family members of those persons.

Pompeo did not name the officials who were targeted. US Ambassador to Guyana Sarah-Ann Lynch has said that for privacy reasons, the names will not be disclosed. However, this publication has received reports that the list includes a prominent financier of the APNU/AFC Government, as well as several APNU/AFC Ministers, election officials and even judicial officers.

8 NEWS

MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Baby found in bag at Nandy Park still an unsolved mystery

A

lmost three months after the lifeless baby was found wrapped in a plastic bag at Nandy Park, East Bank Demerara (EBD), detectives are yet to crack the case, making it an unsolved mystery.

The dead newborn baby was found in front of an elderly woman’s house with the afterbirth inside of the bag. It is believed that the mother, after giving birth to the child, dumped the dead body on the roadway.

However, Police are yet to confirm this theory, since there is no evidence pointing in that direction. Police were reportedly making efforts to obtain the CCTV footage from the area, to ascertain what transpired but this has proven futile.

The dead newborn baby that was found in the black bag at Nandy Regional Commander Park

Kurliegh Simon when contacted on Sunday related that they were unable to bring closure to the mystery, since all efforts made to find the mother of the child fell through.

“There are no new developments on this matter since no one came forward, the child was buried”, he said.

On the day in question, the elderly woman, who made the discovery, told Police that she saw a bag lying in front of her home and went to see what it was.

Upon investigating, she saw the baby’s feet and immediately raised an alarm. The pensioner told the police that she did not notice any unusual movements in the area, since it was raining heavily during the day.

Miner found dead in Region 7 died from ruptured spleen

T

hirty-one-year old Denzil Prince, a miner of Bartica, Region Seven, (CuyuniMazaruni), who was found dead by his workmates with abrasions to both knees at the Kumung Kumung Backdam, Mazaruni River, died from a ruptured spleen due to malaria.

The post-mortem examination (PME) was per-

formed by a Government pathologist, Dr Nehaul Singh, and the body was handed over to the family for burial.

It was reported that on the day in question, Prince, who was employed at a dredge, left the site without informing anyone.

According to the dredge owner, just about two hours after Prince left the worksite, his colleagues

Gun, ammunition found under tree along Waini trail

were informed that his body was discovered on the road on his All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV).

The workers who found the now dead man said when they discovered him, he was slumped over and

motionless on the ATV, CG 6474, about one mile away from the Kumung Kumung landing.

He was taken to the Bartica Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Cashier fights off armed bandit during attempted robbery

A

P

olice in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) have launched a probe into the discovery of a firearm under a tree in the Waini Trail, Cuyuni District.

Police stated that the discovery of the .357 magnum revolver with three live matching rounds was made on Saturday during a joint

operation in the area.

According to Police, it is still unclear who owns the weapon and how it got under the tree. However, the revolver and ammunition were lodged at the Police Station, while investigations are pending.

No arrest has been made at this time, and inquiries are in progress.

T

...nadir

hey say a snake can’t sink lower than the ground... since obviously it can only slither on its belly, bereft of any extremities to elevate it. Quite a lot of folks have wondered how low Nagamootoo – whose name is etymologically derived from the Tamil word for “snake” – could sink, after he joined the PNC. Especially since he was always bereft of any moral scruples that would elevate himself off the quotidian depravities of the PNC? Remember his first demand to Granger wasn’t that the latter keep their Manifesto promise to give Public Servants a “substantial salary increase” – but after pocketing his own mammoth 50 per cent increase, insisted that his Prime Ministerial home on Main Street be completely air-conditioned!! When Granger reneged on the promise to have him chair Cabinet meetings, he shrugged and demanded extra outriders to herald the movements of his convoy on the streets!!

Now that the noose is tightening – with the US starting the ball rolling with visa sanctions and more drastic ones in the offing if they keep up this charade in the courts to deny “the will of the people” – your Eyewitness checked out the fella’s “My Turn” column in the Chronic rag to see how he was slithering. As he is wont to show he can read, after bitching about the inequity of the sanctions, he concluded, “Today, we have returned to the past, or what V.S. Naipaul described as “the bend in the river”.

All this “literary” allusion did was to prove once again that he never reads books – just their titles!!

Or else, why would he mention this particular book of Naipaul, which was based as much on Idi Amin as on Burnham as the classic Third World despot who’d destroy his country so irretrievably it might never ever be fixed!!

Or was he subliminally telling us that Granger has today brought us back to the cusp of the depravities of the Burnham regime? Which we all know all began with the blatant elections rigging of 1968, when horses in England voted. But was still a bit slicker than having Mingo fudge the numbers in front of the entire diplomatic corps!!

But if Nagamootoo had read “A Bend in the River”, he’d know that the opening line pretty much described his own life with the PNC: “The world is what it is; men who are nothing, who allow themselves to become nothing, have no place in it.”

Moses Nagamootoo is nothing because he’s allowed himself to become nothing.

And there will be no place for him in the world that is what it is.

...prediction

The New World Supermarket where the attempted robbery took place

The gun and ammunition found under the tree

Nagamootoo’s...

cashier at the New World Supermarket located at La Grange, West Bank Demerara (WBD), managed to fight off two men who invaded the supermarket on Saturday with the intent of committing a robbery.

According to Police, about 11:35h on the day in question, two men wearing COVID-19 masks entered the supermarket posing as customers.

However, while at the cashier counter, one of the males pulled out a cutlass and started to fire several chops at the cashier.

The other suspect then whipped out a firearm from

the waist of his pants and held the owner hostage. The cashier began fighting with the cutlass-wielding bandit, thus causing them to abandon their plans and escape on foot.

Based on Police reports, the cashier received injuries to his finger and upper back. After the armed men left the premises, an alarm was raised, and the police were summoned. No arrested were made.

In December 2016, three armed bandits invaded the said supermarket and escaped with approximately $300,000 in cash. The owner and his wife were also beaten in the process.

While your Eyewitness isn’t given to much of the Freudian psychobabble that dominates the chatterati, he does think there’s something to the notion of a “Freudian Slip”. Nothing fancy...we have thoughts that we try to bury and they slip out unexpectedly. The “Bend in the River” was about the emergence of the “Big Man” who makes himself president for life and rules by rhetoric, guile, sorcery, and a strong helping of terror.

Burnham, eh? Granger tried the rhetoric and guile and we’re seeing the “sorcery” at Cuffy Square and Seven Ponds. The terror is on the way.

The story was about Salim, who’d been kicked out once before, but returns to set up a shop at “a bend in the river”. His property is again expropriated and is imprisoned. He’s rescued, however, by the Commissioner, to whom he’d once been kind. The fella offers the epitaph to where Guyana’s headed if Granger is allowed to get away with his rigging.

“We’re all going to hell, and every man knows this in his bones. We’re being killed. Nothing has any meaning.

But the breeze blowing from up north will make Granger the historian into history.

...heresy

Seems Nagamootoo doesn’t bother to read the Bible.

He referred to the Hollywood production of “The Ten Commandments” to insist sanctions will pass.

Did he hear about, “the day of their calamity is at hand?”

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

NEWS

9

MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Grant funding to Guyana plummets in 1st quarter of 2020 ꟷ drop by over 90%, coinciding with period of election “rigging”

T

he Bank of Guyana (BoG) has revealed that for the first quarter of this year, Guyana’s capital revenue from sources that included grants and debt relief took a nosedive of over 90 per cent, coinciding with the period of political uncertainty before and after the March 2 General and Regional Elections.

This is contained in the Bank’s recently-released quarterly report and statistical bulletin for the first quarter of 2020, which revealed that total capital revenue for the period amounted to $369 million.

“Total capital revenue, including grants & debt relief, fell by 94.1 per cent to G$369 million.

Local capital receipts recorded earnings of G$1.3 million during the review period,” the report explains.

“Grants and debt relief were lower by 94.2 per cent to G$368 million, mainly due to the lack of grants during the first quarter of 2020, while debt relief from Enhanced HIPC (E-HIPC) decreased by 0.7 per cent to G$368 million.”

While the report does not specify the reason for the slowdown in grants from other countries and organisations, it falls within the period of election campaigning and the efforts of the Guyana Elections Commission

The Bank of Guyana

(GECOM) to prepare for General and Regional Elections.

In addition, the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) has been in caretaker status since December 2018 when it lost a No-Confidence Motion (NCM) in Parliament.

Instead of calling elections within three months as it was supposed to, the coalition fought court battle after court battle over several months in an unsuccessful attempt to reverse the NCM.

During this time, several foreign funding development projects were on standstill. That situation still obtains today, as Guyana awaits a fully functional government to take office.

It is now approaching five months since Guyanese cast their votes. A national recount had shown that the Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP/C) won the elections with 233,336 votes while the APNU/ AFC coalition garnered 217,920.

Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chair, Retired Justice Claudette Singh had written to Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield and instructed him to prepare a final report based on the recount.

Instead, Lowenfield had submitted a report invalidating over 115,000 voters based on unsubstantiated allegations of dead and migrant voters, made by the APNU/AFC. Lowenfield’s actions caused an immediate uproar and the varying sides found themselves before the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) for the Irfaan Ali et al v Eslyn David et al case.

Among other decisions, the CCJ ruled that Lowenfield’s report, which arbitrarily disenfranchised voters, was invalid and that the concerns raised by the APNU/AFC coalition must be addressed in an elections petition.

The GECOM Chair wrote Lowenfield again, instructing him to submit his report so that the President could be declared.

However, Lowenfield then engaged in a back and forth with the Chair in which sections of the CCJ judgement were twisted and misconstrued.

He then submitted a fraudulent report to Justice Singh, in which he included the fraudulent declarations of embattled Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) Returning

Officer Clairmont Mingo, which inaccurately showed that the PPP/C gained 80,920 votes while the APNU/AFC received 116,941 votes in Region Four.

The inaccuracy of those numbers was widely proven during the recount exercise, as it was unearthed that Mingo heavily inflated the votes in favour of the APNU/AFC to give them a false victory.

Last week, seemingly fed up of the multiple efforts by APNU/AFC to thwart the work of GECOM, the United States announced that it was slapping officials in Guyana who are undermining democracy with visa restrictions.

The decision was announced

by US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, during a press conference. According to Pompeo, these visa restrictions can also be applied to the immediate family members of those persons.

Pompeo did not name the officials who were targeted. Indeed, US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah Ann-Lynch has said that for privacy reasons, the names will not be disclosed. However, Guyana Times has received reports that the list includes a prominent financier of the APNU/ AFC Government, as well as several APNU/AFC Ministers, election officials, and even judicial officers.

10 NEWS

MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

21 Indigenous villages in Region 9 under Guyanese busted while smuggling lockdown amid COVID-19 pandemic

I

n light of coronavirus being detected in Indigenous communities across the country, the South Rupununi District Council (SRDC) in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) has ordered complete lockdown for 21 villages in that district.

According to the SRDC, the lockdown took effect from Wednesday last with the aim of stopping the spread of the virus. The decision on the drastic measure is in light of the Government’s refusal to suspend mining in the district.

“Indeed, our efforts have been stymied by the Government’s continued refusal to remove mining from its list of essential services and by its interventions on behalf of miners which have allowed them to continue to traverse our territory, threatening and challenging our gatekeepers,” the District Council complained.

As a result, the SRDC underscored that they have entered into the period of lockdown, with the arrangements of the Village Councils to facilitate the delivery of food and other essential items to all communities. Further efforts are being made to facilitate essential travel into the Marudi mines.

South Rupununi villages have also implemented mea-

sures such as the 6 pm to 6 am curfew that will remain in place until further notice.

“Now more than ever, we demand that the Government and regional authorities support our decisions and measures to protect our people from the spread of this deadly virus,” the Council pleaded.

Following the outbreak earlier this year, the District

Council had blocked several illegal crossings along the Guyana-Brazil border, in order to reinforce the porous border.

“The inadequate healthcare systems and supplies in our region leave our people extremely vulnerable to disease, particularly this novel coronavirus,” the SRDC said.

As such, several efforts were made to contact the National COVID-19 Task Force, asking for mining activities in Region Nine to be suspended. However, those efforts have proven futile.

“The Government’s prioritisation of interests such as mining is compounded by the inadequacy of the public health response to this global pandemic,” the Indigenous leaders said, adding that there have been cases where persons take weeks to get tested after a report was made and then several days to receive their results.

“We note with concern that after the announcement of the confirmed cases in our communities, it took more than 48 hours before patients were transported to the hospital in Lethem.

We also note that the inadequate supply of testing kits for Region 9 only allows for persons with severe symptoms to be tested,” the Council said.

Assistance to monitor the border crossings, and access to medical equipment and supplies to the South Rupununi communities were also requested by the

SRDC but those pleas went unanswered. The monitoring of the crossings is aimed at preventing the entry of persons who are not residents.

In a statement, the SRDC said: “To date, we have received little to no response to our concerns and pleas for assistance. Our greatest threat remains the vast open border the South Rupununi shares with Brazil.”

Just a few days ago, officials from the Iwokrama Rainforest expressed deep concern about operators who are transporting illegal persons who most likely came from Brazil into Guyana.

They explained that on June 13, two buses passed with groups of Brazilians, while on July 6, 2020, at the ranger station at Corkwood, lawmen found three illegal Brazilians on a bus. A few days later, two persons were caught coming out of one of Iwokrama trails, one Brazilian and one Guyanese.

Iwokrama staffers have recently unearthed another secret way of bypassing the police at Corkwood and Kurupukari. Brazil, to date, has confirmed over 2 million cases of COVID-19 and has recorded over 76,000 deaths.

Region Nine recorded its first case after patients travelled from Brazil.

garlic into Brazil

The garlic that was found in the car

A

4 7 - y e a r - o l d Guyanese mechanic was arrested in Brazil after he was caught smuggling garlic from Guyana in the wee hours of Friday.

According to Police in Brazil, the man was nabbed carrying cargo with 100 bags of garlic on Avenida Brazil, South zone of Boa Vista. He even tried to evade the approach, but was later apprehended by Military Police (MP).

Reports are the man was seen by the police travelling in a car that was “well lowered” and with

only the parking lights on.

Upon seeing the stop order, the suspect accelerated to the Children's Hospital.

On a section of the road, he left the car still moving.

According to the MP, he confessed that garlic was smuggled from Guyana and would be delivered to a man known as "Garlic Joe".

According to the police reports, each bag weighed 10kg.

The mechanic was immediately taken to the Central Flagrantes and, according to the MP, he is a repeat offender for the same crime. (Roraima 24H)

NEWS

11

MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Political, COVID-19 crises must pave way for new social contract – UN Resident Rep

A

s Guyana’s protracted electoral process continues while the country is grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, these crises must create the pathway for a new social contract on inclusion and cooperation.

This is according to United Nations Resident Coordinator in Guyana, Mikiko Tanaka.

In a tweet on Sunday morning, Tanaka said: “Here in Guyana, the dual C-19 and political crises must open way for a new social contract based on inclusion and cooperation”.

She was at the time retweeting a statement made by UN Secretary General, António Guterres, who called for a “New Social Contract & New Global Deal” based on equality and sustainability in response to the COVID-19 crisis globally.

Only last Sunday, Tanaka had expressed concerns over the fact that Guyana is yet to figure out an end to its elections more than four months after it was held at a time when the region is facing its worst recession in the last 10 years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

She had tweeted “As Latin American and the Caribbean face the worst

UN Resident Coordinator Mikiko Tanaka

recession in a century, #Guyana is still figuring out how to conclude the 2 March elections”.

The UN has said the coronavirus pandemic will trigger the worst recession in the century in Latin America and the Caribbean, and push the number of people living in poverty up by 45 million.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Situation Report, the region of the Americas has millions of coronavirus cases with more than 302,000 deaths.

Currently, Guyana has just over 320 confirmed COVID-19 cases with its death toll now at 19.

Only last month, the UN Resident Coordinator

bemoaned the fact that essential service providers are under more pressure as COVID-19 cases in the country continue to surge.

She tweeted on June 23, “A credible end to the elections is urgent for the elected government and parliament to fully attend to their wellbeing and resource needs to serve the people.”

Meanwhile, two weeks ago, the UN had joined calls for the final declaration of Guyana’s elections results to bring an end to the current political impasse.

That statement was made

by Stéphane Dujarric, who serves as the Spokesman for the UN Secretary General.

According to Dujarric, Secretary General Guterres took note of the recent ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as the final instance.

“He stresses the importance of announcing final official results of the 2 March general and regional elections to the Guyanese people as soon as possible to end an impasse that has lasted more than four months,” the SG Spokesman stated.

Dujarric went on to say that the Secretary General also calls on all political leaders and their supporters to recognise and accept the final official results and refrain from any act or state-

CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)

INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF?

ment that may fuel tensions or incite violence in Guyana.

On July 8, the CCJ ruled that Guyana’s Court of Appeal had no jurisdiction to hear the matter filed

by APNU/AFC supporter, Eslyn David.

As such, the CCJ invali-

gional court in its ruling, which was delivered by President Justice Adrian Saunders, further stated: “It is for GECOM to ensure that the CEO submits a report in accordance with his directives of 16th of June in order to proceed along the

dated the Appeal Court’s decision that “more votes cast” in the Recount Order means “more valid votes cast” as well as the fraudulent report submitted by embattled Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, who had disenfranchised over 115,000 voters.

The Trinidad-based re-

path directed by the laws of Guyana.”

This refers to the instructions by Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission, Retired Justice Claudette Singh, who had directed Lowenfield in a letter dated June 16 last month to submit his final elections report using the figures from

the National Recount.

The 33-day exercise confirmed that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) won the March 2 elections with 233,336 votes while the caretaker APNU/ AFC coalition obtained 217,920 votes – a difference of 15,416 votes.

Despite the GECOM Chair, (ret’d) Justice Claudette Singh, directing the CEO on several occasions to submit his report based on the recount figures, he has continuously failed to do so and in his last report, presented fraudulent figures that give the caretaker coalition a win.

Lowenfield was subsequently given a final chance to submit his report using the certified results from the National Recount but before he could have done so, another APNU/AFC supporter filed legal proceedings.

The applicant, Misegna Jones, is seeking to block to the Elections Commission from using the recount figures to make a declaration of the March 2 elections results.

After hearing arguments from the various parties in the matter on Friday, Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George, is expected to deliver her ruling in the matter at 16:00h today.

SYMPTOMS

People with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness.

Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. People with these symptoms or combinations of symptoms may have COVID-19:

Cough

Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

Or at least two of these symptoms:

Fever People who think they may be affected by coronavirus need to call the Public Health Ministry hotline 227-4986/624-3067 for further advice. They should not go to their GP, A&E, pharmacy or hospital.

If you have come into contact with somebody who may be infected, you may be told to self-isolate. People needing to do so should take "common-sense" steps to avoid close contact with other people.

(Adapted from BBC News)

Headache

Chills

Sore throat

Repeated shaking with chills

Muscle pain

Children have similar symptoms to adults and generally have New loss of taste mild illness. or smell

12 NEWS

MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Sophia man gets bail on attempted murder charge A

Sophia, Greater Georgetown resident was granted bail on Friday after he was charged with the attempted murder of his partner.

Forty-four-year-old Julius Arthur of B Field, Sophia, Greater Georgetown, appeared before Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh at the Fort Wellington Magistrate’s Court where the indictable charge was read to him.

Arthur was not required to plead to the offence which stated that on July 1, 2020, at Number 30 Village, West Coast Berbice, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), he attempted to murder Devlin Garraway.

Garaway, 28, of Union No 30 Village, West Coast Berbice (WCB), Region Five (MahaicaBerbice), was shot to the head by the suspect, who accused her of being unfaithful.

It was reported that on July 1, the couple was heard arguing and suddenly the sound of a gunshot was heard. Upon making checks, a cousin, Shannon Marshall, found the injured woman lying in a pool of blood in her bedroom but the suspect, a porter of Sophia, Greater Georgetown, was nowhere to be seen.

However, the injured woman was picked up and taken to the Fort Wellington Hospital

Devlin Garraway

Charged: Julius Arthur

where she was treated but due to the seriousness of her condition, she was transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital where she was admitted.

Due to the constant abuse and allegations of infidelity, the woman asked to end the relationship a few months ago. After the suspect moved, the woman’s cousin moved in with her at the one-flat house in the Food for The Poor Housing Scheme.

Teen arraigned for murder of Paradise youth

A

teenager was on Thursday last arraigned for the murder of 19-year-old Barneth McKenzie, who he reportedly knifed to death at Dazzell Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara.

The suspect, 18-year-old Aquil Farrington of Dazzell Housing Scheme, Paradise, East Coast Demerara (ECD), appeared before Magistrate Rochelle Liver-pool at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court and was not required to plead to the indictment.

Police stated that on July 14, 2020, at Dazzell Housing

Scheme, Farrington murdered Barneth McKenzie.

It was reported that on the day in question, Farrington was involved in a dispute with the deceased, thus resulting in a heated argument followed by a scuffle. During the incident, Farrington whipped out a knife and stabbed the victim several times about his abdomen.

The injured teen was picked up in an unconscious state and rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The matter was later reported and

Dead: Barneth McKenzie

Farrington was later arrested and charged.

The teen was granted bail in the sum of $500,000, and the case was adjourned to August 28, 2020.

The injured woman’s cousin told investigators that on June 30, she travelled to Georgetown to transact business but upon her return at about 17:30h, she saw the sus-

pect at the house pleading with her cousin to reconcile.

He, nevertheless, spent the night but the cousin recalled that at about 10:10h the following morning, she was in her bedroom when she heard them arguing in their bedroom.

The reason for the argument was unknown but Marshall said she suddenly heard the gunshot, followed by her cousin calling her name.

“I run over and she was in a pool of blood lying on the floor... she was not responding so I called out to the neighbours who rushed over and we were able to take her to the hospital where she was admitted,” Marshall added.

Doctors have since detected a wound on the right side of her head.

Arthur was, however, granted bail in the sum of $100,000 and the matter was postponed to August 14, 2020.

No arrests made for armed robbery committed on Chinese national

A

s investigations intensify into the armed robbery committed on a Chinese family at Parika Highway, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), the police are yet to make an arrest.

When contacted, Regional Commander Simon McBean told Guyana Times that the men who committed the robbery have not been arrested but noted that they are ramping up their probe to identify and apprehend the men.

It was reported that on Thursday last, five armed men invaded the property and relieved the Chinese nationals of millions of dollars in cash, a large quantity of phone cards and other items.

It was reported that the 39-year-old businessman, his 37-year-old wife, and another family member were asleep when the suspects started banging on their front door.

Awakened by the loud noise, the three Chinese nationals refused to open the door. It was then the victims discovered that the suspects gained entry through a bedroom window.

Upon entry, the perpetrators held the family at gunpoint while demanding they hand over of the businessman’s mobile phone estimated at $200,000.

In fear, the Chinese businessman gathered the valuables while two of the masked men entered an-

other room of the house.

The family told Police that the men opened one of the drawers and took a large quantity of Digicel and GTT phone cards.

According to the family, the phone cards were valued at about $1 million.

The bandits also managed to relieve the family of another $3.5 million in cash that was hidden inside a bucket underneath a desk.

After obtaining the cellular phone, phone cards, and cash, the men took the keys to the family’s bus and made good their escape. The police were summoned and an investigation was launched.

Up to press time on Thursday, the bus had not been located. (G-9)

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MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

14 NEWS

MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

9 new COVID-19 cases confirmed PNC’s Alexander always in 3 hinterland regions insisted GECOM would use ꟷ active cases now at 159 recount figures for declaration

E

ven as the caretaker APNU/AFC coalition through its agent, Misegna Jones, is seeking to legally bind the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to use the initial 10 declarations made back in March prior to the National Recount as the basis for the declaration of the elections results, doing this was previously ruled out by People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Commissioner, Vincent Alexander.

In the application filed last week, the High Court is being asked to set aside the certified results from the 33day recount exercise and use the widely discredited dec-

a likelihood…,” he posited in the May 14 interview.

Further pointed out that there was a possibility of this happening, Alexander had said “That is not an anticipated possibility… All things are possible but if you were to ask me if it’s probability, I would say I don’t see it as a high probability.”

In fact, he had even supported a position expressed earlier by fellow Commission, Oppositionnominated Sase Gunraj, who had suggested that it should be automatic that the results from the recount exercise be used as the basis to direct the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, to compile his fi-

Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) head office in Kingston, Georgetown

larations made by the 10 Returning Officers including embattled Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) RO, Clairmont Mingo, who had heavily inflated the figures from Guyana’s largest voting district in favour of the APNU/AFC. However, Alexander, during several engagements with the press under the media tent outside the Arthur Chung Convention Centre (ACCC) during the recount process, was asked whether the Elections Commission is likely to revert to those 10 initial declarations – that were being held in abeyance at the time but have since been discarded by GECOM Chair, (ret’d) Justice Claudette Singh – and he shut down the possibility of this happening.

“In my considered opinion, all things being equal I don’t see us doing that (using the 10 declarations) …

I would say that if the recount is completed that that doesn’t appear, to me, to be

nal elections report for a declaration.

“I would say, all things being equal it should be [automatic to use the recount results],” the Governmentnominated Commissioner had stated.

Moreover, Alexander had even ruled out the possibility of the Elections Commission using a mix of both the initial declarations as well as the recount results.

Speaking specifically on the Region One (BarimaWaini) ballot box that got soaked in the container (which was eventually counted as its contents were still intact), Alexander had disclosed that a thought was brought up to use the Statement of Poll (SoP) from that Polling Station.

However, his response to that suggestion was that while it was a very practical approach, it was nevertheless an approach that runs in the face of the objective of the recount exercise.

“You can’t be doing a re-

T

A

Essequibo).

Based on reports received, the incident occurred at approximately 01:00h on the day in question.

While information remains sketchy, Guyana Times understands that the two men were engaged in a heated argument during which the suspect, a Venezuelan national, armed himself with

capital city of Georgetown, Region Four (DemeraraMahaica) – which was initially dubbed as the epicentre since the initial stages of the pandemic.

As such, with the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) relaxing some of the emergency measures that were put in place to curb the spread of the virus as part of Government’s plans

Residents had protested against the complete shutdown on the community earlier this month, citing that Government provided no relief prior to the announcement, and as such, they were forced to continue their trade to earn a living.

During an assessment of the situation, Regional Vice Chairman Sarah Browne said many concerns were

board on Sunday detailed.

There are now 159 active cases in the country – 154 in institutional isolation and the other five cases in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

Guyana Times understands that the nine new cases are from hinterland regions, that is, seven are from Region Nine (Upper TakutuEssequibo) and one each from Regions One (BarimaWaini) and Seven (CuyuniMazaruni).

Additionally, 14 persons are in institutional quarantine.

Both the COVID-19 death toll as well as the number of recovered cases remain the same at 19 and 163, respectively.

Meanwhile, to date, a total of 3685 persons have been tested for the novel coronavirus, of which some 3349 are negative.

Sunday’s nine new hinterland cases come on the heels of health authorities announcing last week that Region One is now Guyana’s epicentre for the COVID-19 outbreak in Guyana.

It has overtaken the

to reopen the economy, this was not extended to hard-hit communities in these hinterland regions.

While the curfew hours have been changed from 20:00h to 06:00h (8 pm to 6 am) for the rest of the country, the previous 18:00h to 06:00h curfew will remain in Aranka and Arangoy in Region Seven, and Moruca in Region One until August 3. In fact, these two regions are targeted for intervention owing to the uncontrollable infection rate.

Last week, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr Karen Gordon-Boyle, had lamented the actions of residents in the Moruca Sub-district, despite an alarming upsurge in cases.

“It is disappointing to note that the attitude of some of the residents in the sub-district of Moruca has been averse to the basket of health measures that have been outlined for their safety and protection. They are blatantly flouting the guidelines, claiming in some instances that COVID-19 is non-existent and therefore there is no need for a lockdown in that district,” Dr Gordon-Boyle had noted.

listed by these persons, along with solutions to be considered.

Among other issues, farmers are denied access to their lands and other persons are restricted from accessing the hospital. Cargo boats are denied entry while carrying supplies for local businesses.

While vendors were told to operate for three hours, it was indicated that this cannot suffice to provide for their families. Issues were also raised about “improper protocols” for testing of the coronavirus and distribution of the results thereafter.

Moreover, all families are not benefitting from the relief efforts. As such, the provision of relief was labelled as mandatory by the people before accepting a shutdown.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the total number of COVID-19 cases in the region of the Americas is more than 7,376,000 while the number of deaths is over 305,000.

Globally, there are in excess of 14 million coronavirus cases recorded while the death toll has reached over 600,000.

Commissioner Vincent Alexander

count and, for one reason or the other, resort to the old count as the basis for determining that you’ve recounted,” he had said – further insisting against using the initial declaration figures.

On the other hand, Alexander had even said during the May 14 interview on the sidelines of the recount that it was GECOM’s responsibility based on the Recount Order to advise Lowenfield on the compilation of his final report.

“We articulated in the order that we would advise the CEO on the compilation of the final report, after he would have made available to us the tabulations and the observations. I don’t think there was any dissenting voice on that,” he had noted.

The Governmentnominated Commissioner had explained that the seven-member Elections Commission had taken a unanimous decision that it would advise the CEO on whether to use the recount results to prepare his final elections report.

He added, “I don’t recall any dissenting voice” in taking that decision.

Despite this, however, CEO Lowenfield has continuously disregarded directions of the GECOM Chair to use the recount figures as the basis for the report and instead, has submitted several reports using fraudulent figures – with his most recent one containing Mingo’s fraudulent declaration – all of which favours an APNU/ AFC victory.

However, the certified recount exercise show that the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic has won the elections with 233,336 votes while the coalition obtained 217,920 votes – a difference of some 15,416 votes.

Teen stabbed to death during argument over gold

teenager was in the wee hours of Sunday stabbed to death during an argument with another man over gold at Marudi Mountain mining area.

Dead is 17-yearold Shadrack Martin, of Aishalton Village, South Rupununi, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper

he COVID-19 outbreak in Guyana’s hinterland regions continues to worsen as nine new novel coronavirus cases have been confirmed from 82 tests that were conducted in 24 hours.

This now brings the total number of the coronavirus cases in Guyana up to 336, the Public Health Ministry's updated COVID-19 dash-

a knife and dealt the teen several wounds about his body.

As a result of the stabbing, the teenager reportedly collapsed and died soon after. Police sources stated that a team of detectives was dispatched to the area to launch an investigation and transport the body back to Lethem.

NEWS

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MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Father of 2 stabbed by wife during drinking spree

US sanctions are real A T

By José Cárdenas

hat the United States Government announced this week that it has begun imposing sanctions on Guyanese citizens engaging in anti-democratic behaviour should not have come as a surprise to anyone.

Indeed, top US officials signalled as early as last March that such behaviour would have José Cárdenas, international consequences.

Government relations What is regrettable is the consultant in Washington failure to heed those warnings, especially by a US-based commentator who repeatedly but wrongly assured Guyanese audiences that the US Government had neither the authority nor the will to hold Guyanese officials accountable for their efforts to impede a final reckoning of the March 2 national election.

One wonders what comfort those erroneous assurances gave to those actors who are out to thwart the will of the Guyanese people.

Now that the US has demonstrated the will and capacity to act to defend Guyanese democracy, those very same individuals would do well to understand that this week’s action is merely the tip of the iceberg as far as the authority the US Government possesses to respond when democracy is threatened.

It is important to understand that the sanctions announced this week – the revocation of US visas; that is, the ability to travel to the US – were actions taken by the State Department under its own authority.

Under Section 212 (f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, the Department can bar any foreign citizen (and their immediate family members) at any time for any reason from entering the US. They do not have to explain the reasons to anyone.

Because of privacy laws, however, the US cannot disclose the names of individuals sanctioned, but the newly-sanctioned will certainly know if they try to travel to the US for business or pleasure. They will be unceremoniously turned away.

Other US legislation gives other Departments and agencies of the US Government broader sanction authority.

For example, the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act gives the US Treasury Department broad powers to impose financial sanctions on persons determined, among other things, to be responsible for or complicit in, or to have directly or indirectly engaged in, certain human rights abuses or corrupt acts anywhere in the world.

Those are open to wide interpretation – on purpose.

For example, in 2018, the US sanctioned (“designated”) the President of Nicaragua’s Supreme Electoral Council, Roberto Rivas Reyes, and his wife, for involvement in significant corruption and for perpetuating electoral fraud that undermined Nicaragua’s electoral institutions.

Such a “designation” by the US Treasury means any and all economic assets the individual possesses in the US are frozen — ie, made inaccessible to the owner — and that individual is prohibited from any transaction that involves any contact with the US banking system.

Essentially, it means the individual becomes an economic “non-person”, since even domestic banks and other institutions will shun the individual for fear of running afoul of US sanctions, because of their connectivity to the US. And these are just individual sanctions.

As has been demonstrated next door in Venezuela, the US has wide-ranging authority to respond to anti-democratic behaviour by targeting whole sectors of any economy – for example, Venezuela’s oil sector.

One hopes Guyana never reaches that stage.

Now, given the electoral calendar in the US, some might want to believe that time is running out for the Trump Administration, and that should Joe Biden win the election, sanctions will fade away with the passage of administrations.

But that would be foolhardy.

It is obvious to anyone paying attention that there is no partisan divide in Washington on the need for a transparent, democratic resolution in Guyana. The many statements from the US Congress backing Caricom, the Organisation of American States, and other international stakeholders have been clear.

In the US Senate, we have seen the highest-ranking Democrat and Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as well as the leading Democrat and Republican on the Western Hemisphere subcommittee, weigh in.

In the House of Representatives, the Democratic Chairman and Vice Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, as well as several members of the Congressional Black Caucus, all Democrats, have joined their Republican colleagues in supporting the calls for a declaration of results that favours the winner of the largest number of votes.

At a time of heightened partisanship in domestic US politics, readers should note that there is no division regarding Guyana’s current impasse. To believe a change in presidential administrations will somehow entail a reversal of US concern for democracy in Guyana is destructive wishful thinking.

There is still time to conclude Guyana’s recent electoral cycle without more collateral damage to the country. International friends of Guyanese democracy want to see the impasse resolved expeditiously and peacefully. However, those who have differing agendas must realise there are ever-more-serious consequences for their actions.

father of two is hospitalised after he was reportedly stabbed by his wife during an argument on Saturday evening at their Richmond Housing Scheme, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) home.

The injured man has been identified as Ravindra.

The incident occurred at about 18:45h. Based on information received, the couple would usually assault each other after consuming alcohol. However, on

Saturday evening, things took a turn for the worst, which saw the woman, who is now on the run, stabbing the man twice to this back.

Prior to the incident, they were seen consuming alcohol with other relatives and friends at their home. The injured man was picked up and taken to the Suddie Regional Hospital where he was admitted a patient.

His condition is listed as stable. The police have launched a manhunt for the woman as investigaThe injured man lying on the ground on Saturday evening tions co continue.

Essequibo man freed after pleading guilty to manslaughter

Dead: Naresh Ramdass

K

endrick Armogan, 56, who admitted to killing his nephew back in 2018, is now a free man after he pleaded guilty to a lesser count of manslaughter for killing his

nephew, Naresh Ramdass, back in 2018.

The charge brought against Armagon stated that on April 23, 2018, in Essequibo, he unlawfully killed his nephew, Naresh Ramdass.

It was reported that on the day in question, Armogan and Ramdass had an argument in their yard.

Shortly after the argument, Armogan was leaving when his nephew followed and assaulted him with a piece of wood.

A scuffle ensued between the men during which Armogan whipped out a knife and stabbed Ramdass, who walked a short distance and col-

lapsed.

He was then picked up and rushed to the Suddie Public Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

During his ruling on Friday, Justice Kissoon started the sentence at the base of 25 years from which he deducted one third for Armagon’s guilty plea.

Further time was deducted for his pre-trial custody, and the fact that Ramdass was the aggressor, and his uncle’s actions were considered to be in self-defence.

To this end, Justice Kissoon imposed a 27-month prison sentence.

However, Armogan was released after he spent the

Freed: Kendrick Armogan

last 27 months on remand.

The defendant was represented by Attorney-atLaw Ravindra Mohabir, while State Counsel Lisa Cave led the prosecution’s team.

Guyana-born painter Patrick Barrington dies at 88

G

u y a n a - b o r n painter, Patrick Barrington recently passed away in England where he had settled with his now deceased Viennese wife, Hanna, during the 1950s. He was 88-yearsold.

Barrington had gone to England on an art scholarship provided by the Booker Sugar Company.

After settling in London, the artist took up electrical engineering as a profession to earn a steady income. But this did not diminish his love for painting.

Today, Barrington’s work hangs captivatingly in the National Gallery of Art located on Vlissengen Road in Georgetown.

Most of his pieces portrayed the beauty of his Guyanese child-

Patrick Barrington

hood. From cane cutters to shanty town rooftops,

Barrington’s work depicted the wonders of British

Guiana – his home.

According to his obituary published by The Guardian, Barrington also had a love for building things using random materials.

Once while listening to the radio with his cat Felix, Barrington built a guitar and violin, along with a sun hat from a cornflakes box.

The painter is survived by his four siblings.

It is hoped that they will find comfort in the fact that Barrington’s work remains tangible aspects of Guyana’s history. His pieces will continue to inspire generations of new artists.

The former Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr. George Norton has extended sincerest condolences to the relatives, friends and fans of the late Barrington.

16

guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020

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

The New Yorker that shattered the APNU/AFC’s egoistic pride Dear Editor, Last Wednesday, US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo announced visa sanctions for Guyanese officials and their families that took immediate effect for “undermining democracy.” The United States announced that it takes two to play a game and they also know how to play this game of cricket. It was quite a fast-paced deliver from the US that yoked the middle stump of the APNU/ AFC party.

They were totally upset as they were celebrating their captain’s birthday and they wanted to prolong playing for time so that the party can continue. Their hopes were shattered as the wicket came tumbling down and they didn’t expect the sudden delivery for a gift. They were beaten for pace as the most powerful bowler shortened his length and pitched a deadly line of deadly. They were expecting a tall bouncer as a bluffer so that they could duck and allow it to go sailing overhead harmlessly.

The cannonball, instead, came crashing down with a last-minute change in flight on the toes, menacingly, with immediate effect as a result. As the batsman hurried to shuffle his bat down to defend his wicket, he was mesmerised by the speed of the ball that went right through his bat and pad and ended up splitting the middle stump, right on target where it hurt his ego the most.

The batsman looked back at the horrible scene, lost for words, couldn’t believe what he saw, his eyes in total disarray and wondered how that could happen, but, stood his ground in complete shame and

waited as he tried to recompose his damaged pride.

Immediately, the rest of the team in the pavilion shouted: “Not out, no ball, that’s not fair, not creditable, not free from honesty.” Schooled from their captain, Mr “G,” ( a onetime soldier indoctrinator and teacher for political propaganda), the chief spokesman, Mr Full Of Harm, immediately tried to brainwash the crowd by shouting: “We are not aware of that type of delivery in our communication programme with the US team and so that should not be allowed as a fair and just ball.

The delivery was not creditable and so the batsman should be free of any delinquency and should remain intact. If we, the APNU/AFC team, had received any formal communication and notification in advance that the US intended to bowl that type of delivery, then we would have known when, where and what type of action they would have conveyed.

They should have advised us to the timing and its nature.” Unfortunately for him, the crowd refused to believe a word, was not riled up nor fired up by his speech but instead, looked at him in dismay and couldn’t believe their ears that they heard him correctly and that he could have said that. Everyone wanted to know if he was in his sound mind or if that was his best line of defence to offer an explanation for the team’s demise.

Meanwhile, the batsman wouldn’t move and the umpire had to tell him in no uncertain terms to “step aside,” move out, pack up your traps and ask

their captain to hand over the cup to the next team because his team’s side is all out, failing to overhaul the opposing team’s score by 15,416 points and this game is over. They can try again in another five years, this game was played fair and square, free and credible, there certainly were no encumbrances, no wicket was allowed with any noball and the match was also played back and reviewed by the third umpire via the UDRS. Mind you, all umpires were foreign and there were national and international observers and spectators. Objections were immediately raised as an alternative to switch game tactic with fraud and corruption when their statistician and scorer, Mr Low and Mr Go, (after quickly colluding with bogus fictitiousness, adding runs to the APNU/AFC score and deducting runs from the US score, none of which matched in totality with the individual 11 batsmen), pronounced that according to their count, the APNU/ AFC won instead. But because the spectators, other stakeholders, audiences at home and abroad and the umpires were keeping tabs and had their scoring sheets, they refuted this claim and asked Mr Low to produce his scoring sheet.

Mr Low of course refused, sought police protection and Mr Go went in hiding.

The result from the game remains in limbo as one of their officers is challenging the official scorer’s sheet in court, which the umpire is using to declare the legitimate winner of the match that was played flawlessly and without any material and questionable discrepancies.

APNU/AFC wouldn’t give up the cup and is holding on to it. Surprisingly, their chief (cheat) spokesmen, King David, King Henry and President Lincoln are staying quiet and avoiding any confrontation by not narrating their versions of that last and wicked delivery from Team USA. Perhaps, the rippling effect can ricochet back to them and their families in a boomerang catapult, so, they prefer to let the captain and his vice handle the heat with, “I gone, yu try de, I ain’t messing with no marines.” Mumbling under his breath afterwards, it was overheard, the captain resorting to another tongue twister excuse saying that, because he did not allow the US to use a radio station for their announcers to broadcast outside Bourda, the border, Team USA decided to apply a low blow under the belt.

Back on the global stage, the international community witnessed for themselves, the daylight rigging of the election by APNU/ AFC party’s architect, Mr

Bingo, with his fraudulent figures manipulating an unjustified win in favour of his master, the de facto ring leader. They further acknowledged the veracity of the CEO’s farce monopoly to bulldoze GECOM’s Madam Chair and exert a superior autonomy by attempting on four different occasions, enforcing an invalid report, not in conformity with the Madam Chair’s instructions.

The ABCEU, OAS, UN, Elders, Caricom, Commonwealth and GECOM are all peeved, flustered, angry, upset and fed up with the APNU/AFC party and their affiliates in trying to derail democracy in Guyana with election fraud, perpetual interruptions to the election process and frivolous and vexatious court proceedings. After weeks of advanced, repetitive warnings and advice from the national and international communities to concede defeat, uphold democracy and desist from their flagrant attacks on anyone who dares speak out against the APNU/AFC party’s misdemeanours, they continue to flounce these notices and pay no heed nor give them any attention.

After deliberately refusing to allow GECOM to declare the PPP/C as the legitimate winner of the election and continuing to squat in office, the US has

had enough of this nonsense and decided to implement sanctions as a preliminary catalyst to allow the caretaker management team of rogues to come to their senses.

The US, therefore, did not have to directly advise Mr “G” or anyone else simply because they did not recognise the APNU/AFC party as the legitimate negotiator for governmental affairs any longer. This opinion is fully endorsed by the rest of the international community and so they have no reason to deal with the APNU/AFC party for any official communication or business as the legal representatives or guardians of Guyana.

What further embarrassment the APNU/AFC party is waiting for, they will certainly receive in no uncertain terms. As usual, this simple English language is too complicated for them to understand and they will once again need the service of the CCJ to explain to them what “step aside” means! Today, the entirety of Guyana is not holding its breath to know the ruling from the High Court, because the result is as clear as the unwritten word “valid.” They are more anxious to skip and gallop on to the next move

by GECOM. Respectfully, Jai Lall

Explaining homicide to fathers and mothers

Dear Editor, We all know from experience that telling a father or mother that their daughter, son, brother or sister has died is difficult enough, let alone telling them their loving daughter has been murdered.

It can be tempting to shield them from the details of a violent death; however, Police and media involvement means that the details will quickly become public knowledge. It’s very likely that the parent will find out somehow – in the media, on social media, overheard conversations.

You will probably prefer that they hear what happened from the police rather than from rumours. Here is a story of one such parent.

Mr Dexton Copeland is the father of the 26-yearold deceased Nurse, Ms Schenise Apple.

On the afternoon of July 2, 2019. Nurses Schenise Apple was murdered in Mahdia Nurse’s Hostel in her room while contributing to Guyana and humanity.

Overall, it has been one year since his daughter’s death and they are still in

a state of limbo concerning this matter.

The extreme duress his family had endured since his daughter’s death, has been compounded by the lack of concern by the Ministry of Public Security.

It is upsetting, so is the lack of attention by the Minister Volda Lawrence.

The family deserves better treatment, and I hope you will look into the situation to see that the suffering caused upon nurse Schenise Apple is never again inflicted on healthcare workers, and to ensure that a similar incident doesn’t occur again.

The caretaker Government must take the following steps.

(1) Provide appropriate treatment and rehabilitation services.

(2) Promote rural-urban cooperation (3) Quick decisions on internal and external complaints on sexual harass-

ment on the job.

(4) Modernised security systems and trained personnel for Government buildings.

Events surrounding murder can often become very confused. Facts may be changed to become more comfortable to live with – or to make them easier to explain. It may be, for example, that the parent had been previously unaware of a child’s activities which have since become public knowledge. It may seem like the worst possible time to talk about this but giving the parent an honest explanation will help them make sense of what they are hearing and what is happening.

As a parent, we never want to ever be in this situation. Let’s give Mr Dexter Copeland all the support we can to deal with his misfortune.

Sincerely, David Adams

NEWS

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MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

EU grapples with “mission 12-month Barbados welcome programme now accepting applications impossible” at deadlocked B recovery summit E

uropean Union leaders stood at an impasse on Sunday after three days of haggling over a plan to revive economies throttled by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Chairman of their near-record-length summit urged them to make one last push on “mission impossible”.

Charles Michel reminded the 27 leaders of the European Union over dinner in Brussels that more than 600,000 people had now died as a result of the coronavirus around the world, and said it was up to them to stand together in the face of an unprecedented crisis.

“My hope is that we reach an agreement and that the headline ... tomorrow is that the EU has accomplished mission impossible,” he said. “That is my heartfelt wish ... after three days of non-stop work.”

The leaders are at odds over how to carve up a vast recovery fund designed to help haul Europe out of its deepest recession since World War Two, and what strings to attach for countries it would benefit.

Diplomats said it was possible that they would

arbados is now accepting visa applications for people to live and work remotely from the island.

In a message posted on the application website, Prime Minister Mia Mottley said that the 'Barbados Welcome Stamp' visa will allow applicants to live and work remotely in the island for 12 months.

“Although the COVID-19 pandemic has been a tremendous challenge to people around the world, we believe it has also opened

B

European Council President Charles Michel (left); Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel (centre); France's President Emmanuel Macron (second right) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pose during a meeting at the first faceto-face EU summit since the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Brussels, Belgium, July 19, 2020

abandon the summit and try again for an agreement next month.

On the table is a 1.8-trillion-euro (US$2.06-trillion) package for the EU’s next long-term budget and recovery fund.

The 750 billion euros proposed for the recovery fund would be raised on behalf of them all on capital markets by the EU’s executive European Commission, which would be a historic step towards greater integration, and then fun-

nelled mostly to hard-hit Mediterranean rim countries.

European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said it would be better for the leaders to agree an “ambitious” aid package than to have a quick deal at any cost.

“Ideally, the leaders’ agreement should be ambitious in terms of size and composition of the package ... even if it takes a bit more time,” she told Reuters.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Minister David Cameron has cast as a “golden era” of ties with the world’s second-largest economy.

But London has been dismayed by a crackdown in Hong Kong and the perception that China did not tell the whole truth over the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Last week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered Huawei Technologies equipment to be purged completely from Britain’s 5G network by the end of 2027.

China has accused Britain of pandering to the United States.

Earlier on Sunday, China’s Ambassador to

Britain warned of a tough response if London attempted to sanction any of its officials, as some lawmakers in Johnson’s Conservative Party have demanded.

“If UK Government goes that far to impose sanctions on any individual in China, China will certainly make a resolute response to it,” Liu Xiaoming told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.

“You’ve seen what happens in the United States – they sanction Chinese officials, we sanction their senators, their officials. I do not want to see this titfor-tat happen in... ChinaUK relations.”(Excerpt from Reuters)

El Salvador to postpone 2nd phase of economic reopening – President

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alvadoran President Nayib Bukele said on Sunday that he would postpone the second phase of the country’s economic reopening, slated to begin Tuesday, after evaluating inputs from experts and the Salvadoran Health Ministry.

Just on Saturday, the President had reiterated his

America if you can come here and work for a couple months at a time; go back and come back. But in order for those things to truly resonate, what does it mean?

It means that what we offer has to be world-class and what we continue to offer is world-class.”

Anyone aged 18 and older can apply for the Barbados Welcome Stamp visa.

Applicants have the choice of applying for themselves only, or applying for their spouses and children as well. (Jamaica Observer)

“Learn to co-exist with COVID-19”

UK poised to suspend Hong Kong extradition treaty – British newspapers ritain will today suspend its extradition treaty with Hong Kong in a further escalation of its dispute with China over the introduction of a security law in the former colony, British newspapers reported.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who on Sunday accused China of “gross” human rights violations, will announce the suspension of the treaty in Parliament, the Times and Daily Telegraph newspapers said, citing sources.

Britain’s Foreign Office declined to comment.

Such a move would be another nail in the coffin of what former Prime

up opportunities,” Mottley said.

“We recognise more people are working remotely, sometimes in very stressful conditions, with little option for vacation. Our new 12-month Barbados Welcome Stamp is a visa that allows you to relocate and work from one of the world's most beloved tourism destinations,” she added.

Earlier this month, when discussing the visa, Mottley said, “you don't need to work in Europe or the US or Latin

intention to move forward with the next stage of restarting the economy.

“After listening to the opinions of experts and above all, the Ministry of Health ... I have decided to suspend Phase 2 of the economic reopening,” Bukele wrote in a post on Twitter.

Bukele and El Salvador’s

Congress have clashed over how to manage the pandemic. Lawmakers have so far refused to approve a request from Bukele’s Government for new emergency measures to restrict the movement of people.

El Salvador has registered a total of 11,846 coronavirus cases and 335 deaths.(Reuters)

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nemployment in Barbados is now close to a staggering 40 per cent owing to the closure of the tourism sector.

In speaking on the impact the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have on the island, Tourism and International Transport Minister Kerrie Symmonds said there was now little choice but to learn how to function in a world with the virus.

“Barbados would have had to cope with a sudden and very dramatic rise in the level of unemployment in the country which would have escalated to the region of 40 per cent of our people being unemployed within a three-month period,” he said.

Addressing a PanAmerican Health Organisation (PAHO) online seminar on Friday with the theme “COVID-19: Resuming International Travel in the Caribbean”, he noted “the issue which confronted us by the end of May, start of June was the

reality that we have to learn to co-exist with COVID-19”.

“The reality is that we cannot bury our heads in the sand and we cannot wish it away… It is a matter about which we fundamentally have no control beyond our ability to manage the process and therefore, Barbados Tourism and International Transport until such time Minister Kerrie Symmonds there is a vacwith the return of commercine available ... we are gocial flights into the island ing to have to find a way of and were better equipped in continuing to live while we handling the various health deal with the COVID-19 reand safety protocols. ality on our doorsteps,” it “Last Sunday when the was explained. first flight came in it was Highlighting the work clear that the key stakeholddone by immigration and ers – Customs, Immigration, customs officials in workPort Health and others – ing to repatriate cruise paswere comfortable and unsengers and crew memderstood what they were bers during the lockdown, doing, largely because they he stated these workers had several trial runs,” he now had the ability to deal stated. (Barbados Advocate)

Australia warns coronavirus outbreak will take weeks to tame

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surge in COVID-19 cases in Australia’s second-biggest city could take weeks to subside despite a lockdown and orders to wear masks, Australia’s acting Chief Medical Officer said on Monday as the country braces for a second wave of infection.

The respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus flared up in Victoria state in July, mainly in Melbourne, with a daily record of 438 new cases detected on Friday.

Victoria’s government has ordered about five million people into a partial lockdown for six weeks and told residents around Melbourne to cover their faces if they have to leave their homes.

Australia’s acting Chief

Medical Officer Paul Kelly said it would take “weeks” to slow the outbreak to levels seen as recently as June, when Victoria and the rest of Australia reported single or double-digit daily infections.

“We have learned over time that the time between introducing a measure and seeing its effect is at least two weeks and sometimes longer than that,” Kelly told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio.

Australia has recorded about 11,800 coronavirus cases, a fraction of what has been seen in other countries, and the disease has been effectively eliminated from most states.

But the Victorian outbreak and rising daily cases in neighbouring New South Wales, the country’s

most-populous state, are stoking fears of a national second wave.

NSW reported 18 new infections on Sunday, its highest in three months.

The transmission rate in the state is higher than in Victoria, despite social distancing restrictions being tightened.

NSW authorities have been unable to trace some of the clusters and state authorities have urged people to avoid unnecessary travel and public transport.

Should NSW be forced to implement new restrictions, it would be a hammer blow to Australia’s hopes for a quick economic recovery.

Already, Australia is facing its first recession in nearly three decades, with unemployment at a 22-year high.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

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guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020

Regional

7 Panama youths killed in LIAT meeting scheduled for today brutal attack near lake S

Some people in the group managed to escape the attack and are assisting authorities with the investigation

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anamanian authorities are investigating the murder of seven young people near a lake about 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of the capital, a prosecutor said.

The bodies of the victims, four women and three men ranging in age from 17 to 22 years old, were found on Saturday, homicide prose-

cutor Adolfo Pineda told reporters.

Some people in the group managed to escape the attack and are assisting authorities with the investigation, Pineda added.

Some of the dead had injuries consistent with gunshot wounds, but the cause of death has yet to be determined, Pineda said. The mo-

tive for the attack is also under investigation.

"It really is a shocking occurrence from all points of view," Pineda said.

Local media reported that some of the victims' family members had reported them missing on Friday.

The group had gone out to swim, according to local media.(Al Jazeera)

Brazil reports 23,529 new cases of coronavirus and 716 deaths

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razil registered 23,529 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and 716 new deaths on Sunday, the Health Ministry said.

Total cases in Brazil, the world’s second most-affected country after the United States, have now risen to 2,098,389 while deaths totalled 79,488.

Meanwhile, Chilean Government officials presented a plan on Sunday to gradually relax lockdown restrictions after the coronavirus infection rate improved in some regions of the country.

The plan, called “Step by Step,” includes five stages that range from total quarantine to advanced opening and will be applied according to epidemiological criteria, the capacity of the health-

People walk along a popular shopping street amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in São Paulo, Brazil, July 15, 2020

care system and the ability to trace cases, officials said.

Much of the population of the world’s largest copper producer, including in the capital Santiago, remains un-

der lockdown as Chile works to control the spread of the virus, currently at 330,000 confirmed cases and more than 8500 deaths. (Excerpted from Reuters)

to honour the legacy of our stalwarts and three years ago we entered our university into the Global Ranking Competitions within the context of the Times Higher Education. Our results were good: first in the Caribbean, top three per cent in Latin America, top four per cent of the world’s finest. But two weeks ago, those results from the Times were once again declared and our results have been excellent.

UWI has risen to the top.

“We remain the top university in the Caribbean and now we are ranked in the top one per cent of the best universities in Latin America from a field of over 5000.”

He also said UWI was ranked in the top one per cent of universities “in our age cohort, universities within the Golden Age period of 50 to 100 years.

This is indeed a triple first.

Excellence achieved”.

He added the distinction was built on a foundation laid by the stalwarts, the work of project leader Pro Vice Chancellor Densil Williams, the support of students and regional governments.The webinar also heard from the guild presidents, principals of the five UWI campuses across the region and other stakeholders. (Excerpt from Nation News)

hareholder Prime Ministers of regional carrier LIAT are scheduled to meet on today in Barbados to discuss the fate of the airline.

According to Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne, a previously-scheduled meeting was not held owing to the unavailability of Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados.

He said the meeting, that will also include Caricom Chairman, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, will now be held at 17:00h on Monday.

Browne, who does not share the position adopted by the major shareholders of the Antigua-based cashstrapped airline, has been pushing for a plan to keep the airline, whether in a new incarnation, afloat.

He said his administration has at least EC$20 million that could be invested in the new venture, which he said could be renamed LIAT 2020, instead of the existing LIAT (1974).

LIAT has since scheduled a meeting for July 31 of the company’s creditors to discuss its liquidation.

In the July 16, letter, signed by LIAT’s Company Secretary Diane Shurland, creditors have been informed that the meeting would “consider the winding up of the company” and instructed all creditors who had claims against the company to submit them by Monday, July 27.

“A creditor entitled to attend and vote is entitled to appoint a proxy to attend and vote instead of it/him/ her. A proxy need not be a

member or creditor of the company,” the letter stated.

In the statement following the Cabinet meeting, it was disclosed that the “perilous state of LIAT which remains inoperable because of the closed borders in the Caribbean territories to which LIAT flies", had been discussed.

“Antigua and Barbuda regards LIAT as an aviation export product that produces and supports nearly 400 high-paying jobs that are filled by many Caricom nationals. LIAT also pays landing fees, rentals to the Airport Authority, and makes other kinds of purchases including fuel, that add significantly to the economy of Antigua and every country to which LIAT flies,” the statement said. (Excerpt from CMC)

Arrests coming soon in TT$549M EMBD case

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he Anti-Corruption Investigation Bureau (ACIB) has cracked the case involving the pillaging of taxpayers' money through a fraudulent scheme involving the Estate Management and Business Development (EMBD) company in the lead-up to the September 2015 General Election and arrests are imminent.

Over the last year and a half, officers from the ACIB with assistance from a UK prosecution and investigations firm – Edmonds Marshall McMahon – have been able to piece together complex financial information which forms part of the criminal investigation being pursued by the T&T Police Service (TTPS).

A document obtained by Guardian Media revealed that a prominent politician "orchestrated a scheme that resulted in signifi-

The Estate Management and Business Development (EMBD) company at Couva

cant funds being secured and spent by the EMBD six weeks before the general election on September 7," amounting to a staggering US$549 million, just over half a billion dollars.

Investigators believed that this politician was able to implement the fraudulent scheme with the assistance of a former senior employee of the EMBD "who has now fled

the country" and his "close acquaintances", the CEOs of at least four construction companies, "who in turn engaged the assistance of subordinates".

Investigators have painstakingly mapped out the modus operandi of the major players, several individuals and companies, who helped to facilitate this scheme from the embryonic stages to fruition. (Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

Holness focused on UWI ready for face-to-face teaching stabilising the economy

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he University of the West Indies (UWI) is ready for face-to-face teaching after disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

This was revealed by Vice Chancellor Professor Sir Hilary Beckles during a webinar on Friday to celebrate the UWI achieving global recognition in the universities’ rankings.

He said UWI had taken the scientific advice, of which it was at the centre, for the return of all of its students along with international students who wanted to enrol.In terms of the latest acclamation, Sir Hilary said: “We have done our best

P

rime Minister Andrew Holness says that while the COVID-19 pandemic has created some severe economic challenges for Jamaica, there are some surprisingly strong indicators that bode well for the future.

Holness, who was speaking at the handing over of a one-bedroom house to an elderly person in Bogue District, St Elizabeth on Sunday, said that both cement and petrol are showing an uptick in demand, and also great signs that the construction industry is

ticking and people are going back to work.

“We are in a recession right now; we are indeed in an economic downturn.

People have not started to truly feel it as yet, but if we take our eyes off that, then it could get even worse and so we are making sure that doesn't happen,” the Prime Minister said.

Holness said that the demand for cement was a good indicator of what was happening in the economy.

“What it means is that the construction sector has taken on our moral appeal that we should not pull

back, as now is the time to push forward,” he added.

Holness said a similar situation is happening in the petroleum sector, where indications are that there has also been a surge in demand for petrol.

“This means that people are going back to work and production is happening. We are watching these figures very carefully and as best as possible, we are going to ensure that there are no second and third order effects from the initial fallout from COVID-19,” he emphasised. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020

19

Around the World

Coronavirus: Zimbabwe arrests 100,000 for “violations” of measures

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ore than 105,000 people have been arrested in Zimbabwe since March for violating regulations aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus, Police say.

Around 1000 were arrested in the last two days for "unnecessary movement" or for not wearing face masks, they add.

Restrictions have been eased slightly in the country, where more than 1500 infections have been confirmed.

Critics accuse the Government of using the measures to target the opposition and arrest activists, which it denies.

Opposition and civil society groups are mobilising for nationwide protests on July 31 to demand that President

Police say they will get stricter to enforce restrictions aimed at containing COVID-19 infection rates

Emmerson Mnangagwa step down.

Under current regulations, all Zimbabweans returning from abroad are required to remain in quarantine for three weeks at a Government-approved facility. According to Police, a total of 276 people had fled

quarantine centres, including some who had tested positive.

Almost 30 of them had been arrested, and would be taken to court for exposing their families and communities to the virus, Police added. They included two men who had infected seven

members of a family, state television reported.

Police say they intend to step up efforts to enforce regulations arguing that many people have become complacent.

Zimbabwe's lockdown measures to combat the spread of coronavirus have worsened the country's economic and political crisis.

The Government expects the economy to shrink by 4.5 per cent this year while annual inflation surged to 785 per cent in June.

There are calls for more protests against President Mnangagwa, who appears increasingly intolerant of criticism, BBC World Service Africa regional editor Will Ross reports.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

5 dead, 85 wounded in car bomb attack in Syria's Azaz – Turkish State media

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car bomb attack in northwestern Syria’s Azaz region killed five people and wounded 85 others, a local hospital in Syria and Turkish state media said on Sunday.

The incident took place in the village of Siccu, across the border from Turkey’s south-

ern province of Kilis, Turkey’s Anadolu agency said.

It said 15 of the wounded had been taken to a hospital on the Turkish side of the border and that some were in critical condition.

Azaz has been under the control of rebels backed by Turkey since Ankara’s first

incursion into Syria in 2016, in an operation that aimed to drive away Islamic State militants and the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia from its border with Syria.

Ankara regards the USbacked YPG as a terrorist organisation. The operation ended in 2017.

Syria held a parliamentary election across Government territory on Sunday. The country is struggling against a collapsing economy and new US sanctions after President Bashar al-Assad clawed back control of most of the country.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Trump refuses to commit Assam flooding: Several to accepting November rare rhinos die in election results India's Kaziranga park

OILNEWS Azerbaijan warns of risks to Caspian energy exports from conflict with Armenia

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zerbaijan warned on Saturday about security risks to the oil and gas it supplies to European markets due to the outbreak of hostilities at its border with Armenia.

Elshad Nassirov, Vice President of Azeri state energy company SOCAR, said on a conference call some of the energy infrastructure involved in shipping Caspian oil and gas to world markets is located in the vicinity of the current military operations.

Fifteen servicemen from Azerbaijan and Armenia and one Azeri civilian have died since Sunday in clashes between the two countries, who fought a war in the 1990s over Azerbaijan’s breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Nassirov told the call that if they looked at a map they would see that clashes had taken place near some of its infrastructure. He said the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the Baku-Supsa oil pipeline, the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzrum gas pipeline and some other facilities were located not far from the territory where clashes had taken place.

Nassirov also referred to the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, the last stretch of the Southern Gas Corridor which also includes two other pipelines running via Georgia and Turkey important because its completion means the whole corridor will be operational, reducing Europe’s dependence on Russian gas supplies.

“The pipeline will be ready and operational in time in October-November this year,” he said.

Armenia on Saturday also warned about security risks to the region coming from Azerbaijan after Baku said on Thursday it might strike the Metsamor nuclear power plant.

“This is a statement that should be unequivocally considered a crime against humanity ... it should be given an appropriate international response and probe,” Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.

Speaking on the conference call organised by US-based think-tank the Caspian Policy Center, details of which were published on the group’s website, Nassirov called on the West to help protect its energy exports.

“I would use this opportunity to invite our colleagues in Washington and elsewhere to think about how fragile ... this region is and to think how to provide ... military and physical security to the corridor, which is providing energy security to Europe,” Nassirov said. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Hope probe: UAE launches historic 1st mission to Mars

Donald Trump says he will not commit to accepting the November presidential election results

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nited States President Donald Trump refused to publicly commit to accepting the results of the upcoming presidential election in November, while also declining to say if the Confederate flag was an offensive symbol.

In an interview with Fox News host Chris Wallace broadcast on Sunday, Trump said it was too early to make such an ironclad guarantee, echoing a similar threat he made weeks before the 2016 vote and scoffing at recent polls that show him lagging behind presumptive Democratic candidate Joe Biden.

"I have to see. Look ... I have to see," Trump said. "No, I'm not going to just say yes.

I'm not going to say no, and I didn't last time either."

The Biden campaign responded: "The American people will decide this election. And the United States Government is perfectly ca-

pable of escorting trespassers out of the White House."

While considered remarkable that a sitting President would express less than complete confidence in the American democracy's electoral process, the statement comes from Trump's insurgent playbook of four years ago, when in the closing stages of his race against Hillary Clinton he said he would not commit to honouring the election results if the Democrat won.

Pressed during an October 2016 debate about whether he would abide by the voters' will, Trump responded he would "keep you in suspense".

During the interview, Trump also declined to say whether the Confederate battle emblem - that has come to represent racial oppression and slavery for many Americans - was an offensive symbol. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

The Kaziranga park is home to the world's largest population of one-horned rhinos

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ore than 100 wild animals, including at least eight rare rhinos, have died in recent flooding at a national park in north-eastern India, officials say.

The Kaziranga park in Assam state is home to the world's largest population of one-horned rhinos, which faced extinction at the turn of the century.

But this year's monsoon rains have almost 85 PER CENT of the park under water.

The floods have killed more than 200 people and displaced millions in Assam, Nepal and Bangladesh.

Kaziranga park, which is a Unesco World Heritage site, is home to at least 2400 onehorned rhinos.

Park officials told the Hindustan Times eight onehorned rhinos had drowned in the recent rains, while another died of natural causes

last month.

Dozens of other animals, including deer, buffalo and porcupines, have also been died - many due to drowning, although others were hit by vehicles as they attempted to escape the floodwaters.

Across Assam, heavy rain has submerged thousands of villages. Hundreds of relief camps have been set up to shelter those displaced.

Flooding and landslides are a common occurrence during the monsoon in north-eastern India and neighbouring countries.

But this year's floods come as India struggles to halt the spread of coronavirus, with more than one million cases reported across the country, the world's third-largest caseload.

At least 79 people have died in Assam alone in recent weeks, while Nepal has reported 117 deaths. (Excerpt from BBC News)

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he United Arab Emirates' historic first mission to Mars is underway, after a successful lift-off in Japan.

The Hope probe launched on an H2-A rocket from Tanegashima spaceport, and is now on a 500-million-km journey to study the planet's weather and climate.

Two previous attempts to launch the probe in the past week had to be called off because of adverse weather.

Hope's arrival in February 2021 is set to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the UAE's formation.

The UAE craft is one of three missions to Mars launching this month.

The US and China both have surface rovers in the late stages of preparation.

The UAE has limited experience of designing and manufacturing spacecraft and yet here it is attempting something only the

US, Russia, Europe and India have succeeded in doing. But it speaks to the Emiratis' ambition that they should dare to take on this challenge.

Their engineers, mentored by American experts, have produced a sophisticated probe in just six years and when this satellite gets to Mars, it's expected to deliver novel science, revealing fresh insights on the workings of the planet's atmosphere.

In particular, scientists think it can add to our understanding of how Mars lost much of its air and with it a great deal of its water.

But as ever when it comes to Mars, the risks are high.

A half of all missions sent to the Red Planet have ended in failure. Hope project director, Omran Sharaf, recognises the dangers but insists his country is right to try.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

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MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020

guyanatimesgy.com

ARCHIE

ARIES

It's what you do, not what you say. Put your energy into honing your skills or finding new outlets for your attributes. Productivity will lead to success. Romance is in the stars.

TAURUS

Friends and relatives will influence what you do or how you feel. Discuss your plans with someone you look up to, and it will help you make a decision.

(March 21April 19)

(April 20May 20)

DILBERT

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

Put unfinished business to rest. Deal with institutions and government agencies personally, and you'll get the help you need to move forward with your plans. Don't get angry; get busy.

CANCER (June 21July 22)

Stop questioning and start doing. Sometimes it's best to learn as you go. Be adventurous and ready to switch directions and try something different.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Refuse to let anyone dis-

PEANUTS

courage you. Take the initia-

tive to pursue something that

requires physical strength and agility. Romance is on the rise.

CALVIN AND HOBBES

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Trying to fit in where you don't belong will be detrimental to your well-being.

Size up whatever situation you face and make beneficial adjustments.

LIBRA

Problems will grow if you don't address concerns promptly. A fair assessment followed by action will help calm things down. Reward yourself by doing something that makes you happy.

(Sept. 23Oct. 23)

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

SUDOKU

Assess your situation and lighten the load.

Consider what you need and what you don't, and sell off what's no longer of value. Take a less restrictive path.

SAGITTARIUS Don't jump into something risky. Time is on (Nov. 23your side, and looking for Dec. 21) the best prospect will lead to personal gain. Invest in yourself, your home and a meaningful relationship.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

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

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

Take nothing for granted and expect nothing in return. Set an example and provide an incentive, and you will get all the help you need. Anger or force is discouraged.

An unexpected change will cause uncertainty. Don't make a move just because someone else does. Use discretion and do what's best for you. Health and fitness are favored.

Take pride in what you do and finish what you start.

Keep in touch with past colleagues. Don't hesitate to ask for a favor. Someone you respect will have a positive influence on you.

MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020

21

L

ewis Hamilton moved into the world championship lead for the first time this season with a dominant victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver pulled out an eight-second lead in three wet laps at the start of the race before switching to dry tyres, and controlled the race from there.

Hamilton even had time to stop for fresh tyres with three laps to go to grab the extra point for fastest lap. Valtteri Bottas failed in an attempt to pass Red Bull's Max Verstappen for second, giving Hamilton a five-point championship lead over his team-mate after three races.

Verstappen's second place was extraordinary, for he crashed on the laps to the grid and damaged both his front wing and suspension. The Red Bull mechanics worked wonders to change his left front push-rod on the grid in the time permitted and get him into the race and he then drove a superb race to hold off Bottas at the end.

Lewis Hamilton

of the season, and it came after another anti-racism protest from the drivers before the race. It ended up slightly chaotic, as it had in the Styrian Grand Prix a week ago, with the drivers rushing to take part. But as in the first two

Hamilton supreme

It was Hamilton's second consecutive victory in the third race

races, most of the drivers 'took the knee' alongside Hamilton, while a few chose to remain standing for their own reasons.

Hamilton's win was never in doubt once he shot away from the field at the start, while Bottas may be considered lucky to get

away with an apparent jumped start. The Finn moved before the lights went out and then stopped again, saying he had reacted to a light on his dashboard. The subsequent slow getaway dropped him to sixth place on the first lap.

Hamilton took advantage to show off his renowned wet-weather skills in the opening laps, moving six points clear of the Racing Point of Lance Stroll in two laps and adding a further two seconds before pitting at the end of the next lap as the initially wet track quickly dried. By the time the other front-runners had all stopped a lap later, Hamilton was 7.8ss clear and in a position to control the race, and he simply moved further and further away as the laps ticked by.

Hamilton won in Hungary for the eighth time, equalling Michael Schumacher's record of winning the French Grand Prix eight times – the last being in 2006. (BBC Sport)

Harry Kane has scored 16 goals in 14 games against Leicester

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L

ionel Messi looks set to win his seventh La Liga golden boot after scoring twice in Barcelona's win over Alaves on the final day.

The Barca captain is on 25 goals, four clear of Karim B e n z e n a , whose Real Madrid f a c e

Leganes at 20:00h BST.

The game was not of importance as Real clinched the La Liga title on Thursday. Messi rounded the keeper to make it 2-0 and swept in a fifth – with teenager Ansu Fati, Luis Suarez, and Nelson Semedo scoring the other goals.

Riqui Puig, Messi, and Arturo Vidal all hit the woodwork before Fati opened the scoring.

Unless Benzema scores four, it will be a fourth consecutive Pichichi for Messi.

However, it will be the first time the top scorer has managed fewer than 30 goals since Mallorca's Daniel Guiza 12 years ago. Barca, who only named five out of a possible 12 substitutes, host Napoli in the Champions League last-16 second leg on August 8, having drawn 1-1 in Italy.

(BBC Sport)

ottenham boosted their chances of Europa League football next season and inflicted a huge blow on Leicester's Champions League ambitions with a superb performance.

Brendan Rodgers' Leicester side have been in the Premier League's top four for much of the season, but this devastating away defeat leaves them with a difficult task going into their final league game next Sunday. The Foxes finish the season against fifth-placed Manchester United, but should the Red Devils beat West Ham on Wednesday and claim a draw at the King Power, they will be assured of a top-four finish at the expense of Leicester.

James Justin's own goal from Son Heung-min's strike and a double from Harry Kane – including a sumptuous curling effort – sealed Spurs' victory following a splendid first-half showing. Leicester did have chances, but could not find a way past an inspired Hugo Lloris, who made a string of superb saves to deny Jamie Vardy, Ayoze Perez, and Demarai Gray.

Mourinho working his magic Jose Mourinho's side moved up to sixth in the table, two points clear of Wolves, but Nuno Espirito Santo's side have a game in hand.

Spurs were in disarray when Chairman Daniel Levy made the shock decision to sack the popular

Mauricio Pochettino and replace him with exChelsea and Manchester United boss Mourinho.

They were 14th in the league and had won just three of their opening 12 league games this season, but the Portuguese boss has utilised his vast experience to turn things around.

Though a desperately poor loss against Sheffield United left him questioning the mentality of his players, their overall form has been excellent since the restart, and they have collected five wins and two draws from eight games. While clinching European football for next season looked unlikely earlier in the campaign, a late-season surge means seventh could be enough for a Europa League spot, depending on the winners of the FA Cup. Spurs' finishing in the first 45 minutes was clinical - forward Son seeing his shot deflect in off James after wrong-footing Kasper Schmeichel, before England Captain Kane showed his class.

The striker, who recently passed 200 career goals, has tormented Leicester whenever he has played against them and took his tally to 16 in 14 games against the Foxes with a cool, left-footed finish and a brilliant second which curled precisely into the far post past the reach of Schmeichel.

Having gone 3-0 up by half-time, there was no way back for Leicester in the second period as Mourinho's men expertly saw out the game. (BBC Sport)

22

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NOW!

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lthough this year's West Indies regional four-day tournament was cut short because of COVID-19 with two rounds of matches to go, Barbados, who were well clear at the top of the table having won five of their seven games, were confirmed as the 2019-20 winners.

It was their first four-day title in six seasons, and followed five consecutive victories for Guyana. "But we have a saying here in Barbados," Henderson Broomes, the Chairman of Selectors, says. "We don't rate our success by regional victory. We rate our success on how our international players go on the international stage."

Such an attitude is understandable when you consider that Barbados have been the dominant force in the West Indies regional competition, winning it on 23 occasions. The next best? Jamaica with 12 victories. And it is little wonder either that Broomes speaks of judging the success of Bajan cricket by what their players do on the international scene. From Sir Everton Weekes, Sir Clyde Walcott and Sir Frank Worrell, to Wes Hall and Sir Garry Sobers to Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Malcolm Marshall and Joel Garner, the island has produced some of the very best players to have ever played the game. An all-time Barbados XI would take some beating But the traditional strength of Bajan cricket had, for a time, diminished. They won just one regional title in 13 years before their latest triumph and of the 10 Bajans who made their Test debuts for West Indies between 2000 and 2010, only two, Fidel Edwards and Kemar Roach, played more than 25 matches.

Things have changed of late, of course. The West Indies team for the second Test at Emirates Old Trafford contains seven Barbados players, six of whom have played more than 30 matches each. There are two more in the wider squad and another four in the reserves. That strength is one of the reasons why Broomes isn't getting carried away with the success of the team this season. "If you have a Barbados team with nine international players, you should expect to win the regional tournament," he says. "I don't get all head over shoulders because Barbados won."

There are some who say that the presence of so many Bajans in the West Indies squad is because Jason Holder is Captain and Roddy Estwick, a legendary figure in Barbados cricket, is Assistant Coach.

But the likes of Holder, Roach, Shane Dowrich, Kraigg Brathwaite, and

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223-7230-1 (Ext 55)

Roston Chase have all proven themselves at Test level. While Shai Hope has had a rough time of things lately, Shamarh Brooks scored a hundred on Test debut too. It's not as if these players are passengers.

Rather like when the Class of '92 came through at Manchester United, forming the nucleus of a side that won the famous treble, so too did this Bajan core of the West Indies team more or less rise up through the ranks together. "It wasn't something planned," Broomes admits. "A number of those guys played the same age group cricket together." Instead, it was Barbados' good fortune that a

coaches. Henderson Springer, the former Coach of the West Indies, leads the programme while former internationals Corey Collymore, Vasbert Drakes and Ryan Hinds are all involved too.

At club level, all of the Elite and First Division clubs are assigned coaches, paid by the BCA. There is not the funding to have a professional, or even semi-professional, club cricket structure on the island, but the BCA do contract around 12 development players who are outside the regional squad to try and raise the standard of the club game. Where possible, the regional players will

group of talented players emerged at roughly the same time, some of them at the same Combemere school, and drove each other on to improve.

"The success of one player was never a burden to the rest," Broomes says. "It drove the rest to want success. Once one player tasted it, it filtered all the way to down. Roston Chase from his school days was a very prolific run scorer and having seen Kraigg and Jason moving on, you could see the hunger and desire in Roston's eyes, his whole attitude to training, his professionalism to stepping his game up improved."

The Barbados Cricket Association's development programme obviously played a part and the BCA has embarked on a number of developments to try and keep their edge. The high-performance structure has undergone a reshuffle and the Everton Weeks Centre of Excellence is now staffed by a host of former international players as

go back and play club cricket too for the famous clubs on the island like Carlton and Pickwick and there is a school team in the top division, comprised of the best young players on the island.

There has been focus, too, on the pitches, moving away from the slow, low surfaces which dominated to quicker, bouncier pitches, suiting both their heritage and current strengths. Broomes admits that for too long winning the regional competition took priority over developing talent for many of the regions.

"Teams would open the bowling with slow bowling," he says. "It pushed our cricket into a negative way of thinking.

"For the 2019-20 season, when we sat down to put our plans together, we wanted to have a very big presence on fast bowling. Our pitches were prepared to have a little bit of grass, a little bit of bounce, some hard surfaces where you can get some

hree Bangladesh players – Mustafizur Rahman, Tamim Iqbal, and Mahmudullah – have declined invitations to the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) because of concerns over COVID-19 and to show loyalty to the country’s domestic league.

According to Tamim, the journey to the CPL, which is set for August 18 in Trinidad Mahmudullah, Mustafizur Rahman, and Tamim Iqbal and Tobago, is long and

would keep him away from his family, making it difficult to respond to emergencies.

“Due to the COVID-19, there is travel restriction and route to West Indies is very long. Say I make it to the islands, but there is an emergency in my family, I will not be able to return easy. I do not want to take that chance,” said Tamim.

There is also the issue of figuring out when Bangladesh’s domestic cricket will restart. The last game

pace. The pitches played a big role in Barbados' win. We hope to continue that. Once fast bowling is around, cricket gets exciting, crowds come out and it gives our batsmen, who have to travel the world to face stronger opponents, the opportunity to be able to cope with what is given to them.”

There is particular depth coming through in the pace department.

Chemar Holder could be in the reckoning to make a Test debut in the third Test while Keon Harding is part of the reserve squad in England.

Between them, they took 65 wickets in the regional championship at an average of 20.6. Then there is Dominic Drakes, son of Vasbert, who was part of the West Indies A squad, who toured England in 2018, and Akeem Jordan, who averages 21 in List A cricket, waiting for more opportunities.

The senior side was not the only successful Barbados team this season. The Under-19 and Under-17 teams retained their regional titles – the BCA hopes to establish an Under-23 team to help bridge the gap between the Under-19s and the senior side – and the women's team won the championship too. "The structure can't rest on its laurels, though and think that we won all the junior championships so we are head and shoulders above the rest of the islands," Broomes said. "We need to keep improving."

Barbados has the facilities and the systems in place that some of the other Caribbean islands lack, of course. The island’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is 10 times as much as Dominica's, for instance, and five times as much as Grenada and St Kitts and Nevis. A young player in those countries arguably has a lesser chance of playing for West Indies as a result. While that should be a focus of Cricket West Indies, it doesn't mean that Barbados' resurgence as a cricketing force is any less real. A strong Bajan core has certainly paid dividends for West Indies of late.

"We want to see our players, not only just making the West Indies team, but staying in the team and making a meaningful contribution to West Indian and world cricket," Broomes says. "If we have seven Barbadian players in the team putting those type of performances together and West Indies cricket starts to go in an upward trend, then to me that is where I mark the success of Barbados players. That is what we want." As an ambition, that's a pretty good one.

(Cricbuzz)

was p l ay e d in March and it is still unknown when a restart is likely, but Tamim, in particular, wants to be available when it does. “The tournament [Dhaka Premier League] is suspended, but as you know, we all are waiting for it to resume which can happen any time,” said Tamim.

Mahmudullah and Tamim have played in the CPL before, the former for the Jamaica Tallawahs and the Bangladesh Captain for the St Lucia Zouks. (Sportsmax)

MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020

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new-ball burst by Stuart Broad has left England with a sniff of victory and the chance to stay alive in their series against West Indies head-

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

ond Test as part of a new-look attack alongside Sam Curran and Woakes following Jofra Archer's disciplinary omission and the decision to rest James Anderson and Mark Wood. Half-centuries for

Kraigg Brathwaite, Shamarh Brooks, and Roston Chase had West Indies looking steady and unflustered.

Curran had done some early damage when he claimed

Sam Curran sent back Shai Hope

ing into the final day of the second Test. After Saturday's washout at Emirates Old Trafford, England awoke on Sunday morning needing to take 19 wickets in two days.

For a long time, it appeared they wouldn't come close as West Indies thwarted them with a confident, calm batting display as they initially set about avoiding the follow-on. Then came Broad, armed with the second new ball and a point to make. Wicketless in the series so far – after being left out of the first Test, much to his disappointment – Broad claimed three wickets for one run in 14 balls with West Indies still needing 18 runs to avoid the follow-on.

Chris Woakes claimed three wickets of his own as West Indies lost their last six for 45 runs, limping past the 270-run mark to avoid following on and posting a first-innings total of 287, still 182 runs adrift. England signalled their intention to build the lead quick-smart, sending out Ben

Stokes and Jos Buttler to open the second innings with about an hour's play left on the fourth day.

The move backfired somewhat when Kemar Roach, wicketless for nearly 11 months and 521 deliveries before claiming two scalps in England's first innings, bowled Buttler for a three-ball duck and then Zak Crawley for 11.

At the close, Stokes remained not out alongside Joe Root, with England leading by 219 runs.

Broad was recalled for the sec-

Stuart Broad made inroads with the new-ball

Jermaine Blackwood is bowled all ends up

been distracted as Crawley started to dive across him in the slips before stopping himself, and withstood a run-out chance on 21 as Dom Sibley's shy at the stumps from extra cover was off target.

It was Dom Bess who got Joseph in the end with his second ball, tempting him into a prod to Ollie Pope at short leg. Shai Hope came in with something to prove, having struggled since posting twin centuries at Headingley in 2017. He did little to alleviate the pressure when Curran struck again with an offcutter that Hope edged to Buttler behind the stumps.

Brathwaite looked settled, sharing in 50-plus-run partnerships with Joseph, Hope and Brooks on his way to 75, the latter union yielding 76 runs. Even when Stokes accounted for Brathwaite with a straightforward caughtand-bowled, there seemed no cause for panic with Brooks

the wicket of opener John Campbell late on the second day to send

Kraigg Brathwaite scored his second fifty of the series

23

West Indies to 32 for 1 in reply to England's 467 for 9 declared. Alzarri Joseph, the nightwatchman, was unbeaten on 14 when play finally resumed some 40 hours later, and he moved to 32 off 52 deliveries, surviving two chances. Joseph was dropped on 19 by Stokes, who appeared to have

Sharmarh Brooks evading a bouncer

still at the crease and Chase and Jason Holder to come.

West Indies remained on course, with Brooks and Chase adding 43 runs, but then England took the new ball in the 81st over, handing straight to Broad, who struck in his second over with it when he sent Brooks on his way, lbw for 68.

Broad then negated any threat posed by Jermaine Blackwood, whose second-innings 95 was crucial in West Indies sealing victory by four wickets at the Ageas Bowl. Broad pegged back Blackwood's middle and off stumps with a ball that kept low off a length for nought and Broad had two wickets in two overs.

Another lbw in Broad's next over accounted for Shane Dowrich, who reviewed the decision to no avail, with Hawk-Eye confirming umpire Michael Gough's decision.

When Woakes had Holder caught by Root at slip, West Indies still needed 10 to avoid the follow-on. Chase guided them past the mark with a four off Curran en route to his 51 before he fell to Woakes, as did last man Shannon Gabriel.

All eyes will turn to England's declaration and whether they give themselves enough time to take the second new ball late on the final day if needed. (ESPNcricinfo)

SCOREBOARD England 2nd Innings RJ Burns c Campbell b Chase 42 DP Sibley c †Dowrich b Gabriel 50 JL Denly c JO Holder b Chase 29 Z Crawley c & b Jose 76 BA Stokes (c)c Hope b JOHolder 46 OJ Pope b Gabriel 12 JC Buttler † b Joseph 9 DM Bess b Gabriel 3 JC Archer c †Dowrich b Gabriel 23 MA Wood c †Dowrich b Gabriel 2 JM Anderson not out 4 Extras (b 4, lb 10, nb 3) 17 TOTAL (111.2 Ov, RR: 2.81) 313 Fall of wickets: 1-72 (Rory Burns, 36.1 ov), 2-113 (Dom Sibley, 51.3 ov), 3-151 (Joe Denly, 64.3 ov), 4-249 (Ben Stokes, 89.4 ov), 5-253 (Zak Crawley, 90.4 ov), 6-265 (Jos Buttler, 94.2 ov), 7-278 (Dom Bess, 101.2 ov), 8-279 (Ollie Pope, 101.6 ov), 9-303 (Mark Wood, 109.3 ov), 10313 (Jofra Archer, 111.2 ov) BOWLING O M R W KAJ Roach 22 8 50 0 ST Gabriel 21.2 4 75 5 JO Holder 22 8 49 1

RL Chase 25 AS Joseph 18 KC Brathwaite 3

6 2 0

71 45 9

2 2 0

WEST INDIES 2ND INNINGS (TARGET: 200 RUNS) KC Brathwaite b Archer 4 JD Campbell not out 8 26 SD Hope b Wood 9 SSJ Brooks lbw b Archer 0 RL Chase c †Buttler b Archer 37 J Blackwood c Anderson b Stokes 95 SO Dowrich † c †Buttler b Stokes 20 JO Holder (c) not out 14 36 Extras (lb 7, nb 1, w 5) 13 TOTAL (64.2 Ov,RR:3.1) 200/6 Did not bat: AS Joseph, KAJ Roach, ST Gabriel Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Kraigg Brathwaite, 5.4 ov), 2-7 (Shamarh Brooks, 7.3 ov), 3-27 (Shai Hope, 11.4 ov), 4-100 (Roston Chase, 35.4 ov), 5-168 (Shane Dowrich, 52.5 ov), 6-189 (Jermaine Blackwood, 60.4 ov) BOWLING O M R W JM Anderson 15 3 42 0 JC Archer 17 3 45 3 MA Wood 12 0 36 1 DM Bess 10 2 31 0 BA Stokes 10.2 1 39 2

MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020

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

guyanatimesgy.com

T

rinidad and Tobago Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh said on Saturday last that the 230-plus cricketers coming to T&T for the 2020 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) would not be allowed to come into contact with members of the public.

He was responding to questions from the media at the Health Ministry’s virtual press conference on Saturday morning. Last Thursday, Cabinet gave the green light for the CPL to host the tournament exclusively in T&T from August 18 to September 12.

A total of 34 matches will be played at the Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba and the Queen’s Park Oval, St Clair.

Players and staff will stay at the Hilton Trinidad, St Ann’s.

Deyalsingh said, “It must be reiterated, for the comfort of the population, the CPL contingent will not be allowed to mix with the general public. They will be isolated in quarantine in one location, that is, the Hilton.

“So, there is no chance of contact with the other 1.4 million persons in TT. We are using similar protocols as what is happening to the West Indies team in England.”

Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Roshan Parasram added, “We have a document which speaks to quarantine and the quarantine measures are very rigid, from the Ministry of Health’s perspective, on the way that it is done.

“Quarantine will even take place before coming to T&T with testing, etcetera.”

He said the measures would be very similar to the public health measures already being implemented in T&T. (T&T Newsday)

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