Happy New Year
TUESDAY 16th February, 2021
' No.106274
Wide-ranging local content policy to be crafted
–– Vice-President Jagdeo says policy will not be disincentive for investments
–– Stakeholders call for fair, equitable measures, restructured financial system SEE STORY ON PAGE 03
Guyanese to benefit from scholarships to German institute
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Decomposed bodies found in vessel at sea
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Financial institutions apply to open 02 merchant banks here PAGE
President Dr Irfaan Ali addressing government officials and stakeholders during the opening of a one-month stakeholders engagement forum on local content at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, on Monday (Latchman Singh photo)
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Scholarships to German institute to prepare Guyanese for O&G
By Navendra Seoraj STRENGTHENING the capacity of the local labour market remains critical as work progresses in Guyana’s burgeoning Oil and Gas (O&G) sector, and so the government, in recognising this, plans to afford Guyanese the opportunity to access technical training through scholarships to a German institute. Several international stakeholders, after recognising that Guyana’s institutional capacity to manage and oversee the oil and gas sector is limited, have encouraged the government to enhance its capacity in order to properly inherit the potential direct and indirect opportunities. A solution to this shortfall
will be to train Guyanese to participate and be gainfully employed in the sector. “We have to train more people,” Vice-President, Bharrat Jagdeo said during the opening day of a one-month stakeholder engagement on local content, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, on Monday. Instead of hiring expatriates, there are plans to afford Guyanese the opportunity to access technical training and be equipped to service the sector. A sum of G$1 billion is budgeted this year to support online scholarships to be granted in 2021. “In 2021, we plan to begin execution of this initiative, catering for the provision of over 4,500 scholarships, through a multi-agency for-
mulation including the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Service and the Ministry of Labour,” Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh said while presenting Budget 2021 to the National Assembly, last Friday. Vice-President Jagdeo said a significant amount of those scholarships will be administered through a German institute, which offers technical training. Scholarships aside, the government is also planning to establish a world-class petroleum institute and training centre in Guyana. It has since been confirmed that discussions on the establishment of this facility are progressing. “It [the institute] will not
Vice-President, Bharrat Jagdeo
only provide training for Guyanese, but for human resource in the oil and gas sector across the region,” President Dr. Irfaan Ali, had
said during his address at the 25th annual award ceremony of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA).
Guyanese-owned company, TOTALTEC Oilfield Services, has announced too that it will be injecting US$2.4 million (over G$516 million) into its International Petroleum and Maritime Academy (IPMA) to improve its capacity, amidst Guyana’s growing oil-and-gas sector. TOTALTEC’s IPMA focuses on training Guyanese and teaching skillsets to the candidates so they can develop careers in Guyana’s growing oil-and-gas sector. Since its establishment two years ago, IPMA has screened over 3,000 applicants, trained over 500 persons and placed over 300 Guyanese in jobs within the petroleum sector.
Financial institutions apply to open merchant banks here
By Navendra Seoraj
IMPROVED access to financing is anticipated, as several financial institutions have submitted applications to the Bank of Guy-
ana to establish merchant banks here. A merchant bank is defined as a bank dealing in commercial loans and investment; officials of these banks are experts in international
trade, which makes them specialists in dealing with multinational corporations. Access to financing has been a much-talked-about hurdle for stakeholders in the private sector, especially now
that Guyana is on the cusp of economic transformation and presents a plethora of investment opportunities. “Cost of capital is a big hurdle, compared to the cost of capital you are competing against… so, definitely, to level that, it requires some work… already we are looking to expand the depth of the financial system,” Vice-President, Bharrat Jagdeo said during the commencement of a one-month stakeholder engagement on local content, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, on Monday. He confirmed that authorities have received a few applications for new merchant
banks, noting, however, that those are non-depository institutions, so locals can be liberal once the banks have completed their due diligence and so forth. It was reported in October that economic advancement on all fronts is expected in the near future, as several United States (US) agencies have offered, collectively, US$200 billion (approximately G$42 trillion) in financing for businesses interested in investing in Guyana. To aid in Guyana’s progression, the United States of America (U.S.A) had sent a team of persons representing six agencies, including
the Department of Treasury, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, the Department of State, the Department of National Security and the Department of Homeland Security. Members of the U.S. team had met with representatives of the local Private Sector Commission (PSC) and other stakeholders in the commercial sector, during their one-day visit here. They also met with President Irfaan Ali, the Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips, Vice-President Jagdeo and other government officials. “We looked at the quantum of funds they can lend… and from all the agencies in the room, we would be able to access US$200 billion,” Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Nicholas Boyer had said following discussions with the delegation. A member of the U.S. delegation, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Adam Boehler, had said that, from his end, they are able to back both US-based and Guyanese companies with financing. Based on discussions with the private sector, Boehler said areas of focus include reducing the cost of electricity; investments in small and medium size businesses and investments in agriculture and farmers. The agency, through these projects, is looking to increase the amount of jobs and improve the livelihood of every Guyanese, while at the same time focusing on major infrastructural development.
GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Wide-ranging local content policy to be crafted
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––Vice-President Jagdeo says policy would not be disincentive for investments
–– Stakeholders call for fair, equitable measures; restructured financial system By Navendra Seoraj A POLICY which guides and regulates local participation in existing and emerging sectors must be responsive to change and provide the ‘space’ to accommodate expansions in an economy such as Guyana’s, where there has been an increase in investors’ interest. Hoteliers, agro-processors, key players in the global energy sector and many other investors are either already in Guyana or are interested in penetrating the country’s growing economy, which has a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about US$5 billion. This attention, while good for Guyana, has expedited the need for there to be a local content policy and subsequent legislation, which will serve as a guide for local participation in various sectors, particularly oil and gas. It is expected that such a policy would cater for the existing conditions, and while this would indeed be the case, President Dr Irfaan Ali holds firmly to the view that such a framework must not be static. “Local content is not meant be static… as our country continues to grow and change in nature, different aspects of the economy will evolve and the document has to evolve to match this development,” President Ali said during the opening of a one-month stakeholder engagement forum on local content, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, on Monday. The government, in September, had established an advisory panel on local content. The panel was tasked with undertaking a review of all existing initiatives and policies pertaining to local content in the petroleum sector and to provide guidance for the development of Guyana’s local content policy and legislation. The panel comprised Shyam Nokta (chair), Carl Greenidge, Anthony Paul, Kevin Ramnarine, Carville Duncan and Floyd Haynes. While the panel would have done its part, the government has committed to engaging the public and key stakeholders on critical components which should be included in such a significant document. In outlining his vision for this policy on the first day
President, Dr. Irfaan Ali
Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo
omy. The aim is simply to ensure that investors recognise their roles through regulations and institutions related to a local content policy. This policy, according to President Ali, must have a monitoring and evaluation mechanism which will guide investments and investors.
President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge
Vice-President of GCCI, Timothy Tucker
of the process, President Ali said: “For us, the policy has to be a living policy, one that is flexible, responsive and one that has great clarity and sets a framework through which all are engaged and understand their responsibilities to local content. “Local content is only about doing business… local content is about building the capacity of local companies, giving them the capability to become globally competitive, so that they can have necessary transformation that would lead them to the next level.”
development in all emerging areas of the economy,” the Head-of-State reasoned. The policy would particularly address evident shortfalls in the human resource capacity, the level of capital and the utilisation of technology. “In recognising this [shortfalls], we have to put the systems in place to bridge that gap… in the interim, we have to define a space for local business and local participation while we bridge that gap,” President Ali said. For instance, the policy must “carve out” the opportunities within the oil-and-gas sector which are available solely to local supplies. “We are going to move with you [stakeholders] to set targets as to the levels of local content… We have to define it,” President Ali related, reiterating that it would encompass actions and policies across every sector. Although the policy would be favourable to Guyanese, he assured stakeholders that the government is not against foreign investment, since such an attitude would be detrimental to the econ-
EVERY SECTOR It is for this reason that the President said the policy, contrary to the belief that it will focus specifically on oil and gas, would cover every sector in the country. “While it [oil and gas] will be one critically targeted area, the local content policy is one that will cover every sector of the country. There is focus on insurance; the banking sector; development of manufacturing capacity; rentals, human resource transformation; and training and
DISINCENTIVE Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo has assured stakeholders that the policy would not include unrealistic objectives, nor would it be a disincentive to persons or companies interested in investing here. His view is that there must be fairness and equity, but at the same time, legislation and a clear policy which guides, demands and forces companies to act differently. The policy would be buttressed by a new Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) which will govern future relationships between Guyana and other oil-and-gas projects. “We have the capacity to supply taxi services, vehicle services and we have capacity to build homes to rent to the oil companies… the companies have to utilise local resources for us to get up to a tiny threshold,” Vice-President Jagdeo said. Speaking specifically about the oil-and-gas sector, he said there must not be uncompetitive rates, but Guyanese have to find a place to grow within the industry, as is the case with every other sector and industry. “We do not want to set a threshold without consulting with sectors and companies… people have to feel this prosperity, be trained in
this sector and build capacity even to monitor the industry [oil and gas],” Jagdeo reasoned. President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge, agreed that it is an imperative for Guyana and its people to not only benefit from the revenues of the oil-and-gas sector, but from the creation of local content and capacity-building. It was reported that ExxonMobil and its prime contractors have spent over $300 million with more than 800 local companies since 2015. More than 2,500 Guyanese companies are registered with the Centre for Local Business Development, which was founded by ExxonMobil and its co-venturers in 2017 to build local business capacity to support global competitiveness. “It has not been that many years since oil was discovered, but a lot of progress has been made… there has been great progress,” Routledge said. He agreed, however, that there is greater need for capacity-building to improve the skills of locals to support the sector. This is an area which the government has already committed to addressing through the construction of a National Oil and Gas Institute. There, however, remains a need for the streamlining of tax measures and restructuring of financial systems to ensure that Guyanese, apart
from being educated, are able to benefit tangibly from opportunities which may arise in the oil-and-gas sector and other industries. Dean of the School of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation at the University of Guyana Dr. Leyland Lucas, was among the stakeholders who advised the government to undertake restructuring of the financial system to open up avenues for funding. Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) Nicholas Boyer, said too that while the tax administration needs to be streamlined, the policy drafted by the panel is a step in the right direction. “The policy is a kin for national development… we will digest the document and make formal recommendations,” Boyer said. Vice-President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Timothy Tucker, while also commending the government for their forward step, said a local content policy must include provisions for businesses to benefit from government spending. After listening to the recommendations and comments, both President Ali and Vice-President Jagdeo assured stakeholders that everything will be reviewed and a subsequent discussion will be held.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Temporary dumpsites for Regions 2, 3 and 5
Senior citizens laud gov’t for Budget 2021
By Tamica Garnett
WITH only one engineered landfill and a few controlled dumpsites across the country being insufficient to handle Guyana’s growing solid waste, the government will be moving to create temporary regional dumpsites in Regions Two, Three and Five in 2021. The creation of the dumpsites is covered under a $1.1 billion that was allocated for solid-waste management in the 2021 national budget, which was presented to the National Assembly on Friday last. The allocation also includes funds for completion of the construction of Cell II at the Haags Bosch Sanitary Landfill Site and the upgrading of disposal sites at Rose Hall, Port Kaituma, Belle Vue, Lethem, Lima, Charity, Lusignan and D’Edward village. “The government is committed to promoting integrated sanitation management through enhanced awareness on sanitation practices and solid-waste management across the regions to safeguard human health and the environment,” Senior Min-
ister with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, remarked on Friday during his budget presentation. Regional Chairpersons for Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) and Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), both praised the move to see official dumpsites created in their respective regions, noting it has been difficult finding alternatives, even as solid-waste production continues to grow exponentially. “It is very important for us,” Region Three Regional Chairman, Ishan Ayube remarked in an invited comment to this newspaper. Currently, garbage and other solid waste in that region is collected by private garbage collectors and transported to the Haags Bosch landfill on the East Bank of Demerara, resulting in residents incurring higher garbage collection rates. In some areas, residents pay as much as $600 per week for collection. “If we are able to dispose [of] it in Region Three, then more persons would be able to have access to the dumpsite and it would be at a cheaper cost. Also with a
Tuesday January 16, 2021 –– 04:30 HRS Wednesday January 17, 2021 –– 09:00 HRS Thursday January 18, 2021 –– 09:30 HRS
dumpsite, we would have a cleaner environment,” Ayube further related. He highlighted that in the absence of an official dumpsite and collection system, many residents are still resorting to dumping garbage on the roadways and in the waterways, which results in an additional cost to the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDC). Ayube noted that the region has not yet decided on a location for the dumpsite, however, prospecting assessment has begun. “We were looking at one and two sites, we have two areas we would’ve [sic] identified but we don’t have anything concrete as yet,” he said. Across the Essequibo River, Region Two does not have a means of accessing the Haags Bosch Landfill, so a temporary non-official dumpsite is being used, but Regional Chairperson Vilma Da Silva said the region is facing a serious issue with its garbage disposal. “Waste disposal is a big, big problem in this region. It is very important [that we get a dumpsite], and I think they’re negotiating the site, so it’s in the making,” Da Silva explained. She added: “We have an area in Lima Sand Pit, that’s currently where the garbage collectors use, and some persons litter on the Mainstay roadway, but we had to stop that because that’s not appropriate for the tourism in the region. So that’s why we’re pushing for this solid-waste system to have that
in control.” As the country continues to grow, having an adequate system to handle solid waste continues to be a front-burner issue. Globally, the World Bank estimates that annual waste generation is expected to increase by 70 per cent, to 3.40 billion tonnes in 2050. In Guyana, Haags Bosch is the country’s landfill, and was initially designed to take on an inflow of 250 tonnes a day; however, as of 2019, it was accepting an average of 400 tonnes per day. First designed in 2004, Haags Bosch was estimated to have a life span of 25 – 28 years. It comprises four cells, each occupying 16 acres. In 2019, Cell I reached its full capacity and works began on Cell II. To assess the situation for new landfill and dumpsite areas across the country, in 2019 the government’s Sanitation Unit collaborated with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to embark on a number of assessments of existing dumpsites and proposed landfill sites in each administrative region across Guyana. The project was working towards a countrywide sustainable waste-management system. Apart from Haags Bosch, the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development has controlled dumpsites at Lusignan in Region Four; Byderabo in Bartica; Rose Hall; Esplanade in New Amsterdam, and Bon Success in Lethem.
THE government has set out on the right path to improve the quality of life for Guyanese citizens, some elderly staff of Uncle Eddie’s Geriatric Home have expressed. This was their reaction to the benefits outlined in the 2021 Budget for senior citizens. According to Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh, senior citizens will enjoy access to better health, improved social safety-net programmes, and increased disposable income by 2025. He made this proclamation at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre on Friday, in his presentation of the budget to the National Assembly. Singh went on to state that, in light of the vulnerability of senior citizens to COVID-19, the government’s attention to their welfare has been heightened. “Our government has prioritised improved services to our senior citizens, with a focus on chronic diseases aimed at decreasing comorbidities in the medium term; and reducing non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and hypertension, which affect many of our senior citizens. We have taken steps to strengthen the delivery of healthcare services, and our senior citizens will have improved access to primary healthcare services, drugs and medical supplies,” Singh had elaborated during his presentation. “I personally think that it’s good to see the government is doing its job,” one of the caretakers at Uncle Eddie’s Home, who preferred to remain anonymous, stated. “They’re doing what they should do as a government: they’re helping the people. A government is elected to help the country as much as possible, and they’re doing that. So they’re on the right track,” the
woman said. She also expressed her gratitude for benefits that were implemented promptly following the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) government’s return to office in August, 2020, including the reinstitution of the water subsidy to senior citizens, and the increased Old Age Pension, in keeping with their manifesto promises to the group. “A lot of persons receiving pensions don’t get benefits from anywhere else. They have to rely on the government, so at least they’re giving them some sort of provision,” another caretaker concluded. Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance has affirmed that the government has commenced direct delivery and payment of pension to shut-in pensioners, including persons living with disabilities. To date 3,400 persons have benefitted. “Government will continue to support and improve the care facilities for our senior citizens. With effect from March 2021, we expect that some private payment outlets will provide additional options for pensioners to cash their Old Age Pension vouchers,” he added. Thus far, 28,270 senior citizens have benefitted from water subsidies. The increase of Old Age Pensions from $20,500 to $25,000 is estimated to benefit over 60,000 senior citizens, placing a total of $4 billion in disposable income in their hands. With regard to ensuring that there are improvements in healthcare for senior citizens, the PPP/C government intends to expand their range of services to include a community nutrition programme, expanded services offered at home visits, and specific clinic days dedicated to care of the elderly, among others.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Farmers pleased with Budget 2021 THE announcements made with respect to the agriculture sector in last Friday’s presentation of Budget 2021 has evoked pleasant and mixed reactions from farmers across the country. Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, had revealed that the agriculture sector will benefit from a $22.6 billion allocation for this year. Khemwattie Ramnarine, a cash-crop farmer from Region Two told the Guyana Chronicle on Monday that while this year’s budget has large sums of money being pumped into the various sub-industries of the agriculture sector, there are some shortfalls. She believes that enough has not been allocated for small cash-crop farmers like herself. Ramnarine, however lauded government for the efforts being made to address a number of issues in the sector pertaining to drainage and irrigation and infrastructure. Some $12 million dollars has been allocated to the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) to address those everyday issues that farmers face with drainage and irrigation. Additionally, some $832 million has been allocated to the Agriculture Ministry for infrastructural works. “Me feel good about that because when the rain fall and you get flood, everything does damage right, and if you get good drainage and irrigation, everything will be okay,” she related. Ramnarine pointed out that there are many farmers like herself who started their businesses out of their own pockets. She suggested that in the future government should allocate some money to provide incentives to potential farmers across the
country. WAITING TO REAP BENEFITS Meanwhile, Susan Mohese, a rice farmer from Region Two, told this publication that while a lot of money has been allocated to the sector, farmers now have to sit back and see what will be the government’s action plan. “We don't know what's the allocation that they are going to give to the regions, but the Agriculture Minister said that he will be doing works on all-weather roads. We have 13 dams and we need all-weather roads. A lot of money has been allocated to agriculture, but we will have to wait and see for the regional breakdown,” she said. Nevertheless, Mohese said that she is optimistic that after completion of the debate and a regional breakdown is provided, farmers will reap the benefits of the 2021 Budget. Meanwhile, Anand Persaud lauded the government for the removal of tax on a number of agricultural machinery and equipment. “That was excellent, we good with that because all agriculture machine are tax-free and that is going to boost us because we don’t got to spend so much money on machinery and so,” the farmer said. He noted that while the 2021 Budget is “looking good” for farmers, the authorities will now have to commit to executing the various projects that were laid out by the Ministry of Agriculture. During his budget presentation, Minister Ashni Singh said that the allocations made to agriculture are geared towards ensuring that the sector is able to discharge its envisaged role. He said that the allocations will see the government investing in the opening of new farm-
to-market roads; the clearing and preparation of new lands; expanding the infrastructure in the intermediate savannahs; expanding drainage and irrigation networks to make new lands available for small, medium, and mega farms; strengthening extension services through additional and improved facilities; traceability and certification services to reduce existing trade barriers; research and development; and coordinating and facilitating private-sector participation in agriculture-based tourism. Dr. Singh reminded the National Assembly that agriculture is one of the most important productive sectors of Guyana’s economy, accounting for approximately one-third of Guyana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 30 percent of the country’s employment. Hence, investing in the sector and its stakeholders are a top priority for the Government of Guyana. Allocations for the various sub-industries $2 billion for critical capital works at GuySuCo $1.3 billion for the Guyana Rice Development Board $1.2 billion is budgeted to support the operations of the National Agricultural Research and Extension institute (NAREI) $70 million to support the coconut industry $832 million for agricultural infrastructure $293 million is being provided to New Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) $806 million will be provided to the Guyana Livestock Development Authority $293 million for the Fisheries and Aquaculture sector $500 million for soya bean and corn production $ 12 billion for Drainage and Irrigation (D&I)
Two more COVID deaths, one new case recorded Two men, a 71-year-old man of Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), and a 70-year-old from Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) died from COVID-19 on Sunday while receiving care at a medical facility, taking the number of fatalities from the dreaded disease to 188, since Guyana recorded its first case in March 2020. This reflects the eleventh COVID-19 death for February 2021. While 112 COVID-19 tests were carried out within the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health has recorded only one new case from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica). No other regions documented new cases. There are currently seven persons occupying the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) while 45 persons remain institutionally isolated and 595 persons are isolated at home. Twenty-six persons are
institutionally quarantined. Sixteen new recoveries were recorded, taking the overall number of recoveries to 7,399. All Guyanese are urged to observe the protocols of the COVID-19 emergency measures, which emphasise the need for correct and consistent use of a face mask when leaving your home, the importance of maintaining the six feet physical distance from others, and the need for good hand-hygiene to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. If you or anyone you know is displaying any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19, or need any additional information, kindly contact the COVID-19 Hotline 231-1166, 226-7480 or 624-6674 immediately or visit the Ministry of Health at www.health.gov.gy.
A farmer tending to his crops
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Tajeram Mohabir
New era of development GOVERNMENT'S accelerated, aggressive, ambitious development agenda that Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh outlined in the 2021 National Budget lays out a galaxy of projects and programmes for Guyana's miraculous rise to prosperity, with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) projected to rise 20.9 per cent this year alone, to add to the 43.5 per cent GDP growth last year, making Guyana the fastest growing economy in the world, and a glittering star on the international stage, an outstanding nation of the 21st century global village. What a way for the nation to launch into the third decade of this century, well-positioned to realise the dreams, aspirations, immense potential and goals and real possibilities of the Guyanese nation. This new era ushers in a pressing mandate for a culture of professional management, efficient maintenance, and sustainable marketing of this new society to become embedded in the State operation. For so long under this warm tropical sun, with the Atlantic Ocean nagging at the shoreline and towering six feet above the capital city of Georgetown, with the wild virgin forest dominating the landscape and
raging rivers flowing through the land watering a dynamic organic ecosystem of fresh nature thriving with gallant Guyana laid back ease, this great land waited patiently for its time to scale the summit of its dreams. Today, the nation is conquering the intimidating Atlantic, tapping oil and gas from its belly, those reservoirs of riches that lay buried for so long. Today, the government is establishing a series of hydroelectric projects to harness the land's breathtaking ancient waterfalls into clean energy, and setting up solar farms across the country to harness the bright hot Southern sun into sustainable electricity for remote communities, and building the gas-to-shore pipeline to bring gas to communities and homes, from the offshore oil reservoirs in the Atlantic, plus entrenching an updated Local Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) to maintain the lush sustainability of the natural environment. It all seems like such a natural, inevitable transition, this ease with which the Guyanese nation is suddenly leaping from being one of the poorest countries in the Americas 30 years ago, ranking with Haiti at the bottom of the barrel, and from Least Developed status just a decade ago, to Middle Developed status five years ago when it rose under
the People's Progressive Party/Civic Government before the Coalition regime derailed everything, to now becoming the fastest growing economy in the world. It feels surreal, fantastic, and like a dream, this miraculous turn around in national fortunes. Guyanese on the home front, and across the world in the Diaspora, may take a while to get used to the new frontier opening up, although President Ali and ministers appear to be brimming with excitement, optimism, and great ideas and big visions and massive goals, because they see what is happening for the country. They feel the pulse of this new era. They understand the dynamic opportunities that have opened up with such incredible speed. There is, however, a note of caution that the nation needs to take to heart. It is all well and good to build new shiny things, to establish ground-breaking projects and to install new pillars across the landscape. It is an altogether different ball game to maintain, manage, and market the new society so that it does not suffer from neglect, disrepair, breakdowns, and inefficiency. Guyana is familiar in its history with the impact of neglecting and mismanaging glitzy projects, especially under the regime of the People's National Congress over nearly three decades at the helm of the State. Even as recently
as 2020, disrepair and poor execution affected the bitumen plant and even the crosswalk elevators that the Coalition built along roadways, with most malfunctioning or badly maintained. Minister of Public Works, Juan Edgehill, had to implement urgent emergency remedial action to get the bitumen plant in efficient operation, and to repair the crosswalk elevators. The People's Progressive Party/ Civic (PPPC) Government proved, over the years, to be better managers of national assets than the Coalition, and so one can be assured that this government would take good care of new projects rolling out. However, many of these macro State projects would be left in the hands of middle managers to manage, maintain, and market for sustainable development and growth, and even preservation. These projects would have to incorporate a strong business model in each to ensure they do not become a drain on the State coffers, that they could all eventually sustain their own operation. For that, each project needs a good branding and marketing strategy to build the ongoing case for their continual necessity. To its great credit, the President Ali Government recognises the deep value of an educated, trained and well-equipped human resource base for the country, to sustain its
new development height. It would be useless for this era of prosperity to lift the country way up, only for it to fall or descend over time because of poor middle management. This is why the government is implementing such a comprehensive education agenda, with 20,000 scholarships for training a wide swath of citizens in technical, vocational, professional and academic skills, for the country to have at its ready disposal a cadre of skilled people from which to cull talented, gifted managers and leaders for these world class projects. It is therefore imperative that the State inculcate and embed a comprehensive consciousness across every strata of its operation, for professional management, self-sufficient sustainability, and efficient maintenance to be a natural pillar of each project, programme and plan. It is the State's job to make sure that this new era of Guyana's glitzy rise be maintained, well managed, and marketed for sustainable, continual development and growth. Thus, it is not the end of the line that new development is happening; rather, it is the start of a new era and a new society and a new mandate to maintain, manage, and sustain the new Guyana.
Collective pooling of talents, experience vital to lifting up sugar industry Dear Editor, WHEN the Government changed in August 2020, I was among thousands of delighted Guyanese to see the long night of the APNU+AFC rule had come to an end. I was particularly pleased because the PPP/Civic had promised to reopen the closed sugar estates. This was most welcomed, since, like many people, I am convinced that the sugar industry is viable, and can still play an important role in the expansion of our economy. Moreover, it is important to ensure that the economy is put on a wide variety of products and not caught to be dependent on oil. Therefore sugar can play an important role in enhancing our people’s welfare. The closure of the estates by APNU+AFC was based purely on its racial politics, its own vindic-
tiveness and nothing more. This can be seen by the fact that at the same time when the APNU came to power the industry was demonstrating great resilience and positive outcome as far as production was concerned. So much so that the APNU+AFC regime rushed to take credit for its good performance in 2015. The APNU closed the estates when it was on the rise. Therefore, the reopening of the estates was the right thing to do. However, the industry needs much more than money to make it viable, to allow it to contribute to our country’s all-round development. Things cannot be done in the same old way. The industry needs to be restructured, reorganised as much as it needs financial inputs at this stage. Not to reorganise this could end up just throwing money at the problem without tangible results.
The first step was for senior persons in the Government to bring together all the experience that we have in this country. These would be experienced field and factory persons, experienced workers, people with enormous practical experience and appeal to their patriotism to put the industry on its foot again. It should have been made clear that the super salaries they were accustomed to what was not possible at this time. Appeal to management to take a pay cut since the PNC had damaged it seriously. They would be rewarded as successes are made and the industry ragains its viability. This would have ensured that GuySuCo and the country would have benefited from people who were committed to the industry and the country. That kind of motivation and commitment would have been an important indication of success.
It is clear too that a new type of management is needed in sugar. Everyone knows about the history of the industry which almost spans our country’s history, from slavery through indentureship and later the monopoly of foreign control. Even after nationalization, the management structure was not changed. We had a public corporation with a management structure of the plantation era. The same top down command type of operating. Therefore, we need to democratise management. Ensure that machinery be created to give workers an opportunity to say how things were being run and how they could be improved. This is a great resource since workers who gave all their lives to the industry have acquired vast knowledge that should be harnessed in an organised way to benefit the industry. This invaluable
resource/knowledge has been mostly ignored in the past and is being ignored now. One of the ways in which this could be done was by giving workers a greater stake in the industry. To create worker cooperatives in which workers would not only look forward to wages but to dividends at the end of the crop. This means assisting workers with technical skills to run a worker cooperative. To give the lands to these workers in groups to produce canes for the publicly owned factories. This would be real help in improving workers conditions and helps to make them more than just depending on wages but being also shareholders. This is one way of allowing workers to be owners as well. TURN TO PAGE
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, February 16, 2021
One victim in Valentine’s Day accident still in serious condition –– driver remains in custody
ONE of the victims in Sunday’s deadly accident on Homestretch Avenue, Georgetown, remains in a serious condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), while the 19-year-old driver of the vehicle remains in police custody. Up to Monday, a total of two persons involved in the accident still remained hospitalised for their injuries, Regional Commander Division 4 ‘A’, Khali Pareshram, explained in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle. Those hospitalised are Troy Glen of Laing Avenue, and Delvern Luthers, of Wortmanville. One other victim, 22-year-old Joel Rose, of Durban Street has since been discharged from the hospital. The Valentine’s Day accident has already claimed the lives of two young persons - 19-year-old Dakera Gritten of Nutmeg Street,
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Decomposed bodies found in vessel at sea
Tonika Halley (left), Dakera Gritten (right) and the mangled car
Festival City, and 21-yearold Tonika Halley, a mother of one, from East La Penitence, Georgetown. Gritten, a labourer of Toolsie Persaud Limited (TPL), died at the scene of the accident, while Halley succumbed at approximately 05:30hrs while receiving treatment. The driver has been identified as 19-year-old Rayon Alves, of East La Pentience. Alves is said to have suffered
minor injuries, and assisted the other occupants out of the vehicle before fleeing the scene. He was later apprehended by the police at his house and taken to the GPHC for treatment. The accident occurred at approximately 00:30hrs while the friends were reportedly on their way to a bar-b-que. The overloaded vehicle, PVV 1289, was being driven at a fast rate of
speed and proceeding west along the southern carriageway of Homestretch Avenue when the driver lost control of the motor vehicle, causing the vehicle to topple several times, and collided with a utility pole on the northern parapet, before ending turn turtle in the trench running along the side of the Castellani National Art Gallery.
GDF Coast Guard vessel (File photo)
THE Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Coast Guards were dispatched Monday following reports that decomposed bodies were found on a vessel some 80 miles offshore from Georgetown. The Guyana Chronicle was reliably informed that the boat with the bodies was discovered by sailors on a tug, who later contacted the
Collective pooling of talents, experience vital to lifting... Management would then free itself to think of developing new products, increasing revenues streams and building new relationship such as joint ventures for a new distilling and refining facilities, co-generation and the making of ethanol among other measures. The cane industry of India and Cuba has vast experience in new products and we can benefit from their technologies since this country has many cooperation agreements with both those states. I’m sure both will be most willing to work along with us. At the same time a strong focus could be put on cutting costs in a major way. GuySuCo was doing this work only a short time ago under Dr. Rajendra Singh’s leadership. All of this work appears to have been lost. Possibilities of saving millions in fertilisers by producing liquid fertiliser as is done in India. This was already in train five years ago. Much money could also be saved by compressing garbage and burn them in the broiler to start up factories. This too amounts to
substantial savings from not buying wood to do the same job. GuySuCo and IAST had done a lot in this area. The compressed baggase was far more efficient and a fraction of the cost of wood. At the level of procurement, the workers and their unions can play an important oversight role to ensure that the corporation and the country is making the best and most sensible use of scarce financial resources. Recently, there was news emanating from the corporation in relation to the purchase of some forty tractors. The tractors identified were very expensive. However, GuySuCo has records and experience with very good machinery at far less cost from other sources. The Mahendra tractor from India is a very good piece of machinery at a fraction of the cost of what was being proposed. Therefore more equipment could have been purchased with the same money. However, some people seemed determined to want the most expensive Therefore, the workers and union should have an important oversight role here to
ensure value for money and the most optional way to use scarce financial resources. It is time that the Government pay close attention to what is taking place at GuySuCo. If this is not done then the point would be reached where the Government would look for the easy way out and accept privatisation of the industry. They would say we tried, we have put in a lot of money but it has not work therefore we have no other option but to sell out the industry.
That would be a huge collective slap in our faces and a great let down to our ancestors who invested their life’s blood in sugar. Yours sincerely, Donald Ramotar Former President
maritime authorities, and the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) subsequently contacted the GDF and other law enforcement agencies. The investigating team is expected to confirm the registration of the vessel, once it reaches Port Georgetown on Tuesday.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, February 16, 2021
DDL Group invests $4B in new Tetra Pak plant - launches range of 1 litre juices and juice drinks - local farmers to see increased demand for fresh fruits TROPICAL Orchard Products Company (TOPCO) Limited, a subsidiary of Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), on Monday, announced the launch of its new range of TOPCO 1 Litre juices and juice drinks, in four delicious flavours, on the local market. As Guyana’s leading value-added company, the DDL group also invested G$4 billion in a new Tetra Pak packaging plant, as well as a fruit processing plant in 2020. “In spite of COVID-19 and its many limitations, the DDL Group remained committed to responding both to consumer demand and to a commitment made to farmers that TOPCO would provide a growing market for their produce,” a press release from DDL noted. The TOPCO expansion is a part of a larger five-year G$10B expansion project, announced by DDL Executive Chairman Komal Samaroo in 2017. According to the release, in describing the project, Samaroo said that “Despite oil and gas, the agriculture sector
DDL Executive Chairman, Komal Samaroo
must be developed.” He noted that the value-added processing of the nation’s fruits and vegetables into pulp and juices, and eventually milk supplied by local dairy farmers, for local consumption and export is a huge step in that direction. Prior to the expansion, TOPCO was purchasing, per year, one million pounds of fruits such as cherry, passion
fruit, carambola and guava from farmers. With the expansion, the volume is expected to increase to four million pounds per year. The range of fruits is also being expanded to include mangoes, pineapple, and citrus. Set to reap tremendous benefits are our local farmers. Samaroo noted that, “Farmers will benefit from this project through a guarantee that their
supply of fruits to TOPCO is secure, with stability of prices in spite of market demand/ supply conditions. There is also the potential to increase their cultivation of fruits to increase supply to TOPCO.” According to the release, he added that, “Another benefit to farmers will be the ability to collaborate with a network of technical and financial agriculture-support
agencies, as part of the holistic market-driven approach to developing partnerships with local fruits and dairy farmers.” The new one litre TOPCO Juices provide a practical and nutritious ready-to-drink product for which there is an increased demand both locally and in the region. “TOPCO’s progression into the one litre category makes it a healthy juice
choice for the entire family, as these juices are also rich in vitamin C to boost your immune system. The new 1 Litre juices and juice drinks are available in four fruity delicious flavours Pineapple, Orange, Orange unsweetened, and Cherry, and are now available at leading supermarkets countrywide,” the release concluded.
‘Foreign citizens should never be used as political pawns’ - Min. Todd says, as Guyana supports launch of Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations
MINISTER of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd, has emphasised that foreign nationals should not be used as political pawns as Guyana on Monday joined 58 other countries to support the launch of a new international declaration against the arbitrary detention of foreign nationals. This declaration was launched and promoted by the Government of Canada, whose Foreign Affairs Minister, Marc Garneau highlighted that it is a statement by 58 countries signalling that the practice of arbitrary detention is totally unacceptable. In a statement released by the local Foreign Affairs Ministry, Minister Todd emphasised that small states such as Guyana remain most vulnerable and “at risk” if the practice of arbitrary arrest, detention and sentencing prevails. “The Government of Guyana strongly condemns
politically motivated arbitrary arrest, detention and sentencing of foreign nationals and embraces the position that every person, regardless of who they are and where they are, is entitled to the protection of their basic human rights and fundamental freedoms as established in international law,” Minister Todd was quoted as saying. “Every state has the responsibility to safeguard these rights, not just for their citizens, but for foreign nationals within their jurisdiction.” Further, the minister highlighted that the detention of foreign nationals as a political tool aimed at coercing or influencing the behaviour or foreign policy of another state contravenes customary international law, the rights of due process and many provisions of international treaties. Some of these international treaties are Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 9 of
Minister Todd expresses the government’s support on the launch of the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 25 of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man. He also said that the Government of Guyana endorses Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations under which consular officers shall be free to communicate with nationals of the sending state and to
have access to them; to be informed if a national of that state is arrested or committed to prison or to custody pending trial or is detained in any other manner. As per this article, consular officers shall also be free to visit and communicate with a detained national, as well as arrange for legal representation. “Foreign citizens should
never be used as political pawns,” he stressed, adding that the Government of Guyana stands resolutely for human, civil and political rights. Guyana, he said, also encourages all states to end the practice of arbitrary arrest, detention or sentencing to exercise leverage or blackmail over foreign governments. And, Todd said the country called upon the United Nations to promote and pursue the Declaration against Arbitrary Detention in State-ToState Relations within the United Nations Framework. Guyana stands ready to support similar and all initiatives that support and improve the protection and promotion of human rights for all in accordance with international law, Todd said. The Government of Guyana, itself, is continuously increasing efforts to improve the treatment of persons detained within the confines of our municipal laws in a humane manner, according
to Todd. The Canadian Minister also highlighted that he wants to recruit more countries as signatories, with the goal of ending the practice everywhere and to discourage other countries from taking it up. According to Global News in Canada, this declaration is non-binding, but aims to shame countries that engage in targeted detentions of foreign nationals to achieve a political end. “Canada’s Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention is an important moment of international leadership, bringing together like-minded allies to take a stand against this unacceptable practice,” British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, February 16, 2021
‘We want that ownership feeling’ –– allocation to expedite Amerindian Land Titling project welcomed
By Vishani Ragobeer THE granting of land titles to Amerindian villages has been delayed for a number of years, but with the budgetary allocation of $630 million expected to expedite the process, Indigenous People are hopeful that they can finally have that “ownership feeling”. “Since our government resumed office, we spent the last few months of 2020 preparing the groundwork for re-energising the Amerindian Land Titling programme to achieve its original target to title 68 villages,” Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh said, as he presented the 2021 National Budget on Friday last, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC). Following this announcement, Executive Director of the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA), Jean La Rose, welcomed the renewed focus, highlighting that Indigenous Peoples have long been calling for the land titling and demarcation of their lands. She lamented, however, that there were numerous issues with the limited land titling done in the past. According to her, there were issues in the demarcation of lands whereby some areas and community lands were
Executive Director of the Amerindian People’s Association (APA), Jean La Rose
left out. Additionally, she noted that titles were given to lands but mining concessions were approved on those lands. The Amerindian Land Titling process was facilitated by the Amerindian Act of 2006 that provided for land titling and extensions. This led to the establishment of the Amerindian Land Titling project, which commenced in 2013 and ended in 2016 under the auspices of the Government of Guyana and the United Nations Development Fund. The project had funding of $2.2 billion (US$10.7M) provided from the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund. Subsequently, the project was extended from 2016 to
Manley Thomas, a community leader in Aishalton, Region Nine
2018 and subsequently from 2019 to 2021. It was reported that of the 68 interventions identified, 21 demarcations have been completed and 18 certificates of titles issued, while 45 investigations were completed – 32 for extensions and 13 for new villages. Now, with efforts being made to expedite the process, La Rose emphasised that there should be meaningful consultations with affected Indigenous Peoples to obtain their Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) before granting concessions, leases or other land rights on any of the village’s traditional lands. “My hope is that they (the government) involve all stakeholders including the
Deputy-Speaker of the National Assembly and Leader of the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), Lenox Shuman
APA,” she said. La Rose also emphasised that there are costs attached to the demarcation of lands and the processes before issuance of the land titles and she wanted to understand how the government arrived at the $630 million figure. Meanwhile, Deputy-Speaker of the National Assembly and Leader of the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), Lenox Shuman, highlighted that he was also pleased with the efforts being made to expedite the Land Titling project, but he was unsure whether the allocated funds would suffice. While speaking to the Guyana Chronicle after the presentation of the budget on Friday last, Shuman high-
lighted that this Land Titling project was one of the key issues raised by him, on behalf of Indigenous Peoples, during a meeting between the smaller political parties and President Dr Irfaan Ali. Ahead of the presentation of the 2021 National Budget, several of the ‘smaller’ political parties, three of which have joined together and garnered a single seat in parliament, were consulted by President Ali. Present at that engagement were representatives from A New and United Guyana (ANUG), Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), the Citizenship Initiative (TCI), the New Movement (TNM), United Republican Party (URP) and Change Guyana. The delayed Land Ti-
tling project has, reportedly, stymied the development of many Indigenous communities since there was an absence of land tenure security. “It’s time that our Amerindian lands are titled so that we have that ownership feeling as a community, indicating that we own something and we would be able to be more independent,” a young leader in Aishalton, Region Nine, Manley Thomas, told the Guyana Chronicle. This independence, he explained, would allow the communities to develop in a way that would enable them to garner revenues by growing their local economies. Furthermore, Thomas stressed that securing land titles would enable communities to plan for future generations. In addition to the $630 million allocated specifically to expedite the Amerindian Land Titling project, Dr. Singh also highlighted that more than US$135 million (approximately GY$2.7B), already garnered through the Low-Carbon agreement with Norway, would be invested into renewable energy projects, strengthening agencies within the low-carbon development sector and to advance ongoing projects such as the Land Titling project.
‘Ruby vigilante’ murder trial set to commence today THE High Court trial of three persons who are accused of the vigilante murder of a 22-year-old fisherman in 2017 is expected to commence on Tuesday before a 12-member jury Former Alliance For Change (AFC) Councillor Mandy Sukhdeo, along with her father Surendra Sukhdeo and a neighbour, Rean Ghani, all formerly of Ruby, East Bank Essequibo have pleaded not guilty to killing Shereffudeen Mohamed Nazamudeen, called “Sheriff” on February 14, 2017, at Ruby. Justice Navindra Singh will be presiding over the trial.
The state will be represented by prosecutor Tiffani Lyken, while Attorneys-at-law Nigel Hughes and his associates Ronald Daniels and Sophia Findlay are on record for the Sukhdeos and Attorney-at-law Khemraj Ramjattan for Ghani. The Guyana Chronicle was made to understand that Mandy and Nazamudeen are known to each other, since they grew up together in Ruby. Mandy had told the police that on the day in question she was walking along the Ruby Access Road, when Nazamudeen grabbed her bag and ran away. She raised an alarm and her
Dead: Shereffudeen Mohamed Nazamudeen
father and neighbour came to her aid. It is alleged that they managed to corner Nazamudeen in a nearby yard and dealt him several blows
Surendra Sukhdeo
Former councillor Mandy Sukhdeo
about his body. They then tied him up with pieces of wire and rope and continued beating him about his body. Nazamudeen sustained several injuries about his
body and was taken to the Leonora Cottage Hospital, where he subsequently died. Government Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh has confirmed that Nazamu-
Rean Ghani
deen died from haemorrhage and shock due to multiple blunt force traumas to his head, chest, and other parts of his body.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, February 16, 2021
State moves to repossess bond occupied by BK Marine Inc
THE State has moved to the court seeking to repossess a bond occupied by BK Marine Inc. amidst reports that the company has not paid rent for 11 years. According to court documents seen by this newspaper, the Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C., on Friday last, filed a statement of claim in the High Court seeking for BK Marine Inc. to hand over the bond located at Lot 5 Water Street, Kingston, Georgetown on the northern section of the Goods Department Compound of the Transport and Harbours Department. The Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) of the Ministry of Public Works on August 1, 2003, entered into an agreement with BK Marine Inc. for the rental of the 43,966 square feet bond. The agreement was for a period of 50 years at an annual rental price of $600,000. As part of the agreement, BK Marine Inc. paid an advance of $1,800,000, equivalent to three years rent. In August 2009, BK Marine Inc. ceased payments for the rental of the bond and the agreement was terminated by T&HD due to failure to comply with clause two of the agreement which amounted to a fundamental breach of the agreement, the court document stated. However, despite the termination of the agreement, BK Marine Inc. continued to remain in possession of the said property for approximately 11 years, and has failed and/or neglected to vacate the premises or pay the annual rent. Between the period of August 2009 and January 2021, BK Marine Inc. racked up a sum of $8,400,000 in arrears for rent, the court
Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C.
document stated. Further, the Attorney-General, in his application to the court, asserted that the T&HD was unable to use or rent the bond space. The Attorney-General is seeking from the court a declaration that the State is entitled to possession of the bond; an order that BK Marine Inc. deliver possession of the bond; a declaration that BK Marine Inc. has committed trespass in relation to the property and damages due to trespass. He is also claiming mesne profits (sums of money paid for the occupation of land to a person with right of immediate occupation) from August 1, 2009 until possession is delivered to the State along with interests in accordance with Section 12 of the Law Reform Miscellaneous Act, Chapter 6:02. Recently, legal proceedings were also initiated by the State to repossess a wharf vested to BK Marine Inc. by the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance
For Change (APNU+AFC) government days after the March 2, 2020 elections. The wharf, situated at Mudlots one and two, Lot F of Mudlot three and Lots A, B and D, North Cummingsburg Georgetown, valued at approximately $5 billion, was offered for sale to BK Marine Inc. by former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NICIL, Horace James, for the sum of $202,602,759. Cognisant that only $20,260,276, a mere 10 per cent of the purchase price was paid by BK Marine Inc. for the property, it was vested by former Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan by virtue of Vesting Order No. 50 of 2020 on March 28, 2020, during the ongoing elections fiasco. In addition to this, BK International Inc. is also before the courts for a breach of contract relating to the construction of the Yarrowkabra Secondary School. In January, 2020 the former government, through
the Ministry of Education (MoE), entered into an agreement with BK International Inc. for the construction of the Yarrowkabra Secondary School, located at Linden Highway with the fixed contract price of $826,757,737. In August 2020, following an assessment of all the works done on the site, it was concluded that a mere five per cent of the works were completed after a period of five months had elapsed which constitutes almost 50 per cent of the contract period. Following allegations that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government was targeting BK, the Attorney-General asserted that investigating corrupt transactions was part of a campaign promise made by the party. “We promised on the elections campaign that we are going to investigate these matters, that this abuse of state resources must stop, and that is what we promised the people of this country and they voted for us and we are going to implement that promise,” Nandlall told this newspaper on Friday last at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. As it relates to repossessing the wharf at North Cummingsburg, Georgetown, Nandlall emphasised that it belongs to the people of Guyana and he committed to “getting it back.” “And that is my duty as Attorney General and as the legal representative for the State and the legal representative of the people of Guyana, that wharf is owned by you, BK International, when he defrauded the state, he took it from you; it is my duty as your Attorney General to get it back for you,” he added.
Bandits attack, rob elderly woman POLICE are on the hunt for three armed bandits who robbed a 62-year-old woman of Hummingbird Street, Festival City, South Ruimveldt, of cash and valuables, in the wee hours of Monday. The perpetrators gained entry into the house by removing several louvre panes from a window located
on the eastern side of building. The victim was identified as Cheryl Barker and police said she allegedly lost $160,000 in cash, a Samsung Galaxy cellphone and a 32-inch television. Reports indicated that the victim was awakened by the sound of persons walking in her living room and so she started to scream, after which
she was confronted by the three perpetrators who held her down on the bed and demanded money and jewellery. One of the suspects then placed the gun into her mouth, while the others ransacked the apartment. Investigations are ongoing.
Gov’t to do comprehensive assessment of NIS
The NIS Headquarters on Brickdam, Georgetown
THE government is expected to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) this year and examine recommendations made in previous actuarial reports to determine a way forward for the entity. This was highlighted by Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, when he made several declarations during his speech on the 2021 National Budget, on Friday last, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. “Successive actuarial studies conducted over the years on the NIS have highlighted the need for significant reforms to address issues related to the viability of the scheme. Many of these reforms require serious review and consideration,” Dr. Singh remarked during his address before the National Assembly. Dr. Singh said that the government is cognisant of the numerous complaints being made by contributors about the scheme’s quality of service, and missing documentation and records. As such, the scheme has been tasked with setting up a special project to address these operational issues. “The scheme must ensure that these concerns are addressed with the utmost urgency,” Dr. Singh said. Established in 1969, the NIS is a social security organisation which provides social insurance coverage on a compulsory basis, to all persons between the ages of 16 and 60 years who are engaged in insurable employment. Coverage is also extended on a voluntary basis to persons who cease such employment before reaching the age of 60 years, until the attainment thereof.
Deductions for the scheme are made from employees’ salaries by their employers and then remitted to the scheme. However, a common occurrence over the years is employers making deductions from employees without paying the money over to the scheme. “Even as we undertake analytical reviews, we must ensure that the NIS addresses the operational inefficiencies that currently obtain. Contributors’ records must be updated promptly and accurately. A priority of this administration is to ensure that the NIS brings contributors’ records up to date and that they receive their benefits in a timely manner,” Dr. Singh said. The scheme is managed by a government-appointed board. A new board was appointed last December, headed by Chairman, Ramesh Persaud. The current General Manager is Holly Greaves. The scheme has been operating with a deficit for some years now, with the shortfall being shouldered by the National Insurance Fund, which has just over $31.731 billion. In 2019, the NIS ended the year with a deficit of $1.5 billion, with an income of $24.864 billion, but expenditure of $26.367 billion. The bulk of the scheme’s revenue comes from contributions made by registrants, however, just 22.7 per cent of scheme’s registrants, and 26.6 per cent of the employers registered with the Scheme are active. In 2019, the NIS registered 9,502 new registrants, but added 2,856 new old age pension claimants, paying a total of 38,175 old age pensions at an average of $31,642 per claimant.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Second COVID-19 vaccine will be given after 8 to 12 weeks …as WHO group says delaying the second dose may increase protection By Vishani Ragobeer MINISTER of Health Dr. Frank Anthony has highlighted that Guyana will be delaying the time between the first and second doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for COVID-19, citing new reports from the World Health Organisation (WHO) which indicate that this will increase the protection offered. “The Scientific Committee of the WHO is actually recommending that you should get that second dose between the eighth to 12th week and the efficacy would be higher,” Dr. Anthony said during his daily COVID-19 update with the Department of Public Information (DPI) on Monday. Guyana began the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines last Thursday, administering the first of two doses to frontline health workers at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) and at the National Infectious Diseases Hospital, at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown. Some 668 health workers were vaccinated on Thursday and Friday. Initially, health workers were expected to receive the second dose of the vaccine -- known as the ‘booster’ dose -- about three weeks after the initial vaccination, but the Health Minister noted that a decision was made to increase that to between eight to 12 weeks. This, according
A nurse at the National Infectious Diseases Hospital at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, preparing to administer a dose of the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine to a local healthcare worker on Thursday (Vishani Ragobeer photo)
to studies he referenced, has shown to increase the efficacy of the vaccines. Last Wednesday, the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) suggested this eight to 12-week interval between the two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. This Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which is manufactured in India by the Serum Institute, has an efficacy of 62 per cent, while it offers 100 per cent protection against the severe form of
COVID-19, hospitalisation and death in a primary analysis of Phase III clinical trials. However, studies carried out in a smaller subgroup reported that the vaccine is 90 per cent efficacious, with a lower dose than the required two doses. Now, according to a newer study from the Oxford University that is under review at the Lancet, a single standard dose of the vaccine provided 76 per cent protection (or efficacy) overall against symptomatic
COVID-19 in the first 90 days (about three months). Then, vaccine efficacy reached 82.4 per cent after a second dose in those persons with a dosing interval of about 12 weeks. As reported by Reuters, Chief Investigator of the Oxford Vaccine Trial, Andrew Pollard, said the data showed the 12-week interval between doses was “the optimal approach to rollout, and reassures us that people are protected from 22 days after a single dose.” On Monday as well, Im-
munologist and Chairman of the University of the West Indies (UWI) COVID-19 Task Force, Professor Clive Landis related that the AstraZeneca vaccine has shown 76 per cent efficacy after one shot and 82 per cent efficacy after the booster shot in the latest phase three clinical trial involving more than 35,000 people in the UK, South Africa and Brazil. In a release from the UWI, Professor Landis highlighted that the rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in several Caribbean countries “marks the start of a new phase in the pandemic in which we start the 'fight back' against COVID-19.” Additionally, the release highlighted that this vaccine has been administered to over 10 million people in the UK without serious side effects, and has an excellent safety profile. “This is an exciting time in the pandemic in which we have the opportunity to save lives and curb the spread. I really want to urge all persons who are eligible according to their risk category by age or profession to take the vaccine,” Professor Landis said. NO ADVERSE REACTIONS Dr Anthony also highlighted that there have been no adverse reactions recorded so far, from the pool of local workers vaccinated. There
are usually two types of side effects from vaccines, generally. The first types are those common side effects such as soreness at the vaccination site, headaches, mild fevers and fatigue. “It shows that your body is reacting to the vaccine, which means that your immune system is working and starting to produce the antibodies to fight off COVID-19,” Dr. Anthony said. The second type, he explained however, are those adverse events which are quite rare. These adverse reactions are usually anaphylactic shocks, which mean that an individual develops an allergy to the vaccine. “If the person develops this, generally it would develop within 15 to 20 minutes, which is why when we finish administering the vaccine, we keep the person who has received the vaccine for 15 to 20 minutes for medical observation and once everything is okay we let them go,” Dr. Anthony highlighted. Now that Guyana has begun vaccination, the aim is to ensure that the country can get to a point of herd immunity. Herd immunity will occur once about 80 per cent of the population is immune to the disease, and vaccination is a way of ensuring immunisation.
Gov’t lauded for providing incentives for persons with disabilities
THE Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities (GCOPD), on Monday, expressed contentment with the government’s provisions for Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) in the 2021 budget. The budget outlined the government’s commitment to the effective delivery of key services to persons with disabilities, and detailed several elaborate plans to achieve its objective; the most significant of which was the review and amendment of the Persons with Disability Act (2010). “We are very happy. In fact, on behalf of the council,
we are very excited about the provisions and programmes that the government will put in place for the disabled community,” Ganesh Singh, Programme Coordinator of the GCOPD, expressed during a brief interview with the Guyana Chronicle on Monday. “It is the first time, which I know of, that the government has a section of the budget dedicated to plans for the ‘persons with disability’ community, so we have very positive sights set on the future,” he added. In addition to the amendment of the Act, the government acknowledged the discrimination faced by persons
Ganesh Singh, Programme Coordinator of the GCOPD
with disabilities, and further vowed to ensure equal access to a range of opportunities, including a range of health services, in 2021. “In 2021, optometry services will be expanded to Regions 2, 6, 7 and 9 through the public healthcare system,” Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, announced during his presentation of the budget on Friday last. “For the first time there will be rehabilitation professionals stationed in each region. We will strengthen the provision of medical
and therapeutic care, vocational and skills training programmes and the creation of jobs through private sector partnerships.” A sum of $50 million will be allotted to the National Commission on Disability (NCD) and an additional $30 million will go towards the construction of a complex at Mahaica, which will provide training to disabled persons in the areas of life and vocational skills. The government plans to raise the Public Assistance payment from $9,000 to $12,000 monthly, benefitting over 13,000 persons and providing an additional
$500 million in disposable income to these individuals. In addition to the aforementioned amounts, the budget has allocated a total of $120 million towards programmes supporting and benefitting persons with disabilities. “It is something that we must commend the government on. It’s something we are hopeful about, and we look forward to continued partnership with the government in improving the lives of persons with disabilities,” Ganesh Singh concluded.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Child abuse cases increasing in Reg. 2 –– regional officials say the trend is worrying
CHILD abuse cases are increasing at an alarming level in the PomeroonSupenam region, according to People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Councillor and Chairperson of the Women and Gender Committee, Veriena Rasheed. She was at the time presenting the committee’s report to councillors during a statutory meeting of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) at Anna Regina on February 10. In an effort to deal with this social ill, members of the committee have decided to roll out several awareness workshops. Rasheed used the occasion to call on those present to support the workshops that are geared at creating stronger groups to deal with the issue. She indicated that the committee has recommended a two-day workshop that will engage health workers, interfaith organisations, officers of the Childcare and Protection Agency, and women groups. Rasheed believes that a stakeholder approach is needed. “We will train and empower persons in various
PPP/C Councillor and Chairperson of the Women and Gender Committee, Veriena Rasheed, reading her report to the members of the RDC
communities so they can help us identify these cases and we can do a follow-up. We are hoping that persons from religious groups can be our key persons to help with this,” she added. Meanwhile, Regional Chairperson, Vilma De Silva who heads the region’s RDC said she is very con-
cerned about the number of children who are being abused. She expressed her full support towards the planned awareness programmes and pledged the RDC’s assistance towards such engagements. She also applauded the efforts of the members of the Women and Gender
Mason charged with stabbing handyman to death A 26-year-old mason was on Monday remanded to prison for the murder of Kevin Smith, who was fatally stabbed at ‘C’ Field Reserve Dam, Sophia, several days ago. Randy Wiggins of ‘D’ Field Reserve Dam appeared before Magistrate Rochelle Liverpool at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court and was not required to plead to the indictable charge. It is alleged that on February 8, 2021 at C’ Field Reserve Dam, Wiggins murdered Smith, a 36-year-old handyman. Wiggins was remanded to prison until March 24. According to a police report, on the day in question around 18:30hrs, Smith was at home when he was allegedly attacked by Wiggins, who was armed with a knife. A scuffle ensued and Wiggins dealt Smith three stabs to his chest, lower abdomen and above his left knee, respectively, before
Randy Wiggins
making good his escape. Smith was pronounced dead by a doctor who arrived with the emergency medical technician (EMT) at the scene. Wiggins was later arrested and charged with the offence.
Committee. The Clerk of the RDC and Regional Executive Officer, Devanand Ramdatt, in responding said that he is very worried about the increasing occurrence of this “horrendous” act. He said the RDC has been supporting CPA officers when such cases were being investigated and that
People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Councillor and Prime Minister Representative, Arnold Adams speaking at the meeting
transportation was often provided for the officers. Another PPP/C Councillor and Prime Minister’s representative, Arnold Adams, during the discussion, said that, recently, an abused young woman reached out to him for help and immediately the issue was dealt with.
He called on the RDC to speed up the process of acquiring the building for the accommodation of abused women and children. Regarding this, Ramdatt informed the council that plans are currently in place to acquire the keys for the building that will be used.
Trial into attempted Republic Bank armed robbery winding down THE trial into the 2017 failed armed robbery on Republic Bank’s Water Street Branch is winding down before Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court. Ex-Police Constable, Anfernee Blackman, 24, of Laing Avenue, West Ruimveldt, Georgetown; former Republic Bank employee, Shawn Grimmond of Pike Street, Kitty; Ex-Rural Constable Gladstone George, 27, of Princes Street, Lodge, Georgetown; and Keron Saunders, 27, of Burnham Boulevard, Mocha, East Bank Demerara (EBD), are on trial for the offence and are currently out on $500,000 bail each. Recently, the prosecution closed its case, and the defendants’ lawyers are expected to make a no-case submission claiming that the State has failed to make out a case against the men. The submission will be laid over on February 25. Another former Republic Bank employee, Jamal Haynes, 27, of Lot 4 Norton Street, Wortmanville, Georgetown, who was also implicated with the four men, during his first court appearance, had pleaded guilty to the charge and was jailed for six years.
Both Grimmond and Haynes were employees of Republic Bank at the time of the attempted robbery while George and Blackman were constables attached to the Guyana Police Force (GPF). The latter two reportedly aided in the robbery attempt by providing the firearms that were used. In his bid to escape, Haynes was shot to his legs. It was reported that, on the morning of July 4, 2017, three armed men entered the bank before it was opened to the public. Haynes and his gang members,
including deceased Elton Wray, had reportedly planned on getting their hands on the night’s deposits, since it was a three-day weekend and companies would have deposited millions of dollars in cash into the bank. Wray, a 25-year-old, China-trained agronomist, who was at the time employed at the National Agriculture Research Extension Institute (NAREI), was shot in the chest during the robbery. He succumbed to his injuries the same day, while receiving medical attention.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Haresh Singh’s family protests for justice RELATIVES and friends of 17-year-old Haresh Singh, who was murdered during a series of protest last September, staged protest action, on Monday, calling for justice. Chanting “we want justice” and “we have been waiting too long”, scores of persons gathered in front of the Office of the President on Vlissengen Road, Georgetown. The teen’s grandfather, Inderjeet Singh told the Guyana Chronicle that it has been some six months since he lost his grandchild and the relevant authorities have not provided the family with answers. “Well now is six months since Haresh Singh get kill in the backdam and we don’t have no justice, no police not come and tell we nothing about Haresh Singh so we come out and we protest,” Singh said. He believes that investigators have given up on finding Haresh’s killer (s). Also speaking with this publication was Romona Balgobin, the teen’s aunt, who alleged that investigators have the family in a “run around” to
Inderjeet Singh, Haresh Singh’s grandfather
get information relating to the probe. “We have come out on the road to protest because we are not getting any feedback from anyone about Haresh Singh murder; he was a human being and we suppose to get something, somebody has to come and give we answers,” Balgobin said. She added, “Nobody
Family and friends of Haresh Singh outside the Office of the President during the protest action (Delano Williams photos)
come for the last three four months and we not getting nowhere, every time they just investigating and investigating and this investigation going on and we not hearing anything.” Haresh also known as ‘Raj’, of Lot 8, Number Three Village, West Coast Berbice was found with head injuries and chop wounds along the Number Two back-
dam on September 9, 2020. According to the police, Singh had left his house on his motorcycle to visit his farm in the backdam of Number Three Village and sometime after, his relatives saw smoke emanating from the area. Upon inquiry, relatives discovered his body lying motionless, bleeding from the nose. An autopsy revealed that
the teen died from brain haemorrhage and blunt trauma to the head, compounded by compression injuries to the neck. Haresh was killed during violent protests against the brutal murders of Joel and Isaiah Henry, also of West Coast Berbice. He was related to the persons who were initially taken into custody to assist police in the investigations into the murder
of the Henry boys. While three persons were arrested and charged with the murder of the Henry teens, no one was ever arrested for Haresh’s murder. The government had facilitated a five-member team of investigators from the Caribbean Regional Security System (RSS) last year to assist the police with investigations.
GDF ranks accused of raping teen ‘withdrawn’ from Mabaruma THE five Guyana Defence Force (GDF) ranks who are accused of raping a teenager in Mabaruma, North West District, Region One (Barima-Waini), have been “withdrawn” from the community and a Board of Inquiry has been convened. A brief statement from the GDF did not state where the ranks were “withdrawn” to or whether they were transferred. “The conduct and pro-
fessionalism of our ranks are premiere factors in our mission accomplishment. The Force will therefore spare no measure to ensure our ranks uphold our Values and Standards, and maintain the confidence of the communities which we are sworn to serve and defend,” the GDF statement noted on Monday. It concluded: “The Force’s operational posture on the Border remains alert and the safety and security of our citizens are assured.”
The GDF, in a previous statement on Sunday, revealed that the police are investigating the rape allegation and that the ranks were cooperating. The Guyana Chronicle was reliably informed that the 15-year-old girl was raped sometime between February 5 and 6, 2021, by the soldiers who were stationed at the White Water Joint Services Base.
Infant with high fever dies at Mabaruma Hospital POLICE are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of an infant of Barima, Kariabo Village, North West District, which occurred on Saturday about 23:00h. Reports indicated that, on February 9, the mother, Nicola Campbell, took the two-
year-old boy home and about 16:00h he developed a high temperature. According to the police release, Campbell related that on February 13, at about 23:00h, the child’s condition worsened and he was motionless. She rushed him to the Barima Kariabo Health Centre and
then to the Mabaruma Regional Hospital, where, at about midnight, he was seen and examined by a doctor and was pronounced dead. The body is at the hospital mortuary awaiting a post-mortem examination.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Sentencing in Herstelling blockmaker murder expected today CONFESSED killers, Beverley Persaud and Barbadian national, Oswald Yaw, are expected to be sentenced by Justice Navindra Singh at the Demerara High Court on Tuesday. In January, Persaud and Yaw were arraigned for the capital offence of murder committed on Nathan Persaud, a blockmaker, on September 10, 2015, at Herstelling, East Bank Demerara. However, they opted to plead guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter. On Tuesday, a probation report is expected to be read in court and thereafter, Justice Singh will pass sentence. The State is being represented by prosecutors, Tiffani Lyken and Teriq Mohammed while Attorneys-at-law Racheal Bakker
Beverley Persaud
DEAD: Nathan Persaud
and Ravindra Mohabir are on record for the accused. The Guyana Chronicle had reported that, on September 10, 2015, Persaud’s battered, lifeless body was discovered at his Herstelling home in a pool of blood. According to reports, a neighbour heard screams from the residence, but did not think to investigate until a man was seen leaving the home several minutes later. This aroused his suspicions. The neighbour alerted others and they proceeded to the
house, where they discovered Persaud’s body. A brick and a hammer were found at the crime scene leading investigators to believe that the objects were used to murder Persaud. The number ‘20’ was also found smeared on a refrigerator in the house, equivalent to the number of times the man was hit as confirmed by a post-mortem examination report. Yaw had reportedly confessed to the crime and told investigators that Beverley
Oswald Yaw called “Meow”
Persaud met with him several weeks prior to the murder and had invited him to carry out a hit on her husband in return for $1.7M to cover his travel overseas. He was reportedly paid $10,000 and promised $100,000 in weekly payments. This newspaper was made to understand that Nathan Persaud was reportedly killed over a land dispute he had with his wife.
Teen crashes GGMC’s ATV ––sustains severe injuries to head, body A TEENAGER who was speeding on an All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) sustained severe injuries on Sunday, after he lost control and crashed on the Arakaka Access Road, North West District, Region one. The red ATV is the property of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission
(GGMC) and was being used by the 19-year-old shopkeeper of Arakaka Compound Northwest district. Police said inquiries disclosed that the ATV was proceeding east along the Arakaka access road at a fast rate of speed, when the driver lost control, causing the vehicle to turn turtle several
times. The teen fell off and received several injuries to his head and body. He was picked up by public-spirited citizens and taken to the Pakera District Hospital and then later to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he remains a patient. Investigations are ongoing.
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Overjoyed Simmons says series result ‘unbelievable’ achievement
DHAKA, Bangladesh, CMC – An elated head coach Phil Simmons said Sunday the performance of the West Indies side in the two-Test series here had exceeded his expectations. Stressing even though he was usually positive ahead of every series, Simmons said the fact an inexperienced side had trounced Bangladesh on home soil had been an achievement hard to anticipate. “It’s a joyous occasion. It’s an occasion which we haven’t been able to celebrate as a West Indies cricket team since 2012,” Simmons said in reference to the last time West Indies won two Tests away from home. “It’s just unbelievable. Words fail me right now but the joy that’s inside me right now is unbelievable.” He continued: “We’re playing Bangladesh at home and to come and to win two Test matches back to back in Bangladesh to win the series in Bangladesh, it does [exceed my expectations]. “I always feel I can win every time I go out there but I must be honest with this one.” West Indies arrived here with a weakened Test squad after six first choice players,
including Test captain Jason Holder and backed out over COVID-19 fears. The Caribbean side suffered a chastening 3-0 drubbing in the preceding oneday series that featured 10 debutants but the Test side stunned the cricketing world when they trounced the hosts by three wickets in the first Test in Chattogram last week. At the centre of the success was batsman, Kyle Mayers who hit an unbeaten double hundred and fellow debutant Nkrumah Bonner, who struck 86, as West Indies chased down 395 to win on the final day. Bonner, adjudged Man-ofthe-Series, shone again in the second Test here with 90 in the first innings and 38 in the second, with wicketkeeper batsman Joshua Da Silva, in only his second Test series, top-scoring with 92 also in the first innings. With rookie spinners Rahkeem Cornwall and Jomel Warrican – with just 15 Tests between them – also making an impact in the series, Simmons said it was important to ensure the current group continued to develop together. “I would like to see this group continue to learn. From the first practice we had to
now, there has been so much learning,” Simmons explained. “Bonner, Da Silva, Mayers, (Shayne) Moseley – there has been so much learning from the younger players batting-wise especially because we all know our batting has struggled for a while. “The bowlers keep keeping us in matches so it was great to see them (batsmen) get to this level and it’s only for them to improve. They must continue to improve their Test match skills.” The tour was the third undertaken by West Indies since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic following series in England and New Zealand last year, and Simmons said West Indies remained committed to international cricket especially in the trying global environment. “All these tours we’ve done is about cricket. It’s about the game we love but it’s about our duty to cricket to keep cricket alive in the world,” he stressed. “Other teams are doing it – South Africa are in Pakistan, England are in India – but all of us know we have to play the cricket in order for it to continue.”
GFF locks in on Futsal participation
JUST under a week ago, CONCACAF confirmed Guatemala as the host for the 2021 CONCACAF Futsal Championship, which is billed for May 3 – 9, 2021. The 2020 CONCACAF Futsal Championship would have been the 7th edition of the quadrennial international futsal championship organised by CONCACAF for the men’s national teams of the North and Central America and Caribbean region. However, on 19 March 2020, CONCACAF announced the decision to postpone the tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Same as previous editions, the tournament acted as the CONCACAF qualifiers for
the FIFA Futsal World Cup. The top four teams of the tournament qualified for the next FIFA Futsal World Cup. According to the tournament rules for the CONCACAF edition, which has 41 teams capable of participating: “The highest-ranked 12 entrants advanced directly to the group stage of the final tournament, while the lowest-ranked eight entrants had to participate in the qualifying stage, where the four match-up winners advanced to the group stage of the final tournament.” Of the 41-member associations, Guyana is currently ranked 12 th as of February 2020, but has never entered the tournament for the simple fact that they do not have a futsal team. According to the Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF) calendar of events for 2021, the GFF Futsal Tournaments are proposed for February and August for the Senior Men, but with the pandemic still in effect, it is quite difficult to say when the Federation’s plans can unfold. However, the Federation has the next four years to prepare for the CONCACAF event since the ‘ship has sailed’ with this edition. The only foreseeable obstacle that can prevent the progression of this form of football is the pandemic. <<GUYANA’S FUTSAL…>>
Futsal has been around for quite some time, but the most popular of the lot by far on Guyana’s calendar is the Guinness Greatest of the Streets. The well-organised tournament has progressed until it reached a National level where, without a doubt, the best Futsal players and teams in Guyana could be
decided. Guinness Greatest of the Street began in 2008 and it has since seen thousands off footballers and spectators over that period. That would have been an opportune time for the GFF to put a firm hand on the sport, but they have only now begun. In 2008, Guyana participated in the Caribbean Football Union (2008) Futsal Championship with a hastily assembled squad. It was not until eight years later that the Federation tried to enter the championship again. Prior to the 2016 CONCACAF Futsal Qualifiers, the GFF website stated: “The most pressing challenge at the moment is the lack of any facility that the GFF can frequent regularly. Without digressing into the everyday struggles to utilize what is in Guyana, let us just highlight that the present culture does not fully understand that this form of football does not place any added stress on an indoor facility than does other traditional indoor sports.” Despite that, it continued: “We will move to create a footballing schedule that will integrate the game over the course of the next 4 years. We will here, too, strive for perfection. Any success on the international Futsal stage will add to the positive psychological reinforcements so necessary in creating an environment conducive to success.” All the evidence shows that there was not a solid enough Futsal structure to keep the sport progressing, but kudos to the local Federation for finally mapping a path for Futsal to move forward.
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Ashwin hits century before England lose three wickets A century from local hero Ravichandran Ashwin heaped misery on England in the second Test against India in Chennai. Ashwin made 106, sharing 96 with Virat Kohli, who scored 62, to take India to 286 in their second innings. Given lives on 28, 56 and 70, Ashwin added a hundred to his five-wicket haul for the third time in his career. Only the great Sir Ian Botham has achieved the feat more often in Tests. Set a notional 482 to win on a pitch often exploding when the ball lands, England lost three wickets in the 19 overs possible on the third evening. After Dom Sibley was lbw to Axar Patel, Rory Burns edged Ashwin to gully and nightwatchman Jack Leach fell first ball as the tourists slumped to 53-3 at the close. With so much time left in the game, a draw is out of the question and the four-match series is set to be level at 1-1 going into the day-night third Test in Ahmedabad on 24 February. INDIA SHOW THE WAY For two days, the pitch has been the subject of much debate - whether the excessive turn on offer from the beginning of the match is suitable for Test cricket. Even accounting for the edge India gained by winning the toss, the main reason for their dominance on the opening two days was their superior performance, and they rammed home their advantage to give the conditions further context on Monday. As well as England’s spinners have bowled - Leach and Moeen Ali shared 14 wickets - they have not been able to exert the same control as their India counterparts, with a loose delivery rarely far away. With the bat, Ashwin and Kohli showed that run-scoring is possible - particularly against the older, softer ball - if batsmen can find a way to get in. As if to emphasise England’s shortcomings, Sibley had only three to his name when he tried to work Axar on the leg side and was palpably leg before. Burns showed admirable intent in his 25 but made the mistake of closing the face on Ashwin to offer a leading edge,
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exposing Leach, who turned Axar to leg slip. ASHWIN DELIGHTS HOME CROWD At the beginning of the day with India 54-1 and 249 ahead, their control was near total, but England were still able to re-
duce them to 106-6 through the bowling of Moeen and Leach and the brilliant wicketkeeping of Ben Foakes. It was at that point Chennai-born Ashwin joined Kohli, the skipper already showing greater focus than in the first innings when he was
Ravichandran Ashwin celebrates his fifth Test hundred (BCCI photo)
SCOREBOARD INDIA ist Innings 329 Englnd 1st Innings 134 India 2nd innings Rohit Sharma st Ben Foakes b Jack Leach 26 Shubman Gill lbw Jack Leach 14 Cheteshwar Pujara Run Out Ollie Pope 7 Virat Kohli lbw Moeen Ali 62 Rishabh Pant st Ben Foakes b Jack Leach 8 Ajinkya Rahane c Ollie Pope b Moeen Ali 10 Axar Patel lbw Moeen Ali 7 Ravichandran Ashwin b Olly Stone 106 Kuldeep Yadav lbw Moeen Ali 3 Ishant Sharma c Olly Stone b Jack Leach 7 Mohammed Siraj Not Out 16 EXTRAS: 5b 15lb 0nb 0pen 0w 20 TOTAL: (85.5 overs) 286 all out Fall of Wickets: 1-42 Gill, 2-55 Pujara, 3-55 Sharma, 4-65 Pant, 5-86 Rahane, 6-106 Patel, 7-202 Kohli, 8-210 Yadav, 9-237 Sharma, 10-286 Ashwin Bowling: Olly Stone 6.5-1-21-1, Jack Leach 33-6-100-4, Moeen Ali 32-7-98-4, Joe Root 4-0-15-0, Stuart Broad 9-325-0. England 2nd innings Rory Burns c Virat Kohli b Ravichandran Ashwin 25 Dominic Sibley lbw Axar Patel 3 Dan Lawrence Not Out 19 Jack Leach c Rohit Sharma b Axar Patel 0 Joe Root Not Out 2 EXTRAS: 4b 0lb 0nb 0pen 0w 4 TOTAL: (19.0 overs) 53-3 Fall of Wickets: 1-17 Sibley, 2-49 Burns, 3-50 Leach To Bat : Stokes, Pope, Foakes, Ali, Broad, Stone Bowling: Ishant Sharma 2-1-6-0, Axar Patel 9-3-15-2, Ravichandran Ashwin 8-1-28-1.
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embarrassed by Moeen. As Kohli showed solid defence, sweet timing and crisp footwork, Ashwin scored with greater fluency, sweeping regularly on the way to a half-century from only 64 deliveries. He was dropped at slip by Ben Stokes off Stuart Broad, with Foakes missing a thick edge off the same bowler stand-
ing up the stumps. Ashwin also could have been caught and stumped off the same Moeen delivery, only for Foakes to fumble. Kohli’s dismissal, lbw, again to Moeen, was Ashwin’s signal to push on. On 77 when joined by last man Mohammed Siraj, he hurried through the 90s with a mighty
slog-sweep for six off Moeen. With the crowd cheering every delivery Siraj survived, there was an eruption when Ashwin edged Moeen to go to three figures and, after he played on to Olly Stone to become the last man to fall, there was further delirium when he removed Burns. (BBC Photo)
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Australian Open..
Serena leads charge of American women, faces old foe Halep MELBOURNE (Reuters) Serena Williams will lead the charge of American women in the last-eight of the Australian Open and continue her bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title when she meets a familiar foe in second seed Simona Halep on Tuesday. Williams, 39, is among three Americans who have made it to the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park this year and Wednesday’s clash between Jennifer Brady and Jessica Pegula has ensured that at least one from the country will be in the last four. In contrast, Mackenzie McDonald was the only American male player to make the last 16 stage at this year’s
Australian Open. “I think it’s great for American tennis ... three women in the quarter-finals of a slam, I think that’s great,” said German Michael Geserer, who coaches Brady. “I know each - yeah, each girl and they’re working very hard individually.” Shelby Rogers, who lost to world number one Ash Barty in the fourth round, Brady and Pegula were all in action in the top half of the draw on Monday and were among 16 American women in the main draw at Melbourne Park - the most from any country. They’re very close off the court. They hit a lot. They like to practise with each other a lot,” said Pegula’s coach,
David Witt. “I think it’s one of those things where they’re pushing each other. They root for each other. “They see one do well; they all three want each other to do well. I think it’s almost
Serena Williams continues her bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title
CSA urge cricket chiefs to stick up for nations outside big three Cricket South Africa (CSA) director of cricket Graeme Smith on Monday called for the International Cricket Council to show leadership to prevent the sport being dominated by India, England and Australia. Smith told a virtual press conference that the relationship between Cricket South Africa and Cricket Australia “is definitely strained at this stage” following Australia’s late decision to withdraw from a three-Test tour of South Africa because of concerns about Covid-19. Smith was asked about CSA’s decision to write to the ICC describing Australia’s decision as “against the spirit of sportsmanship” and having implications for the credibility of the ICC World Test championship. “More than anything, the ICC needs to have strong leadership going forward now,” said Smith. “I believe Covid is amplifying the haves and the havenots relationships across the board and how the future landscape is going
to be handled.” Smith said cricket’s future calendar was dominated by India, England and Australia. “It makes it extremely challenging for the rest of the member nations,” he said.
CSA director of cricket Graeme Smith
“The game needs leadership right now,” said Smith. “It needs to understand the complexities. I don’t think world cricket wants three nations competing against each other in ten years’ time.” The former Test captain said that the dominance of the three major nations increased the likelihood of Twenty20 leagues getting
CRICKET QUIZ CORNER Tuesday, February 16, 2021 COMPLIMENTS OF XTRA ENERGY DRINK – STABROEK BAZAAR (Tel: 683-9500) & CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD – 83 Garnett street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) (1) (2) (1) (2)
ANSWERS TO YESTERDAY’S QUIZ: WI won by 17 runs Rakheem Cornwall (WI)
TODAY’S QUIZ: Who was declared Man of the Series in the recent WI/BANG two-Test contest? How many runs he scored?
ANSWERS ANSWER S IN TOMORROW’S ISSUE
like, for them, a little sister thing where they’re kind of pushing each other to do well in tournaments.” The trio would have had no better idol at the start of their careers than Williams,
“bigger and bigger”, leaving the lesser cricket nation with fewer attractive fixtures. “I think it’s been fasttracked because of Covid. These issues are becoming more and more relevant and amplified. I think the ICC found themselves a little bit off guard,” he said. Monday’s press conference was called to provide details of the rest of South Africa’s season, which will end with a recently-announced white-ball tour by Pakistan in April. The Pakistan tour will provide another headache for CSA because it will probably clash with the lucrative Indian Premier League, expected to start in early April. Several of South Africa’s star players, including Kagiso Rabada, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis and Anrich Nortje, are committed to IPL teams as well as being contracted by CSA. Smith said ideally he would like to see all South Africa’s best players available for the Pakistan series but he admitted, “It’s a little more complicated than that.” “We have also made a commitment to release our players over the years to IPL. There’s always been a window that we have committed to as CSA and it’s been in the calendar. It’s something we need to robustly debate.” He said CSA was waiting for the dates for the IPL to be finalised. He said internal discussions would take place in “coming days” after the South African team management returned from a tour of Pakistan which ended on Sunday. (AFP)
who will meet Romanian twice Grand Slam winner Halep in the evening session at the Rod Laver Arena in their 12th meeting on tour. Williams leads 9-2 in the head-to-head but lost the most recent meeting when she was beaten by Halep in the 2019 Wimbledon final - one of her four defeats in Grand Slam finals since returning to the circuit in 2018 after becoming a mother. Japan’s Naomi Osaka, who moved to the United States as a three-year-old and lives and trains there, was another player who defeated Williams in the 2018 U.S. Open to win the first of her three majors and could be next up for the American. Osaka, currently ranked
third, will kick off Tuesday’s proceedings at Melbourne Park against unorthodox 35-year-old Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan, a first time major quarter-finalist. Also in action will be eight-time Australian Open champion and top-ranked Novak Djokovic, who will have concerns over an abdominal injury when he plays sixth-seeded German Alexander Zverev, the finalist at the 2020 U.S. Open. In the day’s other singles match, Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev, ranked 114th, will look to continue his spectacular run on his Grand Slam debut when he takes on 18th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria.
Tokyo organisers could choose new president this week, report says
TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo Olympic organisers could choose their new president as early as this week, a report said on Monday, after former chief Yoshiro Mori resigned over sexist remarks that provoked a global outcry. Local organisers need to “urgently” pick a new president with just five months left to prepare for the Games amid the COVID-19 pandemic and are setting up a selection committee made up of an equal number of men and women, the group’s chief executive Toshiro Muto said last week. The selection committee will hold its first meeting at the start of this week, Nippon TV reported, citing unidentified sources. Committee members will submit names of candidates in the days after and could select the new president as soon as this week, the report said. However, the process could carry over into next week if there is a large number of candidates, Nippon TV said. Among those being considered to succeed Mori are Olym-
pic Minister Seiko Hashimoto, a pioneering female lawmaker and seven-time Olympian who is one of only two women in Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s cabinet, media have said. Hashimoto, born just days before the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, said on Friday she had not been asked to replace Mori.
Former chief Yoshiro Mori resigned last week over sexist remarks
Others who have been floated to succeed Mori include Mikako Kotani, a two-time Olympian in synchronised
swimming, now known as artistic swimming, who serves on the Japanese Olympic Committee, and Upper House lawmaker Tamayo Marukawa, a previous Olympics Minister. Media said another possible candidate was Daichi Suzuki, a former Olympic gold medallist backstroke swimmer who has served as commissioner of the Japan Sport Agency, an organisation aiming to promote sport nationwide. Another person being considered for the role was Koji Murofushi, a former Olympic gold medallist hammer thrower who has served as the agency’s commissioner since October after succeeding Suzuki. Mori’s handpicked successor, former Japan Football Association president Saburo Kawabuchi, 84, on Friday declined the job after publicly accepting it earlier, news reports said. The Summer Olympics, which were postponed last year due to the pandemic, are scheduled to open July 23.
Nadal and Medvedev ... apart from a break of serve in the second set which Nadal immediately broke back from, was unable to put the Spaniard under pressure. “I played a good game when he broke me and was lucky to have the break back immediately and save a game from love-40 so I was a bit lucky,” said 34-year-old Nadal. “It was humid and warm but the conditions are quicker during the day and for me it’s better to play in the day as I like the ball flying but I need to adapt for all the conditions. “I’m happy the back is
holding up but [Tuesday] will be an important day for practice.” RUSSIANS MAKE HISTORY IN MELBOURNE
Medvedev beat American world number 192 Mackenzie McDonald 6-4 6-2 6-3 to claim his 18th consecutive victory and it means there are three Russians in the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time in the Open era. “I want more all the time, but step by step, so this is amazing,” said Medvedev, who only needed one hour
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and 29 minutes to defeat McDonald on Margaret Court Arena. Medvedev will face compatriot Andrey Rublev in the last eight. Seventh seed Rublev was leading 6-2 7-6 (7-3) when Norwegian opponent Casper Ruud retired with an injury. Aslan Karatasev, who had to win three matches in the qualifying event in Doha, won on Sunday as his dream Grand Slam debut continued. No Russian male has won a Grand Slam since Marat Safin in Melbourne in 2005. (BBC Sport)
GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, February 16, 2021
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Bishop hails Brathwaite as inspirational ‘general’ following series win DHAKA, Bangladesh (CMC) — Interim Test Captain Kriagg Brathwaite has been branded a “general of the highest proportions” by Ian Bishop, with the outstanding former West Indies fast bowler contending the seasoned opener had moulded the side into “national heroes”, in the wake of the series whitewash of Bangladesh. The 28-year-old was thrust into the role of leading an inexperienced 15-man squad for the two-Test series here after regular Captain Jason Holder declined selection over COVID-19 fears. Holder was joined by Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase and Shimron Hetmyer in opting out, resulting in the backbone of the Test side’s batting disappearing for the series. S u n d a y , h o w e v e r, Brathwaite produced a captaincy masterclass as he presided over a thrilling 17-run victory in the second Test, snatching three wickets with his unpractised off-spin to play a key role in bowling
Bangladesh out for 213. “When you look at the way the opening partnership [for Bangladesh went], 59 for that opening partnership, to have this capitulation instituted by a brilliant move from the captain to bring himself on [was outstanding],” Bishop gushed following the result at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium here. “Kraigg Brathwaite is a general of the highest proportions. His captaincy today has been spot on. There were times you could’ve thought — and I’m sure he would’ve thought — [to bring Shannon Gabriel back]. “Shannon Gabriel was loosening up for about an hour. Every time he started loosening up, someone got a wicket. Jomel Warrican [was] brilliant in the end, [he] struggled a little bit early [but finished] with three for 47. “Brathwaite [got] three for 25, Rahkeem Cornwall [got] nine wickets in the Test match — national heroes all. “They braved the pandemic when others didn’t make it and to win this two-
match series two-nil has been a tremendous, tremendous accomplishment for the West Indies team.” He continued: “It is a series victory for the ages, given all that has been stacked against them coming on this tour to Bangladesh. These men have achieved what many thought impossible.
“‘Captain Fantastic’ Kraigg Brathwaite has made his men national heroes.” The fairy tale started in Chattogram when West Indies, fielding three debutants, stunned the hosts by three wickets after chasing down an improbable 395 on the final day. Kyle Mayers, on debut,
West Indies’ Captain Kraigg Brathwaite (right) with his teammate Jomel Warrican during the fourth day of the second Test cricket match between West Indies and Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka yesterday (Photo: AFP)
struck a historic unbeaten 210 and in concert with another debutant, Nkrumah Bonner (86), put on 216 in a fourth-wicket stand to underpin the run chase. When West Indies collapsed from 41 for three overnight to 117 in their second innings on yesterday’s fourth day and set Bangladesh 231 for victory, a series win seemed set to elude them. However, Brathwaite proved inspirational with field settings and the rotation of bowlers, and his players responded favourably to upset the hosts again. The 53-year-old Bishop, who claimed 161 wickets from 43 Tests and has since become a well-respected international TV analyst, said Brathwaite had left a firm imprint of his own leadership and industry on the touring side. “The team reflects Kraigg Brathwaite’s leadership. Kraigg is industrious, hard-working and has a great work ethic and the team reflects that personality,” Bishop argued. “They are coachable. A
friend of mine told me years ago that if a team has players that are always willing to learn and are coachable, there is no limit as to what they can achieve. “I’m not saying this team is the number one team suddenly in the world or they are the number three team — that is the ultimate goal. This team is on the road on that journey. They’ve taken significant strides on this tour. “How many would have given them a chance to win two-nil coming here? I don’t know of any. Their self belief is so aspirational.” Bishop dismissed any notion that the quality of opposition had diminished the significance of the side’s achievement. “People may say it is only Bangladesh, but Bangladesh at home have proven to be a difficult opponents for even higher ranked teams,” Bishop pointed out. “So with the inexperience in this West Indies batting line-up, this is a tremendous achievement.”
Top talent on show this Sunday at Lusignan Golf Club THE nation’s top golfers will be engaged in keen competition this Sunday when officials of the Lusignan Golf Club (LGC) in association with Agro Fresh and Amazon Planx, present a day of competitive action at the Lusignan Golf Club. The game will be played on the open medal play, rather than the flights system,
and trophies will be presented to the first three players with the best net position in the male category, while the female with the best net will also receive a prize. There will also be prizes for the player with the overall best gross and nearest to the pin. Tee-off time is 09:00hrs. Owners of the two business entities,
Adita Persaud and Amit Persaud, said their companies are pleased to be associated with the tournament, adding that its part of their cooperate responsibility to further promote the sport locally. The older Persaud (Adita) has expressed his extreme happiness at being part of the tournament.
Athletics gets rolling with a shaky start …Archibald clocks blistering 10.21s IT was a less-than-ferocious day as the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) staged its first track and field competition of the year at the Leonora Track and Field Complex on Sunday. The meet, sanctioned by the AAG, had a select amount of Development and Olympic qualification events, but as expected with a year hiatus, the majority of the athletes did not perform to their highest potential and it was clear to the eye. In the pros and cons department, it was great that the association was able to successfully host a meet at the Track and Field facility under the COVID-19 guidelines. This proved to the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) that they are capable of keeping their athletes safe from the spread of the virus and that may tip the scale in their (AAG) favour for future endeavours. It was also a positive sign to start the season with regular synchronized timing and the meet also gave the athletes a chance to compete on the
synthetic surface which will be quite important as they transition into their competition phase.
were also on the cards to be live streamed on the AAG’s Facebook page, but it was a disappointing search for the
Emmanuel Archibald ran a personal record of 10.21s on Sunday
However, after Sunday’s performances, you must empathise with the athletes because we are aware of the situation, but they must remain optimistic that their performances will improve drastically in the coming months. Sunday’s proceedings
fans that looked forward to the broadcasting, since there was none. <<THE ATHLETES…>> The seniors’ programme was business as usual with the events on the card open to Olympic qualifying standards. But there was no in-
stance of an athlete staking his/her claim this early for the 2020 Summer Olympics. The highlight of the day went to Emmanuel Archibald who ran a personal record of 10.21s in the 100m Men and painstakingly missed the qualifying standard for the 2021 Summer Olympics which is set at 10.05s. However, they have until June 29 to make the opportunities count. Meanwhile, the junior athletes were also not at their brilliant best even though training has been taking place, but it is expected to see improvements once competitions are given a chance to unfold during the pandemic. As for Sunday’s results, they were expected to be released to the media after all the times and attempts were finalized by the association, but up to press time on Monday, the results had not been released. Prior to that, Chronicle Sport’s attempts to contact the association went unanswered.
He said, “With the sport of golf rising to national importance in the country, interest has grown in the game, and we now have excellent golfers who are able to perform credibly on the world stage.” Representatives of the sponsors will be at the tournament venue for the presentation ceremony at the end of the day’s play.
Nadal and Medvedev reach Australian Open quarter-finals FORMER champion Rafael Nadal and fourth seed Daniil Medvedev both cruised into the Australian Open quarter-finals. Spaniard Nadal, the 2009 winner and number two seed, gained a routine 6-3 6-4 6-2 win over Italy’s 16th seed Fabio Fognini at Melbourne Park.
Rafael Nadal
Nadal will face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last eight on Wednesday. The Greek fifth seed was handed a walkover win in round four after Matteo Berrettini of Italy had to withdraw because of an abdominal injury.
Tsitsipas had been due to play ninth seed Berrettini in the final game on Rod Laver Arena on Monday. “I have had a problem with my abs and I spoke to the doctors and they told me it could just get worse,” said Berrettini, 24. “I’m not 100% and me and my team decided it was not worth the risk to play.” I WAS A BIT LUCKY - NADAL Nadal’s victory means he has reached a Grand Slam quarter-final for the 43rd time, going on to win 20 titles, although his only success in Melbourne was 12 years ago over Roger Federer. He came into this tournament with a back injury, having withdrawn from the ATP Cup earlier this month, but has not dropped a set in his four matches. Fognini, 33, was playing in the fourth round for the fourth time in eight years but, TURN TO PAGE 22
Overjoyed Simmons says series result ‘unbelievable’ achievement
SEE PAGE 20
Nkrumah Bonner was adjudged Man-of-the-Series
GFF
SEE PAGE 20
In 2018, a 16-man squad for the ExxonMobil-sponsored Guyana Football Federation (GFF) International Futsal tournament was selected just three weeks before the invitational event
locks in on Futsal participation
Mohammed’s 122 takes Red Force to three-wicket win over Barbados Pride
JASON Mohammed scored a timely hundred and Evin Lewis 61, as the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force battled to a three-wicket win with five balls to spare over the Barbados Pride in the CG Insurance Super 50 tournament in Antigua yesterday. Chasing a relatively modest target of 254, Trinidad started out well despite losing the wicket of Kjorn Ottley for four in the second over of the innings. His dismissal brought Mohammed, who provided a well-needed backbone to the Trinidad line up. He and Lewis put on 117 for the second wicket in 19 overs. When Lewis got out to Roston Chase for 61, Mohammed and Denesh Ramdin added 29 over the next eight overs as the bowling tightened.
Then came the slide that saw Trinidad fall away from 150 for 2 to 158 for 5 as Ramdin fell for 10 and Kieron Pollard and Nicholas Pooran went without scoring. However, Mohammed found a useful partner in Sunil Narine who scored 18 in a partnership worth 49. Akeal Hosein helped Mohammed add another 45 before the latter fell for 122 that included 10 fours and two sixes and brought Trinidad to within sight of victory at 252 for 7. Hosein was unbeaten at the end on 20 as Trinidad managed to get to 256 without further loss. Chase, who also got the wickets of Pooran and Ramdin finished 3-21 from his 10 overs and Dominic Drake 2-47. Earlier, half-centuries from Justin Greaves, Johnathan Carter and Roston
Chase were undermined by a five-wicket haul from Kieron Pollard as Barbados Pride
scored 253 for 9 from their 50 overs. Greaves hit six fours
and a six in his score of 62 and featured in an opening stand of 44 with Zachary
Jason Mohammed plays a shot during his innings of 122
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McCaskie (16) and 42 with Shamarh Brooks who made 20. However, it was Carter and Chase, who came together at 106 for 3, who managed to push the score along producing a fourth-wicket stand of 102 before Carter got out to Akeal Hosein for 56. Red Force captain Kieron Pollard then went to work taking the next five wickets including that of Chase for 56, as the Pride slumped from 208 for 4 to 253 for 9. Chase and Holder had managed to put together 33 runs between them before the latter was dismissed for 18 with the score at 241 in the 48th over. Pollard finished with 5 for 17 from three overs while Akeal Hosein took 2-44. (Sportsmax)
| TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2021