Wednesday April 10, 2019
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Kaieteur News
Govt. will have to engage ExxonMobil, private sector to renegotiate oil deal - US ambassador The US government will play no role in any possible renegotiation of the oil deal with ExxonMobil. That company, a UScontrolled oil giant, is one of the biggest in the world. It is locked in a deal with Guyana for two percent royalty on every barrel it declares plus a 50/50 split in profits. However, since the details of the arrangements have come out, following the oil discovery in 2015, and subsequent confirmation of several wells of over five billion barrels of oil, there has been widespread criticisms and expressions of concern.
For one, several critics believe that the royalty is too low. The oil discovered is the lighter, sweet crude, which fetches premium price on the world market. Guyana, it is being argued, should have settled for a better deal of at least 10 percent. In addition, the 50/50 share in the profits is being viewed with deep suspicion. ExxonMobil’s long history in the oil business has not been without controversy. That 50/50 split of profits would only come after ExxonMobil and its two other partners have taken their
expenses out. Those expenses include pre-2015 spending incurred during the initial exploration phase. ExxonMobil itself has had a history of not playing fair, and with evidence of expenses being inflated in other countries, thus reducing profits, it has been stressed that the shiny glitter of the black gold would not be so shiny, unless Guyana hurriedly attempts to renegotiate the deal. On Monday, newlyaccredited US ambassador, Sarah-Ann Lynch made it clear that the ball is in Guyana’s court. She was
Cabinet orders restructuring of Forestry Commission
Convenor of the Task Force, Clayton Hall With Guyana placing more of its forests for conservation purposes and with moves to ‘green’ the economy, the Government yesterday announced that it has approved the restructuring of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC). According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, which has portfolio responsibilities, the restructuring would be in keeping of the national objective of moving towards a ‘green’ economy and the consequent realignment of critical agencies of state. The approval comes from Cabinet. Already, a Task Force has been established jointly between the Ministry and the Board of Directors of the GFC to address the reorganising and restructuring of the commission. Guyana has an area of 214,970 km2 of which nearly seventy-five percent is covered with natural vegetation. Of this area, approximately four-fifths is classified as state forests under the jurisdiction of the
GFC. Almost a decade ago, Norway in a ground-breaking arrangement agreed to pay Guyana US$250M for keeping the country’s forest intact while at the same time taking steps to reduce deforestation rate. The arrangement was to reduce the impact of climate change using the forest and the greenhouse gas that is trapped. Under the Coalition Government, consecutive national budgets have unveiled a “green” economy. According to the ministry yesterday, the Task Force will include the technical and administrative talent and personnel of the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Board, and the Commission who will examine the structure and functioning of the GFC to make recommendations to the Minister, Raphael Trotman. He in turn is mandated to present a report to Cabinet. The Task Force’s mandate shall include, but will not be limited to, an examination and evaluation of current job descriptions and performance standards,
personnel procedures, conditions of employment and appointment, wages and salary structures and payroll administration. “It will further aim at improving the efficient performance and effective management of the commission by identifying training and development opportunities for staff.” The Task Force is expected to submit to the Minister of Natural Resources a work schedule with timelines and a preliminary report that would complete this assignment no later than July 2019. The Convener of the Task Force is the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility Project Coordinator (FCPF), Clayton Hall, the ministry said. Hall was a former senior forestry official with years of experience. The GFC is responsible for advising Trotman on issues relating to forest policy, forestry laws and regulations. The Commission is also responsible for the administration and management of all State Forest land. The work of the Commission is guided by a National Forest Plan that has been developed to address the forest policy. The Commission develops and monitors standards for forest sector operations, develops and implements forest protection and conservation strategies, oversees forest research and provides support and guidance to forest education and training. The GFC is governed by a board of directors appointed by the President. The board is responsible for the performance of the functions conferred on the Commission by the Forests Act.
speaking during a media engagement at the Embassy in Kingston. Lynch emphasised that there would be no interference from the local US embassy to facilitate a renegotiation. She said that the embassy’s main role would be to foster opportunities in the oil and gas industry; it’s coming online and its growth. Lynch also said that the focus is on a level playing field, with an ample opportunity for growth and continuous interaction with government. Asked whether the US believes that Guyana, as a sovereign country, has the right to push for a negotiation, Lynch stressed that indeed there is certainly the recognition of the country’s sovereignty. However, she pointed out, it would be up to the government to work it out with the private sector to see if there is room for negotiation. The US ambassador took up her recent posting a month
US Ambassador, Sarah-Ann Lynch ago. Batting for the oil find, she said that she believes that there is tremendous opportunity for the country, given the gas reserves. “The spinoffs will not only benefit the oil and gas sector, but also impact
positively all the secondary, tertiary sectors and companies involved in manufacturing, tourism, agriculture, information and technology and services areas. I think there are tremendous opportunities,” she posited.
A model of the Liza Destiny floating platform for the first phase of the oil development in the Stabroek Block. It is due around August.
Kaieteur News Addressing some unfounded allegations
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Wednesday April 10, 2019
Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
EDITORIAL
Georgetown – a capital in an unacceptable condition It does not have to be. When it rains, there is the sense of a city in a swamp. When it is hot and parched, there is the claustrophobia of an overcrowded marketplace. The smells, the sights, and the blights are not of a Garden City or of a city by the sea or of a city on the move - upward. It is of a town and a place lacklustre as to pride and civic responsibility, collective priority, and individual dignity. It does not have to be. Start with the little things. All those tiny things cost big money. Must be found. Must be done. Or else… Same cries! Same states! Same embarrassments! Rates and taxes collected are unrealistic and unhelpful. They need to be revised. Fairly and gradually. It is mandatory that this must be collected. COLLECTED. Or else…It would be the same place with the same results and the same decayed desultory outlook. It does not have to be. Some citizens are willing to pay their fair share, but the evidence of enhancements has to follow. Soon enough. The revitalization of Georgetown involves an axis of multiple partnerships. Partnership with ratepayers (residents); partnership with users (passers-through); partnership with vested interests (businesses); partnership with agencies (government). None of this is quantum physics, but individually, each is more complex than simple. Citizens wish to do their part, but only when discerning good faith. Recent pumps and drainage plans announcements are late, but welcomed. It is time to move past the drawing board and media board and get down to the floorboard. If this plan happens, some tangible changes should be experienced rapidly. This has to align with littering strikes aimed at deterring the uncooperative. Stop the nonsense involving ‘sweetie paper’ and chewing gum. As important as those are, they are still negligible in the bigger picture of food boxes, beverage containers, and those larger items of commercial detritus. They pile up and clog; target the regular abusers. Timely and efficient garbage collection forms part of the continuum. Has to be consistent and can only be attained with proper contractual relationships. Open the door to renegotiation. If the overall programme stretches from individual discipline to business compliance to municipal obligations, the three primary components then, of necessity, the appearance and health of the associated communities belong in that milieu and garbage removal is a must. Streets must be cleaned, repaired, and maintained. If City Hall is strapped for men and machinery, then invite selected businesses to help with specific areas. Partner with the Chamber of Commerce; they have the resources. Determine who is genuinely interested in lifting up the surroundings. Start somewhere. Parking meters have to be. There will be selfish resistance: no rules, no regulations, no responsibilities. Get the thing done: pricing, implementing and STOP tail wagging the dog. The aesthetics of the city needs enhancing because it has been neglected for too long. As such, standards do not exist in a vacuum. That is, nonexistent, or every man a king subject to his own whims and caprices. When such a situation dominates, then any well-conceived, well-intentioned, outcomes-oriented visions are immediately rebelled against, and fought tooth and nail for the perpetuation of the status quo. People will complain harshly about the way things are, and about nothing being done towards improvement, but ask them to chip in through some unselfish steps, and it is tantamount to unpardonable human rights violations. Let the next man be the pilot. Take back the city. Squeeze out the sores, the seepage, the sick and sicknesses. Bigger issues: health, addiction, homelessness, failure, and hopelessness. Bigger than municipality and the city. Heads together. Will to make things happen. There will be toes crushed. Be as considerate and compassionate as circumstances dictate. But remember: no omelet without eggs; or no pig, no ham. This thing can be done, if everyone owns a piece of the responsibility; if it is spread out fairly, and if all residents and citizens are prepared to do their part.
Free education can now become a reality DEAR EDITOR, I support the call for free education at all tiers of the education system, from nursery to university. Now that the country will benefit substantially from more revenues from oil and gas, free education can now become a reality. It is an established fact that education is the key to development, both at the individual and at the national level. As such, there is no better way of utilizing our oil
revenues than to put more resources in the development of our social capital. The quality and relevance of education in a changing Guyana should also be revisited. Education should not only result in cognitive development but also, and perhaps more importantly, in the spiritual and cultural upliftment of individuals and by extension society as a whole. I am one of those who benefitted from free university education at a time when the
economy was doing much worse than today and when there were no prospects of oil and gas. Many of us from humble backgrounds managed to work our way through education and contribute to the development of this beautiful country in ways not otherwise possible. Education should not be seen as an expenditure item but as an investment in the country’s future. In fact, the main contributory factor to the economic progress in several
of the Asian economies was investment in the country’s human resources. Today, these countries are reaping strong economic and social dividends from the investments made despite comparatively little natural and mineral resources. Let us put more money in human development. In the final analysis, it is people and their material and cultural advancement that really matters. Hydar Ally
The 50,000 jobs are justifiable and Irfaan is standing on solid ground DEAR EDITOR, Please permit me to respond to an article entitled, “Irfaan Ali has selected two of the worst planks on which to walk”, in the Stabroek News, April 08 edition. In the letter, the writer raised a valid point on the possibility of the creation of 50,000 new jobs. However, I beg to differ that such figure is not anywhere close to exaggeration. First, I would like to remind the writer that it is of public knowledge that the APNU/AFC government, since taking up office, is responsible for the extirpation of over 30,000 jobs. And in the interest of refreshing the minds of our readers, the composition of such figure include the direct dismissal of over 7,000 sugar workers, 1,974 Amerindian CSOs, hundreds of miners and loggers, and even some of our public servants. Indirectly, when accounted for the spinoff effect, the total number of jobs loss easily exceeds the 30,000 estimates. And note also, this figure was also cited in the 2014-17 Global Human Capital Index Report on Guyana. Reinstating the 30,000 Jobs Hence, these jobs could be easily reinstated with a few policy adjustments such as repeal all 200 tax measures, reopening of the sugar industries, tax optimization, expansion of the housing drive, FD special incentives, and other forms of quantitative easing such as increased liquidation of our commercial banks. Essentially, the 30,000 job losses could be reinstated by simply remedying all incoherent policies implemented by the APNU/AFC government. In the interest of space, I would not dwell on the corollaries of such policies and since it is also well articulated in the media. Now, before I examine the origin of the remaining 20,000 jobs, I would first like to shed some light on our economy.
Job Losses and Deteriorating Economy Overall, the impact of the 30,000 job losses is evident in the deterioration of our economic structure. Starting with the manufacturing sector, in the 2018 mid-year report, it has been reported that our manufacturing sector contracted by over 3.7% or $23.6 billion. What this tells us is that, our value added production is on the decline. And given the composition of our manufacturing sector, we are essentially referring here to the rice millers, sugar estates, lumber yards etc., industries that are directly engaged in the production of value added. Hence, it now becomes clear that since the output level of the manufacture sector is on the decline, in tandem with its share of total employment, then inevitable our economy is actually de-industrializing, an outcome that would see Guyana losing out on the opportunity of using manufacturing as an “engine of growth”. Now, given our soon to be oil-driven economy, such predisposition could become one of our greatest impediments towards a mature and successful service driven economy. In the long run, our economic structure could further deteriorate since a relatively small and weak manufacturing sector will become prone to crowdingout. The theory in short is as follow: increased spending in the non-tradable sector (service) would lead to an appreciation of value relative to tradable sector (manufacturing). As prices increase such as wages, under the assumption that the elasticity of labour substitution is less than unity, workers would move to the non-tradable sector. In layman terms, we could see for e.g. a labour choosing to drive taxi over cultivating rice. In the long run, our over reliance will increase on oil in
tandem with imports of food stuff. Apropos to our balance of payment, at the end of 2018, a deficit in excess of US$189M or 239% have been recorded when compared to 2017, in tandem with a US$463M or 97% more when compared to 2017. Such outcome has been further exacerbated by the mere fact that in excess of US$104M was utilized from our Net Foreign Reserve in 2018 to service our debts, taking the revised balance to a mere US$240M or 40% less when compared to 2014. Other noticeable decline when compared to 2017, include that of export by more than US$48M; and public enterprises and Bank of Guyana revenue by more than $3.3B and $1.8B respectively. There is a slew of other indicators that could be provided, but in the interest of space, I would also stick to the aforementioned. Hence, essentially what is being conveyed is that, there is ample evidence of gross underperformance of our economy. And given our existing economic trajectory, our oil windfall might be more of a curse than blessing. In order to mitigate such, urgent steps must be taken in order to remedy our existing economic framework. An outcome that is not impossible, but requires fiscal discipline, which unfortunately this administration doesn’t seem to possess. Getting to 50,000 jobs The other part that I would like to quickly touch on, is how the remaining 20,000 jobs will be created. To understand how such plan would unfold, I would like to bring to your attention a few areas of wasteful spending. First, the combined increase of the 2019 recurrent expenditure is more than $19B. In other words, expenditure on drugs, rental of buildings, security, celebration, etc. in 2019 is expected to increase
by $19B. Moreover, our traditional sectors such as rice, sugar, bauxite, gold and forestry, since 2014 we have lost in excess of $58B or 13% of our 2019 GDP, when adjusted for inflation. What this means is that, in addition to gross underperformance, there is a lot of economic slack within our economy. Essentially, a large share of our resources, both human and capital, lay idle. Now, if you look at the amount of revenue we have lost, and note, I have conveniently omitted to account for the increase in taxation, the figure easily surpasses $78B. That is additional funds we could easily amass by simply pursuing the coherent policies. And note, our economy could accommodate a massive increase in expenditure without fear of overheating because of the existing economic slack. Macroeconomic prudential coupled with strategic investments and policies geared at enticing private investment and consumption are more than capable of delivering in excess of 20,000 jobs. The housing drive alone, which is one of Irfaan’s specialties, will deliver a large number of jobs. This has been done, and is well within grasp of re-executing. In relation to foreign direct investment, it is public knowledge that the PPP had plans, as enshrined in their 2015 manifesto, to set up a free-trade zone, and undertake massive infrastructural and transformational projects such as the Linden/Lethem road, and the specialty hospital project. In the business sector cheap credit, which again could be easily attained by simply increasing government’s deposits in our commercial banks, could further spur investment and expansion. Such outcome would favour our business sector, and business once (Continued on page 6)
Wednesday April 10, 2019
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Guyana Goldfields Inc. and its evolution of recent events DEAR EDITOR, Permit me to express my understanding of the evolution of events at Guyana Goldfields Inc in the last three months in which the former chairman Mr. Patrick Sheridan attempts to mislead the public and folks like myself, a former employee who is following the recent developments. GGI since commencing operations in September 2015 has been consistent in reaching its quarterly and yearly targets enabling both shareholders and financial lenders to have satisfactory returns on their investment and at the same time allow for reinvestment in assets to enable the maximization of production across the company. In February 2018 the company projected a production a production target of 190,000-210,000 ounces for the year. This was subsequently adjusted in July 2018 with Patrick as Chairman of the Board to 175,000185,000 ounces, which we now know was due to an inaccurate Mine resource model that Patrick approved
in 2012. It is very disingenuous for the concerned shareholder to try to present to the public that the drop-in share price was because of poor management practice, when as the sitting Chairman, he would have approved the operational decisions taken to revise the yearly target. The concerned Shareholders referred to over CDN $ 1 billion in shareholder value being loss since 2016. If this is so, then this is an indictment on the then Chairman, Mr. Sheridan who was active until July 2018 and would have done nothing to stop the decline of share value that he alluded to. I was reliably informed that Mr. Sheridan who held both the Executive Chairman and CEO positions, only relinquishing the CEO position to Scott Caldwell in 2013 has always during his tenure as Chairman had a hands-on approach when it comes to major decisionmaking so he was intimately aware, and part of all financial decisions taken. It was his idea that the
company purchase its own fleet of trucks as a means of reducing the cost paid to contractors to haul cargo from Buckhall to Aurora. As a former employee, we were told that he was the key architect in the decision to purchase the company’s Twin Otter Aircraft as again he saw this as a means of cutting cost paid to the local air service providers. The Chairman was the one who insisted on the removal of Procurement from Georgetown to Toronto, which affected local content. When the issue of pension benefits was raised for the local workforce, he sternly resisted leading to the shelving of an initiative that would have brought great value to the Guyanese workforce. He was also instrumental in developing the policy forcefully retiring and unfairly terminating persons over the age of sixty (60) as he saw no value in them as productive employees. He was an integral player in the exploration and operational decisions, Mine planning and the approval of
Politics in Guyana became more about enriching ourselves DEAR EDITOR, In the column, “They are coming...are we prepared” (KN, 09th April 2019), Lincoln Lewis makes the point that “foreigners” are coming to take over our resources especially “oil”. Moreover, that Guyana is on the cusp of economic greatness. Such mindless fear mongering of “foreigners” (although Lincoln Lewis did not say who exactly “they” were except Brazilians and Chinese) speaks of a convoluted mind who may be living behind closed doors. Since there are some Guyanese who share his warp views then I suggest they band together and develop Guyana’s finite resources. Oh wait, they cannot as they lack the skills and finances to do so. It is true that companies, regardless of if they are “foreign” or “local”, will attempt to maximise their profits. However, there are benefits of “foreign” companies developing Guyana’s resources in that they bring in technology, skills and finance. As for Guyana being on
the cusp of economic greatness...GET REAL! Guyanese, 5 or 10 years from now, will be looking at Guyana’s oil wealth and lamenting how come they are not enjoying “The Good Life”. Much like what happened when we had other resources like sugar, gold and timber. Guyana, with a population of under one million people, should have been economically great by now. What happened? I’ll tell you what happened. Politics happened and destroyed a prosperous Guyana. Politics in Guyana became more about enriching ourselves (on all sides of the political divide) and associates rather than working for the benefits of all. As well as, now that many Guyanese have migrated with some sending back remittances to their families and friends, some Guyanese feel that they do not need to work. If Guyanese are serious and want to become economically empowered (Economically Great) then I suggest that Guyanese look
seriously at job creation to drive down the unemployment rate. Oh wait, that has not happened under the David Granger APNU+AFC Government. And, it is not likely to happen as there is no job creation strategy in Guyana. Understanding whose role it is to create jobs is central to a job creation strategy. Is it The Government? Is it The Private Sector? If it is The Private Sector then the Government needs to give the Private Sector the tools necessary to create jobs, namely TAX REDUCTION. If you want to “pushback” against the tide of “foreign” companies then you would need to develop Local Guyanese skills so that they can exploit Guyana’s Resources and Opportunities. Yours faithfully Sean Ori
both feasibility studies on the viability of the project. Mr. Sheridan needs to be forthright with the shareholder and clearly narrate his managerial role as head of the organization from its inception and what he did to alleviate the operational challenges that were emerging. As an outsider intrigued by the recent internal developments within the organization, Patrick insinuation that the company relationship with the state is tenuous is inaccurate with his assumptions. As it relates to the issue of deteriorating relationship with the
government of Guyana and its agencies, GGI management has always maintained an amicable and healthy relationship with the state and its regulatory bodies as can be seen with the recent site visit by the head of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) who at a recent press conference has acknowledged that his agency is in receipt of all the necessary documentation and has committed to expeditiously reviewing such. The management team should be congratulated for its quest to continuously
improve the efficiency of the company as can be seen in the recent elevation of a large percentage of the local workforce to supervisory management positions, which is a clear attestation of the management confidence in the local employees to successfully provide managerial leadership needed. The sudden public antics by the ‘Concerned Shareholders’ is designed to cause panic and confusion among share holders and other stake holders. Yours respectfully, Shawn Barker Former Employee.
Addressing some unfounded allegations DEAR EDITOR, Your front-page headline “Guyana loses out big time in Ogle Airport deal with ExxonMobil” (Sunday, Kaieteur News, 7th April, 2019), and the report which follows is absolute rubbish. The fact that ExxonMobil is building its office headquarters at the E. F. Correia International Airport significantly adds to the prestige and reputation of the Airport’s operations and provides an important source of revenue for the Airport’s operations and development. It is absolute rubbish for your newspaper to report that an aircraft operator is being denied land in favour of Exxon. The Exxon headquarters are being built on non airside land leased commercially in accordance with the Airport’s Lease Agreement with the government for the Management and Development of the Airport, as distinct from airside land leased for aircraft operations, that is, land subject to restricted access for aircraft operations. There are no existing aircraft operator land use applications, which in any way compete with the Exxon Mobil access to land for the construction of its office headquarters. Of the roughly 408 acres of land leased to Ogle Airport Inc. (OAI) for the development of an
International Airport, in fact, only 38%, that is, some 150 acres, is suitable for actual development, 60 acres of which is dedicated to airside development. The Airport has recently written to all current and potential airside operators inviting qualified Expressions of Interest for airside property. On receipt of Expressions of Interest, interested operators will be required to complete a formal application to be processed in accordance with the Airport’s Land Use Policy and are treated on a “first come first serve basis” on the date of completion of the application, submission of designed plans and projected start-up construction date. Ogle Airport Inc. wishes to point out that prospective users of airside land must be able to meet internationally established standards and best practices demanded of operators on all international airports and which are
compliant with the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). Ogle Airport Inc. has observed that the unfounded allegations being published in Kaieteur News replicate much of those which are already the subject of lawsuits before the Courts. Ogle Airport Inc. is proud of the fact that it is today, since its development over the past decade, already successfully serving the movement of just under 100,000 generally satisfied passengers per year, including over 40,000 international passengers, and moving roughly 17 million pounds of cargo to domestic and international destinations. Yours sincerely, Kit Nascimento Public Relations Consultant Ogle Airport Inc.
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Wednesday April 10, 2019
We at GTT strive to Minister Trotman and the AFC are either for a programme as organisations. What is a disservice is the well as make the necessary satisfy our customers for us or against us! advocate amendments to include perpetual insulting of those
DEAR EDITOR, We write this letter in response to a letter captioned “An open letter to the management of GTT” published on 4thApril, 2019 in your newspaper.The writer, Mr. Hubert C. Roberts, raised the concern that GTT “[is] providing a variety of its services to over three hundred thousand of Guyana’s population, while leaving the other proportion of the population without internet and attendant services.” Roberts also mentioned Bagotville, Canals No. 1 & 2 Polder and Parfait Harmonie are communities, which he states are “frustrated without the lack of services.” We would like to counter the writer’s blanket assertion of communities being denied of the services, which we provide. Since the introduction of GTT’s Blaze internet service in 2017, we have worked to extend the offer to communities outside of the Georgetown area. In June 2018, the Parfait Harmonie area was listed a “Current Service Area” on our GTT website, which meant it was eligible for the Blaze service,
along with other villages on the West Bank including Bagotville, La Grange, La Retraite, and Onderneeming. GTT continues to work overtime to ‘Do More’ for its customers. It should be noted that with the implementation of the Blaze, which comes with both internet and 900 FREE minutes, customers have been opting for the Blaze package benefits. We know many Guyanese are enthusiastic for Blaze; we are working to address this need. However, for the communities, which cannot access these services just yet, we would like to encourage the writer and other residents to utilise the services, which GTT provides in these areas. Currently, we have several mobile data bundles, which allow customers the benefit from browsing, and streaming movies online. We at GTT strive to satisfy our customers as we continue to review our rollout plan for Blaze to meet the needs of the customers. Kind regards, Jasmin Harris GTT PR & Corporate Communications Manager
The 50,000 jobs are justifiable... From page 4 again would flourish in tandem with disposable income from the creation of the new jobs. Hence, given the massive level of underemployment and idle capital, which is an indisputable claim, Guyana is capable to absorb a huge increase in investment. And note, we are yet to account for the oil windfall and astute local content policy that would ensure our nation fully benefits from its oil endowment. Thus, the forward and backward linkages that would ensue, including spillover effect to other industries and sectors, will push the number of jobs well above 50,000! It is a pity that majority of us are still oblivious, I would like to assume, of this vision. Timothy Isaacs
DEAR EDITOR, I wish to add my voice to those who do not support Ministers and Members of Parliament being dual citizens and the AFC’s call for an amendment of the provision of the Constitution dealing with dual citizenship. Firstly, this is a simple matter, if any individual wish to serve Guyana as a Minister or a Member of Parliament, that person has to make a simple choice, either to retain their foreign citizenship and serve in another capacity or renounce their foreign citizenship. Therefore Minister Trotman’s and the AFC’s endeavour to propose Constitutional amendments stating that this is a disservice to Guyana, is an overreach and a clear insult to Guyanese who have stayed in Guyana through the good and the not so good times. Minister Trotman and the AFC have to be careful that they do not ‘throw out the baby and the bath water’. There is need for Constitutional reform in some areas; one of the main aspects to be amended is to facilitate political parties forming coalitions after the elections. The Constitution is one of the, or rather it is the foundation document upon which the nation is built and stands. It is essentially the document that holds the many facets of our complicated society together. It is the document that influences the behaviour of individuals, institutions and the society. It is the document that forms a bridge across times - the past to some
extent, the current and future. Therefore, our lawmakers should be extremely careful with how they twist it and turn it to accommodate our ever changing moods, lest they reverse civilization in the process. The United States Constitution for example, is 229 years old, having been signed in 1787; and after 200 years, it is still the supreme document upon which that country stands. One of the strengths of leadership is to govern based on principles, which are grounded in the greater good of the masses and wider society and not merely in the good of a few privileged. Another strength of good leadership is to have the foresight and understanding that decisions could have serious implications on future generations and hindsight to learn from the past. Therefore, instead of the AFC advocating to amend the Constitution for persons with foreign citizenship to become Ministers and MPs, I wish to make the following suggestions. The AFC could develop a programme to build the capacity and nurture Guyanese who stayed and also possess the ability to become leaders. This programme should include exposure to various facets of the modern world – business, service, leadership, governance, decisionmaking, etc., as well as to develop their ability to blend this with the indigenous (local) knowledge, to enable and accelerate the development of the country. Secondly, the AFC could
capable single citizenship Guyanese who do want to become members of a political party and would like to serve their country as Ministers and MPs. The ‘Political Party’ approach for identifying persons for Ministerial and MP positions is extremely limiting. There is no need for foreigners as Ministers and MPs if this base for selection could be broadened. Thirdly, AFC could advocate for the removal of many retired persons with dual citizenship from senior substantive positions and replace them with younger professionals. A mentorship and coaching programme should be developed to accommodate the transfer of knowledge, skills and sharing of experiences to the younger professionals/generations. There is need for the government to put a focus and to establish a more viable purpose for these elderly professionals and the context in which they provide their service, which should be more from a nurturing perspective, while the younger professionals do the nation building. What is a disservice is to have younger citizens who have children occupied in various levels of the education system, who are struggling to cope from day to day; many of whom are qualified. Moreover, these young professionals should be more involved in nationbuilding at more senior levels, while there are so many retired professionals who are placed in substantive positions at most government
Guyanese who stayed and held the country together. It is the government’s responsibility to develop its citizens in a more constructive and sustainable way and to develop programmes to prepared them to assume positions of leadership and governance. This will be service to those who remained to serve as well as an incentive to the younger generations to stay. If one is to judge by the current rate of progress of the country with the inputs of so many dual citizens over the past few years, then Minister Trotman’s and the AFC argument does not hold. What is more pervasive is a number of dual citizens who have not really contributed to strategic positioning, growth and development of the country but have nevertheless enjoyed much more superior benefits to what many similarly hard working Guyanese who stayed enjoy. What am I saying? I am saying that we need to rethink how we engage the Diaspora; this must be from a more resultsoriented perspective. We need more value for our money! It is either Minister Trotman and AFC are for us or against us! We will not be presumptuous to tell them who to serve neither do we expect them to be presumptuous to attempt to change the Constitution to accommodate their personal choices. Yours faithfully, Citizen Audreyanna Thomas
A person with an axe to grind or is just an agent of provocation, or worse yet DEAR EDITOR, Please permit me space in your newspaper to respond to the letter written by M. Williams, which appeared in your Monday 8 April 2019 edition of your Newspaper– “Safety Should be the First Consideration”. The reference of this letter writer is the industrial activities of Guyana’s largest Gold mining company- Guyana Goldfields/ AGM Inc. It is most obvious that the writer’s aim is to discredit the company’s impeccable safety record by implying that that SAFETY is not THE FIRST CONSIDERATION at AGM Inc.; in fact, it is the First PRIORITY and is the Core Value of the Company. Following the major mining accident in 2015 where 10 miners lost their lives due
to pit wall collapse, the Ministry of Natural Resources in collaboration with the Guyana Mining School held a Training Seminar at Arthur Chung Convention Center, facilitated by Ret. Chief of Staff Joe Singh. Participants from large scale miners from reputable companies such as Troy’s Resources, and Guyana Goldfields Inc. did presentations on safe mining practices to other members of the mining fraternity. It is noteworthy that the safe mining practices demonstrated by Guyana Goldfields Inc./AGM Inc. has awarded them the ability to cop the Mining award, this honour was bestowed upon them by the Ministry Of Natural Resources, during the ‘Pork-knocker Week’
festivities of the said year. It is because of this and numerous other facts, that I am confident that every one of the monitoring agencies such as; GGMC, the OSH department of the Ministry of Social Protection and the Department of Compliance of the Ministry of Natural Resources would rubbish this erroneous claim of this letter writer. The letter writer is alluding to some trick practised by companies regarding the failure to report the work related injuries and ‘cooking’ numbers. This suggestion is laughable, and would only be uttered by someone who is ignorant of the industrial procedure required for managing the return to work and modified duties of injured workers. For the benefit of the
letter writer’s ignorance, I wish to outline the following: The duty of care of employers dictates that there be established policies that are followed by workers and supervisors in event of an injury. (1) The injured worker promptly reports the injury to his immediate supervisor (2) the supervisor escorts the injured worker to the First Aid Station, for an assessment of the injury. It is at this point that the Medical officer makes a determination of whether the employee is able to return to work or further treatment is required by medical facility. (3) If the injured worker is referred to a medical institution, he/she is escorted/assisted by the Medical Liaison Officer to the said Medical institution for (Continued on page 28)
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday April 10, 2019
CARICOM, Education Ministry collaborate to address learning disabilities, OCD
The gathering of education officers and teachers at yesterday’s seminar
D
isability should not be confused with inability. This notion was emphasised when the Ministry of Education and the Secretariat of the Caribbean Community [CARICOM] brought the issues of learning difficulties and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) to the fore at a special seminar held yesterday at the Pegasus Hotel. The seminar, which saw the attendance of senior education officers, teachers, cadet officers, mainstream teachers, and those attached to special schools, was executed in collaboration with the G. Halley Marville Trust and facilitated by Educational Psychologist, Dr. Ysanne Marville and Mr. Craig Shirley, Integrative Therapist and OCD Specialist. In order to understand learning difficulties and OCD, Minister of Education, Nicolette Henry, said that there needs to be inclusive learning, teaching and research attitude and culture to enable students, staff and stakeholders to develop their full potential and ultimately
contribute to the challenges of this day. She said, “Being inclusive within this context also requires understanding, preparedness and resources to enable us to deal with an increasingly diverse set of students while endeavouring to provide an excellent learning experience. This, ladies and gentlemen, includes learning disability and obsessive compulsive disorder.” According to Minister Henry, having a learning disability means that a person finds it harder to learn certain life skills. She noted that this may include aspects such as learning new things, communication, reading, writing or even personal care. According to her, “It does not in any way suggest that the person is incapable of learning. No! This only implies that they may learn at a slower rate or pace. While some people are born with a disability, others may develop one as a result of an accident or illness in childhood. And you must agree with me that an unforeseen
occurrence can befall any of us. Accidents do not have a face, status, ethnicity or even religion. So, all of us should be patient, kind and willing to acknowledge persons with learning disabilities.” She said that with the right support, persons with learning difficulties can live full and meaningful lives. She added that if this support is not provided, those persons may face problems in gaining independence or a home of their own, in accessing leisure and recreation activities, and/or in developing friendships and relationships. “Whether learning disability or obsessive compulsive disorder, the Ministry of Education is mandated to provide learning opportunities for all. One of our current initiatives is providing inclusive learning and teaching,” Minister Henry remarked. Assistant SecretaryGeneral for Human and Social Development at CARICOM, Dr. Douglas Slater said that parents of children with learning disabilities navigate the path of education and
From left: Integrative Therapist and OCD Specialist, Mr. Craig Shirley, Vice-Chairperson of the G. Halley Marville Trust, Ms. Janis Marville, Minister of Education, Dr. Nicolette Henry, Assistant Secretary-General for Human and Social Development at CARICOM, Dr. Douglas Slater and Educational Psychologist, Dr. Ysanne Marville. independence differently. He said that all children need care and attention as they learn and develop. Dr. Slater said that parents and their children with special education needs, if unrecognised, can be affected in education, and the quality of life experiences that they will have. He said that the CARICOM Human Resource Development Strategy 2030 recognises the need to deliberately design regional education systems that promote access and participation in quality, relevance and equity in education. Meanwhile, ViceChairperson of the G. Halley Marville Trust, Ms. Janis Marville, said that the Trust is a registered charity in Barbados and was birthed last year to address mental health issues and OCD. She said that the primary objective of the Trust is to support the social and emotional wellbeing of children and young people, and aims to channel the silence surrounding
mental health, by placing particular focus on OCD. Additionally, Ms. Marville said that the Trust also seeks to give voice and raise the awareness to children and
young people with additional needs and difficulties such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
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Miner accused of shooting reputed wife to face attempted murder charge A 52-year-old miner is to face an attempted murder charge today for allegedly shooting his reputed wife, Ava Abrams, at Bartica. He is due to appear in the Bartica Magistrates’ Court. Abrams, 49, of Lot 77 Third Avenue Bartica, was shot in the hand at around 01.50 hrs on Sunday while sitting in her car. Police said Abrams, who is a businesswoman, indicated that she had closed her place of work and was waiting on a friend who she had sent on an errand. She was approached by her reputed husband, who is a miner, and an argument ensued. The miner then allegedly drew his pistol and shot her once on her left hand just above the wrist. Upon her friend’s return, she was picked up and rushed to the Bartica Hospital where she was admitted as a patient after undergoing surgery. The alleged suspect was taken into police custody and his firearm lodged.
Kaieteur News
Wednesday April 10, 2019
Cops grill wife of slain fuel dealer in presence of alleged ‘hit man’ - legal advice likely today Detectives have questioned the wife of slain fuel dealer Ramzan Alli in the presence of Sadeek Mohamed Mitchell, the man who was allegedly hired to kill her husband in 2009. Crime Chief Lyndon Alves confirmed yesterday that investigators have held confrontations between Mitchell and Milaimi Alli, who has been in custody since last Thursday.Asked if Mrs. Alli will be charged, Alves said that police are likely to seek further legal advice today, once investigators complete their interviews and prepare a report on the case. Milaimi Alli, 50, was held
Milaimi Alli at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport last Thursday after returning from the United States. A bulletin had stated that she was wanted for questioning in relation to the murder committed on Ramzan Alli between 11th and 12th July 2009 at Coldingen, East Coast Demerara. Sadeek Mohamed Mitchell, a taxi driver, was charged late last month for Alli’s murder. Police allege that he had given a caution statement in which he admitted to killing Alli on a woman’s orders.Ramzan Alli, 45, was discovered dead on Sunday, July 12, 2009, in the trunk of his rental car, which was on the Coldingen Railway Embankment Road.
Ramzan Alli
Sadeek Mohamed Mitchell
Belle West biker succumbs after collision with car
F
orty-seven yearold West Bank Demerara resident Neil Nunes became the sixth motorcyclist to perish this year, after colliding with a car at around 18.45 hrs on Monday. The accident occurred on the Canal Number Two Public Road, West Bank Demerara. Police said that Nunes, of Lot 81 Belle We s t , was towing 35year-old Nichola Garnette, of the same address, when he collided with a car which
was being driven by a 30year-old Belle West resident. Cyclist and pillion rider sustained multiple injuries and were taken to the West Demerara Regional Hospital. They were transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where Nunes succumbed about 02:00h yesterday. Garnette’s condition is listed as stable. The driver of the car passed a breathalyzer test, but is in police custody.
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday April 10, 2019
Is the present Cabinet the pick of the crop?
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ecently, there was a highly animated discussion in a popular watering hole in ‘Bam-Bam Alley’. The topic was whether President Granger had a competent team of persons around him, including his Ministers. The popular consensus was that the PNCR’s extended sabbatical out of government – a period of 23 years – has degutted the party of much of its formidable talent. Since it departed office in 1992, the party would have lost leaders who would have died, gotten older or migrated. The view held overwhelmingly by the group having the discussion, was that President Granger is fielding the PNCR’s weakest team of Ministers, and the poor performance of the substitutes have not made his job any easier.
It is a debatable issue. It is equally debatable whether the past crop of PNCR leaders would have done any better than the present crop. Different periods in a country’s development and different periods in time require different skill sets. Governments today are far more active and dealing with far more complex issues than those in the past. Regardless of the skill sets which are required today as compared with the past, it is still relevant to question whether the President is surrounded by the best available talents. Many years ago, this column posed the question: How does one know that a President has surrounded himself with the best? And how does one determine who are the best? In making this assessment, greater weight is usually given to persons who
are lettered – who have qualifications. But do qualifications alone make for an effective Minister? In his later years as President, Burnham chopped and changed his Cabinet, appointing all manner of unlettered persons to his Cabinet. Burnham had to have had some reason for doing this. He may have become extremely frustrated with some of the highly qualified persons in his midst, and may, for the purposes of image, have wanted persons who rubbed shoulders with the common man. Choosing Ministers is never an easy task. A President often has to balance a number of interests. A President is expected to reward those members of his party who worked hard during election campaigning and who were of long-
DEM BOYS SEH
Watch how yuh buying SIM card or lending out yuh phone
People does do one thing then suddenly find demself in a lot of trouble. And dem got de nerve to pretend that dem don’t know wha happen, A man wife and he children pack up to lef de country. It had to be that this man use to beat de woman, suh she decide to lef everything behind. Dem boys don’t know how de man know, but he find heself at de airport. And he behave bad. He see de woman inside de terminal because he reach late. Dem boys seh is a good thing he didn’t ketch de woman outside. He holler how de woman
kidnapping he children, but de police didn’t even look in he direction till somebody phone in a bomb threat. Right away de police arrest de man who was behaving bad. Is a good thing when dey check he phone dem realize that de bomb threat didn’t come from he phone. Anodda man got a good heart. He go in to a phone place and he meet a friend who didn’t have she ID card. He decide to use he ID to buy she SIM card. That was couple years ago. Bright and early Tuesday morning before bird wife wake de police pick he up and carry he to de police station. Tuesday is one day he
would like to forget. He didn’t bathe; he didn’t go to de toilet; he didn’t brush he teeth. He had to sit down in de police station whole day and when night come is a good thing dem police had a good heart. He sleep in de hospital. De lady wid de SIM card sweating, because she don’t know who using she phone. Dem boys seh dem now learn that if somebody ask you to mek a phone call is better you give dem money to buy credit. You never know wha mischief dem can do. Talk half and you got to be more selfish wid yuh phone.
standing in the party. But he also has to balance this expectation with the need to ensure that the persons chosen have the leadership and technical knowledge for the jobs for which they have been identified. People want to see the best persons in government. They also want to see those who have not performed, or who have brought embarrassment to the government and country, removed. Members of the public are not unreasonable. They accept the restrictions placed on the President in choosing his Ministers. They understand that a President has to choose most of his Ministers from his party’s list of candidates for the elections, since Ministers are expected to sit in the National Assembly, and all but four of the MPs on each side have to come from the list of candidates of their respective parties. But the public also expects that when elected
political appointees misbehave or perform poorly, they should be removed. One of the main grouses which persons had with the PPPC was the fact that many of its Ministers had become too stale, had misbehaved in government, or were performing disastrously. Yet, successive PPP Presidents showed a steely reluctance to replace these unworthy apparatchiks. Burnham understood better than most, the importance of Cabinet reshuffles. He also understood the need to blood new talent and to ensure that he tried different combinations of Ministers when things were not going well. It did not mean, however, that he ended up with the best. The opposite at times was true. Close to the end of his reign, some of his political choices became a source of amusement. President Granger has been reluctant to make any serious reshuffle of his
Cabinet. There have been a few instances of switching of portfolios, but no major reshuffle has occurred under his watch. As such, people may falsely draw the conclusion that he may be satisfied with the performance of his Ministers or is hamstrung in making changes. People do not expect perfection. All they ask is for a President to hold his Ministers and senior officials accountable, and to act decisively whenever there are failings. Are there no other persons on the list of candidates of the PNCR who can replace some of the present political appointees? Is that asking too much?
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday April 10, 2019
THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN
What this very prominent citizen told me
O
ne of the most na tionally known citi zens in this country said a thing to me that, days after, caused me to think of how destructive party politics is to poor, underdeveloped Guyana. This individual is well respected in Guyana and, in my estimation, has a sharp, analytical mind. In journalism, your editor has to know the source of your information. People still think that only the two Washington Post reporters – Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward - knew who Deep Throat was in the Watergate scandal.
But from day one, their editor, Ben Bradlee was told. If asked, I will name him. If on reading this column, because of how important he is and how important too is the issue, President Granger requests the information, I will tell him. When he told me this, he asked that he not be quoted. I will abide by that request, but I am writing on the subject, because the tempestuous debate about dual citizenship has brought into the picture the question of how politicians put their personal matters and personal things before the welfare of the nation.
At a certain event in relation to the death of a prominent Guyanese, this admired personality told me that he honestly thinks that Vice Chancellor Ivelaw Griffith is not the right person to lead UG. As soon as he said that, a thin smile accompanied the words, “Freddie, don’t quote me.” Well I am quoting him, but readers will not know who he is, because I haven’t named him. Then I responded, “Have you spoken to Granger about how you feel?” I asked that because this gentleman’s words and analyses have sway in the PNC’s leadership and in the war room
of the government. He quietly said he was not interested. I couldn’t continue my enquiry, because certain people came up to us. Did he tell me he was not interested in expressing his feeling to the leadership of the government because he didn’t want me to know that? Or is that the way politicians see their country – they just could not be bothered but only with the things that concern them. A senior manager of ANSA McAL told me yesterday that he thought Raphael Trotman was putting himself first, rather than country, when he expressed his desire to have dual citizenship recognized by the constitution. He explained that Trotman never spoke about changing many other things in the constitution that can make Guyana a better place, but only dual citizenship, because the issue may be personal to Trotman. And you know what? The fellow is perfectly right. It was that conversation that motivated me to write this column. If given your experience and service to Guyana and given the influence you have in the corridors of power, you
think that the person who currently heads UG should not be in that position, you owe it to the present generation and those in the future to influence changes, since your words can do just that. If this gentleman keeps his feeling to himself then, are we not right to conclude that politicians are concerned more with issues that are personal to them and put the interests of their country second? UG is not just another institution the nation can relegate to secondary importance. Like the NIS, the Bank of Guyana etc., it is a primary institution. Its priceless value has to be recognized by the powers that be. Should he not tell himself that he thinks UG deserves more visionary, democratic leadership, and seek to have his party the PNC, which leads the government, reflect on the issue? I am writing on this issue because I want the PNC leadership and President Granger to know that someone they admire and respect, and someone whose ideas they listen to, believes that UG has the wrong person at the helm. I too have a healthy level of respect for this person, and for this reason, I will not see
Frederick Kissoon him the same way if he does not transmit his feeling to the government. I don’t know what will emerge from my disclosure here, but I fully understand the frustration of that ANSA McAL manager. His words reflect how substantial numbers in this country’s population feel – politicians are only interested in furthering their own personal agenda at the cost of the country’s future. But hasn’t it been like that since two of the founding fathers (I say two because I regard Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow as one of several founding fathers), Burnham and Jagan, set foot on the political soil? Both Jagan and Burnham put their own agenda before the well-being of their country. It has been like that ever since.
Wednesday April 10, 2019
Kaieteur News
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday April 10, 2019
Rice farmer recounts brutal murder of sibling in Mahaica land dispute …as father, son go on trial Rice farmer, Parmanand Nandkishore yesterday detailed a harrowing story of how he survived a cutlass attack on his family over a land dispute, which left his brother Suresh Nandkishore, an accountant, dead, and his father with permanent disabilities. Parmanand was at the
time testifying in the trial of 54-year-old Sukhdeo Dharamdat and his son, 25year-old Eshwardat Dharamdat, who are jointly charged with the February 3, 2015 murder of Suresh Nandkishore, which occurred at Handsome Tree Creek, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara.
According to reports, Suresh Nandkishore, his father Bhopaul Nandkishore, 52, and brother Parmanand, were in the process of erecting a fence on a plot of land when a heated argument erupted between them and the other family, and led to a fight. It was reported that the
older Dharamdat, with whom the Nandkishores had a land dispute, came as they were working and appeared to have no objection. But the 51year-old reportedly returned with his two sons, one of whom was armed with a cutlass. The men reportedly picked up two of the posts that were meant for the fence and began lashing the Nandkishores about their bodies. Suresh Nandkishore reportedly tried to walk away, but was cornered and dealt several lashes to his head, blows that cracked open his skull. During his time in the witness box, Parmanand Nandkishore told the court that the land was owned by his great grandfather, and was later passed down to his father. He said that land for which his family has a lease was the subject of a dispute between the two families, which was settled in court, with his father winning rights to the land. According to him, it was about 75 acres of land which his family used to plant rice, cash crops and rear cattle. Recounting what transpired on February 3, 2015, Parmanand Nandkishore told the jury that his father had asked him and his brother (Suresh) to follow him to make repairs to a fence on the land. The relatively calm witness said that they left by boat and arrived some 30 minutes after and offloaded posts to begin works. He added that
KILLED: Suresh Nandkishore sometime after, Sukhdeo Dharamdat arrived and asked his father what they were doing, and he responded by saying that were erecting a fence. He further said that Sukdeo Dharamdat left and returned with his two sons, Chaitram and Eshwardat, who he said, was armed with a cutlass. Parmanand said, “…They (the Dharamdats) started to argue with my father who told us to let us leave.” The witness said that as he and his family were walking away, Eshwardat attacked his brother with one of the posts meant to build the fence. He stated that his brother was struck several times to the head which resulted in his skull being cracked open with blood gushing. The post, he said, was a left stuck in his
brother’s head. Parmanand recounted that Chaitram lashed him with a cutlass and then struck him on his head with a post causing him to fall to the ground where he lay and “played dead.” According to him, the attack has left his father with brain damage which causes him to suffer from constant seizures. Chaitram was jointly charged along with his father and brother for Suresh Nandkishore’s murder, but he later died while in jail. This trial is being heard before Justice Navindra Singh and a 12-member jury at the High Court in Georgetown. Attorneys-atLaw Brandon De Santos, Pamela De Santos and Alana Lall are representing the two murder accused. The trial continues this morning.
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday April 10, 2019
Lawyer questions Nanda Gopaul about alleged procedural breaches
NBS wrongful dismissal suit… Director of the New Building Society (NBS), Dr. Nanda Gopaul, faced several questions over procedural breaches, which he says, formed the grounds for the dismissal of former NBS Manager, Kent Vincent. Gopaul returned to the stand yesterday for further cross examination in the case for which the former Manager is claiming over $500M in damages from NBS for wrongful dismissal. Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Maurice Arjoon, who had similarly sued the entity, claimed that he and his managers (Vincent among them), were set up and charged at the direction of former President Bharrat Jagdeo, after he (Arjoon) refused to sink almost $2B of NBS money into the construction of the Berbice River Bridge. The CEO had claimed that
the lending of NBS money in that manner would have been highly illegal, breaching financial laws. Arjoon, Vincent and fellow Manager, Kissoon Baldeo, faced charges of conspiracy to defraud the NBS of $69M, back in 2007. The charges were eventually dropped due to lack of evidence. Arjoon has won a $79M award against the society in a civil suit. The second challenge (Vincent’s) against NBS is ongoing at the High Court before Chief Justice (Ag) Roxane George. At his first appearance last week, the witness was asked a series of questions about the procedure taken by senior officials, former Chief Executive Officer, Mr Arjoon, Mr. Vincent and other managers. Gopaul had admitted that Arjoon had run “a tight ship” and that the board never had
reason to write to the CEO on any matters prior to the case. He claimed that approval of the senior officials in relation to certain documents (particularly the use of Power of Attorney) was “highly irregular.” The witness said too that, in his view, the transaction should not have taken place in this circumstance. In his witness statement, Gopaul had claimed that Vincent, who was at the time an NBS branch manager, should have taken certain steps to prevent the use of fraudulent powers of attorney. “In early 2000 through to 2007, NBS formally required all senior officers to ensure that a power of attorney must be personally verified with the deeds registry, as well as contact made with the principal at the address and telephone number on file, to ensure that the principal indeed issued the power. At no time could
Rape charge for man ‘invited’ to hotel room by girl, 15 A 23-year-old man found himself in a serious dilemma when he was charged for sexual penetrating a 15-year-old girl whom he claims, invited him to spend time with her in a hotel room. The accused, Lancelot Junor, of Berbice, was not required to plead to the indictable charge which stated that, between September 1, 2018 and October 14, 2018 at the Takutu Hotel, Lethem, he engaged in sexual penetration with a child under the age of 16. The matter was heard in-camera at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, thus members of the public and the media were asked to exit the courtroom. According to information received, the accused went to Lethem to play a football
match and it was there that he met the teenager. It was alleged that after the match the teen invited him to the hotel to spend time with her.While at the hotel, the two reportedly had sexual intercourse. However, the teen later told her parents what had transpired between herself and Junor. The matter was then reported and an investigation was carried out. Junor was arrested and taken into police custody where the aforementioned charge was made out against him. The police prosecutor had no objection to pre-trial freedom for the accused and the magistrate released Junor on $100,000 bail. The matter was adjourned until April 15, when he is expected to appear in the Lethem Magistrate’s Court.
any other contact information be used, as this would weaken NBS’s security systems. If we were unable to verify the principal using the contact information in file, the transaction would be suspended.” “NBS required all officers to retain copies of powers of attorney which were used for withdrawals, and to verify in writing that those powers were verified at the registry. But as the trial continued yesterday, Gopaul admitted that members of the Board at NBS were satisfied that the
rocedure was followed and the documents provided were authentic. Senior Counsel Robin Stoby, representing Vincent, asked a series of questions as it relates to the authenticity of documents provided for the transaction. To which Gopaul responded that the documents were accepted by the Board in 2007. He noted that the same year, a police investigation was launched into the NBS Managers’ handling of an account belonging to Bibi Khan. Khan, who was (Continued on page 30)
Director of the New Building Society, Dr. Nanda Gopaul
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday April 10, 2019
Maintenance of Bartica roads, bridges taking shape
The present state of the pedestrian bridge at Kaburi Village. The maintenance of roads and bridges across CuyuniMazaruni Region has topped the agenda of works for the early part of this year, with a total expenditure on these projects expected to exceed
some $60M. This was recently revealed by Regional Information Officer, Alden Marslow. According to Marslow, works have already begun, and progress has been
notable thus far in several areas in Bartica. Reports suggest that rehabilitation works to roadways, as was commenced in the previous year, will continue, with $5M
Works are progressing on roads in and around Bartica set apart for the Agatash Access Road; $6M for the maintenance of Ninth Street; $5.5M for Caribese Hill Road; $10.5M for Old Housing Scheme and Mongrippa Roads, and $4.8M for
maintenance of the Kalacoon Access Road. Roads in the Upper Mazaruni will also be rehabilitated in this programme, including the Kako to Waramadong Road, and the Kamarang to Waramadong Road, at a total of $21.5M. Marslow informed that a number of bridges will also be rehabilitated, with works already started on most of them, including the Heavy Duty Bridges #4 and #5 between Kamarang and Waramadong, in the Upper Mazaruni, and one bridge along the Kalacoon Access Road at Bartica. A combined sum of $13.3M will be expended. Along with the road-andbridge programme, a number of other works are already being carried out, including
the construction of river defence at Byderabo and the maintenance of buildings. Meanwhile the pedestrian bridge at Kaburi Village (72 Miles) in the Middle Mazaruni is now on the cards to be rebuilt, following evaluation and contractual procedures. The bridge services villagers across their main creek, especially during the rainy season. As a result of the old structure being in an advanced state of deterioration, and posing a hazard to residents including school children, the decision has been made to rebuild it. Some $30M has been budgeted for this project. Kaburi Village is located Seventy-Two Miles from Bartica along the Potaro Trail, and is home to some six hundred residents.
Khashoggi killing: US issues travel bans against 16 Saudis The US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, has issued travel bans against 16 Saudi Arabians, including a former aide to the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, as he tries to fend off bipartisan criticism of the state department’s reaction to the killing of the dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The state department designations make the 16 individuals and their immediate family members ineligible for entry into the US. A list released on Monday includes Saud al-Qahtani, a former aide to Mohammed, and Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, who was part of the crown prince’s entourage on trips abroad. The names had already been announced publicly, but Monday’s designation tells those affected that their family members are also at risk of being subject to a travel ban.Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October, sparking a global furore. He had written critically of Mohammed in columns for the Washington Post before he was killed.After denying any knowledge of Khashoggi’s death for weeks, Saudi authorities eventually settled on the explanation that he was killed in an operation masterminded by former advisers to Mohammed, denying that the crown prince himself was in-
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday April 10, 2019
US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo. Photograph: Patrick Semansky/AP volved. Mohammed was conspicuous by his absence from the state department’s list.The Trump administration’s support for Saudi Arabia has been a point of tension with Congress since the killing of Khashoggi, who was based in the US. Lawmakers from both parties have criticised Donald Trump for not condemning Saudi Arabia strongly enough for the killing.Earlier this month, Congress gave final approval on a resolution to end American military assistance for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, in a sweeping rebuke to the US president’s foreign policy. Last week, it was reported that Saudi Arabia is within months of completing its first nuclear reactor, after it
emerged that the US Department of Energy had granted seven permits for the transfer of sensitive nuclear information by US businesses to the Saudi government. Tempers flared last week in a confrontation between Pompeo and the Democratrun House foreign affairs committee, when legislators demanded to know why the administration appeared to be shielding a Saudi regime responsible for wholesale human rights abuses, mass civilian deaths in Yemen and the murder and dismemberment of Khashoggi.Brad Sherman, a California Democrat, told Pompeo: “If you cannot trust a regime with a bone saw, you should not trust them with nuclear weapons.”
Two jail sentences for man who threatens to beat wife until she dies A convicted abuser yesterday returned to prison as he received two jail sentences for beating his reputed wife to the head with a drinks case and threatened to continue the very act until she dies. Fifty-year-old Roopnarine Persaud appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts where the charges were read to him, and in a very quiet tone admitted to them. The court heard that on April 5, last, at Barama Line, Baramita, Persaud made use of threatening language towards Brahanna Charles. On the same date and at that very location he unlawfully and maliciously assaulted Charles. Persaud, who was not represented by an attorney, informed the court that he is a mechanic by trade. According to police prosecutor Arvin Moore, the parties shared a common-law-relationship and they have two children together. He went on to say that due to Persaud’s constant violent behaviour, Charles made several reports against him in which he was charged. Persaud was also convicted in 2018 for assault causing actual bodily harm towards his reputed wife. Moreover, nine months ago the complainant left the home where she resided with Persaud and went back to live with her mother. The prosecutor then related the facts of the charges which stated that on the day in question about 01:32 hrs, Charles was sitting with some friends at the location mentioned in the charges when Persaud came to her. He picked up a drinks case and dealt her several lashes about the head and during the ordeal he told her that he will continue (Conitnued on page 16)
Roopnarine Persaud
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday April 10, 2019
Medical lab services free in Region Five ‘Pretty Boy’ remanded
- 77,000 tests processed annually - Mahaicony hospital lab functions 24/7
Medical Laboratories Manager, Muniram Balgobin (left), talks with Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence who recently visited the medical lab at the Mahaicony Hospital
R
esidents of Region Five no longer need to travel to Georgetown for medical tests as these are available for free at the Mahaicony Diagnostic Centre and Fort Wellington Hospital. With 14 Medical Technologists employed in the region, and another five in training, more than 77,000 medical laboratory tests are done each year. This is compared to only 12,000 tests in 2011, when just two technologists were employed. Medical Laboratories Manager, Muniram Balgobin has worked in the region for eight years. He said the progress in this particular area is not without its challenges; however, the commitment of the staff has resulted in progress. “We used to offer five types of tests in the region, and now we offer more than 100 types of tests. In terms of the labs, we have been progressing, we are trying to move away, however, from manual methods, and we are trying to be more automated.”
He was at the time sharing his concerns with Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence and Minister within the Ministry, Dr. Karen Cummings, who visited health facilities in the region recently. Balgobin envisages the service delivery being maximised to ensure every person obtaining the service in the region have full access to laboratory services. “We are offering at Mahaicony Hospital 24-hour lab services, every day, whether holiday or weekend. At Fort Wellington, we are aiming to do the same… with the additional staff (those in training) to come on board, we can actually put a 24-hour system in place there as well,” he added. Of the five staffers being trained, four will be placed at the Fort Wellington Hospital while one will remain at Mahaicony. Also, requests have been made to the ministry to ensure that with expansion in services, there is the provision of the requisite machines and equipment to have tests done. (DPI)
for armed robbery
Thirty-two year-old Edward Skeete, also known as ‘Pretty Boy’, of 309 Independence Boulevard, Albouystown, was yesterday remanded to prison on a charge of robbery under arms. He was arraigned before Senior Magistrate Dylon Bess in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, where he pleaded not guilty. It is alleged that on March 31, 2019 at Lombard Street, Georgetown, Skeete while being in the company of others and, armed with a gun, robbed Zayne Fenderson of $900,000 in cash. The accused was represented by attorney-at-law George Thomas. Police prosecutor Tracy May-Gittens objected to bail being granted, based on the fact that Skeete had previous offences of similar nature, and a very serious charge - a murder accusation. In 2018, Skeete and another person were freed of a murder charge by Justice Navindra Singh after insufficient evidence was provided by the state for the 2015 death of Ryan Clementson who was gunned down near the Turn-
Edward Skeete aka ‘Pretty Boy’ ing Point establishment at Tucville, Georgetown. Facts of the charge read yesterday indicated that on the day in question, Fenderson was in a bus on Lombard Street when a guntoting Skeete approached the vehicle in the company of others. The victim was shot to the leg and relieved of the sum of cash mentioned in the charge. The perpetrators then made good their escape. Bail was refused and Skeete was remanded until April 18 when the matter will next be heard.
Two jail sentences for man who .... From page 14 beating her until she dies. As a result, Persaud was held by persons who were at the scene and Charles was taken to the Baramita Health Centre where she received medical attention for her injuries. It was noted that she received a laceration to the head and was bleeding profusely. The wound is said to not be
life-threatening. A report was made to the police and Persaud was arrested and charged for the offences. After listening to the prosecutor, Magistrate McLennan sentenced Persaud to 18 months for the assault and 12 months for the use of threatening language. The sentences are to run concurrently.
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Rejected contractors can appeal to Bid Protest Committee – NPTAB Chairman Chairman of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, (NPTAB), Berkley Wickham has said that there are existing mechanisms for rejected contractors to protest the selection of bids. Wickham noted that the system has been in place to ensure that the procurement of goods, services and the execution of works are conducted in accordance with the relevant laws. According to Wickham, the Bid Protest Committee
under the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) would review the report of a disgruntled contractor to determine whether his/her claims can be substantiated. The NPTAB Chairman stressed that the committee provides a forum for contractors to air their concerns about the tender process and have those concerns addressed. His comment comes in wake of a complaint by a small contractor who raised questions over the manner in
which contracts are awarded by the State. The contractor, who spoke to Kaieteur News on the condition of anonymity, raised questions about the award of contracts at the level of NPTAB. The contractor complained of the selection process, which he says, favours large contractors. “Whenever the government puts out tenders for big projects, the projects most likely find themselves in the hands of the big contractors, even though small
contractors offer to do the work for far less.” However, the NPTAB official clarified that contracts are not awarded merely on the basis of cost. There is a list of technical and administrative criteria that a contractor is required to satisfy before the contract is awarded. Wickham specified that the list includes a compliance certificate from the National Insurance Scheme, (NIS), Guyana Revenue Authority, (GRA) – which is to ensure taxes are up to date, a
business registration certificate, and bid security — a small percentage paid as part of securing the bid. Additionally, he said, the company must provide documentation outlining the capability of its workforce, experience and financial capability to complete the project. “Contracts are not awarded based on the lowest cost [offered to do a project] but the lowest evaluated bid.” Wickham emphasized that if a contractor is dissatisfied with the manner in which the project is awarded, he has the option of raising it at the level of the Bid Protest Committee. The committee was initially under the purview of the Tender Administration Board and later moved to the PPC. “That mechanism is in place to assist contractors who want to protest the tender. Additionally, the Tender Board Chairman said that it would be useful if agencies notify the unsuccessful bidders as to the reasons why they were not selected. “Contractors can also inquire from the subject agencies why their bid was selected for the project. It would serve to help guide them, where they went wrong and how they can avoid mistakes in future bids, because there are instances where a contractor fails to do simple things such as sign off on a bid document.” Last weekend, a small contractor who complained of the selection process, which
Chairman of NPTAB, Berkley Wickham he says, favours large contractors, highlighted a scenario in which he believes he was duped out of a contract. He claimed the contract was eventually awarded to Courtney Benn Construction Services—a well known firm. The project in question is for the construction of the Ministry of Finance Annex. The three-storey, multimillion-dollar annex is being constructed at the site of the former sports club of the Guyana National Cooperative Bank (GNCB), on Winter Place and Croal Street in Georgetown. The annex will house the ministry’s training room, a sports complex, a gym and the Camp Street valuation office. The small contractor had claimed that the project cost $228M. Additionally, government’s website had also quoted that figure as the Continued on page 23
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Netanyahu on course to claim Israeli election victory: partial results JERUSALEM (Reuters) Both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main challenger Benny Gantz claimed victory in Israel’s election but exit polls and early results indicated today the veteran right-wing leader was on course for a record fifth term. Partial results with 80
percent of votes counted showed Netanyahu’s Likud with 38 seats, 8 more than in the previous election in 2015, and Gantz’s centrist Blue and White Party with 36, the Knesset website and Israeli TV channels said several hours after polls closed. Exit polls on two of Israel’s
Rejected contractors... From page 18 cost of the project. However, Courtney Benn Construction provided correspondence from the Finance Ministry which showed otherwise. In a letter dated, December 21, 2017, Finance Secretary Hector Butts, writing to the contractor, notified him that the amount for the project had been corrected. “This is to notify you that your bid dated the 11th day of July 2017, for the execution of the construction of Ministry of Finance New Annex building, 77 Croal Street, Stabroek Georgetown, Region Four, to the total corrected sum of $191,674,437 in accordance with clause 30 of the instruction of bidders and for the correction of any defects therein is thereby accepted by our organization.”
OAI explains land lease... From page 19 Organization (ICAO) and the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). The airport said it is proud of the fact that since its development over the past decade, it is already successfully serving the movement of just under 100,000 generally satisfied passengers per year, including over 40,000 international passengers, and moving roughly 17 million pounds of cargo to domestic and international destinations. To meet the requirement by EEPGL for security to their land, the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission extended the OAI Master Lease to 2068, effective 1st January, 2018.
three main TV channels earlier showed Likud several seats ahead while a third survey put Blue and White one seat ahead of Likud. Though neither party captured a ruling majority in the 120-member Knesset, according to the polls, the surveys put Netanyahu in a strong position to form a coalition government with right-wing factions, key to an ultimate victory. “It is a night of colossal victory,” the 69-year-old Netanyahu told cheering supporters in a late-night speech at Likud headquarters, while cautioning that a “long night and possibly day” lay ahead awaiting official results. Fireworks flared behind him as his wife Sara applauded and kissed him. “He’s a magician,” the crowd chanted. If he wins, Netanyahu, 69, will be on track to be the longest-serving
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. REUTERS/Nir Elias, Ariel Schalit/Pool via REUTERS prime minister in Israel’s 71year history. Netanyahu said he had already begun talks with prospective coalition allies. Netanyahu, in power consecutively since 2009, has been fighting for his political survival. The closely contested race was widely
seen in Israel as a referendum on his character and record in the face of corruption allegations. He faces possible indictment in three graft cases, and has denied wrongdoing in all three. Rival Gantz, 59, earlier also claimed victory, citing preliminary exit polls that showed his party had won more seats than Likud. “We are the victors,” said Gantz, a former military chief fighting his first election. “We want to thank Benjamin Netanyahu for his service to the nation.” Political analysts cautioned it was too early to be certain of the outcome, with many hours to go before a final tally is in. Ofer Zalzberg, senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, said Likud and Blue and White would have to learn the fate of smaller parties to know whether they had garnered enough
support for a coalition. “Netanyahu is more likely to establish another rightwing government, but we will have to wait and see,” he said. NETANYAHU HIGHLIGHTS TRUMP TIES During the campaign, the rival parties accused each other of corruption, fostering bigotry and being soft on security. Netanyahu highlighted his close relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, who delighted Israelis and angered Palestinians by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017 and moving the American Embassy to the holy city last May. Two weeks before the election, Trump signed a proclamation, with Netanyahu at his side at the White House, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war.
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President Moise announces new PM denies minister had submitted prime minister resignation PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - CMC – President Jovenel Moise yesterday announced Jean Michel Lapin, who once served as a courier in the public administration, to be the new prime minister of this French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country. Lapin, who had been serving as acting prime minister ever since 93 of the 103 members of the Chamber of Deputies voted in favour of removing Prime Minister JeanHenry Ceant, last month, was reportedly one of three person who had been considered for the permanent position.The others were attorney Majorie Alexandre Brunache, a former Consul General of Haiti in Boston and the daughter of President Boniface Alexandre, and
Jean Michel Lapin Gabriel Fortuné, the Mayor of Les Cayes, a town in south west Haiti.In a twitter message yesterday prior to leaving the country for a visit to panama, President Moise confirmed the appointment of Lapin, the former culture and communications minister, who was named acting prime minister on March 21,
Lapin will now spend the next few days forming his government before going before the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate to be ratified with a vote on his political programme.Lapin is the third head of government under President Moise, since he came to office in February 2017.The installation of a new government is an International Monetary Fund (IMF) pre-requisite for the disbursement of the first tranche of a US$229 million loan to Haiti. In 2018, Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, had a record US$290 million deficit, while its national budget was estimated at US$1.8 billion.Political observers say that Lapin, a native of Jacmel, a port city in the southeast, is a relative unknown despite his years in the public administration and having served under the last four Haitian presidents.
CASTRIES, St. Lucia CMC – Prime Minister Allen Chastanet yesterday denied reports that his Public Service Minister, Dr. Ubaldus Raymond, had tendered his resignation amidst media reports that the minister was at the centre of a salacious conversation that had gone viral on social media last weekend.“That’s not true,” Chastanet told reporters as he made his way to the Parliament where Governor General Sir Neville Cenac was due to deliver the traditional Throne speech to mark the start of a new legislative session. The media had reported that Raymond had tendered his resignation following the release of a telephone recording on social media between a male and a woman with a
Prime Minister Allen Chastanet speaking to reporters outside Parliament (CMC Photo) foreign accent. Chastanet, who had initially said he had no comment to make on the situation, later told reporters that he wanted to get into the bottom of what actually transpired.
“So there is an investigation and that’s why I would rather not to be able to comment at this point. Certainly when I have all the facts I would be happy to do that,” he added.
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Wednesday April 10, 2019
Region Two schools welfare truancy campaign bears fruit FOR RENT
FOR SALE SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Graphics design, advertisement, Wedding arch rentals. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. ICONIC MARKETING & PRINTING –TEL: 6006887: We create A/works, logos, business cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included. REPAIRS AT LOW COST: FRIDGES,AIR CONDITIONERS, WASHING MACHINE, FREEZER, SALE OF AC'S. TEL#629-4946,225-4822 Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezer-Call: 610-5846 or 661-8158
30x50 Rubberized tarpaulin $120,000. Stihl fogging machine $150,000. Call 6135062 1-60 KVA english made generator $1.9. Contact #6500402/603-1402 2 6" Double diamond lavrador. $400,000. 16ft Steel wash plan for gold mining. $1.5M Call 613-5062 MWM 6 cylinder turbo 215 HP engine with 8/6 Berkley pump. Excellent condition. $2.5M. Call 613-5062 10 Acre farm land with a variety of fruit trees at Kuru-Kururu Soesdyke Linden H/way. 30 million negotiable. Tel: 6435203 2 Large trampolines with safety mesh. Call Sharmela 676-6312. Easter bunny $5000 up per pair. Package includes water & seed container plus handout on rabbits. Tel# 6489298
Repairs to gas stoves, washing machines, deep fryers, electric stoves, building of industrial ovens. Call 673-9028 I N S TA L L AT I O N S , REPAIRS AND PARTS FOR AC, FRIDGE, WASHING MACHINE, STOVE ETC. CALL NICK 627-3206, 6301600 LAND FOR SALE Parfaite Harmonie $1.6M, Farm (East bank) $3.5M, Schoonard (100ftx50ft) $4M, Dairy $2M. Tel:651-1969/6481635 Eccles 6.5M, Tuschen 1.5M, 3.2M, Farm 3.5M, Herstelling 5.5M, Parfaite Harmonie transferrable 2.2M, Zeelught 1.4M. Call 666-2326 LEARN TO DRIVE N. Outar Driving School, Learn to Drive the right way @ Cuffy Square. Affordable package. Call: 644-5166/6912561 PROPERTY FOR SALE Property for sale @ Sussex St. Contact Molly #226-3497 House for sale, Eccles Housing Scheme. 7 bedrooms, 3 toilets and bathrooms enclosed. $28.5M. Call 6420391/ 001447587233657. yashardabhola4@gmail.com
PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Newly renovated apartment for rent at Peters Hall. #2239677/ 698-5800/ 648-1391 1 Bedroom for working couple/single person $35,000 & $32,000 monthly. Light & water included. Lodge. Call: 623-0076
Industrial Sales Representative, 5 Subject CXC Age 25+ Experience in Sales, must own vehicle, email r e s u m e : vacancy@josarltd.com
1 Three bedroom fully furnished apt. 2-2 Bedroom fully furnished apt. Diamond & Providence. Tel# 672-1906 or 682-6238 or 216-2299
Bartender Hibiscus Restaurant & lounge. 91 middle street North Cummingsburg Tel#231-5857/ 231-5866
Shop for rent at Roxanne Burnham Gardens Well Site. Call 628-7417
DemBake @ Land of Canaan is seeking distributors & experienced drivers & sales agents. Email CV: admin@demerarabakery.com / 266-5848
One room apartment at Aubrey Barker road and Congress Drive South Ruimveldt. $25,000. 699-6544 1 Bedroom furnished apartment. Secured. Overseas persons or UG students preferred. 601-1585 or 625-0266 in Charlestown
Free classes in April for children show in Phonics, Reading, Maths etc. Ages 313. For info call 675-4379
DOLLY’S CAR RENTALCALL:225-7126/ 2263 6 9 3 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL @YAHOO.COM/ WWW.D OLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS FROM $4000 & UP, SUV’S PER DAY- CALL:643-5122/6560087, ,EMAIL:PRO_AUTO RENTAL @YAHOO.COM Fabs Rental, Beterverwagting ECD Cars from $4000 #6040883
VEHICLE FOR SALE Allion, primo, spacio, allex, noah, RZ pitbull bus, mazda axela, bluebird, 192 fielder wagon. 650-7501
WING’S CAR & PICKUP RENTAL: LOW DOWN PAYMENT, CHEAP RATES,SPECIAL OFFERS! . CALL: 690-6494
AIDAN’S CAR RENTAL:PICKUP,9-11 Toyota axio, bed frames, van- SEAT MINI BUS, GOOD ity, generator, portable AC, FOR AIRPORT & FAMILY fridge. Owners migrating. Call OUTINGS, CHEAPEST RATE . Call: 698-7807 611-7106 MASSAGE & HEALTH 1 Premio fully powered / AC / music mag rim. Series PNN. HERBAL REMEDIES: Tel: 256-3216/ 613-5196 DIABETES, INFERTILITY, PEN PAL One single adventurous nature lover, also business minded, between 42-45Yrs. Text or call: 672-8844
WANTED Wanted urgently. Fish processing plant workers. Contact 223-5180, 500-2661 Porters. Apply with written application @ Best Buy Food Supplies, Lot 1E Dennis & Middleton Street, Campbellville
Driver for office in Eccles. Age 1 Security personnel to work 25 to 45. Call 642-9823 shift. 6 Days a week. Tel# 2275536/ 223-0504 Experienced cook & waitress needed. Apply in person to One truck driver preferably the Coffee Bean. 133 Church from Diamond/Grove area. Age St. 223-2222 40 & over. Tel: 644-5957 Female cleaner office & Wanted urgently. One part home. Age 25 to 50. Call 642- time babysitter/ tutor for a 3 year old. Contact 603-2590 9823
CAR RENTAL
EDUCATION
The efforts of the Department of Education, Region VACANCY Two, have borne much fruit, Bond clerk/ factory worker. as the entity continues to Must have a sound secondary strive towards its objective of education. For more eradicating truancy and iminformation please call: 223- proving school attendance at all levels. According to the 0090 acting Regional Education Experienced legal computer Officer (REdO), Ms. Nicola clerk urgent. Phone 624-7087. Matthews, a truancy camE m a i l : husainsaphier@yahoo.com
MENSTRUAL DISORDERS, ENLARGED PROSTATE, KIDNEY, GALL STONES & SKIN DISORDERS ETC. CALL SPARMAN #6765924
Looking for a job & One truck driver needed. Call educational services? Contact 223-7165 The Job Centre 43 Croal & Alexander Street or call 502- One experienced cook needed urgently to work in creole 4002/600-8457 restaurant. Must know to Maid/cleaner, porter/laborer. make pastries. Contact#626Apply with handwritten 9900. application, police clearance. Wanted experienced hire car Wieting & Richter Ltd. 10-13 driver at Ramada Princess Water Street, Georgetown Hotel. Contact 616-5419, 265Driver needed. Must have a sound secondary education. For more information please call: 223-0090
7075
General domestic. 3 Days work. Must know to cook. Apply with 2 references. KeyFood McDoom village
Wanted land to buy anywhere on the East Bank, West Coast and Parfaite Harmonie. Tel: 697-6311
(1) Office/counter clerk. Must be computer literate & possess Maths & English. Telles steel & Hardware. Tel#226-6771/ 231-3265
One general domestic. Must able to prepare vegetarian meal. Apply at Alabama Trading 65 Robb street Bourda
Live in or live out domestic worker. Call from Monday Saturday between 8:15 Vacancy exists for certified 4:15PM 223-7500 accountant. Bring in 1 Cashier, 1 food server.Food application to Agri Parts handler certificate needed. Machinery and Services. Must have experience. Call MD Guyana Inc is looking for 231-8737 (1) female clerk;computer liter- Attractive live in waitressate, knowledge of Accounting, Call: 327-0252/674-4665/649reliable, honest, email photo 3750 & resume to Douglas.Lind@ majordrilling.com Urgently needed soursop leaves and stem from 50lbs to 1 Experienced male sales 1000lbs. Tel#609-8281 attendant with stocktaking knowledge. Apply with Wanted experienced handwritten application & carpenters. Apply Alabama recommendation. KeyFood Trading. 65-67 Robb Street McDoom Village. Bourda. 227-4234.
paign that was recently launched by the department, has resulted in the return of at least five children to school. During a first quarter review last week Wednesday, Ms. Matthews said that three truancy campaigns were conducted over the past month on the Essequibo Coast; one in Mashabo, Capoey and the Reliance Housing Scheme. The objective of the campaigns, according to the REdO, was to ensure that school-aged children remain in school. She added that a total of 30 learners were found during the campaign, and a decision was taken to have some enrolled at Aurora School dormitory. Primary school children on the other hand were sent back to school. Based on reports reaching this publication, at the Reliance Squatting Area, six truants were found out of school and measures were taken to have them back in school. During the visit, it was observed that two families which consisted of five school-aged children, are currently living under extreme poverty. Within the community of Mashabo, which is located across the Itribisi Lake, a total of twelve learners were found during this exercise. There, parents complained of transportation for students to attend the Aurora Secondary School. A decision was made together with the REO, REdO and Villagers to have the students enrolled at the Aurora Secondary School Dormitory. The Senior Schools’ Welfare Officer Mr. Haimraj Hamandeo stressed that anyone who is desirous of helping these families can contact the Department of Education. “The welfare unit remains steadfast in ensuring all our school-aged children are in school regularly.”
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India’s Modi rides nationalist fervor to keep edge in election that begins tomorrow NEW DELHI (Reuters) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is rallying his nationalist base ahead of the world’s biggest election, which starts tomorrow, but has become tighter than anticipated just months ago, because of falling incomes for farmers and a lack of jobs. Polls predict Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance will just about squeeze out the parliamentary majority needed to rule, a sharp drop from his commanding mandate five years ago, when he vowed to turn India into an economic and military power. But his government’s inability to create a million jobs every month for new entrants to the workforce, and ease farmers’ distress over low product prices, has taken the shine off what is still the world’s fastest growing major economy. From sugar farmers in northern Uttar Pradesh going unpaid for their produce to small businesses in the south shuttered because a new, unifying national tax is too challenging to comply with, discontent has brewed for months, pollsters say. In December, alarm bells clanged within Modi’s Hindu nationalist fold after he lost three big battleground states in a final test of popularity to the main opposition Congress and its allies, led by Rahul Gandhi.
But a surge in tension with traditional foe Pakistan in February has pushed Modi ahead, as he plays up his image as a defender of national security and paints his rivals as weak-kneed, even questioning their patriotism at times. “People were very unhappy, angry that Modi makes tall promises and doesn’t deliver,” said Shiv Chandra Rai, an Uber driver in the commercial capital of Mumbai, who said his unemployed brothers faced difficulties making ends meet in their home village in Uttar Pradesh. “Everyone said there are no jobs, everywhere farmers are struggling. But on this issue of Pakistan we are confused now. Some people feel we have to vote for Modi on this issue, it is a national problem.” Modi ordered air strikes on a suspected camp of militant group Jaish-eMohammad in Pakistan after it claimed responsibility for a deadly car bombing in Indian Kashmir, in the first such raid since the neighbors’ last war in 1971. Pakistan sent warplanes into India the next day and the two engaged in a dogfight. Later, both nuclear-armed foes threatened each other with missile strikes, before Western powers, led by the United States, pulled them back.
But Modi claimed victory, vowing more similar action if militant attacks continue in Kashmir. He attacked critics for questioning the efficacy of the strikes and the risks of raising tension with Pakistan. “Why do these people get so disturbed when India acts strongly against the forces of terror?” he asked at a rally this week in western India, referring to opposition leaders. “Is their hatred for Modi so great they can’t even unite when it comes to national security?” he said to tens of thousands of cheering supporters wearing saffron headbands. The Congress, led by Gandhi, and his charismatic sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who took up a party post in January, is trying to steer the campaign back to Modi’s broken promises on the economy. Gandhi has pledged a monthly payment of 6,000 rupees to India’s poorest families, benefiting 250 million of a population of 1.3 billion, in what he called a final assault on poverty. “The BJP’s campaign is largely around nationalism, national security and this is echoed in their manifesto,” said Sanjay Kumar, director of think tank the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in New Delhi. “Congress is trying to pitch in the election with regard to farm distress, rural cri-
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as he speaks after releasing India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s election manifesto for the April/May general election, in New Delhi, India, April 8, 2019. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File Photo sis, unemployment.” Nearly 900 million people are eligible to vote in an election spread over seven phases into next month to allow security forces and officials to ensure a free and fair ballot. Voters will travel by buses, trains, boats to about a million polling stations. Votes will be counted on May 23 and results are expected the same day. Gandhi, as Congress leader, had attempted to forge a grand alliance with a clutch of powerful regional parties fighting the elections, so as to avoid the splintering of votes.
But the unwillingness of other Congress officials to give in to the demands of the smaller parties and the vaulting ambition of key regional figures frustrated his efforts. Still the Congress said Modi represented a threat to every opposition group by pursuing its vision of a Hindufirst India, stoking fear among its Muslim minority. The BJP denies such bias. Modi’s tactics were bor-
rowed from the playbook of U.S. President Donald Trump, said Sam Pitroda, an adviser to Gandhi. “The strategy was, there is enemy at the border, in that case it was Mexican, and enemy, also, as people in the country, immigrants. Very similar, Modi says there is an enemy at the border...Anything you say, immediately everyone attacks you.”
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A person with an axe to grind or is just an... From page 6 further evaluation. Based on the result of the evaluation, it is possible for that worker’s duties to be reassessed and he/she could be given restricted or modified duties that would in no way impede the healing process. Example, an employee may sustain a sprain ankle or fracture finger there are aspects of work that can be done as against the employee’s regular duties and this is an acceptable norm throughout the industrialized world. It should be noted also this is followed for any person injured on an industrial premises, be it an employee or contractor alike. On the other hand, where the worker is unable to return to work immediately, he is issued a sick leave certificate. The laws of Guyana clearly dictates that a log of the incident MUST be recorded in the accident register and the formal notification be sent to the Ministry of Social Protection (Chief Occupational Safety and Health Officer). This can all
be corroborated by the Ministry of Social Protection, the reported notification of accident by AGM Inc. and the physical record of the accident and dangerous occurrence register (This register is up to date at Guyana Goldfields Inc.) It is possible for an employee to be off work as a result of an Industrial accident and be fully compensated for up to 26 weeks, this is separate and apart from transportation (for both the injured person and his/her spouse) and other incidentals cover by the company. However, the malicious use of the statement “Right now, I am home, having been injured at work (unreported). I’m getting paid, though” is an insult to Occupational Safety and Health and should be seen as a serious one, especially during this month set aside to special emphasis on safety in the work place, the writer should be ashamed of himself, that is if he has any bit of or moral fibre left in his being.
The letter writer appears to have an axe to grind or is just an agent of provocation or worst yet, is delusional about underground mining practices period. I would be more than willing to read some quoted statistics presented by the letter writer on this subject. Please permit me to say that Underground mining is undoubtedly something positive for our economy and has excellent prospects for Human Resource development in Guyana. We will always have pessimist in this world but pessimist that preaches doom sermons are dangerous to say the least. I wish however to be pellucid by stating that the letter writer name M. Williams is not Michael Gordon Williams – Past Health and Safety Superintendent of Guyana Goldfields Inc./AGM Inc. Regards Michael Williams CSO, CRSP. President Safergy Solutions
Wednesday April 10, 2019
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50+ contractors bid for School Cleaning Project The National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) yesterday opened tenders for a range of projects, most notably the Weeding and Cleaning of School Compounds. Some 56 contractors bid for this 3-lot project Other notable projects are the Design and Supervision of Ministry of Education Weeding and Cleaning of School Compounds - Lawns, Parapets and Drains
the Construction of the Bamia/Amelia’s Ward Primary School, Supply of Line Hardware for Orealla/Siparuta Communities and Ministry of PublicHealth Supply and Delivery of Vehicles.
Regional Democratic Council, Region 10 Design and Supervision of the Construction of the Bamia/ Amelia’s Ward Primary School (Grade B), Upper Demerara Berbice
Regional Democratic Council, Region 2 Supply and Delivery of One (1) Sewage Truck
Ministry of Natural Resources Supply and Delivery of One (1) New Double Cab Troop Carrier
Ministry of Public Telecommunications Provision of Security Services (Retender)
Guyana Energy Agency Supply and Delivery of Furniture and Equipment - Four lots
Ministry of Public Security Procurement of Plumbing and Construction Materials, Lots 1-3
Audit Office of Guyana Provision of Audit Services
(Continued on page 29)
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50+ contractors bid for School Cleaning Project (From page 30) Central Housing and Planning Authority Procurement of Works for the Supply and Installation of Solar Integrated LED Street Lights, Lots 1-2
Ministry of Public Health Supply and Delivery of Vehicles
Construction of Revetment - Eastern Boundary Drain, Base Camp Ayanganna, Georgetown
Supply, Delivery and Installation of Warehouse Racking
Supply and Delivery of IEC Materials
Ministry of Public Infrastructure - HECI Supply of Line Hardware for Orealla/Siparuta Communities
Ministry of Public Infrastructure Lot 1 - Liquid Thermoplastic Road Marking Paint Lot 2 - Supply and Delivery of Thermoplastic Road Marking Materials and Accessories
Guyana National Bureau of Standards Supply, Delivery and Installation of Office Equipment and Furniture
(CNN)A German woman accused of joining ISIS and committing war crimes, includGuyana Defense Force ing as accomplice to the murExtension of Repair Work to Credit Union Building der of a 5-year-old Yazidi girl she is alleged to have bought as a slave, has gone on trial in Germany. The woman, identified only as Jennifer W. because of German privacy laws, did not react on Tuesday as a judge in the court in Munich read out the list of crimes she is accused of: membership of a terrorist organization, weapons violation, murder and, specifically, murder as a war crime. If convicted, the 27-year old faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. According to the indictment, Jennifer W. is believed Rehabilitation to Timber Wharf - Coast Guard Base, Fort to have left her home in Lower Saxony in August 2014 and Island, Essequibo River volunteered to join the ISIS women’s “morality police.” She was allegedly given a weapon and a monthly salary, according to the prosecutor. The indictment further alleges that in 2015 she and her husband, an ISIS fighter, purchased a Yazidi woman and her five-year-old daughter as Rehabilitation to Female Accommodations - Coast Guard slaves, before leaving the HeadQuarters, Ruimveldt, Georgetown child chained up outside in
scorching temperatures to die. The girl’s mother, identified as Nora B. in court documents, now lives in Germany and is one of the co-plaintiffs who will testify at the trial. She is represented by noted human rights lawyer, Amal Clooney, who also represents Yazidi activist and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Nadia Murad. The case is believed to be the first prosecution of an ISIS member for war crimes committed against the Yazidi minority in Iraq. ISIS’s murder and enslavement of thousands of Yazidi people has been designated as genocide by the United Nations Human Rights Council.Tuesday’s hearing was unusually short, lasting only 15 minutes. The trial will resume on April 29. Jennifer W. was not asked to enter a plea because the federal prosecutor had recently presented new evidence to the court that needs to be evaluated by her defense team, Munich court spokesperson Florian Gliwitzky told CNN. A verdict in the case is expected in the autumn.
Lawyer questions Nanda...
Ministry of Agriculture - Hydrometeorological Service Transportation for Staff Operating at Eugene F. Correia International Airport, Region 4
Rehabilitation to Finance Salaries Building - Base Camp Ayanganna, Georgetown
Transportation for Staff Operating at the National Weather Watch Centre, Hyde Park, Timehri, Region 4
German ISIS member faces war crime trial over Yazidi girl’s murder
From page 13 overseas at the time, had purportedly granted authorization by way of Power of Attorney for withdrawals to the tune of some $69M to be made from her account. However, information subsequently surfaced to suggest otherwise. While under questioning, Dr. Gopaul was confronted with a letter signed by “Mr. Doobay,” of Ontario whoquestioned the authencity of the document used to conduct the transaction. By that time, the steps were taken by the board to suspend the three managers, Vincent included. Taking the witness back to January 2007, the attorney asked whether Vincent was sent home on the basis of the letter written by Doobay. “Was Mr. Vincent dis-
missed because of the letter from Mr. Doobay? And this letter by Mr. Doobay, how do you know it is authentic?” the attorney asked. The witness responded “I spoke to him and I know his signature?”He later clarified that it was not due to the letter that NBS dismissed Vincent. He claimed that it was because the former manager failed to follow the bylaws and the manuals of the company.“Yes, but can you point to which bylaws were breached?” Stoby asked. The witness began to answer the question, but then said that he could not recall “It is in my witness statement,” Gopaul replied. He admitted however that the board had moved to dismiss the Managers while the criminal investigation was ongoing.
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Son’s late winner gives Tottenham edge over Man City LONDON (Reuters) - Son Heung-min once again proved there is more to Tottenham Hotspur than Harry Kane as the South Korean’s late goal secured a 1-0 home win over Manchester City in an absorbing Champions League quarter-final first leg yesterday. With Spurs talisman Kane having hobbled off injured and favourites City beginning to turn the screw, Son sent the home fans inside the London club’s majestic new stadium into delirium as he fired past Ederson in the 78th minute.
It gave Tottenham a slender but precious advantage to take to City’s Etihad Stadium next week when they will attempt to r e a c h t h e C h a m p ions League semi-finals for the first time. Quadruple-chasing City were not at their best as Spurs chased and harried Pep Guardiola’s side for 90 minutes and they will rue Sergio Aguero’s first-half penalty miss. The Argentine was handed the chance to put City ahead when full back Danny Rose was controversially adjudged by VAR to have
used his arm to block a shot, but his 13th minute spot kick was brilliantly saved by Hugo Lloris. The French keeper’s heroics produced a deafening roar not heard along the Tottenham High Road since Spurs moved out of their old stadium two years ago, but it was nothing compared to the sound that greeted Son’s 78th minute winner. “As a team we never give up, we fight until 90 minutes. I think we deserved to win, we were more clinical than them,” said Son, who last week scored the first Premier League goal in the 62,000-seat
Wednesday April 10, 2019 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Today you might be pleasantly surprised to realize that you're in far better financial shape than you thought. You could discover a hidden talent for money management that you didn't think you had. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Today you might decide to sequester yourself at home, catch your breath, get your thoughts together, and recall the events of the past several days. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Taking care of chores around the house might bring some home matters to your attention that need to be taken care of. Perhaps there are a few minor repairs to make. CANCER (June 21–July 22) A group you're associated with but have been neglecting may be on your mind today. You might want to fulfill your obligations to it. You could also consider completing a long-term project that was put on hold over the past week or so. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Money may be coming your way through a contract of some kind. This is a positive development. Make sure you read every word in the document before you commit to anything. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Are you sometimes afraid of appearing silly in front of people, Virgo? The fear of failing in the eyes of others might be holding you back from real progress. The celestial energies are asking you to think about this carefully today.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) You usually like to think of yourself as being a scientific, logical person, Libra, but today you may think more like a mystic. Your intuition is more active than usual SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Social invitations or opportunities to participate in group activities should come your way for a few weeks, Scorpio. Your phone could ring off the hook. SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21) - You're thinking about your future career development, Sagittarius, and you aren't happy with your current situation. Advancement is on your mind. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Today is a good day to take time out for the small, sensual pleasures. Perhaps this is a day for dessert, particularly chocolate or cheesecake. Don't forget about the pleasures that nature can bring. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) Some time alone with a special person is definitely called for today. The social whirl of recent weeks has put you in touch with a lot of old friends and enabled you to make new ones. Now it's time to relax at home. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) The possibility of moving out of your neighborhood may have occurred to you before, but events today might have you finally making up your mind to do it. Perhaps too many good neighbors have moved away, or maybe some good fortune has made it possible for you to move to a bigger place.
arena, and now owns the first European strike there. “I like this stadium, it is amazing to play here, I am grateful for the opportunity to play at this stadium,” he added. SUPERB STOP Tottenham fans in the 17,500 capacity South Stand displayed placards before kickoff spelling out the club’s motto ‘To Dare is To Do’ — and their team obliged, going toe-to-toe with a side who had won 21 of their last 23 games in all competitions. Dele Alli volleyed Moussa Sissoko’s cross over early on but Tottenham were then stopped in their tracks. Raheem Sterling cut in and fired goalwards and Rose, diving to block, was
PMTC1 and PM...
From page 36 Strikers and Port Mourant Females. The day’s competition was intense with a number of close matches and a few upsets. In the end top teams PMTC 1 and Rollers clashed in the final. It was PMTC 1 that came out victorious over the Rollers outfit 30 to 25 to cop the winning trophy. Rollers collected the second prize trophy. The young Levi Nedd Junior was awarded the MVP trophy for his all round play. In the female encounter, Port Mourant Females defeated Castrol Strikers 30 to 21 to cop the winning trophy. Hannah Hicks of the PM Females team received the trophy for being the MVP on show, while Castrol Strikers females were presented with a trophy for placing second. Meanwhile, the national male U21 team that is preparing for a tournament in French Guiana in May, played a two best in three warm up match with Rollers and won 25 - 21, 25 - 11. That tournament will also include Suriname. (Samuel Whyte)
History makers... From page 39 Plaisance-B-[A] [6] Victoria Church Yard vs Melanie-A-[B] [7] Buxton Diamond vs Haslington Hypers-[A] [8] Uprising vs Non-Pariel-[B] Day-2-19:00hrs Group-A [9] Winner-1 vs Winner-2 [10] Winner-5 vs Winner-7 [11] Winner 9 vs Loser 10 [12] Winner 10 vs Loser of 9 Group-B [13] Winner 4 vs Winner 6 [14] Winner 3 vs Winner 8 [15] Winner 13 vs Loser 14 [16] Winner 14 vs Loser 13
harshly penalised for handball, courtesy of VAR, despite no City players even appealing for a penalty. France international Lloris, who has come in for criticism this season, guessed right and made a superb stop. Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino said on the eve of the game that his side would need to match the intensity of a City outfit oozing quality, both on the pitch and on a bench containing Kevin de Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus and Leroy Sane. Tottenham worked hard to deny City time, with the once maligned Sissoko immense, but after England forward Kane hobbled off just before the hour mark with a worrying-looking ankle injury after a clash with City’s surprise inclusion at left back Fabian Delph, the hosts appeared to be flagging. City, for whom Sterling was a constant menace, were
hunting an away goal but then Son, who has a knack of scoring for the side Guardiola once described as the “Harry Kane team” when their talisman has been sidelined, struck the decisive blow. At first the Korean’s control from Christian Eriksen’s measured pass was sloppy, but Son retrieved the ball, then cut in from the byline and lashed a shot past Ederson. Guardiola sent on De Bruyne and Sane in the 89th minute, but Tottenham survived six minutes of stoppage time to leave City with a stiff task next week. “Sometimes 1-0 is better than 0-0, as you know exactly what you have to do,” Guardiola, whose side lost to Liverpool in last season’s quarter-finals after a 3-0 firstleg defeat, said. “We have to go out to score goals.”
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NBA roundup: Warriors earn top seed in West The Golden State Warriors celebrated their final regular-season game in Oracle Arena with a thirdquarter explosion Sunday night, producing a 131-104 win over the Los Angeles Clippers in Oakland, Calif., that clinched top seeding throughout the Western Conference playoffs. The win was Golden State’s fifth in a row and 30th of the season at home. The Warriors’ firstround opponent, which will be the eighth seed in the We s t , h a s y e t t o b e determined. The playoffs begin next Saturday. The Clippers’ third straight loss dropped them to 47-34 and closer to a firstround matchup with the Warriors. The Clippers are battling Oklahoma City (47-33) and San Antonio (47-34), both of which won Sunday, for the sixth, seventh and eighth playoff spots in the West. Curry finished with a game-high 27 points for the Warriors, who improved their all-time regular-season record at Oracle Arena to 1,166-770. Like the Warriors, all five Clippers starters scored in double figures, led by Landry Shamet with 17. All but two of Shamet’s points came on 5-for-6 3-point
LA Clippers forward Montrezl Harrell (5) shoots the basketball against Golden State Warriors forward Jonas Jerebko (21) during the second half at Oracle Arena. (Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports) shooting. Trail Blazers 115, Nuggets 108 Damian Lillard scored 30 points, and Al-Farouq Aminu added a season-high 23 points and 11 rebounds as Portland rallied for a victory over visiting Denver. The Trail Blazers closed the game on a 17-3 run to register their ninth win in the last 11 games. CJ McCollum
made his return to the Portland lineup after missing 10 games with a knee injury. McCollum collected nine points, six rebounds and six assists in 25 minutes. Gary Harris scored 18 points to lead Denver, which won the season series with Portland 3-1. The Nuggets played without center Nikola Jokic, forward Paul Millsap and guard Jamal Murray, all
given the night off for rest. They need to win their final two games, or get one win and a Rockets loss in their finale at the Thunder, to secure the West’s No. 2 seed. Bucks 115, Hawks 107 Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 30 points with nine rebounds, and Khris Middleton added 21 as Milwaukee recorded its first 60-victory season since 1980-
81 in beating visiting Atlanta. Antetokounmpo, who is now six points away from 2,000 for the second consecutive season, was back on the court for the Eastern Conference champions after missing Saturday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets because of a sore left calf. Alex Len scored a careerhigh 33 points for the Hawks, who were playing without starters John Collins (ankle) and Trae Young (wrist). DeAndre’ Bembry added 13 points for Atlanta, which already has been eliminated from playoff contention. Nets 108, Pacers 96 D’Angelo Russell scored 20 points, and Brooklyn clinched its first playoff berth since 2015 by leading most of the way in a win over host Indiana. The Nets clinched at least the seventh seed after the Detroit Pistons lost to the Charlotte Hornets earlier Sunday, and could have secured the No. 6 seed if Orlando had lost its game at Boston later on Sunday. Russell shot 7-for-15 and made a 3-pointer for the 60th straight game. The Pacers lost for the ninth time in 12 games and officially are locked into the fifth seed. Even if Indiana and
Boston finish tied, the Celtics own the head-to-head tiebreaker. Domantas Sabonis led Indiana with 17 points and Thaddeus Young — who was a starting forward in 2015 for the Nets — added 16. Magic 116, Celtics 108 Orlando clinched its first postseason berth in seven years with a road win against Boston, ended the Magic’s longest playoff drought in franchise history Terrence Ross scored 14 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, and Nikola Vucevic had 25 points and 12 rebounds for the Magic, who were perfect (22-for-22) from the free-throw line. The Magic are tied with Brooklyn for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference with one game left in the regular season. Kyrie Irving led the Celtics with 23 points, and Al Horford added 18. In other results: Raptors 117, Heat 109 Hornets 104, Pistons 91 Rockets 149, Suns 113 Thunder 132, Timberwolves 126 Spurs 112, Cavaliers 90 Lakers 113, Jazz 109 Mavericks 129, Grizzlies 127 (OT) Pelicans 133, Kings 129 Knicks 113, Wizards 110 (Field Level Media)
Coleman to double at U.S. trials, worlds and Olympics (Reuters) - World 100m silver medalist Christian Coleman will go for a sprint double at July’s U.S. championships, setting the stage for a run at gold in both at Doha’s world championships and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, his manager told Reuters. “He is definitely doubling,” Emanuel Hudson said in a telephone interview. “Christian Coleman always has considered himself a 100-200 meters athlete,” Hudson added in revealing the world 60m record holder’s plans to go for his first double on the global stage. “The norm is he would be running the 100 and 200. So ideally he is going to run both at the Olympic Games.” A long 2017 collegiate season before Coleman
turned professional led the sprinter to contest only the 100m at London’s world championships, even though he made the U.S. team in both sprints. Then last season hamstring problems curtailed his 200m plans. The decision to double this time, along with world and Olympic implications, assures the U.S. nationals/world trials, scheduled for Des Moines, Iowa, of a major showdown in both events. World champion Justin Gatlin and indoor bronze medalist Ronnie Baker will likely be Coleman’s opponents in the 100m and Diamond League winner Noah Lyles in the 200m. Lyles has not totally closed the door on doubling, though. “As of right now, the plan
is the 200,” Lyles’ coach Lance Brauman told Reuters. “But all options will stay on the table just in case.” Coleman, the 2017 U.S. collegiate double sprint champion, is planning to compete in both events on the Diamond League circuit before chasing the U.S. double, his manager said. The 23-year-old will open his Diamond League season with a 100m headliner against Chinese world indoor silver medalist Su Bingtian in Shanghai on May 18 and is confirmed for a 100m at the Prefontaine Classic near San Francisco on June 30. Although Coleman missed several races with hamstring problems before roaring back with the year’s fastest 100 (a personal best 9.79 seconds) in 2018, “I don’t think that (the double) will be a problem,” his manager said. A final check at the Florida Relays, where Coleman ran the 4x200m and 4x400m relays, showed he was ready. “He’s healthy. We are not putting him in a whole bunch of meets and his last likely
Christian Coleman of the U.S. in action during the Men’s 60m Final with China’s Bingtian Su and Zhenye Xie at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Britain, March 3, 2018. (REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo) race, in Lausanne, will be 20 days before the U.S. championships,” Hudson said. Coleman’s 200m best of 19.85 seconds in 2017 is two-
tenths of a second slower than Lyles’ top time, but Hudson is expecting big things this season. “Since then (2017) he has broken the world record in the
60 meters and run a personal best in the 100,” the manager said. “I think his 200 meters time is going to be something off the charts.”
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Dominican Republic take down Antigua and Barbuda to earn spot in CU17 - Guyana to play Honduras, Haiti, El Salvador in Group G
Some of the NAMILCO National U17 Players caught during a warm up session with Trainer, Wilson Toledo at the GFF Training Facility, Providence, EBD. Bradenton, Florida – The Dominican Republic became the 20th and final team to qualify for the 2019 Concacaf Under-17 Championship after taking down Antigua and Barbuda 2-0 on Sunday. The result earned Dominican Republic a firstplace finish in Group B with nine points, three points ahead of Sunday’s opponent.
It was a tense first half between the Dominicans and the Benna Boys, with things still undecided and scoreless at the break. That would change though in the 46’ when Franklin Rodriguez broke the deadlock to make it 1-0 to the Dominican Republic. Ten minutes later in the 56’ Rodriguez was back at it,
stretching the lead to a more comfortable 2-0. From there, the Dominican Republic defense took over and saw out the rest of the match to punch its ticket to the CU17. Play will resume for the Championship Round from May 1 – 16; the top four teams advancing to the Round of 16. Guyana, ranked at #18 will take aim at the #3 ranked
Vettel hoping fortune favours Ferrari in 1000th race Omnisport - Sebastian Vettel hopes Ferrari can benefit from “that little bit of luck” that has deserted them early in the season when they attempt to mark the 1000th Formula One race with a win on Sunday in China. The Scuderia set the pace in pre-season testing in Barcelona, but Mercedes have started the year with back-to-back one-two finishes. Charles Leclerc was heading for his maiden F1 win at the Bahrain Grand Prix last time out, but engine trouble denied the Monegasque. Vettel could only finish fifth in Sakhir after spinning before running over his own front wing when battling it out with Lewis Hamilton, having crossed the line fourth at the Australian Grand Prix. Mercedes have a 39-point lead over Ferrari and Vettel feels the Italian team are due some fortune at the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend. The German said: “Looking after tyres is one of the key points in Shanghai, it’s the most important job to do on Sunday in order to be fast for the whole race. “In the past I’ve had some good races here with Ferrari, coming very close to winning. Maybe this time we’ll get that little bit of luck, so that we can really celebrate the 1000th F1 race.”
Honduras, #9 ranked Haiti and #12 ranked El Salvador in Group G with preparations on going over the past month or so for the young Guyanese. Group A winner – Nicaragua; Group B winner – Dominican Republic; Group C winner – Guadeloupe; Group
D winner – Puerto Rico. The knockout stage of the competition will be played in its entirety in a single match elimination format, with the semifinalists automatically qualifying for the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Group stage May 1 to 16
Group E: Mexico, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Bermuda Group F: USA, Canada, Guatemala, Barbados Group G: Honduras, Haiti, El Salvador, Guyana Group H: Costa Rica, Panama, Suriname, Curacao
Hyderabad on stand-by for IPL 2019 final if Super Kings can’t resolve stands issue
The Chennai Super Kings boys celebrate a wicket. (BCCI) Ferrari’s start to the season has certainly not gone to plan, but Sebastian Vettel (left) is hoping the Chinese Grand Prix will be a turning point. Hamilton leads team-mate Bottas by just a point after his triumph in Bahrain and the world champion will be eyeing a sixth success at the Shanghai International Circuit. TALK OF THE PADDOCK The 2019 campaign may have only just begun, but there has already been talk of potential movement for the 2020 season. Max Verstappen’s future has been the subject of speculation, although Helmut Marko says Red Bull are not worried about losing the Dutchman to Mercedes. Marko said Silver Arrows team principal Toto Wolff calls
Verstappen and his father, Jos, frequently, but thinks Red Bull can retain him beyond this season. Red Bull also fuelled talk of a return to the calendar for the Dutch Grand Prix by tweeting: “Hands up if you’d like to see @Max33Verstappen get a home grand prix!?” It has been reported a race could be staged in Zandvoort next year. Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo - winner in Shanghai last year - believes Renault are heading in the right direction after failing to finish his first two races with his new team.
ESPNcricinfo – Chennai might miss out on hosting the IPL 2019 final if the longstanding issue over the three closed stan d s a t M A Chidambaram Stadium remains unresolved. In case the stands remain locked, then the BCCI has kept Hyderabad (home to l a s t s e a s o n ’s l o s i n g finalists Sunrisers) and Bengaluru as back-ups to host the four play-off matches - Hyderabad will then most likely host Qualifier 1 and the final, with Qualifier 2 and the Eliminator taking place in Bengaluru. The issue was discussed by the BCCI’s Committee of Administrators (CoA) and the IPL management on Monday, and it was decided to allow Chennai Super Kings a few more days to try and find a
solution to the problem. Super Kings, as defending champions, have the right to host the final at their home base, and are expected to revert by end of this week after which a final call will be taken on the playoff venues. The stadium has hosted the IPL 2019 opener between Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore as well as two more games since then with the stands closed. However, the IPL Governing Council has been concerned about the bad optics the vacant stands present, especially on TV, for the marquee matches. “There are three stands that are locked. If they can’t clear the issue, we can’t have the finals there,” Vinod Rai, the CoA chairman, told ESPNcricinfo.
“Otherwise the fallback options are Hyderabad and Bangalore.” The Chennai corporation had closed the three stands I, J and K, adding up to roughly 12,000 seats - in 2012 as there were discrepancies when the stadium was refurbished before the World Cup in 2011. Only once since then have they been opened to the public, after Tamil Nadu Cricket Association got special permission to do so for an India v Pakistan ODI in December 2012. Rai also said that the league phase of the women’s IPL exhibition matches would be played in Visakhapatnam, and the one-off play-off is likely to take place in Bengaluru. A final schedule would be released by the BCCI shortly.
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Soccer legend Pele back in Brazil, Consistency key for dangerous healthy but undergoing tests West Indies at World Cup - Lara SAO PAULO (Reuters) Brazilian soccer legend Pele arrived home in Brazil after a spell in a French hospital yesterday and was immediately taken to a Sao Paulo clinic for further urinary tests, doctors said. “At the moment, he is undergoing admission exams and his health is good,” doctors at the Israelite Albert Einstein Hospital said in a brief statement. Considered by many as the game’s finest player and the only man to have won three World Cups, Pele was hospitalized in France last Wednesday after suffering a fever following an event in the city with French World Cup-winner Kylian Mbappe. The 78-year old former Santos player was diagnosed as suffering from a urinary infection and was treated with antibiotics and released on Monday. He arrived back in his
Brazilian soccer legend Pele is seen in Paris, April 2, 2019. Picture taken April 2, 2019. (REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo) home state yesterday morning. Doctors said the urinary infection had been cured but did not give more details
about what were believed to be routine tests at thse hospital where he has been treated on several occasions previously.
Russell, Narine fail to save KKR from defeat CHENNAI, India, CMC – An uncharacteristically, resolute half-century from Andre Russell and a tidy s p e l l f r o m f e l l o w We s t Indies star Sunil Narine failed to inject a spark in the Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings claimed a seven-wicket victory in the Indian Premier League yesterday. Russell continued his rich vein of form with the bat with an even, unbeaten 50 to prop up the KKR batting and carry them to 108 for nine off their allocation of 20 overs, after they put in to bat in the 23rd match of the tournament at Chidambaram Stadium. Off-spinner Narine
followed up with two wickets for 24 runs from 3.2 overs, but South Africa international captain Faf Du Plessis hit 43 not out to lead a successful run chase for CSK 16 balls remaining. CSK stumbled to 35 for two in the fifth over, after Narine had former Australia c a p t a i n S h a n e Wa t s o n caught at square leg for 17 in the third over and Suresh Raina caught at mid-on for 14 by a back-pedalling Piyush Chawla. Du Plessis and Ambati Rayudu got the CSK chase back on track with a stand of 46 for the third wicket before Chawla struck in the 15th over to leave the home team needing 28 off remaining 32 balls.
The leg-spinner had Rayudu caught at short extra cover for 21 from a top-edge sweep to leave CSK on 81 for three before Du Plessis dominated a brief stand with Kedhar Jadhav to get the hosts over the finish line. MI are now one of three teams with six points on the table, but they are sandwiched between fourthplaced Sunrisers Hyderabad and sixth-placed Delhi Capitals, due to an inferior net run rate. Earlier, Russell cracked five fours and three sixes off 44 balls and saved KKR from total implosion, after they plunged to 47 for six in the 11th over. He shared two minor stands added some meat to the total, putting on 29 for the seventh wicket with Chawla and the same number of runs – unbeaten – with last-man England international Harry Gurney. Deepak Chahar was the most successful bowler for CSK with three for 20 from four overs, and former India international Harbhajan Singh and South Africa international Imran Tahir took two wickets apiece. Scores: Chennai Super Kings 111 for 3 (du Plessis 43*, Narine 2-18) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 108 for 9 (Russell 50*, Chahar 3-20) by seven wickets.
MUMBAI (Reuters) West Indies are replete with match-winners but consistency will be key to their success in English conditions at this year’s World Cup, batting great Brian Lara has said. Teeming with tearaway fast bowlers and aggressive batsmen, West Indies were once considered invincible and won the opening two editions of the World Cup in 1975 and 1979. Their glory days, however, are long over and the twice winners had to go through a qualifying tournament to book their spot in the 10-team tournament in England and Wales. The last bilateral series win for West Indies, who are ranked ninth in one-day internationals, came in 2014 but they showed signs of improvement against England. Jason Holder’s men drew a five-match ODI series against top-ranked England 2-2 at home recently, in a timely boost before the May 30-July 14 showpiece event. The likes of opening batsman Chris Gayle, allrounder Andre Russell and spinner Sunil Narine are also much in demand in Twenty20 leagues across the globe. “Look at the Indian Premier League, look at the leagues around the world, we have got players that are the most wanted in the world,” Lara, 49, told reporters in Mumbai at a promotional event last week. “We have got matchwinners, but we are going to need a little more than matchwinners in English conditions to win the World Cup. We
Former West Indies cricketer Brian Lara watches the - England v West Indies Investec Test Series First Test at Lord’s. (Action Images / Peter Cziborra/File Photo) need a team that can create consistency. “If we can get to the knock-out stages, we can knock out any team. We have seen that in the past. But consistency is going to take us right through to the finals.” Former West Indies captain Lara, considered one of the very best the Caribbean islands have ever produced, retired after the 2007 World Cup at home with over 10,000 runs in ODIs. He also scored close to 12,000 runs in tests. Lara credited franchise leagues like the IPL for creating interest among kids in the West Indies and giving young players a platform to showcase their talent before they graduate to international cricket. West Indies suffered 2-0 losses both in India and Bangladesh late last year but
staged a spectacular turnaround in a 2-1 series win against England earlier this year. The test success augurs well for the side, who are now graduating to a level where they can be competitive against top sides at least at home, said Lara. “We had a tremendous series against England. We are laying the foundation, the confidence is there,” Lara added. “India may have to worry when they come there in July to play against the West Indies because they have a team now that understand the conditions, spirits are high, let’s see what we can do against India. “But, four months ago in October-November we were terrible. So, I’m happy that we have made that little progress in our cricket.”
Police battle Cooperate entities at Dominoes in Berbice today - Sub Division 1 beat Sub Division 3 at football The Police in Berbice under the command of Assistant Commissioner Paul Langevine and Deputy Commander Senior Superintendent Phillip Azore are continuing to taking a proactive stance as they continue their drive to make the community a better place. The cops are presently engaged in a number of community projects, weekly Inter sub divisional games as well as engaging the business and co-operate community in games and other community activities. In a recent football game between No 1 Sub
Division (New Amsterdam/ Canje East Bank and East Coast Berbice) and No 3 Sub Division (West Berbice). No1 Sub Division came out victorious 2-0 in the 40 minutes game. The game was played at the No 5 Ground, West Coast Berbice in front of a large and vocal crowd of supporters from both sides of the river that included both civilians and members of the GPF. Games continues again today on the West Coast of Berbice with the Police set to host a number of cooperate entities in a one day domino
competition at the Fort Wellington Police Canteen. The teams set to try and arrest the Police are GWI, GPL, GECOM, The Regional Administration and The Hospital. Starting time is 13:00 hrs. A number of incentives are up for grabs. The Coordinator is Superintendent Wayne De Hearte. De Hearte said that the activities are being organised in an effort to foster a better relationship between the police and the wider community. (Samuel Whyte)
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Hamilton Green 9-a-side Inter Ward Cup continues with Round of 16 action on Sunday The Hamilton Green Cup Inter Ward/Village 9-a-side Knockout football tournament resumes this Sunday, April 14 and will conclude on April 28 with the semi final and final, at the Den Amstel ground, venue for all the matches. Action starts at 15:00hrs and Coordinator Lennox Arthur, the former National Football player and Coach, is asking all teams to be at the venue by 14:00hrs to ensure that there is a prompt start to the day’s proceedings. The opening salvo of round of 16 action will see Timehri vs Bourda Blues, Soesdyke vs Sophia, Mahaica vs Lilliendaal, Charlestown vs. Mocha, Goed Fortuin vs. Bagotsville, Pouderoyen vs. Sara Lodge, Uitvlugt vs. Zeelugt and Den
Amstel Back Street vs. De Kindren. The teams will be battling for a chance to claim the John Fernandes $300,000 first prize and Prime Minister trophy along with hampers from Ricks and Sari. The second placed team will take away the Courtney Benn sponsored $100,000, third $60,000 put up by Techno mills and fourth $40,000 donated by Ready Mix along with the respective trophies. All the trophies have been sponsored by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo. Also at stake are the individual rewards for the Most Goals/MVP who will take home a Dinette Chair from China Trading and a Lazy Boy chair from AH&L Kissoon, along with the Best Goalkeeper who will claim the
Minister of Natural Resources trophy. Among the sponsors so far are Techno mills, Ready mix, Sataur Gafoor, EC Veira, BEV Enterprises, BK International, IPA, New Thriving, Ricks and Sari, ENetworks, Star Computers, NAMILCO, Cummings Electrical, National Sports Commission, Star Entertainment, Alfro Alphonso, the Guyana Police Force, Ministry of State, Prime Minister and Ministry of Legal Affairs. Arthur has expressed gratitude to these businesses and entities for their support. He has been staging tournaments in recognition of former Mayor of Georgetown and Prime Minister of Guyana, Hamilton Green for a number of years now.
Rampersaud, Chaitnarine, Ramdihol shine as B’ce overcome Select U-15 by 149 runs Jonathan Rampersaud crowned a fine all-round performance, while Sarwan Chaitnarine struck a fluent half century coupled by a useful knock at the top of the order by Ricardo Ramdihol handed Berbice a 149-run victory over the Select U15 side when the Guyana Cricket Board Inter County U17 50-over tournament continued yesterday. Rampersaud struck an unbeaten 41, batting at number nine, to help Berbice to 254-7, after they decided to bat at Everest Cricket Club. He then returned with the ball to pick up four wickets which earned him the man-of-the-match award. Openers Ramdihol and Rayad Karim added 32 for the opening stand before Karim, who struck two fours was bowled by pacer Isai Thorne for 10. Ramdihol and Zeynul Ramsammy put on 65 for the third wicket to frustrate their opponents on a pitch that favoured the batsmen. Ramdihol struck six fours before he was bowled by Alvin Mohabir for 41,
Sarwan Chaitnarine
Trayon Bobb.
Deon Alfred
Tyrone Khan
The defending champion of this tournament is Charlestown who beat Uitvlugt to claim the $400,000 prize and Ministry of Citizenship Trophy last time around. Uitvlugt took the John Fernandes Trophy and $200,000 for their efforts back then. With the involvement of the leading players emerging from the various areas and villages/wards, the event is playing its part in aiding
Social Cohesion among the citizenry. Among some of the players on show are Deon Alfred, Trayon Bobb, Tyrone Khan, Jamal Harvey, Sheldon Toney, Ruel Charter, Leroy Halley and Kenroy D’Aguiar. Soesdyke’s Khan leads the goalscoring column with 2 goals, while Alfred, Bobb and Harvey, all have 1. Teams are reminded to be at the venue for 3:00pm next Sunday. Four substitutions are permitted in this format
which will see the games being run for 30 minutes broken into two halves of 15 minutes. The tournament will be played in the knockout format, with winners advancing to the next round. Sudden death penalties will be used to separate the sides in the event of a draw at the end of full time. The no offside rule is also in effect. All other rules will come under the dictates of FIFA.
Smalta/Icool U-14 Indoor Hockey League
Defending champions Team Uzzi and Marian Academy reach final four
Jonathan Rampersaud (left) and Ricardo Ramdihol while Ramsammy who added 23 for the fourth wicket with Marvan Prashad was caught off Mohabir for 29, which included a solitary boundary. Prashad was lbw Mavindra Dindyal for 16 with one four and a six while Mohendra Gopilall was caught off Mohabir without scoring as Berbice lost two more wickets without addition to the score to be at 123-5. While Chaitnarine timed the ball well and kept the scorecard ticking, Berbice lost Tamani Caesar lbw to Mohabir for three and Andel Milne caught off Matthew Pattaya for 15 to be at 167-7. However, Chaitnarine and Rampersaud shared in an unbroken eight wicket stand of 77 to prop up the total. Chaitnarine stroked eight fours in a top score of 58, while Rampersaud hammered two fours and a similar number of sixes. Mohabir captured 4-45 from 10 overs while Thorne, Pattaya and Dindyal had one each.
The Select U15 suffered an early set back in the chase when opener Anthony Khan (00) was bowled by Quincy Aulder with the score on four. Rampertab Ramnauth and Jaden Campbell added 29 for the second wicket before Rampersaud removed Campbell for eight, while Dindyal was lbw to Guarav Ramesh for three, leaving the U15s at 51-3. Following the dismissal of Ramnauth who was bowled by Ramesh for a top score of 23 with four fours, the Select U15 unit lost three quick wickets including that of Mohabir for 13, before Ravishkar Sobhai and Krsna Singh put on 30 for the eightwicket. Sobhai, who counted two fours in scoring 22, was removed by Rampersaud while Singh made five as the Select U15 were bowled out for 105 in 40.1 overs. Rampersaud finished with 4-17 from 8.1 overs, while Prashad had 213 and Ramesh 2-17. (Zaheer Mohamed)
The Smalta-Icool Under-14 Indoor Hockey League concludes this Friday at the Marian Academy Auditorium. The Smalta/Icool under-14 Boys’ and Girls’ Indoor Hockey League which is organised by the Guyana Hockey Board (GHB), will conclude this Friday at the Marian Academy Auditorium on Carifesta Avenue, with the semifinals and final of both categories. After two months of keen rivalry among the upcoming hockey stars, defending champions Team
Uzzi (Boys) and Marian Academy (Girls) will have the opportunity to successfully defend their titles but it may not be as straightforward as both teams finished third in their respective groups during the round-robin stage. In the first two girls’ semifinal matches that will be played simultaneously at 16:30hrs, Marian Academy will play Saints Hockey Club (SHC) Slayers, while SHC
Snipers will match sticks with Saint Joseph High School (SJHC) Divas in the other match. The boys’ last four games will hit off at 17:00hrs, SJHC Gladiators with play SHC Supreme in semifinal one, while Team Uzzi will be pitted against SHC Scorpions. The finals of tournament will be played at 18:00hrs followed by the presentation at 18:30hrs.
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Wednesday April 10, 2019
Kaieteur News
GCB’s U-17 Inter-County 50-over cricket
Nandu (4-15), Jaikarran (43) spearhead Demerara to 2nd win - Persaud’s MVP performance fails to save E’bo from 3-Wkt defeat
Umpire Shannon Crawford watch as Jason Holder is bowled by Matthew Nandu who had 4-15 for Demerara at Bourda. Despite allowing the last wicket pair to score 74 runs, defending Champions Demerara, spearheaded by a useful all-round performance from Matthew Nandu and a carefully constructed 43 by Brandon Jaikarran, registered a hard fought three-wicket victory over Essequibo at Bourda yesterday in the second round of the InterCounty 50-over U-17 cricket tournament. Essequibo, aided by 53 Extras including 43 wides and the last wicket partnership between MVP Aryan Persaud who made an unbeaten 39
from 124 balls and just over two hours at the crease and last man Orin Gibson who made 28 from 48 balls, lifted E’bo from 79-9 to 153-9 when their 50 overs expired. Spinner Matthew Nandu captured 4-15 from 10 overs, while Joel Dowlatram had 224 for Demerara who were stretched to the penultimate over before reaching 154-7 in 48.2 overs for their second win in the tournament which concludes today with Demerara facing the National U-15’s at Bourda. The left-handed Jaikarran reached the boundary three
PM Browne hails Joseph’s debut performance ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Antigua & Barbuda prime minister Gaston Browne has hailed the remarkable debut of West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph in the Indian Premier League. Joseph bagged an IPL record best spell of six for 12 from 3.4 overs to mark his debut and fire Mumbai Indians to a 40-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad last Saturday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, India. The 22-year-old Antiguan got a late call to be part of the tournament as injury replacement for New Zealand pacer Adam Milne and surpassed the previous best of six for 14 by Pakistani left-arm pacer Sohail Tanvir 11 years ago. He also became only the fourth bowler to take six wickets an IPL match. “Phenomenal,” said PM Browne. “A phenomenal performance from one of
Antigua & Barbuda’s brightest, young stars. “Congratulations to Alzarri Joseph on his historic and astonishing debut in the IPL series...Alzarri has proven that he has the talent and exceptional determination to succeed in the game of cricket.” Browne added: “He has made all Antiguans and Barbudans proud and has set his sights on emulating the exploits of the greats like Sir Andy Roberts and Sir Curtly Ambrose. “We are indeed very proud of his performance and anticipate greatness from him as the series progresses.” Both Sir Andy and Sir Curtly are legends of West Indies and world cricket and hail from Antigua & Barbuda. Joseph is expected to be in the Mumbai side today, when they face King’s XI Punjab, whose line-up includes talismic West Indies left-handed opener Chris Gayle.
times in his 124-ball 45 and shared in a 50-run opening stand with Nandu who made 22 from 46 balls with two fours. Andre Seepersaud followed up his unbeaten 31 against Berbice in the first round on Monday with 22 not out from 46 balls with two fours, while Cheram Baldeo (18) contributed to win against an Essequibo team that never give up. Essequibo elected to bat on a slow and parched outfield and a track which offered assistance to the spinners and got off to an inauspicious start to be 26-3. Dowlatram removed Sheldon Charles (1) and Ronald Scouten (6), while
Brandon Jaikarran survives an LBW shout during his carefully constructed 43 for Demerara at Bourda yesterday. Trevon Charles got rid of Sunil Persaud (1). When the Canadian-born Nandu, the son of former Guyana First-Class legspinner Arjune Nandu, dismissed Azizi Christiane (2) and Wazim Mohamed (8) in the space of eight runs, Essequibo had slipped to 415 under a blue sky in sweltering heat. Alex Ali was LBW to Gouvan Ramraj for a duck and Nandu bowled Jason Holder (11) and Essequibo had lost two wickets at 65 to be in a deep hole at 65-8. Nazir Mohamed (0) was stumped off Nandu at 79-9 before Gibson and Persaud took advantage of the very poor and wayward bowling in
their frustrating last wicket stand which left them with a chance of victory. Demerara were off to slow but solid start as Nandu cut Wazim Mohamed behind point and drove him through cover for boundaries, while Jaikarran cut Nazi Mohamed for four and the 50 was posted in 17 overs. But Nandu, the more aggressive of the pair, was run out as Essequibo finally broke the stand. Shamar Yearwood (13) stroked Scouten to the extra cover boundary before he was also run out by Jaikaran who had problems judging singles. From 83-2 Seepersaud joined Jaikarran, whose
innings was as important as it was as entertaining as watching paint dry. Jaikarran struggled to find gaps before he was caught and bowled at 119-4 by Persuad who quickly dismissed Balgobin and Edmond Pearson for a duck as Demerara sunk to 120-6. Ajay Gainda (9) and Seepersaud carried their team to within four runs of victory before Gainda became the third run out victim of the innings. But Seepersaud, unfortunate not to be given the Player-of-the-Match award in the first round, saw his team to another win. (Story & Photos by Sean Devers)
PMTC1 and PM females win B Division tournament in Berbice The Berbice Volleyball Association (BVA) successfully held a B Division Volleyball tournament on Sunday at the Port Mourant Apprentice training Center Hostel at Port Mourant Corentyne Berbice. A number of teams, including two from Georgetown participated in the competition which saw play in both the male and female categories. The male team that took part were No 52 Survivors, Port Mourant Training Center1 (PMTC 1) and Port Mourant Training Centre 2(PMTC 2), Rollers of New Amsterdam, Black Bush Polder Gemini, D’ Edward’s Three Doors Strikers, No 47 Challengers and Guest team Castrol Strikers of Georgetown. The female teams that participated were Castrol (Continued on page 31)
Recipients of trophies pose for a photo. From Left: PMTC 1, Port Mourant Females, MVP Levi Nedd (Jnr) of PMTC 1.
Wednesday April 10, 2019
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Kaieteur News
Secure Innovations & Concepts Inc. secures Lennox Braithwaite’s presence at 150th Imperial Meeting One of Guyana’s tested, tried and proved fullbore rifle top shots who has also made his mark at the Caribbean level where Guyana has dominated for many a year, Lennox Braithwaite, has received full sponsorship to compete at the 150th Imperial Meeting of the National Rifle Association of England set for July this year. Having been to what is commonly known as Bisley seven (7) times before, Braithwaite, who first attended in 1988 and won an event then known as ‘Gorka Appeal’, will make his eight rip fully sponsored, compliments of Secure Innovations and Concepts Inc., located at Durban Backlands. Yesterday, Managing Director Mr. Harold ‘Top Gun’ Hopkinson handed over a cheque to Braithwaite valued at $1.2M which represents full sponsorship for the July event in England which will attract all the best exponents of the sport from around the world.
Also attending the simple but significant presentation were Vice President of the Guyana National Rifle Association (GuyanaNRA), Colonel Enoch Gaskin, Secretary Ryan Sampson and Fullbore Vice Captain, Dylan Fields. Hopkinson in brief remarks before handing over the cheque said that he has always been of the view that athletes should not be running around and literally be begging for sponsorship when they want to represent the Golden Arrowhead. “The reason I doing this is because I believe that athletes should go out there and perform, not go about the place searching and sourcing funds, begging, begging, begging, no. I do believe that corporate entities should start backing our athletes more, even through the established federations and associations.” Braithwaite expressed delight to Hopkinson and Secure Innovations and
Williams wants more youngsters to play PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – New Cricket West Indies president Ricky Skerritt’s plan to chart a new relationship with the organisers of the Caribbean Professional League has received the backing of former West Indies wicketkeeper David Williams. In an interview with the website Cricbuzz recently, Skerritt said he wants to have a discussion with CPL officials to discuss the way the tournament is organised and the impact it is having on the development of the game in the region. Williams told the Trinidad & Tobago Newsday newspaper that it should be mandatory for CPL franchises to have at least one player in their teams that take the field, as a means of fasttracking young players. He observed that a number of top T20 players from the Caribbean are now in the second half or the twilight of their careers and there is an urgent need to find new, young talent to take place. “The Chris Gayles and others are doing extremely well,” said Williams. “But those guys are going down in age, so we need to start to put structures in place just like the High Performance Centre to get these guys
ready for when we throw them in the hot water. It does not make sense you pick them and they are on the bench and they never get the opportunity.” Since the CPL started six years ago, the six franchises have always included a number of regional youth players, but they have hardly played and last year, each team was allowed to field five international players in the starting line-up and many spent the time warming the bench. Williams said he understands teams want to field their strongest line-ups in a competitive CPL tournament, but it should be mandatory that young players are given an opportunity. “The tournament is good, the CPL is good,” said Williams. “(If) you look at the crowds most of the games are sold out and with the foreign players it is good. “What I would like to see though is some of our younger players get more opportunities just like how (Indian Premier League) does it. We should have a format where the younger guys should be able to at least play. You should at least play two of our Under-19s or Under23s to get their level of cricket up.”
Concepts for being fully sponsored for this historic event. “Mr. Hopkinson from time to time would have sponsored me in the past, in fact, my rifle known as ‘The Beast’ would have been sponsored by Mr. Hopkinson. I do pledge to make Guyana, Mr. Hopkinson, my family and my club, proud on this occasion.” Responding on behalf of the GuyanaNRA, Vice Captain Fields said that he was very pleased that Secure Innovations Inc. and Mr. Hopkinson has been able to partner with the association by taking up the tab fully for Mr. Braithwaite. “I also would like to encourage other corporate bodies to do likewise as it is important for the nation to have its best athletes be able to focus of representing well, rather than having to take on
the burden of running around for sponsorship as well.” Many of the top shooters from England would have made the long journey to Guyana two years ago to celebrate with the GuyanaNRA when it had celebrated its 150th Anniversary which had also coincided with the hosting of the West Indies Fullbore Shooting Championships. Competing at the 2014 Imperial Meeting, the last time he participated, Braithwaite ended 40th of 800 shooters and made the Queens Final which attracts the top marksmen gunning for the top prize of £250 which would have been presented to the first winner of the competition 150 years ago, 1860 to be exact. That amount has been maintained through the years. Following is the history
of competition as taken from the National Rifle Association Website: The first Imperial Meeting was contested on Wimbledon Common, in south-west London, in 1860 when Queen Victoria fired the first shot and gave a prize of £250 to the best individual marksman. Originally the Meeting was only available to Volunteers (regular and reserve military personnel) using the issued service rifle of the day. Today the National Rifle Association hold the Imperial Meeting as an open competition with the aim to promote and encourage marksmanship throughout the Queen’s (or King’s) dominions, and has grown to include many different disciplines. The largest entry is for Target Rifle, which dominates the final week of the Meeting and culminates with the final
of the Queen’s Prize. The Queen’s Prize remains the premier award for the Meeting’s top shot, with the £250 prize still given to the winner. Host to the competition is The National Shooting Centre – Bisley, the world renowned ranges complex covering virtually all forms of shooting from air rifle to 1200 yards full-bore shooting. Set in 3000 acres of heathland; Bisley is as unique in character as it is in the variety of ranges it offers. The atmosphere at Bisley is second to none, with friendships made and renewed on the firing points every year, but the event does not end with the shooting: the famous Bisley clubs take over and, between shoots and at the end of each day, competitors enjoy the Bisley hospitality at its best.
E’bo Coast are Open Softball champs; ECD, Georgetown, EBD triumph.... From page 38 U16 race was taken by Kosi Thomas of East Bank Demerara ahead of Hiram Gilkes of Linden and Joel Melville of Essequibo Coast in that order. Richard Barrington of Georgetown captured the open 100m while Ishmael Bin Abdullah of Linden placed second and Dante Wilson of West Coast Demerara finished third. Melville of Essequibo Coast won the bag race, three-leg and wheel borrow race with Akram Mohamed. He also placed third in the U16 200m. Speaking with Kaieteur Sport prior to the presentation ceremony, Shaikh Abdool Aleem Rahim said the games were organised to create a sporting environment in which youths from throughout Guyana can enjoy an atmosphere of brotherhood and enhance their skills through some healthy competitions. “Through these games, we can strengthen relationships; we are brothers and suppose to be helping each other in every way so this to foster brotherhood as well. It was also a fun day for the family”, he added. The Motto of the youth department is “Nurturing tomorrow’s leaders today” and Shaikh Rahim pointed out that they want the
Members of the triumphant Georgetown open football side with their accolades. youths to be able to take on greater responsibilities in the future. “We want our youths to start from organising sporting activities and move on to taking on greater responsibilities and achieved
greater things, thereby taking on initiative for the community and the country as a whole.” “Despite such a short time the organisers managed to run off the activities
successfully and In Sha Allah (God Willing) we can get more participation next year,” he said. The GIT has 12 administrative districts around the country.
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Wednesday April 10, 2019
Kaieteur News
GIT Islamic Games
E’bo Coast are Open Softball champs; ECD, Georgetown, EBD triumph By Zaheer Mohamed The inaugural Islamic Games organised by the Guyana Islamic Trust (GIT) Youth Department that was held at the Everest Cricket Club last weekend was deemed a success as teams from the respective districts battled for supremacy in the various disciplines. The games included male softball cricket, volleyball, football, table tennis and athletics which were contested at the U16 and Open categories. Essequibo Coast crowned a good weekend as they won the Open Softball, U16 football and Open table tennis titles, while East Bank Demerara won the U16 table tennis, Georgetown took the Open football and East Coast Demerara captured the U16 softball cricket and volleyball top prizes. Essequibo Coast defeated West Coast Demerara by 41 runs in the Open softball final played on Sunday. Batting first, Essequibo Coast managed 96-4 off their reduced quota of 10 overs. Shaz Grosvenor made 32, while Frank Sookrah contributed 23 as Imran Ayube and Azaaz Ally picked up one wicket each. West Coast Demerara were limited to 55-5 in reply. Leyland McDonald had 2-12 and Adish Salim 1-2. Essequibo Coast beat East Bank Demerara by 39 runs in their semi final encounter. Essequibo Coast took first strike and scored 145-3 in 10 overs. Grosvenor
Georgetown’s Richard Barrington (3rd from left) on his way to victory in the open 100m. struck 93, while Ameer Yusuf made 20. East Bank Demerara responded with 106-7, Amir Khan made 28 as Sookrah took 2-30 and Mc Donald 116. In the second semi final, West Coast Demerara overcame East Coast Demerara by six wickets. East Coast batted first and made 87-5, while West Coast replied with 88-4 in nine overs. Dawood Arif made 32. Essequibo Coast chalked up 90 points to win the open
table tennis title ahead of Georgetown with 80 points; West Bank and East Bank Demerara were tied in third position on 55 points each. East Bank beat Georgetown to win the U16 table tennis final. East Bank beat West Bank and Georgetown got the better of West Coast in the respective semi finals. Essequibo Coast defeated Linden 3-1 on penalties after both teams failed to find the back of the net at the end of
The victorious Essequibo Coast open softball team.
regulation time in the U16 5a-side football final on Saturday. Georgetown beat West Coast 1-0 to take the open 5a-side football title courtesy of an 8th minute strike from Kevin Griffith. Georgetown, who didn’t concede in the competition, thumped Essequibo Coast 4-0 in their semi final matchup. KhaledAl-Mansoor opened the scoring in the 14th minute and stretched the lead one minute later, while Griffith slotted
home in the 16th and 17th minutes. West Coast won 1-0 against East Bank in their semi final game with Haroon Sacasa scoring in the 5th minute. Led by a fine all-round performance from Amir Mohamed, East Coast beat Georgetown to win the U16 softball final. Mohamed top scored with 35 as East Coast managed 104 in five overs, batting first. He then returned with the ball to capture five
wickets including a hat-trick to restrict Georgetown for three. East Coast beat Essequibo Coast and Georgetown overcame West Bank in the semi finals. East Coast grabbed the Open volleyball title, beating Georgetown 25-13, 25-09 in the final. East Coast defeated Essequibo Coast 15-12, 1513, while Georgetown won against East Bank 15-9, 15-11 in the semi finals. The 100m (Continued on page 37)
The winning Essequibo Coast U16 football team.
Wednesday April 10, 2019
Kaieteur News
PAGE 41
Badminton qualify for PAN AM Games 2019
G
u y a n a ’s To p Badminton p l a y e r s , N a r a y a n Ramdhani and Priyanna Ramdhani have both qualified for the Pan Am Games 2019 to be held in Lima Peru July/August. Both players have been
working very hard to keep their game level at a high standard and they both took time off from their studies for two weeks as they were selected by PANAM Sports to attend the Road to Lima 2019 High Level Training Camp in Aguascalientes Mexico April 8-23, 2019 in
preparation for the Pan Am Games. This is the second Pan Am Games they will be attending as they qualified and represented Guyana in 2015 in Toronto Canada. After the Camp they both have to write their Final Exams but as athletes they have to balance their studies
Priyanna Ramdhani
Narayan Ramdhani
East Coast Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Competition
History makers Uprising headline Friday opening
Part of the action in the East Coast Zone of the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Competition.
T
itle holders Uprising, who became the first team in the tournament’s history to win a zone as a qualifier will headline Day 1 action in the East Coast Zone of the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Competition which kicks off on Friday, at the Haslington Market Tarmac, commencing from 19:00hrs. They face Non Pariel in the final of eight games scheduled to be played on the evening. Hosts Haslington Hypers are also set to appear in the penultimate game, while top teams such as Buxton Diamond, Melanie A and B, Victoria Church Yard, Plaisance A and Beterverwagting A and B
will make their appearance in the competition as well. The tournament which has grown both in terms of quality and crowd support is expected to continue in that vein, while many are already touting that the turnout this year could exceed previous years. The Organisers have already indicated that fans and the community will be the real winners of this year’s competition with giveaways planned for each night’s activity. The night’s fixtures are seen below: [ 1 ] M a h a i c a Determinators vs Lilliendaal Hustlers-[A] [2] Melanie-B vs GWI East Coast-[A] [3] Belfield Warriors vs
BV-B-[B] [4] Paradise-A vs Victoria-[B] [5] BV-A vs (Continued on page 33)
and training which they have mastered over the years. (They have been doing well without extra lessons throughout the years). What the Players will get out of this Camp: The Players will get to train in an international environment, Training twice a day with an experienced international Coach and Players from the Pan Am Region and followup towards projects in the future in the region.
Narayan Ramdhani and Priyanna Ramdhani have qualified for the Pan Am Games 2019.
t r o Sp Keevin Allicock barred Secure Innovations & Concepts Inc. from contesting Pan Am secures Lennox Braithwaite’s quarterfinal match presence at 150th Imperial Meeting - GBA boss, Ninvalle files protest over “unwarranted” decision Guyana’s Bantamweight representative; Keevin Allicock, at the ongoing American Boxing Confederation (AMBC) Pan American games qualifiers that is being held in Nicaragua, was denied a chance of fighting for a place in the semi final of the qualifiers on Monday after a questionable decision by the match supervisor which goes against the new rules of the International Boxing Association (AIBA). Allicock lost by walk over to Alexy De Cruz of Dominican Republic after the fight supervisor deemed his vest (colour) inappropriate for competition. Allicock, who was scheduled to box out of the red corner, was attired in a red and black vest. One hour before the quarterfinal matchup against the Dominican, he was inspected and given clearance by the International Technical Officer (ITO). The Guyanese was subsequently allowed into the ring by the referee who saw nothing wrong with his attire but, the Supervisor intervened just before the start of the fight with the claim of inappropriate attire and the
Keevin Allicock.
Steve Ninvalle – President of GBA. young man was given a meager minute (60 seconds) to leave the ring, go to the changing room and return, “Properly attired”. Upon his return it was deemed that he lost by walk over. A protest was immediately filed but the supervisor remained steadfast and unflinching. The new rules of AIBA 48.3.4 state that a boxer can compete in his national colours; red and black are colours of our Guyana national flag; the Golden Arrowhead. In a correspondence to Kaieteur Sport, the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) President, Steve Ninvalle, condemned the ruling of the supervisor, describing it as, “Unjust, unreasonable, unsportsmanlike, excessive, and unwarranted and that which goes against the grain of what the new AIBA is promoting. In my personal capacity as president of the GBA and Chairman of the Caribbean Steering Committee (CSS), I have dispatched protest to both the Americas Boxing Confederation (AMBC) and AIBA for this ruling to be overturned and expect a favourable response.
Managing Director of Secure Innovations & Concepts Inc. Mr. Harold Hopkinson (2nd right) hands over cheque to Lennoz Braithwaite in the presence of, from right, Colonel Enoch Gaskin, Fullbore Vice Captain, Dylan Fields and Secretary Ryan Sampson.
GCB’s U-17 Inter-County 50-over cricket
E’bo celebrate the run out of Matthew Nandu (22) to break his 50-run opening stand with Brandon Jaikarran.
Nandu (4-15), Jaikarran (43) spearhead Demerara to 2nd win Persaud’s MVP performance fails to save E’bo from 3-Wkt defeat
Article 48.3.4 indicates that Allicock was attired within the confines of the new AIBA rules.
Aryan Persaud followed up his unbeaten 39 with 3-37 at Bourda yesterday to take the MVP award in a losing cause.
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