Guyana Times Sunday May 10, 2020

Nationwide coverage coverage from from the the best best news news team team in in Guyana Guyana Nationwide Issue No. 4281 guyanatimesgy.com

THE BEACON BEACON OF OF TRUTH TRUTH THE

Sunday, May 10, 2020

PRICE

GECOM, APNU/AFC destruction of democracy: Day 69

GECOM grants APNU/AFC

request to restrict counting of ballots after 5pm

…decision likely to further delay recount – PPP … Dr Irfaan Ali requests review of decision

US Govt supporting democracy – State Dept Director

$120 VAT INCLUDED

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Guyana's COVID-19 cases climb to 97

P17

Black Bush Polder farmers feeling brunt of COVID-19 economic P12 impact

See story on page 8

…says has no preference of political party elected in Guyana

Carter Center Politics must not must re-apply affect medical to return to Guyana – Harmon practitioners – See story on page 10

Page 18

…will have to satisfy COVID-19 requirements upon arrival

2 nabbed with 230 grams P13 of ganja

Page 10

Medical Council

Recount continues to expose fraudulent figures by Mingo in favour of APNU/AFC See stoy on page 7

Region 10 P10 COVID-19 Committee disappointed with CDC food distribution …needy, most vulnerable left out of exercise

Police destroy over 2000 ‘ganja’ plants in Berbice P19 River

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SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS

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

Sunday, May 10 – 05:30h – 07:00h and Monday, May 11 – 05:00h – 06:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Sunday, May 10 – 06:05h – 07:35h and Monday, May 11 – 06:55h – 08:25h.

GECOM grants APNU/AFC request to restrict counting of ballots after 5pm …decision likely to further delay recount – PPP … Dr Irfaan Ali requests review of decision

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Expect sunny intervals and light rain showers during the day. There will be light rain showers and partly cloudy skies at night. Temperatures should range between 23 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

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

High Tide: 06:13h and 18:44h reaching maximum heights of 2.76 metres and 2.54 metres.

Low Tide: 12:16h reaching a minimum height of 0.47 metre.

PPP Presidential Candidate Dr Irfaan Ali

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our days into the recount, and the Parliamentary Opposition is outraged over a decision made by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to restrict the recount time by not opening ballot boxes after 17:00 hrs - two hours earlier than the conclusion time for the exercise.

In an interview with the media on Saturday, GECOM Commissioner Sase Gunraj revealed that the decision was taken after the intervention of A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) party agent.

"What we’ve seen is that by 5:00pm, when you have two hours left for the recount, you’ve seen objections particularly (coming) from agents of APNU/AFC stationed at the container in some instances, or counting stations, objecting to the issuance of new boxes at or around 5:00pm.

“That has now turned into directives from the Secretariat itself to the staff, not to release boxes after 5:00pm. That suggestion came to the Commission today (at its meeting) and was upheld by the Chairwoman, for boxes not to be issued after 5:00pm. There are boxes that take less than half an hour to complete.”

Commissioner Gunraj explained that prior to GECOM deciding to shave off time from the recount, there were instances of some work stations deciding to halt their count while others continued working.

Dragging out the process

According to Gunraj, the issue is compounded by various counting agents dragging out the process at their respective work stations during the day. He gave an anecdotal report that party agents even discuss the need to slow down the pace at work stations that are deemed to be working too fast.

“I’ve been walking around this facility almost continuously all day, and

it’s almost like a rotation.

I go from (work station) 1 to (work station) 10, and I’m seeing various paces.

Everyone is working hard, but I’d like to see efficiency in the process. I’m seeing some procedures that are clearly not necessary,” he declared.

“In polling stations on election day, everyone is given a folio. Those folios are for information purposes, merely to help through the process. I’ve seen agents painstakingly counting folios. That’s a waste of time.

Persons are either trying to stick slavishly, or even expand the tenets of the order.

Things like that slow down the process,” he declared.

Further delay

Meanwhile, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), in a statement on Saturday, were highly critical of the decision not to issue ballot boxes for counting after 5:00 pm, noting it likely to further delay the recount.

According to them, GECOM’s decision violates the very order it had gazetted. “This is another violation of the Order which provides for work to conclude at 7pm. The refusal to re-

lease boxes at 5pm is resulting in a termination of work long before 7pm. GECOM is already likely to violate its decision to complete the process in twenty-five (25) days.

“Therefore, in terms of time, if GECOM wishes to depart from its own timeframe, it should be to extend work beyond 7pm, not to terminate the work prematurely”, the PPP have said.

Gecom Chair, retired Justice Claudette Singh CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

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

Editor: Tusika Martin News Hotline: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544 223-7230,223-7231,231-0544, 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

Nailing APNU/AFC’s disinformation

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he PNC machinery have gone into overdrive to salvage their barefaced rigging of the March 2 elections through their machinations, which were executed by Reg 4 RO Clairmont Mingo and some other myrmidons in the GECOM Secretariat. Once again, it would appear that they assumed they would win the elections, and when they entered the stretch halfway through tabulation of the Reg 4 SOPs, they were forced to show their hand.

Unfortunately for them, this was done in front of international observers and Western ambassadors.

Forced to accept a recount – which one very active PNC operative close to Chairman Lawrence has pronounced to be “illegal” – the PNC have again shown their hand on how they would deal with this threat to their plan to swear in David Granger as the president: by ignoring the votes of the people.

The plan has two inter-related prongs: create diversions during the count; with their representatives making carefullyplanned, frequent objections, which not only slows down the process to a snail’s pace, but also provides grist for a social media disinformation blitz domestically and internationally.

While misinformation refers to inaccuracies that stem from error, disinformation is deliberate falsehood promulgated by design. These objections are now attached to each Statement of Recount (SOR) as “Observations”, to be evaluated at the end of the process.

It also is a strategic move calculated to provide the grounds to claim that the elections were irredeemably corrupted, and that the results must be discarded. Then, either the Mingo numbers – held in “abeyance” by GECOM Chair Claudette Singh – can be used as a basis to declare APNU/AFC the winner, and David Granger be sworn in as president; or new elections can be scheduled.

Some of the allegations will be used to claim that the Official Voters’ List is “bloated”, and there needs to be a new house-to- house registration. All of this, of course, will be stretched out for another five years, which will see the PNCas-APNU/AFC in office for that duration.

We saw the ploy in operation from day one of the recount, when the PNC agent produced a newly issued death certificate to claim that an individual had voted in the election. Ignoring the fact that there are several individuals with the identical name, no proof was offered to show that it was the deceased who had “voted”. But this is now on the “Observations” sheet to evaluate the validity of the elections later.

Other objections stemmed from a missing “polling book”, which was soon supplied; and a claim that APNU/AFC were awarded less votes than they had received, which was shown to be false. But the delay and disinformation objectives had been achieved.

One particularly egregious disinformation claim was that some PPP agents were in a “secret meeting” with a GECOM IT employee, implying that the inputted data would be corrupted. Again, this was debunked, not only by the twenty other persons who had seen and heard the PPP agents make an innocuous inquiry to the IT staffer in full view of everyone, but also by the GECOM PRO. The APNU/AFC propagandists, in the meantime, posted the IT employee’s name and photograph across social media, where he was denounced for “taking bribes”. In this heightened, polarised atmosphere, they ignored the dangers to which they were exposing this innocent person.

The latest objection was voiced by no less a person than the APNU/AFC GECOM Commissioner Vincent Alexander, who claimed that more persons had voted in one named polling station than had been struck off from the voters’ list by the presiding officer.

He is fully conversant with the fact that there are several reasons why this might be the case, if in fact his claim was valid. For instance, the votes of the disciplined forces’ personnel, which are cast one week before the national polls, are sent back to their districts in batches, to identified polling stations, to be intermixed with the ballots cast by persons on the voting list for that polling station.

Guyanese must not fall for the PNC’s disinformation blitz.

Don’t see how GECOM will ever be trusted in its current form Dear Editor, If the APNU/AFC party mouthpieces opinions on what constitutes credible election are to be taken seriously, Guyana may never have another. The decision

by GECOM Chair Claudette Singh to conduct a semi-audit during a recount is causing the electorate to be misled by APNU/AFC activists as to what constitutes credible elections. Let us look at the brouhaha being made of the Official List of Electors (OLE) as a prime example.

There are adequate identical copies of the OLE to be distributed for GECOM polling day staff and party polling agents – use of the list is discretionary, some tick names of electors off when their names are announced at the door, some will do it when they are handed a ballot, some will look up from the morning sandwich and do nothing, the Presiding Officer (PO) is trained to tick names to ensure no elector tries to vote twice; but there is the ink-stained finger to prevent that and

in my five rounds as a polling agent, I have never seen anyone bold enough to try.

Do POs tick all the names of those who are given ballots? I cannot give an honest answer; polling agents have prescribed functions and powers in a polling station, none of them allows me to ask, ascertain, or examine a PO’s OLE. How can something polling agents are not empowered to scrutinise suddenly germane to the credibility of the election? I can run through some simple scenarios to show any suggestion of credibility being tied to a ticked list is utter rubbish.

Suppose in a future election a PO does not tick a single name on a list. Do we throw out that box and disenfranchise those voters? What happens if a PO ticks names and lets agents check his list and then does not pack it in the box?

Sometimes PO’s ask party agents to return OLEs at the end of the day – agents not familiar with the rules may comply, the PO then

puts all the used lists in the box, how do we know which list is the PO’s? Suppose a PO does put his name on a list at the top, but I also write his name on the top of my list, and both end up in the box? The point of all these scenarios is to share practical experience of what can/could or does occur in Polling Stations.

There are other ‘discrepancies’ to deal with, for example, there is a Polling Station in Sophia where 81 votes were not counted ‘for want of mark’ which means that either the six-digit stamp was not working or some form of fraud occurred in this Polling Station.

Given that there was a problem with the stamp at my station which we managed to get sorted and also of reports from other polling agents of similar issues, it will be interesting to see how GECOM treats with the issue. I do hope a decision is made before the box is opened and those ballots examined to reveal which party would benefit.

Editor, I do not see how the populace will ever trust GECOM in its current form; it has been thoroughly discredited by the actions of rogue employees, partisan Commissioners, and an incompetent Chair. Five per cent of the recount is done and the numbers match those on the SoPs released to the public by the PPP/C. There is no doubt about who won the election; APNU/ AFC is engaged in a campaign to discredit the elections and GECOM. For the thousands of GECOM employees there must be trepidation as the institution faces a certain Commission of Inquiry soon; how an autonomous body could become so compromised is a question that must be answered. With its insistence on the self-audit cum recount, GECOM, much like Frankenstein’s monster, seems intent on killing itself as revenge for being created.

Respectfully, Robin Singh

We can no longer allow theatrics, treachery of APNU/AFC/PNC cabal Dear Editor, All of the opposition parties that contested March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections stand firmly together in the face of the most outlandish attacks of the democratic rights and will of our people. Already, the recount process has affirmed the blatant attempt to steal the elections by way of Clairmont Mingo’s concoctions, which corroborated PNC’s sinister and clandestine plots at the hands of a leading administrative cabal at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

The PNC/APNU cabal along with their GECOM stooges glaringly and flagrantly continue a dictatorial assault, although they have been caught with their pants down several times over. It is, however, far from over, but our sister democratic states around the world have provided strong and welcoming support through their Emissaries, Ambassadors, and Heads of Missions for which Guyana will be forever grateful. It is extremely disappointing that the Government has not yet allowed the accredited Carter Center representatives back in the country to observe the process, and there has been no plausible explanation.

The recount of the nation’s votes as mandated by

the courts is clearly under attack. While hideously professing that they won the elections, which GECOM smoothly executed at the Polling Stations, the APNU/ AFC and their representatives are now pedantically scrutinising the recount in effort to derail the elections and establish it as invalid. The unleashing of PNC thugs as recounting agents highlights the length the coalition wants to take it to discredit the valid votes cast at these elections. Ms Carol Joseph’s behaviour recently screamed for her immediate expulsion like many others from the APNU/AFC’s corner.

Interestingly, Mr Harmon of the APNU/AFC has appealed to the GECOM Chairman to remove Giddings as Supervisor of the tabulation process because Dr Frank Anthony approached him while setting up equipment in the dome of the Convention Centre. Although GECOM’s Public Relations Officer Ms Yolanda Ward disputed this, Demerara Wave reported Mr Harmon as saying that “Suffice to say that there is now widespread belief that Mr Giddings is compromised and this perception of bias can further undermine the credibility of this important process.” The logical question is why Mr

Lowenfield and Ms Roxanne Myers were not replaced when the whole country and the international community lost confidence in them?

It is of note that PNC Commissioner Vincent Alexander has managed to influence, muddle and lead a simple recount process into a detailed audit.

He is now advancing queries and exclusions of some boxes from the tabulations of votes pending a meeting of the Commission and decisions regarding how to deal with boxes where trained GECOM personnel did not cross out the names of some voters. Essentially, the path Alexander wants to take this process cannot be satisfactorily treated by the less than qualified staff for such pedantic measures and is certainly the subject of an Elections Petition. The exercise is to simply count the votes cast for each party.

While Mr Alexander wants to play judge, jury, and executioner, what is noteworthy is that the recounts have been largely validating the SoPs (Statements of Poll) that are in the possession of the PPP/C. Each one of them so far has been vindicated by the recount with the numbers being almost identical to the Statements of Poll that the PPP has in its possession. Importantly, this

serves to expose the massive skullduggery perpetrated by Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo and his other discredited GECOM cabal.

Another emergent factor of the APNU/AFC derailing plan surfaced yesterday. Suddenly, there is a determination that ANUG Presidential Candidate Mr Timothy Jonas must be taken for a COVID-19 test before accessing the Convention Centre.

One would imagine that this new strategy by the APNU/AFCcontrolled COVID Task Force threatens to activate in full force as the PNC conflictingly utilises its authority to silence a voice of reason. There will certainly be reactions in the strongest form as further attempts are made in this respect.

Editor, we can no longer allow the theatrics and treachery of the APNU/ AFC/PNC cabal to continue threatening the Guyanese future. Indeed, they have become equally dangerous as the COVID pandemic.

All civil-minded Guyanese must join the call for swift and immediate sanctions on these callous individuals, once they persist in the dillydallying delays.

Sincerely, Neil Kumar

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Guyana cannot allow a few power-drunk people to lead it into political darkness Dear Editor, In their March 2020 dossier that was sent to the Washington sanction-busting firm of JJ & B LLC, the PNCR stated that the PPP/C plans to establish a People’s Liberation Army base covering 10,000 acres in Guyana, as well as to grant citizenship to Chinese to the extent that they will account for 10 per cent of Guyana’s population. These and other falsehoods have been reported in this controversial PNCR dossier. The PPP/C has rejected those reckless allegations and has asked the US Justice Department to investigate the authenticity of the filing information that they (PNCR) submitted.

The dossier originated in a particular context. The PNCR knew that they lost the March 2, 2020 elections based on their review of the copies of the Statement of Polls (SoPs). And given their neurotic preoccupation with governmental executive power, they readily put their plan B (rigging the elections results) into operation so as to retain power.

They strongly believe that by issuing this dossier before the start of the recount process they could divert focus from the reality of rigging to scandalising the PPP/C’s record in Government. The PNCR’s strategy was de-

signed to endear themselves to Washington’s and other western capitals. At the same time, they hope that the painting of the PPP/C Government as killers, drug dealers, anti-democrats, anti-America, pro-China and pro-Russia would resonate well with those foreign leaders.

An analysis of the available evidence on the pro-China issue, for example, indicates that the PNCR has increasingly begun to shift their focus to China, since they believe that the rigging of the election results would be condemned by the west, which will likely impose sanctions upon them.

GECOM is under severe pressure from the PNCR to rig the election results in favour of a PNCR victory. And to mitigate the negative impact of sanctions, therefore, the PNCR may turn to China for relief.

Perhaps, the PNCR believes that history is on their side! It was their (PNCR) Government, for example, that was the first among the Anglophone Caribbean to establish diplomatic ties with Beijing in the 1970s.

That was a daring act by the PNC regime in the Cold War era. The PNCR Government received G$72 million in aid from China in the 1970/80s.

The Chinese were also

praised lavishly then by the PNCR Administration for building a clay brick factory, a textile mill, and a housing project, as part of the PNCR’s FHC (Feed, House and Clothe) programme.

The fanfare generated was short-lived; these projects were not sustainable and therefore collapsed shortly afterwards. But the PNCR, under Mr David Granger, seems determined to build upon strengthening that relationship.

PNCR Executive Joseph Harmon visited China in April 2016 to discuss the status of a US$5 million balance owed to Guyana for the purchase of GTT (Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Company) shares by the Chinese company, Datang Telecom Technology and Industry Group. Harmon’s team also negotiated with another Chinese firm, NUTECH, the acquisition of container and baggage scanners. Harmon’s visit had set the stage for a deepening of Guyana-China relations.

From then onwards, the cumulative impact has been evident.

Robin Singh noted, “in 2016 the Chinese officials presented a master-plan for the development of every sector of Guyana to a team that included Raphael Trotman.” Many of the top

brass of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) have attended military courses in China, and there have been large donations of vehicles, weapons, and ammunition to the GDF. A contract was entered into with the Chinese firm, Huawei, for the installation in Georgetown of Artificial Intelligence software and hardware. Robin stated further: “In 2019 senior officials in leading Chinese oil companies visited Guyana for a series of high-level meetings including a three-hour one-onone meeting with Joseph Harmon. Kevin Granger (nephew of David Granger) who has emerged as the de facto Minister of Oil was involved in all talks and negotiations.”

China’s grip on Guyana’s economy is reinforced by its state-owned CNOOC oil company which owns a 25 per cent stake in Guyana’s oil at the Stabroek Block.

Quite conspicuous was the call by PNCR operatives following GECOM’s Clairmont Mingo’s false declaration which stunned the world, for Exxon to sell its shares to CNOOC. Robin noted, “key elements in Granger’s Administration are colluding with China for protection of personal gains made through corrupt practice.”

Grave suspicion has

arisen over the likelihood of rigging because the PNCR Administration has blocked the duly accredited Carter Center and other foreign-based observer groups from participating in the May 2020 elections recount process (ERP) that started on May 6, 2020.

Only the Caricom group was allowed to participate in the ERP. The PNCR operatives have been carrying out a recall movement against the Canadian High Commissioner because she, like other western diplomats, has stood firm in defence of democracy, and more importantly, because she was instrumental in getting the Canadian Government to fund the Caricom observer team much to the displeasure of the PNCR. Hence, their hostility towards the Canadian diplomat. However, public support for her and other diplomats is very strong.

In forging Guyana-China relations but not necessarily for the right reasons, the PNCR must pay due cognisance to the experience of countries like Zambia, where China controls 30 per cent of that country’s external debt. “Zambia is a textbook case of Chinese debt trap that affects 15 African countries,” said Jean-Christophe Servant.

(12-11-2019). The Zambia Observer (1-28-2019) states, “relations with China is no longer a partnership but economic slavery.” Zambia is a classic example of a new form of colonialism being imposed by an authoritarian state whose modus operandi is no different from western imperialism.

Apart from the knowledge that the PNCR will have the support of China, they also believe that they would have the unquestioned loyalty and support of the armed forces. It was partly the armed forces’ support that allowed the PNCR to hold onto power for 18 months after the successful passage of the NCM (NoConfidence Motion). And this level of support by the armed forces has continued into the post-election saga.

Guyana cannot allow a few power-drunk and visionless people to lead the country into political darkness. Our destiny is largely tied up with the west. Does the PNCR really believe that the threat of sanctions by the west, if the elections results are rigged, could be neutralised if they fortify their embrace of China as their new “big brother?”

Dear Editor, The ways that the recount can be detonated are innumerable, even the great French mathematician Blaise Pascal could not present us with a formula to prevent the recount process from being disruptive, incomputable, unreliable and voidable.

We are indeed living in Orwellian times, when we have to endure a witless and seemingly never-ending recount process, being conducted hellishly during the COVID-19 global pandemic, a world crisis that has caused record-breaking unemployment and economic hardships, along with further deterioration in the physical and mental health of Guyanese.

While common sense and the law approves use of the easily accessible and easy to tabulate Region Four Statements of Poll (SoPs) - that will quickly allow us to exit this odious “Hotel California” - a hotel we can never leave by using the muddled recount process.

The use of the Region Four SoPs will allow us to declare the baked in election results known to everyone.

The coalition is not financially challenged, and its leaders have enough financial reserves to rebuild, expand and remake the

grouping into a viable opposition that has a probable chance of winning national elections. On a long enough timeline, every political party fails.

With a genuine outreach to expand the inclusion of Guyanese from all demographic groups and a well-endowed hard-working leadership, obtaining the presidency again is achievable.

From the mid-1950s onwards, it had always been difficult, if not impossible for the Burnham-led fraction of the PPP to win a free and fair elections. With the passage of time and immigration from Guyana, the core support fragmentation started to trend for a third party in 2006; when The Alliance for Change showed that having a multiracial, multicultural and multiethnic leadership and political campaign brought sufficient Guyanese from all demographics under their umbrella to change the status quo. The 2011 and 2015 elections further highlighted this multiracial shift in our electoral politics.

There is no doubt in my mind that we will have to close the book on the improprieties of the past and start anew. This is the basis to stop the destruction, the divide and the bubbling

hatred that is plaguing our nation. A plague that is exponentially worse than COVID-19, relative to the development of Guyana.

Guyana has a colossal amount of resource wealth, we can shrug off the extractions, allocations and distributions that have been usurped from the State coffers over the last several decades; and Guyanese will still have much more valuable resources than all the combined resources of the other member states of Caricom.

The PNC is made up of many good people who want to see Guyana develop and thrive for all Guyanese and I say the same for the PPP. At this juncture of our history, allowing a democratic transition, without the interminable rabbit hole recount is much needed. Use the Region Four SoPs and let us conclude the March 2, 2020 elections.

Yes, we will have a new President by the name of Irfaan Ali, who represents the majority will of a cross-section of Guyanese people, based on votes cast at the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections.

The PPP-led Government must then take a forward-looking approach to governance that will have to exclude any attempt-

ed prosecutions for excesses taken by the APNU/AFC Administration. The focus of the new Government must be forward-looking, absolutely no rear-view governance to prosecute or persecute.

Based on the conduct of the PNC-led political parties; after the No-Confidence Motion in December of 2018, we ought not to have any doubt that the intention of the PNC is to stay in power unconstitutionally, COVID-19 or no COVID-19; sanctions or no sanctions.

Thus, it is necessary to provide a shielded an unfettered pathway to the PNC and their affiliated parties to rebuild their coalition, while in opposition; without any attempt by the governing PPP to prosecute the coalition party members or supporters for wrongdoings prior to June 2020.

The Orwellian agents capable of visually detecting opposition members with COVID-19, even those who are asymptomatic, withholding public documents, preventing video monitoring are but a few of the hundreds of variables that prevent even Pascal-like minds from creating a workable election recount solution.

American-British political philosopher Thomas Paine said: “It is dearness

only that gives everything its value.”

God knows Guyanese have paid dearly over the last sixty years. Let us now have a fresh start, let us release the dynamic forces that exist within our multiracial, multicultural and

multiethnic society, these forces certainly exist within the PPP and PNC. The time is now for Guyanese to enjoy inclusive and accelerated economic prosperity.

Sincerely, Dr Tara Singh

Recounting deep down the rabbit hole: coming out requires no prosecution Sincerely, Nigel Hinds

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Recount continues to expose fraudulent figures by Mingo in favour of APNU/AFC

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Some of the side-by-side comparisons released by the PPP showing the inflated (and in one case deflated) numbers Mingo declared in APNU/AFC’s favour

he national elections recount has not reached the halfway stage and stakeholders have already found that the exercise is exposing the fact that the declarations made

by Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo were bogus and inflated in favour of the incumbent A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) party.

In an interview with the media after day four of Saturday’s recount came to a two-hour premature end, Guyana Elections Commissioner Sase Gunraj explained that a comparison between GECOM’s official Statement Of Poll (SoP) for a Polling Station on the East Bank of Demerara and the Statement of Recount match perfectly. However, it does not match what Mingo declared.

“When Mingo was presiding over the calling out of figures, on the morning of March 13 at the Ashmins building, on that morning I had Statements of Poll in my hand that I received from the CEO’s process that I verified included the security features and was signed by two Commissioners.”

“And I heard a number being called by the persons in front and it did not correspond. It represented an addition of 40 votes favouring APNU/AFC. I objected and when I was objecting, several policemen were called into the room. And I remember

GECOM Commissioner Sase Gunraj

saying it don’t matter how much Police you call; it will not stop my objection.”

Gunraj remembered asking them to show the SoP Mingo was using to make his declaration so that he could compare it with the one he had in his hand. This request was denied. According to Gunraj, the very same box nevertheless resurfaced.

“That box was counted. And I have seen that box, on the East Bank, that Statement of Recount matches identically the Statement of Poll I have. I have the audio of that one being called

by Mr Mingo. For me, that one was the tip of the iceberg,” he said.

Fraud

In a graphic comparison of six SoPs it had released, the recount figures and the ones declared by Mingo, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) showed that there was

a consistent manipulation of the votes for APNU/AFC. In the case of box number 4013, the figures PPP released had shown that both the recount figures and the SoP listed APNU as securing 188 votes. In Mingo’s declaration, however, APNU was given 247 votes, an increase of 59.

In box number 4014, the PPP had shown that while APNU was listed as securing 160 votes by both the SoP and the recount, Mingo had declared them as receiving 215 votes, an increase of 55.

The most graphic increase was in box number 4020, where the SoP and Statement of Recount had APNU securing 187 votes.

Mingo declared them to have received 287 votes, an inflation of 100 votes.

Mingo has been a controversial figure, with several stakeholders making it clear prior to the recount that he must play no further role in the process. After the General and Regional Elections were held on March 2, 2020, the tabulation process went relatively smoothly for all the regions. That is until the process started in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), the most populated region in the country.

Strange things began happening as the tabulation got underway at the Returning Office at Ashmins building, High Street, Georgetown, with RO Mingo complaining of feeling unwell and being rushed to the

hospital, his deputy staff refusing to continue the tabulation for various reasons, a GECOM staff being whisked away by Police after surreptitiously going into a room with a flash drive and computer and eventually the count being suspended.

Mingo then returned, with a piece of paper and declared results over the objections of all the party agents present. That declaration was subsequently declared unlawful by the High Court, but Mingo would return to make another controversial declaration, this time at GECOM’s office in Kingston.

Prior to his second declaration, agents at the GECOM office complained of being

Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo

impeded from observing the counting process. Mingo’s refusal to show agents the original Statements Of Poll (SoPs) is reported to have

hampered the transparency of the process.

He then made his declaration and was whisked away under Police protection. Both of these declarations differed in number and were reportedly not tabulated from the official SoPs and have been rejected by everyone except A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC).

A unified international community has already warned Guyana that it could be isolated and even sanctioned if a President is sworn in on the flawed results, resulting in an uneasy standoff between the international community and the Government.

8 NEWS

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

US Govt supporting democracy – State Dept Director …says has no preference of political party elected in Guyana

T

he United States of America has remained deeply concerned about the electoral process here in Guyana, as the country awaits the results of a national ballot recount which is currently ongoing.

However, Director of the Office of Caribbean Affairs at the State Department, Katherine Dueholm said the US Government takes no preference in which political party is elected, as long as the process is credible and carries the voice of the Guyanese people.

She took this position during a forum organised to engage GuyaneseAmericans on the current political situation here.

During the discussion, one person sought to insist that the US was taking sides with other stakeholders and condemned threats of sanctions on Guyana.

But Dueholm asserted, “The US has no preference in the outcome of this pro-

cess, only that it represents the views of the Guyanese people…We are pro-democracy and sometimes, people like the way it shapes out because it favours their side and sometimes, they don’t.

I think perhaps that illustrates why some folks are

Director of the Office of Caribbean Affairs at the State Department, Katherine Dueholm

feeling like some of the positions we’ve taken are maybe not in keeping with what they hoped to see. But it is keeping with supporting the process of democracy.”

Guyana’s elections, she noted, was heavily backed by the US through the deployment of observers and other funding to ensure it

was fair.

“We have spend a fair amount of funding and resources and effort in trying to make this a fair and transparent and credible election…we wanted to be sure that we were prepared

for the elections. We wanted them to be smooth and embrace whatever Government came out of that result and to move forward.”

She went on to note that on March 2, they were pleased with the process.

This position was taken after firsthand information from their own officials on the ground. As such, when the results tabulation went haywire, Dueholm said they knew because of “clear observations” and not from any entity or reports of the process. The US has independently identified a situation where Guyana had diverged from its established method.

“In having prepared for the process and bringing in observers, we watched the elections and they went smoothly. We were happy with the polling and it was unfortunate that things started to unravel at the tabulation process,” the Director said.

She added, “With respect to the tabulation where things started to unravel, we based on the very clear observations of our own Ambassador in the country who saw with her own eyes, the departure from Guyana’s own established processes. So this is not a US attempt to impose our electoral process. It is not listening to reports of tabulations coming from another quarter. It is our diplomats on the ground…seeing these sorts of things and knowing the requirements for polling and tabulation.”

Looking ahead, the US said it is still committed to working with any Government that is elected from a reliable process. In fact, these plans were drafted even before the March 2 polls.

GECOM grants APNU/AFC...

The party also urged that GECOM Chair, retired Justice Claudette Singh, who has largely been avoiding the press since the recount started, make herself available to the media in order to explain the rationale behind the Commission’s decision.

Observation Reports

PPP also drew reference to a decision taken by GECOM to read out the Observation Reports it has been compiling along with the Statements of Recount. Not only would the reports be verbally read out, GECOM has said, but sign language interpreters would be used for good measure.

GECOM Commissioner Vincent Alexander, in justification of this decision, said on Saturday that it was a decision made in the best

interest of the disabled, who may be tuning in to the live streamed tabulation.

According to the PPP, however, this is another thinly veiled attempt by APNU/AFC to drag out the process; as, without evidence, the coalition party is making wild accusations that are being documented in those reports.

“The Order provides only for the tabulation of the SoRs to be live-streamed, and not the Observation Report; so, the live-streaming of this report is in violation of the process. This Observation Report is already given to the political parties, and they can make whatever use they wish of it. Valuable time will also be used to read out this report, (time) which can be spent on the actual counting exercise,” the PPP said.

“In any event, this

Observation Report is a collection of all the ridiculous, unsubstantiated, irrelevant issues which APNU+AFC agents are making as part of their design to undermine the electoral process. For example, they are alleging that dead and migrated persons voted, without producing a scintilla of evidence to support these bizarre allegations.”

PPP leaders, headed by Presidential Candidate Dr Irfaan Ali, met with the GECOM Chairperson and requested a review of that decision. Ali, on Saturday, lamented the fact that the pace at which the exercise is being conducted is very slow. He noted that, considering the 25 days scheduled, which was outlined in the gazetted order, the counting agents should be doing about 94 boxes per day. However, the pace of

“We had the plans and we had it lined up. We were prepared to embrace whatever legitimate results came out of this and we remain prepared to embrace whatever electoral result represents the voice of the Guyanese people…We were extremely excited to be looking at where Guyana was heading in its trajectory at this point in time and really make the most of it and to work with Guyanese people.”

The United States has been at the forefront of mounting international pressure for the March 2 elections results to be credible and transparent.

The ABCE countries, the European Union (EU), the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and the Organisation of American States (OAS) had all mounted calls for sanctions to be imposed.

The US-based Carter Center’s observation mission was in Guyana for the March 2 polls. That team was led by American lawyer Jason Carter, the grandson of former US President Jimmy Carter, and former Senegal Prime Minister Aminata Toure.

By March 20, the Carter Center had withdrawn from Guyana in the wake of discredited declarations from GECOM’s Returning Officer for Region Four, Clairmont Mingo, the widespread criticism from international and local observers of the lack of credibility in the process and the overall break down in political stability.

The observer mission had also cited specific threats against the international community and being impeded from doing its work

by APNU/AFC supporters as reasons for their withdrawal from the process.

FROM PAGE 3

the count is moving at about 40 boxes per day. He added that a further analysis has shown that over four hours is deducted from the actual counting time when one considers all the administrative issues that are taking place simultaneously.

“The Commission will need to revisit this issue… the country has been on pause and standstill; people’s lives have been on pause and standstill, and we need this exercise to be completed,” Ali told the media on Saturday.

Meanwhile as at Saturday, a total of 153 ballot boxes had been recounted, 48 of them on Saturday.

According to GECOM Public Relations Officer Yolanda Warde, 14 boxes were counted from Region 1, 11 from Region Two, 12 from Region Three, and 11 from Region Four.

Politicising…

T

…COVID-19 hat the PNC would use the COVID-19 pandemic to hang on to power by any means necessary was clear, even before the pandemic hit Guyana. Remember Volda Lawrence (Health) and Khemraj Ramjattan (Security) teaming up to close down the front track and backtrack routes from Suriname the week before the elections?? And opened them back right after the elections were over??

We’re talking about end of February – 1st week of March, OK? So this means that even though we recorded our 1st COVID-19 case (that lady from NY, who passed away) on March 11, our crack health and security mavens had determined -- TWO WEKS BEFORE -- that the threat was coming from Suriname; and as soon as the elections were over, there was no more threat!!

They never explained how exactly they figured all this out; but then, in his role as head of security, Ramjattan was able to intercept Russian spies entering Guyana with equipment to hack into our paper and pencil elections!

Dare we suggest such experts would’ve pulled the Suriname stunt just to prevent folks who might vote PPP from crossing over; and just used COVID-19 as a cover??

They wouldn’t be so cynical, would they??

Well…erm…yes, they would!! We saw this when it was revealed that all tests for COVID had to be sent first to Volda Lawrence!! Why in God’s name would Lawrence need to look at those tests?? At the most mundane level, she was holding up critical results needed to treat patients expeditiously.

Then, of course, there was the intervention by Nagamootoo’s NCTF: to insist that the recount could be done only if 30,000 masks were used, since masks had to be changed by the users every half-hour or so!! Never mind that now that the recount’s under way, some weren’t even wearing a mask -- like the harridan Carol Joseph, when she cussed out some other hapless agent in her vicinity!!

The next COVID political intervention came after Nagamootoo had been pushed aside for Harmon to take over and use the COVID weapon against bigger targets.

The biggest of them, in the eyes of the PNC’s Burnhamite faction – which includes Granger, Alexander and Hamilton Green – was the Carter Center. They’d “caused” the PNC to lose power in 1992!! And we see the absolute refusal to allow that group back into Guyana – even when Granger himself was asked by the Western powers!!

And we arrive at the COVID’s latest deployment – against Jonas of ANUG. Jonas has emerged as a voice for the Georgetown influential “red” crowd, previously held by Trotman.

So, while he’s “asymptomatic”, he’s been banned from the ACCC for showing COVID “symptoms”!!

But really for confirming that the PPP’s right on PNC’s rigging!! …and racialising Guyana’s elections As if the PNC-as-APNU doesn’t have enough problems, Rickford Burke, their loose cannon from Brooklyn – who yet insists he lives in Dix Hills, an upscale lily-white Long Island neighbourhood – has now moved to racialise and politicise their lobbying in the US. Clearly, Burke - who’s moving for Granger to be removed and replaced by “hardliners” - doesn’t think much about the efforts of the same hardliners, who hired JJ&BLLC to lobby Congress and the administration with their “dossier”!

Burke seems to have worked on Congressman Hakeem Jeffries from Brooklyn/Queens to make a call for the “US to quit interfering with Guyana’s elections”. He and Jeffries attend the same church. But what he forgets is that Jeffries is a Democrat, and in this election year, his input into American Foreign Policy is worth squat.

Secondly, by viciously attacking the Carter Centre as “racists”, Burke and the PNC also forget that Carter was one of the most liberal Democrats when it came to race relations with African- Americans.

Jeffries has been taken for a ride!! …media workers Did the PNC mandarins really think it through when they decided to treat the media workers at the recount literally like cattle??

Did they expect them to do #1 and #2 in the grass??

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

9

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

10 NEWS

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Politics must not affect medical practitioners – Medical Council

T

he Medical Council of Guyana has cautioned medical practitioners not to allow partisan politics to affect their performance, as the political impasse continues in Guyana.

In a statement, the body reminded that any such act was a violation of ethics and also the principles which underpin their licence to practise. This advice was shared at a time when the political situation is coupled with the serious threat of COVID-19.

According to the Medical Council, it “takes this opportunity to remind all medical practitioners that the medical pandemic with which we are confronted, unfortunately, coincides with a heightened political atmosphere within our society.

We, therefore, advise medical practitioners not to allow partisan politics to affect the discharge of their professional functions and duties, and hereby remind them that any such breach can place them in violation of not only the ethics of the medical profession but also the principles which underpin their licence to practise”.

Many health-care workers have been greatly challenged to provide services amid the pandemic, and the Council has advised that it is willing to lend support

during this time.

“The Council reiterates its support to all medical practitioners involved in the battle against COVID-19 and, engaged in the provision of health care to all Guyanese…The Council stands ready and able to lend assistance during this period and wishes to en-

dous sacrifice and courage and has exposed medical practitioners to severe personal risks. Medical practitioners have, nonetheless, eagerly embraced the challenges and represented the profession with distinction.”

Under the umbrella of essential services, hospitals were listed along with

“We, therefore, advise medical practitioners not to allow partisan politics to affect the discharge of their professional functions and duties, and hereby remind them that any such breach can place them in violation of not only the ethics of the medical profession but also the principles which underpin their licence to practice” – Medical Council courage practitioners to continue to serve our people diligently, competently, and with the highest professional rectitude. At the same time, we call upon all practitioners to take all precautions necessary to safeguard themselves and their loved ones.”

Commendations were made to those in the medical field who have embraced the risks and continue to provide services to the public.

The Council expressed, “The provision of medical services during this difficult period has required tremen-

pharmacies, health care and medical services, drug stores, private veterinary services and nursing homes.

COVID-19 as political weapon

While the Medical Council did not make reference to the incident on Friday whereby A New and United Guyana (ANUG) Chairman Timothy Jonas was asked to get tested for COVID-19, its statement came one day after the issue arose in the public domain.

Jonas believes that the move is a “sinister” attempt to sideline him from the ongoing national elections re-

count.

Jonas has been outspoken on the events that unfolded since the March 2 polls. Only Thursday, he was at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) in Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, where the recounting is being conducted, and expressed concerns during an interview with the media over the pace at which the recount of the March 2 ballots was moving, noting it may exceed the proposed 25-day timeline.

While he did not return to the Conference Centre on Friday, in a social media video, Jonas disclosed that he has since been informed by the Public Health Ministry that it has received a report of him showing symptoms of the novel coronavirus.

According to the ANUG Chairman, he insisted that the Ministry write him a letter on the issue and he even offered to uplift the correspondence.

Jonas said that he then spoke with a doctor from the Ministry, who he noted was a professional and opted not to divulge his identity.

“I said to him, you’re a doctor; here I am, there you are. As you see, I have no symptoms,” he recalled.

In response, however, the doctor told him that some persons are asymptomatic although they may have the virus – an explanation which Jonas rubbished.

He pointed out that how can he be “asymptomatic” when there is a report in the first place claiming that he is displaying “respiratory

symptoms”.

“I don’t want to be unkind to the gentleman, but if his letter says that it was reported that I have respiratory symptoms, it’s difficult for me to understand that I don’t have symptoms…but there is this letter and that leads us to a more sinister question – is an attempt being made to sideline people who may be inconvenient to the authorities. You judge for yourself…,” he posited.

To further highlight how ludicrous this entire episode was, Jonas explained that before he went into the Conference Centre on Thursday, health authorities took his temperature and he was told he was fine, hence he was allowed to enter the building.

Region 10 COVID-19 Committee disappointed with CDC food distribution …needy, most vulnerable left out of exercise

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egional Executive Officer and Head of the Regional Health and Emergency Committee of Region 10 (Upper Demerara- Berbice), Orrin Gordon has hinted that he wants a closer collaboration with the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) in order to ensure that the two organisations work for the greater good of the mining community of Linden and Region 10.

He was at the time responding to several concerns that residents raised through the Mayor, Waneka Arrindell, and Regional Chairman Renis Morian, who said that several residents continue to bombard and call upon them for assistance.

“The major complaint was that the first set of distribution of food hampers created the stir where persons deemed as needy were left askance as others more endowed received. The lists which were compiled by Councillors and other community persons identifying the most needy was not used apparently,” said Gordon.

He acknowledged that the CDC does not have ham-

Regional Chairman Renis Morian

Mayor of Linden Waneka Arrindell

she was originally contacted by the CDC for a list of vulnerable names which she said she and her Council had put together with the assistance of several persons from the RHEC Committee.

She, however, disclosed that the CDC officials went into the region and distributed without using a single name that they had suggested.

“They came in and without using anyone from the list that we had provided, they went about and share out to anyone and everyone and sadly many of those who got didn’t need as those who were really vulnerable were

ceived salaries a few days ago, while some claimed that they had families when they didn’t, so without using the list that we had provided it was certainly not properly organised and within a short time they ran out firstly of bags and then subsequently of items,” she said.

Meanwhile, Regional Chairman Renis Morian noted that the CDC should have worked with the list provided by the region, noting that it would have ensured that those most vulnerable benefited significantly. He urged organisations and institutions that seek to execute similar ventures to consult with the regional leaders, explaining that they would be better guided in what they are doing.

“It’s madness to receive a list of those who are vulnerable, but you come into the region and begin sharing without no input from any regional leader. As a matter of fact, you didn’t even see it fit to indicate what day you were coming but just touch down and begin to share.

This is certainly not the right approach that CDC should have taken and like the Mayor, REO and others, I am equally disappointed,” Morian said.

“It’s madness to receive a list of those who are vulnerable, but you come into the region and begin sharing without no input from any regional leaders,” – Regional Chairman pers for all 10,000 households of the community and as such, the hampers should go to the most vulnerable.

Moreover, many are unscrupulous, even in this difficult time and extra care must be exercised.

The Mayor disclosed that

left out,” the Mayor noted.

She said that distributing food items in Region 10 will evidently be a challenge if there is not a proper plan as to who are those that are being targeted and how it is going to be distributed.

“Some of those persons who got stuff had only re-

NEWS

11

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Miner on $300,000 bail for ganja in coconuts

A How will this (election) end?

37-year-old miner was hauled before the Bartica Magistrate’s Court to answer to the charge of possession of narcotics for the

him by Magistrate Crystal Lambert.

It is alleged that on May 5 at approximately 09:15h, Edwards disembarked a vessel that transport-

R

eturning from a Caricom mission of Prime Ministers held to broker an end to our elections’ impasse, T&T PM Keith Rowley candidly predicted that things “will not end well”. The APNU/AFC coalition insist they won the elections, even though local and international observers and the diplomatic community asserted the process had been subverted to favour them.

Even a casual perusal of our recent elections’ history would force one to concur with Rowley. Since the elections of 1992, the PNC’s rejection of adverse elections’ results has invariably been followed by violence inflicted on Indian-Guyanese, presumed supporters of the PPP. In 1992, the US pressured Desmond Hoyte to accept long-denied changes to the elections system to facilitate free and fair elections. The Carter Centre midwifed the changes. Raging mobs of PNC supporters, however, stormed the Elections Centre after it became clear the PPP was winning.

Peace was restored only after Carter, who was in the Center, threatened to call the White House. Hoyte Ravi Dev backed down and called out the Disciplined Forces to restore order. The Indian-Guyanese Regent St business district, however, was invaded, and a store was torched.

An IFES report explained the PNC’s political strategy: “…as the disturbance at the Commission grew, some members of the PNC saw an opportunity to disrupt the election and shed doubt on the outcome. With the outcome in doubt, it would not make any difference if the final results indicated the PPP/ Civic had won the election; the PNC could claim the results should not be declared official because it would have been impossible to certify the official returns.”

In Dec 1997, the PNC once again lost the elections, and claimed they were cheated. They launched violent street protests, and insisted Janet Jagan was illegally sworn in. When Justice Bernard ruled against them, massive riots broke out in the city, and hundreds of Indians were beaten in Georgetown.

Caricom was invited in, an Accord was brokered, the PPP gave up 2 years of its term, and agreed to constitutional changes to give more power to the PNC in Parliament. All of this was in the face of a “forensic audit” conducted by Caricom, which showed the election results were valid.

The post-1997 violence merged into a heightened wave of criminal attacks and robberies committed mainly against Indian businesses. Sustained violence continued up to the 2001 elections, in which the PNC again claimed they were cheated. This violence escalated exponentially after 5 criminals escaped from the Camp St Prison on Republic Day, 2002. They ended up in Buxton, from where they launched a direct attack on the state and putative PPP supporters in surrounding communities, after declaring themselves “African Freedom Fighters”. Hoyte was to enter Buxton and declare there were no criminals there.

Robert Corbin became PNC leader after Hoyte’s death in late 2002; but after the Buxton gunmen kidnapped the US Regional Security Officer, the US became directly involved.

Eusi Kwayana claims they concluded, “that the violence was directly related to the PNC’s defeat at the March 19, 2001 elections, which it felt it would win…(and) involved people in the PNC.” It is felt that the US then made two interventions: they brought pressure to bear on Robert Corbin to cut PNC ties with the bandits; and secondly, assisted Raphael Trotman and Khemraj Ramjattan to launch the AFC. In the 2006 elections, the PNC, with Robert Corbin as leader, again lost to the PPP, but did not dispute the verdict.

Their votes were severely decimated by the Trotman-led AFC, which attracted a solid number of their traditional middleclass voters. Corbin was accused of “selling out” to the PPP, but there was no post-elections violence.

In the 2011 elections, with Ramjattan at the head of the AFC and Corbin having stepped aside for David Granger, the AFC now drew most of its support from erstwhile PPP IndianGuyanese supporters, and reduced the PPP to a plurality.

The PPP captured the Presidency, but was a minority in the National Assembly. The PNC did not complain about being cheated, and there was no violence.

In 2015, the PNC-as-APNU went into a pre-election coalition with the AFC, and won the elections. There were no complaints, and no political violence.

In 2020, the PNC-as-APNU have again complained about the electoral process, and if they were to lose the elections, it is not difficult to conclude, as did Rowley, that “this will not end well”.

It is the IFES strategy - unless the US were to pressure

Sediegh Whitney Edwards along with the vegetables and ganja stuffed in the dried coconuts

purpose of trafficking.

Sediegh Whitney Edwards of Lot 22 Den Amstel Public Road, West Coast Demerara, denied the charge when it was read to

ed him from Parika, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), to the Bartica Stelling, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

The man was seen acting in a suspicious manner and

the ranks requested that he visit the Bartica Police Station for a search to be conducted on his belongings.

During the search, 10 dried coconuts, along with vegetables, were found.

However, upon closer inspection of the coconuts, their weight appeared to be unusual. As such, ranks shook the coconuts, but the sound of coconut water sloshing about was not detected.

This further raised suspicions and one of the co-

conuts was broken in the presence of the EBE resident. Marijuana was unearthed in the broken-open coconut, in which a piece of wood had been modified to plug the eye of the nut.

The others were cracked open and the results were the same. The miner was told of the offence and was arrested. The illicit drug was weighed and amounted to 2018 grams.

Magistrate Lambert placed Edwards on $300,000 bail. The case will continue on July 17, 2020.

12 NEWS

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Black Bush Polder farmers feeling brunt of COVID-19 economic impact The Web

of Life

…as community takes precautionary measures

Lillawattie Harricharran

By Andrew Carmichael

T

he impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has far-reaching consequences and though the farming community of Black Bush Polder in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) is yet to record a positive COVID-19 case, the residents there are feeling the economic impact of the disease.

One of the major precautionary measures in the fight against COVID-19 is physical distancing. With the curfew measures in place, and markets operating within stipulated periods and persons out of employment, spending is down.

This means that producers are affected since they now have a surplus with very little market.

That is the exact situation in the Black Bush Polder area. The residents there, who mostly do largescale farming, explained that buyers are offering ‘next to nothing’ for the produce. They are forced to accept that or have their vegetables spoil.

L i l l a w a t t i e Harricharran, a farmer, said that though she is taking precautionary measures

Lincoln Duncan

Beanawattie Geena

to protect herself and those around her from COVID-19, she needs to go out and earn as well. She, too, like many of the cash crop farmers, complained of wholesalers offering reduced prices for their produce.

“You have to work and if you do not work you would get nothing. You not getting the price because nobody going to the market to sell. But still, you got to do something to survive,” she explained.

Although the capital city, Georgetown, is the epicentre of the virus, the residents in Black Bush have been extra careful since the discovery of the first case. Many of them have not left the community unless it is absolutely necessary for them to do so.

Beanawattie Geena, a housewife of Mibicuri, noted that while no one in the four polders has tested positive with the novel coronavirus, they are taking all precautions and utilising the local shops as much as possible.

Normally, persons from Lesbeholden, Mibucuri and Johanna would do their main purchasing in the town of Rose Hall while those who live at Yakusari would go to the town of Corriverton. But

these days, that activity has been reduced significantly, instead, the residents now turn to the community grocery shops for their supplies.

As rough as it is, the elderly are being taken advantage of due to their perceived lack of abilities.

5 6 - y e a r old Savitri Seepaul told this publication that she has to take care of her ailing husband and because of COVID-19, she cannot go out and earn as she would have.

For the past two months, Seepaul has been unable to sell her cherries at the Port Mourant Market, she is now forced to make juice with it for her personal consumption so that it does not rot.

Her ailing husband is trying to assist by rearing a few chickens but persons have been stealing them – making life harder for the elderly couple.

M e a n w h i l e , Lincoln Duncan of Zambia, Mibicuri South, is urging persons in that community to try to follow the guidelines as best as they can, especially since the main economic activities in the community are rice cultivation and livestock rearing.

“So, going out and mov-

Savitri Seepaul ing away from your home is a must because you have your stock to carry out and to bring in and now is rice cultivation even though it almost come to an end but then you still have to harvest your crop. So, that will make it necessary for you to go out and to be in close proximity to people which normally you would not do, but it is a must because when you take your paddy to the mill or your produce to the mill you would find a lot of people gathered,” he said.

However, he noted that residents have been taking precautions like washing of hands, sanitising and trying to keep social distance as best as possible.

There have been no known cases of the novel coronavirus in the Black Bush Polder.

Duncan said residents of the agricultural community might not use a face mask when in their own community but when they have to use public transportation or to leave the community, they do.

“Then is when we consider it necessary but at all times, we always walk with our face mask and sanitiser.”

E

ntwined we are, connected we are, dependent on each other, yes, we are.

Each day, we see the trademarks of biological diversity in trees rooted for years, natural processes, and through the influence of humans. All of these characters form the web of life, of which we, humans, are an integral part, and on which we fully depend.

Do you know that scientists have identified more than 13 million species of plants and animals?

Diversity is often understood as a wide variety of plants, animals and micro-organisms. Biological diversity is the variety of life on Earth, and the natural patterns which are formed. Biological diversity also includes genetic differences; it is our genetic building blocks that determine the uniqueness of each species of life.

Do you know that ecosystems are a part of biodiversity?

In each ecosystem -- be it in the desert, forest, agricultural lands, wetlands, mountains, lakes or rivers -- living creatures form communities. Within these communities, there are interactions with each other and with the air, water and soil.

The combination of these life forms and their interactions with their immediate environments has made this Earth a uniquely habitable place for humans.

Do you know that approximately 1 million plants and animal species are now threatened with extinction?

Extinction, even though being a part of evolution, has seen species vanishing each day. However, it is sad to say that humans are driving this extinction at an alarmingly fast rate from the actions of deforestation and overconsumption to pollution.

In Guyana, a plethora of biodiversity is important in ecosystems, because it prevents extinction of our species, allows organisms to adapt to changes in the environment, and provides a wide range of materials and foods for mankind’s survival. As such Guyana, in 1992, signed on to an agreement to pledge its commitment to “sustainable development”: the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD).

This convention came into force on December 29, 1993 with three main objectives: Conservation of biological diversity; Sustainable use of the components of biological diversity; and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources. Further, in December 2000, the United Nations General Assembly adopted May 22 as International Day of Biological Diversity (IDB).

Did you know May 22 was adopted as IDB because it was difficult for many countries to plan and carry out celebrations in December, given the number of holiday activities which coincide?

As the global community is being summoned to relook at its relationship with nature, one thing is quite evident: even with all the technological advances, we are still fully dependent on a “healthy and vibrant ecosystem”.

A healthy environment provides the essentials for the existence of all species. It provides for the continuation of the web of life. Healthy and vibrant biological diversities provide cleaner waters; safer foods; shelter, medicines, clothes, and sources of energy.

This year, International Day of Biological Diversity aims to tell a story as we bear witness to the final period for the 20112020 strategic plan on Biological Diversity. The year 2020 is a year of reflection, availability, opportunity, and solutions. We can “bend the curve”; all biodiversity is not lost.

So, as we celebrate International Day of Biological Diversity on May 22, in this COVID-19 pandemic, let’s remember there is hope. Let us work together to build a future of life in harmony with nature.

International Day of Biological Diversity: May 22- “Our Solutions are in Nature” Sources: https://w w w.mnn.com/earth-matters/wildernessresources/blogs/why-biodiversity-big-deal https://www.cbd.int/idb/ https://www.un.org/en/events/biodiversityday/ htt p s : / / w w w. u n e nv i ro n m e nt . o rg /e ve nt s / u n - d ay / international-day-biological-diversity-2020

You can share your ideas and questions by sending letters to: The Environmental Protection Agency, C/O Communications Department, Ganges Street, Sophia, GEORGETOWN, or email us at: eit.epaguyana@gmail.com or follow us on Facebook, Instagram and You Tube.

NEWS

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SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Couple nabbed with 230 grams of ganja

A COVID-19 responses in other countries

I

n a recent interview with the media, the Finance Minister posited that the country’s resource is “slender”. However, it should unfortunately be noted that it is under the subject minister’s stewardship over the last five years, inter alia, the economic policies administered therefrom have been woefully responsible for this “slenderness” of the country’s resource.

To this end, it is noteworthy to examine where the state’s resources stand in 2020, and where it stood in 2015; that is, what the Minister inherited.

In 2015, the Government’s total deposit in the Central Bank stood at a surplus of $15.3 billion, and total public sector deposits in the commercial banks stood at $68.2 billion, giving rise to total Government deposit of $84 billion surplus in the banking system. The Bank of Guyana’s International Reserves stood at US$595 million, which represented almost five months’ worth of import cover in reserves. At the end of 2014, total public debt stood at $330 billion, which included external debt; and the overdraft on the Consolidated Fund (CF) at the end of 2014 stood at $77 billion.

As at February 2020, the Government’s deposit accounts at the Central Bank stood at a whopping $82.4 billion as a negative/deficit balance, from a surplus of $15 billion in 2015.

While bearing in mind that these deposit accounts had, over the last two decades, always recorded surplus balances as high as exceeding $60 billion at one point, the public sector total deposits in the commercial banks stood at $55.4 billion – which, when taken together with the balance at the Central Bank -- would give rise to a deficit of $26.5 billion, or US$127 million; compared to a surplus position in 2015 of $84 billion, or US$403 million. The International Reserves as at the end of February 2020 stood at US$548 million, which is equivalent to less than 2.5 months’ worth of import cover – thus giving indication of a weaker position from almost 5 months’ equivalent in 2015.

Total public debt stood at $354 billion by the end of 2018, representing an increase of $24 billion from 2014; while the balance on the CF as at 2017 (the most recent publicly available data) stood at $137 billion deficit, from a position of $77 billion in 2014, representing an increase of its deficit/ overdrawn position by $60 billion.

It is important to note that these huge deficit balances drawn on the Central Bank are in effect the creation of debt, which ought to be repaid. These Central Bank balances should not be used as perpetual financing for Government’s spending.

Key Fiscal Policy responses of the Dominican Republic – COVID-19 The latest economic measures announced by President Medina amounted to US$576 million, or ¾ percent of GDP. These include higher social spending; subsidising the most vulnerable households, including informal workers; support for 1.5 million households, of whom 0.9 million had already received payments as at April 22; Additionally, 452,817 families will receive monthly transfers; (ii) the newly created Employee Solidarity Assistance Fund (FASE) (RD$15 billion), which will benefit about 754,000 families of formal workers who were laid off with a monthly transfer of up to 70 percent of wages.

The Government increased healthcare spending on medical supplies and equipment, tests in private labs, rental of two private medical centres, and support of the pharmaceutical industry, including through budget reallocations.

Tax relief is provided through extended payment deadlines and some tax benefits. Also, for health workers, operational staff, and military and police officers, the Government established a special allowance which would amount to an expense of RD$2.4 billion.

Consequently, the Ministry of Finance estimates a fiscal deficit of 4.5 percent of GDP for 2020. To cover financing gaps, the authorities are mobilising loans and commercial credit lines from the IMF, World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, Latin American Development Bank, and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, and raising private donations for healthcare needs (IMF, policy Tracker for COVID-19).

To be continued.

By: JC. Bhagwandin, MSc., Exec Ed. (The author is a macro-finance and research analyst, lecturer and business & financial consultant. The views expressed are exclusively his own, and do not necessarily represent those of this newspaper or the institutions he represents. For comments, send to jbbankingadvice@gmail.com).

labourer and his wife were arrested after they were caught with a quantity of cannabis in their home at Ankerville, Corentyne, Berbice, on Friday.

Reports are at approximately 05:15h, Police ranks acting on information received went to the couple’s Ankerville, Corentyne, Berbice home and conducted a search for narcotics.

According to Police, during a search of one of the bedrooms, a bulky parcel along with 174 small Ziplock bags were found containing suspected cannabis that amounted to 230 grams were discovered.

The occupants of the home were detained. They

The ganja that was found at the Ankerville, Corentyne, Berbice home

are being processed for court.

Less than three days ago, two men – a miner and an East Bank Demerara (EBD) man were nabbed by Police

ranks with cannabis on separate occasions.

A 36-year-old Craig, East Bank Demerara (EBD) man was on Wednesday

nabbed with over 1700 grams of cannabis by Police at Sparendaam, East Coast Demerara.

According to Police, during a routine stop-andsearch operation in front of the Sparendaam Police Station, the man’s car was stopped and searched and the parcel was discovered.

Meanwhile, a 37-year-old miner of Lot 22 Den Amstel Public Road, West Coast Demerara, was on Tuesday morning nabbed with more than two kilograms of ganja concealed in the shells of dried coconuts.

The arrest was made by Police at Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), as the suspect disembarked a boat at the ferry stelling.

Businessman injured in Bagotstown accident

J

ust six days after a motor car crashed into a fence at Bagotstown, East Bank Demerara (EBD), a Toyota Prado went crashing into a yard in the same area on Friday evening, leaving a businessman with multiple injuries.

The driver of the vehicle, PJJ 3419, Govinda Sukadar, is a businessman of Eccles, EBD. According to the police report, the vehicle was proceeding south along the Bagotstown Public Road at a fast rate, when it crashed into a median before flipping

The vehicle that crashed into the yard at Bagotstown, East Bank Demerara

into a yard.

Regional Commander, Senior Superintendent Kurleigh Simon told this publication that when Police arrived on the scene, Sukadar complained of feel-

ing dizzy and was allowed to seek medical attention.

“He is currently on station bail; the vehicle was impounded and we haven’t given him it back as yet. The story is that he tried to avoid

hitting a pedestrian. We heard that someone else was in the vehicle but we weren’t able to confirm yet.”

The accident occurred at about 19:30h on Friday just next door to the residence of the family who has had to deal with multiple crashes over the years. The most recent being a few nights ago.

In April of this year, two friends died after a car flipped along the roadway and slammed into the fence.

Also, in April 2011, a car crashed into the living room of the occupants of the home.

14 ELECTIONS 2020 RECOUNT SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2020| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Random comparison of Saturday's SoRs with PPP’s SoPs DISTRICT 4 STATEMENTS OF RECOUNT

DISTRICT 4 STATEMENTS OF POLL RELEASED BY PPP/C

ELECTIONS 2020 RECOUNT

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SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Random comparison of Saturday's SoRs with PPP’s SoPs DISTRICT 4 STATEMENTS OF RECOUNT

DISTRICT 4 STATEMENTS OF POLL RELEASED BY PPP/C

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SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NEWS

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SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

COVID-19

Guyana’s COVID-19 cases climb to 97 T

he number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Guyana continue to climb with the country now recording new three cases, bringing its total number of novel coronavirus cases up to 97.

This was revealed by the Public Health Ministry’s updated COVID-19 dashboard on Saturday.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases is now 97, with the death rate remaining at 10. There are presently five persons in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

To date, the Ministry has tested 852 persons for the life-threatening disease of which 755 were returned as negative.

Meanwhile, a total of 35 persons have since recovered from the virus.

Currently, 52 persons are in institutional isolation while another three in quar-

CMO Dr Shamdeo Persaud

antine.

During the daily update on Friday, Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Shamdeo Persaud disclosed that of all positive cases, children account for 5.4 per cent while adults make up 82 per cent and the elderly, 12.6 per

cent.

According to the CMO, Region Four (DemeraraMahaica) continues to be the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic in Guyana, with the highest number of confirmed cases recorded in Georgetown.

Cases have been detected in Kitty, Sophia, Turkeyen, Liliendaal, Cummings Lodge and Alberttown in North Georgetown; and Bourda, Lamaha Park, South Ruimveldt and Thirst Park in South Georgetown.

On the East Coast of Demerara, positive cases were reported in Atlantic

Gardens, Friendship, Golden Grove, Good Hope, Lusignan, Plaisance and Strathspey. And on the East Bank, at Diamond, Grove, Land of Canan, Providence and Timehri.

The second-highest number of coronavirus cases have been recorded in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

Only on Wednesday last, it was revealed that the region’s cases had increased to nine – recording the country’s youngest COVID-19 patient, a one-year-old toddler.

The Regional Health and Emergency Committee

(RHEC) in Linden noted that six new cases were detected in the region and five of them were immediately transported to the quarantine facility in Diamond, East Bank Demerara, including the two children – the toddler and a 12-yearold girl.

The Public Health Ministry continues to plead with citizens to heed the health advisories and observe the correct hygiene measures and precautions.

Citizens are also asked to always practice social distancing in the workplace, public spaces, and while using public transportation so as to reduce the spread of the coronavirus disease.

Mother’s Day

Meanwhile, as Guyanese join the world in celebrating Mother’s Day today, Persaud cautioned that the restrictions and curfew in place must still be respected.

“You are reminded that there may be persons infected with the disease but showing no symptoms. These persons are considered to be asymptomatic carriers and can pose a threat to anyone they may encounter. So, celebrate with mom but with caution. You wouldn’t want to put her health in jeop-

ardy. So, wear your masks, observe your hand hygiene practices and have a happy and safe Mother’s Day,” he asserted.

Breaking curfew

As local authorities continue to grapple with getting persons to adhere to these guidelines, the Guyana Police Force has arrested over 40 persons for breaching the 18:00h to 6 am curfew implemented by the Public Health Ministry to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.

This was revealed by Regional Deputy Commander for Region Four, Senior Superintendent Phillip Azore during an interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI).

He said the slow rate of penalisation is due to the COVID-19 restrictions in place at the courts.

Presently they operate three days per week which allows for just five such cases per week.

The Guyana Police Force is reminding persons that anyone who fails to comply with any of the measures is committing an offence under Section 152 of the Public Health Ordinance and is liable on summary conviction to the penalty provided under that Section.

18 NEWS Carter Center must re-apply to return to Guyana – Harmon SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

…will have to satisfy COVID-19 requirements upon arrival

C

hief Executive Officer of the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF), Joseph Harmon denied not approving a request by The Carter Center’s Election Observation Mission to return to Guyana for the national recount and said that the United States-based organisation can still re-apply to come.

Since the closure of Guyana’s borders, the US Embassy here has secured special permission from the COVID-19 Task Force for relief flights to repatriate its citizens.

As such, The Carter Center along with representatives from the International Republican Institute (IRI), which had provided technical support to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) during the elections, were

hoping to secure permission from the Guyana Government to return to Georgetown on an Eastern Airlines relief flight that was scheduled for Monday last.

However, this permission was not granted and the flight arrived at the CJIA empty.

The Carter Center in a statement said it “…deployed an observer to Miami who was prepared to travel to Georgetown [Monday], but unfortunately, his flight was denied approval to carry international election observers.”

Nevertheless, the Center said it will continue to reach out to Guyanese Government officials to understand what is required to allow its observers to return to Guyana to witness the recount process.

According to Harmon,

this could be facilitated.

“I think they can apply to come. They [will have to] go through the right processes and so on… They have to satisfy the COVID requirements,” he told reporters on Saturday outside the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, where the national recount is ongoing after starting on Wednesday.

This, the Task Force CEO said, entails being tested in their home country and having a certificate that is validated for at least seven days. Otherwise, he noted, they will have to face a 14-day mandatory quar-

antine upon arrival if they are without this medical certificate.

Asked whether this was indicated to the observation mission, Harmon asserted that it was a “public notice” known to the world. In fact, he pointed to the NCTF’s position to not allow any incoming flight, including of Guyanese who are stranded abroad amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

“COVID-19 are not things we should take lightly. We have to ensure that when people come here, they are properly tested and things like that,” he maintained.

Only Friday caretaker Minister of Public Security and A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) Prime Ministerial Candidate, Khemraj Ramjattan disclosed that it was not the

Chairman of The Carter Center Board of Trustees, Jason Carter

CEO of the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF), Joseph Harmon

Task Force that denied the Center’s request to return but President David Granger.

Ramjattan, who is on the NCTF, told reporters “I am part of the National COVID-19 Task Force…As far as I am aware, there was a request, not to the Task Force, but to the President from The Carter Center.”

Nevertheless, Harmon

claimed on Saturday that the caretaker APNU/AFC coalition has nothing to hide. In fact, the NCTF CEO explained that when the application was made, it was for a humanitarian flight to come to pick up US citizens in Guyana but at the last minute, they were advised that a Carter Center team will be on the aircraft.

TURN TO PAGE 19

19

NEWS

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Police destroy over 2000 ‘ganja’ plants in Berbice River

The makeshift tent at Ebini, Berbice River being burnt by Policemen

A section of the marijuana plants that were discovered by lawmen on Saturday

anks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) during an eight-hour narcotics eradication operation at Ebini and Bartica Village, Upper Berbice River, found and destroyed several acres of cannabis cultivation on Saturday.

According to Police,

found and destroyed by ranks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) after the lawmen conducted an eradication exercise that lasted almost 14 hours.

According to the police, while at the Gaettroy village located in the Berbice River, the ranks discovered

R

more than 2000 plants and approximately 10,000 kilograms of dried cannabis and a camp were destroyed in the process.

The current street value of the narcotics destroyed is $21,022,800.

Just two weeks ago, several fields of cannabis were

more than an acre of cultivation with over 4000 marijuana plants ranging from two to four feet in height.

A makeshift tent was also at that location.

They subsequently destroyed the ‘ganja’ fields, plants and tent by fire.

Carter Center must re-apply...

FROM PAGE 18

“We didn’t say take them off or that they shouldn’t come. What we learnt is that when the aircraft arrived here, they were not there. They were not on the flight… Let me make this pellucid that we have absolutely nothing against The Carter Center… We are open to scrutiny… What we are saying is that there is a process which had to be followed and that is what we insisted on,” he posited.

Harmon pointed to the presence of the high-level Caricom team that is currently in Guyana scrutinising the recount of the March 2 votes.

The Carter Center is among five foreign organisations that were accredited to observe the March elections.

However, all the observation missions left Guyana following the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak but were still moni-

toring the situation here.

There has since been mounting calls including from the United States and Canadian Governments as well as the United Nations for The Carter Center to be allowed to return to Guyana for the national recount.

These calls were made by the acting Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the Department of State, Michael Kozak; Assistant Deputy Minister for the Americas at Global Affairs Canada, Michael Grant, and United Nations Resident Coordinator in Guyana, Mikiko Tanaka.

Additionally, while the European Union and the Organisation of American States (OAS) have used representatives on the ground for the recount, they too have joined calls for the return of The Carter Center.

20 ELECTIONS 2020 RECOUNT SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2020| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Random comparison of Saturday's SoRs with PPP’s SoPs DISTRICT 4 STATEMENTS OF RECOUNT

DISTRICT 4 STATEMENTS OF POLL RELEASED BY PPP/C

STATEMENTS OF RECOUNT

ELECTIONS 2020 RECOUNT

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SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

STATEMENTS OF RECOUNT

22 ELECTIONS 2020 RECOUNT SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2020| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

STATEMENTS OF RECOUNT

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2020

A tremendous loss for the Golden Jaguars…

23

Vurlon Mills reminisces after retirement from National Team

Flashback! Mills in action at the Providence National Stadium against Bermuda

Vurlon Mills (far right) with members of his Academy program

By Jemima Holmes

still is) an active member in youth development programmes in the sport, and he even spearheaded the Vurlon Mills Academy, which caters to the development of young players.

In this regard, the Fruta Conquerors player declared himself proud of his contributions to the game thus far, and revealed that he has much more to offer.

“So far, I’m proud of the contribution that I’ve given to our youth programme, but I still think that I have a lot more to offer to Guyana’s youth development and Guyana’s national football,” Mills explained.

Given his success in the field of youth development, Mills shared that he would continue to work assiduously in this area. “I’m very passionate about youth development, so my contribution to Guyana Football will always be to develop potential youth footballers to represent Guyana, with the aim of transitioning to the senior national team,” he said.

Mills has a long list of teams in his repertoire, including Slingerz, Western Tigers, Fruta Conquerors, United Petrotrin, T&TEC, Caledonia AIA, FC Santa Rosa and San Juan Jabloteh. This testifies to his vast experience in the game. Based on this experience, he shared a bit of advice that up-and-coming players may find valuable in the future.

“For the youths who aspire to play national football and are very passionate about their development: I just want to say, ‘Be patient, but be prepared; because you never know when you will be called upon to represent the country,” he advised.

I

n any consideration of influential national footballers who are based in Guyana, one of the first names that come to mind is Vurlon Mills. Regrettably, after years of sterling performances in the national outfit, Mills has opted to hang up his playing shoes.

This outstanding footballer spoke with this publication about his achievements, and about lessons learnt over his years of yeoman service to his country.

Vurlon Mills made his debut in the Senior National Team back in 2010, and has become a household name in Guyanese football, having played a handful of World Cup Qualifiers and several monumental international games. He recently made the decision to step away from the Golden Jaguars’ national outfit, and will focus on local club football and coaching.

Speaking exclusively with Guyana Times Sport, the 32-year-old striker reflected on his first National call-up and his most memorable games.

“Of course I was excited on my first call up for the Golden Jaguars!” Mills enthused. “I’ve had a lot of memorable moments representing Guyana: leading Guyana to victory against St. Lucia; scoring a double; helping us to finish at the top of the group and qualifying into the third round.

Of course, the historical win at Providence; 11/11; against Trinidad in the World Cup Qualifier; and scoring a double against Bermuda, also in the Qualifiers, helping us to move

urlon Mills during the 2014 World cup qualifier

on to the next rounds,” he revealed.

As expected, after ten years of playing football in Guyana at the highest level, many lessons about life and the game would be learnt. Mills shared that the best one he has learnt is that “consistency is most important”.

“The main lesson that I’ve learnt from being a part of the Golden Jaguars, and even playing professionally, is that: your best performance has to be every day! Not just one day; your best has to be every day! Because you’re playing amongst the best players,” the striker shared.

While he was still an active player, Mills had been (and

Battling the COVID-19…

BCB/RHTY&SC, MS, donate cleaning agents to several institutions P

revented from taking to the playing field by the deadly coronavirus (COVID-19), the joint task force of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) and the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC),MS, early last week donated detergents to several institutions in East Berbice (Region Six), including the Port Mourant Public Hospital, the Port Mourant NDC, the Port Mourant Market, the Rose Hall Town Council, and the Rose Hall Town Post Office.

That aside, the cricket teams of the RHTY&SC, MS, would be sanitising the Rose Hall Town’s main streets on Sunday May 17, and the necessary arrangements have been completed with the proper agencies.

Additionally, West Indies Female cricketer Shabika Gajnabi has made her second contribution of food items to the BCB/ RHTY&SC’s ‘food hampers project’, and Food For The Poor (FFTP) has also donated items in this regard.

During the week, BCB/RHTY&SC, MS, would be sharing out at least 100 smaller food hampers to families in the East Canje/ New Amsterdam area, and Bounty Farm

Hilbert Foster

chicken products would be among those items.

Moreover, for Mother’s Day 2020 (today), the BCB would be honouring a “Mother of the Year”.

The BCB/RHTY&SC, MS, is hereby extending deep gratitude to Ms Gajnabi and Food For The Poor for their donations. BCB boss Hilbert Foster and his team are encouraging members of the general public to support this drive by donating items for ‘the food hampers’ project.

Foster revealed that he received a donation of seven copies of the latest edition of the ICC Rules of Cricket, and would be donating same to senior coaches, the Umpires Association, and the Competition Committee of the BCB. The books would be handed over during this week. The BCB would also seek to print copies of this book for donation to its senior clubs.

As the BCB continues to work behindthe-scenes to uplift the standard of cricket in the ancient county, Foster has made it quite clear that, under his leadership, great effort would be made to make the BCB self-reliant, and all materials needed would be obtained for the development of cricket.

A glimpse of the Women’s World Cup Final - United States v Netherlands - Groupama Stadium, Lyon, France

(R

euters) - The U.S. women’s soccer team have filed to appeal a district court decision handed down last week that dismissed their claims for equal pay, a spokesperson for the team said on Friday.

The team suffered an unexpected blow to their high-profile case against their federation when the court threw out the players’ claims that they were under paid in comparison with the men’s national team.

District Court Judge R. Gary Klausner said the World Cup champions were paid more on both a cumulative and an average per-game basis than their male counterparts, who failed to qualify for the last World Cup. The women’s team on Friday vowed to continue their fight.

“Equal pay means paying women players the same rate for winning a game as men get paid,” said Molly Levinson, spokesperson for the players.

“The argument that women are paid enough if they make close to the same amount as men while winning more than twice as often is not equal pay,” she said.

The players had been seeking $66 million

U.S. women’s soccer team file appeal to equal pay ruling in damages under the Equal Pay Act. Klausner’s ruling, however, allowed the players’ claims that they do not receive equal treatment when it comes to travel, training, housing and other areas to proceed.

Those claims will be adjudicated at a trial set for June 16.

The women’s national team beat the Netherlands to claim its fourth World Cup title last summer, as the stadium rang with chants of “Equal Pay, Equal Pay”, catapulting its players into the spotlight.

The U.S national team’s long-running feud with U.S. Soccer has been a very public and bitter battle with athletes and celebrities, from Billie Jean King to Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rallying around the women’s cause.

Last month, U.S. Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro resigned over language used in a court filing suggesting women possess less ability than men when it comes to soccer.

The language prompted an on-field protest by players, who wore their warmup jerseys inside out to obscure the U.S. Soccer logo prior to a game, and a critical response from several of the team’s commercial sponsors.

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2020

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

guyanatimesgy.com

A tremendous loss for the Golden Jaguars…

Vurlon Mills clad in the Golden Jaguars’ attire

Vurlon Mills reminisces after retirement from National Team

Pg 23

U.S. women’s soccer BCB/RHTY&SC, MS, team file appeal to donate cleaning agents equal pay ruling to several institutions Battling the COVID-19…

Pg 23

Pg 23

BCB PRO Simon Naidu and RHTY&SC member Joel Pike made the presentation of detergents

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May 10, 2020

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MAY 10, 2020

Feature

LINDEN REMEMBERS MRS MARVA SEMPLE

By Utamu Belle

M

any would agree that a mother may be defined not only as a woman who carries and gives birth to a child, but also as one who lovingly moulds and shapes the lives of those in her care as if they were her own.

This is definitely the case of Lindener Mrs Marva Semple, who is remembered for the countless lives she touched and positively impacted in the Linden community over the years. Mrs Semple, who dedicated most

of her adult years to voluntarily teaching youths in the Linden community, various lifelong skills recently passed away.

I first met Mrs Semple while on assignment covering a youth event a few years ago, and was immediately drawn to her passion and enthusiasm for helping young people.

She was actively involved in the operations of the Totally Moulding Training Centre in Linden, an organisation which she founded as a means of assisting youths over 20 years ago. Prior to becoming more established, Mrs Semple, of Block 22, Wismar, started off by accommodating children at her home-based Bible classes back in the 80s. Back then, she had been a Sunday School teacher who was motivated to teach unoccupied children via her Sunshine Bible Club.

This would ultimately lead to her further developing her passion and enhancing the offerings at the club to include skills training for school dropouts, single parents, outof-school youths, and young adults. They were educated in the areas of catering, carpentry, arts and craft, floral decoration and sewing among other skills. Mrs Semple, who later became coordinator of the organisation, had indicated that she was willing to assist anyone interested in learning any of the skills she taught.

Years later, she was granted permission to utilise the Block 22 Multi-purpose Hall where she worked with youths prior to her passing. She taught youths how to make, design, decorate and ice cakes; how to cook dishes including meat, fish and rice; garment construction; joinery skills; leather

craft and soft toys making, among several others.

Young people who attended her classes also participated in debating competitions and drama, and were awarded with educational tours and camps.

Over the years, countless students who were products of her teaching have graduated from the Totally Moulding Training Centre, with many venturing out to utilise the skills they acquired in the world of work or to establish themselves as entrepreneurs. Anyone be-

tween the ages of 5 and 35 were welcomed at her classes, at absolutely no cost.

Before this, Mrs Semple had been a skilled mason who was employed within the Housing Department of the bauxite company. She had reminisced about not being

able to attend school following the death of her own father while she was a young girl.

According to Mrs Semple, she did not let this stop her from later pursuing her dreams as she went on to attend the Technical Institute and had also pursued social work.

She was motivated to help young people and would candidly express her love for them. Mrs Semple would often use her own story as a means of motivating young people to educate and develop themselves. She was able to help them through assistance she garnered from organisations such as Food For The Poor and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and various Government Ministries.

Prior to her death, she had been on a mission to have more youths from her Block 22 community become more involved in the training she offered.

I had the opportunity of seeing Mrs Semple in action as she worked along with youths from the community at the Block 22 Multi-purpose Hall on several occasions. There, I saw a woman driven by passion and dedication, one who dedicated her life to ensuring that others reached their full potential. She will be missed by her family, friends, and scores of persons from the community.

guyanatimesgy.com

MAY 10, 2020

Sunday Times Magazine

3

Feature

Two single mothers’ tales of struggling to make ends meet

By Andrew Carmichael

T

here are rare instances in which a mother abandons her child. The very definition of motherhood is being able to love unconditionally and almost every mother puts the needs of her child above hers.

A mother’s love is unselfish and unconditional. They love without even expecting to be loved in return. Quite often, we take that love and the sacrifices of our mothers for granted but these mothers - Velma Kewley and Babita Tottaram - cannot focus on such a future where they worry about being taken for granted.

The two women are living in the present and are struggling to do so. They would go to the end of the world to just put a meal on the table for their children and they have been doing just that for a while now.

The single mothers currently live in thatched up shanties with their children, struggling to make ends meet.

Kewley currently lives in a squatters’ settlement in Number 65 Village, Corentyne, with her six children. Because of the fact that she lives in a squatting settlement, it means that the basic amenities such as potable water and electricity are not readably available.

Over four months ago, she was forced to leave her husband after suffering years of abuse. To make ends meet, she now sells shrimp but because of the battle against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), business is basically nonexistent.

The single mother now worries, daily, how she will put the next meal on the table. She has now ventured into the broom-making business, but it is not every day that someone would buy a broom.

“Ah get a lil boy does climb coconut fo me and when he nah able me don’t pressure am because he small,” the 30-year-old mother said while referring to her 11-year-old who would climb the coconut trees so that she can get the branches to make the brooms.

Velma Kewley sitting in her house

According to Kewley, it is very difficult for the family of seven to sleep comfortably in the house she has been living in for the past ten years.

“Dem does sleep at people house sometimes. When the rain fall, water does come and wet up the place. Ah had to put this cardboard to block up the side deh. The house ah leak.

But wha you gon do, dis ah awe we done.”

The woman noted that many nights she has to insist that her elder children sleep at home despite the condition. Kewley said she puts her children first and cannot stand to see any of them being ill-treated but noted that they deserve better.

She has been fighting hard to ensure they get better because she believes they should not be forced to live a life of such hardship.

“My 13-year-old takes care of the baby while I clean houses”

Babita Tottaram prepares the bed for her children

“Ah does buy and sell shrimps on the road. Now people not buying shrimps… you got to pay from you pocket. I really feeling it hard because work ain’t deh right now. When you come out fo sell you bringing back all the load and it can’t keep… it spoil,” Kewley told the Sunday Times Magazine during an interview.

The pregnant woman explained that she sometimes would invest $3000 in shrimp hoping to make a $2000 profit but in recent times, sales have been next to zero. That investment means that if she does not make a return then the chances of her children seeing the next meal becomes bleak.

Kewley got married at the age of 14, and lived in an abu- Babita at her kitchen area sive relationship which brought her five children. The marks that document her abused past are quite visible and the impact they have had on her life is even more damaging. The scars on her head and limbs map the years of abuse she had to endure at the hands of her alcoholic husband.

“He beat me, chop me, ah run from him and ah end up carry him to domestic [Welfare Department]. Domestic [Welfare Department] tell me that he can kill me so me had to make up me mind and make it hard,” she lamented.

After nine years of being constantly kicked about like a rag doll, Kewley decided that enough is enough and left the father of her children. She then became entangled with another man, who she thought was different. However, life tricked her and it was like déjà vu since the situation was no different than her first relationship.

That relationship bore one child and another is on the way.

“Ah tell me self that this can’t make it. I feel to live by myself and with my six children.

Taking somebody still don’t make sense. They still ill-treating you. They tek you fo you and don’t like you children,” she said while noting that she is not falling for the trick of another man.

Now, her 15 and 14-year-old sons would assist by collecting fish from the fishing boats at the nearby wharf and she would sell some while using some to prepare meals for the family. While it may not be a substantial amount, she still tries to make sure that it is enough for at least the children to eat.

Kewley noted that the community is without utilities and it is very difficult raising her children as a mother should as she explained some of the challenges confronting her as a single parent.

“Dem na come up too properly…. They getting out of hand. Ah need lil help with dem.

The help is not for me but the children. Me done know bout poor life, but the children. I want dem deh lil good,” she said while noting that her children should not have to work as hard as they are and should instead be focusing on becoming educated.

For 33-year-old Babita Tottaram, the reality is that she has to go out to work to provide for her children or they all starve. There is no sugarcoating that fact. It also means that she has to make tough choices which may or may not affect the future of the very children she is struggling to feed.

She lives in the same squatters’ settlement as Kewley. She is the mother of four children and her husband is currently in prison. Him being imprisoned meant that she needed to get out and work or face the reality of her children starving so now she sells shrimp and does domestic work.

“To maintain myself it is very hard. I have to wuk.

Sometimes I go to sell shrimp and the shrimp don’t sell.

Sometime shrimp nah sell and I does go and do people house wuk and dem get you wuking whole day washing clothes, wiping wall and give me $1000 fo the day but ah still glad fo the $1000 because me ent get nobody fo help me,” she said.

She explained that her eldest son, who is 14 years old, spends most of his time with a neighbour so she does not have to provide, financially, for him.

“It is very hard and tough for me now to mind myself and pickney because my husband done ah jail fo a very long time,” she said.

Tottaram does not even have a washroom which she can use. She uses her neighbour’s since water from the recent rains made her latrine inaccessible.

“The toilet flood inside…water take over am,” she said in her own dialect.

According to Tottaram, when she goes out to do domestic work, her 13-year-old daughter takes care of her 3-year-old sister. She has to make the infant’s porridge and do all the things an adult would have to do to ensure that the toddler is comfortable.

She too depends on the fishermen in the community for unwanted fish to make meals for her children.

Both women remain committed to provide as best as they can for their children and refuse to allow them to be sent to a home.

“That would be heartbreaking,” they said.

4

Sunday Times Magazine

MAY 10, 2020

guyanatimesgy.com

Feature

LOSING A CHILD

“I lost part of me when she went to sleep and never woke back up”

By Lakhram Bhagirat

L

oss will always be a part of our existence. It has the ability in wear down even the strongest of us and it also has the ability to catapult the weakest of us into a position of strength. However, there are some losses that are almost impossible to get over.

No one knows such grave loss than a mother who has lost a child. The pain of losing a child is something many cannot fathom and quite often shy away from because of the gravity of the burden of suffering such a devastating blow.

David LaChapelle, an American artist, quite perfectly said “there’s nothing that symbolises loss or grief more than a mother losing a child.”

Hearing Shazella Mendonca speak about that unbearable loss is enough to reduce one to tears. The mother speaks with an emptiness that only the presence of her six-year-old child can fill. The emptiness is growing with every tick of the clock and not a moment goes by without her remembering her Sherezer.

Sherezer died at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) on January 24, 2019, after the wrong injection was administered to the child by the doctors at the medical institution. Sherezer and two other children were injected with an intravenous injection to their spine causing them

to become paralyse, which then lead to multiple organ failures and their subsequent deaths.

The drugs, Vincristine and Methotrexate, formed part of the children’s chemotherapy treatment. A probe by the Hospital found that malpractice resulted in the deaths of Sherezer, seven-year-old Corwin Edwards and threeyear-old Roshini Seegobin.

Since her daughter’s death, Shazella has been trying to find some closure because of the way in which her daughter died. Although she has two o t h e r children, Michael a n d Miguel, Shazella still feels that emptiness because Sherezer was her first and precious little girl.

This is going to be the second Mother’s Day in six years without the bubbly little girl who had given Shazella so many firsts. She remembers the first time she met her daughter as one of the happiest days of life and the last day she saw Sherezer’s face as the most horrible day of her 28 years.

Last Mother’s Day was the first time without her baby and for Shazella it was very hard. Though she still has two children, the mother still grieves for her baby girl.

She is reminded of her baby every day and the memory intensifies at around 14:30h when school would dismiss for the day. She sits by and watches the neighbourhood children in their school uniforms returning home and only wishes to see her bubbly little girl rushing towards her. But she is confronted with a wave of sadness when she realise that her wish will never come true and she will only be able to see her little girl in the afterlife.

Threading back to the last Mother’s Day with Sherezer, Shazella said that it was one that remains etched in her memory now that she knows it was the last.

Sherezer made a card at school to express her love for her mother and was so excited to show Shazella that she could not wait to get home. As soon as she reached home, the beaming little girl pounced on her mother showering her with kisses and showed her the unique card.

“When she bring the card home she was so happy. She was singing songs for me whole weekend and it was the best. I was happy to see her happy. She was the kind of child that it doesn’t matter if you are crying, she can make you laugh because she was such a happy little girl.”

This year, like last year, for Mother’s Day, all Shazella wants is to see her baby, to hug her, kiss her, hear her voice, feel her close. She says the thought of Mother’s Day makes her heart shatter because life is so much different. A piece of her is gone and will never come back. That piece of the puzzle of her life will forever be missing and will only be completed when she departs this life.

“It is heartbreaking thinking about Mother’s Day. I don’t want to think about it and although I have my two boys, it is still so hard. I don’t feel like celebrating because she is not here. She will never be here.

She is the first one to call me mommy and gave me the first feeling of a mother. I lost part of me when she went to sleep and never woke back up. It is just hard,” the still grieving mother said.

It has been one year since Shazella lost her daughter and she is still fighting to get the direct answers as to what transpired during the final days of her child’s life. For now, the answers to those questions seem to be beyond her reach but she hopes that her Mother’s Day wishes come through and those answers arrive.

guyanatimesgy.com

MAY 10, 2020

Sunday Times Magazine 5

Feature

By Lakhram Bhagirat

M

others have the uncanny ability to put their children above anything or anyone else. For a mother, her child is the centre of her universe and most of the times, she is willing to sacrifice her life so her child can live.

The journey to motherhood, alone, is one that is filled with sacrifices. An expectant mother, according to the older folks, has one foot in the grave, since there are numerous complications that can arise from childbirth.

It is those sacrifices and unconditional love that make mothers so special and worthy of every ounce of recognition. Recognising the fact that the sacrifices of mothers often go unnoticed caused Chris Nelson to add words to rhythm and honour them.

The young and upcoming Reggae singer recently released a song titled “World to Me” in which he speaks of the unappreciated sacrifices of a mother. His lyrics not only speak to what all mothers go through to raise their children but it also honours those struggles.

He sings: I ask myself countless times Where yuh get the energy from to cook N clean and motivate meh brother and meh big sista dem?

You issa real strong woman! When meh ask har to give meh some space To perform meh old teenage dutty ways I couldn’t see duh light I could have paid the price Your words were wise (Suh Meh guh suh then) The 20-year-old says that he would be nothing without the strength of his mother and the ability to feed off that strength gives him the drive he needs to push for success.

“My latest single “World to Me” is a reflection of all the sacrifices mothers make to see their children succeed/happy. This song is dedicated to mothers and those who play the role of a mother. To all the strong mothers, Happy Mother’s Day, we love you,” he said.

Apart from being a musician, Nelson is currently a second-year Electrical Engineering student at the University of Guyana. He has always had a passion for music but particularly the Reggae genre. While music is his passion, he has a deep love for engineering and sports.

As a matter of fact, the young man was very active in the sporting arena during his high school days.

“Whilst attending Stewartville Secondary, I was more involved in athletics, more specifically, track and field, but when I completed CSEC, I wasn’t motivated to take my athletic ability to the next level. Music, however, was always a part of me. I could vividly remember most of my teachers warning me, on numerous occasions, to stop hitting on the desks and singing to my female classmates, but that singing also led me to represent my school at many music-based activities,” Nelson told the Sunday Times Magazine during an interview.

“One of the challenges I faced during my childhood was balancing my social and academic life. As I perfected the art, I found a way to balance those two.

Being a young, independent artiste in Guyana poses a big challenge. There isn’t much you could gain out of it if you don’t have a strong support system. Despite the many challenges I faced, I am very grateful for the love and support I’ve been receiving from family, friends, and everyone who encourages me to keep pushing for greatness,” he added.

Nelson is still pretty new in the music business, but sees himself cementing his presence with the work he has done so far. One of his major goals is to

continue on the journey he has started and even go on to release full albums along with producing some.

His ambition goes beyond production as he hopes to collaborate with internationally -recognised artists such as Mark Batson, Romain Virgo and Romeo Mystic.

“Most of my songs are based on what I went through and what I’ve seen in today’s society. My music surrounds positivity.

People must be able to draw something from the song and try to better themselves in the process. Everyone wants a better tomorrow, so I am doing my part to make the world a better place. Different artistes may use different strategies in writing music. For me, I listen to a riddim that my engineer Vijay Deolall composes or one that I like online then I proceed to write. The minimum time taken to write a song is usually about 24 hours,” he said.

You can find Nelson’s music on YouTube @Chris Nelson, Instagram @chrisnelson_20, Facebook @chrisnelson, Audio Mack and Sound Cloud. You can also purchase his music on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon.

6 Sunday Times Magazine

guyanatimesgy.com

MAY 10, 2020

Music

L

ast week, we concluded discussions on the emergencies associated with snake bite poisonings. Or so we thought.

You will recall that I was belabouring the point that speed of treatment was of great essence. It was suggested that one method of removing the poison from the wound is to suck it out. Besides being unaesthetic, I had mentioned that under certain conditions, it would not be advisable for, say, your mouth to go anywhere near a snake bite lesion.

Well out of the blue and very coincidentally, my attention was drawn to an advertisement for a Venom Extraction Kit. The manufacturers promise that the “Sawyer Extraction Pump Kit” would help the ca- FROG TOAD nine caregiver to remove venom injected Hinds legs are larger and bigger than its head and body Smaller hind legs into the pet’s tissues by snakes. As the Hops more frequently and higher Crawls more apparatus suggests, it is simply a powerWebbed feet Feet generally not webbed ful and convenient vacuum pump. I am Soles of feet have sticky pads Feet do not have pads not endorsing this product, especially Tend to be slender

Shorter and stubbier since there are negative reviews relative Generally lighter coloured Darker coloured to its efficacy.

ness of frogs and toads – quite distinct from the personal experience that a dog would have acquired after a confrontation with a poisonous frog/toad.

The frog/toad poison attacks the Central Nervous System.

If some curious puppy/young dog (especially one that might have been orphaned at an early age, or one which never ever had the benefit of its mother’s teachings) comes into contact with a frog/toad, then within minutes symptoms of poisoning will exhibit themselves.

Specific

First Phase – symptoms become apparent within minutes of the encounter Hypersalivation (= lots of drooling) Need to be closer to water to survive Ubiquitous, and can survive even Scratching of the face, especially the mouth and eyes FROG/TOAD POISONING far from water Very red and inflamed gums In so many respects, frogs/toads are toads usually have dry, bumpy, warty skin.

Whimpering, howling remarkably interesting animals, like Second Phase bats and snakes. It is no surprise, therefore, These physical differences are sufficiently Incoordination of movement. Stumbling, that so many myths and legends are associ- obvious to differentiate them for all practiwobbling. Unstable gait ated with them. Perhaps, the most common cal purposes.

However, let us document some more Disorientation (walking in circles) and belief about frogs is that they “blow” on their specific differences between frogs and toads: falling victims – dogs, persons, etc.

N.B. Do not solely rely on these comparisons to Increased body temperature (high temOver the years in the Vet Clinic, we enperature) counter many sudden and inexplicable decide whether the animal you are attempting to Vomiting deaths. These companion animal deaths are identify is a frog or a toad. But the aforementioned Diarrhoea frequently attributed to a frog/toad “blow- guidelines will provide you with greater accuracy Third (Final Phase) ing” on the animals. Of course, with great- when making your decision as to whether it is a Seizures/convulsions/collapse er investigation of the incident, different frog or a toad. Relative to therapy, observing the symptoms and effecting an immediate treatment Animal’s entire body stiffens as a board, causes of the malady (even death) emerge. and the animal is unable to stand The Frog’s/Toad’s venom is located in is much more important.

The body goes into a state of lateral rethe salivary glands and on the skin.

Symptoms of Frog/ cumbency (lying stiffly on its side) Toad Toxicity Difficult and more intense breathing Differentiating between General Treatment Frogs and Toads The fact of the matter is that all frogs/ Unfortunately, the toxin is aggressive and We tend to use the words “frogs” and speedy in its circulation throughout the “toads” interchangeably. Well, they are toads do not appeal to the dog’s taste buds animal’s body, effecting the heart (rhythm) both amphibians, but they differ in many and, as such, dogs will not prey on them. I often wonder if some maternal teaching mechand other vital organs. Consequently, by meaningful ways. For example, frogs have anism plays a role in protecting young dogs the time the animal arrives at the Clinic, smooth, moist, slimy, rubbery skin while by endowing them with an instinctive warithe dog is may be in a critical condition.

There is no antitoxin for frog’s/ toad’s venom.

The veterinarian treats on the basis of the exhibited symptoms.

At Home Even before you try to contact the Clinic to alert the veterinarian that you are bringing in the animal, there are interventions which you can introduce immediately.

Wash the animal’s mouth with a hose pipe. Please ensure that the dog’s head is pointing downwards to avoid water getting into the windpipe and then into the lungs.

If there is no hose pipe, use a saturated wet cloth to wipe the mouth repeatedly, washing and wringing out the cloth each time. You should continue doing this (have a bucket of water in the car) even while you are transporting the animal to the Clinic.

At the Vet Clinic The vet and staff will take over within seconds of your arrival. Please do not panic when the vet explains how serious or not (according to symptoms) the situation is.

Also, do not despair when the vet, in an attempt to reduce the life-threatening symptoms, needs to introduce sedative medication (even an anaesthetic) to relax the muscle stiffness and improve the breathing condition, and stabilise irregular heartbeats.

Obviously, the amount of poison that enters the pet’s body and the toxicity of the poison will also play a role in the speed of the animal’s recovery.

Finally, I must mention that the symptoms of Frog/Toad poisoning in cats (exceedingly rare) are the same as those described above for dogs.

READING IN THE TIME OF COVID-19

BOOK REVIEW:

Junta: The Coup is On

A novel by Ken Puddicombe

J

unta is more than a novel merely about a bloodless coup, executed by the military in a seemingly flawless plan headed by General Septimus Ignatius Marks, wrenching power from the legitimately elected government, as it goes beyond the coup into the machinations of the junta to hold onto to power, at whatever cost, pitting its machinery of manufactured fear and military decisiveness backed by a gang of mercenaries/thugs, headed by The Reverend – a merciless criminal, carrying out the dictates – doing the dirty work - of the army acting under direct instruction of Captain Stevenson, against tiny groups of people seeking the return to civilian rule and the restoration of democracy, a group consisting of students of a university led by Melanie Sanderson, the pugnacious editor of a newspaper, Clarence Baptiste, and a reformist priest, Father Bert, as it goes beyond the junta birthed in the wake of the coup as General Marks is supplanted by his protégé, now General Glen Stevenson.

All of the above is set against the backdrop of Hurricane DAVID which adds little to the suspense of the plot but was a major player in further pauperizing the less fortunate while sparing the rich and fortunate few.

This political/romance thriller is set in Saint Anglia, an imaginary island in the Caribbean bearing many similarities to Guyana as people, places and events are invoked in the forms of Ricky Singh, Jim Jones, Rabbi Washington, Father Darke, etc, even CARD (Crucial Action for the Restoration of Democracy) is not dissimilar to GUARD. Saint Anglia was a ‘peaceful place’ - sugar plantation economy thriving first on enslaved labour and then indentured labour - until after independence when the ugly head of racism, class and social injustice brought divisions to the surface in a way forcing everyone to take a side – a side for or against injustice.

The novel is divided into fourteen chapters with the first and second chapters introducing all the major characters while the next two chapters focused on the coup, accounting for one third of the book, and remaining pages deal with the junta’s struggle to hold on to power and subsequent supplanting of the leader from within.

The novel opens with the beginning of a coup as Marcus Jacobson, descendant of the planter class, returns to his place of birth to take up tenure of professor of history at the local university where the impetuous protago-

nist, Melanie Sanderson, former lover of Captain Stevenson and daughter of an ex-Premier who was kicked out of office because he was white, is a student.

As the junta headed by General Marks attempts to consolidate it stranglehold on power, it is met with opposition from various individuals and groups even as Professor Jacobson turns his back several times on invitations and promptings mainly by Melanie to support the fight for the restoration of democracy. The resistance to the junta is answered with brute force damaging limbs and property, leading to bloodshed when a protest march exposes the junta for what it really is – an evil to society.

That evil is finally defeated but that is not the end of the story. The end of the novel is sort of tame (as is the beginning) with Professor Jacobson finally leaving the island and with Melanie Sanderson declaring that she may eventually recommence the relationship with Stevenson who is now General and new leader of the junta. All of this is sort of summed up in what Reverend Bert said, ‘No one is ever totally bad as no one is ever to-

tally good’.

This seemingly intriguing story is diluted by the interjection of more twenty back stories of major and minor characters, created by the author who, it seems, is obliged to make them all rounded characters.

Quite interesting is the author’s use of smoking as a motif - almost every character is a smoker, lending to the adages ‘where there’s smoke, there’s fire’ and ‘if you play with fire, you get burned’ as the reader finds out that many persons get burnt.

Interestingly too, the author accomplishes his own coup (de grace) by treating the reader to beautiful descriptive prose, impressive characterisations, the overt and covert activities of a newspaper and the interesting history of coups and the politics of the Caribbean.

Junta: the Coup is On is a welcomed addition to a short list of Guyanese and Caribbean political thrillers.

Responses to this author please telephone 226-0065 of email: oraltradition2002@yahoo. com

guyanatimesgy.com

MAY 10, 2020

Sunday Times Magazine 7

Ingredients

2 lbs beef cubes 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp onion powder ½ tsp red pepper flakes 1 tsp paprika 2 tbsp green seasoning 1 tsp salt 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp oil 1 tbsp tomato paste ½ onion, slice 3 cups beef stock or water and beef cubes 2 bay leaf 1 sprig rosemary 6 sprigs thyme 2 carrots cut into pieces 2 potatoes cut into cubes

Instructions

Season beef with garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, paprika, green seasoning, salt and Worcestershire sauce.

To a pot over high heat add oil. Add beef and brown until all the liquid has evaporated.

Add tomato paste and stir to combine. Add onion and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add beef stock, bay leaf, rosemary and thyme.

Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until tender. If using a pressure cooker, pressure on high for 20 minutes that release the pressure.

When beef is tender, but not falling apart, add carrots and potatoes and cook for an additional 20-25 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Remove from heat and serve over rice. (Jehan Can Cook)

Ingredients

3 lbs goat meat juice of 1 lime 5 cloves garlic, crushed ½ tsp diced wiri wiri pepper 1/4 cup curry 1 tsp garam masala 1 tsp cumin 2 tbsp green seasoning ¼ cup water 1 bay leaf 3 tbsp oil Chopped scallion

Instructions

Place goat in a bowl with enough water to cover and juice of 1 lime. Rinse thoroughly. Add garlic, pepper and salt and stir to coat. Set aside.

To make Paste, mix curry powder, cumin, garam masala, green seasoning and ¼ cup water. Heat canola oil in a large pot on a medium fire, when oil is hot, add curry paste and fry for about 5-10 minutes.

Add seasoned goat, stir well to coat with curry. Cook slowly for 20 to 25 minutes. Add bay leaf and enough water to cover the goat. Bring to a boil, turn fire down to low and simmer until goat is tender. Remove from heat and add chopped scallion to garnish. (Jehan Can Cook)

Ingredients

Dough 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup water pinch of salt Filling 2 medium potatoes, boiled until tender 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp onion powder 1/4 tsp salt 1 tsp crushed garlic 2 tbsp chopped scallion black pepper to taste oil

Directions

To make the dough, combine flour and salt, add water. Knead dough until its smooth.

Dough will be soft. Set aside for at least 10 minutes.

To make the filling, crush cooled boiled potatoes with a fork until smooth. Add cumin, garlic, onion powder, salt, black pepper and scallion. Mix well.

Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Do the same for the potato mixture and form into balls. Roll the dough into circles large enough to cover the potatoes, about 3 inch in diameter. Place potato in the center of the flattened dough. Seal by pinching the edges of the dough together to form a ball. Repeat until 6 balls are formed.

On a well-floured surface roll, place each ball seal side down and press slightly to flatten.

Roll gently into 6-inch circles. Set aside on a well-floured surface and repeat.

Heat tawa. When tawa is hot, place roti on the tawa. Allow to cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute and flip. Lightly brush oil over the top. Lightly press edges against tawa. Flip after 30 seconds and oil. Flip once more and after about 30 seconds remove from heat.

Repeat. Serve warm. (Jehan Can Cook)

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 small onion, diced 1 small stick of cinnamon, split in half 1 teaspoon cumin powder 1 star anise 3 cups vegetable stock or water 2 cups basmati rice 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup mixed peas and carrots (frozen/ fresh)

DIRECTIONS

Heat vegetable oil on medium-high heat on the stovetop. Add onion, cinnamon, cumin powder and star anise. Stir to combine. Cook for two to three minutes or until spices are fragrant and onions are translucent. Add stock/water, rice, and salt to pot. Bring to a boil.

Add peas and carrots. Turn down to medium-low heat. Cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes.

Remove from heat and let stand for two minutes. Fluff and serve.

Ingredients

1 cup sugar 3 eggs 1-14oz can sweetened condensed milk 1-12oz can evaporated milk 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a heavy bottom pot over medium low heat, melt the sugar until it becomes a golden-brown color. Do not stir, this will cause the sugar crystallize, instead move the pot in a circular motion. Once the sugar has completely liquefied pour into a 9-inch baking dish.

In a large bowl beat egg. Mix in condensed milk, evaporated milk and vanilla. Slowly pour the mixture through a strainer and into the prepared pan with the caramel.

Place in 13×9 baking dish and place into oven (it is easier to pour the water while the pan is on the oven rack, this prevents spilling). Pour warm water into the large baking dish until the water is about half way up the sides of the pan with the custard. Place into a preheated oven and bake for 1 hour.

Carefully remove from the water and allow to cool for at least 4 hours before serving.

(Jehan Can Cook)

8 Sunday Times Magazine

guyanatimesgy.com

MAY 10, 2020

Puzzles

ACROSS 1 Femme fatale 6 Girl from Baja 11 Fiber- -- cable 16 Valens’ “La --” 21 January, in Jalisco 22 Where to celebrate Tet 23 Cease-fire 24 Bradley and Sharif 25 Ready to swing (2 wds.)

26 Release magma 27 Woods insects 28 Taboos (hyph.)

29 Something to read (2 wds.)

31 Loud kiss 33 Movie popcorn size 35 Depot info 36 35mm camera 37 Slug’s trail 38 Runs up a tab 39 Garrulous 41 Nile god of pleasure 42 Present 44 Making bows 46 Rattled on 51 Message concealer 52 La -- Tar Pits 53 Kept in custody 57 Cause to steam 58 Snake juice 59 Charlatan 60 Be prone 61 “Thereby hangs -- --” 62 It may be hard 63 Ravine 64 Scoundrel 66 Prize marble 67 Took a toll on 68 Every morning 69 Looked rudely 70 Faxed, maybe 72 Did a takeoff 73 Potters’ ovens 74 Eclipse 75 Gulf nation 77 Red Sonja ally 78 October sign 79 Car-radiator fronts 82 He had a gilt complex 83 Green mineral 84 Reindeer herder 88 Whodunits 89 Vaughan or Miles 90 Sticks in the mud?

91 Clingy seedpod 92 Dig deeply

93 Stun 94 Corn tassels 95 Lifted, so to speak 97 Sun. homily 98 Maureen of film 99 Basins in a church 100 Worthless amount 101 Georgetown athlete 103 New Mexico tribe 104 “Gigi” playwright 105 Own 106 Geneva’s river 108 Be frugal 110 Loose-leafed lettuce 111 Diamond-like gem 114 Snarl 115 Recoils in alarm 117 Pub pint 120 Shogun’s capital 121 Mo. expense 123 North Woods animal 125 Linen ruiner (2 wds.)

127 Outspoken 129 In reserve 131 Forestall 133 -- -garde 134 Ms. Zellweger 135 Paddock occupants 136 Blacken 137 Hull filler 138 Fire of the mind 139 Vestibule 140 Brought to bay 141 Camel driver’s command

DOWN 1 Trouser parts 2 PC chip maker 3 Concrete reinforcer 4 Of an epoch 5 Some are sour 6 Harassed 7 Sheiks’ bevies 8 Not free (2 wds.)

9 Speeder’s nemesis 10 Islets in the Seine 11 Canada’s capital 12 Out of reach, maybe 13 Pleats 14 Gross!

15 -- la vie!

16 Fancy confection 17 I love, to Livy 18 “Luncheon on the Grass”

painter 19 Thin soup

KATHLEEN SAXE

WORD GAME TODAY’S WORD -- STITCHERY (STITCHERY: STICH-eree: Needlework; sewing.)

Average mark 45 words Time limit 60 minutes Can you find 65 or more words in STITCHERY? TODAY’S WORD -- STITCHERY scythe sect shier shire shirt shyer sire site sitter stet stir stich stitch stitcher stretch stretchy strict

stye test testy their theirs theist they thirst thirsty thirty this thrice tier tire titer tithe trey

trice tries trite tryst itch itchy chest chit cire cite city crest cries cyst heir hers hire

hires hitter hysteric etch ethic rest retch rice rich riches richest rise rite yeti

RULES OF THE GAME: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of "s," such as "bats" or "dies," are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a "d" or an "s" may not be used. For example, if "bake" is used, "baked" or "bakes" are not allowed, but "bake" and "baking" are admissible. 4.

Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

20 Ore analysis 30 “The Zoo Story” penner 32 Web surfer’s need 34 Boat made of skins 40 Yuck!

42 Got in shape 43 Hound’s trail 44 Dick or Spencer 45 Snort of disgust 46 Mixes batter 47 Square columns 48 Muscles 49 Checkbook amt.

50 More than med.

51 Granted, as land 52 Rally starters 54 A moon of Jupiter 55 Feline nine 56 Exploits 58 Female fox 59 Zorba portrayer 62 Cod and Canaveral 63 Black-tie affairs 64 Deborah of old movies

65 View from Everest 67 Breaks, corral style 68 Frankie Avalon’s “DeDe --” 69 Grease jobs 71 Mary -- Moore 73 Eastman invention 74 Teams 76 “Vogue” rival 77 Roughly 78 Carefree escapades 79 Grind one’s teeth 80 Cheyenne meet 81 Piano key 82 Kiwi language 83 Spurns a lover 85 Cabin or chateau 86 Yanks at 87 Hunts for meat 89 Oater classic 90 North Dakota city 93 Cold-shoulder 94 Any minute 95 Family mem.

96 QB objectives

98 Atmospheric layer 99 Darts about 100 Gave an Rx 102 Electric bridge 105 Showed the way 107 Not as bland 108 Barracks bane 109 Foot, slangily 110 A grizzly may do it 111 Veld grazer 112 Clock watcher 113 “On the house” offer 114 Target rival 115 Act unit 116 “Cut us some --!”

117 Plugged in 118 Hope or Jessica 119 Praise to the skies 122 Hobbling 124 Maine, from Oregon 126 John, in Wales 128 Recent, in combos 130 Flash in the -132 Caesar’s man SEE SOLUTION ON PAGE 6