Guyana Times Thursday, June 25, 2020

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Issue No. 4327

THE BEACON OF TRUTH THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020

Fraudulent invalidation of votes

Consider consequences to Guyana’s reputation – Commonwealth SG See story on page 10

Guyana's electorate spoke clearly – Michael Kozak “Every vote cast by every voter” must be reflected in declaration – ABCE diplomats Page 3

US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch

British High Commissioner Greg Quinn

Canadian High Commissioner Lilian Chatterjee

EU Ambassador Fernando Ponz-Canto

Caricom Chair disputes Lowenfield’s authority to invalidate 115,000 votes

…tells aggrieved parties to utilise elections court …says situation “bizarre” See stories on pages 7 & 14 ...as APNU/AFC launches attack on Mia Mottley, diplomats

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WHAT'S INSIDE: Disenfranchising 115,000 voters

PSC demands immediate suspension of Lowenfield

…FITUG rubbishes report, calls for it to be “dumped” P8&11

3 new COVID-19 cases recorded

…CMO says false information given to health officials by repatriated Guyanese P9

COVID-19 P14 isolation tents set up in Moruca

Leguan father dies after crashing into P12 culvert

P12 NA municipality destroys seized expired goods

Boat Captain nabbed with ganja escapes by plunging overboard P7

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THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NEWS

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THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Thursday, June 25 – 05:00h-06:30h and Friday, June 26 – 09:00h-10:30h.

“Every vote cast by every voter” must be reflected in declaration – ABCE diplomats

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Berbice – Thursday, June 25 – 06:45h-08:15h and Friday, June 26 – 07:35h-09:05h.

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

WEATHER TODAY Thundery showers are expected to give way to light rain showers in the mid-afternoon hours into the mid-evening hours followed by partly cloudy skies. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: North-Easterly to Easterly between 1.34 metres and 3.12 metres.

High Tide: 07:15h and 19:51h reaching maximum heights of 2.60 metres and 2.46 metres.

Low Tide: 13:21h reaching a minimum height of 0.62 metre.

COMMODITIES Indicators

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US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch

British High Commissioner Greg Quinn

Canadian High Commissioner Lilian Chatterjee

EU Ambassador Fernando Ponz-Canto

s international pressure continues to mount, diplomats from the United States, Britain, Canada and the European Union (ABCE) in Guyana has joined calls for every vote cast at the March 2 elections to be reflected in the final results declaration by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

In a joint statement, US Ambassador SarahAnn Lynch, British High Commissioner Greg Quinn, Canadian High Commissioner Lilian Chatterjee, and EU Ambassador Fernando PonzCanto said this was critical for the will of the Guyanese people to be respected.

“It is important in our view that every vote, cast by every voter, be reflected in that declaration, in order to ensure that the will of the people of Guyana is respected. That respect includes an election declaration of results that mirrors the order and integrity displayed by the people of Guyana, GECOM and party officials, as witnessed by domestic and international observers during the 2 March General and Regional Elections,” the missive on Wednesday detailed.

This statement by ABCE envoys comes on the heels of Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield on Tuesday submitting his elections report to the seven-member Elections Commission in which he disenfranchised some 115,000 plus votes.

Lowenfield’s new figures, which he says are “valid and credible votes”, have invalidated nearly 25 per cent of the votes cast at the March 2020 polls by claiming that the caretaker A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition garnered 171,825 votes while the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) gained 166,343 votes.

However, the results emanating from the national recount show the PPP/C in a landslide lead with 233,336 votes while the APNU/AFC secured 217,920 votes.

The ABCE diplomats re-

minded that the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Observer Mission, which was referred to as “the most legitimate interlocutor” by caretaker President David Granger during the national recount process, has concluded in its report on the recount exercise that “nothing we witnessed, warrants a challenge to the inescapable conclusion that the recount results are acceptable and should constitute the basis of the declaration of results of the March 2, 2020 elections”.

To this end, the ABCE envoys expressed concern that some 114 days after the General and Regional Elections, the people of Guyana continue to await the declaration of an election result.

“We believe election results are long overdue and, in that regard, we applaud the patience and peacefulness displayed by the people of Guyana… we trust GECOM to meet its constitutional duty to issue a declaration on the basis of the

results of the recount as confirmed by Caricom, to ensure the democratic choice

of the people is fulfilled,” the diplomats posited.

A

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guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020

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

Chief Elections Officer’s mysterious figures

T

he question on everyone’s mind is that why is Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, being allowed to carry on in the manner in which he is without any strong action being taken against him. It is clear that the CEO has failed to carry out his duties as directed by the Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice (Rtd) Claudette Singh.

The nation was shocked to learn that Lowenfield presented concocted figures yet again for the Commission to make a declaration on Tuesday evening. This is his fourth attempt to alter the results of the elections.

The numbers submitted do not reflect those certified at the National Recount which was deemed credible by a high-profile team from Caricom. In fact, the manufactured figures included in Lowenfield’s latest report do not even correspond with the numbers he had concocted in his first report to the Chairperson.

In the first report, Lowenfield claimed that the APNU/AFC won 125,010 votes while the PPP/C won 56,627 – disfranchising some 60 per cent of the electorate on mere allegations that their votes are “invalid”.

But now, Lowenfield’s new report validates votes he would have previously invalidated; the CEO now claims that the APNU/ AFC coalition garnered 171,825 votes while the PPP/C gained 166,343 votes.

How the CEO arrived at those figures is unknown, since the certified results from the legally conducted recount exercise supervised by GECOM and a high-level team from the Caribbean Community (Caricom) shows that the PPP/C won with 233,336 votes while the APNU/AFC garnered 217,920.

Lowenfield’s attempts to deviate from the valid results generated from the recount process and subvert the will of the electorate comes on the heels of two previous attempts made

by Returning Officer for Region Four, Clairmont Mingo.

The actions of Lowenfield demonstrate clearly that the GECOM CEO is no longer acting professionally as he is constitutionally mandated to, but serving the interest of the APNU/AFC. When this protracted electoral process is over, those whom have been found complicit in perpetrating the electoral thievery must be brought to justice.

We have already seen the Private Sector, CARICOM through its current Head Mia Mottley, the ABC countries in a joint statement, as well as the OAS, among many others, speak out against either the actions of Lowenfield or the electoral process that he presides over.

President David Granger whose party stands to benefit from the actions of the GECOM CEO, had espoused after rejecting the Carter Center from returning to observe the recount, that CARICOM was the most credible interlocutors to pronounce on Guyana’s affairs.

Mottley minced no words when she asked “on what grounds and by what form of executive fiat does the Chief Elections Officer determine that he should invalidate 1 vote, far less over 115 000 votes when the votes were already certified as valid by officers of the Guyana Elections Commission in the presence of the political parties.

She said further that “The CARICOM Observer Team was of the unshakeable belief that the people of Guyana expressed their will at the ballot box on March 2 and that the results of the recount certified as valid by the staff of GECOM led to an orderly conclusion on which the declaration of the results of the Election would be made.”

We are not surprised by the mounting calls for the CEO to be suspended and for an investigation to be launched into his conduct. Lowenfield does not operate as an island, he is answerable to the Commission in relation to carrying out his functions.

Not only is Lowenfield obligated to carrying out the directives of the Commission, he operates in a position, and works for an organistion, which requires him to perform with the highest level of integrity, professionalism and neutrality. Even if he has a personal bias towards a particular political party, he must not allow his bias to get in the way of carrying out his duties.

As head of the GECOM Secretariat, Lowenfield has presided over a process which has been perhaps the most controversial in the history of Guyana. His performance has been way below what is expected.

Lowenfield guilty of fraud, malfeasance in public office Dear Editor, On June 23, acting in contravention of the Guyana Court of Appeal’s three-day Order of Stay, Keith Lowenfield, the Chief Elections Officer, submitted another of his versions of the results of the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections. The barefaced report presented a fraudulent tabulation of the March 2 election results. In the report, the CEO arbitrarily allocated just over 170,000 votes to APNU+AFC and 167,000 for the PPP, giving APNU+AFC 33 seats, the PPP 31 seats, and one seat was allocated to the small parties.

This latest version of the results by Lowenfield has no resemblance to the real results of the elections. The report was presented even though the Court Order prohibited Lowenfield from so doing. The same Lowenfield failed to present his report when ordered by the Chair of GECOM last week; thus Lowenfield presented a report when not required to, and refused to do so when obligated to do so.

The report varied from the results of the March 2 elections, which were reaffirmed in a recount three months later. In both the original count of the votes and in the recount, the PPP obtained more than 233,000 votes, and APNU+AFC 216,000 votes.

The June 23 Lowenfield

manipulation presented APNU+AFC as the winner of the elections, but just last week, the same Lowenfield presented another fake report in which he allocated 56,000 votes to the PPP. In that report, the results presented by Lowenfield meant that APNU+AFC would have had 44 seats.

It is outrageous that in a two-week span, Lowenfield presented two wildly different reports, which were even more wildly different from the real results in the Statements of Poll and in the Statements of Recount.

The very same Lowenfield had, on March 14, actually submitted another report based on results that included the fake Region 4 tabulation prepared by Mingo.

In that report, he claimed APNU+AFC won the elections, giving APNU+AFC 33 seats with a vote count of more than 237,000 votes.

On June 12, he had presented the vote count from the Recount, which was dramatically different from the Lowenfield first report on March 14, second report on June 12, and third report on June 23.

More than 460,000 Guyanese voted on March 2. Each of these citizens voted once, and more than 5,000 GECOM staff, persons handpicked by Lowenfield, attested on E-Day that real people showed up to vote. More

than 5,000 representatives from twelve political parties also attested they saw 460,000 Guyanese vote that day. More than 2,000 local and international observers attested the same. Not once on E-Day did we receive any report of ghosts or phantoms at the polling stations. That day and days after, David Granger and other senior members of APNU+AFC; the other political parties, including the PPP and the new parties; and every international observer group reiterated the smooth and free and fair process from E-Day. The people who voted were verified as legitimate voters, their names were on the list, their pictures were on GECOM’s folio that everyone in the polling stations had, they had their ID cards, they voted once, and they had their fingers inked, but Lowenfield has presented multiple reports with different results. The original count and the recount, both are consistent with the fact that 460,000 people voted once each time, and both showed the same results for all parties. How then could Lowenfield get different results? It is jiggery-pokery. It is fraud. It is highway thieving.

Clearly, Lowenfield is not a one-man rigging cabal. The fact that 115 days later, after two counts, after multiple court cases, Lowenfield is

still working from a witch’s brew, spewing fake results, hoping one will stick, is proof that he is not a lone rogue in this despicable attempt to thief an election.

At no time has Lowenfield presented proof of jumbies voting, no evidence that Guyanese who were out of the country on March 2 voted, but he is using jumbies and phantoms to arbitrarily discount real votes. Clearly, he has enablers within GECOM and in APNU+AFC. The time has come to say enough is enough. The time has come to act. Lowenfield is guilty of fraud. Lowenfield is guilty of malfeasance in public office. If Guyana gives Lowenfield a pass for this fraud, this malfeasance in office, then this will become a habit in Guyana.

Guyana must put a stop to this crime now. The Chair of GECOM must act resolutely to harness a runaway crime.

Lowenfield has gone rogue in trying to thief the elections for APNU+AFC, and he is doing it in plain sight. The world has spoken against this jiggery-pokery. GECOM officials must act immediately to stop a GECOM officer from poking them in their eyes and letting them and the country know that no one can stop him. Well, enough is enough, time to stop him.

Sincerely, Dr Leslie Ramsammy

Lowenfield is a disgrace to GECOM and Guyana Dear Editor, Everybody is asking: How can the Chief Elections Officer, sworn to conducting free, fair, and impartial elections, seem to be the one leading the coup, supporting the PNC’s playbook, acting as an election court all by himself, and apparently doing everything he can to undermine the elections and democracy in Guyana?

Mr. Lowenfield seems to be having adventures with numbers, throwing out the valid numbers of the recount and substituting his mysterious “Anancy story” numbers. How can this man simply be a law unto himself, and the Chair and Commission are not reining him in? Mr. Lowenfield should have been fired after his first declaration included the fraudulent Mingo numbers. He has been allowed to stay on, and right in front of your face, concocts fake numbers in an arbitrary, capricious, and whimsical manner.

At least Burnham used to hijack the boxes and switch the votes, then declare himself the winner; but the Mingo/ Lowenfield duo, aided and abetted by other PNC plants in the GECOM staff, does it right in front of your face.

If you think Apostle Mingo was a “bad man” in rigging for the PNC, Mr. Lowenfield seems to be a “bigger bad

man”, afflicted with the Burnham riggeritis virus. Mr. Mingo rigged by tens of thousands, Mr. Lowenfield is trying to rig by hundreds of thousands. Again, we can say, as Mr. Golding said, we have never seen such a transparent attempt by Mr. Lowenfield to rig this election in favour of the PNC. This man has shown no inclination to be an honest broker in conducting the elections. From his 156–day proposal for a recount to not explaining where are the materials for the election boxes, and failure to produce his report to GECOM as required, Mr. Lowenfield seems to be unaccountable for his actions.

And he is allowed to get away with it!

Can you imagine the nation waited with bated breath for the recount to be completed, and 114 days later we do not have a declaration of the winner? CARICOM sent three people who made sacrifices, who left their families back home and came to help us resolve our election problems, staying a whole month for the recount. We spent tens of millions of dollars and consumed the time of many recount agents and staff, the Guardians of Democracy guarding the boxes, some foreign observers and several local observers. The recount process consumed the time and

efforts of so many people, and yet one man can throw all that work into the trash. What contempt for everyone! What contempt for CARICOM! And to top it off, our leader - the “sanctimonious one” - seems to be in hiding. Mr. Granger told the nation that CARICOM was the most “legitimate interlocutor” and he would accept the decision of the CARICOM report. Instead of coming out and conceding that he lost, Mr. Granger has once again reneged on his promise. This is the man who likes to say he is following the Constitution even while he is violating it. If Mr. Granger had conceded, all the electoral problems would have been over. But there is speculation that Mr. Granger might be the intellectual author of much of what is going on.

With the Ministry of the Presidency cultivating an image of Granger as a godly church man, releasing photos of Granger kneeling in church, taking communion and seen with Assembly of God and Full Gospel Fellowship top leaders at special events, Mr. Granger has done much harm to the Gospel of Christ and Christianity with his disappointing behaviour.

People are asking how a Christian man can do something like this. A man who enjoyed such enormous goodwill

from crossover voters who ensured his election.

Mr. Granger has shattered everyone’s expectations, and has taken us back to Burnhamism and rigged elections in quick time. He had a chance to heal and unite the country and make a name for himself, but Burnhamism took hold of him, and now he is relegated to the disgraced leaders’ “Wall of Shame.”

People are at their wit’s end trying to figure out why a government would do this to its people, prolonging the trauma and torture of political instability that began since the December 2018 No Confidence Vote, while a pandemic rages, the country is bankrupt, people are suffering, and a border dispute case is upcoming.

Many have asked why is it that, every time the PNC is in power, we have to be fighting for the preservation of democracy? Many think it will be impossible to have fair elections in Guyana again, if the collusion of GECOM employees, the Courts and Police are allowed to thwart the will of the people. In just one term, Mr. Granger’s PNC has brought us full circle to the ways of Burnhamism. And Granger is missing in action!

Sincerely, Jerry Singh

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THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020

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Lowenfield made Mingo look Shifting goalpost from “valid” votes cast to “valid like a simple pick-pocket and credible” votes cast

Dear Editor, Guyana’s 2020 General and Regional Elections have been reviewed repeatedly and extensively by both national and regional courts. While the OAS General Secretariat advocates for the right of all citizens to access electoral justice, there is a fine line between the right to redress and the use of the courts to stall the electoral process.

What we all saw displayed

by Lowenfield is a clear blatant violation of the Order.

Lowenfield arrogated to himself the position of Chief Mastermind for the APNU/ AFC rigging cabal. Lowenfield made Mingo look like a simple pick-pocket. There is now clear evidence that the APNU/AFC, in coalition with Lowenfield and other elements of GECOM, continue their relentless attempts to prevent the accurate results for the March 02,2020 General and Regional Elections from being declared with the correct valid votes cast by the people of Guyana.

All that Lowenfield was asked to do was to prepare the statutory form showing the true allocation of seats for each political party under Section 99 of the Representation of the People Act, and to signify that

Dr Irfaan Ali has been elected President of Guyana under Article 177 of the Constitution based on using the totals of valid votes cast, which he had already presented to Madam Chairman, Retired Justice Claudette Singh, and the GECOM Commission.

However, instead of carrying out the request of the Chairman of the Elections Commission made to Mr. Lowenfield in her letter of 16th June, 2020, to use “the results of the Recount for the consideration of the Commission”, in his Report, Mr Lowenfield attached a Table in which he arbitrarily and unilaterally seeks to disenfranchise some 115,844 voters, or 25% of the persons who legitimately cast their votes in a completely valid process on Election Day, and purports to assign the allocation of seats to the contesting parties on the basis of votes cast which bear no relationship whatsoever to the matrices produced from the Statements of Recount or the Certificate of Valid Votes tabulated at the Recount.

However, under the guidance of the APNU/AFC leadership, he has resorted to a conspiracy to commit electoral fraud at common law, a most

grievous offence which can attract severe penalty.

Editor, those who are in conspiracy with him would be exposed to the same criminal liabilities.

We must all remember that in 2015, when the PPP/C lost the elections by a narrow margin of just over 4000 votes, it took its challenge of the election to the court by way of an Elections Petition. The PPP/C never held Guyana and the people of Guyana to ransom.

It’s unfortunate that here we are in 2020, the world and the citizens of Guyana have seen the APNU/AFC coalition and cabal not displaying any democratic characteristic, but continuing to expose it dictatorial tendencies. Having failed at rigging the elections on the basis of the electoral fraud by elements in GECOM, it is now trying to steal the elections on the basis of an order from the Court of Appeal.

The Organisation of American States has accompanied the March 2 General and Regional Elections in Guyana through all of its stages, including the National Recount in Georgetown from May 6 to June 8, 2020. OAS observers were present for the determination and tabulation of the

total valid votes cast in each Region – totals that were subsequently confirmed by the Chief Elections Officer and submitted to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

GECOM is therefore already in possession of a result based on the valid votes cast on March 2, 2020 through a recount exercise that was approved by all stakeholders. In these circumstances, the OAS General Secretariat expects that anyone who wishes to challenge the validity of any of these votes should do so through an election petition filed in the High Court, after GECOM declares the election result based on the recount data.

The OAS remains committed to the strengthening of democracy in Guyana, hoping for a just and fair conclusion of the current process.

Thanks to Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) for granting an injunction blocking the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) from issuing a declaration of the elections results until it hands down final orders relating to the application filed

by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo.

Sincerely, David Adams

Dear Editor, Of late, there is a deafening silence from the PNC/ Coalition leader on the release of the CARICOM report, the filing of the Eslyn David matter, and the subsequent Court of Appeal’s Order. One may add the recent actions of GECOM’s CEO. Is there a connection between it all?

It is good that we are before the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) again, even if only for the record. Too often, there are notorious post-voting occurrences in Guyana, but hardly any significant documentation of what transpired. Instead, there is a camouflage of history.

Of course, an adverse CCJ judgment may not move the de facto administration. The NCM is a lesson well taught to a vulnerable electorate.

Moreover, there is a lingering belief that a court order is only as good as a constable who is willing to execute it.

Accordingly, some of what may follow another adverse CCJ ruling may be predictable. There will be

A hard mind and a heart of stone Dear Editor, Clint Eastwood directed the movie “Sully”, starring Tom Hanks, and it was released by Warner Bros. on 9th September, 2016. The movie retold the story about US Airways Flight 1549, an Airbus A320 taking off from NY City’s La Guardia Airport and flying to Seattle on 15th January, 2009. At 2818 feet in the air, travelling at 213mph, at 15:26h (3:26 PM), exactly five minutes after taking off, it struck a flock of geese off Midtown Manhattan.

Passengers heard a loud bang, saw flames from the engines, followed by silence and an odour of fuel. The plane lost all engine power, but the skilful pilot, Mr. Chesley Sullenberger, was able to glide the plane, ditching it on the Hudson Bay River off Midtown Manhattan. All one hundred and fifty passengers, three flight attendants, the co-pilot and the pilot were saved, after being rescued by various vessels, divers and helicopters. It took twenty-nine minutes, an air temperature of 19 degrees F (-7C) and water temperature of 41 degrees F (5C), to complete the successful operation.

In Guyana, on March 2nd, 2020, a nation of passengers voted, and after passing through all the ticketing counters and security points at Ashmin’s Building, GECOM HQ and the ACCC, they boarded the flight at GECOM’s office. The flight had to be cleared for all customs, immigration, and security reasons by the local and international observers, including all stakeholders, electoral workers, military officials, the media and the press.

After some minor and ma-

jor hiccups (there was disagreement when fake documents were presented, the amount of people on board couldn’t be verified, and there was need for a recount ofr all the seated passengers), members of the CARICOM, OAS, EU, the ABCE diplomats (the Carter Center Team had to be barred because of COVID-19) and all the grounds-men, they had to give their blessings for a safe flight before it departed.

The PPP/C was approved as the licensed pilot for the flight (after writing an exam and scoring higher marks than APNU/AFC).

The flight was only minutes in the air when disaster struck. Unknowingly to all, the APNU/AFC had infiltrated the Flight Tower, having placed their own members inside, they redirected the plane on a flight course with illogical configurations that saw the plane crash-landing in the Demerara River, barely clearing the Demerara Bridge.

As I write, the plane is still in the water with the passengers stranded inside, uncertain if to go onto the wings of the plane or jump into the water. All rescue parties were informed, but they are awaiting approval from the foreign officials to see if they are allowed to go forward with the rescue operation, or allow the passengers and plane to die from drowning!

The traumatic saga continues to play out involving the drowning people of Guyana and a Charge d’Affaires officer who can throw life boats to save the nation and the people from sinking to the bottom of the river, but he is nowhere on the scene, and is allowing a terrible destruction and disaster to worsen. Standing by

is the rescue team headed by the GECOM Chair, who can unleash so much power and still complete a successful operation without the help of the sleeping giant. She can also exercise her powers by instituting all correct procedures and ensuring all her assistants comply with her direct instructions and guidance, or face the wrath of the established law by pulling the plug on them, starting with the chief conspirator. Her CEO was found guilty on four separate occasions for conspiracy, collusion, misconduct, fraud, inciting the public with incorrect results, and deliberately misguiding the Commission and the Chair with his mangled and insane mathematical mumbo-jumbo.

In principle, these offences are simply electoral fraud, but all are assured that the learned Madam Chair is intellectually acquainted with all aspects of the law and she can easily see through any maze or trap fabricated by the inferior literates trying to pull the wool over her eyes. All the effects and causes and the remedies are glaringly displayed at her disposal. She only has to click her fingers and law and order will take its due course again. Give a person a long rope and that person will hang himself or herself.

Is it surprising that students in Guyana are performing poorly at Math and English when they have insensible examples to follow and accept, the likes of dishonest leaders in the Government and Judiciary, who refuse to ascertain the difference between right and wrong, and insist in misdirecting others with their murky interpretations that are directed for per-

sonal gains only? No wonder transparency is no longer lucid, and the confused students are in a mess, not certain if to follow the mathematical brains of Williams, Mingo or Lowenfield, and if to succumb to the art of language as propagated by the ambiguity of a few of the legal professionals!

Look out for a drop in History passes because many will be instructed to rewrite the history of this country according to their own analogies and recollection.

The country awaits July 1st for the sitting of the CCJ, when the appeal by the PPP/C over the ruling of the elections’ credibility case will commence.

In the interim, CCJ has issued an order preventing GECOM and its officers from taking any further actions until the hearing and determination of the matter.

Meanwhile, those passengers in the plane, viz the people of this nation, remain stranded and without help, every ticking second can bring immediate disaster. There is gross uncertainty in the lives of the terrified, and the guardian angel remains aloof, smirking, laughing and singing and dancing to the tune of “Good for you” and “I don’t care.”

How callous and ruthless can a leader become? But it did not happen overnight, it was premeditated and meticulously calculated, with all the right strings attached to pull the trigger at the right moment. After all, he is an army man well trained in offensive and defensive attacks and the use of all weapons. Do not mistake that quiet look, for it is the easy snake that bites hot.

Yes, we are all in this together, and the water has

reached our necks. Imagine, you have to lift the babies above your heads, precariously holding them in your hands and the life boat is inches away but is refusing to help.

Such is the foe for an ally, one with closed eyes and ears, with hard mind and a stone for a heart! Save yourself Guyana.

Respectfully, Jai Lall

more camouflage of history. That is, the PNC leader is likely to impress the public with his respect for the Constitution. He may convey his impression of an adverse CCJ ruling and insist on using a CEO report interpreted to bear “valid and credible” votes, as was predictably compiled this very week.

It is predictable because the word “credible”, which allegedly appears in the CEO’s accompanying letter to the GECOM Chair, has long been refashioned by the PNC leader to camouflage what is really a movement to undermine the electoral process. The silence on the CARICOM report is no longer silence.

It is therefore quite a sleight of hand by the CEO, who on one hand allegedly has “taken note of the guidance” (see aforesaid letter) of the court, but on the other has shifted the goalpost from “valid” votes cast to “valid and credible” votes cast, extinguishing the voting rights of some 115,000 voters in the process. It ought to be clear to the vulnerable electorate that each part of this “movement” operates in tandem with its larger whole.

Now that the CEO’s report and letter have surfaced, the public can expect someone else to try to import the phrase “valid and credible” votes into the CCJ lexicon next week.

The movement will roll on, quite simply put, until someone stops it in its horrible track.

Sincerely, Rakesh Rampertab

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THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020

Page

Foundation

Guyana Times is pleased to publish the Education Ministry’s National Grade Six Assessment Past Papers and CXC questions.

Below are the first part of Social Studies Paper 1, 2009 and CXC Mathematics.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

NATIONAL GRADE SIX ASSESSMENT

SOCIAL STUDIES

1. WRITE YOUR CANDIDATE NUMBER ON THE ANSWER SHEET AND UNDERLINE THE SUBJECT.

This test contains 40 QUESTIONS. You are required to answer ALL questions. Four responses are given for each question. The responses are A, B, C and D. Only ONE response is correct.

3. If you are not sure of the answer to question, then choose the one which you think is BEST. On

your draw a heavy black line through the letter you have chosen.

4 BE SURE THAT THE QUESTION NUMBER IN THE BOOKLET IS THE SAME AS THE ONE YOU HAVE USED YOUR ANSWER SHEET. Here is an example done for you.

1.The capital of Guyana is (A) Linden (B) Georgetown (C) Rose Hall (D) Lethem

1. Which of the following countries is located:1h South America?

(A)Belize (B) Ecuador (C) Grenada (D) Panama 2. Which one of these countries is completely surrounded by the Caribbean Sea? (A) Jamaica (B) Brazil (C) Suriname (D) Peru 3. The people in Linden are engaged mainly in (A) bauxite mining.

(B) cattle ranching.

(C) rice farming.

(D) gold mining.

4. Most Guyanese migrate to (A) India.

(C) North America.

(B) England.

(D) South America.

5. Which of the following is a human resource?

(A) Air (B) Animal (C) Carpenter (D) Sunlight 6. The European fort located in the Berbice River was built by the (A) Dutch.

(B) English.

(C) French.

(D) Portugese.

7. The monument associated with slavery is the Monument.

(A) Martyrs (B) 1763 (C) Cenotaph (D) Non-Aligned

(A) (B) (C) (D) A heavy black line has been drawn through the letter B on the answer sheet because 9, the correct answer, is next to B. If you make a mistake, erase the line cleanly, then draw a heavy black line through the letter next to the answer have now chosen.

8. Which company helped in the development of our plywood industry?

(A)Banks DIH (B) Barama (C) Omai

(D) Linmine

6. REMEMBER-each answer MUST only be shown by a heavy black line on your Answer Sheet.

7. Remember only one answer must be provided for each question.

8. DO NOT TURN OVER PAGE UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO.

9. Guyana imports machinery from (A) Brazil.

(B) Barbados.

(C) Jamaica.

(D) Grenada.

10. Which weather patterns is associated with greenhousegases?

(A) El Nino (B) Global warming (C) La Nina (D) Tropical wind 11. A drug that is most harmful to the body is (A) whizz.

(B) cocaine.

(C) tylenol

(D) valium 12. ‘Look right, look left, look again, and if it is clear go quickly across’. This is a safety rule for the (A) river.

(C) road.

(B) air.

(D) sea.

13. The founder members of Caricom are (A) Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica.

(B) Jamaica, Barbados, Guyana, St. Lucia (C) Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Barbados, Grenada.

(D) Barbados, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Vincent.

14.

(A) (B) (C) (D)

Which three states are not islands?

Barbados, Jamaica, Antigua Belize, Guyana, Suriname Haiti, Dominica, St. Vincent St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago

15. The line marked X is called the (A) Arctic Circle.

(B) Antarctic Circle.

(C) Tropic of Cancer.

(D) Tropic of Capricorn.

16. Countries located in the shaded area are in the _____ Zone.

(A) North Polar (B) South Polar (C) North Temperate (D) South Temperate

TO BE CONTINUED

CXC MATHEMATICS 1) ABCD is a parallelogram such that AB is parallel to DC and DA parallel to CB. The length of side AB is 20 cm. E is a point between A and B such that the length of AE is 3 cm.

F is a point between points D and C. Find the length of DF such that the segment EF divide the parallelogram in two regions with equal areas.

Study the following diagram, then answer 15 and 16.

2) The distance between the centers of two circles C1 and C2 is equal to 10 cm. The circles have equal radii of 10 cm. O is the center of C2 and P is the center of C1. Find the overlapping area of the two circles. Approximate your answer to one decimal place.

NEWS

7

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Caricom Chair disputes Lowenfield’s authority to invalidate 115,000 votes …tells aggrieved parties to utilise elections court …says situation “bizarre”

C

aribbean Community (Caricom) Chair and Barbadian Prime Minister, Mia Mottley has chastised the Guyana Elections Commission’s Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield for his disenfranchisement of the Guyanese people.

Mottley’s concerns come one day after the report of the March 2 General and Regional Elections was submitted by Lowenfield.

Lowenfield, on Tuesday, prepared and submitted the final report on the elections to GECOM Chair, Retired Justice Claudette Singh. In the report, he altered the figures emanating from the national recount and took away over 115,000 votes that were initially deemed valid.

He presented that the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) won the elections with 171,825 votes while the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) gained 166,343.

However, the certified results from the legally-conducted recount exercise supervised by GECOM and a high-level team

Caricom Chair and Barbados' Prime Minister, Mia Mottley

from Caricom pellucidly show that the PPP/C won with 233,336 votes while the APNU/AFC garnered 217,920 votes.

In a video statement, Prime Minister Mottley noted that Caricom, from the inception, has been clear in its calls for every vote to be counted in a fair and transparent manner. She explained that it was this commitment to a fair and transparent political process that led Caricom to field two Electoral Observer Missions to Guyana.

“Gamesmanship”

Mottley said that it was regrettable that the Caribbean Community was now witnessing an unprecedented level of “gamesmanship” that has left much to be desired. She described the current electoral malfeasances in Guyana as actions which put the Caribbean Region’s image on the questionable spectrum.

In relation to Lowenfield, the Chair noted that Caricom remained concerned that they would sub-

mit a report that is contrary to the directions of GECOM as well as not reflective of the will of the Guyanese electorate. The will of the electorate, she noted, was cemented by the numbers emanating from the Caricom-observed national recount of the ballots.

She inferred that it would be a proverbial slap in the face of the Caricom Team led by Senior Lecturer in the Department of Government at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cynthia Barrow-Giles, and the Guyanese people for the CEO to present figures not reflective of what was certified by the GECOM staff. The Caricom Team also included Sylvester King, Deputy Supervisor of Elections of St Vincent and the Grenadines and John Jarvis, Commissioner of the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission.

Great risk

PM Mottley reminded that the Caricom Team members placed themselves at great risk when they decided to travel to Guyana amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Boat Captain nabbed with ganja escapes by plunging overboard

A

boat captain, who was on Tuesday arrested over marijuana found in his vessel, has managed to escape law enforcement officers by plunging overboard and swimming to shore.

Ranks of the Guyana Police Force were conducting a river patrol in the Canje Creek when they intercepted a wooden vessel in the vicinity of Sandaka.

A search of the boat revealed nine taped and compressed parcels, each containing suspected cannabis which when weighed some 103kg.

The nine taped and compressed parcels of suspected cannabis

Four men including the captain were arrested.

Whilst being escorted to New Amsterdam in the GPF’s boat, which was powered by a 60hp outboard engine, the captain held onto one of the ranks and plunged overboard with him.

The policeman was quickly rescued but the suspect swan ashore and escaped.

The other three suspects remain custody and are being processed for court.

The GPF said stringent efforts are being made to recapture the escapee.

“Every vote cast by every...

These Western diplomats were among the observers – both international and domestic – and other stakeholders, that had deemed the tabulation of the votes in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) – Guyana’s largest voting district – as not credible and had threatened “serious consequences” and sanctions if a president was sworn in on results that lacked legitimacy and transparency.

In fact, only earlier this month in another joint statement, the ABCE envoys had lauded the commitment of all stakeholders in ensuring full transparency in the 34-day recount exercise and the commitment of the political leaders

to adhere to the results from the process.

“We also commend President Granger and the Leader of the Opposition for their support of the recount, and for their clear commitment to abide by the results. As this process concludes, it is important for all stakeholders to uphold the integrity of the process and peacefully accept the wishes of the Guyanese population,” the diplomats had stated.

However, the APNU/AFC, through its supporter Eslyn David, approached the Court of Appeal just when GECOM had decided to go ahead with the declaration of the elections based on the re-

FROM PAGE 3

count results.

Now, the Appeal Court’s ruling that “more votes cast” means “more valid votes cast” is being challenged at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) by the PPP/C which has contended that the Court’s pronouncements have “plunged the law in total confusion and it is now no longer clear how an election of members of the National Assembly is to be challenged and how the election of the President can be challenged.”

The international community has already warned that Guyana can face numerous levels of sanctions if the will of the Guyanese people is not respected.

Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield

“The Caricom Observer Team was of the unshakeable belief that the people of Guyana expressed their will at the ballot box on March 2 and that the results of the recount certified as valid by the staff of the Guyana Elections Commission lead to an orderly conclusion on which the declaration of the results of the election could and would be made.

“Therefore, we must ask on what grounds and by what form of executive fiat does the Chief Elections Officer determine that he should invalidate one vote, far less over 115,000 votes when the votes were already certified as valid by the Officers of the Guyana Elections Commission in the presence of the said political parties?” the Caricom Chair questioned.

She went on to state that any attempt to provide numbers different from those certified by the staff of GECOM is one that left many in the Community in shock and wondering what the next move to frustrate the will of the Guyanese people will be.

Useful not obstructive

She reminded that the role and focus of political

parties must be useful and not obstructive in embracing and promoting the will of the people. To do otherwise, she said, would be tantamount to sowing seeds of discord and acrimony – things leaders swear to dissuade and discourage.

“We must remind all that if there is any evidence of fraudulent or improper conduct, then there is a clear and well-accepted route to deal with these matters. It is through an elections petition to an election court,” Mottley opined.

The Bajan leader also lauded the Guyanese people for their patience as they await the conclusion of the electoral process. She also reiterated the Community’s commitment to Guyana and noted that it was confident in the report of the Caricom Team.

Meanwhile speaking on a Trinidad and Tobago programmed hosted by Hema Ramkissoon, on CNC3 Mottley said that the elections situation in Guyana is “a little bizarre”. She however added that the other Heads of Government within Caricom are attuned to the issue in Guyana and will wait to let the process play out over the next few days.

8 NEWS

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020

| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Disenfranchising 115,000 voters

FITUG rubbishes Lowenfield’s report, calls for it to be “dumped”

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hief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield is facing major backlash from a major trade union umbrella organisation, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG), which noted that his most recent report needed to be dumped.

FITUG communicated its opinion on the ongoing Election 2020 saga through a missive on Wednesday, in which its strongly criticised the CEO for disregarding over 115,000 voters in his latest report.

Furthermore, the trade union questioned the swiftness with which Lowenfield presented his second report to Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairperson, Retired Justice Claudette Singh following the Court of Appeal’s ruling to utilise valid votes for the election declaration on Monday.

“His actions have only further cemented the strongly-held view regarding the partiality of the Secretariat of the Elections Commission,” FITUG expressed.

The trade union body went on to share its disdain at the disenfranchisement of thousands of Guyanese voters, stating: “in as much as we recognise that Mr Lowenfield’s report cannot be considered pending hearings at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), we contend that his report should be rejected outright. His report, we believe, belongs at the Haags Bosch dumpsite along with his previous attempt to disenfranchise some 275,000 voters as well as the two declarations made by Mr Clairmont Mingo”.

This is not Lowenfield’s first attempt to alter the results of the elections.

In his previous report submitted to the Commission, Lowenfield claimed that the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) won 125,010 votes while the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) won 56,627 votes – disenfranchising some 60 per cent of the electorate on mere allegations that their votes were “invalid”.

But now, Lowenfield’s new report validates votes he previously invalidat-

W

Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield and Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo

ed; the CEO now claims that the APNU/ AFC coalition garnered 171,825 votes while the PPP/C gained 166,343 votes.

According to FITUG, which noted that it has grown upset, the ongoing shenanigans are seemingly at the “behest of the incumbent Administration to perpetuate its grip on power”.

Explaining that the results of the valid vote count which emanated out of the national recount were already known, FITUG questioned “where the self-righteous coalition is really intent on taking us.”

The organisation surmised: “It is really to take our country down the road of undemocratic rule once again? This, if so, is most saddening and the fact that these attempts are supported by individuals who were once part of the bulwark of the struggles for democracy is most disturbing.”

FITUG highlighted that “as the days go by, the masks are falling off and the truth is being revealed”.

Lowenfield’s second attempt to thwart the will of the Guyanese people comes on the heels of two previous attempts made by Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) Returning Officer

Clairmont Mingo – which were both supported by the CEO. Mingo, during the tabulation of votes following the March 2 elections, used figures which were heavily inflated in favour of the APNU/AFC coalition – vastly differing from the official numbers recorded on the Statements of Poll (SoPs).

On March 5, Mingo declared fraudulent results for District Four, prompting the PPP/C to move to the courts which scrapped those results and ordered that the process be done through the legally prescribed procedure.

When the process was resumed, Mingo still proceeded to use concocted numbers, and he eventually made a second fraudulent declaration on March 13.

Mingo had declared that the APNU/ AFC won 136,057 votes for District Four while the PPP/C won 77,231.

But the certified recount process clearly shows that for Region Four, the APNU/AFC won 116,941 votes while the PPP/C won 80,920.

Mingo’s attempts to alter the results of the elections were, in both instances, supported by Lowenfield.

Kukui River accident

Search party still to find toddler’s body

P

olice in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) are currently searching for the body of a two-year-old girl who fell into the Kukui River in Upper Mazaruni on

Splitting…

Tuesday and did not resurface.

The child has been identified as Nandra Alban of Phillipai Village, Upper Mazaruni River.

Reports are that about 16:30h, the parents of the child, along with five others including the child, were paddling in a canoe when the boat allegedly hit something and toppled, tossing them into the river.

The parents of the child told Police that after the canoe capsized, everyone in the boat “scrambled” to reach the shore. However, upon checking, they realised that Nandra was missing.

The child’s father and other relatives tried to find the child, but their efforts were futile.

Regional Police Commander Linden Lord told Guyana Times that the heavy rainfall of the May-June rainy season had swollen the Kukui River, resulting in a high water level. He, however, alluded that several efforts were currently being made to locate the child’s body. An investigation is in progress.

…gamesmanship hat can you say about the latest twist in the road the PNC’s been hacking through the field of elections’ rigging? Well, for one, that it’s taken us back in a full circle to the CCJ? That was kinda inevitable when you come to think of it, since Granger has always been careful to cover his crimes against democracy with fig leaves plucked and twisted from some law or other -- including and especially the Constitution, in which he’s never tired of insisting he’s upholding!!

But after a year and a half of his mealy-mouthed, forked-tongued excretions, Granger ain’t fooling nobody.

The PNC acolytes and minions, of course, don’t count; they live in an echo chamber where only Granger’s homilies reverberate. A couple of weeks ago, one Bajan diplomat revealed that he’s referred to by the other CariCom leaders as the “Sanctimonious Gangster”!! If you had any doubts about the moniker, it means you didn’t hear the straight-shooting PM of Barbados and Chair of CariCom, Mia Mottley, give her take on Granger’s latest twist yesterday.

“Gamesmanship”, she called it.

“Regrettably we have seen a level of gamesmanship that has left much to be desired, and has definitely not portrayed our Caribbean region in the best light. This is definitely NOT our finest hour, and we MUST NOT shy away from that reality.”

Notice, unlike the last time she weighed in and alluded to “forces” that may’ve been working to torpedo Granger’s offer to settle matters through a recount, this time it’s clear the scales have been removed from her eyes. The Mottleys didn’t raise no fool for a daughter!!

The “gamesmanship”, as we pointed out, has taken us back to the CCJ on the appeal by the Opposition Parties from the amazing judgement by the Court of Appeal on the recount. After labouring like a mountain, the latter produced a mouse by declaring that only “more valid votes cast” can be counted to elect a president!! Well, duh!! Have they been using INVALID votes up to now??

The point, of course, is what exactly constitutes a “valid” vote, and who’s to be the judge?? Everyone, including Mia Mottley, thought the recount was supposed to answer that question, and she exasperatedly said that was the reason her CariCom Observer Team had risked possible death by returning for the said recount! In fact, every Statement of Recount and the 10 Certificates of Recount had boldly stated the numbers of VALID votes for each list!

That, the Chair had declared, was what she wanted.

And this is what the CCJ’s going to tell Granger.

Hopefully, unlike the last time, by spelling it in small words!! …already split hairs The PNC’s legal brain trust – led by Basil Williams, even though that produces an oxymoron!! – before the Opposition’s move to the CCJ, insisted the latter doesn’t have jurisdiction to hear THIS appeal from the CoA. The AG, who’s lost more cases than any other AGs in the HISTORY of Guyana – but was made SC by Granger! – pointed to Art 177(4) which states, “…any DECISION of (the Appellate) Court under this paragraph shall be final.”

But even though he cited the CCJ Act (2004) which made the CCJ our Apex Court, he cited Sec 4 (3) to support his claim: “Nothing in this Act shall confer jurisdiction on the (CCJ) Court to hear matters in relation to any decision of the Court of Appeal which at the time of entry into force of this Act was declared to be final by any law.”

But if Basil had read on to Sec 26, he would’ve seen that “all laws, including the Constitution” was considered “modified” to be in conformity with the CCJ Act (2004)!!

But it’s just “gamesmanship” for the PNC, isn’t it?? …the Constitution and ROPA Following the CoA ruling on “more valid votes cast”, Lowenfield produced his report, giving “victory” to the PNC. But if the CEO can determine “valid and credible votes”, what’s the need for elections petitions?

news@guyanatimesgy.com

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

NEWS

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THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

3 new COVID-19 cases confirmed

…CMO says false information given to health officials by repatriated Guyanese

G

uyana has recorded three new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country’s total number of the novel coronavirus cases up to 209.

This was revealed by Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Shamdeo Persaud during the Public Health Ministry’s daily update on Wednesday.

According to Dr Persaud, a total of 78 tests were done in the last 24 hours, and three of those tests returned positive. This brings the total number of persons tested for COVID-19 to date at 2,246, of which some 2,037 were negative.

Meanwhile, the death toll remains at 12.

Currently, there are 90 active cases in institutional isolation and another 16 persons in institutional quarantine.

There is presently one patient in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC), while the number of persons who have recovered from the life-threatening disease to date is 107.

As Guyanese authorities continue to grapple with containing the coronavirus outbreak in Guyana, the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) has announced a phased reopening of Guyana’s airspace, which had been closed since March 19.

In fact, several repatriation flights have already been operated to bring home scores of Guyanese who were stranded in various countries in the Caribbean region and internationally as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

However, while those persons who have returned are mandated to self-quarantine for one week, and leave home only for emergency, the CMO on Wednesday put many of them on blast for their non-cooperation.

“This irresponsible and selfish act is putting your life and the lives of our citizens at risk, and placing undue pressure on our health workers and health system… It is disappointing to learn that when health officials try to follow up with you, either you are not at home, or they are unable to contact you because the information you provided is inaccurate and you are not at the stipulated location.

You are deliberately defying the terms of your repatriation and making it difficult for those who are still waiting to repatriate,” Dr Persaud stated.

The CMO reminded those repatriated persons that the systems put in place are to ensure their protection. He added that arriving

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud

with a negative PCR test – another one of the repatriation conditions – does not prevent them from contracting COVID-19, especially while travelling back home. “…remember you are still at risk, hence the reason we want to check on you to ensure that you are not experiencing any signs or symptoms. I take this opportunity to remind you that the safety of your fellow Guyanese is dependent on your staying home until your quarantine period is completed, and that your adherence to these guidelines makes the return of your fellow nationals possible,” he stated.

Two more repatriation flights are expected from the US next week via Eastern Airlines. One is from Miami on Wednesday, July 1, and the other, the following day, is coming from New York.

The first repatriation flight from the US landed at the CJIA earlier this month with a total of 109 persons.

Only last week, there were two more repatriation flight from the US to bring home Guyanese. In the meantime, there have also been similar relief flights from Trinidad and Barbados via Caribbean Airlines.

More such flights are expected over the coming weeks. As such, the National COVID-19 Task Force is urging Guyanese stranded overseas, if they have not yet done so, to contact their nearest diplomatic mission or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs directly. Contact details are listed on the Ministry’s website along with the Repatriation Form: www.minfor.gov.gy Meanwhile, as the country’s airspace reopens, Guyana’s borders with Brazil and Suriname remain closed, and no entry will be permitted to persons from these two countries until further notice.

Guyana’s porous borders have been a cause for concern, especially Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) which borders Brazil.

The neighbouring Portuguese-speaking nation is being devastat-

ed by the pandemic, with over one million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 53,000 deaths – the second country globally to pass the 50,000-fatality mark.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Region of the Americas has recorded over 4.5 million cases, with more than 226,000 deaths.

Globally, the number of COVID-19 cases has surpassed 9 million, while the deaths are currently pegged at over 473,000.

10 NEWS THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020

| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Fraudulent invalidation of votes

Consider consequences to Guyana’s reputation – Commonwealth SG …Guyana’s electorate spoke clearly – Michael Kozak

Commonwealth Secretary General, Baroness Patricia Scotland

T

he Commonwealth Secretariat on Wednesday condemned the move by Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield to invalidate over 115,000 votes and warned of the consequences that this could bring to Guyana’s reputation as a democratic nation.

In a statement, Secretary General, Baroness Patricia Scotland reminded that just last week she had welcomed the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Observer Report, which was clear that the recount results represented the will of the people of Guyana when they exercised their right to vote on March 2.

As such, Baroness Scotland

posited that the move by the CEO to present results to GECOM that did not reflect those certified at the end of the recount exercise would be contrary to the fundamental principles which were treasured by the Commonwealth family and were enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter.

“We call on all responsible parties to consider the consequences to Guyana’s reputation as a democratic country if such an approach was allowed to stand,” the Commonwealth SG posited in her missive on Wednesday.

Moreover, Baroness Scotland also expressed concerns over the fact that Guyana’s General and Regional Elections were not yet concluded almost four months since polling day.

“We commend the people of Guyana for your continued patience and peace, and we encourage you to continue to do so. The Commonwealth Charter recognises the inalienable right of individuals to participate in democratic processes, in particular through free and fair elections in shaping the society in which they live and for this right to be protected and respected.

“Guyana is a valued member of our Commonwealth family and I encourage all stakeholders in Guyana to honour their constitutional duties by ensuring a fair and transparent political process,”

United States Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Michael Kozak

SG Scotland asserted.

Only last week, the high-level Caricom Team of scrutineers submitted their report on the recently-concluded national recount, stating that “…nothing we witnessed warrants a challenge to the inescapable conclusion that the recount results are acceptable and should constitute the basis of the declaration of results of the March 2, 2020 elections”.

That report was welcomed by the Commonwealth SG the same day. Baroness Scotland also lauded caretaker President David Granger and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo for demonstrating commendable leadership when they agreed to the recount and

committed to respect and adhere to the recount results.

She had noted that this continued leadership and commitment were needed now more than ever.

“The people of Guyana have been patient and deserve finality as determined by the recount results… The Commonwealth continues to stand with Guyana, and urge the leaders and the people of Guyana to live up to the lofty aspirations set out in your constitution, your electoral laws, and the Commonwealth Charter,” the Commonwealth SG said last Monday.

Wednesday’s missive from the 54-member nation group comes on the heels of mounting international pressure for the results emanating from the national recount to be used as the basis for the final declaration of the March 2020 elections results.

Also, on Wednesday, acting United States Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Michael Kozak in a tweet on Twitter supported the Commonwealth statement, adding that Guyana’s electorate has spoken clearly.

“Guyana’s electorate spoke clearly & respected international observers @OAS_official & @CARICOMorg have certified the recount results as credible. We join them in calling for a conclusion to the electoral process in #Guyana

& the announcement of a winner,” Kozak said.

On Tuesday, the Organisation of American States (OAS) had sounded similar calls, stating that its observers were present for the determination and tabulation of the total valid votes in each region during the 34day recount exercise and the totals were subsequently confirmed by the CEO in his report submitted to the Elections Commission.

The OAS said, “GECOM is, therefore, already in possession of a result based on the valid votes cast on March 2, 2020, through a recount exercise that was approved by

all stakeholders. In these circumstances, the OAS General Secretariat expects that anyone who wishes to challenge the validity of any of these votes should do so through an election petition filed in the High Court, after GECOM declares the election result based on the recount data.”

CEO Lowenfield on Tuesday submitted his final elections report to the seven-member Commission in which he disenfranchised some 115,000 voters.

Lowenfield’s new figures, which he says are “valid and credible votes”, have invalidated nearly 25 per cent of the votes cast at the March polls.

NEWS

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THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

PSC demands immediate suspension of Lowenfield …calls for full, independent probe into CEO’s conduct GECOM, focusing on both the Commission and its administrative arm which Lowenfield heads. According to Caricom, representatives of which oversaw the national recount, GECOM has betrayed its obligations to remain impartial and independent.

lent results being presented for a declaration.

On Wednesday, the PSC said it has become increasingly concerned at the biased and unlawful actions of Lowenfield, serving as Chief Elections Officer, from the time he readily embraced the fraudulent tabulation submitted by Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo of the District Four results and incorporated them into the report delivered to the Chairman of the Commission.

PSC Chairman, Captain Gerry Gouveia

T

he Private Sector Commission (PSC), an accredited observer in the March 2 General and Regional Elections, has come out swinging against what it calls Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield’s blatant attempt to manipulate the election results to favour A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC).

Lowenfield presented a final report to Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairperson, Retired Justice Claudette Singh that unceremoniously dumped over 115,000 votes when a 34-day national recount had certified those votes as valid. This is not the first time Lowenfield has been complicit in fraudu-

Shocked

The PSC expressed shock at Lowenfield’s latest attempts to disenfranchise voters en masse. According to the Commission, his actions are no less than insubordination against GECOM’s Chair, Justice Singh and should be treated accordingly. The PSC urged GECOM to take measures against Lowenfield, including immediate suspension.

“The Private Sector Commission condemns in the strongest possible terms this most recent act of Mr Lowenfield, which we believe to be tantamount to criminal malfeasance. The Private Sector Commission urges upon GECOM, immediate action to suspend the Chief Elections Officer from any further participation in the

Disenfranchisement

Presumption

GECOM CEO Keith Lowenfield

election process until such time as a full and independent investigation can be held into his conduct,” the PSC stated.

According to the PSC it is appalled at the effrontery shown to the GECOM Chairperson by Lowenfield in the presentation of this report, adding that it was aghast at the table attached to his letter in which he claims to show what he describes as “the valid and credible votes cast in accordance with Section 96 of the Representation of the People Act”.

The Private Sector organisation calls for Lowenfield to be investigated following on the heels of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) urging a political audit of

According to the PSC, what Lowenfield did was presume to act on a decision from the Court of Appeal, a decision that was in fact not made.

It pointed out that nothing in the Court of Appeal ruling had stopped Lowenfield from submitting a final report reflecting the 460,352 votes that a national recount had certified were valid.

APNU/AFC supporter Eslyn David had asked the court to order that GECOM had not tabulated valid votes in the recount. David had also asked for an order restricting Lowenfield from submitting a report based on the recount figures. The court had refused to grant both orders.

Instead of carrying out the request of the GECOM Chairperson made in her letter of June 16, 2020 to him, use “the results of the Recount for the consideration of the Commission”, in his report, Lowenfield attached a table in which he arbitrarily and unilaterally seeks to disenfranchise some 115,844 or 25 per cent of the persons who

trices in the SoRs to declare Dr Irfaan Ali as President of Guyana, since these votes were deemed valid.

GECOM Chair, Retired Justice Claudette Singh

legitimately cast their votes in a completely valid process on Election Day. The PSC pointed out that Lowenfield also purported “to assign the allocation of seats to the contesting parties on the basis of votes cast which bear no relationship whatsoever to the matrices produced from the Statements of Recount (SoRs) or the Certificate of valid votes tabulated at the Recount.”

The Private Sector body noted that it expected GECOM to adhere to the CCJ injunction preventing it from making a declaration until the case is heard and orders issued. Once this is done, the PSC said it also expected GECOM to use the results produced from the ma-

Lowenfield’s attempt to alter the results of the recount and deny the will of the people comes on the heels of previous attempts he made to give legitimacy to the fraudulent declarations of Mingo.

Mingo, during the tabulation of votes following the March 2 elections, used figures which were heavily inflated in favour of the APNU/ AFC coalition – vastly differing from the official numbers recorded on the Statements of Poll (SoPs).

On March 5, Mingo declared fraudulent results for District Four, prompting the PPP/C to move to the courts, which scrapped those results and ordered that the process be done through the legally-prescribed procedure.

When the process was resumed, Mingo still proceeded to use concocted numbers, and he eventually made a second fraudulent declaration on March 13.

Mingo had declared that the APNU/AFC won 136,057 votes for District Four while the PPP/C won 77,231. But the certified recount process clearly shows that for Region Four, the APNU/AFC won 116,941 votes while the PPP/C won 80,920 votes.

12 NEWS

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Blatant attempts to rig elections

“Utterly ridiculous” – Datadin to Lowenfield

Attorney-at-Law Sanjeev Datadin

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he blatant attempts

by Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield and Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo to manipulate the results of

the March 2 General and Regional Elections in favour of the incumbent A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/C) must be condemned by all stakeholders in the strongest possible manner.

According to People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) candidate, Attorneyat-Law Sanjeev Datadin, the deliberate acts by these officials, who he reminded are being paid by the State, have caused Guyana to be the laughing stock of the region and the entire world.

“This is utterly ridiculous; people are looking at us and wondering what is wrong in Guyana…why is it a public official, paid by the State, is trying to fix an election for one party; and this is not a subtle thing, it is blatant,” the Attorney expressed during a virtual programme on Wednesday.

GECOM Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield

Lowenfield has been caught in a fourth attempt to alter the results of the March 2 General and Regional Elections, following his submission of a second report

with doctored figures on Tuesday.

The CEO submitted to the Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Retired Justice Claudette Singh, a report containing numbers which did not reflect those certified at the national recount which was deemed credible by a high-profile team from Caricom.

In fact, the manufactured figures included in Lowenfield’s latest report did not even correspond with the numbers he had concocted in his first report to the Chairperson. In his latest report, he sought to dump more than 115,000 valid votes and indicated a ‘victory’ for the APNU/AFC. However, Datadin posited that there was no foundation for the numbers that Lowenfield has put out, “and that needs to be clear”.

“What he (Lowenfield) is

“It’s almost unbelievable; every time you think the public officials involved will not be so brazen, will not be so dishonest and they are going to do the right thing, they invent a way to do the wrong thing and they proceed to do it as if everybody is unaware of what they are doing” – Sanjeev Datadin trying to do is to actually rig an election, with the world watching; it takes some courage to blatantly rig an election,” the Attorney said.

“We had a recount and the recount figures do not match anything produced by these public officials. This is unspeakable – the wrong that they are doing,” Datadin told viewers.

“It’s almost unbelievable; every time you think the public officials involved will

not be so brazen, will not be so dishonest and they are going to do the right thing, they invent a way to do the wrong thing and they proceed to do it as if everybody is unaware of what they are doing,” he added.

Several calls have since been made for Lowenfield to be suspended and for an investigation to be launched into his conduct owing to his blatant bias shown towards the APNU/AFC.

Leguan father dies after Skeletal remains found in abandoned building crashing into culvert P olice are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a person whose skeleton was found in an abandoned two-storey building at High and Princes Streets, Georgetown.

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father of two is now dead after he crashed into a culvert at Blenheim, Leguan Island on Wednesday morning.

Dead is 24-year-old Phillip Sooklall. According to information received, the incident occurred just about 00:35h Wednesday morning.

Residents indicated that Sooklall was riding one of his friends’ motorcycle heading home when he crashed into the culvert.

He was rushed to the Leguan Cottage Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Police have since launched an investigation.

Though the discovery was made on June 3, the information was only released to the media Wednesday as Police are still trying to ascertain the identity of the person. It is unclear if the remains are that of a male

or female.

Reports are that about 07:30h on June 3, a security guard who works nearby reported to the Police that an “obnoxious scent” was coming from the building.

Upon arriving on the

scene, the cops went into the unoccupied wooden and concrete building, where they found the skeletal remains on the floor.

The scene was processed and the remains were taken to the Lyken Funeral Home.

NA municipality destroys seized expired goods

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Dead: Phillip Sooklall

he New Amsterdam Municipality on Wednesday afternoon destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of expired goods, which were seized in several exercises to weed out substandard importation.

Among the items seized and destroyed from busi-

Some of the items which were seized and destroyed

ness places were baby food and body care products.

On Wednesday the municipality embarked on an exercise to destroy the items seize from supermarkets and grocery shops in Central New Amsterdam, Berbice, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne). Most of the items had expiry dates dating back to 2018. According to Environmental Health Assistant Salima Outar said the safety operation is carried out every three months. She said that items seized in the second quarter of the year were more than what had been seized in the first quarter. Outar said that a large amount of the items

seized were from a particular supermarket, but the proprietor was very uncooperative with the probe.

“That is why we are advising the general public to check items as they purchase them,” Outar said, and added that persons should continuously check the expiry dates on items they are purchasing.

“We want to put the public on their guard because they are paying for these items… as you find these items, contact us and we will do the necessary,” she noted.

Essence, pepper sauce, bottled beverages, olive oil and packaged spices and medical supplies are just a

few of the items seized.

“Even face products, body products, and a range of edible things that you would find in a supermarket…and even down to baby items.

So, we are advising persons that when they are purchasing baby items as well, please check the date, because we have picked up numerous baby items in stores that have been expired for over a year and six months.”

The business owners were not fined or otherwise penalised for selling the expired goods. However, it was noted that the destruction of the substandard products has resulted in major losses for the dishonest business persons.

NEWS

13

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Mother blasts Lethem quarantine facilities for carelessness …after children left unsupervised

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olini DaSilva, a mother of two primary school children who had returned from Brazil to attend school in Lethem, Region Nine (Upper TakutuUpper Essequibo), is concerned about the level of care they are receiving in the region’s quarantine facility.

She is claiming that scores of children, including two who were tested positive for the novel coronavirus, are being left unsupervised at the facility, which is the Region Nine Guest House.

“The children won’t stay locked up in the room if they have nobody there to supervise them. They all scared, because two children test positive and they know that everybody there can be positive,” the worried mother lamented during an interview with Guyana Times.

The woman is fearful that her children, aged nine and 11, who both initially tested negative for the virus, would become positive when they are tested again, since they are allowed to mingle with the other students.

“I see everybody together. The whole set of people that they bring, they put them all together,” she stated.

Additionally, she is concerned about the quality of meals being provided to those in the quarantine/isolation facility. According to the woman, the meals lack nutrients.

“I would carry fruits, ginger, lemongrass tea for my children. I even give the

people them up there…My son tell me that they giving them boiled eggs morning and evening,” the woman revealed, noting that better food should be served to improve the patients’ immune systems.

Moreover, the mother told this publication that she has observed that those charged with overlooking the children would leave them alone in the upper flat of the building while they would be in the lower flat throughout the day.

“They [children] will not stay locked up in the room if there is no supervisor there.

The man who does be there, he does be downstairs. You think he would want to go up there? He frighten bad!

Everybody frighten now that they know that two children are positive,” the mother reasoned.

Exams

The students recently returned to Guyana from Brazil to write the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) and the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) exams.

DaSilva explained that her children were in Brazil when she received a call from representatives of the Ministry of Education, telling her that her daughter, who is a Grade Six student, had to return to Guyana to prepare for the NGSA exams.

Having been successfully convinced that her child would be in good hands, she agreed to have both of her children return.

“The Education people called me. I was going to leave my children in Brazil, but they told me that they wanted to bring them. They then took a bus and brought them and another group of children… now two persons are positive. My children can be positive, because my daughter was with the girl that was positive all over, and nobody was wearing any mask,” the woman explained, noting that she has now regretted her decision to bring her children to Guyana.

Compounding the situation, DaSilva explained that after transporting her children to Guyana, the Ministry’s representatives

CORONAVIRUS

(COVID-19) INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF?

refused to tell her where they were taking her children. She pointed out that she had to drive behind the bus they were being transported in, and then is when she was told that they were being taken to the Region Nine Guest House.

“When they drop them off there, I went in the evening and see my kids. When I go there, I see everybody together; everybody that they bring they put them all together,” she recalled.

Additionally, DaSilva explained that her daughter,

who will be writing the upcoming exams, is not being encouraged by the administrators to study.

In fact, the woman highlighted that since her daughter arrived at the facility, it is only one day that she received a worksheet or any kind of work to prepare her for the exams.

Students writing the NGSA, CSEC, and CAPE in July-August returned to schools on July 15 amid strict COVID-19 guidelines.

All students are required to wear face masks and

practise social distancing, while students and teachers’ temperatures are to be checked upon entering.

The exam students are required to attend school only on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for approximately four hours.

On May 11, Lethem recorded its first case of COVID-19. The patient had also travelled from Brazil, which has now become the second country in the world to confirm more than one million cases of COVID-19.

recoveries there to seven.

The quartet: Rosaline Hamilton, 91; Kaysonauth Sager, 76; Meyrle Thomas, 87; and Carmen Hopkinson, 78, will all be transferred to the infirmary for two days before they are relocated to the general ward.

The three remaining pa-

tients are being monitored by the facility’s medical team, and will be retested on Monday.

Just last week, the Palms celebrated the recovery of three of its patients: Zorie De Mattos, 105; Sheila Gill, 78; and Fazil Mohamed, 64.

91-year-old among 4 recovered from COVID-19 at Palms

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The Palms Geriatric Home

ne week after the Palms celebrated the recovery of three elderly patients, a 91-yearold woman is among four residents of the Palms Elderly Care Facility to have fully recovered from COVID-19 over the weekend, bringing the number of

SYMPTOMS

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

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

Cough

Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

Or at least two of these symptoms:

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

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

(Adapted from BBC News)

Headache

Chills

Sore throat

Repeated shaking with chills

New loss of taste or smell

Muscle pain Children have similar symptoms to adults and generally have mild illness.

14 NEWS

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

APNU/AFC attacks PM Mottley, ABCE diplomats

Caricom Chair and Barbados' Prime Minister, Mia Mottley

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fter deeming the Caribbean Community as the most “legitimate interlocutor” in Guyana’s electoral process, the caretaker A Partnership for National Unit/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government has now launched an attack on the current Head of CARICOM, Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley, after she spoke out on the recent move by Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield to invalidate over 115,000 votes.

The Caricom Head, as well as heads of the ABCE diplomatic missions in Guyana – United States, Britain, Canada and the European Union (EU) – on Wednesday stated that the will of the Guyanese people expressed at the March 2 polls must be respected, and that the results from the National Recount, which were certified, must form the basis for the declaration of the election results.

The Caricom Chair had questioned, “On what grounds, and by what form of executive fiat, does the Chief Election Officer determine that he should invalidate one vote, far less

115,000 votes?” while the Western envoys stressed that “every vote cast by every voter” must be reflected in the declaration of the final elections results.

However, both PM Mottley and the ABCE diplomatic community came under attack by the David Granger-led Coalition.

“We call on Prime Minister Mottley and the named diplomats to refrain from enabling those who are seeking to impose fraudulent elections results on the people of Guyana and subvert the true will of the electorate,” the Coalition said in a statement late on Wednesday.

The APNU/AFC went on to say, “We believe that Prime Minister Mottley’s statement is both ill-informed and ill-advised…

We view the Hon. Prime Minister’s statement as not only untimely, but in fact as interference in a matter on which the Constitution of Guyana is clear.”

This attack on PM Mottley comes almost five months after the Caricom Chair was conferred with Guyana’s second highest national award – Order of

Roraima – by President Granger during a visit in February. During that ceremony, the caretaker Head of State had lauded the Barbadian PM for pushing regional integration.

“She combines her almost thirty years of political activism with her personal enthusiasm and her country’s legendary leadership in regional integration.

We applaud Prime Minister Mottley’s leadership, stewardship, and partnership with Caribbean states. We commend her on her assumption of the office of Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, for her long-established commitment to Caribbean integration,” Granger had said at the investiture on February 3.

PM Mia Mottley has been playing an integral role in Guyana’s prolonged electoral process, leading a high-level delegation of CARICOM Heads of State back in March to discuss the impasse.

At that time, President Granger and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo had agreed to a National Recount under the auspices of the CARICOM Chair, who then facilitated a special team of observers to monitor the exercise. But this activity never got underway after APNU/AFC supporter Ulita Moore challenged the recount in the court, forcing the team to depart.

PM Mottley had said at the time, “It is clear that there are forces that do not want to see the votes recounted for whatever reason.”

Subsequently, Caricom agreed to field another team upon the invitation of the Guyana Elections

Deputy Supervisor of Elections in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Sylvester King; Senior Lecturer in the Department of Government at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cynthia Barrow-Giles; and Commissioner of the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission, John Jarvis

Commission to scrutinise the National Recount which ran from May 6 to June 8, 2020.

In its report to GECOM last week, the Caricom team said “Nothing we witnessed warrants a challenge to the inescapable conclusion that the recount results are acceptable and should constitute the basis of the declaration of results of the

March 2, 2020 elections.”

Despite this, however, and the fact that President Granger as well as several senior officials of his party had deemed the regional team as the most “legitimate interlocutor” in the recount process, Several senior members of the APNU/AFC as well as their supporters had also attacked the team, which com-

prised Deputy Supervisor of Elections of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sylvester King; Commissioner of the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission, John Jarvis; and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Government at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cynthia Barrow-Giles.

COVID-19 isolation tents set up in Moruca

The isolation tents established in Moruca, Region One (Barima-Waini)

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everal ‘isolation tents’ have been established at Sheba Ground in Moruca, Region One (Barima-Waini) where there is an outbreak of COVID-19.

The tents include a fully automatic motion sensor sanitising station, which cleans your entire body within 10-20 seconds, according to the Department of Public Information (DPI).

As of 14:00h on June 24, there were an alarming 43 positive COVID-19 cases in Moruca while there was one positive case in Mabaruma, bringing the total cases in the Region to 44.

Teachers represent a significant proportion of those infected with the life-threatening virus in Moruca.

In light of a steady increase in cases in that district, the National COVID-19 Task Force has since announced emergency measures for the region.

The enhanced containment measures will include cease-work orders for specific areas in the mining sector, screening, wider testing, and more checkpoints.

Meanwhile, Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Shamdeo Persaud on Wednesday noted that Moruca was the epicentre for Region One and, therefore, it was important for all residents in that sub-district to be on guard.

“We are urging you to support the health team in this area by coming forward

for testing if you have been in contact with anyone who has tested positive, by staying home unless it is necessary for you to come out, and if you must come out ensure that your nose and mouth are covered,” the CMO urged.

He further asked that there be no congregating of persons and that all passenger vehicles adhere to the guidelines that were provided.

Additionally, Toshaos and Village Councillors were asked for their cooperation to ensure villagers were following the guidelines provided.

The COVID-19 hotline number for Region One is 674-8047.

of the new coronavirus.

According to state media, among the new imported cases are returning nationals who were recently repatriated from the Dominican

Republic.

The 39 individuals were reportedly placed in quarantine since their arrival in Antigua. (Antigua News Room)

39 new imported cases of COVID-19 in Antigua

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wo days after Health Minister Molwyn Joseph declared the country “COVID-free”, there are reports that there are now 39 new confirmed cases

NEWS

15

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

COVID-19 relief

COVID-19 pandemic

Extra precautions being taken in Region 6 schools – Chairman

Region Six Chairman David Armogan

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ith confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus being recorded among teachers and students, the Regional Administration of Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) is asking that persons in that region take all precautions.

Last week, the Education Ministry announced that a total of eleven teachers of the Moruca sub-district of Region One (BarimaWaini) have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. That figure has since increased, and now two Grade Six students in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) have tested positive for COVID-19.

Noting that Region Six is bordering Suriname, which has shown a spike in the number of cases being recorded since the May 25 National Elections there, Regional Chairman David Armogan says every effort is being made to ensure that children who are currently attending school are protected.

In schools, social and physical distancing is being advocated.

In the classrooms, students are sitting at least six feet apart, and are being encouraged to wear their face masks. They are also being encouraged to wash their hands before they enter the classroom. The Chairman believes that those measures are sufficient.

“I am not sure to what extent this has been effective in Mabaruma (Region One, Barima/ Waini), but this is something that we have been insisting on, especially at the school level,” he explained.

Armogan added that persons need to adhere to the advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), and the Ministry of Public Health, but he said he recognizes that many adults are not setting a good example, more so, that the region borders Suriname.

According to the World Health Organisation, as of Wednesday Suriname recorded 319 positive cases but between June 1, and June 24th, 219 cases.

“As a result of that, we have be-

come more vulnerable, because it is just a river separating us and people traverse every day. Even though we say that we are locking down the border, you cannot completely lock down the Suriname border, because it is so vast,” he explained.

He added that Surinamese have been crossing the border to shop at the Corriverton Market and to visit doctors in Guyana.

Government medical services in Guyana are free, while in neighbouring Suriname there is a cost attached to those services.

“It is a big problem that we are facing, and I don’t know if people understand the magnitude of the problem,” the Chairman said.

Armogan said that at the Regional level they are insisting, especially at the school level, that students adhere to the suggested regulations.

“The whole country needs to be cognizant of this thing. When this (disease) strikes, it spreads like wildfire… five of six persons get it, and the next day fifteen and then next day thirty, that is how it moves. It spreads very very quickly, and so people must adhere to the standards that have been set,” the Chairman said.

He noted that when the virus was uncontrollable in the United States, Italy and Germany, persons in Guyana were ensuring that they stay protected.

“Even though the number of cases here was not significant…, but now that the number of cases here has become significant, people have dropped their hands down and seem to believe that everything is bright and beautiful. Everything is not bright and beautiful.”

Armogan is calling on residents of the East Berbice/Corentyne region to ensure that they use a face mask when out in public.

T&T Central Bank warns of growing household debt

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he Central Bank’s 2019 Financial Stability Report has warned that the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to impact the financial sector through channels and at transmission speeds not previously contemplated. It pointed to growing household indebtedness which it said has persisted since the 2017 report and is reflective of household debt that continues to rise at a steady pace alongside a proclivity by the banking sector for consumer-oriented lending. “The situation has become more evident as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds. Factors include depressed economic activity and resultant strains on household income which could negatively affect the quality of commercial banks’ loan portfolios,” the report said.

It noted that over time, this could spill over into an eventual credit crunch as banks become wary of extending loans to customers due to concerns about creditworthiness.

The report added that the domestic sovereign remains the largest exposure for the financial sector, representing just under a quarter of banks’, insurers’ and pension plans’ combined assets. A weakening of the fiscal position represents a risk in this area, the report said. The resilience of the regulated financial sector continued to strengthen in

2019, the report said.

The report noted however, that conventional indicators of financial soundness for the banking sector and insurance companies generally pointed to a healthy financial sector from the standpoint of capital adequacy, asset quality, liquidity levels and profitability. According to the report the Caribbean faces a perfect storm with tourism dependent and commodity-exporting economies both severely affected by the fallout from COVID-19. In 2019, Caribbean economies were already facing challenges on the economic and financial fronts. For example, a few Caribbean territories continued to be blacklisted by the European Union as non-co-operative jurisdictions for tax purposes and for anti-money laundering/ combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) deficiencies, the report said. It noted the Caribbean’s susceptibility to weather-related disasters from climate change was on full display as Hurricane Dorian ravaged the Bahamas, resulting in economic and insurance losses which were only partially mitigated by reinsurance inflows.

Amidst these difficulties, a number of bright spots appeared to indicate the early phases of a turnaround, which is now being threatened by COVID-19, the report said. It said

the domestic financial system as a whole is healthy, but uncertainties related to the pandemic have heightened risks.

Payment systems indicators also pointed to the increasing adoption of electronic payments, but the use of cheques remained substantial, the report said. Despite tentative signs of a pick-up in the fourth quarter, domestic economic activity was subdued in 2019. According to the Central Bank’s Quarterly Index of Economic Activity, estimated economic activity declined in 2019 driven mainly by lower crude oil production which weighed on the energy sector.

The report said inflation levels continued to be low at 0.4 per cent on a year-on-year basis to December 2019 compared to 1.0 per cent one year earlier. Furthermore, with no official labour market statistics available for 2019, supplemental data from the Ministry of Labour and Small Enterprise Development revealed a 17 per cent decrease in retrenchments in 2019 compared to the previous year, the report added. Nevertheless, it said labour market conditions remained generally weak as the demand for labour (proxied by the number of job advertisements in the daily newspapers) continued to fall during the period. (T&T Guardian)

Linden Chamber registers disappointment with lack of relief for businesses

Linden Chamber of Industry, Commerce and Development (LCICD) President Victor Fernandes speaking to the media on Wednesday

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resident of the Linden Chamber of Industry, Commerce and Development (LCICD), Victor Fernandes, has registered his disappointment over the amount of relief awarded to Linden businesses in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking to members of the media on Wednesday, Fernandes noted that businesses in the community have suffered tremendous losses owing to measures put in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. As a result, he said, there is need for more economic intervention.

The LCICD Chairman related that following the implementation of the countrywide curfew measures, the Business Ministry had met with the business community to formulate a plan for submission to the Finance Ministry in regard to how relief would be provided to businesses. This, he said, was done based upon the realisation that businesses would be closed, hence suggestions were made, which were included in a plan. As such, he disclosed, the Small Business Bureau had agreed to give relief to businesses.

According to Fernandes, some seven small businesses in Linden have benefited from the relief, which was granted in two phases. The first phase saw 3 businesses securing funding, while the second phase saw about four additional businesses benefiting.

“However, I must state our disappointment to some extent, because the amount that we expected; for instance, they had (more than) about 160 million dollars which they had indicated to disperse, but what we saw is that less than 5 million dollars came to Linden. And so we want to register our disappointment with that. We’re hoping for some further relief, that other businesses would be considered. As it is right now, I can’t say if they have completed the process, which I hope not…”, Fernandes disclosed.

The LCICD President, in continuing, noting that some businesses in the community are barely surviving since the dawn of the pandemic, which has led to many social and economic setbacks. While he noted

that businesses were expected to meet a certain criterion for the relief, he stated his belief that many which do not fall under the essential business categories will have to seek economic assistance in light of the restrictions on such businesses.

The LCICD president noted that Linden is predominantly made up of small businesses, many of which, he disclosed, operate on a day-today level in terms of generating finances. He explained that it is a difficult time for these businesses, hence the need for some amount of consideration. As such, Fernandes said, the Chamber continues to advocate through consultations with various entities. He said it is also a difficult time for the Chamber, which garners its revenue from various activities.

Fernandes indicated that since the Chamber is registered as a friendly society, this also puts a limit on its scope.

“More importantly, if we don’t have a budget because of the political situation… not having a budget to which the various agencies can function and provide the necessary support, it kind of limits the scope of which we can really have meaningful dialogue”, he said.

Nevertheless, Fernandes said the Chamber remains active at this time. It is part of the COVID-19 Regional Health and Emergency Committee (RHEC) as well as the Private Sector Commission (PSC), among numerous other entities.

In moving forward, he expressed his hope that businesses will be able to secure the necessary help.

“What I would like to see is Linden be considered to be transformed. The future of Linden is in the hands of not only us as business people, but the powers that be, the authorities. We would like to see Linden become a more vibrant community, where we don’t find ourselves in a situation like we are in now, where our businesses are going through this experience. Many of our businesses are closed and cannot find the means of returning to being re-established unless they get support of some sort”, Fernandes said.

16 NEWS

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Latin America’s COVID-19 Region urged to brace for extremely wet season, landslides and floods deaths seen hitting nearly 390,000 by October T

A man walks next to a graffiti depicting a cleaner wearing protective gear spraying viruses with the face of Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 12, 2020

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he death toll from the coronavirus in Latin America is expected to skyrocket to 388,300

by October, with Brazil and Mexico seen accounting for two-thirds of fatalities as other nations in the region contain their outbreaks, researchers said on Wednesday. The region has emerged as a new global hotspot for the fast-spreading pandemic as deaths surpassed 100,000 this week and cases have tripled from 690,000 one month ago to 2 million.

High poverty levels and large informal sectors which mean many workers cannot afford to quarantine - have combined with overcrowding in cities and inadequate public healthcare, particularly in isolated rural communities, to hamstring Latin America’s fight to stem the contagion.

Brazil is expected to exceed 166,000 deaths and Mexico 88,000, according to the forecast from the University of Washington’s

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).

Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Peru are each forecast to see over 10,000 fatalities, while 15 nations including Paraguay, Uruguay and Belize are seen with fewer than 1,000 deaths each.

“Several Latin American countries are facing explosive trajectories, while others are containing infections effectively,” said IHME Director Dr. Christopher Murray. IHME researchers warned that the loss of life could surge even higher than the already-grim forecast if mandates on mask wearing and social distancing are relaxed.

In a worst-case scenario, the COVID-19 death toll could climb to 340,476 people in Brazil and 151,433 people in Mexico, the report said.

The leaders of Brazil and Mexico have been chastised for not taking the virus seriously enough and

pushing for a reopening of their economies before the virus has been tamed.

(Reuters)

he Barbados-based Caribbean Climate Outlook Forum (CariCOF) on Wednesday warned that the increasingly wet period in Belize and the islands will be accompanied by increased flooding, flash flood and potential for landslide.

In its latest edition of Caribbean Climate Outlook Newsletter, CariCOF said that the dry season ended with several areas experiencing short-term drought while a greater proportion of the region ended up in longterm drought.

It said with temperatures significantly above average in April and May, some record temperatures, a number of heatwaves and further drying of soils occurred in this period.

But CariCOF said that for the period July to September, which is peak hurricane season, it is predicting that regional countries should be prepared

for flooding, flash flood and landslides.

It said also that the region could also be affected “by strong tropical cyclone activity from August onward”. At the same time, heat stress will likely be higher than in most years due to high humidity and warmer than usual temperatures – particularly at night.

“On a brighter note, copious rains should ease drought concerns during this period. The Guianas

will return to their hot, dry season in August,” CariCOF said. CariCOF warned that as of June 1, severe shorter term drought had developed in Aruba, Barbados, Haiti, Martinique, St Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago , while short term drought should ease by the end of July in most currently affected places, but it might possibly develop or continue until the end of December in Dominica, Martinique, St Kitts, and Trinidad and Tobago. (CMC)

US immigration agency proposes job cuts that could halt system

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he United States agency in charge of processing immigration applications has said it is preparing to furlough nearly 70 percent of its workforce unless it receives fresh funding, a move that employees say would bring an already backlogged system to a virtual halt.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an agency of the Department of State, is dependent on fees from new immigration applications for its operations and is facing a historic budget shortfall. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has made cutting legal and undocumented migration a centrepiece of his 2020 re-election campaign.

The number of new immigrants coming into the US has been dramatically stemmed by new regulations and a series of executive actions, along with travel restrictions put in place in

response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The agency has already seen a 50 percent drop in fees since March, when most travel and immigration stopped as countries moved to control the spread of the novel coronavirus, a USCIS spokesperson said in a statement.

USCIS has asked for a $1.2bn bailout from Congress to avoid the projected staff reductions.

“On or before July 2, approximately 13,400 USCIS employees will receive notice that if USCIS must proceed with an administrative furlough, they would be furloughed beginning August 3,” the USCIS spokesperson’s statement said.

The furloughs, if implemented, “will for sure cause noticeable delays immediately,” one USCIS employee, who asked not to be named, told the Reuters News Agency. “There are

already so many backlogs to work through. It’s insane to even contemplate how bad this is going to get.”

Meanwhile, the staff of the Refugee, Asylum and International Operations division of USCIS has been informed in an email seen by Reuters that notices would be sent on July 24 and 25 to approximately 1,500 employees of the 2,200 on staff in that unit.

Those kept on would be a “skeleton crew” to “keep the lights on”, the email said.

On Monday, Trump signed a presidential proclamation banning entry for several categories of temporary visa holders and extended a ban on some green card applicants, which the administration said would help open more jobs for unemployed Americans.

Critics say the measures will hurt the economy. (Al Jazeera)

Australia posts biggest 1-day rise in coronavirus cases in 2 months

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ustralia’s second most populous state is deploying ambulances and mobile test centres in a coronavirus testing blitz, and will use the military in quarantine operations, as the country record-

ed the biggest daily rise in cases in two months.

Victoria state said 33 people tested positive for coronavirus in the past 24 hours, marking nine days of double digit new cases in the state. It has around 200 cur-

rent cases out of a country total of 270.

Desperate to contain the outbreak, Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews said authorities are beginning a testing blitz across the worst effected suburbs.

“We have ambulances and other vans that will literally be at the end of people’s streets,” Andrews told reporters in Melbourne.

“We will see these (case) numbers go up in coming days.”

The surge in new cases comes just weeks after Australia began easing social distancing restrictions, and authorities believe the increase in new cases stemmed from family get-togethers attended by people with mild symptoms.

Alarmed by the rise in new infections, thou-

sands of people have flocked to testing centres, while Australia’s two biggest retail chains, Woolworths Group and Coles, have imposed fresh limits on how much customers can buy for specific goods amid a spate of panic buying.

Australia’s death toll from COVID-19 was on Thursday revised up after tests showed an 85-year-old man who died in April had contracted the virus.

Australia now has recorded 104 deaths from just over 7,500 infections.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia has safeguards in place to prevent the virus growing beyond the control of authorities, as he insisted states and territories must continue to reopen large swathes of the economy. (Reuters)

NEWS

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THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

IMF’s forecast for Ghana apologises to Nigeria global economy goes for embassy demolition from bad to worse

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he outlook for the global economy keeps going from bad to worse.

On Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund said it now sees the global economy shrinking 4.9 percent this year - nearly 2 percentage points below its April forecast - as the international lender struggles to take stock of the carnage triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

“It was already the worst recession since the Great Depression in April when we had projected growth for 2020 to be at minus 3 percent,” IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath told reporters during a webcast on Wednesday. “But now at minus 4.9 percent, that is even more strongly true, and no country has been spared. Both emerging-market developing economies and advanced economies have all been very badly hit during this crisis.”

The fund also lowered its forecast for 2021. It now sees global growth rebounding to 5.4 percent next year0.4 percentage points lower than its April forecast and roughly 6 percentage points lower than the pre-pandemic projections made in January.

Economists are trying to get to grips with the unprecedented fallout triggered by coronavirus containment measures as borders closed, businesses shut and entire sectors of the global economy ground to a halt. As lock-

down restrictions ease and economies reopen, the path to recovery is far from clear.

The IMF warned that their latest edition of the World Economic Outlook is based on key assumptions including lengthier lockdowns in economies struggling to control COVID-19 infection rates. In economies with declining infection rates, the fund assumes there will be “persistent social distancing”, greater damage to supply potential from a larger-than-anticipated hit to activity during the first half of the year, and a drag on productivity as “surviving businesses ramp up necessary workplace safety and hygiene practices”.

The forecast also as-

sumes that financial conditions will remain broadly at current levels. Central banks around the world have thrown trillions of dollars into the global financial plumbing this year to ensure credit markets do not freeze up.

But a number of factors could upend those assumptions, the fund notes, and “not just because of how the pandemic is evolving”.

While the global Main Street struggles to find its post-lockdown footing, Wall Street has been channeling optimism with United

States stock markets sharply rebounding from March’s historic lows - a risk factor that could cause financial conditions to tighten.

“The disconnect between real and financial markets raises concerns of excessive risk-taking, and this is a significant vulnerability,” Gopinath told reporters.

Severe hit to labour market The IMF noted that the steep plunge in economic activity “comes with a catastrophic hit” to the global labour market, highlighting that the worldwide decline in work hours in the second quarter of 2020 is equivalent to more than than 300 million full-time jobs being lost.

Low-skilled workers who do not have the option to work from home have been hit particularly hard, while income losses appear to be uneven across genders, “with women among the lower income groups bearing a larger brunt of the impact in some countries,” the fund said.

The IMF further highlighted how progress on poverty reduction could be reversed. The fraction of the world’s population living in extreme poverty - defined as living on less than $1.90 a day - had fallen in recent years, but “with more than 90 percent of emerging market and developing economies projected to register negative per capita income growth in 2020”, this progress in imperiled, said the fund. (Al Jazeera)

US officials summon National Guard troops to protect monuments

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undreds of unarmed National Guard troops have been activated and on standby in Washington, DC, to assist law enforcement personnel with protecting historical monuments in the United States capital, officials said on Wednesday, after protesters tried to tear down a statue of Andrew Jackson in a park near the White House and threatened others in the city.

Calls for the removal of monuments and statues, coming on the back of enormous Black Lives Matter protests earlier this month, were sparked by the May 25 death of George Floyd, a Black man killed in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Meanwhile, in the Midwest state of Wisconsin, Governor Tony Evers said on Wednesday he was prepared to activate the National Guard to protect state properties after protesters outside the Wisconsin Capitol tore down statues commem-

State Patrol officers stand guard as workers work to clear a statue of Christopher Columbus toppled by protesters in St Paul, Minnesota [Nicholas Pfosi/Reuters]

orating an abolitionist and women’s rights and threw a Molotov cocktail into a government building during a night of violence that also included an attack on a state senator.

The violence broke out on Tuesday night as a group of 200-300 people protested the arrest of a Black man who shouted at restaurant customers through a megaphone while carrying a baseball bat. Officers inside the Capitol used pepper spray to repel protesters who were trying to break

into the historic centre of state government, Madison police said.

“What happened in Madison last night presented a stark contrast from the peaceful protests we have seen across our state in recent weeks, including significant damage to state property,” Evers said in a statement. The activation of about 400 National Guard troops in Washington, DC, came after a request from the interior secretary, a National Guard statement said. (Al Jazeera)

Armed men reportedly stormed the High Commission last week and destroyed a building under construction

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hana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo has apologised to Nigeria after a building inside the Nigerian High Commission compound in Accra was demolished.

Akufo-Addo has ordered an investigation, a statement from the Nigerian government said after his call with President Muhammadu Buhari.

Armed men reportedly stormed the compound last week and destroyed buildings under construction.

Two people have been arrested over the incident.

They have been charged with unlawful entry and causing unlawful damage.

A businessman who had previously claimed that he

owned the land where the building was being put up had led the demolition operation, according to an article posted on the Nigerian High Commission website in Ghana.

“The man showed up last week with some papers to support his claim and began to knock down the fence surrounding the building,” the article quotes a source at the ministry of foreign affairs as saying.

Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama said a bulldozer was used during the 19 June incident which destroyed two residential buildings.

He called the demolition “outrageous and criminal” and urged Ghanaian author-

ities to protect Nigeria’s diplomatic buildings.

Nigerians living in Ghana held a demonstration on Monday to condemn the demolition. Ghana’s foreign ministry said it regretted the incident and guaranteed that an investigation would be conducted, adding that security had been “beefed up” at the facility.

The country’s former President John Mahama, however, condemned the demolition and criticised his successor’s government.

“It beats my imagination how such a violent and noisy destruction could occur without our security agents picking up the signals to avert the damage,” Mr Mahama tweeted. (BBC)

Coronavirus: Human trial of new vaccine begins in UK

V

olunteers have begun being immunised with a new UK coronavirus vaccine.

About 300 people will have the vaccine over the coming weeks, as part of a trial led by Prof Robin Shattock and his colleagues, at Imperial College London.

Tests in animals suggest the vaccine is safe and triggers an effective immune response.

Experts at Oxford University have already started human trials.

The trials are among many across the world there are around 120 vaccine programmes under way. Kathy, 39, who works in finance, is one of the first volunteers taking part in the Imperial trial.

She said she volunteered because she wanted to play a part in fighting the virus.

“I think it came from not really knowing what I could do to help, and this turned out to be something that I could do.

“And understanding that it’s not likely that things will get back to normal until there is a vaccine, so wanting to be part of that progress as well.”

After this first phase, another trial is being planned

for October, involving 6,000 people.

The Imperial team hopes the vaccine could be distributed in the UK and overseas from early 2021. Meanwhile the Duke of Cambridge met volunteers taking part in Oxford University’s trial, at the city’s Churchill Hospital.

Prince William told the volunteers: “It’s the most incredibly exciting and very welcome project that you’re all doing which is why it’s fascinating.”

Many traditional vaccines are based on a weak-

ened or modified form of virus, or parts of it, but the Imperial vaccine is based on a new approach, using synthetic strands of genetic code, called RNA, which mimic the virus.

Once injected into muscle, the RNA self-amplifies - generating copies of itself - and instructs the body’s own cells to make copies of a spike protein found on the outside of the virus.

This should train the immune system to recognise and fight coronavirus without having to develop Covid-19. (BBC)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020

Regional

US puts sanctions on 5 Iranian ship Hard-hit Brazil records 2nd-highest daily death toll captains for bringing oil to Venezuela

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People walk with bags along a popular shopping street amid the COVID-19 outbreak, in São Paulo, Brazil, June 19, 2020 [Reuters]

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ealth authorities in Brazil have registered the second-highest daily death toll since the pandemic began.

The Health Ministry said on Tuesday that 1374 deaths had been registered in the previous 24 hours.

The highest daily number of deaths registered so

far was on June 4 – 1,473.

Brazil is the second-worst affected country after the United States with more than 1.1 million confirmed cases, though the real number is thought to be higher (due to insufficient testing).

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has belittled the threat posed by the virus

and clashed with Governors over the lockdown measures they have imposed in some states.

On Tuesday, a federal Judge ordered the President to wear a mask when out in public in the capital, Brasília, or face a fine.

(Excerpts from BBC News)

WHO Director for Americas says 226,000 have died of COVID-19 in region

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early half of all COVID-19 cases globally can be found in the Americas and the numbers continue to climb, the World Health Organisation’s regional director for the Americas, Dr Carissa Etienne, said on Wednesday.

As of June 23, there have been more than 4.5 million COVID-19 cases and 226,000 deaths reported in the Americas, she said in a virtual briefing from Washington.

In Latin America and the Caribbean alone, cases have tripled from 690,000 one month ago to 2 million.

There is now widespread

transmission in Central America and in South America, as of this weekend, Brazil surpassed one million COVID-19 cases, joining the United States as the only other country in the world with cases in the seven digits.

Etienne said the Caribbean was faring better, but with hot spots flaring on the border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, as well as in an area encompassing Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.

Brazil, the worst-hit nation in Latin America, has increased testing in the last few weeks but is still not doing enough, said Marcos Espinal, communicable dis-

eases director of the WHO’s Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO).

“Brazil is still not doing 10,000 tests per million inhabitants. That needs to be increased,” he said.

While the WHO’s recommendation against non-essential travel remains in place, decisions on travel are up to each country’s government, said PAHO director of health emergencies, Ciro Ugarte.

“There is no such thing as zero risk. There is always risk. Currently, there exists no tool to decide who should be allowed to get on a plane and who should not,” he said. (Excerpt from Reuters)

he United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on five Iranian ship captains who delivered oil to Venezuela, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reaffirmed Washington’s backing for Venezuelan Opposition Leader Juan Guaidó.

Speaking at a news conference, Pompeo said the ships delivered about 1.5 million barrels of Iranian gasoline and related components, and warned mariners against doing business with the Government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whose ouster Washington seeks.

“As a result of today’s sanctions, these captains’ assets will be blocked. Their careers and prospects will suffer from this designation,” Pompeo said in a statement later.

“We will continue to support the National Assembly,

interim President Guaidó, and the Venezuelan people in their quest to restore democracy,” Pompeo added to reporters.

President Donald Trump’s Administration is seeking to block Iran’s energy trade and also bring down Maduro. It has threatened reprisals and warned ports, shipping companies, and insurers against assisting the tankers.

Venezuela’s exports are hovering near their lowest levels in more than 70 years and its economy has collapsed. Yet Maduro has held on, frustrating the Trump Administration.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino on Wednesday called an incident this week in which a US Navy ship navigated near the South American country’s coast an “act of provocation”.

The US military’s

Southern Command on Tuesday said the missile destroyer Nitze conducted a “freedom of navigation” operation off Venezuela’s coast.

The Southern Command said the vessel sailed in an area outside Venezuela’s territorial waters – which extend some 12 nautical miles from its coasts – but within an area the Venezuelan Government “falsely claims to have control over.”

Padrino said Venezuela was “not offended” by the act by the country’s longtime foe. The United States has imposed sanctions on the nation’s oil sector as part of its effort to oust socialist President Nicolás Maduro, who has overseen an economic collapse and has been accused by Washington of corruption and human rights violations. (Excerpt from Reuters)

T&T Opposition MP fears US visa restrictions would affect jobs

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he US Government’s latest visa restriction – blocking foreign workers – which began on Wednesday and continues to the end of the year, could increase T&T unemployment and create uncertainty for those who may have work in the US, says United National Congress (UNC) Member of Parliament Rudy Indarsingh.

On Monday, the Trump Administration issued a presidential proclamation which temporarily blocks foreign workers entering on H-1B visas for skilled employees, and L visas, for managers and specialised workers being transferred within a company.

Also blocked are people entering on H-2B seasonal worker visas, used by landscapers and other indus-

UNC MP Rudy Indarsingh

tries.

The visas are primarily used by workers in the tech industry and their families.

The order also halts visas for seasonal work including camp counselling and studyabroad programmes.

The US also extended a ban on applications for permanent residency green cards to the end of 2020.

The US says the restriction won’t extend to current visa holders, those who have already been issued valid visas and those already in the US. The US estimated the suspension will open up 525,000 jobs for Americans and assist the coronavirus-battered US economy.

Indarsingh said, “This visa suspension can only impact negatively on T&T and the skilled labour force seeking employment outside of T&T based on this country’s high unemployment rate – for example, people in non-agricultural sectors such as the energy and technological areas.” (Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

Sahara dust shrouds the Caribbean on its way north Coronavirus: EU considers barring Americas citizens from travel list A massive plume of Saharan dust has shrouded swathes of the Caribbean, turning blue skies into a milky-brown haze and sparking health warnings across the region as air quality fell to unhealthy levels.

Strong warm winds over the Sahara Desert typically whip up sand at this time of year and carry it thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas.

This year, the dust is the densest in a half a century, according to several meteorologists. The thick smog has sharply reduced visibility.

Jamaica’s Blue Mountains, usually a prominent sight towering over Kingston, were hidden behind an oppressive white cloud.

“I’m not sure if it’s sneaking in through the vents, because the air inside doesn’t feel the same,” said Sarue Thomas, 31, from her office in Kingston, where temperatures exceeded 30 degrees Celsius and the air was stiflingly thick.

E

A view across Isla Verde beach as sand from the Sahara Desert sweeps over San Juan, Puerto Rico, June 23, 2020

“This is something that we’ve not ever seen before,” said Thomas, adding that her three-year-old son had developed a dry cough.

“It’s the worst I’ve seen since we’ve kept records,” said Evan Thompson, Director of the meteorological service division in Jamaica.

“We are seeing a much thicker mass of dust particles suspended.

It is a lot more distinct and noticeable.”

The dust cloud moved into the eastern Caribbean at the week-

end and by Tuesday had smothered Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and eastern Cuba, continuing its advance up and westward toward Central America and southern United States.

Officials across the region warned locals to remain at home when possible and wear a face mask, especially if they already had a respiratory condition, as the dust was a powerful irritant and could contain pathogens as well as minerals. (Excerpt from Reuters)

U Ambassadors are to continue talks on Friday to plan reopening external borders on July 1, and travellers from the Americas could be among those not allowed in.

Some European countries are keen to open up to tourists, but others are wary of the continued spread of the virus.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he expected a solution “in the coming weeks”.

The virus is spreading in the US, so it is likely Americans would be barred.

The 27-member bloc must first agree the measures that non-EU countries should meet before deciding on a safe list.

Brazil, Russia, and other countries with high infection rates would also be left off a safe list, according to reports from Brussels.

The EU is not yet thought to

have agreed how they will assess which countries meet health standards – one of the criteria for entry.

Part of the problem is assessing reliable health data, reports say.

Latest figures from the EU’s health agency, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, highlight Brazil, Peru, Chile, Panama and Saudi Arabia as countries with the highest “case notification rate”.

Russia and the US have a lower rate of cases per 100,000 inhabitants but are still higher than most of Europe. The US has seen 2.3 million infections and 120,000 deaths and cases are climbing in several states.

Travel has largely been banned between the US and EU during the pandemic, but Pompeo said he was “very confident” a solution could be found. (Excerpt from BBC News)

guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020

19

Around the World

OILNEWS Oil prices drop over 5% on COVID-19 surge, increase in stockpile

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il prices lost more than five per cent on Wednesday as evidence of rising coronavirus cases in many countries raised questions about efforts to restart global economies and US Government data reveal a third straight weekly climb in domestic crude inventories.

“The real concern is the rise of [COVID-19] cases in several states” including California, Texas and Florida, Tariq Zahir, managing member at Tyche Capital Advisors told MarketWatch, adding that these are not small states. There are concerns over a potential scale-back on reopening the economy and worries about consumer demand, he said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) pointed to rising cases of coronavirus in the US, China, and Latin America, reigniting worries of a possible second wave of the epidemic.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday also slashed its economic forecast for 2020 to negative 4.9 per cent, saying that the coronavirus pandemic has caused an unprecedented decline in global activity.

“If the pandemic triggers a second round of lockdowns, [oil] storage will struggle to accommodate the unused oil and the gasoline uptick that we currently see will be scrapped if new travel restrictions are put in place,” wrote Paola Rodriguez Masiu, senior oil markets analyst at Rystad Energy, in a Wednesday report.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for August fell US$2.36, or nearly 5.9 per cent, to settle at US$38.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was the lowest finish for a front-month contract in a week, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Global benchmark Brent oil for August delivery declined

by US$2.32, or 5.4 per cent, at US$40.31 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, the lowest since June 15.

“Oil became an easy target for anxious investors…thanks to rising coronavirus cases across the globe and a reported increase in crude inventories,” said Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM. The recent decline in oil prices “remains heavily influenced by demand-side dynamics” despite efforts by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their allies to rebalance markets, he told MarketWatch.

The Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday that US crude inventories rose for a third week in a row, by 1.4 million barrels for the week ended June 19.

That compared with a forecast by analysts polled by S&P Global Platts for an average decline of 100,000 barrels. The American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday reported a climb of roughly 1.7 million barrels.

The EIA data also showed crude stocks at the Cushing, Okla., storage hub fell by about one million barrels for the week, but total domestic oil production climbed by 500,000 barrels a day to 11 million barrels a day. (Excerpt from Market Watch)

Tanzanian miner becomes overnight millionaire

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small-scale miner in Tanzania has become an overnight millionaire after selling two rough Tanzanite stones – the biggest ever found in the country.

Saniniu Laizer earned US$3.4 million from the country’s mining ministry for the gemstones, which had a combined weight of 15 kilograms (33 lb).

“There will be a big party tomorrow,” Laizer, a father of more than 30 children, told the BBC. Tanzanite is only found in northern Tanzania and is used to make ornaments.

It is one of the rarest gemstones on Earth, and one local geologist estimates its supply may be entirely depleted within the next 20 years.

The precious stone’s appeal lies in its variety of hues, including green, red, purple and blue.

Its value is determined by rarity – the finer the colour or clarity, the higher the price.

Laizer mined the stones, weighing 9.2kg and 5.8kg, last week, but he sold them on Wednesday during a trading event in the northern region of Manyara.

Until now the largest Tanzanite rock to be mined weighed 3.3kg.

President John Magufuli phoned in to congratulate Laizer on the find.

“This is the benefit of smallscale miners and this proves that Tanzania is rich,” the President said. (Excerpt from BBC News)

New York imposes quarantine on 9 US states

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ew York, New Jersey, and Connecticut have asked people travelling from states where virus cases are rising to go into self-isolation for 14 days.

New Jersey’s Phil Murphy said people in the three states had been “through hell and back” and did not want “another round” of virus infections.

Some southern and western states have been reporting record numbers of cases.

The University of Washington predicts 180,000 US deaths by October – or 146,000 if 95 per cent of Americans wear masks.

So far, the US has recorded more than 2.3 million cases of the virus and more than 121,000 deaths.

Currently, those states are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Washington and Utah,

Health officials say the coming weeks will be crucial to stem the outbreaks.

On Tuesday, America’s top infectious disease expert, Dr Anthony Fauci told lawmakers there was “a disturbing surge of infection” and “increased community

spread” in many southern and western states.

He told Americans to take social distancing measures seriously, saying: “Plan A, don’t go in a crowd. Plan B, if you do, make sure you wear a mask.”

Currently, those states

are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Washington and Utah, the Governor of New York state Andrew Cuomo told reporters.

People coming from those states – including returning New York, New Jersey and Connecticut residents – will be asked to quarantine upon arrival for 14 days.

Anyone found breaking the quarantine could face fines of US$1000 rising to US$5000 for repeated violations, Cuomo said. He added that US states would be added or taken off the quarantine list depending on the number of new cases per 100,00 people or the rate of positive tests. (Excerpt from BBC News)

US warns Russia, China of UN isolation if Iran arms ban extension blocked

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ussia and China will be isolated at the United Nations if they continue down the “road to dystopia” by blocking a US bid to extend a weapons ban on Iran, US Iran envoy Brian Hook told Reuters ahead of his formal pitch of the embargo to the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

The 13-year-old arms restrictions on Iran are due to expire in October under the

terms of Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Russia and China have signalled they oppose extending the embargo.

While Washington has long argued that the embargo should not be lifted, the international community has been waiting for it to formally push the measure.

Hook and US Ambassador to the UN, Kelly Craft made the case for why the 15-member council should support a

draft resolution extending the embargo behind closed doors on Wednesday.

“We see a widening gap between Russia and China and the international community,” Hook said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday evening.

“Russia and China were isolated at the (International Atomic Energy Agency) last week and they will be isolated in the Security Council if they continue down this

road to dystopia,” Hook said.

The IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors on Friday called on Iran to allow the UN nuclear watchdog access to two sites suspected of nuclear weapons activities, and to cooperate fully. Iranian allies Russia and China opposed that move but could not block it, whereas at the Security Council they have veto powers. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Kosovo President Thaci faces war crimes indictment

K

osovo President Hashim Thaci has been accused of war crimes by a special international prosecutor in The Hague.

Thaci and others “are criminally responsible for nearly 100 murders”, torture, and enforced disappearances, the Prosecutor said.

The accusations – covering Kosovo’s independence war against Serbia – are being assessed by a judge at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers who will decide if the case goes to trial.

Thaci has denied any wrongdoing.

In its announcement, the

Hashim Thaci has President of Kosovo 2016

been since

Special Prosecutor’s Office (SPO) said that on April 24, it had filed a 10-count indictment with the KSC “for the Court’s consideration”. It has not released details about the alleged war crimes.

“The Indictment is only an accusation. It is the result of a lengthy investigation and reflects the SPO’s determination that it can prove all of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt,” it said.

The statement also said Thaci and another of the accused, Kosovo politician Kadri Veseli, have sought to “obstruct and undermine” the SPO’s work “in an attempt to ensure that they do

not face justice”.

A pre-trial judge now has six months to decide if the court will issue charges.

Allegations of organ-trafficking against the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) – the rebel movement that Thaci led – were first set out by a former Hague war crimes prosecutor, Carla del Ponte in 2008. The EU-backed court was set up to investigate the claims.

Kosovo’s Government has angrily denied the allegations, calling them “baseless and defamatory” ahead of the publication of a report in 2010. (Excerpt from BBC News)

UN, Arab League call on Israel to drop annexation plans

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“watershed moment” that will constitute a “most serious violation of international law” – that is how United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has described Israel’s plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank and Jordan Valley.

Addressing a virtual meeting of the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Guterres repeated a call for Israel to drop its United States-backed plans, which

could be put in motion as soon as next week.

If implemented, the UN Secretary General said, annexation would “grievously harm the prospect of a twostate solution and undercut the possibilities of a renewal of negotiations”.

“I call on the Israeli Government to abandon its annexation plans.”

Guterres’s call was echoed by other leaders and Foreign Ministers addressing the virtual meeting,

warning that Israel’s unilateral action could trigger a major escalation in the region.

“For three decades, real peace and the creation of an independent Palestinian state, remain elusive ...

Despair is dominating the Palestinian mood and scene,” Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit said.

Wednesday’s meeting is seen as the last international one before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin

Netanyahu’s right-wing Government starts planned discussions on July 1 over the annexation of the West Bank, territory Israel captured in a 1967 war and that Palestinian leaders seek for a future state.

At the UNSC meeting, Nickolay Mladenov, the UN peace envoy for the Middle East, warned of the legal, security and economic implications of such a move.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

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THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020

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ARCHIE

ARIES

(March 21April 19)

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

DILBERT

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

CANCER (June 21July 22)

PEANUTS

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

CALVIN AND HOBBES

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

SUDOKU

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

Revamp your image.

Initiate personal growth and update the way you present yourself to the world. Use social media to market your skills. A romantic gesture will enhance a meaningful relationship.

Change can be useful when carried out correctly. Think your strategy through and use intelligence, not extravagance, to get what you want. Don’t let your emotions or stubbornness take the reins.

Home is where the heart is, and making a couple of shifts to the way you run your household or deal with those you live with will result in a better environment.

Channel your energy into something meaningful.

Helping others will be gratifying and will give your reputation a boost. What you have to contribute will change your life as well as those of others.

Deal with inevitable changes professionally. Go over your options and consider what you can do to make your life easier. Hone your skills to fit the current economic trends.

Take the throttle. If you want something done, do it yourself. Add a unique touch to whatever you do, and you won’t be disappointed. Offer solutions to gain support.

Don’t overload your plate. Refuse to let anyone bully you or back you into a corner. Keep busy and focus on your goals and on being and doing your best.

Learn from experience and use your intelligence and charisma to convince others to see things your way. An unexpected opportunity will turn out quite well.

Stay in your comfort zone SAGITTARIUS regardless of what others do.

(Nov. 23Take care of your health and Dec. 21) heart. Getting involved with the wrong person or group will turn out to be costly.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

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

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

Positive change will evolve from heart-to-heart discussions.

Restructure your surroundings to meet your needs and ease your stress.

Think carefully about how you live your life.

Sensitive issues will escalate. Nurture meaningful relationships and do your best to bring the family together. A physical challenge will help curb stress. Offer peace and love, not discord.

Express your thoughts, listen to suggestions and prepare to make a change to the way you work and whom you associate with personally and professionally. Don’t let uncertainty cost you.

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020

21

Aintree Racecourse Chairman Rose Paterson dead at age 63 R

ose Paterson, Chairman of the Aintree Racecourse, has been found dead at her Shropshire home. She was 63 years old. A cause of death has not been given.

She had been married to Conservative MP and former cabinet minister Owen Paterson. The couple were married in 1980, and had two sons and a daughter.

In a statement, Owen Paterson said the loss of his wife had come as a "terrible shock" to the family.

"It is with great sadness that I must inform you that my wife, Rose, has been found dead at our family home in Shropshire," he said. "Rose and I were married for 40 happy years. She was a wonderful, caring wife, mother and grandmother. Her death has come as a terrible shock to us all.

“I would ask the media to respect the privacy of myself and my family at this extremely difficult time."

Before racing activities began at Haydock on Wednesday, a minute's silence was held in her memory and that of Grand National winning jockey Liam Treadwell, whose death was announced on Tuesday.

In a statement, West Mercia Police

said: "We can confirm the body of a woman has been found in woodland near Pant Lane…in Ellesmere. The death is currently being treated as unexplained. However, at this stage, there is believed to be no third-party involvement."

She will be missed greatly

Rose Paterson had been on the main Board of Stewards at the Jockey Club which owns Aintree Racecourse, home of the Grand National and other leading tracks, including Cheltenham. She was appointed Chairman of Aintree in 2014, having been a Racecourse Committee director there since 2005.

Sandy Dudgeon, Senior Steward of the Jockey Club, said: “This is tragic news, and our thoughts go out to Rose's husband, Owen, and all members of her family. Rose was a wonderful person, and (had been) involved in so many aspects of our sport. She was a skilled chairman at Aintree, a valued member of our Board of Stewards, and headed up our Horse Welfare group. She also enjoyed participating at grassroots level over many years.

"We appreciated her contribution

very much, and my fellow stewards and I looked forward to hearing her sound views on a subject, where she was always sensitive to the best course of action for racing.

She will be missed greatly for the person she was."

Her husband is MP for North Shropshire, and is a former Northern Ireland secretary.

"Owen rang me this morning to inform me that Rose had been found passed away at home," said Steve Charmley, the Chair of North Shropshire Conservative Association.

"Obviously, Owen is very devastated, and asked to be left in peace to come to terms with the situation. Rose was a very well-liked person."

In 2011, Rose joined her husband in a nine-day 1,000km (621-mile) race across Mongolia on horseback, following a trail blazed by Genghis Khan. They endured extreme weather, being set on by a pack of dogs, and she also survived two tumbles; but she raised more than £100,000 for charity.

British Horseracing Authority chief executive Nick Rust has said he was "ex-

tremely saddened" by her death.

"Rose was one of those people who always seemed to see the bigger picture, do her best for the wider good, and work tirelessly and selflessly towards achieving results," he said. "She also had the knack of being able to say the right words at the right time." (BBC Sport)

Mohammad Hafeez says Aguero gets knee he's negative for COVID-19 surgery in quick time

ꟷ a day after PCB announces positive result

M

ohammad Hafeez has tested negative in a private test for COVID-19, a day after a PCB test result showed up as positive. On Tuesday, Hafeez was announced as one of ten Pakistan players in total who tested positive for the virus, after testing carried out on the entire 29-man squad due to fly out to England on June 28.

Hafeez, however, conducted a private test at a different lab in Lahore for a "second opinion" for him and his family. That result, he said in a tweet, was negative for him and his family.

Hafeez had his second test done by the Chugtai Laboratory, whereas all the PCB's tests were conducted by Shaukat Khanum Laboratory.

After testing positive for COVID-19 according to PCB testing Report yesterday, as 2nd opinion & for satisfaction, I personally went to Test it again, along with my family, and here, I along with all my family members are reported negative Alham du Lillah.

May Allah keep us all safe.

In practice, Hafeez's new result has no immediate impact on plans for the next few days. All players in the squad are due to undergo a further round of testing, and those players whose results were negative in the first round will

all undergo second tests in Lahore on June 25 in a bio-secure environment at the hotel they are in.

A PCB statement on Tuesday had said that players who tested positive will observe self-isolation in their homes, and remain under strict monitoring of the PCB medical panel. As soon as they…complete their minimum quarantine period, they will undergo further testing, and after their two tests are negative, they will be flown to England on a commercial airline.

But there was confusion on Wednesday about when the second round of testing would take place for the players who had tested positive. The fact that none of the players who tested positive have reported any symptoms has made matters trickier, especially in terms of how long a "minimum quarantine period" should be. There was a suggestion their testing might happen before the team's departure, which would require a player who tested positive to test negative twice before he was cleared to travel.

It is not clear whether Hafeez had informed the board that he was getting himself tested privately, a move which, in effectively breaking ranks, means the matter could become a disciplinary issue. (ESPNcricinfo)

M

anchester City striker Sergio Aguero has undergone surgery on his left knee in Barcelona.

Aguero sustained an injury, reported to be damage to his meniscus, during Monday's 5-0 Premier League win over Burnley.

Pep Guardiola told reporters on Wednesday that his top scorer would be operated on this Thursday by his preferred surgeon, Dr Ramon Cugat, who has treated City players, including Benjamin Mendy, Ilkay Gundogan, and Kevin De Bruyne during the Catalan's time in Manchester.

However, shortly after

his boss's news conference to preview the forthcoming match at Chelsea, Aguero tweeted a picture of himself from his hospital bed, suggesting the procedure had already been carried out.

"Everything went well, and I'll soon begin recovery," he wrote. "A big thanks to Dr Cugat and his team – and to all of you for your support."

Recovery from meniscus surgery generally ranges from four to six weeks, meaning Aguero could return for the concluding stages of this season's Champions League.

City hold a 2-1 advantage over Real Madrid ahead of the second leg of

their last-16 tie, which will take place on August 7 or 8.

Should Guardiola's men progress, they will take part in an eight-team mini-tournament in Lisbon between August 12 and 23, comprised of one-off quarter-final, semi-final and final matches.

Aguero has scored 16 goals from 24 Premier League appearances this season, just 18 of which were starts. He averages a goal every 91 minutes. If the injury rules him out of City's final eight top-flight matches, his streak of scoring at least 20 times in the league for the last five seasons will come to an end.

(Sportsmax)

22

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020

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ꟷ joint RHTY&SC/BCB project surpasses target

T

he ten cricket teams of Guyana’s leading youth and sports organisation, the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) last Sunday named Timothy Sandia as their Walter Nero Father of the Year 2020 awardee.

The Hampshire village businessman copped the award after been nominated by the Rose Hall Town Pepsi Under 19 Team and seconded by the Rose Hall Town Namilco Thunderbolt Flour First Division Team.

Secretary/CEO of the RHTY&SC MS, Hilbert Foster; Vice President Mark Papannah, Asst Secretary/ CEO Simon Naidu, and Office Manager Joel Pike visited the Sandia family’s residence to hand over the award.

The Walter Nero Memorial Award is sponsored by his five daughters: Karen, Sandra, Theresa, Jackie and Narcy, in memory of their dad, who died five years ago. Foster stated that since its formation in September, 1990 by three-times Guyana and Commonwealth Youth Service Awardee the St. Francis Community Developers, the RHTY&SC has honoured a Father and Mother of the Year.

The main objectives of the award are to express thanks for their input into the club’s success, to acknowledge their contribution in the development of their child, and to promote them as positive role models to the younger generation.

Sandia is the father of two children, the younger of whom is Jeremy, a member of the RHTY&SC. He has represented Berbice and Guyana at the junior level, and is considered one of the best cricketing talents in the club. Jeremy Sandia is a left arm spinner and solid middle order batsman.

Foster has issued an appeal to fathers across Guyana to play a major role in the lives of their children, and to reject the evil ways of Satan. He committed the RHTY&SC, MS to continue leading the battle to get youths to “Say No to Drugs, Crime, Alcohol, Suicide and Tobacco”.

A humble Sandia has said he is pleased to be honoured by the RHTY&SC and the cricket teams. He congratulated the club on its outstanding work over the last thirty years, and the role it has played in making a positive difference in the lives of youths, including his son.

The club also distributed one hundred and twenty food hampers to less fortunate fathers as part of the Walter Nero Father’s Day Programme.

Meanwhile, the joint RHTY&SC/Berbice Cricket Board Corona Virus Crisis Response Programme continues to be a success, with the distribution of over $4M worth of food hampers, cleaning detergents, personal items, educational materials, and chicken products to less fortunate families across the entire coast.

Foster, who is also the BCB President, has spearheaded the project and has visited each sub-association to hand over the supplies. The programme was launched in April with the objective of handing over 500 hampers, but it has since handed over 1500 hampers. Bounty Farm Ltd has also donated over 1000lbs of chicken products, which were distributed to homes by the team. Over $200,000 worth of cleaning detergents were also shared out to several public institutions including the Port Mourant Public Hospital, Port Mourant NDC, and Rose Hall Town Council. Several families also received special assistance on their request,

Assistant Secretary/CEO Simon Naidu handing over donation to Mr and Mrs Jaundoo, who lost their home to fire

including a Port Mourant family whose house was destroyed by fire.

A wide cross section of Berbicians and cricket clubs have supported the initiative, and Foster extended gratitude to them. Major donors have included Namilco, Bakewell, CIDI, Bounty

Farm Ltd, Food for the Poor, Farfan and Mendes Ltd, Ravi Etwaroo (CriczoneUSA), Dr. Puran Singh, Mortimer George, Big ‘B’ Restaurant among others.

The RHTY&SC has to date been the biggest contributor to the hampers project under its charity project.

West Indies crowned Kings of The World at 1979 World Cup

F

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orty-one years ago, the conquering heroes of cricket, West Indies, proved what the world already knew when they beat England by a whopping 92 runs to win the Cricket World Cup for the second time, in the process showcasing their immense prowess on the field as the best cricket team in the world.

They also formed a powerful force off the field as the ambassadors for the game, and representing West Indians at home in the Caribbean and millions of others who lived and worked around the world.

The coronation came on June 23, 1979 at Lords, the home of cricket, and just over four years after they had won the inaugural tournament at the same venue.

The victory was led by Sir Viv Richards, the most outstanding player of his generation. Playing before a packed stadium, he produced a masterclass of 138 not out – one of the finest innings in ODI history.

He was joined by Collis King, who scored 86 off just 66 balls in a memorable display of batting. Joel Garner then took five wickets.

Captain Sir Clive Lloyd was proud of what his team had achieved: "We proved we were the best team in the world. There was no doubt about that. We played unbeaten throughout the tournament…a similar feat to what we achieved when we won four years earlier. By winning and dominating, we weren’t just showing we were the best cricket team, but one of the best sporting teams of all time,” Sir Clive said.

As he sat in the pavilion preparing to accept the trophy, Sir Clive reflected on the magnitude of what his players had achieved. He realised that the victory was not just for the team, but the many

people who supported them.

“We thought (that) if we won the World Cup, we could promote the game in the West Indies and bring enormous jobs to the people living in the West Indies, and those living in the UK who had made the journey to start (their) lives there. You were playing for everyone. The matches were all very well attended, and what I realized was that they poured t h e i r hearts into supporting us. We owed then those victories…we were happy to celebrate with them.” Wisden Cricket Almanack reported on the grand occasion.

On another fine day, the

ground was completely filled by the crowd of 25,000, and many would-be spectators were locked o u t .

Then came the partnership t h a t

tipped the scales. Richards, the hero of the day, and rightly named Man of the Match, was already installed, and he found the right ally in King, who virtually took charge from the moment he arrived, and made 86 out of 139, which put on the fifth wicket in only 77 minutes.

Many of those runs came from England's three fill-in bowlers, as King struck three sixes and ten fours in an amazing display. He drove, hooked and pulled with astonishing power and accuracy, so confirming the impressive form he showed when he toured England with the

West Indies team of 1976.

Richards at first was subdued by Edmonds, but he completed his hundred in the over (the 52nd) following King's

dismissal, the result of a well-taken catch by Randall at deep square leg. Richards remained unbeaten, having hit his 138 in just under three and a half hours. It contained three sixes and 11 fours.

England had the better batting conditions. In brilliant sunshine, Randall and Gooch made a brief assault, but between them, Garner and Croft swept through the remainder of the innings.

The six-foot-eight-inch Garner took five wickets for four runs in 11 balls, and was twice on a hat-trick as the West Indian supporters made the evening a Caribbean carnival. (Windies Cricket)

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Top players picked up in CPL 2020 players’ draft

23

Rashid Khan set for Barbados Tridents; Chris Lynn heading to St Kitts & Nevis Patriots ꟷ Qais Ahmad returns to Amazon Warriors

A

ustralia batsman Chris Lynn, Afghanistan spin twins Rashid Khan and Qais Ahmad, and South African batsman Rilee Rossouw have been picked up by various franchises as overseas signings ahead of the CPL 2020 players' draft which is scheduled for Wednesday.

The draft, which will be a virtual event because of the COVID-19 pandemic, has attracted 537 players. The CPL is scheduled to be played between August 18 and September 10 behind closed doors in Trinidad & Tobago, subject to permission from that country’s government.

ESPNcricinfo understands that Lynn has been signed by St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, while Rashid has been snapped up by defending champions Barbados Tridents. Rashid's Afghanistan teammate Ahmad will play for Guyana Amazon Warriors, while Rossouw has been signed by St Lucia Zouks. These signings were possible only because, for the first time, the CPL allowed the six franchises to sign overseas players outside of the draft.

Other foreign players who are understood to have been signed include New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert (Trinbago Knight Riders), South Africa wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi (Jamaica Tallawahs), and his national team-mates Anrich Nortje (Zouks) and Rassie van der Dussen (Patriots).

It is understood that some of the names, like Rashid and Ahmad, were originally supposed to be part of the draft. However, once the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) decided to send an enlarged squad for the upcoming England tour, there were issues over the availability of some of the original picks, like Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz and Shadab Khan.

While Shadab and Malik were meant to represent Warriors, Riaz is understood to have been initially signed by Tridents. Another Tridents signing that did not eventually go through was South Africa white-ball captain Quinton de Kock, who was meant to be the marquee player for the franchise.

Both Warriors and Knight Riders have the least number of slots to fill - three each. In contrast, Tallawahs have 11 vacant spots and

Qais Ahmad

Chris Lynn has been picked up by the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots

Rashid Khan will go to the Barbados Tridents

the Patriots six, while Tridents and Zouks have five each.

As for the draft itself, players from 23 countries outside of those from the Caribbean have registered, including two names from India. Forty-eight-year-old Pravin Tambe, the former Mumbai leg-spinner, is the oldest player in the draft. He had recently played the T10 league in 2018 for the Sindhis, and was a regular in the Rajasthan Royals line-up between 2013 and 2015. More recently, Tambe was picked up

by Kolkata Knight Riders at the 2020 IPL auction, but was forced to withdraw later after the BCCI pulled him up for playing in unsanctioned cricket leagues like the T10.

Asad Pathan, a hard-hitting batsman who had played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, is the other Indian in the draft. The 36-year-old is part of the cluster without a base price.

Former Pakistan Captain Shahid Afridi is the only player listed in the

Rilee Rossouw has joined the St Lucia Zouks

highest base price bracket of US$160,000 while England's World Cupwinning captain Eoin Morgan features in the US$130,000 bracket. Morgan's England teammate Tom Banton, New Zealand seamer Tim Southee, and Australia allrounder Ben Cutting have been slotted in the US$110,000 bracket.

Some of the other noteworthy players who have registered for the draft include South Africa batsmen Faf du Plessis and David Miller, Afghanistan allrounder Mohammad Nabi, Australia batsman D'Arcy Short, Nepal legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane, Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman (all US$90,000).

Former West Indies T20 captain Carlos Brathwaite, who had captained the Patriots in

the 2019 CPL, features in the US$70,000 bracket with England batsman Alex Hales, while South Africa strike bowler Kagiso Rabada along with Pakistan's left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi are listed in the US$60,000 bracket.

As for availability, the only question mark remains over the players picked to feature in the series between England and Pakistan, scheduled between August and September. Those players have notified the CPL that international cricket would remain their preference.

The CPL has told all franchises to assemble their squads from August 1, with the players and support staff having to undergo a two-week period in quarantine before the tournament gets underway. (ESPNcricinfo)

Reifer’s 5-for, Mindley’s 3-27 highlight day 2 ꟷ despite Ambris’ half-century, Brathwaite’s XI lead by 181

A

s action in the West Indies intra-squad three-day match-up continued into the second day, Raymond Reifer was the pick of the bowlers for Brathwaite’s XI, bagging 5-60 at Old Trafford.

On day one of the action, Brathwaite’s XI made 275 all out following half centuries from Kraigg Brathwaite and Shai Hope. Alzarri Joseph and Shannon Gabriel were the pick of the bowlers, with figures of 4-60 and 3-32 respectively.

Heading into the action on day two, Holder’s XI struggled in the field and were bowled out for 193 in 51.1 overs. Top scoring was Sunil Ambris (52), Kyle Mayers (45) and Shayne Moseley (40). Of the bowlers, Reifer claimed 5-60 and Marquino Mindley took 3-27.

At the close of play, Brathwaite’s XI were 99-3, enjoying a lead of 181. Top scoring was John Campbell with 49, and Kraigg Brathwaite with 34.

Alzarri Joseph took 2 wickets and Jomel Warrican took 1.

Earlier in the day, Shayne

Mosely and Jermaine Blackwood took to the crease with intention of making light work of the total.

However, they found themselves in trouble, losing Blackwood to Mindley for 3. This then brought Sunil Ambris to the crease, and he was the aggressor of the two, as he quickly brought up his half century in style with a drive through the on-side for his 8th boundary. But in the end Ambris was trapped by Chemar Holder LBW for 52, to take the score to 90-2 at lunch.

Tings took a drastic turn as Reifer, who had not taken a wicket as yet, returned with the ball and stormed through Holder’s XI, having them reeling at 1177. Reifer bagged the wickets of Nkrumah Bonner, Joshua Da Silva, Jason Holder, Shayne Moseley and Rahkeem Cornwall, who all fell after the lunch break.

Kyle Mayers was able to dig deep and post a handsome 45, which allowed Holder’s XI to post a somewhat meagre total in response to 275. With a lead of 82 runs, Brathwaite’s XI turned on

Raymon Reifer

Suni Ambris

the heat as they posted 64-0 in the first ten overs, with Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell each sitting on 30 off 32 balls.

By the 20th over, both Brathwaite and Campbell were in the pavilion, bowled for 34 and

49 runs respectively by Jomel Warrican and Alzarri Joseph.

Joseph then took the wicket of Hope (02) to leave them reeling at 94-3, and what was looking to be a repeat of the first innings as play closed with the score on 99-3.

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 20200

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

guyanatimesgy.com

Top players picked up in CPL 2020 players’ draft

Rashid Khan set for Barbados Tridents; Chris Lynn heading to St Kitts & Nevis Patriots Pg 23

ꟷ Qais Ahmad returns to Amazon Warriors

Reifer’s 5-for, Mindley’s 3-27 highlight day 2 Pg 23

Timothy Sandia cops RHTY&SC/Walter Nero Memorial Father of the Year Award Pg 22

ꟷ joint RHTY&SC/BCB project surpasses target

ꟷ despite Ambris’ half-century, Brathwaite’s XI lead by 181

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