THURSDAY 7th January, 2021
' No.106235
Profitability within reach at Uitvlugt Estate –– as private cane farmers start to regain confidence in sugar
New COVID strain possibly in Guyana since December
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Violent pro-Trump mob storms U.S. Capitol 04 PAGE
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Court throws out ‘trumped-up’ bomb threat charge 15 against UG student PAGE
Trump’s supporters outside the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, January 7, 2021
New COVID strain possibly in Guyana since December By Vishani Ragobeer
IT would appear as though
variants of the virus, COVID-19 may have been in Guyana since December
Genetic materials that allow microbiologists to determine whether a patient sample contains markers for the COVID-19 virus is being extracted from samples collected from individuals at the Eureka Medical Laboratory (Adrian Narine photo)
2020, according to tests conducted by the Eureka Medical Laboratories Inc. which detected “abnormalities” in persons who tested positive for COVID-19. Virology Laboratory Manager at Eureka, Paul Cheddie, explained to the Guyana Chronicle that the COVID-19 testing that this private establishment has been offering involves identifying three genes or targets associated with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19). These genes, he said, help to enable the COVID variants to bind to human cells and therefore, enter and infect the cells. The manager, however, highlighted that the variants can be identified because they have one less gene (that is, they have only two genes). “When we see a positive of two genes versus a positive of three genes, that’s how we’re able to presumptively know that maybe we’re looking at something that is a variation of what we’ve
previously been identifying,” Cheddi said. Three newer variants of COVID-19 have been under the spotlight. One more transmissible variant was found after genomic sequencing was done in the United Kingdom, another variant was discovered in South Africa
Virology Laboratory Manager at Eureka, Paul Cheddie
to the population) shows the S gene dropout, then, there would be a much greater cause for concern. The emergence of this specific variant prompted several countries to prohibit all flights from the UK and other countries that documented cases with the variant. The Ca-
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Cheddie further disclosed that a number of these “abnormalities” were discovered in December, and it was usually recorded from persons who recently travelled outside of Guyana. There have been no new potential cases of the COVID-19 variants recorded for the New Year, thus far, at the Eureka lab.
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and a third was more recently discovered in Nigeria. Reports so far indicate that persons present with the same symptoms of COVID-19 and that there is no increased chance of mortality. What this means is that when the sample collected from an individual tests positive for COVID-19 but it is also observed that the third gene is missing, it is likely that this person has been infected with a variant (or different strain) of COVID-19. Cheddie further disclosed that a number of these “abnormalities” were discovered in December, and it was usually recorded from persons who recently travelled outside of Guyana. There have been no new potential cases of the COVID-19 variants recorded for the New Year, thus far, at the Eureka lab. For the ‘UK variant’, reports indicate that the missing gene - the S gene - has indeed ‘dropped out’. The Guardian in the UK reported that it is not unusual to see some S gene dropouts in a small number of positive samples. If a larger amount of samples (relative
ribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) emphasised that the Caribbean region has a “very high” risk of importing this ‘UK variant’ and indicated that four cases were already confirmed in Jamaica. ‘DIFFICULTY PINPOINTING’ Though Eureka is able to determine that the virus someone has been infected with is likely a variant of COVID-19, they are unable to definitively state which variant it is. Nowhere in Guyana’s health system -- public or private -has the ability to identify the variant, currently. “Any further identification or characterisation of the variant would require us to do genomic sequencing which we are not able to do at this time, mainly because of resource constraints,” Cheddie said, adding that the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the World Health Organisation (WHO) can provide assistance in this regard. Eureka Labs have also begun reducing the number of tests that utilise the technology to test for the three genes (and
thus, allowing for the discovery of potential variants) due to the limited quantity on the global market. Instead, they have been increasingly using a ‘two-gene’ testing regime, which still allows for the entity to determine whether someone has been infected with COVID-19, but it does not allow for the determination of whether it is a variant or not. The Eureka manager also disclosed that current health guidelines from the Ministry of Health do not mandate that private facilities which are testing for COVID-19 to inform them of these potential cases of the variants. All that is currently required is the personal information of individuals who have tested positive so that isolation and contact tracing can be done. CONCERN FOR CHILDREN The COVID-19 virus is known to have a disproportionate and severe impact on elderly folks, and more so those with comorbidities. Global reports on the UK variant indicate, however, that it may be able to affect children more than the ‘normal’ COVID-19 virus. As such, Cheddie posited that the potential of this variant to have an impact on children is one which Guyana should be wary of. He emphasised that as the discussions on the reopening of schools intensify, there should be greater consideration on protecting the children returning to schools. He also emphasised that it would appear as though more persons are now interested in travelling abroad since the number of individuals requesting polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from Eureka has been on the increase. He advised against travel at this time. Eureka offers private testing for COVID-19 and on average, tests 150 to 200 persons per day. Amidst growing concerns of the impact this new strain will have on the Caribbean, a report from CARPHA stated: “… countries are urged to continue maintaining national regulations inclusive of limiting gatherings, observing physical distancing measures, as well as appropriate hand hygiene and use of facial coverings where applicable. Country travel guidelines and entry requirements should continue to be enforced.” On Wednesday, a representative of the Health Ministry told this newspaper that the ministry has not yet made the decision to impose any additional restrictions at this time but affirmed that engagement with CARPHA is ongoing.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, January 7, 2021
Profitability within reach at Uitvlugt Estate
–– as private cane farmers start to regain confidence in sugar By Navendra Seoraj INCREASED investments in the local sugar industry have served as an impetus for private cane farmers, who are assessing the situation with the hope of re-cultivating their lands on the West Coast and West Bank of Demerara, to satisfy the demand of the Uitvlugt Sugar Estate. The story of private cane farmers often goes untold, as there is a general perception that the sugar industry is steered solely by employees of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo). But, the contribution of those stakeholders is considered crucial, especially at Uitvlugt, where profitability is said to be inevitable once the estate receives the support of private farmers. “Private farmers play a great role in the development of Uitvlugt as a whole… of the 6,005 hectares of land belonging to the Uitvlugt Estate, 3,303 [hectares] were leased to the farmers. However, due to financial constraints, only 1,637 [hectares] of that land has been cultivated,” Agriculture Manager of the Uitvlugt Estate, Andrew McLeod, told the Guyana Chronicle following a tour of the cane fields along the West Coast of Demerara, on Wednesday. The Uitvlugt estate is capable of producing 44,000 tonnes of sugar, but this can only be achieved once private farmers utilise the lands which are leased to them. “Should all lands leased to farmers be cultivated, this target [44,000] tonnes would be achieved and the estate would reach a profitable stage,” McLeod said. Uitvlugt Estate, one of the three operational estates managed by GuySuCo, concluded its production for the second crop of 2020 with a total of 18,599.4 metric tonnes. Over the past few years, this estate has been producing on average just over 30,000 metric tonnes of sugar annually, mainly because the contribution of private farmers has declined significantly.
The number of private cane farmers is said to have moved from just over 160 to around 20 within the past four years. Although this is the case, McLeod said private farmers still produce 34 per cent of the Tonnes Cane to Tonnes Sugar (TCTS). SIGNIFICANT This contribution, though minimal in comparison to the expected output of private farmers, has been significant to the Uitvlugt estate, McLeod said. “We need to engage our farmers and to have a private/ public partnership in order for our three-year business plan to be achieved. My task is to appeal to the farmers to come on board so we could make this estate successful,” the agriculture manager said. The government recently sought and received a supplementary allocation of $4 billion for GuySuCo. In presenting a disaggregation of the supplementary allocation ($4 billion), the Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, said $2.1 billion will go towards Albion Estate; $518 million to the Blairmont Estate; $60 million to Uitvlugt Estate; $10 million to Skeldon Estate; $746 million to Rose Hall Estate; $533 million to Enmore Estate and $60 million for the head office. “With the government intervention, I feel the farmers will come on board because some of the benefits the farmers would have received was lost and now it is reintroduced… now I see the farmers being on the forefront of the estate, especially when they see sugar recovery improves, timely marketing of the canes and less waiting hours, we will see results,” McLeod reasoned. OPTIMISTIC Cane Farming Manager at the Uitvlugt Estate, Mahendra Sukhu, was also optimistic that investments in the factory would stimulate the farmers’ interest. “With the investment to-
Agriculture Manager of the Uitvlugt Sugar Estate, Andrew McLeod (Adrian Narine photo)
Private Cane Farmer, Premraj Ramraj (Adrian Narine photo)
Manual desilting of canals used to transport sugar along the West Coast of Demerara (Adrian Narine photo)
wards the factory, improvement of the boilers and so forth, we hope it will encourage them to come back on stream,” Sukhu said in an invited comment following the tour. Through those investments, there will not only be improvements to the factory, but also an increase in support meted out to private farmers. “For two years we tried to do planting and tillage for them to get them started, but we stopped it. If it comes back on stream it will assist them to get back in the field,” Sukhu said. Already, the estate has started to supply chemical and fertilisers to farmers based on the hectares they cultivate. While those items are not free, farmers are given a year to
make payments. The estate has also been advising farmers on technical matters related to cane growth, and the application of fertilisers and chemicals to care for crops. Although those services are available, Sukhu said there are two major deterring factors for private farmers and those are the price for sugar and the TCTS. Those have been the main concerns for the past three years, he said. A private cane farmer, Premraj Ramraj, concurred that prices for sugar have been discouraging over the years, but he was optimistic that the recent investments will effect an improvement in this area. Ramraj, who returned to Guyana from Canada in 2001 to take up cane farming, said:
“For the past couple of years we were incurring losses, but because we have all the machinery we could not let it down. Remember as cane farmers we have excavators, tractors, trailers, so there is nothing you can do with the machine and we were getting a loss or breaking-even… we hope it will turn around with the funds they are getting. It is positive, but I hope there are better prices.” The private cane farmer cultivates over 600 hectares of land and produces over 2,000 tonnes of sugar annually. He sees the investments in sugar as an encouragement for farmers who had lost confidence in the industry. Going forward, Ramraj is hoping to see improvements in the TCTS, better access
dams and a reduction in the high cost of leasing lands. In 2017, the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition Government had announced the closure of several sugar estates across the country. The move saw four sugar estates being closed, and 7,000 sugar workers losing their jobs. Plans are afoot to not just rehire persons, but to return this industry to viability through coordinated and prudent management, which is expected to come from both private and public stakeholders
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Decomposing body found at Kara Kara A DECOMPOSED body believed to be that of a male vagrant, was, on Wednesday, discovered in an abandoned building at Kara Kara, McKenzie, Linden after residents complained of a “stench”. According to reports from the police, the body is of East Indian descent and the only name given is “Ziek” of an unknown address. The Guyana Chronicle was made to understand that the man, for the past year, did odd jobs in the neighbourhood in exchange for money or food. A resident of Accabre Drive, Kara Kara, stated that “Ziek” came to her home on Christmas Eve to do some work, but left after complaining of feeling unwell. She said that between December 31 last year and January 1, a stench blanketed the area, but she and residents assumed that an animal had died. However, on Wednesday, after the stench became unbearable, they decided to follow it. This led to the discovery of the body, which was lying in a flat wooden dilapidated and abandoned building on Accabre Drive. A party of policemen visited the scene and discovered the decomposing body which was clad only in a black Jersey. The ranks combed the area for anything of evidential value but found nothing. The body was taken to the Linden Hospital Complex. After being officially pronounced dead, the body was transported to Wismar Hospital Mortuary to await identification and a Post Mortem Examination (PME).
Thursday January 7, 2021 – 00:30hrs –– 11:00hrs
GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, January 7, 2021
Violent pro-Trump mob storms US Capitol
HUNDREDS of supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday in a bid to overturn his election defeat, forcing Congress to postpone a session that would have certified President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. With drawn guns and tear gas, police evacuated lawmakers and sought to clear the Capitol Building of protesters, who surged through the halls of Congress in shocking scenes broadcast across the globe. One protester occupied the Senate dais and yelled: “Trump won that election.” Protesters overturned barricades and clashed with police as thousands descended on the Capitol grounds. Video showed protesters breaking windows and police deploying tear gas inside the building. Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee said the rioters used chemical irritants to attack police. Several police were injured and one civilian was shot, he said. Biden, a Democrat who defeated the Republican president in the Nov. 3 election and is due to take office on Jan. 20, said the activity of the protesters “borders on sedition.” The former vice president said that for demonstrators to storm the Capitol, smash windows, occupy offices, invade Congress and threaten
the safety of duly elected officials: “It’s not a protest, it’s insurrection.” He urged Trump to demand “an end to this siege” on national television. In a video posted to Twitter, Trump repeated his false claims about election fraud but urged the protesters to leave. “You have to go home now, we have to have peace,” he said, adding: “We love you. You’re very special.” Twitter Inc later restricted users from retweeting Trump’s video and tweet “due to a risk of violence.” Police later cleared protesters off the Capitol steps, according to video, and were working to clear them from the building. Vice President Mike Pence, who had presided over the joint session of Congress, had already been escorted from the Senate. The chaotic scenes unfolded after Trump, who before the election refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he lost, addressed thousands of protesters, repeating unfounded claims that the contest was stolen from him due to widespread election fraud and irregularities. Lawmakers had been debating a lastditch effort by pro-Trump lawmakers to challenge the results, which was unlikely to succeed. Critics had called the effort by the Republican law-
makers an attack on American democracy and the rule of law and an attempted legislative coup. The top two Democrats in Congress, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer, called on Trump to demand that all the protesters leave the Capitol and its grounds immediately. Capitol Police told lawmakers in the House chamber to take gas masks from beneath their seats and ordered them to drop to the floor for their safety. Officers drew their guns as someone tried to enter the House chamber. Police piled furniture against the doors of the House chamber as protesters tried to break them down, Democratic Representative Jason Crow said on MSNBC. Several hundred House members, staff and press were later evacuated to an undisclosed location. Election officials of both parties and independent observers have said there was no significant fraud in the Nov. 3 contest, which Biden won by more than 7 million votes in the national popular vote. Weeks have passed since the states completed certifying that Biden won the election by 306 Electoral College votes to Trump’s 232. Trump’s extraordinary challenges to Biden’s victory have been rejected by courts across the country.
‘WE WILL NOT TAKE IT’ Trump had pressed Pence to throw out election results in states the president narrowly lost, although Pence has no authority to do so. “Our country has had enough and we will not take it any more,” Trump said at the rally. The certification in Congress, normally a formality, had been expected to stretch for several hours as some Republican lawmakers mounted an effort to reject some state tallies, starting with Arizona. Republicans and Democrats, who had been bitterly divided over that effort, both called on protesters to stand down. “This is un-American and this has to stop,” said House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, a Trump ally who supported the Republican effort to challenge the results. That attempt was unlikely to succeed, as even many Republicans opposed it. “If this election were overturned by mere allegations from the losing side,
our democracy would enter a death spiral,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who helped give Trump some of his biggest accomplishments. Schumer called the challenges in Congress by Trump allies “an attempted coup” and said: “The Congress does not determine the outcome of an election. The people do.” Outside the Capitol, members of militia groups and far-right groups, some in body armor, mingled with the crowds. A suspicious device was found outside the Republican National Committee’s headquarters, less than a block from the Capitol complex, and detonated by a bomb squad, according to a spokesman. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered a citywide curfew starting at 6 p.m. (2300 GMT). National Guard troops, FBI agents and U.S. Secret Service were deployed to help overwhelmed Capitol police. The violence unfolded on the same day that Trump’s Republicans lost their majority in the Senate as they lost two runoff elections in Georgia. “We will never give up,” Trump earlier told thousands of cheering supporters on a grassy expanse near the White House called the Ellipse. “We will never concede. It doesn’t happen.” Trump called on Pence to overturn the election results as he presided over the debate in Congress. “If you’re not, I’m going to be very disappointed in you,” Trump said. The U.S. Constitution does not give Pence the power to unilaterally overturn the results of the election, and the vice president said in a statement he could not accept or reject electoral votes unilaterally. The violence stunned world leaders. “Trump and his supporters must accept the decision of American voters at last and stop trampling on democracy,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said. Business groups, normally staunch allies of Republicans in Washington, also reacted strongly. The National Association of Manufacturers said Pence should consider invoking a clause in the Constitution that allows a president to be removed from office when he is unable to do his job. “This is sedition and should be treated as such,” said the group’s president, Jay Timmons. (Reuters)
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, January 7, 2021
Jamaican lawyer admitted to Guyana bar By Vishani Ragobeer TRAVIS Wilson, a 24-yearold Jamaican attorney-at-law with a passion for advancing human rights and Caribbean integration, was admitted to the local bar on Wednesday by Justice Sandra Kurtzious. Wilson, a ‘born and bred’ Jamaican, obtained his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) in 2018 from the Mona (Jamaica) campus of University of the West Indies (UWI). He then attended the Norman Manley Law School, also in Jamaica, where he obtained his Legal Education Certificate (LEC) in September, 2020. Since finishing his studies in law he was admitted to the
bar in Jamaica and has been working as a Case Manager with non-profit, human rights organisation called Jamaicans for Justice. But as part of his quest to widen his brand, learn more about the Caribbean region and to contribute to regional integration, he decided to step out of his comfort zone and get admitted to the bar in another country. Guyana was a natural choice for him since he has been able to meet “some really, really, really, really nice Guyanese people” and he has been able to identify areas in which he believes he can lend his services. “I am big on human rights. I work currently in
human rights back home and so from my few visits to Guyana I’ve seen where there can be a little bit of improvement in that area and I’ll gladly offer my services to contribute to a more wholesome development of the humanitarian laws here in Guyana,” Wilson told the Guyana Chronicle. But he is not one to point out areas that need improvement without first doing his due diligence. And that requires him to learn the nuances between the jurisprudence of the two countries. “As you go about learning, you will see the deficiencies and I am not one who will see the deficiencies and let it slide,” Wilson said,
adding, “My quest is to see how we can fix it.” Wilson was adamant about not wanting to force any changes here in Guyana but instead, he endeavours to work with his colleagues in the legal profession to see how best he can help to bring about development. He also indicated that he has been travelling in between Jamaica and Guyana, both countries where he is now able to utilise his skills in the legal profession. He, however, believes that his services could potentially be more meaningful in Guyana. “If we are to speak about development, then ‘each one, teach one’-- we can learn from each other. I want to be
one of those attorneys contributing to Caribbean jurisprudence, not just something on paper, but in actuality,” he emphasised. The Jamaican, very seriously, said that he has the mentality of a revolutionary, also. “I have this thing in me that I want to make a change somewhere, somehow. I don’t set my hands on it quite steady as yet, but I know when it comes that I’m going to be a part of it,” Wilson said. He also emphasised that he has a strong support system in his parents, his family and friends. Importantly, he noted that he has trust and faith in God.
Attorney-at-law Travis Wilson
World stunned by violence in US Capitol, attempts to overturn election WORLD leaders on Wednesday expressed their shock as supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol building where Congress meets in a bid to overturn the results of the Nov. 3 election won by Joe Biden. Here are reactions from around the world: SWEDEN Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven in a tweet described the scenes as “an attack on democracy”. “President Trump and many members of Congress bear significant responsibility for what’s now taking place. The democratic process of electing a president must be respected.” UNITED KINGDOM British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a tweet called the events in the U.S. Congress a “disgrace”, saying the United States stood for democracy around the world and that was it was “vital” now that there should be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power. GERMANY German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said democracy’s enemies would be cheered by scenes of violence at the United States Capitol, and he called on Trump to accept U.S. voters’ decision. In a Tweet, Maas said the violence had been caused by inflammatory rhetoric. “Trump and his supporters must accept the decision of American voters at last and stop trampling on democracy.” RUSSIA “Quite Maidan-style pictures are coming from DC,” Russia’s deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy posted on Twitter, referring to protests in Ukraine that toppled Russian-backed President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovich in 2014. “Some of my friends ask whether someone will distribute crackers to the protesters to echo Victoria Nuland stunt,” he said, citing a 2013 visit to Ukraine when then-U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland offered food to protesters. AUSTRALIA Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison described the scenes in Washington as “distressing.” “We condemn these acts of violence and look forward to a peaceful transfer of Government to the newly elected administration in the great American democratic tradition,” he posted on Twitter. NATO NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called the violent protests in Washington “shocking scenes” and said the outcome of the democratic U.S. election must be respected. SPAIN Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a tweet: “I am following with concern the news that are coming from Capitol Hill in Washington. I trust in the strength of America’s democracy. “The new Presidency of @JoeBiden will overcome this time of tension, uniting the American people.” CANADA Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his
concern about events in Washington. “Obviously we’re concerned and we’re following the situation minute by minute,” Trudeau told the News 1130 Vancouver radio station. “I think the American democratic institutions are strong, and hopefully everything will return to normal shortly.” Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne on Twitter: “Canada is deeply shocked by the situation in Washington DC. The peaceful transition of power is fundamental to democracy - it must continue and it will. We are following developments closely and our thoughts are with the American people.” NEW ZEALAND New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta posted on Twitter: “Our thoughts are with the American people. Violence has no place in thwarting democracy. We look forward to the peaceful transition of the political administration, which is the hallmark of democracy.” FINLAND Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said in a statement: “The attack on Capitol Hill in Washington DC is a very serious and worrying matter. It shows how important it is to firmly and strongly defend democracy at all times.” TURKEY Turkey’s foreign ministry issued a statement expressing concern about the violence and called for calm and common sense while urging its citizens to avoid crowds and the protest area. FRANCE French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Twitter: “The violence against the American institutions is a grave attack on democracy. I condemn it. The will and the vote of the American people must be respected.” EUROPEAN UNION Charles Michel, chairman of EU leaders, on Twitter expressed his shock at the scenes in Washington. “The US Congress is a temple of democracy...We trust the US to en-
sure a peaceful transfer of power to @JoeBiden” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “I believe in the strength of US institutions and democracy. Peaceful transition of power is at the core. @JoeBiden won the election. I look forward to working with him as the next President of the USA.” VENEZUELA Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza tweeted: “Venezuela expresses its concern for the violent events that are taking place in the city of Washington, USA; condemns the political polarization and hopes that the American people will open a new path toward stability and social justice.” NORWAY Norwegian Prime Minster Erna Solberg posted on Twitter: “This is an unacceptable attack on the U.S. democracy. President Trump is responsible for stopping this. Scary images, and unbelievable that this is happening in the United States.” IRELAND Ireland’s foreign minister Simon Coveney called the scenes in Washington “a deliberate assault on Democracy by a sitting President & his supporters, attempting to overturn a free & fair election! The world is watching! We hope for restoration of calm.” ARGENTINA Argentine President Alberto Fernandez tweeted: “We express our condemnation of the serious acts of violence and the affront to Congress that occurred today in Washington DC. We trust that there will be a peaceful transition that respects the popular will and we express our strongest support for President-elect Joe Biden.” (Reuters)
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, January 7, 2021
Grounding with the grassroots DEMONSTRATING level-headed balance and keen insight into what’s necessary to sustain a vibrant, thriving, humming Guyana as the country eyes imminent world-class socio-economic development, government is ramping up every sector of the economy, even as it allows for robust progress of the exciting oil-and-gas sector. Citizens welcome this balanced approach to development, thankful that the thinkers and planners are not skewing the national economy to depend wholly and solely on the rich oil-and-gas sector. This strategy flows out of government’s deliberate plan to cultivate an engaging rapport with every aspect of the society, to continually embrace ordinary citizens, and to keep abreast of every section of the country. Nobody, indeed, must be left behind; that’s the serious mandate of this government. Every Guyanese must benefit from Guyana’s surging drive to 21st century progress. Across every ministry today, government is pouring resources into the traditional sectors, making sure that Guyanese citizens in every industry tap into the tools they need for continual growth and development, of not being left behind. This focus on developing and augmenting traditional sectors emphasises government’s reasonable, sensible, balanced approach to building the nation’s future. Standing out with encouraging visionary leadership is Agriculture Minister
Zulfikar Mustapha. This week, the nation learned that rice generated $51 billion in 2020, with production this year earmarked to jump by at least 75,000 tonnes over last year’s. Minister Mustapha has been actively cultivating relationships with farmers and stakeholders in the agricultural sector, often hitting the ground with boots fully engaged, holding conversations with citizens to gauge how the sector is faring. The admirable approach to the sugar industry under Minister Mustapha’s leadership is a brilliant demonstration of the state’s reaching out to every corner of Guyana with compassion, understanding, and a solutions-oriented mindset. When citizens wake up to such a governance style, they feel good about their country, confident about their future, and they tackle the task of building their nation with energy and morale-boosting motivation. Indeed, ministers across the board have been actively engaging with communities around the nation from the very first day of taking office. Prime Minister Mark Phillips this week travelled to Charity to talk to residents battling floodwaters in the area, and he has been a fixture around the country meeting and conversing with citizens. This government does not consist of armchair administrators: the ministers spend a lot of time engaging with people all over the land, on the ground, rain or shine. Attorney-General Anil Nandlall meets residents for conversations and
to hear their concerns and suggestions every Saturday at Annandale. President Irfaan Ali is also frequently showing up around the country, talking to Guyanese about what government is doing, and also solving problems citizens bring to him. The issuing of 3,600 house lots in the last half of 2020 is an outstanding symbol of how engaged this government is with the people. This is a welcome strategy from the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government, because for the five years of the Coalition Government, Guyanese felt alienated, estranged and even abandoned by ministers, with Brigadier Granger reluctant to hold presidential press conferences, and Coalition ministers refusing to engage with communities except at elections time. The PPP/C ministers campaigned at elections time, and took that same spirit of reaching out to the people, into their governance style. Minister Charles Ramson Jnr engages with the sports sector across the country, travelling to Berbice and other places to keep tabs on the pulse of the sports fraternity. All the ministers are engaging, they are reachable, and they humbly perform their jobs with expressed concern for the welfare of citizens. It is a frustrating truism of human nature, and a global phenomenon, that government bureaucrats and high officials often develop an arrogant disregard for the voters who propel them into high office, many treating ordinary people with dis-
dain and impatience – except at elections time. So it is refreshing and a wonderful blessing to the Guyanese nation to see the Guyana Government deliberately employ a leadership style of humility, of staying in touch with the grassroots, and of emerging from their offices and secure environment to rub shoulders with ordinary citizens. Indeed, many Guyanese today would have personally met and chatted with every minister of this government, especially enjoying their interactions with President Ali, who is shaping up as a man of the people. When one considers the aggressive push from the private sector to develop malls, hotels, and other spanking, brand new projects, twinned with a government of humble servant-leadership, every Guyanese feels special today. There’s a new spirit in the air, a new vibrancy and “aliveness.” Citizens go about their days knowing that 2021 is the year when Guyana achieves its potential, and that the future unfolds the dazzling Guyana Dream coming into reality. Like Ramnaresh Sarwan’s sparkling new mall opening soon at Providence next to the Providence stadium, Guyana is on the verge of something exciting and amazing and futuristic. And much of the credit goes to a government that understands how to interact, and how to cultivate an engaging relationship with ordinary citizens, across every sector.
$25,000 COVID-19 cash grant helped save my family Dear Editor, AS a citizen, I am indeed satisfied that the government has seen it fit to continue assisting families and communities that are in desperate need as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the now recovering economic situation where jobs are concerned.
This $25,000-dollar relief could not have come at a better time for my family when the holidays are done and there is not a penny left because of how things have been since March 2020. This relief has helped me to start back my year. It has helped me to pay two bills so I can live throughout this month. I am grateful to the team that
dealt with me professionally. It didn’t matter that I am not from their party or of similar ethnic persuasion; there was a sense of urgency and delight to hand over the cash. This is a good initiative that is helping those in need. I could only imagine what this grant means for the people who are jobless and poor. The grant
must be replicated again from some other source to aid in the household with the essentials that it needs to look after. Maybe, the government can make it $50, 000 from the oil money or some other source the next time. Yours Respectfully, Attiya Baksh
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, January 7, 2021
‘Bogus’ oil and gas trainer pleads not guilty to 17 fraud charges
BERBICE resident Simone Fortune, who allegedly collected more than $2.7M for a fake oil and gas training course, on Wednesday, appeared in the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court on 17 counts of fraud. Fortune of CaneField, East Canje, Berbice denied each of the intent to commit fraud charges which were read to her by Magistrate Renita Singh. She was subsequently released on a total of $680, 000 bail. The charges alleged that between December 2019 and March 2020, she obtained money from seventeen men as payment for a training course and the subsequent issuance of a seafarer’s certificate. According to reports, the woman collected over $2.7M in total from the complainants as payment for a oneweek training course with the understanding that after six weeks, a certificate will
be issued. However, after the sixweek period elapsed, the accused allegedly asked for an extension, claiming that the certificates are coming from Panama and that there were some delays. Believing the explanation, several of the complainants then paid and enrolled in a rigging course. After some time, the woman issued certificates which were different from the sample she had shown the men prior to them commencing the course. After protests, she took the certificates back and promised that she would issue ones similar to what the complainants were shown. In an application for bail, Attorney-at-Law, Ryan Crawford, stated that his client has been in the industry for over five years and is recognized by a certified institution. Further, he noted that the issue at hand is not his
tacted the company which issued the certificate and were told it is fake and invalid. “I enrol for the Standards of Training Certification and Watch Keeping (STCW) course in February last year, and then after the rigging course, I pay $260,000 and next couple weeks is one year since and up to now I can’t get me certificate. The one she show we when we start with we pictures is the one I want, because that is the recognized seaman certificate, but the one she give we is not that,” Simon Sukra said. The man explained that it has been very difficult to get The accused, Simone Fortune (second right) with some of the complainants during one of the training sessions He submitted that his client’s fault since she does not issue the certificates; client has requested the certhey come from an accredited tificates which may arrive before the matter goes to trial. company in Panama. Magistrate Singh asked that Fortune lodge her passport and report to the police every Friday. She granted the accused $40,000 bail on each charge, and adjourned the matter until January 26. Meanwhile, speaking to this publication at the court, the complaints said they con-
Medical officials expected in Pomeroon communities today By Indrawattie Natram A MEDICAL team headed by Regional Health Officer, Dr. Ranjeev Singh, will be visiting flood-affected communities in the Upper and Lower Pomeroon on Thursday to address the needs of residents. The team, which will also include Environmental Health Officers, a Surveillance Medical Officer, and a Rapid Response doctor, will assess the possible health threats that may result from the excessive flooding over the holiday period. Based on their findings, the necessary recommendations will be made and action taken. Meanwhile, Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, during Tuesday’s visit to flood-hit Charity, said that another one of his concerns is the volume of water that is currently on the lands in the Pomeroon area. He said the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) will be assessing the losses farmers have suffered and relief in the form of planting materials will be distributed. “All and all these areas need a long term plan. We have seen many of the infra-
structures collapsing which were previously neglected by the previous administration. We now have to spend money to rebuild,” Minister Zulfikar said. Large scale cash crop farmer, Deleep Singh, said several acres of his farmlands are submerged. Singh indicated that his lands were underwater since Boxing Day and despite private pumping, the water remains on the land. His plantain crop is at various stages of growth. Singh told this publica-
tion that every time it rains, the area is prone to flooding. He supported the minister’s idea that there should be a long-term plan. He also suggested that sluices be built in the Friendship and Cozier communities to assist in draining the floodwater into the Pomeroon River. At the moment the Pomeroon River mouth is swollen. There are reports of flooding from many cash crop farmers. Many families continue to remain indoors as they count their losses.
The dilemma residents of the Pomeroon are currently facing
in contact with the woman. “Since then she not answering her phone and she even move from where she was and we realize like she moving funny and report it to the police. She promise to give we back we money if she can’t give we the right certificate, and we want it cause some of us unemployed and have families to feed,” he added. Sukra said too that his father assisted him in securing the finances to pay for the course, hoping that he would be able to gain a job within the oil and gas sector after completion.
Several of the complainants outside the court
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, January 7, 2021
CDC delivers flood-relief supplies to Region Two residents By: Indrawattie Natram HUNDREDS of households in the Charity squatting area and the Upper and Lower Pomeroon River on Wednesday received hampers and sanitation products from the Civil Defence Commission (CDC). Heavy rainfall has caused flooding in several parts of Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam). Some areas have been affected more than others. The CDC’s visit came one day after Prime Minister Mark Phillips and Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha visited several of the flood-affected areas and took note of the concerns of affected residents During the visit, both ministers promised residents that relief supplies would be
distributed promptly. Early Wednesday morning residents began lining up to collect their hampers. Preparedness and Response Manager Captain Salim October, who was heading the distribution exercise said that 180 Charity resident and more than 100 more communities in the Pomeroon River have benefited. Captain October informed this newspaper that drinking water and food supplies were given to the families. In addition to the exercise, a team is also in the area conducting further assessment and based on the findings, more relief will be given to residents. People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Councillor Faraz Baksh, said a list of affected residents was sub-
mitted to the regional administration. Those persons he said were contacted about the distribution and they assembled to collect their supplies. Baksh said he is happy that assistance was provided to the residents. Monique Edwards, a mother of seven, is among those who received hampers. Though expressing gratitude, she called for a medical outreach to be conducted in the area. Edwards said that too many persons in the Charity Squatting Area have latrines which pose serious health problems. The woman told this publication on Tuesday that her children are sick and vomiting. Another resident Mervin John also said he was happy for the assistance. John, a father of nine, said that he has been unemployed due
The CDC team preparing to commence distribution in Charity
A resident of Charity collects his relief supplies from a CDC official
Captain Salim October presenting a resident with his relief package
Residents waiting to collect their flood-relief supplies
to the COVID-19 pandemic and started a kitchen garden as a way of providing for his family. He said due to the flooding, he is now hopeless since his garden is inundated. Meanwhile, the region’s drainage and irrigation (D&I) workers are currently mobil-
ising the pump at Windsor Castle. It is to be transported to Charity to assist in draining the floodwater which has been stagnant for several days. The Guyana Chronicle was told that this process may take a day. According to Region-
al Vice-Chairman Humace Odit, the pump is expected to be installed by midday on Thursday. Once in operation, he said it is expected that the flooding will be alleviated. Some parts of Charity has been under water since Boxing Day.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, January 7, 2021
269 measuring devices seized last year THE Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) last year, conducted some 1217 surveillance inspections which resulted in 269 devices being seized and removed because they were either inaccurate, unverified or in a deplorable condition. According to the bureau, 2020 saw a significant decline in inspections, which are done to ensure that devices in use at shops and markets countrywide are stamped and in acceptable condition. Last year, the GNBS verified a total of 29,675 new devices, which included 638 scales, 1,473 masses and 27,554 electricity meters for the Guyana Power and light Company (GPL). According to GNBS Public Relations Officer (PRO), Lloyd David, the bureau achieved major successes in 2020 as many of its targets set at the beginning of the year were met, notwithstanding setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Significant efforts, David said, were made under the Legal Metrology Programme to verify weighing and measuring devices used in commerce to protect consumers and ensure equity in trade. In addition, he said under its Industrial Metrology Programme, the GNBS continued to provide calibration services to a wide range of stakeholders during the year. Further, he noted that devices already in use at shops, markets, and other locations such as supermarkets, manufacturing companies, rice mills, hospitals, airlines, post offices, a total 5009 scales, 9977 masses, 140 weighbridge scales, 202 electricity meters, and 59 moisture meters were verified. For volumetric measurements, the GNBS verified 1722 petrol pumps, 270 bulk meters, 30 storage tanks and 114 fuel tanker wagons. These devices were verified for Rubis, GuyOil, Sol Guyana and other private companies countrywide to
other outlying regions to ensure access to its services. Lastly, there will be
Inspectors verifying scales
Laboratory technicians conducting volumetric calibration
ensure measurement accuracy and conformance to safety requirements. Overall, the GNBS noted that there was a notable decline in the verification of devices already in use during 2020 when compared with 2019. This could be attributed to necessary precautionary measures taken by the GNBS during the pandemic. Notably, in 2020, David noted that the GNBS conducted a series of measurements training for the Guyana Police Force (GPF), which focused on the verification and use of breathalysers, speed guns and the use in the international system of units. For Legal Metrology, he said in 2020, the GNBS worked to ensure it fulfilled its measurement role in the Oil and Gas Sector. Throughout the year, inspectors were fully involved in monitoring the verification of custody transfer meters on the Floating Pro-
duction Storage Offloading vessel, offshore. For Industrial Metrology, he said the GNBS continued to provide vital calibration services as industries increased the use and demand for traceable and reliable measurements in Guyana. Measuring instruments were calibrated in the areas of mass, dimension, volume, pressure, and temperature. This resulted in the calibrations of 1679 measuring instruments during 2020. The GNBS is looking to expand its services to stakeholders in both Legal Metrology and Industrial Metrology. For 2021, the GNBS has procured a fitted Mobile Unit, which will be visiting strategic locations across the country to conduct the mobile verification of devices used at markets and other business outlets. In addition, the bureau is actively looking to employ inspectors within
Infant dies while playing with cousin
POLICE are probing the death of a two year-old infant of Lower Port Kaituma, North West District, which occurred on Tuesday. Investigations revealed that the child, who suffered from epilepsy, resided with his grandparents; a 65-yearold farmer and a 60-year-old housewife. Epilepsy is a central nervous system (neurological)
disorder in which brain activity becomes abnormal, causing seizures or periods of unusual behaviour, sensations, and sometimes loss of awareness Reports indicate that on the aforementioned date, the child was playing with his six-year-old cousin in the yard and suddenly collapsed on the ground and remained motionless. Police said that the child's
grandmother, who was nearby, picked him up and rushed him to the Mabaruma Regional Hospital. On the said date, at about 16:30 hours, the child was seen and examined by a doctor, who pronounced him dead. The body is currently at the Mabaruma Hospital Mortuary awaiting autopsy as investigations continue.
expansion of calibration services in the areas of volume, temperature, pres-
sure, and torque, which are heavily demanded by industry.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, January 7, 2021
Students happy with improved CXC grades
By Tamica Garnett STUDENTS across the Caribbean who had paid for reviews of their Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) 2020 examinations were overjoyed when they visited their student portal on Monday and saw improvement in their grades. In a statement, CXC said that it had thus far released 80 per cent of the final results for the 2020 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE). The statement also noted that the council is currently in discussions with Ministries of Education across the Region to “finalise details” for the 2021 examinations, and will reveal further information on this in a matter of weeks. Whatever results have been finalised were said to
have been sent to the respective countries since Thursday, while students were able access their new results on the CXC portal from Monday. “We have released 80 per cent of the final results and we are working assiduously to complete the remainder. On 31 December, 2020, final results were shared with CXC Local Registrars and on 4 January, 2021, CXC will release grades to students via the online student portal,” the statement said. When contacted, local Superintendent of Examinations, Sauda Kadir-Grant, said she could not say if Guyana had as yet received all of its final results for the CXC exams. “I know that there might be a few cases that CXC might still be looking at. I would only go with what CXC has noted, that there is 80 percent completed,” she
noted. Notwithstanding that preliminary results for the 2020 CXC examinations having been released since September 2020, Guyana has never declared a “best performing student” for the examinations, due to the unprecedented number of reviews that were requested by students. Due to the delayed completion of the reviews, CXC is yet to declare official results for the examinations. As the reviewed results have started to trickle in, many students who have received improved grades say they are ecstatic to see the fruits of their labour, satisfied in knowing that their steadfast belief in their abilities were not in vain. “I feel that my hard work is now being recognised and awarded with a more fair grade although I do think I deserved a Grade One
Aspiring doctor, Nikhil Sankar, received improved grades in three of his CAPE subjects
but I’m satisfied with the change,” commented Jeremy Singh, of Queen’s College, who received an upgrade to a Grade Two in Applied Mathematics, which he wrote at CAPE. He is still awaiting the verdict on two other subjects which he had requested to be reviewed. Aspiring doctor Nikhil Sankar, received improved grades in three of the eight subjects he wrote at CAPE, moving up one grade level in each case to get an additional two Grade Twos and a Grade
QC student Jeremy Singh is grateful that his hard work was recognised after he received an improved grade in one of his CAPE subjects
One.
RELIEVED “I feel slightly relieved, knowing that some justice was done. However, I am not fully satisfied. I don't think [it] is a complete rectification,” expressed Sankar, who has other subjects where the grades were not changed. Nonetheless, Sankar has since been accepted into the medicine programme at the University of Guyana (UG) and has moved on from the inaccurate grading by CXC.
“I have already completed one month of university. So these changed grades won't have any substantial impact. I'm more concerned for the impact on the Lower Six and CSEC students,” he said. Other students are still hopeful that they would receive changed grades when the other 20 per cent of the final results are released by CXC in the coming weeks. In the 2020 examinations, CXC faced an unprecedented influx of over 21,000 review requests and over 3,100 queries. The body received a total of 10,055 review requests for subjects at CSEC and 11,551 requests for reviews of subjects written at CAPE. The numbers represent a review of 1.8 per cent of the results for CSEC and 9.67 per cent of the results for CAPE. The requests for review at CSEC represent a 1,200 per cent increase compared to 2019, and for CAPE, a 900 per cent increase from the previous year. Additionally, the body received a total of 2,174 queries of results for CSEC and 945 queries for results at CAPE, both staggering numbers when compared with previous years.
Health Ministry moves to activate COVID Case Trackers CONTRACT-TRACING and tracking have been identified as critical components of the global fight against the deadly coronavirus. In an effort to strengthen capacity in these areas, the Ministry of Health is seeking to employ at least three COVID-19 Case Trackers. This was confirmed by Chief Medical Officer Dr Narine Singh, who explained that the ministry is working assiduously to decentralise the tracking of COVID-19 cases. “So, the people in the regions will be responsible for monitoring people in their respective regions,” Dr Singh said. A recent advertisement specified that the aforementioned trackers are required for Regions One, Six and Eight. According to the advertisement, employment of Case Trackers is being funded via a grant given to
the Government of Guyana from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to the published stipulations, the grant will go towards Guyana’s COVID-19 Crisis Response activities. “The declared health emergency CDC will be supporting a number of the activities in Guyana in order to support acceleration, planning and operational readiness for COVID 1-19 preparedness and response,” the advertisement indicated. It added: “The CDC intends to allocate part of the
proceeds to the payment for the provision of services to be procured under the grant.” Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle, Dr Singh said that even though follow-up checks are being done via telephone, it is still not enough. “People who are positive, or who are under home isolation and so, they will track them down and keep tabs on them and so on,” Dr Singh said.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, January 7, 2021
Domestic tourism shines through in Hotspot Magazine
By Rehana Ahamad
FOR decades, the aim of the tourism industry had been to attract foreigners and entice them to come to Guyana and discover all that the country has to offer, even though a large percentage of Guyanese themselves were oblivious to the gems contained in various regions of the country. When the coronavirus hit Guyana in March 2020, the tourism sector was crippled; the locally instituted lockdowns and curfews highlighted the fragility of the industry, and its glaring oversight of the domestic market. Even though the pandemic has brought much heartache and worries, there are perhaps a few silver linings; most notably is the fact that many persons and sectors were forced to look within, before looking out. For instance, the pandemic inspired the creation of kitchen gardens and buying more locally produced items, as opposed to relying on imported products, the arrival of which were threatened by global lockdown regulations. Similarly, the advent of COVID-19 exposed the importance of domestic tourism, and the need for authorities to invest even more heavily in this area. Consequently, the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce has begun to partner with relevant stakeholders to inspire and entice more Guyanese to vacation within Guyana. VIRTUAL LAUNCH This new mission is profoundly highlighted in the contents of the second edition of the Ministry’s Hotspot Magazine, which was launched virtually on Wednesday. Under the theme, ‘The Road to Recovery,’ the 48page magazine, promotes each of the 10 administrative regions, with emphasis on the hidden gems contained therein. Publisher of the magazine, Mensah Fox, said that he was particularly pleased with the level of inclusivity captured in the publication. “It gave all the regions an opportunity to showcase their own tourism product, and have an input in all the articles and even photography… it has touched on so many aspects,” Fox noted. Director of Tourism, Donald Sinclair, who also acted as the Editor-in-Chief of the publication, explained that a competition was hosted for the design of the magazine’s cover, and that this was won by Region Three. Associate Editor of the magazine, Cordell McClure, in his brief remarks, said that Guyana is a fascinating story
that must be told, even to Guyanese who are unaware. “Over the last year, I’ve been able to visit several of the regions and I can tell you that many of the regions have positioned themselves to really be part of this new tourism thrust,” McClure opined. PLAN AND TRAVEL Meanwhile, President of Visit Rupununi, Melanie McTurk, said that the Hotspot Magazine seeks to enlighten Guyanese about the tourism attractions in various regions. “…from free public events, to once-in-a-lifetime-experiences; there are sites and activities to meet a range of preferences, as well as packages to meet every budget,” McTurk noted. She added, “Tourism dollars directly create jobs and support village economies, right here at home in Guyana.” While many Guyanese often cite financial constraints as reasons for their lack of travel, McTurk believes that the key to travel, even at home, lies in effective planning. “It is important to do your research. Be realistic about what you can afford
on your budget and in some instances, be prepared to save towards that special experience,” McTurk advised. She is also recommending that Guyanese form a habit of looking out for travel packages and promotions, year round. “Because many of Guyana’s internationally acclaimed tourism sites do offer special packages at different times of the year, and many new products will offer special introductory prices,” McTurk posited. DUSTING OUT THE HIDDEN GEMS
Meanwhile, Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), Carla James said that even amid the pandemic, the demand for travel will continue to grow until it can be met. “Destination health and sanitation is the new norm by which travel decisions are made,” James posited. She noted with international travel restrictions still imposed by many countries and destinations, the local and diaspora market remain critical components of the tourism industry’s recovery efforts.
Two youngsters, immersing themselves in the good reads contained in the Ministry of Tourism’s Hotspot Magazine
Overlooking Kurukabaru Village located in the North Pakaraimas of Guyana (Michelle Kalamandeen photo)
The GTA Director said that the Hotspot Magazine particularly highlights the hidden gems of every region in Guyana. EMPOWERING THE REGIONS “We encourage everyone to get out and explore our very beautiful country. As you go through the magazine, you will see that there is no corner of Guyana where you’re not going to have fun and have unique experiences,” James asserted. Similar sentiments were shared by Mitra Ramkumar, President of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG). “None of us can doubt the beauty of our regions. What this publication has done, is highlight those beauties,” Ramkumar said. The THAG President believes that the efforts to compile the magazine has also lent to the strengthening of regional tourism bodies. “This actually ties into the World Tourism Day message of tourism and rural development…it empowers these regions,” Ramkumar said. He noted too, that the magazine also serves as good promotion for tourism businesses to generate income, thereby encouraging them to continue their investments within the various regions. “…and for them to stay in those communities and keep the history and the cultures
alive,” Ramkumar added. COMING HOME AS A TOURIST The Hotspot Magazine also contains an article from Minakshi Babulall, a member of the Canadian diaspora, and the founder and Chief Executive Officer of a non-profit organisation called ‘A Different Youth Project’. Babulall said that she able to include in the article, her desires and expectations of destination Guyana. “Many of our tourism before has been geared towards getting internationals into the country, but right now, the pandemic has given the locals an opportunity to visit the regions and see what they have to offer,” Babulall said. She said that her organisation hopes to bring back the diaspora by creating immersive, intercultural adventures, employing three facets of what makes Guyana unique. “Our project combines three essential industries – eco-tourism, agriculture and community development,” Babulall specified. Nonetheless, distribution of the hardcopy magazines have commenced throughout the country, while electronic copies will go online today on the Ministry of Tourism, and the Guyana Tourism Authority’s website, respectively.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, January 7, 2021
Garbage-dumping at Charity a worrying issue –– PM says collaboration integral to finding long-term solution
By: Indrawattie Natram PRIME Minister Mark Phillips, describing the garbage situation at Charity as worrying, on Tuesday said the collaborative efforts of central government, the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) and the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) will be required to find a long-term solution. He made these comments during a walkabout with Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha and a team of technical and regional officials in the Region Two community, which has been affected by flooding since Boxing Day. Among the places visited were the squatting area, the market and the underused market tarmac. The team observed that vendors have erected their stalls over the drainage system. In addition to this illegal vending practice, a stockpile of garbage is blocking the drains. “A lot of garbage has built up over the years around Charity. We from
the government expect that the NDC, RDC and central government work together on a long-term project to fix this… I learnt that whenever it rains, the situation remains the same…With proper engineering work and help from the central government this can be fixed,” PM Phillips noted. Currently, over 20 vendors are selling over the drainage system and they have been accused of dumping garbage into the drains. While the Charity/Ursara NDC has been paying workers to clean the area, the water remains stagnant due to the blockage. The stench emanating from the drains is also unbearable for shoppers and those living nearby. According Regional Chairperson Vilma De Silva, the garbage situation at Charity is an eyesore and on many occasions, the RDC and the NDC have tried to fix it but were unsuccessful. She explained that the stall owners are reluctant to move to the spacious tarmac area. Once the vendors take up spots there, the relevant authorities would be able to
clean the drain, and ensure that it is free-flowing and without garbage. Regional Executive Officer (REO) Devanand Ramdatt who was part of the team, also expressed dissatisfaction with the vendors’ behaviour. He said while the regional administration is spending thousands of dollars on fuel to operate the pump, residents and vendors need to play their part by ensuring that garbage is properly disposed of. VENDORS NOT MOVING This newspaper understands that those stall owners received removal notices from the NDC years ago, but are refusing to move. When this newspaper conducted interviews with a few of the stall owners, they defended their decision to remain at the current location. According to them, more sales will be got in front of the market than on the tarmac. “We like being in front. The sales [are] here. The tarmac is behind…too much
A stall blocking a drain at the Charity Market. Also pictured is the garbage that is blocking the draining system of the area
walking distance for customers. When you in front, people come to buy what they want and gone. They would not want to come till to the back to search for an item,” Shelia Thomas, a vendor, said. Another vendor, John Abrams, said he has been vending in the area for over 15 years. He too noted that sales are more at the front than at the back where the tarmac is located.
“I does sell provision. There are so many other vendors like myself. A customer come, you sell, them gone. If I go to the back then, do you think customer go come search for me? We have a family to feed so we need to keep up with business and location is important,” Abrams said. The vendors said they can cooperate with stakeholders; however, an incentive must be provided to
them before they move to facilitate the clearing process. “When they move us, we will be out of a job, we will be home. The pandemic is here, we need to feed we family… Where we will find food for the table if they want to move us then? Pay us for the time we will be home until the drainage work [done] and then we will return,” another vendor said.
Man behind Haitian court case withdraws
ALLANDRES Archer has come forward and withdrawn his name from representing the 26 Haitians who were recently the subject of a court case against the Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs. The proceedings were initially filed by Archer for and on behalf of the 26 Haitians , contending that a breach of fundamental rights of the individuals had occurred when they were placed in protective custody at the Hugo Chávez Centre for Rehabilitation and Reintegration. However, reflecting on how he became a part of the case, Archer said, “I was contacted by Attorney-at Law Darren Wade, to give an affidavit to be a witness and it ended up I was the person
who was taking the government to court.” “I never agreed to that; I never wanted no part of it,” he claimed. Archer, a businessman and ticket agent, had purchased airline tickets which brought the Haitians to Guyana. “The Haitians were later arrested in a hotel; I also was at the hotel at the time. I got arrested and I was there for 72 hours, then I got released on bail and a few days after this happened, the Haitian Society started making inquiries on what really went on,” he explained. Archer related that when he was contacted by representatives of the Haitian Society, he was asked to make contact with Attorney
Allandres Archer
Wade to give an affidavit to be a witness to what had occurred. “I received the people from the airport. I brought them to the hotel, I checked them in, then we got arrested and that was basically what I agreed on. But to take the government to court or to
Attorney-at-Law Darren Wade
fight on behalf of the Haitians was never my intention,” he said. When contacted, Attorney Darren Wade confirmed that Archer had indicated that he wanted to withdraw the matter, but “he has not instructed me as yet.”
However, Wade noted on Wednesday that Archer confirmed with him that he was in talks with the Attorney General’s Chambers. Then subsequently he received correspondence from the chamber via email about Archer’s intention not to proceed with the matter. On December 1, Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus, at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, issued an order for the Haitians to be taken to the nearest port of exit. This newspaper understands that the foreign nationals, 10 men, nine women and seven children, had arrived in Guyana on November 7, and were reportedly granted a six-month stay. However, the Haitians
allegedly gave incorrect information to immigration officers about where they would be staying while in the country, and days after, they were found at a city hotel and in a minibus on the Linden-Mabura Road, which constitutes a violation of their stay. The police claimed that they were suspected to be victims of a human- trafficking ring, an allegation the Haitians have consistently denied. Recently, Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn disclosed that approximately 33,000 Haitians have been reported as “missing” over a three-year period, following their arrival in Guyana.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, January 7, 2021
Canada’s Crosbie caught wave of excitement over Guyana By Terry Roberts IT's mid-morning at Crosbie Group, on Hebron Way in St. John's, and a team meeting in the boardroom features some very familiar chatter. Chief operating officer, Mark Collett, asks one of his vice-presidents, Jeremy Whittle, about progress in recruiting a new rope access crew for the offshore. "They're actually working right now. We've got crews on the platform," said Whittle. But Collett and his team are not talking about exterior maintenance work or deck services for familiar platforms like Hibernia or Hebron. They're referring to the Liza Destiny FPSO — for floating, production, storage and offloading — vessel anchored in deep water off the coast of Guyana, some 5,000 kilometres south of St. John's. "And it's all to ExxonMobil and SBM standards?" Collett asks. "Yes. Global standards," Whittle assures his boss. It's new territory for this fourth-generation St. John's Company, and a rare sign of enthusiasm for an industry that has been battered by a worldwide pandemic, and a growing movement to wean the province off its economic dependence on oil and gas in order to combat climate change. "It's exciting times," Collett tells CBC during an interview. "For me, it's life-changing to watch something like this unfold at a later stage of my career." Crosbie Group is part of a swarm of companies from the Newfoundland and Labrador oil services sector that is making a play for business in Guyana, where spectacular oil discoveries off the coast of this developing country of less than 800,000 people is poised to make it one of the richest places on the planet. That will mean big opportunities in oil and gas, but also in other areas such as health, education and infrastructure as Guyana looks to modernise. Companies are scrambling to get their foot in the door, with some 170 firms with links to the Newfoundland offshore taking part in a virtual Guyanese trade mission last year, organised by Noia, the province's oil and gas industries association. A similar event is planned for January. A FAMILIAR STORY It's a story with many parallels to Newfoundland and Labrador, which welcomed the transformative oil industry at a time when the
fishery was collapsing in the early 1990s. In order to deliver the services needed by this new industry, many companies partnered with British and Norwegian firms to develop a local service and supply sector. Years later, the sector has matured, but is being pinched by a double-whammy of COVID-19 and a green movement that has many viewing oil production through the same lens as the tobacco industry. "We don't see a whole lot of growth opportunities here at home right now," Collett says. So companies like Crosbie have seized on Guyana. "Newfoundland companies are really fit for purpose. We're small. We're nimble. We've done this," says Caron Hawco, an oil industry consultant who has visited Guyana a dozen times in recent years, studying the market and helping companies link up with Guyanese partners. She says the opportunities are endless, and she's noticed a "real lovely kinship" between business leaders from both Canada and Guyana. "There's just some magic that goes on between them," she says. "I suspect we will see at least 20 to 30 companies successfully having a good footprint in Guyana, maybe more." CROSBIE WANTS TO BE AT THE FOREFRONT The Crosbie Group is determined to lead the way. The company reinvented itself in the face of economic turbulence a generation ago to capitalise on a blossoming oil industry, and now employs more local people in the offshore than any other Newfoundland and Labrador company. But with uncertainty casting a dark cloud over the offshore, Crosbie is reaching outward. The company has expanded into the Maritimes, acquiring 50 per cent ownership in a Nova Scotia company that specialises in onshore industrial services. More recently, Crosbie has caught the wave of excitement over Guyana. "We just see tremendous opportunity in that region," says Collett. Crosbie has partnered with a Guyanese company to form a new venture called Panthera Solutions. They're winning contracts. Training up local workers; and exporting Newfoundland and Labrador expertise to the Guyana basin. More than a dozen Crosbie employees have brought their
skills to Guyana, and Collett believes it's just the beginning. DOUBLING ITS WORKFORCE There are projections that daily oil production in Guyana could soon skyrocket to 750,000 barrels, with as many as five production platforms, and Collett wants Panthera Solutions to be the preferred service provider for exterior maintenance and specialities such as crane operations. If all goes according to plan, he predicts Crosbie's worldwide workforce could double to some 1,000 employees in three to five years, with up to 70 per cent of its business activity outside the province. "We're just getting started," says Collett. It helps that the key player in Guyana is ExxonMobil, the same oil giant that leads operations on the Hibernia and Hebron platforms. So companies like St. John's-based Atlantic Offshore Medical Services are a known quantity when they go to Guyana, since ExxonMobil is already a "major client," says AOMS CEO Liam O'Shea. AOMS was established by Dr. Ciaran O'Shea — Liam's father — and has been providing primary emergency and occupational medical services to the N.L. offshore for four decades, and hopes to have similar success with its new business partner in Guyana. "[If] we could build the same model that we have here [in Guyana], and be as successful there, we would probably be, I would think, at least twice the size of the organisation there
than we are here," says Liam O'Shea. The next hurdle to overcome is the pandemic travel restrictions that limit business interactions between the two countries. But Caron Hawco says that hasn't dampened the excitement, or potential. "It's just really refreshing to see Newfoundland and Labrador companies looking beyond our borders, building on what we've been able to achieve here, and bringing it somewhere else," she says. (CBC News)
Mark Collett is the chief operating officer of Crosbie Group, a fourth-generation, St. John's-based company with deep roots in the offshore oil industry. The company has recently expanded its operations into Guyana. (Bruce Tilley/CBC)
St. John's-based Crosbie Group is among a handful of Newfoundland and Labrador companies to have established a presence in Guyana. Crosbie has formed a joint partnership called Panthera Solutions, which specializes in exterior maintenance and other services on offshore platforms. Here, a worker with Panthera Solutions is being trained in rope access techniques. (Panthera Solutions/Facebook)
Companies that supply and service Newfoundland and Labrador's offshore oil industry have been looking to establish operations in Guyana, where an oil industry is quickly blossoming following a series of spectacular discoveries. This photo from a 2019 trade mission to the South American country is an example of how connections are being made (Submitted by Noia, N.L's oil and gas industries association)
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India’s vaccine colossus is model for world to follow -- Serum Institute to manufacture vaccines not just for the world’s second-most populous country, but likely many others too INDIA has authorised two COVID-19 vaccines for use, putting its enormous vaccine-manufacturing capacity in the spotlight. Large parts of the rich world may have something valuable to learn. The Serum Institute of India is the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines by volume, founded over 50 years ago by now-multibillionaire Cyrus Poonawalla. It will likely provide not only almost all the vaccines administered in India, but many elsewhere in the world too, once exports are permitted later in the year. Research by Fitch Solutions outlines three groups of Asian economies this year: those that can plausibly vaccinate most of the people in priority groups such as health-care workers and the elderly by June, those that can do so by September and those that will take longer. India is by some distance
the lowest-income country in the first group of economies, which includes Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Malaysia. Wealthier South Korea and Thailand will take longer. The Serum Institute’s work requires a reliable and large domestic supply of the vials in which the vaccines are sealed and transported, ensured by companies such as Schott Kaisha and Piramal Glass. The existence of the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer helps to establish the basis for a domestic network of suppliers. Global supply chains and international trade have actually held up remarkably well under extreme circumstances over the past year. There is no need to reshore enormous amounts of manufacturing capacity, and any attempt at even halfway autarky will make all parties involved— importers and exporters— less prosperous. But countries could take a leaf from India’s book when it comes to manufacturing crucial items that might encounter massive demand
Workers at the Serum Institute of India in Pune (PHOTO: /ASSOCIATED PRESS)
surges, and where national priorities come to the fore. Doing so is unrealistic for
every small and middle-sized country, but production could be organised at the level of regional blocs such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The pandemic hit Latin America harder than many other parts of the world, but its limited vaccine production means most nations there have a long wait ahead of them. Such a company need not be a government enterprise.
As noted, the Serum Institute was founded as and remains a private company, though it cooperates closely with the government. Establishing similar capacity could be achieved by cooperation on health-care regulation to create large regional markets, and the right financial incentives. The principle applies as clearly to personal protective equipment as it does to vaccines.
Many far richer countries have fretted about shortages of such vital components because they are usually imported, and supplies are now uncertain with demand sky-high. Given the achingly slow pace at which European vaccines are being rolled out, the Indian programme may well end up as a model for the world. (Wall Street Journal)
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‘Tallman’ remanded for allegedly murdering wife, children
KENFORD Downer called “Tallman”, was, on Wednesday, remanded to prison for the murders of his wife and two young children who died in a fire he had allegedly set. Downer, 36, appeared before Magistrate Crystal Lambert at the Vreed-enHoop Magistrate’s Court on three counts of the indictable charge and was remanded to prison until January 27. Particulars of the offence alleged that on December 12 at Four Miles Squatting Area, Bartica, Downer killed 48-year-old Caroline Kennedy and their two daughters, 5-year-old Mariana Downer and 3-year-old Gabriella Kennedy. According to a statement from the police, at approximately 21:30 hours on the day in question, an unknown person telephoned the Bartica Police Station and reported a fire at the house. The water tender was unable to reach the location and as such, a bucket brigade was formed. When the fire was extinguished, what appeared to be the charred remains of three humans were found in the south-eastern corner of where the house once stood,
Kenford Downer called “Tallman”
police said. The bodies of the victims were subsequently removed from the scene and taken to the Bartica Hospital Mortuary, where a post mortem examination was conducted on the remains confirming that they were burnt to death. According to reports, Downer allegedly admitted to the police that he doused the structure with gasoline and set it afire before running into the bushes. This was done after he had arrived at home and overheard the woman speaking on the phone with one “Fatman”, whom he suspected her of having an affair with.
Court throws out ‘trumped-up’ bomb threat charge against UG student TWENTY-SIX-YEAROLD University of Guyana (UG) student, Sheneza Jafarally, who was on trial for allegedly threatening to bomb the tertiary institution, was, on Wednesday, freed of the charge. Jafarally also called ‘Diane’, of Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara, appeared in the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Rushelle Liverpool. Particulars of the charge alleged that, on February 5, 2019, at Cummings Lodge, Jafarally sent by means of a public telecommunication device system, for the purpose of causing needless anxiety to the staff and students, a message which she knew to be false. In December, the prosecution closed its case after calling about nine witnesses to give evidence. Jafarally’s attorney, Latchmie Rahamat made a no-case submission on the grounds that the prosecution failed to lead evidence to support the particulars of the charge and to prove that her
Freed: University of Guyana student, Sheneza Jafarally
client sent a message using the telecommunication system and that she sent a message to cause public anxiety. When the matter was called on Wednesday, Magistrate Liverpool upheld the no-case submission and dismissed the case. Speaking subsequently with the Guyana Chronicle, Rahamat said, “There was absolutely no evidence to show that this young lady was the one that sent any message to any telecommunication systems about any bomb threat to cause any anxiety.”
She described this lack of evidence as a “big blow” and a “gaping hole” in the prosecution’s case. The attorney further explained that when she saw the statements in the case for the first time, she knew that the matter would have ended in her client’s favour. “I could not understand having gone through these statements that were disposed through the magistrate, why she was even charged… I did not believe then and I still do not believe now and I've been proven right by the magistrate's ruling that there was
never enough evidence to charge her in the first place,” she added. Jafarally spoke to the media shortly after she was vindicated. “It has caused me great psychological trauma. I have not been able to attend school as yet. And that is not because I am not allowed to attend, but because I am so afraid because of the situation I was put in. I have been going to therapy for the past year. I don’t think another person should have to go through something like this because of negligence, because of people not investigating properly,” she said. The Guyana Chronicle had reported that based on a police investigation, a telephone number belonging to Jafarally was allegedly linked to the number from which the bomb threats to the university were made. The case against her was that she, on the day in question, made several calls to the institution and made bomb threats which resulted in the cancellation of classes.
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New Zealand rise to No.1 in Test rankings
(ESPNCRICINFO) - Ambushed by pace and hostility, Pakistan’s forgettable tour of New Zealand is over. A 2-0 series sweep for New Zealand makes them the No. 1 side in Test cricket, and gives them a chance of making the final of the World Test Championship at Lord’s in June. Kyle Jamieson, just six Tests old, was the shining star, finishing with match figures of 11 for 117 as New Zealand wrapped up victory
inside four days. Pakistan’s 186 all out was not even a shade of their first-innings effort on a green day-one surface, where Azhar Ali and Mohammad Rizwan showed admirable fight. Only debutant Zafar Gohar, who made 34 in the first innings, made some sort of an impression with the bat in the second to score 37. Picked as a bowling all-rounder, he ended with none for 159 with his left-arm spin, but could be left wondering if he did
enough with the bat to keep his place when Pakistan next play Tests, at home against South Africa. It told you how much the rest of the batting lineup applied themselves - or didn’t - on a surface that was far from menacing. Azhar Ali’s 37 was joint-best in an innings in which Pakistan collapsed in a heap to Jamieson, who seems to operate with a simple formula: pitch it on a length, get the ball to rear off the deck and have
New Zealand players celebrate after winning the second Test to take the series 2-0 vs Pakistan, 2nd Test, Christchurch, 4th day, January 6, 2021.
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the batsmen second-guessing their own technique. This tactic consumed Abid Ali, who went for an expansive drive at the first sight of width. Having cut off his scoring for 20 deliveries and close to 40 minutes, he was out driving to backward point where substitute Will Young threw himself to his left to pull off a one-handed stunner. Haris Sohail fell soon after lunch, pushing with an angled bat to one that nipped away, finishing the tour with a disappointing 28 runs in four innings. Then came the set-up of the day. Having figured Azhar wasn’t comfortable playing back, Jamieson decided to go the Neil Wagner way and attack his rib-cage from around the wicket. One over is all it took for the plan to work as Azhar, looking to hop away to fend, gloved one down the leg side to BJ Watling. This caused panic and a wayward approach to the short ball; the lower order looked to slog their way out of trouble rather than get behind the line. Because the short ball was on their mind so much, the batsmen were eager to push at full deliveries, Mohammad Rizwan’s dismissal being a case in point. A sucker ball - full - did him
in, swinging back in to sneak through the gap between bat and pad to crash into the stumps. Fawad Alam, Pakistan’s only centurion on tour, then held one end up, somehow ducking and weaving his way out of a short-ball barrage against the old ball before poking at a delivery he should’ve left to be out of 16, caught by Ross Taylor at slip. From there on, it was only a question of when Pakistan would fold. So assured were New Zealand of imminent victory that Kane Williamson, a reluctant bowler, brought himself on for the first time as captain. Having missed an lbw with a slider, he had Shaheen Afridi caught at slip going for a slog. Victory was achieved an hour after tea when Gohar swung one to Matt Henry at long leg. This ended a golden Test summer for New Zealand, in which they won each of their four Tests - two apiece against West Indies and Pakistan. Having done their bit, they’ll now sit back and watch how things pan out for Australia and India. Their results - and against each other and other teams - over the coming weeks will decide which two teams face off in the WTC final.
CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Thursday January 07, 2020) COMPLIMENTS OF XTRA ENERGY DRINK – STABROEK BAZAAR (Tel: 683-9500) & CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD-83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158)
Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1) Lance Gibbs – 11/157 (vs ENG, Manchester, 1963) (2) Rohan Kanhai-150 (vs ENG, 1968)
Today’s Quiz: (1) How many Test matches Clayton Lam bert played? How many runs he scored? (2) Reon King played 19 Test matches. How many wickets did he take?
Answers in tomorrow’s issue
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, January 7, 2021
Playing for West Indies is ultimate, says Lloyd players to play to the best of their ability and play five-day cricket. You can’t just go out and play T20 cricket for five-day cricket ... no, that’s not it. As I said T20 is an exhibition, while the five-day cricket is an examination, so the point is concentration. All the great players have done well because of their concentration and they have applied themselves to the task,” Lloyd stated. The Windies, who have
By Rajiv Bisnauth CLIVE Lloyd, former West Indian captain, believes regional players must make West Indies cricket their top priority; hence playing for the region is ultimate. Lloyd, an outstanding batsman during his era, thinks only a settled side can allow West Indies to perform consistently. “We changing captain, and we changing players ... there is no consistency. We have to be consistent. we have to get a settled side. We have to build a side and until we do so consistently we will not able to perform. We cannot have guys saying that they are not playing this tournament, or I am not going on this tour ... no, we cannot do that; playing for your country is the ultimate,” Lloyd said during contribution on the Mason and Guest Radio Show Tuesday evening. The Caribbean outfit have been dealt a massive blow with Test captain Jason Holder and limited overs skipper Kieron Pollard among twelve players who refused to tour Bangladesh, due to COVID-re-
Kieron Pollard lated concerns and other reasons. As a result Cricket West Indies (CWI) was forced to name two second-string squads. However, according to Lloyd, the most successful and respected captain of West Indies cricket, while it’s unfortunate, the situation now gives the youngsters an opportunity to prove themselves. “Our guys seem reluctant to play the longer game which is a bit unfortunate, because if we have just over five million people in the West Indies, and if we can lose ten players, it somewhat inflates the side. “I do hope the young-
Jason Holder sters who are going will now get that chance to prove themselves and if they do, the board will have to just stick with them. It is somewhat strange because in other countries their players are playing in the T20 game but they still want to play for their country,” he explained. Meanwhile, Lloyd, who led the West Indies for a decade from 1975 to 1985, a period when the Caribbean side gathered massive success in world cricket, believes it should be a good contest between both sides, since Bangladesh is an improved cricketing nation. “It should be a good contest if we can get our
Shepherd tests positive for COVID-19 ALL-ROUNDER Romario Shepherd has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss the three ODIs against hosts Bangladesh later this month. The three ODIs are scheduled for January 20, 22 and 25 in Dhaka and Chattogram. Information reaching Chronicle Sport revealed that the 26-year-old is currently in self-isolation after he received the positive results on January 2. Shepherd, the Berbician was due to leave Guyana tomorrow to link up with other members of the squad en route to Bangladesh. The loss of Shepherd, though, will be a major blow to West Indies, who were already without a number of stars including captain Jason Holder, Shimron Hetmyer, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Kieron Pollard, Shai Hope, Sheldon Cottrell and Nicholas Pooran.
Shepherd scored a century and a 50 during the recent West Indies ‘A’ tour of New Zealand and was one of the shining lights in an otherwise disastrous tour. He also took two wickets in the unofficial two-Test series. Meanwhile, Barbadian fast bowler Keon Harding has been selected to join the West Indies tour to Bangladesh later this month. The 24-year-old, right-arm fast-medium bowler replaces Shepherd, according to sports broadcaster Andrew Mason. Harding has played 17 First-Class matches during which he has taken 54 wickets at an average of 25.11. His best bowling performance came against Trinidad and Tobago in February 2020 when he took 10 wickets in the match with a best of 5 for 19 in TT’s second innings.
failed with bat and ball this year, are aiming to improve with a new look squad when they face Bangladesh for five matches in January and February. The touring party is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka, the largest city in Bangladesh, on January 10. They will undertake quarantine protocols prior to training and kick off preparations with a one-day warm-up game in Savar, the closest city to Dhaka.
The tour comprises three ODIs and two Test matches in Chattogram and Dhaka respectively. These Tests will form part of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) World Test Championship, with the trio of ODIs being the first matches in their ICC World Cup Super League campaign that offers the opportunity to qualify for the lucrative ICC World Cup 2023.
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BCB enjoys productive 2020 despite COVID-19 … 2021 projected to be most successful in history
THE Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) and president Hilbert Foster predict a historic 2021 for cricket in the Ancient County, following a highly successful, COVID-ridden 2020. The board has described the year 2020 as highly successful despite being able to actually play the game for only the first three months of the year. After taking a break during the month of April, BCB was able to achieve great success off the cricket field via its charity works, coaching programmes, award ceremony, pro-educational campaign and investments in clubs and youth players. Foster, who was elected president in February, 2018 stated that unlike the other cricket boards in Guyana, BCB has much to celebrate as it continued to work hard despite the pandemic. Thirteen cricket tournaments were either started or completed between January and March while several others are also awaiting the restart of the cricket season to be completed. Rose Hall Town NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour defeated arch rivals Albion to win the Busta Champions of Champions 40 overs, Ivan Madray 20/20 Cup in January and also got past Tucber Park to win the STAG Beer 50-overs tournament. Albion won the Raffik Construction 100 Balls Second Division and the Ramnaresh Sarwan Under-17 titles while Rose Hall Town Bakewell won the Lower Corentyne Let’s Bet 20/20 tournament. Rose Hall Town Metro Female lifted the 2020 Nand Persaud female title while No.73 won the BCB/UCCA/Trophy Stall Under-19 title. The BCB/UCCA Inter-Primary School tournament was won by No,71 Primary School. The Premium Asphalt/TR Construction 20/20 for teams in the Lower Corentyne area, which started in January, 2020 is at the final stage while the Lewison’s General Store and Mike’s Pharmacy Under-15 tournaments are also at the semi-final stage. The BCB/UCCA Price is Right tournament is also at the final stage with Dukestown and No.72 Cut and Load scheduled to battle for championship honours. Other tournaments on hold due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic are the Banks DIH Ltd two days (semi-final stage), Let’s Bet Sport Countywide (finals), Friends of New Amsterdam 20/20
(semi-finals), and NBS 40 overs (Quarter-finals). The BCB also invested heavily in coaching and the hosting of several trial matches to select inter-county teams. Overseas-based Guyanese Dr Tulsi Dyal Singh and Brian Ramphal sponsored a combined nine trial matches for the selection of the Berbice Under-15, Under-17
BCB and RHTYSC also invested in the publication of educational posters, youth information booklets, COVID-19 posters and a Say No to Crime information sticker. Sixty-nine youth cricketers received school bags while six outstanding cricketers who did well at CSEC, received a financial stipend of $10 000 each. Former West Indies player Ramnaresh
and Kevlon Anderson represented the West Indies at World Cup tournaments in Australia and South Africa. Other Berbicians to either represent Guyana, Amazon Warriors or the West Indies in 2020 were Devendra Bishoo, Anthony Bramble, Kevin Sinclair, Niall Smith, Shimron Hetmyer, Shabika Gajnabi, Motie, Permaul and Romario Shepherd.
The Rose Hall Town NAMILCO Thunderbolt team pose after winning the Ivan Madray 20/20 Memorial. and Under-19 teams while a wide range of coaching clinics were held for fast bowlers, batsmen, spinners and wicketkeepers. The BCB panel of coaches also visited over 20 clubs to conduct coaching sessions including No.73, Port Mourant, RHTYSC, RH Canje, Achievers, Mt Sinai and Edinburgh. BCB, with support from RHTYSC, also invested heavily into the development of players with over 200 youths benefitting from donation of gear, uniforms, bicycles and educational materials under a wide range of programmes, including the Basil Butcher Trust Fund, Dr Tulsi Dyal/Puran Singh Fund, RHTYSC Patron Fund, BCB Patron Fund and Brian Ramphal Trust Fund. Over 60 clubs benefitted from the donations of cricket balls with sponsorship from former Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy, Basil Butcher Trust Fund and RHTYSC. Clubs also benefitted from donations of scorebooks, Law of Cricket books, facemasks, educational materials and stumps.
Sarwan also donated a $100 000 coaching kit to BCB to aid in the development of youth players. Jerry Karim of Blairmont received the Brian Ramphal Father-of-theYear while Veronica Cecil was named the Brian Ramphal Mother-of-the-Year. The board also worked with Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club, MS in a COVID-19 response programme which saw the distribution of over 6 000 food hampers, 2 000 lb of chicken products, face masks, cleaning detergents and sanitisers. On the cricket field, Berbice Cricket had a lot to celebrate as Shemaine Campbelle became the fourth West Indian to play 100 20/20 matches, Gudakesh Motie reached his 100 first-class wickets in his 28th game, Shabika Gajnabi scored the first female double-century at the inter-county female level and Veersammy Permaul earned a welcome recall to the West Indies team. Kevin Sinclair and Niall Smith made their first-class debut for Guyana while Shemaine Campbelle, Sheneta Grimmond
Shepherd became the latest Berbician to score a first-class century. The pro-active board also created history when it awarded its first-ever educational scholarship to the University of Guyana with sponsorship from the Ministry of Agriculture. The year ended with a donation of $1.5M worth of cricket gear and uniforms from former West Indies opener Clayton Lambert. The BCB also played a major role in the funeral arrangement for the legendary Basil Butcher by hosting a Night of Reflection at the Port Mourant Ground and co-Organising his funeral service. 2020 also saw Berbice Cricket mourning the death of umpire Ganga Persaud Shivdyal and players Jerome Andrews, Sherwin Murray. The board would like to acknowledge the contribution of the media especially Kaieteur News, Stabroek News, Guyana Chronicle, Guyana Times, DTV-8, LRTVS CH10, NCN, NTN and News Room.
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2021 AP Invitational set for June 19 By Rawle Toney THE 2021 Aliann Pompey will be held on June 19 at the National Track and Field Centre, the event’s organiser told Chronicle Sport. Pompey, Guyana’s Commonwealth Games 400m gold and silver medallist, saw her fifth edition of the AP Invitational, like most sport events in 2020, cancelled because of
COVID-19. This year’s AP Invitational will be seen as the ‘gateway to Tokyo’, since it can be the last resort for local, regional and international athletes who are seeking qualification to the July 23 – August 3 Olympic Games in Japan. The AP Invitational, which ran off its inaugural event in 2016, saw 11 athletes, all from overseas, move
Aliann Pompey on to compete at the Olympic Games in Rio. In February of 2020, AP Invitational was announced by World Athletics as part of its structured World Athletics Continental Tour. World Athletics had stated that the impetus for creating the Continental Tour was to provide more competition and earning opportunities for more athletes. The AP Invitational will be one
I don’t have control over the selectors or selection process - Hemraj By Rajiv Bisnauth CHIEF selector, Roger Harper, and company announced two second-string squads last week for the West Indies tour to Bangladesh later this month. Team captains Jason Holder, Kieron Pollard, and Roston Chase were among 12 players opting not to go on the Bangladesh tour due to COVID-19 concerns. The list includes Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Sheldon Cottrell, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, and Nicholas Pooran. Fabian Allen and Shane Dowrich are unavailable because of personal reasons. With those players opting out, selectors have come under fire with many blaming the selection panel for their “unwillingness” or “inability” to bring the right blend of players together for any one series.
The selectors’ insularity selection policy saw only three Guyana Jaguars players, Raymond Reifer, Romario Shepherd and the returning Veerasammy Permaul, making the cut. However, many pundits believe at least two other Guyanese, skipper Leon Johnson and Chandrapaul Hemraj, should have been selected. According to Harper, Johnson, was considered to lead the West Indies Test team to tour Bangladesh, but the selection panel opted for Kraigg Brathwaite instead. “That, of course, was a consideration, but the fact that we had Kraigg Brathwaite there, we decided to go with Kraigg,” Harper disclosed on the recent Mason and Guest radio show. Johnson has five Regional champion-
ships under his belt, and after 117 firstclass matches, has amassed 6 190 runs at an average of 32.40, with six centuries and 39 fifties. The 33-year-old Johnson has also played nine Test matches and scored 403 runs with two half-centuries to his name. However, he has an average of 25.18. Meanwhile, speaking with Chronicle Sport, Hemraj, who played six ODIs, said he is not disappointed because he has no control over the selectors nor the selection process. “I’m not disappointed because I don’t have control over the selectors or (the) selection process. My aim is to continue scoring runs and to be consistent as possible,” Hemraj said. West Indies will participate in three ODIs and two Tests in Chattogram and
of two events that will be held in South America on the World Athletics Continental tour; the other – the Brazil Grand Prix. At the 2018 AP Invitational, Kirani James, the 2012 Olympic Champion and 2016 Olympic silver medallist, clocked 44.99 seconds to not only win the ‘AP’ Invitational 400 metres, but also set a new ‘Track Record’.
Chandrapaul Hemraj Dhaka. The tour begins with a one-day warm-up game at Savar on the January 18, followed by the first two ODIs on January 20 and 22, hosted by Dhaka. West Indies and Bangladesh will move to Chattogram for the third ODI on January 25. Chattogram will stage the four-day warm-up game and the first Test from February 3. West Indies’ visit ends in Dhaka where the second Test will commence on February 11. The two Test matches will be part of the ICC World Test Championship while the ODIs are the first for the West Indies in their ICC World Cup Super League campaign that provides an opportunity to qualify for the ICC World Cup 2023 directly.
Evin Lewis receives his West Indies cap from Clive Lloyd, Afghanistan v West Indies, World T20 2016, Group 1, Nagpur, March 27, 2016. (©️IDI/Getty Images)
Playing for West Indies is ultimate, says Lloyd See story on page 21
Shepherd tests positive for COVID-19 See story on page 21
Romario Shepherd hit a superb century which was the highlight as West Indies “A” made a magnificent comeback against New Zealand “A” on the first day of their four-day first-class match late last year Printed and Published by Guyana National Newspapers Limi ted, Lama Avenue, Bel Air Park, Georgetown. Telephone 2 2 6- 3243-9 (General); Editorial: 2 2 7- 5204, 2 2 7- 5216. Fax:2 2 7- 5208
2021 AP Invitational set for June 19 See story on page 23
FLASHBACK! Jamaican Rushell Clayton eases her way to win the 2019 API Women’s 400m hurdles. The 2019 World Championships bronze medallist is expected to be among a plethora of Regional and International athletes at the 2021 event. THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021