Police in Region One are powerless to challenge the threat from the ‘Sindicato’ DEAR EDITOR, Last Wednesday, March 24, I was part of the Parliamentary Oversight Committee for the Security Sector that inspected police stations at Muruca; Matthews Ridge; Port Kaituma and Mabaruma in Region 1. To his credit, our Committee Chairman, the Hon Khemraj Ramjattan, Minister of Public Security, instructed his police ranks to be truthful and straightforward in answering our questions, and I am satisfied that this was done. Because of this candid interaction with the ranks, I was able to ascertain the state of readiness of our police force in those communities, and the conditions under which they live and work. Editor, we demand professionalism of our men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe. They in turn, need to be assured of our support and commitment in providing them with the tools to keep them safe, and to get the job done. Sadly, much is needed to provide the basic level of comfort to those police officers, most of whom have been transferred from locations far away from home.Police in Region One are challenged to cope with routine criminal activities they are confronted with on a daily basis. Every police station is short-staffed and is in dire need of transportation; adequate manpower, more and better weapons. There is no defined policy guideline to deal with Venezuelans crossing the border, working here illegally and setting up prostitution rings. Living quarters for police officers are mostly cramped and inadequate. In Port Kaituma, Police Sergeant Connell is forced to live in a dilapidated building that should have been demolished a long time ago. So when I read in
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the press that Minister Ramjattan will be sending in more law enforcement officers to deal with the threat emerging from the Venezuelan gang known as the ‘Sindicato’, I wonder where he proposes to house these additional ranks, and how will they be able to confront the ‘Sindicato’ without transportation and effective communication. Unless police officers in Region One are given the tools to get the job done, even with additional ranks, they will be powerless to challenge any threat emerging from that notorious Venezuelan gang. A reliable communication system is extremely vital to any police station, more so those located in rural isolated areas. Yet the police radio at Moruca has not been working since October last year. Without a replacement and telephone land-line, the only form of communication available to these police officers is their personal cell phones. This is totally unacceptable. The lack of adequate transportation is a common problem facing all police stations in Region One. Moruca has been without a 4x4 vehicle since 2012, and one of the two ATVs is non-operational due to smooth tyres. A common request I’ve heard throughout this inspection tour of Region One, is the need for female police officers to deal with cases of rape, domestic violence, child abuse etc. The station at Moruca is without a female police officer and has no female living quarters, compromising not only the gathering of evidence, but the privacy of those women who have been raped or sexually assaulted. Throughout, those police officers that were transferred from other locations to work in Region One are dissatisfied with the three months they are required to serve before they’re given a
two weeks’ vacation to visit their families. Due to the shortage of staff, some are required to work much longer to attend court proceedings with prisoners. To make matters worse, unless a police officer is required to escort a prisoner to Georgetown, he has to pay his own transportation to and from home which often includes costly airfares. While the Minister of Public Security admitted that he is aware of some of the “harsh” conditions that exist in some locations, it appears that the chain of command is failing to address the basic needs of police officers in this Region. The 2018 Capital Expenditure for the Police Force is $11.5 Billion, yet inexpensive necessities such as a few black tanks to store water; a 4-burner gas stove and kitchen utensils needed to cook food for police ranks and prisoners are some of the items in demand at the Matthews Ridge and Port Kaituma Police Stations. I’ll be surprised if those sitting in cosy offices at Eve Leary are not aware of this. Yet little is done to improve the quality of life of police officers in these rural areas. Also in Matthews Ridge, there is an urgent need to build additional prison cells to accommodate prisoners during court days. At times, police are forced to house between 18 and 26 prisoners in the two unsecured “lock-ups”, each measuring about 5x6 feet. Even prisoners deserve to be treated with some level of compassion. Although the police have knowledge of a number of Venezuelan men working (Continued on page 5)
A query over the welcome home for the Prime Minister sonalIsn’taggrandisement. there any voice of DEAR EDITOR, It is not decent or proper to have government/taxpayers host a welcome ceremony for Prime Minister (PM) Moses Nagamootoo on his return to Guyana after an expensive surgery funded by the people. The effort- via Letter to the Editor- to justify this by AFC supporter Jerrick Rutherford is scary. (“It is decent and the right thing to give the PM an official welcome back” (-KN April 5, 2018).Lest the coalition partners, individually or collectively, forget, the taxpayers funded the PM’s overseas medical expenses. The oceanic disparity between access to such privilege by elected leaders and the connected comparatively to the masses is worrisome. To ask them to further fund a “welcome ceremony” is pushing it too far. Were any among the ordinary people afflicted with the illness as the prime minister, if that person did not have the support of loved ones or having to disregard dignity and beg for support, he or she would have died. The argument here is not about begrudging the prime minister such privilege and access- though there is preference for same to be universal and locally available- but the tone-deafness of thinking it makes good optics and smart politics to ask taxpayers to additionally fund a welcome ceremony for him. Rutherford and those like him who share the same obtuse view need not forget the fact that Mr. Nagamootoo is PM because he offered himself to serve and was elected by the people to serve, not preside over them. There is no need to remind us the PM is serving us and deserves to be treated de-
cently. He receives a salary and other benefits unlike most public servants. The society has not forgotten one of the first things the coalition did when they got elected to office was to give themselves huge salary increases. Access to healthcare and the quality of healthcare for the masses remain a sore issue in our country. Given this fact, there has to be some temperance and prudence in the spending of the masses’ money when they are denied service and access to a fundamental human right. There is no need to stray from the issue to avoid looking at the appropriateness of the issue. It is dishonest to claim that on the return of Leader of the Opposition, Desmond Hoyte, from the USA to Guyana, after a similar surgery as PM Nagamootoo, he was met with a welcome ceremony at the Timehri Airport. It was made known in my letter Mr. Hoyte’s medical expenses, including travel, were not funded by the government/taxpayers. For clarification too, neither was the event having to do with the welcome he met on his return. This is the issue Mr. Rutherford; AFC, APNU and APNU+AFC Government. Deal with it. Politics 101 advises that it makes sense not to do what you condemned your political rival/opponent for. A blogger’s comment on my letter about this issue said as much: Mr. Nagamootoo called the PPP “fat cats” and he wonders what the PM wants us to call him now. He was referring to the famous labelling by the then Opposition Member of Parliament to the PPP/C Government abuse of the taxpayers’ money and resources for per-
reason left within this Coalition to be able to impress the rudimentary of avoidance in politics? Can nobody say, ‘This thing is going to look bad and backfire on us?” It is not smart public relations to respond to me and justify what cannot be justified. It would be more prudent to demonstrate intellectual capacity to display better judgment and not make the attempt to insult the masses’ intelligence. Good political public relations would be guided by ensuring at all times to have the competitive advantage. The competitive advantage is not secured justifying inappropriateness or acting in manner condemned when the shoe was on the other foot. A press conference still remains the more strategic option to welcome the PM back. The people voted for this Coalition on the promise that things will change and get better. Mr. Rutherford, the continuation of an executive lawlessness you are encouraging is not decent and right. It is a continuation of the excesses and violation of public office, public trust and taxpayers’ money, not to mention poor politics and public relations. Minette Bacchus.
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The latest attempt to undermine the PPP DEAR EDITOR, In his letter published on April 4, 2018, Lalman Ramsundar, seeks to respond to Albert Allen’s letter and he criticizes Albert Allen for a “convoluted letter that attacks the capability of the PPP” to win the 2020 General and Regional Elections. Yet, Lalman Ramsundar, in a contorted argument is clearly seeking to diminish the likelihood of a PPP victory come 2020 by sowing confusion and lies. Like many PNC apologists before, he conveys the impression of discord within the PPP, and, like even sections of the APNU/AFC controlled media, Bharrat Jagdeo has been made the ‘fall guy’. Lalman Ramsundar ignores the PPP’s decades of democratic practice, as well as recent public assertions by both the General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo and the PPP that the Central Committee will decide on the next presidential candidate. In response to the many public comments in the media by members and supporters of the APNU/AFC Coalition Government that there are serious fissures in the
governing body, Lalman Ramsundar tries to divert attention by pitting two leaders, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo and Dr. Frank Anthony, against each other. He tries to weave a web of deception and lies, but the facts illustrate how vacuous and desperate his objectives are. Lalman Ramsundar claims that Frank Anthony secured 98 votes fewer than Bharrat Jagdeo at the PPP 2016 Congress because of interference. In fact, Gail Teixeira, whom he attacked, gained the third highest votes at the same Congress. If this was the result, I wonder if he went up against Bharrat Jagdeo in a one-on-one vote, what would have been the result. To further bolster his argument, Lalman Ramsundar, claims that Frank Anthony should have been the General Secretary of the PPP. However, Frank Anthony lost the bid for the General Secretary position by a significant number. He even trailed behind SEVEN other party leaders when the vote was taken on the composition of the PPP’s Executive Committee. He came in behind Anil Nandlall,
Clement Rohee, Roger Luncheon, Gail Teixeira, Zulfikar Mustapha and Donald Ramotar. Clearly, the evidence decimates these spurious claims. The hyprocrisy of Lalman Ramsundar is exposed when he claims that all this is done in the interest of ‘defending’ the PPP’s ability to secure a 2020 victory. Editor, I am sure that no leader in the PPP would support the contentions expressed by Lalman Ramsundar, or be associated with any attempt to divide the PPP. Why? The reason is simple. No leader of any Party would support attempts to sow discord in the Party leadership, for his/her own gain. The result would be a divided Party, weakened to win elections in 2020. Is that what Ramsundar is really aiming at?In light of this, Ramsundar’s objectives, like the PNC and other detractors before him, want a divided PPP and the continuation of the PNC-controlled APNU/ AFC Coalition in Government after 2020. The PPP will never allow this nor will the voters. Yours sincerely, Baldeo Mathura
Friday April 06, 2018
Police in Region One are powerless ...
From page 5 illegally in Region One, and of organized prostitution rings involving Venezuelan nationals, they lack transportation and language skills to clamp down on these illegal activities which are likely to include trafficking in persons. During the briefing, I was surprised to hear the Minister of Public Security say, “I hear they gat some fella in the backlands hay does claim that he big, and he’s a big trafficker… and he gat he own boat and so on, and sey po-
lice can’t do he nottin.” Yet Minister Ramjattan failed to ask the police why is this “big trafficker” allowed to defy the laws of Guyana with impunity. Did the Minister report this to SOCU, the agency that was set up specifically to deal with organized crimes? The police station at Port Kaituma is in dire need of a vehicle and a boat with a 200HP engine to patrol the riverine communities to restrict the flow of drugs and other illegal items, as well as to deter crime.
Hope Secondary School Matter From page 4 the narcotic drug. He was placed before the court and was granted bail pending trial. Following the investigation, the Ministry of Education organized several educational sessions with the teachers, parents and students involved. These sessions were attended by representatives from CANU, Guyana Police Force Narcotic Branch and Guyana Prison Service. Based on CANU’s interaction with the students, parents and the
representatives of the Ministry of Education, the following were recommended: The students should be given counselling; they should also be monitored and have limited access to mobile phones and social media until they have recovered from this incident. Parents are now reporting to the school monthly to give an account of the child’s progress and behavioral changes at home. This can be compared to the child’s behaviour at school, which can help to detect if he
or she is still in the habit of consuming a narcotic drug. Students also formed a group in the affected schools that can help to educate other students about the dangers of druguse.Finally,notwithstanding the recommendations made, the Ministry of Education administered the necessary disciplinary actions in accordance with its policies regarding drug use in the school system. Immediately following the discovery of the issue, counselling sessions commenced with the students and are ongoing.The MoE’s Welfare Department continues to work with schools to provide the necessary guidance on this and other issues that affect our young people. The Welfare Department
At a forum the Parliamentary Oversight Community for the Security Sector held with residents before our departure, a businessman described Kumaka as a lawless town. Despite the presence of the Coast Guard, Police, Immigration and GRA at the port entry, he claimed that “everything does come into Kumaca to sell. Guns, cocaine, ammunition does be coming in to this port.” He said that the Venezuelans are coming here looking for help, but at the same time, “they bringing all sorts of things here to sell.” He urged the police and GRA to do “fine checks” to prevent these illegal items from coming into Guyana because as he puts it, “We small community is being destroyed by what is happening here. In the Kumaka area where I live, some nights you can hear shooting.” It is believed that some unscrupulous customs officers are taking bribes to allow clearance of these illegal items. Here again, SOCU can play a major role in bringing these culprits to justice. Overall, this was a very successful fact-finding mission that hopefully will soon yield results to alleviate the threats facing our police officers in Region One. HARRY GILL PPP/C Member of Parliament
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U.S warns of potential threat of opioids to Guyana, other C’bean states
A
senior U.S. Embassy official in Georgetown has warned about the threat of opioids to Guyana and the Caribbean region. Chargé d’ Affaires, Terry Steers-Gonzalez, made the disclosure at a regional twoday seminar on illicit drugs which concluded yesterday at Ramada Georgetown Hotel. “Fentanyl, heroin and other opioids, have appeared in a number of Latin American countries and, as such, these substances are a potential threat to the Caribbean, as well,” Steers-Gonzalez stated. Although opioid use has historically been problematic mainly in North America, Steers-Gonzalez pointed out that the use of these substances has been spreading throughout the Americas. He told representatives from drug observatories and agencies, that further efforts of observatories will address the use and flow of opioids throughout the hemisphere. “Drug observatories and drug information networks will play a crucial role in stemming the tide of opioid use, a key goal of President Trump,” said Steers-Gonzalez. Reports indicate that the U.S. is in the midst of one of its worst-ever drug crises, with more than eight hundred people a week dying from opioid-related overdoses and millions more Americans suffering from opioid addiction. Opioids, a class of drugs derived from the opium poppy plant, can be divided into two broad categories legally manufactured medica-
ondary schools since 2013; provision of technical and financial support for data collection, analysis, and reporting; rapid situation assessments on drugs in three countries in the past two years; and national and regional training workshops for national observatories and drug information networks, including the seminar held in Guyana. law enforcement drug-related data, and improve the monitoring and evaluation of drugrelated programs,” SteersGonzalez pointed out. He stated that the U.S. Government has and will continue to support around the world. Through the U.S. Government’s Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), the United States heavily sup-
Terry Steers-Gonzalez, Chargé d’ Affaires speaking at the seminar tions and illicit narcotics. According to research, medications including oxycodone, hydrocodone and morphine, are commonly prescribed to treat pain, but it has intensified in recent years with an influx of cheap heroin and synthetic opioids, like fentanyl, supplied by foreignbased drug cartels. A senior embassy spokesperson subsequently told Kaieteur News that the renewed U.S. focus on opioids has no implication for future funding to Guyana to fight
other illicit drugs like cocaine. However, to accomplish the goals, Steers-Gonzalez outlined that it is important to strengthen drug information networks so that they can also serve as early warning systems for opioids and new psychoactive substances which may not be detectable in traditional sample surveys. “Drug observatories will strengthen the capacity to move from data to policy and program development, improve the availability and quality of supply control and
ports efforts to combat illicit drug trafficking and other international crimes through capacity building, local donations, and technical assistance, of which drug observatories are a crucial component. According to the U.S., past support for drug observatories in the Caribbean include the implementation of 15 drug use surveys in sec-
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Deodat Indar returns as GCCI President
GCCI’s Executive Management Committee from left: Timothy Tucker, Deodat Indar, Shanti Persaud, Nicholas Boyer and Kester Hutson The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) yesterday unanimously reelected Deodat Indar to lead it for another year. This would be Indar’s second year as President. About a week ago, GCCI elected a new council for the year 2018/2019. The Council, which consists of 21 members, held its first statutory meeting yesterday to elect a new Executive Management Committee. The new Management Committee is composed of Indar of Sterling Products Limited
as President; Nicholas Boyer of National Hardware (Guyana) Limited as Senior Vice-President; Timothy Tucker of Rid-O-Pes as Junior Vice-President; Kester Hutson of Dapper Technology as Secretary and Shanti Persaud of Silvie’s Variety Store as Treasurer. Kaieteur News understands that this year’s election saw one of the biggest voter turnouts in the recent history of GCCI. Some 50 persons were nominated to be part of the council of which the aforementioned 21 were chosen.
Friday April 06, 2018
Bosai continues to hoard bauxite deposit areas without development
W
hile the line of potential inves tors with interest in bauxite gets longer, Bosai Minerals Group (Guyana) Inc. continues to hold on to several areas of bauxite deposits that it is not developing. Sources say that the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) continues to engage Bosai on the issue, but efforts on the part of GGMC seem to not be enough to effect a change in the status quo. The agreement that Omai Bauxite Mining Inc. had with the Government gave the company the right to “first refusal.” This provision in the contract gives the holding company the right to have first preference on any area of bauxite deposit. Bosai inherited that agreement from Omai. Kaieteur News understands that over the last few
…as other investors being turned away years, applications were made by local and foreign companies to access bauxite deposits located in areas at Wismar, Region Ten. The response given to all these companies is that Bosai has the right to first refusal and has chosen to keep the area. A source close to GGMC explained that the way “right to first refusal” is supposed to work is, whoever owns the right to first refusal, when exercising that right, is supposed to propose to develop the area it chooses to keep. It was pointed out that once interest is expressed in an area, the right to first refusal can only be exercised if the company that holds that right is willing to develop the area of interest in a reason-
able timeframe. The source said that GGMC is supposed to ask Bosai if it wants to develop a mine in the area. If the company says yes, GGMC is supposed to hold the company to a “reasonable timeframe. But, invariably Bosai has been saying “yes, yes, we want to, but they never do develop the area. And, GGMC has been allowing the company to get away with this.’” Sources at GGMC said that the Commission has been “trying its best” to bring a resolution to the situation. But to no avail. This newspaper understands that an application was turned down two months ago and another was turned down in recent weeks.
Former GDF captain to be arraigned today
Orwain Sandy and the late Reona Payne Six days after Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Captain, Orwain Sandy, surrendered to officers at the Ruimveldt Police Station, having allegedly shot his reputed wife, Reona Payne, a Travel Agent, he is expected to make an appearance in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts today, for a charge of murder to be read to him. A senior police official told this publication that an extension of detention was granted to keep Sandy in custody. According to reports, Sandy, who was the Aide-deCamp to the Chief-of-Staff and has since been interdicted
from duty, surrendered to lawmen shortly after 10:45 hrs last Saturday after he allegedly shot Payne several times at First Street, Alexander Village. It was reported that Sandy and Payne were seated in a car when the two got into an argument. Sandy allegedly shot the woman several times about her body, killing her. He then drove himself to the station where he reportedly told the police what had transpired. He also handed in his weapon and was placed in custody. Payne, who was a mother of three, and Sandy were not married, but were living
together for about three years. The two had also recently launched a business, Prestige Taxi Service, at the recently concluded Wedding Exposition. The Guyana Defence Force, in a release on the day of the shooting, said that Sandy was immediately interdicted from duty. The release further stated that the force was saddened by the incident, but noted that Sandy’s action was not reflective of the values and standards of the GDF. The release also stated that an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the incident was launched.
T
he creation of a pro fessional public service has been the stated objective of every government of Guyana. But they hardly pursued this goal with any alacrity. In fact, if anything, the public service has been converted into a political football, with each incoming administration subtly kicking out persons whom they perceived as being political appointees or untrustworthy. It is difficult to imagine how a professional public service can emerge in the context of such harrowing suspicions of others. Apart from the lack of trust, another stumbling block to the creation of a professional public service has been the fact that incoming governments are under a lot of pressure from their supporters for jobs. As such, professional public servants are often sacrificed on the altar of political expediency. Ideologically, the two dominant political parties, the PPP/C and the PNC/R, would have difficulties in accepting the notion of a neutral public service. Both of these parties have roots in left wing politics. While they may profess that they would like to see a professional public service, in practice they wish to see a public service that is beholden to the ruling party. The political parties talk the talk, but do not walk the walk. Forbes Burnham, when he took office in 1964, did enunciate principles for the neutrality of the civil service, but he rejected those very principles later when he made it clear not only that the public service must serve the government of the day, but also be beholden to the political party in power.
A professional public service has nothing at all to do with competence. You can have the most professional public service which is woefully incompetent. Professionalism within the public service is about political neutrality. A professional public service simply refers to the employees of government being non-partisan in their work. A professional public service is one in which public servants act impartially, regardless of which government is in power. A professional public service rests on having the right people with the right skills for the job, employment based on merit. These can only be achieved through a competitive and impartial interview and evaluation system. A professional public service means that when one government changes, there is no need for any massive change in personnel in civil service positions when the new government comes in. A professional public service means that public servants should not be required to perform or attend partisan political events. In order to have political neutrality, it means that public servants should not be members of the Executive of their political parties nor should they contest elections on the slates of political parties. When the Granger administration took power, it summoned a meeting of Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Government departments and agencies. The President made it clear that he wanted a professional public service and public officials who were candidates for political parties would not be part of such a
public service.However, the government never took action against persons who were part of the list of candidates of the political parties that contested the 2015 elections. In fact, persons on the PPP/C list were not dismissed at all. Some of them are still working in the system. Also, persons on the APNU list were promoted to positions within the public sector but mainly as contract employees. A professional public service means that public service buildings shou l d n o t b e painted in colours suggestive of partisan support or wear uniforms the colour of which approximate or maybe perceived as being identical or similar to that of the colours of a political party. The government finds itself in the calamity of being unable to execute effectively its Public Sector Investment Programme. Every arm of the government has suffered a downgrade in performance since the new government took office with the exception of the Ministry of Education and the Department of Immigration where there has been improvements in the efficiency of the school placements and in the execution of immigration functions. The reason is that the Ministry of Education has not had the same level of purging as other Ministries. And the Department of Immigration has utilised the services of experienced persons within the immigration system. On the other hand, wherever there has been mass change in personnel, there has been a decline in performance. The government does not need new staffing to make the public service neutral. It sim-
Two soldiers injured in early morning paratrooping accident
S
elwyn Cumberbatch and Leron Stewart, two paratroopers from the Guyana Defence Force’s 31 Special Forces Squadron, were yesterday injured when their parachutes became entangled during a routine training exercise conducted at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri. According to a release from the Guyana Defence Force, the incident occurred sometime around 08:15hours yesterday. A video of the incident obtained by Kaieteur News showed the two soldiers jumping out of the plane
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and becoming entangled before hitting the ground. The men experienced a hard landing. The two soldiers were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where they were treated for head injuries and abrasions about their bodies. According to a source, a CT scan and X-ray were done on each of the injured men, but those tests “came back clear”. Commenting on the matter yesterday, State Minister Joseph Harmon told reporters at his weekly Post Cabinet press briefing that what occurred was
indeed unfortunate, but he added some perspective in relation to the dangers of the occupation. “ T h e r e a r e various things that occur when a person jumps out of an aircraft…the injuries that are suffered, we are sorry about it, but these are just some o f t h e o c c u p a t i o n a l h a z a r d s of being in the military and being engaged in activities of this nature,” Harmon stated. Cumberbatch and Stewart are both still patients at the medical institution and are said to be in stable condition.
ply has to manage the system in a non-partisan way to ensure a professional public service. But that is hard to do
when friends and family are demanding jobs and when they gossiping negatively about the persons they wish to see replaced.
Friday April 06, 2018
Kaieteur News
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UG moves to spread awareness on Occupational Safety and Health The University of Guyana is working towards spreading awareness about the benefits of improved Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) mechanisms in the workplace. Addressing a forum held recently at the University’s Turkeyen Campus to kick off Occupational Health and Safety Month, Vice Chancellor Professor Ivelaw Griffith spoke of efforts to establish a Unit that will deal specifically with spreading awareness about safety and health in the workplace. The event was held in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Protection. Speaking to gathering of students and staff at the University’s Library, Vice Chancellor Griffith emphasized the need for an OSH section that students can optimize and use as
informative material to become more aware of its issues and benefits in Guyana. He noted that while there has been new development in infrastructure on Campus, individual responses where occupational safety and health is concerned, is an important factor to the success of the University. In her brief remarks, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Barbara Reynolds, added that the tertiary level of education is the perfect place to lead in matters concerning Occupational Safety and Health practices in Guyana. University Librarian, Mrs. Gwyneth George also echoed the importance of working together to make OSH policies a reality in campus c u l t u r e . In his statement on the
occasion of observing Occupational Health and Safety Month, Minister of Labour Keith Scott highlighted the strides made locally towards achieving the development goals set by the United Nations. Minister Scott noted that he was particularly delighted to repeat that the most recent United Nations Human Development Report (2016) categorized Guyana as a Medium Human Development Country. He said, however, “if we are to be elevated to the coveted status of High Human Development, we will have to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal #8, a performance indicator which relates to a reduction in the frequency of fatal and loss time accidents in the workplace”.
A section of the gathering at OSH forum at the University of Guyana In Government’s 2018 Budget Presentation, Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, had pointed out that there was a reduction in fatal accidents in the mining
sector. By the end of 2017, a further reduction had been e x p e r i e n c e d . As a matter of fact, the Minister noted that at the close of the year (2017), the
total number of accidents reported had declined by 5.3% from 462 to 428 and those which were of a fatal consequence declined by 14% from 21 to 18.
Residents bemoan condition of main access canal in Pomeroon River
The weed-choked, heavily-silted access canal in the Pomeroon River. The Region Two Democratic Council, (RDC) is being blamed for the condition of the main access canal in Martindale\Friendship, Pomeroon River. The issue was highlighted during a recent visit to the Pomeroon by Junior Minister of Public Infrastructure, Annette Ferguson. During her visit, Minister Ferguson met the residents who spoke of the plight. Not only is the canal weedchoked, but the situation is getting worse. Several sections of the waterway have not been cleared for some 15 years. Persons living along the riverain area have been complaining about the adverse effects of the clogged canal. With no other access in and out of communities along the Pomeroon River, the people say it’s a necessity to have the area cleared. Kaieteur News understands that those traversing
the waterway are constantly faced with the anxiety of reaching destinations on time; school children or those taking medical aid to the communities have to spend much longer travelling on water before reaching their destination. Further, the residents have lodged several complaints about the condition of the main access canal with the Regional Democratic Council. Regional Councillor, Julian Cummings, explained however that the Regional Democratic Council, (RDC) “has not made any attempts to help the poor people of Friendship.” Cummings noted that the complaints appear to have “fallen on deaf ears.” The people are frustrated by the non-action of the administration. Efforts to get money by way of a budgetary allocation are almost impossible. The last time such an attempt was
made the allocation was struck off”. According to Cummings, almost every school in the area has a sanitary problem. “Last visit during the big flood to St John, water from the cemetery was flowing into school compound … black like my palms and smelly. That’s the condition that the school children have to face.” Neelan Benjamin, a boat operator in the Pomeroon River, where he has also been a resident for the past 22 years, spoke of the difficulties he faces manoeuvring the heavily-silted main canal. “It is very difficult; it is only by the grace of God [that] we are surviving. In case of an emergency, we cannot travel in and out of here easily,” Benjamin said, adding that several of his boat motors have been damaged, owing to the condition of the canal.Additionally, the (Continued on page 28)
Friday April 06, 2018
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As leadership conference gets underway...
Educators urged to help transform education sector Although the local education sector has been yielding some notable success, there is still need for more to be done to transform the sector so that it realises even greater results. This was the notion that was amplified yesterday when a Conference on Education Leadership got underway at School of the Nations, New Market Street, Georgetown,. The event is one being spearheaded by the school, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the British High Commission. Speaking at the forum yesterday, Director of the National Centre for Educational Resource Development [NCERD], Ms. Jennifer Cumberbatch, underscored that strong accountability and excellent leadership are consistent factors that are internationally recognised and practised by top performing education systems. Cumberbatch, who represented Minister of Education Ms. Nicolette Henry at the forum, disclosed too, that many exceptional local academics, artistes, as well as sportsmen and women, were in fact, products of an excellent system. She moreover stressed that it is important that Guyana retains such a system. As such, she noted that moving forward, it is impera-
The Education Leadership Conference in progress yesterday tive that principals and teachers are given the training and support to run efficient, resultoriented schools, whose students achieve previously inconceivable feats under their leadership. But even in the face of some shortcomings, Cumberbatch noted that Guyana has a number of exceptional schools that have achieved outstanding results. She added that this is so because their ‘future-focused’ principals, head teachers, teachers and parents have worked together and grasped the opportunities offered by the ministry.
This, she said, has allowed them to “make a clean break from past practices and embrace the new guidelines on how schools should be run to increase attendance and improve academic achievements of their students.” “To get to this stage, data collection is important, because we need educational information on how our schools are functioning to be more informed when making policies that drive the education system towards quality education for all,” said Cumberbatch. But according to her, “it is unquestionable that heads and principals are
responsible for the creation of a school’s culture.” The conference is one that attracted the attendance of some 60 Regional Education Officers (REDOs) and head teachers, who are expected to influence crucial changes within the sector. Cumberbatch noted that, “the empowerment through knowledge of all heads and principals through conferences like this will only build
Ms. Jennifer Cumberbatch, NCERD Director
Nations Director, Dr. Brian O’Toole
confidence, give support and guidance in creating the school culture that is nurturing and productive, producing students that reach their full potential.” Director of School of the Nations and Nations University, Dr. Brian O’Toole, in delivering an overview of the conference, said that it was brought to fruition following meetings with Minister Henry, and Chief Education Officer, Mr. Marcel Hutson. Following those engagements, he revealed that Regional Education Officers were consulted.
This, according to him, has since allowed for specific focus, in terms of assistance to teachers, to be forthcoming in areas such as the North West District of Region One. Moreover, the conference is being graced by the Admin Manager for Limited Resource Teachers Training [LRTT], an organisation, which is known to deliver transformational inservice training to teachers in countries with limited resources. The facilitators of the conference are 30 outstanding (Continued on page 14)
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Govt. to focus on nine key areas for economic well-being In an effort to ensure improved economic well-being, the APNU+AFC Government will focus on nine key areas. According to Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, these areas include: strengthening national planning, building a robust oil and gas industry, consolidating the macroeconomic fundamentals, fostering economic diversification, strengthening private sector capacity and its involvement in national development, diversification of the agricultural sector, investing in human and social development, development of climate resilient infrastructure, and pursuing equitable growth in a green development agenda. The Finance Minister made this revelation during his feature address at the recently held 43rd annual meeting of the Islamic Develop-
ment Bank (IDB) Group in Tunisia. There, the Minister said that since its assumption to office, the Government of Guyana has been steadfast in its resolve to ensure growth in the economy. He said that this resolve has resulted in economic growth averaging about three percent, between 2015 and 2017. The economist explained that this growth was achieved at a time when many of Guyana’s neighbours were facing low or negative growth rates and reduced standards of living. Jordan boasted that Guyana continues to rise to the challenge by fostering conditions and creating opportunities for renewal and expansion in the economy, so that the “Good Life” can be secured for all Guyanese. The Finance Minister said, “It is what we promised
to the people of Guyana and to our partners who expressed hope in our leadership, and it is what my Government has been pursuing, relentlessly, as its mandate.” In addition to this, the policy leader said that Guyana has recently adopted a Public-Private Partnership (P3) Framework, which it recognizes, has the potential to expand the resource envelope for public sector investment in a prudent, efficient and effective manner. Jordan said that this framework provides a structured platform for local and external private sectors to engage meaningfully with Government to achieve economic development. As it relates to human capital development, the Finance Minister said that this plays a critical role in longterm productivity and growth
- Finance Minister at both micro and macro levels of any nation. Consequently, he noted that the Coalition Administration, in partnership with the Bank, has programmed a project to improve national education at the primary and secondary levels. The Finance Minister said that this project will embrace the Inquiry-Based Science and Mathematics Education (IBSME) approach. He stated that it will also make use of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s Global Micro-Science Experiments programme and supporting mathematics kits. He said that it will lead to the integration of mathematics through science lessons. Jordan asserted that this effort will raise the level of scientific and mathematical literacy among teachers and students, while supporting a learner-centered environment. The Finance Minister stated, too, that another critical aspect of human development is that of harnessing, caring and paying homage to a nation’s elderly populace. He said that in 2017, the mini-
mum standards for elderly residential care facilities were completed and enacted in Guyana. Concurrently, Jordan noted that the Government approached the Bank for its support and assistance to design a project, which will modernize and upgrade the facilities of the Palms Geriatric Facility. He said that the project is expected to procure equipment and furniture. He said that it will also result in the provision of enhanced medical care. The Finance Minister said that such a “quick win” project, is welcomed by the Government, not only for its demonstrative socio-economic impact and benefits, but, also, as evidence of the concretizing of the partnership between the Bank and Guyana. The economist said, “Indeed, since I last had the honour of addressing this forum, there has been notable progress in our relationship. The Bank fielded a programming mission, in December 2017, where a work programme for the three-year period, 2018-2020, was formalized. Financing and technical assistance, of about US$900 mil-
Finance Minister, Winston Jordan lion, will be directed to key development areas, including economic infrastructure, rural development, human development and trade, and competitiveness.” The Finance Minister then reaffirmed Guyana’s resolve to further strengthen its cooperation with the Bank and fellow member countries. He concluded, “It is quite evident that our joint efforts can go a long way in bringing about socio-economic stability and prosperity in Guyana, which can redound to the benefit of the Latin American and Caribbean Region. Guyana remains hopeful for its future and grateful for the Bank’s support”.
Educators urged to help... (From page 13) educators drawn from various parts of the globe including England, Canada, the United States, Afghanistan and Argentina. “Our international speakers are really a group of exceptional people,” declared Dr. O’Toole. In fact, he disclosed that “the guy from Afghanistan, they threatened to kill him twice because he educates girls, and I watched his videos and literally it moves you to tears when you see what he has achieved. He has been recognised as one of the 10 outstanding educators in Afghanistan.” Another notable presence at the conference is Head of the Cambridge University for Latin America, Ms. Lucila Marquez, who comes from Argentina. Speaking of the Cambridge representative, Dr. O’Toole said that, “a major part of the conference will be the launch of the Cambridge Certificate in educa-
tion leadership programme, and that is why Cambridge sent this lady from Argentina to introduce that programme, and we are doing this with the Ministry of Education.” The launch of the Professional Development Qualification in Educational Leadership programme by Cambridge University, represents one of the school’s many partnerships. Ms. Marquez said that the Educational Leadership programme aims at offering support to teachers and leaders to be better educators. She said that the programme will teach educators how to develop a lifelong passion for learning among their students. The conference participants will also hear from an educator from Gambia, who, according to Dr. Dr. O’Toole, is well known for her role in educating impoverished girls in order to ensure that they are qualified to attend university.
“It is really an impressive group of people we have here for the conference,” assured Dr. O’Toole who, along with a number of other influential education-oriented individuals, will be making presentations. Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Dr. Paloma Mohamed, during her remarks told the educators that teaching is one of the most rewarding things to do in life. Being an educator herself, Dr. Mohamed encouraged the teachers, head teachers and REDOs that they need to become transformational leaders to have the greatest impact in their profession. Echoing similar sentiments was British High Commissioner to Guyana, Mr. Greg Quinn. He encouraged the educators to take advantage of the opportunity being offered so that Guyana can take its education system to higher levels.
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Kaieteur News
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Berbice Bridge failed to maintain pontoons in more than a decade - “private” company urged to float shares to raise money The privately-owned Berbice River Bridge is facing a major problem of maintenance, or lack thereof, of its pontoons, with Government recommending the company seeks ways to raise financing. Since being commissioned in December 2008, there has been little or no maintenance of the pontoon which floats the bridge, with concerns raised recently by former board member and chairman, Bert Carter, and others. The problem is that the bridge company, Berbice Bridge Company Incorporated (BBCI), has always been insisting that it is a private company, although one state entity, National Insurance Scheme, has shares in the structure which provides a critical link between Berbice and Demerara, and by extension, the rest of the coastlands. This in essence is the major stumbling block preventing Government from just doling out any monies. Last year, NIS Chairman, Dr. Surendra Persaud, informed government of the maintenance issues. It was reportedly pointed out that the bridge is facing a finan-
The privately-owned Berbice River Bridge is facing a major problem of lack of maintenance, particularly of its pontoons.
Minister David Patterson cial shortfall and could not maintain the pontoons. Questioned about the issue Wednesday evening, Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson, in confirming, said that after Government was informed of the developments, a team of engineers from the Demerara Harbour Bridge was dispatched to Berbice. There, it was discovered that the bridge had only one spare pontoon. Almost 40 others were in the salt water of the Berbice River since 2007
and would be in urgent need of cleaning and fixing. Some recommendations were made, including one for the acquisition of a piece of land in Berbice to construct a dry dock to repair and maintain the pontoons. The BBCI will require about $150M to bring the pro-
posed dry dock into operations. With regards to financing, says Patterson, there are possibilities of selling shares on the open market. The bridge, he pointed out, has a guaranteed rate of return, and there are possibilities also to divert some of the dividends for maintenance. Asked about the possibilities of further intervention from Government, Minister Patterson was critical of the company, which had made it clear that it was privately run. Government had sought to reduce fares in late 2015, but
was rebuffed by the company. Eventually an agreement was reached for a 10 percent toll reduction, with Government approving a subvention based on audited traffic figures. While making it clear that the bridge is not in an “imminent” state of collapse, the Minister pointed out that like a car, there should be maintenance. He was puzzled why the structure, being the main asset and source of income for the company, was not maintained as it should have been. The bridge was con-
structed under a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) scheme with the Government of Guyana to take control after 20 years. Patterson noted that there are financing options, which should be explored by the bridge company to carry out its maintenance. He also insisted that the issue was not brought to the attention of the administration until a few months ago. The construction of the bridge under the Bharrat Jagdeo administration, while widely welcomed, was heavily criticized because a few investors were allowed almost total control, though putting up only a fraction of the almost US$40M used to build it. What is alarming is that a few of the investors received dividends, with little evidence seen of attempts to start a programme of maintenance of the pontoons, which keeps the bridge afloat.
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‘Fed up’ nurses stage sit-in at Linden Hospital
Nurses during yesterday’s ‘sit-in’ at the Linden Hospital Complex. By Jacquey Bourne Nurses at the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC) yesterday morning, around nine o’clock, engaged in a ‘sit-in’ in the Out Patient Department while patients were seated both inside and outside of the facility. The action by the nurses was as a result of their concerns about the shortages of both medical and non medical supplies at the hospital. Management of the Linden Hospital Complex met with the staff to address these concerns. CEO of the LHC, Dr Mohamed Riyasat assured the staff that their issues are being addressed at the bimonthly Section Heads Meeting and the management is pursuing all possible avenues
to have them rectified. Staffers at the LHC are extremely disgruntled, because according to them, shortage of drugs has always been a sore point. They claim that basic things are not in stock such as gloves and medical tape, with scotch tape being used for the latter. The nurses also complained that when they attend the University of Guyana and would have attained a Bachelor’s of Nursing Science Degree, their salary remains the same, but teachers’ salaries increase when they have achieved a degree. They are hoping that the authorities will look into this as soon as possible. During a teleconference with Minster of Public Health, Ms. Volda Lawrence, Director
of Regional Health Services Dr. Kay Shako and Management, it was decided that the Linden Hospital Complex will be acquiring supplies through GPHC temporarily. Representatives from the LHC were sent immediately after the teleconference to Georgetown to uplift the first set of supplies. Management will meet with the staff again today for an update on the situation. Meanwhile, the Ministry in a statement said that it is currently addressing the issue at the Linden Hospital Complex where the nurses had staged a sit-in because of the Complex being in short supply of medical supplies. According to the statement, “On March 6, 18 and 21, the Linden Hospital Complex ordered medical supplies from the Materials Management Unit. On March 6, they received 16 out of the 24 items requested; and on March 18 they received 91 items out of the 174 requested.” It was revealed in the statement too, that “It is usual for the Linden Hospital Complex to purchase drugs and medical supplies whenever there is a shortage, but as a result of poor forecasting, the medical institution has already spent all the monies allotted for the first quarter of this year.” The Ministry in its statement added that it has begun to put the necessary measures in place to correct the anomaly. It was further noted that currently, the Ministry is in the process of clearing some containers of key medical supplies. The Ministry also revealed that the management of the Linden Hospital Complex was never notified of the intended ‘sit in’ by the Guyana Public Service Union nor its Linden Representative.
A mini health check is the first step to donating blood
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Friday April 06, 2018
Detective recalls examining murder scene at South Central Hotel
C
rime Scene Examiner Police Lance Corporal Dwayne McPherson took to the witness box yesterday in the trial of Brian Leitch, who is accused of the 2013 murder of South Central Hotel proprietor Joseph Jagdeo who was found dead in one of the hotel rooms. Leitch, also known as ‘Big Foot’, and formerly of Diamond, East Bank Demerara, pleaded not guilty to the indictment which alleges that between November 13 and 14, 2013 at Georgetown, he murdered Jagdeo called ‘Joey’. The murder accused is being represented by Attorneys-at-law Hewley Griffith and Lawrence Harris. Appearing for the State are Prosecutors Mandel Moore and Lisa Cave. The trial is being heard by Justice Sandil Kissoon and a 12-member mixed jury at the High Court in Georgetown. Lance Corporal McPherson told the court that on November 14, 2013, he was performing duties at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters, Eve Leary, Georgetown, when Sergeant Bowman, a detective who was then stationed at Brickdam Police Station, made a request for a crime scene examiner and police photographer at the scene of an alleged murder at 218 South Road, Lacytown, Georgetown. The police witness added, “As a result of that request, Constable Charles and I left for the Brickdam Police Station. Constable Charles had a digital camera. And I had a crime scene kit in my possession.” Lance Corporal McPherson said that upon arrival at the alleged crime scene, he spoke with Sergeant Bowman who told him something. Based on what was related to him, the witness said that he proceeded to Room 10 of the hotel. “While there (in Room 10), I instructed Constable Charles to take photographic exposure of the room, and then I began my examination.” He said that while examining the room, he observed the motionless body of a man underneath a bed. The witness related that in order to examine the body properly, he removed the mattress from the bed, during which he observed what appeared to be blood on the mattress covering. He said that he placed the mattress covering in an evidence bag. According to Lance Corporal McPherson, “I examined the body and I observed no marks of violence. I then observed that the body was bound by the hand and mouth.”
MURDERED: Joseph Jagdeo Lance Corporal McPherson said that after he finished examining the body, he returned to the Crime Laboratory where he filled out an analysis form. The cop recalled that on February 25, 2014, he carried the evidence bag containing the mattress covering and the analysis form to the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts where the items were tendered. During cross-examination by Defence Counsel Griffith, the police witness admitted that he did not speak with any occupants of the hotel. He further admitted that he did not examine the door to the room in which the body was found, neither did he inspect any of the other rooms. On Wednesday, Wendell Eastman called ‘Buxton’ a former employee of the hotel told the court that in
November 2013, he lived and worked at South Central Hotel as a maintenance man. The witness recalled that on November 12, 2013, Leitch and a female were staying in the hotel when they had an argument over Leitch stealing Jagdeo’s phone. According to Eastman, “The boss man (Jagdeo) told me to give Leitch Room 10, because the girl didn’t want him to stay in her room.” Eastman related that he last saw his employer alive at around 09:00hrs on November 13, when he (employer) gave him $1,000 to buy porridge. He said that later on in the evening, Paula Hollingsworth, who worked as a bartender at the hotel, went to the upper flat of the premises. He said that after he called out for his employer and got no response, he retired to bed. The court heard through Eastman that on November 14, 2013, he was filling water when he saw Jagdeo’s pet cat by his office door. He said that after a while, the cat began scratching on the wall of Room 10 and started purring. Eastman recounted that the behaviour of the cat was very unusual and prompted him to call out to Patrick Wilson, another employee of the hotel. He said that he told his colleague about the behaviour of the cat, after which he went outside and climbed onto a shed from
where he saw the keys to open the door to Room 10 on the bed. The witness explained that he pushed a pipe through the window and collected the keys from the bed and handed
them over to Wilson, who used them to open the room door. According to Eastman, the cat made a sudden dash into the room and ran out back purring. He added that he
warned Wilson not to go into the room and he complied. From kneeling in a passageway next to the room, Eastman said he saw his boss lying motionless under a bed so he summoned the police.
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Friday April 06, 2018
Remains found in basement 50 years on Authorities in New York state have identified the skeletal remains of a woman who vanished from her Long Island farming community over 50 years ago. In October 1966 Louise Pietrewicz, 38 at the time, closed her bank account and left town with her then-boyfriend, police officer William P Boken. Pietrewicz’s bones were found two weeks ago buried under a Long Island home that Boken, who died in 1982, owned.A newspaper’s expose and documentary spurred renewed interest in her case. The missing person’s case was reopened last October after the Suffolk Times published an in-depth report and a documentary about Pietrewicz’s disappearance. On Wednesday, a medical examiner identified her remains, after taking DNA swabs from her relatives, local media report. Pietrewicz’s daughter, Sandy Blampied, can still recall the last memory she has of her mother - dropping her off at the local school bus when she was 12 years old. “She would never have just left me,” Ms Blampied told the Suffolk Times.
The case was reopened after an investigation by the Suffolk County Times newspaper If she was alive somewhere she would have called and told me so we could be together.” But she never called, and no arrest was ever made. The day before Pietrewicz vanished she withdrew $1,273.80 from her personal bank account and closed it, reports the Suffolk Times. The day after she was last seen Boken resigned from his job as a police officer. He had called in sick for the previous three days.Pietrewicz was trapped in an abusive marriage at the time she vanished.
According to the newspaper, Boken’s former wife recently tipped police off that there was a body buried in the basement of his old colonial-era home in the town of Southold. Using ground-penetrating radar, Suffolk County detectives found a skeleton buried 7ft (2.1m) in the dirt floor basement under a 5in (12cm) concrete slab. “Sometimes later in life witnesses do come forward to give us information that maybe at one point they felt compelled not to release, felt threatened… or just out
Turkey university gunman kills four in Eskisehir A gunman has shot and killed four staff at a university in Eskisehir in north-western Turkey. Turkish media say the attacker is a research fellow at the city’s Osmangazi University and has been detained. Those killed were a deputy dean, a faculty secretary and two lecturers, the state-run Anadolu news agency said. Three others were wounded in the attack, according to CNN Turk. The gunman’s motive is not clear but police are currently questioning him. Reports suggest the assailant - named by state media as Volkan B - surrendered
after initially trying to escape. In a statement, the university’s rector said those killed were the deputy dean of the education faculty, Mikail Yalcin; the faculty’s secretary, Fatih Ozmutlu; lecturer Serdar Caglak; and assistant lecturer Yasir Armagan. University rector Hasan Gonen described the researcher as a “problematic” person who was being investigated for verbally insulting academic staff as a result of suspected “psychological problems,” Mr Gonen told CNN Turk. Other reports said the attacker had upset colleagues
by alleging they were members of the group blamed for the failed 2016 coup in Turkey. Television footage showed emergency workers at the scene, attending to students and teachers who were in a state of shock. Turkey has suffered a string of deadly attacks blamed on Kurdish militants in recent years. However the city of Eskisehir, home to nearly one million people, has not seen any attacks. A connection between Thursday’s shooting and extremist activity has not been established.
Residents bemoan condition of main ... From page 12 resident noted that there is no access to potable water and electricity. He said too that the school children are left without teachers on several occasions. “Sometimes, one or two teachers to an entire school; we don’t have a medical doctor coming in the region,” Benjamin added. Reginald Mannie, a former Chairman of Coop farmers group in the Region, explained that over the years the condition of the canal has worsened. “We used to clear it under the Coop….Now things get worse, the canal is not supposed to be in this condition. If every-
body cleans their spaces, it would not be in this condition.” He said that Regional administration must step up and have the canal cleared. “And the government should build two outlets to the sea because in the rainy season, the Pomeroon River does overflow the banks.” Meanwhile, Minister Ferguson told the residents that immediate efforts will be undertaken to have their concerns addressed. The Minister noted that the responsibility of the Pomeroon rests with the Ministry of Communities and the Regional Administration, which will be notified.
Boken, centre, is the suspected killer
of their conscience come forward,” said Suffolk City chief of detectives Gerard Gigante at a news conference. It is unclear if a medical examiner will be able to deter-
mine Pietrewicz’s cause of death. But Ms Blampied said she believes Boken murdered her. “I think he killed her on the last day I saw her,” Ms
Blampied told the Times Herald-Record. “I gave her a hug and a kiss before I left for school, and I bet that was the day he killed her.”
Trump escalates China trade fight, threatening $100 billion more in tariffs WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Thursday he had instructed U.S. trade officials to consider $100 billion in additional tariffs on China, fueling an already heated trade dispute between the world’s two biggest economies. Trump said in a statement the further tariffs were being considered “in light of China’s unfair retaliation” against earlier U.S. trade actions that included $50 billion of tariffs on Chinese goods.He added that the U.S. Trade
Representative had determined that China “has repeatedly engaged in practices to unfairly obtain America’s intellectual property.” Trump’s after-market-hours comments spurred a sharp sell-off in U.S. equity futures markets. The S&P 500 e-mini futures traded down 1.3 percent EScv1, while similar moves were reflected in Dow and Nasdaq futures 1YMcv1 NQcv1. In currency markets, the U.S. dollar fell against the Japanese yen, down 0.30 percent to 107.06 yen JPY=.
Stocks drop, yen rises as Trump proposes more China tariffs TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. stock futures slid and the yen rose against the dollar on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump proposed additional tariffs on China, aggravating trade tensions and smothering a revival in broader investor risk appetite.MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS lost 0.25 percent. The index has spent the week swinging wildly in and out of negative territory amid the back-and-forth of the U.S.-China trade dispute.Australian stocks slipped 0.35 percent and South Korea’s KOSPI .KS11 lost 0.3 percent. Japan’s Nikkei .N225 fell 0.15 percent.The S&P 500 E-mini futures were
down 1.2 percent ESc1, pointing to a lower start for Wall Street later in the session. The Dow .DJI and the S&P 500 .SPX posted gains for a third day in a row on Thursday, the longest stretch of gains in about a month, as investor fears of an escalating trade conflict between the United States and China abated, turning the focus to upcoming earnings.Trade tensions, however, returned to the fore after Trump said late on Thursday that he had instructed U.S. trade officials to consider $100 billion in additional tariffs on China, fuelling the trade dispute between the world’s two economic superpowers.
South Africa’s Zuma to appear in court on corruption charges DURBAN, South Africa (Reuters) - South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma is due to appear in the Durban High Court on Friday to face charges of corruption in a years-old arms deal, as a scandal from the 1990s comes back to haunt him within weeks of his fall from power. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) last month said it would seek to prosecute Zuma on 16 charges, including fraud, racketeering, corruption and money laundering.The case is a dramatic development on a continent where leaders rarely face their accusers in court.Zuma, who denies any wrongdoing, is mounting a legal challenge against the decision to prosecute him over his role in the $2.5 billion arms deal.
Thousands of Zuma supporters were expected to march to the court in solidarity with a leader they say is the victim of a politicallymotivated witch-hunt.Zuma, who was forced to resign by his ruling African National Congress last month, was at the center of a 1990s agreement to buy European military kit that has cast a shadow over politics in South Africa for years.Zuma was deputy president at the time of the deal. Schabir Shaikh, his former financial adviser, was found guilty and jailed in 2005 for trying to solicit bribes for Zuma from a French arms company.Charges against Zuma relating to the arms deal were filed but then set aside by the NPA shortly before he successfully ran for president in 2009. The charges were re-instated in 2016.
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Friday April 06, 2018
Final report on 2017 economic performance for Parliament, IMF review Cabinet has approved an end of year outcome statement that provides a full perspective on the economic performance last year. At a post-Cabinet media briefing yesterday, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon explained that the report was presented to Cabinet on Tuesday by Finance Minister, Winston Jordan. The report will be tabled in the National Assembly and will also be the subject of intense scrutiny during the upcoming International Monetary Fund (IMF) Article IV Consultations. According to Harmon, the report submitted by the Finance Minister highlighted statistical data in the areas of production of main commodities by sector, including sugar, rice, bauxite,
gold and forestry; annual growth rate by sector, electricity, water construction and service industries. The report also provides details of prices, the fiscal sector and debt management. In November last year, Jordan presented the 2018 National Budget which reflected actual data up to October 2017 and projections for November and December 2017. During his budget speech to the National Assembly, Jordan had said that the overall real growth rate for 2017 was projected at 3.8 percent. By mid-year, 2.2 percent was achieved, up from two percent for the same period the previous year. The economist recalled that the 2017 projection was subsequently revised from
3.8 percent to 3.1 percent. Jordan attributed this to weak performance in the mining and quarrying sectors, and the sugar and forestry industries. He projected that by the close of 2017, the economy would have achieved a 2.9 percent growth rate. Jordan has estimated that the rice industry was expected to record an output of 602,087 tonnes for 2017, an increase of 12.7 percent over 2016.Sugar production was projected to decline to 152,000 tonnes in 2017, a 17.2 percent reduction compared to 2016’s output. Preliminary estimates suggested that the livestock industry was projected to grow by 4.4 percent at the end of 2017, compared to a decline of 5.8 percent in 2016. The forestry sub-sector
was also expected to show some improvement, with a projected slowing of the contraction to 7.2 percent in 2017, from 27.3 percent in 2016. Total production for 2017 was projected at 297,070 cubic metres, 10 percent lower than 2016.Mining and quarrying sector was anticipated to contract by 1.9 percent, compared to the 46.1 percent expansion in 2016. Gold declarations were expected to remain stable, bauxite production and other mining were expected to decline by 2.3 percent and 12.6 percent, respectively. In 2016, the IMF review concluded that subdued agricultural commodity prices, bad weather, and delays in public investment weighed down activity, while large increases in gold output
Minister of State, Joseph Harmon helped support growth. Growth in 2017 was expected to be supported by an increase in public
investment, continued expansion in the extractive sector, and a recovery in rice production.
Several radio operations face imminent shutdown By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell
…as Broadcasting Authority gets tough for non-compliance
E
ven the longest rope has an end. That idiom is a stark reminder of the position taken by the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) which has decided to publish a list of all non-compliant broadcasters who as a result of their errant ways will no longer be allowed to operate. Kaieteur News understands that a number of radio broadcasters owe millions of dollars to the GNBA, representing backed-up licence fees. At the beginning of the year, GNBA Chairman Leslie Sobers met with all broadcasters—television and radio. During his meeting with radio broadcasters, Sobers informed them of the Board’s decision to facilitate a paym e n t s c h e m e t h a t they should take advantage of to fulfill their financial obligations. The Board decided to have all broadcasters, individually, pay half of their debt within the first quarter of the year, giving them the rest of the year to pay the balance in monthly installments. Now that the first quarter is finished, most broadcasters are reportedly still out of financial compliance, and Sobers spoke to Kaieteur News yesterday about the developments that will follow as a result. He said that some broadcasters made attempts to clear their debts w h i l e o t h e r s chose to ignore the generous provision offered by the authority. Sobers indicated that one broadcaster, whom he did not name, cried out that he cannot make the payment. The broadcaster report-
GNBA Chairman, Leslie Sobers edly indicated that he will be filing for bankruptcy. Sobers said, “That will not stop us;
we will still be going after him. We cannot allow him to come and operate here, make money, claim he folded and go away with all the money he owes us. “ The Board, according to Sobers, had made a decision that something had to be done and gave the subcommittee, with responsibility for licence fee and legal issues, a mandate to take the necessary appropriate action. The committee had a meeting yesterday to decide what form of “appropriate action” must be taken. Sobers, who is also the
chairman of that committee, said that by the end of the working day today, the GNBA will prepare a list of all noncompliant broadcasters. That list will be published on Monday in the various newspapers. Sobers said that when that list is published, all noted broadcasters will be immediately considered illegal and they will not be granted their 2018 licences. Sobers said that
strict action, in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations, will be taken against those who continue to broadcast despite being deemed non-complaint. Measures to be taken can include the seizing of equipment. Sobers said that once the list is published, broadcasters will have to pay off all the money owed to the authority before having the opportunity to resume broad-
casting. “The deal will then be off the table. The first quarter is finished and we have been more than reasonable with them.” Sobers was tightlipped about the names of the broadcasters. But this newspaper understands that very popular radio stations are likely to make the list of non-compliant broadcasting agencies.
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Kaieteur News
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FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754. Ps 2 games $900 Ps 3 games $1200 Xbox 360 $4000 and repair to all systems.Call:6722566/265-3231 1 small ice machine $47,000 1 indoor restaurant gas grill $120,000 #220-1716 1 chowmein machine/ dough sheeter for pastries and cutter $275,000 1 large gas deep fryer $220,000 #220-1716 Freezers for sale. Call: 671-3004 Cottage house, 2 bedroom, living room, kitchen, dining room located @ Fourth St Pearl, EBD Tel# +1-407-2883883
PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY,ETC.-CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 2161043; 677-6620 2 bedroom house for rent Parfaite Harmonie WBD #6254118 2 and 3 bedroom fully furnished luxury to rent long and short term #666-7028/ 691-1432 1 bedroom apartment 573 Uitvlugt housing scheme West Coast Demerara. Tel#663-2882 Space to rent, display rack, computers and office furniture for sale. Contact: 624-6783 Room to rent & (2) bedroom fully furnished @ Providence& Diamond. Tel#660-7716 1 bedroom furnished apartment in Diamond H/S EBD Tel: 668-8403/216-0644 Two Bedroom apartment, bottom flat $40,000 #687-3017 small family
MF 390 Tractor 4 wheel drive. Contact: 258-0100 Unregistered DAF trucks: Dump trucks, Flatbed, Flatbed with crane & hauler, Foden 6x4 Dump truck. Call: 659-3100 New triangle truck tyres, front & all-wheel drive, size 295/ 80R22.5 Call: 647-2022 Motors 220 Volts, water pumps, Generator iron cage, Fans, Wine-making equipment Tel#225-8183
CAR RENTAL PROGRESSIVE CAR R E N TA L : S U V F O R RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL:6435122/656-0087, ,EMAIL:PRO_AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM AIDAN’S CAR RENTAL:PICKUP,9-11 SEAT MINI BUS, GOOD FOR AIRPORT & FAMILY OUTINGS, CHEAPEST RATE . Call: 698-7807
Make-up Courses with Mac, Bare Minerals, etc. -CosmetologyCourses:$90,000 Nail Technician Course: $35,000. Call: 647-1773/6880009
WING’S CAR & PICKUP RENTAL: LOW DOWN PAYMENT, CHEAP RATES,SPECIALOFFERS! . CALL: 690-6494 PEN PAL
TOLET 1 & 3 Bedroom apt in a gated community in Versailles WBD. Call: 264-2946
Overseas Indian Male seeks female age 30/35 yrs, write to M.D 7475 Goreway Drive #47 Mississauga Ontario L4T 3T3 Canada.
WANTED Experience security personnel needed. Serious enquiries only. Tel: 673-6354 Looking to buy a house or empty land, Preferences-EBD Public road. Buyer #1917-6225810/694-3331 Experienced Pastry Maker/ Cake Decorator, Curry & Roti/ Puri cook. Apply Hack’s Halaal with H/written application, 5 Commerce St. (1) Gardener Age: 20-35 must know to use grasscutter and wash vehicles. Salary: $20,000 per week. Call: 675-1430 One maintenance person. Ages 20-35 yrs. Contact 6289268 between 9-5 Mon-Fri. 1 Female cashier must have CXC Maths,English, EDPM, Accounts for immediate employment. #601-2622/2317839 1 Live in maid. Contact: 6955505/611-6364. Call between 9am-4pm 2 Housekeeper to work shift system at Land of Canaan. Tel# 225-6337 One clerk must be computer literate. Call: 225-4822/6294946
VEHICLE FOR SALE Bluebird 2012 model-$2.7M Axio 2010-$2.6M Tida-2010 $2.1M All vehicles unregistered #655-3400 1 Longbase canter $1,200,000 Negotiable 1 RZ Minibus $500,000 Negotiable #6284436 Nissan Bluebird, Excellent condition #664-0802 1 Laurel car with extra engine, excellent condition, air conditioner working $400,000 #652-0709 LAND FOR SALE Uitvlugt (100x50) $2.6M Farm $2.8M Schnoord $2.4M Parfaite $1.4M Harmonie 2nd Avenue $2.3M #611-7223/6560701 1 House lot situated on the West Sea Coast of Windsor Castle, Essequibo. Land size: 48x155. Tel#648-1397 Prime land to build that dream home. Not far from Princess, New Thriving, Massy, HJ water world $13M neg- Call: 669-8397 Parfaite Harmonie- $1.4M Uitvlugt $2.4M Zeelugt $2M Tuschen $3.3M Tel# 6976311/642-1252 PROPERTY FOR SALE 2-flat 3 bedroom wooden building situated at 154 ‘B’ Shell road, Kitty 2 lots East of Kitty Market.670-2653
Dispatcher, driver & contract cars. Tel# 231-0316/231-0002 One experienced cook wanted. Call: 226-0554/6238654
Teachers in Mabaruma Region One are currently the beneficiaries of a cross-cultural training programme which is being facilitated by Limited Resource Teacher Training [LRTT], a global teachers’ training movement which caters to teachers in under-resourced countries. The organisation has been lending its support to Guyana through School of the Nations which has been working closely with the Ministry of Education to allow as many schools as possible to benefit from the training LRTT brings. Explaining how the programme works globally, LRTT Programme Manager, Ms Emily Finnegan, said that “We facilitate the cross-cultural teacher training where we partner teachers from the United States, the United Kingdom [where LRTT is based] and Australia, with local communities across 10 different countries, one of which is Guyana, to practice innovative teacher training methods and really learn from each other in diverse communities.” The layout of the programme, she disclosed, entails teachers affiliated with the programme doing observations in the schools in the communities they visit. “Our teachers work with about five local teachers each – a one-to-five ratio – and
One radiator workman preferably from the West Coast of Demerara. Contact Charran’s Radiator Works Tel#622-5721 Experience nail technician @ 39 Greenwich Park Public road EBE #661-0019 One full time auto body technician for repair center. Must have previous experience. Call: 222-0675 One service manager for repair centre, must have previous experience. Call: 6472022 1 Male cook to cook in interior #699-4718 Live in general domestic and 1 experienced cook (Live out) #610-3974 Land in Parfaite Harmonie, Providence, Eccles of anywhere on the West Coast. Tel# 642-1252/697-6311
VACANCY Female kitchen assistant for interior location. Job entails assisting cooks and general cleaning. Call: 618-2020 Exists for one experienced dispatcher- Call: 231-5784 Earn 5-20K working from home www.jobfairworldwide.com Tel#622-1957/652-8829 Cook/Baker & Welder for interior location. Applicants must be experienced. Call: 6182020 Paralegal with degree in law. Duties: secretarial, clerical & research tasks. Email: lawofficegy@gmail.com/ guyana@hotmail.com
1 Able-bodied male clerk. Call: 231-2029/219-4533/616-5954
Delivery guys needed with own motorcycle for restaurant Tel# 644-5884, ask for Tonya.
Wanted urgently one bus driver RZ Bus #BSS 1605 Contact: 603-2640/218-4636
PROPERTY FOR SALE
Responsible hire car drivers and contract cars. Tel# 2317200
Lot 15 Public road #2 Village. West Coast Berbice. 49ft by 10,314ft. $20M. Contact:6487109/686-4818
LRTT Programme Manager, Ms Emily Finnegan they will work with the teachers in schools doing in-classroom observations, and then we come together for conference days where our fellows will co-deliver, co-plan and cofacilitate training with the local teachers,” said Finnegan. According the LRTT Manager, already the outcome of the programme has realised tremendous success across the globe. She shared that, at the least, some 93 percent of the teachers, who have benefitted over the years, have been able to gain confidence and develop outstanding teaching skills. “It makes them more empowered in the profession working alongside others to really value the role of a (Continued on page 31)
Friday April 06, 2018
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Kaieteur News
Canadian mining firm increases stake in Region Seven
Goldsource operations at Eagle Mountain mine, Potaro-Siparuni, Region Eight. Canadian mining company, Goldsource Mines Inc., through its subsidiary and local joint venture partner in Guyana, Kilroy Mining Inc., has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase additional property from a local seller just outside the company’s Eagle Mountain mine at Potaro-Siparuni, Region Eight. The new area under consideration is known as the Bishop Growler property, located along the projected mineralized trend some three
kilometres from the Company’s 100% owned Eagle Mountain Gold Project and surrounded by Eagle Mountain’s existing 5,030hectare prospecting licence. “We are pleased to have concluded this definitive agreement to exclusively explore this strategic land package proximal to Eagle Mountain,” said company president, Yannis Tsitos, President. Bishop Growler consists of one medium scale mining permit and covers an area of about 2.5 square kilometres.
Local teachers... (From page 30) teacher, even in societies that really don’t see that role as a high value job,” said Finnegan. But the exchange of knowledge, she disclosed, is certainly not a one-sided affair since “our fellows learn so much from these limited resource contacts that they can take back to their classrooms to the US or the UK, and that is knowledge they can share in more globalised classrooms as well. Our fellows are seeing a diversity of cultures and languages, they go to these communities and it helps them engage in that cross-cultural learning process.” According to Finnegan, although LRTT is only now lending its support to Mabaruma, it has been facilitating training programmes here for the past three years. Already teachers in Berbice and Georgetown have benefitted. However, LRTT is currently lending even more support to Guyana through an ongoing educational leadership conference being spearheaded by School of the Nations. “I am doing a workshop on new models in teacher training and this is really a highlight of what our programme do. The goal of my session is really to, as a group, highlight what the qualities are of our strongest teachers; what the attributes are that we should be training for and what are the challenges here in Guyana and across the Caribbean that teachers face with regard to professional development, and try to see where our niche can be,” said Fennigan.
The 15 small scale mining claims have been converted into the single medium scale permit. According to the company, this permit is currently valid and in good standing. According to Tsitos, the new property along with the surrounding prospecting licence, provides access to the northeastern gold mineralized trend, which has never been systematically explored or drilled, but has returned surface grab and rock samples with high prospecting value. “We have now initiated an exploration programme at Bishop Growler, which includes geological mapping, auger and diamond core drilling at selected locations, geochemical sampling along trenches and sampling of historical artisanal gravity tailings. We plan to include results from this exploration programme at Bishop Growler and the neighbouring Eagle Mountain prospecting licence areas in the Company’s upcoming revised resource esti-
mate,” Tstitos outlined. Pursuant to the definitive agreement, Goldsource can earn a 100% interest in the Property by making payments at various intervals starting with US$75,000 upon execution of the definitive agreement, which has been paid. Based on the agreement, US$150,000 is due in January 2019; US$150,000 in January 2020; US$150,000 in January 2021; and US$500,000 if the company exercises its option to fully acquire the property. The option can be terminated without cost at any time with one-month’s notice. As additional consideration for the purchase of the property, Goldsource said the current owner will be entitled to receive an alternative piece of artisanal mining property in the vicinity of Eagle Mountain, no less in area than the size of Bishop Growler, provided that the determination of the location of such area shall be at the exclusive discretion of the Company.
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Friday April 06, 2018
Dillon cleared of fraud
Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon gesticulates to CCN Senior Multimedia Investigative Journalist Mark Bassant following the conclusion of the civil matter at the New York Supreme Court at 60 Centre Street, New York, USA, Wednesday. –Photo: MARK BASSANT New York: THE property dispute has been settled and National Security Minister Edmund Dillon will not face fraud charges. Behind the closed doors of the chamber of Judge Laura Visitacion-Lewis at the New York Supreme Court Wednesday, Dillon, his attorneys and Esther Nicholls, the niece of Dillon’s friend Neville Piper, and her attorneys came to an amicable settlement regarding Piper’s guardianship and property that had been the subject of a bitter civil court battle
over the last seven months. Legal sources confirmed that both parties had reached “a settlement and that is why they met the judge in her chambers”. In a brief statement released late Wednesday evening, the Ministry of National Security stated that “Dillon is pleased to report that the court proceeding in the United States, with respect to his friend Neville Piper, has been fully and effectively resolved.” (Trinidad Express)
IMF delegation meets with Prime Minister Harris
Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris (second from right) with IMF officials BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - CMC – A two-member delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Wednesday held talks with Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris, according to an official statement issued here. It said that the twin island Federation’s potential for economic growth was discussed with the new Division Chief of the Caribbean in the IMF Western Hemisphere Department, Sònia Muñoz and Deputy Division Chief of the Caribbean, Dr. Arnold McIntyre. McIntyre also serves as the new IMF mission chief for St. Kitts and Nevis, replacing Inci Otker. Prime Minister Harris said the government has enjoyed a very beneficial relationship
with the Washington-based financial institution over the last three years in office. “We expect that we will have even better cooperation between ourselves and the IMF through your leadership,” Harris said, adding “McIntyre is no stranger; he has worn several hats within the region but certainly he has visited St. Kitts on numerous occasions in a multiplicity of capacities and rendered good support on policy advice. “We think we have a combination in you as the chief of the mission for sub-region, and Dr. McIntyre, who is a good friend of St. Kitts and Nevis, to help us advance,” Harris said, even as he acknowledged that there remain significant challenges on which his government hopes
to engage the IMF. “Most important is how do we as a government advance the welfare and the quality of life for the people of St. Kitts and Nevis [and] how do we attain a level of growth that is sufficient to spread improved conditions through all sectors and most important to the people, particularly the poor. “And while we advance in terms of our growth, we want to ensure that it is an inclusive growth so that all or the widest cross section of persons, citizens and residents is benefitting from the growth that the country realizes,” Harris said, noting that the government is committed to ensuring discipline in the fiscal management of the country.
Kaieteur News
Friday April 06, 2018
National Security and Crime the focus of first Vale Royal Talks KINGSTON, Jamaica CMC – Issues related to National Security, crime and violence and public safety, were among several discussed by representatives from the governing Jamaica Labour Party and the main opposition People’s National Party (PNP) on Wednesday during a bipartisan meeting, dubbed the Vale Royal Talks. This was the first in a series of Vale Royal Talks held at the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI). The discussions also surrounded Parliamentary Procedures and Committees and Voter Re-verification Prime Minister Holness and Opposition Leader Dr Peter Phillips found common ground on several important issues of national development and pledged to continue discussions to arrive unified conclusions on the way forward. Particularly, it was agreed that several draft policies and bills would be shared for future discussions. Both sides also agreed that the Electoral Commission of Jamaica would provide a plan within a month on how to ensure the maintenance of clean voters’ list.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness and opposition leader Dr. Peter Phillip There was also a decision to consider the inclusion of private sector, church and civil society groups periodically to participate in the dialogue on crime, violence and public order. Both leaders spoke of the importance of ensuring the positive framework established through the Vale Royal Talks, is preserved and encouraged. The JLP team was led by Prime Minister Andrew Holness and included General Secretary Horace Chang, Chairman Robert Montague,
Minister of Justice Delroy Chuck, and Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Audley Shaw. The People’s National Party’s team was led by Opposition Leader Dr Peter Phillips and included General Secretary Julian Robinson, Chairman Fitz Jackson, Leader of Opposition Business in the House Phillip Paulwell, and Leader of Opposition Business in the Senate Donna Scott-Mottley. The Vale Royal Talks were initiated in 2002 by former Prime Minister, P.J. Patterson.
CTO partners with Bitt to promote digital currency in the region BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - CMC – The Barbados based Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), has entered into an agreement with blockchain technology company, Bitt Inc., aimed at facilitating the implementation of more efficient payment processes for tourism-related products and services. The organisations signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Friday at the CTO’s headquarters under which Bitt’s digital wallet and merchant applications will be promoted to help foster broader economic participation in community-based tourism and related sectors. “The Caribbean aims to fully examine the advantages offered by new financial technology. In particular, blockchain financial services have the potential to advance the objectives of specific programmes and activities within the tourism sector, and the CTO has a responsibility on behalf of our members to fully explore those possibilities. Our memorandum of understanding with Bitt underscores the importance of collaborating with this forward-
Hugh Riley
Rawdon Adams
thinking, cutting edge, Caribbean company with whom we have a shared commitment to the economic success of our region,” said CTO secretary general Hugh Riley. Both organisations anticipate that by leveraging digital currency, the Caribbean region could become a more integrated economy in terms of the ease of doing business for visitors who move through multiple regional destinations. “Expanding Bitt’s footprint throughout the region is very important to us because we know how transformational our technology can be.
That’s particularly the case for the region’s informal sector, for the unbanked and by extension for the economy. Tourism is the largest single contributor to the Caribbean economy and is absolutely critical to every single Caribbean nation’s well-being and development. Thus we see this as a very natural and necessary association,” said Bitt’s cheif executive officer Rawdon Adams. The arrangement is for an initial three-year period, but it can be extended by mutual agreement.
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Friday April 06, 2018
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Friday April 06, 2018
Court Orders Arrest of Brazil’s Ex-President Lula RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Justices on Brazil’s top court have delivered a major blow to former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. They voted 6-5 early yesterday to reject his petition to stay out of prison while appealing a corruption conviction. The decision by the Supreme Federal Tribunal means that da Silva will likely soon be forced to begin serving his 12-year sentence. It also means that his
push to run for re-election later this year is all but doomed. The decision came after more than 10 hours of debate in an often heated session. Here is the time line on the latest developments before the ruling. Justices on Brazil’s top court are so far split on whether to grant a petition from former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to stay out of prison while he appeals a 12-year sentence for corrup-
- Pending Appeal of Corruption Conviction tion. The ruling could affect the country’s stability ahead of October elections. Da Silva leads presidential polls despite his conviction and several other corruption charges that have yet to be tried. A Supreme Federal Tribunal decision to allow a lower court to force the exleader to begin serving his sentence could all but doom his candidacy and generate
US rules out Trump meetings with Castro, Maduro WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The White House yesterday ruled out the already faint possibility that President Donald Trump will meet the leaders of Cuba or Venezuela on his first trip to Latin America next week.“We don’t anticipate at this point a direct meeting between president Trump and (Raul) Castro,” a senior administration official said.“He won’t be having bilateral meetings with Venezuela.” Trump has been at pains to contrast his presidency with that of predecessor Barack Obama, who held a historic meeting with Raul Castro at the last Summit of the Americas in Panama in 2015.That paved the way for a thaw in relations after decades of Cold War rivalry.During this year’s event, taking place on April 13-14 in Lima, Peru, Trump looks set to be less conciliatory.A week before he departs for his first meeting summit with southern neighbours he ordered the National Guard to the Mexican border, as he sought to burnish his tough-on-migrants credentials.
President Donald Trump
protests at a time of high tension in Latin America’s largest nation. Ten hours into the session, five justices have voted against da Silva and five in his favour. The matter will be decided once six of the 11 members vote a particular way. Chief Justice Carmen Lucia will be the last court member to vote. Da Silva strenuously denies any wrongdoing. In recent months, he has continued to campaign despite the conviction. Justices on Brazil’s highest court appear to be moving toward denying a petition from former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to stay out of prison while he appeals a 12-year sentence for corruption. The ruling could affect the country’s stability ahead of October elections. Da Silva leads presidential polls despite his conviction and several other corruption charges that have yet to be tried. A Supreme Federal Tribunal decision to allow a lower court to force the ex-leader to
begin serving his sentence could all but doom his candidacy and generate protests at a time of high tension in Latin America’s largest nation. Six hours into the session, four justices have voted against da Silva and one in his favour. The matter will be decided once six of the 11 members vote a particular way. The session is expected to run late into the night. Da Silva strenuously denies any wrongdoing. Justices on Brazil’s top court have begun reviewing a request from former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to stay out of jail while he appeals a corruption conviction. Wednesday’s nationally televised session at the Supreme Federal Tribunal comes a time of high tension in Latin America’s largest nation. Da Silva was president between 2003 and 2010. Last year, he was convicted of trading favours with a construction company to later receive a beachfront apartment. The conviction was upheld by an appeals court in January.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva The former leader can continue to appeal. However, under Brazilian law he can also be forced to begin serving his sentence while he appeals. Da Silva wants the court to spare him prison while he appeals. He leads preference polls for October’s presidential election.
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Friday April 06, 2018
Kaieteur News
Arsenal, Atletico close in on Europa League semis LONDON (Reuters) Heavyweights Arsenal, Atletico Madrid and Lazio took big steps towards reaching the Europa League semifinals after convincing home first-leg victories and RB Leipzig also stayed on course with a 1-0 win over Olympique de Marseille yesterday. Under pressure to win the continent’s second-tier competition as the likeliest route to Champions League football next season, Arsenal beat CSKA Moscow 4-1 with a blistering first-half performance. Atletico, the 2012 Europa League winners, brushed aside Sporting Lisbon 2-0 while late goals from Felipe Anderson and Ciro Immobile gave Lazio a 4-2 win over Salzburg after the visiting
Austrians had twice drawn level. Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey and France striker Alexandre Lacazette scored two goals each for Arsenal, cancelling out a superb free kick by CSKA’s midfielder Aleksandr Golovin at the Emirates stadium. Germany forward Mesut Ozil also shone as Arsenal’s crisp one-touch passing repeatedly carving open a cumbersome Russian defence. Ramsey fired Arsenal ahead before Golovin equalised with an unstoppable shot into the top corner from 25 metres. Lacazette restored Arsenal’s lead with a penalty and unleashed a swerving left-foot shot to make it 4-1
after Ramsey had scored his second, dispatching a brilliant lob over CSKA keeper Igor Akinfeev with his back to goal. Ramsey, who hit the woodwork in the second half when Akinfeev made several fine saves, was delighted. “I like to make those late runs into the box, I had plenty of opportunities but I am glad I was able to contribute to the team,” he told BT Sport. “We know it will be difficult in Russia, but we have put ourselves in a good position.” HAPPY MAN Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was also a happy man. “I think we have done enough of a job tonight, there
Friday April 06, 2018 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Be cautious while traveling to foreign countries. Get involved in groups and organizations that are of a distinguished nature. Your intuition will be right on.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Try to curb overindulgence today. Your romantic inclination should lead to a committed relationship. Get busy trying to make more money.
TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) You will be entertained and intrigued by the logic foreigners possess. Get ready to do some fancy footwork when it comes to taking care of your financial situation. You must look into your options.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Drastic financial losses may be likely if you lend money. Take some time to change your house around. If you can't get away, make plans to do something special with friends or relatives.
GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Family outings that aren't expensive will be enjoyable and help strengthen ties. Restrictions may be difficult for you to live with. Focus on your own domestic problems.
SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) You are best not to discuss your personal life with others. Be careful signing important contracts today. Invite friends over.
CANCER(June21–July22) Do not sign contracts or get involved in any uncertain financial deals. Do not ruffle feathers if possible. Don't think the worst if you hear something negative about your partner.
CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) You can make gains if you look at long-term investments. You will be encouraged to get involved in a moneymaking venture. Resist the temptation to gamble. Risks will not be profitable.
LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Don't make any drastic changes or begin new projects today. Find a way to consolidate. Put your time and energy into travel, philosophy, and soul-searching. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) You will be full of good ideas, and your choice of activities may bring you enrichment far beyond your expectations. Discuss your objectives with partners or peers. Focus your efforts on details, and keep to yourself in order to finish your work.
AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Your ability to put a deal together will surprise others. It's time to get yourself back on track. Don't let others bully you into agreeing with them. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) You are best to avoid joint ventures, and whatever you do, don't lend to friends or relatives. Abrupt changes in your home may send you for a loop. Don't bother getting even; they'll make themselves look bad.
Ramsey improvised for his second and Arsenal’s third goal as he lofted the ball over Igor Akinfeev with a volleyed flick. (AP) was a good pace in the first half, the two teams gave everything which is why is was such a spectacular first half,” he said. Atletico, second in Spain’s La Liga, extended their winning home streak in all competitions to nine games after Koke scored inside the opening 30 seconds and Antoine Griezmann added the second shortly before halftime. Both scorers took advantage of sloppy defending, with Diego Costa setting up Koke for the opener while Griezmann capitalised on an error by fellow Frenchman Jeremy Mathieu to fire a crisp low shot into the bottom corner. Italy’s Lazio ended Salzburg’s 35-game unbeaten run stretching back to August after the Austrian side were undone by late goals from Anderson and Immobile. Marco Parolo scored the game’s most eye-catching goal with a cheeky back-heel to give Lazio a 2-1 lead after a
Wisroc, Quiet... From page 41 (4)-23:15hrs Championship 3rd Place Off Loser (3) vs Loser (4)22:45hrs Plate Final Winner (1) vs Winner (2)22:00hrs Championship Semi-finals (4)Buxton Diamond vs Paradise-A-21:15hrs (3)Uprising vs Melanie-B20:30hrs Plate Semi-finals (1)Belfield Warriors vs BV-A-20:00hrs (2)Victoria vs Mahaica19:30hrs
Valon Berisha penalty had cancelled out Senad Lulic’s opener in Rome. Takumi Minamino made it 2-2 as adventurous Salzburg looked like causing an upset before Anderson and Immobile struck in quick succession.
Germany’s Leipzig, playing in European competition for the first time, put themselves in a good position to progress after a Timo Werner goal on the stroke of halftime sank Marseille. The second legs take place next Thursday.
Friday April 06, 2018
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Kaieteur News
Criticism of Australia team Star India buys Indian cricket culture out of proportion - Ponting rights for USD 944 million
Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Allan Border and Steve Waugh with the World Cup trophy. (Getty Images)
Star’s winning bid was an increase of 59% from the previous cycle of Indian cricket rights. (ESPNcricinfo Ltd) ESPNcricinfo - Star India has strengthened its hold on television and digital rights in cricket by retaining worldwide rights to Indian cricket for INR 6138 crore (USD 944 million) for the period 2018-23. They now hold the two most valuable broadcast rights in cricket, having bought the IPL rights for INR 16,347.5 crore (US$ 2.55 billion) in September 2017 for the period 2018-22. In addition to its Indian presence, Star also has a strong grip internationally, having paid USD 1.9 billion for the broadcast rights for ICC tournamentsbetween 2015-23. Star’s bid was declared the winning bid once its close rival, Sony Pictures Network India, listed INR 6118.59 cr as its final bid in the first ever e-auction in sport, which spanned three days. Star’s bid was an increase of 59% from the previous cycle of Indian cricket rights, which were sold for INR 3851 crore (USD 750 million at the time) for the period 201218, also to Star. The aver-
age cost per match for the Indian cricket rights sold on Thursday was about INR 60 cr (USD 9.2 million approx), which is higher than the average cost per IPL game for the 2018-22 period - INR 54.5 cr (USD 8.4 million approx). Star India gets to telecast 102 men’s international matches over the next five-year period, compared to 96 in the previous six-year cycle from 2012 to 2018. The 102 matches will be split across the home seasons as follows: 18 in 2018-19, 26 in 2019-20, 14 in 2020-21, 23 in 2021-22 and 21 in 2022-23. As per the BCCI, Star listed the following figures as the per match value for each of the five seasons: INR 46 cr, 47 cr, 46.5 cr, 77.4 cr and 78.9 cr respectively. The rights will also include men’s domestic matches as well as the India women’s international matches. There were three categories of rights up for bidding: the Indian television rights and rest of the world digital rights (GTVRD), digital rights for the Indian
subcontinent alone (ID), and the global consolidated rights (GCR) for which the winning bid was eventually made. The e-auction, an unprecedented exercise in sport, became a threehorse race after the BCCI pruned the original list of six bidders on Tuesday morning, having conducted feasibility checks on eligibility of the bidders. Star, Sony, and Reliance were the final competitors when the e-auction began at 2pm on Tuesday. Yesterday, bidders had 30 minutes to contest a bid, unlike on Tuesday and Wednesday when they had an hour. There was a 35.81 % difference between the final bids on the first two days: from INR 4442 crores (USD 680 million approx.) on Tuesday evening to INR 6032.50 crore (USD 925 million approx) by Wednesday evening. O n T h u r s d a y, t h e bids rose in smaller increments: INR 6061.05 cr, I N R 6 0 8 5 . 3 0 c r, I N R 6111.70 cr, INR 6111.70 cr, and finally INR 6138 cr.
Big winners at Carifta Chess Champs Jamaica Observer - Team Jamaica captured three of the six official sections at the 2018 Carifta Chess Championships in Paramaribo, Suriname, in addition to second place in the overall team category, as the competition ended on Monday. The big winners on the day were WCM Adani Clarke, who captured the Under-16 female title going unbeaten in seven rounds; Darren McKennis, who also went unbeaten over seven rounds
to win the Under-12 Absolute title, as well as defending champion Sheneal Gardner, who won the Under-20 section in addition to the Under18 when she won four of her seven games. Jamaica also earned two silver medals in the official Under-12 section through the efforts of Jaden Shaw, with six wins, and one loss, and Amy Stephenson, with five wins and a draw. In the unofficial section, Jamaica copped bronze
through Joseph Wellington (two points) and gold through Joshua Smikle (four points) in the Under-8 Absolute section and bronze in the Under-14 female section through Jamhoi Blake (four points). Coach Mickhail Solomon, while very happy with the overall team performance, felt that had Jamaica contested all the categories on offer, the overall team performance would have better.
ESPNcricinfo - The ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town is being seen as much more than just that. Australia’s team culture has come under the scanner, with suggestions that such a fall was inevitable in a win-at-all-costs side. Outgoing Australia coach Darren Lehmann even said New Zealand might be a good example to follow for on-field b e h a v i o u r, a n d C r i c k e t Australia ordered an independent review into the team culture. However, former Australia captain and a possible candidate for the role of coach, Ricky Ponting, believes the talk about the team culture is out of proportion. Ponting, currently in India as head coach of IPL franchise Delhi Daredevils, addressed the issue for the first time at a press conference on Thursday. Ponting expressed shock at the events in Cape Town, and said the reaction from Cricket Australia was befitting. However, he didn’t necessarily feel the team culture had deteriorated drastically. “The cultural issue for me is really an interesting thing because if we wind the clock back to just a couple of months, when Australia won the Ashes like they did, there was no talk about cultural problems or issues whatso-
ever,” Ponting said. “I honestly feel on this occasion the cultural stuff that’s been spoken about has probably been blown out of proportion to a certain degree.” Ponting, however, did not play down what a big disappointment the ball-tampering incident was for him and the rest of Australia. “As a past player and past captain, I was quite shocked to see what actually took place out on the field,” he said. “The pleasing thing for me is that now it seems the issue is starting to come to an end. We hear this morning that David Warner also accepted his sanction, means all three guys have accepted the sanctions before them.” Ponting said the country was jolted by what they saw. “Look, when I was back at home a week and half ago, if you think it was big news over here, it was astronomical how big the issue was in Australia, and rightly so,” he said. “As Australians, we like to play the game hard, we like to play the game fair. Our fans expect the Australian player to play that way. I think the reaction back in Australia was as big as it was because the Australian public felt the Australian players had not played the game in a fair way. “It seems it’s like coming to an end, it’s a good thing for the game’s sake, it’s a good thing for the
player’s sake as well, that they can try and get away from it all now. As hard as that’s going to be for them, it’s also a good thing for cricket in Australia as well. Now that the Test series is over, the guys have got a few weeks to get away from it all and then start rebuilding what has sort of collapsed for them over the last couple of weeks.” When asked how he would have reacted to the incident if he had been in a position to act, Ponting said it would be unfair for him to say, but did acknowledge that Cricket Australia’s sanctions were pretty much necessary. “There’s a very big picture there for the world game’s sake, and Cricket Australia, I think, have reacted to what the world game pretty much demanded,” he said. “The world game and the Australian public demanded that these players were dealt with and treated in a certain way. “Now it would appear that 12-month bans would appear to be a very severe ban. If you go back to what the ICC sanction was: onegame ban for Smith and nothing for the other two. You can understand the gap is vast between what the ICC deemed fair [and what CA handed out]. I wouldn’t comment on what I would have done. It would be unfair.”
Atkinson reaches 50m breastroke final GOLD COAST, Australia, CMC – Alia Atkinson entered the final of the 50 metres breastroke with a strong performance, making her a strong contender for a medal at the Commonwealth Games. The Games recordholder in the event clocked 30.53 seconds swimming
out of lance three in the semi-finals at the Optus Aquatic Centre with the fastest qualifying time. S a r a h Va s e y o f E n gland, and the Australian duo of Georgia Bohl and Jessica Hansen look likely to be her strong rival when the final is contested early on Friday (EC Time).
Swimming out of lane four, Atkinson had earlier comfortably won her qualifying heat with a time of 30.98 secs to advance as the fifth fastest among all qualifiers. She is also scheduled to contest the 50m butterfly and 100m breaststroke at the Games.
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Colin ‘Superman’ Lewis wins opening bout at Commonwealth Games Guyana’s Colin ‘Superman’ Lewis continued his boxing dominance over St. Lucian Nathan Ferrari after defeating him via unanimous decision in the Men’s 64 Kg (Welterweight) first round fight yesterday to get his Gold Coast games campaign off to a positive start. Superman’s promise of a spirited performance in the 21st Commonwealth Games which is being contested in
the Gold Coast, Australia, got underway after he defeated his familiar foe Ferrari who he got past 4-1 according to the five-judge panel. Lewis had defeated Ferrari last year to capture the region’s light welterweight title during the Caribbean Development Boxing championships last year, in addition to a first round TKO victory during Guyana’s Patrick Forde Memorial Boxing Cham-
pionships in February. When ‘Superman’ gloves up again for action it will be against South Africa’s Sinethemba Blom in the division’s round-of-16. Meanwhile, the other boxer representing the Golden Arrowhead in Australia, Keeve Allicock, will begin his campaign against Reece McFadden of Scotland in the Flyweight class, Monday.
Kagiso Rabada sidelined for three months with injury ESPNcricinfo - South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada faces up to three months on the sidelines because of a lower-back stress reaction. He will not be able to play IPL 2018, as a result, for Delhi Daredevils who had bought him for INR 4.2 crores (USD 646,000) at the player auction in January. Rabada had complained of tightness and discomfort during the fourth and final Test in Johannesburg, and bowled only eight overs in Australia’s second innings. A subsequent scan revealed the injury, according to South Africa’s team manager Mohammad Moosajee. Rabada was adjudged Play of the Series for taking 23 wickets in four Tests. “Kagiso has been diagnosed with a lower-back stress reaction which will rule him out of cricket action for up to three months,” Moosajee said.
Kagiso Rabada hit the pitch hard. (AFP) “He will need a month’s break from all physical activity before commencing with a rehabilitation programme to get him ready for the series against
Sri Lanka in July.” South Africa’s next international engagement is a tour of Sri Lanka in July to play two Tests, five ODIs and a T20I.
Fowler-Reid lead Jamaica crushing of Fiji in tournament opener GOLD COAST, Australia, CMC – Jhaniele FowlerReid practically outscored Fiji all on her own, as Jamaica used their superior experience to cruise to an 88-30 victory in their opening netball match of the Commonwealth Games yesterday.
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The 6-feet, 6-inches tall goal shooter logged 40 goals out of 43 attempts, as the Jamaicans reinforced their billing as a serious contender for a medal. The Sunshine Girls cruelly exposed the limited experience of their opponents to lead through all
the quarters – 22-9 after the first period, 49-15 at halftime and 69-22 after the third quarter. Fowler-Reid’s 93 per cent accuracy was made extra special, as she was benched for the second half of the game and replaced by similarly imposing Romelda Aiken, whose 24-from-32 propelled Jamaica the rest of the way. The Jamaicans are ranked No.4 in the world and took bronze at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. A pair of efficient wins over world No.2 New Zealand White Ferns in the weeks leading into this year’s Games set tongues wagging on the international circuit and their dismissal of the lowly-rated Fiji will reaffirm their threat. The Girls face South Africa early today in their next match.
Horton ends Australia’s long wait for 400 freestyle champion GOLD COAST, Australia (Reuters) - Olympic champion Mack Horton ended a 16-year drought for Australia in the men’s 400 metres freestyle at the Commonwealth Games when he won the host nation’s first title in the pool at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre yesterday. The 21-year-old had to chase down James Guy and Jack McLoughlin to win the title, pulling ahead in the final 100 metres to edge out compatriot McLoughlin and the Englishman to touch in three minutes, 43.76. While Horton had been the fastest qualifier, Guy and McLoughlin were swimming under the world record pace set by Germany’s Paul Biedermann in 2009 for the first 200 metres as they duelled in lanes two and three. Horton sat back, leaving the pair to fatigue and made his move just before the 300metre mark before he took control of the race when he turned for home. McLoughlin finished in 3:45.21, with Guy touching 0.11 seconds later. “He typically goes out hard, he thinks it’s the only way you can swim it so that’s
Olympic champion Mack Horton. what he does,” Horton said of Guy’s race tactics. “I just did what I had to do. “If you go out that hard you’re going to be hurting on the back end more than I’m going to be so it’s good fun.” Horton was the first Australian champion in the race, seen as one of the premier titles on the programme, since retired swimming great Ian Thorpe at Manchester in 2002. Australia had held a virtual mortgage on the Commonwealth title from 1970 until 2002, winning eight of the
nine golds before Scotland’s David Carry (2006) and Canada’s Ryan Cochrane (2010, 2014) broke their stranglehold. “Just swimming in front of the home crowd is unreal,” Horton told reporters of the noise generated by the passionate home fans as he pulled ahead. “I probably feel more emotion here than in Rio because the whole crowd is cheering for you. That didn’t happen so much in Rio. Ten thousand people cheering for you is pretty unreal.”
NY police investigate McGregor after media day chaos NEW YORK (Reuters) New York police are investigating an incident in which UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor allegedly caused chaos at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center yesterday by gatecrashing a media event ahead of UFC223 on Saturday. McGregor is alleged to have entered the building through a side entrance together with his entourage before trying to attack a van containing Russian lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov and other fighters as they prepared to leave. New York Police Department spokesperson Tarik Sheppard said they were “looking into the incident” but that as yet no arrests or warrants had been issued. Video footage circulated on social media showed McGregor running in a loading area and picking up a trash can. Clips shot from inside the van showed an object hitting and cracking the vehicle’s windshield before the driver reversed away. “This is the most disgusting thing that has ever happened in the history of the
New York police ‘want to contact’ Conor McGregor after havoc at media event. (Getty Images) company,” UFC president Dana White told website MMA Junkie (www.mmajunkie.com). Nurmagomedov is due to face Max Holloway in a showdown for McGregor’s belt, which he won in 2016 but never defended, and White has said the winner of Saturday’s bout will be crowned undisputed champion. Earlier in the week, Rus-
sian Nurmagomedov confronted Artem Lobov, the 29-year-old McGregor ’s Russian friend, team mate and sparring partner, in a hotel in New York, an incident which may have provoked the Irish fighter. White subsequently told reporters at the venue that Lobov would not be allowed to fight Alex Caceres as scheduled on Saturday.
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Pele Alumni Corp. YEDP a resounding success
All 80 participants presented with gift vouchers
The 2018 Pele FC Alumni Educational Programme participants show off their Gift Vouchers at the end of the programme on Wednesday afternoon at the Carifesta Sports Complex. The second edition of the Pele Alumni Corporation (PAC), Youth Education Development Programme came to an end on Wednesday afternoon last at the Carifesta Sports Complex and has been deemed a ‘resounding success’ by Coordinator, Dennis Ivor Carrington, one of the Alumni Directors. Two days of interactive sessions which also included
a visit to Parliament Buildings saw the youths ranging from ages 10-16 being exposed to a number of topics were aimed at enhancing their knowledge, inclusive of Career Guidance, Public Speaking, Dental Hygiene, Conflict Resolution, Goal Setting for a Positive Life, Preparing for the Future, Benefits of Sports, Etiquette and Information Technology.
The jubilant youths were also presented with tee shirts and back packs containing educational and personal hygiene items. Carrington, in an invited comment said that this year’s programme was satisfying given the amount of students participating, the level of interaction and involvement. ”Despite some challenges we were able to make adjust-
ments as we went along to ensure the kids had a fun time. I believe that the detailed planning we put into this activity also bore fruit; the kids enjoyed it immensely, especially learning new things about themselves.” The former national footballer also shared that the participants were taught how to use a knife and fork and most of them said that they
Woods grabs spotlight as Leishman takes lead AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) Tiger Woods grabbed the spotlight but playing partner Marc Leishman snatched the early first-round lead at the U.S. Masters yesterday with a bogey-free front nine including three birdies. When Woods teed off on a cool sunny day at Augusta National the other two members of his threesome, Australian Leishman and Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, were the invisible men as the massive galleries gathered round to catch a glimpse of just one player. But as the trio made the turn, Leishman had caught everyone’s attention by surging to the top of the leaderboard, one shot clear of Fijian Vijay Singh and Swede Henrik Stenson. Leishman, who missed the 2015 Masters to be with his wife who was battling a life-threatening illness, was not rated among the favorites for the Green Jacket having missed the cut in three of his five previous visits to Augusta National. But the Australian finished tied fourth in 2013 and once again showed he can navigate his way around one of the world’s most famous and trickiest layouts. The man of the moment, however, was Woods who was making an Augusta National homecoming of sorts in his first Masters since 2015. Dressed entirely in black, Woods, bidding for a fifth Green Jacket, got his day off to a wob-
Marc Leishman (Getty Images)
Tiger Woods walks off the first with a par. (Getty Images)
bly start when he sent his opening tee shot deep left into the pines but he was unrattled and recovered to make par. Although Woods was playing his first Masters in three years the former world number one looked right at home, rolling in a 10-footer at the par-four third to collect his first birdie and draw a roar from the crowd. But still on the comeback trail following spinal fusion surgery last April, Woods showed a touch of competitive rust by carding back-toback bogeys at the fourth and fifth holes to reach the turn at one over par. Fans were treated to a trip down Memory Lane not Magnolia Lane as Singh, the 2000 Masters champion, set the early pace with three birdies in his opening four holes.
The trip, however, was a quick one as the 55-year-old Fijian slipped back into the pack with bogeys at six and seven before getting one back with a birdie at the 11th. The crowds will be in for a full day of drama, with many of the late starters also expected to mount Masters challenges. Among them are Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy, who is bidding to complete the career grand slam and join Woods, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Gene Sarazen and Gary Player in that elite club. The last group out could also shake up the leaderboard with world number one Dustin Johnson and Englishman Justin Rose, runner-up in two of the last three years, bringing the curtain down on day one.
are happy now that they have learnt the art. The gift certificates he said were compliments of one of the Alumni’s sponsors who felt the need to give something extra to the youths towards educational supplies for school. ”It’s in addition to the back packs with school supplies and the jerseys with Pele colours that they can wear
proudly for their participation in the two-day educational programme. Planning for next year has already commenced Carrington noted. The planning Committee will meet today to review the programme and to assess areas of strengths and weaknesses with a view to make the programme better for the youths come 2019.
Briana Williams joins iconic Bolt, Blake, VCB as Sealy award winner Jamaica Observer - Briana Williams joined a select group of Jamaican athletes on Monday night when she was selected as the Austin Sealy Award winner following her triple gold medal performance at the 47th Carifta Games at the Thomas A Robinson stadium in Nassau, Bahamas. The 16-year-old became only the 14th athlete under the age of 18 to be selected in the 42 years since the award was first given in 1977, after she won the Under-17 girls sprint double and was part of the 4x100m relay team, either setting or contributing to two championship records in the process. She became the first Jamaican since Yohan Blake in 2007 to win the award and 14th Jamaican to win the award presented to the most outstanding athlete in the three-day championships.The Jamaicans who have won the award are Jon Jones (1979), Andrea Thomas (1985), Michell Freeman (1988), Inez Turner (1991), Claudine Williams (1992), Nikole Mitchell (1993), Roy Bailey and Aileen Bailey (1997), Veronica Campbell Brown (2001), Anneisha McLaughlin (2002), Usain Bolt (2003, 2004), Theon O’Conner (2005), and Blake (2007). The Florida-based sprinter, who recently set a 15-year-old age -group world record in the 100m when she ran 11.13 seconds at a meet in Florida, ran 11.27 seconds (1.6m/s) on Saturday’s first day to break the
Briana Williams... took the Under-17 sprint double at the recent FLOW CARIFTA Games in Nassau, Bahamas (Photo: Observer file photo) to break the 20-year-old CARIFTA record of 11.28 seconds set in 1998 by Ranieka Bean of Bermuda. She also won the 200m on Monday in a personal best 23.11 seconds (1.1m/s); that after leading off the Under-17 girls’ 4x100m team to a championships record 44.95 seconds on Sunday to erase the 45.05 seconds set by another Jamaican foursome in 2009. Sashieka Steele, Serena Cole and Tia Clayton ran the other legs as they broke the record that was set by the team of Janieve Russell, Deandre Whitehorne, Shericka Moulton, and Shericka Jackson.
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Road to Mecca V officially launched By Calvin Chapman The 2018 edition of Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation’s (GABF) National Club Championships, dubbed ‘Road to Mecca V’, which bounces off tomorrow at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH), was officially launched yesterday at Palm Court on Main Street. It was announced by head of the GABF, Nigel Hinds, that the competition will now host a total of 12 teams that will be divided into two groups of six, pitted in round-robin action with the top two teams of each group advancing to the semifinal. In addition to Ravens who won the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) qualifiers for Mecca V, second place finishers Eagles have been granted a spot in the tournament which will see in excess of $2million
Kobras’ Travis Burnett (left) and Eagles’ Michael Richards who will be coming up against each other in the tournament’s first match tomorrow at the CASH. in cash and prizes up for grabs. In the fifth year of this tournament, Eagles will be making their debut and will line up in Group B alongside
last year runners up Victory Valley Royals, third place finishers Kobras, Jets, Nets and the winner of Berbice Amateur Basketball Association’s
Duffy lands first medal of Commonwealth Games QUEENSLAND, Australia, CMC – Bermuda’s Flora Duffy powered away in the final run leg to win the women’s triathlon on the opening morning of competition at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The world No.1 women’s triathlete entered the contest as the raging hot favourite and lived up to her billing, beating England’s Jessica Learmonth and Canadian Joanna Brown for the gold medal. The 30-year-old Duffy, a two-time world champion, hadn’t won a medal in two previous trips to a Commonwealth Games or her three starts at an Olympics – and she was determined to put things right this time. “It’s pretty cool, it”s going to take a while to soak in. . .a huge relief,” said Duffy, the second Bermudian to win a Commonwealth gold and first of any colour by a woman from the island. “The Games come around once every four years, they’re quite elusive and hard to get. It was definitely a lot of pres-
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Flora Duffy won gold for Bermuda in the triathlon. (#GC2018 photo) sure and expectation put upon me. I’m glad I could execute a normal race for myself.” Duffy went stroke for stroke with Learmonth in the ocean swim and pedal for pedal in the bike race over the first two legs, but she produced the third-quickest time over the five-kilometre run leg to put distance between herself and the Englishwoman to clinch the gold. “We’ve raced together so much we have a common un-
derstanding,” she said of Learmonth. “I know she’ll pull through when she can and she knows I’ll pull through when I can. “She’s a phenomenal swimmer and she really nailed the swim, which I was hoping she would, and I was just holding on to her.” Duffy said she was surprised however, that there was a gap of one minute by the time the bike race leg had been completed. “When the gap got to about a minute (on the bike), we said that’s great, let’s keep it steady from here, no crazy surges because we’ve got a nice lead and we’ve still got to run,” she said. “Then towards the end of the bike I said, ‘Well done, let’s go, game on’.” Duffy said she was excited about returning home in a few weeks to celebrate with family and friends when she races in the ITU World Triathlon Bermuda on April 28.
(BABA) tournament final this Saturday between Hopetown Stealers and Canje Knights. Meanwhile, Group A will consist of Bounty Colts, HalfMile Bulls, Plaisance Guardians, Pacesetters, Retrieve Raiders and Dyna’s Ravens. Eagles’ player, Michael Richards, expressed elation in his team’s maiden ascension into the National Club Championships and positively noted that they will be going all out to make a lasting impression on event. Meanwhile, Travis Burnett, a key player of Kobras which finished third in the tournament last year before Bounty Colts successfully defended their 2016 title, shared with Kaieteur News that his team is looking to go one step further and grasp a maiden championship victory. Kobras and Eagles will clash in the first of four
- Eagles to make debut matches that will be played on the tournament’s opening day at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) from 16:00hrs. The second game will be between two-time defending champions Bounty Colts and Half Mile Bulls at 18:00hrs followed Victory Valley Royals versus Republic Bank Nets at 20:00hrs and Plaisance Guardians will sweat with Dyna’s Ravens in the feature game that tips off at 22:00hrs on Saturday. Vice-president of the GABF, Mike Singh, posited that in Mecca IV which he believed was run-off hastily, “We (GABF) failed miserably”, and he noted that this year the competition which was initially the his brainchild, will be much better organised. Hinds reiterated the latter sentiment of Singh and explained that he, “Believe that this year will be more competi-
tive and (rank outsider) clubs such as Guardians, Pacesetters and Jets are in good form and capable of making upsets.” It is also important for Mecca V that all three of the GABF sub-associations namely GABA and Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA), have recently completed tournament with BABA’s own finishing tomorrow, so players should at least have match fitness.The winners of Mecca which bounces off tomorrow will cash in on $600,000, 2nd place finishers $400,000 and 3rd $300,000, while the tournament’s MVP will walk away with a handsome $200,000, the player with the most points $100,00, most rebounds $100,000 and the most improved player $100,000 along with team and individual trophies and fan giveaways.
Campbell sisters power Australia to swimming world record
Gold medalists Shayna Jack, Bronte Campbell, Emma McKeon and Cate Campbell of Australia celebrate on the podium. (REUTERS/David Gray) GOLD COAST, Australia (Reuters) - Cate Campbell powered Australia to a world record in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games yesterday, demonstrating that her year off to recover mentally from a disappointing Rio Olympics had worked wonders. Campbell anchored the Australian quartet, which also included her sister Bronte, Shayna Jack and Emma McKeon, to clock three minutes, 30.05 seconds and beat their previous record of 3:30.65 from the Rio Olympics. Canada finished second, with England third. It was a satisfying return for Campbell, who had been a hot favorite to win gold in both the 50m and 100m freestyle at the Rio Games, but finished outside the medals in both. Calling her 100m freestyle loss “the greatest choke in Olympic history”, she
stepped away from competition in 2017 to refresh and returned at the Australian nationals last month. “To come back from a year off and to be part of something where you’re the best in the world is a pretty special moment,” she told reporters. “I’m going to make sure I stop and take a couple of breaths to take in how special this moment is because not many people get to experience it.“This is the stuff of dreams and to have that in reality is something I’d never take for granted again.” The Australians, who had won the title at the last six Games, were facing arguably their biggest threat in a Commonwealth final since they were beaten by England at the Victoria Games in 1994. The Canadians had a strong back end to their team with Olympic 100m champion Penny Oleksiak swimming the third leg before handing over to Taylor Ruck, fresh from
winning the 200 freestyle gold. While Canada’s Alexia Zevnik had given her team a flying start, Bronte Campbell took over the race for the host nation and then McKeon, who had already swum two individual races, got them within sight of the world record as she destroyed Oleksiak by 1.34 seconds on the third leg. Cate Campbell, whose tempo seemed to increase with the decibels as the 10,000-strong crowd willed her to the world record, then produced a flying final leg of 51.00 seconds. “It’s the first time I think I’ve heard the crowd while I’m swimming,” she added. “I could hear them roaring as I was coming down the last 25m.“I thought, ‘someone must be doing something special here’ and I thought we were being caught, but it was us breaking the world record. “I think that was really incredible.”