Monday April 03, 2017
Here is why the current Vice Chancellor of UG was employed DEAR EDITOR, The decision to raise tuition fees at the University of Guyana by a whopping 35% is a part of the shameful project to neo-liberalize the university. This is not something peculiar to Guyana; it is affecting universities in every country that is pursuing the neoliberal capitalist agenda. The plan is to reshape the university from academy to corporate entity, where the profit motive reigns supreme, and where any discipline that is not considered ‘marketable’ is marginalized, with the aim of eventually removing it all together. Describing the neo-liberal university, Michael Rustin, a fierce critic of this commercialization of higher education says that “the university has to adopt the mind-set of a commercial provider or retailer…” Our current ViceChancellor, Ivelaw Griffith, is an advocate of this mindset, and I daresay was appointed to drive this agenda. This policy will have the same devastating effects at UG that it has had in so many other universities worldwide, that is, the restriction of access to higher education to a wealthy minority, coupled with a severe limiting of the entire scope and notion of education on offer. When this happens, it is our young people that suffer. Many will not be able to afford to attend university, and those that do manage to attend will lack the ability for critical thinking, because critical thinking can only be developed when education is holistic, integrative, comprehensive, and culturally relevant. To develop critical thinking, universities must provide knowledge not only in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, referred to as the STEM subjects, but also in such disciplines as philosophy, theology, history, political science etc. However, the neo-liberal order has no desire to promote critical thinking rather, under its auspices education has been reduced to mere certification to enter the marketplace. Who would have believed that self-proclaimed progressive politicians such as Minister of Education, Rupert Roopnarine and his
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advisor, Vincent Alexander, would allow for such a reactionary education agenda to be rolled out under their watch? OVP’s (Organization for the Victory of the People) 2015 manifesto clearly outlines our firm belief that education is a human right, and as such should be free for all citizens from nursery to university. Education is not a commodity to be determined by market forces. Do not be fooled by those who tell us that free education in Guyana is not viable and sustainable. Forbes Burnham was once asked by one of his cabinet ministers, “Can we afford free education?” His answer was, “Can we afford not to afford it”. Burnham was correct. Studies on the relationship between education and economic growth and development confirm what we already know from common sense, that there is a strong correlation between access to education, the ability of the educated populace to critically think and problemsolve, and economic growth and prosperity. With Guyana’s resources and the size of our population, free education is most definitely viable and a necessity if we are to build a real democracy. However, free education can only be realized when we have a government that has the courage and vision to move beyond the existing neoliberal capitalist arrangement. Across the globe, university lecturers and students are resisting the neo-liberalization of their universities and we in Guyana must do the same. Organization for the Victory of the People (OVP), along with UG lecturers, UGSS, UG students and all Guyanese youths who are hoping to pursue tertiary education, opposes this raising of tuition fees and other draconian measures being pursued. It is time to not only make education at the University of Guyana free, but also to use the wealth of this country to make UG a leading academic institution, respected regionally and globally. Believe me when I say it can be done. Gerald A. Perreira Leader Organization for the Victory of the People (OVP)
A dispute between a sitting judge and the country’s Attorney-General DEAR EDITOR, Kindly permit me to make some comments on the recent situation involving a sitting judge of the High Court and the country’s Attorney General. It would seem that the lawyer’s detractors are calling for his career to end or for him to be stripped of or relieved of his position, or for imprisonment or other dire punishments. In actual fact though, on a more careful and complete analysis of the facts, so far presented it would seem however, that it is the judge who may have disqualified himself from continuing and/ or remaining as a judicial functionary, in service to the people of this country. Just an analysis of some key issues will make the case for this disquieting fact. Of course, there are others. In the first place there was this statement by the judge,’’...I am not prepared to sit to hear Mr. Williams as an Attorney-at-Law in any matter whatsoever...’’ On the facts however, Mr. Williams was not appearing in his private capacity in the matter on the day in question. Instead Mr. Williams was appearing as the Attorney
General representing the business of the people of Guyana, in that court. Is the judge really saying that the people of Guyana can no longer attend before him to have matters adjudicated, despite the fact that the taxpayers are paying the judge a salary of possible more than one million dollars per month? That is a pretty strong position for any judicial functionary to take and should not be taken lightly. Secondly, the issue of the judge’s letter to the chancellor being somehow made available to the press. This is the issue of breach of confidentiality in so many respects, and goes to the confidentiality of even pending matters before this particular judicial functionary. It goes without saying that this matter is extremely serious and gives rise to the issue of confidentiality even higher up. The third relates to the subject matter of the letter written by the judicial functionary. It is reproduced as follows, with some modifications. ‘’RE: REPORT ON CONTEMPTUOUS
BEHAVIOUR OF MR. B W SC.’’ The letter calls itself a ‘’report’’. This begs the question of ‘’Report on what?’’ On the facts, it could be asked, was there any investigation into the incident? Were there any statements taken or confrontations held? On these facts it would seem that the judicial functionary already has a very fixed mindset, and one that might be very dangerous for any matters involving the country’s Attorney General to continue to be placed before him, apologies or NOT. A more fitting subject matter would have been to say, ‘’ Re: Incident occurring in my court on such a date and at such a time’’. One thing is clear. The Attorney General seem to have been generally dissatisfied with the court proceeding, on the day in question, and the judge himself seem to have been aware of this fact, to the point where reports are coming out that he felt ‘’threatened’’ and in fear of his life. On the issue of whether or not there was any ‘’threat to kill’’, it must be first established the lawyer was
known to have killed someone, and this must be established as a ‘’notorious fact’’. Otherwise the mere uttering of a lawyer amounts to nothing more than ‘’mouthing off’’, and any experienced judicial officer would have recognize it for being just that. On the question of what an experienced judicial officer would have done, if matters were escalating into a brawl or unpleasantness, then the wise and prudent course would have been to adjourn the matter and invite the brawling participants into chambers. After all, if a judicial functionary CANNOT settle disputes in his or her own court, then what is the purpose of that person continuing as a ‘’judicial functionary’’? The way forward in the present dispute is for there to be no more written statements, EXCEPT FOR ONE. The one that states that this matter is settled. Outside of this then one of the lawyers should lose his position, and it should NOT be the country’s Attorney General. Juliet Holder-Allen Attorney-at-Law
Why is our Govt. using imported pine wood? DEAR EDITOR, The logging community has been sitting in silence for years now whilst the importers of pine lumber are pushing the local lumber producers into extinction. We the organized representatives of the local loggers have sat idly by and allowed this pine wood importation to continue unchecked. Now ply wood from China and Brazil have flooded our local markets due to low importation taxes, and zero grading. The competition has gone so far that even government contracts and government offices are using pine wood. Shameful! Should we continue to be silent while our lumber industry shunts into extinction? Our government must remember the jobs that are
lost, the skills that are unutilized should we allow this free trade to continue. Let us be more strategic in our approach in developing our beautiful nation. If we so desire cheap low density wood, let us establish plantations in degraded areas, using our local fast growing species, instead of exotic species. Promotion of the use of wood for building purposes is paramount to the industry being propelled in a positive direction. Why can’t we build three, four and five bedrooms houses anymore in Guyana? Why is society so dependent on concrete; which has a negative impact on our health. We are therefore advocating that the astute
Government of Guyana implement measures that will impact positively on the forestry sector. The following are some suggestions for considerations in order of importance: 1. Institute high taxes and grading rules on imported lumber and plywood. 2. Remove the VAT from lumber and forest products. It is important that the Government examine the value and volume of timber products produced every year. The imposition of VAT came at a time when production and market demands are at their lowest in sector. The VAT requirement will only put the market into greater jeopardy. 3. Establish a national processing facility which will purchase logs from small
operators for value added processing and marketing. This institution can also conduct training in kiln drying and wood treatment techniques. 4. Provide incentives/ support to community groups and companies that want to engage in downstream processing 5. Use only local lumber in Government contracts. Mora and Bulletwood can be substituted for Greenheart. 6. Have representative from small loggers groups on the Board of Direction for forest related agencies. I am confident that the Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana will see the merit in this letter and take speedy action to implement same. Experienced logger Charles Thom
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The confession of Minister PPP believes in inclusivity and Bulkan on the parking meters invites Guyanese into its fold DEAR EDITOR, The Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, defiantly confessed in a brazen statement that paid parking is a fact of life in Georgetown. This is despite the suspension of the bylaws by the Minister. He was not offering an opinion open for discussion and dialogue; he was informing the people of another APNU+AFC’s imposition. Essentially, he announced that paid parking is a policy direction being pursued by APNU+AFC. It is a declaration to the citizens of Georgetown and all citizens of Guyana that regardless of their views, APNU+AFC is imposing paid parking on citizens in Georgetown. It is also a threat because before long paidparking will come to a community near where people live. New Amsterdam, Corriverton, Anna Regina, Charity, Parika, Vreed-enHoop, Linden and other places are under severe threat for paid parking. I happened to have spoken to the Leader of the Opposition and the General Secretary of the PPP, Dr. Bharat Jagdeo, on this matter and I can say conclusively that he and the PPP do not support this policy directive. In fact, he has stated unequivocally that no RDC or NDC or municipality where the PPP is in the majority will ever introduce paid parking and that a PPP government will not approve paid-parking by any municipality, NDC or RDC. Bulkan’s announcement confirmed, despite the bylaws suspension, what many of us have known from the beginning - the parking meter fiasco is wholly an APNU+AFC monster. In the midst of open resistance, Bulkan’s brazen announcement that paid parking in Georgetown is as certain as death is another total betrayal of the Guyanese
people. It is a stern rebuke and a smack in the faces of people, in general, and specifically the thousands of people who for eight successive weeks stood in protest of the “green monsters” and the many civic society organizations that pleaded for the re-examination of the parking meter contract and paid parking. Across the board, irrespective of political affiliation, race and ethnicity, labourers and workers and employers, people in their individual capacities and as part of civic society organizations were loud in their condemnation of the parking meter contract and the policy of paid parking. People were unafraid to speak up and stand up. Their voices were heard in Georgetown, across the country and throughout the Caribbean and the diaspora. APNU+AFC was forced to pay attention, even if they refused to hear the voices and feel the resistance of the people. As they have done from the beginning, APNU+AFC arrogantly and authoritatively dismiss people’s concerns and hurt. Their view of governance is they impose and people prostrate to those impositions. From the beginning, APNU+AFC has been complicit with the Mayor and the City Council (M&CC) and Smart City Solution (SCS) in imposing the contract on the people of Georgetown and Guyana. At each step of the way, APNU+AFC has exposed the truth - it was/is in charge and calling the shots. The M&CC gang of four (Chase-Green, Oscar Clarke, Councilor Garret and Royston King) might have signed and been on the front line, but this was an APNU+AFC contract from the get-go. That it is an APNU+AFC brainchild and baby is amply demonstrated by the strange behaviour from the start. AFC has tried to distance itself and
elements of APNU have also tried the distancing game, but these are the same people that sit at Cabinet, a Cabinet fully aware from the start and fully complicit with the M&CC in imposing the “green monsters” on the people. Instead of revoking the “contract from hell”, APNU+AFC has twisted like a pretzel in trying to find ways to block and destroy the resistance to the parking meter. APNU+AFC is guilty of not only approving the contract, they also approved and formalized the by-laws without which the contract was not implementable. In the face of resistance, they tried placating the public by instructing that the parking rate per hour be reduced. This was followed by an attempt to reduce the brutal penalties associated with the contract. Then they instructed the M&CC to suspend the contract for three months to allow another review. To facilitate this review they instructed that the M&CC suspend the by-laws, but then those by-laws were approved by Bulkan himself. It was all a game to buy time and wait out the public resistance. All their antics were always measures to buy time. The monstrosity of the contract was never of any concern to Bulkan and APNU+AFC. How could it be? It was their own concoction. Now they are betting that the people’s outrage would dissipate in this three month period and the paid parking will reappear in Georgetown. For those who were willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, the truth is now out. APNU+AFC is driving the policy of paid parking in Georgetown. Make no mistake, marginal changes will be made and the SCS “green monsters” will be back in operation. It was always about buying time to introduce paid parking against the will of the people. But the announcement that paid parking is a policy direction that APNU+AFC is fully supportive of is an ominous threat to people all around Guyana. Because now it is Georgetown and tomorrow is for every other area. APNU+AFC has shown that it is determined to suck the blood out of people. Instead of raising money from growing the economy, APNU+AFC is determined to tax people and find every way possible for people to support their Lamborghini lifestyle, while driving the people back to a “donkey cart” economy. Dr. Leslie Ramsammy
DEAR EDITOR, Many persons in the Civic component of the PPP/C joined the partnership because we recognized that the PPP is an all-inclusive Party where all members are treated as part of an extended family, with one ultimate goal – to achieve national peace, progress and prosperity in a democratic society. Inclusivity is the very foundation of the guiding principles of the Party because, paramount to every endeavour of the PPP, one enduring reality prevails, which is that ours is a nation of a tapestry of several ethnicities and cultures, all contributing richly to the national whole; the strength of the party resides in the recognition and acceptance – and even the celebration of this fact. The Civic component of the PPP/C partnership is not a political strategy but a genuine consociation between non-political social activists and the political Party that has piloted the struggle for democracy in Guyana. The PPP has, since its conception and formation demonstrated its commitment
to inclusivity and equity for all in its goals for Guyana’s independence and development. Unconfirmed reports relate that one of the modus operandi the APNU/AFC uses t o a d v a n c e a n d impregnate their myth of racism by the PPP in the national psyche is by using a grouping of speciallypicked persons (trolls), especially from the ProGovernment media fraternity, who churn out a steady stream of letters to the mainstream and social media, accusing the PPP/C leaders – in and out of government, of practicing the most degenerative forms of racism in a multiplicity of ways that inhibit the upward progression of Afro Guyanese, as in a letter by one Akeem Bennons, published in the ‘Guyana Chronicle’ of Monday March 27, 2017, headlined “PPP playing a dangerous game.” As a sitting member of Parliament of the PPP/C partnership and former Chairman of the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC), I have always tried to hold myself above the fray and to
lead by example by allowing my works to speak for me. However, I cannot stand quietly by and allow lies and injustice to prevail, especially where the consequences are detrimental to our country and our people; because this goes against my conscience as a human being and my position regarding globalisation of humanity, where I consider all humans are creatures created by one God. I can affirm that the PPP/C leadership never appeals to one race in preference to another; but calls upon every Guyanese citizen, as it has always done, to come together and defeat the forces that are destroying the unity of working-class Guyanese and their survival systems. Working together for a better Guyana is the mantra of the PPP/C, which welcomes Akeem Bennons et al to be a part of a partnership fostered by a Party that forever holds out a hand in friendship to every Guyanese, without consideration of race, class or creed. If you please, we are all Guyanese. Juan Edghill
Does the current GFF Constitution include for a ground Committee? DEAR EDITOR, Constitutional articulation and its strict adherence was always the catalyst towards determining the progress that was reflective of meaningful governance, in its true sense of where the administration of football was, its intended sense of purpose and futuristic direction. As a consequence, I am compelled to add the “widow’s mite”, in what best can be construed as a pertinent factor, more so with the publication of an article captioned, “Why the MSC ground?” While I haven’t recently ventured to either the MSC or the Region 5 grounds. It’s only out of honesty, I can surely say that I am in no position to offer my opinion about the existing conditions of the two playing surfaces. But what I’m concerned about is a quote in the article, “MSC poor lighting and a playing surface that resembles a dust bowl, a parlance better suited for cricket”. With this factor being taken into consideration, then at least it can be that the playing surface at MSC isn’t as “grassy for football”. By the way, how long would it take to have the MSC’s surface match-ready
and with improved lighting, based on the initial request for rental of the venue? Editor, in relation to the economic aspect of Region 10, albeit the financial success for the wise GFF, surely, I can’t be in full agreement with the article since economic growth has declined nationally to some extent. Suffice it to say, that matches held in Linden during the Limacol Championship didn’t even threaten the halfway seating capacity despite featuring three teams from the area. This was what was reported and unfair is how best I can describe such an assessment without taking into consideration attendance at matches in other competitions namely: Stag Elite League and UDFA Annual Christmas Tournament. In the final analysis, while playing surfaces matter, so too are seating accommodation, lights and dressing rooms. Is the Region 5 ground, situated at West Coast Berbice, much better than MSC in all three areas? When marketing of football as a saleable product is taken into consideration, fans, spectators and supporters would go beyond the extra mile to attend, respective of
transportation costs. By relevant comparison, the costs of transportation to West Coast Berbice and Linden and return, is basically the same. However, as it relates to the captions “Does the GFF Constitution still include a Ground Committee, it is out of sincerity I posed the question. This is primarily due to the fact that as a former member of the SubCommittee, jointly with the Competitions Committee, our tasks ahead of international friendlies, CFU Qualifiers and Local Competitions always entailed designated areas of responsibilities consisting of examining playing venues and amenities, coordinating practice venue (s), transportation, meals, accommodation, laundry services and liaising with the relevant authorities. The GFF within a specific time-frame would have been duly informed of our observations from interactions, followed by a “Proposed Budget of Expenditure.” If for whatever reason the Grounds and Competition Committee is no longer enshrined in the Constitution. Then critics would continue to have a field day and quite rightfully Continued on page 7
Monday April 03, 2017
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Sheep rustlers frustrate WBD farmers Both the PNC and PPP are masters at scare tactics DEAR EDITOR, The politicians in Guyana have mastered the art of scaring the citizenry of this country into submission and brutalizing them. This autocratic, devilish, political ‘bully-ism’ began way back in the 80’s when the Rabbi Washington folks used to be hired (or did they volunteer), to abuse political and philosophical opponents of the Government. In those days, members of the political oppositions were traumatized, heckled, beaten, some might even say, killed. Then there was a lull in the obnoxious behavior when Mr. Desmond Hoyte became the President. In fact, it was Mr. Hoyte who jailed the, Rabbi for the atrocities done at the political behest of the then dead dictator. Then the government changed and the PPP realized the effects of brutality and scare tactics. And before long it was rebranded, PPP style. GRA became a tool; the police force got involved; the phantom squad was notorious. All these were used by members of the ruling party to scare and brutalize those
who dared to speak out against the Guyana monarchy. Then we had the miasma-throwing brigade – ask Freddie Kissoon - and worst. Waddle, Shaw, CrumEwing, and many others, all dead, murdered. Everyone knows the intellectual authors but yet they remain free. Where is Desmond Hoyte when the country needs him? We all heard the recorded threats of the former PPP Attorney General. He spoke candidly and directly of having his henchmen walk into the Kaieteur News and shoot and kill at will. He denied it was his voice but his own colleagues, including Dr. Vidya Persaud, correctly identified him. However she and others did not focus on his murderous threats. Rather, they took offence based on what he said about the female subject in his vile rant. Yet he was never sanctioned, reprimanded or justifiably fired. As fate would have it, the very abusive former AG happened to be in court with the current alleged abusive AG, when some things were
said. What was said was so offensive that a reputable Judge was made to vacate the seat in his court, without the formal adjourning of the case before him. We might never really know what was said that day. However, the former AG is claiming that a murderous threat was made against the judge. If that is a lie (and you really can’t trust these politicians), then Mr. Nandlall must know that he is opening a can of worms. What Mr. Nandlall has done, is peel back the old wounds of the brutal Burnham regime, where fear stalked the nation. If he is lying, then the former AG must know the kind of mental aversion that some would engender against the PNC, based on this claim. And if he is lying, then the current AG, Mr. Basil Williams, needs indeed to sue Mr. Nandlall for a sizable amount. However, if Mr. Nandlall is speaking the truth and AG Williams is lying, then what we have unfolding is a direct reflection of the former PNC days, when threats, abuses and victimization were the order of the day. Either way,
the notion of fear is in the air and both sides of the political divide; the PPP and the PNC, have used it for so long that they must know that the Guyanese people can be controlled by fear. The leadership of the United Republican Party (URP) takes this opportunity to again point out the similarity of those two parties. Neither of them has clean hands in this regard. They have long repressed and victimized the hapless people of Guyana. And left to their own devices, they will continue in this vein. The URP is asking President Granger to show leadership and approach this matter with decisive deliberation. Either publically rebuke Mr. Nandlall for stirring up these long held negatives about the PNC. Or rebuke Mr. Williams for being so careless with his choice of words that a sitting Judge would be forced to vacate his seat and court. Either way, it is clear that the political fear mongering that Guyana has long been known for, is alive an Dr. Vishnu Bandhu
The absence of the Local Government Commission is a calamity DEAR EDITOR, The blatant disregard by the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown to advice given to it by the government, in the form of the concerns expressed by the Ministries of Finance and Public Infrastructure and the Attorney General’s Office, the flouting of a decision made by cabinet and the contempt shown to the Minister of Communities in the suspension of the parking meter con t r a c t is astounding and unacceptable to say the least, but more worrying are the circumstances that s e em to suggest that
Georgetown has become a City-State like Rome, Athens and Carthage were in the ancient world with its own government and sovereignty. With the absence of a Local Government Commission which in itself is a calamity and which goes against the pretension of local autonomy, the function and responsibility of disciplining the Town Clerk lies with the Minister of Communities. The reason why the Minister is not seeking to ‘reign in this unruly horse’ is beyond the imagination of any citizen. How much longer must the vendors be chased from
pillar to post around town at the fancies of this gentleman, who has total disdain for their representatives, the Guyana Market Vendors Union? And what of the Kitty Market vendors? When will they get their home back in comfortable circumstances and not a sweatshop? How much longer must the citizens of Georgetown be subjected to having to pay increased property rates when the Council’s budget, for the second year in a row, has not been published for public scrutiny nor have their accounts been audited or qualified in more than a decade.
How much longer will municipal workers be forced to operate in dilapidated buildings, and receive their paltry salaries and wages late except for the bigwigs with the super salaries, whilst a few contractors cart off hundreds of millions of dollars each month in violation of tender and procurement procedures? When will the Deputy Mayor’s pleadings be heeded and this Town Clerk be stopped in his March of Folly? Is it going to be when the municipality is totally destroyed and its finances decimated? Or when the city is abandoned by the business sector and all the citizens left on their knees? Jermain Johhson
Sheep Farmer, Mohamed Rafeek
Sheep Farmer, Laikram Jaikaran called ‘Kang’
Sheep farmers on the West Bank of Demerara are no longer comfortable doing business. At least three persons have come forward to complain of losing dozens of sheep at a time. Altogether, they have lost in over sixty head of sheep from December to now. Mohamed Rafeek, a 50-year-old part time market vendor, has pegged his losses as being in excess of half a million dollars. “Was big, nice size ram sheep...all the efforts wha me put into ‘minding’ them things gone down the drain,” the Lot 93 Independence Road, La Grange resident Rafeek told Kaieteur News. The average price for a sheep is $30,000. The animal’s meat is sold for approximately $500 per pound. “I feel that people buying these sheep from them thieves this, and them minding it, because remember, sheep is nah really like cow wha people does brand them, so you can’t know,” the farmer explained. He said that the day after lodging a report at La Grange Police Station, he received a call from ranks, who summoned him to the station. “They said that dem find some sheep and that I must come see if is me own, so I went.” But when Rafeek got there, he got a bit of a shocker. Continued on page 9
Does the current GFF Constitution include... From page 6 so, since the current GFF executive would have performed the final rites by not pursuing some measure of improvements to a welldefined inherent policy, from former President Colin Klass’ stewardship of “enacting SubCommittees, within the constitutional framework. But then again, this is
Guyana, where investigative journalism, in this aspect of sports, is sadly lacking. Can the writer of the article ascertain how many grounds where the Stag Elite League is played have proper grounds-men and the required equipment, most importantly a water sprinkler? Dust bowl playing
surfaces albeit suitable for cricket, have been around for decades now. This nevertheless, is primarily due to economic circumstances whereby many clubs and definitely teams can’t afford to cut grass on their grounds on a regular basis, much less the occasional rolling and proper nurturing of the grass to a specific height. This would automatically create the relevant thickness, evenly for a proper playing surface. By the way, is the privately managed MSC in receipt of an annual
subvention from the Regional Democratic Council, Linden Municipality, Bosai, Sports Ministry and the NSC? Is the soil on the MSC ground conducive for the growth of grass, which is suitable for playing proper football? Maybe, a scientific evaluation is needed, along with a CONCACAF funded seminar, on “Proper Care and Maintenance of Playing Surface for Football” while cost factor for the National Stadium, and limited seating for the Leonora facility can’t be overlooked. Lester Sealey
Some of the empty sheep pens
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Tax-free salaries, waivers for select few need to end Since the coalition administration assumed office, it has implemented a number of tax measures, all with the aim of making the system more equitable while catching those who refuse to pay their fair share of taxes. While its approach may be welcomed, there are some who believe that if the government is indeed serious about having a fair tax system, then the practice of tax-free salaries and/or waivers for a select few, needs to come to an end. This perspective was supported in a comprehensive report prepared by the Tax Reform Commission that was established by the government. The Commission included Chartered Accountant, Christopher Ram; Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Godfrey Statia; NICIL’s Chairman Dr. Maurice Odle and Economist Dr. Thomas Singh. With respect to tax waivers granted to certain individuals, such as the President, Attorney General,
Monday April 03, 2017
Kaieteur News
- Goolsarran
Chartered Accountant, Anand Goolsarran Chancellor, Chief Justice and Auditor General, the Commission members said that “a rationale or justification is hard to find, especially since it sends the wrong signals to those persons whom the Government is hoping to rope into the tax net”. Furthermore, the tax advisors observed that various forms of tax exemptions have also been used to favour Members of Parliament and to provide non-tax benefits to public servants to compensate for
what is perceived to be inadequate salaries. However, the advisors said that it constitutes discrimination, which causes dissatisfaction within the private sector. Lending support to the aforementioned is Chartered Accountant and Former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran. The Financial Analyst said, “We should end the practice of granting tax-free salaries. It is simply not fair for the selected few to enjoy such benefits while the rest of us are made to pay our fair share of taxes.” Goolsarran also expressed the view that the GRA has the potential to double its revenue assessment and collection without the imposition of any new taxes; and noted that the funds garnered will be more than enough to meet the Government’s expenditure. In such circumstances, instead of a budget deficit, Goolsarran contended that there will be a budget surplus. “We would also be in a position to scale back on the extent of borrowings, with consequent reduction in the public debt,” expressed the anti-corruption advocate. Furthermore, Goolsarran said that the argument that some people do not pay their share of taxes is no justification for imposing new taxes since those who honour their commitments are made to bear the additional tax burden. “It’s like Peter paying for Paul.”
Education Ministry, NGOs roll out new programme to tackle risky sexual behaviour in schools Recognizing the need for a comprehensive reform of the sex education curriculum in schools, the Ministry of Education, backed by several non-governmental organizations has embarked on an initiative aimed at lowering the risks of sexual behaviours among the country’s adolescents. One of the components of the programme involves deploying counselors into approximately 33 schools in Georgetown. According to Patricia Sheeratan-Bisnauth, head of the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA), the sessions in schools are expected to comprehensively tackle about 13 topics. “The counselors will be talking to the students about controlling their sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases, moral values, personal development, the different types of abuses, including sexual abuse and gender justice and so on,” Sheeratan-Bisnauth said. She explained that back in 2014, the GRPA approached the Ministry with a proposal to assist authorities in coming up with an all-inclusive strategy to mend the vastly inadequate sex education curriculum being administered in schools across the country. The stakeholders of the draft strategy are not yet prepared to release it, but have promised that the contents are likely to be quite effective in calming some of the very risky sexual behaviours that Guyana’s youths are engaged in. In recent times, there have been many reports and videos of students in their uniforms, having sexual intercourse in schools. Many of these have gone viral, and have left dents on the reputation of those involved. Last year, the GRPA conducted a ‘snap survey’ which focused on sexual trends among the adolescent and youth population in the country. The survey, which was carried out in eight of Guyana’s ten administrative regions, highlighted that more than 50 percent of youths are sexually active. Some 42 percent of the 392 respondents of the survey were sexually active.
They were between the ages of 16 and 18. Worryingly, some 35 percent of them were under the age of consent which is 16. Approximately 53 percent of the surveyed youths were engaging in sexual activity while they were still in school. The document, which was presented by Social Activist, Sherlina Nageer, highlighted that males were having sexual encounters earlier than their female counterparts. A very disturbing fact and one that should have been a massive alarm to authorities, is the fact that that some 20 percent of the respondents reported that they were either raped or coerced into sexual activity. The gathering of students, teachers, parents, media operatives and Health Ministry officials, including then Minister, Dr. George Norton, heard that of 20 percent, 26 percent of them were coerced while they were under the age of 12, while 61 percent of those doing the coercing were over the age of 18. The survey indicated too, that 30 percent of the respondents received information about sex from their parents and via other means; while a mere nine percent received theirs via the school system. GRPA had promised during the release of the study almost a year ago, that efforts would commence to conduct a larger study on the issue, and then be used as data to further urge the government to act on the issue. Only recently, this publication carried an article where Peace and Governance Practitioner, Lawrence Lachmansingh, joined the bandwagon of persons calling for a comprehensive reform of the sex education curriculum in schools across the country. Even though the education system has adopted the abstinence approach, Guyana’s appallingly high rate of teenage pregnancy is a clear indication that somewhere along the line, something is not working. As many await the outcome of the Commission of Inquiry being done into the public education system, Lachmansingh is adding his two cents on what needs to
Patricia Sheeratan-Bisnauth, Head of GRPA be done to remedy the inadequacies. “Sex education should not just be about the mechanics of sex…my parts and your parts, and how the two parts fit, and what happens when the two parts fit,” Lachmansingh said. During the most recent Women and Gender Equality Commission forum held at Carifesta Sports Complex, Lachmansingh made the call for the sex education curriculum to be adjusted to cater for “Sex and Relationships. “…because, the sex is in the context of two persons who care about each other, having a relationship, and how that relationship is nurtured and cultivated so that it can deal with all of the implications of sex.” GRPA’s SheeratanBisnauth has since lauded the remarks made by Lachmansingh, pointing out the need for more men to get involved in the conversations surrounding not just sex, but safe sex. Lachmansingh is among many who share the belief that a complete transformation of the sex education programmes in school can be the answer to tackling Guyana’s very high teenage pregnancy and child mortality figures. “We see today children are making children, and often times their bodies are not ready, and this contributes to our child mortality figures,” Lachmansingh pointed out. Closely behind Dominica, Guyana has the second highest rate of teenage pregnancy in the Caribbean, with the Greater Georgetown community of Sophia leading the country’s figures.
Monday April 03, 2017
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Kaieteur News
A Positive Tax Measure Not all of the tax measure taxes initiated by the APNU+AFC government should be scrapped. There are some positive ones which could however be better implemented. A two percent withholding tax is now payable for goods and services supplied by individuals and companies receiving more than $500,000 for the supply of services, goods, materials, equipment or personnel in the furtherance of services. In layman’s terms what this means is that if you hire a contractor to build your house and the value of the service that he is providing exceeds
more than $500,000, then you are required to deduct two percent of this amount as a withholding tax, which will be used as tax credit for the contractor. This is a positive measure which will ensure that all those persons who have been supplying equipment, goods, materials and services do not escape the tax net. There are hundreds of such persons who pay next to nothing to the taxman yet are filthy rich. The PPP/C when it got into power had introduced a similar measure, a two percent minimum turnover tax. The 2% minimum turnover tax ensured that commercial
traders could not totally avoid paying taxes. They were obligated to pay at least two percent on their gross turnover. The two percent withholding tax implemented by the APNU+AFC government has the same intention. It is being used to ensure that persons who normally are apt to not pay have to pay something. They cannot escape paying taxes. If the 2% withholding tax is to be criticized it will be on three grounds – the rate of the tax, its burden and how it is to be collected. Two percent is chicken feed for contractors. The tax should have been 10%. It
Sheep rustlers frustrate WBD... From page 7 “I couldn’t believe it. When the police carry me to the lil pen fuh identify the sheep, I look around and all I see was sheer goat. Imagine, the police can’t tell the difference between sheep and goat. I don’t know wha this world turning to,” Rafeek related. The farmer feels that thieves have been running a “sheep racket” on the West Bank of Demerara. “It look like dem does come around every couple months. Me think like when dem thief a set, it does tek them lil time to sell it, and when it sell, like is then dem ah come back fuh thief more,” Rafeek said. Another La Grange farmer counting losses is Laikram Jaikaran called ‘Kang,’ who took two hits. The first was on Boxing Day, when six sheep went missing. “We had the usual enjoyment thing, suh like we didn’t pay much attention to the pens,” man told Kaieteur News. A week later, his yard was hit again, and 14 more sheep were gone. “I had about 53 sheep, but with this thing that going on around here, I can’t tek it anymore. I can’t deal with dem losses this, so I hurry and sell out most ah the sheep that me had. I only leff back with like six and me ga really watch dem da carefully,” “Kang” said. Another resident named Talibu is also counting his losses after losing 18 sheep. The farmers are of the belief that residents of the area might be involved in informing the “sheep thieves” regarding the best time to strike. “When dem guh rob me, me bin deh market selling. Dem come late Friday night, suh by time Saturday morning when me reach home, the pen bin done empty,” Rafeek said. The men, who have all
lodged police complaints at the La Grange Police Station, are also of the strong believe that the thieves are from the neighbouring La Parfaite Harmonie Housing Scheme. “It got to be, dem gat a set ah thieves in deh,” Rafeek said. He added, “plus, I hear about a guy who lose 30 sheep at Goed Fortuin (WBD), but he gone overseas and me na think dem report it to the police...and we hearing about people from Crane on the West Coast (Demerara)
and so.” Meanwhile, Divisional Commander, Leslie James told Kaieteur News that the incidents seem isolated, and would therefore not be counted as part of a “sheep racket.” “Well, as you would know, one of the incidents occurred since December last year, so I don’t that it’s a racket. But what I can tell you, is that we haven’t had many reports of people stealing sheep and so over here,” James maintained.
makes no sense asking parents to pay 14% VAT on tuition fees when contractors are being given a minimum tax of two percent on the value of the goods and services they supply. Two percent is not the tax. It is the tax credit which is being held against their names. But we have ingenious contractors, who are going to ensure that they will enjoy a refund from that two percent when they file their returns. Secondly, this withholding tax is going to be added by contractors to the cost of their goods and services. It will increase the burden on those who are acquiring goods, equipment and services in the economy. It has also caused problems because some persons have
already been contracted to provide goods and services before the effect of the tax was known. How is the GRA going to deal with this situation of persons who would have signed contracts months and years ago for goods and services which are only now to be supplied? The ‘contractees’ did not have to submit the withholding tax then. The third problem is that it is unfair to ask the ‘contractees’ to submit to this tax. They are in effect providing a tax service to the contractors that they have hired. It is the contractors who should be required to submit the withholding tax. There is the related issue as to fairness. If some persons comply and others
do not, it means that those who do not comply gain an advantage. The two percent withholding tax, despite these criticisms, is a positive measure. The task of the GRA is to ensure that everyone who has to pay, does pay. It is distortionary if large numbers of persons are allowed to escape. And there are some smart persons out there who are already thinking that the way to avoid this tax is to engage in contract splitting, a practice which governments are well aware of. Stricter the government, wiser the population!
Monday April 03, 2017
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Kaieteur News
UG, Theatre Guild remember Nobel laureate,
DEREK WALCOTT He died leaving behind a legacy through poems and plays. Born on January 23, 1930 in Castries, St. Lucia Derek Walcott passed away on March 17, in his homeland reportedly after a period of illness. Walcott became known in 1962 when he published his first collection of poems called In a Green Night, which celebrated the Caribbean. He was a trained painter but shifted his attention to writing as a young man. Walcott, also a renowned playwright, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992. The Nobel Committee described his work as “poetic oeuvre of great luminosity, sustained by a historical vision, the outcome of multicultural commitment.” Walcott’s immense contribution towards the arts was honoured during a special tribute last Friday when the University of Guyana (UG), Faculty of Education and Humanities in association with the Theatre Guild presented ‘The Vice Chancellor’s Distinguished Artiste in Residence in Concert’. The event, held at the Theatre Guild, was a spectacular evening of guitar, flute and steel pan playing as students from the University’s Turkeyen and Tain campuses reflected on the life of Walcott by reciting some of his famous poem and dramatization of his plays. It featured Keith Waithe on flute, who was appointed by UG Vice Chancellor Professor Ivelaw Griffith to the Faculty of Education and Humanities as Artiste in Residence, Gary Menodonza and Herbie Marshall on guitar, Mikey Smith on pan and Roger Cyrus on drums. There was also an art exhibition by students of the Division of Creative Arts at the University. Minister of Public Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n , Catherine Hughes was also
Artiste in Residence Keith Waithe on flute
Nobel Laureate, Derek Walcott presented with some of the memorabilia created for the event. According to Professor Griffith, “One of the realities of our dear land of Guyana is that we have an opportunity to embrace our talented Guyanese who are in the homeland and who are in the Diaspora. And the embracing of our talented Guyanese whether in painting, music or other of the arts is not only for the performance itself but is important as the University of Guyana as part of our renaissance enables an appreciation of the wholeness of human beings.” Professor Griffith explained that our society has produced many great artistes but surveys show that most of them are in the Diaspora. The University, he said, as a facilitator of the wholeness of humans must find ways to showcase these Guyanese artists when they return from the Diaspora to enable parts of society to benefit from their presence. “So when I got an email from a few weeks ago from Keith (Waithe) that he was going to be here. I said why don’t I seize the opportunity in appointing him to be Distinguish Artiste of Residence.” “This is in part a celebration of a great son of the region (Derek Walcott)
who died just a few weeks ago. I have always used for several decades now the fact that the two Nobel laureates from that small island (St. Lucia) from whence my paternal grandmother and my wife are from. They are living testimonies of the powers of individuals and communities to enable great people to be developed. I must use Derek Walcott and W. Arthur Lewis, both of whom are Nobel Laureates both of whom are St. Lucians.” According to the Vice Chancellor these men were raised by single women because of the death of their fathers. He added that Walcott and Lewis attended college and became distinguished in their own fields and to be valuable enough to win Nobel Prizes for economics in the case of Lewis and Literature in the case of Walcott. “In part, it is a tribute to the power of women. It’s a tribute to villages raising people and so we thought it important to celebrate Walcott but also in so doing celebrate the powers of women and the powers of villages that helped to raise citizens.” Director of Studies at the National School of Theatre Arts and Drama, Mr. Al Creighton, highlighted that Walcott displayed the arts though words and drama and that on his visit to Guyana for the Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA) he challenged then President Bharrat Jagdeo to invest money into the arts. Creighton recalled that something positive did come out of Walcott’s visit and felt satisfied that he was able to convince a Caribbean head of state to put money in the arts. A poem entitled The Sea is History by Walcott was recited by Nicholas Peters, a student at Turkeyen Campus. “Walcott had a position where the sea is concerned. He used it very much in his literature,” Creighton
emphasized. Nikosie Layne and Nicholas Singh, both members of the National School of Theatre Arts and Drama did a dramatic reading of Walcott’s play Ti-Jean and His Brothers. “My love for Guyana has been my work, even in the United Kingdom it has been influenced by the rainforest of Guyana. And this next piece is called Guyana with Love,” Waithe said. The mellow sounds from his flute serenaded the audience as he gracefully swayed his body on stage during another well received performance. “We still have another track to play for you don’t be afraid to clap,” Waithe told an elated
Nikosie Layne and Nicholas Singh during a dramatic reading of Walcott’s play Ti-Jean and His Brothers. audience as he embarked on his final track. In her closing remarks, Professor Paloma Mohamed
said “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every note that comes out of the flute of Continued on page 21
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Monday April 03, 2017
Kaieteur News
First Lady participates in Autism Awareness walk First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger yesterday joined the Step by Step Foundation and Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited, in their annual ‘Light it up Blue’ Autism Awareness Walk. The Foundation also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Education to improve access and delivery of education for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The First Lady, in her remarks at the event, praised the collaboration between Republic Bank and the Step by Step Foundation and called on Guyanese to be more compassionate towards those directly affected by ASD. “I hope that as we continue to make the citizens of Guyana more aware of this disorder, public and private sector entities and individuals will be more willing to support the persons and their families, who are impacted by it. I hope, too, that we will become more caring and compassionate towards our brothers and sisters affected by this disorder at whatever state of the spectrum it may occur,” Mrs. Granger said. Treasurer, of the Step by
Step Foundation, which was formed in 2001, Ms. Kiran Mattai said that the organisation has received tremendous support from the sponsors to execute the plans they have for the construction of a school special school for children with ASD. “Today’s event is a continued indication of a larger vision for our children. The funds raised from our walk today through the sales of t-shirts and kind contributions will be directed towards the construction of a new school for Step by Step,” Ms. Mattai said. In addition, the Foundation and the Ministry of Education will be embarking on a training exercise under which the teachers in the public school system will be assigned to the Foundation to learn how to better manage children with ASD. Managing Director of Republic Bank, Mr. Richard Sammy said that through t h e B a n k ’s p a r t n e r ship effort with the Step by Step foundation, a significant investment has been made in ensuring that awareness is raised for the support of those affected by ASD. “We remain immensely
First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger and other participants during the ‘Light it up Blue’ Autism Awareness Walk grateful for all of our partners. As we reflect and look ahead it is our hope that having gotten to our feet with ‘Light it up Blue’, this would be an inspiration, and for many, the impetus to act. Certainly I would like to reaffirm Republic Bank’s commitment to raising and growing autism awareness in Guyana,” Mr. Sammy said. The event was also attended by Minister of Legal Affairs, Mr. Basil Williams and representatives from that Ministry, the Step by Step Foundation, Republic Bank,
representatives from the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Health and others.
Participants were entertained by steel pan music from the National School of Music and they were led
through a zumba exercise session, following the walk by well-known dancer, Mr. Kijana Lewis.
Bartica youths graduate as heavy duty operators
From left –Assistance Director of the National Community Development Councils (NCDC) Donald Ainsworth, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Social Protection Lorene Baird, Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection Keith Scott, Heavy Duty Equipment Operator Officer Earl Pestano and Executive Development Officer of Hope Foundation Ivor Melville along with the 25 graduates Twenty five youths from Bartica recently completed a six month Board of Industrial Training (BIT) in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Protection. Heavy Duty Equipment Operator Officer, Earl Pestano stated that five females have already registered for the next programme, which is set to start this month. The youths were trained
specifically in the Heavy Duty Equipment Operation. Deputy Mayor of Bartica Kamala Persaud explained to the graduates that they should not take the opportunity for granted because very soon the town will need the skills that they have acquired. Persaud told the graduates that there is much to be done in Bartica and they have the skills to do
it once they are committed. Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection Keith Scott, while addressing the graduates, said that they are now equipped with the skills needed to further develop their community. Scott stressed that when one is trained, one must be able to train others and in that way everyone will be trained and better equipped.
Mother of DJ killed in accident... (From page 3) driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. However, both charges were dismissed against him after the court found that there was insufficient evidence led by the prosecution to convict Mohamed. The dead DJ’s mother told this publication that she is dissatisfied at the manner in which police prosecutors dealt with her son’s matter. Bibi Sabsook cried that life is difficult for her because of the passing of her son since she is left to take care of his
only child, 5-year-old Atina Sabsook. “He was our breadwinner,” she stressed. The woman related that she is still baffled at the fact that the drunk driving charge was thrown out against Mohamed since investigators had informed her that they submitted test results stating that the driver was intoxicated at the time. The mother added, “The police did not investigate this matter well. Police tell me they collected CCTV footage which captured the accident but yet this footage was never produced in court. They (po-
lice) assured me that they were going to present the CCTV footage in court. After the matter (causing death by dangerous driving) was dismissed the police prosecutor told me that he was going to appeal the decision…but I ain’t hear back nothing.” Bibi Sabsook said that two weeks after the causing death by dangerous driving matter was dismissed she visited the DPP chambers, where she filled out a form to file an appeal. But to date, the woman stated, she has not heard anything on the status of her application.
Monday April 03, 2017
Kaieteur News
CARICOM launches new energy efficiency code
BSJ executive director, Yvonne Hall (second from left) with colleagues examining document. KINGSTON, Jamaica - CMC – Jamaica has launched a new initiative aimed at develop a Regional Energy Efficiency Building Code (REEBC). The project is being undertaken by the Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ) in collaboration with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ). The code is expected to address all aspects of energy use in buildings, including thermal performance requirements for walls, roofs and windows; day lighting lamps and luminaire performance; energy performance of chillers and air-distribution systems; the electrical wiring system; solar water heating; appliances; renewable energy; zoning of buildings, climate classification and building energy management systems. BSJ executive director, Yvonne Hall, speaking at the launch of the regional project at a two-day regional workshop that ended on Friday, noted that a large number of CARICOM member states import a significant amount of their energy at a considerable cost, and the project is a necessary step to develop
greater energy efficiency in the region. “The region’s economies are susceptible to the repercussions of rapid and fairly frequent petroleum price increases, making it extremely difficult for our industries to be costcompetitive with our international markets,” she said. “Energy-efficiency measures are highly cost-effective as an investment, and it is important that all stakeholders in the region re-examine the way in which energy is used and identify ways of using energy more efficiently.” Hall said the BSJ is delighted to collaborate with CARICOM counterparts to develop an energy-efficiency building code for the region. The two-day working meeting was attended by delegates from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, The Bahamas, Belize, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago. The team is tasked with developing the REEBC as well as its associated application documents and minimum Energy Performance Standards for buildings.
IMF predicts marginal growth for St Lucia WASHINGTON – CMC The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is predicting that St Lucia will record economic growth of 0.5 per cent this year driven mostly by continued strong performance in construction and agriculture. It said higher import prices, including oil, will cause inflation to rise temporarily and, together with weak tourist expenditures, will contribute to widen external imbalances. “With slow progress in cleaning up their balance sheets, banks are expected to further shrink their loan portfolio. While the forthcoming budget should bring some clarity about fiscal policies, in the absence of corrective measures, rising interest payments will add to expenditure pressures, leading public debt to an unsustainable path.” The IMF said that as commodity prices gradually rise from recent lows, the current account deficit will widen, reflecting low competitiveness.
“Unless structural reforms are implemented, rigidities in the labour market, high costs of doing business, and low external competitiveness will continue to weigh on growth,” the IMF added. Last year, St Lucia recorded gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 0.8 per cent down from 1.8 per cent in 2015. The IMF executive board which
concluded 2017 Article IV consultation with St Lucia, said that growth remains subdued. It said in the short term, construction and agriculture should continue to perform strongly while growth in tourism, which should be driven by consistent inflows of United States tourist, new flights, and new hotels, could be stifled by the new airport tax.
UG, Theatre Guild remember... From page 11 Keith Waithe”. She asked, “How does the University get from planning to close its art department to a moment like this?” “…Ivelaw Griffith the Vice Chancellor had the moral…to insist that the university though it is cash strapped should not consider only those subjects which people consider to be essential. But the ones that are essential for our souls and the ones that nourish our culture and we want to thank him.” According to her, students listened to Waithe play at workshops and created some of the beautiful paintings that were on display. “That is an amazing thing to have been accomplished. Some of those pieces of art have been produced in four hours.” She disclosed that proceeds coming from the sale of these art works will go to implementing steel pan at the university. (Photos taken from UG-Pace FaceBook’s page)
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CAR RENTAL
Monday April 03, 2017
Kaieteur News
Complete game shop equipment. Call Leon: 2318424 or 610-0808 Electrical Motors – 71/2 HP & Copy Machine. Call: 2332725/ 233-2439 Miller welder 225 Amps, Honda Generator 6500 Watts Honda Civic – Contact: 6390866 Datsun Bluebird, model Z16…. Used spare parts. Call:614-0162
Goat Creek, Riverfront , 75 Acres land -$7M, Lanaballi River Front, 50 Acres -$9M. Diamond -$7.5M Call: 6880087 Riviera Island: 145 Acres $30M, Tuschen property $5.8M, $6M, $15M. Call: 6880087 Tuschen 5,8,6,2 bedrooms; Hope- 2 bedrooms $7.8M, Hague Jibb property 300X75 -$15M Call: 688-0087 Melani 2 bedrooms - $10M, Tuschen $11.5M & $25M, Canal #2 (15 acres) -$9M. Call: 688-0087 Covent Garden E.B.D, land 120X40, house 60X26, 4 bedrooms (1 self-contained), kitchen, cupboard, concrete yard & fence. Call: 612-4722/ 675-9093
Design & Make Aluminum windows, doors, stainless rails, showcases, rolling shutters, make & install automatic doors. Call: 2336818/677-5599/659-9999
MASSAGE The Gent’s Spa: Massage done by Tiffany, mobile services. Book appointment now! Call: 677-5465
FOR SALE/RENT Large 3 bedrooms house for rent/sale, 3 bedroom on First Floor, W.B.D @ La Parfaite Harmonie. Call: 690-5061 EDUCATIONAL Kids Easter Computer Classes (2 weeks program) -$4,000, Diploma in computers, Computerize Accounting @ Micrographics, Vreed-enHoop. Call: 264-3057
VACANCY Cook/Baker and Kitchen Assistant for interior location. Applicants must be experienced, for details call: 618-2020 Experienced Waiters/ Waitresses, apply to: Manager, Herdmanston Lodge, Queenstown. Apply before 5th April, 2017. Outdoor Salesman/Driver, Salesgirls, general domestic. Apply at R.Sookraj & Son’s, 108 Regent Street Georgetown. Looking for experienced all round IT specialist. Send CV t o jobs@expresstruckingcorp.com or call 227-6025. Wood mizer & moulder operator, timber grant manager at least 5yrs experienced. Call: 609-7675/ 674-1705/ 233-2614 Office Clerk (senior/junior) with CXC English/ Mathematics, computer knowledge an asset. Call: 223-7500 Live in or live out babysitter/ domestic –Call: 223-7500. Monday-Saturday 8:154:15pm Welder: apply in person to Alabama Trading G/town Ferry Stelling. Experienced female Accounts Clerk, Apply in person with hand written application to Alabama Trading 65-66 Robb Street Bourda One experienced legal computer clerk. Call: 6247087/ 226-4283/258-0213/ email:husainsaphier@ yahoo.com Accounts Clerk for Eccles, Industrial Site area knowledge of NIS, PAYE, VAT, Quickbooks. Call: 6144358
FOR RENT Apartment for rent – 1 bottom flat 3 bedrooms at Lamaha Gardens. Call: 2258084, 689-6001 One bedroom apartment well secured for working couple $35,000 monthly, light water and garbage included. Call: 638-8858 Sisher Realtors: if you want to sell, buy or rent. Contact us: 694-5000/231-4681 Continued on page 23
Monday April 03, 2017
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Trump pressures China on North Korea before Xi talks Reuters - U.S. President Donald Trump held out the possibility yesterday of using trade as a lever to secure Chinese cooperation against North Korea and said Washington might deal with Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programmes on its own if need be. The comments, in an interview published yesterday by the Financial Times, appeared designed to pressure Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of his visit to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida this week. “China has great influence over North Korea. And China will either decide to help us with North Korea, or they won’t. And if they do that will be very good for
President Xi Jinping China, and if they don’t it won’t be good for anyone,” Trump was quoted as saying, according to an edited
transcript published by the newspaper. Asked what incentive the United States had to offer China, Trump replied: “Trade is the incentive. It is all about trade.” Asked if he would consider a “grand bargain” in which China pressured Pyongyang in return for a guarantee the United States would later remove troops from the Korean peninsula, the newspaper quoted Trump as saying: “Well if China is not going to solve North Korea, we will. That is all I am telling you.” It is not clear whether Trump’s comments will move China, which has taken steps to increase economic pressure on Pyongyang but
President Donald Trump has long been unwilling to do anything that may destabilize the North and send millions of refugees across their
Euro is a ‘knife in the ribs’ of the French says Le Pen Reuters - French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen told a political rally yesterday that the euro currency which she wants France to ditch was like a knife in the ribs of the French people. The leader of the eurosceptic and antiimmigrant National Front (FN) also told the rally in the city of Bordeaux that the forthcoming election for president could herald a “change in civilisation”. Encouraged by the unexpected election of Donald Trump in the United States and by Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, Le Pen hopes to profit from a similar populist momentum in France, though opinion polls suggest she will lose Friday’s run-off. “We are at the mercy of a
currency adapted to Germany and not to our economy. The euro is mostly a knife stuck in our ribs to make us go where others want us to go,” Le Pen said to loud cheers and applause. Reiterating her antiglobalisation and antiimmigration views, she declared: “We do not want France to be open to all commercial and human flows, without protection and borders.” A government under Le Pen’s presidency would take France out of the euro zone and bring back a national currency, hold a referendum on its EU membership and slap taxes on imports and on companies hiring foreigners. Le Pen says she would curb migration, expel all illegal migrants and restrict certain rights now available to all
Marine Le Pen residents, including free education, to French citizens. She hit out at her two main opponents in the French election, independent centrist Emmanuel Macron and conservative candidate
Francois Fillon, saying they belonged to “the same system” “The system is panicking because it sees people are waking up,” she said. Opinion polls forecast Le Pen will do well in the April 23 first round of the presidential election only to lose the May 7 run-off to centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron. But the high number of undecided voters means the outcome remains unpredictable and motivating people to go to the polling stations will be key for the leading candidates. Elsehere in France, left wing firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon told a political rally in Chateauroux, central France, he was convinced Le Pen stood no chance of winning the election.
Highway residents get potable... (From page 14) regional boundaries.” He noted too, that although a number of communities along the thoroughfare were given water in the past, there are still other communities, such as Adventure, Long Creek and Kairuni, which lack potable water. Van West Charles promised that solutions would be found for all those communities. Regional Manager Rawle Friday said that GWI is currently looking at expansion and so will be considering all ‘pockets’ of areas where persons are residing, and are without potable water. Junior Minister within the Ministry of communities, Dawn HastingsWilliams in her feature address at Wednesday’s commissioning of the Silver Hill facility, commended the CDC, which she noted was instrumental in having the well con-
structed. “Today, the 29th of March, 2017, the Ministry of Communities, through GWI, is delivering safe potable water to Silver Hill. During the past 45 years, residents had to pool their monies and pay private persons to pump and deliver water to their homes, because water is very essential. However, not anymore; as from today the residents of Silver Hill, the Primary School and the health post, will be receiving save potable water, and that is what the APNU/AFC had promised during their elections campaign- a good life for all Guyanese.” Hastings-Williams commended the GWI team, including CEO Dr. Van West Charles. National Director of Community Development Councils, Eugene Gilbert called the Silver Hill project “a small
project with a big impact”, and emphasized the importance of community development, or “any grass root based organization taking action in their own development.” He noted that Silver Hill was an unserved area as it does not fall within the Neighborhood Democratic Council, but that the people had established themselves as a CDC. He explained that CDC’s are not ‘elective bodies’ of government, but are really “voluntary grass roots based organizations”, where people take their interest into their own hands, and make requisite representations for the development of their respective communities. Gilbert said that what happened at Silver Hill is a ‘fantastic model”’ of what can happen across Guyana, as the Government cannot do everything for everyone.
Chairman of Region Ten, Rennis Morian, applauded the residents of Silver Hill for their strong advocacy in making the establishment of the well a possibility. Morian said that potable water is a fundamental right of humanity. He also alluded to what was said by President David Granger during his campaign, where he posited that the fundamental rights of all Guyanese are not just guaranteed but should be implemented. Morian added that when he arrived at Silver Hill and realized that water will be running in the community, he acknowledged that “we’re on the move.” He encouraged the residents to push for other facilities, such as those that would promote sporting activities for young people, and that would help to steer them away from deviant behavior.
border. It is also unclear what the United States might do on its own to deflect North Korea from the expansion of its nuclear capabilities and from the development of missiles with ever-longer ranges and the capacity to deliver atomic warheads. Trump’s national security aides have completed a review of U.S. options to try to curb North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs that includes economic and military measures but leans more toward new sanctions and increased pressure on Beijing to rein in its reclusive neighbor, a U.S. official said on Sunday. The official said it was not immediately known whether the recommendations put together by Trump’s National Security Council had yet made their way to the president. The White House declined comment on the NSC recommendations. Trump and Xi are also expected to discuss Chinese ambitions in the South China Sea, through
which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year, when they meet on Thursday and Friday. China claims most of the resource-rich South China Sea, while Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims on the strategic waterway. Trump’s deputy national security adviser, K.T. McFarland, said there was a “real possibility” North Korea could be capable of hitting the United States with a nuclear-armed missile by the end of Trump’s four-year term, the Financial Times reported. McFarland’s estimate appeared more pessimistic than those of many experts, who say North Korea’s ability to launch a nuclear missile at the U.S. mainland is at least years away. “The typical estimates are that it will take five years or so,” said Siegfried Hecker, a former director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the United States and a leading expert on North Korea’s nuclear program.
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LAND FOR SALE Transported land for sale size 37X270 @ Coglan Dam, Vreed-en-Hoop, W.B.D. Call: 650-5644/677-9938 1 Transported land in Tuschen Phase 1 -$2M, Tuschen Phase 2 - $1.4M, La ParfaiteHarmonie (main road) -$2M, La ParfaiteHarmonie $1.4M. Call: 642-1252
FOR RENT PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Lot 14 Croal & Longden Street: 4 Storey building (infront Demico). Call: 6631876
La Parfaite Harmonie - $1.6M, $1.4M, $1.3M, Tuschen Phase II -$1.2M, Uitvlugt $2M. Call: 614-6802
Vreed-en-Hoop Junction: office, storage bond, lesson place, church -$20,000 per month. Call: 603-6400
La Parfaite Harmonie -$1.8M, $1.6M, $1.4M, Tuschen Phase II -$1.3, Uitvlugt -$2M, New Road V/Hoop -$27M. Call: 604-6724
2 Bedroom Executive furnished Apartment in residential Area, close to Ogle Airport with all modern amenities.Call:622-5725/6641070
Diamond Scheme ( 2 nd Avenue), Eccles Scheme (middle) negotiable. Call: 6097766/225-8427 (must be sold) Plantation Elizabeth Ann, Right Bank Demerara River (58 Acres) - $15M negotiable. Call: 233-2725/233-2439/6723886
Upper flat for rent 3 bedrooms in Atlantic Gardens- Call: 2274377/227-0613/624-6013 1-2 Bedroom house in Lamaha Gardens $1000US monthly. 1-2 bedrooms apartment @ Lyng Street Charlestown -$50,000 monthly. Call: 231-4681/694-5000
Monday April 03, 2017
Kaieteur News
Venezuela opposition turns ire on Supreme Court judges
Freddy Guevara (C), First Vice President of the National Assembly and deputy of the opposition party Popular Will (Voluntad Popular), speaks during a news conference in Caracas, Venezuela April 2, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins CARACAS (Reuters) Venezuela’s opposition lawmakers said yesterday they will push for the removal of Supreme Court judges whom they accuse of acting on behalf of the ruling Socialists after the top tribunal briefly assumed control of congress last week. While the move by the opposition-led congress would only be symbolic because it remains powerless, it could add to pressure on unpopular president Nicolas Maduro as he tries to defuse the furor over what critics saw as a lurch into dictatorship. The Supreme Court’s ruling last week that it would take over functions of the National Assembly triggered
international condemnation and opposition protests at home. Even the country’s attorney general, a longtime government ally, said the decision was unconstitutional in a rare public rebuke from Maduro’s ranks. On Saturday, at the request of the government, the Supreme Court eliminated the offending ruling. But Maduro opponents said no one should believe that row- back meant democracy had been restored in the nation of 30 million people with the world’s largest oil reserves. “Despite a supposed retraction by the government after creating a coup d’etat, and apart from the
clarification by the Supreme Court, the coup persists,” lawmaker Juan Matheus said on behalf of the opposition. “The rupture of the constitutional order continues,” he added at a news conference inside the legislative building, flanked by pro-opposition legal and constitutional experts. Matheus said they will begin proceedings to remove the judges tomorrow but he did not give further details. Since the opposition won a majority in congress in late 2015, the court has issued a raft of rulings backing Maduro and overturning most of the assembly’s measures, meaning legislators remain effectively powerless.
Authority director under probe …Ministry to investigate boy living at her home
Trinidad Express - A three-member team of investigators is being assembled by the Ministry of Gender and Child Affairs in the Office of the Prime Minister to enquire into how a ward of the State came to be living at the home of Children’s Authority director Safiya Noel. The Express reported exclusively on March 9 that a teen committed by the court to St Michael’s School for Boys until he turns 18 has been living at Noel’s home since before Christmas last year. The boy is 15 years old. Following publication of the story, Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister (Gender and Child Affairs) Ayanna Webster-Roy said her ministry had requested a report from the authority, after which an investigation would be conducted. The Express reported that the authority submitted its report on March 13 and has now learnt that following receipt and review of the authority’s report, the ministry decided to proceed with an investigation. Crucial to the investigation will be whether
Safiya Noel the authority followed proper procedure in relocating the child from its Child Support Centre to Noel’s home, including specifically under what legal authority the child was moved; who among Noel’s -superiors okayed the decision and on what basis.
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Monday April 03, 2017
Monday April 03, 2017
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South African parliament’s speaker to consider Zuma no-confidence vote request Reuters - The speaker of South Africa’s parliament said yesterday she would consider a request from opposition parties to hold a ‘no confidence’ vote on President Jacob Zuma. Previous no-confidence motions against Zuma have failed as the ANC has a commanding majority, but there is a growing backlash against him from within his own party and its allies after a string of missteps which have culminated with his firing of a respected finance minister that rocked markets. Speaker Baleka Mbete, who is also the national chairperson of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), said in a televised news conference after she cut short a trip abroad that she wanted to ensure the
Baleka Mbete opposition requests were “given the appropriate consideration.” “I must stress that I am alive to the extreme challenges and sense of anxiety our young democracy
is going through at this moment,” Mbete said. Analysts say the sacking of finance minister Pravin Gordhan last week may trigger damaging credit downgrades from ratings agencies, which would drive up the government’s borrowing costs and restrict its ability to carry out the populist redistribution policies Zuma has indicated he wants to pursue. Zuma’s authority has been steadily undermined as his administration has staggered through a series of blunders and scandals, including the use of state funds to make lavish improvements to his rural homestead and a debacle that threatened the payment of social grants to millions who depend on them.
Greater equity for strata owners under new property tax regime KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — Strata property owners will benefit significantly from the new property tax regime which took effect Saturday. A new methodology for property tax assessment will be applied to strata properties that will allow owners to pay tax for the value of their individual units rather than the entire strata as was the case previously. Chief Corporate Communications Officer a t Ta x A d m i n i s t r a t i o n J a m a i c a ( TA J ) , M e r i s Haughton, speaking at a J I S T h i n k Ta n k o n Thursday (March 30) said the new methodology will bring equity to the system. She explained that under the old method, “if there are 10 units on a strata property and (it) is valued at $100 million, what would happen is that the entire property would fall into the value band of $100 million. The property tax would be assessed on that (figure) and then they would get their individual share of that property tax, but you would understand that with the tax rate being different for different value bands then they would be required to pay a higher amount,” she explained. “You would have had a neighbouring town house, for example; the value for that is $10 million, but with the strata that is next door they would have been paying tax on a $100 million value even though their individual value is $10
Meris Haughton million,” Miss Haughton further explained. However, as of the new fiscal year the value of individual units will determine the value band in which the property will fall. Miss Haughton said that property owners will receive
their assessments by the end of April as the TAJ works to configure its system to accommodate the change. With the new property tax regime the value bands have been expanded from the previous three to nine. The ranges are as follows: for the first $400,000.00 there is a $1,000.00 (flat rate); for the next $400,000.00, 0.80%; for the next $700,000.00, 0.85%; for the next $1,500,000.00, 0.90%; for the next $1,500,000.00, 1.05%; for the next $2,500,000.00, 1.10%; for the next $5,000,000.00, 1.15%; for the next $18,000,000.00, 1.25%; and for every dollar, thereafter, 1.30%. For more information the public is being encouraged to contact TAJ’s Customer Care Centre at 1-888- Tax- Help (1888- 829- 4357) or visit their w e b s i t e , www.jamaicatax.gov.jm .
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Rescuers, locals dig for Colombia Schiff says Trump wants us to follow the tweets, not the Russia probe flood victims, at least 210 dead
People walk on a street destroyed after flooding and mudslides, caused by heavy rains leading several rivers to overflow, pushing sediment and rocks into buildings and roads, in Mocoa, Colombia April 2, 2017. REUTERS/Jaime Saldarriaga Reuters - Families and rescuers searched desperately yesterday through mud-plastered rubble for victims of flooding and landslides in Colombia that have killed at least 210 people, injured hundreds and devastated entire neighbourhoods. Several rivers burst their banks near the southwestern city of Mocoa in the early hours of Saturday, sending water, mud and debris crashing down streets and into houses as people slept. Volunteers and firefighters tended to 82 bodies downstream in the town of Villagarzon and said many corpses were still caught in
debris. “We had to recover them ourselves. We think we’ll find more,” Villagarzon Mayor Jhon Ever Calderon told Reuters, adding that the town had no coffins or sanitary storage. Many families in Mocoa stayed up through the night to search in the debris, despite lack of electricity in the city. “I need to know where they are, if they are injured or where to find them,” sobbed Maria Lilia Tisoy, 37, looking for her two daughters, one pregnant, and a 4-year-old granddaughter in the rubble.
Britain ‘steadfastly committed’ to Gibraltar - PM May Reuters - Britain is “steadfast” in its commitment to Gibraltar and will work with the territory on the southern tip of Spain to secure the best possible outcome from Brexit talks, Prime Minister Theresa May said yesterday. The European Union proposed on Friday offering Spain a right of veto over Gibraltar ’s future trade relations with the bloc. That would give Madrid sway over the fate of the enclave once Britain has left the bloc and the status of its overseas territory is no longer an internal EU matter. Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain in 1713, but has long called for it to be returned. A former leader of May’s Conservative party, Michael Howard, said she would even be prepared to go to war to defend the territory, as then prime minister Margaret Thatcher did with Argentina over the Falkland Islands 35 years ago. Downing Street said May reiterated that Britain “remains steadfastly
Theresa May committed” to its support for Gibraltar, its people and its economy, in a call with t h e t e r r i t o r y ’s C h i e f Minister Fabian Picardo. “The Prime Minister said we will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state against their freely and democratically expressed wishes, nor will we ever enter into a process of sovereignty
negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content,” a spokeswoman said. “The Prime Minister said we remain absolutely dedicated to working with Gibraltar for the best possible outcome on Brexit, and will continue to involve them fully in the process.” Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said earlier that Gibraltar “is going to be protected all the way. “The people of Gibraltar have made it clear that they don’t want to live under the sovereignty of Spain,” he said on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show. Voters in Gibraltar, a s t r a t e g i c a l l y i m portant rocky outpost at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea, rejected the idea of Britain sharing sovereignty with Spain by 99 percent to 1 percent in 2002, but overwhelmingly backed remaining in the EU in June’s Brexit referendum. Howard invoked the 1982 Falklands war over the south Atlantic islands, another British overseas territory.
Reuters - The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee accused President Donald Trump yesterday of trying to divert Congress from its investigations of Russia’s role in the 2016 U.S. election and any links between Moscow and the Trump campaign. Representative Adam Schiff said the Republican president and his aides have instead attempted to throw the focus on the possibility of illegal leaks of classified information and whether Trump or his associates were caught up in incidental collection by surveillance that was targeting foreigners. Congressional committees, along with the FBI, are investigating what U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded were attempts by Russia to influence the Nov. 8 presidential election in Trump’s favour. They also are looking at any links between Russia and Trump.
Adam Schiff Schiff said Trump himself tried to shift Congress’ focus away from that core mission of foreign intervention. “I think his tweets tell the story,” Schiff said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “And the story is look over there at leaks, and look over there at anything the Obama administration we can claim did wrong on incidental collection or anything else.” “But whatever you do,
under no circumstances look here, at me or at Russia,” he said. Trump has repeatedly used Twitter to attack reports on Russian election meddling as “fake news” and “witch hunts” and denounce leakers of classified information on the issue. “The real story turns out to be SURVEILLANCE and LEAKING! Find the leakers,” Trump said in a Twitter post on Sunday. Republican Senator John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, was asked about Trump’s Twitter commentary on the congressional investigations. “Sometimes I think this is a distraction from what we should be doing,” Cornyn said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” Schiff added on CNN: “The White House seems to be doing everything it can to point in other directions and say, ‘Do not look here. There is nothing to see here.’”
Govt. Minister slams ‘lazy’ corporation workers Trinidad Guardian - Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein is calling on chairmen of the regional corporations to ensure that their employees do a fair day’s work for their salaries. Speaking at the launch of his ministry’s clean-up campaign in Princes Town Saturday, Hosein said it was common knowledge that corporation workers only work for a few hours each day. “It’s no secret to any citizen, and you will know who will judge us at the end of the day? The taxpayers who pay their salary and my salary,” Hosein said. “When you come to work at 7 am and you leave at 8.30 to 9 am, it does not reflect well on the corporation and I am asking each corporation to meet with their respective union representatives to sit and discuss how this normal work pattern can be changed.”Hosein said meetings with the various unions are necessary as some workers are classified as “task” workers who complete one task and leave for the day. But he said this has a bad effect on productivity and needs to be changed. “Right now we are not getting the productivity that we need and now it’s a time when the country needs productivity, you need to get
Kazim Hosein value for money.” Princes Town MP Barry Padarath also delivered remarks at the launch and called on Hosein to ensure the Princes Town Regional Corporation gets a new headquarters. Padarath also questioned why the funds collected from property tax would be sent to the Consolidated Fund instead of being placed into
the hands of the regional corporations. He said this contradicts what was promised by the PNM during their local government campaign. Responding to Padarath, the minister said, “I listened to him and I will take it to the ministry and make the proposals but right now, we are in the process of putting up two corporation buildings, we are doing all the groundwork for it right now.” He said those two corporations are the Penal/ Debe Regional Corporation and the Diego Martin Regional Corporation. With respect to the money to be collected from property tax, Hosein said, “I will do the best I can and ensure the funds that are collected go back to the corporation because we are on local government reform and the autonomy must be given to every corporation to do their own spending, cleaning and so on.”
Monday April 03, 2017
Arsenal held 2-2 by Man City as Wenger’s troubles persist (Reuters) Arsenal twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Manchester City in a tense Premier League encounter yesterday and stay seven points behind the fourth-placed visitors. Leroy Sane and Sergio Aguero twice fired City into the lead in the first half, but Arsenal equalised through Theo Walcott before Shkodran Mustafi’s header after the break ensured the points were shared. Against a background of fan discontent over the form of Arsene Wenger’s side as he decides his future, Arsenal were nervy from the start. They fell behind in the fifth minute when Sane rounded keeper David Ospina and finished elegantly after Arsenal’s defence was dissected by a sublime through-ball from the excellent Kevin De Bruyne for
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his 13th assist of the season. City lost impetus after the goal and Walcott levelled from close range in the 40th minute after being played onside by Arsenal old boy Gael Clichy, who tried desperately to make amends after his former team mate was played in by Mustafi. “We didn’t play in the first half, after the goal we forgot to play,” Pep Guardiola told Sky Sports. “The desire went. While the defensive frailties of both sides were regularly exposed, they also demonstrated their attacking brilliance in spells. Pep Guardiola’s first season in England has not been an unqualified success, but he has succeeded in giving City one of the Premier League’s sleekest attacks, and Arsenal’s equaliser spurred the visitors back to life. Aguero restored City’s
lead two minutes later after being picked out by David Silva before finishing with aplomb. Arsenal defender Mustafi again restored parity eight minutes after the break when he rose above Nicolas Otamendi to head Mesut Ozil’s corner past keeper Willy Caballero with City’s defence static. The draw takes City, who visit Chelsea on Wednesday, on to 58 points, five clear of fifth-placed Manchester United, who have a game in hand, and a point behind Liverpool, who have played a game more than Pep Guardiola’s side. Arsenal, in sixth, now have 51 points and are in danger of missing out on a top-four finish for the first time since 1996. They will bid to end a three-game winless streak in the Premier League when they host West Ham United on Wednesday.
Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne in action against Arsenal. (Reuters / Eddie Keogh Livepic)
Golden Jaguars visit GFF-Scotiabank... From page 34 coach. As I am teaching them, they are teaching me. In the community, we, as national players, have to set the right example because there are a lot of youths who look up to us and look to us for ideas and examples.” The Guyana Football Federation has created the country’s first nationwide network of 13 GFF Scotiabank Academy Training Centres across its nine member associations, delivering free, weekly and professional sessions for boys and girls in order to discover and more effectively develop young talent. Each association hosts open-door grassroots sessions for boys and girls aged 5-12, as well as elite youth training for specially-selected U13 boys, U15 boys, U17 boys and U17 girls, creating a clear pathway for young players to progress into the national teams and to reach their potential. “It’s a pleasure working with these kids and I think this programme will benefit these kids in a very good way,” said Alleyne. “In my young, youthful days, we didn’t have such a programme for us to develop and I think it is going to benefit them in a good way in developing their football.” “It is important for me and many other national players to be here because we can share our experience with the young kids and help them to develop their football so that
they could be better players in the future.” The GFF is focusing on youth development across the country to build solid foundations for future success and the administration is also working to include Guyana’s senior national players in the delivery of its programmes to help to inspire greater participation and engagement. “Having these guys here with the younger players, it’s such a boost for us by raising their enthusiasm for the game,” said GFF Technical Development Officer for the East Coast Demerara region and national goalkeeping coach Eon DeViera. “It was such a privilege to have them here to encourage the younger ones and to also work with them – for them to be able to see how these guys could really move with the ball. I think it was such a good thing for us to have them here at the academy.” GFF grassroots sessions are open to all boys and girls between the ages of 5 and 12 at each of the 13 GFF-Scotiabank Academy Training Centres around the country in Georgetown, East Coast Demerara, West Coast Demerara, Berbice (2), Rupununi (4), East Bank Demerara, Essequibo, Upper Demerara and Bartica. “There is so much talent out here in Guyana,” said Mills. “Guyana has so much talent that we don’t really recognise until we go into the communities.”
Federer downs Nadal to win Miami Open
Roger Federer of Switzerland (left) and Rafael Nadal of Spain prior to their match in the men’s singles championship of the 2017 Miami Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center. (Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports) Miami (AFP) - Roger Federer defeated long-standing rival Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-4 to win the Miami Open yesterday and continue his outstanding start to the year. Since returning from his six month injury lay-off, the 35-year-old Federer has also won the Australian Open and Indian Wells and he heads into the clay season as, once again, the dominant presence on the ATP Tour. Federer has beaten Nadal in all of those events this year and has now won his last four meetings between the pair. “It’s been a fabulous couple of weeks,” said Federer after his victory. The Spaniard was playing in his fifth Miami final but remains without a win in the Masters series event. The first set was a tight affair with both players having their opportunities to break. But it was not until the eighth game and 10th break point of the set that one of them was able to get ahead. Nadal could only find the net from a Federer backhand and the Swiss grabbed a 53 lead and held the next game to secure the
first set. Federer pinpointed his saving of break points in the first game and at 3-3 as crucial moments in the contest. “It was totally key,” Federer said. “He looked good from the get-go. He was playing big tennis, stepping in and doing all the right things. “A bit more luck on his side and the wrong decisions by me at that moment and it could have turned very quickly. It was a very intense first set.” There has always been a marked contrast between Federer and Nadal’s differing styles and with time it has become further accentuated. Nadal was working hard in the 83 degrees afternoon heat, thrusting himself into his shots while the elegant Federer’s poise appeared almost casual. The second set took an almost identical path, albeit with fewer openings to break for both players until Federer again pounced, to grab a 5-4 lead when Nadal went long returning a fine backhand.
GDF shoot down GYO as Ramdeen... From page 33 also made a welcome return to form with an elegant 52 and put on 90 with Akshaya Persaud who batted from start to finish in an attractive 54-ball unbeaten 72. Chanderpaul Hemraj (20) and Troy Gonsalves (11*) also contributed. Chandrika was playing with the fluency which had eluded him during Regional matches for Guyana when he was run out but the lefthanded Persaud, who hit Pestano for six over cover in an expensive last over from Guyana’s newest First-Class cricketer, was a joy to watch by a packed MSC pavilion which looked like the match was played at the Camp Road venue due to the huge Everest support. After Surujnarine fell to
Troy Gonsalves, in his new role as pacer, Barker was joined by Pestano and the pair played positively with Barker in particular, executing some gorgeous extra cover drives before he was LBW to Hemraj at 58-2. Pestano at times tried to hit the ball too hard and along with Jacobs, who played an entertaining array of shots, they were especially severe on left-arm spinner Javed Rasheed, carried the score to 117 before Pestano was removed by Persaud. Marcus Watkins and Orin Ford did not last too long but Jacobs was still there with MSC needing 11 from the last over bowled by Gonsalves. His first three balls produced two runs and MSC needed nine from three. Jacobs swung hard and he
just cleared the boundary but to the astonishment of the MSC supporters, after consulting with his colleague at square leg, Umpire Matthew Kissoon signaled four. After much delay and confusion, six was signaled and Jacobs finished the thrilling contest with a boundary to spark wild celebrations among their fans. In yesterday’s lone game MSC continued their winning way when they beat GDF by six wickets for their third win in four games to top zone ‘B’. Cordel Mars (3-16) and Edwin Burnette (3-91) restricted GDF to 113-7, while a brutal unbeaten 20-ball 58 from former National t20 batsman Orin Ford and 24 from Nichosie Barker led MSC to 114-5 in 15 overs as Dennis Legay had 2-14 for GDF.
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Monday April 03, 2017
Kaieteur News
Windies return to old habits to suffer series loss PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC — Saturday’s convincing victory proved only a false dawn as West Indies quickly returned to their unpleasant old habits, plunging to a seven-wicket defeat to Pakistan here yesterday, to concede the four-match series 3-1. Chasing what would have been a series-tying victory at Queen’s Park Oval, West Indies struggled from the outset when they were restricted to a modest 124 for eight off their 20 overs. Opener Chadwick Walton top-scored with 40 from 31 deliveries while captain Carlos Brathwaite chipped in with an unbeaten 37 off 24 balls down the order. New ball seamer Hasan Ali was brilliant, snaring two for 12 from his four overs to clinch Man-of-the-Match honours while 18-year-old leg-spinner Shadab Khan once again played a key role, taking two for 16, to be adjudged Man-of-the-Series. In reply, Pakistan were propelled by opener Ahmed Shezad who lashed 53 from 45 balls, as they marched to their target with an over to spare.
Ahmed Shehzad crashes one through cover en route his fifty, West Indies v Pakistan, 4th T20I, Port of Spain, ©AFP The consistent Babar Azam chimed in with 38 from 36 balls, while rookie seamer Kesrick Williams finished with two for 26 to be the best bowler for West Indies. The disappointing series defeat was the second straight one for the reigning T20 World champions, following their 3-0 whitewash at the hands of Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates last
September. Hoping to captalise on Saturday’s win which hauled them back into the series following losses in their opening two games, West Indies started strongly with Walton and Evin Lewis (7) posting 27 off 17 balls for the first wicket. The left-handed Lewis, who top-scored with 91 on Saturday, looked to be
extending that form when he swatted Ali over the ropes at long off in the day’s second over but perished in the next over when he picked out Ali at square leg with left-arm spinner Imad Wasim. Walton, who slammed two fours and four sixes, put on a further 25 for the second wicket with Marlon Samuels before he too departed, caught off Shadab at long on
Wray & Nephew Contender Season VII launched Jamaica Observer - A historic face-off between Jamaica and Canada will provide spectacular action in the ring during the seventh staging of the Wray & Nephew Contender boxing series. Sixteen professional boxers from Jamaica and Canada will vie for the top prize this season, which begins with live televised fights on Wednesday, April 5 at the home of the competition, the Chinese Benevolent Association of Jamaica in St Andrew, airing on TVJ at 9:30 pm. Season VII of the popular boxing series was launched on Tuesday, March 21 at J Wray & Nephew Limited’s football field, 234 Spanish Town Road in Kingston. There, the organisers announced Krystal Tomlinson as the new host for the competition and that boxers from Canada will compete against Jamaica, unlike last season when Jamaicans competed against boxers from the United States. Local boxers Ramel Lewis, Richard Holmes, Devon Moncrieffe, Tsetsi Davis, Nico Yeyo, Sakima Mullings, Ricardo Planter and Gregory Miller will represent Jamaica. Ryan Young, Frank Cotroni, Dave Leblond, Mike Breton, Larone Whyte, Phil Rose, Winston Matthews and Ryan Wagner will represent
New season features Best of The Best
in the ninth over by Shoaib Malik who had earlier put down the Jamaican on 18. Walton’s dismissal triggered a now familiar middle order slide as West Indies lost a flurry of wickets — six falling for 31 runs in the space of 43 deliveries — as Ali and Shadab wrecked the innings. Tottering on 83 for seven in the 16th over, West Indies were rescued by Brathwaite’s career-best knock which included two fours and two sixes. More importantly, he put on an important 38 for the eighth wicket with Sunil Narine (9) which helped West Indies past the 100-run mark. On 121 for eight at the start of the final over, West Indies’ hopes of a competitive total were scuppered by the excellent Ali who tied down Brathwaite and Samuel Badree and conceded just three runs. Shezad then got Pakistan away safely in their run chase, anchoring two key partnerships up front to erase
any lingering Windies hopes of a victory. The right-hander punched six fours and a six, putting on 40 for the first wicket with Kamran Akmal (20) and 70 for the second wicket with Babar. Shezad startedly slowly but picked up with two backto-back boundaries off seamer Jason Holder in the sixth over, and paced his innings nicely to raise his sixth T20I half-century with a cover-driven four off Williams in the 16th over. Akmal fell in the seventh over, tapping off-spinner Samuels to Williams at midwicket but Babar helped steady the innings, stroking a four and a six while surviving a chance on 30 in the 14th over off leg-spinner Badree. He and Shezad fell in the space of seven balls — in successive overs from Williams — to leave Pakistan on 115 for three in the 18th over but by that time, the result had been virtually decided.
SCOREBOARD WEST INDIES E Lewis c Hasan Ali b Imad Wasim 7 +C Walton c Shoaib Malik b Shadab Khan 40 M Samuels b Hasan Ali 22 J Mohammed b Hasan Ali 1 L Simmons run out 1 K Pollard b Rumman Raees 3 *C Brathwaite not out 37 J Holder c sub (Mohammad Nawaz b Shadab Khan 0 S Narine b Wahab Riaz 9 S Badree not out 1 Extras (lb2, w1) 3 TOTAL (8 wkts, 20 overs) 124 Did not bat: K Williams Fall of wickets: 1-27, 2-52, 3-59, 4-73, 5-73, 6-82, 7-83, 8-121. Bowling: Imad Wasim 4-0-25-1, Hasan Ali 4-2-12-2 (w1), Rumman Raees 4-1-25-1, Wahab Riaz 4-0-44-1, Shadab Khan 4-0-16-2.
Canada’s Winston Matthews (left) and Jamaica’s Sakima Mullings who will face off for the first fight in the Wray & Nephew Contender series on Wednesday, April 5. Team Canada. Pietro Gramegna, marketing manager, J Wray & Nephew Limited, said that there are historical firsts to this year’s competition. “Prior to the launch of the Wray & Nephew Contender, we made history by journeying to Colonel Cove in St Thomas, Island Village in St Ann, and Treasure Beach in St Elizabeth where we hosted three exciting Road to Contender pre-launch shows for the very first time. Traditionally, live fights were held only in Kingston, but we
believed it was time to take the action to patrons in all three counties of Jamaica. All matches held outside of Kingston were successful and over $400,000 in cash and prizes were given to the boxers and patrons,” Gramegna said. He added that Wray & Nephew is also creating history by partnering with another iconic Jamaican brand, Ting, for their ‘Wraytastic’ mixed drink offerings this season, The opening fight for Season 7 – Best of the Best will feature 2014 Wray &
Nephew Contender Champ, Sakima Mullings versus Canada’s Winston Mathews next Wednesday at 9:30 pm. The winner of this season’s Wray & Nephew Contender will receive a cash prize of $2,000,000. While the runner-up will receive $500,000, the third-place winner will receive $250,000 and the fourth-place winner will receive $200,000. Season seven’s matches will be held at the Chinese Benevolent Association on Wednesdays, airing live exclusively on TVJ at 9:30 pm.
PAKISTAN Ahmed Shehzad b Williams 53 Kamran Akmal c Williams b Samuels 20 Babar Azam c sub (R Powell) b Williams 38 Shoaib Malik not out 9 *+Sarfraz Ahmed not out 3 Extras (lb1, w3) 4 TOTAL (3 wkts, 19 overs) 127 Did not bat: Imad Wasim, Fakhar Zaman, Rumman Raees, Wahab Riaz, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali. Fall of wickets: 1-40, 2-110, 3-115. Bowling:Badree 4-0-38-0, Holder 3-0-24-0, Williams 3-0-16-2 (w1), Narine 4-0-19-0, Brathwaite 2-0-13-0 (w2), Mohammed 1-0-5-0. Result: Pakistan won by seven wickets. Series: Pakistan won four-match series 3-1. Man-of-the-Match: Hasan Ali. Man-of-the-Series: Shadab Khan. Toss: Pakistan. Umpires: G Brathwaite, J Wilson; TV — Leslie Reifer Jr.
Monday April 03, 2017
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Kaieteur News
Arrow Point Resort sponsors 8th Prize in GCB 75th Anniversary Raffle
GNIC lift Noble House Seafoods 2-day title MOM Rafael Singh bags 13-87 in losing cause for TSC
Marketing Manager of the Guyana Cricket Board, Mr. Raj Singh (left) receives the eight prize tickets of a day trip for 2 to Arrow point Resort from Dellon Murray, the Marketing Executive of the Roraima Group. The Guyana Cricket Board recently announced the launching of its grand fund raising 75th Anniversary Raffle in aid of youth and female cricket development and Arrow Point Resort has handed over their prize. Tickets go on sale from next weekend and have been priced at just $200 per ticket in books of 25 for an even $5,000. The final drawing is set for April 7th, 2018. The controllers for the raffle are: Anand Kalladeen, Raj Singh &Anand Sanasie. There would be 8 very attractive prizes to be raffled out at its final drawing. The first prize is a motor car, with a motorcycle as the second prize. The 3rd prize is a return airfare to New York. The condition attached to this prize is that it does not include a visa but it is anticipated that the ticket holder can either obtain a visa on his/her own or the GCB and the sponsor may be flexible to agree to a transfer of the ticket to a relative or friend of the ticket holder. The fourth prize is a 60" Television set. The fifth prize is a beautiful gold necklace
which has already been sponsored by popular jewellery establishment, Steve’s Jewellery. The sixth prize is an Acer laptop computer. The seventh prize is a return trip for 2 to Kaieteur Falls, with the eight prize being a day trip for 2 to one of our most exotic resorts, Arrow Point Resort. More information on the sponsors for the other prizes would be released in the forthcoming week. Tickets would be on sale at the Providence National Stadium during the 3 ODIs, WI vs Pakistan, so be on the lookout look for our ticket vendors as there would be a consolation drawing during the 3rd ODI on Tuesday, the 11th April. There would be other consolation drawings in August during CPL and December. Tickets will be on sale afterwards at specified outlets around the country and from any executive member of the GCB. Marketing Manager of the Guyana Cricket Board, Mr. Raj Singh recently collected the eight prize tickets of a day trip for 2 to Arrow Point Resort from Dellon Murray, the Marketing Executive of the Roraima Group.
Jepkosgei smashes three world records at Prague Half Marathon (Reuters) Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei broke the world half marathon record as well as the 10km and 15km marks at the Prague Half Marathon on the way to winning the IAAF Gold Label Road Race in one hour, four minutes and 52 seconds yesterday. The 23-year-old, who was competing in just her fifth half marathon, clocked splits of
30:05 and 45:37 to improve the 10km and 15km world records. “I didn’t know I would break the world record today,” said Jepkosgei, whose previous best time was 1:06:08 in this year’s Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon. “I only wanted to improve my time. This is a surprise for me. The conditions were good for me because I’m used to training at this time of day,
in the morning.” Defending champion Violah Jepchumba of Kenya finished second in 65:22, with Fancy Chemutai third. Jepkosgei was pushed to her limits by Jepchumba as the pair were separated by one second at the 10km mark, both well inside the previous record of 30:21 set by Paula Radcliffe in 2003. However, Jepkosgei began pulling away from Jepchumba as her lead grew to three seconds at 15km and she crossed the line with 64:52 on the clock to shave 14 seconds from the world half-marathon record set this year by compatriot Peres Jepchirchir. Ethiopia’s Olympic 10,000m bronze medalist Tamirat Tola won the men’s race in 59:37. Kenyans Josphat Tanui and Geoffrey Yegon were second and third.
By Sean Devers The fifth annual Noble House Seafoods two-day second division cricket final ended in a draw yesterday at Bourda but by virtue of taking first innings points GNIC were crowned Champions, while TCS had the settle for the runners-up spot despite a Man-of-the-Match performance from off-spinner Rafael Singh who had match figures of 13-87 in a losing effort. GNIC took the $100,000 winners cheque and the beautiful Noble House Seafoods trophy, while TSC collected $60,000 and the runners-up trophy. Members from both teams along with the three Umpires received medals. Scores: GNIC 167 & 138, TSC 123. Set 168 for first innings points, TSC began the second day on 67-6 and fell for 123 as only Skipper Shawn Massiah showed any meaningful resistance with 26 before he lofted 59-year-old Clyde Butts to deep mid-wicket to be eighth out with the score on 104. While Massiah only reached the boundary once he defied Butts, who played seven Tests for the West Indies from 1985 to 1988, with a resolute defence but once he was dismissed, Butts, with 348 First-Class and 270 wickets for Guyana, bowled Akeem Redman (7). Joshua Wilson (14) played aggressively before being dismissed by off-spinner Gajanand Suknanan who finished with 4-29 from 19.2 overs. Butts supported 3-8 from eight overs while pacer Deswin Butts had 224 from 12 overs. GNIC with a lead of 44, lost first innings top-scorer Stephon Campbell (2) when he edged a catch to the Keeper as Wilson struck at 16-1. Kurt Lovell and Marc Nicholson took the score to 64 before Nicholson, who lofted a six and hit three fours including a gloriously struck drive to the cover boundary, was caught and bowled by the bespectacled Singh for 35 in the second session. Although Lovell continued to bat well in hot conditions Azeem Azeez had Ryan Shun (6) taken at long-off before Singh, who again tormented the batsmen, dismissed Premchand Sookdeo (1) at 80-4 as three quick wickets fell. But Lovell remained solid with 40 decorated with three fours and six, while Butts, who could be playing in his last match at club level, dumped Singh for six before stroking him to the cover boundary. However, Singh had the last laugh when he had the former Guyana Captain well caught at long-off for a cameo 24 shortly before the
MOM Rafael Singh spun webs around the GNIC batsmen for match figures of 13-87 in a losing cause. game was called off with TSC set 182 to win from six overs. Singh followed up his 6-29 in the first innings with 7-58, while Azeez took 225. At the presentation, Noble House Seafoods Senior Supervisor Dwarka Singh congratulated GNIC and informed that cricket is loved by almost everyone in the Fishing Company. GCA President and former Test off-spinner Roger Harper thanked the sponsor and everyone else who contributed to making the tournament a success. GDF’s Leon Andries, who had 20 wickets and made 309 runs, was named MVP and also took the prize for batsman with the most runs, while Everest’s left-arm spinner Javed Rasheed took the awards for most wickets (26) and best bowling in an innings (8-49). DCC’s Sherfane Rutherford copped the award for the highest score (161).
Shawn Massiah is about to caught off Skipper Clyde Butts who took 3-8 from 8 overs in what could be his final match.
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Monday April 03, 2017
Kaieteur News
Providence win Supligen / Quarter-final Bel Air Lions Domino Tournament fixtures released Petra Organisation / GT Beer Futsal Competition
Fixtures have been released for the quarter-finals of this year’s Petra Organisation / GT Beer Futsal Competition which resumes tomorrow night, at the National Gymnasium. However, before the start of last eight action, two exhibition matches will be played featuring teams from taxi services Green Ice and Pretty Posse and Upper Level Barber Shop versus GRA. 19:30 hrs Green Ice Taxi vs Pretty posse 20:15 hrs Upper level vs GRA 21:00 hrs Sophia vs Tucville 21:45 hrs West Front Road vs Bent Street 22:30 hrs Back Circle vs Broad Street Bullies 23:15 hrs Sparta Boss vs North East La Penitence
West Indies, Pakistan arrive today for Guyana leg of tour The winning Providence team pose with their medals and trophies following the conclusion of the presentation ceremony. Providence with 76 games came home ahead of Mix up on 64 and All Seasons in the cellar on 60 to emerge winners of the recently staged Bel Air Lions / Supligen Domino Competition. Played at the Lions Den in Enachu Street, Section ‘N’, Campbellville, thirty-two teams started the competition which was played over two days using the two in one out system, requiring eight rounds to determine the winner. Among the twenty-two teams that were eliminated on opening day were last year’s champion Swagga Boys, Spartans and Rage leaving Masters, F&H, Providence, Transport, Mix Up, All Seasons, Specialist, Pace
Setters, RSS and Trappers as the teams qualifying for final day action and a crack at the championship trophy. In the first round, Trappers, Specialist and Transport were eliminated, while in round two F&H and Pacesetters suffered a similar fate. In the third round, Masters joined those on the sidelines, while Mix Up drew the bye to the finals and RSS, All Seasons and Providence were left to contest the semifinals. RSS were outclassed in the semifinals and faded after showing much potential in the earlier rounds, leaving regular rivals Providence, Mix Up and All Seasons to contest the final.
In the final, Providence started off at a blistering pace and never relinquished the lead and by the end of the fourth sitting they were obvious winners, ahead by as much as twenty plus games. H o w e v e r, t h e r e w a s much excitement for the second position, but Mix Up held off a strong challenge by All Seasons to as the runner-up. The player of the final award went to Marsden Beaton of Providence, who amassed the maximum 18 games, and won for himself $10,000 and a case of Supligen. For their effort, Providence carted off $250,000, medals and the winning trophy, while Mix Up
and All Seasons received $150,000 and $100,000 respectively along with trophies and medals. The presentation ceremony was chaired by Bel Air Lions President Matthew Langevine, and presentations done by President of the Georgetown Dominoes Association (GDA), Faye Joseph and Supligen Brand Manager Mr. Gomes, who praised the Organisers for the way in which the game was organised and played and promised continued support. The Club thanked Beepats & Co. and the Supligen Brand for supporting the civic fund raising activity and the GDA for its role in co-ordinating the tournament.
As West Indies and Pakistan concluded their T20 series yesterday, the Caribbean tour by Pakistan now turns to the three (3) One Day Internationals slated for Guyana, at the National Stadium, Providence. The matches in Guyana are expected to give West Indies the leading edge, as they seek to take advantage of the favorable pitch and ground conditions at Providence, to ensure a clean sweep of Pakistan and to register and reinstate their dominance. Today, both teams, West Indies and Pakistan will arrive in Guyana at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, at Timehri. The highly competitive Pakistan side, which has given the West Indies a fierce challenge so far, will arrive with their buoyant West Indian competitors, on the Caribbean airline chartered
Flight BW 8000 at 13:55 hours. The arrival will leave Pakistan with just three days of preparation, before their first One Day 50 Overs International match at Providence on Friday 7 April. The other two matches in Guyana, will be played at the said venue, National Stadium, Providence, and will be played on Sunday 9 April, and Tuesday 11 April. All matches in Guyana are scheduled to commence at 09:30, and prospective spectators are asked to uplift their tickets before the match days, so as to reduce the congestion at the frequently stringent Providence, ground entrances. Tickets and car passes can be acquired online or at the Guyana Cricket Board office, situated on Regent Street, Bourda between 08:00 and 18:00 hours on all days preceding the match dates.
Konta beats Wozniacki in straight sets in Miami final
Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark (L) and Johanna Konta of Great Britain (R) hold the finalist trophy and Butch Buchholz Trophy (respectively) after their match in the women’s singles championship of the 2017 Miami Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center. (Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)
(Reuters) Late-blooming Johanna Konta won the biggest title of her career when she beat Caroline Wozniacki 6-4 6-3 in the women’s final at the Miami Open on Saturday. British 10th seed Konta used an aggressive game plan to overcome Danish 12th seed Wozniacki on the Crandon Park hardcourt. Konta stuck to her hardhitting tactics, despite a few hiccups, before clinching victory with a perfectlyweighted lob that landed on the baseline for her second title of the year, after winning in Sydney in January. “I couldn’t believe it was over because I was so focused, just trying on every single point,” Konta, who hit 33 winners, said in a courtside interview. “Having opportunities like these to almost get a pat on the back for all that hard work is very rewarding.”
Wozniacki used all of her vaunted endurance to run tirelessly after every ball, but was undone by a weak serve. She was broken six times and won only 30 percent of her second serves, which Konta picked off relentlessly. Konta, 25, is somewhat of a late bloomer. She was ranked 150th in the world at the end of 2014 and improved to 47th in 2015, but her biggest improvement came last year. It has been barely eight months since she clinched her first career title by beating Venus Williams in the Stanford, California final, before adding in the city of her birth the Sydney International in January. “I think the belief has been there since I was a little girl,” said Konta, who will rise to seventh on Monday. “Everybody’s journey is different. I needed a little more time and a little more experience to accumulate the
Johanna Konta of Great Britain kisses the Butch Buchholz Trophy after her match against Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark. (Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports) knowledge that I have and reuse it in my matches. “I play smart tennis and calmer tennis I think. It just took time. On paper it looks like a quick turnaround but it’s been a long time coming.” Asked how high she
could go in the rankings, and whether a grand slam victory was in her sights, she said: “I think the belief has been there since I was a little girl. I’d like to be the best player in the world but there’s a lot of work to be done between now and then.”