MONDAY 14th June, 2021
' No.106391
More flood-relief supplies reach Reg. 10 residents SEE PAGE 03
–– Kwakwani most severely hit as floodwaters surpass 15 ft
As floodwaters surpass 15 feet in some Region 10 communities, the Government of Guyana has intensified its relief efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of those affected. On Saturday, Prime Minister Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips led an outreach team to the region to distribute a quantity of food and sanitary hampers
Vice-Chairman of Reg. 10 dies from ‘COVID’ PAGE
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AG issues warning to Toolsie Persaud 13 PAGE
Participants from multinational militaries pose for a photo at a simple ceremony to officially declare ‘Tradewinds Exercise 2021’ open on Sunday at the Guyana Defence Force Base Camp Ayanganna, Georgetown (Elvin Croker photo)
… about occupying gov’t lands contrary to court order
Tradewinds military exercise to 11 Patterson’s future as PAC promote ‘sustained peace, stability’ Chair likely for vote today 02 PAGE
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 14, 2021
Patterson’s future as PAC Chair likely for vote today
AS the 29th Sitting of the 12th Parliament convenes today, the House is expected to debate a motion intended to remove opposition member David Patterson as Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Patterson was appointed PAC Chair in December 2020; however, on
February 1, 2021, during the sixth meeting of the committee, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, moved a motion calling for Patterson to be replaced by another opposition member of the PAC. Teixeira had premised her motion on the fact that Patterson was facing public allegations relating to
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira fraud and mismanagement of public funds. He was, therefore, deemed unfit to spearhead the work of the PAC, which is tasked with scrutinising irregularities highlighted in the Auditor General (AG)’s annual reports. At the time of that motion, the PAC was examining the findings of the 2016 AG Report, which highlighted “paragraph after paragraph” worth
of infractions on the part of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, headed by Patterson during his party’s 2015-2020 tenure in government. In a telephone interview on Sunday, Minister Teixeira reminded that the motion did not seek to remove Patterson as a member of the PAC, but simply called for him to be replaced with another opposition PAC member.
However, the other three opposition PAC members, Ganesh Mahipaul, Jermaine Figueira and Juretha Fernandes, have refused to take Patterson’s place. They have been vehemently insisting that the former minister has earned the full confidence of his Coalition party – the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC). Patterson has since been criminally charged for allegedly defrauding the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC) – an agency previously under his purview. The opposition Member of Parliament is also being investigated as part of the gift-giving scandal, in which he allegedly benefited from gifts valuing more than $2 million, from agencies that were under his remit. Meanwhile, Teixeira
has indicated that since February, a series of efforts have been made to stymie the furtherance of the committee’s motion against Patterson. “Fundamentally, he uses every means to prevent the motion from being put to a vote,” the Government Chief Whip noted. She said that the “mind-boggling” situation persists, even though the committee was advised on multiple occasions by both the Clerk and Speaker of the National Assembly that the motion was valid. “This is a serious of events [sic], in which the chairman has refused to comply,” the minister added. It was highlighted that on May 3, 2021, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir, wrote to Patterson indicating that his See page 4
GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 14, 2021
More flood-relief supplies reach Reg. 10 residents
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-Kwakwani most severely hit as floodwaters surpass 15 ft By Rehana Ahamad PRIME Minister Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips and a team of government officials returned to several of the flooded communities in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice) on Saturday last, with more flood-relief hampers and supplies. Phillips, joined by Public Service Minister Sonia Parag and Public Works Minister Juan Edghill, distributed some 1, 200 food and sanitary hampers. As the floodwaters begin to compromise the water supply, the affected villages were also provided with water tanks and water-purification tablets. According to a Facebook post by Minister Edghill, the villages receiving supplies include Lander’s Ville, Chiney Lane, Lamp Island, Hururi, Pottsville, Water front and Bamboo landing. During the outreach, Prime Minister Phillips and his team also visited a number of the shelters that have been set up for persons who have been displaced by the floodwaters. Minister Parag, in a Facebook post, confirmed that the government is pleased with the operations of the shelters, which continue to adhere to strict COVID-19 protocols. “For as long as citizens are affected, the members of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic government will remain on the ground, doing all that we can to ensure the well-being and recovery of all our people,” Parag said in her post. This week will mark a month since Guyana has been battling continuous floods. The severity of the situation has forced President Dr. Irfaan Ali to declare the country in a state of disaster. The Head of State’s gazetted proclamation followed a notification from the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), advising that the floods have now been categorised as a Level Two disaster. Under the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency’s (CDEMA) mechanism, this indicates that the national capacity to respond to the ongoing situation is not overwhelmed, but external assistance is required in the form of technical assistance and other specialised equipment and support in order to respond and recover from this disaster. Despite Guyana’s situa-
Prime Minister Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips; Public Service Minister, Sonia Parag and Public Works Minister Juan Edghill distributing a quantity of food and sanitary supplies to the flood-affected residents of Region 10
Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips and Minister of the Public Service, Sonia Parag, engage a family who has been displaced and relocated to a government shelter
tion being classified Level Two, the CDC in a press statement issued on Saturday evening said that the impact of the floods varies by region, with Regions One, Three, Four, Eight and Nine being at Level Two, given the national capacity to manage the impact. Meanwhile, the devastating situation in Regions Two, Five, Seven and 10, has progressed to a Level Three disaster, based on the magnitude of the floods there.
BEYOND 15 FEET In a brief telephone interview on Sunday, Preparedness and Response Manager of the CDC Major Salim October, related that water levels in some Region 10 communities still continue to rise. He confirmed that in Kwakwani, floodwaters have surpassed 15 feet. “It rose to about one foot more,” Major October told the Guyana Chronicle. He said that preliminary assessments have pegged Kwakwani as being the community most severely affected by the ongoing floods. “Kwakwani definitely [is] the hardest hit area; or that catchment between Hururu and Kwakwani,” the CDC official said. Major October indicated that this assessment is notwithstanding that the number of persons and households would be less when compared to other regions A recently released assessment report pointed to Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) as being the region with the highest
number of affected households. As a matter of fact, that region accounts for some 26.8 per cent of all flooded households; Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) follows closely at 23.1 per cent. “What determines severity is a number of indicators which includes [sic] economic impact [and] social impact; those are the two indicators that will determine the magnitude of impact,” Major October emphasised.
MORE SEVERE WEATHER Unfortunately, even after a month of flooding due to persistent rainfall, Guyana is not yet out of the clear. The National Weather Watch Centre has advised that an approaching tropical wave is expected to interfere with the current stability of the weather. Further, the centre has issued ‘Severe Weather Warnings’ relative to above-normal high tides which will remain in effect during the course of Monday. “Precautions should be taken against over-topping of the river and sea defence. In view of the forecast conditions, continued rainfall will likely lead to flooding in low-lying and flood-prone areas and possibility of landslides over hilly areas,” the warning read. Residents have also been asked to take necessary precautions to safeguard against the effects of possible mudslides, wind and lightning. ‘IN THE BOAT’ WITH SURINAME
The devastating floods have not been limited to Guyana; in neighbouring Suriname, eight out of 10 districts are inundated, affecting at least 8,473 households. On Saturday, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) met virtually with the National Disaster Coordinators (NDCs) for both countries, to discuss the impact of the floods and the relief-management approach to be taken. Guyana was represented by Director-General of the CDC, Lieutenant-Colonel, Kester Craig, while Suriname was represented by Colonel Jerry Slijngard, who heads the country’s National Coordination Centre for Disaster Relief (NCCDR). The meeting, chaired by CDEMA’s Executive Director (ag), Elizabeth Riley, sought to explore the priority needs of both countries, as the agency looks to craft a system to prevent a ‘flood’ of unsolicited goods. “Guyana was commended for implementation of a Tracking Matrix which allows it to update its Needs List, based on resource allocation, which CDEMA has promised to further discuss, with a view of synchronising the information,” a CDC statement explained. It further noted that both countries were also asked whether there is a list of organisations to which relief items can be consigned, and whether duty-free concessions were being offered to these organisations, since there was an issue in a member state where containers
purporting to transport relief items were found to be carrying personal items. Lt. Colonel Craig explained that in Guyana’s case, the CDC is not providing concessions to items shipped to any organisation. He noted, however, that Guyana’s flood-relief efforts are being encouraged via a ‘coordinated approach,’ whereby supplies are handed over to the CDC for packaging, and then to the respective local government bodies
for distribution to residents. CDEMA also acknowledged Guyana’s request for technical assistance in the form of sectoral damage-assessment teams to assess the five severely impacted regions. The regional disaster body further urged Guyana and Suriname to start looking at recovery planning, which is critical to accessing financing and livelihood planning.
Water levels in Kwakwani, Region 10, have surpassed 15 feet
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 14, 2021
24-hr pontoon service assisting with relocating flood-affected livestock
THE Guyana Lifestock Development Authority (GLDA) has also implemented a 24-hour pontoon service to transport animals from flooded lands, one such place being the Mahaica Mahaicony Abary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA-ADA) abattoir. After residents from flood-affected communities in Abary, West Berbice questioned the state of the spill weir in the Abary conservancy, Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, on Saturday, conducted an assessment of the structure to ensure it was functioning effectively. Prior to his visit, farmers voiced concerns that there had been breaches in the conservancy dam and that vegetation was obstructing the free flow of water into the spill-weir, which drains excess water from the Abary conservancy into the Berbice River.
However, Minister Mustapha was able to travel to the area to conduct an assessment of the structure and confirmed that there was no vegetation impeding the flow of water and that there were no breaches in the dam. “The conservancy is 14 inches above the normal level here and it’s clear that the excess water is spilling into the Berbice River. I know farmers would’ve expressed concerns about the spill weir so it was important for me to come here and get a firsthand look at the state of the structure. “There is no vegetation impeding the flow of water from the conservancy into the Berbice River and the structure is functioning effectively. Concerns were also raised about the dam and after conducting this assessment I can confirm that there are no breaches in the dam either. “I know these are very
troubling times as we continue to battle with flooding across the country but residents can rest assured that government is sparing no effort to ensure things return to some amount of normalcy soon. We will continue to monitor these structures to ensure they continue to function effectively,” Minister Mustapha said. The subject minister also debunked claims that water from the conservancy was being released into the housing area or farming community. He noted that as efforts are being made to drain residential and farming areas in the frontlands, water from the backlands has been draining through the residential areas, which has ultimately contributed to continued flooding. Minister Mustapha also met with residents from Abary Creek who expressed concerns about the rising water which continue to threaten their livelihoods.
A pontoon transporting animals affected by the floods
Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, hands over a hamper to a resident on Saturday last Residents also expressed systems have since been out the requested works but their dissatisfaction with the put in place to ensure all of due to the rising water level, services offered by the Guy- the affected farmers receive the works were put on hold. ana Livestock Development the services and assistance He assured residents that maAuthority (GLDA) in terms being given by the Author- terials to execute the works of providing feed and other ity. Minister Mustapha also had already been sourced and veterinary services to animals instructed the officers to visit that the works would be carthat have been affected by each farmer’s home rather ried out as soon as the water the flood. than having farmers come to level had receded. One resident said that a designated area to receive Minister Mustapha also some of the interventions put the much-needed assistance. informed residents that works in place following an initial The MMA-ADA also were carried out to clear vegvisit by the minister to the came under fire after resi- etation from sections of the affected community were not dents claimed that they were Abary River, which signifiimplemented. “not responsive” following cantly improved the flow of However, Deputy Chief the minister’s initial vis- water. This, he said, has reExecutive Officer of the it. Residents had previous- sulted in water receding by at GLDA, Dr. Dwight Waldron ly sought the assistance of least two inches in the river. said that services were being the minister with repairing Livestock farmers were provided to the farmers but sections of the dam in the also given additional assisseveral technical mishaps scheme. tance to safely house their resulted in some farmers not However, the MMA- animals, as water levels receiving assistance in the ADA indicated that there had continue to fluctuate in the initial phase. He said that been three attempts to carry area.
Patterson’s future as PAC ... From page 2
actions to delay the motion were a “gross violation of the Standing Orders and tantamount to bullyism.” In the correspondence, the Speaker specifically instructed Patterson to have the motion be put, but this is yet to be done. Teixeira, who is perhaps the longest serving member of the current Parliament, said that she has never encountered such blatant defiance of the Speaker’s wishes. “He never even acknowledged the Speaker’s letter,” the Chief Whip posited. As a result of the stalemate at the level of the PAC, Teixeira has moved to table her motion in the National Assembly, which
has oversight for all Select Committees, including the PAC. In her motion, the minister said that “Patterson has consistently and openly violated the Standing Orders and has introduced a level of bullyism unbefitting of a Member of Parliament, and, in doing so, bringing the image of the National Assembly into disrepute.” Should Monday’s motion succeed, Patterson could possibly be replaced by Lenox Shuman, Leader of the minority opposition, and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly. In the meantime, the ongoing situation has obstructed the work of the PAC. The government MPs believe that the stalling
of the PAC’s work is an attempt to distract the committee from scrutinising the Auditor General’s 2017, 2018 and 2019 reports. Similarly, the opposition members of the PAC expressed suspicion that the motion is a tactic to prevent the PAC from moving on to examine government spending for the latter part of 2020 and going forward. It should be noted, however, that the work of the PAC is far behind schedule, with the committee only now wrapping up examination of the country’s questionable 2016 spending. This means that examination of the current government’s spending (post August 2020) will not be immediate.
David Patterson chairing a meeting of the PAC back in February
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 14, 2021
Two more die from ‘COVID’, 83 new cases EVEN as the fight against the COVID-19 virus continues, the number of COVID-19-related deaths has increased to 426 after two more fatalities were recorded on Sunday. The Ministry of Health disclosed that the latest fatalities are two males-- a 63-year-old from Region Six (East Berbice- Corentyne) and a 71-year-old from Region 10 (Upper Demerara- Berbice). They both died while receiving care at a medical facility. Meanwhile, there are currently 1,684 active COVID-19 cases in Guyana, following the addition of 83 new cases as of June 13, 2021. Even as new cases were recorded, 30 persons were reported to have recovered from the virus, bringing the total number of recoveries to 16,280. The 83 newly confirmed cases were recorded in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five Six, Eight and 10. Forty-five of the newly
confirmed cases were females with the remaining 38 being males. Region Four accounted for 42 of the new cases; Region Two recorded one new case; Region Three recorded 12 new cases; Region Five recorded two new cases; and Region Six recorded three new cases, while Regions Eight and 10 recorded eight and 16 new cases, respectively. It was reported that the 83 new cases were recorded from a total of 1,191 tests. The country now has a total of 18,386 confirmed cases since the first COVID-19 case was reported in March 2020. Twenty-three persons are in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the National Infectious Diseases Hospital at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown. Currently, there are 115 persons in institutional isolation; 1,542 are in home isolation and four are in institutional quarantine.
Many of the persons infected with the virus are said to be asymptomatic, that is, they are not exhibiting symptoms. The updated COVID–19 Emergency Measures are in force from June 1, 2021, until June 31, 2021. They may be extended or amended by notice of the Minister of Health, after an assessment of the prevailing public health conditions of the pandemic. As per the current measures, however, all persons are required to wear face masks when leaving their homes. Physical distancing and adequate sanitisation are also important. The current curfew time is 22:30 hours to 04:00 hours. Persons with symptoms of COVID-19 are asked to call the COVID-19 hotline numbers: 231-1166; 226-7480; or 180/181 for assistance.
PM Rowley takes blame for collapse of mass vaccination drive
( Tr i n i d a d N e w s d a y ) - The Prime Minister has apologised to the thousands of elderly and younger people with lifestyle diseases who were turned away when they responded to a call to come out and get vaccinated last Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday, the Ministry of Health began offering walk-in vaccination for those over 60 and those younger with non-communicable diseases on a first come, first served basis. Long lines and crowds ensued at vaccine sites across the country. People began to line up hours before the gates of the vaccine centres opened, some as early as 5 am breaching the curfew to get ahead in the line. But with a limited supply of vaccines, the majority were sent back home.
In response, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh changed it to an alphabetical system but the number of vaccines distributed to each centre would be limited to 50, far too little for the demand and again hundreds of people were turned away. Speaking at a press conference at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s on Saturday, Dr Rowley admitted that walk-in vaccination or mass vaccination was a “bad idea” and took responsibility for it as the head of the government. He said it was not the fault of the technical staff of the facilities but a communication problem between the government and the wider population as many people were unable to register to get vaccinated. “ We d n e s d a y w a s a bad day. It was a bad
Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley
day in that the government, through its agency, through its Prime Minister, through its infrastructure, tried to do too much with too little. It was a bad idea to try to solve the problem of the registration programme not reaching everyone who wanted to be registered by simply removing that stricture of a registration and replacing it with (what) one can call now a mass vaccination exercise.”
He “unreservedly apologised” especially to the elderly who “did in fact come out thinking they could put themselves through probably pain and certainly the inconvenience and disappointment of coming out and not being able to receive the vaccine.” Rowley expected that, at no time in the near future, the country would receive a big enough batch of vaccines that would allow for mass vaccination programme. Instead, the country would have a steady stream and the government would have to manage distribution in segments. On Friday, the country got an additional 13,500 AstraZeneca vaccines from Grenada, and St Vincent and the Grenadines and, on Monday, expects a shipment of 200,000 out of the 500,000 Sinopharm vaccines pur-
chased from China. The government has yet to get word of the exact date the third shipment of vaccines from the Covax facility will arrive, or when and how much TT will receive from the expected donations from the US. He promised the ministry would ensure a similar situation would not happen again and that the available vaccines would get to those most in need. He added that no decision has been made on opening the borders and the timeline of reopening the country in the next three-five weeks remaining and said 19-hour curfew will likely be in place for Labour Day on June 19, as implemented recently. In response, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said Rowley has been misleading the country with regard
to vaccines for months at the cost of lives and livelihoods. She said the “sham rollout” was planting the seeds of civil unrest. “Hundreds of thousands of people are without work, unable to provide food for their families, unable to pay bills, or unable to pay their rents. A virus of poverty is also sweeping our nation with no plan in place to resuscitate our economy. Rowley must accept help from stakeholders and make changes to his failed team. We cannot have a 1990 repeat.” According to the release, the worst part was that Rowley did not intend to make changes to save lives including changing the medical experts advising the government over the last 15 months.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 14, 2021
Tajeram Mohabir
Walter Rodney: Setting the records straight
ATTORNEY-GENERAL and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mr. Anil Nandlall, at the 28th sitting of the National Assembly, disclosed that the Government of Guyana will be implementing a number of measures to properly honour the life and work of the late Dr. Walter Rodney. Among the several initiatives announced are an amendment to Dr. Rodney’s death certificate to read ‘death from assassination’ instead of ‘misadventure’; correcting his status to that of ‘Professor’ instead of ‘unemployed’ and making his gravesite a national monument. In addition, the Walter Rodney Chair at the University of Guyana will be reactivated. According to the minister, the initiatives taken followed a request by the Rodney family -- his wife, children and brother to bring a level of closure to the matter. Walter Anthony Rodney was born on March 23, 1942 to Edward and Pauline Rodney. His assassination took place on June 13, 1980, leaving to mourn his wife Patricia, children Asha, Shaka and Kanini. At the time of his assassination, his brother Donald Rodney was also injured. Dr. Rodney, now Professor Rodney, was born into a working-class family. He attended the University College of the West Indies in 1960 and was awarded a
first-class honours degree in History in 1963. He later went on to earn a PhD in African Studies in 1966 at the age of 24. His dissertation on the Slave Trade on the Upper Guinea Coast was published by the Oxford University Press in 1970, under the title “A History of the Upper Guinea Coast 1545-1800.” He also wrote several books and other publications, among which were “How Europe Underdeveloped Africa,” “Groundings with my Brothers,” “The Russian Revolution,” “A History of the Guyanese Working people, 1881-1905” and “Decolonial Marxism.” These and other publications will now be made available to education institutions in Guyana, including the University of Guyana. Dr Rodney had travelled widely and became known internationally as an academic and a revolutionary. He taught at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and at the University of the West Indies. On his return to Guyana in 1974, Dr. Rodney was denied employment at the University of Guyana by the then PNC-controlled University Council. He became increasingly involved in the country’s politics and founded the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) which was aimed at creating political consciousness, replacing ethnic politics with revolutionary organisations based on
class solidarity. Ideologically and politically, he was closer to Dr. Cheddi Jagan and the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), even though there were differences in terms of tactics and strategies during an environment of dictatorial rule and denial of fundamental human rights. His role in the struggle for democracy against the Burnham dictatorship is legendary. In 1979 he was arrested and charged with arson after two government buildings were burnt, and one year later, paid the ultimate price for fearlessly standing up for a cause which he held passionately and deeply, namely, a free and democratic Guyana. It is ironic that after his passing, the leadership of the WPA, for reasons best known to itself, took a decision to join forces with the PNC, which was responsible for the assassination of its founding leader. The decision to properly honour and recognise the work and legacy of the late Professor Walter Rodney could not have come at a more opportune time, when the country is now in the process of consolidating democracy and the democratic gains of the Guyanese people, for which the late Dr. Rodney dedicated his entire life and paid the ultimate price. It is unfortunate
that he was cut down in the prime of his political and academic careers, which deprived him of an opportunity to contribute more fully to the country’s development. The entire country and the international community are poorer for his untimely passing. In a statement, the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) of which Dr. Rodney was the founder-member, welcomed the initiative taken by the government. Could this be a case of ‘too little too late,’ especially when seen against the background of the position taken by that party on the release of the findings of the Commission of Inquiry into the death of Dr. Rodney by the then President Donald Ramotar. President Dr Irfaan Ali and the PPP/C administration must be commended for correcting the false narrative that was peddled over the decades by the PNC regarding the circumstances of Dr. Rodney’s death. This is a case of setting the records straight, which can only be seen as a step in the right direction in so far as our political history is concerned and healing the wounds of our past. It is hoped that the actions taken by the government will indeed go a far way in bringing closure to a tragic and painful episode in our national political life.
Correcting woes Coalition heaped on sugar workers Dear Editor, NO one can argue with what was recently reported in the press, that is, the findings of the UN’s International Labour Organisation (ILO), that “… has pointed to an increase in the rates of suicide, crime, and alcohol consumption in communities that relied heavily on the sugar estates for their livelihoods that were closed by the Coalition government.” In fact, the day before, I did read a letter in one of the dailies that the planned
reopening of the Enmore Sugar Estate will redound into a better society. It is universally accepted that “Being unemployed is associated with a two-fold to three-fold increased relative risk of death by suicide, compared with being employed.” Locally, the ILO stated that, “Entire communities were sent into depression.” This was the emphatic conclusion of local economist Dr. Thomas B. Singh, who authored the socio-economic impact study, which was sponsored by the UN’s International Labour Organisation
(ILO). I need to emphasise that this is not some whimsical ‘guess work.’ The findings cover at least 5,000 sugar workers, their families, and their communities. These workers, as we all recall, in 2016 and 2017, were callously dismissed by the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) government, when they closed the sugar estates at Wales, Enmore, Rose Hall and Skeldon. This widespread closure, as the report pointed out, “… was also so disruptive to those
economies, that the households of many of the affected workers could have been driven into poverty traps.” The actual money stats read quite frightening: “… weekly household income had fallen by 64 per cent, from an average of G$32,238 to G$18,450.” Let us bear in mind that “… the majority of dismissed workers were fathers, who were the sole breadwinners of their families.” So the APNU+AFC without a doubt wrecked not only the daily lives of these workers in a financial way, but made negative inroads in
I hope I didn’t talk too fast Dear editor,
IT’S good to see and hear our parliamentarians debate issues instead of picking at personalities.
I was impressed with the order of the parliamentary session on Thursday. It had all the things of a traditional Parliament, mixed in with the modern scene.
The Speaker was in full charge of the assembly and the business for the day. One parliamentarian who took home the prize for best debate and good speech was
the Senior Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh. Singh was masterful throughout the debate on the opposition motion about shore-bases and land. It was particularly
the student/ children population, whose education at a young age had to be seriously compromised, and maybe permanently so. I need not belabour the point, but suffice it to say that a Crudele report states that in the United States, “Every one per cent rise in unemployment leads to 40,000 deaths.” These deaths, it was pointed out, had nothing to do with [the] COVID- 19 virus and a distressed economy.” I add that unemployment has both individual and social consequences that require
public-policy interventions. For the individual, unemployment can cause psychological distress, which can lead to a decline in life satisfaction. It can also lead to mood disorders and substance abuse. I must commend the government for its immediate intervention in revitalising sugar and estate employment, on assuming office. This must be pursued until all the estates are fully operating.
interesting for me how the minister showed the hypocrisy, double standards, and untruths spread by the other side to hide their dealings in the oil and gas sector, especially with the signing bonus. I am looking forward to this continuing without the rancour, hate, ethnic clashes,
and political talking-heads. This sitting may go down in history as the most normal session of the 12th parliament. I hope I didn’t talk too fast.
Yours truly, Attiya Baksh
Regards Baldeo Mathura
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 14, 2021
Rodney’s academia, activism inspired us to struggle against injustice Dear Editor, FORTY-ONE years later, and with the PPP administration seeking to cement democratic governance after the attempt to rig the election, I cannot think of a better circumstance than which to pay tribute to Walter Rodney than to expunge the fraudulent criminal file on him that was prepared by the Burnham regime. I salute President Dr. Irfaan and the PPP administration on this initiative and Attorney- General Anil Nandlall for piloting the bill to clear the good man’s name. It is long overdue. Nandlall, in his inimitable style, was masterful in his choice of words. The PPP and its support group in New York, the Association of Concerned Guyanese, rightly pay tribute to and honour Rodney’s activism. Rodney was assassinated on June 13, 1980 in a carefully orchestrated conspiracy involving elements in the GDF and the Burnham administration to eliminate him from the Guyana scene. Rodney was a major threat to Burnham’s dictatorship. His movement was bridging the racial divide between Indians and Africans and was growing in popularity. He was perhaps the first African genuinely reaching out to Indians, expressing solidarity with them over
the racism they experienced at the hands of Burnham and his ruling PNC. Indians gravitated towards him for speaking out against racism and banned goods on which the Indian cultural diet was critically centred. I remember Rodney very well having met him in Port Mourant where he came to show solidarity with striking students and staff during Spring 1977. I was a student leader at the Corentyne High School organising the strike, picketing exercises, rallies, and marches on the Corentyne. It was over the transfer of three staff members at CHS – Chaitram Singh, AK Jagnandan, and MS. Indira Poonwasie Tewari – that related to another strike I co-organised in October 1976. Rodney interacted with several student leaders and members of the faculty on the Corentyne during the protests. I was among the leaders of the protests from the first week in January through mid-February, 1977. I distributed handouts, explaining why were on strike and announcing the rally. The size of the rally in Miss Phobe surprised us – over a thousand people from all walks of life came at a time when thugs were known to break up meetings. A GDF helicopter flew above, obviously intended to intimidate us. Rodney was speaking when it flew past us with
propeller noise to drown out his voice. I remember him poking fun of Burnham calling him king kong; I believe the movie had just come out. “This government is fearful of people getting together. It is suspicious of every activity. If donkeys graze together, it gets worried.” he told the gathering. Other speakers included Malcolm Rodrigues and our teachers, Chaitram Singh, Iserdat Ramdehol, and Father Cheerah. I do not recall if Eusi Kwayana spoke, but he did come to Corentyne to join picketing exercises. At various times, I believe Clive Thomas, Maurice Odle, Omowale, Edward Dublin, Ohene Koama and Moses Bhagwan came to the Corentyne in solidarity with striking students and teachers. Rodney, like others, were welcomed to Port Mourant, an Indian plantation working-class village, a hard-core PPP supported enclave. Rodney’s academia and activism inspired us to struggle against injustice. We followed in the footsteps of Rodney and Dr. Cheddi Jagan in political activism. Rodney is regarded as the most important African theoretician cum community and political activist, academic-scholar. He is often compared with C.L.R. James and W.E.B. Dubois. He spent his entire life fighting just causes for
Africans. Rodney studied at UWI (Mona) and London. He taught in Africa and parts of the Caribbean before returning to Guyana. He addressed issues pertaining to the global African (Black) identity and liberation. He lavished praises on Afro Caribbeans for their energy and dynamism in confronting White injustice. He did not allow his race and his struggle on behalf of Africans to define his relationship with Indians. He paid tribute to the Indian ancestors who fought against indentureship and for the liberation of Guyana from colonial rule. Rodney was revered everywhere, including at City College where I studied for my early degrees. His book, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, was prescribed for classes in Black Studies, History, Political Science, and Economics. Africanists praised him everywhere. At City College where I enrolled as a 17-year- old, we were impressed with his activism. We wanted to be like Rodney – revolutionary activists, scholars. There were hardly any Indian Caribbean role models who had acquired public prominence; later, through research, I learnt about the role of several in Trinidad, Suriname, Jamaica, Guyana, Grenada, and other parts of the Caribbean in combating indentureship and colonial rule.
Rodney was a foremost Black scholar, a prominent figure in Black nationalism, Black Power, Pan-Africanism, Afro-Caribbean scholarship. His work was outstanding, he focused on his people. There is no equivalent Indian-Caribbean historian replicating his kind of scholarship on their community or on India. I remember well when news came of the murder of Rodney. I was living in the South Bronx and working as a student assistant at the library at City College. It was a Friday. WLIB radio broadcasted the news early Saturday morning (June 14, 1980) that Rodney was killed in a bomb explosion near the Georgetown prison. The support groups of the WPA and the ACG met that Friday evening to collaborate on activities to combat the Burnham dictatorship. They quickly organised a protest. I belonged to another group comprising Baytoram Ramharack, Vassan Ramracha, among others, but we supported activities of the WPA and ACG to liberate Guyana. Myself and friends usually go to 14th Street for our weekly protests and distribution of flyers. I went to the picketing exercise in front of the Guyana Consulate 40th Street and Third Avenue and thence to 14th Street. PPP activists like Arjune Karshan, Chuck
Mohan, and a few others were at the protest. Rallies and picketing continued for days. I forwent work to join the picketing exercises at various locations. Singh (forgot his last name) was the main organiser of WPA and Lincoln Van Sluytman led the protests. The ACG was key in funding permits and transportation for rallies. The early rallies were small, but later ones grew in size, joined by Caribbean and Black activists. For he was also a hero for Caribbean people. A Jamaican-Chinese, Richie Hoyen and Afro-Jamaican, Winston Simmons, joined the protest movement. The PPP activists were in the thick of the struggle collaborating with Rodneyites. Joey Jagan spoke at one of the rallies in Brooklyn. Rodney is still remembered. Four decades later, I am so pleased to learn that the PPP has recognised the contribution of Rodney. I applaud the government for eradicating the ‘criminal’ file on Rodney and for the High Court to erase the conviction of his brother. In so doing, the PPP is also recognising the great work of this distinguished Guyanese scholar in confronting the monster that was Burnhamism. It is long overdue. Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram (PhD)
Vincent Alexander is clutching at straws Dear Editor, VINCENT Alexander’s “GWI terminations exemplify duplicitous policies,” dated June 11, 2021, is a classic continuation of the demise of the mind. Alexander has taken ‘death’ to the extreme, and at every level. Let me demonstrate in this short missive. This man still posits that the opposition did not lose the Guyana March 02, 2020 Elections. He cannot bring himself, against incontrovertible evidence, to admit that the opposition was engaged
in repeated attempts to rig the said elections -- and I can go on, but these two cases more than suffice for my argument. Now let me get to his fallacious reasons for saying that “GWI terminations exemplify duplicitous policies.” He posits, in a general way, that “These (170) terminations will impact the lives of far more than 170 persons and exemplify the duplicity of policies that are applied to different constituencies of our society.” I ask Mr. Alexander to read the following: “The manner in which the previous gov-
ernment went about shutting down four of Guyana’s sugar estates was “a bad decision from any perspective,” said Dr. Thomas B. Singh, Director of the University of Guyana’s GREEN Institute, who presented this finding of a socio-economic impact study sponsored by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) of the United Nations (UN). This study revolved around the ‘sustainable livelihoods framework’, and focused on examining the impact that the estates closure had on the lives of some 7,000 sugar workers and
their families. It concluded that “As a result, the closures compromised the livelihoods of scores of dismissed workers, exposing many and their families to the poverty trap.” Then Alexander self-debunked when he stated that “GuySuCo’s workers work in a company that is profit-oriented, while the GWI workers work in the service sector that is not profit, but service-oriented.” The obvious question then is why did the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) close the Skeldon, Rose Hall,
and East Demerara Estates? Why now is he admitting to the viability of these estates? Dr. Clive Thomas, the Coalition’s economic point man, was the Chairman of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), even though the then Opposition PPP/C objected, stating that Thomas was a notorious head, having presided over the failure of the Globe Trust and Investments Company Ltd. Let me state that it is quite normal public policy for countries to subsidise agriculture, including sugar. For instance, the European
Union and the USA subsidise agriculture in the sum of €59 billion and US$ 22 billion, respectively. In India, the annual subsidy on sugar is US$ 1.7 billion. These countries rightfully view subsidies as investments. So, by virtue of size, numbers and economic contribution, Vincent Alexander’s opposition to GWI’s laying off of redundant workers falls woefully short and unconvincing. He is clutching at straws. Yours sincerely, Alvin Hamilton
Reg. 9 hoping for more aid as many houses still flooded
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By Tamica Garnett
THOUGH floodwaters have begun to recede in the town of Lethem, several communities in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), particularly the North Rupununi,
GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 14, 2021
know what other aid we need to give to the people, so they are there and probably by about next week time they will come out with their reports, and we will look at what we get and then send it to central government for them to [make]
Regional Chairman of Region Nine, Brian Allicock
continue to battle severe flooding, this is even as the region’s COVID-19 situation continues to escalate. Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle on Sunday, Regional Chairman Brian Allicock said that while some 2,200 food hampers have already been distributed in the region, several officials are out in the fields doing further assessments for the compilation of a report that will be sent to central government requesting more assistance. Allicock estimates that as much as 22,000 people are being affected by the flooding of the region. “We have officers in the field at the moment doing an assessment. We have to
a decision,” the regional chairman explained. “We have already distributed about 1,500 food hampers from the Civil Defence Commission and another 700 from the RDC. But the lists are still coming in, some people did not get in the first half because their names were not submitted so we’re looking at it. We have requested for 1,600 more hampers, so we are hoping that by this weekend, we would be getting more hampers.” Aside from food hampers, Allicock said the region will also be trying to source personal hygiene products, such as baby and adult diapers, and sanitary
An aerial view of the flooding in a section of Region Nine, in May
napkins for women. Allicock is also calling on persons, who have relatives in the region, to reach out and assist in any way they can, given the extent to which flooding has affected the houses and livelihoods of residents. “The waters in the north are still up. In the entire region people lost all of their crops, even on the mountain tops,” Allicock shared.
Though the entire country is being affected by flooding due to unusually heavy rainfall, in Region Nine the seasonal flooding is said to occur when water from the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil travelled through the Rio Negro River to the Brancho River and, eventually, made its way to Region Nine. On Thursday last, President Irfaan Ali officially declared the flooding situation in the country a national disaster; Region Nine has been affected by the flooding since last month. “Some persons’ homes in some villages are in water for two weeks now. Rewa is one of the hardest hit villages, just a few homes remain without having water in it or around it. Then we had Massara, Yakarinta, they were really hard hit,” the regional chairman said. Apart from destroying farms and livelihoods, the flooding in Region Nine has also devastated infrastructure, including roads, cassava farms, farine and bread-making shops. The flooding blocked off several access roads, which has made getting aid to affected areas even more difficult over the past few weeks.
Compounding the flooding situation is also an increase in COVID-19 cases. “It is a difficult situation at this time with the flooded areas and COVID on top. So in both ways people are losing out. It’s both issues we have to worry about on a daily basis. We are trying our best,” Allicock related. He noted too that the residents are not adhering to precautionary measures to curb the spread of the deadly virus. “The COVID cases are escalating on a daily basis, because people are not adhering to what they are supposed to do. They are still partying, travelling between communities, and we still have the illegal crossings from Brazil to Guyana and back,” Allicock explained. Moreover, he noted that the flood has exacerbated the spread of the virus given that many persons have been forced to leave their homes and stay with others. In addition to the floods and COVID-19, Region Nine is also battling an upsurge in cases of malaria and dengue. Both diseases are usually prevalent in the region due to mining activities. “We still have to grap-
ple with that as well. We forget about these other diseases and concentrated on COVID alone, but these are still around, so we have to concentrate on everything in a broad spectrum,” he said. Allicock explained that though there is no fullblown outbreak, there has been some amount of upsurge in the prevalence of cases. “During the early part of the flooding, we had some dengue where even some of my staff in my office had dengue. The minister said it’s not an outbreak, but we did get an upsurge in a couple of cases within all of the sub districts. Two weeks ago we had 208 malaria cases for the year, so malaria is still around because of the mining in the Marudi area, but most of the malaria are [sic]imported into the villages or into the township, because people come with it,” he further explained. Bur notwithstanding the health issues, the chairman said that the Regional Health Office has a strategic plan in place to deal with these issues. “Our team is working around the clock,” he said
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 14, 2021
Alternative locations for exam students being considered WITH flooding in Guyana officially reaching a national disaster level that may persist until July – August, the Ministry of Education (MoE) is currently assessing to determine what alternative arrangements, if any, would need to be put in place for affected learners who are preparing to write national examinations in the coming weeks. Several regions across the country have been particularly hard hit by the flooding situation, which has now compounded the already challenging COVID-19 pan-
demic. Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle on Sunday, Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, said that the ministry is keeping an eye on the situation. “We’re looking to see where schools are that may be affected and what might be alternatives in place for CXC students. At this stage, we’re just assessing,” Manickchand noted. On Thursday last, President Dr. Irfaan Ali declared the situation a national disaster with Regions Two, Five, Six, Seven and Ten being listed as the worst
Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand
affected Regions. In some cases, schools are being used as shelters for evacuated residents. Grade Six pupils across the country will be writing the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) on August 4 – 5, while Grades 11, 12 and 13 students will be writing their Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations beginning from June 28. Last Wednesday and Thursday, several grade six pupils wrote their first mock NGSA; over 85 per cent
participated in the voluntary preliminary assessment. However, several pupils wrote the assessments on Friday and some are slated to write on Monday because they were affected by flooding and other situations. Pupils were also given the option of doing the assessment at home. However, this will not be the case for the official assessment in August, where pupils will have to do same at school. The CSEC and CAPE students are currently capitalising on a two-week extension on the commence-
ment of their exams, which had been originally scheduled to begin on June 14. The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) took the decision to push back the examinations due to several Caribbean nations dealing with national disasters. Aside from Guyana, the St Vincent and the G re n a d i n e s h a s b e e n dealing with its volcanic eruptions, which largely affected the island and several other sister islands, including Barbados. There is also a state of emergency in Trinidad as it relates to COVID-19.
Min. Croal assists with flood relief in Moruca Residents of Chinese Landing, in the Moruca sub-district of Region One (BarimaWaini) with the Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, displaying their hampers Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, helping to offload a hamper from a boat to a flood-affected resident
MINISTER of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, has joined efforts to provide much- needed relief to flood-hit communities by distributing some 412 hampers to affected households in the Moruca sub-district of Region One (Barima-Waini). Hampers consisting of food supplies, and sanitation packages, were distributed to the people of Santa Cruz, Waikrebi, Chinese Landing, Kokerite, Kariako, Ayanna, Unity Grant, Kamwatta and Kumaka, by the minister on Saturday. A press release from the Ministry of Housing and Water noted that Croal informed the residents that the hamper distribution is a part of a two-fold approach,
which began with a flood assessment, conducted by the Regional Democratic Council. He added that the response to the national disaster will not rest with the distribution of hampers, but will expand into a structured recovery effort to help restore the livelihoods of those affected, as he reaffirmed the government’s commitment to alleviating all affected citizens, the press release noted. Riverine communities remain the most affected, with the continued heavy rainfall and high tides, rendering many inaccessible. The minister was accompanied on his visit by Regional Vice-Chairman, Annansha Peters.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 14, 2021
From a child’s point of view THERE are several reasons why parents cannot raise their children. Sometimes they do not have the resources, such as a place to call home or a regular income – and sometimes they do not have the knowledge or inclination to care for children despite having brought them into the world. Children are resilient and despite the negative circumstances that befall them they survive. If a child facing difficult circumstances, came to live with you, how would you cope? Would you understand his/her emotional and psychological needs? 1) A mother runs off leaving her sons aged 4 and 6 with their father. While staying with you (a family friend) the 6-year-old continually wets his bed, Do you a) threaten to beat the child if the bedwetting does not stop? b) devise a strategy with the child to help him control and eventually stop his bedwetting? c) tell the child you will tell his school friends if he does not stop? 2) Your brother and his wife separate and their 13-year-old son comes to stay with you. The usually outgoing adolescent mopes around during the day playing games on his phone. Do you a) talk about his parent’s break-up and ask him whom he thinks is right? b) knock the phone out of his hand and tell him you’re fed up with his attitude? c) find some chores for him to do and let him know that you’re there if he wants to talk?
3) You agree to let your neighbour’s 4-year-old child stay with you while her mother works but when she leaves, the child throws herself down and cries for hours. Do you a) do your best to distract the child with something she likes? b) give her two hot slaps and put her to sit in the corner? c) give the situation a couple of days before telling your neighbour you cannot cope? 4) You are stepfather to your girlfriend’s 9-year-old son who clearly does not like you. Do you a) do your best to win him over with KFC, chocolate and other treats? b) tell him you’re the man of the house and you don’t care what he thinks? c) relate to him on a level he can appreciate a little at a time by sharing things he enjoys? 5) Your 17-year-old grandson says he hates his father (your son), who left when he was four. He doesn’t want to meet him but you promised to set up a meeting between them at your home. Do you a) coax the adolescent into meeting his father so your son is not disappointed? b) tell the child to think about the situation before fully making up his mind? c) trick your grandson into meeting his father anyway to see what happens? 6) Your sister changes her boyfriend often, sometimes having two at a time. You can tell that her 13-year-old daughter accepts this behaviour as normal. Do you a) tell your niece she must not follow in her mother’s footsteps? b) tell your sister she must change her ways immediately for her daughter’s sake? c) confide your fears to your sister and offer your support for a change in her behavior? 7) While babysitting a 7-year-old boy, he mentions during play that his older cousin touched him inappropriately. Do you a) call the older cousin and cuss him on the phone? b) make sure you get all the details clearly? Write them down if necessary before informing his mother and the Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA) c) call the Police, and the CPA as soon as possible with the details you remember. HOW DID YOU SCORE? Answers 1 (b) Bedwetting is a sign that a child may be disturbed. Scolding the child for bedwetting or trying to shame him could cause anxiety which will result in further bedwetting. Steps should be taken to support a sensible bedtime regime with the child’s assistance. 2 (c) Teenagers can be deeply affected when parents separate. It can be hard to imagine their thoughts and feelings about the situation. Knowing there is a trustworthy person they can open up to is important. Keeping them gainfully occupied also distracts them from brooding over something they cannot prevent or control. 3 (a) Separation anxiety is real for some children. They feel literally abandoned when their parents leave. Time and patience should be exercised by babysitters to help the child adjust and cope with the separation. 4 (c) The best relationships with children may take time to build, especially for a step parent. Relationships should be nurtured and monitored but never forced or fabricated. 5 (b) Teenagers need time and space to make decisions, which should be respected. They should not be forced into situations against their will by family do-gooders. 6 (c) Pointing the finger at someone’s behaviour or belittling one to one’s child is not the best way to approach a sensitive situation. Helping one to realise one’s shortcomings and offering support will produce better results. 7 (b) Sensitive situations such as suspected child abuse require clear details. Sketchy information may not be taken seriously. When disclosures are made, adults must document everything the child says, accurately, before informing parents and authorities. Your score: 7/ 6 out of 7: You are good at understanding how trauma can affect a child’s behaviour and react appropriately to assist. 5 or less: You need to learn how to deal with children’s issues in a practical and efficient manner. If you are concerned about the welfare of a child, call the CPA hotline on 227 0979 or write to us at childcaregy@gmail.com A MESSAGE FROM THE CHILDCARE AND PROTECTION AGENCY, MINISTRY OF HUMAN SERVICES AND SOCIAL SECURITY
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 14, 2021
Tradewinds military exercise to promote ‘sustained peace, stability’ By Richard Bhainie
THE United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) sponsored ‘Tradewinds Exercise 2021’, hosted by Guyana, with 17 participating nations including Canada, France and the United Kingdom, will aid in the promotion of sustained peace and stability across the Caribbean Region, and within the borders of partner states. Those were the sentiments expressed by Chiefof-Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Brigadier Godfrey Bess, during the official opening ceremony of the exercise at the GDF’s Base Camp Ayanganna, Thomas Lands, Georgetown, on Sunday. Bess told the small gathering that “sustained peace and stability” across the Region is of critical importance, especially in the face of a global environment witnessing unprecedented change in the political, economic, technological, environmental and human sustainability sectors. He posited that within the Caribbean Region, the most visible perennial threats to social and economic stability continue to
be the annual hurricanes, flooding and persistent narco-trafficking, and in some territories, gang violence also contributes to undermining such stability. “While a purely security, military, or public-order response to address such plagues is not the forte of our nations, it has become necessary over the decades to engage our security forces as would be appropriate, given their constitutional roles,” Brigadier Bess said. He added: “Such engagement tends to be limited in scope, but has generally aided the maintenance of internal stability in some of our states.” The chief-of-staff said he is hopeful that the exercise will also help troops determine “best practices” in handing situations of natural disasters. He cited the massive, countrywide flooding Guyana is currently facing, which was recently declared a national disaster, noting that the “unimaginable flooding, have [sic] laid waste to entire communities, snuffing out the livelihoods of thousands of citizens.” “In fact, [a] recent report suggests that more than 29,000 households have been negatively im-
pacted by this flood. During this exercise, we are hopeful that the training engaged will aid in troops determining the best practices of handling such occurrences,” the army chief said. Additionally, he disclosed that the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) will also benefit from the training exercise, specifically their oil-spill response mechanism, especially now that Guyana is an oil- producing nation; an activity he anticipates “positive outcome” from. Bess explained that the multinational exercise will see combined and inter-agency training focused on increasing regional cooperation in complex multi-national security operations, and is multidimensional in the sense that the training will be conducted on the ground, in the air, sea and cyberspaces of Guyana. The exercise was scheduled to be held in 2020; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was postponed. It is scheduled to run from June 13 to June 25, and Bess told the gathering that until then the nations “aim to work alongside each other, putting to work best practices as far as joint inter-agency
United States Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch, in conversation with Chief-of-Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Brigadier Godfrey Bess (centre) collaborative engagement and assimilation across It supports the Caribbean is suitable for addressing the spectrum of training Basin Security Initiative, as various challenges in our elements in which all par- well as US SOUTHCOM’s nations.” ticipating troops will be goal of building partnerAcknowledging that exposed,” he said. nation capacity at the tactiCOVID-19 remains a sigAlso giving brief re- cal and operational levels. nificant threat, Bess ex- marks at the simple cerAll training locations plained that systems com- emony was US SOUTH- provide opportunities to patible with Guyana’s na- COM J7/9 Deputy Director, conduct joint, combined, tional COVID-19 regula- Retired Lt. Col Kevin Bo- and inter-agency parttions and protocols are in stick, who acknowledged ner-nation capacity-buildplace, and will be strictly the multi-stakeholder “ef- ing focused on increasing adhered to. fort” and “sacrifice” which regional cooperation in “Guyana, as well as the was plugged into making complex multinational seGDF, are proud to be host- the exercise a success. curity operations, as well as ing the exercise this year “As I like to say, the en- in humanitarian assistance and we anticipate the high emy gets a vote, the enemy and disaster-response opdegree of professionalism in this case, this past year, erations. has been the coronavirus, Colonel, General Staff but together what we [have] (GS) of the GDF, Colonel been able to do is mitigate Julius Skeete, highlighted that enemy as much as we that the Tradewinds exerpossibly can. Do things the cise demonstrates a story of right way, get back on the “perseverance and commitfield and be able to com- ment to task.” plete this exercise with the “This is important bejoint forces, multinational, cause as armies, Defence and be able to do it on the Forces, Constabularies and ground, in person, in real Police Forces, we are retime,” he said. quired to operate effective“We will always thrive ly and efficiently in any [sic] to ensure that we’re environment or circumbuilding partnerships, that stances. Today’s simple, we’re teaming with our but important ceremony, partners in the Area of signals that we have shaped Responsibility (AOR) … a path for mission success, What this does is, it build and I am confident that [sic] partnerships, strength- Exercise Tradewinds 2021 ens our partner capacity, it will achieve its objective shows the security efforts and will be a resounding so we can defeat threats, if success,” he said. need be. We know nobody Also present at the can do it alone,” he added. opening ceremony were According to the Guy- U.S. Ambassador to Guyana Defence Force (GDF), ana, Sarah-Ann Lynch; Exercise Tradewinds is a H i g h C o m m i s s i o n e r Caribbean-focused training of Canada to Guyana, exercise designed to help Mark Berman and Direcparticipants better respond tor-General of the CDC, Ranks of the Guyana Defence Force pose for a photo with the ‘Tradewinds Exercise 2021’ banner (Elvin to natural disasters and Lieutenant-Colonel Kesland and maritime threats. ter Craig. Croker photos)
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 14, 2021
House-to-house ‘COVID’ vaccination in Reg. 10 –– authorities urge residents to dispel the myths and listen to the facts By Naomi Parris
THE Regional Health Department of Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Berbice), on Sunday, launched a house-to-house COVID-19 vaccination campaign in an effort to encourage residents to take the jab. Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle via telephone, the region’s health officer, Dr. Gregory Harris, stated that the campaign is a new approach taken on by the regional health authorities to encourage residents to get vaccinated against the deadly virus. To date, only 13 per cent of the adult population of Region 10 has been vaccinated, placing the region at the bottom of the list when it comes to vaccination across the country. “When you compare Region Ten to the other regions, there are at 40 per cent-50 per cent and we are still lagging behind,” Dr. Harris emphasised, adding: “Well, Region Ten has a very low coverage, we are 13 per cent overall so we are trying to capture as many persons as we can and today being Sunday, a lot
of persons would be in their homes. So, we decided to launch today (Sunday) so we can reach out to a lot of persons and have a one and one discussion with families.” Both the government and the political opposition have hosted vaccination campaigns of their own in the region to encourage more persons to get vaccinated; however, persons were still reluctant. Nevertheless, Dr. Harris is optimistic that this new approach will see more persons taking the jab, since the initiative gives residents the opportunity to have one on one discussions with doctors and health practitioners to express concerns, ask questions, eliminate any fears and dispel myths they would have heard or read. “Everyone has access to social media; people might read different myths and so on, so we want to have that interaction with people in their comfort zone and have that discussion and encourage them to take the vaccine, explain to them exactly the purpose of the vaccine is [and] how the vaccine will protect them,” Dr. Harris
explained. The campaign commenced in the region’s hotspot in Amelia’s Ward, Linden, where over 40 positive COVID-19 cases were recorded in the past few days. Meanwhile, in relation to the communities that are gravely affected by the torrential rainfalls and severe floods, Dr. Harris disclosed that weekly medical outreaches are being conducted to remind persons of the COVID-19 protocols. He disclosed that special teams are visiting the various shelters in the region. “What we are doing in these flood-affected areas are medical outreaches, so we go with a general medical team, a vaccination team and also the COVID team to swab… We are trying our best to sensitise as many persons as possible.” Having been diagnosed with COVID-19 himself, the Regional Chairman, Deron Adams, who has since recovered, called on residents to dispel the myths and listen to the facts. During an interview with this newspaper, Adams stated that residents should take
Regional Health Officer of Region 10, Dr. Gregory Harris (center), and his team which assisted in the the house-to-house vaccination campaign information from credible sources, such as the Pan American Health Organization /World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), the Ministry of Health and the Regional Health Department. Adams further stated that while the vaccine does not pre-
vent one from contracting the virus, it does, however, prevent one from being placed in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and evidently minimises the risk of dying from the virus. Since Guyana recorded its first COVID-19 case in Match 2020, a total of 1,290
cases were recorded in the region along with 32 deaths to date. Currently, six persons are said to be in the region’s ICU; there are 162 active cases with some 156 of those persons in home isolation.
Police going after ‘blue lights’ THE Guyana Police Force Regional Division Six (East Berbice – Corentyne) arrested four drivers during a traffic exercise on Saturday for displaying blue and red lights from the headlamps of their vehicles. According to a press release from Police Headquarters, the four drivers are to be charged for failing to comply with the prescribed conditions attached to the Blue headlights as displayed on a vehicle interfitness of their motor cepted by the Guyana Police Force on Saturday vehicles -- the section last under which drivers us- persons to equip their tensifies its campaign ing red and blue lights vehicles with coloured against errant road users, Police Headquarheadlights. are charged. ters noted, and they reDuring the traffic exRegulation 34 (1) (a) minded members of the ercise, the ranks also of the Motor Vehicles public that they have a apprehended two drivers and Road Traffic Act responsibility to abide who are to be charged states that “every moby the laws of Guyana, with driving under the tor vehicle…during the as the force continues influence and driving hours of darkness shall to engage communities an unlighted vehicle, carry two lamps, each and other stakeholders respectively. showing to the front a in the continuous fight The exercise comes white light visible from against, and prevention as the Guyana Police a reasonable distance,” of crime. Force (GPF) re-inmaking it an offence for
GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 14, 2021
AG issues warning to Toolsie Persaud
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… about occupying gov’t lands contrary to court order
ATTORNEY-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C, has written to Toolsie Persaud Limited, highlighting a flagrant breach of a court order by the company, which continues to execute works on a portion of land that currently forms the subject of litigation. The Attorney-General has warned that a failure to cease the said works and vacate the premises would result in legal proceedings. The land, described as plot ‘N’ Plantation Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, was initially earmarked by a People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) government to house the ‘Speciality Hospital’, upon which construction had commenced. In 2018, High Court Judge, Brassington Reynolds, had ruled that the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) passed the title of the property to Toolie Persaud Limited, and that then Coalition Government pay compensation to the company in respect to the land. The State then appealed Justice Reynolds’ ruling, following which Court of Appeal judge, Justice Rishi Persaud granted a ‘stay of execution’ of Reynolds’ orders,
pending the hearing and determination of the appeal. The ‘stay’ effectively preserves the government being in possession of the premises. In the June 11, 2021 letter seen by this publication, the Attorney- General noted that he was made aware that persons, acting on behalf of Toolsie Persaud Limited, recently entered the land and begun to clear, clean and landscape the premises, without the permission of the government. “I am to inform you that the actions of these persons, not only constitute a breach of the Consent Order made before the Honourable Mr. Rishi Persaud, Justice of Appeal, rendering those persons liable for contempt of Court, they also constitute a trespass against the Government of Guyana,” Nandlall wrote. He requested that all activities and works being executed on the land cease with immediate effect; that the plots of land be immediately vacated and that all machinery and other equipment placed onto the land be removed. The Attorney-General noted that failure to comply will be met “with the full force of the law.”
The disputed lands situated at plot ‘N’ Plantation Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, which is being cleared (Elvin Crocker photos)
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Several bills tabled to aid crime-fighting –– allow for use of ‘less lethal weapons’, DNA to identify criminals By Richard Bhainie
SEVERAL key pieces of legislation were tabled at the 28th Sitting of the 12th Parliament, on June 10, which are intended to modernise Guyana’s approach to crime fighting, and using contemporary and scientific methods of investigations, that will inevitably boost the State’s prosecutorial capacity. Of the bills tabled relates to changes to the Police Act, which will be amended to include ‘less-lethal weapons’ in the definition of ‘arms’, and an amendment to allow the use of deoxyribonucleic
acid (DNA) information, for the purpose of identifying persons in custody of the police. Amendments to the Evidence Act were also tabled, which seeks to allow the report from a Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory (GFSL) evidence officer admissible in a Court of Law, and to make GFSL certificates and forms receivable by the courts, as well as adding ‘hair’ to the list of objects that can be examined by an analyst. Also, an additional paragraph was tabled to be added to Section 20 of the Firearms Act to allow an analyst of the
GFSL to carry a firearm and ammunition during and for the purpose of the execution of his duties in the area of ballistics, without having to possess a licence. “The whole gamut of these amendments is intended to modernise police method of investigation and to make them more scientific-based, all in an effort to strengthen the State’s capacity to investigate, prosecute and secure convictions,” Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C., told the Guyana Chronicle during an interview on Sunday.
‘LESS-LETHAL WEAPONS’ Pursuant to proposed amendment of Section 2 of the Police Act, less-lethal weapons include nightsticks and batons; chemical irritants, such as pepper spray; electrical weapons, such as taser guns; kinetic impact projectiles, such as rubber bullets and a water cannon. Nandlall explained that this is all in an attempt to expand and encourage the use of these less dangerous weapons by the Guyana Police Force in civilian type encounters. He reasoned that a ‘taser gun’ for example, would prevent someone resisting arrest, in a worstcase scenario, being shot and fatally injured. “Crowd control measures now are different from what crowd control mea-
sures would have been 30 years ago. Things like tear gas and so on are frowned upon and should only be resorted to in extreme circumstances, so you have lighter weapons like tasers that just stunts you for two minutes while the police effect a peaceful arrest,” Nandlall said. The Attorney-General highlighted that the gamut of amendments introduced is to effectively equip the local police with all the facilities that are available in international policing, as police are now resorting to more scientific and technologically savvy methods in conducting their investigations. “The technology is such now that it allows you to take a more expansive range of human sampling to store in a central database in relation to persons who have criminal records or have
Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C. had long and established interactive relationship with the police,” Nandlall said, noting the addition of DNA is to build the scientific data of the police. The explanatory memorandum of the bill, proposed to amend Section 43 of the Evidence Act, states the purpose of doing so is to better provide for the role of the officers of the GFSL and other analysts when required to give evidence in court proceedings. Nandlall noted that it would allow for greater use of the laboratories, such as the Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory, located at Area ‘M’ University of Guyana Complex, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown.
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‘COVID’ cash grants: $250M distributed in Reg. 4 within 3 days
SOME 10,000 COVID-19 cash grants, totalling $250 million, were paid out in the Demerara-Mahaica Region over the course of three days, specifically, during the period December 28 to December 30, 2020. This was highlighted by Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, in response to written questions posed by Opposition Member of Parliament, Annette Ferguson, on Thursday last. As the 28th Sitting of the National Assembly got underway, Ferguson requested answers specific to the government’s COVID-19 Relief and Support Programme, and the disbursement of grants, primarily in Region Four. In
Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud
December 2020, Parliament had approved a supplemental budget of $2.5 billion to facilitate the completion of
the programme in Region Four. The aforementioned $250 million accounts for 10 per cent of the supplemental budget. When the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) assumed office in August 2020, it highlighted the need to provide support to citizens, most of whom have been heavily impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, and later, the protracted General and Regional Elections. As part of the programme, every household will be given $25,000. As at February, in excess of 236,876 grants were distributed across the 10 administrative regions, valuing approximately $6 billion. In her questioning, MP Ferguson requested a list of the Region
CDC closer to securing flood-relief support from EU
GUYANA is one step closer to securing assistance from the European Union (EU) to boost its flood- relief efforts. Director-General of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig, said two applications have already been completed for assistance under the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM). EU Chargé d’Affaires, Ms. Evelina Melbarzde, had invited the CDC to seek the assistance during a recent meeting. “One application is to provide real-time flooding mapping and GIS support that would be able to give us a better understanding of the impact across the country and another application to provide priority support. So, we identified pumps and other equipment that are necessary for response,” Lt. Col. Craig told the media on the sideline of a recent event. The Director-General said once approval is granted, the applications will be dispatched as early as Monday. He said drainage pumps are a priority in farming communities in Regions Two, Five and Six. “If we continue to have more rainfall, we could have
Director-General of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), Lieutenant Colonel, Kester Craig
more long-term and greater disruption on the crops and livestock in those regions,” he stated. Based on a CDC assessment, some 29,000 people have been affected by the flooding which has since been formally declared a national disaster. The Director General said immediate response by the CDC has seen some 40,000 food and sanitation hampers distributed countrywide. The Director-General noted that the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) will also be assisting Guyana. “What CDEMA has already committed to do, and we have already completed the application and documentation, is to send a team
to complete a detailed assessment so that we understand what is happening in those five regions and what other direct support would be needed, and we are hoping to have that type of support very soon,” Lt. Col. Craig said. President Ali has been leading Ministers of Government on countrywide assessments of flood-affected communities and providing assistance where necessary. On Monday, Government will approach the National Assembly for $10 billion in supplementary funds to aid its flood relief efforts. The money would go towards repairing damaged infrastructure and lending support to farmers and families severely affected by the flood.
Four communities that are yet to benefit from the cash grants. To this, Minister Persaud said that all areas in the aforementioned region have been serviced, and that the completion date for phase one of the programme was Friday, March 12, 2021. Ferguson also requested a copy of the distribution schedule for Georgetown and the wider Region Four; however, Minister Persaud said that such details cannot be provided, owing to security protocols, since the operation involves transportation and the disbursement of cash. Ferguson requested a specimen of the programme’s pre-assessment forms being used by the COVID-19 relief teams, and that was submit-
Opposition Member of Parliament, Annette Ferguson
ted to the House. In 2020, $4.5 billion was allocated for the execution of the first phase of the COVID-19 relief programme, which began to materialise in September. As part of the initial stag-
es of the programme, primary households received their relief in cash. Their tenants, or other families residing at the same address or within the same house, were issued a ‘pink slip’ for the second phase of the initiative. Once the secondary households are verified, the recipients of the ‘pink slips’ are given their $25,000. That phase has already commenced. In addition to the cash grant, the Irfaan Ali-led government also distributed some $1.73 billion to Amerindian communities as part of its one-off COVID-19 relief investment fund, which was particularly aimed at promoting entrepreneurship and revitalising hinterland economies.
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Reg. 10 Vice-Chairman dies from COVID-19 VICE-CHAIRMAN of Region 10 (Upper Demerara- Upper Berbice), 38-year-old Douglas Gittens, died on Sunday from COVID-19. Gittens, who was a Regional Councillor of the A Partnership For National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC), had been tested positive for the virus after visiting and helping with relief efforts in several flood-affected communities in the region. According to the Regional Chairman Deron Adams, with the advent of
the floods, the vice-chairman had travelled to various areas in sub-region two, including Kwakwani, for which he holds direct responsibility, to assist in relief efforts. Subsequently, on Friday last, Gittens reported feeling unwell after experiencing symptoms including loss of taste, and so he presented himself for a COVID-19 test. The results came back positive and he was admitted to the Upper Demerara Hospital, where he passed away while receiving treatment on Sunday.
He had taken his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on May 27 and was waiting to receive his second dose at the end of this month. Vice-Chairman Gittens is remembered as a very friendly and approachable person who shared his affable character in interactions with persons from all walks of life and in communities across Region 10. “Douglas was a true friend; we grew up together and we attended the same primary school. He was genuine, he was
just genuinely concerned about people. He was a hard worker. He was about community development and service to the people; he was always concerned about their welfare and well-being,” Adams mournfully said, adding: “He was all about empowering people and ensuring that people are treated fairly and given opportunity.” Before taking up the post as regional vice-chairman in September 2020, Gittens was a history teacher at the McKenzie High School in Linden for several years. Adams said the vice-chairman’s death hits close to home and should now be a wake-up call to the residents of Region 10. “We are calling on people to be responsible and to get vaccinated. This thing is serious and only
when it hits home or it hits at your door, people understand the seriousness of COVID-19. “So, we are asking persons, young people especially, to be responsible,” he emphasised. He further added, “We are seeing that all category or all classes of our people are being affected, senior citizens, young people and people are still breaching the COVID-19 guidelines.” Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon, expressing his grief and disbelief, said, “I am in a state of shock and am deeply saddened having learnt of the sudden passing of Mr. Douglas Gittens.” Harmon, in a statement, further urged Guyanese to be responsible and get vaccinated.
Regional Vice-Chairman Douglas Gittens “I take this opportunity to implore all Guyanese to not become complacent and to intensify their efforts in observing all COVID-19 measures and make your best efforts to get vaccinated if you have not yet gotten the vaccine.” Gittens is the second regional councillor of the region to have passed away from the deadly virus. In April, People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) councillor Gem Narine, passed away shortly after testing positive for COVID-19.
On his last work assignment, Vice-Chairman Douglas Gittens delivered food and other flood-relief supplies to the people of Kwakwani and Landersville
GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 14, 2021
‘COVID brought Guyana’s trans community together’ –– says Executive Director By Jared Liddell
EXECUTIVE Director of Trans Guyana United, Candacy McEwan, says that while the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated many sectors in the world, it has brought Guyana’s trans community together, noting that the pandemic highlighted the need for more cohesion and cooperation amongst Guyana’s transgendered community. She made this statement during a recent virtual roundtable under the theme, “Opportunities and Challenges for the LGBTQI+ Community in Guyana.” McEwan stated that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, getting a job in Guyana was difficult for trans persons, noting that this would have pushed many trans women to take up sex work as a way to make a living. She explained that as a result of the national COVID-19 curfew, trans persons who had taken up jobs as sex workers were forced to stop, leaving their bills and responsibilities to pile up. “Even though COVID came as a bad thing, we learnt from it. There’s a lot that we need to do for our community. I think at one point we wanted to ‘wish COVID away’, but it taught us more how to work with our community.” She further stated that the stigma attached to transgenders in Guyana has prevented the organisation from being able to connect with some
of its members and offer them support. She noted that due to persons’ fear of not being accepted, they may not always make their status known unless it is an absolute necessity. Further, McEwan noted
Executive Director of Trans Guyana United, Candacy McEwan that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, outreaches were the organisation’s main way to meet with other transgendered Guyanese. “We might hear a government official or some person from an entity say, ‘we have a policy that won’t discriminate’, but the real issue is, will that policy filter down to every individual in the organisation that’s under your watch? “So those are some of the challenges with trans persons and getting jobs. Of course, in some areas like theatre
entertainment, there may be a place for a trans actor and they may be accepted, but that’s not the case in every job field.” She noted that Guyana Trans United is currently creating innovative ways to reach out to transgendered Guyanese in an effort to provide them with a level of relief during this period. OTHER HEALTH ISSUES LGBT+ advocate and Director of Artistes in Direct Support (A. I. D. S.), Desiree Edghill, noted that one of the major issues that was overlooked in the LGBT+ community during the pandemic was an emphasis on LGBT+ health services that cater to issues other than HIV/AIDS. She explained that although the COVID-19 virus has taken a spotlight during this period, the LGBT+ community is still faced with other health issues, such as hypertension and diabetes. Edghill stated that the synergy between the LGBT+ community and HIV/AIDS is one that needs to be addressed in a holistic manner, noting that the virus is not exclusively linked to persons in the community. She stated that her Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) provides for health care services for persons who are part of the LGBT+ spectrum, which includes medical checkups, testing for STDs and even psychiatrists. She stated, however, that since the COVID-19 pandemic, the outreaches have
been put on hold. Edghill further noted that the monies in the programme were redirected to provide assistance to those persons who were affected by the pandemic and who may not be able to work right now. Edghill noted that she was proud to listen to President Dr. Irfaan Ali’s speech on Tuesday last, at a United Nations’ high-level meeting on the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), where he recommitted Guyana’s efforts to provide universal
access to prevention, care, and treatment for persons living with HIV. President Ali further related that during the upcoming period, Guyana’s HIV efforts will focus heavily on a number of areas, including making the discrimination of HIV unacceptable, illegal, and punitive, throughout society. The Head of State also said that reaching out to vulnerable groups such as the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) community, sex
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LGBT+ advocate and Director of Artistes in Direct Support, Desiree Edghill workers, and immigrants would be a priority. This, according to Edghill, was a significant move for the LGBT+ community.
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‘He was gone’ – Denmark doctor on Christian Eriksen (BBC) - Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest when he collapsed in Denmark’s Euro 2020 match against Finland, said Danish team doctor, Morten Boesen. Earlier, officials said the midfielder was stable in hospital and had sent his greetings to his national teammates. Eriksen collapsed shortly before half-time in Denmark’s opening Euro 2020 game against Finland on Saturday. “He was gone. We did cardiac resuscitation, it was a cardiac arrest,” said Boesen. “How close were we to losing him? I don’t know, but we got him back after one defib [defibrillation] so that’s quite fast. “The examinations that have been done so far look fine. We don’t have an explanation to why it happened.” The 29-year-old Inter Milan player had emergency medical treatment on the pitch before being taken to hospital. “His condition is stable and he continues to be hospitalised for further examination,” said a statement from Danish officials on Sunday morning. “This morning we have spoken to Christian, who has sent his greetings to his team-mates. “The team and staff of the national team has received crisis assistance and will continue to be there for each other after yesterday’s incident. “We would like to thank everyone for their heartfelt
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Eriksen required emergency treatment on the pitch before being taken to hospital
greetings.” Head coach Kasper Hjulmand said Eriksen told him he did not remember much from Saturday’s collapse. He quoted the midfielder as saying: “I think you are feeling worse than I am. I feel as if I’m about to go training now, boys.” Hjulmand added: “Christian is in good spirits and it’s a huge relief for the players after all this uncertainty. There is no doubt that we have been on the ropes.” Saturday’s incident happened as a throw-in was played towards Eriksen near the end of the first half. His distressed teammates surrounded him and the shocked supporters at Parken Stadium were visibly upset as the player was treated. Boesen said Eriksen was unconscious when he reached the player on the pitch. “When I got to him he was on his side, he was breathing, I could feel a pulse, but suddenly that changed and we started to give him CPR,” he said.
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“The help came really fast from the medical team and the rest of the staff with their co-operation, and we did what we had to do and managed to get Christian back.” Only once informed that Eriksen was awake in hospital did the players agree to resume the match, with Finland going on to win 1-0. Hjulmand told reporters after the game: “It was a traumatic experience. We talked about those feelings and it would’ve been OK to say ‘no’ if they didn’t want to play. “Some of them were not able to play, some were ready. It’s not normal to play such a game when one of your friends is suffering with a heart issue.” Fans who were at the game later gathered outside Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen to show support for the player, while many across the football world sent their best wishes among them, England captain and Eriksen’s former Tottenham Hotspur teammate Harry Kane.
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Arnautovic scores as Austria beat North Macedonia
(BBC) - Substitutes Marko Arnautovic and Michael Gregoritsch earned Austria their first ever victory at a European Championship as Franco Foda’s side edged past tournament debutants, North Macedonia, in their Group ‘C’ opener. Gregoritsch met captain David Alaba’s sublime cross with 12 minutes remaining to end North Macedonia’s resistance, before Arnautovic put the result beyond doubt after rounding goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski. Veteran Macedonian striker, Goran Pandev, looked to have earned a memorable point for Euro 2020’s lowest-ranked side on his 120th appearance, 20 years on from his international debut. The 37-year-old Genoa forward, part of Jose Mourinho’s treble-winning Inter Milan side of 2009-10, pounced on a defensive mix-up and slotted in to an open goal after 28 minutes to cancel out out Stefan Lainer’s strike. Borussia Monchengladbach right-back, Lainer, had produced a fine finish to give an uninspiring Austria the lead 10 min-
utes earlier, leaping to volley in Marcel Sabitzer’s excellent pass. Lainer held up a shirt reading “Eriksen stay strong” following his goal, after the Denmark midfielder collapsed in his side’s Euro 2020 match against Finland on Saturday. With the Netherlands and Ukraine to come, both sides played with greater urgency in a fiery second half and Austria manager Franco Foda called on ex-West Ham forward, Arnautovic, and Gregoritsch to bolster the attack. Dimitrievski was at full stretch to keep out Gregoritsch’s glanced header, before the Augsburg player made the breakthrough and Arnautovic -- Austria’s top scorer in qualifying -grabbed his first international goal in two years. The Macedonian supporters created a festival atmosphere -despite the rain at Romania’s National Arena -- but despite a promising showing, it was not to be in their first match at a major tournament in their 27-year history.
CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Monday, June 14, 2021)
COMPLIMENTS OF CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD 83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown Tel: 225-6158 Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1) Courtney Walsh-- 43 wickets (10 Tests) (2) Richard Hadlee-- 51 wickets (10 Tests)
TODAY’S QUIZ: (1) What are the best innings figures by a West Indian in a Test versus NZ to date? (2) What are the best innings figures by a New Zealander in a Test against the WI to date?
Answers in tomorrow’s issue
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 14, 2021
Djokovic wins in France (BBC) - Novak Djokovic won his 19th Grand Slam title after fighting back from two sets down to beat Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in the French Open final. Top seed Djokovic, 34, was in deep trouble before rediscovering his energy to win 6-7 (6-8) 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-4. The Serb’s greater experience shone through as fifth seed Tsitsipas wilted in his first Grand Slam final. The victory moves Djokovic one major title behind the men’s record jointly held by Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Having beaten Nadal in an epic semi-final on Friday, he said: “It has been an unforgettable few moments for me in my life and my career. I will definitely remember these last 48 hours in my life.” Djokovic, who previously won at Roland Garros in 2016, has become the first man to win all four Grand Slams twice since the fully professional Open era began in 1968. The world number one
Djokovic is the first man in the Open era to win a Grand Slam after twice fighting back from two sets down
will have the opportunity to move level on 20 titles with his great rivals Nadal and Federer when he defends his Wimbledon crown later this month. After Tsitsipas saved one championship point with a nerveless forehand winner down the line, Djokovic remained calm to take his second attempt after four hours and 11 minutes with a clinical overhead. His expression remained emotionless as he shook hands with Tsitsipas, before bursting into a manic roar in front of the area where
his parents, wife Jelena and coach Marian Vajda were celebrating. Tsitsipas was a picture of devastation as he slumped in his chair, draping a towel over his head to hide the full extent of his emotions. Djokovic dishes out another lesson to younger generation After Djokovic and third seed Nadal were drawn in the same half of the men’s singles, it presented the strong likelihood of a new name in a Grand Slam final from the other side of the draw. Tsitsipas was already be-
ing tipped to be that man after earning more match wins than anyone else on the ATP Tour in 2021 and enjoying clay-court success with titles in Monte Carlo and Lyon. The question that has long been asked - and continues to be posed - is whether the younger generation could translate tour-level talent into success over the old guard on the biggest stage of all. The five-set format is long and arduous on body and mind over the fortnight. Time and time again, Djokovic has proved he has the physical and mental ability to outlast even the most talented opponents. Initially, Djokovic appeared to be feeling the effects of Friday’s intense semi-final win over 13-time champion Nadal. Looking weary and bothered by the bright Paris sun, he struggled on serve and was uncertain with his shot-making as he trailed by two sets. Yet, as history has shown, it would have been foolish to write him off.
Netherlands beat Ukraine 3-2 in European Championship
(BBC) - Denzel Dumfries headed a dramatic late winner to earn the Netherlands victory after Ukraine had come back from 2-0 down in a Group ‘C’ thriller in Amsterdam. Oranje boss, Frank de Boer, is hoping to use Euro 2020 to prove to fans he is the right man to lead the team into a successful new era after an unconvincing start in the role. It looked like going to plan for De Boer when Georginio Wijnaldum, who scored eight times in qualifiers, pounced from inside the box before Wout Weghorst’s instinctive finish doubled the lead. But Ukraine pulled one back through Andriy Yarmolenko’s outstanding 25-yard dipping finish and, four minutes later, Roman Yaremchuk headed the equaliser to silence the Dutch fans. However, Dumfries’ excellent 85th minute header, after substitute Nathan Ake’s cross, earned the Netherlands
Georginio Wijnaldum scored eight goals in Euro 2020 qualifiers for the Netherlands
victory on their return to the major tournament stage after a seven-year absence. Will the Oranje be Euro 2020’s great entertainers? De Boer headed into Euro 2020 on the back of 11 games in charge that have seen five wins, four draws and losses to Mexico and Turkey. Not all fans are convinced he is the right man for the role. Yet, his team of youth and inexperience showed grit
and determination to edge the highest-scoring game of the tournament so far -- much to the delight of most of the 16,000 fans in the ground. While 19-year-old defender, Jurrien Timber, made just his third appearance for his country, Maarten Stekelenburg started in goal at the age of 38. It was Stekelenburg’s opposite number, Georgi Bushchan, who looked like
frustrating the hosts as he made excellent saves to keep out Memphis Depay and Wijnaldum before the latter opened the scoring, the first of five goals in 33 minutes. Yarmolenko’s longrange finish to begin Ukraine’s comeback was the pick of the bunch but it was Dumfries’ header which lifted the roof as the Netherlands got their campaign off to a winning start.
Absent batting coach not the reason for batting failures: Brathwaite CMC – Kraigg Brathwaite has pushed back on suggestions the absence of batting coach Monty Desai played a role in West Indies’ capitulation in both innings of the opening Test against South Africa. West Indies were rolled over for 97 in their first innings after choosing to bat first on last Thursday’s opening day at the Daren Sammy National Stadium here, and were then dismissed for 162 in their second innings on Saturday’s third day, to suffer a heavy innings and 63-run defeat inside 2-½ days. Desai, who was appointed in 2019 when Phil Simmons returned for his second stint as head coach, was absent from the buildup to the opening Test here, with the West Indies captain explaining he was still in his native India trying to secure flights to the Caribbean. “It’s not fair [to say his absence impacted the team’s performance]. The coaches here are doing a very good job,” Brathwaite argued. “He’s missed but I wouldn’t say it (defeat) is because of that. I think the [other] coaches are doing a fantastic job.” Desai was present when West Indies pulled off a stunning 2-0 victory away to Bangladesh earlier this year, the visitors once surpassing 400 in an inning and reaching 395 in another. The former Canada head coach and Afghanistan batting coach was also with the side for the subsequent two-Test affair against Sri Lanka in the Caribbean when the hosts batted consistently to draw the series. Head coach Phil Simmons said players were equipped by his coaching staff to function independently and said using Desai’s absence to explain the sub-par batting performance would be an “excuse”. “I don’t know [if his absence affected them]. The players would have to answer that one,” Simmons told media. “It’s a case where we try to coach in a way where we don’t always have to tell you what to do. If I’m not there, if Roddy (Estwick) is not there, if Monty’s not there then you still know what to do. “So that’s not our coaching style to keep telling you what to do, so I think that (Desai’s absence) would be an excuse if I heard that.” The defeat came on the heels of a month-long high performance camp for the Test cohort and a highly touted inter-squad four-day match just days before the Test. But Brathwaite said while the preparation had been sound, West Indies had not executed properly during the game. “Obviously we had plans [but] they didn’t go to plan. It’s history; we can’t bring it (the game) back,” Brathwaite pointed out. “Obviously we saw how they bowled so that’s good because we’ve got the experience against them, and it’s just for the next game to be fully locked into that plan. “We know it will be challenging throughout. Whether it’s the first ball or throughout, I thought [South Africa] were very potent but I just think it’s just to back [that] plan. “You’ve got to be tough but just enjoy it. You will get times like these and it’s easy for doubt to come in but my [advice] to the guys is to keep backing that plan, keep believing and for me that’s the main thing.” West Indies take on South Africa in the second Test at the same venue starting Friday.
GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 14, 2021
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New Zealand romp to series victory against England (ESPNCRICINFO) - The first ball said it all, really. Trent Boult sent it down with a scrambled seam, it found the edge and Tom Blundell’s waiting gloves leaving Olly Stone, England’s last man out, visibly exhaling in deflated resignation to his side’s fate. And the Edgbaston clock hadn’t even ticked over to 11am on the fourth day yet. The man at the other end, James Anderson, was into the changing room and straight back out again, producing a maiden first up. He wasn’t going down without a fight, even with a target of 38 to defend. Nor was his old mate, Stuart Broad, who struck with the last ball of the following over when he removed Devon Conway, the man who had racked up 306 runs at 76.50 this series in the only two Tests of his career. Broad enticed Conway to nibble at one that pitched outside off and found an edge which James Bracey took behind the stumps. With the visitors only needing 32 more for victory, it was all a bit of a moot point but England could rely on their two elder statesmen, who had bowled so well against stiff opposition in this match and who are consummate professionals, to keep competing to the last. And they did, doing their best to make scoring slow-going for New Zealand but the tourists had all the time in the world, a tiny target and wickets in hand everything - on their side. It was England’s batters who had let them down, the second-innings capitulation for 122 could have been worse. They were 76 for 7 before an eighth-wicket stand worth 44 between Stone and Wood (who top-scored with 29). Stone came into the attack in the 10th over of the morning and struck with his sixth ball. Having had a wider delivery punished to the fence by Will Young two balls prior, he had Young out chopping onto his stumps with just five runs needed. Stand-in captain Tom Latham sealed the result in the next over with a four clubbed through square leg off Wood followed by another two balls later, guided through third man. It was
New Zealand’s first Test series win in England since 1999, moving them back to the top of the ICC rankings as a consequence, and consigned England to their first home Test series defeat since 2014. England’s batters from No. 3 to No. 7 scored just 59 runs between them in the second innings while in the first Dan Lawrence - with an unbeaten 81 - scored more than three times as many runs as the other four middle-order batters combined. The difference was that openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley were dismissed for single figures in the second innings - Burns, England’s leading run-scorer for the series with 238 at 59.50, fell for a duck - exposing England’s middle-order frailties before tea on the third afternoon. England’s fielding had been ragged too, with at least three missed opportunities on the third day on top of Zak Crawley’s low chance that didn’t go their way on the second, a moment that sparked more controversy over the on-field umpires’ soft-signal option. It all left England needing with huge selection concerns ahead of the August Test series against India, even allowing for the return of such shoo-ins as Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler in that middle-order. It also left New Zealand with selection headaches of a different kind. Matt Henry’s devastating opening spell to remove England’s top three either side of tea on the third day cracked this game wide open and gave him six wickets for the match for Player of the Match honours.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 14, 2021
CWI Congratulates Constantine, Haynes on ICC induction
West Indies cricket legends Sir Learie Constantine and Desmond Haynes were inducted into the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Hall of Fame on Sunday. They have joined the list of fellow cricketing icons who have received this prestigious honour. The late Learie Constantine was an early pioneer of West Indies cricket and an outstanding all-rounder. He was a member of the celebrated team which played in the first Test match in West Indies history in England in June, 1928. He played
18 Test matches and made an indelible contribution to the sport and the West Indian community at home and abroad. Haynes was one of the most successful opening batsmen in the history of the game and formed a world famous batting partnership with his long-standing teammate, Gordon Greenidge. He was a member of the West Indies World Cup champion team in 1979. Haynes played 116 Test matches and scored 7,487 runs, including 18 centuries, at an average of 42.3. He also made 8,648 runs in
238 One-Day Internationals, which included 17 centuries. C r i c k e t We s t I n d i e s (CWI) President, Ricky Skerritt, has paid tribute to Desmond Haynes and Sir Learie Constantine. “This is another special day in West Indies cricket history as these two exemplars of the wonderful game of cricket, have been honoured globally through the ICC Hall of Fame – true indicators of their performance and their impact,” Skerritt said. “Sir Learie Constantine was the quintessential West
Indian cricketer – a lively fast bowler, attacking batsman and superb fielder, a man who took to the field on that famous day at Lord’s 93 years ago when the West Indies started the challenging but exciting journey as a Test nation. He embodied what we as West Indians value most in our players – dedication, commitment and strength of character. After his playing days were over he also made his name as a popular lawyer and politician, with a dedication to serving and improving the lives of others.” Skerritt added: “Des-
mond’s cricket career showed early promise as a member of the Barbados U19 team. It wasn’t long before he shot onto the world stage with a sensational century and never looked back. He was an opening batsman and a close-to-the-wicket fielder par excellence, and together with Gordon Greenidge set the standard for how the new ball should be played. Out in the middle Desmond was lion-hearted and never surrendered no matter the circumstances. As an integral and valued member of the West Indies all-conquering
team, he proudly represented Barbados and the West Indies and opened doors for many others to follow.” West Indians previously inducted into The ICC Hall of Fame: Sir Curtly Ambrose, Joel Garner, Lance Gibbs, Sir Gordon Greenidge, Sir Wes Hall, George Headley, Michael Holding, Rohan Kanhai, Brian Lara, Sir Clive Lloyd, Malcolm Marshall ,Sir Viv Richards, Sir Andy Roberts, Sir Garry Sobers, Courtney Walsh, Sir Clyde Walcott, Sir Everton Weekes, Sir Frank Worrell.
deal to be able to play an innings like that.” Vinoo Mankad (India, a l l r o u n d e r, 1 9 4 6 - 1 9 5 9 ) Mankad was India’s greatest allrounder before Kapil Dev, a tireless left-arm spinner and a right-hand bat who often opened the batting. His 44 Tests brought him 2109 runs at 31.47 and 162 wickets at 32.32, and his most heroic performance, at Lord’s in 1952, has gone down as “Mankad’s Test”: 72 and 184 at the top of the order, and 5 for 196 across 73 first-innings overs. Earlier in the same year in Madras (now Chennai), he picked up 12 wickets against England to bowl India to their very first Test win. Madras was also the venue of Mankad’s 413-run opening partnership with Pankaj Roy against New Zealand in 1956 - it took until 2008 for a first-wicket pair to break that record. Te d D e x t e r ( E n gland, batter, 1958-1968) Dexter was one of England’s most attractive post-war batters, a powerful driver who scored 4502 runs in 62 Tests between 1958 and 1968, at an average of 47.89. He was the Conservative Party’s (losing) candidate for parliament from Cardiff South East in 1964, when he was still playing for (and captaining) England. His post-playing career took him into journalism and broadcasting, before he returned to cricket in 1989 to serve terms as England’s chairman of selectors and president of the MCC among other roles. He continues to keep a close eye on the game, most recently bemoaning the techniques of England’s young batters in a letter published
in this month’s edition of The Cricketer. Bob Willis England, f a s t b o w l e r, 1 9 7 1 - 1 9 8 4 Willis, tall and fast and generating awkward bounce that troubled all the best batters of his era, is currently England’s fourth-highest wicket-taker, with 325 at an average of 25.20. Having undergone operations on both knees at just 26, he willed himself through pain to play 90 Test matches and bowl numerous match-turning spells, none more memorable than his fourth-innings 8 for 43 to complete England’s Headingley miracle during the 1981 Ashes. After his playing career wound down, Willis enjoyed a long career as a trenchant voice in the Sky commentary box. Following a short illness, he died in 2019 at the age of 70. Desmond Haynes (West Indies, batter, 1978-1994) Haynes was one half of Test cricket’s most prolific opening partnership, combining to add 6482 runs and 16 century stands for the first wicket with Gordon Greenidge, a 2009 Hall of Fame inductee, laying the platform for West Indies’ most dominant era as a Test team from the late 1970s to the early 90s. A powerful back-foot player with great powers of concentration, Haynes scored 7487 Test runs at 42.29, and also enjoyed a superb ODI career, his 17 centuries a record in the format until Sachin Tendulkar went past it in 1998. Andy Flower (Zimbabwe, wicketkeepe r- b a t t e r, 1 9 9 2 - 2 0 0 3 ) Flower remains arguably the greatest player in Zimbabwe’s history, scoring 4794 Test runs
at 51.54 including some of the grittiest knocks ever played in the modern era, including a match-saving unbeaten 232 against India in Nagpur in 2000, and twin hundreds in a losing cause against South Africa, in Harare a year later. Flower’s international career came to an end during the 2003 World Cup, when he and the fast bowler Henry Olonga wore black armbands during all of Zimbabwe’s games to protest what they termed “the death of democracy” in their country. He continued playing county cricket in England thereafter, before turning to coaching and masterminding England’s climb to the No. 1 ranking in Test cricket in 2011. Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka, wicketkeeper-batter, 2000-2015) Sangakkara is Sri Lanka’s leading run-getter, with 12,400 runs at 57.40 - the highest average among all batters to have scored more than 9000 Test runs. A lefthander who batted with a methodical elegance, Sangakkara’s numbers as a specialist batter are even more astonishing: 9283 runs at 66.78, with 31 hundreds in just 86 Tests. A prolific white-ball player too, Sangakkara was a leading light in the Sri Lanka teams that finished as losing finalists at the 2009 and 2012 World T20s as well as the 2007 and 2011 World Cups, and the Player of the Match when Sri Lanka beat India in the final of the 2014 World T20 in Dhaka. As eloquent off the field as he was chirpy behind the stumps, Sangakkara in 2019 became the first non-British person to be appointed president of the MCC.
Ten players inducted into ICC hall of fame
(ESPNCRICINFO) Ahead of the first-ever World Test Championship final, the ICC has inducted a special list of 10 players into its Hall of Fame. From the Australian all-rounder Monty Noble, who made his debut in January 1898, to Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka batting great who retired in August 2015, these ten players’ careers span well over a century of men’s Test cricket. The inductees have been classified into five broad eras: Noble and Aubrey Faulkner from the pre-World War 1 period (early era), Learie Constantine and Stan McCabe from the period between the two World Wars (inter-war era), Vinoo Mankad and Ted Dexter from 1946 to 1970 (post-war era), Bob Willis and Desmond Haynes from 1971 to 1995 (ODI era), and Andy Flower and Sangakkara from 1996 to 2015 (modern era). The new list of inductees shows a notable skew towards all-rounders, with Noble, Faulkner, Constantine and Mankad counted among the great multi-disciplinary players of all time, and Flower and Sangakkara also fitting that bill as wicketkeeper-batters. Monty Noble (Australia, allrounder, 1898-1909) Noble, who captained Australia in 15 of his 42 Tests, scored 1997 runs at an average of 30.25, and picked up 121 wickets at 25.00 while bowling what he referred to as medium-paced “spin-swerve”. Aubrey Faulkner (South Africa, all-rounder, 1906-1924) Faulkner was one of the legendary quartet of googly bowlers -- the others were
Don Bradman and Stan McCabe walk out to bat during Australia’s 1938 tour of England Fox Photos/ Getty Images
Reggie Schwartz, Bert Vogler and Gordon White -- who starred during South Africa’s path-breaking 4-1 win over England in 1906. Faulkner played 25 Test matches in all, scoring 1754 runs at 40.79 and taking 82 wickets at 26.58. Of all allrounders with at least 1000 Test runs and 50 wickets, Faulker possesses the fifth-best average difference of all time. Learie Constantine (West Indies, allrounder, 1928-1939) Constantine was one of West Indies’ two greatest players -- the other was George Headley, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009 - between their inaugural Test match in 1928 and the cessation of international cricket due to World War 2. Known for his innovative batting, skillful fast bowling and electric fielding either at cover point or close to the bat, Constantine scored 635 Test runs at 19.24, including four fifties, and took 58 wickets at 30.10. He made even more
of an impact off the field, perhaps, qualifying as a barrister, entering politics, and serving as Trinidad & Tobago’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1961 to 1964. He was knighted in 1962, and in 1969 became the first black man to sit in the House of Lord’s. Stan McCabe (Australia, batter, 1930-1938) McCabe was perhaps Australia’s second-best batter in the Don Bradman years, scoring 2748 Test runs at 48.21 including six hundreds. Three of them have gone into legend: the daring 187 not out full of hooks and pulls against England’s Bodyline bowling at the SCG in December 1932, an unbeaten 189 in Johannesburg in 1935, to bring Australia within touching distance of a target of 399 before bad light brought the match to a premature close, and 232 at Trent Bridge during the 1938 Ashes, an innings that made Bradman shake his hand and tell him, “I would give a great
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 14, 2021
Yadram and Fudadin lead Liberty Lions to victory in NYNCL Saturday competition
Man-of-the-match Bhaskar Yadram led the charge with the bat.
FORMER West Indies U19 all-rounder Bhaskar Yadram and former West Indies Test cricketer Assad Fudadin were instrumental in leading the Liberty Lions to a six-wicket victory against fellow pro-Guyanese side Meten-Meer-Zorg Cricket Club NY when action in the New York National Cricket League 30-over Saturday Tournament continued over the weekend. The Lions won the toss and opted to bowl at Baisley Pond. MMZ showed fight with a few batsmen getting starts, including former national U19 cricketer Looknauth Chinkoo, who struck 33 (4X4s, 1X6) from 24
balls and former national youth cricketer Kelvin Shewprasad, who finished with 24 from 25 balls. Opener Andy Mohammed added 23 from 36 balls, while Navin Stewart was more aggressive with 23 from 20, but in the end, no one played the big innings. Guyanese cricketers Yadram and Fudadin with their medium pace kept things in check early and although the former had a respectable economy rate of 5.17 with 31 runs coming off his six overs, he did not get a wicket. Fudadin on the other hand was able to dismiss skipper Shewprasad via the bowl and caught route,
while he also bowled Keith Edie (2). Avo Yogeshwar Singh was the pick of the Lions’ bowlers with 3-19 from six overs, while Andrew Tomby and Kevin Ramdeen supported with two wickets each to help restrict MMZ for 169 in 28.3 overs. It reply, it took the Lions 24 overs to overhaul the target. Yadram, batting at four, led the
charge. He struck four sixes and three fours off 56 balls for a match-high unbeaten 67. Fudadin, who opened the batting, finished with a run-a-ball 34 (2X4s, 2X6s). Rohit Martin Dutchin (25 from 22 balls) also played his part. MMZ used seven bowlers, but Matthew Lutchena led the attack with 2-28 from five overs.
CWI Congratulates Constantine, Haynes on ICC induction See page 26
Desmond Haynes
Absent batting coach not the reason for batting failures: Brathwaite
Sir Learie Constantine
Yadram and Fudadin lead Liberty Lions to victory in NYNCL Saturday competition
See page 24
batting coach Monty Desai (left) shares a word with head coach Phil Simmons
Assad Fudadin took two wickets and scored 34.
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| MONDAY, JUNE 14, 2021