Kaieteur News

Kaieteur News

PAGE 04

KAIETEUR NEWS Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana.

Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: ADAM HARRIS Tel: 225-8491, 225-8458, 225-8465 Fax: 225-8473 or 226-8210

Editorial

EFFECTS OF THE BRITISH VOTE The decision by Britain to leave the European Union (EU) has shocked the world. It will have serious political and economic repercussions. The decision was made in a referendum called by the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, to quell the growing support of the anti-EU-UK Independence party and placate the strong Euro-skeptic right wing conservatives.

It was an unexpectedly bitter and divisive referendum that for a brief moment was brought to a stunning halt when Labour politician, Jo Cox, was murdered in the street last week. The news appeared to dampen the momentum of those who wanted Britain to leave the EU, but in the end their votes prevailed. The often lucky David Cameron made a gamble that has ended his political career and has set Britain on a course to leave the world’s most powerful international alliance. The decision to leave the EU has stunned Britain and the EU, in particular David Cameron who in resigning as Prime Minister, said that he could not be the person to lead Britain out of the EU but would stay on as long as necessary to maintain stability.

Speaking to reporters at his official residence, Cameron said “I will do everything I can as prime minister to steady the ship over the coming weeks and months, but I do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers the country to its next destination.”

The referendum was a fateful miscalculation for Cameron who has a reputation for thriving under pressure and astutely assessing and judging political risks. Unlike general elections which must be held by democratic countries every four or five years, the golden rule is, never hold a referendum unless you are confident of winning it.

It appears that Cameron did not heed this advice as the majority of voters resisted his message that Britain is stronger, safer and more economically secure within the EU than it would be outside it.

The decision of Britain to divorce itself from the-28 nation club was traumatic. It has stunned the EU leaders who have urged Britain to leave as soon as possible amid fears that the devastating blow to European unity could spark a chain reaction of further referendums.

The uncompromising stance came after Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation and said he would leave the negotiations for Britain’s departure to a successor who will be named by October.

The results have rocked the stock markets which have tumbled by more than five percent in Asia and Europe.

Since Britain has a major influence on other countries, the move may encourage other countries to follow suit.

CARICOM has always looked at the EU as a flagbearer for union; therefore the pull out by Britain could have implications for it going forward. It could further disintegrate towards a more single union? Guyana and the UK share a strong historical bond of friendship and cooperation at the bilateral level and in other spheres of engagement.

The vote to leave the EU means that the UK will eventually cease to be part of the relevant arrangements that govern their trade and other relations.

In terms of our exports to Britain, our exporters would receive less income in the coming days because of the decline in the pound sterling relative to our currency which is pegged to the US. dollar. On the other hand, for those who are importing goods from the United Kingdom, there is a benefit because it means that it will cost less to import, again due to the declining pound sterling. However, given the current circumstances, it would be in the interests of both countries to renew their efforts to strengthen and expand their partnership in all areas, not least in relation to trade, investment and development cooperation.

Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur M@ilbox Send your letters to Kaieteur News 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown or email us kaieteurnews@yahoo.com

My response to Freddie Kissoon DEAR EDITOR, Freddie Kissoon and I have known each other, personally, for a long time. I believe we still maintain a civil relationship. For several years now, I stopped reading anything he writes.

However, my attention was drawn to Freddie Kissoon Column published on the 25th of June, 2016. It bore the bold caption, “Bruce Munroe, Anil Nandlall and the DPP”. In that article, Mr. Kissoon alleges that “a very well known and respected lawyer” request of him to do a column as “a special request”.

“This lawyer told me that if the police could have charged Bruce Munroe for treason, a woman on Facebook for threatening President Granger, and a man on Facebook for boasting to harm Opposition Leader Jagdeo, then, Anil Nandlall should be c h a rg e d … ” , w r i t e s K i s s o o n .

Unfortunately, this “very well known and respected lawyer”, apparently, omitted to inform Mr. Kissoon for what offence I should have been charged since no such disclosure is made in the article. Mr. Kissoon should have extracted from this “very well known and respected lawyer” the name of the offence for which I should have be charged. Apparently, he did not do so.

Had he done so, my response would have been more interesting.

This lawyer referred Mr. Kissoon to three cases. Those who instituted those charges obviously felt that there was sufficient basis to lay those charges, having regard to what the person charged either said or wrote. The source from which those written or oral statements emanated was obviously deemed immaterial. The content of what was allegedly said formed the

basis of those charges. Since no offence was suggested in the article, I can only speculate that the “very well known and respected lawyer” and Mr. Kissoon have formed the flawed opinion that I may have threatened someone. I so surmise because that is how it was widely and erroneously reported in the press.

The legal truth is I never threatened anyone or committed any offence in that taped conversation. I simply warned of a likely consequence if a particular course of action persists. That is not a threat. If I say to someone “that if you don’t look before you cross the road you will be struck down by traffic.” How can that be interpreted as a threat? Everyday lawyers are required to advise, and in so doing, warned clients of the likely legal consequences of their actions. My (Continued on page 7)

Sunday June 26, 2016

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Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Social Cohesion needs a practical approach DEAR EDITOR; After reading GHK Lall’s reflections in his letter to SN, titled “President must reach every opportunity to be chorister-in-chief on social cohesion” I feel behoved to urge my fellow Guyanese (and, at times, the government ) to address the matter of social cohesion with less flourishing rhetoric and more with a conceptual and practical understanding of how to achieve this national goal.

I had attempted some explanation of this approach in letter to SN on February 17th letter (Social cohesion has to be understood in all its dimensions.”) I continue on that theme here.

My advice then and now is that social cohesion has to be unpacked into measurable components so that we can know where are as a nation, where we have to go, and which vehicles and directions to choose to get there.

Best practices from other nations suggest five components of social cohesion: (i) whether people feel they belong or feel isolated, (ii) whether people can participate in decisions that affect them or whether they are controlled, (iii) whether people see their government and public institutions as legitimate or illegitimate, (iv) whether all groups have fair access to economic resources and other opportunities or whether they face discrimination and marginalization, and (v) whether all groups feel that their distinctive identities and cultures are recognized or are rejected.

Social cohesion, however measured, ultimately comes down to how people perceive its existence. Therefore as government and other stakeholders implement polices

and programs, the personal perceptions, feelings and opinions of individual citizens on such markers as racial discrimination, access to opportunities or tolerance of their religion will have to be determined from time to time using polling and other social science techniques.

Without these measurements, the discussion will remain at the level of political rhetoric and general impressions.

Such information does not exist at the moment and, therefore, government has to ensure it does as it implements its social cohesion strategy.

But if I were to speculate on the level to which Guyana has reached on the five components of social cohesion listed above, I would suggest that Guyanese enjoy higher degrees of (i) belonging (with no isolated or un-integrated groups) and (v) recognition of and tolerance for their distinctive identities and cultures. We have achieved less on the other fronts.

A more productive discussion then would be on what government policies, programs and actions would promote (or undermine) social cohesion along each of its components.

To what extent, for example, would the new local government system in-

crease feelings of participation and belonging?

How can we make the so-

cial agendas of the constitutional commissions, such as the Ethnic Relations Commis-

sion and the Human Rights Commission, more impactful? And so on.

That is the concrete approach we need.

Sherwood Lowe

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Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Kaieteur M@ilbox

A most troubled THE PHARMACY COUNCIL CLARIFIES village in Guyana DEAR EDITOR; Life is really strange in Guyana. Over the years I’ve pen numerous letters about Zeelugt on the East Bank of Essequibo citing the various problems and imploring for help to that village. Under the previous administration, no one or organisation bothered to offer any assistance.

We have a new administration and to date no one seems to care for that village.

School drop outs, drugs usage, crimes and suicides are some of the problems that are still prevalent in that village.

I keep mentioning that village because the village has a lot of talented/educated minds emanating from it but I believe that it is one of the most troubled villages in this country. Many overseas based Guyanese could be

seen trying to capitalize here because of the change of government, but they only seems interested in making a profit of bleeding us dry.

The parking meters fiasco is a living example. The reason I say this is to inform the public that two more young men committed suicide over the past two day. Tuesday one of them succumbed after spending a few day in hospital after ingesting poison.

Wednesday morning the village heard another one hung himself during Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.

We all will speculate and just dismiss these incidents after a few days but in the meantime, lives are gone and if no help is offered to this village, the problems affecting that village will continue.

Sahadeo Bates

Plenty respect for Sherod Duncan DEAR EDITOR; Please allow me to weigh in on the parking meters fiasco unfolding at City Hall. Let me say it plainly that the entire process used to further this project is tainted and in my opinion, there were corrupt practices involved. I say this for it is conventional knowledge that for public officials to accept trips paid for by a private company that has a business interest with the organization the public officials represent is a corrupt practice.

Let me quote from Wikipedia that defines corruption as “a form of dishonest or unethical conduct entrusted with a position of authority often to acquire personal benefits”.

The salient phrase that we need to examine in the above quote is “unethical conduct”.

The Mayor and Councilors were elected as a body to manage the City’s affairs. The Mayor and two councilors who went on the trips to Mexico and Panama without informing the entire Council prior, acted separately from the “Body” they are part of.

This is totally unethical. The

contract for the project was not circulated for the input of the members of the Council prior to it being signed.

This too is totally unethical. Brings me to the question of; were the failure to notify the council of all these shenanigans dishonest acts? In my opinion, the answer is a resounding “Yes” for they compromised the entire Council by withholding information and signing off on the contract for the parking meter project. When whoever signed that contract did so on the behalf of the entire Council. That is wholly unethical and dishonest.

Now the question that remains is “Were Personal Benefits acquired when they undertook the trip to Mexico and Panama?” In my opinion, the answer is a thunderous “YES” for it would have been difficult for them to have such a trip using their own means; Top of the line hotel accommodation, first class air fares. Wow. Finally, I wish we had more Sherod Duncan’s in governmental positions.

Hats off to you Mr. Duncan! Nuff respect!

John London

DEAR EDITOR; The Pharmacy Council of Guyana is greatly concerned about the letter printed in the Kaieteur News dated April 4th 2016 entitled “U.G. PHARMACY GRADUATE SPEAKS OF WORRYING INJUSTICE”.

In regard to the issues raised by the author of the letter please note the following: • In Accordance with the Pharmacy Practitioners Act No. 9 of 2003, Part II (f) one of the functions of the Pharmacy Council is to “Establish, maintain and develop an Internship Programme”. The Pharmacy Council of Guyana is therefore acting within the Law in seeking to organise and Implement Internship Programmes.

• The Pharmacy Practitioners Act No. 9 of 2003 is one of the subject areas taught as part of the Forensic Pharmacy course at the University of Guyana.

ALL Bachelor of Science Pharmacy students were required to do this course, Hence, they all are aware of the Internship Programme.

Additionally, the 2014 Bachelor of Science Pharmacy

graduates met with the members of the Pharmacy Council in February 2015 at the Ocean View International Hotel, Liliendaal, for discussions on the Internship Programme and the way forward.

• The Internship Programme is not only a requirement in Guyana but throughout the world. For example, the University of the West Indies, Bachelor of Science Degree in Pharmacy graduates are required to do Internship.

Please note that Medical Practitioners do their one year internship after graduating from University.

• The Pharmacy Council’s respectful position is that the implementation of the internship is not a case of “Backwardness” as stated in the article but an attempt to comply with the law and to ensure that the graduates are well grounded, not only theoretically but practically also.

The steps taken by the Pharmacy Council of Guyana are to ensure that the best quality service is offered by the Pharmacists to the public irrespective of whether they

operate in the public sector or the private sector.

• Regarding the registration of practicing Pharmacists who hold Associate of Science Degrees, please note that these Pharmacists received their qualification to practise as Pharmacists prior to the commencement of the Bachelor of Science Degree in Pharmacy. Also these Pharmacists have years of experience on the Job. They were engaged in periods of attachment at various institutions and p h a r m a cies after their graduation exercises.

In addition, Section 8(2) of the Pharmacy Practitioners Act states that a person who was registered as a pharmacist under Part 111 of the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance 1956, immediately prior to coming into force of this Act is here by deemed to be registered as a pharmacist under this Act without application on the part of the person, and pending the actual entry of his name in the register he shall be deemed to be duly registered.

Also Sec 10 (1) (c) states

that “Any person who applies to the Council to be registered as a pharmacist shall, satisfy the Council that he holds a diploma or degree obtained by examination after attending a pharmacy school approved by the Council.

• The Pharmacy Assistant Programme that is organized and implemented by the Ministry of Public Health is of eighteen (18) months duration and four (4)) months attachment is done during and after training. There is no three (3) months Pharmacy Assistant Programme at the Ministry of Public Health.

• Finally in the letter the writer said “Four years at the University to earn a meager $56,000 or there about.”

Please note that the Pharmacy Council of Guyana has nothing to do with earnings.

That is not the function of the Pharmacy Council of Guyana. However, a suggestion on stipend is mentioned in the draft of the Internship programme.

Carl A. Bacchus Chairman, Pharmacy Council of Guyana

Parking meter scandal won’t go away DEAR EDITOR: I write regarding the current parking meeting dispute engaging the attention of the citizens of Georgetown. In the June 22, 2016 edition of your newspaper, you quote Georgetown Mayor Patricia Chase-Green saying that she will not release the contract through which the city will install parking meters and criticizing members of the public who Googled the

contractor and were unable to find it at its New York address.

Ms. Chase-Green’s comments are startling coming so soon after the allegedly corrupt practices of the PPP. The Mayor’s tone suggests that she does not understand that she is a public servant who works for the people of Georgetown. As such, every decision she makes and every action she takes on the city’s behalf is subject to public scrutiny.

The contract the City Council entered into on behalf of the citizens of Georgetown is a public document and should have been posted on-line for the public’s perusal. There are no private deals, contracts and agreements when one works for the public.

The public has a right to know if there was competitive bidding, who bid on the contract, the terms they offered and why the company the city selected won. The

Rodney family wants justice DEAR EDITOR; The widow of Walter Rodney and his brother, Donald, have commented on the COI report at a forum held in Jamaica last week. Patricia Rodney thanked the Commission for an excellent job while the brother though satisfied with the report felt that it did not sufficiently or at all castigate f the magistrate who presided over his case/the Coronet’s

Inquest. The event which was hosted by the Office of the Vice Chancellor of the UWI in collaboration with the Institute for Gender an Development Studies and the Department of Government, UWI Mona, was attended by hundreds.

The speakers included Richard Small, QC and Rodney Scholar; Professor Emeritus, Rupert Lewis; Horace Campbell who heads

a Walter Rodney Foundation in the US; Walter Mohammed; and Andrew Pilgrim.

Campbell specifically embraced paragraph 737 of the Report where Walter Rodney is referred to a “man of large” He however expressed concern that the report does not expose foreign involvement in Rodney’s death. Mohammed spoke of his association with the distinguished historian who united the ethnic groups in Guyana. The participants discussed the life and work of Rodney, renowned Pan African scholar and activist.

They also reviewed the

citizens of Georgetown pay the mayor’s salary . Further, it is inadvisable that the contractor should pay the travel expenses for the mayor and her team. They should have travelled at the city’s expense to retain their objectivity while they review the contractor’s work. I agree with Deputy Mayor Duncan; this has a bad stench. It looks like old politics all over again with this City Council.

Terrence Duncan COI report which might have significant implications for all countries in the region.

Meanwhile a petition is being circulated in the region and the wider world to have its recommendations acted upon. The report concluded that his death was an act of violence for political purposes -an act of terrorism.

The petition is calling for a change of the manner of death on the death cerificate from “Death by misadventure to “Murder”, a change to the description of the profession of Walter Rodney from unemployed” to “Historian Professor”, the overturning of Donald Rodney’s conviction and the expunging of any related criminal history.

Oscar Ramjeet

Sunday June 26, 2016

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Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Poor police work on the Questions mount on the City Council high seas DEAR EDITOR; Please permit me space in your news paper to highlight these issues concerning the recent act of piracy that was committed on fishermen from the Upper Corentyne area; one fisherman was found dead, thrown overboard by the pirates and three are still missing their bodies anchored somewhere at the bottom of the sea.

There was widespread coverage from all the media houses when the incident happened and now after some weeks everyone seems to forgot what happened; some fishermen are afraid to go out to sea whereas others have no choice but to go for they have no other skills. These acts of piracy have been going on for years, especially on the Upper Corentyne and no one from the relevant authorities seems to have a plan on how to prevent acts of piracy.

What is being done is that when these incidents occur then investigations are being done, some arrests are made but because fishermen are unwilling to come forward to give evidence because of loopholes in the laws, the pirates are allowed to go free.

Fishermen have to go out to sea to work and they are afraid when they go and testify and because of some legal technicalities or poor police investigations these pirates are given small sentences or set free and the pirates go out to sea and reach them there and harm them. Now back to the recent act of piracy, the police did an excellent job in arresting the pirates, some of them confessed and

they are now in jail on the charges of committing murder during the piracy attack.

It’s the very first time pirates were apprehended so quickly and again the police should be commended but there still remain some controversy as to what happened to the fish and glue that was in the boat used by the pirates. It was reported that one of the owner of a certain boat that were robbed ( three boats were robbed during the piracy attack ) bought the fish from the owner of the pirate boat and later they both split the money totaling over one million dollars Sir I am no expert on legal matters but I think there is some breach of the law here, if the men were charged with murder and piracy then the proceeds from the sale of the fish should be confiscated by the police and not given to these men.

Members of the fishing industry are shaking their head in disbelief when news of this incident reached them.

Many of them felt as if they were sold out by once again by poor police work. When effort was made to get some clarification from the police in charge of the investigation he said he will get some advice from his superiors as to the way forward; up to now he cannot gave an answer.

Mr Editor incidents like these make fishermen feels that they are not safe from pirates’ attacks. With all the evidence available the police cannot tie up all the loose ends in an investigation, then there is no end in sight for acts of piracy. It would not surprise me to hear a few months from now those charged in this case out of prison; free to do these acts again...

Concerned Citizen

My response to Freddie...

From page 4 grandmother used to say “if you don’t hear, you will feel”, is that a threat? I think not.

Can lawyers be accused of threatening their clienst? Of course not.

In the aftermath of the deadly attack on Charlie Hebdo’s newspaper in Paris, France, speaking about the dangers of provocative publications, Pope Francis said, “If my good friend Dr. Gasbarri says a curse word against my mother, he can expect a punch,”. No one accused the revered Pope of threatening anyone. And quiet rightly so. He was simply referring to a likely consequence of a particular course of action.

For Mr. Kissoon’s edification the Director of Public Prosecutions advised on the matter. The advice spanned two pages. It concluded that there was no violation of the criminal law. I regret to inform Mr. Kissoon that, unfortunately for him and the “very well known and respected lawyer”, the DPP has no obligation to supply them with the legal advice that her office renders or the reasons for the same.

Since Mr. Kissoon seems interested in getting the DPP to re-open old cases, I recall him publicly admitting that he stole books from the National

Library. He proffered some clumsy explanation about his thirst for knowledge and his unfortunate poverty, as justification for him stealing those books, thereby denying other poor children the use of those books. Perhaps, the DPP should be persuaded to file

charges of larceny against him. He has already confessed. That would be a very easy case to prove. Poverty and thirst for knowledge are not and have never been defences to larceny.

Mohabir Anil Nandlall, MP, Attorney- at- Law

DEAR EDITOR; Most reasonable people would agree that Georgetown is in need of parking meters for parking regulation and revenue generation.

Reasonable people will also agree that the way the city council went about contracting for this services and communicating its pending introduction to the public, is greatly lacking in transparency.

Firstly, a lame duck council executed a contract a few months before a new council is elected. Apparently this was too important to wait for input from the new council even though the proposal was initially submitted 20 years ago. Secondly, the mayor and team take off on a “due diligence of the contractor” trip, AFTER the contract is signed.

Due diligence should be done BEFORE the contract is signed and used as leverage to secure better deal from the contractor. Any trip after a contract is signed should be considered a vacation since at that point you have no leverage. Thirdly, and most egregiously, the contractor paid for the trip.

This is a conflict of interest. How can one claim to be performing “due diligence” on a

contractor while that contractor is providing transportation, food and housing? All of this creates the appearance of impropriety.

This is unfortunate because this may be a good deal but no one is going to believe it is because of the way it was put together. However, if the mayor can shed some light on the following items, it may mitigate the situation: 1. Why was there no competitive bidding?

2. What is length of contract?

3. What are contract termination terms?

4. Who will be responsible for revenue collection? If it’s the contractor, how will the city ensure it receives its share?

5. Was an analysis of the contractors’ costs done to validate that 80% of revenue to the contractor is competitive for this service?

6. What alternatives to parking meters were considered? How about a small tax on gasoline sold in the city? In this scenario the city could have gained a 100% of revenue instead of 20%.

7. Is the 20% on a sliding scale? That is; will it rise and fall as revenue raises and falls?

8. Does a minimum revenue threshold has to be met before the city can share in revenue?

9. What are the projected initial parking rates?

10. Will council approval be required for rate increases?

Darren Braithwaite

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Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur News

STANDARDS IN FOCUS....

Enhancing confidence through the sale of certified gold jewellery Over the years, the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) has been promoting standardization in the Gold Industry through the development of a Standard for Gold Articles and the provision of the necessary support to stakeholders for its implementation.

This has allowed jewellers who are adhering to the standard (Specification for Gold Articles (GYS 50: 2010) to consistently produce gold articles to specified quality which has also enhanced the confidence of their customers.

This national standard, which is also a CARICOM standard specifies requirements for gold, alloying metals, solder, settings, base metal parts, alloyed gold, manufacture, sampling, tolerance and marking. Adherence to these requirements is crucial if jewellers are to produce gold

articles to the specific karat content desired by consumers.

To ensure that gold jewellery and other products for which there are standards available consistently meet the requirements of these standards, the GNBS has established a Product Certification Scheme.

Under this scheme, the Bureau has been working with manufacturers and goldsmiths to implement the requirements of the standard. As a result, these stakeholders have benefited tremendously from technical assistance and training geared to build the capacity of their operations so that the final product is just what consumers need.

PRODUCT CERTIFICATION AND ITS BENEFITS Product certification is simply a process where a third party gives

written assurance that a product meets certain requirements.

World over, thousands of manufactured products including household electrical appliances, computers, and cellular phones are certified by Certification. Bodies such as the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and the European Commission (CE).

These certification marks are usually affixed to the back of these products.

By certifying gold articles under GNBS Product Certification Scheme, goldsmiths and jewellers can garner some worthwhile benefits, which include: 1. Third party assurance of the quality of their gold jewellery.

2. Permission to use the National Standards Mark on gold articles.

The mark can be used as a marketing tool.

3. The ability to produce gold jewellery that experience a competitive edge on the local and overseas markets, and ultimately, increased revenue.

4.

Increased consumer confidence with respect to quality and reliability.

5. Ensured consistency in the manufacturing process through the monitoring and implementation of quality control procedures.

6. Reduced risk of legal actions.

7. Reduced risk of producing substandard products.

8. Creation of a positive impact on the Tourism and Manufacturing sectors.

Conforming to the requirements of the Gold standard also prevents fraud and deception arising from misleading labels.

The standard gives guidance to manufacturers and helps them to provide adequate labelling

information, which guides consumers during purchases.

Consumers can also benefit when jewellers implement the standard.

Generally, conformance to the standard allows consumers to access the right quality of gold articles, and overtime confidence is built on the fact that they are receiving value for their money.

Hence, there will be a reduction in the need to make complaints.

The GNBS is encouraging more goldsmiths and jewellers to participate in its Product Certification Scheme which is voluntary and affordable. By far, the benefits outweigh the cost of being a part of the Scheme.

For further information, please contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 219-0062, 219-0065, and 219-066 or visit the GNBS website: www.gnbsgy.org

Sunday June 26, 2016

Dem boys seh...

Bee Kay now sporting in Bam Bam Alley Strange things happen since de country get a new govt.

Dem boys use to sport at Bam Bam Alley and Bam Bam Alley ain’t got nutten to do wid Islam or terrorist activity.

Is set of roadside stalls that does sell beer and cutters cheap.

Dem don’t have money to go to Pegasus and Palm Court, Gravity and dem big shot place.

Dem place use to attract de Pee Pee Pee boys and de big contractors like Bee Kay and others. Bam Bam Alley is fuh de ordinary man who got a $2,000 in ee pocket because he can buy 10 beer.

Dem boys was surprise and shock to see Bee Kay sporting in Bam Bam Alley. Fuh a moment dem boys believe he was bruck. But dem see ee liming wid some people who in de loop.

Dem boys tek photo and one already gone to Soulja Bai so he can see and know who he people mixing and liming wid. Dem boys also got pictures of a lot of people who was in bed wid Jagdeo and wining, dining and liming wid de Pee Pee Pee boys, now dancing and singing soul songs wid de new leaders on de block.

How dem boys recognise Bee Kay was because he dress up in suit and tie while everybody else had on vest and three-quarter pants and slippers.

When dem boys ask him how he end up there is suit and tie, he seh this new set off leaders got empty pocket at this time. Is only time before dem start hitting Pegasus Poolside, and buying champagne by de bottles at de Marriott.

Dem boys seh Bee Kay was setting a trap just like how 1,700 people trap Guyana.

Dem seh dem come home back to live and bring in all dem duty free stuff, clear it and beat out back.

To this day de shaat man at de Foreign Ministry can’t even find 17 who living in Guyana. Dem boys hear he write a letter asking Jagdeo and Donald Dumb to explain.

Donald seh he don’t have no family who come back; all of dem is Jagdeo, Brassington and Ashni family.

Talk half and trace all dem crooks who suddenly become a Bam Bam Alley fan.

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Kaieteur News

Businessman highlights fuel smuggling activity in court matter Buisnessman Augustine Jackson is engaged in a legal battle with Potaro Fuel Supplies’ Pradeep Abdool and former chairman of the Guyana Sugar Corporation, (GUYSUCO) Vickram Oditt.

Abdool and Odditt had filed a writ of summons against Jackson seeking an injunction to stop the departure of his vessel, MT Melissa J, on the grounds that Jackson owes them money.

The writ filed on the May 23, last, against Augustine Jackson, June Elvin of AJ Marine Inc. claiming among that other things $17.5M and $347,000 were monies advanced to the businessman for the purchase, transportation, repairs and crew expenses for the Vessel MT POLLUX or known and registered as MT MELISSA J. The interim injunction was subsequently granted but Jackson of Lot 217 BB Eccles Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara responded to the claims on the grounds that the agreement he entered with Abdool and Oditt had been riddled with illegalities.

“I realized that the Applicants/Plaintiffs from the inception have been and were inducing me into an arrangement to smuggle fuel across international borders into Guyana, a serious criminal enterprise, of which I was not prepared to be a part.”

“I am aware that not only could I be jailed if found guilty for any of the criminal offences which I am likely to commit if I participate in the said enterprise but that the said vessel will also be liable to be seized thereof.”

The businessman said that he believes that the concealment of these material facts form the basis upon which the Court was misled into making the Orders

Vic Oditt; a Former Chairman of GUYSUCO granted; indeed, were the true facts disclosed to this Court, it is highly unlikely that the said injunctions would have been granted.”

In an affidavit to support his claim the businessman said that Abdool contacted him while overseas and informed him that he would like to enter into business arrangements which would involve the use of the motor vessels.

According to court documents seen by this newspaper, the business outlined that the transaction involved the M.T. Pollux also known as M.T. Melissa J, a fuel tanker measuring 87 metres in length and 12.52 metres in width, with a capacity to accommodate as cargo 1,200,000 United States gallons, which was at the time docked in Cuba; and M.V. Sno Pac, a fuel tanker measuring 60 metres in length

and 14 metres in width, with a capacity to accommodate as cargo 500,000 United States gallons, which was at the time docked in Miami, United States of America; to transport and trade in fuel and fuel products from destinations in the Caribbean and South America to Guyana.

During the telephone conversation, Jackson said that Abdool informed that himself and Oditt had already set up and were operating a business called Potaro Fuel Supplies and that they had obtained all requisite permissions and licenses required by law to engage in such activities, hence he accepted the offer.

However, the businessman said that he informed his new partners that the said vessels were docked in Cuba and Miami respectively and that he required approximately US$300,000 to service the vessels, hire crew, purchase fuel and ration, pay for insurance and dock fees, in order to sail the vessels from Cuba and Miami to Guyana.

Jackson said that the men

at different occasions under the names Potaro Fuel Supplies wired the sums of US$347,700. The parties later signed agreements for the purpose of trading in fuel products within Guyana, the Caribbean and other countries.”

The deal was expected to be continued for 10 years and all partners were supposed to share equally in the net profits of the Partnership business.”

However, Jackson is contending that he realised that that there was some illegality to the transaction.

Through his attorneys Anil Nandlall, Manoj Narayan, Sasha S. MahadeoNarayan and .Rajendra R. Jaigobin , he is contending that the entire transaction, “including the Promissory Notes, the Partnership Agreement and the business arrangement which I had entered into are all tainted by and contaminated with serious criminal illegality.”

“Indeed, I now realize that the Partnership Agreement was never disclosed to this Honourable Court because it states that its primary Continued on page 71

PAGE 10

Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur News

Caricom still relevant in region Caricom as a unit remains relevant, but it needs “to do a lot more” to strengthen its effectiveness in the region, said Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl Greenidge in an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA).

Stronger mechanisms, dialogue and greater awareness are among some of the efforts the Caribbean Community (Caricom) needs to undertake to ensure its continued effectiveness.

Caricom heads will be meeting in July for the 37th regular meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government, which Guyana is co-hosting.

The question of Caricom’s relevance is more glaring in light of the United Kingdom’s (UK) exit from the European Union (EU).

Greenidge does not believe that Brexit, as the referendum was called, is a foreshadowing of what could happen to Caricom.

“I don’t see that it has any relevance to the maintenance of Caricom as a unit,” Greenidge told GINA. The United Kingdom voted to leave the EU on Friday. England and Wales with the majority voted to leave while Scotland, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar voted to remain.

At a press conference on Friday, Greenidge noted that Brexit is a complex issue, but he did not foresee the leave from the EU affecting Guyana’s standing agreements with Britain.

But as for the Region, Greenidge said, “Depending on how they exit, if they exit

- Minister Greenidge at all, that will determine what happens in relation to the ACP/EU relationship”. This is the context in which Caricom as a unit stands to be affected.

“There is not likely to be any short-term adverse consequence by way of a curtailing of resource flow or curtailment of access, of let us say, sugar or any other commodity into the European Union,” Greenidge added.

Caricom and the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries have existing Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the EU. “The commitments that the EU has to the CARIFORUM and ACP

members are legal commitments. They are not commitment of Britain to these countries,” Greenidge noted.

Nonetheless, many Caricom countries are weighing in on the implications of the UK’s exit from the EU on Caricom’s continued existence and the economic impact on the Region.

Trinidadian Economist, Indera Sagewan-Alli, in an article on Friday, June 24 on the Daily Express’ website questioned whether Caricom will “see a further disintegration towards a more single union.”

Caricom Today’s website reported on the reaction of the Caribbean states following the results of the Vote. It reported Dominican Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit as saying that the effect on the small island’s economy was “felt almost immediately…since the EU would lose a large chunk of its budget and it would have to restructure its whole approach to financing and development assistance.”

Caricom Today also reported that Political Science lecturer Dr Kristina HindsHarrison told Barbados TODAY that, “Britain’s exit would also lead to uncertainty on other issues, including immigration, development

Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl Greenidge funding and trade for Barbados and the Region.”

STRENGTHENING CARICOM NOW KEY TO EFFECTIVENESS With fears over Caricom’s future now on the forefront of discussion, raising awareness of its benefits is essential now more than ever, Minister Greenidge noted.

“It is an issue that is relevant to the sharing of benefits to the extent that mechanisms are not in place to ensure that benefits accrued into one country or to one sector can be shared then it does act as a sort of a drag on attempts to integrate,” the Foreign Affairs Minister explained.

Caricom needs to ensure that member states “find it worth their while” being a part of the unit. “You need to put

in place institution, arrangements that make it possible for all of them to pool their natural and human resources,” Greenidge added.

It is to this effect that the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) was envisioned to strengthen the region. While significant effort has been put forward by the region in opening its market, a “great deal remains to be done,” Greenidge pointed out.

The CSME seeks to implement provisions for the removal of trade and professional restrictions, but Greenidge noted that many countries are unwilling to go the final steps. This is an ongoing problem for Caricom.

“The Caricom market in goods remains reasonably close to a single market,” Greenidge noted. But fears among member states coupled with national policies have restricted the completion of a single economy. “The Caricom market in services, financial services and the like is not yet complete,” said Greenidge.

Making Caricom effective is dependent on CSME functioning as it should along with setting suitable mechanisms in place, Greenidge posited. “Finding appropriate mechanisms for dialogue at the policy level and also encouraging citizens to engage in dialogue (Continued on page 11)

Sunday June 26, 2016

Trotman sold out Guyana’s national interest - Jagdeo It is the view of Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo that Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, carelessly handled the interest of the country by supporting the allocation of two million hectares of the nation’s forest resources for conservation purposes.

Jagdeo said that on Thursday last, at a press conference he hosted at Freedom House. The pledge referred to was made in April

by President David Granger while addressing the United Nations.

According to Jagdeo the pledge has counterproductive terms which will inhibit national development in the future.

During his remarks, the former head of state read an excerpt of the pledge which reads: “The conservation of an additional two million hectares through the Guyana’s National Protected Areas System and under Effective Area Base Conservation measures as for Guyana’s commitment including the protection of conservancies and reservoirs and their water sheds and the water sheds upstream of new hydro-power sites.”

Jagdeo continued, “If we do want to develop hydro power in the future, with this pledge, we are going to have a hugely difficult time.”

Jagdeo criticized Trotman for supporting this move.

“Trotman has now taken our country into a new area; it is a pure conservation that will harm growth, development and will run counter to the green economy that

PAGE 11

Kaieteur News

Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman President Granger speaks about.”

The opposition leader added, “In that pledge Trotman made, he sold out Guyana through bad negotiations and bad pledges; sold out our national interest.”

Jagdeo believes that Trotman is leading the country’s international efforts poorly. He is of the firm belief that it is not a green economic plan but merely a conservation plan that the government is putting forward. Additionally, Jagdeo finds it problematic since such pledges are not made by the developed countries.

He noted that Guyana boasts a deforestation rate of 0.065% which is one of the lowest rates in the world.

According to Jagdeo, “This flies in the face of all the lies that Trotman told in parliament that we had given out all the forest lands.”

Jagdeo said that the government has not declared how it will go about procuring the land to satisfy the pledge.

Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo “It could very well mean that they will take back land from people who have forest leases; two, from miners, and even if they don’t, it would be two million hectares more of our land that we can’t bring into productive use.”

Speaking on his party’s understanding of conservation he commented saying “our view of conservation was that you should continue to use these resources in a manner that brings benefits to people but in a low environmentally impact way.”

He noted that the PPP/C’s view was a balanced view, considering both development and conservation.

Disabled man arrested for child molestation Police have released on station bail, a Tapakuma man who is said to be confined to a wheelchair after reports of sexual assault on a sevenyear-old relative was reported.

The man is said to be paralysed from below his waist. According to reports, he sexually assaulted his niece at their Tapakuma home, recently.

After the allegations were levelled against the wheelchair-bound man, detectives from the Anna Regina police station visited the Amerindian community and conducted their own investigations before

apprehending the man and taking him into custody.

The child was in the care of her grandmother, who resides in the Pomeroon River, for some time prior to her moving with her parents in Tapakuma, an Amerindian community situated in the hinterland area on the Essequibo Coast.

Regular school attendance was one of the issues that saw the child being relocated with her parents at Tapakuma.

However, in that household, there are other occupants which include, the wheelchair bound man who is a relative.

The child’s two older stepbrothers also share the house.

The child was questioned by her mother in the presence of her grandmother. A medical examination was conducted and proved that the child was sexually molested.

The man is unable to walk due to his disability and as such a lot of persons have questioned if it was indeed him or one of the two other male relatives that share the same household.

At one time members of the welfare department had attempted to take away the child from her parents.

Caricom still relevant...

(From page 10) across the boards… are the ways I think will prove most effective,” Greenidge added.

Despite the challenges faced by Caricom, the unit has been able to benefit its members.

Guyana, through the CSME has found markets for its products in the region.

“We are able to sell into the market rice, ground provisions and vegetables, fish products and the like which bring income,” Greenidge pointed out.

This reiterates the relevance of Caricom.

Greenidge noted without Caricom, “There would be less trade between the countries, there would be lower incomes generated.”

As a founding member of the integration movement, Guyana has been a significant contributor to Caricom over the years.

“We have tried, I believe, on as many fronts as possible to pursue not only to strengthen the membership, but also by providing leadership,” Greenidge said.

He added that Guyana supports the initiatives that are intended to defend Caricom’s interests.

PAGE 12

Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur News

Transparency fundamental to good governance ALL CONTRACTS SHOULD BE PUBLIC - UK ENVOY BYABENA ROCKCLIFFECAMPBELL The fact that the media is having a hard time getting hold of contracts and concession agreements signed by public officials—both past and present—is a source of discomfort to United Kingdom (UK) High Commissioner, Greg Quinn. Quinn’s position is that unless the disclosure of a signed contract would compromise national security, it should be made public.

During a recent interview, the envoy said that people demand t r a n s p a r e n c y. T h i s d e m a n d should be met by any government worth its salt, he added.

Quinn said, “Transparency is fundamental. It is at the core of everything that is good in governance as happens in the UK.” The envoy said that the UK has made it a principle to keep citizens informed especially about how their tax dollars are

President David Granger spent.

He said that the rare situation should be when institutions falling under both Central and Local Government decide not to make a contract public and the reasons for that should be clear and legitimate.

“The default position should be to produce and publish as

much information as possible.

The exception should be withholding. It definitely should not be the norm to do so.

“Also, there should be very clear criteria for holding information back; for example on the basis of National Security that’s how we do it in the UK. I definitely support President G r a n g e r ’s s t a t e m e n t i n t h a t respect, said Quinn.

The statement to which the High Commissioner referred is a recent one. President David Granger said that he believes that all contracts and agreements should be fully disclosed to the public. But despite Granger ’s statement, the situation remains the same on the ground; contracts are not being released.

During an interview with Kaieteur News, the Head of State was reminded of a promise that his government had made on several occasions.

Granger and his team had promised that certain contracts and concession agreements would be made available to the public,

UK High Commissioner, Greg Quinn especially those which relate to the controversial Chinese logging company, BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc. and the Marriott Hotel.

But it has been a year since the APNU+AFC coalition has taken office and this promised r e l e a s e i s n o t y e t a r e a l i t y.

Kaieteur News then asked

Granger if he intends to honour the commitment or if he has changed his mind.

The Head of State made it clear that he believes in full disclosure and has no intention of changing his mind. Granger said that the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) and the other branches of government should make concession agreements public.

However, the President said that the procurement of defence equipment should be kept under wraps. Granger said, “In some situations in which equipment is supplied under the agreement of secrecy by foreign countries, depending on the nature of the equipment, we are of course not free to disclose, because you agree with another country that you would not do so.”

Aside from this, the President reiterated his belief that commercial agreements should not be treated as “state secrets” and that they should be fully disclosed.

Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur News

Shocking GRA report finds:

Customs officers received bribe money to release cargo A senior Customs Officer was promoted while under investigation and on administrative leave for a tax evasion racket at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).

Sources of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) disclosed that Roystone Nelson, the Manager (ag) of Customs Administration, was asked to report for duty in another location this week in a case that has raised serious concerns over Customs operations at the airport.

Nelson was one of several questioned in February after GRA started investigating a report that Customs officials at the airport allowed cargo to leave without the necessary taxes paid.

While Nelson and five other Customs officers were on administrative leave, the Governing Board of GRA met on April 21, and approved for him to be confirmed as a Manager of Customs Excise and Trade Operations the same day.

Last week, GRA’s Senior Manager of the Human Resources department wrote Nelson telling him that with effect from Thursday, June 23, he is to resume duties from the administrative leave. He was told, also, that he is being transferred from CJIA, to the Maritime Operations Unit, Regional

- manager promoted by Board while he was on administrative leave Operations of the Law Enforcement and Investigation Division (LEID). It was that same division that had investigated him.

The case is raising concerns as a number of officers were implicated in receiving monies in return for allowing the cargo to leave without the applicable taxes being paid.

According to officials yesterday, on February 24, GRA received information that a quantity of cargo was being transported in motor vehicle GRR 1154 from CJIA and it may be a case of tax evasion.

A team of LEID officers shortly after on the same day, intercepted the vehicle, belonging to Zoon Online Shipping Company, at Grove, East Bank Demerara.

The occupants were unable to produce receipts that taxes and duties were paid.

The vehicle was escorted to GRA’s warehouse facilities at Eccles Industrial Site, where the cargo was checked and lodged.

A team of LEID officers journeyed to CJIA Continued on page 71

PAGE 13

Policeman killed on Soesdyke/Linden Highway A police rank attached to the Mackenzie Police Station was killed on the Linden Soesdyke Highway, in the vicinity of Bamia, yesterday.

According to reports the 26-year-old Police Constable Ishan Caines, of 14 Coverden, East Bank, Demerara, was killed after his car suffered a blow out

and turned turtle.

Caines was subsequently picked up by a passerby and transported to the Linden Hospital complex, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The incident occurred shortly after 15:00 hours yesterday, according to reports.

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Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur News

Those Ambassadorial appointments…

David Dabydeen was not retained because he was a political appointee …breached reporting protocol; only spoke with former Presidents on all “special China-related matters”

Guyana’s former Ambassador to China, David Dabydeen

Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl Greenidge

BY KIANA WILBURG In the process of evaluating and strengthening the systems of his office, Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl Greenidge, discovered that the PPP misused the systems and protocols governing A m b a s s a d o r i a l appointments.

Greenidge said, however, that this is an area that he is intent on bringing some structure to. He said that one of the first things he did was to replace most of the Ambassadors appointed during the PPP’s era as it was found that they were only given the position because of political favours and connections. He cited the appointment of David Dabydeen as a prime example of this.

The Foreign Affairs Minister said, “When it comes to Dabydeen who was our Ambassador to China, he was not retained by us because he was a political appointee. Additionally, he chose not to resign. When we took over, we told almost all of them that their contract was at an end and you are supposed to resign. In some instances, we gave them time to pack up and go …But Dabydeen did not listen. He refused to bow to protocol.”

Greenidge said that one of the Ambassadors who was retained from the PPP’s time was Bayney Karran. Karran is Guyana’s Ambassador to Washington.

“In Bayney’s case, he was retained because it was felt that he had been genuinely effective in his services. After he resigned, he expressed an interest in getting back his job as well. And on that basis we retained him. However in Dabydeen’s case, I can’t say much for his body of work,” the Foreign Affairs Minister said.

Greenidge added, “And I really don’t know what he did over there to be honest. I suppose I was not interested in finding out the details because he was a political appointee and I made a public commitment not to renew the contracts of political appointees.”

Greenidge said that Ambassadors are supposed to submit monthly reports.

However, he is unable to say if Dabydeen observed this monthly practice while he worked during the PPP time.

His understanding is that Dabydeen communicated directly with the former Presidents for all high level matters on China. Greenidge said that this is also a breach of reporting protocol especially when one takes into consideration that there are no files on certain matters.

Greenidge said, too, that there is usually a review of the work of the Ambassadors which is normally done by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He said that this was rarely observed during the time of the past regime.

The Foreign Affairs Minister said that most of the Ambassadors who were appointed under the PPP regime were essentially political appointees who basically reported to the office of the presidency and failed to observe in numerous instances, the relevant reporting protocols.

“Some of the former Ambassadors felt they had to report directly to the former Presidents. That created a problem for us here because when you ask for certain information, the Ministry is unable to say how A or B has been arrived at. So reporting protocols were breached and it is something we are looking to change,” the Minister concluded.

Sunday June 26, 2016

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Kaieteur News

Second well confirms GWI Diamond well goes down again Guyana’s massive oil reserve - mechanical problems plague pump

Mere days after fitting a temporary PVC sleeve into the rapidly corroding carbonsteel sleeved Diamond Well, residents of Diamond have to yet again make do without running water. The residents of Diamond stopped getting water sometime during the course of Friday.

This publication contacted GWI Operations Manager, Dwayne Shako, around 15:00 hours yesterday and was told that the nature of the issue was not with the well itself but that a mechanical problem had caused the well’s pump to stop functio n i n g s i n c e Friday.

Shako stated that a team responded immediately when the issue came up and were working to ensure the pump is up and running as soon as possible. He noted that the pump was expected to function as early as Sunday.

The residents of Diamond, East Bank Demerara, approximately 5000, have been without water for the first three weeks of June.

Dr. Richard Van-West Charles, in a statement to the press, said that since assuming his position at the helm of GWI in October 2015, that specific well in Diamond

Chief Executive Dr. Richard Van-West Charles had been giving trouble starting last February.

According to the GWI Chief Executive, the well casing in Diamond was made of carbon steel which was supposed to have a life span of 25 years. It only lasted some five years before it started corroding. This problem, he noted, was recurring in 15 wells across coastal Guyana.

This issue, he further stated, was due to poor advice on part of the previous administration.

Dr. Van-West Charles during a press conference on June 20, told members of the press that a temporary fix was done at the Diamond well and resumption of water supply was back to normal in the area.

He stated that a temporary sleeve made of PVC was fitted into the defective carbon steel casing.

That temporary fix would last some four months.

The four months, he continued, would allow for a new well to be constructed in order to more efficiently supply the Diamond/Grove populace with better quality and service of water.

The Chief Executive had stated earlier this month that the one well in Diamond is not enough to supply the residents of that area and as a measure two new wells are slated to be commissioned and constructed in the coming year.

Exxon Mobil has drilled another well on the shores of Guyana. This drill has confirmed that Guyana’s oil reserve is even larger than believed. The new well—Liza Two—is said to be just as promising as the first.

Kaieteur News was recently informed that there was a new find. However, when contacted yesterday, Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman said, “I would not say that there was a new find; it is more of an appraisal.”

The Minister explained that there has indeed been a new well—Liza Two—but said that this is an appraisal well. “It serves as an appraisal for the last find.”

Trotman said that tests have been carried out over the last few weeks “and I hope to get a report soon on those tests.” The Minister said that he couldn’t speak any further until the report has been received and he has more information on Liza two. The

report will indicate quantity.

Kaieteur News understands that the drilling of the second well commenced in April. The appraisal well was put down a short distance away from the first well that Exxon Mobil drilled—Liza One. The fact that another drill in such close proximity to Liza One has been found to be lucrative speaks to how wide the reserve actually is.

Last year Exxon made a deepwater Liza oil discovery in the Stabroek Block, located around 120 miles offshore Guyana.

Even with the initial find, experts said that Guyana will be placed prominently on the oil and gas map.

While oil prices are currently low, history shows that it always goes back up.

Exxon Mobil is a United States Of America Company.

United States Ambassador to Guyana, Perry Holloway, told Kaieteur News that the low oil prices is actually a good thing

Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman for companies currently exploring as need for equipment and expertise can be sourced at a far lower price as compared to when oil is doing well.

Guyana would not begin pumping oil out of the ground until another few years. It is hoped that by that time oil prices will be up again.

(Abena RockcliffeCampbell)

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Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur News

YCG recruiting youths for human rights training in Romania Aimed at bringing innovation to the field of human rights, Youth Challenge Guyana (YCG) earlier this year embarked on a strategic project which embraces the notion of exchange and cooperation among organisations in a number of countries.

This development was recently highlighted by YCG’s Executive Director, Mr. Dmitri Nicholson, who said that through the venture, countries including France, Denmark, Italy, Peru and Guyana are expected to forge deliberate collaborations.

“The main aim of the project is to strengthen the capacity of civil society organisations that work with young people to develop an effective, coherent, inclusive and sustainable framework for using human rights education,” Nicholson related.

The project, according to the YCG Director, is currently at a point where young Guyanese are being recruited to participate in a sevenmonth volunteer training programme in Romania.

During the training programme the youths from the targeted countries will be involved in sessions that focus on human rights, inclusion and equity, understanding minority, dealing with minorities and intercultural understanding.

YCG opted to be a part of this venture since according to Nicholson “for a number of years we (YCG) implemented programmes that bring international volunteers to Guyana and we have seen the kind of growth that it offers to persons who come to Guyana.

“So for us, providing this type of opportunity for Guyanese will strengthen the kind of youths that we have here as well.”

YCG Executive Director, Dmitri Nicholson “It will provide exposure, help to build character and help to create a certain type of maturity that young people would need for problem solving in their daily lives. We think this type of opportunity will create a new way of helping Guyanese to achieve the type of development that we want to see,” Nicholson added.

Recruitment, according to Nicholson, started at the beginning of June and will end on June 30, 2016.

Already a total of 25 applications have reached YCG and some individuals have been shortlisted.

Nicholson noted during a recent interview that “many people believe that something like this requires prolific academic skills but for us your academic skills is secondary to your commitment to the values that YCG and our partners have in this type of project.”

Three youths will be selected to attend the training programme which will span December 2016 to July 2017.

According to Nicholson, all costs associated with the training programme will be sponsored.

“Their accommodation, food, training, preparation; all

the logistics will be taken care of by Youth Challenge and our partners,” Nicholson related.

Once the three youths have been identified, Nicholson said that they will be required to undergo preparatory activities that will help them to navigate around the new culture in Romania.

“We will prepare them for the types of activities that they will be involved in once they are selected. It will prepare them for understanding human rights, it will expose them to some degree of community outreach. The main intention is that they will start preparing here for the programme and when they get there they will also receive further training,” Nicholson added.

But according to Nicholson, up to four more individuals who have the capacity to sponsor themselves could express interest to be a part of the training programme.

“The maximum that we can send overseas is seven but we can only sponsor three,” Nicholson noted.

Applicants, according to Nicholson, must be residents and citizens of Guyana between the ages of 18 and 30 and have a strong commitment for community development.

Those desirous of applying to be a part of the project can do so by requesting applications at email address michelle123henry@gmail.com.

S i m u l t a n e o u s l y, Nicholson said that young persons are also being encouraged to sign up to be part of YCG’s life skill mentoring programme in order to be life skills volunteers and mentors in their respective communities.

Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur News

Appreciate the little things

By Sharmain Grainger It isn’t often that people express gratitude after a good deed has been done on their behalf. In fact some people forget that they even had a need after it has been satisfied.

Remember the Bible story of the 10 lepers? Well the story is essentially about 10 men inflicted with leprosy who were healed by Jesus.

After being healed only one returned to say thank you and even Jesus had to ask ‘Were there not 10? Where are the others?’

That tradition lives on, but not in Peter’s Hall, East Bank Demerara. The residents of that area, well at least some of them, are the most appreciative people I have ever seen.

I had an encounter with a few of them recently and I was truly amazed.

A simple thing as a pedestrian crossing, which is such a common feature in many communities, had these residents high in praises for the Ministry of Public Infrastructure.

Well the story isn’t as simple as that. According to one senior resident of the community, Ms. Vashti Frederick, she personally went into the Ministry to make a request for this pedestrian crossing.

She explained that for some time residents had quite a difficult time navigating the usually busy East Bank thoroughfare in the vicinity of Peter’s Hall. She disclosed that elderly folks, pregnant women and children were the most affected, and she and other residents just couldn’t bear having such a hard time crossing the road anymore.

So she was off to meet with the Minister in March to seek redress. Her concern was acknowledged, but she was skeptical that anything was going to happen…at least she had to try. Interestingly enough, by the month of May, a pedestrian crossing

was in place. Of course the residents of Peter’s Hall were overjoyed by this development. They were easily crossing the road even when the traffic was at its worse.

During the past week, Ms Frederick was part of a group of women who turned up at Kaieteur News to share how grateful they were to the Ministry. They came armed with before and after photographs of the area where the pedestrian crossing is now painted and other photographs, including one with a group of smiling residents. They wanted an article published to highlight their gratitude.

I explained to them that a letter published in our newspaper could have sufficed, and even took their information and volunteered to fashion it into one on their behalf.

But by the end of the conversation with them I couldn’t help thinking about how eager they were to simply say thanks.

It seemed so rare that I wanted to highlight them, not necessarily the pedestrian crossing, in an even bigger way.

It isn’t merely the deed, but rather the fact that there are people around who are very appreciative for ordinary things that many of us would think are rather negligible.

Many of us might even say that the Ministry has done its job and doesn’t deserve to be praised for that.

But what counts for the residents of Peter’s Hall is that their voices were heard.

Because of the action of the Ministry, they feel that they are not a neglected people.

Sometimes it’s really the simple things that matter in life. Not all of us desire fancy, expensive things to believe that someone cares about us.

Maybe we can all learn a lesson from the Peter’s Hall residents. Being appreciative, even for the little things, isn’t a hard task at all.

The Baccoo Speaks

It is difficult to understand how grown people could allow indiscretion to creep into their lives. There would be a man walking along the roadway with a piece of gold around his neck. Out of the blues would come the perennial watcher of people to grab that chain.

His knife would not serve him in any stead be-

cause the crowd would attack him with a vengeance.

The police would do the rest. ** With so many cars on the road it would be hard put to understand how there can be road accidents but that is going to be the case when a driver makes a radical turn across oncoming traffic.

Road rage could be a demon. The police are going to have to deal with more than a traffic accident. ** Another fire would devastate a household. Try as the neighbours might they would be unable to do anything because the blaze would be spotted when it was too late.

So maybe, just maybe, we can take the time to recognize the little things in life that do count, and maybe if we show appreciation for those little things we might realise that they can help to add immense value to our lives.

This gives credence to a quote I recently came across

by Ralph Marston: “What if you gave someone a gift, and they neglected to thank you for it - would you be likely to give them another? Life is the same way. In order to attract more of the blessings that life has to offer, you must truly appreciate what you already have.”

PAGE 25

The newly-painted pedestrian crossing at Peter’s Hall, EBD.

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Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur News

Public Health Ministry gets $40 million support from NGO The Ministry of Public Health was during the past week the recipient of a quantity of medical supplies and equipment compliments of the Hope for the Nation Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO).

The donation said to be valued at some $40 million was handed over to Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings, at a simple ceremony at the Ministry’s First Avenue, Diamond, East Bank Demerara bond.

Among the donated items were bed support rails, nasoenteric feeding tubes, syringes, paediatric manual resuscitators and fluid-dis-

pensing connectors. According to Minister Cummings, “I am pleased that one of the Foundation’s main areas of focus is promoting health and fighting diseases. The equipment and supplies donated will go a long way in improving the delivery of health care services in Guyana”.

The Minister pointed out that continuously improving the quality of health care services nationally is a task which cannot be undertaken solely by Government.

For this reason she welcomed and commended the support provided by partners such as the Hope for the Nation Foundation.

The Minister asserted,

Minister Karen Cummings (centre) receives the donation from Dr. Abdel Bari. Also in photo is Hope for the Nation Secretary, Otillo Pereira. too, that the Public Health Ministry, under the current administration, is committed to ensuring that health needs of all of its citizens are met.

Also speaking at the ceremony was President of the NGO, Dr. Abdel Bari, who said that the sizeable donation was in fact the entity’s first donation to the Ministry, but will certainly not be the last. Dr. Bari in his remarks spoke of the genesis of the NGO, pointing out that “the idea was there for a while. The idea was there to do something for Guyana.”

According to him, discussions were had with some persons residing overseas who visited for the Golden Jubilee celebrations. During the discussions it was found that Guyana is among the countries eligible for support from Cross International.

Cross International is a charitable organisation that provides food, shelter medical care, water, education, selfhelp programmes, care for orphans and emergency relief to the poorest of the poor

around the world. Before long the Foundation was born and forged a strategic partnership with Cross International.

Although the organisation, which is headquartered at Thomas Street, North Cummingsburg, Georgetown, has already started its operation it is yet to be officially launched, according to Dr. Bari. But he explained, “our objective is to work with governmental and non-governmental organisations...the scope is very big.”

An initiative the Foundation is already poised to embark upon, too, is to supply schools with breakfast. It also has its eyes set on reaching out to Amerindian communities.

But the primary intent of giving support to groups or communities, according to Dr. Bari, is to give them support to become independent. He therefore noted that the Chinese proverb “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” is being fully embraced by the Foundation.

Sunday June 26, 2016

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Kaieteur News

== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ==

Clive Thomas, Dale Andrews and memories Frederick Kissoon

On Tuesday, last, I attended the 36th death anniversary of Walter Rodney, at the National Library, sponsored by the Working People’s Alliance. During the question period, Clive Thomas left, with Desmond Trotman escorting him.

I came out and followed him to his car on Church Street. I haven’t seen or spoken to Clive Thomas in more than two years. When I was an activist with the WPA and a young UG student, I spoke with Clive almost daily.

Clive is not in perfect health, and as I hugged him, he felt light. In his late seventies, he has the same face and the same smile as when I first met him so, so long ago.

As we walked out of the library compound onto Church Street, he introduced me to his driver and the driver’s wife. He said something that reminded me so

deeply of this great man whose activism had an immense influence on me. He introduced the lady, then with his characteristic smile, he said, “she just returned home after traveling for the first time.” This was the Clive Thomas I knew in the seventies, and that smile took me back to the days when he dominated the political landscape of Guyana and the intellectual terrain of the Caribbean.

As Desmond Trotman and I walked backed into the library, I said to Trotman, “Clive should have been the President of Guyana.” I sincerely regret that someone like Clive Thomas never became our president.

It is not just the qualities of the man, but the utterly amazing contribution to the acquisition and preservation of the freedoms of the Guyanese people that he stands out for. Clive inspired

two generations of Guyanese, of which I belong to one of them.

The years of activism that I spent with Clive in the WPA have left indelible, psychic symbols on my personality.

The memories of political struggle will never leave, will never go away.

They will always be around you, and they are automatically invoked once you see the person, as it was on Tuesday afternoon with Clive, and Thursday afternoon with Dale Andrews.

I was at home, doing the dishes and I put on a CD by Patrizio Buanne titled, “The Italian.” As “Come Prima” was playing, vivid memories of Dale Andrews rushed into my mind. “Come Prima” is an Italian love song that was once done in English by the Rhythm and Blues superstars of the fifties, the Platters. The Platters’ version was titled,

Clive Thomas

Dale Andrews

“For the first time.” One day, four years ago, I was in Giftland Office Max and my eyes glanced on the Platters.

I bought “The Best of the Platters” for Dale because he would have been too young to enjoy the greatness of the Platters in the fifties and sixties. I told Dale my favourite cut was “For the First Time.”

The next day, when I saw Dale in the office, I asked him if he enjoyed the Platters, he

replied; ‘nice, but nothing special and duh song (he meant “For the First Time”) yuh tell me about I ain’t see anything special about it.”

That was Dale’s reaction to the fantastic melodies of the Platters. It was Adam Harris, the editor of Kaieteur News, and who obviously saw Dale much more than I did because they worked together every day, who informed me on Friday when I

told him about the Buanne song, that Dale got to like the Platters real bad As Buanne sang “Come Prima,” the memories of Dale Andrews came tumbling down. I bought CDs for Dale almost every year from the time I knew him sixteen years ago. And this included up to the month before he died.

I thought of Dale when I heard that Buanne song, because I know this was a journalist that Guyana will find hard to replace.

I am absolutely sure more memories of Dale will visit me, depending on the circumstances. I am in the National Park every day, and there was an incident there with Dale that is crazily funny, but embarrassing to Dale, so I will not describe it.

I am glad I ran into Clive last Tuesday. I am glad Buanne’s song last Thursday, reminded me of the journalistic power of Dale. Memories do not leave you. They stay with you forever. In a sad country like this, it is good to invoke the memories of people who have made positive contributions to Guyana.

These memories take away the presence of the unpleasant and the unholy that surround this country.

For me, Clive Thomas is not only a national icon, but a national hero.

PAGE 28

Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur News

More international assistance to develop oil and gas sector A team of experts from the Mexican Petroleum Institute (IMP) just last week conducted the first round of discussions with Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, and his growing team of local and foreign experts.

The IMP technologists have joined the Guyana Oil scenario in company with American, Canadian and Trinidadian experts who have come with critical advice and technical support directly related to developing a lucrative oil and gas sector in Guyana.

The MNR/IMP partnership will see Guyana receiving technical support for the development of a Petroleum Regulatory Agency and Skill Development Institute to deliver tertiary level technical training in mineral mining and extraction, oil and gas resource management, and environmental protection, among other disciplines.

During this first visit the Mexican team had in-depth discussions with Education Minister Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine; the University

of Guyana’s Vice Chancellor, Dr. Ivelaw Griffith; and representatives from the university’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences.

On their return to Mexico, the team proposes to develop three (3) “White Papers” for consideration by the Guyana Government premised upon production and consumption; creating a regulatory agency; and the development of a Petroleum Institute.

This intervention brought to the front burner the myriad issues that Guyana must confront as we prepare our people, our institutions and our environment for the changes that a petroleum industry will bring.

The AFC takes this opportunity to repeat a section of our column of that was first printed on 31 May, 2015.

“The discovery by ExxonMobil of huge deposits of oil within Guyana’s Economic Maritime Zone spells progress for every citizen, economically, socially and even psychologically.

One more positive element is a US Geological study conducted several years ago

which surmised that the Guyana Basin was the second largest unexplored area for hydro-carbon deposits in the world.

The Coalition government understands very clearly that the road leading to massive capital revenues for the national coffers will be long and challenging.

This road, however, is laid with paving stones for thousands of jobs in the manufacturing, services and commercial sectors, new upstream and downstream support industries that will evolve in the years of preparation for actual oil production, and which will be needed to sustain the operation of extraction when it comes on stream.

It is clear that actual petroleum mining is years away, but along the way, and as more viable deposits are discovered, the government intends to grasp every opportunity to facilitate specialized technical and vocational training for our youth and women, and to invest in education, health, research and development, environmental studies and assessments of the likely impact on the population as a whole.

A much broader Education sector is one major main spin-off benefit for a nation in preparation for a hydro-

carbon industry. The immense range of skills that will be required includes mechanical, electrical, and heavy duty machinery engineering for maintenance of oil extraction rigs and peripheral equipment; specialized communication and other technological systems; and automotive maintenance.

Our capacity for support services is set to improve hundred-fold in the areas of hospitality including hotels, bed-and-breakfast facilities and other types of accommodations, water and food industries. In fact, there are an estimated 116 types of secondary industries that could evolve in the preparatory and operational stages of hydro-carbon mining. The skills of Accountants, Environmentalists and laboratory analysts will be needed alongside research developers and primary to advanced health care providers.

There have already been offers from oil-producing countries, the United States and Canada in particular, to assist with Guyana’s preparation for the benefits this oil find will bring.

The very first and most essential stage of the entire process is the crafting of appropriate laws and regulations, and the systems to ensure unrelenting

application of these regulations. They must encapsulate the potential effects of seismic surveys, drilling and extraction operations upon the natural environment and upon other users of that environment.

It must take into account the effects on marine wildlife, on the livelihoods of the people who subsist on marine life and those who dwell in the vicinity of on-shore oilrelated operations.

It takes into account every potential environmental emergency such as oil spills to ascertain that there are immediate response measures in place.

THE “DUTCH DISEASE” The accounts of the ill effects of several countries’ failure to craft and enforce such regulations have become legendary. The African states of Nigeria and the Congo head the list. The rampaging corruption and abuse of their oil and non-oil economic resources saw their citizens lose their hopes for betterment because the respective governments failed to plan ahead and institute the necessary industry regulatory models and fiscal framework. One Economics pundit found a label for the syndrome - the “Dutch Disease” named for the economic fiasco that the Netherlands became in the 1960’s.

This country had experienced a vast increase in its wealth after discovering large deposits of natural gas in the North Sea. Unexpectedly, this positive development delivered serious negative repercussions on important segments of that economy. The Dutch guilder became stronger which made Dutch non-oil exports more expensive and, therefore, less competitive. In other countries including Indonesia and Ecuador in the 1970’s, those governments failed to address the social and environmental impacts of oil production and so under-development ensued.”

Since then we have had the benefit of the experience residing in the Energy Chamber of Trinidad & Tobago.

The Guyanese business community also heard directly from Dr. Roger Hosein, author and researcher at UWI. Here is a brief synopsis of his address.

Using experiences in his home country, Trinidad and Tobago between 1983 and

2008, he demonstrated that an Oil and Gas economy is extremely difficult to manage.

Oil, he said, has the potential to adversely affect an economy and strongly urged the Guyana government to guard against “irrational exuberance”.

“It is critical to transform resource capital into other kinds of working capital,” he stressed while urging the Guyanese people to hold our President true to his commitment to utilize for incidental spending only the monetary interests gained from the Petroleum Fund that will be set up. This approach would protect the Guyanese economy from irrational spending on projects and luxury goods that would not return funds to the treasury.

With respect to the Dutch Disease, he cited the likelihood of skilled labour migrating from the manufacturing and agricultural sectors to the petroleum sector which generally offers better pay and conditions of service.

In Trinidad, it was found that much of the taxes and other revenues the state earned from the petroleum sector were spent on services sector goods and consumables.

As was anticipated, the Services sector grew quickly as more and more workers were needed, but it led to the phenomenon called ‘direct de-industrialization’.

He advised the Guyana Government to ensure that the manufacturing, wood and agricultural sectors create and retain a reliable, consistent supply of workers in order to avoid de-industrialization.

In addition, by keeping all other sectors performing at optimum, the economy would avoid being ‘knocked sideways’ whenever world oil prices dip or plummet.

The highly respected Lecturer and Researcher ended his lively and informative discourse by advising the Guyana Government to avoid heavy subsidization of fuel and fuel products during the period of a booming economy.

The Trinidad economy in the past year approximately has been negatively affected by extremely low global oil prices. The government has had to implement some unpopular austerity measures to compensate for lost oil revenue. This exemplifies Dr. Hosein’s admonishments.

Sunday June 26, 2016

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Kaieteur News

My column

The old business methods need revamping I live in a country where people do two things very well; they complain a lot and they point fingers at everyone who just happens to be the source of some disappointment. This past month I have been hearing complaints about the state of the economy. Many in the business community say that business is down.

What that means is that the businesses are not getting enough of the people’s money. They say that the people are just not buying because they do not have money. This set me thinking about the people who support these businesses.

Over time I have been hearing about the influx of Chinese businesses and the cheap products that they have on offer. It goes without saying that people try to get the best for their money.

It matters not that many complain about the products they buy from the Chinese.

And suffice it to say that many people actually enjoy the products they buy.

The local businesses op-

erate as though they have a monopoly on people’s money, as though they are the only merchants operating on the local landscape.

I hasten to add that the volume of money has diminished somewhat. People attribute a variety of reasons.

Some say that the flow of drug money has slowed remarkably so there is less money to enter the system.

Deputy Chief of Mission in the United States embassy, Bryan Hunt, admitted that the presence of the Drug Enforcement Agency has placed a dent on the movement of drugs both at the local level and at the other end. We know of some of the arrests, but not all of them make the news. The very big busts do, but it stands to reason that the small ones all add up.

There are other factors that affect the flow of money.

For one, the price of gold has declined markedly. This too has had an impact on the flow of money.

Guyana just celebrated the 50th anniversary of its independence and none can

deny that tons of money flowed. I am sure that the businessmen made a killing, so for them to complain that their revenue has declined is to actually hide the truth.

But be that as it may, it is not that the people are earning less. I go into the commercial banks and each day I see scores of people lining up to make withdrawals or deposits. These people must be doing something with their money.

One indicator of the level of business is the sale of newspapers. People buy newspapers with their disposable income-money that they have to do things other than buy food and clothing and pay for transportation. Newspaper circulation has not gone down. In fact it has risen.

The markets are also good indicators. No doubt there has been an increase in the number of vendors, so certainly some will experience reduced sales.

Yet it comes down to the number of foreign businesses reaching for the people’s purses. It would be interesting to hear them talk about their take at the end of a certain period. It is not clear whether the Guyana Revenue

Authority would actually be collecting its due from these foreign businesses, so the books might not reflect the true situation.

Car sales are not any lower. Each day about thirty new cars hit the streets.

Where is this money coming from? Surely things cannot be as bad as some would want to make out.

Government spending, in the past, has done a lot to fuel the economy but according to head of the Central Bank, Dr Gobind Ganga, there are certain things that a government must do to avoid the pitfalls. It has to limit its spending and it has to control the wages bill, else it would fuel inflation.

The good news is that inflation has been curtailed, forcing the Central Bank head to describe it as deflation. And there is likely to be a public service pay hike following negotiations between the Guyana Public Service Union and the government. Certainly, those businessmen who are complaining would begin to smile, although I am certain that the Chinese businesses would grab the bulk of the money.

There is another thing

about the business climate.

Local businesses place a hefty markup on their goods.

It would be nice if some of them lower their prices to capture the market. Already many enterprising Guyanese are buying on-line. They buy their products from overseas and they all say that they get their goods cheaper.

Such competition should force the local businesses to review their policies. They may find that they could actually increase their profit.

And there is something else. I look at companies like Nike, Adidas, Puma and the like. They keep making money although they give away a lot by way of sponsorship. They put back into the society that actually fuels their profits. In Guyana not many businesses

Adam Harris affix their names to local events. If they do, I am sure that they would become household names and thus attract business. Instead of lamenting, now may be the time for them to revolutionise their business. Surely, they are discovering that the old and established methods need revamping.

PAGE 30

Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur News

The five challenges of Independence (Part 2) (Address by His Excellency Brigadier David Granger, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana at the Dinner in honour of Guyana’s 50th Independence Anniversary, in New York) Guyana did suffer two major ‘rebellions,’ even after Independence. They remind us that deep divisions persisted in our nation. The first

was the Rupununi Rebellion, in 1969. The second was the so-called ‘Civil Rebellion’ in 1979. Consider that Guyana, after fifty years, still faces five challenges: · National identity: We are a pluri-cultural country; we must strive to embrace citizens of different religions, races and beliefs; we must give meaning to the idea of ‘Guyaneseness! · National unity: We are

a multi-party democracy; we must seek common ground in order to achieve greater unity of purpose; · National security: We are a nation under threat; we must struggle to preserve our territorial integrity and security; we must ensure the human safety, especially of women and girl children; · Economic viability: We are a poor country; we must search for ways to diversify

our economy which remains structurally unchanged; greater diversity could lead to greater prosperity; · Equality: We are an unequal society; we must embrace measures to ensure equal access for all to education, health, social protection and other public services.

Independence created a common citizenship for all of us. It distinguished Guyana from every other country on

President David Granger earth. Independence allowed us to adopt our own symbols of nationhood – our national flag; our national anthem; our national awards; our national coinage and stamps; our national motto; our national festivals; our national monuments; our national coat-ofarms depicting the jaguar, Canje pheasant, the great rivers and other national emblems.

Guyana’s symbols of nationhood are not ornamental.

They define our identity. They express our commonality.

They remind us of our common homeland and that we are citizens of a country like no other.

Guyana’s development as an Independent state required the creation of institutions suited to realizing the common aspirations of our people.

Our leaders recognized that, if the new state was to be developed, if our territory was to be defended and if the rights of our people were to be promoted, those institutions would have to be respected and protected. We must respect: · Our national constitution; · Our National Assembly; · Our judiciary; · Our Defence Force; · Our Ombudsman.

The new state created services to improve people’s access to education, electricity, health care, housing and potable water. Agriculture and industry were boosted through the establishment of agricultural, drainage and irrigation schemes and industrial estates.

Banking institutions were established to generate savings and to serve as sources for investment. We constructed highways, fortified sea defences, laid down aerodromes and built bridges over our rivers.

Guyana’s foreign policy successes were remarkable for a small state. We have been audacious on the global diplomatic stage. Guyana played a leading role in:

· supporting the struggle for decolonization; · bringing an end to apartheid in South Africa; · breaking the diplomatic isolation of Cuba; · being midwife at the birth of the Caribbean Free Trade Area, the Caribbean Community and the African Caribbean and Pacific Group of states; · defending states’ rights in the Non-Aligned Movement, the United Nations and the Commonwealth.

Our role on the international stage is inestimable and ineradicable.

- We are proud of our achievements over the past fifty years.

- We are proud of our efforts to deliver our people from dreary logies, shanties and tenement yards and to open the doors to their own family homes.

- We are proud of having established a University of Guyana, a College of Education, multilateral schools and technical institutes.

- We are proud of having expanded access to education for our children throughout the ten administrative regions.

We, Guyanese, must continue to pursue the path to the good life, this time, along the ‘green’ way. The architecture of our ‘green’ economy will rest on clean energy; a secure environmental and ‘green’ enterprises and employment.

We intend to fully satisfy our energy needs from the abundant sources of renewable energy - solar, wind, hydro and biomass - available in the country.

We will develop, as part of that ‘green’ economy, a comprehensive coastal zone management plan to protect our populated areas, farming communities and ecosystems. We will employ a ‘green’ strategy to improve solid waste management and to transition more rapidly towards the introduction off ‘green’ technologies, industries, products and jobs.

Sunday June 26, 2016

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Kaieteur News

Prolonged waiting times in Emergency Departments: Are staff to be blamed?

By Dr. Zulfikar Bux Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine

By Dr. Zulfikar Bux Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine

Emergency Departments (EDs) worldwide are faced with the ongoing challenge of prolonged waiting times for patients that visit for care.

There is no easy fix to this challenge and often, patients and relatives get angry with the ED staff and vent their frustrations on them.

It may be difficult to believe, but ED staffs are often not the main contributors to patient delays. I have never heard of an ED where the patients were all happy about their waiting times.

No such place exists, because EDs are dynamic areas where patient flow is demanding and unpredictable.

Today we will discuss the major causes of increased waiting times in EDs with the hope that we can all play our part to minimize unnecessary fury that usually occurs as a result of this matter.

OVERCROWDING This is the number one cause of prolonged waiting times in EDs. As Hospitals run out of beds to admit patients, newly-admitted patients are kept in the EDs until beds become available on the wards. This can take days and it causes a backlog of patients in EDs. These admitted patients take up beds that would be used for incoming patients and it causes a strain on the ED. ED staff are expected to be resourceful and effectively utilize the little available space for incoming patients. Unfortunately, there is only so much ED staff can do when there is no space to see incoming patients. Their efforts are then directed at preserving life and stabilizing the very sick patients until space is available to see the not so sick patients.

STAFF SHORTAGES Because of increasing patient demands and changes in the medical practice, staff shortages are becoming more

evident in EDs. This is even more common in developing systems where it’s not as lucrative to retain staff. Nurses are the most common category that is affected.

They are also often the most reliable human resource that can contribute to minimizing waiting times in the ED. Decreasing staff shortages in the ED by focusing on nursing human resources has been shown to minimize waiting times in EDs. It therefore highlights the importance of resourceful nursing administration in minimizing waiting times in EDs. DELAYED LAB/ RADIOLOGY TURNOVER TIMES ED doctors often need to do Laboratory/ Radiology testing on their patients to help ensure safe and effective care. Having X-rays, CT scans and blood testing done are often outside of the control of ED staff. They rely on resources from the Radiology and Laboratory departments to efficiently return test results. These are often departments that have their own challenges, which frequently lead to delays in the turnover of results. Delayed turnover of results means the longer the patient will have to wait in the ED for a disposition plan. Modernized EDs now have their own labs that can do testing within the ED and minimize waiting times.

UNTRAINED EMERGENCY STAFF Emergency Departments are dynamic and care is timesensitive. Having a team that is well-oiled and trained to be efficient and effective, should be the goal of all EDs. Developed EDs have specialisttrained emergency Doctors and Nurses who are the main staffing category that contrib-

ute to care. These emergencytrained specialists would have undergone rigorous training to ensure that they can efficiently turnover patients without sacrificing effectiveness of care. EDs that do not have these specialists, tend to have longer waiting times due to decreased coordination and inefficient management of patient flow and care. These are just some of the challenges that are present in most, if not all EDs. The Georgetown Public

Hospital Corporation is no different. It is difficult for the staff, but we do give it our best and will continue to strive for solutions to minimize your wait.

The managing board of directors of this entity has been very proactive in supporting initiatives that will help to tackle this issue. We are hopeful that delays will be minimized as we continue to find solutions to these challenges. So the next time you visit an ED and get anxious

about your waiting time, take a minute or two before you begin to blame or abuse the ED staff. We do not enjoy the abuse. Especially when we know we are your main advocates and we want you to go home just as badly as you do.

Our goal is to make sure you can do that safely. This unfortunately takes a little longer than any of us would like. Just know that most of us chose this specialty of medicine, because we are outcome-driven junkies that

Dr. Zulfikar Bux thrive on fixing problems.

So when we can’t fix your problem, we are just as affected as you. Beating us down will only make us all more affected.

PAGE 32

Kaieteur News

and the Authority is yet to decide a way forward.

“None of the company’s proposals have been concretized as yet but indeed, BaiShanLin seems to be open to making the necessary payments.”

Lucas said that the Authority’s discussions are covering all issues relating to duty free concessions. Lucas said that further seizures will depend on the outcome of the discussions.

SUNDAY SPECIAL ALL CONTRACTS/CONCESSION AGREEMENTS SHOULD BE DISCLOSED - PRESIDENT GRANGER When it comes to the disclosure of contracts and concession agreements which were signed under the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), President David Granger believes that these should be fully disclosed to the public.

During a brief interview with Kaieteur News, the Head of State was reminded of a promise that his government had made on several occasions – that certain contracts and concession agreements would be made available to the public, especially those which relate to the controversial Chinese logging company, BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc. and the Marriott Hotel.

But it has been over a year since the APNU+AFC coalition has taken office and this promise is yet to be fulfilled.

Kaieteur News asked Granger if he intends to honour the commitment or if he has changed his mind.

The Head of State made it clear that he believes in full disclosure and has no intention of changing his mind.

He told this newspaper that this is what the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) and the other branches of government should do – make concession agreements public.

Granger noted, however, that there are exceptions. In this regard, he said that the procurement of defence equipment should be kept under wraps.

The President added, “In some situations in which equipment is supplied under the agreement of secrecy by foreign countries, depending on the nature of the equipment, we are of course not free to disclose, because you agree with another country that you would not do so.”

Aside from this, the President reiterated his belief that commercial agreements should not be treated as “state secrets” and that they should be fully disclosed.

Sunday June 26, 2016

MONDAY EDITION PAST GOVT. OFFICIALS FILED LIBEL SUITS TO MUZZLE THE PRESS

Deputy Chief of Mission, Bryan Hunt.

GRENADEATTACK ON KAIETEUR NEWS…GOVT.’S COMMITMENT TO PRESS FREEDOM WILL BE TESTED BY DRIVE TO FIND INTELLECTUALAUTHORS–US ENVOY Finding the intellectual authors of the grenade attack on Kaieteur News some weeks ago will be an important test of Government’s commitment to protect press freedom, says outgoing Deputy Chief of Mission, Bryan Hunt.

He made this remark as he reflected on the incident which took place on June 4, when Kaieteur News staffers and publisher, Glenn Lall, were attending a wake for Dale Andrews, a staff member who died suddenly.

Hunt said, “Let me first of all offer my personal sympathies to Lall and the staff of Kaieteur News. What happened to him should not have happened to any civilian anywhere in the world, whether one is associated in the media or not.” ”No one should be subjected to having a military grade weapon thrown at their

President David Granger vehicle. We should all thank God for whatever reason the grenade did not explode and that Lall is still with us. We absolutely offer our sympathies. It was a heinous act.”

The US diplomat said that the Government has done the right thing in opening up an investigation, in making efforts towards trying to determine who were the persons involved in the crime and having them placed before the courts.

Hunt said that the government is correct also in trying to ascertain who the intellectual authors of the crime are. ”It will be an important test to the government’s commitment to ensuring justice when it comes to people who threaten press freedom, especially in such a manner.”

BAISHANLIN PROPOSES SETTLEMENT WITH GRA It appears, for the time being, that controversial logging company, BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc. is seeking to iron out some of the kinks in its relationship with Guyana by seeking to settle its debt with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) which has been accumulated through what financial experts deemed a wonton distribution of tax concessions.

BaiShanLin has been granted $1.8B in fiscal concessions over the years.

BaiShanLin has persistently defaulted on the investment agreement it has signed with the Government to establish a wood processing plant at Linden. A promise to set up that plant is what got BaiShanLin the chance to secure the concessions.

The investment agreement specifically states that if the machinery, equipment and materials for which fiscal concessions have been granted have not been used for the purpose(s) specified, the value of the concessions must be repaid to the Government.

During the period 2012-2015, Baishanlin brought in US$38 million worth of machinery, equipment and materials of which fiscal concessions amounting to G$1.8 billion were granted.

A few months ago, GRA seized two of BaiShanLin’s vehicles as part of the process to recover the outstanding sum.

During a recent telephone interview with Kaieteur News, Chairman of the GRA Board, Rawle Lucas confirmed that the company is looking to pay off its debt to avoid further seizures.

He said that discussions are continuing

To suppress criticism of maladministration and corruption, Government officials have often abused the use of libel suits against the media.

This practice however does not sit well with outgoing Deputy Chief of Mission, Bryan Hunt who strongly believes in the freedom of the press.

Hunt said that if the Government wants to demonstrate that it is committed to protecting freedom of the press, then it needs to do a few crucial things, one of which includes the review of Guyana’s libel laws.

In an interview with this newspaper, the US diplomat said that he has seen instances where officials filed libel suits with the apparent intention of muzzling reporters or the entities they work for.

Hunt remarked that libel laws globally are problematic.

“However, I think that the way in which some of them have been applied in Guyana, not by this government, but in the past, have really had a chilling effect. It’s not something that is good for freedom of the press when journalists can be charged for doing their job or for expression of their opinion. Libel laws have to be very, very, very, narrow in their application. And there has to be a review of the ones in Guyana and how they are applied,” the US official said. ”And we have seen instances where it appears to an outsider like me that previous government officials have filed libel charges not because any actual harm has been done, but because they wanted to shut up whatever reporter or media institution was carrying a story.”

The US diplomat said that he is not by any means stating that media houses should be allowed to print or say whatever they want.

He stressed that content carried by journalists should be accurate and there must be balance. He said that based on the cases he has observed thus far, he does not believe that the libel laws in Guyana have been invoked in an equitable manner.

PRESIDENT GRANGER OPPOSES DEATH PENALTY What really deters potential criminals; the certainty of punishment or the severity of it? For those who believe in the latter, capital punishment ranks as an appropriately extreme sanction for the worst of the worst in societies. But the death penalty proves to be a sensitive topic and there are many elements that are at play when leading public figures try to take a stance on whether it should be abolished.

Commenting on the “eye for an eye” form of punishment, President David Granger agrees that his Government has not made public its unified position on the subject.

In an interview with Kaieteur News on the show, The Public Interest, the (Continued on page 33)

Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur News

PAGE 33

(From page 32) Head of State acknowledged Government has allowed the death penalty to remain in the statute books, but made it clear that no one has been executed in a couple of decades. In fact, the last execution in Guyana was conducted on August 25, 1997.

The President said, “…Some feel that the death penalty is a deterrent and some feel that it is not…some feel that the death penalty is perhaps best kept on the books as a last resort…but David Granger does not have any intention of approving the execution of anyone.”

While there is no single statement out of the Government on whether it will abolish the death penalty, the President said that in due course, his administration will arrive at a position.

GOVT. HALTS PARKING METER DEAL UNTIL CONTRACT THOROUGHLY INSPECTED – BULKAN Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan has promised that Central Government will intervene in the ongoing parking meter fiasco at the Georgetown Mayor and City Council,(M&CC) to ensure that Guyanese get the best deal.

The Minister said that the Council will essentially have to put a hold on plans to implement parking meters, given the lack of transparency surrounding the transaction.

While the central government intervention in the matters of local government is not something that he would support, in light of the significant moral and financial implication of such a contract, the minister said that the Council is asked to stay their hand until greater clarity can be made on the initiative.

Bulkan, the Minister responsible for Local Government in Guyana, said after meeting with councilors who expressed their views on the issue, a request for the contract has been sent to Town Clerk, Royston King.

But the Minister is yet to receive the document, which was requested about a week ago.

Bulkan however expressed optimism that the Council will cooperate with Central Government. ”I don’t believe the Council would want to adopt a confrontational attitude towards the government. Besides, the deal can only be approved with the support of the entire council.”

The announcement of the parking meter project was made recently by M&CC’s Town Clerk, Royston King, who said that since November, the city had signed a contract with Smart City Solutions Inc, a company collaborating National Parking Systems” (NPS) to install solar-powered parking meters in critical areas of Georgetown.

The company is said to have invested tens of millions of dollars in preparatory works, including bringing engineers from its headquarters to determine traffic volume and occupancy.

TUESDAY EDITION AUDIT EXPOSES BRASSINGTON’S SCAM IN STATE ASSETS SALES An Audit into the operations of Property Holdings Inc. (PHI) has revealed an unhealthy practice, where the entity would award properties to the second and third highest bidders. This was usually the case when the first and second highest bidder withdrew.

PHI used to be controlled by Winston Brassington who was also Director/Chairman

for about 13 other companies.

Auditor Charles Sugrim has “strongly recommended” that PHI cease this sort of practice that was condoned under Brassington.

Surgrim reported, “PHI did not consider re-tendering of properties when the highest bidder withdrew. In some cases there were prior bids for the same property at a higher price.”

The auditor pointed to an instance where the difference in price between the highest bidder and the second highest bidder was $146M. The highest bidder withdrew, and the property was offered to the second highest bidder.

The boards of PHI and the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) approved the sale of a Water Street property to J P Santos & Co Ltd for the amount of $215M after Laparkan’s withdrawal of its $361M. The proceeds were split between PHI and Guyana National Shipping Corporation (GNSC) in a ratio of 65:35. This was because the building was owned by PHI and the land owned by GNSC. Surgrim pointed out that “on the withdrawal of the bid from the highest bidder, there was no attempt by the boards of PHI or NICIL to re-tender for the property.”

The auditor pointed to another instance where a property was offered to the third highest bidder when the first and second highest bidders withdrew their bids. The difference between the highest bid and sale price was $61 million. Also, the tendered bid price was reduced in the final sale price. The property in question was the zinc bond which Sugrim pointed out is very prominent on Water Street.

Sugrim reported that in 2003, after the bids were opened, the highest bidder Hoon Sookraj withdrew his bid stating that his bid was on the incorrect property. Sookraj did not state which property he was bidding on. Subsequently, the second highest bidder, Savitrie Seodat withdrew her bid “without giving any reason.”

CONTROVERSIALPARKING METERS DEAL…CONTRACT SIGNED BEFORE MEXICO’S DUE DILIGENCE TRIP -CONSORTIUM PAID FOR PLANE TICKETS, HOTELS City officials have vowed to steam ahead with plans to introduce parking meters with the first rollout expected by September 1st.

The disclosures were made, Monday, during a press conference by top officials of the

Mayor and City Councillors of Georgetown (M&CC) who also said that a recent trip to Mexico and Panama was to complete its due diligence of the contractor, “National Parking Systems/Smart City Solutions”.

This would have been months after the contract was sealed last November. The officials claimed that it would not have been proper or ethical to visit Mexico and Panama before the contract was signed. The trip and hotel stay for the delegation were paid for by the consortium Present at the event were Mayor Patricia Chase-Green; Town Clerk, Royston King; Head of the Finance Committee, Oscar Clarke; Finance Committee member, Junior Garrett, and other administrative officers of the municipality.

The officials came under fire recently for a trip to Mexico and Panama to check on how the consortium was managing the parking meters there.

People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary, Clement Rohee The issue has been dominating headlines with Deputy Mayor, Sherod Duncan, saying that he could find little evidence of the two companies and their work. NPS is owned by US-based Guyanese, Ifa Kamau Cush, who had submitted a proposal since 1996, Mayor Chase-Green said Monday.

Checks by Kaieteur News had found that NPS did not have an office at the Park Avenue, Manhattan address that it listed on its website. There was also little information on Smart City Solutions Inc., the company with which Cush teamed up.

According to the Mayor, based on the trip

to Mexico and Panama, she is confident that the consortium has what it takes to successfully manage parking meters around the city streets.

In the initial pilot phase, M&CC will be targeting a pilot project that will include South Road, Regent Street, Stabroek, Camp Street and Church Street that will see the creation of 1,500 parking spaces to be controlled by solar-power meters, Chase-Green disclosed.

The consortium is reportedly promising to invest US$10M. According to Clarke, much of the controversy that has been swirling around has been unfounded and hearsay.

SOLE SOURCING…DON’T DO WHAT WE DID – ROHEE TELLS GOVERNMENT Following the controversial allocation of a contract to implement parking meters to two companies without public tender, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary, Clement Rohee, is warning the administration not to go down the same road as the PPP. He said this during the party’s weekly press conference Monday. When reminded, however, of the party’s track record in public procurement – notably the drug contracts which New Guyana Pharmaceutical Company (GPC) received without tenders - he made it clear that the PPP can still criticize the Government. ”Yeah, well, that (accusation) may have been leveled against us, but that’s the previous administration. But now they are in the Government and they have to face the music if they do it as well. That’s the nature of politics.” ”If you criticize the then administration, for not doing what you felt should have been done, and then now you get into government you doing the same which you had criticized the previous government on, then obviously it behooves the now opposition to criticize you for double standards.” ”You said you would not have done it, were you in the government. But you continue to do it now that you are in the government. Therefore we are not going to close our eyes; we are going to be similarly critical.”

Saying that the party has been warning the current administration about going down the road of sole sourcing, Rohee stated that the contract should return to tendering. He described it as a case where the administration appears to be going full speed ahead on matters, oblivious to public (Continued on page 34)

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Sunday June 26, 2016

(From page 33) opinion. ”They feel that they have got it all right and that they have all the answers. They are not listening to anyone. And the only time they listen is when they come under enormous pressure and scandals hit them in their f a c e . ” WEDNESDAY EDITION MAYOR, OSCAR CLARKE, ROYSTON KING SPIT IN THE FACE OF THE CITIZENRY – DEPUTY MAYOR … THEY HAVE PUT US BACK TO “THE DANGEROUS DAYS OF THUG POLITICS” Instead of the principles of transparency and accountability being allowed to guide the work of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC), “a sickening stench of corruption is leading the way,” says Deputy Mayor, Sherod Duncan.

Duncan made this remark in an interview with Kaieteur News last night as he reflected on the actions relating to the parking meter scandal.

It was on Monday that top officials of M&CC told the media that regardless of the outrage by some sections of the society, the council will forge ahead with its parking meter contract with the National Parking Systems/ Smart City Solutions (NPS/SCS).

The Deputy Mayor said that “such levels of arrogance are not only nauseating and sickening, but place Guyana right back to the days of executive thuggery.”

He said, “In this period in our history, people expect us to be more responsive to their concerns, because they elected us to office. They want to see a change. We are supposed to be more inclusive in what we are doing.

“But at no time was the issue of the parking meters put to the council for a vote. I believe that these actions only represent a clear circumvention of the process for ensuring that we secure a package that is free from corruption.”

Duncan continued, “The council is the supreme decision-making body and has an oversight function for all projects being undertaken by the City Hall. So to jump and say that you took a deliberate decision to not share the contract with the very council that was put in place, represents a dangerous and dark demon of the past.”

(NICIL) and the Privatization Unit, both of these were also being run by Brassington. Sugrim reported, “Proceeds of sales were deposited into the Privatization account at the Bank of Guyana, NICIL account at Republic Bank, and PHI accounts at Republic Bank. All of the proceeds of sale were deposited into these accounts.”

The auditor pointed to instances where this was the case. This happened with the sale of Water Street property sold to JP Santos and Co Ltd. For this sale, the amount of $215M was deposited into NICIL’s account # 487748-6. Of this amount $139.7M was due to PHI and $75,250,000 was due to Guyana National Shipping Co. The money was to be shared between Guyana National Shipping and PHI, as the building belonged to PHI while the land belonged to the shipping company.

Sugrim recommended that “all proceeds from sale of properties be deposited only into PHI accounts.”

However, PHI’s management responded saying that while it is “desirable,” to put all proceeds into one account, the practice of de-

BRASSINGTON PUTS MONEY FROM SALE OF STATE PROPERTIES INTO VARIOUS ACCOUNTS – PHI AUDIT Auditor Charles Sugrim has warned Property Holdings Inc (PHI) against the practice of putting proceeds from state properties sold

by PHI into various accounts.

PHI used to be headed by one of the most controversial public figures—Winston Brassington. During the reign of the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) government, Brassington had responsibility for PHI and about 13 other companies.

In a recently released forensic audit report, Sugrim reported about “unsatisfactory” management of PIU’s finances under Brassington. He highlighted a practice of awarding state properties to the second and third highest bidders.

As prominently as he highlighted those issues, Sugrim noted the fact that PHI had a practice of depositing proceeds of final sales into various accounts.

These include the accounts of the National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited

Winston Brassington positing sums into various accounts “is not necessarily wrong.”

PHI said that “various reasons can be advanced as to why the Privatisation Unit would hold funds, pending conclusion of a transaction.”

GUYANA IS JUST TOO DIVIDED AND WE MUST CHANGE THAT – CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM MUST ENSURE ALL ARE REPRESENTED IN CORRIDORS OF POWER – OUTGOING

US ENVOY, BRYAN HUNT For too long, many Guyanese have felt that their interests are not always represented in the halls of power and US envoy, Bryan Hunt, who shares this view, insists that it much change. In an interview with this newspaper, the outgoing Deputy Chief of Mission asserted that development cannot take place if one half of the population feels as though they are not being fairly represented by the government. ”And it is time for Guyanese to ask, ‘how do we get a system where all are represented in the corridors of power? ‘A large portion of this country has felt excluded from the corridors of power and regardless of the party in office, whether it is the PPP or the AFC, the feeling is still there, and it shifts depending who is sitting in the chair. But the fact of the matter is that, I feel there are some structural failings which should be addressed,” Hunt expressed.

The US diplomat said that this can occur through meaningful Constitutional reform. Hunt noted that while there has been much dialogue at the Government level about the need to redefine executive powers, the conversation he said must now stretch to the citizenry.

The outgoing Deputy Chief of Mission believes that the public must have a say where this subject is concerned, and believes that it is a national discussion which needs to occur.

He said, “It needs to be a broad-based discussion by Guyanese about what they think needs changing when it comes to powers of the executive. We strongly believe that they need to have a discussion on what they don’t like; what are other models out there that they may be interested in looking at, and how the Constitution can be improved.”

More importantly, Hunt said it is imperative that any discussion on Constitutional reform be grounded in taking the nation beyond its political and ethnic divides.

The US official said that he is struck continuously by how divided such a small country is. He said that whether one wants to call those lines ethnic or political, they are there, and they are very “stark”.

He emphasized that this is not a suitable situation where you have such stark lines in such a small country.

Hunt said that this circumstance is further polluted by a system where one side controls all the levels of powers and the other side is excluded. The outgoing envoy said that this

needs to be changed in the interest of the country’s development.

THURSDAY EDITION GOVT. ORDERS REVIEW OF PARKING METER CONTRACt As controversy continues to swirl over a project to install parking meters in the city, Government has ordered a review.

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, on Wednesday confirmed that the matter was brought up on Tuesday during a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers.

He said that the Ministry of Finance and Attorney General Chambers have been mandated to examine the contract for any illegalities.

The parking meter project has been generating heavy criticism against the Mayor and City Councillors with members divided.

A contract was signed last November under the last council, by Town Clerk, Royston King, for a consortium to spend US$10M to install solar-powered parking meters around the city.

However, several of the new councillors, including Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan, have been complaining bitterly of limited information. They complained to Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, who expressed concerns last week.

On Monday, the council said that he was presented with a copy of the contract and was expected to take the matter to Cabinet for discussions.

During the post-Cabinet press briefing Wednesday, Minister Harmon confirmed that Cabinet discussed the city council’s initiative to introduce paid parking along selective streets as a means open to it to garner revenue. ”While Cabinet is committed to honouring its principle of respecting the independence and authority of our municipalities and NDCs (Neighbourhood Democratic Councils), it nonetheless decided that given that Georgetown is a capital city and that the decisions made by the Town Council will affect all Guyanese who have to come into the city, a decision was made to have the contract reviewed by the Ministry of Finance and the Attorney General’s Chambers.”

Harmon was quick to point out that under current laws, the councils are allowed to operate independently.

“The important point that we need to make here is that the council is a young council; that we believe that the councils must (Continued on page 35)

Sunday June 26, 2016

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PAGE 35

(From page 34) operate independently… that government will not interfere with the running of these councils, but that if indeed the claims that there is something wrong about this contract; if there is some illegality about it, then certainly Government has a responsibility to have a look at the contract itself.”

CH&PA’S 50 – 50 RAKES IN ALMOST $600M The Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) raked in over half a billion dollars from its 50/50 Jubilee payment plan.

Minister within the Ministry of Communities, with responsibility for housing, Valerie Sharpe-Patterson, said that the agency earned $590M from the initiative.

The Minister, speaking to the Government Information Agency said that approximately 2800 persons took advantage of the plan to pay off for their very low to middle income house lots, ranging from $59,400 (allocated many years ago) to $1.2M. CH&PA’s 50/50 Jubilee initiative was launched in February, and ended on June 2. It provided for persons who had paid 50 percent of the cost of their house lots by May 1, to be given a 50 percent discount on the balance.

Minister Sharpe-Patterson noted that not all the eligible beneficiaries were able to complete their payment. She explained that though these persons paid 50 percent of the house lot cost by April, they were unable to fulfill the remaining 50 percent on their balance, before the promotion deadline, despite the CH&PA extending it by two days.

The Jubilee promotion was held to encourage various house lots allottees, to pay for their lots and provide them with savings that they could use towards construction of their homes. The promotion was also to improve the liquidity of CH&PA, and to stimulate the construction boom.

There had been some worry by the CH&PA board of the implications of the deal but the ministry had steamed ahead with it.

RAMJATTAN LEADS TEAM TO FLOOD-HIT REGION FIVE Vice President Khemraj Ramjattan headed a high-power Government team from Georgetown on a visit to the flood-stricken residents of Number Thirty District, West Coast Berbice.

Other senior government officials in the team included Minister Winston Felix, Minister Karen Cummings and Mr. Neilson McKenzie, advisor to the Minister of Infrastructure.

There were also senior officials from the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority and the Mahaica/Mahaicony/Abary-Agricultural Development Authority.

The team visited the troubled MMA installation at Trafalgar where the members had a look at the non-functioning drainage pumps and the double-door sluice which has been made unserviceable by the heavy siltation of the outfall.

There, members of the team discussed possible solutions to the problem, both short and long term, as well as immediate action to bring quick relief to residents.

At the time of the visit only the smaller of the two pumps that were put into operation to ease the flooding was in operation. The workers reported that the other pump developed problems early Wednesday morning and had to be shutdown.

The government assured residents that the coalition is concerned about their

wellbeing, and that there are immediate as well as long term plans in place to deal with the situation affecting them.

FRIDAY EDITION AMIDST FRAUD, OTHER IRREGULARITIES ON 1,000 HOMES PROJECT…CENTRAL HOUSING TO SACK ENTIRE TEAM Amidst growing concerns over the management of the 1,000 turn-key homes project at Perseverance, East Bank Demerara, authorities on Thursday took a decision to fire almost 15 staffers.

The decision was made during a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), chaired by former city mayor, Hamilton Green.

A number of alarming findings have been rearing up over the ambitious project which was announced by the administration of former President Donald Ramotar.

Since taking power last year, the David Granger-led government has been expressing disquiet over the management of the project, with a new board of directors investigating several reported instances of alleged irregularities.

According to a senior housing official Thursday, the decision was taken to send home all the staffers of the project after it became clear that mismanagement, fraud, and a number of irregularities were discovered.

For instance, several of the staffers, including management officials, were not listed as being part of CH&PA. Rather, they were being paid out of a questionable fund. The staffers will be paid their entitlements.

The project was managed by former Finance Director of CH&PA, Taslim Baksh, until he resigned late last year.

Housing officials said Thursday that they discovered that a number of the staffers on the project were related to Baksh.

During the board meeting, there were heated discussions as to who was in charge of the project, with Project Manager Fazal Wahab and Chief Executive Officer, Myrna Pitt, distancing themselves.

The project has so far cost CH&PA in excess of $1B. Infrastructural works have been completed, with 59 homes occupied and another 141 under construction. CH&PA, however, has spent up to $16M to repair a number of

defects in the two-bedroom homes which cost around $4.9M each, sparking concerns over the level of supervision that was done by the authority.

PARKING METER SCANDAL …FAILURE TO DISCLOSE CONTRACT AFFECTING CITY HALL – PRESIDENT GRANGER Perhaps the parking meter scandal that has plagued the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) over the past few days is what happens when such entities fail to engage in proper disclosure of commercial contracts.

At least this is what President David Granger alluded to when he spoke with Kaieteur News on Government’s commitment to releasing the contracts of some of the most controversial projects and deals in recent times.

The President emphasised, “I believe in full disclosure and this is the same problem affecting City Hall.”

The Head of State expounded further on this matter as he engaged two members of the media on the show, ‘The Public Interest’ which is produced by Lloyda Garrett.

Granger expressed that while he is not privy to the parking meter contract, government has made a request to the M&CC to see the document. The administration has also ordered that the Ministry of Finance and Attorney General’s Chambers examine the contract for any illegalities.

Granger said that he obviously wants to protect the national interest and as such, he is aware that there has been an outcry from the public on the matter.

The President acknowledged that the City Council has enough corporate authority to make decisions for itself, and it is for that very reason, Local Government Elections were held in March, last.

Granger nonetheless expressed disappointment that there are members of the City Council who feel that they have not been consulted on the parking meter issue. The Head of State stressed that the whole purpose of having democratic elections is to have democratically-run councils.

He remarked, “So as far as the government is concerned, we will insist that there is greater transparency. We cannot overrule the council, but we can ask for transparent procedures (Continued on page 36)

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(From page 35) to prevail in the City Council.”

16 YEARS EACH FOR LAND COURT JUDGE ROBBERS Family members wept uncontrollably after they were informed that the three men convicted for robbing Land Court Judge Nicola Pierre will each spend the next 16 years in jail.

This was the term passed on them by Magistrate Zamilla Ally-Seepaul on Thursday in the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court, which is being housed in the Better Hope Community Centre.

Nicholas Narine, 18; Damien Millington, 22; and Warren McKenzie, 22; all of Agricola, East Bank Demerara, left the Land Court judge with a broken jaw and her husband Mohamed Chand one eye less, after they stormed the couple’s home located in the gated community of Felicity, East Bank Demerara on July 9, 2o15 and robbed them.

Kaieteur News

Pierre and Chand were gun-butted into unconsciousness after the men, gained entry to their home via a window. The robbers carted off a small safe containing US$7,000, gold and diamond jewellery, high-end cell phones, gem stones, brand name watches and sunglasses among other valuables.

The men were each found guilty on two counts of robbery under-arms committed on the Land Court judge and her husband, and were sentenced to four years’ imprisonment on each count.

They were also found guilty on two counts of felonious wounding committed on the Land Court judge and her husband and were also sentenced to four years’ imprisonment on each count.

After the prison terms were handed down, the convicts’ relatives shouted “what?” Then the Magistrate explained that the men will serve 16 years for the crimes since the jail terms will run consecutively.

Immediately the relatives of the robbers ran out of the courtroom and began

Sunday June 26, 2016

shouting and hitting the walls of the courthouse.

Narine, Millington and McKenzie bowed their heads and were in tears as they were being escorted by police officers to the prisoners’ holding cell located at the lower flat of the court.

Loud screams and stomping were heard coming from the convicts as they were waiting to be taken to the Camp Street Prison.

of the sale, the report said, the lands were grossly undervalued and sold at a price substantially below the market value, thereby depriving the state of its full benefits.

SARU said, “There is a direct link between the misconduct and the abuse of powers and duties of their position. The former Cabinet members knew they were doing a wrong in transferring State lands to their names and that of their acquaintances for undervalued market prices for the land. The lands were sold

SATURDAY EDITION NINE MONTHS LATER …

CHARGES IN PRADOVILLE MATTER STILL TO BE INSTITUTED It is over nine months since the release of the infamous Pradoville file and charges for the officials implicated are still to be made.

Kaieteur News made several calls this week to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for an explanation on this state of affairs but all proved futile.

It was since October last year that DPP Shalimar Ali-Hack gave the green light for a full blown investigation into the criminal aspect of the contentious Pradoville Two deal.

But there has been no word on the matter to date.

The State Assets Recovery Unit (SARU) had written, recently, to the DPP requesting that the matter be investigated. The DPP has since handed over the case to the Commissioner of Police, Seelall Persaud, for further investigations to begin.

SARU Head, Dr. Clive Thomas had also put in a formal request at the Ministry of Public Security to probe the criminal aspect of the Pradoville Two deal.

In early October, SARU completed a report which stated that in 2010, the Bharrat Jagdeo Cabinet made a decision authorizing the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) to privatize State lands. NICIL is the body tasked with overseeing the privatization of State assets.

It reportedly spent more than $200M to develop the sea front community without the knowledge and blessings of the National Assembly and other relevant bodies.

The said lands were then secretly sold to the former Ministers and known friends and associates of the previous regime. At the time

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack for $114 per square foot at the time.”

“Public officers ought to carry out their duties, not for the benefit of themselves, but for the benefit of the public as a whole. If they neglect or misconduct themselves by their actions in the course of their duties, this may lead to a breach or abuse of the public’s trust.

The act of the Cabinet members for their (Continued on page 49)

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Addressing the global financial systems The 2008 financial crisis revealed considerable fault lines in the international monetary system, and as such, the impetus for reform remains inevitable.

With this in mind, it cannot be said enough, how much the global economy today is increasingly multipolar, complex, and interconnected. Towards this end, one needs to ask how the international monetary system can be strengthened so that emerging countries can restore momentum and more importantly, safely deepen economic and financial integration.

Fortunately, one of the world’s strongest financial institutions, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has taken up the slack where this matter is concerned.

In fact, the Fund has been in consultation with its membership and has explored possible options to strengthen the resilience of the system.

Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde posits that the entity has even overhauled its own surveillance toolkit to take better account of economic

Managing Director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde (indiawires.com) and financial interconnections and spillovers. It has also revamped its own institutional view on the management of capital flows.

Lagarde contends that this is crucial, to draw more attention to the risks and global implications of domestic policies. She said that the IMF is also enhancing its understanding of the impact of noneconomic spillovers, such as epidemics.

She has also reported that

the Fund’s role in the overall global financial safety net was also strengthened.

Expounding on this topic a bit more, the IMF Chief articulated that the recent approval of the 2010 governance reforms led to a doubling of the Fund’s quota resources—to about US$660 billion. This increase will put the Fund on a stronger financial footing and boost its permanent lending capacity.

She noted that recent steps also bode well for greater representation of dynamic, emerging economies, in the governance of the Fund. With the quota reforms, the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries, Lagarde said, are now among its top 10 shareholders.

Lagarde said that there have also been improvements outside the Fund. The IMF Boss explained that today, there is also a network of bilateral swap lines that extend beyond the major advanced countries to include systemic emerging economies.

Again, China is becoming increasingly important in this network, with more than 30 swap lines in place, as of end-

2015. These are equivalent to about US$500 billion and account for 85 percent of all global swap lines.

So, with all these important changes, a natural question is why the need for further reform of the international monetary system? In Lagarde’s view, the answer is simple. These reforms were implemented in response to the crisis back in 2008.

The IMF Boss said that the world today presents nations with new realities that require a different response. She stressed that

ongoing financial globalization and integration is creating challenges that nations need to adapt to.

“I can think of a few such new and interrelated realities.

The post-crisis adjustments and increased financial integration have contributed to the build-up of financial vulnerabilities. But the good news here is that global current account imbalances have narrowed since the crisis. The not-so-good news is that the nature of the adjustment – combined with increased financial integration in many emerging

and developing economies – may have increased domestic vulnerabilities.”

Lagarde said that financial integration brings clear benefits in terms of better allocation of capital, globally, and greater risk sharing. But if not properly managed and regulated, Lagarde articulated that it can bring financial stability risks which the global financial safety net may not be adequate to handle.

As of end-2014, Lagarde said that total cross-border flows in emerging and (Continued on page 48)

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Kaieteur News

What men can gain from therapy

There are two qualities that define most men: they seldom like to ask for help, and they do not like to talk about their feelings.

Combining the two — asking for help about feelings — is the ultimate affront to many men’s masculinity.

Men like to think of themselves as strong, problem-solver types. But when it comes to emotional and mental issues, men need to quit trying to bottle up their feelings and tough it out, says Dr. Darshan Mehta, medical director of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at

Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. “Your mental health is equally as important as your physical health. Not addressing negative feelings can carry over to all aspects of your life and have a profound impact.”

WHEN TO SEE A THERAPIST Depression is the most common reason men should seek professional help. Many life situations — jobs, relationships — can trigger its trademark symptoms, such as prolonged sadness, lack of energy, and a constant

feeling of stress.

For older men, it can also be brought on by financial anxiety about retirement, the death of a spouse or friend, or even the loss of independence, like losing the ability to drive. Left unchecked, these feelings could cause other health problems, such as rapid weight loss, insomnia, declining libido, and changes in memory. They may even lead to destructive behavior like alcohol or opioid dependence.

“While men may recognize these changes when they occur, they may not know the

root cause, or if they do, what they can do about it,” says Dr. Mehta. This is when a therapist can lend a hand — or ear. “A therapist can help identify the source of your problems and then help resolve them,” he adds.

HOW TO FIND A THERAPIST First, talk with your doctor about your situation, how you feel, and your symptoms. He or she will no doubt know therapists who can help with your specific issues. There are other places to start besides your primary care doctor, too. For example, many employee health care plans offer confidential help lines where you can ask questions and find therapists in your network.

There are many kinds of professionals who offer many different types of therapy. Their individual approaches are based on their particular training and experience. The main ones include: Psychiatrist - A doctor with a medical degree who can prescribe medication. He or she often helps with more severe issues, such as major depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.

Psychologist A professional who has a PhD or a PsyD in clinical psychology. He or she can treat a full range of emotional and psychological issues, such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse.

Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) - He or she has a master’s degree plus 2,000 hours of supervised psychotherapy experience.

This type of mental health

professional focuses on the problems of everyday living, like stress and anxiety, relationship conflicts, and mild depression.

Clinician Nurse Specialist - Like psychiatrists, he or she can prescribe medication. This type of professional works either independently or in collaboration with a supervising physician.

Licensed Social Worker/ Licensed Clinical Social Wo r k e r / L i c e n s e d Independent Clinical Social Worker - These mental health professionals assess and treat people living with mental illness and substance abuse issues. By providing group therapy, outreach, crisis intervention programs, and social rehabilitation, social workers help to ease clients back into their communities and daily lives. Clinical social workers provide care through numerous avenues, including hospitals, family service agencies and organizations.

WHAT TO EXPECT Your therapist should help you establish goals of care

and then outline a strategy to meet them. This may include a combination of therapy during regular sessions as well as “homework” to follow in between visits. Weekly visits are typical. Yours may be more or less frequent than that depending on how you respond to the therapy. After your initial treatment sessions, you might return periodically for “booster” visits to prevent a future relapse.

Do not give up if you do not feel a strong connection with the first therapist you try, says Dr. Mehta.

“Try someone else and do not get discouraged. The goal is to find the right person who can guide you.” While therapy may feel awkward at first, most men soon recognize its value, he adds.

“Once they make that connection with a therapist, they are quite receptive to therapy and welcome what it can offer.” ( M a t t h e w Solan, Executive Editor, Harvard Men’s Health Watch)

Sunday June 26, 2016

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Kaieteur News

Brexit - the chaos that will be felt around the world

By John Lloyd (Reuters – Commentary) Britain, and its Conservative prime minister, seemed a sweet pairing when David Cameron first went to Downing Street. The coalition government Cameron headed for that fiveyear term, to 2015, worked relatively well: the economy turned round more rapidly than others in Europe; unemployment, high for the young in some parts, was overall lower than the European Union average.

Last year, when Cameron won an absolute majority, when the Labour Party picked a far leftist as leader and the Liberal Democrats, tainted in the eyes of their voters by coalescing with Conservatives, all but disappeared, it seemed that Cameron was something of a political genius.

Then – crash, bang, wallop. What a chaos! Britain has voted to come out of the European Union, Cameron is going in the next two or three months, and presumably one of the leading Brexit campaigners – former London Mayor Boris Johnson, the most obvious choice – will be elected in his place.

So first, the little local difficulties. The turmoil within the ruling Conservatives, as those who voted “Remain” to stay in the European Union face up to domination by a Brexiteer, will be matched by the Labour Party. Its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, made a halfhearted, conflicted case for Remain. He was passionately against membership in his decades as a far-left member

of Parliament; and many, probably most, Labour voters chose Brexit. Already, members of Parliament are calling for Corbyn to go.

Scotland, which as a region voted by 2:1 to remain in Britain during its own referendum last year, may have another vote on independence. This one may go through.

At the same time, the Republicans in Northern Ireland, which also voted (less convincingly) to Remain have called for a referendum on Irish unity, and may get it.

“May” is the operative word here. The economies of both these regions are not so healthy that they can lightly leave a supportive England.

London and the southeast region generate the surplus they help to spend. But they will rumble away and make government harder, even if they don’t seek to leave.

The next prime minister is likely to trigger Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, which starts a two-year decoupling process. Vast changes must be made to legislation – and to borders.

What happens to the millions of continental Europeans who have made their home and work in the UK? (Will my

Italian wife need a visa? she wonders). There’s much else, but the issues arising from these will fill this year’s remaining months.

Then for the world. The pound plunged by more than 10 percent overnight against the dollar, to £1.32.

Negotiations with the remaining 27 states of the European Union on trade cannot be easy: favourable deals would give the impression that other exiteers can cease membership with no pain. Bond spreads in the EU, having closed up over the past year, will widen again.

Britain’s likely shrinking economy will hurt the rest of Europe and tariff barriers are likely.

The world economy, which the pre-referendum Brexiteers airily said would be the UK’s oyster once free from the constrictions of the Union, is not in robust shape.

China’s growth is comparatively low; the United States grew at a mere 0.5 percent in the first quarter of this year, its weakest level for two years. Russia is under sanctions and broke. India looks better. But every country and corporation is beating a path to New Delhi.

Competition will be as fierce

as its summer heat.

The largest threat, which now faces the European Union as it schedules fraught meetings this weekend and next week, is: Can it contain the damage?

Marine Le Pen, leader of the anti-EU, far-right Front National in France, has called for a referendum there. She told a gathering of farrightists in Vienna last week that “France has possibly a thousand more reasons to want to leave the EU than the English.” A new poll showed that LePen is the most popular politician in France. It is just possible (though still unlikely) that she could win next year ’s presidential election.

The rightists met in Austria’s capital because Austria’s far-right Freedom Party, whose presidential candidate almost won the country’s presidency last month, is strong – as is the Netherlands’ increasingly popular Party for Freedom, whose leader, Geert Wilders, also called for a referendum, for the Dutch. The far-right Swedish Democrats lead the polls in Sweden; and the formerly Communist members of the EU – Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakiawarn that the UK’s example could be followed by others, unless the Union changes radically, halts immigration and stops calling for closer integration.

In Italy last week, the

euroskeptic Five Star movement won the mayoralties of several big cities, including Rome.

Can the EU save itself?

Its leaders are divided.

Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council – which brings together all the EU heads of state – has tweeted “we must take a long hard look” at the Union’s future. But the president of the Commission, the former prime minister of Luxembourg Jean Claude Juncker, said the EU “would not change its nature.”

Like other committed Europeans, Juncker sees the solution for most problems to be “more Europe.” Today, more and more Europeans want less – to the point, perhaps, in following the British down the path of none.

The continent stands on the cusp of two unravelings.

One is the United Kingdom itself, whose more than three centuries’ union between Scotland and England is now at risk.

The other is the EU, most of whose members – Germany, the dominant state, is one exception; Spain the other among larger states – are restive, with parties, once fringe, now digging deeper into the dissatisfactions of the electorate and, like Britain’s UK Independence Party, proclaiming seemingly plausible solutions.

Yet the EU hasn’t lasted, in some form, for more than

60 years without developing considerable bureaucratic cunning.

It has, with both Denmark and Ireland (twice) tampered with unwelcome criteria and persuaded these small states to vote again and reverse referendums rejecting the Lisbon and Nice treaties.

Britain is a far bigger state and much larger problem. But in the privacy of their Brussels offices, the leaders of the Union will now be brainstorming on whether or not they can offer an even looser arrangement to the UK than it has already – and get it to vote the right way the next time (if there is one.)

Today, it’s a forlorn hope, but if the captains of Brexit begin to regret their victory as economic turbulence becomes frightening, and the Union sees the break-out spreading, it could begin to recommend itself. Either way, the old continent is in new crisis.

(John Lloyd co-founded the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, where he is Senior Research Fellow.

He is also a contributing editor at FT and the founder of FT Magazine.)

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Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur News

Addressing the global financial...

(From page 45) developing economies stood at about US$20 trillion. She added that it is no surprise that cross-border borrowing, particularly for banks and corporate entities, has become an important source of funding for many emerging economies. Yet, this source of funding can contribute to balance sheet mismatches and possible liquidity

pressures.

Lagarde said, “Let us also piece together the major elements of the financial safety net that can be called upon to alleviate such liquidity pressures. These would include four broad elements: individual countries’ foreign exchange reserves, bilateral swap lines, regional financing arrangements, and financing

through multilateral institutions like the Fund.”

Together, these resources were “roughly” estimated at about US$16 trillion in 2014, of which the bulk—US$12 trillion—is individual countries’ foreign reserves. Yet, not all countries have equal access to the various elements of the safety net.

Lagarde explained that on

one end of the spectrum, there are reserve currency-issuing advanced economies. These are best covered by all the elements of the existing framework. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are the non-systemic emerging and developing economies, which face the most limited set of options in this safety net.

Clearly, we need a bigger – and more inclusive – net that captures all risks, Lagarde expressed. There is another reality that must be addressed and that has to do with capital flow volatility, which the IMF Boss said is becoming a permanent feature of the global landscape.

“Consider the exponential growth of cross-border flows over the past few years. These flows reflected both “push” factors, such as appropriately expansionary monetary policies in advanced economies, and “pull” factors, such as rapid growth in emerging economies. Yet today, uncertainty about global economic prospects and a synchronicity in monetary policies of major advanced economies pose a challenge for the emerging world,” explained Lagarde.

She said that nations should expect that episodes like the “taper tantrum” of May 2013 could be recurring, rather than one-off. She asserted that the turning of the credit cycle in emerging economies – as capital inflows decelerate or even reverse – is adding a further layer of complexity.

Last year, for example, emerging markets saw about $200 billion in net capital outflows, compared with $125 billion in net inflows in 2014. For a sample of 45 emerging market economies, the cumulative slowdown in capital inflows between 2010 and 2015 is estimated at about US$1.1 trillion. Relative to

A mini health check is the first step to donating blood

economic activity, the aggregate decline in net capital inflows represents about five percent of the sample’s GDP. Lagarde said that these magnitudes can test the resilience of even the most robust macroeconomic frameworks. She said that quick liquidity support during systemic events becomes of paramount importance to stem the risk of broader contagion.

Another important aspect that must be taken into consideration, Lagarde opines, is the increased financial globalization, which also means that financial spillovers are the norm, not the exception.

Lagarde said that financial integration also strengthens spillovers, or knock-on effects, across countries.

Think of the turmoil earlier this year that – for a while – wiped out the equivalent of US$6 trillion – or 8.5 percent of global GDP – in equity market indices.

She said that in the current international architecture, the central role of major reserve currencies means that policy and financial developments in reserve issuing currencies can have significant spillover effects on other countries.

She said that these knock-on effects can constrain domestic policy choices, especially when countries are at different stages of the business cycle.

Even so, the IMF Boss is of the opinion that major advanced economies are no longer the only source of financial spillovers. She said that forthcoming research in the Global Financial Stability Report shows that financial spillovers from emerging economies – to both advanced and to other emerging economies – have become stronger since the crisis.

Lagarde said that this is particularly the case for spillovers from equity markets in emerging economies, which increased by 28 percent since the crisis. She

noted that spillovers from some of the largest emerging economies, such as China and Brazil, were even bigger—at about 40 percent.

“So these are some of the new realities to which the international monetary system needs to adapt. There are others, of course. Think of the turbo-charged speed of financial transactions; think of digital currency and block chain technology; think of cyber-hacking—from which even central banks are not immune. So, speaking practically, where should the focus of the reforms be? In my view, it is along two key dimensions,” expressed Lagarde.

She said that the first dimension is to ensure that the global financial safety net is large enough, coherent, and works for all. Clearly, strong policies and effective Fund surveillance remains the cornerstone of crisis prevention. Still, a large enough and more coherent global safety net, with a wellresourced Fund, remains critical.

Lagarde opines that options should explore measures that would strengthen the reliability and reduce the stigma associated with accessing the safety net.

At the Fund, Lagarde promised that efforts will be geared towards looking into ways to make resources and instruments more predictable for crisis prevention and resolution. She said that this includes further improving coordination among the various layers of the safety net.

For its part, the IMF boss said that the Fund will be taking stock of progress in the liberalization and management of capital flows, with a focus on capital flow measures and foreign exchange intervention. She asserted that the role of macro- and micro-prudential policies in limiting vulnerabilities in the nonbank sector will also be explored, along with options to promote greater equity finance.

Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur News

(From page 36) benefit is serious enough to amount to an abuse of the public’s trust.”

In a letter addressed to Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan, SARU had said that based on its findings, it is requesting that Ramjattan’s Office proceed to further investigate unlawful aspects of this matter, with the aim of establishing whether criminal action should be instituted.

PARKING METER CONTRACTOR HIRES PROTESTORS On Friday a group of young people congregated in front of the Regent Street entrance of City Hall in a protest expressing their support of the controversial parking meter project.

When asked whether they were protesting on behalf of themselves or some other body, the youths boldly shouted “Safe City Solutions!” However they were later corrected about the true name of the company.

The group of approximately a dozen young men and women yelled slogans and displayed placards expressing their wish for the parking meter project to be implemented without further impairment. One of the placards directly addressed the Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan; it read “Sherod Duncan, Shut up and let us work.”

Another read “Duncan, do your job and give us jobs!

Support the parking meter project.”

According to the picketers the project will provide them with much needed jobs.

It had been disclosed by Mayor Patricia Chase-Green and Chief Executive Officer of National Parking Systems, Ifa Kamau Cush, that although NPS and its partner, Smart City Solutions, will set up the parking meters, the council will be tasked with training and employing 100 Guyanese to maintain the system.

One young man speaking at the protest stated that “this project will help the young people and not only the young people but the entire

Guyana in a very, very vital way.” The young man went on to plead that the higher authorities let the project pass so that they will have a chance at better jobs.

Another youngster said that the jobs would be good for youths who are home doing nothing. It is their belief that the chance at employment will allow them to elevate themselves.

A young woman, while hiding her face with a placard spoke out saying “I would love for this project to pass, so that young people could get jobs.” She continued, “If this pass, I’m sure 50% of young people can get jobs.”

Members of the group were equipped with pamphlets which sought to inform readers of the benefits which the parking system would bring to the city. The document, evidently endorsed by Smart City Solutions, boasted that the project will provide more jobs, reduce traffic congestion, better roads and safer streets for Georgetown.

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Sunday June 26, 2016

Smoking May Cancer Is Contagious Among Damage Sperm Clams. WHAT ABOUT US?

Everyone knows that a woman who smokes and plans to become pregnant should stop smoking. A new study suggests that the future father should quit, too.

Brazilian researchers analyzed the sperm of 20 smokers and 20 nonsmokers and found that the smokers’ sperm was damaged in ways that could reduce the chance of fertilization and might also lead to health problems in the baby.

The DNA in smokers’ sperm was fragmented, probably because of oxidative stress from the cadmium and nicotine in cigarette smoke. Sperm DNA fragmentation has been shown in other studies to be associated with an increased risk of genetic problems in the offspring as well as with an increased risk of childhood cancer.

Mitochondria, the energy centers of cells, were also less active in the sperm of smokers.

The study, in BJU International, also found that smokers had a larger percentage of nonintact acrosomes, the part of the head of the sperm that releases enzymes that allow the sperm to penetrate the ovum’s shell. And the researchers discovered alterations in the proteins in smokers’ seminal plasma that might impair fertilization.

“All these effects were found in smokers,” said the senior author, Ricardo Pimenta Bertolla of the São Paulo Federal University.

The message, he said, is straightforward: Smoking alters a man’s capacity to produce sperm that can successfully fertilize an egg. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com.

Lab-Grown Bones Successfully Implanted in Pigs The pigs, all 14 of them, are doing fine. Considering they’d been retrofitted with bone grown in a laboratory, that came as a pleasant surprise.

“The pigs woke up, and a half-hour later they were eating,” said Gordana VunjakNovakovic, a professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia University. “We thought they would be in

pain. But no, they’re doing great.” Dr. Vunjak-Novakovic and her colleagues have managed to create living bone from stem cells. First, they made a CT scan to create a 3D image of each pig’s jaw. From cow bone, they sculpted a “scaffold” - a three-dimensional copy of the pig bone.

They put the scaffold in a nutrient solution along with

stem cells extracted from the pigs. The cells attached to the scaffold, forming a new bone identical to the original. Then the researchers implanted the new bone in each pig. They reported their results in Science Translational Medicine.

There was no problem with rejection, and the new bone integrated with the pig’s own tissue. Clinical trials in humans, however, are at least three years away. http:// well.blogs.nytimes.com.

The ocean contains a vast number of living things, including many, many pathogens — from bacteria that thrive on coral to fungi that infect lobsters. A drop of seawater may hold 10 million viruses.

Recently, a team of scientists revealed a frightening member of this menagerie: freefloating cancer cells that cause contagious tumors in shellfish. Last year they found one such cancer in a species of clam. On Wednesday, they reported that three more species are plagued withcontagious cancers.

The cancers are specific to shellfish and do not appear to pose a danger to humans who eat them. But until now, infectious cancer was considered something of a fluke in the natural world, initially observed only in dogs and Tasmanian devils.

The latest research has made scientists wonder whether infectious tumors are actually more widespread.

“We were always thinking there would be more contagious cancer out there, but we didn’t know where they would be discovered,” said Elizabeth P. Murchison, a cancer biologist at the University of Cambridge who was not involved in the new study.

In the traditional view of cancer, mutations strike a cell. These mutations have several causes, including toxins and viruses.

However they arise, they drive a cell to multiply uncontrollably until the cancer either is wiped out by the immune system or kills its victim. Either way, the cancer stays inside the body where it started. A decade ago, scientists discovered two exceptions. In the 1990s Tasmanian devils in Australia began developing deadly face tumors. But DNA in the tumor cells did not match that of the affected animals, studies showed.

Tasmanian facial tumor disease, as it was eventually called, appears to have gotten its start in a single Tasmanian devil that lived in the 1980s. Transmitted by bites, the cancer spread to other Tasmanian devils and acquired new mutations along the way that helped make it even more infectious. A second strain of the cancer was identified just last year.

Dogs, too, can get a type of contagious cancer called canine transmissible venereal tumor, which jumps from host to host during sex. The tumor usually disappears in a few months, however. Scientists have determined that the cancer originated in dogs 11,000 years ago.

For years, Tasmanian devils and dogs were the only species known to contract contagious cancer. But last year Stephen P. Goff, a molecular biologist at Columbia University,

and his colleagues found contagious cancer in soft-shell clams. From New York to Prince Edward Island, these clams have suffered from aggressive tumors since the 1970s. Carol Reinisch, a marine biologist at Environment Canada, found that the cancer clustered in populations, as if it were caused by an outbreak of some sort.

She suspected a cancer-causing virus moving from host to host. For help, Dr. Reinisch turned to Dr. Goff. The two researchers found no evidence of a virus in the softshell clams. But they did discover that DNA in the tumor cells carried a genetic sequence not found in healthy cells in the clams.

After examining the DNA, they confirmed that the cancer cells in different clams all came from a single common ancestor.

“Somehow this cancer has been spreading from clam to clam up the coast,” Dr. Goff said. He and his colleagues began to wonder if other species of clams or related animals known collectively as bivalves - had contagious cancers of their own, and, if so, why.

They chose to study cancers in mussels, cockles and golden carpet shell clams.

In every case, the researchers reported in the journal Nature, the cancers in the animals were contagious. “We are now at four for four,” said Dr. Goff. As it turned out, the cancer in cockles comprises two separate strains. Even stranger, the cancer cells in the golden carpet shell clams did not develop from the species’s own cells. Instead, the scientists matched the cancer’s DNA to pullet shell clams, which live in the same intertidal beds off the coast of Spain. But Dr. Goff and his colleagues could not locate any pullet shell clams with this disease.

They concluded that this strain of contagious cancer must have started in pullet shell clams and then jumped species, infecting golden carpet shell clams. It killed all the vulnerable pullet shell clams, leaving only resistant ones behind.

“That’s really quite incredible,” Dr. Murchison said, noting that scientists had tried without success to infect foxes and other dog relatives with canine cancer. The new study, she said, shows that contagious cancer can indeed cross the species barrier.

With eight contagious cancers now on the books, Dr. Murchison has started to wonder if they are not as peculiar as previously thought. “They might be emerging fairly often,” she said.

So should people worry about an outbreak of infectious cancer? “I don’t think we should be starting to panic,” Dr. Murchison said.

Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur News

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Digicel Brings the Beat to CPL Chris Martin Says Rihanna’s Voice Is Like ‘a Beautifully Squeezed Tube of Toothpaste’

Digicel Marketing Manager, Jacqueline James (LEFT) giving away tickets to two lucky patrons Come July 10, Telecommunications giant, Digicel will be on a mission to bring the beat to the CPL tournament where the Guyana Amazon Warriors goes up against the Trinbago Knight Riders at 7:00pm. The company will for that day, have control of the party stand and can guarantee nothing but excitement. The Digicel party promises great music, sumptuous food and refreshing drinks. There

will also be amazing give-away prizes for those in attendance. Kaieteur Entertainment understands that in order to qualify to be part of the event, patrons would need to have an active monthly plan on their Digicel phone or active one for that month. Additionally, tickets for the event will be available at selected stores.

These include; Giftland, The City Mall and Muneshwars

Here’s One Major Way Rogue One Will Differ From Classic Star Wars Movies The next movie in the Star Wars canon is going rogue from the classic series in a lot of ways - and not just because it’s called, well,Rogue One. The Disney-backed spinoff is leaving the story of the Skywalker family behind, for starters, instead focusing on a brand-new rebel fighter. It’s depicting events that occur in between the chronology of the original six episodes.

But one of the biggest breaks with tradition, according toEntertainment Weekly, will definitely be the movie’s style. Even the iconicStar Wars opening script crawl, which has been a standard across the trilogies, is still very much up for debate in the new spinoff — and may not make it in.

“The crawl and some of those elements live so specifically within the ‘saga’ films that we are having a lot of discussion about what will define the [stand-alone] Star Wars Stories separate and apart from the saga films,” said Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.

“So we’re right in the middle of talking about that.”

That’s all part of the overall look and feel of the film.

“He [director Gareth Edwards] does a lot of handheld, intimate, close-up work. That’s not something you’ve necessarily seen in a Star Wars movie before,” Kennedy said. “And we brought in [cinematographer] Greig Fraser, to shoot it, who had done Zero Dark Thirty.

So a combination of Greig and Gareth…just gives it a really unique style.”

Despite the violence and warfare present in the original six films (and last year’s Force Awakens), those movies had always been marked by a kind of youthful optimism, peppered with plenty of jokes, slapstick humor

Of all the ways to describe Rihanna’s singing voice, perhaps Chris Martin proves he is the best weirdo for the music critic job.

Speaking to the Guardian about Coldplay, emotions, and emojis, he fanboyed all over Rihanna with very specific praise.

“She is the Frank Sinatra of our generation. She can turn anything into gold with that voice,” he said, and then he got technical.

“Here’s the thing: if you speak to a good singing teacher about great opera singers, they will talk about consistency of tone.

Or there’s a book by Alfred Tomatis about why some people like certain people’s voices and other people hate them, like Bob Dylan or me or whoever, some people say, ‘Oh, I hate that voice’, so there’s a thing about people’s frequency responses – what they are pleased

by. Rihanna has this thick tone, so it’s very hard to annoy anybody. It’s like a beautifully squeezed tube of toothpaste.

When you think of Rihanna’s voice you think of this whole, rich thing, solid like a tree trunk, and Drake is pretty similar. But Rihanna’s voice is just delicious for your ear.

Sinatra had the same thing; anything he sang sounded pleasing to most people.” Though Martin is consciously uncoupled from Gwyneth Paltrow, the woman does know a thing or two about how to squeeze toothpaste better than other people, as we saw when she recommended this $244 toothpaste squeezer.

Anyway, just like Sinatra, Rihanna’s is the great equalizer of voices, and its thickness is best described as a masterfully finessed teethcleaning substance. http://time.com.

Here’s Why Will Smith Isn’t in the NewIndependence Day Movie

and visual gags. But it looks like Rogue One will be doing away with those lighter elements.

“I’d definitely describe it as: It’s got dark tone,” said director Gareth Edwards. “The studio has been very supportive of that.”

So, as the movie undergoes reshoots this summer in preparation for its winter release, fans can at least rest assured that Rogue One is definitely taking itself seriously. www.time.com

Twenty years ago, Independence Day launched a young Will Smith’s career into the stratosphere.

Independence Day: Resurgenceopens in theaters Friday. But Smith’s familiar face will not be appearing on the silver screen to do battle against aliens with Jeff Goldblum, Vivica A. Fox, and Bill Pullman, all members of the original cast who signed on for round two. So why isn’t Smith back?

Fox has handily set up a full “War of 1996” website to help fill in the blanks about what’s been going on in the Independence Day universe since we last left it, back in 1996. Turns out, Smith’s character Steven Hiller has passed away. Specifically: “While test piloting the ESD’s new alien hybrid fighter, an unknown malfunction causes the death of Col. Hiller.”

Director Roland Emmerich shed some further light on the situation in aninterview with HeyUGuys. Apparently, Smith was included in the original script as part of a central fatherson storyline. But after Emmerich hired two new younger writers, they decided to flip the plot to be about a new, younger generation taking over, which rendered Smith unnecessary. Smith, for his part, explained in an interview on BBC Radio 1Xtra that it really all came down to scheduling conflicts.

“It was one of those things - I had a couple of films lined up, I hadConcussion and Suicide Squad, and so it was a decision, timingwise, between Independence Day and Suicide Squad,” the actor said. “They were sending pictures from the set, and I was like, ahh.”

“The world is in a place of nostalgia right now,” he added. “Specifically in entertainment, there’s such a pull for nostalgia, so it was just the perfect opportunity and it didn’t work out.”

So there you have it: Smith chose Suicide Squad, and the writers quickly dispatched Steven Hiller and moved on. www.time.com

Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur News

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Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur News

Auditors suspect there was a kickback Scheme at NDIA An audit into the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), had revealed that a total of $2.2B was spent on repairs and rehabilitation of machinery and equipment over the four and half years under review.

However, the auditors after consulting with the members of the mechanical, civil, procurement and finance departments agreed that this figure did not make financial sense given the cost of the machinery and equipment.

The auditors stated that there was no explanation other than silence from management.

“If the written down values were computed annually, and measured against the repairs and rehabilitation cost, it raises concerns as to why the current members of the management team should continue being part of NDIA. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that $1.5 B or 67% was awarded to eight contractors who also participated in other contracts.

This raises a red flag and

- Recommend Management’s Code of Conduct be instituted from discussions with staff members it appears that there is a flourishing kickback scheme between management and contractors.”

A kickback Scheme is a form of negotiated bribery in which a commission is paid to the “bribe-taker” in exchange for services rendered. In this case, the auditors suspected that contractors were paying monies to the agency’s official for the exchange of being granted contacts in the future.

The auditors stated that two officials were often identified by staff of being the major beneficiaries of the selfenrichment schemes.

However, the auditors do not have evidence to confirm these allegations.

“Hence, it is important to build a financial profile for each member of the management team and to match their earnings against their assets to determine if

there is unexplained wealth.

This approach requires access to information that is not currently accessible,” the auditors noted.

Meanwhile, a general code of conduct and/or code of ethics should be instituted for all employees, the auditors pointed out.

“Many organizations elect to have a separate code of conduct especially for senior management.

Management is supposed to set an example for the rest of the organization.

A management-specific code of conduct is useful because it addresses issues that typically don’t apply to the rest of the organization.”

A management-specific code of conduct according to the audit report might address such issues as: avoiding conflicts of interest; protecting the confidentiality of proprietary information; cooperating with internal and external auditors, and respecting their independence; promoting full disclosure in financial statements; certifying that financial statements are free of material; misstatement due to fraud.

Also, it was recommended that the Chairman of the Board should task the Human Resource and Administrative Manager to look at different models used locally or overseas and chose a model that meets the requirements of NDIA. The draft document should be presented to the board for discussion and finalization. Once this is approved, training sessions should commence at all levels

to make sure that employees are familiar with the code and are fully aware of the consequences for noncompliance – the auditors stated.

“We believe the existing salary structure should be reviewed because after taxes and other deductions, the net salary shows little equivalency with salaries paid in other sectors.

“Hence, the Appointment Committee or a separate Compensation Committee should be tasked with the responsibility of reviewing salary structure for employees at all levels given their responsibilities and job functions within the organization.”

The auditors also recommended that Executive Management and the Board could seek the advice of a Compensation Consultant to advice whether the existing salary structure match the responsibilities and roles of personnel throughout the organization.

Also, an annual evaluation of employees’ performance should be done and any further increases should be performance based.

The NDIA functions as Guyana’s apex organization dealing with all public matters pertaining to management, improvement, extension and provision of drainage, irrigation and flood control infrastructure and services in declared areas of the country.

It was established in 2006 by an Act of Parliament, No.10 o f 2004.

The authority is engaged in the planning for the primary purpose of locating, evaluating, conserving and distributing water resources of the country for agricultural purposes.

Sunday June 26, 2016

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Kaieteur News

Root Canal Therapy: Equipment and Material

By Dr. Neromini Fagu This week we will continue our discussion on Root Canal Therapy (RCT) and take a look at some of the equipment and materials that are used during the treatment.

X-rays One of the most important tools in RCT is the use of xrays. X-rays help to confirm the diagnosis that you may need RCT in the first place.

Once the treatment begins, several x-rays are needed during the procedure. With the diagnostic x-ray, your dentist will be able to estimate how long the canals are. This is important because your dentist needs to keep the instruments and materials within the canals when working.

Other x-rays will be taken to confirm this estimated length as well as when the special filling material is placed in the canal to ensure that it is correctly filled. A final x-ray will be taken after the procedure and it will be used as a baseline for your follow up visits.

The advancement of technology has made x-ray taking much simpler and safer with the use of digital x-rays. Digital x-rays are much better than

the conventional film x-rays as the images can be viewed from different angles and perspectives on the computer.

Electric Pulp Tester This is a small machine that helps to determine if the pulp is vital (alive). Your dentist will place the machine on the tooth in question to see if you will get a response. This is usually in the form of a mild tingling sensation. A positive response may indicate the tooth is alive.

For the most part RCT is done on teeth where the nerve has been irreparably damaged but there are situations where treatments are done on vital teeth as in trauma cases. Another way of testing the vitality of the pulp is to use hot or cold methods.

This can be in the form of warm GuttaPercha, or ice which is placed on the tooth to elicit a response.

Apex Locator This is an electronic instrument that locates the tip (apex) of the root of the tooth.

As mentioned before, it is important to stay within the canals when working. The nerves and blood vessels enter the root tip through an opening called the apical foramen. When doing RCT,

Dr. Neromini Fagu

work is done a few millimeters away from the apex to avoid extrusion of material or instruments into the bone. Apex locators are a good substitute for dentists who don’t have their own x-ray equipment.

However, it is still a good idea

to get a final x-ray after treatment.

Endodontic Files The canals of your teeth range from between 17mm and 27mm in length. The width of these canals also varies depending on the type of teeth. Also, the number of

canals per tooth ranges from 1 to 5. Special metal files are needed to clean and shape these canals to remove the dead tissue and bacteria, and make space for the filling material. The endodontic files vary in length and thickness

to accommodate the various sizes of canals. The process of using the files ise what contributes to the length of time for treatment. The files are used in a sequential manner to prepare the tooth. The use of rotary instruments have enabled faster and better cleaning and shaping of canals as compared to the manual method.

Filling Material A special filling material called GuttaPercha is used in RCT. GuttaPpercha is “a tough plastic substance from the latex of several Malaysian trees (genera Payena and Palaquium) of the sapodilla family that resembles rubber but contains more resin”. It is a rubber type material that can be heated and compacted into the canals to seal them off.

For more information contact OMNI DENTAL at 295 Quamina Street, Georgetown Tel: 227-0025, Parika Tel: 260-3133 or send emails to nerominifagu@hotmail.com.

CONSUMER CONCERNS

Resuscitating flower cultivation enriches Guyanese life PAT DIAL Some weeks ago, this column carried an offering pointing out many of the fruits which were once very common and very widely enjoyed

by Guyanese but which have almost now been forgotten.

We called upon the agricultural authorities to resuscitate the cultivation of such fruits and to disseminate knowledge of them as an Independence Jubilee project.

The project could still be accomplished as part of the remit of the Ministry.

In similar vein this week we call upon the Ministry to assist in the dissemination of knowledge of flowers and ornamental plants which once used to adorn the homes and gardens but which are now being forgotten.

To-day in Guyana, there has been a great deal of education about and promotion of a healthier environment, the aesthetic (beautification) being a necessary part of the healthy environment.

There are many ways the aesthetic is captured when

working for a healthy environment. For example, layout and planning of towns and villages; the architecture used; the colours of buildings and streets; the type of streetlighting and so on. But the time-honoured way of having a pleasant and healthy environment is by the use of plants, trees and flowers.

Until a generation or two ago, homes in Georgetown, New Amsterdam and the villages generally had gardens often with hedges of flowering plants.

With Indian homes, it was a deep tradition to cultivate flowers, since flowers were used in pujas and decorated the altars in mandirs.

Among poorer folk such as those who lived in the rooms and tenement yards in Albouystown or Tiger Bay in Georgetown, they invariably had plant pots or boxes where they grew flowers such as fairy roses, chrysanthemums, geraniums, marigolds, jump-and-kiss me, and bachelor buttons. With these they would grow herbs such as mint, toyo and ginger for making “teas”.

From the beginning of the

19th century, at various times, certain shrubs and flowers were fashionable. For example, at the turn of the 20th century, coralitas were very common for fences.

In the Kingston Ward of Georgetown where the wealthier resided, for example, all fences bloomed with coralitas until the fashion changed and coralitas were replaced. Today, many coralita vines still survive in the Young Street parapet bordering the GBTI where the gardeners had thrown them, as a reminder of those past times.

Hibiscus fences were very popular, often with bell-hibiscus. Bell-hibiscuses are rarely seen today. Hibiscus fences have held their own for much over a century.

The white scentless jasmine fences were once a great favourite and the last prominent survivor is the jasmine fence around the City Hall which was planted at the end of the 19th century. Bell-hibiscus also still survives in a part of the Town Hall’s fence.

Lilies were very common and tended to be planted at the sides or in front of

houses. The bell or trumpet lily was more valued than other types. When the fashion changed, these gave way to other flowers. Some bulbs which were thrown out of the gardens of High Street, Kingston took root on the parapet and today one could see their descendants on the parapet outside the GAWU headquarters.

Roses of all types and colours had always been popular. The most loved and appreciated was the perfumed creole red rose.

Roses were found everywhere until about twenty years ago when they inexplicably began disappearing.

Roses are the flower most celebrated in poetry and song and their absence is a loss that needs to be quickly addressed.

Other flowers which were once common in yards and gardens were Queen of Flowers in their different colours; scarlet and pink oleanders, the scarlet giving off a pleasant perfume; Other popular perfumed flowers were the stepanotis, the jasmine and the mimosa.

The mimosa gives off its

perfume in the evenings and it could be smelt and enjoyed long distances away, Sun flowers were a great favorite with children who would patiently wait to see the flower turning to face the sun as it moved across the heaves. Morning glory always recalled the freshness of the mornings.

Dahlias, chrysanthemums, marigolds, blue-bells, cockscombs, anemones and carnations were mainstays of most gardens.

The golden showers and the lancianas were the two most popular orchids and were grown on any tree or tree stump or in hanging baskets.

The lancianas bloomed twice each year and always during the Christmas Season; it was thus known as ‘the Christmas orchid.

It gave off a pleasant haunting perfume. Also grown in hanging baskets were various types of ferns, The main flower trees as distinct from smaller shrubs and plants, were the frangipani of different colours and the pouis with mainly the gold and cyclamen flowers.

A yellow or gold pouis

survives in the property now occupied by the Prime Minister in Main Street. When its flowers fall on the green parapet, they create a memorable sight in that part of Main Street of an emerald carpet with gold flowers.

Though crotons are not flowers but plants with very colourful leaves, they were cultivated in yards and gardens and treated in the same way as flower plants.

Some crotons were stunningly beautiful and need to be revived.

Today, the main flowers found in gardens are bougainvilleas of various colours and buttercups.

The revival of flower cultivation, and especially those flowers and ornamental plants which used to be so common in the past would enrich and beautify the Environment of Georgetown and the rest of the country and bring much pleasure to the population.

The Ministry of Agriculture and the Department of the Environment could easily adopt such a programme since it would entail very little cost.

PAGE 68

Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur News

VENEZUELA: Petition for Maduro recall vote ‘validated’

Henrique Capriles Al Jazeera - Opposition says it has collected double the amount of signatures required to move forward bid for a recall referendum.

Venezuela’s opposition says it has collected enough valid signatures to move forward with its bid to remove President Nicolas Maduro in a referendum.

Thousands of people finished giving their fingerprints to electoral authorities on Friday, wrapping up a key stage in their drive for a recall vote against the embattled president. “The total national vali-

dation, in spite of all the obstacles, is 409,313 signatures.

The annulment will happen in 2016,” Henrique Capriles, the opposition politician, said on Friday.

At least 195,721 signatures, or one percent of registered voters, are necessary to move to the next step in the process, according to the National Electoral Council.

The next step would be for election authorities to officially approve the signatures within the next 20 days, and set a deadline for a second petition, which would re-

quire about four million signatures to activate the referendum process.

For months now, Maduro has faced increasing hostility, with opponents accusing him of driving oil-rich Venezuela to near economic collapse.

The recent slump in oil prices devastated the OPEC nation’s economic model, leading to an increasing lack of basic goods available, as well as electricity blackouts.

Shortages of foods means that they have to queue outside shops in long lines for several hours.

Bermudians vote no to same-sex unions

HAMILTON, Bermuda – The results of last week’s referendum showed a clear “no” vote for both same-sex marriages and samesex unions in Bermuda, but with less than half the registered voters turning out to cast their ballots, the government says the referendum questions were “unanswered”.

The island’s 44, 367 registered voters were asked to vote on two questions: Are you in favour of same-sex marriage in Bermuda? Are you in favour of same-sex civil unions in Ber-

muda? Of those who cast their ballots, 14,192 voted “no” to same-sex marriage, while 6,514 voted in support of it; while there were 13,003 “no” votes for civil unions and 7,626 in favour.

But the voter turnout was only 46.89 per cent – 20,804 people – and, according to the Referendum Act 2012, “a referendum question shall be taken to be unanswered if less than 50 per cent of the persons registered in the parliamentary register vote at the referendum.” (Caribbean360)

Portia Could Declare Financial Details In Statement To Parliament Next Week The Gleaner - The People’s National Party says the Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller will next week table in Parliament a statement which will speak “specifically and decisively” to integrity issues and her own report to the Integrity Commission.

The party made the declaration in a oneline statement to the media late Friday evening.

There have been calls for Simpson Miller to declare her assets especially since the Prime Minister Andrew Holness last Friday released his financial records to the three media houses including The Gleaner.

Early last week, the PNP promised that Simpson Miller would issue a statement indicating whether she would release her financial records.

Commenting on Twitter on Monday, former contractor general Greg Christie said all lawmakers should release their records.

Portia Simpson Miller

Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur News

PAGE 69

More than 2 million and rising sign UK petition for new EU referendum Reuters - Just days after voting to leave the European Union, more than 2 million Britons and UK residents had signed a petition calling for a second vote, forcing lawmakers to at least consider a debate on the issue.

Parliament has to consider a debate on any petition posted on its website that attracts more than 100,000 signatures.

The proposal, posted before the June 23 referendum, said the government should

hold another plebiscite on EU membership if the support for Leave or Remain in a referendum was less than 60 percent in a turnout of under 75 percent of eligible voters.

The result on Thursday saw 52 percent of voters, 17,410,742 people, back a British exit, on a turnout of 72 percent.

Since then, the petition — which only British citizens or UK residents have the right to sign — was proving so popular that by 1725 GMT

Germany’s Merkel signals sober separation from EU ‘partner’ Britain Reuters - German Chancellor Angela Merkel called yesterday for clear-headed negotiations with “close partner” Britain over its departure from the European Union.

Foreign ministers of the EU’s six founding members had earlier said Britain should leave the bloc as soon as possible after Britons voted on Thursday to quit the 28-member bloc.

However, Merkel struck a more conciliatory tone.

“The negotiations must take place in a businesslike, good climate,” Merkel said after a meeting of her conservative party in Hermannswerder, outside Potsdam, to the west of Berlin. “Britain will remain a close partner, with which we are linked economically,” she said, adding that there was no hurry for Britain to invoke Article 50 of the EU treaty — the first step it must take to

set in motion the exit process.

“It should not take ages, that is true, but I would not fight now for a short time frame,” Merkel said, in contrast with the more urgent call by the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, who were meeting to the north of the German capital.

They pressed for Britain to trigger the process for exiting the bloc after Britons voted by 52-48 percent to exit the EU, which it joined more than 40 years ago.

“We now expect the UK government to provide clarity and give effect to this decision as soon as possible,” they said in a joint statement.

The president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, also piled pressure on Britain, calling for it to trigger the Leave process at a summit of EU leaders next Tuesday.

yesterday, 2,005,101 people had signed it.

By late yesterday afternoon, it appeared to be rising at a rate of more than 3,000 signatures a minute.

Most of those who signed were based in areas where support for staying in the EU was strongest, most especially London, the website indicated. Prime Minister David Cameron, who said on Friday he would resign after leading the failed campaign to keep Britain in the EU, had said there would be no second referendum.

A woman wearing a vote remain tee-shirt reacts, following the result of the EU referendum, in London, Britain. REUTERS/NEIL HALL

PAGE 70

SALON - Make-up Courses with Mac, Bare Minerals, etc.

- Cosmetology Courses: $120,000 - Technician Course: $45,000.

Call: 647-1773/660-5257 SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY,ETC.-CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 2161043; 677-6620 Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Guyana passport application. Graphics design, advertisement. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535.

INNOVATIVEMARKETING& PUBLISHINGINC–TEL:6004212: We create A/works, logos, business cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included.

Repairs at low cost: Fridges, air- conditioners, washing machines, TVs, microwaves, freezers- Call:6294946 or 225-4822 Passport, permanent & visitor visa application, Professional Immigrant Consultant – Sabita Immigration Services. Call: 225-6496; 662-6045 Building Construction: house plans & estimates, floor sanding, lacquering & painting, boat for Santa Mission –Call: 650-4362 Ramdass Visa application & immigration services, room A-4, Maraj Building, Georgetown. Call Samantha: 227-0295; 615-9295 Hello the doctor is back!

Have your gas stove repaired and serviced. Call: 601-0595; 220-4073 Brian Moe @ 642-3543: Computer Technician: FB/ Brian.Moe.165: Home and Office visits at your comfort!!

Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezerCall: 610-5846 or 661-8158 Ranger/Land Surveying technician available for any interior location (bush), specialized in: GPS, mapping, compass etc. Call: 691-4339 EDUCATIONAL

FOR RENT PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Upstairs 2 bedroom unfurnished house @ La Parfaite Harmonie- Call: 6611585

Register now for summer courses in cosmetology and nails between 2nd -25th August – Cost $15,000 Call Abby: 619-7603 Earn a certificate in cosmetology; enroll now at Artee’s Beauty Salon & School of cosmetology. Call: 275-0267; 680-0156

One apartment for rent at Mon Repos, Market Street, E.C.D –Call: 220-7330 Three storey 75ftx30ft concrete building for bond or offices. 25B Princess Street, Charlestown. Tel: 2230654, 225-0605 1-4 Storey building @ Charlotte Street Georgetown.

Call: 668-8332; 638-5303 Upper flat apartment to rent @ Lot 92 Prospect 2nd Street, E.B.D- Call: 233-5426 2 Bedrooms apartment in Diamond $30,000 Call: 6417369 after 1:30pm

TO LET 2 Bedrooms apartment to rent @ Diamond for more information. Call: 685-1640 1-2 Bedrooms lower flat apartment situated at 529 Section ‘B’ Block ‘X’, Great Diamond, ‘10th Street Back Half’. Call: 689-1518; 6613288; 216-4200 One bedroom apartment for rent @ Norton and Creen Street Newburg -$40,000 monthly –Call: 671-5307 Furnished single studio apartment in Eccles, Internet optional Call: 643-6923

PROPERTY FOR SALE Property at lot 35 Middle Street, McDoom. EBD. Call 2260539 or 629-8842.

Transported property @ Grove and Diamond $16M negotiable. Call: 625-5461 Corner property in Grove, 1 block from Main Road- Flat House, price negotiable. Call: 1905-626-2572 Brand new 2 storey concrete building in 5th Avenue, Diamond, E.B.D, all modern amenities–Reduced Price.

Call: 662-9335; 612-3244 House & land 150X100 @ 6 Good Hope EBE, Double Lot @ 41&44 Vergenogen E.B.E, Double lot (business spot) @ Zeelugt. Call: 642-6642

VACANCY Lorry DRIVER/Salesman, Part time Welder/ Fabricator 676 6700 One fitter machinist & one welder - Call: 613-1588; 234-0780 Experienced sewing machine operators.Apply in person @ R Sookraj & Sons 108 Regent Street (OPP. GBTI) (HOUSEKEEPER/COOK) required for Indian Nationals in GuySuco Scheme, Turkeyen, Police Clearance mandatory after shortlisting.

Call: 686-7786 Control Room Assistants and Visiting Officers. Massy Security (Guyana) Inc. Lot 0 Ruimveldt, Georgetown.Tel: 225-5573/6

PEN PAL Middle age man is seeking female for long term relations 32-40yrs. Call: 670-7969 Honest hardworking young man needs good female.

Please Call 604-4945 or 6398474

Summer classes for children age 5-17yrs, Form 1-5, CXC classes. Call: 690-5008; 660-2152 Electronic Course. Starting 9th August. Hands-on training repairing all types of TVs, etc. Call: 226-6551; 225-0391 Summer Classes: Phonics, Reading, Language, Mathematics, Art & Craft & fun day (4-12yrs) July 18thAugust 12th @ Roxanne Burnham Gardens-Tel:2182076; 619-4355

Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur News

LAND FOR SALE 25 Acres land for sale @ Linden Highway –Call: 683-1521 Herstelling (corner lot) 100ftX50ft -$3.5M, (pay 2$M now & the rest later), La Parfaite Harmonie -$1.3M. Call: 604-2207; 611-7223 Land situated at 33 Area F Z e e b u rg S o u t h W. C . D , size: 150X55’. Call: 615-1594; 668-3293 West Minister Major Road already fenced & water in La Parfaite Harmonie -$1.5M, Bartica- $2.5M- Call: 6818897; 651-1969 Land located at Nouvelle Flanders West Coast Demerara.

Call: 662-0187; 674-4929

One flat house 2 bedrooms at Grove New Scheme 2nd Bridge, large land space $11M. Call: 626-1263/ 680-9593

2 Storey house, 5 bedrooms semi-furnished for business, 65 Palmyra Village, East Canje Berbice, price negotiable.

Call: 670-6688; 621-2060 High value transported land and 2 bedrooms newly built house, Greater Diamond E.B.D -$16M negotiable. Call: 265-4338 Property located @ Waller’s Delight W.C.D- Call: 6620187; 674-4929 Republic Park Ph1: 2 flats 4 bedrooms, 3 full baths, well maintained, including yard $51M-Call: 609-6516; 6170758; 645-2580 Business property located at Vreed-en-Hoop Public Road, few houses away from junction, serious enquiries only! Call: 671-9035 Business property @ 21-24 Main & Magdalen Street New Amsterdam Berbice.

Call: 233-0091; 683-9031

WANTED One baby sitter and one maid. Attractive salary. Call or text, 223-5180 Experienced domestic help/ nanny with valid police clearance required at Station Street Kitty. Please contact: 643-3061/227-6662/654-0382 One cook to work in snackette, must be able to clean- Call: 647-7432 Driver with both a minibus and taxi license living in Georgetown. Call: 664-0802 FOOD WHOLESALE COMPANY LOOKING FOR SALESPERSON WITH EXPERINCED AND VEHICLE . POLICE CLEARANCE A+ -CALL: 231-8529/ 231-8344

PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS& SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL: 643-5122, 6560087 , EMAIL: PRO_ AUTO RENTAL @YAHOO. COM Wing’s Car & 4WD Vigo pick up rental- Call: 690-6494

CAR RENTAL DOLLY’S CAR RENTALCALL: 225-7126/226-3693 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL@ YA H O O . C O M / W W W. DOLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM Aidan’s Car & 4WD Vigo pick up, cheapest rate, low security- Call: 698-7807

House & land at 422 Fourth Street, Herstelling E.B.D price $10M negotiable – Call: 677-0792 2 Storey 5 bedroom (2 selfcontained) wooden & concrete, with concrete fence, garage (space for 6 vehicles). Call: 614-0107; 6928923

Experienced Driver apply in person with handwritten application @ Hack’s Halaal, 5 Commerce St. Cleaner, Security, DJ, waitress, bartenders,1 experinced secretary between ages 18-25, must have CXC–Call: 668-8332; 638-5303 Experienced driver/salesman and porter to drive & sell beverages. Experienced is an asset. Call: 226-9800 M&S Taxi and Transportation Service wanted Hire Car Drivers around Georgetown. Call: 638-0704.

One experienced Hauler driver, apply in person at Alabama Trading, Georgetown Ferry Stelling Stabroek.

Girls to work in bar @ E.C.D location- Call: 612-2522 A 2 bedrooms apartment, in the Kingston area -$50,000 for 1 person-Call: 651-1969; 681-8897 Experienced taxi driver, bus driver and dispatcher at Princess Ramada Hotel. Call: 265-7076; 616-5419 Live in or live out maid, assistant salesgirl E.C.D-Call: 603-5416; 644-9802 3 Waitress @ R&V Sports Bar -$16,000 per shift, free meals & accommodation.

Whatsapp: 661-8802 We buy land in Eccles, Herstelling, Farm, La Parfaite Harmonie, Uitvlugt, Zeelugt, Bartica –Call: 6511969; 681-8897 1 Male to cook in the Backdam-Call: 678-0565

LEARN TO DRIVE Soman, Son & Outar Driving School at Maraj BuildingTel: 644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997

Large 4 bedrooms concrete house for sale at Ruimzeight Garden, W.C.D, residential area. Call:269-0189; 268-3214 CAR RENTAL

Hallow Blocks maker- Call: 233-2767

Experienced female Accounts clerk passes with English & Mathematics. Apply at Alabama Trading, Georgetown Ferry Stelling.

One large family home 4 bedroom, 21/2 bathrooms @ Enterprise – Call: 617-7845 1 Front building & 1 -2 storey back building @ 180 Charlotte Street Bourda (30X120), price negotiable- Call: 2265183; 227-6817; 624-7341 Enmore: Hope West, 1-two storey 3 bedrooms wooden building, overlooking FoulisCall: 602-2818; 649-1434

WANTED

PROPERTY FOR SALE Property for sale at lot 32 Princess Street, Wortmanville, GeorgetownCall: 621-8767 FOR RENT Space for rent at Ashmin’s Building - suitable for salon or office- Call today! 683-7954

One administrative assistant- email CV to nwscompanygy@gmail.com Experienced male salesperson must be able to multitask, communicate well & have computer skills @ KeyFood Trading McDoom.

Experienced Fish processors, filleters and labourers.

Earn between $3,000 and $4,000 per day. Call 223-5180 One accountant and one assistant accountant.

Must be knowledgeable with Quick Book experience. Very attractive salary. Call 697-5221 (Continued on page 71)

Sunday June 26, 2016

Businessman highlights...

From page 9 purpose is trading in fuel products within Guyana, the Caribbean and other countries and were it disclosed the Applicants/ Plaintiffs would have been obliged to produce to this Court their requisite licences.

“Additionally, the Applicants/Plaintiffs, in their attempt to mislead and withhold information from this Honourable Court, they scrupulously, deliberately and cunningly avoided any mention whatsoever of the nature of the business which they paid these huge sums of money to me for and upon which we were going to embark.”

Jackson noted that although the singular purpose of the business was to trade in fuel, the word “fuel” is not mentioned at all in their entire application.

Eleven crew members who are now stranded in Guyana as a

result of the injunctions; six of these persons are citizens of Venezuela.

“They have been unable to earn for the last two (2) months,” Jackson stated.

He said that as a result of the legal issues US$85,000 in expenses, wear and tear, dock fees and the crews’ salary has been lost.

Additionally, Jackson stated that the vessel has the potential to earn approximately US$350,000 per month.

“If these injunctions are not discharged quickly, we will suffer financial ruination.

There is no legal basis for the Applicants/Plaintiffs to restrain the said vessel; they have no lien or encumbrances of any kind against the said vessel.

They claim that I am indebted to them and I am prepared to remain in Guyana and defend the said claims,” he added.

Customs officers...

From page 13 where they took custody of the Customs receipts for the day.

Six Customs officers, including Nelson, were investigated, and gave statements of their role in the cargo release.

The probe report said that Zoon wanted to settle the matter and had lodged a $1M payment.

When GRA assessed taxes and duties that Zoon should have paid on the cargo, it came up to $960,453.

GRA’s investigators believed that it was a clear case of tax evasion and forwarded a copy of the report to its Internal Affairs Division for a comprehensive investigation to be conducted since allegation made by Zoon Online claimed that Customs officers received bribes.

The report recommended a comprehensive audit at the Customs operation at the airport and for Zoon’s tax affairs to be investigated.

While Zoon should have been penalized $2.8M or three times the $960,453 in taxes and duties it was assessed, the report recommended that GRA go easy on the company as its officials had cooperated and it was the first time that it had been implicated.

The report also recommended that the informant who alerted GRA to the scam at the Timehri airport, be rewarded $96,045 or 10 percent of the assessed taxes and duties.

From statements of the implicated Customs officers and Zoon officials, it was found that a representative of the shipping company on two occasions paid a total of $800,000 to named Customs officers -Akeeba Hunte, and Marlon Garner.

PAGE 71

Kaieteur News

One Customs officer, Maryann Ramotar, who examined the cargo, had since had her services terminated

by GRA. She claimed that she overheard conversations between her superiors, Hunte and Nelson, telling her to release the goods as the documents and money were left with the Customs cashier.

Hunte has been transferred. It is unclear what happened to Marlon Garner, the other officer who was implicated in receiving cash.

According to the report of the investigation, Leon Ramkirpaul, General Manager of Zoon Online said that he was instructed at least thrice weekly by owners Jason Singh and Fabian Shaw to allocate funds to Shane Eastman, the company’s man of business. The GM had been releasing monies ranging from $400,000 to $460,000.

However, the GM insisted that he does not see receipts of what happens with the cash he issues.

Shaw admitted that on February 16, $400,000 was handed over to Eastman who in turn had to give this to the Supervisor of Customs Operations at the airport.

Another $60,000 was to pay for Customs duty and taxes, food and transportation and airport charges.

Eastman in his statement to GRA investigators admitted that on February 5 he gave “Marlon”, a Customs officer at CJIA, $400,000. He does not know what the money to the Customs officer was for.

The GRA report hinted that Zoon Online may not have been the only business which has been allowed to collect cargo without taxes and duties paid.

15-year-old goes missing

MISSING: Cheralyn Stephens

A father is pleading with his 15-year-old daughter who has been missing since Wednesday to return home.

Cheralyn Stephens, of Lot 177 Laing Avenue, Georgetown, was last seen by her father, Alfred Stephen, on Wednesday at their home.

The father explained that he and his wife left the young girl at home and went to work. He said that when they returned home she was gone.

Cheralyn Stephens was a former student of the Apex Academy.

The older Stephens

Toddler drowns in well near home in Lethem A toddler lost her life yesterday after she fell into a well near her home and drowned.

Dead is Julia Kennedy of Lethem Central Rupununi.

She was one month shy of her third birthday.

Kennedy’s mother had gone in search of her after noticing that the child was missing for a while.

Her worst fears were confirmed when the mother found her child lying motionless in the seven feet well. The young child was rushed to the Lethem Public Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.

The matter has since been reported to the Lethem Police Station and investigations are ongoing.

related that this is the second time his daughter has run away from home.

The matter has since been reported to the police.

Persons with any

information that could lead to finding Cheralyn are being asked to call her father on (592) 658-2901, her mother on 671-9094 or the nearest police station.

From page 70

VEHICLE FOR SALE Mazda RX8 – Call: 602-6024 One silver colour RAV 4 J PNN 6469, excellent condition – Call: 625-2323; 254-0530 Toyota Voxy/ Noah unregistered, 2008 model $2.5M. Call: 603-9700 Mitsubishi GLX Sports $400,000, MR2 Sports Toyota -$500,000, 200 Mercedes Benz -$300,000. Call: 226-8013 One Hilux Tiger 4X4 for sale, 5L engine, stick gear, diesel, 15 inch mag, roof rack & back covering. Call: 692-9577; 2292379 AT192, 212, Allion, Premio, Hilux Surf, BRR, RZ & Pitbull, Pajero Junior, Spacio: Cash / terms- Call:680-3154 We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 Tacoma- Call: 680-3154 1 Mazda Axela, in excellent condition -$1.2M negotiableCall: 681-8543 2010 IST -$2.6M, 2011 BLUEBIRD -$2.7M, 2011 RACTIS -$2.6M, 2009 AXIO -$2.4M, 2009 BELTA -2.4M. CALL: 617-2891 One Silver Premio excellent condition, PRR 3854 -$1.7M negotiable. Call: 682-4742 1 AT 212 New Model Toyota Carina PMM series, lady driven -$1.3M –Call: 617-7845 Toyota AT212, in good condition -$1M negotiableCall: 690-3352; 267-1308; 6262841 Unregistered Fielder 2009 dark interior, Body Kit, roof rack, rear spoiler, rear spoiler, TV, CD –Call: 617-5536 One 4 wheel drive, automatic, extra cab, Toyota Hilux, GSS series. Call: 614-0107; 6928923 One Toyota Verossa -$2.6M negotiable - Tel: 614-0694 FOR SALE Gold and diamond land for sale or joint venture partnership @ Ekereou/ Parish Hill Berbice river- Call: 600-0036, 223-1273

FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754.

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Barbados monitoring Britain’s departure from EU Daily Nation - Prime Minister Freudel Stuart, like most people around the world, has expressed surprise at the decision of the British to vote in favour of leaving the European Union.

And, Stuart says the Caribbean would have to wait and see whether the decision to withdraw would have any seismic effects in this region.

“In the short term I do not think so, but clearly, given the close relationship between Barbados and the United Kingdom, our heavy dependence on British tourism, and the fact that we have an international business sector that benefits from British investment as well, we have to wait to see what will happen over the medium to long- term.

I do not think that in the very short-term that we should become too anxious because the dismantling process is going to take about two years,” he said.

The United Kingdom voted in a referendum on

Thursday to leave the European Union, with those in favour of remaining being defeated by 52 per cent to 48 per cent.

The Prime Minister expressed the view that there would be some currency shocks, but stressed that once those initial shocks had passed, the pound would regain its place. He continued: “I think we have to monitor the situation and if we are required as a result of reverberations felt here in Barbados to make any adjustments and to adapt to any new realities, we should stand ready to do so.

But it is not an occurrence which we can afford to ignore.

Britain is still a major power in the world and the bilateral relationship is a very strong one, and we therefore have to monitor any potential changes.”

Stuart noted that the United Kingdom had been a part of the European Union for 43 years, and therefore one

would have thought that the British would have found it very difficult to make a decision to severe those ties. He stated, however, that the decision had been taken and one had to adjust to that new reality. He said that with the presence of the United Kingdom in the European Union, Caribbean officials were certain that on critical issues they would have a voice on which this region could rely.

“To the extent that they are not going to be at the table in the European Union that voice will be missing, although I do not envisage that because the United Kingdom is disengaging from the European Union, that the disengagement will be such that they will have nothing to do with the European Union at all…,” he stated.

Stuart reminded that the Caribbean also had its own experiences with referenda and integration movements.

He recalled 1962, when the 10member Federation in the Caribbean was dismantled after a referendum held in Jamaica.

(BGIS)

Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur News

Jamaica Tourism Minister says Canadian travel advisory “routine”, no need to worry

Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett (second right) makes a pointas he addresses the inaugural meeting of the expanded tourism linkages council.

Listening keenly are (from left) project manager of the tourism linkages network, Carolyn McDonald-Riley, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Jennifer Griffith and newly appointed chairman of the tourism linkages council, Adam Stewart.

KINGSTON, Jamaica - In response to concerns raised about the latest travel advisory issued by the Canadian government on Jamaica, Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett has contended that the move was routine and is not expected to significantly impact visitor arrivals from Canada, as instances of violence against tourists are very low. The Canadian government recently upgraded its travel advisory, encouraging its citizens not to venture into sections of the Corporate Area and western Jamaica because of its high levels of crime.

It warned that travellers that violent crime is a problem in large cities in Jamaica, particularly Kingston, Spanish Town and Montego Bay. But Bartlett said: “This review is done regularly and Jamaica fell into the second category of ‘elevated risk’ along with most of the destinations in this region. It was not done in response to any single incident so we must be careful not to misinterpret the advisory or its purpose.”

He also cautioned Jamaicans not to send negative messages about the country’s tourism product as it may hinder the growth of the sector.

“Tourism is perhaps the only industry in Jamaica that has grown consistently for the past 35 years. However we must be careful in our pronouncements so as not to fuel fear and anxiety which can be deleterious to that growth which will damage our own future and our economy,” he said.

The Minister made the comments as he addressed the inaugural meeting of the expanded Tourism Linkages Council yesterday at the

Ministry’s New Kingston offices where he formally introduced ten new members who were specially selected to bolster the 24-member body.

He emphasized that the Ministry of Tourism is collaborating with the Ministry of National Security to add an entirely new layer of security that will ensure strict enforcement of the rule of law and help to effectively tackle the scourge of tourist harassment.

Bartlett underscored that in addition to the courtesy corps now in place, 87 District Constables who are being trained under this new initiative will graduate on July 19, 2016. These officers will function under a special arm of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, have policing powers and will focus specifically on boosting safety and security in resort areas. Another 13 officers will be added soon, to bring the initial complement to 100 by the end of the year.

“Our track record is of exponential growth in the Canadian market and we are mindful of what we must do

to build out a better experience for our visitors and remove the perception that exists in relation to safety and security. Therefore, we must have strong security with a soft look but a hard hand,” said the Tourism Minister.

The new members of the expanded Tourism Linkages Council include Chairman Adam Stewart, CEO of Sandals Resort International; Omar Robinson, President, Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association; Andrene Collings, Director, MSME Office at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries; Peter Thompson, CEO, Rural Agricultural Development Authority; Christine Cohen, Owner of Spa Retreat Boutique Hotel; David Butler, CEO, Digicel; Kamal Bankay, Entertainment Consultant; Mauricio Pulido, CEO GB Energy Jamaica; Ronald McKay, President of the American Chamber of Commerce of Jamaica; and Anup Chandiram, President of the Duty Free Association of Jamaica. (Caribbean360)

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Somali Islamist militants attack hotel in Mogadishu A Somali government soldier runs to take position during gunfire after a suicide bomb attack outside Nasahablood hotel in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, yesterday. REUTERS/FEISAL OMAR

Reuters - Somalia’s al Shabaab Islamist group launched a suicide bomb attack on a hotel in the centre of Mogadishu yesterday before fighters stormed inside, police and the militant group said.

Police said at least 15 people had died, including

guards at the site, civilians and militants. Others were wounded.

Gunfire had echoed round the seaside capital after the blast and ambulances raced to the scene. Police later said fighting had ended but they were searching the site for militants.

“We attacked the hotel which was frequented by the apostate government members,” al Shabaab military operations spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab told Reuters. He said at least 20 guards and civilians were killed.

Al Shabaab, which frequently carries out attacks in the capital in its bid to topple the Western-backed government, often gives casualty numbers that are higher than figures announced by officials.

Police said the initial blast was caused by a suicide bomber before fighters stormed into the Nasahablood hotel, leading to a heavy exchange of gunfire. Officers said some people had managed to escape through the rear of the building. “The operation has now ended but we are still comb-

ing the building for any possible militants who are hiding,” Major Ali Mohamed, a police officer, told Reuters.

The United States and other Western countries have been among the biggest donors to the government in Mogadishu as it slowly rebuilds after years of conflict and prepares for parliamentary and presidential elections later this year.

“We strongly condemn this attack,” a U.S. State Department official said in a statement. “We remain committed to Somalia’s security and stability, and are proud to stand side-by-side with Somalia in the fight against terrorism.”

The vote planned for August will be by limited franchise rather than one-personone-vote, which officials and diplomats say would be too difficult while still fighting an insurgency.

Muslims in Somalia and around the world are observing Ramadan. In previous years, al Shabaab has often intensified attacks during the fasting month, frequently picking targets where people gather just before or after breaking the fast.

Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur News

Regional jitters over shock vote Trinidad Guardian - Caribbean trade and international relations experts and politicians were Friday busy assessing the likely political and economic fallout from Thursday’s Brexit vote in Britain, with at least one leading negotiator suggesting it can have a significant impact on the region’s development agenda.

Former senior regional trade negotiator, Anthony Gonzales, told T&T Guardian the region needs to pay particular attention to the move’s likely impact on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between Caribbean Forum countries and the European Union (EU) and support for climate change programmes on which the region is highly reliant.

The Caribbean Community (Caricom) has received considerable EU funding support for its own integration process under the banner of the Caricom Single Market and Economy.

The EU has also been a consistent source of financing for regional programmes in the areas of crime and security, sport, ICT, health

Irwin LaRocque sector development, education and agriculture. While pointing out that all of this would not come to an abrupt end because of Britain’s departure from the EU, and therefore the EPA, “now we will have to look for a whole new arrangement with the British,” Gonzales said.

Britain is among the leading contributors to the EU budget. Only last month at the Ninth Caribbean-UK Forum in The Bahamas, there was a commitment to increase UK subventions to the region over the next four years. The meeting was attended by “Remain” lobby advocate, UK Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond.

Gonzales suggested that the region might now have to go back to the UK with a new deal, since withdrawal of the country’s considerable contribution to the European Development Fund (EDF), which finances important areas of region-wide and national level

Kamina Johnson-Smith development efforts, could lead to further substantial reductions in funding from that source. A classified discussion note prepared for last month’s meeting of the Caricom Council for Community and Foreign Relations (COFCOR) in St Vincent had suggested that “arguably, it would … be beneficial for the region if the UK remained a member of the EU.” The note, obtained by the T&T Guardian, said while the “implications of a UK exit for Caricom at this point in time are unclear, it would however mean the loss of an influential voice in the councils and policy-making instances of the EU that, because of historical and traditional ties, would be … more understanding and supportive than those of the EU states that have had no links.

There has been a discussion about “graduating” some Caribbean states out of thresholds necessary to assure continued special funding in some areas.

The matter now seems set for next week’s meeting of Caricom leaders in Guyana.

Dominica had originally been slated to host the summit, but will now share host status with Guyana as a result of extensive damage tothe island’s infrastructure at the hands of Tropical Storm Erika last year.

Caricom Secretary-General, Irwin LaRocque, was Friday said to be “looking at this (referendum result) and its implications for relations with the UK and the EU,” but already there appears to be a measure of regional jitters.

Grenada Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell said in a statement Friday: “The Caribbean region must use this decision to examine our own Single Market and Economy, and the implications of this for trade and other relations, and adjust accordingly.”

Jamaica’s Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister Kamina Johnson-Smith acknowledged that “this will have significant implications for Jamaica-UK relations and possibly for Jamaica-EU relations.”

However, Guyana Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge told a media conference in Georgetown that “there is not likely to be any adverse short-term consequence by way of a curtailing of resource flows or curtailment of access of, let’s say, sugar or any other commodity into the EU, whatever may be the case in relation to Britain.

“For specific products, you may have some hiccups but that may depend on exactly what Britain itself negotiates in terms of the European Union,” Greenidge said.

Gonzales said another area of concern for the region will be financing for the region’s climate change programmes.

The EU spends up to 20 per cent of its budget on climate action and provides half of the Green Climate Fund established in 2010.

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Guyana girls were semi-finalists at the 1999 CBC Youth Championship Today Kaieteur Sports and Statistician Charwayne Walker continue part two of the CBC Youth Championship hosted by Guyana at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall in 1999. This time the focus is on the Guyanese girls showing at that tournament.

Guyana led by Shauna Chester reached the semi-finals losing to the Bahamas 58-36.

Enroute to the semis two Guyanese players were the talk of the tournament, St. Stanislaus College guard Jerry Lee Johnson and Canadian based Latoya Chalmers, daughter of former national player Aubrey Chalmers, also lending admirable support to the dynamic duo was skipper Shauna Chester and Keoma April.

The Guyanese girls started the 1999 CBC campaign with three consecutive loses to Suriname, Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago but rebounded with convincing victories against Barbados and Jamaica enroute to the semi-finals. Guyana’s Jerry Lee Johnson scored 30 points against Barbados and 33

points against Trinidad and Tobago. She was second in aggregate to the tournament most valuable player Suriname’s Caroline Adriaans, while Latoya Chalmers was the tournament leading rebounder, against Jamaica, Chalmers had 25 rebounds.

Game 1- Guyana vs Suriname Suriname won 49-33. For the winners star player Caroline Adriaans top scored with 17 points she also had 16 rebounds. Stephanie Bouterse had 18 rebounds and 10 points, Sharon Seedorf contributed 10 points. For Guyana Jerry Lee Johnson and skipper Shauna Chester scored 8 points each, while Keoma April finished with 5 points.

Game2-GuyanavsTheBahamas The Bahamas won 85-58.

For the Bahamas Latoya Thompson had a game high of 27 points, Audrey Martin 15 points and 6 rebounds.

Kendra Brown 16 points, 9 rebounds and 5 steals. For Guyana Jerry Lee Johnson stop scored with 15 points, 12 steals and 6 rebounds; Cap-

tain Shauna Chester 14 points and 9 rebounds and Keoma April 9 points.

Game 3 – Guyana vs Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago beat Guyana in overtime 67-64. For the winners Nicole James 13 points, 9 steals, Edris Bailey 13 points, 9 rebounds, Melisa Ryan 14 points, 14 rebounds.

For Guyana Jerry Lee Johnson scored a game high of 30 points; Latoya Chalmers 12 points and 7 rebounds, Captain Shauna Chester 7 points, 7 rebounds.

Game 4- Guyana vs Jamaica Guyana won 53-41. For the winners Jerry Lee Johnson had 15 points, 7 rebounds, Latoya Chalmers 25 rebounds, 9 points, and Amaresa Bostwick 10 points and 5 rebounds. For Jamaica, Simone Jackson scored 20 points, Kaydia Kentish 8 points and 9 rebounds, while Kelloney Thompson had 14 rebounds.

Game 5 –Guyana vs Barbados Guyana won 59-45. Star player Jerry Lee Johnson scored a game high of 33 points and 8 rebounds,

Sunday June 26, 2016 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Delve into your work if you can't make amends at home.

Speak of your future goals, intentions, and commitments.

Group endeavors will provide you with entertainment.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) You may have personal problems, but professional duties might be pressing. Pleasure trips will promote new romantic encounters.

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) You must refrain from overspending on entertainment.

Pamper yourself for a change.

You will be able to make financial gains.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) You are best to keep your money tied up in a safe and secure place. You are best to stick to yourself today. You always seem to spend more than you make.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Be courteous if you wish to avoid major delays. Be sure not to burn any bridges. Heart to heart talks will clear up vague issues.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) You have to know what your boss wants if you expect to do your job correctly. You may have to take a short trip to visit someone who hasn't been well.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Keep an open mind when listening to the opinions of others. Club memberships or donations could be expensive and prove unnecessary.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Travel is evident, but be cautious while in transit. Listen to a good friend who is truly looking out for your best interests.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Don't confide in anyone for the time being. You should get out and meet some of those clients that you only speak to on the phone.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) Take a second look; difficulties with appliances, water, or electricity in your home may be evident. You could come into extra cash. Put your efforts into moneymaking ventures.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Entertain in your home and make aesthetic enhancements that will please those who reside with you. Children may be demanding, and entertainment could cost a lot more than you can really afford.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Take matters in hand when it comes to dealing with clients or colleagues. You may be in love today, but who knows what tomorrow may bring.

Latoya Chalmers 12 points, 12 rebounds, Captain Shauna Chester 8 points 6 rebounds.

For Barbados Toni Atherly top scored with 15 points, Shakira Shorey had 11 points and 7 rebounds.

Game6-GuyanavstheBahamas The Bahamas beat Guyana in semi-finals 58-36.

For the Bahamas Latoya Thompson and Audrey Martain scored 12 points each, Kendra Browne 10 points, Linda Pierre had 10 rebounds and Jennifer Collymore 9 rebounds. For Guyana, Latoya Chalmers had 10 points, 6 steals and 8 rebounds.

Game 7- Guyana vs Barbados Barbados beat Guyana for Bronze Metal 70-60. For Barbados, Jewel Braithwaite top scored with 15 points. Jennifer Hackette scored 12 points, Ria Philips 10 points, Toni Atherly 10 points. For Guyana Sharon Hunt top scored with 12 points, Jerry Lee Johnson 10 points, Latoya Chalmers 10 points.

Finals- Suriname beat the Bahamas 59-57.

Most valuable player Caroline Adriaans top scored with 22 points, she also had 12 rebounds, Pamela Berenstien 12 points, Stephanie Bouterse 10 points and 7 rebounds. For the Bahamas Audrey Martin had a game high 23 points, Kendra Browne 14 points, Latoya Thompson 14 points.

Suriname’s Caroline Adriaans was named was most valuable player of the tournament, she had 17 points vs Guyana, 15 points vs Barbados, 24 points vs Jamaica, 23 points vs Bahamas in the finals, 12 points vs Trinidad and Tobago: totally 125 points and finished with an average of 20.8 points per game.

Guyana’s Jerry Lee Johnson finished the tourna-

Nelson wants...

(From page 75) or the Guyana Blind Cricket Association cannot afford to pay for gym time and training facilities.

National Boxing Champion Clive Atwell who is preparing to journey to Trinidad to do a second brain Surgery to insert a ‘plate’ in his head and is experiencing ‘numbness’ in his left leg after his first surgery to the right side of his head also plans to utilize the facility before he departs for Trinidad.

Nelson, one of the most experienced Physiotherapists in Guyana, invited those in the sporting fraternity to take advantage of the Sports Clinic and emphasized that sportspersons do not have to pay for rehabilitation after injuries.

(Sean Devers)

ment with 118 points averaging 19.6 points per game. Her 33 points against Barbados was second only to Suriname’s Caroline Adriaans 34 points vs the Bahamas.

The 1999 National Girls Team that Reached the C.B.C Semi-Finals Shauna Chester ,CaptainWismar Christianburg Secondary Sonia Rodney –Wismar Christianburg Secondary Amaresa Bostwick- North Georgetown Secondary Jerry Lee Johnson –St. Stanislaus College Alero Proctor – St. Stanislaus College Tamika Alphonso –

Charlestown Secondary Abrelle Poole –Queens College Christie Campbell- St. Joseph High Keoma April – Kwakwani Secondary Candacy Atkins- New Amsterdam Technical Institute Stacy Hoyte – New Silver City Secondary Latoya Chalmers- Canada Abdulla Hamid –Coach Aubrey Chalmers –Coach Will Guyana make their mark this year? That is left to be seen in the coming weeks.

Fans are encouraged to go out and see the action at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

Newly established Sports Association...

(From page 78) communities within their own regions,” the REO declared.

Already to kick off the sports association agenda of events is a major Football Fiesta and Tapeball cricket Competition has been organized.

The three major competitions that have been organized includes a football Championship, Tapeball cricket Competition, a shooting competition and a cross region run. The competitions which will be staged in July will see teams representing some eighteen villages.

Already excitement among the various villages has been increased as several Toashos have begun preparation in their own communities for the planned Sports Championships. A number of senior Government and Private Sector officials are expected to grace the competi-

tions. “This is historic as it is the first time in the history of the region that we would be having such a major sporting competition targeting so many communities, this is something that everyone is very excited about and we are prepared to work towards making this and other programmes which will address the many social ills affecting the youths of our region successful,” a resident said.

“We firmly believe that its time that our youths are given an option as in the past they were left without an option as all they were exposed to a lot of negatives, it’s time we continue to pave opportunities for them and with the excitement of the sporting association I am confident like many that it will serve positively,” the resident declared.

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Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ National Futsal Competition

Sparta Boss shows who’s boss to reclaim crown Defending champs Sparta Boss inked their name in the local history books on Friday last at the National Cultural Centre tarmac when they successfully defended their Guinness National Championship, with a 2-0 beating of Linden side, Team 25.

R e g u l a r t o r m e n t o r, Devon Millington, started things off in the 23rd minute with a clinical strike into the left side after collecting a pass on the right side unchallenged to bring the large crowd to life.

Strike partner Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson put the icing on the cake for the East La P enitence crew in a sublime m a n n e r, t u r n i n g h i s marker from the right side before lashing into the empty net, capping off a deserved campaign for Sparta Boss.

Their reward $400,000 and the championship trophy as well as the opportunity to

Gregory Richardson (with ball) prepares to forage into opposition territory as he helped Sparta Boss in another crown.

once again represent Guyana at the Caribbean Championship fixed for July in St. Lucia.

Sparta Boss became the first team to retain the

national championship a n d w i n t h r e e consecutive Guinness tournaments.

The gritty Linden side, received $150,000 and the

runners-up trophy.

The third place playoff saw Wisroc edging Channel9 Warriors 3-1 to claim the $100,000 and a trophy on offer.

Clarence Huggins

scored twice in the third and seventh minutes, while Michael Williams added his name to the score sheet in the 11th minute. On target for the losers was Kemo

Lawrence in the 13th minute.

C h a n n e l - 9 - Wa r r i o r s collected the $50,000 and a trophy fourth prize.

Meanwhile, in the earlier semi-final rounds, Sparta Boss defeated Lindeners Wisroc 3-1. Millington scored a double (8th, 12th), while Phillips found the back of the net in the ninth minute.

Omeion Wills was on target in the loss in the 20th minute.

The second semi-final saw Team 25 crushing Channel-9 Warrior 2-0.

Johnson and Ryan Noel scored in the 18th and 2 5 t h m i n u t e respectively.

Meeting the teams before the start of the final were Sports Director Christopher Jones and Guinness Brand Manager Lee Baptiste, while the ceremonial kickoff was done by Jones.

Kaieteur News

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GOA Open Doubles Badminton GCB donates Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket Kits to RHTSYC tournament continues with day 2 .....GCB Officials meet club president on fruitful invitational visit

Anand Sanasie presents the Kiddy cricket gear to Hilbert Foster in the presence of GCB TDO Colin Stuart (left).

A Guyana Cricket Board delegation comprising Hon. Secretary Anand Sanasie, Assistant Administrator Melinda BishundyalChaitram and Territorial Development Officer, Colin Stuart, recently met with Hilbert Foster, the Secretary and CEO for Rose Hall Town Sports and Youth Club and some club officials. The meeting stemmed from an invitational visit extended to the GCB by Hilbert Foster.

During the visit a number of mutually accepted views and positions were shared between the two entities – the GCB and Rose Hall Town Sports and Youth Club. The parties discussed a variety of cricket related matters surrounding club development and players’

empowerment, ranging from structured coaching education programmes that are similar in nature to 1st Division Clubs across the country, to club facility development, with emphasis on pitch, ground, nets and facility enhancement and v e r y i m p o r t a n t l y, t h e players’ technical, physical fitness, match preparation and readiness – the players’ mental toughness or mental application capacities, the value of nutrition and lifestyle and the importance of personal development programs for club players.

The GCB found the meeting fruitful, in that both parties were able share concepts and ideas on the conduct of cricket development initiatives and

programmes, and found the exercise to be mutual beneficial to both parties involved.

The Guyana Cricket Board donated four additional Kiddy Cricket Kits to the Rose Hall Town and Sports and Club, to assist in the development and promotion of its cricket nursery. Both Mr. Sanasie and Mr. Foster expressed a willingness to further cooperate and facilitate cricket development initiatives in the Berbice area.

The Guyana Cricket Board recently donated brush cutters to all first division clubs in Berbice.

Last year the GCB also donated practice nets and $100,000 Dollars to these first division clubs.

GCF National C/ships 2016 – Men’s Time Trials

The Guyana Olympic Association Open Badminton Tournament continued Friday 24nd of June at the National Gymnasium in the Men, Ladies & Mix Doubles Events on Day 2 of the competition.

The first semifinal in this tournament was played off with Priyanna Ramdhani & Ambika Ramraj defeating Ayanna Watson & Emelia Ramdhani: 21-7, 21-12 to a d v a n c e t o t h e championship game. There were several other winners on the day.

The Results on Day Two are: MEN DOUBLES SEMI-FINALS: Narayan Ramdhani & Jonathan Mangra defeated Ronald Yuen & Avinash Odit: 21-15, 21-18 Nicholas Ali teamed up with his Coach Gokarn Ramdhani and had a thrilling three setter to win against Darrell Carpenay & Marlon Chung: 13-21, 22-20, 21-13.

LADIES DOUBLES SEMI-FINALS: Priyanna Ramdhani & Ambika Ramraj defeated Ayanna Watson & Emelia

Team Coco’s Raynauth ‘ O b e a h M a n ’ J e ff r e y, perhaps the only cyclist equipped with a time trial bike, blew away the opposition to be crowned the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) 2016 Time Trial King yesterday at the Mahaicony Circuit.

Jeffrey, who recently returned from competing in the USA, covered the 10.6 mile distance (twice around the 5.3 mile circuit) in 24 Minutes 07 Seconds finishing one minute ahead of the Team Evolution duo of Marlon ‘Fishy’ Williams and Jamal John.

Williams covered the distance in 25 Minutes 05 Seconds while John’s time was 25 Minutes 16 Seconds.

On an excellent day for Team Evolution, their own Christopher Cornelius and Stephen Fernandes were crowned the junior and veteran Time Trials winners.

Only required to do one lap of the circuit which was used for the first time by the GCF’s marquee event, Cornelius who one week ago won the Road Race title at the same venue, completed the historic double with victory in 13 Minutes 44.31 Seconds.

Andrew Hicks claimed the second place in 13

Minutes 46.85 Seconds with Deeraj Garbarran, who copped second in the Road Race, placing third in 14 Minutes 10.50 Seconds.

Stephen Fernandes turned the tables on Road Race King Junior Niles having had to settle for the runner-up spot in the Veterans Under-45 last weekend; Fernandes took the Time Trial gold in 13 Minutes 42.75 Seconds.

Over-45 Road Race champion Raymond Newton took the silver medal in 13 Minutes 46.72 Seconds with Niles taking the bronze in 13 Minutes 49.00 Seconds.

The stage is now set for what is anticipated to be an

Ramdhani: 21-7, 21-12 MIX DOUBLES QUARTER-FINAL: Cecil Abrams & Kara Abrams defeated Gokarn Ramdhani & Emelia Ramdhani: 21-12, 19-21, 2116 MIX DOUBLES SEMIFINALS: Narayan Ramdhani & Priyanna Ramdhani defeated Darrell Carpenay & Ayanna Watson: 21-5, 21-12 The Tournament is scheduled to continue tomorrow, Monday 24th of June at the National

Gymnasium from 5:30pm7 : 0 0 p m .

Matches to be played are: Doubles Finals: Narayan Ramdhani & Jonathan Mangra Vs. Gokarn Ramdhani & Nicholas Ali Mix Doubles Semis: Jonathan Mangra & Ambika Ramraj Vs. Cecil Abrams & Kara Abrams and the winner will play Narayan Ramdhani & Priyanna Ramdhani in the Finals.

The GBA is inviting the general public to come out and see the Finals.

Nelson wants sportspersons to utilize Sports Clinic As MOPH marked Nat Rehab week Friday was the final day of National Rehab week and long serving Physiotherapist Beverly Nelson wants more

‘Obeah Man’ Jeffrey (senior), Cornelius (junior) and Fernandes (veteran) are champs

By Franklin Wilson

Priyanna Ramdhani (left) and Ambika Ramraj.

enthralling and strategic Senior Road Race today around the outer circuit of the National Park.

All the stars are home and ready to battle, the likes of defending champion Hamza Eastman, Scott Savory, Jeffrey, Marlon and Geron Williams and John among others.

Riders will register at 10:30hrs with the race set to commence at 11:00hrs and will see the competitors battling for 30 Laps (71.1 Miles). The starting and finish line will be outside the entrance t o t h e G D F ground on JB Singh Highway, close to David Street, Kitty.

sports persons to make use of the Ministry of Public Health’s Sports Clinic located at Castellani House on Homestretch Avenue This year’s theme was ‘Celebrating and R e c o n n e c t i n g Rehabilitation Services’ and the week of activities to mark rehab week commenced on Sunday 19th June and concluded Friday.

The clinic, which reopened its doors just under a year ago, includes Physiotherapy services, occupational therapy services, speech and language therapy, audiology service, Open door centre, Cheshire Home and the sports clinic.

The facility is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 09:00hrs to 15:00hrs and is supervised by a specialist doctor on both days and according to Nelson since the reopening of the clinic, the response has been good.

She informed that Sportspersons are treated at the clinic free of charge.

“Our aim is to create the awareness level of the facility and what are capable of doing here and also inform the patients about the individuals who provide the services at the clinic,” disclosed Nelson who has been with the institution since it was inaugurated 13 years ago.

In addition, as part of its r e h a b w e e k commemoration, the entity has included the Guyana Blind Cricket team into its weekly programme. The team went through several exercises under the watchful eyes of the staffs of the clinic.

We s t I n d i e s B l i n d cricketer Ganesh Singh, a senior member of the blind cricket team, preparing for a R e g i o n a l We s t I n d i e s Cricket Council tournament, set to bowl off on July 9 in Trinidad said that it’s a privilege to utilize the facility because the players (Continued on page 73)

PAGE 82

Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur News

Guyana Cup $20M Horserace meet 2016

Winning jockeys and horses to be heftily rewarded, bonus to be given out Horses and jockeys that win events in the 10 annual Guyana Cup $20M mega horserace meet will be heftily rewarded as they will be presented with bonuses for their outstanding performances.

That’s the latest initiative announced by the Jumbo Jet Business enterprise, organisers of Guyana Cup Horserace meet in collaboration with the Port Mourant Turf Club.

The activity is slated for Sunday 14th August at the Port Mourant Turf Club better known as the “big yard”.

With the event being one decade old and Guyana in the mist of celebrating its Jubilee Independence Anniversary, the organisers have decided to up the notch in rewarding outstanding

performers.

The Guyana Cup Horserace meet is one of the l a rg e s t l o c a l s p o r t i n g activity in Guyana with the biggest pay outs and organisers have vowed to make this occasion the biggest and best so far.

The winning horses in the A class event will take home an unbelievable $500,000 extra, the winner of the three year old event gets $400,000, while the horses placing first in the two year old race goes home with a $200,000 bonus.

The jockeys piloting the animals first across the finishing line in those events will all ride away with an extra $50,000.

The feature “A” and lower event alone has an enormous $8M in prizes up for the takings. With the

Coordinator Nazrudeen ‘Jumbo Jet’ Mohammed Jr

winners set to race away with an hefty $4M and the Guyana Cup Trophy over 1600M. One can imagine being second and still being rewarded with over $2M, third will collect a generous $1M. Even placing fourth get you $500,000.

There are also substantial takings in the Cofeature 1600M event for 3yrs old horses, bred and born in Guyana and the West Indies. A total prize package of close to $4M is on offer with the winner taking home $2M and trophy.

The event for two year old West Indies Bred horses has also attracted an healthy amount with the first prize tagged at $1M and trophy from a total sum of $2 over 1000M. There are similar takings for horses running the E class and lower event with prize monies totaling $2M and the winner collecting $1M and trophy.

The difference is the distance which is 1300M. The G3 and lower race is also a 1300M with the winner getting an

encouraging $700,000 and trophy.

The H and lower 1400M race has a winning pocket of $500,000 and trophy.

The animals classified J and K and lower will race for a winning $350,000 and trophy over 1100M. The L class 1000M race has a winning purse of $250,000 and trophy.

According to organizer Nazrudeen ‘Jumbo Jet” Mohammed Jnr preparations have commenced and things are moving smoothly.

So far among the

sponsors on board, are Muneshwar Store, East Coast, Demerara and the Hyper Malt beverage company.

The top Jockey, runner up, top stable and champion trainer will all be presented with trophies and other incentives compliments of the organizers and the Trophy Stall.

The event will be held under the rules of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority.

Race time is 12:00hrs.

(Samuel Whyte)

Chato’s Hot Spot to host pool competition today Chato’s Hot Spot and bar of Shell Road and Stanley Place, Kitty will be hosting a pool competition today. The winner will take home a trophy and $30,000, runner up a trophy and $20,000 and third place a trophy and $10,000.

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 26, 2016

PAGE 83

West Indies target final hurrah ESPNcricinfo - And then there were two. This triseries, played across three Caribbean countries Guyana, St Kitts and Nevis, and Barbados - has spat out its bronze medallist, with South Africa heading home after failing to overcome West Indies on Friday. The final at Kensington Oval will be contested between Australia, the World Cup champions of last year, and West Indies, the hosts of this tournament and current World T20 champions, but a team that has had limited ODI success in recent years.

To lift this trophy would be yet another welcome boost for West Indies in a year that has gladdened the hearts of Caribbean cricket fans. So far, 2016 has brought triumphs for West Indies in the World T20, the Women’s World T20 and the Under-19 World Cup. By comparison, this tri-series is small beer, but small beer is better than no beer. It would also be an encouraging sign

for the leadership of Jason Holder (it was Darren Sammy who led West Indies to the World T20 title).

For Australia, the No. 1 ODI side, winning a series such as this might be considered business as usual. But they still have much to play for. Only six of the XI who won the World Cup final are likely to play in this game, and stand-in coach Justin Langer noted that Steven Smith’s ODI side was now trying to make its own mark. “We’ve had great success in the past, but that means nothing, besides the fact that we have a great history and high expectation,” Langer said.

“Some of the guys have played in World Cup finals, and that experience is vital, but some of the guys are still finding their way.”

In the spotlight Mitchell Starc’s immense value to Australia in one-day cricket should not be underestimated. Since the start of 2015, Australia have won 90% of ODIs in which

Shannon Gabriel ©WICB Media he has played (18 wins from 20 completed games) and only 45% of ODIs in which he has been missing (5 wins from 11 games). He literally doubles Australia’s victory chances.

Only twice in that time has Starc played in losses against New Zealand in Auckland during the World Cup, when he claimed 6 for 28 and could hardly have done any more, and against

Mitchell Starc ©Getty Images

England in Manchester last September when he had a rare bad day and went for 79 off 10 overs.

He is also two wickets shy of becoming the fastest player in history to claim 100 ODI victims.

Despite having made his ODI debut just two matches ago, Shannon Gabriel has already made an impact. His pace and bounce rattled the South Africa top order in

their knockout match on Friday, his three early wickets leaving them at 28 for 3. Gabriel picked up a leg injury, though, and bowled only five overs before leaving the field for treatment. He did not bowl again in the game, and West Indies will hope Gabriel is fit for the final.

Team news Australia’s batting order is settled and their main

decision is whether to bring the young legspinner Adam Zampa back to add some variety to the attack. Zampa is Australia’s leading wickettaker in the series and yet has not played the previous two matches after leaking runs against West Indies in the game prior to that. Scott Boland would be the man most likely to make way if Zampa comes in.

If Gabriel is fit, West Indies will likely take in an unchanged XI. Holder was impressive in collecting 1 for 33 from 10 overs against South Africa, just three days after tweaking his hamstring during a match against Australia.

Pitch and conditions The two completed matches at Kensington Oval this series have both produced first-innings totals in the 280s - on one occasion it was ample, on the other occasion it was overhauled. The forecast for Sunday is for fine weather and a top of 28 degrees centigrade.

Warriors’ final practice match washed out at Providence yesterday Beat Guyana line-up under lights on Friday

By Sean Devers The Xcite Guyana Amazon Warriors defeated a Leon Johnson led Guyana team by 49 runs on Friday evening under lights at Providence in their only practice game for the Hero’s CPL t20 cricket tournament.

The Warriors, who ended a one week camp in their home base today as they rounded off preparations for Thursday’s opening contest in this year’s CPL against the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in St Kitts.

T h e Wa r r i o r s w e r e hoping for another practice game against Guyana yesterday ahead of their only day game at Providence on July 9 in their return game against the Patriots. But heavy showers all day washed out the game. The Warriors play four home games at Providence from July 7-12.

In Friday night’s game the Warriors batted first and watched by a gathering of approximately 150 fans in smoke filled conditions caused by rubbish being

burnt in a garbage dump to the east of the Stadium, reached 170-7 off 20 overs, while Guyana could only muster 121-9 when their 20 overs expired.

After pacer Keon Joseph removed Bajan Dwayne Smith with the third ball of the match at 0-1 and fellow Berbice pacer Romario Sheppard got rid of Australian Chris Lynn for 20 from 17 balls at 39-2, West Indies left-hander Assad Fudadin and T&T’s Jason Mohamed added 69 for third wicket to put the Warriors train back on the track.

The impressive Joseph (3-30) got rid of both Mohamed (36 from 29 balls with two fours and a six) and Fudadin in the space of five runs to leave the Warriors on 113-4.

Mohamed skied a catch to cover, while Fudadin, who batted positively and reaching the boundary five times, did not get enough bat on a cover drive and was taken by the sweeper running in. His entertaining 48 lasted 39 balls.

Only wicketkeeper

Assad Fudadin ‘goes big’ in his 48 on Friday night.

Anthony Bramble, who hit three fours and a six in an unbeaten 10-ball 24, of the remaining batsmen reached double figures.

Chris Barnwell (9) played across to Sherfane Rutherford, Sohail Tanvir (4) paddle swept Gudakesh Motie to short fine leg and Steven Jacobs was bowled by Rutherford for a duck.

Bramble was joined by Trinidadian Ryad Emrit (9*) and the pair added 29 for the eighth wicket as 25 runs were scored in the final overs

bowled by Sheppard and Kemo Paul. Sheppard (2-25) was removed from the attack after bowling a couple of ‘beamers’ in his first three balls.

When Guyana batted Rajendra Chandrika (2) tried to drive ‘through the line’ on the sluggish track and was taken at mid-off at 15-1 as Tanvir made the break through.

Robin Bacchus played some enterprising shots and hit three fours in 18 balls in his 24 before he was LBW to Jacobs, who opened the

bowling with his off spin to leave to score on 34-2.

West Indies U-19 Keeper Tevin Imlach (3) was caught and bowled by Veerasammy Permaul five runs later.

Skipper Leon Johnson was starting to look set on 22 when he lofted Devendra Bishoo to long-on at 65-4.

Kevin Boodie (15) was b o w l e d b y Ta n v i r, Rutherford was run out for 14 and Sheppard (0) was stupendously caught low down at cover by Bishoo off the Pakistan left-arm pacer.

Tanvir finished with 3-22

and got support from Bishoo (2-11).

Warriors’ Manager Omar Khan disclosed that Bollywood film stars Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla should be in Guyana next month when they face Trinbago Knight Riders on July 10.

The “Knight Riders” brand, which is owned by the actor, already has a team in the Indian Premier League (IPL) – Kolkata Knight Riders. SRK, Chawla and Jay Metha are the owners of the Trinbago Knight Riders.

PAGE 84

Sunday June 26, 2016

Kaieteur News

Newly established Sports Association formed in Region 8 Youths in and around Region 8 are now breathing a sigh of relief with the recent establishment of a sports association within the region. This is with the recent establishment of the North Pakariams Sports Association which will cater for several sports disciplines.

Among the many sporting disciplines that the association will cater for includes Football, Cricket ( Ta p e a n d H a r d b a l l ) , Vo l l e y b a l l , D o m i n o e s , A r c h e r y, B o x i n g a n d Athletics.

Leoni Sears, who has been elected to head Women’s Football in the region, said that everything has already been put in place for the effective running of the association. She disclosed that while

executing sporting competitions in the region can be very challenging, they are determined to make a positive impact. “The youths over the years have been calling for such an association that will manage and organize various competitions and programmes so that the young people can positively channel their energies. We have heard their cries thus the realization of the North Parkariams Sports Association,” Sears said.

It was disclosed that Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region 8 Rafel Downes has endorsed the newly formed association promising to lend whatever assistance than he can. He cited the great financial cost associated with travelling

Leoni Sears within the region. “Traveling among the various communities in Region 8 is very expensive and this is one of the greatest stumbling blocks in executing projects and programmes within the region,” Sears noted.

The REO in lending support pointed out that

several of the villages in sub section one is about 40 miles from each other thus proving as a major challenge in getting around. “In many of the villages people have to walk for 12 and more hours just to get to the next village as it’s roughly 40 miles apart from each other. Sport is a major thing in this region but organizing and executing it at a very high professional standard continues to be a d i f f i c u l t y, ” t h e R E O admitted.

He stressed that his RDC administration is prepared to lend any assistance that they can in making projects and programmes being organized by the newly formed association a reality, noting that it is the first officially registered sporting association within the

region. “In the past we have had little groups here and there organizing little competitions among themselves, however it’s the first time that we are having a registered professionally run sporting association that caters for several sporting disciplines while devising training and other programmes for youths in various sporting disciplines,” he said.

“This is certainly a first for us at the RDC and the region and as such, I am certain that like many we are all elated and excited over this achievement as we are confident that with the right support and assistance that a number of youths from this region will be able to get the exposure and opportunities that they have been longing

for over the years,” the REO added.

It was pointed out that the establishment of the newly formed sporting association serves as a catalyst to propel sports development within the Hinterland communities as it comes on the heels of the Hinterland Games which is expected to be staged in August. “Everyone is excited over the proposed Hinterland Games which will be held soon and this will help in further promoting and developing the region. We are confident that with the hinterland games being organized it would not only identify talent in the various regions but it will further boost sports development among the various villages and (Continued on page 73)

GFF / SEL Champion of Champions Final

Alpha and Slingerz to battle on familiar ground at Leonora tonight

Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United

By Franklin Wilson Due to relentless rain the Guyana Football Federation yesterday informed that the eagerly anticipated Stag Elite League (SEL) Champion of Champions final between GENESIS winners Slingerz FC and FINALE champs Alpha United will now be played at the Leonora Track and Field Facility, tonight after being set for the GDF ground.

This match is required to determine the overall winners of the inaugural SEL with bragging rights as

the best league team in Guyana at stake.

While Alpha United have been there six times before, Slingerz, having dominated both halves of the league ending with the most points on both occasions (Genesis & Finale) must now play the game of their lives in order to attain the status as the best, based on the current league rules.

Both sides have on their roster collectively, the cream of Guyana’s national senior team and must now dig deep tonight to outdo each other in the final of all finals.

On Sunday last, Alpha,

Slingerz FC

on the heroics of goalkeeper Richie Richards defeated Slingerz 3-0 on kicks from the penalty mark after regulation and extra time failed to produce a winner, ending 0-0.

It was a jubilant scene for the Alpha players but heart break and visible tears for Slingerz, opposite scenes which now set up what is likely to be a humdinger of a clash tonight from 21:00hrs.

A supporting game between West Demerara’s Den Amstel and Georgetown’s Western Tigers will precede the main event at 18:30hrs.

Speaking with Kaieteur Sport yesterday, Head Coach Wayne Dover said that he would be relying heavily on his entire unit to play good football as a unit on the night. “Defending and attacking collectively to get another positive result.”

There would be one change to his starting line up from last Sunday’s match; William Europe will replace Dwain Jacobs.

Dover’s opposite Joseph ‘Bill’ Wilson informed that Vurlon Mills is fit and will be included in the starting team which would be a fillip

to Slingerz tonight.

He also disclosed that his charges have been focused in training and are committed to winning the game. ”This game is actually more important than the last game. I think the players went into the last game telling themselves that even if they lose they still have a chance to play for the finale.

So I am looking forward for them to regroup, and come hard and ensure that they play the kind of football, especially finishing, making use of the opportunities and win the game in regulation

time.”

Probable Starting X1s Alpha United: Richie Richards, Dwight Peters (Captain), Philbert Moffatt, Daniel Wilson, Andrew Murray, Kris Camacho, Joshua Browne, Colin Nelson, Solomon Austin, Anthony Abrams, William Europe.

S l i n g e r z : Wi n s l o w McDowall, Tichard Joseph (Captain), Vurlon Mills, Clive Nobrega, Devon Millington, Les Charles Critchlow, Julian Wade, Kestor Jacobs, Quincy Adams, Murilo Barbosa, Trayon Bobb.

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 26, 2016

PAGE 85

GABF launches Guyana’s national youth basketball teams Guyana’s national male and female junior national teams launched their campaigns to bring Guyana glory yesterday at the popular Giftland Mall where they met the public, signed some autographs and engaged in official photo opportunities.

The Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) and National Sports Commission (NSC) along with the team’s management supervised what became an auspicious occasion ahead of the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Under-16 Championships, which Guyana will host during July 3-16 at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

President of the GABF, Nigel Hinds ensured he let those present know that the education and academics synchrony is the best model for the development of sports. The players named on Guyana’s National Teams came from the Schools’ system and Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG).

“Foremost among my thoughts is the fact that

Seated from left, Assistant Coach of the female team, Ann Gordon, Director of Sport Christopher Jones, GABF President, Nigel Hinds, YBG Director, Chris Bowman along with the male and female teams and officials from Local Organising Committee of the Championships pose for a photo opportunity yesterday. education is the foundation for any successful state. In the days of the Greek Empire, one of the recommendations Plato made is that school really starts with outdoor activity,” Hinds said.

“There needs to be a balance of the full support of the Government to recognise

the importance that sport plays in the development of youth,” he continued.

Hinds went on to highlight the various upgrades being done to the Sports Hall and shared that it is important that all stakeholders see it necessary to release the funding as opposed to ‘commitments’

to run the mega C h a m p i o n s h i p s successfully.

Director of Sport, Christopher Jones shared the significance of the Championships to Guyana and the role Government played in ensuring history is made.

“As a result of these

Championships and the upgrades to the Sports Hall, Guyana is now in a position to host international events. This also brings in tourism to the country because of the countries coming into Guyana,” he said.

Jones wished both the male and females teams well

in the Championships and made a plea to all Guyanese to come out and support them in their bids to bring regional glory to the nation.

This is the second time Guyana will be participating in the youth tournament, after hosting it in 1999, which is 17 years ago.

EISS edge Goed Fortuin, Windsor Forest beat PLI on PKS

By Zaheer Mohamed Essequibo Islands Secondary School (EISS) of Wakenaam defeated Goed Fortuin of West Demerara 10, while Windsor Forest beat Professional Learning Institute (PLI) 3-1 on pe n a l t i e s w h e n t h e Digicel National Schools Football Championships continued on Friday at Leonora.

A second half strike by midfielder David Charritar gave EISS a hard fought victory after a goalless first session; the game was reduced to 40 minutes due to a late start. Neither of the teams fashioned any real scoring opportunities as they shared possession almost equally in the first half.

Immediately after the interval, Charritar put EISS ahead as his shot from inside the area beat goalkeeper Yohance Abrams to his right.

The goal somewhat motivated the Islanders who made two second half changes simultaneously as

their pace increased fairly.

Goed Fortuin though didn’t give up; however their efforts for an equaliser were halted by goalkeeper Dwain Retemiah who denied Teffon Fraser and Orlando Lewis.

EISS almost had their second goal in the latter stages, but Abrams blocked energetic striker Wendell Osbourne shot from inside the 18-yard box after he received a pass from Curtis Adams.

The second encounter had to be decided by penalties after the teams were locked 3-3 at the end of regulation time.

Despite scoring with their first three shots, Wi n d s o r F o r e s t w e r e indebted to their keeper Travis Fraser who pulled off two fine saves.

Following a sloppy start to the contest, the teams gradually grew in confidence, and PLI had the first scoring chance, but striker Keanu Laurence solo effort was denied by Fraser.

Keswin Fraser’s left foot

shot was then blocked by PLI keeper Calvin Roberts after Windsor Forest won a free kick just outside the area.

While Laurence produced some excitement with his nimble foot work and speed, it was Earlando Smartt who put PLI ahead.

He waltzed his way into the box after collecting the ball some distance from goal and smartly slotted home in the 25th minute.

Windsor Forest won a penalty in the 33rd minute a n d Te r r e n c e B a i r d converted as the teams went to the break 1-1. The second half saw more enthusiasm; however Windsor Forest took the lead in the 59th m i n u t e w h e n Tr e v o n Williams slotted home from the right side the 18-yard box.

Laurence and Smartt were the only PLI players willing to play upfront and the lack of support forced the duo to drop deep into their half to gain possession, and when they did it took some stern defending to deny

David Charritar

them.

But Laurence drew his team level in the 63rd minute with a clever shot from within the box after being one on one with Fraser.

Laurence was not done yet; three minutes later he made a brilliant run down the left flank before making his way into area and his shot gave Fraser no chance, beating him to his right.

Keanu Laurence celebrates with Earlando Smartt after scoring his second goal.

However, tragedy followed for PLI; Laurence undoubtedly the best player on show covered his head with his shirt in celebration, this led to him picking up a second bookable offence

which led to a red card. His eviction made a definite impact on the result as Raidon Thomas’ 67th minute strike from the edge of the area sent the game into penalties.

t r o Sp Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ National Futsal Competition

Sparta Boss shows who’s boss to reclaim crown

Champs Sparta Boss collects the championship trophy from Director of Sport Christopher Jones in the presence of Banks DIH official Lee Baptiste (left) and Mortimer Stewart (right).

GCF National C/ships 2016 – Men’s Time Trials

‘Obeah Man’ Jeffrey (senior), Cornelius (junior) and Fernandes (veteran) are champs

Christopher Corneilus (right) and Stephen Fernandes, GCF 2016 junior and veteran Time Trial winners. (Franklin Wilson photo)

Raynauth ‘Obeah Man’ Jeffrey - 2016 GCF Senior Time Trials King.

(Franklin Wilson photo)

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