Issuu

WEDNESDAY 10 th February, 2021

’ No. 106268

Energy costs could be reduced by 80%

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–– when gas-to-energy project comes on stream; four studies to be conducted Dream about to come true for Martyrs’ Ville 08 PAGE

New school in Martyr’s Ville: Some little kindergartners from the Martyr’s Ville community assist Education Minister, Priya Manickchand, and Attorney-General, Anil Nandlall, during the symbolic sod-turning at the site of the proposed new nursery school (Delano Williams photo)

Exxon, partners Three feared drowned Everyone should JANICO Engineering paid pump $20B on ‘backtrack’ 07 be vaccinated Lands and Surveys $27M into Guyana 02 journey to Guyana by year-end 13 for non-existent lands 10 PAGE

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Exxon, partners pump $20B into Guyana –– funds to aid in sustainable economic development over the next 10 years

EXXONMOBIL, Hess and CNOOC Limited, co-venturers in offshore oil developments in the Stabroek Block, have announced the creation of the “Greater Guyana Initiative,” which is a 10-year commitment of more than US$100 million (G$20B) to significantly expand capacity-building efforts and promote sustainable economic development in Guyana. The initiative’s capacity development efforts, according to ExxonMobil, will include programmes designed in consultation with Guyana’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Council, the Centre for Local Business Development and the University of Guyana. The initiative will also focus on supporting regional initia-

President of Exxon Mobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge tives and capacity development of diverse sectors including health and agriculture.

The multi-faceted approach aims to strengthen the Guyanese workforce, increase the competitiveness of local businesses across sectors and lay the foundation necessary for a thriving business environment and sustained economic growth. National and local leaders, communities, as well as the private sector will be engaged to bolster the effectiveness of the programme and ensure alignment with Guyana’s development priorities as they evolve over the coming years. President Dr. Irfaan Ali said that the government supports any initiative which would see long-term, sustained benefits for all Guyanese. ‘This is, therefore, a welcome venture which can result in the transferal of knowledge, skills and capacity to Guyanese,” President Ali said in a message during the virtual launch of the initiative on Tuesday. The sizeable, non-recoverable investment by ExxonMobil and its partners is aligned with the government’s agenda, which includes, but is not limited to, aggressive infrastructural development, and progressive economic and youth programmes. “We enact and execute an agenda which would help us to mitigate the impacts of both the Dutch Disease and the natural resources curse… no government can do it alone, we rely on partnerships to find ways and means to

ensure that service for all, is for all,” President Ali reasoned. SHARED VALUES AND MUTUAL INTERESTS The relationships between the government and investors are not measured solely by taxation and royalties, as it also encompasses shared values and mutual interests, which are equally important. “Our long-term commitment will support initiatives to further build human capacity, advance education, improve health care and promote sustained economic diversification,” President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge, said in his remarks. This work will boost the shared capacity development efforts in Guyana, preparing Guyanese to capitalise on new and expanding economic opportunities. “We are committed to supporting the long-term sustainable growth and prosperity of Guyana that is shared across the whole of society,” Vice-President of Hess Corporation’s Guyana and Suriname operations, Tim Chisholm, said. Guyana’s future, he said, has never looked brighter, and they believe that the Greater Guyana Initiative will play an important role in making this a reality. Executive Vice-President of CNOOC Limited and Chairman of CNOOC International, Xia Qinglong, in his message, said:

“Through this collaborative, sustainable and mutually-reinforcing initiative, communities across Guyana would actualise tangible benefits.” The Greater Guyana Initiative will expand the current support for the Centre for Local Business Development by ExxonMobil, Hess and CNOOC Limited and facilitate its transition into a long-term centre of excellence for broader industry development. More than 2,400 Guyanese companies are registered with the centre, which was established by the co-venturers in 2017, with the mission of supporting local businesses to become globally competitive. CREATE OPPORTUNITIES Added to the benefits which would accrue to businesses, as mentioned, the Greater Guyana Initiative will also create opportunities for TVET and advance higher education programmes at the University of Guyana. “We’re advancing our partnership with ExxonMobil, Hess and CNOOC Limited through the Greater Guyana Initiative,” Chairman of the TVET Council, Clinton Williams said, adding: “Our year-long collaboration and planning ensures a comprehensive programme of targeted education for youth in the areas of mechanical, electrical and welding, as well as tailored training for instructors

President Dr. Irfaan Ali that is suited for the longterm development needs of Guyana.” The Stabroek Block co-venturers will evaluate and select specific capacity-building projects to be included in this initiative. Current development activities at the Stabroek Block include the Liza Phases One and Two, and the Payara projects. Liza Phase One has been producing oil for just over a year, while Liza Phase Two and Payara are on track to begin production of oil by 2022 and 2024 respectively. As those projects move, investments in the Guyanese economy will continue to increase. The number of Guyanese supporting offshore activities doubled in 2020 to more than 2,100, and over GY$67 billion was spent through more than 700 local suppliers. ExxonMobil affiliate, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, is operator of the offshore Stabroek Block with a 45 per cent interest. Hess Guyana Exploration Limited holds 30 per cent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds 25 per cent interest.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Energy costs could be reduced by 80% –– when gas-to-energy project comes on stream; four studies to be conducted

By Navendra Seoraj THE price paid by Guyana for kilowatt per hour of electricity could be reduced by about 80 per cent when the proposed gas-to-energy project comes on stream. Preliminary estimates, as outlined by Vice-President, Bharrat Jagdeo, show that Guyana could

electricity in a variety of ways, but the local plan is to establish an industrial facility that generates electricity from primary energy, which, in this case, is natural gas. And, contrary to the perception that oil and gas will be detrimental to the environment, the Government believes that gas-to-energy will go a long way in ensuring that

but again, a definitive cost will only be ascertained when the Government goes to tender. PREPARATORY STAGES “We are working through the numbers… remember we are still in the preparatory stages so a lot of these are estimates, but those are the magnitude of the

The Wales Sugar Estate pay as low as six to seven cents per kilowatt of power depending on the structure of financing and the ownership of this project. This project forms a major part of the new People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government’s plan to reduce the overall cost of energy by 50 per cent through an energy mix, which includes the conversion of natural gas from ExxonMobil’s offshore operations to electricity. President of ExxonMobil’s local operation, Alistair Routledge was reported as saying that about one-fifth of the resources discovered so far in the Stabroek Block contain natural gas, most of which would be associated gas produced with the crude oil. It is common knowledge that natural gas can be used to generate

there is clean energy, because there will be no more burning of diesel, or ‘Bonasika’ fuel, which is heavy. The cost factor associated with this project has, however, been a topic for discussion in the public domain. But, Vice-President Jagdeo believes that the overarching benefits of this project outweigh any cost associated with establishing the facilities. “It could be from US$500 million- US$800 million to develop the pipeline, depending on the design, geo-technical study and so on… when we go out to tender that is the only time we will know the actual cost,” Jagdeo said during a press briefing at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Tuesday. Another US$300 million is estimated to be spent on the construction of a power plant,

types of estimates… one man said it is not feasible, but how can you determine it is not feasible when you have not done a feasibility study,” the Vice-President reasoned. In his view, with power being generated at six cents per kilowatt hourabout 80 per cent less than the current US$30 cents per kilowatt hourthe average Guyanese and the private sector would surely benefit. “It is a no-brainer, the benefits are enormous… the gas is also less polluting than diesel,” Jagdeo said, noting that definitive projections will soon be available as the Government is in the process of hiring people to conduct four sets of studies. The studies will not only determine the feasibility of the project, but it will also assess the proposed location

for the project, which is likely to be Wales on the West Bank of Demerara (WBD). Internal assessments for various sites for the project were conducted by the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition administration. And, among the places identified were Mahaica and Ogle on the East Coast Demerara, Crab Island in the Berbice River, and Wales. “ W e m a d e a c o nscious decision that we would not bring the project to Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) because that corridor is set for major development, and a lot of industries placed around the oil and gas facilities might be polluted… so to bring it close to the City would be disastrous,” Vice-President Jagdeo reasoned. Wales, he believes, is the better site because it is less costly and the population density there is low.

MASTER PLAN “We are in the process of creating a master plan for the development of this area, and this would involve the landing of pipes, the power plant and the supporting industries,” the Vice-President said. The new Government had announced last year that it would be establishing a Wales Development Authority (WDA) to resuscitate the community which was severely affected by the APNU+AFC’s closure of the Wales Sugar Estate. And, while there are still plans to form this authority, Jagdeo said the Government will have to decide whether the gas-to-energy project would fall under the WDA or Central Government. A decision in this regard is, however, not a necessity at this time, as studies, which include an environmental impact assessment, must

Vice-President, Bharrat Jagdeo be conducted first. The Government is aiming to have the project on stream by 2023.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Laws to be amended to ensure greater transparency in ballot count –– Vice-President reiterates calls for removal of Lowenfield, Myers from GECOM

By Navendra Seoraj GLARING ambiguities in Guyana’s electoral laws had created an avenue for the protraction of the country’s electoral process, but, the government, in an effort to avoid possible eventualities in the future, plans to amend parts of the Representation of the People Act (RoPA), which relate specifically to the process governing local elections. The controversial March, 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections, which concluded with a victory for the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) on August 2, 2020, left stakeholders calling for the country’s elections machinery to be ‘fixed’ in order for there to be a transparent and legitimate process. President Dr. Irfaan Ali had committed to reviewing the events related to the pro-

Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield tracted electoral process and launching an international Commission of Inquiry (CoI) to probe the weaknesses of the elections body. The CoI is expected to help in identifying issues, challenges, weakness, opportunities and threats related to the electoral system and the machinery. Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo, when asked about the Government’s position on the CoI, said: “There have

Wednesday February 10, 2021 – 03:00hrs

been discussions and we are looking [for] individuals from abroad who are above reproach, so there would not be accusations of partisanship.” At this point, however, the government, he said, is looking at the RoPA and will soon be drafting amendments, which are intended to improve transparency in the methodology related to the counting of ballots. In essence, the amendments would remove any ambiguities which exist. “For instance, the Statements of Poll (SoPs), when they are received, we want them published before the count starts, so even before it starts, the people can see the SoPs, calculate them and see who won,” the Vice-President said during a press briefing at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, on Tuesday. In preparing the amendments, the government will also be examining the penalties attached to electoral fraud. Senior officials of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), including the Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, and Returning Officer for Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), Clairmont Mingo, are already before the courts for “misconduct in public

PPP/C had won by 15,000 more votes. Considering those allegations and what would have been observed throughout the electoral process, Vice-President Jagdeo is of the firm view that there could be no free and fair elections unless Lowenfield and Myers are removed from GECOM. Vice-President, Bharrat Jagdeo office”. As reported, those who have been charged with offences relating to electoral fraud and misconduct in public office are: Chairperson of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Volda Lawrence; Opposition activist, Carol Joseph; Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO), Roxanne Myers; the CEO’s clerks, Michelle Miller and Denise Bob-Cummings; Elections Officer, Shefern February and Information Technology Officer, Enrique Livan. They are all accused of inflating the results of Region Four – Guyana’s largest voting district – to give the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition a majority win at the March 2 polls, when in fact, the

RED LINE “This is a red line for us,” Jagdeo lamented, noting that his position is influenced mainly by the electoral officers’ actions during the recent elections. Calls for those officials to be removed are not new, but Jagdeo reiterated the government’s position, noting that the commission should utilise the evidence before them to fire both Lowenfield and Myers. The ‘evidence’, he referred to are the SoPs, which were submitted recently by Lowenfield to the High Court. The CEO had submitted the SoPs and Statements of Recount (SoRs) of the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections to Registrar of the Supreme Court, Sueanna Lovell. The delivery of the documents was in keeping with an order issued by the Chief Justice (ag), Roxane George, S.C. Vice-President Jagdeo suggested that the elections commission compare the SoPs to the SoRs, and should the results be similar, they would have enough grounds to fire both Lowenfield and Myers. Chairperson of GECOM, Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh, has since said that the commission cannot act

hastily, as the law must run its course. “We have an election petition coming up and we have people being charged in court…we are going to let that proceed first and let the court take its course. You cannot just jump up like that; we are looking at the lawfulness in everything.” Either way, the decision to make any administrative change, as explained by the chairperson, lies with the entire commission and not just her. In further explaining this, Justice Singh said: “That is for the commission and not me… the commission will decide on those questions… I cannot decide on them, it is not a one-man commission… it is the entire commission which would know what they want and decide on the way forward.” This issue has, however, not yet been raised at the level of the commission, but the chairperson maintained that such a topic would require serious deliberations and discussions. “We must follow the law… things may look slow, but it is not that they are slow, we are following the law… I do not know what they want us to do, we cannot just jump like that. “It is not that we are going to hold back our people and not do whatever…wherever the axe falls, we will have to work with it,” Justice Singh said. And, while this issue is by no means secondary, the chairperson reiterated that the commission has to be mindful of the petition and the charges against individuals attached to the elections body.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, February 10, 2021

GLDA targets 6405 offsprings through artificial insemination by year-end AS part of efforts to increase its artificial insemination capacity, the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) is targeting the reproduction of 6405 offsprings by the end of the year. This was, on Tuesday, disclosed by the Ministry of Agriculture, during its handing over of ten breeding bulls to farmers and seven motorbikes and ten all-terrain vehicles to the GLDA to expand its extension services. The types of animals to undergo the artificial insemination process were not

continue to place emphasis on this subsector,” he said. He also informed that more funds will be made available. “We will place more funds [into this industry] because…what we are seeing are international investors knocking on the door of Guyana to come and invest in the agriculture sector, particularly [the] livestock sector,” Minister Mustapha said. He noted, too, that the goal of the ministry and its agencies is to build a partnership with farmers across the country by continuing

field work. The vehicles that were donated will be distributed across Regions Four, Six and Nine to assist extension officers in meeting the needs of farmers in remote areas. “GLDA will be more responsive to the needs of farmers. We are looking to revamp the operation to be more responsive. Many times we recognize in various sectors and in various agencies that some of our officers are not responsive are not working in that partnership with the farmers,” he explained. Further, he stressed on the need to change the pres-

Minister Mustapha handing over an ATV to Dr. Halley during Tuesday’s ceremony identified. In his remarks at a handing-over ceremony held at GLDA’s Mon Repos compound, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha stated that though simple, the occasion is significant. He explained that the vehicles and animals which were donated will help to boost the authority’s ability to address the needs of farmers across the country. The minister noted that some $10 million from the 2020 emergency budget was expended to provide the vehicles and breeding bulls, which were donated. Over the years, the minister noted that the livestock industry has become one of the ministry’s most important subsectors and hence, more funds will be allocated to ensure that the authority fulfils its mandate. “This is a critical sector towards the development of the country. Also, it’s important for food and nutrition security and we will

Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, having a discussion with GLDA’s CEO, Dr. Grayson Halley ent approach to partnerships. “We have to change those attitudes. We have to change it and form that kind of partnership.

If you want to develop our country, if you want advance the agriculture sector, then we can’t work in a vacuum, we can’t work in isolation

from the farmers. We have to build a relationship. We have to build that partnership,” the minister said.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Expanding from groundwork FRIDAY, Budget Day, marks a national moment, the start of an upward journey that fulfils the hopes, dreams, and dedication to this land of its citizens, that rewards Guyanese for their decades of hard work, perseverance and dogged fight to conquer social and economic and democratic assaults against the body politic, that delivers on the faith of the Guyanese people that one day Guyana would deliver to them the life it always promised its people. When Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance within the Office of the President, Dr Ashni Singh, strides to the podium at Parliament on Friday, adorned in his signature conservative-style suit and tie, briefcase in hand, his expression sombre and serious and focused on the monumental, historic task at hand, the eyes of every Guyanese all over the world, both local and in the worldwide diaspora, fixated on him with keen attention to his every word, this crowning moment will be the fulfilment in the heart of every Guyanese from the birth of this nation. The 2021 National Budget will be the most progressive, ambitious, futuristic, forward-thinking, and record-breaking budget in Guyana’s history. Here is the moment that this nation has waited for, for so long, 55 years since Independence, but even before, when local leaders rose up to challenge colonial rule, dreaming of the time when Guyanese would

live the reality of the promises of this land, a land that lured the world to its shores, including the empires of the Dutch, French, Spanish and British, with much promise of prosperity and progress and peace, and a land that bears in its belly the sweat and tears and back-bending labour of its builders--the slaves and Indentured labourers-and generations of citizens. The legendary potential of the Guyanese nation is world renowned, with Sir Walter Raleigh recording the glittery prospects when he wrote his narrative on El Dorado. Today, with the exciting oil and gas sector, and also positioned as one of the world’s models of nature and sustainability of the natural environment, Guyana is awakening from its long decades of slumber like a legendary sleeping giant, shaking off the shackles of colonialism, of the oppression against its democratic ideal for 28 years under the People’s National Congress (PNC), and from five years of harsh, draconian rule under the misfit Coalition, to this moment on Friday, to Minister Singh standing up with great dignity and visionary purpose, his voice of calm confidence and rational assurance echoing across the Guyanese nation and into the hearts of Guyanese wherever in the world they settled, delivering the national blueprint and economic plan for the year ahead, the policies, projects and programmes and plans that will launch Guyana into its journey to world class trans-

formation, to a wealthy 21st century nation, and a respected and wealthy people of the global village. Much work is facing the government after Minister Singh delivers the budget speech on Friday. The global pandemic is the first task at hand, with the Emergency Budget of September 2020 already having started to tackle the impact of that global crisis, with a strong stimulus package for every Guyanese household. Moving ahead into the post-COVID world would require bold leadership, innovative thinking, and a national will to engage in flexible futuristic foresight. The world is in a state of flux given the COVID uncertainty that every country in the world faces. And as Guyana prepares to roll out its new era of prosperity and exponential progress, the country needs to focus on designing its path forward with dynamic ability to roll with the tide, to ride the storms and to overcome unforeseen global circumstances. Government has shown great stamina and skillful ability to overcome challenges and odds, in the way President Ali and the ministers galvanised the State to tackle the pandemic and, with rapid ease, to overcome the harsh economic landscape that the Coalition had left behind. Based on the way the government tackled its governance mandate once it came in to office in late 2020, Guyanese could be assured that whatever comes up, their government would exercise the

leadership integrity to come out victorious. One sees that also in how the government handled the Venezuela crisis, achieving the release of the 12 fishermen whom the Venezuelan military coastguard had captured in Guyana’s territorial waters. The budget will deal with tough, challenging issues, like the pandemic and how to build the society after the COVID era is over, and the plethora of mega projects coming on stream this year, that this nation has never before seen in its history, and with a massive exponential escalation in its socio-economic development and well-being. Government has set some ambitious and record-breaking goals in its elections manifesto, daring to dream big, setting benchmarks so high that other Caribbean nations could only watch with astounding amazement. Minister Singh will be making concrete the big dreams of the President Ali Government, goals of 50,000 jobs, of mega development all along the East Coast and East Bank and West Bank Demerara, and in Essequibo and Lethem and Berbice, and 20,000 scholarships, and nation-wide high speed Internet, and an agenda never before seen in this land. Friday is a day that Guyana will mark in its history books, that this is the day Guyana came to the table for all its people, every Guyanese seeing for the first time that the legendary potential is a real possibility.

A thank you letter to the Minister of Education Dear Editor,

PLEASE provide space in your upcoming publication for us to offer our appreciation to the Ministry of Education for the swift response to a letter expressing the concern of us in the Greater Toronto Area in a letter signed by Ramnarine Sahadeo and others about the delay in announcing CSEC/ CAPE results. (KN and GT Feb. 4, 2021) Our appreciation also goes out to the section of the media that contacted the Education Ministry regarding the concerns of all the stakeholders which should not be limited to students. We hope it is now clear that many others in the Diaspora have a genuine and personal interest in the entire process and will be looking for regular updates. Unfortunately, this letter by the GTA signatories was not published by some sections of the media. We hope some reassessment

of their current policies will permit them to carry out their basic role in matters of great public interest irrespective of what the competition prints. We consider them a powerful source of persuasion and information even if unelected.

WHO ARE STAKEHOLDERS? Swami Aksharananda, who initially brought this matter into the public forum is one stakeholder. Even though he is the principal of one school, he has a genuine interest in education standards nationwide. Another is Jerome Khan who was quite active with the educational efforts when he was in Canada in the 1990s before he returned to Guyana. We regret to learn from his very sensitive article about Parliamentary ethics that he is now learning to walk and breathe again, a result of the dreaded COVID-19 disease. We take this opportunity

to wish him a complete and speedy recovery. Others include the late democracy hero, Randy Depoo. This leaves us with men like Geoff DaSilva who has the knowledge and experience to bridge the gap between the diaspora and those back home. (KN Feb.7 Unite the Diaspora and Guyana...) Lastly not to be forgotten is our own, Ramnarine Sahadeo, who is always in the front line when initiatives and guidance is wanting in those areas in which he has knowledge and is of public interest. No wonder he was nicknamed “Father of the Adopt a Guyana School” programme in the 90s for among other activities writing a booklet how to go about the process. Eastern Leguan Primary was the first beneficiary in 1992. When he returned to Canada he organised other groups and even wrote a booklet “A guide to adopting your Guyana School”. We know

there are countless others who should be “stakeholders” but live all across the globe. We at Democracy Watch 2020, an ad hoc, apolitical group in Toronto, some of whom signed the letter, applaud the efforts of everyone involved in this campaign to release those 2020 exam results without any further delay and we call the upon the Ministry of Education to keep pressing the CXC Council on this urgent matter and to continue reporting to the expanded list of stakeholders, and all educational institutions in the country until this issue is fully resolved. While we are advised that this matter is within the functions of the CXC council alone, we wonder what would an independent country like Guyana do for its future labour force, if another two months go by without closure. R. Singh for Democracy Watch 2020

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Three feared drowned ―after night-time drop off by ‘backtrack’ boat ―Suriname authorities to join search

THREE persons who left Suriname en route to Guyana are missing and feared drowned after being reportedly dropped off in the water some distance from the No. 63 foreshore around 19:30 hrs on Monday. They have been identified as 77-year-old Baboni Harihar, called “Doris” of Palmyra village; 48-yearold Sharida Hussain, called “Sherry” of Pilot Street, New Amsterdam and Alwin Joseph, who is reportedly in his thirties. The Guyana Chronicle

and after driving along the length of the beach several times, Samaroo decided to contact persons who his mother may have called. However, they too had not heard from her. Samaroo, with the help of friends, searched the entire beach until around 02:00hrs on Tuesday before deciding to visit the Springlands Police Station. After making a report, he returned to the beach and continued the search until daylight. Around noon, he joined the police search which was focused on the

har’s grand-daughter. The woman explained that her grand-mother travelled to the neighbouring country for a vacation in December, 2020. She was really missing her great-grandchildren and was adamant that she would come home to see them by whatever means necessary. “They were dropped off, but I don’t know exactly if they drop them on the shore or the sandbank or where. We get the information from my auntie who she went to visit over there. Apparently, they put her on a

boat to come over. So when they averaged she reached, they called to make sure she reached safely but they didn’t get through, so they called my brother-in-law to come up at 63 to look for her, but when he came he see the other relatives searching the beach,” she said. SMUGGLING AT NIGHTS The Guyana/Suriname border is closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the police have reported that boat owners

have been charging exorbitant sums to smuggle passengers from Nickerie to Guyana in the nights so as not to be detected by the patrols. While some passengers have been caught on the foreshores and charged, the boat owners have managed to outsmart the police by using multiple drop-off points along the Corentyne River and the Atlantic Ocean. According to the information reaching this publication, the trip usually takes between 20-30 minutes depending on the tide

and would attract a $4000 cost per passenger. However, there are reports that passengers are now paying $20,000 to $25,000 for the trip. While checks are currently ongoing, the police’s river search and rescue team is expected to continue patrolling with the hope of finding some clues as to what may have happened to the trio. Berbice police have indicated that the Surinamese authorities were notified and will also be searching the river.

Baboni Harihar

Missing: Alwin Joseph

Sharida Hussain

No. 63 beach

understands that the trio reportedly travelled to Guyana via a ‘backtrack’ speedboat from Suriname, and were left on a sandbank in waisthigh water by the captain of the vessel. “We were on our way to pick her up. She called me around 7:30 [pm] in a state of panic. It was a bunch of emotions. She was scared; She was cold; She was panicking. She said she is in the boat and it drop her down inside the water and they are on some kind of bank and she has no visual of land and the water was getting higher”, 19-year-old Joshua Samaroo, the youngest of Hussain’s three children, related. The young man told this publication that he tried subsequently to call his mother several times but was unable to get through as the phone went to voicemail. Given that she was unable to identify where she was located, relatives decided to stick to the original plan of meeting at the No. 63 foreshore. However, after some time had elapsed

area between No.78 to No. 63 villages, but they came up empty handed. Up to press time last evening, he was still at the beach with friends and relatives, hoping to find his mother alive. Meanwhile, Narinee Shamshunda, Joseph’s cousin, said she last spoke to him at 19:00hrs and has not heard from him since. She is very worried. “He call me 7 o’clock and say he a come Guyana and when he reach, he call me brother overseas and tell them he reach and he (her brother) call me and tell me to send somebody to pick he up. He say them drop he at 63 beach, but when we reach, we nah see he there. Since then, we nah get through back with he, no contact anything,” the woman said. Joseph has been living and travelling between Guyana and Suriname for over 20 years and has a 10-yearold daughter in Suriname. Also speaking with the Guyana Chronicle was Nadira Valdez, Hari-

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Long-held dream about to come true for Martyrs’ Ville –– as sod is turned to commence building top-of-the-line nursery school in community

By Tamica Garnett MINISTER of Education Priya Manickchand, along with Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, on Tuesday, turned the symbolic sod to mark the beginning of the construction of a spanking new Grade ‘A’ nursery school in Martyr’s Ville, a little-known community on the East Coast Demerara. The school is being constructed by Doodnauth Construction and Supplies, and is expected to be completed by August 31, 2021. When done, it will have the capacity to accommodate up to 270, and boast such amenities as an independent water system, an outdoor playfield, and a modern sanitary block, which will cater for the differently abled. In what has become her signature warning, Minister Manickchand cautioned the contractor that the project will be thoroughly supervised, and the company will be expected to deliver a product that aligns with what was promised. “To the contractor, we are very happy to have you on this project. You bid for this project; you said you can do it at this cost, and at this time. We liked you well enough, but you have to do what you say you will do; finish in this bracket of time and within cost. We are saying this to you not because we want to

At Tuesday’s sod-turning ceremony were, from left, Chief Education Officer Dr. Marcel Hutson; Minister of Education Priya Manickchand; Attorney-General Anil Nandalall; MOE Permanent Secretary, Alfred King; and MoE Chief Projects Engineer, Ron Eastman (Delano Williams photos) be harsh, but if we fail to finish this project the children will suffer,” Minister Manickchand said. The school is considered an important aspect of the Ministry of Education’s wider plan to deliver quality education, and make it more accessible to everyone. Kindergartners from the communities which the new school will cater to, currently attend the Mon Repos Nursery School. However, since that school is located over one mile away from Martyrs Ville and its environs, the new facility will bring education closer to those who need it, and make it easier for parents to ensure their children get to school. “For us, that is extremely important. When we open schools for nursery-aged children, your children will be coming to a new school,

once the contractor does what he is contracted to do,” Minister Manickchand told the gathering, which included parents and children from the community in which the school is being built. The minister noted that though nursery education in Guyana is not compulsory, Guyana has managed to ensure that over 80 per cent of the children at that age countrywide has had access to it, which equates to over 27,000 children being registered at 470 nursery schools. The minister said that notwithstanding nursery school being elective, the ministry is striving for a 100 per cent nursery education, to complement the 100 per cent primary education which has already been achieved. The ministry is also working towards achieving a 100 per cent secondary

education coverage across the country. Similar to Tuesday’s exercise, last week saw the minister turning the sod for a new secondary school at Prospect, on the East Bank Demerara.

often supervised by a consultant, this one in particular will be directly supervised and monitored by its Projects Department which he himself heads. He said it will be an honour and a privilege for his department to ensure that the INITIAL INTAKE OF 42 project delivers on what has Once completed, the been promised. nursery school is expected Minister Nandlall probato begin being utilised in bly took everyone by surprise the new school year, with when he said that he knew an initial cohort of at least Martyr’s Ville, located just 42 kindergarteners, who past Agriculture Road in Mon are currently attending the Repos North, like the back Mon Repos Nursery School. of his hand, as he grew up A l s o a t T u e s d a y ’ s there. He said, too, and that sod-turning ceremony were there had always been plans Chief Education Officer Dr. to build a nursery school in Marcel Hutson; Permanent the community, but due to Secretary in the Ministry of budgetary constraints, they’d Education, Alfred King; and fallen through. the MoE’s Chief Engineer, However, with several Ron Eastman. Eastman ex- expansions to the community plained that though many of expected, and several infrathe ministry’s projects are structural developments cur-

rently underway, the school was deemed all the more necessary at this time, in order to accommodate the projected growth of the community. As Minister Nandlall observed, “Martyr’s Ville has quite a history, and was part of the inaugural steps of a great housing drive across the country. Since then, this land was earmarked for the construction of a ‘nursery’. It took us a long time before we decided to build this nursery school, but we were dealing with competing demands.” He said that with education being at the top of the government’s priorities for the nation’s development, he took it upon himself last year to reach out to the Minister of Education and lobby for the school to finally be constructed. “Education is one of the government’s highest priorities,” Minister Nandlall said, adding: “Our children are our most precious asset; not the oil, the gold or the diamonds, but our children. In every one of our budgets, education ranks among the largest budgetary allocation, because our children are our greatest asset, and we do not hold back on investments in relation to their future.” In closing, Minister Nandlall said he was looking forward to returning in August to be part of the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the school when it is completed.

MoE may name CSEC, CAPE 2020 ‘top students’ today –– Over 90 per cent of exam reviews completed

HAVING gotten feedback on over 90 per cent of the review requests made to the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), the Ministry of Education is mulling when to announce the names of those students who received the most Grade Ones for the 2020 examinations. Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, shared with the media on Tuesday that the ministry is contemplating making the announcement today, if it knows for sure that the results that have been released will not be affected by pending reviews.

“We are presently compiling data that should allow us to make some announcement tomorrow. We’re hoping to be able to get enough data to be able to say to you by tomorrow, whether, from that data, if we feel comfortable saying who is the student with the most [Grade] Ones,” Minister Manickchand said. Speaking with the media on the sidelines of a sod-turning exercise on Tuesday, Minister Manickchand revealed that Guyana has thus far received responses to 93 per cent of the review requests for the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations

(CAPE) and 96 per cent of the review requests for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Examination. “For CAPE, we have gotten 93 per cent of our requests, and for the numbers outstanding, we have 33 reviews for Guyana left to be done. For CSEC, it’s 96 per cent, and we have 120-something that are outstanding to be done,” the Minister explained. Customarily, the MoE would announce the students who got the most Grade Ones at the regional CSEC examination and CAPE after the preliminary results would

have been released by CXC. However, while the preliminary results for the 2020 exams were released since September 2020, CXC faced massive backlash over what many students and other stakeholders deemed were unjustifiably lower-than-expected grades; there was also an unusually high number of ungraded results. The issue persisted in countries across the Caribbean where the exams were written. CXC received an unprecedented number of reviews from Guyana and the other countries. As such, the MoE took the decision to withhold

announcing a student, pending the outcome of the reviews. “To announce anything would be reckless, because during that review process, we have had several changes. To announce somebody as having the most ‘Ones’ and somebody applies for a review, and that changes, that could be psychologically damaging for both students that would have been affected. So we want to be careful with that,” Minister Manickchand explained. However, with most of the reviews already in, she said that the MoE is currently assessing the outstanding

reviews to see if they would have any bearing on the results that have already been completed. “For example, if the remaining students to be reviewed only wrote 12 subjects, and even if we assumed they were getting ‘Ones’ in the reviews, they still will not reach the student with 21 subjects, then we could do the announcement. If, however, there is a student with 20 ‘Ones’ waiting for a review of two subjects, we can’t make the announcement, because things may change,” the Minister further clarified.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Special forensic audit requested at MARAD –– no bill of quantities found for billions paid to Courtney Benn Contracting Service, subsidiary company PUBLIC Works Minister, Bishop Juan Edghill, on Tuesday, wrote Auditor General, Deodat Sharma, requesting a special forensic audit to be conducted at the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD). This request came on the heels of a special audit that was carried out by the Internal Auditor of the Ministry of Public Works (MOPW) which unearthed several irregularities within the department. The audit scrutinised contract awards and spending made towards vessel repairs and acquisition of spares. It found that between 2015 and 2020, MARAD spent $3.84 billion for the procurement of spares and equipment and docking and rehabilitation of vessels. One cause of concern highlighted by the report is that 92 per cent of the $3.84 billion was awarded to Courtney Benn Contracting Services and Brenco Shipping Company (a subsidiary of Courtney Benn). Further, the report highlighted that while payment to other contractors had all relevant documents affixed; Courtney Benn and Brenco Shipping contracts and payments did not have relevant supporting documents attached. Despite requests during the process of the internal audit to have Bill of Quantities (BoQs) submitted, none were provided for Courtney Benn and Brenco Shipping contracts. As such, documents not being submitted for audit scrutiny affected the verification process. “None of Courtney Benn’s or Brenco Shipping contracts had Bill of Quantities (BOQ) affixed; hence, no breakdown was

seen for the $3.551 Billion spent for works and spares,” the report noted. Mobilisation advances were also flagged as cause for concern. While the National Tender and Procurement Administration Board (NPTAB) permits mobilisation advances up to 30 per cent, advances as high as 95 per cent were paid by MARAD. “A contract (NPTAB: 397/2019/32 Add) valued at $400,204,530 for spares and equipment was awarded to Brenco Shipping and stated 80 per cent mobilisation advance; however, the entire amount was paid upon signing the contract. No bond was provided for scrutiny,” the executive summary of the report stated. There was also no accountability for hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of spares and equipment in the stores and no comprehensive physical verification of the items in the stores was ever conducted by MARAD. The internal auditor opined that there was a deliberate attempt to frustrate the audit. He noted that BoQs forms part of the submission for National Tender & Procurement Administration Board and Cabinet’s deliberation and approval and was at a loss on how could have they conveniently gone missing. He recommended that “there is a need for an immediate and total review of the general system of operations, policies and procedures at MARAD; with an aim of documenting and regularising same.” “Persons found culpable through dereliction of duties or willful acts to the detriment of the agency, should be

Public Works Minister, Bishop Juan Edghill sanctioned with penalties that match the nature of the infractions,” the recommendations further stated.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, February 10, 2021

JANICO Engineering paid Lands and Surveys $27M for non-existent lands By Richard Bhainie

A whopping $27 million was paid pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between JANICO Industrial Engineering Limited and the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC) for the leasing of State lands that are seemingly non-ex-

istent. The MoU, seen by the Guyana Chronicle, was entered into by then GL&SC Commissioner, Trevor Benn and JANICO Industrial Engineering Limited, on May 8, 2017, for the leasing of six acres of State land at Ogle, East Coast Demerara. However, a letter seen by this publication, from

GL&SC Commissioner (ag) Enrique Monize to the Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C., seeking guidance on the matter, explained that there are no such lands under the control of GL&SC. “I have caused a research to be done and I have been unable to determine any vacant, available land under the

control of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission,” the letter noted. “Plantation Ogle has always been property of GuySuCo, except for such lands that were handed over to the government for the airport and to CH&PA for any schemes. The lands in the rear of Ogle were previously State lands leased also to

GuySuCo, but now vested in NICIL,” the letter further stated. The MoU states that GL&SC commits to leasing JANICO Industrial Engineering Limited the land for a term of 50 years with a rent of $200,000 per acre annually. As part of the agreement, JANICO Industrial Engineering Limited was obligated to pay the $27 million to GL&SC in two installments-one upon the signing of the MoU and the balance on or before November 4, 2017 or the date of issuance of the lease, whichever was the earlier. A provisional lease dated March 27, 2020 stated that permission was granted to JANICO Industrial Engineering Limited “under Section 7 (1) of the State Lands Regulations made under Section 17 of the State Lands Act Chapter 62:02 with effect from 02-01-2020 on a tract of 6 acres if State Land, situate at Ogle, East Coast Demerara. Applied for on the 08-05-2017 for Industrial and Commercial Purpose” The provisional lease further stated that “final boundaries will be established upon

Former Commissioner/ Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC), Trevor Benn the completion of a Cadastral survey by the Commission”. The law firm representing JANICO Industrial Engineering Limited had written to Commissioner (ag) Monize in December last year indicating that both installments were paid in full. However, despite several months elapsing, a See page 11

A screenshot of the provisional lease

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, February 10, 2021

181st COVID-19 death recorded A 74-year-old man from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) has succumbed to COVID-19 while receiving medical care, taking the total number of deaths thus far to 181.

In the past 24 hours, 18 new COVID-19 cases were recorded, which is one of the lowest figures since the beginning of the year. According to the Ministry of Health’s daily

JANICO Engineering paid Lands and Surveys ... From page 10 full State Land Lease was not issued. Monize, on January 28, wrote to the Attorney-General seeking guidance on the matter “since the GL&SC lacks the experience capacity to deal with such sensitive issues”. The Attorney-General, in a letter seen by this publication on the subject matter, advised Monize that the issuance of a provisional lease, over lands which GL&SC “has no ostensible authority” has raised serious criminal law implications and may amount to the commission of several criminal offences. “In these circumstances, I advise that this matter be immediately reported to the Criminal Investigations Department, Guyana Police Force, for investigations and possible onward transmission to the office of the Police Legal Advisor/ Director of Public Prosecutions for legal advice and/or charges to be filed,” the letter stated. He also advised that the Attorneys-at-law representing JANICO Industrial Engineering Limited be informed accordingly.

COVID-19 dashboard, one of case was recorded in Region Three, 10 in Region Four, two in Region Five, and five in Region Six. No new cases were recorded in Regions One, Two, Seven, Eight, Nine and 10. Seven persons are currently patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care

Unit (ICU); 39 are in institutional isolation; eight in institutional quarantine, and 818 persons are isolated at home. These figures translate to a total of 872 active cases. The ministry has recorded 7,026 COVID-19 recoveries to date, 49 of which were recorded within the past 24 hours. All Guyanese are

urged to observe the protocols of the COVID-19 emergency measures, which emphasise the need for correct and consistent use of a face mask when leaving your home, the importance of maintaining the six-feet physical distance from others, and the need for good hand-hygiene to help reduce the spread of

COVID-19. If you or anyone you know is displaying any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19, or need any additional information, kindly contact the COVID-19 Hotline 231-1166, 226-7480 or 624-6674 immediately or visit the Ministry of Health website at www. health.gov.gy.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Partnerships For Protected Areas Management In Guyana FOR decades, prior to 2011 and the establishment of the National Protected Areas System (NPAS) and the Protected Areas Commission (PAC), significant efforts were afoot to conserve Guyana’s biodiversity and support its associated local and indig-

enous livelihoods. During those years, focus was on the proposed protected area sites: Shell Beach and Kanuku Mountains, and the existing Kaieteur National Park (KNP). In the absence of an organisation like the PAC, planning for new sites was

undertaken by the Environmental Protection Agency as the entity with overall national responsibility for the Environment, hence their oversight of all initiatives and projects implemented prior to the establishment of the NPAS and the PAC. While the wheels for

the establishment of the National Protected Areas System (NPAS) started turning around 1999 and spun faster in 2002 when the EPA developed the first NPAS strategy, progress during the early years was dependent mainly on key partnerships that helped

to sustain momentum. In this week’s article, we will feature some of these key partners who were instrumental in the preparatory journey to establishment of the NPAS and beyond and with whom we continue to share an excellent working relationship. While our partners are many, we would like to make special mention of the contributions of: the German Development Bank (KfW), Conservation InternationalGuyana (CI-G), World Wildlife Fund- Guianas (WWF), and Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS). GERMAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (KFW) KfW’s (German Development Bank) support for protected areas development and management in Guyana is historic, and to date the bank has been our largest financial partner. The first Project: Guyana Protected Areas System (GPAS) Phase I, implemented from 2006 - 2011, involved small grants for livelihood projects for Shell Beach Protected Area (SBPA) , Kanuku Mountains Protected Area (KMPA) and Kaieteur National Park (KNP) stakeholder communities. Projects included guesthouses in Santa Rosa and Moco-Moco, cattle ranching in Katoka; construction of the Visitor Arrival Centre and Tukeit wardens’ quarters at KNP, and a craft project in Chenapau. The delineation process for KMPA boundaries was also funded. The GPAS Phase II project (implemented in 2011-2015) supported development of the protected areas legislation and after the Protected Areas Act was passed in 2011, funded infrastructure and capital investments for the newly established PAC and Protected Areas Trust Fund (PATF) respectively. Additionally, funding was provided for development of the Shell Beach Protected Area (SBPA) management plan. In 2016, KfW renewed their commitment to Guyana by signing an agreement for GPAS III. Running until 2022, the project consists of three components: infrastructure and equipment, sus-

tainable resources use, and capacity building for SBPA, KMPA and KNP. CONSERVATION INTERNATIONALGUYANA (CI-G) CI-Guyana also has a long history of supporting conservation efforts in Guyana, more so the Rupununi Region. In respect to protected areas management, CI has since around 2000, conducted significant preparatory work for the declaration of Kanuku Mountains Protected Area (KMPA). Under the general oversight of the EPA, they led extensive community consultations and resource use mapping with 18 communities, and coordinated in 2006, the creation of the still existing Kanuku Mountains Community Representative Group (KMCRG). In 2007, under the GPAS Phase II project previously mentioned, CI executed a subproject to identify proposed boundaries for the soon-tobe-established KMPA. In these formative years, CI’s solid ground work with the Kanashen Community Owned Conservation Area (KCOCA) also culminated in 2017 with Knashen being declared as Guyana’s first Amerindian Protected Area under the Protected Areas Act. After the establishment of the PAC, CI continued to support protected areas management through inclusion of our staff in capacity initiatives and projects. Of significance, is a grant for preparatory work towards expanding the national protected areas system, a key part of the commission’s mandate. Under this grant, PAC developed a draft expansion strategy and road map for 10 priority sites that were identified, because of their biological value, for potential protection. WORLD WILDLIFE FUNDGUIANAS (WWF) WWF’s contribution to the biodiversity conservation dates back to about two decades ago, when efforts to conserve the endangered sea turtles at Shell Beach See page 13

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Everyone should be vaccinated by year-end – VP Jagdeo

THE entire population will be vaccinated by the end of this year as government will allocate resources in

Budget 2021 to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on citizens and the economy.

Partnerships For Protected ... From page 12 kicked off. Funding was provided annually to the Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society (GMTCS) which implemented the projects up to the declaration of the Shell Beach as a protected area, following which, the PAC assumed all management responsibilities. The grants continue to target sea turtle monitoring, where local community monitors from Almond Beach and the surrounding communities are employed seasonally, equipment like sea turtle tags, camera traps and GPS units etc. are procured, and staff capacity is built. WWF was also central to developing the first management plan for Kaieteur National Park. In 2007, under an agreement with the National Parks Commission (NPC) and EPA, they led over four years, the management planning process which produced a draft that still informs management today. In addition to this, WWF has supported capacity building in Chenapau, and biodiversity assessments in the Kaieteur area. FRANKFURT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY (FZS) Based in Germany, Frankfurt Zoological Society, is an international Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) that is committed to preserving biological diversity in the last remaining wilderness areas of the planet. They implement conservation projects in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America, with the newest mission commencing in Guyana in 2015. With a mission to preserve Guyana’s pristine biodiversity more so those in the Kanuku Mountains Protected Area (KMPA), an MoU was inked between FZS and the Government of Guyana for the implementation of the Kanuku Mountains Conservation Project. Under this agreement, FZS agreed to provide much needed technical and financial support to the KMPA, and work closely with the newly established PAC. With the assistance of two resident international experts, the PAC developed its first five-year strategic plan and streamlined the other protected area management plans that propelled the commission’s work over the years. While KMPA was the focal area, and direct financial support was given for community outreach activities, monitoring, equipment, and training; other protected areas and HQ benefitted from their vast expertise. This included ranger trainings and establishment of monitoring systems at all sites; while significant management support, along with overall capacity building was done for staff at the central office. The FZS Guyana project is ongoing under new project leader Mr. Ashley Vosper. FZS continues to focus on the preservation of the KMPA and helping PAC to meet their objectives of having a world-class protected area system. The PAC deeply appreciates the partnership and support of all its partners and stakeholders, and is committed to sustaining such relationships - through continued engagement, accountability and transparency - so that we can achieve our mission of effectively managing the national protected areas and their features while ensuring that they add value to the lives of present and future generations.

This was disclosed by Vice-President (VP), Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, during a press conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Tuesday. “Although it will be purely on a voluntary basis, we are hoping that before the end of the year that all Guyanese can be vaccinated and we are hoping that it would be done much earlier… it’s going to be costly and it will take a lot of effort but we have to do this and get it done so all efforts

are being made in that regard,” Jagdeo said. The VP also noted that Guyana will benefit from donations of coronavirus vaccines and systems are being created to ensure these are received and stored properly. Altogether, thus far, Guyana has been able to secure 273,000 vaccine doses which could be used to immunise some 136,500 individuals, or approximately 18 per cent of the population. The government is in talks

with India, Russia and China, in addition to a number of multilateral agencies and manufacturers of the vaccines, to secure more for the population since vaccines are the means of exiting the pandemic. Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, has continuously emphasised that the vaccines will be used to immunise frontline workers, the elderly and persons with co-morbidities (other underlying medical conditions) first. There are about 22,000

Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo healthcare workers who are all eligible to receive the vaccines while the remainder will go to the other groups.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Ganja, illegal gun and suspected stolen items seized during police raids A PARTY of police led by a detective inspector, on Tuesday, conducted a raid exercise at Plum Park, Sophia and Liliendaal which led to the discovery and seizure of a quantity of cannabis, a firearm and items suspected to be stolen. According to a police press release, the cordon and search/raid exercises were conducted between 04:30 hours and 08:00 hours. During the exercise, a total of 848 grams of suspected cannabis along with

one suspected .38 special revolver, two XR and two Honjue motorcycles, one 65” TCL television, two laptop computers, a quantity of electrical and non-electrical tools, one pressure washer, one weeding machine, one motorcycle number plate, a JPS1 trade plate, $395,000 cash and a quantity of gold jewellery were found. All the items are suspected to be unlawfully obtained. Several persons were arrested and are in police custody pending The .32 revolver and suspected investigations. cannabis Some of the suspected stolen items seized during the police raids

‘Dribbler’ remanded for allegedly murdering taxi driver LEROY Jones appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, charged with shooting taxi driver, Osafo Pollard, to death, and was remanded to prison by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan. Jones also called “Dribbler” was not required to plead to the indictable charge. The charge alleged that Jones, between February 2 and February 3, 2021, at North East La Penitence, murdered Pollard. According to the facts, on December 26, 2020 an altercation occurred between Pollard, Jones, and Jones’ friends at a night club during which Pollard’s life was threatened. On February 2, 2021 about 20:45 hours, Pollard left home for a party but decided to make a stop at his friend’s home. While at his friend’ home, both he and his friend decided to attend a party which was being held next door to Jones’ home in North East La Penitence. When they arrived at the location, Pollard parked his motor vehicle on the roadway while his friend went into the yard where Jones lived. Pollard’s friend went to greet Jones while Pollard remained on the roadway near to his vehicle. After sometime his friend returned to where he was and Pollard later decided that he would go to a nearby location to collect drinks. Pollard ended up in Jones’ yard. Shortly after, persons heard a loud explosion. Pollard was found lying on the concrete step which leads to the doorway of Jones’ home with a wound to the head. The wounded man was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation where he succumbed to his injuries on February 3 about 00:25 hours. Police were unable to make contact with Jones following the shooting. On February 4, about 00:05 hours, he turned himself in at the Brickdam Police Station. He was told of the allegation and cautioned. He was later arrested and charged with murder. The matter was adjourned until March 2.

City police robbed of motorcycle at knife-point A TWENTY-TWO-year-old City Police was, on Monday night, robbed of his Honda motorcycle by two knife-wielding bandits at Light Street, Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo. Reports are that around 21:00 hours, Kellon Davis was riding his black CB 1 Honda motorcycle in the vicinity of Light Street and as he slowed down to go over a speed bump, two males who were walking on the roadway approached him. One of the men pulled out a knife and ordered him to get off the bike, while the other armed himself with a piece of wood which was nearby. The victim complied and dismounted his motorcycle. The robbers quickly mounted it and made good their escape in a northern direction. The matter was reported to the police and the investigation is ongoing.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Wakapoa needs resident doctor, infrastructural improvements –– residents tell Region Two REO

By Indrawattie Natram RESIDENTS living in the

Amerindian community of Wakapoa, in the Upper Pomeroon River, recently

pleaded with Region Two Regional Executive Officer (REO), Devanand Ramdatt, to assign a resident doctor to the area. This was among the requests made to Ramdatt during a two-day outreach in the community. During interactions at the Wakapoa Village Council’s building, residents of Massarie, Yarashirima, Myrie, Mora, Curimeru, School Island and Koria, which are all areas in Wakapoa, said they are in dire need of a residential doctor. Residents explained that after the last doctor left, no replacement was sent. “We need to have someone in our community so when there is someone seriously sick, a doctor can attend to them,” a resident remarked. At the meeting, Ramdatt emphasised the importance of community participation and creating equal opportunities for the enhanced livelihood of Amerindians. Residents were also informed that the community recently received a sum of $15M from the Government of Guyana through the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs as part of the COVID-19

Regional Executive Officer, Devanand Ramdatt (right), listening to Toshao Howard Cornelius

Regional Executive Officer (REO), Devanand Ramdatt, interacting with residents of Wakapoa

Residents at one of the meetings held by REO, Devanand Ramdatt Relief Fund for income generation, job creation, and infrastructural development. As such, the REO reminded residents that meaningful consultations, project sustainability, transparency, and accountability are important. Some of the other concerns raised by residents include the second phase of the $25,000 COVID-19 cash grant, access to quality edu-

cation during the pandemic, a boat for medical emergency purposes, and the construction of a bridge at Curimeru. Residents explained that the bridge was important since children have to walk three miles to access their nursery school. With regards to the improvement of infrastructure, the residents called for the upgrading of the community roads, solar wells and im-

provements to infrastructure at schools, especially Wakapoa dorms, and at the health facilities. They are also in need of planting materials. The REO promised the residents that a team of officers from the Engineering Department, Education Department, GWI, and NARIE will visit soon to follow up on issues raised with the aim of immediately addressing them.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, February 10, 2021

VP Jagdeo notes Harmon’s frivolous letter to India By Navendra Seoraj

FORMER Member of Parliament, Charrandass Persaud, who will soon head to India to serve as Guyana’s High Commissioner there, was assessed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and

International Cooperation prior to being selected, and had indicated that he is ready to serve his country. His selection as High Commissioner of Guyana to India did not sit well with the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance

For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition, since it was he who voted in favour of a then opposition-sponsored No-Confidence Motion, to evict them from office. On December 21, 2018, Persaud’s solid and enterprising vote in favour of a No-Confidence Mo-

tion brought against his party made history, and paved the way for 2020 General and Regional Elections which was won by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C). Following threats from his former comrades, Persaud fled the country to Canada, only to return in 2020, when the PPP/C was solidly in place. Since returning to Guyana, Persaud, before being announced as the High Commissioner of Guyana to India, had appeared once at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, where sittings of the National Assembly are being held because of the pervasive novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Just like he ruffled the feathers of his colleagues when he appeared at the

centre, a similar reaction was stimulated when they heard of his appointment as high commissioner. The Coalition’s disagreement with the decision to appoint Persaud was registered to India by way of a letter issued by Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon, who regional leaders described as a “utensil” during the attempt by the Coalition to rig the March 2, 2020 elections. “Joseph Harmon writing India to complain about Charrandass, how stupid can you get… how stupid can you get… and he is threatening India; I think he had a bad nightmare. He does not know that APNU+AFC cannot behave the way they behaved in office,” Jagdeo said.

Guyana’s new High Commissioner to India, Charrandass Persaud Instead of writing to India to complain about Charrandass’ appointment, the Vice-President said Harmon should tell the Asian nation about the Coalition’s contribution to the delay in the calling of elections and, subsequently, a five-month impasse following polling day on March 2, 2020. “He should have asked India to comment on that… so, he acknowledged that they fell and they stayed in office contrary to the Constitution of Guyana… in that period they unlawfully stayed, and although there was no Parliament, they spent $415.9 billion without Parliamentary oversight and transferred large quantities of land to cronies. They should write to India and say all of this,” Jagdeo said. He further reasoned that unlike when former President, Forbes Burnham’s son-in-law was sent to India without any rationale, Persaud was selected after he was assessed and would have agreed that he is willing to work for the country.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Police zero in on bikers countrywide –– scores of motorcycles seized for breaches under law

By Rabindra Rooplall SCORES of motorcycles have been seized for various breaches by the Traffic Department of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) under the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act. Traffic Chief, Senior Superintendent, Ramesh Ashram, told the Guyana Chronicle that the death toll involving motorcyclists continues to climb and the current operations are to ensure public safety. He warned motorcyclists that if the various operating criteria are not met, their bikes will be seized and they will be prosecuted for the respective offences. So far this year, there have been 15 fatal accidents, eight of which occurred on the East Bank Demerara carriageway. “These accidents continue to occur during the hours of darkness and speeding along with inattentiveness is a contributing factor, along with breaching the basic traffic rules,” the Traffic Chief told this publication. Noting that motorcyclists are especially at risk for a driving under the influence (DUI)-related accident at night, the Traffic Chief said motor vehicle drivers, need to pay special attention to them. He explained that impaired drivers on the road add

a layer of danger for bikers. Those who are far above the legal limit and exhibiting the highest levels of impairment can easily swerve into a motorcycle, come up too fast from behind and collide with a biker, or cut a motorcycle off in traffic. The Senior Superintendent explained that motorcyclists continue to breach the basic guidelines and laws governing the use of the roadways by failure to wear helmets, towing pillion riders without a helmet, failing to stop at traffic lights and intersections and riding dangerously in and out of traffic, among other issues. The Traffic Chief is advising all road users to observe the five ‘Cs’ and comply with the traffic laws, to minimise accidents and reduce deaths and injuries on the roadways. He also cautioned road users to be on the lookout for errant drivers. All road users should remain vigilant and use the roadways wisely since everyone has a role to play in road safety. Additionally, the senior cop said that speed limits are in place to protect those who travel on the nation’s streets, roads, and highways. Various roads have different variations of speed limits and compliance is mandatory. The Traffic Chief is also urging pedestrians not to stand on a pedestrian cross-

the road, to face approaching traffic, and to wear reflective or light coloured clothing during the hours

Traffic Chief, Senior Superintendent, Ramesh Ashram ing unless they intend to use the crossing. Too often persons are seen conversing while on a crossing, or merely waiting for transportation while having no intention of using the crossing. Pedestrians are, in turn, reminded of Regulation 189 (5) of the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Regulations, which states that: “No foot passenger shall remain upon any crossing longer than is necessary for passing from one side of the road to the other with reasonable dispatch.” Foot-travellers, the senior superintendent said, are also advised to always walk on the right-hand side of

Motorcycles seized this week at the East La Penitence Police Station (Rabindra Rooplall photo)

of darkness while ensuring that the kerb drill is used at all time when crossing any roadway.

The kerb drill is “Look right, look left, look right again, and if the road is clear walk quickly across”.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Lower Pomeroon residents call for ICT hubs for their children By Indrawattie Natram RESIDENTS living in the Lower Pomeroon River, particularly in Marlborough and Hackney, are calling for the establishment of Information and Communications Tech-

nology (ICT) hubs in their communities. This call was made during Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha’s visit to the community recently. During their interactions with the minister, the

residents openly said that children in the community do not have internet access. They urged the minister to make the necessary recommendations to the Ministry of Education on their behalf. Amidst tears, cash

farmer Garraway (only name given) said that children in the community are at a disadvantage when it comes to their education. He explained that the school has laptops but no one is trained to use them. He added that the chil-

A farmer raising a concern during the meeting dren of the Lower Pomeroon do not have internet access and as such they are at a great disadvantage, especially now with the pandemic. “The children in this community are left back big time. The computers are at the school but no one teaching the children. I feel so sorry for them especially during this pandemic,” Garraway said. The father of three, whose farm was recently flooded resulting in his livelihood being affected, said that many children do not have access to e-learning, which is being promoted by the Education Ministry, due to the lack of internet connectivity. “We getting signal little, but we can’t afford data for our children. When we hear the news, we hearing all the other children getting things. What happen to Lower Pomeroon?” the

farmer questioned. This newspaper understands that the Upper Pomeroon River has connectivity, especially at the Jacklow Primary School. Residents are therefore calling on the Ministry of Education to prioritise the Lower Pomeroon River so that learners can have access to education and could keep abreast with the information technology world. In responding, Minister Mustapha told residents that he will forward the issue to the subject minister and have it addressed. This newspaper understands that photocopying machines were sent to schools in the Pomeroon River by the Department of Education so that worksheets can be photocopied and learners can have access to educational material during the pandemic.

Residents who attended the meeting at Marlborough

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Haslington murder accused found guilty, sentencing set for March 4 FIVE years after the murder of Terrence Adams, called “Uncle Terry” or “Sleepy”, his 64-year-old brother-in-law, was, on Tuesday, found guilty of the crime. Les Charles Critchlow was convicted by a 12-member jury. Trial judge, Navindra Singh, presiding over the case at the Demerara High Court, further remanded Critchlow to prison pending a probation report and set sentencing for March 4, 2021. He was convicted of the offence which read that on May 12, 2016, at Haslington, East Coast Demerara, he murdered Adams. Critchlow is being represented by Attorney-at-law, Racheal Bakker, while prosecutor Tiffani Lyken entered an appearance Les Charles Critchlow on behalf of the State. In 2020, Critchlow had appeared before Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry to answer to the indictment and faced a jury trial. However, Critchlow later pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter and, on sentencing day, he had a change of heart and changed his plea. A fresh trial was then ordered, and his case was placed before Justice DEAD: Terrence Adams, Singh. called “Uncle Terry” or According to re“Sleepy” ports, Adams, 56, of North Haslington, was found around 20:15 hours on the day in question on the roadway in the village with stab wounds about his body. Adams had been stabbed to the left and right side chest, and his neck was partially slashed. He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation(GPHC) where he was pronounced dead on arrival. According to reports, Adams had made a derogatory remark to Critchlow, and a subsequent altercation turned deadly. Adams had reportedly said, “You don’t even wuk no more, and can’t maintain my sister.” Critchlow reportedly became enraged and stabbed Adams repeatedly.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Nicholas McArthur scores Chicago State University Scholarship By Rawle Toney

IT’S a dream come true for 19-year-old National football player Nicholas McArthur, who will be heading to the ‘Windy City’ in Illinois, to commence his scholarship at the Chicago State University. The school will be making their National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division One football debut this season and McArthur is hoping to open doors for more players from Guyana to join him on the ‘D1’ collegiate circuit. “This is a stepping-stone for me to leave Guyana to play football; not only football, but to study my academics, make my family proud and Guyana proud. This is something that I’ve always dreamed about, to leave this country,” an elated McArthur said.

The Fruta Conquerors winger told Chronicle Sport that an opportunity had previously presented itself for him to play collegiate football, but the lack of finances, coupled with a breakdown in other critical areas, saw the scholarship not materialising. McArthur’s scholarship was made possible by Guyanese and Canadian football legend, Alex Bunbury, as the National U-20 player thanked the former C.S. Marítimo player and legend for his assistance and all that he would have done to make his scholarship possible. The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, as well as the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), would’ve also contributed in a tangible way to ensure that McArthur is properly taken care of on his journey to Chicago. Charles Ramson Jr, the country’s Minister respon-

sible for Sport, was present yesterday at a simple ceremony to formally announce McArthur’s scholarship, and encourage the player to strive to stay focussed on the prize, which is getting a quality education and advancing his skills in the game. Ramson said he’s always “pleased to open doors and create initiatives for Guyanese and particularly young Guyanese”. The minister told McArthur that he must recognise that he’s receiving a blessing and he must never take it for granted and “must never do things that are inimical to your interest and the advancement of your personal development. Make the decisions that are only beneficial for you and the opportunity that you have”. Meanwhile president of the GFF, Wayne Forde, listed the likes of Jeremy Garrett (LSU Eunice), Cur-

tez Kellman (Daytona State College) and Natalie Cummings (Graceland University) among some of the players who would’ve received tangible support from the Federation in pursuit of their scholarship. Forde said GFF will do all that it possibly can to ensure much assistance is given to McArthur, so he can focus on playing the beautiful game and studying. “Let us all endeavour to do what we can do together, to ensure that this young man will have the best possible experience when he leaves Guyana, hopefully in a couple of weeks,” Forde said. McArthur and the ‘Cougars’ will play in the NCAA D1 Western Athletic Conference in the 2021 season and will host their home games at the Ray and Joan Kroc Stadium in Chicago and will be coached by Trevor Banks.

Government working ‘overtime’ to advance sports in Guyana

HEAD-of-State, Dr Irfaan Ali, is promising the country’s sportsmen and women that under his leadership, the Government of Guyana will put their interests first, while doubling-down on plans to ensure that everyone, across the country, will benefit from advanced facilities and training. President Ali was at the time addressing the gathering at the launch of the President’s Cup Softball tournament at the Everest Cricket Club over the weekend. “The first fundamental that we have to fix is to ensure that we remove the disparity when it comes to sport across the country; we have to invest in the facilities and the programmes that will give our young people, our people all across this country the opportunity to be the best that they can be in various sports,” said President Ali. The President, who reminisced on his school days, noted that prior to his secondary education at St Stanislaus

College, he was a country boy without exposure to certain sports, adding “that is why we have immediately embarked on a programme to have multipurpose sport facilities of international standard in every region beginning with three in the budget.” In keeping with a promise made during his campaign, President Ali, last September announced during a press conference that the PPP/C Government will be building multipurpose sport facilities in Regions 2 (Anna Regina Community Centre), 6 (Blairmount Community Centre) and 10 (Mackenzie Sports Club). According to the Commander-in-Chief, there is a need to equip the facilities with necessary amenities, including proper light, to facilitate night competitions at the venues. Emphasis, according to President Ali, will also be placed on developing sports from the grassroots level, while also rekindling the powerful tool of sport in the minds of

young people and that his Government will place “a lot of heavy focus” on school competitions and school tournaments. President Ali, who played cricket in his earlier years, said that collectively, sport is an important tool for unity and transcends barriers that hinder development in Guyana. “The greatest output of sport is its ability to bring people together, to unify people, its ability to break-down social barriers. You might see a child of a very wealthy family depending heavily on a child of a very poor family to be successful as a team on the field of a play,” the President said. He added that sport has many intangibilities but pointed to the need for structure and camaraderie at the board levels to create a conducive atmosphere for growth and development. Efforts will also be placed on developing the human resource capacity in sports, as President Ali revealed “we also have to work on training and developing a core group … sports facilitators, coaches and

trainers, to be attached initially to a district, where we can bring a number of schools and have them in charge of the district.” 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 of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr, 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. (Rawle Toney)

GFF, UEFA charting ... the waters in Guyana, those achievements fell well short of creating a much-needed professional league. The pioneering league development project is taking place with the full support of CONCACAF, the governing body of North and Central America and the Caribbean. Currently, in the CFU only Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, the Dominican Republic and Haiti have

professional leagues, as classified by CONCACAF. “There are only four CFU members with professional football leagues. For Guyana to become one of the approved professional leagues would be a fitting legacy for the Forde-led administration and position the country for faster development in football and more success at international level,” said Howard McIntosh, ONE CONCACAF and Caribbean Project Senior Manager at CONCACAF. McIntosh reasoned that “a professional league in Guyana will provide the pathway for players, match officials and coaches to reach their full potential and to have access to full-time careers in the

game, whether at home or overseas. In its focus on football development and good governance, GFF has led by example in the Caribbean region and we are all excited to see.” The establishment of a fully professional league in Guyana, following the CONCACAF league professionalisation roadmap, would also enable the title winners and runners-up of each season to enter the Caribbean’s top-tier club tournament - the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship, which offers a pathway to compete in the CONCACAF Champions League. Because the current Elite League model is classified as a non-professional com-

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petition, Guyana’s league champions are currently eligible to take part in the second-tier CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, which features clubs from CFU member associations with up-and-coming leagues that are working their way towards full professional standards. Since the beginning of the year, GFF officials have also participated in UEFA Assist’s risk and project management virtual programmes, a CONCACAF Return to Football Conference for 2021 competitions, and online coaching courses organised by the Guyana Olympic Committee and the Pan American Sports Organisation.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Anderson, Leach bowl England to famous win in Chennai By Matthew Henry

JAMES Anderson and Jack Leach bowled England to a famous 227-run victory against India on the final day of the first Test in Chennai. Anderson inspired England with 3-17 and Jack Leach took 4-76 as England inflicted just a second home defeat on their hosts in eight years. India made a decent start in their pursuit of a world record 420, before Anderson swung the game in devastating fashion when introduced. He bowled Shubman Gill and Ajinkya Rahane in an incredible over of reverse swing and had the dangerous Rishabh Pant caught soon after. Virat Kohli held England up in the afternoon session with 72 but he was bowled by one that scuttled low from Ben Stokes. Leach claimed the key wicket of Cheteshwar Pujara at the start of the day and saw off Ravichandran Ashwin, who put on 54 with Kohli. Jofra Archer sealed the win by having Jasprit Bum-

rah caught behind 35 minutes before tea. England, heavy underdogs before the series began, take a 1-0 lead into the second match of the fourTest series, which begins on Saturday at the same ground.

There have been landmark successes: the Ben Stokes-inspired victory in the 2019 Ashes, a historic win in Cape Town 13 months ago and a fine comeback against Pakistan last summer. But this is India in India. Kohli’s side had lost

James Anderson’s first over was a double-wicket maiden and a spell of 5-3-6-3 in the morning session (BCCI photo)

They have also jumped to the top of the standings in the World Test Championship but must win the series 3-1, 3-0 or 4-0 to reach this summer’s final. This victory must rank as England’s greatest in recent years in Test cricket.

one of their last 35 home Tests, a run going back to their last series defeat on home soil - England’s victory under Alastair Cook in 2012. There were questions about the tourists’ tactics on the fourth day, and Kohli

delayed things for a while, but Anderson and Leach ensured those whispers were irrelevant. In truth, it was almost the perfect performance from England, who are unbeaten in 11 Tests under Joe Root’s captaincy. Root has also equalled Michael Vaughan’s record of 26 Tests wins as England captain, doing so in 47 Tests as opposed to Vaughan’s 51. There were stand-out performances from experienced players like Root whose first-innings 218 set up the win, Stokes and Anderson but also contributions from their emerging young players. Opener Dom Sibley made a crucial 87 on day one, Dom Bess, although disappointing on the final day, took 4-76 in the first innings and Archer bowled well on a tired pitch. An India win was always unlikely but when Gill and Kohli were batting in the morning session, it was not out of the question. A draw was a decent bet. Leach had removed Pujara 25 minutes in with a

fine ball that turned and bounced, but Gill was eye-catching in making 50 from 81 balls while Kohli exerted his authority with positive play. What followed, 50 minutes into proceedings, was one of the great overs in recent memory. Anderson’s second ball

bowled Gill, his fourth saw Rahane narrowly survive an lbw appeal and a fifth sent the India vice-captain’s off-stump cartwheeling as Gill’s had moments before. They were three perfect inswingers that capitalised on uneven bounce and reverse swing. (BBC Sport)

SCOREBOARD ENGLAND 1st innings 578 INDIA 1st innings 337 ENGLAND 2nd innings 178 INDIA 2nd innings o/n 39-1 Rohit Sharma b Jack Leach 12 Shubman Gill b James Anderson 50 Cheteshwar Pujara c Ben Stokes b Jack Leach 15 Virat Kohli b Ben Stokes 72 Jinkya Rahane b James Anderson 0 Rishabh Pant c Joe Root b James Anderson 11 Washington Sundar c Jos Buttler b Dom Bess 0 Ravichandran Ashwin c Jos Buttler b Jack Leach 9 Shahbaz Nadeem c Rory Burns b Jack Leach 0 Ishant Sharma not out 5 Jasprit Bumrah c Jos Buttler b Jofra Archer 4 EXTRA: (b-8, lb-5, nb-1) 14 TOTAL: (all out, 58.1 overs) 192 Fall of wickets : 1-25, 2-58, 3-92, 4-92, 5-110, 6-117, 7-171, 8-179, 9-179. Bowling: Jofra Archer 9.1-4-23-1, Jack Leach 26-476-4 (nb)-1, James Anderson 11- 4-17-3, Dom Bess 8-0-50-1, Ben Stokes 4-1-13-1.

Hasan Ali takes 5-60 as Pakistan Nadal, Medvedev, Tsitsipas into Australian Open second round WORLD number two Rafael final in Melbourne in 2019, did Meanwhile, MedveNadal began his bid for a not have to exert himself too dev extended his winning seal 2-0 series win over SA men’s record 21st Grand much in his win over Djere. streak to 15 matches with

PAKISTAN completed a 2-0 series clean sweep over South Africa with a 95-run win in the second Test in Rawalpindi on Monday. Resuming on 127-1 in pursuit of an improbable 370, South Africa were bowled out for 274 shortly before tea on the final day. They lost their last seven wickets for 33 runs, a collapse sparked by opener Aiden Markram’s dismissal for 108. Hassan Ali took 5-60 to finish with 10-114 in the match, while fellow seamer Shaheen Afridi claimed 4-51. Yasir Shah bowled Wiaan Mulder for 20 to seal Pakistan’s first series victory over South Africa since 2003. The sides play the first of three Twenty20s tomorrow. Hasan removed Rassie van der Dussen with the third ball of the day - bowled via an inside edge for 48 and four overs later trapped Faf du Plessis lbw for five. But South Africa harboured slim hopes of pulling off the highest successful Test chase in Pakistan as Markram and Temba Bavuma who made 61 added 106 for the fourth wicket. Having spent almost six hours compiling his first Test century since 2018, Markram edged to second slip as he

Hasan Ali

pushed at Hasan, who removed Quinton de Kock in almost identical fashion next ball. de Kock has managed only 74 runs at an average of 12.33 since succeeding du Plessis as captain in December. When Afridi found Bavuma’s edge, South Africa’s prospects of even batting out the day to secure a draw were as good as over. (BBC Sport)

SCOREBOARD PAKISTAN 1st innings 272 SOUTH AFRICA 1st innings 201 PAKISTAN 2ns innings 298 SOUTH AFRICA 2nd innings Aiden Markram c Imran Butt b Hassan Ali 108 Dean Elgar c Mohammad Rizwan b Shaheen Afridi 17 Rassie van der Dussen b Hassan Ali 48 Faf du Plessis lbw Hassan Ali 5 Temba Bavuma c Mohammad Rizwan b Shaheen Afridi 61 Quinton de Kock c Imran Butt b Hassan Ali 0 Wiaan Mulder b Yasir Shah 20 George Linde c Faheem Ashraf b Hassan Ali 4 Keshav Maharaj c Imran Butt b Shaheen Afridi 0 Kagiso Rabada b Shaheen Afridi 0 Anrich Nortje not out 2 EXTRA: (lb-2, nb-7) 9 TOTAL: (all out, 91.4 overs) 274 Fall of wickets: 1-33, 2-127, 3-135, 4-241, 5-241, 6-253, 7-258, 8-268, 9-268. Bowling: Shaheen Afridi 21-6-51-4 (nb-4), Hassan Ali 16-260-5 (nb-3), Nauman Ali 20-6-63- 0, Yasir Shah 23.4-5-56-1, Faheem Ashraf 10-2-37-0.

Slam title with a straight-set victory over Laslo Djere at the Australian Open. The Spaniard did not play in the ATP Cup last week after struggling with a back injury, but he moved well in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 victory over the Serb. He will play American world number 177 Michael Mmoh in the second round. Russian fourth seed Daniil Medvedev and compatriot Andrey Rublev also advanced on the second day at Melbourne Park. Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas cruised through against Gilles Simon, seeing off the 36-year-old Frenchman 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 in one hour 32 minutes. However, 13th seed David Goffin squandered four match points as he was stunned in five sets by Australian wildcard Alexei Popyrin. Popyrin, who was one of the 72 players to undergo ‘hard’ quarantine before the Grand Slam began, fought back to beat the Belgian 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (8-6), 6-3. Spanish 12th seed Roberto Bautista Agut also suffered a surprise defeat, losing 6-7 (1-7), 6-0, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) to Moldovan world number 85 Radu Albot. Nadal, who reached the

His only troubles came when serving for the set - he was broken to love at 5-2 in the first and was forced to stave off break point at 5-4 in the second.

a 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 win over Canada’s Vasek Pospisil. Eighth seed Rublev beat Yannick Hanfmann of Germany 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to continue his own good

Rafael Nadal has won the Australian Open once when he beat Roger Federer in 2009

Greece’s Tsitsipas had the Rod Laver Arena crowd laughing - and jokingly booing - following his quick victory over Simon when he said: “I wasn’t expecting it to come so easy.” The 22-year-old added: “I feel like I messed it up already. I think I played a spectacular match from the beginning to the end. “That was the last thing I was expecting, playing on Rod Laver and everyone laughing at me!”

form. Italian ninth seed Matteo Berrettini saw off South Africa’s Kevin Anderson 7-6 (11-9), 7-5, 6-3, while Russia’s Karen Khachanov overcame a second-set dip to beat Australian Aleksandar Vukic 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-2), 6-4. Australian prospect Alex de Minaur also progressed, with the 21-yearold 21st seed coming through 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 against American Tennys Sandgren. (BBC Sport)

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Andrew Arts, B & J Civil Works, GUYOIL, SuperBet on board RHTY&SC programme THE efforts of the ten cricket teams of Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) to have a positive influence in the lives of youths, last Friday, received a massive boost when several companies came on board with financial donations. The companies which made contributions were Andrew Arts of Ogle, East Coast Demerara; Band J Civil Works, Guyana Oil Company (GUYOIL), SuperBet and a major security company that wishes to remain anonymous. They donated a combined $400 000 worth of items and cash. Club Secretary/CEO, Hilbert Foster, and the club’s vice-president, Mark Papannah, received the donations during a visit to the city. Andrew Arts, SuperBet Band J Civil Works and the security company donated a combined $280 000 worth of trophies, medals, certificate

frames and special prizes to the programme, which targets over eighty thousand youths in the Ancient County. GUYOIL handed over a cheque for $100 000 to the

club. The main objectives of the 30-year programme are to get youths to say ‘No’ to drugs, tobacco, pre-marital sex, crime, suicide, alcohol and ‘Yes’ to education, sports,

A representative of SuperBet hands over donation to RHTY&SC CEO Hilbert Foster

religion, culture, and life. Foster stated that the programme is one of the most cherished in the RHTY&SC list of activities as the club strongly believes

GUYOIL PRO presents cheque to Hilbert Foster

James scores 28 points as Lakers win in overtime LeBRON James scored 28 points in a stellar display to help Los Angeles Lakers to a 119-112 overtime win against the Oklahoma City Thunder. James also served up 14 rebounds 12 assists as his team earned a fifth straight win to leave them second in the Western Conference. Montrezl Harrell added 21 points eight rebounds for Lakers, while Dennis Schroder added 19 points. Only Utah Jazz sit above Lakers in the Western Conference. Giannis Antetokounmpo produced 30 points and nine rebounds as Milwaukee Bucks - the only other team on a five-game winning streak - won 125112 at Denver Nuggets, leaving them second in the Eastern Conference.

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Elsewhere on Monday, Stephen Curry was in fine form for Golden State Warriors but his 32 points was not

with less than nine seconds on the clock before DeMar DeRozan converted four free throws.

LeBron James

enough to beat San Antonio Spurs. In a thrilling game, Spurs led by a single point

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Chicago Bulls’ Zach LaVine scored 35 points but Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal matched that tally as Wizards edged to 105-101. Trailing 103-101 with 9.8 seconds left, LaVine

missed a contested layup. Beal recovered the rebound, drew a foul and hit two free throws to seal the win. Devin Booker’s 36 points helped Phoenix Suns to a third win in a row as they saw off Cleveland Cavaliers 119-113. Charlotte Hornets dominated Houston Rockets as LaMelo Ball landed a career-best seven three-pointers in a 119-94 win. Luka Doncic scored 26 points as Dallas Mavericks held off a late rally to defeat the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves 127-122. Doncic has now scored 25 points or more in 11 straight games, two matches short of the Mavericks’ franchise record. And Pascal Siakam scored 12 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter as Toronto Raptors defeated Memphis Grizzlies 128-113. (BBC Sport)

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER Wednesday, February 10, 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)

in assisting youths to fulfil their full potentials in the field of sport and in the classroom. The ten cricket clubs, over the years, have used a wide ar-

ANSWERS TO YESTERDAY’S QUIZ: 325 Test players Dhaka, 2002-03

TODAY’S QUIZ:

(1) Who is the first WI player to crack a Test hundred against Bangladesh? When? (2) How many times the WI have now defeated BANG in Tests?

ANSWERS IN TOMORROW’S ISSUE

ray of activities to promote the Say No/Say Yes message and, in 2021, would be organising several sporting tournaments and educational competitions including debates, essays and spelling bees. Foster expressed gratitude to Mrs C .Juman of Andrew Arts, Mrs Beverly Tapps of B and J Civil Works, as well as to the management of GUYOIL and SuperBet for their cooperation. He assured that the club and cricket teams would work hard to make sure that the 2021 edition of the programme is successful and achieves all of its objectives. The ten teams of the R H T Y & S C a re P o o n a i Pharmacy Under-12 and Under-13, Farfan and Mendes Under-15, Bakewell Under-17 and Second Division, Pepsi Under-19 and Intermediate, Metro Females, NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Under-21 and First Division.

SCA 2021 season to be boosted with additional ground at Ellesmere TORONTO, Canada The Scarborough Cricket Association (SCA) 2021 season will be boosted with the proposed addition of the North ground at Ellesmere, following the return of the South last year. Both grounds were inaccessible for over four years, following infrastructural works by the City authorities at the twin venue. SCA president Shiv Persaud said he has been given the assurance by Toronto City officials that works will commence shortly on both pitches, thereby ensuring their readiness for the 2021 season billed to get underway on May 8. This recent development came after the association’s Annual General Meeting, held virtually via Zoom on Sunday, January 31 when there was uncertainty concerning the availability of the South ground. During his presentation at the meeting, Persaud pointed out that the association was forced to put several aspiring teams on hold because of the unavailability of grounds but was hopeful that this would have changed.

Despite being the only association to complete its shortened 2020 season in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), the youths’ and women’s divisions had to take a back seat. Both divisions are scheduled to return this year. In addition, the association’s inaugural Over-50 tournament is set to get underway with teams already registered to compete in the 30-over round-robin contest. The promotion and demotion process will also be activated during the 2021 season after it was put on hold last season. The SCA president is optimistic that the 2021 season will commence on May 8 with teams being able to compete in 14 games in the various divisions prior to the planned playoffs. He, however, cautioned that this will depend on guidelines from the government health authorities. The Guyanese-born Persaud remarked that “we are all in this together and have the personal responsibility to ensure we keep ourselves and family safe at all times by following all the public health guidelines.” (Frederick Halley)

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Windies heroes credit Clive Lloyd’s ‘inspirational’ letter for Chattogram heist “It was full of confidence for the guys who were coming on tour,” says captain Kraigg Brathwaite YOU wouldn’t normally need to motivate an international cricket team before a regular bilateral tour, but the West Indies’ trip to Bangladesh has been anything but normal. Their board’s commitment to keeping the FTP schedule intact has meant that West Indies have travelled the most of all teams since the pandemic began. As much as they have provided entertainment during a tough period, it has also taken a toll on their players. Two weeks after the tour was confirmed, the West Indies selectors announced their Test and ODI squads bereft of their top names. West Indies had nine uncapped players in the ODI side which was considerably less experienced than Bangladesh’s squad. The difference was similar between the Test sides too. West Indies only had their first-choice bowlers and couple of their main batsmen retained

in the squad. In addition to their lack of experience of playing in Bangladesh and maintaining strict health protocols in the team hotel, the Kraigg Brathwaiteled side could only do net sessions for two weeks – they had travelled to Bangladesh with the ODI team on the same day – before their first practice game in Chattogram. Seeing that there was

very little in their favour, Sir Clive Lloyd, West Indies’ greatest cricket captain, wrote an open letter to the team. He recognised the feeling within the team of being thrown into the deep end, but reminded them that this was their chance to cement a permanent place in the side. He touched upon his own Test debut experience in 1966 when

Kyle Mayers - “Lloyd just let us know that representing West Indies is a lot, and he said: don’t go to Bangladesh thinking you are a second-string team” (AFP via Getty Images)

he was given only a 45-minute heads-up. He highlighted what a great Test team they used to be, but one that began with untried players under Lloyd’s leadership. Above all, he inspired them to prove to the world that they were not “second-class cricketers” and that self-belief is the first step to success. After their three-wicket win in the Chattogram Test that astonished the cricket world, West Indies’ hero Kyle Mayers said that they were inspired by Lloyd’s letter. “It was very inspirational,” Mayers said. “He just let us know that representing West Indies is a lot, and he said: don’t go to Bangladesh thinking you are a second-string team. Give your all, put up a fight, and make sure you represent yourself and family. It was a very strong letter.” Captain Brathwaite said that the letter coming from a legend like Lloyd, it was motivating for the newcomers.

“I thought it was very inspirational. It was full of confidence for the guys who were coming on tour. It was nice to see, and it gave you something to go out there and play hard for. Obviously he is a very successful West Indies captain so it was very inspirational to see,” he said. The head coach Phil Simmons also held a similar tone about new players on this tour having an opportunity to firm up their place in the squad, with a busy home season coming up for West Indies. “My rule and message to all the players here is that you are not here to fill in. You are here to give yourself a chance. You have a chance now to seal your place in the team. If you do well here, it augers well for you moving forward. “You come here and do well in the three ODIs and two Tests, you are putting yourself in a place from where nobody can move you. Only you have

the opportunity,” Simmons had said a couple of days after West Indies arrived in Dhaka. Lloyd’s final words were as much inspirational as it was prophetic. The manner in which they beat Bangladesh after being outplayed on the first four days has been touted as one of West Indies’ greatest Test wins. Mayers and Nkrumah Bonner, the fourth-wicket pair who added a record 216 runs together in the fourth innings, are likely to keep their places in the first Test after this tour, even when the first-choice players return. “A positive mental attitude will see you through many tight situations which I’m sure you will encounter during this tour,” Lloyd wrote. “Lastly, success comes before work only in the dictionary. I wish you the best of luck. Please remember most people are judged by the obstacles they overcome.” (CRICINFO)

Man United reach FA Cup quarter-finals, Burnley crash out

MANCHESTER, (AFP)— Scott McTominay sent Manchester United into the FA Cup quarter-finals as his extra-time strike sealed a hard-fought 1-0 win against West Ham on Tuesday. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side were well below their best in a scrappy fifth round tie at freezing, snow-dusted Old Trafford. But a fine finish from Scotland midfielder McTominay ensured United advanced to the last eight for a seventh successive season. United last won the FA Cup in 2016 and McTominay’s third goal in three games kept them in the hunt

to lift the trophy for the 13th time. After the frustration of the late Everton equaliser that dented their Premier League title challenge on Saturday, this was an essential result to lift the mood at United. It was hardly an eye-catching performance however, with United labouring against defensive West Ham until McTominay and Bruno Fernandes were introduced as second half substitutes. Amad Diallo was named on the United bench for the first time since the 18-yearold’s January move from Atalanta as Solskjaer made six changes.

Lukasz Fabianski prevented United from taking the lead in the 27th minute when he brilliantly pushed Victor Lindelof’s header onto the post. There was a nasty clash of heads between West Ham’s Issa Diop and United’s Anthony Martial towards the end of the first half. Both continued after treatment but Diop did not return in the second half due to concussion. “To clarify, Issa Diop was replaced as a concussion substitute, meaning we can now make a total of six changes, as can Manchester United, if we see fit,” West Ham said in a statement.

Fabianski saved well from Marcus Rashford before the game went into extra-time. McTominay finally made the breakthrough in the 97th minute. Martial’s cross was only half-cleared and Rashford’s deft touch teed up McTominay to steer a composed strike past Fabianski from just inside the area. Cherries shock Burnley In Tuesday’s other fifth round tie, Burnley suffered a surprise exit as second tier Bournemouth won 2-0 at Turf Moor. Sean Dyche’s side fell behind to Sam Surridge’s first half goal and Junior

Stanislas finished them off with a late penalty. While the loss was embarrassing, it will be forgotten if Dyche ensures Burnley retain their Premier League status. Burnley are currently 17th in the Premier League, sitting eight points clear of the relegation zone. It could have been an even more chastening night for Burnley, who initially included the ineligible Erik Pieters in the team before being alerted to the issue by Bournemouth’s media chief. Dutch defender Pieters was banned after collecting bookings in the previous

two rounds of the competition. Pieters was replaced just before kick-off by Anthony Driscoll-Glennon, saving Burnley from a potential FA investigation. “The rules have changed this year with the booking situation and the number of games in the FA Cup. It was just a clear oversight,” Dyche said. “To be fair to Bournemouth, they flagged it and mentioned it, so credit to them for a bit of gentlemanly conduct. We jumped on it straight away and people at our club held their hands up in the right slots.”

Ansa McAl renews long-standing relationship with RHTY&SC T H E R o s e H a l l To w n Yo u t h & S p o r t s C l u b (RHTY&SC) and Ansa McAl Ltd renewed their long-term relationship as part of the club’s continued development. Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster paid a courtesy call on Managing Director of Ansa McAl Ltd, Troy Cadogan, at the company’s head office in Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara. Cadogan informed the club secretary that the compa-

ny was very impressed with the work of the award-winning organisation and as such would renew its long-standing sponsorship in 2021. Ansa McAl has been sponsoring activities of the club for over two decades. Foster hailed the company as one of the main reasons for the great success of the RHTY&SC and expressed gratitude to Cadogan, Beverly Harper and Paul Chan-A-Sue for their cooperation over the years.

The company, in 2021, would be co-sponsoring the club’s annual award ceremony and youth review magazine as well as fully sponsoring the eighth edition of the RHTYSC/Ansa McAl Award of Excellence programme. The 31st Award Ceremony of the club would be held in April on a smaller scale due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic Several of its long-standing members will be homoured for their services over the last 31 years

Troy Cadogan, Managing Director of Ansa McAl Ltd

while the performances of several cricketers would also be recognised by management. A total of 30 awards would be shared out at the ceremony which would be held under very strict COVID-19 guidelines at the St Francis Centre. Under the Ansa McAl Award of Excellence five outstanding Berbicians would be honoured for their contribution in the fields of sports, culture, education,

community development and charity. Foster stated that the company over the years has also supported the club’s television programmes, cricket academies, summer camps, Christmas village and charity programme among others. He assured Cadogan that the club would continue to uphold its high standards and would continue to represent the company brand with distinction.

From left, GFF president Wayne Forde, scholarship awardee Nicholas McArthur, Minister Charles Ramson Jr and Alex Bunbury

Nicholas McArthur scores Chicago State University Scholarship … Guyanese winger to lace-up for NCAA D1 school in inaugural collegiate football season SEE PAGE 28

Government working ‘overtime’ to advance sports in Guyana

President Dr Irfaan Ali

SEE PAGE 28

... President Dr Irfaan Ali promises level playing field

GFF, UEFA charting course for Pro League THE Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and UEFA, European football’s governing body, have started a ground-breaking project to create Guyana’s first professional football league as part of the UEFA Assist development programme. Officials from both organisations met virtually this month to introduce the project teams, establish working protocols and outline next steps for the capacity-building programme over the coming months. Once complete, the collaboration will position and enable Guyana to become only the fifth member of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) to cater for professional football. “This is the latest pillar in an increasingly strong partnership between the UEFA Assist programme and Guyana Football Federation,” said Eva Pasquier, Head of International Relations at UEFA. “We are excited about the impact this current initiative could have for Guyana. We believe there is real scope for a sustainable, marketable professional league that will help to propel its football development forward,” Pasquier said. She added that “this means building capacity within the Federation, so that it can develop longer-term relationships with sponsors, while preparing clubs, players, coaches, match officials and fans for the journey. Our aim through this programme is to support the federation in putting these all-important building blocks in place.” The professional league initiative, according to GFF, is the latest in a growing number of projects between UEFA and GFF, following financial support to acquire minibuses for youth football development programmes and various capacity-building activities, including 100day ‘Bounceback’ return-to-play planning. “Creating the first professional SEE PAGE 31

GFF president Wayne Forde

league in Guyana will be a truly historic moment for our nation and a real statement of intent for the future,” said GFF president Wayne Forde, who further pointed out that his federation is “excited to begin this journey with UEFA as we put the foundations in place to develop a strong league model that can thrive in our specific conditions.” “The realisation of this long-held dream will require a national team effort, including the support of our members as well as partners from corporate Guyana and the Government of Guyana. However, once in place, the league will propel our football forward like never before and offer genuine opportunities for young Guyanese talent to flourish, both at home and overseas,” said Forde. In order to prepare the ground for fully professional football, a range of capacity-building is required, from marketing development and infrastructure to club licensing, coach education and governance. The UEFA Assist team will draw on decades of knowhow from European leagues to help GFF equip itself and its members for the task ahead. “For those unfamiliar with the concept of a professional league, this is a competition where all players are paid ‘living wage’ salaries, which enable them to engage as full-time athletes, most commonly either contracted to independent, financially-sustainable clubs under the European model or within a commercially-viable franchise under the US model,” Forde said. Forde explained that while recent but unsustainable attempts at semi-professional or subsidised models for leagues and teams, as well as the progress by some clubs under the CONCACAF Club License system, have tested

Eva Pasquier - UEFA Head of International Relations

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Windies heroes credit Clive Lloyd’s ‘inspirational’ letter

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| WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2021