Guyana Chronicle E-paper 26-01-2021

TUESDAY

Happy New Year

26th January, 2021

' No.106253

Guyanese fishermen charged in Venezuela –– being detained for 45 days pending an investigation ––Venezuela commits to their ‘early release’

SEE STORY ON PAGE 03

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd, engages his Venezuelan counterpart, Jorge Arreaza, on Monday (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation photo)

Venezuela’s request to ICJ for extension of case management a diversionary tactic PAGE

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France interested in building Guyana-Suriname bridge 04 PAGE

Patterson, Adams slapped 02 with fraud charge SEE PAGE

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Patterson, Adams slapped with fraud charge ….relating to feasibility study, design of new Demerara river crossing

By Richard Bhainie GENERAL Secretary of the Alliance for Change (AFC) and former Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, along with the former General Manager of the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) Corporation, Rawlston Adams, appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on Monday, slapped with a joint charge of conspiracy to defraud. The charge stemmed from the controversial contract awarded for the feasibility study and design of a new Demerara River Crossing in 2016. The duo appeared before Magistrate Leron Daly and was not required to plead to the indictable charge, which alleged that, between November 18, 2016, and February 1, 2018, at Georgetown, they conspired with each other and with other persons unknown, to defraud the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC) of $162,635,015; this money belongs to the Asphalt Plant, which falls under the purview of the DHBC. The particulars of the charge indicated that the funding of the feasibility study and design for a new Demerara Harbour Bridge, was not a function of the DHBC, hence the monies from the Asphalt Plant account could not have been used to fund the project. The charge was brought by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU); both Patterson and Adams were released on $200,000 bail each and are expected to return to court on February 15, 2021. Patterson’s defence team is led by attorney-at-law, Ronald Burch-Smith, who appeared in association with attorneys-at-law, Nigel Hughes and Khemraj Ramjattan; Adams is represented by attorney-at-law, Glen Hanoman. Speaking to the media outside the court house on Monday, Hughes described the allegation as “malicious”, stating that a foreign government approached the Govern-

ment of Guyana expressing interest to conduct the feasibility study, and that “this was not an activity initiated by Mr. Patterson and therefore in

from which 12 were shortlisted. However, only two of the companies submitted proposals, and after negotiations with one of the companies, the

General Secretary of the Alliance For Change (AFC) and the former Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court

the circumstances we believe that this charge not only is unfounded but malevolent.” A few supporters of the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition, led by Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon, gathered outside the court to show support for Patterson. In 2015, the then Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI) invited companies to submit Expressions of Interest (EoIs) to the Chairman of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) to undertake a feasibility study for the development of options for a new Demerara Harbour Bridge. Some 23 foreign and local companies submitted EoIs,

ministry informed the NPTAB of its decision to annul the tender, with the intention of retendering at a later stage. The contract, however, was never retendered. Subsequently, LievenseCSO Engineering Contracting BV – a company from the Netherlands - submitted an unsolicited proposal to provide consultancy services for the Demerara River Bridge project. Patterson, by memorandum dated November 18, 2016, made a request to the then David Granger Cabinet for consideration and approval to use funds from the Asphalt Plant account to fund the feasibility study, and “to commence a contractual engagement with LievenseCSO as of the 1st January, 2017”.

This request to Cabinet was not forwarded through the NPTAB, but submitted directly by Patterson, and on November 25, 2016, Cabi-

formed by Adams and then Permanent Secretary of the MPI, Kenneth Jordan, that even though the project was funded by the DHBC and

Former General Manager of the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation, Rawlston Adams, arriving at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court with his attorney, Glen Hanoman. (Adrian Narine photos)

net approved a total sum of G$161,514,420 for the project. The Public Procurement Commission (PPC) had conducted an investigation into the matter, and concluded that the procurement procedure used to award the contract was in contravention of the Procurement Act. Adams, who signed the contract with LievenseCSO Engineering Contracting, BV on December 9, 2016, had informed the PPC during investigations that the Board of the DHBC was not a party to the decision to use the funds for the stipulated purposes, and he did not sign the contract on behalf of the DHBC, but only because he was requested by Patterson to do so. The PPC was also in-

signed by Adams, the project was still under the control of the ministry. However, the contract with LievenseCSO Engineering identified DHBC as the client. The PPC, in its report, noted “the DHBC does not fall within the definition of a Procuring Entity, as provided in the Procurement Act Cap 73:05. Except for projects financed by funds provided from the Consolidated Fund of the Government, the DHBC can conduct its procurement in accordance with its own rules and procedures, once they do not conflict with the Procurement Act.” The report further stated: “As advised by the General Manager, DHBC, this Corporation, however, in prac-

tice, executes procurement in accordance with the provisions of the Procurement Act. Mr. Adams confirmed to the PPC that this project was not included in the Work Programme and Budget of the DHBC for the financial year in which the consultant was contracted.” The PPC’s investigation into the matter pointed out the fact that the DHBC was described as the “Client” in the contract and so the project has to be regarded as one of the DHBC’s. The PPC further concluded that as a result of Adams’ admission, the contract was a clear breach of Section 17 (1) of the Procurement Act. “Section 17 subsection 1 of the Procurement Act states that NPTAB is responsible for exercising jurisdiction over tenders, which exceed the amounts prescribed in the procurement Regulations. The Regulations state that, for the MPI, Consultancy projects that cost in excess of five million Guyana dollars (GYD$5 million) must be administered by the NPTAB,” the PPC report noted. Further, Section 54 (1) of the Act states that “Cabinet shall have the right to review all procurements the value of which exceeds $15,000,000. The Cabinet shall conduct its review on the basis of a streamlined tender evaluation report to be adopted by the Authority mentioned in Section 17(2).” In June 2019, the Guyana Police Force cleared Patterson of any wrongdoing, stating that based on legal advice, “there was no misuse of funds; there is no evidence that a criminal offence has been committed, and there is no evidence of any collusion between Arie Mol/Lievense CSO and the personnel from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure.”

Guyanese fishermen charged in Venezuela

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, January 26, 2021

–– being detained for 45 days pending an investigation ––Venezuela commits to their ‘early release’

By Navendra Seoraj MANEUVERING “rough tides” is second nature for fishermen, but a 12-member Guyanese crew being held captive in Venezuela, is possibly in for the challenge of their lives, as they have been charged and imprisoned, pending a 45-day investigation. The fishermen, who were operating their trade along the Waini River in two groups of six on the Lady Nayera and Sea Wolf vessels, were apprehended by Venezuelan naval troops. This act of ‘intrusion’ by Venezuela was condemned by local authorities, which have substantiated claims that both vessels, which were operating off the coast of the Waini Point, within Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), were intercepted by Venezuelan naval vessel, “Commandante Hugo Chavez GC 24”, on Thursday, January 21, 2021. According to information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Captain Richard Ramnarine, of the Lady Nayera, and Captain Toney Garraway, of the Sea Wolf, after being apprehended in the Waini area, were instructed to chart a course to Port Güiria in Venezuela, where both vessels, which are registered in Essequibo, and the 12-member crew, who hail from Essequibo, have been detained. The Guyana Chronicle was informed on Sunday that the crew members of the Sea Wolf included Garraway, Errol Gardener, Orland Roberts, Christopher Shaw, Shirvin Oneil and Randy Henry while the crew members aboard the Lady Nayera were Ramnarine, Ramlakan Kamal, Nick Raghubar, Javin Boston, Michael Domingo and Joel Joseph. Owner of the Sea Wolf, Kumar Lalbachan, when contacted by the Guyana Chronicle on Monday evening, said he managed to make contact with members of his crew, but

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd meets with owner of the Sea Wolf vessel, Kumar Lalbachan and his brother, Saran Lalbachan, and owner of the Lady Nayera, Trevor Daniels, on Monday

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd, calls in the Chargé d’ Affaires of the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Moses Chavez, to discuss the issue regarding Venezuela’s detainment of two Guyanese-owned fishing vessels along with the 12-member crew

the news he received left him bewildered. “We received word from them, but they said that they [Venezuelan authorities] bring them to the court and they have a 45-day investigation,” Lalbachan said. Let alone being told they will be held for 45 days, Lalbachan, who was evidently taken aback, said his crew is being detained on their boats. It remains unclear at this time whether they will have to spend the entire, imposed 45 days on the boat. Local authorities are yet to substantiate this information,

but Lalbachan told this publication that he has been serving as a direct source of communication between the fishermen and the local officials. TRYING THEIR BEST “They [local authorities] are trying their best to be honest… they are working hard to get this resolved,” the boat owner said. Early on Monday, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd, met with Lalbachan and the other boat owner, during which he conveyed the Government’s commitment to-

wards lobbying for the release of the crew and vessels. The Foreign Minister also provided the owners with an update on the Government’s efforts including the issuance of a statement condemning the recent actions of Venezuela and the transmission of a “note verbale” in protest of the Venezuelan navy’s actions. “We are doing all within our power to reunite the crew members with their families and help you to continue with your business,” the minister stated. The Foreign Minister pledged to remain in contact

with the owners and share updates as they occur. The Government of Guyana considers the “abduction” of Guyanese fishermen a wanton show of aggression by the Venezuelan armed forces against Guyana and Guyanese citizens. “This Venezuelan action amounts to an interference with the sovereign rights of Guyana in its EEZ, contrary to international law,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry said. Minister Todd called in the Chargé d’ Affaires of the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Moses Chavez, early Monday, to transfer the protest note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Guyana to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela. The protest note firmly condemns the illegal detention of the captains and crew of the Guyanese registered fishing vessels, the Lady Nayera and the Sea Wolf, and calls for their immediate release. Minister Todd used the opportunity to voice his concerns on the matter, and noted that the action coming out of Caracas is distasteful. The minister further added that based on latitude and longitude, the two vessels were well within Guyana’s territory. The minister highlighted the regional zone of peace and called for Venezuela to operate in a manner consistent with international rule of law. CORDIAL This position was also relayed by Minister Todd to Venezuela’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Jorge Arreaza, during a virtual meeting on Monday. The discussion was described as cordial. According to a press statement from Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, both ministers exchanged views within the context of the detention of the vessels and crew. The Venezuelan Foreign Minister assured that the crew members were being treated with utmost respect for their

human rights. At the request of Foreign Minister Todd, Minister Arreaza undertook to pursue their early release. Both foreign affairs ministers agreed to the importance of mutual respect in relations between the two countries. Each family member of detained fishermen, when contacted by this publication, said they are eagerly awaiting the return of their relatives, because, in some cases, they are the sole breadwinner of the house. The Government of Guyana has demanded the immediate release of the crew and vessels. It further exhorts the Government of Venezuela, and its agents, to behave in a manner consistent with international law, and good neighbourly relations. The international community, the Government of Guyana said, will be kept informed of all actions undertaken by Venezuela to undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana. The Commonwealth, CARICOM, United States of America and Canada have all signalled their full support for Guyana in this ongoing border controversy which is before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Guyana is seeking to obtain a final and binding judgement that the 1899 Arbitral Award, which established the location of the land boundary between the then British Guiana and Venezuela, remains valid, and that the Essequibo region belongs to Guyana, and not Venezuela. Most recently, the ICJ, on December 18, 2020, ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy case. It was reported that Guyana is confident that the international court will resolve the issue in its favour, and that this will also settle the issue of maritime rights in the adjacent sea and seabed. But, under international law, this is now for the ICJ to decide.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, January 26, 2021

France interested in building Guyana-Suriname bridge This was confirmed by Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill, who reminded that the closing date for Expressions of Interest (EoIs) for the project is February 15, 2021. On Monday, Minister Edghill met with a delegation comprising the ambassador, along with members of his team – Mr. Jean-Francois Gerin, Mr. Christophe Sureau, Mrs. Christine Sureau, Mr. Yorgo Hernandez and Mr. Philippe

Suriname could be completed and put to use before the end of 2025. In early December, the Ministries of Public works for both countries (Guyana and Suriname) invited EoIs for the provision of consultancy services for the “conducting of a feasibility study and preparing detailed designs for construction of the bridge over the Corentyne River and approach roads connecting Suriname and Guyana.”

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill meeting with Ambassador Antoine Joly and his team

By Rehana Ahamad AMBASSADOR of the French Republic to the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, Antoine Joly, has signalled his country’s interest in building the Guyana to Suriname bridge link.

Lamouret. During the meeting, prospective areas for future collaboration were discussed, and the French Ambassador shared an interest in assisting with the maintenance of Guyana’s vessels, as well as an interest in building the Corentyne River bridge. Edghill had previously said that if all goes well, the bridge linking Guyana and

According to the published invitation, “The objective of the consultancy is to conduct a feasibility study, including environmental and social-impact assessments and prepare detailed designs, drawings, cost estimates and bid documents for the construction of a bridge linking South Drain, Suriname and Moleson Creek, Guyana.” This particular assignment

has a timeline of 12 months attached to it. Minister Edghill told the Guyana Chronicle that a technical team has been assembled to ensure the competent and transparent execution of construction of the bridge. That team is being mutually spearheaded by Minister Edghill and his Surinamese counterpart, Riad Nuiermohamed. In the assessment of submissions, consideration will be given to technical competence, financial capability, qualifications, existing commitments, and importantly, the bidder’s experience on similar projects, both locally and regionally. “The Governments of Suriname and Guyana reserve the right to accept or reject late applications or to cancel the present invitation partially or in its entirety. It will not be bound to assign any reason for not shortlisting any applicant and TURN TO PAGE

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Pensioner reportedly chopped to death by cop A POLICE sergeant is under close arrest after he reportedly chopped a 73-year-old

man to death on Sunday at Onderneeming, Essequibo Coast.

Dead is Patrick George, of Onderneeming, Essequibo Coast; he lived alone. The police sergeant was identified as Alfred Madray, who is stationed at the Anna Regina police station. Police Headquarters, in a statement, noted that the sergeant was at his house in Onderneeming doing environmental cleaning in and around his residence when he was approached and attacked by the pensioner, who was armed with a cutlass and a piece of metal. Police said that Madray, who was using a cutlass to groom his yard, retaliated and chopped George, who dropped his cutlass and the piece of metal and escaped through the zinc fence. At about 10:00h on January 25, 2021, police acted on information received, and went to the home of George during which they observed him lying on his step motionless with a chop wound to his forehead, his wrist and his chest. The pensioner was taken to the Suddie Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The body is at the Charity Mortuary awaiting a post mortem.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, January 26, 2021

World Bank approves US$13.5M for Guyana’s education sector

AN ADDITIONAL US$13.5 million was approved by the World Bank on Monday to complete the construction of two secondary schools, supply resources for those schools and build another secondary school, under the ongoing Guyana Secondary Education Improvement Project. According to a press release from the World Bank, the sum was approved by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors. It was also stated that the Secondary Education Improvement Project aims to improve teaching in mathematics and increase enrollment in secondary schools. Equipment and training will also be provided to

support innovative technology-assisted education delivery methods. World Bank Resident Representative for Jamaica and Guyana, Ozan Sevimli highlighted that while Guyana’s education sector has made significant progress in the last decade, strengthening learning outcomes remains a priority, moreso in light of the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Through the ongoing project, we are pleased to support the government in piloting use of technology and innovative ways of teaching, which are particularly relevant during distance learning. The new financing will support the pilot of a “smart classroom” initiative to help

the sector build back better from the pandemic," Sevimli was quoted as saying in the release. The additional financing that was approved will also provide more resources to an existing pilot programme that uses adaptive learning software on tablets for mathematics education. This project emphasises the use of technology and higher quality mathematics education, both of which are important to prepare Guyanese students for future employment. Capacity building for teachers is another important component of the project, as this is seen as crucial to improving the quality of secondary education offered. The project

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French Republic interested ...

will not defray any costs incurred by any applicant in the preparation and submission of Expressions of Interest,” the published notice read. During Monday’s meeting, Minister Edghill said that the French will be more than welcome to submit their EOIs for not only that project, but the several other initiatives that form part of the government’s transformational agenda. The Public Works Minister related the government’s desire to build the capacity of the local

workforce through collaboration with the French. He also pointed out the importance of maintenance works to the local fleet of vessels, especially since two are currently in dry dock awaiting repairs. Currently, the MV Kimbia and MV Barima have been docked for emergency repairs. A press release from the Ministry of Public Works explained that the MV Kimbia has developed a hole in its bow and is currently in dry dock at the Guyana National Industrial Corporation.

This vessel is expected to be fully operational by the end of January. Meanwhile, the MV Barima had experienced engine failure to its port engine. The Ministry of Public Works and the Management of Transport and Harbours Department have indicated that stringent efforts are being made in collaboration with members of the private sector to get the vessel up and running in the shortest possible time.

is also supporting construction of secondary schools in Regions Three and Four, which include nearly 30 per cent of the country’s secondary school population and over 40 per cent of the population living in poverty. “Access to high-quality secondary schools can reduce overcrowding, improve learning conditions, and contribute to increasing enrollment,” the World Bank posited, in the release. The Guyana Secondary Education Project was approved in 2014 and has been extended to 2023 to ensure the successful completion of all the activities. The original project has already developed

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mathematics standards for secondary school teachers, supported mathematics training for over 600 teachers, and distributed 200 mathematics teaching kits. The World Bank noted that Guyana receives interest-free financing from the International Development Association (IDA), with a maturity of 40 years, including a grace period of 10 years. Additionally, it was noted that the World Bank approved support for Guyana’s health response to COVID-19 in November 2020.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Unsavoury Action

VENEZUELA’S aggression and its rude bullying of Guyana under the dark cloud of its claim on the border in the Essequibo, marks a disappointing shift from cooperation and good-neighbour relations under its former President Hugo Chavez, to downright hostility under current President Nicolas Maduro. Guyana today faces its Venezuela front with a two-pronged challenge: first as a refuge for fleeing Venezuelans escaping the devastating economic crisis in their country, and on top of that, an escalation of tension around the border issue. President Maduro adamantly refuses to cooperate on the border case, rejecting Guyana’s move to have the matter settled at the International Court of Justice. Scores of Venezuelans are taking refuge in border villages within Guyana, and there are reports of criminal gangs from Venezuela raiding and robbing Guyanese in the border regions. Guyana shows compassion and kindness to struggling Venezuelans fleeing their homeland, welcoming them with open arms and helping them make a living in Guyana. Guyanese remember how during the 28-year dictatorship under the People’s

National Congress (PNC) regime, many families fled to Venezuela. Today, many of them are returning to Guyana, and Guyanese are returning the favour by reaching out to poverty-stricken Venezuelans and caring for them with kindness and love. At the political level, however, things are different due to unsavoury actions by the Venezuelan Government. The Guyana Government issued a statement over the weekend to reject Venezuela’s apprehension of two Guyanese fishing boats in the Waini region. Venezuela detained the two fishing vessels with the Guyanese on board. In an urgent statement, the Guyana Government said that “Guyana condemns in the strongest possible terms this wanton act of aggression by the Venezuelan armed forces against Guyana and Guyanese citizens. This Venezuelan action amounts to an interference with the sovereign rights of Guyana in its Exclusive Economic Zone, contrary to international law. It is noted that this latest hostility follows closely on the heels of a Decree recently issued by President Nicolas Maduro which purports to establish ‘a new maritime territory of Venezuela called Territory for the Development of the Atlantic

Façade’, encompassing Guyana’s territorial waters, EEZ and continental shelf, as well as its land territory west of the Essequibo River. Guyana has emphatically condemned this Venezuelan Decree as a flagrant violation of its sovereignty and sovereign rights, and of fundamental rules of international law.” President Ali resorted to a sombre national address on January 9 last after the Venezuelan Head of State issued the arbitrary decree concerning its claim on Guyana’s territory. President Ali said that Guyana is “...alerting the International Community, including our sister-states in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and in the Americas of the danger to international peace and security that is being threatened by ... the Venezuela decree which violates fundamental principles of international law.” Venezuela’s action is without doubt an act of aggression against a peaceful state that shares its border. No country should stand by and allow Venezuela to apprehend and hold captive citizens of its neighbouring State and all peace-loving nations in a united effort should step in and issue a strong warning to Maduro for his country’s violation of international law.

This region of the Atlantic Ocean has historically always been a peaceful region, with the nations bordering the Ocean and each other, Suriname, French Guiana, Guyana and Venezuela co-existing and cooperating well since their independence. Even with strong Brazil sharing borders with these countries, the region was always able to maintain peaceful international relations. Even when countries suffer internal political and socioeconomic angst, they help and stand with each other. Venezuela and Guyana were able to cooperate through the UN Good Offices model to keep the border claim on a peaceful pact. However, of recent, President Maduro seems to be raising the temperature on the situation, and it is not a good sign at all. Suddenly, good relations and peaceful neighbourliness are up in the air and under threat, as Venezuela’s Maduro seeks to inject a new tone of military aggression against peaceful Guyana. It should be noted that this aggression is coming at a time when the International Court of Justice ICJ is deals with the border issue, a case Venezuela has been trying to avoid at all cost for obvious reasons.

A salute to India/ A tribute to Nehru Not a blade Dear Editor,

ON January 26, 1950, India became a republic. It was an important date, since it marked a complete break with the British colonial power. At that time India was in a desperate position, the country was partitioned and hundreds of thousands died in communal violence. Economically, it was one of the poorest in the world. India’s share of the world economy was just three per cent in 1947. A fall from 27 per cent in 1700, when Great Britain colonised her. Its manufacturing was almost non-existent, just seven per cent of GDP in 1947 and manufactured exports just two per cent. Starvation and faming were the main news that came out of that country. This year India is celebrating its 71st Anniversary in another desperate time for the world. COVID- 19 has been devastating our world, killing more than a million and damaging the world economy greatly. Millions are unemployed. India, even though it too is facing great problems caused by COVID, has not isolated itself as some countries in the world have done. It is not just thinking selfishly but helping the world to overcome this dreaded disease. Already, it has donated more than a million vaccines to its neighbours and are fulfilling requests farther afield, including the Caribbean. India is doing this while the West is buying up and trying to hoard vaccines for their own populations. Canada, for instance, has bought more than five times its population needs. But India is more than a vaccines power. In the last 71 years India has become a major power in

science and technology -- one of the world’s leaders in ICT. It has sent probes into outer space at a cost way below other countries doing the same. It is a manufacturing power, producing high-quality machinery and equipment. This country was able to achieve this due to the quality of leadership, the enlightened leadership provided mainly by its first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, a gentle giant. Nehru concentrated on building India’s human capital. He began building world-class educational institutions that has made his country so respected today. Even more important, he sunk democracy deeply in India society. His respect for democratic norms, for Parliament, for the courts, is legendary. He was more than just an Indian leader. He was profoundly internationalist. On the world stage he organised the former colonies to defend their sovereignty against super power politics of the post-war period. He with Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Tito of Yugoslavia and Sukarno of Indonesia organised the NonAligned Movement that made an important contribution to international relations during the Cold War and helped defend post-colonial societies’ independence. Jawaharlal Nehru was a profound thinker, an internationalist and humanitarian of gigantic proportions. On this anniversary, I salute the Great Soul!

Yours sincerely, Donald Ramotar Former President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana

of grass!

Dear Editor, GUYANA, the nation, needs to register its strongest disapproval against our neighbour for the interception and detention of our citizens in our own waters. While diplomacy at Government level will be at work, we the citizens must let our neighbour know its actions are nothing short of provocation, and that such bullyism will not be tolerated. How about peaceful protest action outside the Venezuelan Embassy, demanding the immediate release of our citizens? Or a citizens’ letter to the Ambassador, demanding the release of our citizens? Or a petition to the Venezuelan President or the UN? Not a blade of grass! Yours sincerely, Shamshun Mohamed

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, January 26, 2021

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OP-ED ITEC: 56 YEARS YOUNG By Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty

SINCE independence, India’s foreign policy has been guided by solidarity with other developing nations, based not just on shared ideologies, but also on strong economic foundations. To fulfil this objective, a comprehensive programme -- the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation -- better known by its acronym ITEC, was launched by the Indian government in 1964, to provide assistance in technical and economic sectors to newly independent countries and developing nations. The ITEC programme was predicated on the belief that “it was necessary to establish relations of mutual concern and inter-dependence, based not only on commonly held ideals and aspirations, but also on solid economic foundations. Technical and economic cooperation was considered to be one of the essential functions of an integrated and imaginative foreign policy.” ITEC, fully funded by the Indian Government, is an integral part of India’s foreign policy and represents an important arm of India’s soft- power diplomacy, a phrase that came into the international diplomatic vocabulary years later in the 1980s. THE REGIONAL TIES ITEC is demand-driven and relies on innovative technological cooperation to fulfil the needs of developing countries. More than US$2 billion has been spent on this programme since it began, benefiting thousands of students and professionals from around 160 countries. The ITEC Programme is essentially bilateral in nature. However, in recent years, ITEC resources have also been used for cooperation programmes conceived in regional and inter-regional context, such as UN Economic Commission for Africa, Commonwealth Secretariat, UNIDO, Group of 77 and G-15. ITEC’s fundamental paradigm is bilateral cooperation but it has regional dimensions that have developed programmes with organisations like Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC), African Union (AU), Afro-Asian Rural Development Organisation (AARDO), Pan African Parliament, Caribbean Community (CARICOM),

World Trade Organization (WTO) and Indian Ocean Rim - Association for Regional Cooperation (IORARC) and India- Africa Forum Summit. The ITEC Programme has evolved and grown over the years. Under ITEC and its sister programme SCAAP (Special Commonwealth African Assistance Programme), 161 countries in Asia, Africa, East Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean as well as Pacific and Small Island countries are invited to share the Indian developmental experience. The shared experiences have covered areas like civilian and military sectors, projects, consultancy and feasibility studies, sending Indian experts in different domains, study tours for partner country officials and students, supply of equipment as gifts or donation requested and disaster relief. Disaster Relief is a vital component of ITEC and it focusses on food security and medical assistance for humanitarian relief. TRAINING MODULES Training in digital technologies is a special feature that India offers in the domain of capacity building, under ITEC. Professionals from developing countries are offered unique training courses, both civilian and defence, in different centres of excellence in India. In the civilian sector, the training offered includes a wide and diverse spectrum of disciplines ranging from IT, rural development and parliamentary practices to entrepreneurship, marine and aeronautical engineering etc. In defence, the training covers fields like security and strategic studies, defence management, marine and aeronautical engineering, logistics and management, etc. Over 12,000 scholarships for study in short and longterm courses in India’s leading institutions are offered annually under ITEC. Partner countries are free to choose their personnel and the courses that are relevant for their development needs. ITEC programmes are often moulded to suit the specific requirements of partner countries. Indian professionals are deputed upon request in a variety of sectors for teaching and imparting skills. Many among those who have studied or received training in India, have progressed to occupying important political, bureaucratic and military positions in their countries, thereby contributing to their countries’ development and fostering closer ties with

India. As a result of different activities under this programme, there is now a visible and growing awareness among other countries about India’s competence as a provider of technical know-how and expertise as well as training opportunities, consultancy services and feasibility studies. These programmes have generated immense goodwill and substantive cooperation among the developing countries.

LINES OF CREDIT An important dimension of ITEC is the Lines of Credit (LoC), extended on soft terms to partner countries, for essential imports of goods and services, social welfare and infrastructure projects. India’s South Asian neighbours have received around 70 per cent of the grants under LoC. Indian companies taking part in ITEC programmes have established themselves in partner countries for contributing to

infrastructural projects, independent of ITEC or LoC. The ITEC-LoC partnership fosters friendship and solidarity, and is marked by national ownership of the partner country, since it is voluntary and devoid of any pre-conditions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many foreign trainees and students were unable to return home and arrangements were made for their continued stay. The growth of ITEC led to the Ministry of Ex-

ternal Affairs to bring the management of ITEC and LoC under a new entity, called the Development Partnership Administration in 2011, for streamlining its work under a single vertical management structure. Today, ITEC/ LoC has matured into a crucial pillar of India’s development outreach and diplomacy, imbued with the civilisation heritage of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or the world is my family.

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Court to receive election documents by Wednesday

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, January 26, 2021

––Justice Singh optimistic that documents will be accounted for By Navendra Seoraj CHAIRPERSON of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh, has said that the commission intends on submitting Statements of Poll (SoPs) and Statements of Recount (SoRs) from the March 2, 2020, general and regional elections, to the High Court by Wednesday. The High Court has given the commission, specifically the Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, until January 29, 2021, to submit those documents. However, Justice Singh has said that they will be handed over before the deadline. “During the week we will be handing over everything, by Wednesday,” the GECOM

chairperson said during a telephone interview with the Guyana Chronicle, on Monday. Election documents, particularly SoPs, were the subject of contention during events following the polls, as several requests by contesting parties and international organisations to view those documents were denied. Such an outcome is, however, unlikely this time around as the High Court has ordered that those documents, which are reportedly in the possession of Lowenfield, be submitted for safekeeping, ahead of the hearing on an elections petition which was filed by petitioners on behalf of the political opposition, A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition. Chief Justice, Roxane

George, SC, in striking out one of two elections petitions submitted on behalf of the political opposition, ruled last week Monday that the first petition, 88 of 2020, will be heard in the court, but agreed that, ahead of that, the SoPs and SoRs must be submitted for ‘safekeeping’. When asked if those documents were intact and well accounted for, Justice Singh had said: “Well I would not know. We will know when we are handing them over… everything would have been stored away, and I am not the custodian, so we will know when they are checking off. “So, I am not in a position to say that because I do not know… remember, I am not the custodian, so when the time comes, we will know.” The chairperson had said

previously that Section 102 of the Representation of the People Act, Chapter 103, states that the CEO is the ‘custodian’ of all election documents. “He is the keeper of all those documents and he has them in his custody…I would not know where he stores them,” Justice Singh had said in a previous report. The Chronicle understands that the SoPs and SoRs, which are to be submitted to the court, are reportedly being kept in a container, which is in the custody of Lowenfield, who, along with other GECOM officials, is facing several election fraud charges. Although he is the sole ‘custodian’ of election documents, the CEO will have to work collaboratively with the Registrar of the Supreme Court to complete the task

Flashback: Representatives of the various political parties observing the opening of the containers by GECOM personnel at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (Elvin Croker photo)

Chairperson of GECOM, Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh

at hand, which is submitting the documents to the court. Section 19 of the National Assembly (Validity of Elections) Act empowers the judge in an election court to make an order for the CEO to hand those documents over to the court. The idea of having those documents lodged at the court was ‘incited’ by attorneys, Douglas Mendes and Kashir Khan, who both requested that, in moving forward with the hearing of petition 88 of 2020, certain documents such as SoPs and SoRs, must be lodged with the registrar of the court for safekeeping. Mendes specifically reminded the court that the Representation of the People Act allows the CEO to destroy all elections documents after a 12-month period would have elapsed. The Chief Justice agreed to the requests and granted an order for the SoPs and SoRs to be submitted to the court. There are 2, 339 Statements of Poll. Subsequent to the March 2, 2020 elections, in the same month, High Court Judge, Franklyn Holder, had refused an application made to him for GECOM to produce SOPs for District Four. Following a slew of legal challenges and international intervention, a national recount of all votes cast was convened and the figures showed that the PPP/C

received 233,336 votes while the APNU+AFC coalition got 217,920 votes. Justice Singh, while not being privy to the SoPs and SoRs, is optimistic that, when the time comes, they will be accounted for. Both sets of documents are expected to serve as evidence when the elections petition comes up in the court for hearing. In the first petition, 88 of 2020, petitioners Claudette Thorne and Heston Bostwick want the court to determine, among other things, questions regarding whether the elections had been lawfully conducted or whether the results had been, or might have been affected by any unlawful act or omission and, in consequence thereof, whether the seats in the National Assembly had been lawfully allocated. Justice George has since given attorney-at-Law, Roysdale Forde, who is representing the petitioners, until February 12 to file his submissions and the respondents, including the Attorney -General, until March 19, to file submissions in reply. The parties must return to court on April 7, 2021, barring any directions by e-mail.

61 more recover from COVID-19

–– 19 new cases AN additional 61 persons have recovered from COVID-19, bringing the country’s total recoveries to 6,431, since recording the first case in March 2020, according to the Health Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard for January 25, 2021.

Even while the new recoveries were recorded, the Ministry of Health confirmed an additional 19 persons have tested positive for the virus; men accounted for eight of the newly confirmed cases, while the remaining 11 were females. The 19 newly confirmed

cases were recorded in Regions One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and Seven. Regions One and Three recorded two new cases each, while Region Two recorded one new case; Regions Four and Five recorded an additional four cases each; Region Six recorded one new case and Region Seven recorded the remaining six new cases. It was reported that the

19 new cases were recorded from a total of 97 tests, taking the overall known cases to 7,317; the country presently has 720 active cases. Currently, there are 38 persons in institutional isolation; 670 are in home isolation and six are in institutional quarantine. Many of the persons infected with the virus are said to be asymptomatic, that is, they are not exhibiting symptoms.

Additionally, six persons are being kept at the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the National Infectious Diseases Hospital at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown. The updated COVID–19 Emergency Measures are in force from January 1, 2021, until January 31, 2021. As per the current measures, however, all persons

are required to wear face masks when leaving their homes. Physical distancing and adequate sanitisation are also important. The current curfew time is 22:30hrs to 04:00hrs. Persons with symptoms of COVID-19 are asked to call the COVID-19 hotline numbers: 231-1166; 226-7480; or 180/181 for assistance.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, January 26, 2021

‘Pesticides Board’ tapping into new resources ….to accommodate oil and gas sector THE Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Board (PTCCB) will be tapping into its full potential this year to accommodate the emerging oil and gas sector. This is according to registrar of the board, Trecia David, who stated that while many may assume that the board only handles the management of pesticides, it also oversees the importation, registration, management and storage of other toxic chemicals that are used in several industries and sectors in the country. David, during an interview posted on the Ministry of Agriculture’s Facebook page, explained that the oil and gas sector has brought with it a gamut of toxic chemicals that are used by the different organisations for extraction and the different

processes of gaining oil. “One of the things that quickly had to happen was for us to adjust at the board to the point where we understood that we needed to manage these products and to do so effectively,” she said adding: “One of the things that was certainly raised as well, is the legislative mechanism to do that, and so one of the things that I know the board has discussed and agreed on is that there has to be some amendment to ensure that all stages are managed and managed properly when it comes to toxic chemicals.” David noted that the board has been working on registering and managing all toxic chemicals that are being imported into the country and has been successful in registering more than 3,000 chemicals within the last year, some of which are being used

in the oil and gas sector. “Currently what we are doing is the registration of these products; we are working with all the companies, all the importers. Once you are an importer, the legislation says that you must be issued what you call an establishment permit.” She further explained that the process of obtaining such a permit allows the board to ensure that importers have the capability and proper facilities to provide safe storage, along with all the necessary mechanisms in place for transport from one point to another. The registrar stated the board is looking to expand its knowledge and resources to make accommodation for the proper storage of the chemicals that are used in the oil and gas sector. “We are looking at storage in a broader aspect of

things because a lot of chemicals that are used in oil and gas are not stored here, they are stored offshore and used offshore so that dimension is something that we have to begin to explore as well, in terms of looking to effectively manage it.” With the board’s expansion and the new addition of sectors, David stated that the entity will also be gearing its focus on building its human resources capacity. “One of the key things that we are always cognisant about is that with every new area of the legislation that is being implemented, and with every new addition in terms of stakeholders, we have to be equipped here in terms of human resources capacity.” David said that, over the years, the board has ensured that its staff are trained at a certain level to assess and

Trecia David, registrar of the Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Board (PTCCB)

handle disaster and risk management for both pesticides and toxic chemicals. “One that we are going to be tapping into very shortly is the comprehensive hazardous management training and this will be for our staff here, but it’s going to be broader;

we are going to be coordinating with the [Environmental Protection Agency] and the [Guyana Geology and Mines Commission] to not only have that knowledge here, but other agencies, where it is relevant as well.”

No concerns about re-infections at St. Cuthbert’s Mission –– residents becoming complacent, weary By Vishani Ragobeer EVEN though the indigenous community of St. Cuthbert’s Mission, on the Soesdyke/ Linden Highway, has been experiencing another spike in the number of residents infected with the COVID-19 virus, Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony assured that there are no concerns of persons becoming re-infected. “The cases that we have seen in St. Cuthbert’s Mission are really not re-infections...

that’s not what we’re seeing, we’re seeing new people who are now getting the infection,” the minister explained on Monday, during his daily COVID-19 update with the Department of Public Information (DPI). Re-infections occur when someone previously infected with the virus, COVID-19, becomes infected once again. Studies are still ongoing to determine how re-infection occurs with the coronavirus, but Minister Anthony previously

told the Guyana Chronicle that it may be possible for persons to become re-infected with COVID-19 if they have been exposed to another strain of the virus. Guyana is not yet able to determine whether newer variants of the virus have been imported from the United Kingdom (UK), Brazil or South Africa where newer, more transmissible variants have been discovered in recent weeks. But, it is expected that by the end of this week,

samples which appeared to be ‘abnormal’ will be analysed. The minister also indicated that some of the newer cases recorded in the community have been recorded in children at the school there. But, like most of the other infected individuals, they are not exhibiting any symptoms. The ministry has allowed these asymptomatic persons to isolate at home and it has been monitoring those persons so that the necessary actions can be taken should they develop any signs Toshao of St. Cuthbert’s Mission, Beverley Clenkian

St. Cuthbert’s Mission from above

or symptoms associated with COVID-19. A medical team is present in the community, conducting tests and contacttracing with the residents. Meanwhile, Toshao of St. Cuthbert’s Mission, Beverley Clenkian, during a telephone interview with the Guyana Chronicle, said that residents are becoming complacent with the guidelines in place to protect against COVID-19. According to the toshao, persons travelling in and out of the community are not taking as many precautions as they did before. This, perhaps, has contributed to the spike in the number of cases here again. She also said that it

appears as though the residents have become weary of these guidelines since the community has already experienced a lockdown only in November, last year. Nevertheless, she said that the village council is trying to reinforce the need to adhere to the social-distancing and sanitation guidelines, so that the spread of the virus can be mitigated. She also highlighted that the council is engaging the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs to provide some of the residents with hampers and supplies, while they are isolating.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Agencies that bought expensive gifts for Patterson, others, knowingly defied the law GOVERNMENT ministries and other budget agencies were fully apprised of the

illegalities of using public monies to purchase expensive jewellery and other

personal gifts for government officials. As a matter of fact, in

2018, the Ministry of Finance, having detected previous purchases, issued a budget circular specifically warning that “gifts and merchandise related to occasion-specific or ministry-specific paraphernalia and gifts must be reduced.” The written notice was not heeded, and the Finance Secretary, Michael B. Joseph, was forced to issue a second circular six months later, since agencies were still proposing to present monetary vouchers and other gifts for staff during the holidays, utilising public funds. That circular specified that agencies were “not permitted” to make these purchases, as it is contrary to what is outlined in Guyana’s Fiscal Management and Accountability Act (FMAA), section 16 which states, “There shall be no expenditure of public monies except in accordance with article 217 of the Constitution.” The circular, referred to

above, which was shared with this newspaper, pointed to the fact that the spending was neither considered nor approved by the National Assembly, and as such “any related payment by any HoBA (Head of Budget Agency) is prohibited.” Several agencies under the then Ministry of Public Infrastructure continued to defy the warnings, and went ahead to purchase exorbitant gifts for the ministers – David Patterson and Annette Ferguson. Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, recently disclosed that over the last five years, Patterson received personal gifts totaling $2.646 million, from agencies under his remit. The latest purchases were made in May 2020, when the former minister received gifts valued at $704,292. Ferguson received items valued at $1.4 million from the very agencies; however, these were classified as “donations”. A spreadsheet

from the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC) showed that in excess of $6 million in “donations” were given to the Public Infrastructure Ministry between June 2015 and July 2016. The gift-giving was also extended to former General Manager of the DHBC, Rawlston Adams who approved the purchase of a spanking $897,000 bracelet as a gift for International Men’s Day in 2020. Adams has since resigned and begun repaying for the item. The Guyana Police Force has been called in to investigate the scandal. Meanwhile, Auditor-General, Deodat Sharma, had previously told the Guyana Chronicle that, as part of the Fiscal Management and Accountability (FMA) Act, accounting officers, also known as Permanent Secretaries, could face penalties for spending monies that have not been budgeted for and approved by the National Assembly.

This circular, outlining specific regulations, was recently shared with this publication

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Career criminal on trial for 2015 murder of co-accused and Thomas were charged jointly for the murder of Linden businesswoman, Shevon Gordon, who was gunned down outside of her house on April 4, 2015, at One Mile Block 22, Wismar, Linden. She was also relieved of a bag containing money and

Stafrei Alexander

JUSTICE Brassington Reynolds and a 12-member jury, on Monday, began hearing evidence in the trial of Stafrei Alexander, who is accused of murdering Terrence Thomas in 2015, following their escape from police custody. Alexander, a career criminal and former resident of Laing Avenue, West Ruimveldt, was arraigned in the High Court last week for

the capital offence. He denied that between December 8 and 11, 2015 at Linden, he murdered Thomas. On Monday, the trial commenced with the testimony of government Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh and a police witness. The trial will continue on Tuesday at 09:00 hours. The Guyana Chronicle had reported that Alexander

her son was also wounded. On December 8, 2015, Alexander and Thomas escaped from the Mackenzie Police Station, where they were in holding to attend court. Thomas’s decomposed body was found in the De-

merara River, in the vicinity of West Watooka, three days later. Thomas is believed to have provided investigators with information about Gordon’s murder and was reportedly killed by Alexander. Alexander, who was

among the high-profile prisoners who broke out of the Camp Street prison in 2017, is currently serving a life sentence for the attempted murder of Curtis Thom. He is also awaiting trial at the High Court for another murder.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Venezuela’s request to ICJ for extension of case management a diversionary tactic –– Greenidge says Guyana not in agreement with request, but will work with the court By Navendra Seoraj VENEZUELA’S request to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for an extension in the date for the case management of the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy, though granted by the court, is seen by Guyana as a tactic to divert the ICJ from its “noble procedures”, Advisor on Borders at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Carl Greenidge, has said. The case management hearing was initially scheduled for January 25, 2021, but, owing to the request by Venezuela, this hearing has been postponed to February 26. A case management in legal terms refers to the schedule of proceedings involved in a matter. There are various stages in litigation, such as the filing of a complaint, answers, the discovery process (interrogatories, subpoenaed, depositions and so forth), and motions that occur before a trial is held or a decision is rendered. Venezuela had requested

that this exercise be postponed for three months. However, the court granted an extension of only one month. “The requests put to the ICJ are only intended to divert the court from its noble procedures,” Greenidge said during a telephone interview with the Guyana Chronicle, on Monday. In March 2018, Guyana filed its application in the ICJ seeking an affirmation of the validity of the1899 Arbitral Award and the international boundary that it established. On June 30, Guyana, in its virtual presentation in the Arbitral Award of October 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela) case, said that, not only is Venezuela’s current interpretation of the Geneva Agreement illogical and erroneous, but it is in stark contrast to the interpretation the Spanish-speaking country had when it signed the very agreement in February 1966. Represented by a battery of international lawyers, Guyana said the agreement, in unambiguous terms, empowered the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General to

Guyana’s Agent in the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy, Carl Greenidge

determine an appropriate resolution mechanism to enable a peaceful settlement, which is the ICJ. The ICJ ruled on December 18, 2020, that it has jurisdiction to hear the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy case. FINAL AND BINDING JUDGEMENT

Guyana is seeking to obtain a final and binding judgement that the 1899 Arbitral Award, which established the location of the land boundary between then British Guiana and Venezuela, remains valid, and that the Essequibo region belongs to Guyana, and not Venezuela. Greenidge believes that just as Guyana is aware, the

court too should be cognisant that Venezuela has said, for the longest while, that it is not interested in having this matter resolved by the court. It is for this very reason that Guyana is against Venezuela’s request to delay the court process, which is expected to bring the ongoing border controversy to a peaceful end. “We have done no more than indicate to the court that we do not agree with the explanation provided in the request, especially since the case management is procedural and does not require any sort of preparation, that will take three months on the part of any one party,” Greenidge said. His view, however, is that the extension granted by the ICJ cannot help Venezuela because the country has searched for 50 years and still has not been able to find information to prove that the Arbitral Award of October 1899 is invalid. “What they could not find in 50 years, they will not be able to find in a few months,” Greenidge asserted. The extension, though not

helpful to Venezuela is more likely to be good for the ICJ since the court is expected to shift to a new President within a matter of days. Greenidge, in explaining this, said: “Maybe the delay will give the court more time for the matter to be considered by the new President and his team.” Guyana, nonetheless, remains ready to work with the court to ensure that it completes its work speedily and without the diversions and disruptions Venezuela is looking to instigate. Venezuela’s President, Nicolás Maduro, on January 7, 2021, issued a decree claiming Venezuela’s sovereignty and exclusive sovereign rights in the waters and seabed adjacent to Guyana’s coast, west of the Essequibo River. President, Dr. Irfaan Ali has since rejected Venezuela’s latest claim and noted that it will receive no legal regard from any other State in the world, moreso Guyana.

Widow, Barbadian man on trial for Herstelling blockmaker’s murder ALMOST six years after 47-year-old blockmaker Nathan Persaud was bludgeoned to death at his Herstelling, East Bank Demer-

ara home, his alleged killers, on Monday, appeared at the High Court for their trial. Beverley Persaud, the dead man’s wife, and Barbadian

national, Oswald Yaw called “Meow” appeared before Justice Navindra Singh at the Demerara High Court where a 12-member jury was em-

Oswald Yaw called ‘Meow’

Beverley Persaud

DEAD: Nathan Persaud

panelled. The duo denied the charge which read that, on September 10, 2015, at Herstelling, East Bank Demerara, they murdered Persaud. The State is being represented by prosecutors, Tiffani Lyken and Teriq Mohammed. Attorneys-at-law Racheal Bakker and Ravindra Mohabir are on record for the accused. Trial will commence on Tuesday with the testimony of a number of police and civilian witnesses. 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 which 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 Persaud met with him several weeks prior to the murder and had incited 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.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, January 26, 2021

House-to-house distribution central to eliminating filaria –– Health Minister urges all to take the pills and say ‘good riddance’ to the infection By Vishani Ragobeer THOUGH the COVID-19 pandemic has placed a strain on other previously effective mechanisms for distributing filaria pills this year, the house-to-house distribution of the final set of pills will be crucial to the success of this four-yearlong Mass Drug Administration (MDA) campaign. Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony highlighted that numerous personnel have been trained to execute the house-to-house distribution of the three sets of pills, beginning next month. This is due to the recognition that previous strategies for distributing the pills in public locations, such as markets, business centres and schools, may be constrained due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Resultantly, it is the house-to-house distribution of pills which has been a feature of the MDA that will be crucial to its success this year. “The team that is working on this particular project has spent a lot of time planning and rolling out that plan, so they have a rollout that would be in some of the coastal regions and we would go into the interior regions,” Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony explained on Monday as he responded to questions during his daily COVID-19 update with the Department

of Public Information (DPI). In addition to the houseto-house distribution, the health authorities have engaged community and religious leaders to help sensitise persons on why it is

toes. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), it affects the body’s lymphatic system, which functions to remove unwanted fluids from the body and transports ‘lymph’- a fluid which

Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony

necessary to take the pills. In October, 2017, the local health authorities launched a reconceptualised, multiyear MDA, seeking to eradicate Lymphatic Filariasis (LF), commonly called filaria or “big foot,” in Guyana. Through this, efforts are made to have at least 70 per cent of the population consume the ‘filaria pills’Diethylcarbamazine citrate (DEC), Albendazole (ALB) and Ivermectin (IVM) - to sterilise and kill the worms that cause filaria. Filaria is caused by bancrofti worms and is transmitted by culex mosqui-

contains white blood cells that help to fight infections. Though Guyana is one of few countries in the Americas to still have this disease, if this year’s MDA is successful, Guyana will be able to eliminate it. SCHOOLS In the revitalised 2017 MDA, the Education Ministry was recruited to join the campaign, since in a previously unsuccessful filaria campaign, children were the group that failed to meet the minimum percentage for coverage. “While schools in the

One of the three filaria pills which will be distributed from February (PAHO photo)

past (rounds of this MDA) have been one of the areas that we’ve targeted, because the students are out of school but they are at home, once we do the house-to-house work we’ll be able to reach them as well,” Dr. Anthony also explained. The smaller number of older students who have been allowed to return to their schools for physical engagements, would be given the tablets there. Just as in previous rounds, it is expected that the students will take the tablets unless their parents have signed dissent forms

Exxon’s suppliers’ forum returns

THE Guyana Suppliers’ Forum, which provides an occasion for local businesses to gain valuable insights, and access existing and upcoming activities and opportunities in the oil-and-gas sector, will be held virtually this year and is set for 1 – 5 February. The forum, which is hosted by the Centre for Local Business Development (CLBD) in partnership with ExxonMobil, provides a unique virtual platform for Guyanese suppliers to receive up-to-date information on the procurement process, key contacts, upcoming tenders and longer term directly from ExxonMobil Guyana and its leading prime contractors. “The overarching goal of the forum is to provide Guyanese businesses with valuable insights and access to the activities that exist and are upcoming in the oil-and-gas sector,” a statement by the CLBD noted. Chairman of the Private

Sector Commission (PSC), Nicholas Boyer, lauded the hosting of the forum as a vital means of ensuring that local businesses are informed and are given an opportunity to benefit from Guyana’s oil-and-gas sector. “It’s important for these forums to happen to connect Exxon “tier one” suppliers with the Guyanese businesses which have the capacity to supply them with goods and services; and it is important for the private sector of Guyana to participate, so that we get that two-way information happening,” Boyer told this newspaper. He further explained that, “We need to learn what products and services they need and they need to learn what products and services we can provide. When we learn what they need, we can add capacity; when they learn what we can supply, we can talk about pricing, and timing of getting those

services to them.” Some 300 local businesses attended the forum when it was first held in 2018 at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown. This year, the forum will feature presentations from the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Private Sector Commission, ExxonMobil Guyana, Tullow, and 10 prime contractors from the oil-and-gas sector. The presentations will be done on

preventing them from consuming the filaria medication. IRREVERSIBLE Persons infected with LF may develop chronic conditions, resulting in swelling of the legs and scrotum. Locally, the swelling of tissues in the leg is called ‘big foot,’ while scrotal swelling is termed ‘goadie.’ There is no cure for filaria, which means that these chronic manifestations are irreversible. And it is for this reason that taking the tablets to prevent infection is imperative. Minister Anthony

stressed, “[Taking the pills] is for your health, it is going to protect you, it’s going to prevent you from getting filaria or what is known as ‘big foot,’ and I think that is an important thing that we can actually eliminate this disease from our country.” A combination of the three pills will be given to individuals on the basis of their height. Pregnant women, seriously ill persons, children less than two years old and shorter than 90 cm of height will not be given the the pills.

–– to be held in February

the first day of the event, while February 2-5, will be used for discussions. Some of the prime contractors that will be fielding questions include drillship operators such as NobleDrilling Services, and Stena Drillin Ltd; subsea control systems-specialists such as Saipem; geophysical firms that conduct seismic surveys, such as TechnipFMC; oilfield services company Schlum-

berger and others such as Guyana Deepwater Offshore/ SBM, Guyana Shorebase Inc, G-Boats, Halliburton, Baker Hughes and NABI-KCL. To participate, suppliers must be registered with the CLBD, and can do so on the centre’s website supplier registration portal at clbdportal.com. The CLBD was established by Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd, an affiliate

of ExxonMobil Corporation in collaboration with DAI Global, LLC. It was established in 2017 to assist small and medium-sized Guyanese businesses build capacity and improve their competitiveness and more than 2,000 Guyanese businesses are registered with the centre, to date.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, January 26, 2021

AG to sue public officials who swindled millions

By Richard Bhainie

FOLLOWING the recent revelations of public officials under the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) administration misusing public funds to furnish themselves with ‘glittering gifts’, legal proceedings will be instituted to

recover millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money. This is according to Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C, who, during an interview with this newspaper, explained that the government intends to sue public officials in their personal capacities, who have misused public funds.

Pursuant to Section 10 of Chapter 6:05, the State Liability and Proceedings Act, proceedings for the enforcement of any claim by or against the state shall be brought by or against the Attorney-General. In this regard, Nandlall said he intends to utilise the full force of the law to set a precedent. “The relevant state agencies will be activated and the laws will be applied in order to sanction those implicated, and to try to recover the public monies, through civil proceedings, where possible,” Nandlall said. Thus far, the Guyana Police Force has been called in to investigate the circumstances surrounding government agencies gifting expensive items to former Ministers of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson and Annette Ferguson. According to 2016 records, the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) had purchased a birthday gift for Patterson valued at $60,000. Further, in 2018, the same agency purchased a $384,700 birthday bracelet for Patterson from King’s Jewellery World. Documents from May 2020 show that MARAD went on to approve $704,292 “towards the purchase of birthday gifts”. However, the documents did not specify who the items were purchased for. It is further alleged that Ferguson received items, classified as donations, valued at $1.4 million from agencies which fell under her purview. A spreadsheet from the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation show that in excess of $6 million in “donations” were given to the Public Infrastructure Ministry between June 2015 and July 2016. “I don’t think that there was at any time in the independent history of Guyana that we have seen such level of corruption, thievery, graft and abuse and misuse of public funds that we have seen between 2015 and 2020,” Nandlall said. The Attorney-General explained that the actions by the former public officers is a gross violation of Section 48 of Chapter 73:02 of the Fiscal

Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C

Management and Accountability Act, which reads “a minister or official shall not in any manner misuse, misapply, or improperly dispose of public monies.” “In five years, what we witnessed was a destruction of the productive sectors and the productive capacity of the country and the use of the taxation system to supplement the short fall in revenue by imposing the most oppressive set of tax laws. “And, at the same time, they did not spend the revenue on the economy but stole, squandered and spent it on themselves,” the Attorney-General lamented. Nandlall noted that the government has a legal and constitutional responsibility to taxpayers to hold those involved accountable for such wanton abuse of public funds, and an omission to act, will render the government complicit. “Therefore, the laws of the country that were enacted to protect the state and public funds from such abuse must be invoked if we are to continue to subscribe to the cannons of accountable, responsible and transparent government,” the Attorney-General said. He reiterated that civil proceedings will be instituted against all public officers, not just ministers, who were involved in the misappropriation of public funds, to recover the monies, as “the people of Guyana deserve no less”.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Citizens urged to stop dumping garbage in canals and drains –– Minister Mustapha links it to recent flooding AGRICULTURE Minister Zulfikar Mustapha and the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) are calling on citizens to desist from dumping their household garbage and other unwanted items in canals and drains. They have emphasised that the indiscriminate garbage disposal is a continuous challenge that obstructs drainage works, damages pumps and contributes to severe flooding in many areas. Christine Douglas, the NDIA’s Monitoring and Evaluation Officer in a Ministry of Agriculture report has explained that the country’s drainage and irrigation system is interlinked, and despite popular belief, if one is to dump their garbage in a drain or trench, it does not simply float away. “One of the major challenges the NDIA faces in executing its mandate is the accumulation of garbage in our waterways. The D&I system is interlinked, so one place that garbage is dumped eventually [stays] in the entire systems,” Douglas said. She added: “Residents out there tend to think that should they dump the garbage in the middle of the channel, it will eventually flow out, and goes out to the sluice and all is well with the world.” She explained that although pumps at pump stations are equipped with trash racks, debris can still pass through, causing blockages and damages to the mechanical devices. “Millions of dollars are spent to actually repair these pump stations; one little wood or one little cloth or whatever debris that are in the channels,” Douglas said. Meanwhile, NDIA ranger, Romel Dhalgetti explained that residents should be considerate of the contractors and workers who have to manually remove waste materials from the pumps, channels and sluices.

“Most of the time, we would get a lot of complains from the contractor. The contractor would say they’re not going into the drain, because it would be real filthy sometimes.” He added that they would often come across “very dirty stuff”, and for the sake of their health and personal reasons, many contractors refuse to do the work. “When it is time to go and do the manual work inside the drains, they complain because some people don’t want to touch dead animals, bloody pads and those kind of stuff,” Dhalgetti said. He noted that contractors often find dead animals, furniture, plastic bottles and other household garbage. Because of this recurring problem, the NDIA has had to expend millions of dollars to clean and oversee the rehabilitation of several pumps and drains across the country. Minister Mustapha also pleaded with residents to desist from dumping their waste in the country’s waterways. “We want to ask residents to desist from dumping garbage in the drains and in alleyways. It is hampering our drainage systems, and as a result of that, it is causing severe flooding around the regions,” he said. He added that citizens should be more cognisant of the damage and effects they can cause when they do not dispose of their waste the correct way, especially during the current rainy season. “We are in the rainy period, and we have seen a number of areas that were under water; not only in Region Four, but we had to visit Regions Two, Three, Five, Region Six and parts of Region Ten,” he said. Minister Mustapha noted that the recent flooding in Charity, in Region Two, was a prime example of what can happen when residents dump their garbage in the drains and canals.

Prime Minister Mark Phillips (partly hidden) and Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha inspecting a clogged drain during a recent visit to Charity (Ministry of Agriculture photo)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, January 26, 2021

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, January 26, 2021

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, January 26, 2021

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, January 26, 2021

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, January 26, 2021

West Indies fall to ... 48, gave West Indies a bright start when he pinned Liton Das (0) on his stumps with the fifth ball of the morning to gain an lbw decision, before medium pacer Kyle Mayers accounted for Najmul Hossain Shanto for 20 also via the lbw route in the ninth over, to claim his first wicket in ODIs. However, once Shakib arrived to join Tamim in a 93-run third wicket stand, it marked the end of any hopes West Indies had of limiting

the hosts to a reachable total. The left-handed Tamim struck three fours and a six off 80 balls while Shakib, dropped before he had scored off a sharp return catch to Mayers, punched three fours off 81 balls. Tamim was quickening the pace after reaching his 49th ODI when he holed out to Akeal Hosein at mid-wicket off a short ball from Joseph (248) but a series of partnerships

kept Bangladesh on top. Shakib added a further 48 for the fourth wicket with Mushfiqur who then put on a rollicking 72 off 58 deliveries for the fifth wicket with Mahmudullah, as West Indies faded completely. Left-arm pacer Reifer (2-61) bowled Shakib with a slower ball in the 37th over but Mushfiqur slammed four fours and two sixes in a breezy 55-ball knock while Mahmudullah blasted three

TURN FROM BACK PAGE fours and sixes in an exciting 43-ball unbeaten cameo, to accelerate the scoring at the back end of the innings. The last five overs leaked 57 runs with Mahmudullah inspiring a 32-run, sixth wicket stand off 19 balls with

Soumya Sarkar (7). Needing a good start to initiate their first serious challenge of the series, West Indies watched as Saifuddin and Mustafizur sliced through the top order to reduce the innings to 93 for five in the 26th over.

SCOREBOARD BANGLADESH *Tamim Iqbal c Hosein b Joseph 64 +Liton Das lbw b Joseph 0 Najmul Hossain Shanto lbw b Mayers 20 Shakib Al Hasan b Reifer 51 Mushfiqur Rahim c Joseph b Reifer 64 Mahmudullah not out 64 Soumya Sarkar run out 7 Mohammad Saifuddin not out 5 EXTRAS: (lb4, w15, nb3) 22 TOTAL: (6 wkts, 50 overs) 297 Did not bat: Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Liton Das), 2-38 (Najmul Hossain Shanto), 3-131 (Tamim Iqbal), 4-179 (Shakib Al Hasan), 5-251 (Mushfiqur Rahim), 6-283 (Soumya Sarkar) Bowling: Joseph 10-0-48-2 (w3, nb1), Harding 10-0-88-0 (w7, nb2), Mayers 7-0-34-1 (w1), Reifer 10-0-61-2, Hosein 10-0-46-0 (w3), Mohammed 3-0-16-0. WEST INDIES K Ottley c wkp Mushfiqur Rahim b Mustafizur Rahman 1 S Ambris lbw b Mustafizur Rahman 13 N Bonner b Mohammad Saifuddin 31 K Mayers lbw b Mehidy Hasan Miraz 11 *J Mohammed c wkp Mushfiqur Rahim b Mohammad Saifuddin 17 R Powell lbw b Soumya Sarkar 47 +J Hamilton c wkp Mushfiqur Rahim b Mehidy Hasan Miraz 5 R Reifer c & b Taskin Ahmed 27 A Joseph run out 11 A Hosein c wkp Mushfiqur Rahim b Mohammad Saifuddin 0 K Harding not out 1 EXTRAS: (b1, lb2, w8, nb2) 13 TOTAL: (all out, 44.2 overs) 177 Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Ottley), 2-30 (Ambris), 3-47 (Mayers), 4-79 (Mohammed), 5-93 (Bonner), 6-117 (Hamilton), 7-155 (Powell), 8-174 (Joseph), 9-175 (Hosein), 10-177 (Reifer) Bowling: Mohammad Saifuddin 9-0-51-3 (w2), Mustafizur Rahman 6-0-24-2 (w4), Taskin Ahmed 8.2-1-32-1 (nb2), Mehidy Hasan Miraz 10-2-18-2 (w1), Shakib-al-Hasan 4.5-012-0, Mahmudullah 2-0-11-0 (w1), Soumya Sarkar 3.1-0-22-1, Najmul Hossain Shanto 1-0-4-0.

Left-hander Kjorn Ottley perished in the second over for seven, feathering an aimless push at Mustafizur behind and his opening partner, Sunil Ambris, completed a wretched series when he played around a straight delivery from the same bowler and was lbw for 13 in the sixth over. Mehidy Hasan then hit Kyle Mayers plumb in front for 11 in the 13th over and captain Jason Mohammed (17) put on 32 for the fourth wicket with Bonner before edging behind off Saifuddin in the 24th. When Bonner, who struck two fours in a 66-ball knock, was bowled by Saifuddin and debutant Jahmar Hamilton (5) followed in the 31st caught behind off Mehidy Hasan, West Indies were tottering on 117 for six and in danger of falling below 150 for the third time in the series. But Powell halted the slide, striking two fours and sixes in a 49-ball knock while adding a crucial 38 for the seventh wicket with Reifer. Soumya broke the stand when he trapped Powell lbw with his medium pace and the tail folded quickly with the last three wickets falling for just three runs.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, January 26, 2021

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England complete series win over Sri Lanka after dramatic fourth day GALLE, Sri Lanka (Reuters) Dom Sibley scored an unbeaten half- century as England chased down a target of 164 to secure a sweep of the series on Monday, beating Sri Lanka by six wickets in the second Test on a day of drama at Galle International Stadium.

start of a four-test series in India. England’s run chase began nervously as they lost their first four wickets for 89 runs, including a tired-looking Joe Root, with Sri Lanka’s dangerous spinner Lasith Embuldeniya threatening with the new ball

England have won six successive Tests in Sri Lanka

England scored 164-4, with Sibley 56 not out and Jos Buttler unbeaten on 46 as they overcame jittery moments to complete a 2-0 series triumph. The tourists overturned a 37-run deficit after the first innings to win a sixth successive Test in Sri Lanka. England earlier dismissed Sri Lanka for 126 in their second innings, giving themselves a confidence boost ahead of next month’s

and taking three wickets for a match tally of 10. But an unbeaten 75-run partnership between Sibley, who had previous failed with the bat on tour, and Buttler carried England home as they showed the application their hosts lacked in their batting. “I was pleased to be able to spend time at the crease and get the boys over the line,” said Sibley.

SCOREBOARD SRI LANKA 1st innings 381 England 1st innings Zak Crawley c Lahiru Thirimanne b Lasith Embuldeniya 5 Dominic Sibley lbw Lasith Embuldeniya 0 Jonny Bairstow c Oshada Fernando b Lasith Embuldeniya 28 Joe Root Run Out Oshada Fernando 186 Dan Lawrence c Lahiru Thirimanne b Lasith Embuldeniya 3 Jos Buttler c Oshada Fernando b Ramesh Mendis 55 Sam Curran c Lahiru Thirimanne b Lasith Embuldeniya 13 Dom Bess c Lahiru Thirimanne b Lasith Embuldeniya 32 Mark Wood c Lahiru Thirimanne b Lasith Embuldeniya 1 Jack Leach lbw Dilruwan Perera 1 James Anderson Not Out 4 EXTRAS: 8b 3lb 5nb 0pen 0w 16 TOTAL: (116.1 overs) 344 all out Fall of Wickets: 1-4 Sibley, 2-5 Crawley, 3-116 Bairstow, 4-132 Lawrence, 5-229 Buttler, 6-252 Curran, 7-333 Bess, 8-337 Wood, 9-339 Root, 10-344 Leach Bowling: Suranga Lakmal 16-7-31-0, Lasith Embuldeniya 42-6-137-7 (4nb), Asitha Fernando 10-2-31-0, Dilruwan Perera 32.1-4-86-1 (1nb), Ramesh Mendis 16-1-48-1. SRI LANKA 2nd innings Kusal Perera lbw Jack Leach 14 Lahiru Thirimanne c Zak Crawley b Jack Leach 13 Oshada Fernando c Zak Crawley b Dom Bess 3 Angelo Mathews b Dom Bess 5 Dinesh Chandimal c James Anderson b Jack Leach 9 Niroshan Dickwella c Dan Lawrence b Dom Bess 7 Ramesh Mendis c Jos Buttler b Jack Leach 16 Dilruwan Perera c Zak Crawley b Dom Bess 4 Suranga Lakmal Not Out 11 Lasith Embuldeniya c Jonny Bairstow b Joe Root 40 Asitha Fernando b Joe Root 0 EXTRAS: 3b 0lb 1nb 0pen 0w 4 TOTAL: (35.5 overs) 126 all out Fall of Wickets: 1-19 Perera, 2-29 Fernando, 3-37 Thirimanne, 4-37 Mathews, 5-47 Chandimal, 6-66 Dickwella, 7-70 Perera, 8-78 Wanigamuni, 9-126 Embuldeniya, 10-126 Fernando Bowling: James Anderson 2-0-6-0, Sam Curran 2-0-9-0, Dom Bess 16-1-49-4, Jack Leach 14-1-59-4 (1nb) ENGLAND 2nd innings Zak Crawley c Oshada Fernando b Lasith Embuldeniya 13 Dominic Sibley Not Out 56 Jonny Bairstow lbw Lasith Embuldeniya 29 Joe Root b Ramesh Mendis 11 Dan Lawrence c Niroshan Dickwella b Lasith Embuldeniya 2 Jos Buttler Not Out 46 EXTRAS: 0b 4lb 3nb 0pen 0w 7 TOTAL: (43.3 overs) 164-4 Fall of Wickets: 1-17 Crawley, 2-62 Bairstow, 3-84 Root, 4-89 Lawrence Did Not Bat: Curran, Bess, Leach, Wood, Anderson Bowling: Lasith Embuldeniya 20-3-73-3 (2nb), Dilruwan Perera 13.3-1-39-0 (1nb), Ramesh Mendis 10-0-48-1.

Sri Lanka must learn to bat like Joe Root, says skipper after loss to England England, who added only five runs to their overnight tally before being dismissed for 344, took just over a session to turn the match on its head as Dom Bess and spin partner Jack Leach claimed four wickets each in Sri Lanka’s second innings. Bess took 4-49 and Leach

4-59 as the home batting lineup was undone by the turn of the wicket and rash shots. It included a wild sweep from veteran Angelo Mathews as he was bowled by Bess for five, and a slog that was top-edged by captain Dinesh Chandimal (9) and expertly caught by James Anderson off Leach. “There are no excuses from us, we made mistakes and we were outplayed,” Chandimal

said. Embuldeniya, with a quickfire 40 off 42 balls, was the only home batsmen to make more than 20 and his 48-run ninth wicket partnership with Suranga Lakmal helped set England a tougher target. But he was eventually dismissed off the part-time bowling of Root, who claimed another wicket with his next ball by

bowling Asitha Ferando to wrap up the innings. Root finished with figures of 2-0 off 11 balls. “It was great to come out on top after losing the toss on a wicket that had us under pressure for much of the match,” said the England captain. England won last week’s first Test by seven wickets in a victorious start to a year in which they will play 17 Test matches.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Chelsea sack manager Frank Lampard with ThomasTuchel expected to replace him

CHELSEA have sacked manager Frank Lampard after 18 months in charge, with former Paris St-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel expected to replace him. Lampard, 42, leaves with the club ninth in the Premier League after last week’s defeat at Leicester City, having won once in their past five league matches. His final game was Sunday’s 3-1 FA Cup fourthround win against Luton. Lampard was appointed on a three-year contract when he replaced Maurizio Sarri at Stamford Bridge in July 2019. The former Chelsea midfielder guided them to fourth place and the FA Cup final in his first season in charge, and a 3-1 win against Leeds in early December put the club top of

the Premier League. However, the Blues have suffered five defeats in their past eight league games, as many as they had in their previous 23. In a statement, Chelsea said: “This has been a very difficult decision, and not one that the owner and the board have taken lightly. “We are grateful to Frank for what he has achieved in his time as head coach of the club. However, recent results and performances have not met the club’s expectations, leaving the club mid-table without any clear path to sustained improvement. “There can never be a good time to part ways with a club legend such as Frank, but after lengthy deliberation and consideration it was decided a change is needed

now to give the club time to improve performances and results this season.”

Thomas Tuchel (R) is poised to take over from Frank Lampard as Chelsea head coach

Owner Roman Abramovich said Lampard’s status as an “important icon” of the club “remains undiminished” despite his dismissal. “This was a very difficult

Curry moves to second on NBA all-time three-pointers list

...Los Angeles Lakers beat Chicago Bulls 101-90

STEPH Curry moved up to second on the NBA’s alltime three-pointers list in the Golden State Warriors’ 127108 defeat by the Utah Jazz. Curry scored five three-pointers, with his fourth moving him ahead of Reggie Miller in the NBA’s record books. In total, the 32-year-old has made 2,562 three-pointers, now trailing only Hall of Famer Ray Allen who hit 2,973. Donovan Mitchell topscored for the Jazz with 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists in just 27 minutes.

The Los Angeles Lakers continued their unbeaten run on the road this season with a 10190 win over the Chicago Bulls. Anthony Davis scored a game-high 37 points for the reigning NBA champions, who have won all nine games away from home, while LeBron James added a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Zach LaVine had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls who had their three-game winning streak ended. Eastern Conference leaders the Philadelphia 76ers edged past hosts the Detroit Pistons

Steph Curry has scored 67 three-pointers this season in total

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER Tuesday, January 26, 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)

ANSWERS TO YESTERDAY’S QUIZ:

BAN won by 6 wickets Shakib-Al-Hasan (BANG)

(1) What was the result of the second ODI of the recently-concluded WI/BANG series? (2) Who was declared Man of the Match?

ANSWERS ANSWER S IN TOMORROW’S ISSUE

decision for the club, not least because I have an excellent personal relationship

114-110, with Ben Simmons making 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. The Pistons, who finished with seven players in double figures, had led by two points at half-time, notching nine three-pointers compared to the Sixers’ two. But, after the lead went back and forth throughout the third quarter, Shake Milton’s five points in the final minute meant it was the 76ers who held the advantage going into the fourth, and they never relinquished it. Elsewhere, Bam Adebayo’s career-high 41 points couldn’t stop the Miami Heat from falling to a 128-124 defeat by the Brooklyn Nets, who led the tight encounter from the start. The Houston Rockets eased past hosts the Dallas Mavericks 133-108, with Eric Gordon and DeMarcus Cousins both delivering their best performances of the season. Gordon scored a season-high 33 points while Cousins added his second double-double of the campaign with season bests in points (28) and rebounds (17). The Denver Nuggets required double overtime to beat the Phoenix Suns, with Nikola Jokic scoring 29 points and claiming 22 rebounds, with Jamal Murray adding 26 in a 120-112 victory. The Minnesota Timberwolves also finished with 120 in a 10-point win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Naz Reid scored 20 points to lead six Minnesota players into double figures. (BBC Sport)

with Frank and I have the utmost respect for him,” said Abramovich. “He is a man of great integrity and has the highest of work ethics. However,

under current circumstances we believe it is best to change managers.” Lampard did not sign a single player during his first season as the club were operating under a transfer embargo, but spent more than £200m on seven major signings last summer, including £45m on Leicester’s Ben Chilwell and £71m on midfielder Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen. It is the most Chelsea have spent in one summer, eclipsing the £186m they invested at the start of the 2017-18 season. Lampard is Chelsea’s all-time record scorer, with 211 goals for the club between 2001 and 2014, and is also joint-seventh on the list of most capped England players, having made 106 appearances for

his country over 15 years from 1999. During his 13 seasons as a player at Stamford Bridge, he made 648 appearances and won 11 major trophies - including four Premier League titles and the 2012 Champions League. His first managerial job was at Derby. In his one season in charge, they reached the Championship play-off final, where they lost to Aston Villa. Lampard became the 10th full-time manager appointed by Abramovich since the billionaire bought the club in 2003. According to football finance journalist Kieran Maguire, Abramovich had spent £110m on sacking managers before Lampard’s dismissal. (BBC Sport)

‘It’s disrespectful to Indian team if England do not play best XI’: Kevin Pietersen

FORMER England cricketer Kevin Pietersen criticised England selectors for not picking wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow in the squad for the first two Tests against India. In a tweet, Pietersen said that not selecting the best players in the squad would be disrespectful for the hosting Indian team. England have rested Bairstow for the first two Tests as part of ECB’s player management policy, which stresses on giving adequate rest to every English cricketer in a packed calendar year, which includes 17 Tests and the ICC T20 World Cup. Along with the dynamic batsman, England also left out seamers Sam

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Curran and Mark Wood from the squad for the first two Tests.

Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen

Criticising the squad selection, Pietersen wrote on Twitter: “Big debate on whether ENG have picked their best team to play India in the 1st Test. Winning IN India is as good a feeling 13:40 hrs Noble Queen 14:10 hrs Turn Of Phase 14:40 hrs Majestic Tejaan 15:10 hrs Major J Irish Racing Tips Down Royal 09:20 hrs Decimation 09:50 hrs Alice O’Byrne 10:20 hrs On Eagles Wings 10:50 hrs Dis Donc 11:20 hrs Greenway Machine 11:50 hrs Askann 12:20 hrs Champagne Sparkles American Racing Tips

as winning in Aus. It’s disrespectful to ENG fans & also @BCCI to NOT play your best team. Bairstow has to play! Broad/Anderson have to play.” In another tweet, Pieterson said the best players wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to play against an in-form Indian team at home while suggesting players can be rested after the Indian Premier League. “The BEST England players will want to play as many games as possible against India, in India. PICK THEM! Then they go to IPL & earn everything they deserve. Cash is king for every sportsman. They’re a business! They can have a break after that,” he added. (Hindustani Times)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, January 26, 2021

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CG Insurance Super 50 bowls off Feb. 7 with Hurricanes versus Volcanoes

The CG Insurance Super50 Cup bowls off on Sunday, February 7 with the Leewards Hurricanes taking on the Windwards Volcanoes at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, only 19 matches will be played in the tournament scheduled to conclude on February 27. According to Cricket West Indies(CWI), the health risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic caused major disruption to all domestic cricket since late March 2020, with no competitive cricket allowed regionally except for an abridged version of the Caribbean Premier League which took place last August in Trinidad. This year’s annual CG Insurance Super50 Cup will provide a platform for the region’s six major cricketing rivals to clash in 19 action-packed 50-over matches starting from Sunday, February 7 when Leeward Islands Hurricanes host the Windward Islands Volcanoes. The tournament will come to an exciting climax

when the new champions are crowned on Saturday, February 27. The 2019-20 champions, West Indies Emerging Players, are unable to defend their 2019 trophy due to COVID-19 constraints, however, several of those players now feature in the squads of the six competing franchise teams, one of which will emerge as the CG Insurance Super50 Cup champions. Each team will play each other on a round-robin basis with the top four teams qualifying for the semi-finals and the opportunity to reach the grand final. Matches will be played at Antigua’s two international cricket venues - the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) and the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (SVRS). There will be 13 matches at CCG including the semi-finals and final, and six matches at SVRS. West Indies captain Kieron Pollard said it was good to have regional cricket back after a one-year break. “It is very good that cricket is coming back to the Caribbean ... players will get

the opportunity to showcase their skills and entertain our fans. It has been a trying 2020 for cricketers and the whole Caribbean, so it is really good that we have the CG Insurance Super50 Cup being played at

All players, support staff, match officials and supporting professionals will be tested with negative COVID-19 results before their arrival into Antigua. Players, support staff and match officials will oper-

Super50 Cup bowls off on Sunday, February 7 with the Leewards Hurricanes taking on the Windwards Volcanoes

this time and hopefully it can unearth some new talent,” he said. CWI has been working closely with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Sport in Antigua & Barbuda to orchestrate logistics and agree the safety and medical protocols for the commencement and duration of the tournament.

ate within a bio-secure bubble and will be tested at regular intervals during the tournament with assistance from the local Ministry of Health and CARPHA. Following is the itinerary for the Regional Super50 Cup here from February 7-27. FIXTURES: Feb 7: Leeward Islands

RHTY&SC teams host Star Sports Tribute to Law Enforcement ― Donations made to Police Force FOUR outstanding Policemen from the Rose Hall Town Police Outpost were honoured by the ten cricket teams of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) last Wednesday. The Officers honoured were Constables 25410 Travis Cort; 13282 Melissa Crandon; 23656 Omkar Sooknanan and 21834 Randolph Mc Pherson. The awardees were honoured under the RHTY&SC/Star Sports Tribute to Law Enforcement Programme. Assistant Secretary/CEO, Simon Naidu, stated that the cricket teams and the management of Guyana’s leading youth and sports organisation were very impressed by the dedication and hard work of the officers attached to the Outpost. Club Secretary/CEO, Hilbert Foster, after a discussion with the Head of the Outpost, Sgt Melville, agreed to host an annual award ceremony under the RHTY&SC Tribute to Law Enforcement Officers programme. The four policemen were selected by the Police Force based on their attitude, commitment and hard work. Naidu, committed the club to working along with the Outpost as part of its annual ‘Say No to Crime’ campaign. The Rose Hall Town Police Outpost has, over the years, received numerous donations from the club, including bicycles, television set, DVD player, stationery, chairs, sports gears

and kitchen utensils. Naidu urged the four awardees to uphold their high standards and to continue working hard every day to make sure that the small township is kept safe and secure. The club, every year, hosts dozens of award ceremonies to honour heroes, and these include active teachers, retired teach-

ers, law enforcement officers, medical workers, sports persons, outstanding students, community volunteers and role models among others. Each of the awardees received a trophy, medal and a collection of gifts. Meanwhile, the RHTY&SC, in a joint project with its parent body-- the St. Francis Com-

RHTY&SC Assistant Secretary/CEO, Simon Naidu, poses with the four awardees

Naidu hands over anti-crime stickers to Police Commander (Region Six), Jairam Ramlakhan

munity Developers-- last week handed over a large amount of much-needed items to assist the Police Outpost to fulfil its mandate. The joint donation included mattresses, kitchen utensils, foam boards, hand sink, cleaning detergents, clocks, electric fans and stove. The cricket teams also donated a quantity of face masks, face shields, hand sanitizers, cleaning detergents and COVID-19 posters to the Outpost as part of their COVID-19 response. N a i d u a n d t h e c l u b ’s vice-president, Mark Papannah, also visited the Office of the Region Six Commander, Mr. Jairam Ramlakhan, and handed over one thousand anti-crime stickers to the Police Force. The stickers, which bear the phone numbers of every police station in the Ancient County, would be distributed free of cost to business places and residents. The stickers project was a joint project of the RHTY&SC, Berbice Cricket Board and F/H Printery of Georgetown. Commander Jairam Ramlakhan expressed gratitude to the donors for their cooperation and hailed the outstanding work of the club. The ten cricket teams of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club are Poonai Pharmacy Under-12 and Under- 13, Farfan and Mendes Under-15, Bakewell Under-17 and Second Division, Pepsi Under-19 and Intermediate, Namilco Thunderbolt Under-21 and First Division, Metro Females.

Hurricanes v Windward Islands Volcanoes (day match) – Coolidge Cricket Ground Feb 8: Guyana Jaguars v Barbados Pride – Coolidge Cricket Ground-(CCG) Feb 10: Leeward Islands Hurricanes v Barbados Pride – Coolidge Cricket Ground Feb 11: Jamaica Scorpions v Trinidad & Tobago Red Force – Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium-(SVRS) Feb 12: Leeward Islands Hurricanes v Guyana Jaguars – Coolidge Cricket Ground Feb 13: Windward Islands Volcanoes v Trinidad & Tobago Red Force – Coolidge Cricket Ground Feb 14: Jamaica Scorpions v Guyana Jaguars – Coolidge Cricket Ground Feb 15: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force v Barbados Pride – Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium Feb 16: Windward Islands Volcanoes v Jamaica Scorpions – Coolidge Cricket Ground Feb 17: Leeward Islands Hurricanes v Trinidad & Tobago Red Force

– Coolidge Cricket Ground Feb 18: Windward Islands Volcanoes v Barbados Pride – Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium Feb 19: Leeward Islands Hurricanes v Jamaica Scorpions – Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium Feb 20: Guyana Jaguars v Trinidad & Tobago Red Force – Coolidge Cricket Ground Feb 21: Barbados Pride v Jamaica Scorpions – Coolidge Cricket Ground Feb 22: Windward Islands Volcanoes v Guyana Jaguars – Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium Feb 24: SEMI-FINAL 1 – Coolidge Cricket Ground Feb 25: SEMI-FINAL 2 – Coolidge Cricket Ground Feb 26: 5th place v 6th place – Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium Feb 27: FINAL – Coolidge Cricket Ground * All matches at SVRS start at 9am. ** All matches at the CCG start at 1:30 pm Eastern Caribbean time unless otherwise stated.

Rajasthan Royals appoint Kumar Sangakkara director of cricket ...”Will be responsible for overseeing the entire cricketing ecosystem of the Royals franchise”

FORMER Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara has been named director of cricket of the Rajasthan Royals (RR) for IPL 2021. According to a statement from the franchise on Sunday, the 43-year-old “will be responsible for overseeing the entire cricketing ecosystem of the Royals franchise, including coaching structure, auction plans and team strategy, talent discovery and development, as well as the development of the Royals Academy in Nagpur.”

Before his retirement, Kumar Sangakkara played six years of IPL cricket

Sangakkara has had a storied cricket career, debuting for Sri Lanka in July 2000 and going on to became one of their best ever batsmen. He remains their highest run-getter in Test cricket with a tally

of 12,400 and was also among their most successful captains. In T20I cricket, he was Player of the Match in Sri Lanka’s title-sealing win in the 2014 World T20. After the last of his international cricket in 2015, he has stayed in touch with the game as a commentator and as head of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Sangakkara has had IPL experience as well, having played the tournament for six years - for the Kings XI Punjab, the Deccan Chargers and the Sunrisers Hyderabad, whom he captained - as well as going around the T20leagues block with stints in Australia’s Big Bash, the Caribbean Premier League, the Pakistan Super League, the Bangladesh Premier League and England’s T20 Blast. “To oversee the cricket strategy of a franchise in the leading cricket competition in the world, as well as building the development programmes and cricketing infrastructure that will provide the future foundation of the IPL team’s on-field success, is an opportunity that really motivated me,” Sangakkara said. “I have really enjoyed speaking to the leadership group over the recent weeks and can’t wait to get going.”(Cricinfo)

Bangladesh players celebrate their ODI series win over West Indies on Monday (Photograph: BCB/Twitter) CHATTOGRAM, Bangladesh, (CMC) – A decision to chase for the first time in the series yielded no change in fortunes for West Indies as Bangladesh trounced them by 120 runs to complete an emphatic whitewash here Monday. Asked to chase a challenging 298 in the third One-Day International at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, there was always an air of inevitability about the defeat as the Caribbean side lost wickets steadily to slump to 177 all out in the 45th over. Rovman Powell top-scored for the second straight game with 47 while Nkrumah Bonner chipped in with 31 and Raymon Reifer, 27, but there was little doubt about the result once West

Indies stumbled to 93 for four at the half-way stage, with the required run rate reaching nearly 8-½ per over. Fast bowlers Mohammad Saifuddin (3-51) and Mustafizur Rahman (2-24) did the bulk of the damage while off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz was brilliant, taking two for 18 from his 10 overs.Choosing to bowl first earlier, West Indies missed vital chances as Bangladesh piled up 297 for six off Their 50 overs, with captain Tamim Iqbal, wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim and all-rounder Mahmudullah all scoring 64 and Shakib-al-Hasan providing the fourth half-century of the

Ramson rubbishes talk of government ‘take-over’ of MSC …Minister affirms the MSC belongs to the people of Linden, not the government By Rawle Toney

FOLLOWING announcements by President Dr Irfaan Ali to include the dilapidated McKenzie Sports Club (MSC) in Linden as one of the three venues to be transformed into stateof-the-art multipurpose sports facilities, some residents took aim at the government’s sudden interest in a town they had ‘perceived neglected’ during the PPP/C previous tenure in office, while claiming that the administration wants to ‘take over’ the almost 70-year old one-of-a-kind facility. The Anna Regina Community Centre and the Blairmount Community Centre are the other two venues named by President Ali for modernization. Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Charles Ramson Jr, who was tasked with seeing the proposals to fruition, debunked any notion of a take-over, while assuring Lindeners that the government has its people’s best interest at heart. Ramson repeatedly dispelled any rumors in Linden about the deal being arranged for the government to assist the McKenzie Sports Club, while adding, “As you can see, it is in a really bad condition. What should we do as a government? Ignore a facility that needs assistance that could be for the benefit of everyone and not do anything about it?” “For those who have an objection to the major works by the government, I am asking: what is their alternative that they are presenting for their own investment?” Ramson asked.

Only recently, a team headed by Assistant Director of Sport, Melissa Richardson that included architect, Orin Boyce and Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports representative, Kashif Muhammad, visited the McKenzie Sports Club, where they met with the entity’s Management Committee, along with Linden Mayor, Waneka Arrindell, and the Regional Democratic Council’s representative, Councillor Mark Goring. Officials from the Chinese

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Charles Ramson Jr Embassy were also present, since the projects are slated to be funded by China. Ramson affirmed that once the concept is agreed upon and finalised, the facility will remain within the management of the Mackenzie Sports Club committee, since government’s only intention is to provide athletes in Linden with the best possible facilities in order for them to succeed. In keeping with a promise made during his campaign, Head of State, President Dr Irfaan Ali, an-

West Indies fall to defeat again as Bangladesh sweep three-match series

nounced on September 7, 2020, during a press conference, that the PPP/C Government will be building multipurpose sport facilities in Regions 2, 6 and 10. President Ali said the move comes as his administration looks to “continue to support the growth and development of our young people and our sportsmen and women and finding new talent, while supporting every region of our country.” According to President Ali, “these are some of the investment measures and policies that we will pursue in this emergency budget and in January, to bring relief, to create opportunities and to improve the welfare and wellbeing of all the people of our country.” In their manifesto, which will guide government’s policy, the PPP/C Government also said they will provide a special fund for upgrading of sports and cultural facilities, as well as building Sport Academies in all regions. Plans, according to the manifesto, will be in place to provide incentive packages for businesses that provide sponsorships or employment opportunities for sports persons. The government also intends to upgrade the South Dakota Circuit, the country’s lone motor-racing track, to international standards. Minister Ramson has reiterated that under President Ali, sports will not be left behind and the country’s sportsmen and women can rest easy knowing that they now have an administration that will cater to their needs.

innings with 51. West Indies captain Jason Mohammed is dejected after falling cheaply for 17 in Monday’s third ODI. After batting first in both ODIs in Dhaka last week, the under-strength West Indies were hoping that a change of approach and venue would have reaped rewards but after two initial breakthroughs, the attack went flat and the hosts took control of the innings. New ball seamer Alzarri Joseph, who finished with two for TURN TO PAGE 20

Heart, character in short supply, says Simmons

CHATTOGRAM, Bangladesh, (CMC) – Head coach Phil Simmons was frank in his assessment of West Indies following their chastening whitewash here Monday, lamenting the lack of “heart and character” shown in the three-match series. The Caribbean side failed to seriously challenge the hosts in any department, losing all three One-Day Internationals comprehensively on the back of woeful batting performances.

everything in out there and making sure that things happen the way you want them to happen and that’s not been done.” The under-strength side, devoid of several first choice players, never came to terms with the experienced Bangladesh unit in the two Dhaka ODIs, losing by six wickets in the opener last Wednesday and by seven wickets two days later. West Indies could only muster 122 and 148 on ei-

ther occasion. Chasing 298 on Monday, they folded for 177, failing yet again to come to grips with the lethal combination of seam and spin employed by Bangladesh. Simmons said work was needed especially with getting batsmen to properly deal with spinning pitches. “We need to play spin better. We need to be able to rotate strike and score boundaries against Bangladesh a lot better so there is work to be done,” he stressed. The series marked the first one for West Indies in

the newly formed International Cricket Council World Cup Super League, which serves as a qualifier for the 2023 showpiece in India. Each side in the Super League will play four home and four away three-match series, after which the top seven teams other than India, will gain direct qualification for the World Cup. Despite their poor start, Simmons said there was still time for West Indies to recover, with several series scheduled for the Caribbean in the coming months. “We’ve lost the first series but there are a lot of other series to play,” Simmons pointed out. “We just need to make sure that when we play the other series that we get points from every series. From here, the only way we can go is up. “We need to improve on everything because we’ve lost three games. We need to improve in every area, especially in the runs that we put on the board. That’s something we’ve got to work on from now until the next series which is in March.” West Indies were forced to select a second string side for the tour after the likes of captain Kieron Pollard, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Roston Chase and Sheldon Cottrell all declined selection due to concerns about the COVID-19 situation in the country. Simmons will now turn his attention to the twoTest series starting here February 3.

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2021

West Indies head coach, Phil Simmons “I think our performance has been under par. I don’t think we batted as well as we can do,” Simmons said following his side’s 120-run defeat at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium here. “The bowling wasn’t that bad – on this wicket to limit them to under 300 has been good but our batting has been poor throughout the series.” He continued: “Every time you have low scores like that there is not enough character shown, there is not enough heart shown, determination – all the words you can use. “It’s all about putting

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