Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday April 24, 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

Easter Sunday bombings

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ow what could justify those deadly bombings on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka? Nothing can. No one should try to rationalize such barbarities on any day, much less on a day like Easter Sunday. People are huddled, bowed, and kneeled in prayer. Rapt in attention or prostrate in homage before a force bigger than that of paltry humans, and then this abomination of desolation. In fact, a series of them in a well-rehearsed and most likely long premeditated attacks. Now who could be so cruelly inhuman? Wantonly destructive? It is in a far corner of the world very distant from Guyana, but the horror is diminished by neither space nor hour. Easter Sunday is one of those extraordinary days that brings a sweet lilt to the human spirit; one of those times that is sacred, and brings a sense of grace. There are not many such moments in what has become an increasingly ruthless and destructive time, where broken bodies and maimed lives, shattered communities and degraded morale sweep with remorseless frequency across a disfigured world. From the semi war zones of sectarian Pakistan to the cloistered schools of Middle America to a mosque in New Zealand and now to its Christian counterparts in Colombo, as well as the near and far peripheries of that long-stricken capital city, the stories are the same ones: shocking brutality, reckless disregard for human life, and an even more callous dismissal of those restraining, civilizing bonds that hold together in fragile embrace. There are too many weapons in the wrong hands; of those who sometimes do not even have an agenda. It seems as there is just killing and terrorizing for the sake of doing so. There is simply too much hatred spewing from twisted minds and hearts bursting with overflowing poisons. The problem is that hate leads to more hate in a vicious cycle of rage and retribution. It becomes torturously difficult to turn the other cheek; in fact, to turn anything away: the gaze, the interest, the hard revulsions; the trajectories of uncontrollable violence spiral. Today, it is several churches; tomorrow, it could be anywhere where people gather for social or business or everyday interaction: a crowded restaurant, a massed train station, a school. Nothing and nowhere and no one are off the radar of attention; or the sniper scope of fatal intention. From the ancient Greeks, through the timeless wisdom of Sophocles, one of its best tragedians, came a superbly fitting saying in Antigone: “evil appears as good in the minds of those whom god leads to destruction.” At this rate, it seems that a savage god has converted a whole world into target practice, since so few nooks and crannies are exempt from the mayhems that multiply with such seeming abandon. And that a universe of evil has engulfed whatever may have qualified to be called good in this pale and progressively accursed sphere. More and more, it is man against fellow man, man against wife, and man against society and nature in an endless outpouring of violence that knows neither limit nor sanity nor the godly. For careful contemplation by the cynical of the many barbarous acts perpetrated under the banner of religion brings to a bad place: there is enough for many to wonder whether Frederick the Great (a Holy Roman Emperor, to boot) was not on to something when he ventured to speak rather uncharitably about the three founders of the major denominations to which so many millions, indeed billions, pay unswerving allegiance. Some of their most devoted adherents do make a mockery of their words, examples, and teachings. As these rampages unfold, it is hoped that other places that are palpably tense, simmering, and well-armed are paying close attention. Saner minds must prevail.

Though the two ministers passed the non-participation conflict of interest test, the legislation needs to be tightened DEAR EDITOR, The media reporting and public debate on the two recent cases of alleged conflict of interest (COI) should be allowed to continue without the chilling effect of lawsuits. Both cases raise several challenging issues, the resolution of which can only help to further good governance. These issues relate to (i) the fundamental objective of conflict of interest policy and law, (ii) the most suitable legal definition of the term itself, and (iii) how we in a small society should attempt to manage such conflicts where personal, familial, community, political, ethnic and other ties are hard to always avoid. These issues remain alive even though the two ministers are innocent of any misconduct or legal violation. Within the confines of the current debate, let’s remind

ourselves that the objective of minimizing conflict of interest (COI) is to build and maintain the trust of the people in their public officials and public institutions. This objective demands several country-specific elements in COI policy and law. One concerns the definition of conflict of interest. The second concerns the point of balance between restricting the COI and, on the other hand, respecting the private rights of public officials and their families, not dissuading persons (such as business owners) from entering the public service, and not ending up with an expensive bureaucracy to fight COI. Minister Cathy Hughes, in her defence, enlightened us that the revised code of conduct in the Integrity Commission Act defines COI as arising “where a public official

makes or participates in the making of decision in the execution of his or her office and at the same time knows or ought to have reasonably known, that the making of that decision, there is material beneficial opportunity either directly or indirectly to further his or her private interest or that of a member of his or her family or any other person or entity.” This definition, along with others such as in Canada’s Conflict of Interest Act (COI arises when a public office holder “exercises an official power, duty or function that provides an opportunity to further his or her private interests.”), limits COI to personal involvement and an intentional act by a minister. In stark contrast, in many European nations, COI is situational. It exists by the mere presence of factors that could lead to COI. This is the defi-

nition those in Guyana with a political axe to grind gladly favour. In the European view, the mere presence of COI is not misconduct unless the official resolves the conflict against the public interest. The Guyana and Canadian definitions of COI, therefore, really define abuse of office or corruption. For a small society such as ours, the participationbased definition is better suited. However, supporting procedures and systems need to be strengthened in several ways to win more public trust. For one, notwithstanding the fact that Minister AdamsYearwood did not participate in the CH&PA decision, the Code of Conduct should include additional wording such as in the Canadian COI legislation that no minister “shall permit the public (Continued on page 6)

UG Vice Chancellor sets the record straight DEAR EDITOR, For some time now, I have been silent as misinformation, outright fabrications, and innuendos have been published as journalism products and facilitated as letters to the editor. These have been designed to malign and hurt the image of the University and me, and to impede the progress we are making by doing tangible things to improve the service to students and staff. Allow me to revisit some of the recent improvements. Readers may recall the newly commissioned US$665,000 Jay and Sylvia Sobhraj Center for Behavioral Sciences and Research; the launch of the School of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation (SEBI) in 2017 and the launch this year of new degrees programmes in Petroleum Engineering, Food Science, Youth Work, Clinical Psychology, and in Nursing and Civil Engineering in Berbice. Thanks, too, to the support from the Ministry of Natural Resources, GGMC, and Schlumberger, we now have a G$2 billion geotechnical lab for students studying petroleum and mining engineering. We also regained the accreditation of our School of Medicine in 2017. That is a special point of pride. We also made significant improvements in the library at Turkeyen and in Berbice, built a brand new building for Facilities Maintenance, and will see the completion of the new Math and Science Classroom building soon. We also constructed a Student Social Complex costing over G$56 million. Work also will begin later this year on a new building to house the Personnel Department

and the Bursary. As well, the George Walcott Lecture Theatre (GWLT) and the Small Lecture Theatre are now fully air conditioned and there are new bathrooms in GWLT. The Faculties of Agriculture and Forestry and Health Sciences and the Biodiversity Centre are among places with upgrades, and a new generator costing almost $22 million was purchased. A new parking lot was created, the Cheddie Jagan Lecture Hall has been refurbished at the cost of G$16 million, and the UG road has been resurfaced. During just this academic year over 400 students participated in undergraduate research conferences at UG and in Georgia, Florida, and Aruba, and 7 will be going to Ger-

many shortly. Moreover, in 2017, staff received salary increases of 6 and 8 percent, and in 2018 the increases were 3 and 4 percent—tax free. Also noteworthy is that every time the base salary increases, the sum of the housing allowance, which is 20 percent of the base salary, also increases by the percentage of the base salary increase. Despite the abbreviated list of improvements above, my silence in the face of pernicious attacks has run the risk that readers who are not privy to all the facts would believe what they read, with the result that my reputation and that of the university would, indeed, be damaged. My silence was and is guided by my desire to avoid an in-

formation tit-for-tat and to foster an environment of positive dialogue. However, some recent egregious misinformation suggests the need to end the silence about things published and the journalism used. Take the Kaieteur News story entitled ‘No toilet paper and soap for staff but UG spent over $400,000 to cater dinner for eight published on April 22, 2019. Not only is it patently inaccurate to assert that there is no toilet paper and soap at UG, but the claim that $400,000 was spent on a dinner for eight individuals is patently false! I say this without fear of contradiction. I fully appreciate that there are editorial limitations in relation to letters to (Continued on page 6)

The height of human vulgarity DEAR EDITOR, The allegation of corruption at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport [CJIA] Expansion Project is becoming worse by the minute and must not go unchallenged. Unless greater transparency is brought to the implementation of this contract, Guyana will be worse off financially and infrastructurally than it was before this US$150 million loan was borrowed. What we are seeing at the airport is the height of human vulgarity. In the USA, with all the post 9/11 requirement, the Westchester 6-gate airport terminal cost about US$90 million from scratch. In the case of Guyana, we shall only be receiving a 4-gate terminal, and an extension of the runaway for US$150 million. That would have been

acceptable if it was a new departure and arrival terminal. But now we are finding out that the old terminal has not been torn down. Rather, it has been gutted and reused at the departure area. Plus we must remember that the PPP in 2011 signed a fixed priced contract for US$150 million that committed the Contractor to an airport as per the contract with 8 gates, new departure and arrival terminal and a 10,800 ft runway to make it a category Code 4E runway (a jumbo jet - BOEING 747-400 aircraft can land). The PNC varied the contract and now offer 4 gates, and a refurbished departure terminal. So picking sense from nonsense, Guyana is getting less and still being charged the same price. What abject nonsense is this?

How more bogus can Team Granger get? If I could have called it fraud, I would have called it wanton fraud, but since the boys and girls in Team Granger are now wealthy enough and have access to the State Treasury, they might want to sue the newspapers. So I will not call it fraud, but I leave it to the Guyanese people to decipher the truth. I appeal to the Office of the Auditor General to conduct a special audit on this project to assess if this nation is securing value for money. I appeal to the Auditor General to safeguard all evidence since any future Government would need such evidence to prosecute those found culpable for misappropriation of public funds. Regards Lisa Ally

DEAR EDITOR, Marijuana is illegal and considered a narcotic. It is a Psychotropic Drug as classified by the Guyana Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, 1998 and under the United States of America Psychotropic Substances Act of 1978 and The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970. I must compliment CANU and the Police Criminal Investigation Department Narcotics Unit (CID) for coming together and working together and destroying the marijuana in a joint effort because it is an illegal drug. However, the Guyanese public should take note of the following: The idea of having a joint task force to visit schools and to educate children about the illegal use of marijuana and the dangers of its use and any

HEY DON’T BURN THAT MARIJUANA!

drug use is fantastic. This is extremely wise and the Government, Commissioner of Police, Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), The Guyana Police, whoever came up with the idea for the collaboration between the forces that decrease marijuana production and abuse must be commended. I must take the opportunity to advise that the children be encouraged to become intelligent officers in a way clandestinely or secretly to report to a teacher or teachers identify in the schools or by some other mechanism students who are selling marijuana or other psychotropic drugs, or ecstasy, crack or cocaine to smartly report them. There after these persons can be apprehended and be dealt with in the early stages with a view not to lost them away in prison for 13 years in

remand or destroy their lives or careers but a chance to save them also from illegal drug trade and earning money and wealth or cash through the illicit sales of drugs, and learning to earn illegally. Those persons selling drugs in the school should be found so that they can be rehabilitated to teach them responsibility, for them to be smart watchers and lookers in society as to who are selling illegal drugs since it is destroying our country and society but they have to use their intelligence and wisdom wisely. In many countries like Holland, Canada marijuana is legal and in the USA marijuana is used for Health medications, and medicinal purposes for treatment of various illnesses such as in the treatment of patients receiving anti-cancer medicine (chemotherapy) who have nausea

The City Council should follow Mayor Ubraj Narine’s lead DEAR EDITOR, Please permit me space in your letters column, to extend on behalf of the citizens of Georgetown sincere congratulations to the Honourable Mayor Pandit Ubraj Narine for the leadership, decency and obligation to his job as Chief Citizen that he has shown, when he recently turned down an ‘all expenses paid’ visit to the People’s Republic of China, opting instead to send his deputy. Such a decision would have been unheard of by his globetrotting predecessors and the ‘Fantastic Four’ who would probably think that he must have lost his mind to have refused such a junket. The commitment shown by Mayor Narine to leading the effort up front and in person of restoring the presently ruinous but once pristine Garden City must be applauded by all, as not many persons at the Council would reject the opportunity of being pampered in first class in a transatlantic flight, of dining at fine Asian restaurants and being accommodated at five star oriental hotels, not to mention being provided with a hefty perdiem for which you don’t have to account for.

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Wednesday April 24, 2019

Surely Mayor Narine must have reviewed what the benefits have been derived for Georgetown and the Georgetown Municipality for all the scores of travels to the furthest reaches of the world that were undertaken by his predecessors, the Fantastic Four and others and realized that absolutely nothing has been obtained. Jaunts to Panama and Mexico have resulted in nothing but a corrupt parking meter deal and the placement of a few reconditioned third hand parking meters around the city. The City Constabulary in spite of receiving international training in bike patrolling and more than thirty professional police bicycles and allied equipment donated, can hardly mount a squad of more than six persons to patrol at any given time. The funding that was provided to repair the Stabroek Market clock had to be given back due to the incompetence of the administration, the City

Hall building is collapsing in spite of many foreign funded studies, the failed composting project funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Council’s failure to purchase a number of much needed pieces of equipment to assist with drainage, road building, and refuse collection in spite of the present City Engineer touring several parts of the attending trade shows and exhibitions and identifying what was needed are all examples of the millions wasted by the Council on foreign travel. It is clear that the Council does not have the capacity to make use of international offers and should therefore follow Mayor Narine’s lead, by fixing things at home first which they can, by sticking to the basics before going abroad and bedazzling their eyes with the wonders of the world. Best regards. Deodarie Putulall

and vomiting - particularly patients who do not respond to other treatments, in the treatment of anorexia (loss of appetite) associated with weight loss in patients with AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), for use in multiple sclerosis (MS) spasticity, and for chronic cancer pain. In addition marijuana is use for the treatment of patients two years and older with seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) and Dravet syndrome (forms of epilepsy), (Marijuana: Effects, Medical uses and Legalisation, accessed from https://www.drugs.com/ illicit/marijuana.html, 14th March, 2019). In addition, there are marijuana parlours where you can smoke marijuana legally and even purchase a milkshake with marijuana in it, and it seems only a matter of time now before it goes into skin creams or tooth paste since according to latest research it seems ‘good’ for all kinds of benefits. My viewpoint on that is that marijuana could be seized, processed, and compressed in ways such that it can be sold legally (possibly through an agency within the government) to private licensed agents of, or exported, into countries where it is legal and use for medicinal purposes or entertainment to bring in some income/foreign exchange to our economy. Marijuana in Guyana that is seized, I have been told, is grown naturally and may very well carry a high financial price since it is grown without artificial influence. Hopefully, in time it can be grown and harvested and exported legally if it still remains illegal in Guyana and only used for exportation. The same goes for cocaine in which hundreds of millions or billions of dollars are burnt up. Cocaine seized in Guyana can be sold to pharmaceuticals around the world instead of burning and destroying them. “The American Academy

of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Inc. considers cocaine to be a valuable anaesthetic and vasoconstricting agent when used as part of the treatment of a patient by a physician. No other single drug combines the anaesthetic and vasoconstricting properties of cocaine”. (Does Cocaine have any legitimate Medical use?” accessed from: https:// www.verywellmind.com/ does-cocaine-have-any-legitmedical-uses-1124135, 14th March, 2019). The Guyana Government is also forbidding the use of “hemp” which is a family of the marijuana plant that is grown naturally. It is known to be a light narcotic of which they are two different stages. Countries such as, Australia and New Zealand allow research crops and it is grown in Eastern European countries such as Romania, Hungary, Austria, and Russia. Hemp use is quite extensive and is found in products such as recipes (use in salad oils, cake batter, seeds eaten as nuts), pet food and bedding (dietary supplements for pets, cat litter), body oil and moisturizing lotions, oil based products (candles, lanterns and paint), plastic products (packaging products and CD and jewel cases), construction materials e.g. cement and biodiesel fuels, and clothing (jeans and high fashion apparel). Paper is sometimes made using hemp. It is more economical to use hemp to

make paper. It saves the trees and protects the wildlife and forests. The sugar and rice industries are going “awry” so why can’t we in the public use the lands to grow and export hemp, and for local and manufacturing of various products that are produced by hemp? Since we are importing hemp products, why can’t we use hemp which is grown naturally and which can create a new industry for Guyana and the Caribbean instead of cutting down trees? My view is to get financial rewards/benefits for things that are “bad” the very way that illegal weapons are confiscated and put to good use by law enforcement departments. Why is it that we cannot use the confiscated cocaine or marijuana to generate foreign exchange, if it is possible? I think that we should move to a new industry of Hemp cultivation which is a big industry in the USA to help our economy. These are all views as to what to do with things that are burnt and destroy - for this we would need some radicalist, futuristic leaders. Sincerely, Mr. Roshan Khan Snr. National Chairman: Universal Peace Federation (Guyana) Chairman: Electric Mosque Teaching of Islam National Chairman: Guyana Islamic Forum Chairman: Ethnic Relations Commission.

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UG Vice Chancellor sets the record ... From page 4 the editors. But the public and your profession are ill-served by some of what we have been witnessing, and not just the factual inexactitudes. Also, very troubling is the practice of regurgitating verbatim assertions from individuals and the unions without a modicum of verification. As a former journalist myself, I know this is an indictment of journalistic professionalism. At the very least the writers of the stories should have checked with someone at the university for a comment or seek evidence of the assertion about the dinner. The same concerns relate to another recent story ‘UG executives tripled their salaries in five years.’ The public and the profession of journalism would have been better served had someone verified the accuracy of the assertion by checking with the Personnel Officer or the Bursar for a comment and secure the appropriate information and explanations. This reprehensible lapse in journalistic standards is corrosive and a threat to the very free and fair society that we all desire. It is well known that the union leaders behind these stories have their agendas against the Administration and me in particular, and with my current contract ending soon, they have stepped

up their campaign to force me out. Please know that I have expressed interest in renewing my contract to continue the work of rebuilding and rebranding our University. Part of the effort now is to sour the public space and stoke discontent in advance of the Council meeting and the audit that the Administration told the unions and the university community beginning in January of this year that we would gladly accommodate. Why not await the results of the audit? Incidentally, the unions were told the reasons why a forensic audit being demanded was not possible; there is no evidence of fraud. Why not wait for the results of the audit? What credible institutional or public value is to be achieved by this maligning? Is this the sort of leadership that will catapult the university and Guyana into a better place? Is this the best we can do? T his Administration and I are committed to improving standards and addressing all relevant issues at UG. We cannot do it alone, though. We need the cooperation and good faith actions of all shareholders, including the unions and the free press. Interestingly, these are the very union leaders that have ignored our request for information that would facilitate transparency and account-

ability of the organizations they lead. We asked them for items every credible union should have: their Articles of Association, Certificates of Recognition from the Trades Union Recognition and Certification Board, and recent Statements of Income and Expenditure. We also asked when last they had elections, who are their official leaders and for their recent audited statements. One wonders what is there to hide. In sum, this missive is a plea for rationality and for you and colleagues to elevate the practices of journalism in Guyana. As a nation, we are at a critical moment in our national development, and partisan and personal agendas aside, Guyana and the Guyanese people have nothing to gain when important journalistic institutions such as yours facilitate the unquestioned dissemination of the kind of misinformation we have witnessed. Please know that I as well as other university officials would be happy to offer interviews to provide the appropriate contextual and factual information that can be used in your reporting on the matters that are of critical importance to our national university and our nation. Sincerely, Professor Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith, PhD, C.C.H. Principal and ViceChancellor

Wednesday April 24, 2019

WILL CCJ MAKE A SURPRISING RULING NEXT MONTH? DEAR EDITOR, Both the APNU/AFC government and the opposition PPP/C are optimistic that the CCJ - the Caribbean Court of Justice, will rule in their favour as regards to the no confidence motion which was passed in Parliament on December 21, 2018 on a 33-32 vote in favour of the Opposition after a government lawmaker, Charrandass Persaud, jumped ship and voted in favour of the PPP/C motion. The Court will either rule that the Motion was properly passed or not. The ruling will decide if the government can continue in office until May next year or they have to demit office immediately and put the election machinery in motion. I will not be surprised if the highest court of the land dismissed the appeals and ruled that the Guyana Court of Appeal’s decision is correct. The CCJ is a comparatively new court - only 14 years in existence, but the President Adrian Saunders of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a highly respectable jurist who was with the Court from the inception, Jacob Wit (Holland), David Hayton (UK) Winston Anderson (Jamaica), Maureen Ragnauth-Lee (Trinidad and Tobago), Denys Barrow (Belize) and Andrew Burgess (Barbados) are all competent jurists. There is no Guyanese in the current panel. They were two Judges, Desiree Bernard and Duke Pollard who served from the inception, but they have reached the retirement age of 75 and no longer with the court. Two outstanding Presidents, Michael La Bastide and Denis Byron have also re-

tired. Both parties have retained the best legal brains in the region to argue their case. The PPP/C has chosen an experienced Trinidadian jurist, Senior Counsel Douglas Mentis, who recently successfully argued an appeal on behalf of the St. Vincent government in an election petition case, while the APNU/AFC has chosen lawyer/politician, Eamon Courtenay, SC who has the most appearances before the CCJ than any other legal practitioner. Courtenay of Belize also has the most successes many of his cases were against the government of Belize. He also served as Foreign Affair Minister of his country. The Granger administration gave Courtenay the nod no doubt because of his numerous successes in the regional court, despite the fact that the two Barbadian Queens Counsel, Hal Gallop and Ralph Thorne won the two term appeal which prevents Bharat Jagdeo from running for a third term. The new Solicitor General, Nigel Hawke, appeared several times before the CCJ and I have no doubt that he will assist Courtenay who he knows very well while he served in Belize, a few times he was opposing Counsel to the Belizian Senior Counsel. The issue before the CCJ is whether the Motion was validly passed by a 3332 majority — the government arguing that 34 votes are required for an absolute majority while the opposition is contending that 33 votes were enough. Another issue is whether Charrandass Persaud who voted in favour of the oppo-

sition could have properly voted since he was/is a Canadian citizen. I am a strong advocate for the regional court and have been supporting the CCJ long before its inauguration. I have written numerous articles and letters urging governments in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) who have not yet abolished appeals to the Privy Council to do so as quickly as possible. However, there is resistance/reluctance since some feel that the regional judges might be too familiar with the local lawyers and litigants and might not do justice ... they prefer the “white men” in far away England to be the judges. I should mention that Sir Fenton Ramsahoye, QC. who appeared in the Privy Council more than any other lawyer in the Commonwealth prefers the London based Court. It is unfortunate that they entertain such immature and racial thought especially since the CCJ has an impeccable record. I must add here that Jamaica and Trinidad which were in the forefront on the establishment of the CCJ has not yet joined the appellate division of the court and referendum failed in three jurisdictions, Grenada (twice), St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Dominica in bids to abolish appeals from the Privy Council in order to make the CCJ the final court. May 10 is scheduled for the hearing and with skeleton arguments submitted or soon will be filed I do not think the duration of the appeal will be long and a decision will be made shortly after. Oscar Ramjeet

Though the two ministers passed the ... From page 4 sector entity for which he or she is responsible, or to which he or she is assigned, to enter into a contract or employment relationship with his or her spouse, commonlaw partner, child, sibling or parent.” Secondly, not only must all business and other private interests be declared to the Integrity Commission, but all actions taken case-by-case to remedy actual and potential COI situations must be reported. So, for example, each time a minister withdraws from a cabinet meeting to avoid COI, he or she should file a report to the commission with the necessary details behind that decision. Likewise, should a ministry drop a contractor from bid

awards because of his family ties there, a similar report should also be filed. The Integrity Commission must make all these reports public. Lastly, SN’s editorial of Monday, April 22, raised a significant argument that “no sitting government minister’s company should be making money off of government contracts… as the appearance of a conflict of interest would be insurmountable.” The editorial, in recognizing that the ministers had passed the legally-defined non-participation test, introduced this appearance or perception test. Whilst appearance is also critical, I can find no COI legislation from other jurisdictions that absolutely forbids a minister’s company making money off a govern-

ment contract. In fact, this is allowed in at least three situations: when (i) the minister withdraws from the particular administrative decision-making process, (ii) the minister establishes a blind trust to mange his or her companies, and (iii) the entities owned by the minister benefit as part of a larger general group of companies. But it all comes back to what we in Guyana believe is required to build public confidence in our public officials and agencies. If most of us believe, for instance, as SN does, that some appearances of conflict of interest are insurmountable, let’s discuss and amend the legislation accordingly. Yours Faithfully, Sherwood Lowe

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Wednesday April 24, 2019

Roger Khan asks Florida court to shorten sentence ahead of July release Convicted drug kingpin, Shaheed ‘Roger’ Khan, who was jailed in October 2009 for up to 15 years is asking the US courts to release him early, based on new regulations. The court is fast-tracking the hearings as in any case, he is due out in months. Under the sentencing guidelines, Khan is supposed to be released by July 8th, 2019.However, he is asking a Southern Florida court, to rule that he is entitled to additional good time credits, in keeping with the enacted First Step Act passed last year in the US.Khan is making the petition via a writ of habeas corpus. He is seeking an order from the court directing the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to award him the credits.

It was ordered by the court that because of the nature of Khan’s claims, the case has to be fast-tracked and therefore the parties have to respond early. The BOP’s lawyers have to notify the court within one week of receipt of the order, the name of the Assistant United States Attorney to whom the case is assigned. On or before April 30, 2019, the BOP has to file a memorandum of fact and law to show cause why this petition should not be granted and shall file therewith all supporting documentation necessary for the resolution of this petition. Khan’s lawyers tendered, in court documents, a notice to inmates, which informed them that on Friday,

December 21, 2018, the President of the US, Donald Trump, signed into law new criminal justice legislation called the ‘’First Step Act’. It was explained that this law requires the BOP to implement a number of changes. “The agency is analyzing all the changes required, but taking careful note of which changes are effective immediately and which changes require additional action. We know that inmates and their families are particularly interested in the changes regarding good conduct time. The law will allow BOP in the future to apply 54 days of credit for every year a sentence was imposed, which is a change to the prior law.”

However, the notice had said that while this change may result in additional credit for inmates in the future, it is not effective immediately nor is it applicable to all inmates. Khan was sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment on three separate charges by US Judge, Dora Irizarry in 2009 after she accepted the plea bargain agreement he had reached with prosecutors. However, two of the sentences, 10 years for an illegal firearm possession charge, and 15 years for witness tampering, would have run concurrently with the other 15-year jail term. Khan, who was arrested in Suriname and escorted to the United States of America in 2006, had entered a plea bargain deal with US

Fighting for early release: Roger ‘Shaheed’ Khan prosecutors on March 16, 2009. In addition to the jail time, Roger Khan will have had to

undergo supervised release for five years although according to the judge, he is likely to be deported.

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Wednesday April 24, 2019

“Government-imposed” fees…

Global airlines body calls for immediate talks with Govt., CJIA

T

he International Air T r a n s p o r t Association (IATA) is calling for immediate dialogue with the management of Cheddi Jagan International Airport Corporation (CJIAC) and the Ministry of Public Infrastructure of Guyana, on the implementation process related to the increase in the government-mandated Airport Security Fee and the introduction of a new Passenger Service Charge at the airport. The powerful association has almost 300 airlines as its members.

In a strongly worded statement yesterday, IATA said that the continued refusal by the airport operator to cooperate with IATA on both the proper calculation and implementation of such fees and charges, has now led to a situation where airlines have been forced to manually collect the additional amounts from both arriving and departing passengers. CJIA’s management, which operates the country’s biggest airport at Timehri, wrote the airlines that are coming to Guyana earlier this year, signaling its intent to introduce new fees come

April 1st. The fees would have seen passengers paying $4,000 more on every seat. The fees were to cover costs for expansion done to the airport. However, the airlines had complained to IATA which wrote CJIA’s management in January asking for more time and consultations. The IATA correspondence had been sent to CJIAC’s chief, Ramesh Ghir and several of the senior management officials. IATA represents some 290 airlines comprising 82% of global air traffic. “It is completely unacceptable that passengers are being inconvenienced in such a manner. This is a direct result of the airport’s management refusal to engage with IATA on a process which is standard practice across the globe. As a consequence, our member airlines have unfortunately no choice other than to manually collect the additional fees and charges,” said Peter Cerda, IATA’s Regional Vice

IATA says that the situation has forced airlines to manually collect fees from passengers… not a good experience. President of the Americas. IATA, in a statement yesterday, said it has worldwide standards in place enabling airlines to collect government-imposed fees, service charges and taxes as part of an airline ticket. “These are then transferred to the respective governments. This has provided a smoother travel experience for passengers, by eliminating the former practice whereby many governments manually collected some of these fees and taxes at airports.” Furthermore, IATA said it is also seeking clarity from the

airport operator on how the fees and charges have been calculated, as again, international standards set out by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)’s Document 9082, were not followed. IATA said that it understands that airports need to recover their investment costs. This must, however, be achieved through a collaborative and transparent process, ensuring that imposed fees are proportionate to the planned expenditure. “This can best be achieved in partnership

between all sectors of the aviation industry, thereby unlocking the true potential of a country and its people. As such, we urgently call on the management of Cheddi Jagan International Airport to engage into the requested dialogue, so passengers are no longer inconvenienced, and member airlines can return to their normal business. This will ensure the sustainability of the aviation sector in Guyana and facilitate the growth of tourism and trade, thereby contributing to a vibrant and healthy economy,” commented Cerda.

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday April 24, 2019

The PPPC is ahead of the game

T

he PPPC is ahead of its competitors as Guyana prepares for elections within the next year. While the ruling APNU+AFC seems more concerned with using state power to harass the General Secretary of the PPPC, Bharrat Jagdeo, the PPPC has sprung a new limb in its campaign to regain office. Harassment of political opponents is also a dumb strategy by the ruling coalition. All this is doing is crystallizing greater support behind the PPPC and its General Secretary. While the government is playing dirty, the PPPC is practicing smart politics. The PPPC has hired a US public relations and lobbying firm, Mercury Public Affairs, to undertake work for it. While the exact nature of the work which the firm will do for the PPPC is not known, given the price tag of US$170,000, it can

only be for lobbying efforts, and not for campaign advice. That sum is insignificant compared to the resources which are at the disposal of the PPP. Mercury Public Affairs is therefore most likely helping the PPPC to lobby US lawmakers in Washington to be firm on APNU+AFC in terms of complying with the Constitution and for the holding of free and fair elections. The PPPC General Secretary when asked about the nature of the work that the firm is contracted to do said, “All the PPP wants is free and fair elections in Guyana. That’s what we’re lobbying for. It’s a shame that we have to, in the 21st century, go to Washington to lobby for free and fair elections just because of this government’s transgression—refusal to accept a no-confidence vote.” Some people presumed that the PPPC was hiring a firm to run its election campaign.

The PPPC apparently is not. It must have been aware of the experience of the AFC when it hired foreign experts who ran some strange poll numbers predicting that the AFC would win the 2011 elections. Foreign PR firms do not understand local politics and would be a liability if they were ever hired to do so. In any event, the PPPC hardly needs any help in running a campaign. It is seasoned in that area. The PPPC is well-oiled machinery. It knows how to win elections. It narrowly lost the last time, but you can bet it will not make the same mistakes twice. The PPPC is mobilizing international pressure against the government to ensure that the next elections will not be rigged and at the same time it is rebuilding its relations with the United States after that illthought strategy involving a

DEM BOYS SEH

De airport project create nuff hustle

Fuh years dem boys was talking how people cut deal wid de airport project. De whole project start when some Chinee Ambassador waving he hand full of money. De man was going to Jamaica and since Guyana don’t like to see money, it follow de man till to Jamaica and tek some of de money to repair de Timehri airport. From de time de project start was nuff problems. De project start without anybody supervising de contractor. Instead of three years, de project tek six years and it ain’t done yet. De money spend on it is more than wha de whole project should cost. Now is one big row about who telling lie and who mek

de project expensive. Wha dem boys know is dat people thief nuff money. De contract seh dat sand would be free once it come from a 12-mile radius. Dem boys see when de Chinee contractor was tekking sand to do de runway. De sand come from right next door. De next thing dem boys hear is dat Guyana pay US$35 million fuh sand. It mean dat somebody collect US$35 million. Patto seh is not he. Since he blaming other people wha been in charge before he, de opposition people now looking to see who tek de money. Robeson write a letter and he claim how he was in charge of de project and he ain’t tek no money. But dem boys notice he didn’t sign any contract. Robeson asking wheh

de money gone, since Patto seh he not paying de contractor. Dem boys know dat when people breach a contract dem does got to pay. But dis contractor benefit from de delay. When dem was bringing in material from overseas, if dem wan ten, dem import thirty. Dat is how some projects get free material and some get cheap material, because dem didn’t have to pay duty. Nuff people mek money from dat airport project. Dem boys waiting to see who gon go to jail. Dem want an audit, but de government and de opposition not going down dat road. Talk half and watch how one airport got people hiding money.

‘feral blast’ against a former United States Ambassador. The PPPC is looking for results. It has hired a firm with a proven track record of getting things done. Mercury Public Affairs had successfully lobbied US lawmakers to have RUSAL removed from US sanctions, a decision which saved the local bauxite industry. It is also being retained by a Chinese rail car maker which is hoping to supply the New York Metropolitan Transport Authority with rail cars. The PPPC decision to hire a public relations firm shows that it understands how decision making is done in the US capital. Letters, petitions and picketing exercises are not going to have any appreciable success in the US system. What is needed are trained publicists and lobbyists who can achieve with one meeting given the contacts, connections and influence – what through politician action will take ten years.The PPPC’s decision also shows that it

appreciates the limitations of the Diaspora. Overseas Guyanese like to delude themselves into believing that they are influential and important to local political causes. But they are only fooling themselves. They are no longer a force to be reckoned with. Their financial contributions can hardly pay for the cost of them being addressed by local political leaders. The PPPC has not opted to utilize them in lobbying Washington. Instead, they have chosen a private firm to get the job done. And there is no reason why the firm should not get the job. Those who therefore feel that if APNU+AFC decides to rig the next elections they will get away with it, should think again. The US has shown a pref-

erence for targeting individuals associated with regimes they consider as rogue. Any attempt by any force to rig the next elections in Guyana is likely to be greeted with travel bans and seizure of personal assets of those involved. The PPPC is making sure that the United States will take stern action against any such act. And while the PPPC is busying itself internationally, the APNU+AFC coalition which won the elections in 2015 by less than 5,000 votes is rallying the converted.

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday April 24, 2019

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

Granger and UG: The Id has escaped from the prison of the Superego I began to suspect, shortly after the attempt by the new Vice Chancellor of UG in 2016 to rent a Georgetown building for $6 million monthly, that David Granger was beginning to show his true colour, meaning that he had no idea of the nature of the political

economy of Guyana. As UG acquired an administrative structure that per capita was one of, if not the largest in the in the entire world, in a country with a small population, a poor economy, and a mere 5000 students and 250 staff members, and as

extraordinary sums were spent on form and not substance, I was becoming more and more convinced that Granger was not the man to lead Guyana. As the post-2015 regime at UG settled into office, and extraordinary pools of money went in directions that did not

benefit Guyana as a country, its tertiary educational system and UG itself, my mind was made up; Granger ’s leadership was a disaster for this country. This newspaper carried two items recently. One informs the nation that under this new vice-chancellor, total salary of a small group of senior UG functionaries takes up 180 million dollars. And secondly, $400, 000 was spent on a dinner circumstance for 8 persons. The last three years at UG cried out for governmental intervention and for one fundamental reason – the money that nourished this extraordinary journey into monumental expenditure came from the Treasury, not private organizations and foreign governments. It was obligatory by the state to ask if the money was serving UG and Guyana. For three years, Mr. Granger saw this misdirected journey but remain unmoved. How do you explain this? When my contract was terminated in January 2012 by the Ramotar presidency, a protest group was formed named Operation Rescue UG, which staged industrial action. The group invited then Opposition Leader, Granger to meet. Here now is something I never wrote about. He came with an aide, stood almost motionless and listened to our complaints. This was a learning experience for me. Granger displayed no emotion and appeared almost

disinterested. My strong impression from that meeting was that this was a man who lacked leadership skills. We still have to explain why for three years Granger allowed the situation at UG to take the ugly shape that now engulfs it. He knew about the huge bureaucratic structure. Any examination of this structure within the context of the student and staff numbers would reveal that Guyana’s only university does not need such a colossal administrative system. More importantly, a deception game had entrenched itself, and the Government of Guyana was simply not interested to confront it. UG has announced over a dozen new degree programmes over the last two years, the latest being a degree in psychology but never published is the list of professors and their qualifications to run these new programmes. Essential to note is that UG’s salary scale is way below even tenth-rate universities. So where are these professors coming from? Weeks ago, UG declared that it can only offer a three percent increase to its academics. Surely, someone in government should have possessed the moral quality to ask – then what are you offering the lecturers of these new programmes and do you actually have them. This is the sad state of Guyana and you have a president that shows no leadership qualities. The people of Guyana have to stop the self-fooling that they been swimming in since

Frederick Kissoon Granger became president. It goes like this – ‘oh, the man is beyond corruption, the man is honest, the man is a decent leader’. But the man is not a leader, he is not leading Guyana, and it appears that he lacks the essential qualities to lead a poor, complicated polity that Guyana has always been and still is. Guyana’s economy could not have sustained the wild financial acts of the Jagdeo/ Ramotar cabals. Prodigious sums were badly used, of which the most repugnant example was a country with a very modest tourist industry built an expensive Marriott Hotel where given the numbers that arrive each year, the present hotel structure could have catered for them. Valuable money was thrown away on the Amaila Falls road, the Skeldon factory, and investments in CLICO. Against our underdeveloped economy, any new government would have been careful on how scare resources were used by the state. But Granger’s reckless spending matches those of Jagdeo and Ramotar. My conclusion is that like Jagdeo and Ramotar, he is happy with the way the state spends money, because he cannot see the ideological flaws in neoliberalism. I doubt he can.

Wednesday April 24, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

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Wednesday April 24, 2019

Kaieteur News

Fallout from US$150M CJIA renovation…

Opposition demands public probe - says airport’s fixed-price contract was changed in scope, intent

CJIA is in the news yet again over whose fault it is that Guyana did not get value for its US$150M. Amid the continuing fallout over the renovated Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), the latest of which Minister David Patterson has laid the blame on the door of the Opposition, there is strong denial coming now from the latter. Yesterday, former Minister of Public Works, Robeson Benn, of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), which is now in Opposition, called for a public

investigation into the circumstances that would have seen the Coalition Government deciding in 2015 to reduce the scope of the works on a project that had a fixed-price contract. The project, since coming to light in late 2011, has been dragging on under three different administrations now, and missing several deadlines. It was supposed to be finished in December, but

there have been no announcements that the controversial Chinese contractor, China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) has been given more time, although a reduced workforce is there at the Timehri facility. On Monday, Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, in a statement posted on his Facebook page, said that the blame for what Guyana is getting

PPP’s former Public Works Minister, Robeson Benn should be laid at the feet of the Opposition - the PPPwhich lost the 2015 general elections. He said that on entering government in 2015, the Coalition Government after assessing the project was faced with three tough choices - scrap the project; plug more money or work with the remaining sums. He also said that CHEC worked 15 months without an independent supervising consultant and that up to 2015, the Chinese contractor had claims of up to US$90M for just seven percent of the work done. The entire project was pegged at US$150M. It is the largest ongoing project on land that is being carried out

by the Government of Guyana. Last evening, Benn, who was at the helm of the Public Works Ministry in 2011 when the contract was signed, in his response to Patterson, explained that Guyana entered in to fixed-price contract with CHEC for the expansion of the CJIA. The idea was to address the clear and still present issues of congestion, aged airport terminal and safety, which beset the operations, at a time when there was a significant increase in passenger and aircraft traffic. A US$30M INCREASE Benn said that Chinese contractor sought to increase the price by another

US$30M. “Payment was made on the usual 30% mobilization advance to CHEC, which was bonded. Initial delays in project start-up occurred as CHEC sought to extract an increase in the project sum by US$30M. Their effort was refused, based on international contracting rules for Fixed-Price Contracts and the considered view that the sought increase was not warranted, anyway.” He said that the project supervision fell, initially, under the Works Service Group (WSG) of the Ministry of Public Works until an international supervision consultant, MMM Group, in Continued on page 26

Minister David Patterson and President David Granger on a tour of the airport works last year.

Wednesday April 24, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Corentyne man freed of murder in shooting death A 31-year-old labourer was yesterday freed after a jury returned with a unanimous verdict of not guilty of murder. Suresh Sakawat called “Vishal” of Clifton, Port Mourant, Corentyne, Berbice, was on trial before Justice Jo Ann Barlow and a mixed Jury in the Berbice High Court. He had been accused of fatally shooting Sasenarine Baljit on 2nd June 2015 at Expectation, Port Mourant Backdam. The state’s case was presented by Attorney-atl a w, M a n d e l M o o r e . A t t o r n e y s - a - l a w Ry a n Crawford and Chandra Sohan appeared for Sakawat. Baljit’s bullet-riddled body was found some three days after the incident in a trench in the backlands of Tain Settlement, Corentyne. The body bore several shotgun injuries to the back. Sakawat was reportedly held some days after the incident at his brother-inlaw’s residence. Baljit was reportedly shot at a camp at Port Mourant backdam. Sakawat was also charged with wounding Navendra Permaul of Port Mourant, during the same shooting

incident. That matter was dismissed in the Magistrate’s Court. When the murder trial continued yesterday, the defence and prosecution submitted their closing arguments. This was after Justice Barlow had overruled the defence’s no case submission and a lengthy voir dire was held. The defence argued that the prosecution had failed to prove their case. They cited the many inconsistencies in the evidence of the prosecution witnesses, which were “very contradictory”. There were various descriptions of the injuries the man received. There was no conclusive evidence if the man died from gunshot injuries or drowning. There was nothing to say when the man died exactly. No murder weapon was produced in court. The defence also contended that the accused never gave a statement, although one was produced, and when he was taken to the alleged murder scene, he stated something totally different to what was in the statement. The Prosecution in their

submission relied on the evidence that was presented in court. Justice Barlow took less than one hour to sum up the evidence to the jury. She directed them on the points of law and what they had to look for in the deliberations. The jury upon retiring also took less than an hour to return with their not guilty verdict. Testifying during the trial were Detective Sergeant Michael Peters, Detective Sergeant Mark F r a s e r, t h e d e a d m a n ’s sister, Dharmenia Beharry, Detective Constable De Souza, the accused man’s brother-in-law Ramesh B u s j i t a n d a v i l l a g e r, Parsram Suraj who told the court that he was the one who took the police to search the ranch when they noticed the body floating in the trench. Government Pathologist Dr. Vivekanand Brijmohan testified to performing an autopsy on Baljit‘s body at the Port Mourant Hospital. The body was in an advanced state of decomposition. He gave the cause of death as shock and haemorrhage and gunshot injuries.

Attorneys-at-law Ryan Crawford (left) and Chandra Sohan (right) with Suresh Sakawat.

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Kaieteur News

DRIVER DETAINED AFTER C’TYNE MAN KILLED IN ACCIDENT

A father of two was yesterday struck down along the Number 11 Village public road, Corentyne, Berbice by a car while he was reportedly

attempting to cross. He later succumbed to his injuries. ‘ Dead is Stanley Bronne called ‘Keshan’, 30, of Lot 8 Number 11 Village.

Reports are that the vehicle involved, bearing licence plate number PTT 8022, was heading west along the southern carriageway

when the pedestrian reportedly walked across the road from behind a parked lorry. The driver of the vehicle

Wednesday April 24, 2019

who gave his address as Block X, Diamond Housing Scheme, has since told authorities that he swerved south to avoid a collision, but his right bumper came into contact with the now dead man. The impact caused Bronne to land on the windscreen of the car and then roll onto the public road. He was rushed to the New Amsterdam Hospital in an unconscious state but subsequently succumbed while receiving medical attention. A breathalyzer was

Dead: Stanley Bronne performed on the driver and he was cleared; moreover, he is assisting ranks with the investigation.

The car that struck Bronne.

Wednesday April 24, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Victim pays bail for man who stole his phone Akeem Bennett, the defendant who found himself before the court for allegedly stealing a stranger’s phone who he reportedly had a night out with, was lucky to have his bail paid by that very individual. The defendant appeared last Friday before the Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts where he was granted bail in the sum of $10,000 after relating a sad tale to her. However, yesterday when the matter was called, Bennett was still in the custody of the police as he was unable to post his bail. The alleged victim, who showed up in court for the first time, later paid the defendant’s bail for him. The allegation is that the 22-year-old mason, of Lot 12 Supply, East Bank Demerara, on April 14, 2019 at Seawall Road, Georgetown, stole one Samsung S8 valued at $85,000 property of Travis Rampaul. The two men reportedly went to the seawall to ‘lime’. After being asked to carry out an errand for Rampaul, Bennett allegedly removed the cell phone from the car. The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge, but gave his explanation of what happened on the night in question. Based on his account, the magistrate entered a not guilty plea. According to Bennett, he was at a Chinese restaurant ‘liming’ when Rampaul, whom he said was a stranger to him, pulled up in a car and offered him a drink. “After he buy the water for me, he told me let’s go to town and get two girls.” Bennett related that they went to Georgetown and picked up two girls from a bar then headed to the seawall. It was there that Rampaul reportedly handed over all his money, his phone and a gold chain. “I feel this man carry me like a bodyguard, because when he gave me the stuff he told me that I should keep them for him because people

but then I saw him [Bennett] and he looked hungry to me, so I offered him the drink and asked if he wanted to lime with me.” The alleged victim further indicated the information is

Akeem Bennett does get rob on the seawall,” Bennett stated. He alleged that Rampaul then asked him to collect a pack of cigarettes from the car. However, when he went to the car there were no cigarettes. He said Rampaul then sent him to purchase a pack of cigarettes. “I give he the money and chain and I keep the phone because he didn’t ask for it. I then went to buy the cigarette, but four men robbed me on the way. I was scared to return and say what happen, because I didn’t know how the man would react.” Bennett allegedly headed to a friend in Georgetown where they called the Timehri Police Station to report the matter. They were advised to wait for a patrol vehicle in the area to return to look out for the ‘robbers.’ “We stand up outside and shortly after a patrol van came and the same man who I was with was in the van. They took me to the Timehri station and put me on the bench, but when I explained to the man [Rampaul] what happen, and that I would work to pay him back for the phone, he just tell me that I have to go to court.” However, Rampaul related a different story to the court as he mentioned that he did pick up Bennett. “I stopped at the shop to buy something,

correct as Bennett stated, however the defendant was the one who asked for the cigarettes. “After I found that he and my phone were missing, I borrowed someone’s cell to

track my phone. It showed that the person was going up the East Bank of Demerara with it, and that is how I found Bennett, who then told me what happened.” Rampaul stated.

Magistrate McLennan then adjourned the hearing until April 26, for statements. Bennett was released on $10,000 bail and instructed to report to the Grove Police Station every Friday.

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Kaieteur News

CARPHA urges regional population to get vaccinated PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - CMC – The Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) is urging the region to ensure that its vaccination coverage remains at 95 per cent or more, noting that immunization is one of the most successful and cost-effective public health interventions. “Vaccines protect not only individuals but entire communities. If you are vaccinated, you are less likely to become infected or infect others and your loved ones. That is why is important that our region maintains its vaccination coverage of 95 per cent or more, to ensure that children and other at-risk persons remain healthy,” said CARPHA’s Director of Surveillance Disease Prevention and Control, Dr. Virginia AsinOostburg.CARPHA said that safe and effective vaccines have been available for many years, and can prevent deaths from

diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough) and measles.It said the most effective way to prevent these life-threatening diseases or severe outcomes from the illnesses is through vaccination.“The Caribbean has long been a leader among regions of the world, as our countries have applied high standards in the delivery of vaccination programmes. While successfully maintaining a measles-free status since 1991, the Caribbean has also been eradicated of endemic smallpox in 1971, polio in 1994, and rubella and congenital rubella syndrome in 2015,” CARPHA said, adding that the health of the general public improved drastically with the vaccinations that allowed children to survive because they no longer developed severe measles infections. Dr. Asin-Oostburg said immunisation protects future generations.

Wednesday April 24, 2019

Tender Board hosts regional training sessions to improve efficiency of procurement process The National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) recently hosted a series of training sessions in various regions so as to improve the efficiency of the procurement process. This was noted by NPTAB Head, Berkley Wickham. During an interview with Kaieteur News, Wickham said, “We have been made several efforts to boost the efficiency of the procurement process, given the vital importance of adopting best procurement practices in the implementation of the Public Sector Investment Program (PSIP). Among the elements is standardization as we move towards eventual e- procurement.” The official continued, “With a view to ensuring the smooth and timely implementation of these measures, during 2018, staff of the NPTAB Secretariat made visits to the various ministries, agencies and corporations to meet with the Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Agencies and CEO’s, officers with responsibility for procurement and other relevant staff.” The NPTAB Head added, “These visits focused all or part on the general information of the public procurement process and methods of procurement, the use of standardized forms for the submission of procurement requests, the use of standardized form for the submission for annual procurement plans, and the identification of training needs or conduct training.” For the most part, the NPTAB Head said that these visits were well received and generated much discussion. He said that officers of the ministries, in particular heads of departments and programme heads who participated in the sessions, improved their understanding of the objective of regulating the procurement of goods, services, and of con-

NPTAB Head, Berkley Wickham struction of the various methods of procurement and attendant procedures. Wickham said, too, that training was incorporated into some of the visits. He said, “Some other ministries and agencies visited requested follow-up training sessions to reinforce the information disseminated during the outreach visits. A total of eight training sessions were held. Specific training for evaluators was held in Regions Five, Six, Seven, and Eight. A total of 70 evaluators were also trained.” In addition, the Tender Board head said that in November 2018, NPTAB, in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), held a two-day training session for evaluators. Thirty nine evaluators from a number of key procuring entities received the training.

Wednesday April 24, 2019

PAGE 25

Kaieteur News

East Bank Berbice Road Bridges to be rehabilitated The East Bank Berbice Road Project started in August 2017. Some 5km of those roads are currently being paved. Two of the final bridges mapped out in the project – the Edinburgh Bridge and the Gay Park Bridge – received bids at yesterday’s tender openings. The National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) also opened bids for a series of public works, goods and services, most notably the procurement of computers for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s new office building and construction work on living quarters and training institutions for members of the Guyana Police Force. Ministry of Public Infrastructure - Miscellaneous Roads: Bridges 2019 Lot 1 - Rehabilitation of Structures along the East Bank Berbice Road - Edinburgh Bridge, Region 6 Lot 2 - Rehabilitation of Structures along the East Bank Berbice Road - Gay Park Bridge, Region 6

Maritime Administration Department Docking and Rehabilitation of the ML Allan Young

Ministry of Business Procurement of PCR Equipment for GLDA (Retender)

Supply and Delivery of Equipment for the Government Food and Drug Department Laboratory

Miscellaneous Roads: 2019 Lot 3 - Construction of 30’ Steel Concrete Composite Bridge at Patrick Dam, Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam, Region 6

Ministry of Agriculture - GLDA Supply and Delivery of One Heavy Duty Cattle Trailer (Retender)

Supply, Delivery and Testing of Two Drones with High Tech Accessories

Environmental Protection Agency Supply and Installation of 51 Cubicle Workstations for EPA’s New Office Building

Ministry of Education Extension of Building - Industrial Arts, St. Joseph High School

Ministry of Public Telecommunications - NDMA Supply and Delivery of 32" Televisions for the eHealth Project

Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Supply and Delivery of Tractors and other Implements (Retender) Lot 1 - Tractor, Lot 2 - Trailer, Lot 3 - Plough, Lot 4 - Harrow Construction of Sanitary Block - President’s College

Competition and Consumer Affairs Association Supply and Delivery of one new Motor Vehicle

Ministry of Public Health - MCHD Supply and Delivery of Motorcycles, ATVs and Aluminum Boat - Community Health Workers, Region 9

Refurbishing of Science Lab - La Bonne Intention Secondary School

>>>> Continued on page 29 <<<<

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Wednesday April 24, 2019

Kaieteur News

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From page 12 association of CEMCO, was awarded the supervision consultancy. “This WSG resort was not unusual, and natural and necessary in the circumstances, to maintain project schedules. Awaiting project start-up until the process of obtaining a consultancy would have imposed additional time delays on the project,” Benn said in his response. The former minister insisted that he will stand by the integrity of the supervision undertaken then by the Ministry’s engineers who did daily visits and had weekly project meetings in order to ensure timely initiation of the project. He said that the contractor had examined the project site before the agreement was signed in 2011. “The contractor, CHEC, had, and took, the opportunity to examine the project site before entering into a Design and Build Fixed-

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Price Contract.” With regards to sand, Benn said that it was agreed that it had to be provided free of royalties, which are costs that would have been charged back to the project, anyway. “Sand provided was designed to allow for placement of an engineered fill, at levels of compaction and stability to provide for a safe, stable runway extension.” GOING SOUTH With regards to the decision to abandon parts of runway extension on the north and rather take to the south of the airport, the former minister had this to say: “Detailed geotechnical examination of the planned northern extension by CHEC resulted in their advice that the entire length of fill to the north would be excessive and a decision was made to share the 1,000 metres extension between the north and south of the runway – 50:50. This was taken as the optimized solution to the issue as extension of 1,000 metres to the south would have, indeed required more fill based on elevation and depth of the swamp sediments – pegasse and soft Demerara clay as the river was approached beyond 500 metres of extension.” Benn pointed out that in fact, the soil conditions beyond 500 metres on direction of the extension were unsuitable because of volume of excavation and fill required. “By 2015, performance schedules of many national contracts were in difficulty because of budgetary cuts imposed by the then APNU and AFC Parliamentary Opposition.” The Opposition official said that it is now evident that the scope of this project seems to have been tremendously modified, with the effect of impairing the project’s original intended validity and integrity. It was noted that a stand-alone new terminal building has now become an Arrival Hall addition to the old terminal building. “The boarding bridges are now said to be four eventually, instead of the eight planned, along with

now smaller and less durable aircraft parking aprons…” Another modification was that the the mezzanine floor with escalators to a viewing gallery had been cut out from the construction and that the building’s footprint and actual total square footage are now less than what was contracted for. “It is obvious that the minister is making an attempt, utilizing his Facebook Page and friends, to assign blame elsewhere for failings on the project after being responsible for the project for almost four years.” Benn said that the Minister also seems to present a conflicting scenario in his postings – that is, he is not making payments on payment certificates at the time of ‘salvaging’ the project. “This begs the obvious question, where did the money go, if not into payments on a reduced project scope? Several highlevel and well published visits were made by the Ministers extolling the virtues of the project, even while commissioning timelines were being repeatedly shifted.” Benn was critical that the minister had to put such a statement on Facebook for the people of Guyana to see. “We are, apparently, now being asked to prepare ourselves, via Facebook, to accept less for more in the result along with experiencing excessive and prolonged delays related to this project. In the circumstances, I support calls for a full-fledged public investigation into how a Fixed- Price Contract could be subject to changes in scope and intent.” The smaller airport terminal had raised significant questions and has left the current Government and previous PPP administration in an embarrassing position. For US$150M, the airport should have been far better than the one that Guyana is getting. An analysis of the contract document by Kaieteur News and a team of engineers had found the prices which were proposed by CHEC were highly inflated, sometimes by several hundred percent.

Wednesday April 24, 2019

Kaieteur News

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Guyanese families mourn after couple killed in Florida crash A 24-year-old Osceola County teacher and her boyfriend, both of Guyanese parentage, were killed Sunday night in a crash after leaving a family member’s home when another vehicle struck their vehicle. Christina Bacchus and her boyfriend Bhowani Jagmohan, 25, were attempting to make a turn when a Nissan SUV driven by 37-year-old Delric Freeman hit them. The crash happened around 8:30 p.m., according to the Orange County crash report. Jagmohan died at the scene and Bacchus died at the Orlando Health Hospital. Freeman was in listed in serious condition, a clickorlando.com report said. Both were said to be born

in the US to parents who migrated from Guyana. Kendall Persaud, Jagmohan’s brother-in-law was one of the last to see him and Bacchus. He said the couple had spent the day with her family at Universal and later spent time with Jagmohan’s brother hours before the crash. He said the couple had been together for about two years and had been talking about getting married. “They were inseparable. You could tell when they were together they loved each other,” Persaud said. “I watched him blossom to the young man that he is today. Or was.” Families of the couple were in Orange County Tuesday making funeral arrangements.

New Abram Zuil Secondary School to be ‘state-of-the-art’ The Abram Zuil Secondary School on the Essequibo Coast is to be rebuilt as a state-of-the-art learning institution fit for 750 students. The current building is not conducive to learning and in recognition of this the Education Ministry through the Regional Democratic Council had decided to reconstruct the facility. According to the Regional Education Officer (ag), Region Two, Nicola Matthews, the signing of the design and mobilisation of the project will occur by September. “We will have our consultation with the parents and teachers to let them know what is the way forward,” Matthews said. The initial site visit for the design and construction of the new Abram Zuil Secondary School was done in early April, during which the Regional Executive Officer, Regional Engineer, Department of Education and school representatives met with the architect, structural engineer and consultant representative who will be in charge of the school’s construction. “We’ll have to take down [the school building] to ensure that Abram Zuil can have a better environment to work in,” Matthews added. The school’s layout will include a three-story academic block which will cater for 750 students. After the design is approved, the construction will be published for public tender. Following the award by the National Tender Board, the school’s construction will last for 12

Nicola Matthews, REdO (ag), Region Two months. Students displaced due to construction, will be housed at the Johanna Cecilia Secondary School where facilities will be put in place to accommodate them using some of the Region’s 2019 budget. The Regional Executive Officer, Denis Jaikaran said that he is happy to have this long-awaited project start. According to MP Haimraj Rajkumar, in furthering educational developments in the Pomeroon-Supenaam Region, the Government has allocated $2B for education development. The Ministry of Education has committed to improving the quality of education being delivered nationwide and as such has embarked on several projects and initiatives to improve educational infrastructure, curriculum, quality of teachers among other areas in education to improve learning outcomes. (DPI)

Bibi Musaphir, Christina’s aunt, flew in from Canada to attend the service. She had anticipated her next trip to Florida would be to attend her niece’s wedding not her funeral. “I don’t know what we’re going to do tomorrow because we keep thinking when we see her then we will know it’s real,” Musaphir said. Family gathered at Christina’s parents home yesterday. They filled the house with pictures for today’s service. Christina’s mother said she had always wanted to be a teacher and she was living out that dream at Partin Settelment Elementary school. Osceola County Schools

spokesperson Dana Schafer said letters and phone calls were made to parents of former and current students of Bacchus. “Our hearts and thoughts are with her family and her students at this very sad time. We have counselors and our crisis team at the school for support,” a statement from the district said. Musaphir said Jagmohan was waiting for the perfect time to propose. “He gave her a promise ring. They had intentions of getting married down the line,” Musaphir said. “I thought I would be giving a speech at her wedding. Not like this.” Troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol said charges are pending.

Christina Bacchus, 24, and her boyfriend, 25-year-old Bhowani Jagmohan were both killed Sunday night in Florida.

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Wednesday April 24, 2019

Wednesday April 24, 2019

Kaieteur News

East Bank Berbice Road Bridges to... From page 25 Supply, Delivery and Sorting of Mathematics Tool Kits

Supply, Delivery of New Vehicles - Buses, Canter and Forklift

Ministry of Public Security Rehabilitation Works to Living Quarters (1) Springlands Police Station Compound

Rehabilitation Works to Richard Faikall Training College

Rehabilitation Works to Living Quarters (2) Springlands Police Station Compound

Rehabilitation Works to Living Quarters (1) - Sans Souci Police Station

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Wednesday April 24, 2019

Democrats to press star witness of Mueller report to repeat performance in Congress WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald McGahn, the former White House counsel described in the Mueller report as repeatedly standing up to President Donald Trump, could become a star witness again if congressional Democrats get their way in their investigation of whether Trump used his office to obstruct justice. Since the April 18 release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election and any ties to Republican Trump’s campaign, Democrats have seen

McGahn as someone who could be as important as Mueller himself, according to a source familiar with the matter. But the Democrats are likely to face Trump’s resistance. The Washington Post reported yesterday that the White House planned to oppose a subpoena by the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee for McGahn to testify. Mueller’s 448-page partially blacked-out report portrayed McGahn as one of the few figures in Trump’s orbit to challenge him when he tried

to shut down the investigation that has clouded his more than two years in the White House. “Mr. McGahn has been touted as a man of integrity and he is a major witness in the Mueller report,” said Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee, a member of the Judiciary Committee. The White House did not immediately comment on the Washington Post report, which said the White House would claim executive privilege, a legal doctrine allowing the president to withhold information about internal ex-

ecutive branch deliberations from other branches of government. Trump said in a Tuesday interview with the Washington Post that White House lawyers had not “made a final, final decision” about whether they will cite executive privilege to prevent McGahn and other former and current officials from testifying. “They testified for so many hours. They have all that information that’s been given,” Trump told the newspaper of the Mueller report and congressional Demo-

Democrats to press star witness of Mueller report to repeat performance in Congress crats. McGahn’s attorney, William Burck, did not respond to requests for comment. Democrats are particularly interested in hearing McGahn describe in his own words and in Congress an account in the Mueller report in which McGahn refused Trump’s instructions. In June 2017, Trump called McGahn to say he should tell Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to remove the special counsel because he had conflicts of interest, the report said. Trump also failed to get McGahn to dispute media reports that the president tried to fire Mueller, the report said. “That, in itself, could be an obstruction of justice, as Mr. McGahn would be able to testify – that he was asked to do it and then asked not to tell anyone what he’d been asked to do,” Lee said. SEEKING DOCUMENTS, TESTIMONY Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, who has subpoenaed the U.S. Department of Justice to provide the unredacted Mueller report and underlying evidence, issued a subpoena on Monday for McGahn to provide the committee with documents by May 7 and testify on May 21. But it was not clear that McGahn would comply, especially if the White House asserts executive privilege. Nor could Democrats predict how much the former White House counsel would be willing to discuss, even if he does testify. On Tuesday evening, Nadler said: “The moment for the White House to assert some privilege to prevent this testimony from being heard

has long since passed.” The House of Representatives has the sole power under the U.S. Constitution to impeach the president, and any effort would be led by the judiciary panel. Mueller ’s report concluded that there was not enough evidence to establish that Trump’s campaign engaged in a criminal conspiracy with Moscow. The report outlined multiple instances, however, where Trump tried to thwart Mueller’s probe. Mueller stopped short of concluding whether Trump could be prosecuted for obstruction of justice, a criminal charge that requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Such a high standard would not apply to Democrats if they decided to bring impeachment proceedings. In the days following the Mueller report’s release, McGahn came under attack from Trump’s personal attorney Rudolph Giuliani, who called into question the veracity of his statements to Mueller’s team of prosecutors. “I would ask which of the three versions is McGahn standing by. There are three versions he gives of that account,” Giuliani told CNN over the weekend. “I’m telling you, he’s confused.” A prominent elections lawyer, McGahn served as Trump’s campaign counsel before being named White House counsel in November 2016. He played a pivotal role in helping Trump reshape the federal judiciary in a conservative direction and roll back regulations on a range of industries.

Wednesday April 24, 2019

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Mitchell powers Jazz to Game 4 win over Rockets Donovan Mitchell scored 19 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter to propel the Utah Jazz to a 107-91 victory over the Houston Rockets on Monday night at Salt Lake City. Jae Crowder added 23 points as fifth-seeded Utah staved off elimination in Game 4 with its first win in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series. Ricky Rubio had 18 points and 11 assists, Derrick Favors recorded 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Royce O’Neale added 11 points and 11 rebounds. “It’s not over,” Mitchell said in a postgame television interview with TNT. “We have

another one, and another one, and another one.” James Harden scored 30 points for the fourth-seeded Rockets, who will again try to wrap up the series in Wednesday’s Game 5 in Houston. Chris Paul added 23 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and five steals for the Rockets. Eric Gordon scored 16 points and PJ Tucker added 13. Utah outscored Houston 3112 in the fourth quarter. The Jazz held a 52-35 rebounding edge and connected on 43 percent of their field-goal attempts, including 11 of 35 from behind the arc.

Houston shot 35.4 percent from the field, including 17 of 46 from 3-point range. Mitchell exploded for 13 points during a 15-1 run to start the fourth quarter as Utah opened up a 91-80 lead with 9:04 to play. Mitchell buried three 3-pointers during the run, including back-toback long-range shots that had Houston coach Mike D’Antoni frantically signaling for a timeout. The Rockets moved within 95-86 on Paul’s dunk with 4:43 remaining. Mitchell answered with an acrobatic one-handed slam dunk off a lob from O’Neale, and he added a pull-up jumper

Wednesday April 24, 2019 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Respect your superiors today, Aries. There's great wisdom to be learned, so keep your eyes and ears open. Hasty actions are bound to get you in trouble. Don't step blindly into situations. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) It's OK to cry today, Taurus. Releasing is critical to receiving. If you have no sense of fear and restriction, it may be hard for you to experience joy and expansion.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Your quest for the new and unconventional, the latest gadgets, and the best technology may come into conflict with a sobering force today, Libra. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) For dreams to be actualized, they must have a vehicle through which they can manifest, Scorpio. Today is a day to help bring those dreams to life.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Do something that inspires the passion within you, Gemini. Don't be discouraged by setbacks - be motivated. Use discipline and patience to set your dreams in motion. Be realistic in your approach.

SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21) Combine your discipline and expansiveness today and see what manifests. Concentrate on your investments and home. The energy of the day is quite powerful and not something to be taken lightly.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Take control of your power today, Cancer. Strip any excess baggage out of your life. Things are coming to a critical climax now. This isn't a time to back down. If anything, it's a time to push the limits even further.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) This is no ordinary day for you, Capricorn, certainly not one in which you should sleep late. Get up and get moving. There are opportunities on your doorstep just waiting for you to grab them.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) There's a powerful force moving through your life that can't be ignored any longer. Adjustments may be needed in order to take full advantage of the energy at hand.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) Ground yourself today, Aquarius. Lay a solid foundation for the future. This is a very critical time in which you must think realistically about your future success.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Seize today, Virgo. This is the day you've been waiting for. Don't back down from the intensity. You have the power to get ahead in whatever it is you wish to accomplish in this lifetime. You will find your willpower and discipline strong. It's time to grab the opportunities that are presented to you.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Use your powerful sense of intuition today. Whether you realize it consciously or not, the oceans are creating a tsunami of power that won't be ignored. Make sure you're operating from a solid base before you extend yourself outward.Be careful of the rip tides.

to make it 99-86 with 3:41 left. Houston was unable to make a late-game charge. Harden scored 12 points in the third quarter as Houston turned a six-point halftime deficit into a 79-76 lead. Harden’s 3-pointer gave Houston a 72-67 lead with 2:52 left in the period before O’Neale and Georges Niang buried 3pointers to give Utah a one-point edge. Austin Rivers drained a 3pointer to put the Rockets back on top with 1:32 left and Paul later connected on a layup with 0.7 seconds left to account for the three-point lead entering the final stanza. Crowder scored 18 firsthalf points and Rubio added 15 as Utah led 53-47 at the break. (Field Level Media)

Lab director hits back... From page 33 urine,” he said. “If we are looking at a zero tolerance policy which is important for most of the substances and especially those which are most performance-enhancing — steroids, EPO — then urine is the gold standard and will remain for quite a long time to come.” Van Eenoo said it was difficult to look for 400 or 500 substances in a drop of blood. “So that’s why I’m saying urine as a first and then for some of these substances where you have issues... you can re-analyze that drop of blood only for one or two substances,” he added. “This makes absolute sense and we need to progress in that direction. That’s additional scientific progress, it doesn’t mean that the scientific progress we’ve made so far doesn’t exist.”

Red Earth Dirt Bike... From page 37 the youngsters and we encourage others to do the same. We will continue to monitor and support our young people.” Sir Michael lauded the efforts of Young and his executive for the donation and promised that the cycles would be well taken care of, noting that Bartica will be producing many champions in the near future. He also noted that club would be planning to bring down a team to compete in the national park and will in turn invite cyclists form the city to compete at the Mongrippa Hill Playfield which has an exciting hill.

Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) warms up prior to playing against the Houston Rockets in game four of the first round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Vivint Smart Home Arena. (Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports)

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Wednesday April 24, 2019

Giannis scores 41 as Bucks cap sweep of Pistons G i a n n i s Antetokounmpo poured in 41 points and the visiting Milwaukee Bucks earned their first playoff series victory in 18 seasons by completing a four-game sweep of the Detroit Pistons with a 127-104 win on Monday. The All-Star forward added nine rebounds, three assists and four blocks for the top-seeded Bucks, who will play fourth-seeded Boston in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Celtics swept the Indiana Pacers in their first-round series. Milwaukee had lost in the first round during its past eight playoff appearances.

Khris Middleton had 18 points and Eric Bledsoe contributed 16 points and five assists for the Bucks. Nikola Mirotic tossed in 12 points off the bench. Sterling Brown added nine points, 13 rebounds and six assists for Milwaukee, which also swept the Pistons during the four-game regular-season series. Milwaukee shot 41 free throws, hitting 31, compared to Detroit’s 9-of12 finish at the line. The eighth-seeded Pistons were swept in the opening round of the playoffs for the third time since 2009. They lost their 14th consecutive postseason game, an NBA record. They haven’t won

a playoff game since the 2007-08 season. Reggie Jackson led Detroit with 26 points and seven assists. Blake Griffin had 22 points, five rebounds and six assists before fouling out. Andre Drummond chipped in 15 points and 12 rebounds. Jackson carried the Pistons’ offense in the first half, pouring in 20 points as Detroit grabbed a 62-56 halftime advantage. Griffin made a 3-pointer early in the third to give the Pistons a 71-62 lead, but Griffin and Drummond soon picked up their fourth fouls. Middleton hit three free throws when Bruce Brown committed his fifth foul,

tying the score at 73-all. Griffin hit a pair of 3s in a 29-second span to put Detroit back in front 79-75 with 5:13 left in the quarter. Pat Connaughton’s steal and dunk with 4:21 remaining in the quarter allowed Milwaukee to regain the lead, 83-82. Antetokounmpo attempted six free throws in a 1:39 span and made five, stretching the Bucks’ advantage to 91-84. A Bledsoe layup in the final minute of the quarter made it 95-85 after three. The Bucks also scored the first five points of the fourth quarter with Antetokounmpo resting, extending their advantage to 15 points. (Field Level Media)

Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin (23) shoots on Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez (11) in the first half at Little Caesars Arena. (Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports)

Lamb record underscores Jamaica final day superiority GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands, CMC – Deshaun Lamb’s recordbreaking run in the under17 boys sprint hurdles underlined J a m a i c a ’s dominance as the perennial powerhouses once again showcased their superiority on the final day o f t h e 4 8 t h C A R I F TA Games here Easter Monday. Jamaica swept all four sprint hurdles and relay finals early in the evening session before returning to put an exclamation mark on proceedings by also winning all four distance relays, at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex. In fact, the Jamaicans

Kemba Nelson, who ran the anchor leg, celebrates Jamaica’s capture of the under-20 girls sprint relay. won 17 of the 21 events in the final session to finish the championship with 85

medals overall – 36 gold, 33 silver and and 16 bronze. Lamb’s performance

epitomised his country’s swagger as he raced to a new time of 13.54 seconds, eclipsing countryman Vashaun Vascianna’s 13.60 set last year in the Bahamas. Running out of lane four, Lamb was pushed all the way by teammate NielMatthew Sutherland, and crossed the line only narrowly ahead. Sutherland took silver in 13.61 while Matthew Sophia of Curacao grabbed bronze in 13.64. Rasheed Broadbell also led a Jamaica one-two in the under-20 boys sprint hurdles when he won in 13.26 – just outside of

Berger says Hamilton is now on a par with Senna LONDON (Reuters) Gerhard Berger has always rated former team mate Ayrton Senna in a league of his own but he says Lewis Hamilton now ranks alongside the late Brazilian Formula One champion in his estimation. Speaking ahead of the 25th anniversary of Senna’s death at Imola on May 1, Berger told reporters his friend still led as a personality and the legend that surrounds him. In purely sporting terms, however, the similarities were clear. “Everybody asks me ‘How do you see this driver against Ayrton?’ and I always, in all the years, say ‘I don’t see anybody near to Ayrton’,” explained the Austrian, who partnered Senna at McLaren from 199092. “But Lewis is (now) the first driver I put on the same level as Ayrton.”

Berger, who won 10 races for Benetton, McLaren and Ferrari between 1986 and 1997 and now runs the DTM ( G e r m a n To u r i n g C a r ) series, said statistics were only one way of measuring greatness. “I go more by feeling and watching, and for me — and there were great champions like Nelson (Piquet), like Niki (Lauda), like (Alain) Prost, like Michael (Schumacher) – there has always been one above: Ayrton,” he said. “And now Lewis I see in the same league.” Hamilton has five championships, one with McLaren in 2008 and four with Mercedes in the last five seasons. He is leading the championship into this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The 34-year-old Briton holds several records, including most pole positions

(84), and his 75 wins are second only to seven times champion Schumacher’s career haul of 91. Senna won three championships with McLaren and held the record for poles (65) before Hamilton. The Brazilian won 41 races and would surely have gone on to many more had he not died at the age of 34. “The comparison? I see still Ayrton winning the game because in the end Ayrton was such a charming guy and a personality. And obviously if someone loses his life and stays with us in the way of a legend, it’s always something special,” said Berger. “But I try to see it from a performance point and from a performance point, Lewis is going from one pole position to the next one and Lewis is going from one race win to the next one. Just like Ayrton did.”

Berger said Hamilton was “outstandingly fast”, made fewer mistakes than rivals and knew when to be patient. “It looks like he’s just running the game in such a good way that he’s unbeatable at the moment,” said the Austrian. “Yes he’s in the best car and best engine, but he also is the best. By far the best man at the moment.” He said Hamilton had a good chance of breaking Schumacher’s records. “I would like to protect Michael’s success because such a tragedy, it’s so sad to see these things,” Berger added, referring to the 2013 ski accident that left the German with severe head injuries. “But when you put this all out (aside) for a moment, then Lewis Hamilton is a very special driver in all the time I watched and have been in Formula One.”

Wilhem Belocian’s fiveyear-old record of 13.23. Running out of lane three, Broadbell started well, stumbled slightly when he crashed hurdle number three but stayed composed enough to recover and reach the line a h e a d o f Va s c i a n n a i n 13.32. Kay-Lagay Clarke ensured another Jamaican sweep of the top two spots in the Under-17 girls when she stopped the clock in 13.68 to win gold ahead of teammate Crystal Shaw (13.72). Ackera Nugent, who claimed silver last year in the under-17s, grabbed gold in the under-20 girls, winning in a time of 13.24. Jamaica also lived up to their high billing in the sprint relays. The team of Shaw, Clarke, Brianna Lyston and Glacian Loutin combined to open the account with victory in the under-17 girls age group, winning in a time of 45.63. They were not without a challenge, however, as Tr i n i d a d a n d To b a g o pushed them all the way, especially on the anchor leg w h e r e Ta e j h a B a d a l produced a searing run but just missed out. There was no such drama in the corresponding boys final as Christopher Scott, on the third leg, got the stick to anchor Bouwajhie Nkrumie first, leaving the last 80 metres as a straightforward affair. Double sprint champion, Brianna Williams, then set in train her eventual capture of the Austin Sealy Award for the second straight year when she produced a fluent first leg in the under-20 girls final, as Jamaica took

another uncomplicated victory in 44.25. Trinidad were a distant second in 45.11 with Barbados holding on to bronze in 45.52. Jamaica faced their stiffest competition in the boys under-20s with Ryiem Robertson forced to chase down Bahamian Joel Johnson before catching him on the line, to win a thriller in 39.46, which was just outside of the CARIFTA record. The contest on the backstretch seemed between Jamaica and Trinidad until Adrian Curry Jr produced a blistering third leg for the Bahamas to bring them into contention. They were forced to settle for silver in 39.49 while Barbados held bronze in 40.18. For the second straight year, Kevroy Venson of Jamaica took gold in the gruelling boys 5000 metres but made it look easy, producing a trademark kick over the last 100 metres to cross the line in 15 minutes, 21.30 seconds. The field events were not spared Jamaica’s wrath either. Rajuan Ricketts conjured up success in the boys under17 triple jump when he measured 14.26 metres while Cobe Graham sustained the dominance with a throw of 18.62m to win the under-20 boys shot put. In the girls under-17 discus, Cedricka Williams measured 47.94m to lead a Jamaica onetwo, with Damali Williams grabbing silver with 40.87m. Jamaica also swept the top two spots in the corresponding boys event as Cobe Lawrence thew 53.32 for gold while Christopher Young took silver in 51.34.

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Resounding start to Pele FC Alumni Corp. 3rd Annual Youth Development Programme One of the Directors of the Pele FC Alumni, former National player Patrick ‘Labba’ Barton has informed that their Third Annual Youth Development Programme has kicked off in resounding fashion at the St. Joseph’s High School, yesterday. Barton said that all 91 youths registered showed up and they had a full day of interaction with the various presenters. “During each of the presentations, there was welcome interaction between the presenters and the kids who attended particularly when it came to the digital literacy session. These kids were on top of their game in terms of answering questions and posing many questions of their own to the presenter. We look forward to having these kids again today and having more interactive sessions.” It was also disclosed that lots of gifts which included various reading books, puzzles and three laptops were given to the kids for answering and posing questions and for being brave when called upon. Two boys and one girl were presented with laptops for standing out when called up. Among the presenters

Ms. Dawn Braithwaite, Director of Training at Camex Restaurants during her presentation on Non-Violent Communication and Transition to Adult Life, yesterday. were Ms. Dawn Braithwaite (Director of Training at Camex Restaurants) who lectured on Non-Violent Communication and Transition to Adult Life; Marcia Gerard who presented on Digital Literacy; Dr. Aaron Fraser who spoke on Career Choices and former Guyana Olympic Association Secretary General, Ivor O’Brien who spoke on Preparing for an Interview. Today, participants would be taken through the paces of Health and Wellness which would be presented by the Guyana Amateur Power Lifting Federation and this

afternoon, the youths would be taken on a guided tour at Banks DIH Limited, Thirst Park. This year’s programme will wrap up tomorrow following sessions on conflict Resolution and Social Etiquette. Attending the programme are the six children who are benefitting from the Pele FC Alumni Scholarship Programme, Santos FC, GFC, Beacons FC, Black Pearl FC, St Steven’s School, East Bank Football Association, 35 from the ministry of Education and from other sporting disciplines.

Lab director hits back at ex-WADA head over testing criticism LONDON (Reuters) - The director of a top Belgian laboratory has criticized former World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) head David Howman for suggesting drug testing was stuck in the 1970s and needed to be more innovative. Howman, in an address to an anti-doping conference in London last week, had said urine analysis had not advanced much over the decades and that testing was not catching the real cheats. “We’re still in a position where we’re getting the same number of positive cases each year, and many of them are in the category of what I call the ‘dopey dopers’ - the inadvertent dopers, or the ones who are just darned stupid,” he said. Professor Peter van Eenoo, director of the WA D A - a c c r e d i t e d laboratory at the University of Ghent, said Howman had got it wrong. “It’s incredible that somebody said this,” he told Reuters in a telephone interview. “What he says is

the percentage of positive samples hasn’t changed much over the years. And therefore science has not made any progress. “What he completely forgets is that for every step of progress we made, of course, the others adapt.” Howman, who left the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 2016, is now chairman of the Athletics Integrity Unit board and has previously criticized his former employers for failing to support clean athletes and for allowing the reinstatement of Russia’s anti-doping agency. Van Eenoo said the substances being used, the doses and how they were being used by drugs cheats had changed over the decades. Data from re-testing, using urine samples from the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics, had also demonstrated the advances of science. “There were about 10,000 samples, 25 positives. What they’ve done is stored all those samples and re-tested 1,000 of these negative

samples,” he said. “Out of those 1,000 samples, 100 at re-testing later turned out to be positive. That is only through scientific progress, because nothing has changed. It’s the same urine. “And because they know we can now detect substances for a longer period, they (athletes) switch to other substances or take them in smaller doses. So they adapt everything and that is only pushed by scientific progress.” ‘GOLD STANDARD’ Van Eenoo said urine testing, first introduced at an Olympics in 1968, had its limitations but would remain the ‘gold standard’ for some time to come. He accepted that some substances, such as growth hormone, were hard to detect in urine and that blood was a better indicator of the effectiveness of drugs. “That’s why we are now investing in looking into blood concentration — dried blood spots, those kind of things — to complement (Continued on page 31)

Young Tatiana Morrison receives her laptop from Patrick ‘Labba’ Barton.

CWI President Rickey Skerritt grieved on the passing of Sir Alister McIntyre “We were deeply grieved to learn of the death of former Secretary General of CARICOM and Vice Chancellor Emeritus of the University of the West Indies, Sir Alister McIntyre, over the weekend,” CWI President Rickey Skerritt stated in a statement. “Sir Alister matched his extraordinary record of accomplishment in the field of academia and economics with grace and honour off it. The Caribbean has truly lost one of its leading academics and statesmen, whose sharp mind and deep analysis of the challenges facing the region will be truly missed. Sir Alister was one of three leading Caribbean personalities that formed the committee, set up 12 years ago by the West Indies Cricket Board, now CWI, to review the governance of West Indies cricket. The committee was chaired by former Jamaica Prime Minister P.J. Patterson and also included Guyanese business executive and author Ian McDonald. They presented a seminal work which still reverberates to this day and has helped to shape some of the governance and operational policies of the organization,” he continued. “Only last week, we announced that Jamaica senator Don Wehby will lead a task force to continue that work of reviewing the corporate governance of CWI and will use

Sir Alister McIntyre the report produced by that committee as the basis to understand how far the organization has progressed and how much further it needs to go. On behalf of the Directors, Management and Staff of Cricket West Indies, we join with the rest of the Caribbean community in expressing our sincere condolences to Sir Alister’s family and friends, and may they all find comfort and peace at this difficult time,” the CWI head stated.

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Wednesday April 24, 2019

Kaieteur News

GCA/ Tri State USA 50-over U-19 Semi-finals on today - MSC face NY Tri state at Bourda & DCC face TSC at Everest

David Dick was caught behind off Jeremiah Scott after putting on 70 for the first wicket with Orlando Jilal for GNIC at MSC yesterday.

By Sean Devers An attractive unbeaten 51 from Shemar Yearwood and three wicket hauls from offspinner Tathesh Shivrattan and leg-spinner Wayne Bollers powered host Malteenoes to a 61-run victory over GNIC, while a commanding 110 from Devon Allen helped TSC beat Better Hope by 53 runs at MYO in the final round of the GCA/ Tri State USA 50-over U-19 League. At MSC, the top of zone clash began 120 minutes late due late preparation of the pitch with the contest being reduced to a 30-over affair as the host opted to bat first in steaming heat and on rough outfield. Yearwood’s 51 took 50 balls and was decorated with five boundaries, but only Wayne McPherson (20) of the other batsmen reached 15

TSC’s Devon Allen sweeps for four at MYO yesterday during his magnificent 110. as MSC were limited to 156-5 although Yearwood and Ntini Permaul, unbeaten on nine from four balls which included

Trinidad and Tobago capture Girls 19 and Under T20 title

the only six of the innings, added 50 runs in last four overs as Garfield Benjamin’s last two over cost 29 runs. Tuen Hicks (13) added 32 for the first wicket with McPherson, while Jeremiah Scott, Shivrattan and Bollers each scored 12 runs. When GNIC began their chase they seemed on their way to an easy victory with Orlando Jilal who scored a 32ball 36 with six fours and Dwayne Dick, whose 24 from 25 balls included two fours and six, raced to 70. Pacer Scott produced one the left the right-handed Dick which he edged to the Keeper in ninth over before Jilal was removed by Shivrattan three runs later to trigger a dramatic collapse which saw GNIC crumbling for 73-1 to 95 all out in 21.2 overs as nobody else reached double figures. Shivrattan had 3-17 from six impressive overs, while Bollers (3-11) and Akeem Crithlow (2-5) bowled MSC

into tomorrow’s semi-final against NY Tri State at Bourda. In the other match at MYO, TSC led by a brilliant undefeated 110 from 61 balls with eight sixes and four fours from Allen, 26 from Alvin Mohabir, 18 from Adrian Hinds (18) and 12 from Reyad Latif, led TSC to 262 all out in 46.2 overs. Mahendra Singh had 325, while Peter Jadunauth and Brant Jorden had two wickets each for Better Hope who were bowled out for 224. Singh led the fight with nine fours in 66 and got support from Deonarine Narine 33, Steven Ramnarine 27 and Chandra Mohan 26 carried the East Coast side past the 200-run mark. Mohabir took 3-24, while Akeem Clarke and Adrian Hinds had two wickets each. TSC will play DCC in the other semi-final tomorrow at Everest with both games commencing at 09:30hrs.

The victorious Trinidad and Tobago team. COUVA, Trinidad Trinidad and Tobago maintained the high level of cricket displayed throughout the Cricket West Indies (CWI) and Trinidad and Tobago Women’s Cricket Association’s Girls 19 and Under T20 competition, when they defeated the Windward Islands by seven wickets to lift the title. Windward Islands batted first at Couva and posted 117-8. Qiana Joseph continued her fine form with the bat as she smashed an unbeaten 65 to lead her

team batting; Jephenia Joseph contributed 21 as Djenaba Joseph claimed 3-18 and Alysha Gomez 3-25. Shania Abdool showed that she was not to be left out of the run fest, as she took Trinidad and Tobago to victory, scoring an unbeaten 59 while Anjali Goordeen made 25 not out as TT reached their target in 13.2 overs. Abdool was named player-of-the-match. Tournament Director, Ann Browne-John who acted as a selector along with West Indies Women’s Assistant Coach, Gus Logie and CWI’s

Development Officer, Steve Liburd, commented that the level of cricket played in this year’s tournament showed that girls’ cricket is improving throughout the Caribbean and this augurs well for the future crop of West Indies Women’s players. Browne-John, Logie and Liburd were tasked by CWI with selecting 18 of the top players as the Tournament Team; they consulted with the coaches from all the teams to make their determination. Tournament Team; Alysha Gomes- TT, Anjali Gooradeen- TT, April

Ramoutar- TT, Cherry Ann Fraser- Guyana, Djenaba Joseph- TT, Jannillea Glasgow- Windward Islands, Jephenia Joseph- Windward Islands, Mandy MangruGuyana, Qiana JosephWindward Islands, Reanna Farrow- TT, Shabika GajnabiGuyana, Shai CarringtonBarbados, Shania AbdoolTT, Shaunte CarringtonBarbados, Shawnisha Hector- Windward Islands, Shunelle Sawh- TT, Steffie Soogrim- TT and Zaida James- Windward Islands. Qiana Joseph was the Player-of-the-Tournament.

Off-spinner Tathesh Shivrattan had 3-17 from six over at MSC yesterday.

Wednesday April 24, 2019

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Ansa Mcal and RHTYSC, MS renew long standing relationship 20 years and counting The long standing and highly successful relationship between beverage giants Ansa Mcal and the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club was renewed on Tuesday last at the Company’s head office. The Company and the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, MS have enjoyed a relationship for over 20 years. The package for 2019 was recently agreed to by the Company’s Managing Director Troy Cadogan and the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster. Foster, disclosed that in 2019 the Company would be co-sponsoring the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, MS Annual Award Ceremony, Annual Review Magazine, Tribute to Head Teacher, Television Programme and Ansa Mcal Award of Excellence. The Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club

Secretary/CEO noted that over the years, Ansa Mcal has been of the main reasons why the Club has been so successful; and now is widely regarded as Guyana’s top youth and sports organisation. Under the Tribute to Head Teacher Programme, the Club would h o n o u r t w e l v e outstanding Head Te a c h e r s on Wo r l d Teachers’ Day 5th October, 2019, while Ansa Mcal would also provide h a m p e r s , m e dals and trophies for the Club’s 29th Annual Award Ceremony scheduled for the 12th May, 2019. A total of eighty Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club Members, Medical Personnel, Teachers and Students along with the Law Enforcement Officers would be honoured. Ansa Mcal has also renewed their sponsorship of

the Club’s Award of Excellence Programme. Under the programme, the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club honours five outstanding Berbicians for services beyond the call of duties in the fields of Health, Sports, Culture, Community Development and Education. The Club’s 2019 Annual Review Magazine would be published in June, 2019. Asst Secretary/CEO Simon Naidu also disclosed that the Company also assisted the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club on numerous other occasions when a formal request is made for sponsorship of fundraising events and other events such as Christmas Village, Mother ’s Day, Father’s Day and the massive Christmas Charity Programme that is organised by the ten cricket teams. Naidu committed his Club to upholding the high standard it has set in the past to continue to work hard

Mumbai Indians sign Hendricks to replace injured pacer Joseph (Reuters) - Indian Premier League (IPL) side Mumbai Indians have signed South African pace bowler Beuran Hendricks as an injury replacement for West Indian Alzarri Joseph for the remainder of the season, the IPL franchise said yesterday. Joseph, who was a replacement for injured New Zealand pacer Adam Milne, had a stellar IPL debut this

month when he recorded figures of six wickets for 12 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad, the best bowling figures in the competition’s history. However, he failed to build on that performance and did not pick up a single wicket in his next two matches, leaking runs at a rate around 10 per over. Joseph, 22, dislocated his

right arm while fielding in the five-wicket loss to Rajasthan Royals over the weekend. Hendricks, who previously played for IPL side Kings XI Punjab in 2014 and 2015, has played 10 Twenty20 internationals for South Africa, picking up 16 wickets. Mumbai, who are third in the standings, next play Chennai Super Kings away on Friday.

South Africa’s Beuran Hendricks makes a delivery during the final of the T20 cricket test match against Australia in Centurion, March 14, 2014. (REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo)

Ansa Mcal Nigel Worrell presents the renew sponsorship for 2019 to RHTYSC Hilbert Foster. every day to make positive differences in the lives of youths, the elderly and less fortunate. Cadogan in brief

remarks hailed the relationship between the two organisations and stated that Ansa Mcal is very pleased to

support the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports as it has been a good partner in community development.

Ramkissoon ton, Henry 6-wkt haul spur Good Success/ Sans Souci/ Jaguars to comfortable victory A fine unbeaten century from Bhumeshwar Ramkissoon coupled by a sixwicket haul from Gladewin Henry Jr handed host Good Success/Sans Souci/Jaguars a 132-run victory over Zeelandia/Maria’s Pleasure when the Wakenaam Cricket Committee/Mike’s Pharmacy and Trophy Stall U19 40-over tournament continued on Saturday last. Following Good Success/ Sans Souci/Jaguars insertion at the Wakenaam Community Centre ground, openers Devon Ramrattan and Mahase Ramnarine added 37 for the opening stand before Ryan Atkinson handed Zeelandia/Maria’s Pleasure the breakthrough by having Ramnarine caught for 31 with four fours and one six. The visitors then picked up some quick wickets, including that of Clive Antonio for 20, which included four fours, to reduce the home team to 110-6. However, Ramkissoon and Mohandass Surujpaul steadied the innings nicely with sensible batting. The duo put on an unfinished seven-wicket

Gladewin Henry Jr

Bhumeshwar Ramkissoon

stand of 183 to guide their team to a challenging 293-6 from their reduced quota of 35 overs. The right-handed Ramkissoon slammed 16 fours and seven sixes in a top score of 136, while Surujpaul made 31 not out with four fours. Atkinson took 2-32 and Direndra Sitaram 2-42. In reply, Purvendra Singh and Dreshon Clements added 40 for the opening stand before Singh was run out for 11. Clements hit one four and three sixes before he was bowled by Dequan Clarke for 27, while Ramnarine removed

Ricky Persaud cheaply to leave the score on 64-3. Left arm spinner Henry Jr then sliced through the middle and lower order as Zeelandia/ Maria’s Pleasure were bowled out for 161 in 29 overs. Ramveer Ramnarine made 21 not out with three fours and one six, while Puvendra Singh and Samuel Narine contributed 14 and 11 respectively as Henry Jr finished with 6-22 from seven overs; there was one wicket each for Devendra Hansraj, Ramnarine and Clarke. The competition continues on Saturday.

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Wednesday April 24, 2019

Kaieteur News

Letter to the Sports Editor

GFF Elite League Season 4

This bad habit of the AAG must stop

GDF, Den Amstel, Fruta Conquerors and Western Tigers notch full points in latest play

Dear Editor, For over eight years now I have been trying to educate athletes and coaches in Guyana about the role of the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) when it comes to what role and what authority they have, but because of the lack of information the Athletes, Coaches, Teachers and Parents were not able to understand that the AAG were denying the young people of Guyana Opportunities. On the other hand, the AAG also thinks that when it comes to Track and Field, everything has to be through them or it can’t go on. This also was a major challenge for the King Medas-Pansy Adonis Foundation (KMPA) for many years. Just this year the KMPA Foundation and the New Balance Nationals Foundation in the USA invited a few athletes to participate in the 2019 New Balance Nationals held at the Armory the New Balance Hall of Fame from the 8th to 10th of March. The KMPA Foundation was met with resistance from the AAG who told athletes that they were not given permission to travel overseas and they will be sanctioned if they go, this caused a lot of panic and fear to the athletes

and parents who were of the belief that they were advised wrong by the KMPA Foundation. The truth is that the AAG tried as they did to the athletes who were invited to the Penn Relays, but was unsuccessful to stop the trip because the information that the United States Embassy wanted was emailed directly from the Organization who invited the athletes and Teachers. Also what the AAG did not know is that the KMPA Foundation went about doing it the right way, getting a letter from the Ministry of Education and consent letters from the Parents and the Principal of the School was all involved in the decision making process for the team from Soesdyke Secondary School. The athletes were even told that they were not the best athletes to leave the country, something the organization was not happy about the comments made to the Athletes. The KMPA Foundation has for years been advocating, informing Schools across Guyana telling them that the AAG has no power over them. In 2017 the AAG went on a campaign to derail the King MedasPansy Adonis Classic road race and track meet from coming off and the same thing

happened last year, telling clubs and schools that the AAG didn’t sanction the track meet and no one should go. The fact that the AAG is saying that they have the power though the IAAF is false and I can confirm that because in the USA many executive members of different organizations said different and we will be taking action to the IAAF and a copy will be circulated to the media. Also we will move to the court and the AAG will have to produce the documents that they’re saying that the IAAF rules give them the power. Not even in Jamaica the JAAA has authority over the school system nowhere in the world that is true. We were told which one of the IAAF rule books that Guyana is using. For too long the different sports bodies in Guyana have been keeping the youths down and it needs to stop. And again I will say this loudly the AAG has no authority over schools in Guyana and even any athlete who wants to run overseas once they are running unattached. They only have say if the athletes are representing the country. They need to stop or go to court. Andy Medas King.

Narendra Mohamed shines in ECCC/ SPR Enterprise 40-over tourney The SPR Enterprise/East Coast Cricket Committee 40 overs competition amongst teams on the East Coast Demerara continued last Sunday with several matches. Enterprise Busta SC defeated Strathavon A by five wickets at Strathavon thus securing vital points in Group B, in their quest to progress to the semi-finals. Batting first, Strathavon A scored 194 for the loss of nine wickets with Gobinraj Hemraj stroking 85. Zaheer Mohamed bagged

3 for 41 from eight overs. Enterprise Busta SC reached 197-5 in the 38 overs. Mohamed returned to hit an unbeaten 61. Ogle CC who are also in line for a semi-final spot from group A, whipped Mahaica SC by 186 runs at Ogle ground. Ogle CC batting first, scored 263 for 6 in 40 overs. Khenchandra Dindyal slammed 82 not out and Andrew Samaroo 74. Mahaica SC were bowled out for 77 in 20 overs in reply. Ayodha Persaud took 421. Lusignan East defeated

Underdog claim Melville Community dominoes title Underdog emerged champions of the Melville Community sponsored dominoes competition which was contested on Monday last at the Melville, Wakenaam. Led by the maximum of 18 games from Krushendat Hansraj, 11 from Alex Chung and 13 from Mohamed Zafrul,

Underdog chalked up 75 games to beat V Net with 70 and All Stars on 60 games in the final. Shafdar Alli and Mohamed Sheriffudeen scored 13 each for V Net, while Nazeer Mohamed and Raj Narine made 16 and 13 respectively for All Stars. Hansraj was named most valuable player in the final.

Buxton SC by 64 runs at Enterprise. With both teams competing with Fairfield SC for a semi-final spot from Group A, Lusignan East were dismissed for 232 in 38 overs, batting first. H. Jailall made 66 and K. Jailall 41. Andre McFarlane took 3-67 and Owen Andrews 3-20. Buxton SC were bowled out for 168 in 34 overs in reply. Anthony McFarlane scored 63 as Pradesh Balkissoon claimed 4-47. Host Cane grove SC defeated Strathavon SC B. Strathavon B batted first and made 116 all out in 22 overs. Narendra Mohamed bagged 6-15. Cane Grove SC reached 118 in 14 overs with C. Ajeday scoring 31. Jermain Persaud took 3 for 43 for Starthavon B. Lusignan B defeated Golden Achievers SC at Lusignan ground. Lusignan A are leading the points table on 14 followed by Buxton and Lusignan on nine each in zone A. Enmore CC are on top of zone B with 15 points followed by Enterprise Busta SC on 12.

The Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Den Amstel, defending champions Fruta Conquerors and Western Tigers were all winners when competition in the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Elite League Season 4 continued recently. GDF blanked new kid on the block Santos FC 3-0 on Sunday last at the Den Amstel ground, the latter losing momentum after coming off a draw with Western Tigers. Goals for the Army were scored by Darrell George in the 19th minute, Delroy Fraser in the 22nd and Olvis Mitchell on the stroke of full time. The other match contested at that venue saw the home team arresting the Guyana Police Force FC 2-0 following a first half that did not produce any goals. Breaking the deadlock on 60 minutes was the home team’s most lethal marksman, Delon Lanferman. That advantage was doubled when Jamal Harvey tucked one past Roncy Caleb who took care of business for Police between the uprights, Latest Points Table Team Western Tigers GDF Den Amstel Fruta Conquerors Santos Guyana Police Force Victoria Kings Buxton United Ann’s Grove United Milerock

P 5 5 5 3 5 5 4 5 4 3

Delon Lanferman - Den Amstel Football Club

Randolph Wagner Western Tigers Football Club

Harvey netting in the 87th minute to seal full points for Den Amstel. Despite being reduced to ten players as a result of a second yellow card for Rondel Hutson (29 & 82), Den Amstel were still able to keep Police at bay. On Thursday last at the Georgetown Football Club ground, Western Tigers blanked Ann’s Grove United 2-0 thanks to a Randolph Wagner brace, the result kept the East Coast Demerara side winless so far this season. It was Wagner’s second double of the season after scoring both in his sides draw with Den Amstel. Against

Ann’s Grove, he scored in the 59th and 90+3rd minute. Fruta Conquerors were in a very dismissive mood in their match against Buxton United, winning by a healthy 5-1 margin. On target for the defending champions were Gregory Richardson with a brace in the 4th and 29th minutes, Nicholas Mc Arthur in the 6th minute, while the other two came off the boots of Quincy Adams in the 54th and Vurlon Mills in the 69th minute. Buxton’s consolation goal came with two minutes remaining in regulation time and scored by Omari Glasgow.

W 3 3 3 3 2 1 0 0 0 0

D 2 2 1 0 1 1 2 2 1 2

L 0 0 1 0 2 3 2 3 3 1

GF 12 8 9 13 5 5 4 2 0 1

GA 4 2 4 3 9 9 7 8 9 4

GD Points +8 11 +6 11 +5 10 +10 9 -4 7 -4 4 -3 2 -6 2 -9 1 -3 -1

Linden Guinness opens tonight Sixteen of the top teams in Linden will square off in this year’s edition of the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Competition which kicks off tonight, at the Mackenzie Market Bus Park, starting at 19:30hrs. Six matches will be played and with Town Week in full swing, it is expected that the venue will be teeming with fans eager to see the street phenomenon played in the community. The teams have been placed in four groups of four with defending champion Silver Bullets positioned in Group C. The fixtures are seen below: Barsenal Vs Retrieve@19:30hrs Amazing Vs Capital Storm@20:00hrs

Coomacka Vs Haynes Hitters@20:30hrs Dave and Celina Vs Presidential@21:00hrs Nk Ballers Vs Ahassa Ballers@21:30hrs Quiet Storm Vs Amelia’s Ward Russians@22:00hrs The respective groups are: Groups A Ashasa Ballers NK Ballers Capital Storm Amazing

Group B Russians Quiet Storm Commacka Haynes Hitters Group C Silver Bullets High Rollers Retrieve Unknowns Barsenal Group D Swag Entertainment Dave and Celina Presidential Wisroc

Hip injury forces Halep to pull out of Stuttgart Open... From page 38 two days, I just need to recover mentally and physically and then just start again.” Halep’s withdrawal means she will now rely on next month’s clay court tournaments in Madrid and Rome to prepare for her defense of the French Open title.

Wednesday April 24, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Rohoman and Singh capture GVF Beach Volleyball title

The winning team of Andy Rohoman and Helond Singh accept their prizes from the organisers. In a game that was reduced due to high tide, Andy Rohoman and Helond Singh defeated Tyrone Farley and Levi Nedd Jr 10-8, to win the Guyana Volleyball Federation (GVF) beach tournament that was contested recently at the Number 63 beach, Berbice.

Part of the action in the final. Nine teams from #47 Village, Black Bush Polder, # 52 and Port Mourant Training Centre competed in the competition. Meanwhile, Director of Sport, Christopher Jones presented a cheque to Mr. Levi Nedd President of the Guyana Volleyball

Federation in support of the Guyana team that will be participating in the Inter Guiana Games in French Guiana next month. The NSC wishes the teams (male and female) well and urged them to be good Ambassadors.

GGMC wins AGM Inc Third Inter- Red Earth Dirt Bike Club boosts St. Michael’s Private School BMX Cycle Agency Domino Competition In a series of thrilling followed with 63 games each. for the bankers. Thirty-six games were games over the Easter holiday GGMC’s captain, Jermain Club with timely donation weekend, the Guyana Campbell scored a total of 18 played in six sittings. Geology and Mines Commission domino team outmatched their rivals, Republic Bank (Guyana) and host AGM Inc/Guyana Goldfields to emerge the champions of the AGM Inc Third Inter-Agency Domino Competition. The “Commissioners” won the six-a-side domino competition, held on Saturday under the large benab at Camp Aurora, Cuyuni, Region Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni), with a total of 87 games. AGM and Republic Bank

games and was adjudged the most outstanding player, while his team mate Keion Ashby shared the first love of the game. Other members of the winning team were Ron Percival, Joshua Canterbury, Jamal Canterbury and Daniel Stanford. The winning team members each received a medal and two pieces of electronic equipment. It was the second time that the GGMC fielded a team in AGM’s annual event. It was also the second time at Aurora

This year marked the third annual competition since AGM Inc has invited various agencies in Guyana to compete and socialise in sporting activities with the company’s staff. The visitors, who overnighted at Camp Aurora, were not to be left out of Aurora’s kite-flying exercise as they joined scores of AGM staffers in designing and flying their own kites to mark the Easter season. Kites were flown at the airstrip and at the Tailings Dam.

Following a challenge thrown out by President of the Guyana Cycle Federation (GCF) Horace Burrowes and being inspired by Differently Able cyclist Walter GrantStuart who competed at the inaugural Bartica Cycling Challenge, a new club has been formed. Sir Michael Dos Santos, Owner of St. Michael’s Private School took up the challenge made and has formed a BMX Club which initially started with 15 cyclists but in a few weeks, membership has grown to 35.

During the just concluded Bartica Easter Regatta sports activities, the new club received a huge boost when the Red Earth Dirt Bike Club presented ten (10) cycles to the club. The presentation took place during the Red Earth Dirt Bike Club organised Meet that coincided with the Regatta Sports activities. Apart from the presentation of cycles, the members of the new club participated in four BMX races which had a cycle as the first prize; three of those were won by St. Michael’s Private

School BMX Cycle Club members. Handing over the cycles to Sir Michael Dos Santos was Red Earth Dirt Bike Club Executive Member, Dave Young who said the club was very heartened by the response of the youngsters towards taking up the sport of cycling. “We are here to assist in whatever way to empower our youths of Bartica who we know are very talented. We had no hesitation in procuring these cycles for (Continued on page 31)

Shane Long: Southampton striker scores quickest goal in Premier League history BBC Sport Southampton striker Shane Long scored the fastest goal in Premier League history when he netted after 7.69 seconds against Watford yesterday.

The winning GGMC dominoes team.

Long’s goal came straight after the Hornets kicked off as he blocked a Craig Cathcart clearance before lifting the ball over Ben Foster. It broke the record held by Ledley King for 19 years.

The former Tottenham defender scored after 9.82 seconds against Bradford in December 2000. The goal was just Long’s fourth of the season, with three of those coming in his past four appearances.

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Wednesday April 24, 2019

Kaieteur News

East Coast Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Competition

Melanie ‘B’ clinch second title - Belfield Warriors win Plate final With a clear game plan to keep Paradise ‘A’ talisman Quincy Adams shackled at all times, Melanie ‘B’ executed to perfection to grab their second title in the East Coast Zone of the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Competition which concluded in front of a record attendance, at the Haslington Market Tarmac. The former champions whose first taste of success in the street competition came in 2017, was the epitome of discipline as they stuck inflexibly to the game plan, nullifying every offensive threat attempted by the pregame favourite Paradise. Paradise seemed surprised by the strategy and looked second best in offence, while Adams was left pondering whether to go forward in attack or remain part of the defensive shape. It was evident that the counter-attacks by Melanie ‘B’ was a bother to the Paradise team so much so that they failed to orchestrate any serious threat on the opposition goal. The half came with no team managing to enter the score sheet and the thousands of spectators who seemed even in their support for each team anticipated a riveting final period and while the score line remained unchanged, Melanie ‘B’ always seemed the more likely of the two to score. In the end, the final whistle sounded to send the encounter into penalty shootout. This scenario also proved to be on a knife’s edge as both teams missed their opening kicks, before sudden death was ordered and Melanie ‘B’

held their nerves to capture the title and $400,000, trophy and a spot in the national final, while Paradise took home $150,000 and a trophy. The third place playoff between Victoria Church Yard and Lilliendaal Hustlers followed a similar route, finishing goalless, before the former prevailed in the sudden death shootout to earn $100,000, while Hustlers were rewarded with $75,000. Earlier in semi-final action, Melanie ‘B’ sounded a stern warning when they hammered Victoria Church Yard 4-0 through a brace from Odell Gulliver, while Ryan Seales added a Guinness Goal. Paradise then outlasted Lilliendaal Hustlers in sudden death penalty shootout after their clash ended 1-1. In the Plate final, Belfield Warriors beat home team Haslington Hypers 1-0 to cart off the winner-take-all $60,000 prize. Guinness Brand Manager Lee Baptiste, who was among those present, speaking to the media said he was completely satisfied with the team’s performance, while also acknowledging the support of the fans. According to Baptiste, the tournament is here to stay and the management will continue to seek ways to improve it. The next stop is Linden which is set to commence tonight in the Mining Town. Complete Results Guinness Goal-[GG]-2 goals Guinness Championship Paradise-A-0 vs MelanieB-0 Melanie-B won 2-1 on sudden death kicks 3rd Place

The victorious Melanie ‘B’ team. Victoria Church Yard-0 vs Liliendaal Hustlers-0 Victoria won 2-1 on sudden death penalty kicks Guinness Plate Final Belfield Warriors-1 vs Haslington Hypers-0 Guinness Semi-finals Game-1 Victoria Church Yard-0 vs Melanie-B-4 Odell Gulliver-9th and 15th Ryan Seales-[GG]-18th Game-2 Paradise-A-1 vs Lilliendaal Hustlers-1 Paradise-A won 2-1 on sudden death penalty kicks Paradise-A Scorer Teon Stewart-7th

Hustlers Scorer Stephon Reynolds-25th Guinness Plate Semifinals

Game-1 Buxton Diamond vs Belfield Warriors Belfield won via walkover

Game-2 Haslington Hypers-1 vs Uprising-0 Terry Gardener-22nd

Hip injury forces Halep to pull out of Stuttgart Open

Romania’s Simona Halep in action during her match against France’s Caroline Garcia. (REUTERS/Charles Platiau)

Part of the action in the final that featured new champs Melanie ‘B’ and Paradise ‘A’ (on the ball).

(Reuters) - World number two Simona Halep said she has been forced to withdraw from the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart after suffering a hip injury in the Fed Cup over the weekend. Halep sustained the injury in the Fed Cup semifinals when she beat France’s Caroline Garcia on Sunday.

The win was in vain as France won the tie and advanced to the final. “It was against Garcia in the first set, when I fell down,” Halep told reporters on Tuesday. “I felt pain in the hip. If I’m not 100 percent I don’t want to step on the court. “I’m also exhausted

mentally because I gave my everything in that tie but unfortunately we couldn’t win. That’s why I decided to pull out, because I have to think about my health first. “It feels bad because I gave everything, I really wanted to win the Fed Cup. I’ve been very sad the last (Continued on page 36)

Wednesday April 24, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 39

RAN South Zone Championship

GRFU selects 27-member training squad Guyana’s senior men’s rugby team that is popularly known as the ‘Green Machine’ will engage debutants to the Rugby Americas North (RAN) Championship; Guadeloupe, for the South Zone title this Saturday at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) ground on Vlissengen Road and Carifesta Avenue. To this end, the Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) has been preparing for the past month for this championship match with three trial matches at the National Park athletics track that saw over 40 athletes showing up to show their worth on each day. When Kaieteur Sport contacted the coach of the ‘Green Machine’, Kenneth Grant-Stuart, he revealed

that he has selected 27 players that will be encamped from last evening before being reduced to the final 23 by tomorrow. The list of the 27-players in training are as follows: Jason Tyrell, Rickford Cummings, Rondel ‘Bull’ McArthur, Jose Felicien, Kevon David, Richard Staglon, Jamal Angus, Va l l o n A d a m s , R y a n Gonsalves, Godfrey Brooms, Avery Corbin, Peabo Hamilton, Lancelot Adonis, Jamal Darrel, Joseph Rahaman, Cyon Kitt, Phabian Joseph, Kiefer Lopz, Selwyn Henry, Osie Mckenzie, Ronaldo Mayers, David Garrett, Ryan Dey, Glenroy Pool, Cloyd Prowell, Jamal Junior and Sean Philips. Should Guyana get a

Motorcyclist LeRoy Cort set for season opener at Loudon Road Racing Series this weekend From left Kevin Graham, Mike Kurtz and LeRoy Cort, who receives a set of racing tiers.

G

uyanese born United States b a s e d motorcycle rider LeRoy Cort has indicated that he will be opening his racing season this coming weekend at the Loudon Road Racing Series (LRRS) in New Hampshire, USA. Cort noted, “This weekend April 27th, I will be attending the season Opener for the Loudon Road Racing Series (LRRS) in New Hampshire. I will be participating in 6 races. Using a Kawasaki 636, I will compete in 2 Middle We i g h t ( 6 0 0 c c ) , 2 Heavyweight races for motorcycles 750cc, and 2

UNLIMITED opened to any 1000cc models.” “Hoping to be the first Guyanese to win a championship title in all those classes; we are taking part in 7 rounds starting from this April and ending in October at which point I hope to bring all my talents against the best in Guyana i n N o v e m b e r, ” C o r t indicated. He said he has scheduled a live onboard feed of the Grand Prix on Saturday around 4:00pm. Anyone can follow the p r o g r e s s a t www.facebook.com/ridingr e h a b 5 8 o r Instagram@ridingrehab58.

likely victory over Guadeloupe, the Green Machine will then host North Zone winners Bermuda (who defeated Jamaica 43 – 14 on March 9th) next month for the RAN overall title. There will be no promotion or relegation after these matches since 2020 is expected to be the first qualifying round for Rugby World Cup 2023 and as such, only full members of World Rugby will be able to compete in 2020.

Play between Vice President’s XVs (left) and President’s XVs during one of the three trial matches at the National Park athletics track.

t r o Sp East Coast Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Competition

Guinness representative Evlon Hendy hands over the first prize and winning trophy to Melanie ‘B’ Captain Ryan Seales in the presence of teammates, referees and Guinness Brand Manager Lee Baptiste (right) during the presentation ceremony.

Melanie ‘B’ clinch second title Red Earth Dirt Bike Club boosts St. Michael’s Private School BMX Cycle Club with timely donation RAN South Zone C/Ship

GRFU selects 27-member training squad

- Belfield Warriors win Plate final

Sir Michael Dos Santos (center) receives one of the from Red Earth Dirt Bike Club’s Haydock Parris as Dave Young holds up another one of the cycles.

Resounding start to Pele FC Alumni Corp. 3rd Annual Youth Development Programme

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