Kaieteur News
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Friday August 30, 2019
Govt. gets tough on poor electrical - signs orders for installation products 31 new standards - 'Fairy Lights', power outlets, surge protectors among items on list
F
or years now, consecutive governments have been talking and warning about it. Homeowners have to be careful about their wiring in the homes. While on paper the inspectors were tough on the codes of wiring for buildings, in reality, there
Government has signed an order which sets out the standards of wiring installation products.
was generally a slap-on-thewrist handling of the matters when infringements were found. Government inspectors, the Fire Department and even technicians from the Guyana Power and Light Inc. have all blamed poor wiring, sub-standard products and decades-old systems for fires, a few of them deadly. As of August 2nd, the Government has signed new standards that will force contractors and inspectors to insist that only products that have passed the grade to be used. Minister of State, Dawn
Hastings-Williams signed the “Declaration of Compulsory National Electrical Installation Products Standards�. In the list were 31 items that must comply with the standards. These include seasonal and holiday decorative products (Christmas or fairy lights),
armoured cables, panel boards, conduit and tubing, surge protectors, circuit breakers and grounding. Electrical wires, cables and flexible also have to meet the new standards. Power transformers, metallic outlet boxes and safety for low voltage (continued on page 12)
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Kaieteur News
Friday August 30, 2019
KAIETEUR NEWS Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: ADAM HARRIS Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491 Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
EDITORIAL
Indecisive leaders hiding behind others The journey to nowhere continues. In the forefront stands these troubled, indecisive men and women. We call them leaders. They could not make any decision, even if their very existence depended on it. No! They pass off, escalate, delegate, and engage in one tricky strategy after another to duck and dodge their responsibilities. Look at them and what is observed? Easily recognized are those cunning, vacillating individuals unwilling to make any decisions, so they lean on friends and neighbours in the domestic community, or farther afield in the region. That would be the Chief Justice (ag) and the CCJ respectively. The latest recruit in these crafty exercises is the chair of Gecom. She holds a clear plastic bag of struggling cats; they claw and mewl without respite. The post-house to house registration announcement (and reactions) spoke abundantly and unsparingly in this regard. Each local political chief and clan looks for these reluctant parties invited (more like thrown) into the fray to decide for them. They wait, in full combat readiness, to resume the deceptions through interpreting what is handed down, that is most favourable personally and tribally. There is nothing of the national in their positions. At the heart of these parsing and contentious exercises is a now patented array of a seasoned confidence trickster’s scripts and postures. Thus, the games begin all over again, with no end in sight: about merged lists, Claims and Objections protocols, and Preliminary and Official Lists of Electors - PLE and OLE. One dogfight after another looms. This is what should be noticed, as practiced with increasing ease. This is what passes for democracy and governance in this land stuck in reverse gear, with engine revving loudly but uselessly. It is why we ask at this publication: Where can it go to? How can Guyana get anywhere? What hope is there for this society and its peoples?Perhaps another local and familiar illustration would help to reinforce how foolish we appear as leaders, as citizens, and as a society before the world. The only ones not seeing this is us; when we do, we don’t care. Our predicaments are like that of a squabbling, hostile, and incompatible couple. The problems abound; serious and chronic, if not grave. Instead of sitting down at arm’s length and engaging in genuine conversation on how to mend, how to agree on what must be done and by whom, and how to finalise going from where things are to where what could be, there is evading and escaping, through the subtlest of trickeries. The troubled couple (think political sides) pass on their indecisiveness and problems - skin-crawling and sickening first to friends and well-wishers, then neighbour and village head; and last, older, supposedly more experienced and wiser, in-laws. Is not this what Guyanese, through their elected leaders, have been doing? Think CCJ. And Chief Justice. And Gecom chair. Elected leaders refuse to budge; they refuse to come together to make a decision, any decision, to map a way out of the bad feelings and hard feelings.Leaders, despite all the exhortations of the jurists of the CCJ, refuse to listen; so they hand over to the chair of Gecom and the acting Chief Justice, with the contentment of knowing that, if the holdings go against their expectations, a comforting world still awaits. It is the regular world of critiquing and paralysing through more useless analysing and interpreting. This is what passes for leadership in Guyana, and its menus for failures.Here is a slew of individuals, who cannot think for themselves, and who will not rise to separate themselves. They argued over a chair; and then a registration process (also restricted). In front of the current crop of local political wisenheimers disputes harden over lists, what is going to constitute claims and objections, and then something called the Official List of Electors.In all of this, and based on the not unsurprising reactions, citizens should discern a chairwoman struggling to please everyone (merged lists) and who ends up pleasing none. As all those who created this mess laugh, Guyanese pull out their hair, wring their hands, grind their teeth, shed their tears, and lose their minds. Up next, the war over merged lists and claims and objections. Guyana is its own biggest, richest suicide caricature and statistic. A modern marvel, indeed.
Oil and Gas a Winning Electoral Strategy DEAR EDITOR, I applaud KN for its focus on how Guyana has been short changed in the oil and gas (O&G) contract signed by succeeding governments with energy companies (royalties, uncapped interest rates, and deduction of costs as expenses, etc. The political parties are not issuing statements on contract renegotiation and use of revenues perhaps to appease (or not to be out of favour with) the energy companies. But Guyanese are becoming increasingly angry over the oil contracts. Oil and gas could become a winnable electoral strategy in the coming elections. Political parties that address this issue and how it will spend the incoming oil revenues stand to make major electoral gains. Most Guyanese hardly paid attention to O&G in 2015. Even less Guyanese
understand the significance or the concept of O&G to the development of the economy. But of late, Guyanese have begun to pay greater attention to O&G thanks to the almost daily coverage provided in the media particularly by KN on how the country has been cheated of a fair percentage of the revenues. KN has been discussing the shortcomings of the contracts with energy companies and those given oil blocks. Going back to 2016 and 2017, I conducted opinion polls for NACTA on the nation’s views on the O&G sector and on the contracts with the energy companies. Very few Guyanese seemed familiar with the issues. But in recent NACTA polls conducted last year and this year, a rising number of Guyanese are paying attention to O&G and are expressing (displaying) an understanding of how they are being cheated by the energy companies. The Diaspora is also au fait with
the contracts. Almost every Guyanese is now saying it is a bad contract. They blame our negotiators for accepting a terrible contract described as perhaps the worst for any country in the energy industry. Almost every professional and those in the know about energy want the contract to be renegotiated. Ordinary or layman Guyanese say the country has been cheated; some even used the word robbed in describing what they were told about the features of the contract. They know they are being taken for a ride as they related in the surveys. Politicians should not take Guyanese for fools. They will pay dearly at the polls (not opinion polls that disfavour the contracts) but the real thing (elections). Any party that articulates a sound oil and gas policy demanding a fair share of royalties (expenses not deducted first) in accordance with international
norms and equitable profit sharing will garner significant electoral support. A large percentage of the population is disgruntled with the handling of the economy and the O&G contracts . Too many are suffering and are openly speaking about the poor state of the economy. Any politician who does not recognise that people are hurting has not been on the ground. They should heed warnings if opinion surveys. Oil and Gas made the Middle East countries super wealthy. Oil and Gas can also make Guyana a developed nation and every Guyanese super wealthy. The newly formed minor parties would do well to focus on the energy contracts especially on royalties if they wish parliamentary representation. They will create major upsets in voter support. Yours truly, Dr. Vishnu Bisram
Compromise cannot be used to cure a violation GECOM to accelerate the adulterated with even an iota of the Constitution process by working longer of illegality! DEAR EDITOR, The Coalition Government has once again shown its total disregard and insensitivity for the hardearned taxpayers’ dollars of the Guyanese people. It matters little that value for money is sacrificed for political expedience and the usual few getting filthy rich in the process. This Caretaker Government made a huge ‘investment’ in the H2H registration in its bid to remain in power. In November last year, the Committee of Supply of the National Assembly approved $5.4 billion dollars for the Guyana Elections Commission. The Opposition had proposed after the successful passing of the NCM that GECOM utilised the $3billion intended for National Registration for the holding of Elections, but this never materialised. The Finance Minister, Mr. Winston Jordan had said that, “the sum of $5,371,061,000 is given as a lump sum to GECOM to use as it sees fit and as it prioritises” and the Coalition made full use of this offer. The CCJ ruling would have negated the H2H registration in keeping with the 3-month timeline as stipulated by Article 106 but GECOM saw this as a priority to execute the will of the Coalition. The unilateral and
legally flawed appointment of Mr Patterson bore dividends on June 11th 2019, days before the CCJ’s rulings on 18th June. The then GECOM Chairman, Mr. Patterson, used his casting vote to initiate the House-to-House Registration, which was scheduled to begin on July 20th and to end on October 20th, 2019. The Order for Registration was signed by Patterson on June 11 and was a well-guarded secret since the conspiracy with the Coalition to delay the Elections as long as possible to pad the Electoral List was the decisive factor. The Order came into effect as planned but without the legally required scrutineers from the PPP/C, hence those who would have registered lacked verification. The PPP/C was not even invited to supervise the registration process. This again smacks of collusion between GECOM and the Coalition. Hence, the entire House-to-House Registration was a farce enacted for the benefit of the Coalition-to pad the list with foreign nationals. This H2H should have been aborted since the GECOM Chairperson held her first statutory meeting. The GECOM Chairperson even after the Court ruling by Chief Justice Roxanne George that the H2H is not unconstitutional but recommended GECOM considers other forms of verification should have halted the H2H registration immediately instead of allowing it to continue until 31st August. This has allowed
hours again fulfilling the expectations of the Coalition. Why is it that the process was allowed to continue when it became clear that the existing NRR will not be invalidated and that there will be an ‘extensive’ Claims and Objections period which would have captured those persons not on the list? Furthermore, the decision to ‘merge’ the data from the H2H registration with the NRR is again affording the Coalition more delaying time since this will take an unduly long time which will again violate the CCJ’s rulings and the Constitution. The data should have been scrapped on 27th August and the Claims and Objections period be brought into immediate effect to afford Elections within a ‘reasonable’ timeline. This decision to allow the H2H to continue until month end and to use the unverified data in a ‘merging’ process is a very poor one and a decision which this country can ill-afford at this time bearing in mind that a successful NCM against this Coalition was passed since 21st December, 2018 and further ratified by the CCJ since 18th June this year. The GECOM Chair is cognizant of this fact but failed to rule accordingly. This is not upholding the Rule of Law and the Constitution and enabling free, fair and transparent elections as promised! ‘Compromise’ cannot be used to cure a violation of the Constitution and justice cannot be
At this point some lingering and pertinent questions need to be answered. What is the number of new registrants who are above the age eighteen? We must take into consideration that the List expired on April 30 this year and persons attaining the age of eighteen would automatically be on that List. Any extraordinarily significant number of new registrants appearing will give credence to the padding suspicions that already abound. Why is it that these unverified registrations on the Official List of Electors? We must consider that the ‘extended’ Claims and Objections period can take care of those not on the existing NRR. Will this ‘merging’ plus the ‘extended’ Claims and Objections period not take the Election into 2020 and so violate the Constitution? The GECOM Chairperson, Justice (rtd) Claudette Singh, must scrap this new H2H data and embark on the Claims and Objections period to sanitize the List and afford Guyanese not only a free, fair and transparent Election but a TIMELY one as well. Guyanese are too tired and cannot be held hostage to this deliberate political malingering, which has become unbearably ridiculous and extremely absurd given that more than 8 months have elapsed since the successful passing of the NCM. Yours sincerely, Haseef Yusuf
Minister Ramjattan has reached new lows DEAR EDITOR, The GAWU could not have failed to recognise the recent statements by Vice President and Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan with respect to the sugar industry. As reported by an online news entity on August 26, the Minister, during a meeting held in Corriverton, reportedly told his audience “…that the Government made the right decision to close the estates”. While it is now publicly acknowledged the Minister is known for his outlandish statements and has found his foot in his mouth on more than one occasions, his utterances this time around has even defied, in our view, even the low expectations that many had of him. While the Minister, seemingly preaching from his ivory tower, justifies, unashamedly, the decision to shutter estates which in its wake put thousands on the breadline, the communities and people linked to Skeldon, Rose Hall, East Demerara and Wales are going through miserable times and hardship-filled days and nights. Today, while the Minister and his colleagues make “wishy-washy” statements and provide sordid rationales, there are people in the precincts of the closedestates that find it hard to eat; or to pay their bills or to send their children to school. The public is well-aware of the situation wherein the people of Skeldon must pay NICIL to catch fish in the canals to feed their families. Then there is the more recent instance, where a child of a redundant sugar worker is unable to take up a place at the illustrious Queen’s College as his parents, simply, cannot afford to meet
the expenditure. The Minister went on to tell those he spoke to that, “…the citizenry would become filthy rich in the near future with the booming oil sector coming on stream”. It seems the Minister is saying that we should place all our eggs in one basket. It is disheartening that an educated person and more so a national leader is making such outrageous statements. Time, experience and history have thought us that we never should place all our eggs in a single basket. Moreover, recently Minister Winston Jordan tempered expectations when he said that oil revenues in the early years will just be a few hundred million United States dollars hardly sufficient to make us all “filthy rich”. Then, at the same time, we cannot ignore the many views expressed regarding the lopsided arrangements regarding oil exploitation that has been entered into. We really wonder whether the Minister’s feet were on the ground when he was speaking.Today, while the Minister goes on to justify the unjustifiable, it was not too long ago and not too far away from Corriverton, when Mr. Ramjattan told an APNU-AFC rally at Whim, during the 2015 elections campaign, that if elected, they “…will not in any way close the sugar industry…” Indeed, it goes to show that you can no longer take anything at face value from Minister Ramjattan and his ilk. Yours faithfully, Seepaul Narine General Secretary GAWU
No party and no administration is immune from the fate that has befallen this government DEAR EDITOR, Reference is made to Sherwood Lowe’s letter (‘Ignoring the illegitimacy of the NCM poses a risk to our democracy’) which was thought-provoking. Thanks to him first for a willingness to engage. It is only by continuing the exchange of views that Guyanese will come to understand each other’s positions. To offer a slightly different vantage point (which I have stated in these columns repeatedly): APNU/AFC won by one seat, the slenderest of margins They lost the vote of No
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Confidence by one vote, which is all it took to bring the government down. The possibility of the APNU/AFC government falling was in prospect from the moment it started its term of office. Anyone who has observed the precarious existence of coalition governments that routinely scrape to victory in Europe (and subsequently fall) would have realised this. To the dismay of many local observers, the coalition governed as though they had no need to compromise or to consult or try to include other groups or build consensus.
But then this is the standard procedure in Guyana. Our politicians all have a “winnertakes-all” mentality. The coalition is not the first to be guilty of this attitude. It is outdated. Demographics suggest strongly that we all need to wake up. Coalition governments with slender majorities are likely to be the norm rather than the exception in Guyana’s future. No party and no administration is immune from the fate that has befallen this one. Yours faithfully, Isabelle de Caires
ONLY FULL COMPLIANCE WITH THE CONSTITUTION IS ACCEPTABLE DEAR EDITOR, The Chairman of GECOM has finally put an end to the house-to-house registration exercise, this is a most welcomed act and I must commend her for doing so. However, that move still falls woefully short of fulfilling the constitutional requirements of the law, which states, that GECOM should now move swiftly into elections mode. That elections mode means that there must be a Claims and Objections process, which would in effect add to the list of electors those persons who would have attained the voting age of 18 years as well as sanitize the list of those persons who would have died since the last election. This is the final stage of the electoral process which should take us no more than one month to complete, albeit to officially come to
compliance with the constitutional deadline. On the other hand, the PNC Led Coalition through its political hacks at GECOM are trying to spin a confusing yarn that the present duplicate, and in most cases, suspect list of registrants, must be added to the National list of Registrants data base. This cannot be because here you have a house-to-house exercise that lacked the scrutiny of the main political opposition (which makes it totally illegal) and an exercise that is wholly incomplete, this brings into focus another nonsensical issue. So this idiotic argument cannot be allowed to flourish even to the point of gaining any sensible attention, you cannot add an incomplete list to the NRR List, it just cannot happen. This is just another delay tactic by the PNC to confuse
and delay the holding of general elections. In the first place, the holding of house-to-house was an order issued by an illegally appointed GECOM Head, which again made that order illegal. Instead of getting ready for elections, which should have been set in motion since December 22, the day after the successful passage of the no-confidence motion, that illegal chairman began a process political posturing all in the grand scheme to avoid election preparation. Seeing this new chairperson has decided to get out of that morass, the only logical thing now is to follow the constitution to the letter. Elections must be held, and there should be no delay. Respectfully submitted, Neil Adams
Let unity be our life style DEAR EDITOR, Guyana a nation that was once looked down upon by sister Caribbean Nations, has in the last four years come to a place where she is now envied by neighbours, for her abundant oil resources recently discovered offshore. This new found wealth has however motivated some selfish political figures to fan the flames of race politics as their trump card to the seat of government, a move that can only lead to national self destruction. When the motive behind an act is wrong, once the goal of that act is achieved, that motive will express itself boldly. In the case of the Guyanese politicians presenting themselves to be those looking out for the interest of one of Guyana’s six races, that motive is greed -
the same greed that was displayed previously by the said campaigners. Nationalism base on ethnicity is foolishness. Guyana must be for all Guyanese. Those who seek to rebuild walls of ethnic divide must be treated with disdain by all genuine Guyanese. No one must be allowed to carry out crimes against the state, and hide under the race for race banner. Those who stole from the state have stolen from us all. The race for race politics must never be allowed to rule in Guyana again. National development must also continue in all 10 regions, and no political group must be allowed to get away with developing their strong holds only. Our song of unity must now become our life style.
Some may hate me for saying this, but those who teach hate can never display real love. When it comes to my fellow Guyanese, for me it is one love. I have a dream of all my countrymen living as one, and the leader or party who works toward the fulfillment of that dream I support with no apology. Apostle Adrian Wade
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The rules of the market place can be remarkably flexible but unpredictable DEAR EDITOR, Ethics, morality, decency, accountability and transparency known as the five virtues or 5V’s, have from time immemorial, posed a major challenge to humankind, irrespective of whether the person of interest is at the top or the lower end of the social ladder. Ethics represent the rules of conduct which when practiced, ushers in success at work and in one’s personal/ professional life. Good ethics are simple to learn. It is easily recognisable when you see it. The examples and challenges of practicing good ethics can be found in the Bible, the Ramayana and the Holy Quran. Practice, we are advised, is the criterion of truth, but the challenge lies in the practice either in favour of, or against the five V’s. At the same time, history is replete with examples show-
ing that many, who did not live by the 5V’s, notwithstanding their notoriety, did by a hook or crook achieve success in their personal, professional or political life. What inevitably followed was tyrannical rule, rampant corruption and abuse of power became the order of the day under the rule of such individuals. Their demise was only a matter of time. The above mentioned circumstances when placed in a Guyanese context reveal; however, dread the oncoming events may be, they have already began to cast their long, ominous shadows. The 5V’s manifest themselves in war and peace, in justice and injustice, in religion and atheism, at the economic base and superstructure. They are omnipresent in our everyday lives, whether at work or at leisure time and are difficult to resist but easy
to escape from. In the course of the slow grinding machinery of our daily lives people struggle to either live with or divorce themselves from the 5V’s. Shortsighted obsessions make it difficult for some to recognise the facts and weigh in on the odds. People know they are doing wrong yet they do it. Thirty four being the half of sixty five is a glowing example. They know they are committing an act that can bring harm to, or deprive persons of something precious yet they proceed to commit that act. There is no feeling of remorse. The fear of either losing or winning political power forces those afflicted by red carpet fever to resort to devious political and unconstitutional maneuverings to extend their stay in office while sharing the nectar flowing from
the power of their offices with the gullible and those attracted to the airs and graces of a genre governance that pretends to be democratic when in fact it is reactionary and anti-democratic in body and soul. Any public figure of any government who draws down illegally from the public purse, like a sick man addicted to opioid, will at some point in time, even in death, be made to account for his or her misuse or abuse of public office. A prominent German philosopher once wrote, ‘Man is a product of circumstances, to change man, the circumstances must be changed’. Circumstances in this respect can be applicable to the current domestic situation obtaining in Guyana. In the circumstances, the current political situation is characterised by the lack of constitutional democracy and the threat to free and fair elec-
Volda Lawrence - Wakenaam Hospital is part of the declining public health system DEAR EDITOR, Every day, another horrifying public health story shocks the people of Guyana. Last week, at least three families were forced to use iceboxes to store the bodies of their deceased relatives in Wakenaam. Even as storage was a problem because of the malfunctioning mortuary refrigerators, deceased bodies could not be removed from the hospital because there was no doctor to signoff the death certificates. One family complained that their relative died on Friday, but was still there on Sunday because they have to await the arrival of a doctor. Up to Sunday afternoon, there still was no doctor and, when checks were made about noon on Monday, a doctor was still unavailable to signoff the death and so relatives were forced to continue using the icebox to keep the body from deteriorating. At Wakenaam District Hospital, the problems are many - the malfunctioning mortuary is obscene. But there are other problems. Availability of doctors has become a major concern for citizens in this humble farming community. In a discussion with the Chairman of the NDC on the island, he confirmed there is a major problem with missing doctors, with availability becoming periodic rather than sustained. This important district hospital most often now has no doctors. The Ministry of Public Health has completely ignored the urgent calls from citizens in
Wakenaam and from the RDC of Region 3 to address the doctor availability problem. Even as the availability of doctors, nurses and other service providers at the Wakenaam Hospital affect the delivery of public health, the availability of medicines has become a chronic problem. It is as if the Ministry of Public Health is in a mode of phasing out the Wakenaam District Hospital. Public health in Guyana has rapidly declined since May 2015. For most of that time, Ms. Volda Lawrence, the People’s National Congress (PNC) Chairman, has been in charge of the Public Health Ministry. This lady who is the Chairman of the PNC and as a senior minister in the APNU+AFC Cabinet said her mandate is to find jobs “only for PNC-people”, failed to appreciate that public health must be for all people. She failed to recognise that when public health fails, it affects all Guyanese, including “PNC-people”. The next person who requires the use of a mortuary or an X-Ray or medicines or doctors might well be one of these “PNCpeople”. We never know the next person who needs the public health system. The rapid deterioration of the public health system is on display every single day, with newspaper, TV and radio news and public discourse stories highlighting the many struggles people endure as they try to access public health. A week ago, I had frantic calls from the Essequibo Island of
Wakenaam about troubles at the District Hospital there. This hospital, which should be a place where people go for their ailments is now a place filled with its own ailments as described above. As Minister of Health, I worked diligently with our people, the public health staff and the Government to ensure we stopped the practice of iceboxes to preserve the bodies of our loved ones. We ensured that all our district hospitals were equipped to provide refrigerated storage of the bodies of deceased persons. But non-functioning mortuaries have become a malady of the public health system. There are occasionally reports that the mortuary of the GPHC, the premiere hospital in Guyana, is down. There have been reports of other non-functioning mortuaries around the country. For many months now, the mortuary at New Amsterdam has been unavailable. Passing through Mahaicony two days ago, I was similarly told by residents that Mahaicony is not offering refrigerated mortuary service presently. At Fort Wellington, refrigerated mortuary facility used is a private mortuary, paid for by the families of the deceased patients. It is heartbreaking that the public health sector adds further trauma and stress to people because they must worry about the preservation of the bodies of their deceased relatives. As this unnecessary
stress intensifies within the public sector, the Minister herself has treated this important function of the public health sector as an orphan. In a recent trip to commission a repaired kitchen at the New Amsterdam Public Hospital, a few feet away from the empty, unused, brokendown mortuary, she completely ignored that. The hospital forces people to use private mortuary services, at cost many of them cannot afford. Even as people outside picketed her, trying to draw her attention to the nonavailability of mortuary services at the New Amsterdam Public Hospital, she refused to acknowledge that there is a problem. In the last week, Volda Lawrence who still refuses to acknowledge the people fired her on December 21 and that she is illegally squatting as the Minister of Public Health since March 21, has visited Regions 6, 5 and 3. Ms. Lawrence and her APNU+AFC colleagues have unfortunately been rejected by the people, having to speak to only people who were bussed-in and greeted with protesters everywhere. But even as they parade across these regions, brazenly funding their political campaign with taxpayers money, she totally ignores the many, many problems in a rapidly declining public health system. Ms. Lawrence must take responsibility for a declining public health sector. Dr. Leslie Ramsammy
tions but above all, by the vagaries of a market economy. The market economy has for years, successfully established and entrenched, rules of socio- political and economic engagement between different classes and strata of people. These rules of engagement can be brutal and hellish for the vast majority of the underprivileged and marginalised. Unemployment, grinding poverty and a sense of hopelessness are the antagonistic features of the market place coupled with a government that couldn’t care less. Under such circumstances, the poor and powerless are pitched against the privileged and the living-the-good life ruling elite in a struggle for justice and fair-play. The rules of the market place can be remarkably flexible but unpredictable. But it is the element of flexibility, unheard of in any hitherto socio-economic formations that has resulted in the perpetuation of a system that keeps re-inventing itself in which we can either suffer or prosper. Because of the changing circumstances, men undergo socio-psychological changes. Nevertheless, the changes men undergo can be of a more fundamental nature with the advent of a totally new, truly democratic and humane socio-economic formation that replaces what exists today and where the 5V’s appear to be of nuisance value to some but of real value for others. Guyanese have undergone some socio/ psychological changes since the attainment of national independence but those changes have been more horizontal than vertical. Material rather than moral incentives seem to be the preferred option. Will the growth and development of Guyana’s market economy resulting from the introduction of an incipient oil and gas economy bring about changes in the existing cir-
cumstances and by extension in the Guyanese man or will those changes come about only with a government that can narrow the differences and lift the well-being of all Guyanese out of the prevailing or future circumstances? Like the philosopher who once said, ‘The philosophers have only interpreted the world the point however is to change it’, we Guyanese have become ‘experts’ at interpreting the world of court orders and the various provisions of our constitution, we are hopeless at changing the Guyanese world in which we live. While many Guyanese adhere to the adage, “Man shall not live by bread alone”, we fall down when it comes to living according to the 5V’s. At the same time, while some eat bread by the sweat of their brow, others eat but do not sweat. Basking as it were in their inglorious evasion of the 5V’s, they rub their hands in glee as they take bread out of the mouths of others like the Guyanese sugar workers who are left to ‘knock from pillar to post’ as they seek to eke out a living from the crumbs thrown to them by the good lifers. The lofty and humane values which at one time characterised Guyanese and are to be found in the lyrics of our patriotic songs and the poems of our great Martin Carter as well our legendary writers and folk- musicians too numerous to mention seem to matter little these days. As for those who cynically profess and pretend to have clean hands and to be God-fearing, it is important that they remember ‘Not all who shout Lord! Lord! Shall enter into the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 7:21 KJV).’ Can a good person be a bad person and can a bad person be good person? Let’s leave that for another time. Yours faithfully, Clement J. Rohee
These developments can impact City Hall positively DEAR EDITOR, The revelations that City Hall will move to penalise officers who provide inaccurate and/or incomplete information to Council (KN August 29) and the Chief Citizen’s no-nonsense threatens that he will shut businesses, which continue to owe rates in another news outfit have to be seen as firm and positive steps by the administration. However, it is somewhat baffling that a decision to discipline errant officers had to come from around the horseshoe table. I would have thought that once it was found that officers either knowingly misled or were negligent in the execution of their duties then the relevant recommendation for disciplinary action would be triggered. Anyway, it is good to see these developments which can only impact positively on Council. Shamshun Mohamed
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Friday August 30, 2019
Amazon fires scorch Bolsonaro’s reputation abroad, but not in Brazil BRASILIA (Reuters) President Jair Bolsonaro has drawn sharp criticism on the international stage from European leaders and environmental groups for his handling of wildfires raging in the Amazon, but at home few Brazilians are angered by his reluctant response. Many of his fellow citizens share his aversion to what they see as foreign meddling in how to strike a balance between protecting and developing the Amazon rainforest. The vast region is regarded at home as a key national asset but is seen globally as a crucial bulwark against climate change. However, opinions in Brazil may change if trade sanctions or boycotts start to weigh on an already weak economy, politicians and analysts say. A surge this year in the number of fires in the Amazon has sparked international outrage and protests in front of Brazilian embassies. Environmentalists claim most of the fires were illegally set by land speculators and ranchers seeking to expand pastures in the Amazon who feel emboldened by Bolsonaro’s criticism of excessive environmental protections. Bolsonaro has denied the fires were deliberate and repeatedly told European countries in particular not to inter-
fere. He has threatened to turn down international aid, although Brazil needs the funds and equipment to fight the fires, and feuded with French President Emmanuel Macron. An opinion poll this week found almost 60 percent of Brazilians considered Bolsonaro’s government to have done a great, good, or normal job, indicating they were still willing to give the president the benefit of the doubt, said Leonardo Barreto, head of Brasilia-based consultancy Capital Politico. “Ironically, this crisis may have increased Bolsonaro’s popularity because of his nationalism grounded in the threat of losing control over the Amazon to foreigners,” said Welber Barral, a lobbyist and former Brazilian foreign trade secretary. Many Brazilians, from across the political spectrum, believe the Amazon contains untold riches in minerals that are coveted by other nations, from gold to niobium, a strategic metal used in satellites. This belief, long a central doctrine of Brazil’s armed forces, feeds suspicion of any role by foreigners in the Amazon, even non-governmental organizations that work to protect the environment and indigenous tribes. However, former army captain Bolsonaro was criticized by politicians in Con-
An aerial view of a burned tract of Amazon jungle as it was cleared by loggers and farmers near Porto Velho, Brazil, yesterday. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes
gress - even by some allies for taking too long to act in tackling the fires and wasting time on the slinging match with Macron, who accused him of lying about the rate of deforestation in the Amazon. “The government has delayed taking important decisions,” Governor Helder
Barbalho of the state of Pará, site of the most intense fires, and a member of the centrist Brazilian Democratic Movement party, told Reuters. ECONOMIC FEARS The biggest problem facing Bolsonaro, who took the reins in January, was the lack of any solid recovery in
Brazil’s economy on his watch, Barbalho said. Now the Amazon crisis had damaged Brazil’s image abroad
and that could ricochet on the economy, he warned. “If international markets (Continued on page 8)
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Barbados CJ: We are to blame Daily Nation - The island’s top judge has conceded there was a “systemic failure” in a former high-profile, multimillion-dollar drug case involving six Guyanese and accepted responsibility Wednesday. But the attorney for one of the men was not mollified, as he blasted the judicial system for being “woeful and in trouble”, saying the Court of Appeal had been ordered by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) to expedite the matter three years ago. In the time it took for the Court of Appeal to deliver its decision, two of four of the drug traffickers, who appealed, ended up serving their sentences and being deported, while two, who did not appeal, completed their jail time and were also deported. However, Lemme Michael Campbell and Rohan Shastri Rambarran, who did appeal, spent 13 years and nine years, respectively, including their
Friday August 30, 2019
Amazon fires scorch Bolsonaro’s ...
Chief Justice Sir Marston Gibson time on remand, while waiting on the decision. Wednesday, they walked out in the company of immigration officers as they were given time served. “It’s approximately nine years that this appeal was subject to the appellate pro-
cess and there is no justification for this excessive lapse of time. In these circumstances, we accept and take responsibility for the systemic failure,” Chief Justice Sir Marston Gibson said as he delivered the judgement in the Court of Appeal.
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro speaks during a launching ceremony of public policies against violent crimes at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil. REUTERS/Adriano Machado From page 7 close for Brazilian farm products we will be in an even more serious economic scenario,” he said. Some countries have already threatened sanctions because of Bolsonaro’s environmental policies and consumers may decide to boycott Brazilian beef. “That would directly affect one of Bolsonaro’s main - if not the main - electoral base, the agribusiness industry, which has backed him from the word go,” political risk analyst Barreto said. Barreto said Bolsonaro’s administration will stand or fall on its economic record, especially an unpopular over-
haul of the pension system that is winding its way through Congress. The global outcry over the fires in the Amazon and Bolsonaro’s environmental policies could also start to influence investors. In the first sign of a backlash, the U.S. parent company of apparel and shoe brands Timberland, Vans and the North Face said on Thursday it will no longer buy leather from Brazil due to concerns about the environment. Companies in Europe and elsewhere could be pressed by their shareholders to stop investing in environmentally sensitive regions
of Brazil, in sectors such as mining, Barral said. That would not help growth prospects for Brazil, which economists have reduced to just 0.8% for this year. Former center left agriculture minister Katia Abreu sees a danger of countries that are competitors in the farm sector ganging up on Brazil, using the environmental issue as a pretext. That would turn more Brazilians against Bolsonaro, she told Reuters. “But Bolsonaro doesn’t take advice from anyone on how to avoid crises,” she said. “He doesn’t listen. He is unpredictable.”
Vote for me and there will be full transparency. So transparent, in fact, that everything you will see. Vote for me and there will be accountability. So accountable, that those in the wrong will be found guilty. Vote for me and everything will be free. Vote for me and VAT will be free. Vote for me and school lunches will be free, uniforms for the children will be free, school books and the school bus will be free. Vote for me and every citizen above the age of eighteen will be entitled to free housing. Vote for me and water will be free. Vote for me and electricity will be free.
Vote for me and education will be free. Vote for me and all health care will be free. Vote for me and all medication will be free. Vote for me and paddy will be free. In fact, if you vote for me, all seeds will be free. Vote for me and milk and cassava will be free. Vote for me and every school child will receive a monthly allowance of $20,000 from the government. Vote for me and pensions are going to be increased by 500%. Vote for me and all pensioners are going to have free spectacles. Vote for me and pensioners are going to be given the opportunity to
U.S. hopeful EU will impose sanctions on Venezuela - U.S. envoy WASHINGTON Reuters - Washington’s envoy for Venezuela said yesterday he was hopeful that the European Union will impose sanctions against Caracas “in the coming months” amid stalled negotiations to resolve the country’s political crisis. Meanwhile, the United States was examining more sanctions to pressure Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down, U.S. envoy Elliott Abrams told reporters. He said European nations were waiting to see the outcome of talks between Venezuela’s government and the opposition. “If the negotiations fail they will impose sanctions,” Abrams said, adding: “In our view that is probably a mistake because if they were imposing sanctions now... there would be a better chance for negotiations to succeed.” Abrams was sceptical whether negotiations would proceed.“The talks are in hiatus,” he said. “They have not met for several weeks and there is no date yet set.” Maduro called off talks earlier in August in protest
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Friday August 30, 2019
Elliott Abrams against new U.S. sanctions meant to force him from power. The two sides had been meeting in Barbados in talks brokered by Norway. Washington and most Western nations support Juan Guaido, the chief of the opposition-run National Assembly, who in January invoked the constitution to assume a rival presidency, arguing Maduro’s 2018 re-election was illegitimate.Maduro calls Guaido a U.S. puppet and retains control of the military and state institutions despite Venezuela’s economic collapse and U.S. sanctions on the state oil company and central bank.
travel free on all minibuses and hire cars. Vote for me and all pensioners will be given a free house. Vote for me and all investors will not have to pay any interest on their loans. The government will pay the interest. All investors will be allowed to retain all their profits. All employees will not have to pay any taxes. Vote for me and all rice farmers will be given free tractors and those leasing state lands will not have to pay any fee for such leases. Vote for me and free drainage and irrigation will be provided. Vote for me and for every acre
of land that is planted, the farmer will receive $100,000. Vote for me and all policemen will receive a 100% increase in salary, all nurses 200% and all teachers 300%. Free transportation will be provided to take these categories of workers to and from work. Vote for me and television will be free, radio will be free and the newspapers will be free. Vote for me and every Guyanese will receive not just a free computer but a free printer and all the paper and ink required. Vote for me and every house will have internet. Vote for me and every teen-
ager will get a free iPhone, and just for added benefits, $200 top-up every month. And just to show you that my government is considerate of those who are poor and do not have enough funds to top-up their phone accounts, we will give free credit of $500 each month. Do I have your vote now? Vote for me and we will build all schools free. Vote for me and the sea defences will be free. Vote for me and the roads will be free. Vote for me and the bridges will be free. Vote for me and everything will be free. What do you mean by
asking me how I will pay for all of these things? Have you not been hearing me? Everything will be free. So there will be no need for money. No need for property. No need for taxes, because everything will be free, free, free. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)
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Friday August 30, 2019
THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN
We have an obligation to Guyanese to provide the other side
W
hen Minister Jaipaul Sharma called me about a vituperative statement the WPA issued about his rejection of 5000 American dollars of oil money to the lower income strata, my advice was that he confront the WPA with his assertions. In my Saturday, September 1, 2018 column captioned, “My advice to Minister Jaipaul Sharma,” this is what I wrote; “After a long chat, my advice to him was to reply to the WPA’s denunciation of him and let the Guyanese people judge for themselves who is hypocritical, who practices anti-working class politics, who supports neo-liberal economics, who should be the last persons to speak on the politics of morality and decency. Sharma kept telling me that he doesn’t want to reply, and I kept insisting to him that it was his obligation as a minister of government to so do.” People in and out of Guyana read what wellplaced persons in the society write in the newspapers. If you do not clarify and eradicate the distortions, malice, fictions, propaganda, fake news contained in those emanations, they are registered in
people’s minds and are accepted as truths and facts. Perhaps the perfect example was the description of me as the chief instigator behind the UG unions’ confrontation with the then Vice Chancellor, Ivelaw Griffith. This statement was published by a certain trade unionist in both the Kaieteur News and the Stabroek News. Nothing could have been further from the truth. I replied to say that I haven’t met or spoken with many of the leaders in the trade unions, none of whom I can say I have a friendship with. Both unions wrote a nononsense denunciation of that description. Had they not done so, it would have engendered feelings in many UG employees that I am the unions’ puppet master. If believed by UG staff members, it could have affected their support for the unions. A letter in the newspapers by attorney Andrew Pollard takes umbrage at what Ralph Ramkarran wrote – the CCJ failed Guyana by not ordering a date for election. Since then, many have replied to reject the contention of Pollard, and they have done so with a plausible delineation of
facts. This columnist rejects the Pollard thesis. A judge cannot tell litigants that they must observe the constitution. A judge has the power to issue specific orders shaping their conduct in relation to respect for the constitution. The CCJ, after accepting that a valid no-confidence motion (NCM) was passed, had every right and obligation to declare an order for the holding of election three months after the NCM. Judges the world over make orders all the time in relation to millions of contentions. The CCJ should have compelled the political leadership of the government to hold election within a specific time span. Mr. Pollard is wrong. Those who are lawyers should write to prove he is wrong, and some are doing that. I come now to a dangerous, nauseating and propagandistic interpretation by a university lecturer on the NCM, in which Charrandass, the constitution and the laws of Guyana are treated with appalling disdain. A quote from the publica-
tion is in order; “In the minds of many Guyanese, their democratic right was wantonly violated by the treachery of one man, Charrandass Persaud. The results of the 2015 election, with the defeat of the PPP after 23 years, clearly demonstrated where the desire and will of the majority of the people resided. So, for many Guyanese, the NCM is not a matter of legalities only. It is a matter of democratic acceptability and legitimacy. And the 2018 NCM lacks those qualities outright.” First, the constitution allows for an NCM. Secondly, one Member of Parliament decided to vote against his government, a right enshrined by the constitution.
Those who favour the government he voted against will use all kinds of scurrilous adjectives to describe his intentions. Those who felt he showed courage will use admirable adjectives for his motives. Thirdly, one Member of Parliament enables the present government to rule Guyana the past four years, composing all kinds of important Bills and passing four consecutive budgets. The ruling party holds power through the presence of one parliamentarian in a situation of 33 versus 32. Fourthly, that configuration of 33 versus 32 was brought about by just one vote, let me repeat, just one ballot difference between the PPP and APNU+AFC. APNU+AFC has 33 parlia-
Frederick Kissoon mentarians against 32 for the PPP, because the difference for the regional seat in Region 8 was a single vote. Charrandass toppled a government that legally won an election by less than 5,000 votes. Maybe it has no moral right to govern. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)
DEM BOYS SEH
Jagdeo mekking promises but nutten to do wid oil Anybody can mek a promise. Some promise people does tek seriously and some of de people who mek de promise does change dem mind as soon as dem get wha dem want. Dem boys know people who promise dem gyal how dem would marry dem if only dem gyal give dem something. Nuff women does be stupid enough to give up and that is when de promise does disappear. Soulja Bai promise nuff thing, but only some he fulfill, because he had to overcome problems wid some of de others. Jagdeo use to mek promises too. He did promise to mek de Skeldon sugar factory wuk even if he had to use he own hands. He come out of office and Ramotar tek over. Jagdeo couldn’t seh he didn’t have time. Ramotar come out of office and de factory still not working. Now Jagdeo mekking odda promises. Yesterday he seh if de PPP get into power he gun mek sweeping changes. Dem cleaners get excited. Dem feel that Jagdeo gun do away wid de brooms and bucket. But dem gun be disappointed. De man mean some-
thing else. Dem boys want to know bout some of de changes. Of course he gun change all dem Permanent Secretaries and dem Ministers. He gun promote some of he friends and bring back people like Kwame. But what about de changes wid dem oil contract? Of course, if he was in power de people of Guyana woulda never see de present contract, suh dem never would have had anything to complain about. Jagdeo never release dem contract, he always claiming confidentiality clauses. He now promising free university education. He was de one that introduce fees in de first place. He promising 20,000 scholarships. That mean everybody gun get a scholarship and any oil money would pay for it. De man ain’t promise to change dem oil contract. De Hess boss man actually tell de media that Jagdeo tell him that dem contract gun remain. De promise dem boys want hear is one dealing wid dem oil contract. Talk half and wait fuh de real promise from Jagdeo.
Friday August 30, 2019
Kaieteur News
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Friday August 30, 2019
Lawyer objects to Police filing tax charges against Superbet operators
A
ttorney -at-law, Anil Nandlall has written to the Director of Public Prosecutions, (DPP) raising objections about the police instituting and prosecuting charges under the Tax Act against the agents of Superbet. According to Nandlall, to date, over 30 tax charges against Superbet have been withdrawn or dismissed by Magistrates across Guyana. The Attorney noted the most recent occurred on August 28, when Magistrate Rochelle Liverpool dismissed over a dozen of the said charges against the agents of Superbet and instructed the Police to not refile the said charges without first obtaining the advice of the DPP. Nandlall in his capacity as Attorney of the Guiana Holding Inc., a limited liability company u n d e r w h i c h Superbet operates, informed the DPP in a correspondence, that over one hundred and fifty Superbets across the country and their operations are a primary source of income for their agents and families. The lawyer said that over the past two weeks, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) has embarked upon a campaign of charging over twenty-five agents of Superbet with committing the offence of “carrying on a betting shop in unlicensed pre-
mises in contravention of Section 8(7) and contrary to Section 8(9)(d) of the Tax Act, Chapter 80:01.” At the hearing of the said complaints, Nandlall said following submissions by the DPP’s chambers, the Magistrates have either dismissed the charges or indicated an intention to do so. He explained “In the latter case, the Police Prosecutors have withdrawn the said charges after the Magistrates indicated their intention to dismiss the said charges. In the other cases, the Magistrates have adjourned the hearing of the charges to permit the Police Prosecutors to obtain legal advice although expressing their intention to dismiss the said charges.” The lawyer therefore submitted to the DPP that the Police neither the Attorney General shall bring tax charges against the operators, since the laws are clear that in the GRA resides the exclusive authority to institute charges in relation to alleged offences against tax laws and to prosecute those charges. “Similarly, the GRA has its own legal department staffed with lawyers who are tasked with the responsibility of prosecuting charges instituted under the tax laws as well as representing the GRA
in civil proceedings, as opposed to the Attorney General. In fact, Judges have repeatedly admonished lawyers from the AG’s Chambers who attempt to appear for the GRA. These charges are not police cases but are rather tax cases under the purview and ambit of the GRA,” Nandlall stressed. Additionally, the lawyer claimed that “indeed the GRA has indicated that they have not instituted these charges, nor have they instructed anyone else, including the police to institute these charges against the agents of our client”. “For avoidance of doubt, we are also attaching a letter sent by the Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit to our client informing them that the “Guyana Revenue Authority will continue to carry out its traditional licensing function with respect to all Betting Shops. This letter serves to confirm that our client’s operations fall under the ambit and purview of the Revenue Authority…” In the circumstances, Nandlall requested that the DPP intervene, and discontinue the charges under the provisions of Article 187 of the Constitution or that the relevant advice be disseminated to achieve this objec-
A Superbet location in the city tive and to avoid future charges being instituted. “If not, we will be faced with no alternative but to in-
stitute legal proceedings in the High Court seeking, inter alia, an Order or Writ of Mandamus against your good of-
fice, since these charges continue to be instituted,” the attorney indicated in the letter.
Govt. gets tough on poor electrical... From page 2 landscape lighting systems will also have to be of a certain quality. Unless these items meet the standards, contractors will not be able to install them and as such, inspectors cannot issue certificates. Currently, hardware stores and other suppliers will have hundreds of millions of dollars of electrical installation
products in stock and which are not meeting the standards. It is unclear what happens now to these stocks. “These new standards will have implications for homeowners and contractors. For home-owners, it will mean a little more costs to buy the right thing. Right now if you want something, you walk into a side shop and you don't
know the quality. There is a risk here for something cheap and it is fire,” an electrical contractor explained yesterday. The coming of the Chinese supermarkets here has also launched an array of new products on the market. There are a significant number of LED products from Brazil and other places flooding the market.
Friday August 30, 2019
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Kaieteur News
APA presents Region 7 Indigenous land tenure report to Govt.
Upper Mazaruni District Council Chairman, Mario Hastings (left) handing over the report to Minister of Indigenous Peoples Affairs, Sidney Allicock The Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) has presented a report to Government, on an extensive research and exploration project it undertook to have a comprehensive grasp of the land tenure situation for Indigenous communities in Region seven (CuyuniMazaruni). The advocacy body held the launch event yesterday evening at the Regency Hotel, Hadfield Street, in Georgetown, attended by Minister of Indigenous People s Affairs, SidneyAllicock, and stakeholders from several partner organizations of the APA. The report, titled Ina Nono, Ina Uko manto Eina Pata, Eina
Komantok or Our Land, Our Life presents results of 16 months of research, working along with members of 20 communities in region seven, at the end of 2017 and throughout 2018. Its content also involves some literary research. According to the APA, of the 20 communities studied, 15 are titled and five possess no legal documents to their lands. The Land Tenure Assessment team also reportedly visited two satellite villages located within the title boundaries of other villages ; some families who are living within their own traditional lands, but don t have formal governance bodies; and two com-
munities situated closely with other region seven villages, but which are formally located in other regions. The APA has contended that many Indigenous communities have expressed concerns over not having title to the full extent of their traditional lands or no title at all, in some cases. Further, there have been complaints about poor demarcation, which has left out parts of the communities lands. This has reportedly resulted in the erosion of their customary land rights or causation of boundary conflicts with other neighbouring communities. There are also problems with extractive activities such as mining and logging on community lands. The APA has called for Government to grant resolutions to land conflicts with third parties operating within titled lands, without the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of the community. One of the issues that came up during the launch is that of the Amerindian Act not being adequately structured to ensure full protection of Indigenous Peoples land rights, particularly their customary land rights. The organization is requesting legal and policy reforms to prevent the allocation of Indigenous ancestral lands to mining concessions holders without respect for the rights of the Indigenous communities. Speaking to Kaieteur News after the event, MinisterAllicock said that the revision of the act is a focus of Government, but the Minister said that the current political situation limits the power of Government to make those changes. As the Government is functioning in a caretaker capacity, it has decided not to go back
Onshore facilities to be covered in oil spill plan-CDC Head According to head of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) , Colonel Kester Craig, Guyanas national oil spill contingency plan will not only cover offshore activities, but also the day to day works of supporting onshore facilities. In this regard, Colonel Craig noted that there are shore base facilities which have to provide a number of services to the operators within the various blocks. “So they will be brought under regulation to ensure they have oil spill response plans in place and are observing international best practices in all that they do,” the official stated. Further to this, Colonel Craig noted that support for Guyana s oil spill response efforts is being received from other offshore service providers such as GAICO Construc-
CDC Head, Colonel Kester Craig tion, which has teamed up with the Corena Group of Finland.
GAICO Construction and the Corena Group of Finland had signed a joint venture several months ago that will see them pooling their resources to boost Guyanas oil spill readiness. Their office is located at GAICOs New Market Street, Office. GAICOs Managing Director, Komal Singh has noted in the past that its partnership with Corena enables it to provide several services such as oil spill, emergency and Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS) response standby services; oil spill response accredited training and consultancy services; and hazardous and non-hazardous waste management services. In the meantime, the national oil spill plan is nearing completion, with Craig noting that only 10 percent of the work remains outstanding.
to Parliament unless there is consensus with the political opposition to do so. As a result, no new laws can be passed, nor can amendments be made at this time. The report s main findings detail widespread dissatisfaction with the current land tenure situation, with reports of claims for land titles being ignored, failures of current titles to cover the entire traditional areas, conflicts with logging and mining interests, fragmentation of collective territories based on the allocations being done by the state, etc. Minister Allicock said that the traditional lands utilised by indigenous communities also inculcate the interests of other
species that live in the environment, as these communities place great significance on the maintenance of the natural ecosystems in which they live, and the protection of the environment. This land tenure assessment was largely donor-funded, with assistance coming from Norway s International Climate and Forest Initiative and The United Kingdom s Department for International Development. The APA has worked with the Forest Peoples Programme and the Rainforest Foundation US, as well, for this endeavour. Land Tenure Assessment Projects have been concluded in Regions One, Two, and Eight, as well. Prior to
2016, research studies were carried out to compile a report titled “Participatory Assessment of the Land Tenure Situation of Indigenous Peoples in Guyana: Regions 1 and 2”. It was launched in December 2016, and copies of the document were distributed to villages that participated in the activity. For Region Eight, Land Tenure Assessment Work began in late 2015, continued through 2016, and concluded in 2017. That report, titled “Our Land, Our Life: A Participatory Assessment of the Land Tenure Situation of Indigenous Peoples in Guyana Report For Region 8”, was launched in May 2018.
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Kaieteur News
PPP promises sweeping changes if elected As elections slowly approach, Guyanese will be reading about and hearing of the policies the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has in its manifesto, and that will be implemented immediately should they return to office. The reversal of taxes - back to status quo or to a lower level - is one such policy. These were among some of the assurances given by Opposition Leader and General Secretary of the party Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday at a press briefing held at his office. Primary focus, according to Jagdeo, will be given to the reversal of tax measures implemented by the APNU+AFC government. “In that regard you will see, for example, VAT on building material...they put the Value Added Tax on sand, stone, cement, etc. We want people to build more. We don’t want them to pay taxes on these issues. We will remove taxes on those.” “Exporters are going to benefit also from the removal of taxes on their exports...Who taxes exports? You want your country to export more, earn more foreign currency and your people to work more,” Jagdeo said. “More jobs will be created
with the increase in exports. Jagdeo said that VAT will be removed from farming, mining and forestry equipment. Farmers also stand to benefit from the removal of land rent and drainage and irrigation fees. Farmers, miners and loggers can look forward to an improvement in operations, he posited. Reversal of taxes on miners is also promised by a PPP government. “Guyanese can also look forward to using their phones more with the reversal of VAT on data services offered. The age limit on imported vehicles will be reversed,” Jagdeo said. “You can take at least 1.2 million off the price of a vehicle simply by changing this policy; this would see car ownership a bit more easy and affordable for persons. The reversal policy also deals with VAT on water and electricity. Jagdeo also highlighted the PPP’s plan to ensure that some 20,000 persons will benefit from online scholarship programmes and this will be offered in addition to what is being done at the University of Guyana. An office would be constructed that would facilitate persons coming to apply for online courses. This policy is aimed
Freedom House – Headquarters of the People’s Progressive Party
at helping persons to access programmes that aren’t being offered at UG. “The online scholarships is a programme for how people can apply. This will be 20,000 online scholarships, so there will be an office that allows
people to apply and this will be in addition to what is being done at the University of Guyana. “So this would help private education but also help a large number of people to work and to get scholarships in professions that may not be offered by the University of Guyana.” PPP also plans to have free university within the 4year period should they be in office. Mr. Jagdeo said “we’re looking at running the num-
bers that maybe year two or three we can move into this policy.” Additional measures are being considered that would see improvement in the education sector. A plan is also being devised that would see measures being put in place to help University students with outstanding fees. Joint Services will not be forgotten, and this will manifest itself with the restoration of the joint services bonus “and this is a done deal” ac-
cording to Jagdeo. Small businesses are to benefit also from grants that would be distributed and this would be done on a larger scale. “This is our plan for all Guyana, for all our people” Jagdeo said. The General Secretary told the media that the party has already begun highlighting its promised courses of action in the form of posters on social media and informative flyers countrywide.
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Timeline: Constitutional crises in English and British history LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces accusations of triggering the biggest constitutional crisis in decades after he announced that parliament would be suspended for nearly a month shortly before the country is due to leave the European Union. While Johnson says it is customary for parliament to be suspended - or “prorogued” - before a government outlines its new policy priorities in a Queen’s Speech, his opponents say the timing and length of the suspension is designed to sideline parliament in the countdown to Brexit. Britain has an uncodified constitution, meaning it is largely upheld through convention and precedent. The constitution has changed dramatically down the centuries, with monarchs steadily surrendering their once-vast powers to the government and prime minister of the day. Johnson required Queen Elizabeth’s formal consent to suspend parliament but she was equally required, by custom, to grant it. Following is a timeline of some major constitutional crises over the last eight centuries that have pitted the executive power - originally the crown and later governments acting in its name - against the legislative arm. 1215: MAGNA CARTA Issued in June 1215, the Magna Carta was the first document to establish the principle that the monarch
40
was not above the law and to place limits on royal power. The charter, which King John was forced by his barons to sign, decreed that nobody should be denied the right to justice or subject to unlawful imprisonment, dispossession or exile. John later persuaded the Pope to declare the document illegal and a civil war broke out. John died in October 1216 and his son Henry III eventually made peace with the rebels. 1529-1536: HENRY VIII AND THE REFORMATION PARLIAMENT Jokingly referred to by some as the “first Brexit”, Henry VIII’s decision to break with Rome over his desire to divorce his first wife Catherine of Aragon would fundamentally change Britain’s relationship with mainland Europe. Henry’s ‘Reformation Parliament’ made laws affecting all areas of life, especially religion, which had previously been under the authority of the Roman Catholic Church alone. It established that parliament was “omnicompetent”, that is, it had control over the whole of government, albeit under the monarch. 1642-1660: CIVIL WAR AND RESTORATION Long-simmering tensions between the monarchy and parliament over money, religion and other issues came to a head in 1642 when King Charles I entered the House of Commons in a bid to arrest five lawmakers personally. Civil war erupted, culmi-
nating in victory for the parliamentarians over the royalists and in the execution of Charles I in 1649 for high treason. England became a republic. Oliver Cromwell, increasingly frustrated with parliament, also led an armed force into the legislature, dissolved it and ruled as Lord Protector until his death in 1658. Chaos then ensued and the monarchy was restored in 1660 under Charles’ son, who became Charles II. 1685-1689: GLORIOUS REVOLUTION In 1685, Charles’ brother, a Roman Catholic, became James II and suspended par-
liament amid tensions over his bid to repeal anti-Catholic laws. His use of the royal prerogative to suspend all religious penal laws without parliamentary approval prompted lawmakers to invite William of Orange, a Dutch Protestant, to invade England and take the throne. A Bill of Rights passed in December decreed that only a Protestant could be monarch, a rule which is still in place now. The so-called ‘Glorious Revolution’ marked the peaceful assertion of parliament’s rights over the monarch. 1906-1911: ASQUITH ‘AND LORDS
REFORM The landslide election victory of the Liberal Party in 1906 left them with a healthy majority in parliament’s lower chamber, the House of Commons, but massively outnumbered by Conservatives in the unelected House of Lords. Tensions came to a head in 1909, when the Lords rejected the Liberals’ budget, which included taxes on large landowners, going against parliamentary precedent. Though the Lords passed the budget in 1910 after a new election, Prime Minister Herbert Asquith introduced a bill to abolish the Lords’ veto on finance bills and allow the
Commons to force through other bills after a delay. The government also sought to involve the monarch in politics, saying it might be necessary to create hundreds of new lords to pass the controversial bill through the chamber. The threat was eventually enough to pass the bill through the Lords. Today the House of Lords remains an unelected chamber, though its members are now mostly appointees, not hereditary peers. Its role is to scrutinize legislation passed by the Commons and it can block bills for up to a year. The prime minister retains the power to create new lords.
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Friday August 30, 2019
Trump says Florida faces ‘absolute monster’ hurricane MIAMI/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Florida residents yesterday were bracing for a hurricane that was threatening to smack into the center of the state over the Labor Day weekend, and President Donald Trump said it appeared the storm’s winds would be “unbelievably high.” Trump canceled a visit to Poland scheduled for the weekend and Florida’s governor expanded a state of emergency to prepare for Hurricane Dorian, which is forecast to make landfall on the Atlantic coast Monday as a dangerous Category 4 storm. “Now it’s looking like it could be an absolute monster,” Trump said in a video posted on Twitter, adding that food and water was being shipped to Florida. “It does seem almost certain that it’s hitting dead center and that’s not good. The winds seem to be building at a tremendous rate. It looks like the winds are going to be unbelievably high.” Trump said Vice President Mike Pence would make the trip to Poland in his place so that he could remain in the United States to make sure federal resources were properly directed at the arriving
storm. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who had already declared a state of emergency for 26 counties on the state’s east coast, extended it yesterday to the whole of Florida. “Floridians need to take this storm seriously. Hurricane #Dorian is moving slowly & gaining strength,” DeSantis wrote on Twitter. “Now is the time to get prepared & have a plan. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency in 12 counties to assist with storm readiness, response and recovery. “We’re worried. This is not looking good for us,” said Angela Johnson, 39, bar manager at Coconuts On The Beach, a bar and restaurant on the surfing beach of the Florida town of Cocoa Beach. “We woke up a lot more scared than we went to bed last night, and the news is not getting any better.” Officials were making piles of sand available for Cocoa Beach residents to fill sandbags starting today. Dorian, expected to strengthen in the Atlantic with violent winds topping 130 miles per hour, is aiming at central Florida, including the (Continued on page 26)
Hurricane Dorian is shown in this photo taken by NASA’s Terra satellite MODIS instrument as it nears St. Thomas and the U.S. Virgin Islands as it continues its track toward Florida’s east coast August 28, 2019. NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS)/Handout via REUTERS
Friday August 30, 2019
Kaieteur News
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Kaieteur News
Friday August 30, 2019
Sleeping dredge owner, reputed wife set alight - suspect in mining camp on the run
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olice in 'F' Division are hunting for a man who set a dredge owner and his reputed wife alight, while the couple slept in their camp, located in Mazaruni, Region Seven. The incident occurred at around 04.40 hrs yesterday. Lyndon Joseph, 35, of Karrau Village and Maria Pereira DaSilva, a Brazilian national, were rushed to the Bartica Hospital after the attack. Da Silva is believed to be the more badly injured of the two. Kaieteur News understands that the dredge owner and the suspect were involved in a confrontation shortly before the attack. Joseph alleged that he and his reputed wife were at a birthday party when he received word that the man was in his camp. The couple returned to the camp, where Joseph confronted the suspect. An argument ensued and Joseph 'broadsided' the intruder with a cutlass. The man fled the scene, but allegedly returned about 04:00 hrs while the couple was lying on a mattress. He then doused them with gasoline before setting them alight. Joseph and DaSilva were rushed to the Bartica Hospital, where they were admitted.
The couple being transported to the Bartica Hospital
The badly burned Maria Pereira DaSilva
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Friday August 30, 2019
Kaieteur News
POP
CULT
THE REVIEWS ARE IN!!!
Film Review:
‘Ocean's 8'
By Alonso Duralde
T
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Indigenous Heritage Month kicks off August 31
he right people have been hired, and everyone is where they're supposed to be. That level of planning makes the heist in “Ocean's 8” run fairly smoothly. As for the film itself, similarly curated with care, it gets the job done without ever being one for the record books. The idea of a spin on the breezy “Ocean's” capers featuring an all-female cast is a great one, and the crew assembled here represents an octet of terrific screen presences. So terrific, in fact, that it's hard not to mentally leap to how great the movie could have been while it amiably spins its wheels. It's not a waste of time, but it does feel like a wasted opportunity. Take Sandra Bullock: as mastermind Debbie Ocean, who has spent years in jail concocting an intricate scheme to rob the annual Met Gala, she's brilliantly deadpan in the early scenes, in which she convinces an off-screen parole board member (voiced by Griffin Dunne) that she's through with crime and ready to work a day job and pay her bills. Soon thereafter, she's shoplifting half of the Bergdorf Goodman makeup counter before grifting her way into a luxury hotel suite. So far, so good. But as soon as Debbie starts assembling the rest of the team, “Ocean's 8” relegates Bullock into the straight-man role, standing back as her fellow castmates get their moment in the spotlight. (The film does the same to Cate Blanchett, playing Debbie's second-in-command Lou.) And for the other six leads, those moments in the spotlight are fleeting, leaving us wanting more. Like the recent “Book Club,” “Ocean's 8” is at its sharpest when its talented cast gets to sit down and just bounce off each other, but both films underserve those moments. Debbie's scheme involves the participation of a down-on-her-luck fashion designer (Helena Bonham-Carter), a hacker (Rihanna), a pickpocket (rapper Awkwafina), a jeweler (Mindy Kaling), and
Gets the job done, but it's not one for the books
a thief-turned-soccer-mom (Sarah Paulson). And if major movie star Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway) gets stuck in the middle of Debbie's machinations, well, too bad for her. (There's also a quartet of veteran actresses who come aboard toward the end of the scheme, and in a just world, they'd get a spin-off of their own.) The actresses dig into the material as much they're allowed, and while the screenplay by Olivia Milch and director Gary Ross (“The Hunger Games”) doesn't give any of them enough to do, everyone in the ensemble manages to carve out a moment or two of deft comedy, whether it's minimalist banter or broad slapstick. The MVP winds up being Anne Hathaway, trolling the detractors who think she's an irritating It Girl by playing, brilliantly, an irritating It Girl. (And if you aren't taking Hathaway seriously as an actress, go back and watch last year's underrated “Colossal.”) Ross — and seriously, they hired a man to direct this? — definitely nails the mechanics of the heist and its aftermath, and he and editor Juliette Welfling (“Dheepan”) keep it all breezing along, even if “Ocean's 8” never quite delivers the danger or excitement promised by the score from Daniel Pemberton (“Molly's Game”). (If you want a heist movie with actual stakes or suspense, skip the “Ocean's” series and go dig up “Rififi” on FilmStruck.) Cinematographer Eigil Bryld (“In Bruges”) gives the proceedings the high-gloss of a SkyMall catalog, which is appropriate for a movie about robbing a legendary Cartier necklace at fashion's most exclusive event. (Zac Posen, Heidi Klum, Anna Wintour and a host of other reallife Met Gala attendees pop in to cameo as themselves.) And between the sheen and the talented performers, “Ocean's 8” does eventually coast on froth and good will. What it doesn't do is live up to the big score that this crew might have pulled off under better supervision.
The Ministry of Indigenous People's Affairs has planned a month of exciting activities to celebrate the cultural contributions of the Amerindians to Guyana's history and its way of life. See calendar attached for full details.
Entertainment POLICE THE
THE
Friday August 30, 2019
E P
Reserving Tuesday Nights for American's Got Talent is totally worth it !!!
F
or the past few weeks, the Entertainment Police has featured the absolutely thrilling Big Little Lies series as a must watch show on the Enetworks channel. But it's time to switch things up a bit. If you are ever wondering what to do with your Tuesday evenings, then worry no more; reserve that night for America's Got Talent at 8 PM on NBC. For those who may not be familiar with the hit show, America's Got Talent sees some of the world's talented yet undiscovered performers of all ages -- singers, dancers,
magicians, comics, musicians, ventriloquists and more -- appear before celebrity judges who decide which contestants move on in the competition each week. With the guidance of the show's host, the audience learns the back stories of these amazing people as they strive to make it to the finale, in which one talented performer wins a life-changing $1 million prize -- as well as viewers' hearts. It is a show you would more than likely fall in love with. Be sure to catch up on it this and every Tuesday.
Kaieteur News
Friday August 30, 2019
Payless Store joins
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edutainment drive Week Sauvignon 2016 to help local athletes succeed T he Payless Store which has branches in Vreed-en Hoop and Georgetown recently embarked on a drive to help talented sports men and women across Guyana. Managing Director, Joseph Ramkarran, informed this news agency that he joined forces with popular comedian, Lyndon “Jumbie” Jones and National Award Winning Athletic Coach, Leslie Black to raise funds to help athletes at the school and national level. To make this possible they have solicited the help of several local artistes, and are taking an edutainment approach, where by the artistes perform several live shows in the form of drama and vocal presentations. While the artistes (who are performing voluntarily) are showcasing their talent, several local artistes are tasked with selling tickets for a raffle which is to be drawn quite soon. Yesterday, Jones explained that through raffle sales, they have been able to raise GYD$1 M, which is the first prize, and have been able to purchase a refrigerator, a 32 inch flat screen television, and a microwave which are among the other prizes catered for on the raffle. To date, they have been able to support athletes representing Guyana at the Commonwealth, and Carifta Games, and also athletes and gifted sportsmen and women at the school level. Not so long ago they were able to raise GYD$5M to assist talented Guyanese boxer, Clive Atwell who had suffered head injuries. In a few of their fund raising initiatives, they have been able to get international overseas artistes to come and perform at live shows for which the proceeds have been forwarded to the abovementioned cause. The raffle will be drawn at the Stabroek Market Square on Saturday, August 30, at which several local artistes will deliver live performances.
Wine of the The 14 Hands Cabernet
One of the artistes performing at a local fund raiser concert held at Stabroek Market Square, on Saturday night last
Capturing the unbridled spirit of wild horses in a rich, juicy red
T
he 14 Hands Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 which is available at the Bistro Restaurant and Café, is a rich, juicy red that features aromas of dark cherry, black currant, coffee and subtle hints of spice. These flavors are complemented by a touch of spicy oak and emphasized by refined tannins. 14 Hands brand is inspired by the unbridled spirit of the wild horses that once freely roamed eastern Washington. Measuring just fourteen hands tall — a “hand” equivalent to the width of one’s palm — these tenacious little horses would travel down from the hills every day to drink from the mighty Columbia
River and graze along the riverbank, then retreat back to cool off at night. Washington’s wild horses have become living symbols of the pioneer spirit of the American West. The grapes for this wine are sourced from vineyards throughout the Columbia Valley, including the Horse Heaven Hills. The fruit is de-stemmed and crushed before undergoing 7-10 day fermentations. Merlot and other varieties are also blended in to build structure and complexity. The wine is then left to age for several months in a combination of American and French oak barrels to soften and round the blend.
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Kaieteur News
Oil dips after three days of gains North Korea changes constitution TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil prices eased today after three days of gains, with concerns about the state of the global economy amid the U.S.-China trade war keeping prices in check. U.S. oil fell 6 cents, or 0.1%, to $56.65 a barrel by 0050 GMT. The contract is heading for a gain of more than 4% this week, boosted by a decline in U.S inventories and the approach of a hurricane toward Florida. Brent crude was down 10 cents, or 0.2%, at $60.98, after adding 1% yesterday. Worries about a slowdown in economic growth due to the U.S.China trade war and the flow-on to oil demand have kept a lid on price gains, even as falling inventories indicate a balancing market. C h i n a ’s c o m m e r c e ministry said yesterday the world’s two biggest
economies were discussing the next round of face-to-face trade talks scheduled for September, but hopes for progress hinged on whether Washington could create favorable conditions. The approach of Hurricane Dorian toward Florida raised fears that offshore U.S. crude producers may slow output if the storm passes into the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend. Dorian is heading toward landfall on the Atlantic coast of Florida over the weekend and may enter into the eastern Gulf of Mexico next week. It is forecast to strengthen and become a highly dangerous Category 4 hurricane on S u n d a y, t h e N a t i o n a l Hurricane Center said. Chevron C o r p ’s 356,440 barrel-per-day Pascagoula, Mississippi, refinery is closely monitoring the progress of Hurricane Dorian, a com-
pany spokesman said yesterday. Last month, Hurricane Barry prompted offshore oil companies to shut as much as 74% of production, lifting U.S. crude prices, before it weakened to a tropical storm. Government data on Wednesday showed U.S. crude stocks dropped last week by 10 million barrels to their lowest since October as imports slowed, while gasoline and distillate stocks each fell by over 2 million barrels. I n v e n t o r i es at the nation’s main delivery hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, where WTI futures are priced, slumped last week by nearly 2 million barrels to their lowest since December, the data showed. Cushing stock s h a v e dropped by over 300,000 barrels since the government report, traders said, citing market intelligence firm Genscape’s midweek report.
to solidify Kim Jong Un’s rule SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea’s parliament has approved changes to the country’s constitution to solidify leader Kim Jong Un’s role as head of state, official state media said yesterday. The move comes after Kim was formally named head of state and commander-in-chief of the military in a new constitution in July that analysts said was possibly aimed at preparing for a peace treaty with the United States. North Korea has long called for a peace deal with the United States to normalize relations and end the technical state of war that has existed since the 1950-1953 Korean War, which concluded with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. Kim’s legal status as “representing our state has been further consolidated to firmly ensure the monolithic guidance of the Supreme Leader over all state affairs”, state news agency KCNA quoted Choe Ryong Hae, president of the presidium of the supreme people’s assembly, as saying. The presidium president had historically been the nominal head of state. But the new constitution said Kim, as chairman of the State Affairs Commission
(SAC), a top governing body created in 2016, was the supreme representative of all the Korean people, as well as “commander-in-chief”. A previous constitution simply called Kim the “supreme leader” who commanded the country’s “overall military force”. Yesterday’s constitutional amendments appear to confirm that North Korea’s legal system will now recognize Kim as head of state. The new constitution authorizes Kim to promulgate legislative ordinances and major decrees and decisions and appoint or recall diplomatic envoys to foreign countries, KCNA said. “With the amendment, Kim Jong Un is reviving his grandfather’s head of state system,” said Cheong Seongchang, a senior fellow at the Sejong Institute. “He has become a de facto head of state.” In reality Kim, a third-generation hereditary leader, rules North Korea with an iron fist and the title change will mean little to the way he wields power. The back-to-back constitutional revision is unprecedented and Kim is emerging as perhaps the most powerful leader since his grandfather Kim Il Sung, who founded
North Korea, said Rachel Minyoung Lee, an analyst with NK News, a website that tracks North Korea. “By further bolstering the SAC chairman’s authority, Kim Jong Un is now on par with Kim Il Sung,” she said. Other analysts noted that the moves simply codified the power Kim Jong Un already wields as supreme leader. “This is more a matter of shuffling the card deck and clarifying a few lines of authority,” said Michael Madden, an expert on North Korean leadership and a fellow at the U.S-based Stimson Center. “There is no question that Kim Jong Un is the regime’s key and - on strategic policy sole decider,” he said. There has been scant progress in the U.S. aim of getting North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program despite three meetings between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. Trump has said he and Kim agreed at their last meeting to resume working-level talks, although these have yet to happen. North Korea has since conducted multiple missile tests, while accusing Washington of breaking a pledge to stop joint military exercises with South Korea.
Trump says Florida faces ‘absolute... From page 16 famed Space Coast. It is expected to make landfall on Monday, the Labor Day holiday. It could churn across dozens of launchpads owned by NASA, the U.S. Air Force and companies such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Such winds would make Dorian a Category 4 storm, the second-strongest on the Saffir-Simpson scale for measuring hurricane intensity. BAHAMAS NOW IN PATH Dorian, a Category 1 hurricane yesterday afternoon, had maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour (137 km per hour), moving toward the northwest at 13 mph (20 kph) some 330 miles (535 km) east of the Bahamas, the National Hurricane Center said.
The Miami-based NHC said hurricane watches could be issued for portions of the Bahamas today and the risk of “devastating hurricaneforce winds along the Florida east coast late this weekend and early next week continues to increase.” After making landfall, Dorian was forecast to linger over central Florida on Tuesday, according to the NHC. Tropical storm-force winds could be felt in parts of the state as early as Saturday evening. The biggest hurricane to have come ashore in the area in recent history was Jeanne in 2004, which made landfall around Port St. Lucie as a Category 3 storm. Miami television station WSVN showed images of dozens of shoppers with empty carts lining up outside
a supermarket in Davie, in the Miami metropolitan area, waiting to get inside to stock up on supplies. The Universal Orlando Resort theme park, owned by Comcast Corp, said it was following the approaching storm closely. Nearby towns were checking storm drains and back-up generators for waste-water plants as well as setting up round-the-clock shifts for emergency personnel. The University of Central Florida, one of the largest U.S. universities by student population, said its main campus in Orlando would close this afternoon. DeSantis said the storm “has the potential to severely damage homes, businesses and buildings, which is why all Floridians should remain vigilant.”
Friday August 30, 2019
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Kaieteur News
Calls for night school gets support from Govt. Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Valerie Garrido-Lowe is supporting the notion of continued education for persons, especially young people, who would have dropped out of school for one reason or the other. The minister has further responded to calls for a night school to be established in Stanleytown, Region 3, to keep youths off the streets. “With regards to the night school, that’s an excellent idea, and I think that can come from the community first.” The minister urged residents to seek out retired teachers and skilled persons within their community to assist with the programme. A night school is typically used to hold classes in the evening to accommodate students with day shift work schedules. A similar initiative is already in place in the neighbouring community of Goed Intent. Wednesday’s community meeting was also attended by Director-General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon, who had a very energetic session with residents. The Director-General was
Residents of Stanleytown and Goed Intent during a community meeting. happy to report that specific promises, which included road and streetlights, were kept. He offered a new commitment to address current issues such as drainage, deplorable roads and health care. Harmon also singled out a programme which he noted government greatly supported - school feeding.
This initiative is being managed by a private resident, Maureen Waldron, and her family, for the school children in their Stanleytown community. F o r a y e a r n o w, t h e family has been providing meals for school children whose parents could not afford it. “The school feeding programme is one
which the government e m b r a c e s . . . We h a v e allocated money for this school feeding programme, some schools that have been identified as pilot
schools that will have that, but in cases where you have citizens who decided that they are going to come up and do these things, we have to work with you,” Harmon
explained. As he wrapped up his visit at Stanleytown, the Director-General urged persons to embrace a “Community spirit”. (DPI)
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Friday August 30, 2019
Friday August 30, 2019
Kaieteur News
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Friday August 30, 2019
Kaieteur News
Man fined, given community service for threatening mom
SERVICES
FOR SALE
PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620
Pure Bred German Shepherd male puppies for sale. Contact# 697-1141/612-6672
Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Graphics design, advertisements, Wedding arch rentals. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. ICONIC MARKETING & PRINTING –TEL: 6006887: We create A/works, logos, business cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included.
Allion car- Excellent condition, First owner $1,750,000. Call: 624-2043/2161303 Pig & Piglets Package Deal. Tel# 626-1157/657-3538 1 Double Axel (6x6) TM trucks, Reasonable offer. #684-9268/ 500-6817
PROPERTY FOR SALE (1) 3 bedroom house located at Middle St, Stewartville. Tel#625-3299/268-3129 South $19.5M, 1st St Cummings Lodge $40M, $5.5M Charlestown St, Seven St Diamond $18M Shawn. #231-2199/618-7483 Two Storey house and land, Lot 3 Durban Street, Prime Business Spot $40M negotiable. Phone # 625-1505 Whatsapp #625-1505 3 bedroom (2) storey concrete house, located at Uitvlugt Ocean View WCD Contact# 277-3837 TO LET 2 room bottom flat apartment to let, 575 Block X Diamond 3 bedroom single house, Craig EBD. #623-1562
VEHICLE FOR SALE 1 Honda CRV. includes TV, music system, alarm, reverse camera, sproiler, crash bar, Low mileage. PTT Series (First Owner) Contact #6490956
VACANCY
PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620
Vacancy exist for a Spanish Teacher- must be able to teach (2 & 7) years old. Call: 600-6887 for more information
One bedroom apartment for couple or single person $35,000 monthly light included. Call: 638-8858 One self contained room, single working male or female. $32,000 monthly. Contact# 667-3483 (1) 320 CL Excavator. Best rates in town. Contact#6098989 One bedroom apartment for couples at Success, ECD. Tel# 220-5634/630-9599 (2) Bedroom top flat, with parking area, Bagotstown Old road EBD. $60,000. #652-1234
Professional Repair Service: Computers, Tv’s (LCD & LED), Cellphones & Other Electronics.Ph#6962 8 4 3 . E m a i l :akinscott@outlook.com Installation, Repairs and parts for AC, Fridge, Washing Machine, Stove etc. Call Nick 630-1600, 627-3206
FOR RENT
1 bedroom apartment at Aubrey Barker Road and Congress Drive, South Riumveldt. #699-6544 CAR RENTAL DOLLYS AUTO RENTAL CALL: 225-7126 & 2263693 -DOLLYS AUTO RENTAL@ YAHOO.COM/ W W W . D O L L Y SAUTORENTAL.COM PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS FROM $4000 & UP, SUV’S PER DAY- CALL: 656-0087 / 643-5122 ,EMAIL:PRO_ A U T O R E N TA L @YAHOO.COM AIDAN’S CAR RENTAL:PICKUP,9-11 SEAT MINI BUS, GOOD FOR AIRPORT & FAMILY OUTINGS, CHEAPEST RATE . Call: 698-7807 WANTED Clerical assistance domestic worker, live-in accomodation for Berbicians and Essequibians. Call between 8:15-4:15 pm. #219-5354
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Supervisor to work at 704. Contact# 223-5273/223-5274 TRUCK DRIVER. Contact #223-5273/223-5274 Female Cleaner Office & Home. Call: 642-9823 Mining engineering/ operations manager for Cuyuni area. Requirements: Academic qualifications & 5 years relevant experience in Mining. Call: 223-5180 Lucky Me, Lucky You, seeks Sales Representatives to sell tickets in their respective region. #660-0275/624-3501 Lorry Driver with Sales Experience, submit application to NS Trucking, 257 Block X Section A Diamond EBD. Tel# 617-5632/501-2537
1 Live-in maid. Call: 639-2037
2 Experienced Pastry Maker, 1 Experienced Driver/Salesman, 1 Vehicle Porter @ Humphrey38 Ketley Street Charlestown. #225-7864/227-8607
Photo/Video Editor, Must be abe to events. Call: 628-8944/ 718-845-2700 or Email: spectrumimaging 32@gmail.com
Salesgirl & Porters. Apply to Best Buy Food Supplies, Lot 1E Middleton & Dennis St, Campbellville with written application
1 Diesel Mechanic to work in the interior, Interested Persons can make Contact on Tel# 625-5136 between the hours of 8am-4pm
One experienced Cashier to work at a reputable company. Contact# 672-4695 or send CV to: eonbollers@gmail.com
WANTED
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1 maid needed. Age 30-40. Call: 226-7766 One cook to work in a bar #679-2612 Preferable from West Bank Demerara.
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One shop assistant to work from 6-2 from 16th Sept to 5 Oct 2019. 193 Charlotte Street L/Town #226-2320
Female worker, Just write CXC, 3 subject or sound secondary school, ECD. Call: 622-5518
One person to work two One full time maid, must know weeks from 26 to Sept 7 as to cook & clean. Contact# Kitchen assistant. #226-2320 226-3109 1 maid. Tel#225-3234
behaviour towards Smith. Anthony pleaded guilty to both charges after they were read to him, and he then told the court, “I curse her up and told her that shes a (obscene language) and stuff yes, because she does come on the road and calling me all sort of names and embarrass me.” Police prosecutor Sanj Singh made known to the court that the defendant usually threatens his mother and always uses obscene language towards her. Magistrate Daly then fined the defendant $10,000 on each charge, along with community service for two months at the Georgetown Magistrates Courts at 09:00hrs every Monday and Friday from today, August 30, 2019, or in default, two weeks imprisonment.
GPL runs alternative to troubled Demerara... From page 20 next few weeks.” There will also be a reduced reliance on imported power from the East Bank Demerara. GPL pointed out that power is imported from
One Male Janitor. Apply in person at Alabama Trading. 65 Robb St Bourda
Handyman (must have 1 Certified & experienced costmetologist, must be able experience in landscaping) contact# 223-5273/223-5274 to work unsupervised & fast paced salon. Tel#615-9328/ Cook to work in Charity. 626-6450 Contact# 654-7162 Front Desk Receptionist, must be able to work o/night shifts. Apply: General Manager Herdmanston Lodge, Peter Rose & Anira Sts
1 General Domestic at 12 Henry Street. #225-9211
English Tutor. Contact# 2235273/223-5274
A man was on Wednesday fined and ordered to do community service for using threatening behaviour and language towards his mother. The court heard that the defendant was referred to counseling, after he was previously charged, but on We d n e s d a y t h e r e p o r t given to the court from the probation officer stated that hes involved in a gang and is using illegal drugs. Twenty-three-year-old Fabian Anthony, of Hunter Street, Albouystown, appeared before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly in the Georgetown Magistrates Courts. The first charge stated that on August 26, last, at Hunter Street, he used threatening language to his mother, Nesta Smith, the last charge stated that on the same day and location he used threatening
Vacancy exist for a Full time/ Part time teacher, must be able to teach (2 & 7) years old. Call: 600-6887 for more information Male Office Clerk. Age 17-25 Please send CV’s to: lakram@rambaire.com WANTED
VACANCY
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Taxi Drivers. Experienced Washbay attendants. Driver with minibus license living in G/town to work with company. #664-0802
1 experienced driver, must have license for car/van/ minibus & motorbus, residing in G/town between ages 24-50 yrs old. #2251429/641-5075
the East Bank Demerara via the Craig to Vriesland 13.8 kV Cable. “As demonstrated by recent experience, the submarine cables are susceptible to disruption from vessels traversing t h e D e m e r a r a R i v e r. While GPL is implementing measures to reduce this risk, the new feeder will serve to make our systems more resilient by reducing the need to transfer power across the Demerara River.” The power company said that the project represents the first phase of a comprehensive programme to improve and expand power supply. “Subsequent phases related to this project will include the installation of capacitors and voltage regulators on both feeders in the short term and the construction of a new 69 kV subs t a t i o n a t Wa l e s w i t h connecting 69 kV lines to VEH and GOE. These initiatives will bring further benefits to customers on the West Bank, as well as the wider DBIS.”
Friday August 30, 2019
PI into shooting death of mentally ill man continues Fifty-five-year-old Gregory Bascom, a Lance Corporal of the City Cons t a b u l a r y, w h o i s a c cused of shooting and killing a mentally ill priso n e r, appeared on We d n e s d a y b e f o r e S e nior Magistrate Leron Daly, as the preliminary inquiry into the matter continued. Police prosecutor Vi s h n u H u n t e i s e x pected to call three more witnesses to testify. Bascom, of 340 West Ruimveldt Housing Scheme, was not required to the plead to the indictable charge which stated that on January 14, 2019, at Regent Road Bourda, Georgetown, he unlawfully killed Marlon Fredericks. The defendant is being represented by Attorney-at-law Joseph Yearwood and he is currently out on bail, Ye a r w o o d c r o s s - e x a m ined the two witnesses that testified on Wednesday. According to information, Fredericks, 34, was unarmed at the time he was shot, allegedly by Bascom, after he tried to escape from detention at the Bourda Market Outpost. The deceased, who is a resident of Tiger Bay, was described as mentally ill. The man was shot in the presence of his mother, as he ran out of the Outpost, where he was being detained on allegations of simple larc e n y, a s s a u l t , a n d a s -
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Accused: Gregory Bascom
Dead: Marlon Fredericks
saulting a peace officer. Reports stated that Fredericks and two others were in custody at the City Constabulary Outpost at Regent and Bourda Streets, Georgetown, and he forced his way out of the lockup w hen ranks opened a door to allow another prisoner to use the toilet. Bascom tried to restrain Fredericks, but Fredericks allegedly wrestled free from him and others. Fredericks was then shot in his lower back with a service pistol, allegedly by Bascom. Fredericks had previously attempted to escape the grip of ranks of the City Constabulary Office, but was chased, beaten, and taken into custody. Videos shared on social media had shown Fredericks being kicked by
a man, believed to be a former law enforcement officer, before he was taken into custody. A post mortem confirmed that Fredericks was shot in the back. It also revealed that the bullet pierced the lungs and exited the left side of the victims neck. The dead mans mother, Claudette Fredericks, said that her son had suffered from mental illness for over 10 years. Mrs. Fredericks had visited her son at the Constabulary Outpost. She related that on reaching the outpost, she saw her son running towards h e r. Mrs. Fredericks said she shouted and told her son to stop. “The next thing I heard was a loud noise and my son dropped to the ground.”
Guyana taps into foreign entertainment market at Carifesta XIV
Soca artistes Mark Batson and Michelle ‘Big Red’ King were the focus of the media at the Carifesta XIV festivities. They have secured several gigs as a result of their impressive performances From all accounts Guyana’s aim to tap in to the international market at Carifesta XIV has been fairly successful, according to Culture Director Tameka Boatswain. To date, local Soca artistes, Michelle ‘Big Red’ King and Mark Batson, have received rave reviews at the event, and have landed several radio and television interviews and international gigs, according to Boatswain. The director said that the Guyanese delegation to some extent was the focus for several international talent scouts. She explained that this year around, Guyana’s’ performance has been seen as the best so far, adding that even other participating countries were entirely enthralled
GGMC hosts Customer Appreciation Day
The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) hosted a Customer Appreciation Day yesterday at its Brickdam, Georgetown headquarters, in observance of its 40th Anniversary and also Mining Week. As customers were leaving the premises yesterday after conducting their business they were presented with a token.
with several performances. She said that the Guyana contingent had ensured that their acts were export-ready, by soliciting experienced presenters who were already well-established performers. Boatswain noted that, as a result, they were able to showcase Guyana’s rich diverse culture at the event in a very impressive manner, displaying presentations of the highest standard. She said there was particular interest surrounding the Guyanese dancers who were a collaborative body comprising representatives from the National School of Dance, National Dance Company and several other entities. The Culture Director said that this year, the host country, Trinidad and To-
bago, invited buyers from around the globe who scouted products and talents showcased, with the aim of collaborating and contracting. She said with that in mind her department had particularly focused on ‘pruning’ their acts, with the intent of grabbing all opportunities in this regard. She said that presentations were of a very higher calibre. A contingent of one hundred participants attended the festivities, while an independent delegation of fifty persons accompanied the delegation with the main aim of providing support. The Guyanese showcased their talents in the areas of visual arts, literary arts, theatre, dance, music, craft, fashion, body art and more.
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Friday August 30, 2019
Kaieteur News
Friday August 30, 2019
New Indian envoy meets PM Nagamootoo P
rime Minister, Hon. M o s e s Nagamootoo yesterday received a courtesy visit from His Excellency, Dr. K. J. Srinivasa, newly-accredited High Commissioner of India to Guyana. In welcoming the new High Commissioner to Guyana, Prime Minister Nagamootoo referred to several of joint initiatives that underlined the historic ties and strategic partnership between these two democracies. Noting that Dr. Srinivasa hails from Karnataka, the home state of Bangalore, which is India’s Silicone Valley, the Prime Minister said that he was pleased by statements from the High Commissioner that India would offer training to Guyanese in Information Technology. He expressed this country’s gratitude for the Centre of Excellence in IT education, as a gift from India to Guyana. High Commissioner Srinivasa reminded the Prime Minister of several projects under Indian lines-of-credit that are in the making, that would further strengthen cooperation between the two
countries. He expressed thanks to Guyana for its consistent support for India at several world fora, to which Prime Minister Nagamootoo stressed that the historic ethnic, cultural and blood bonds between India and Guyana are unbreakable. Before his posting to Guyana, High Commissioner Srinivasa was previously engaged with the Indian Foreign Service, in various capacities, in Spain, Peru and South Africa. A medical doctor by profession, he is married to Ashwini Sirinivasa and together, they have two sons. During the courtesy call, he was accompanied by Counsellors R.K. Perindia and K. Vijayakumar. (DPI)
Prime Minister, Hon. Moses Nagamootoo and His Excellency, Dr. K. J. Srinivasa, newly-accredited High Commissioner of India to Guyana.
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Formula 1 to have record 22 grand prix in 2020 season BBCsport - The sport’s calendar, announced on Thursday before the resumption of the current season in Belgium, features two new races in the Netherlands and Vietnam. Only Germany has been lost from this year’s 21-race schedule. The season begins in Australia on 15 March and ends in Abu Dhabi on 29 N o v e m b e r. T h e B r i t i s h Grand Prix is on 19 July, a week later than this year. Squeezing in the extra race has meant seven ‘doubleheaders’ - where races are held on consecutive weekends. Bahrain follows a week after Australia, and the other events a week apart
are the Netherlands and Spain on the first two weekends in May; Azerbaijan and Canada in early June; France and Austria; Belgium and Italy; Singapore and Russia; and the USA and Mexico. F1’s bosses have said their intention is to potentially extend the calendar to as many as 24 races in the future, principally to drive revenue. But teams have reservations about that, both in terms of the demands on their staff and as a potential risk to the exclusivity of the sport. Te a m s h a d t o g i v e permission to extend 2020 beyond 21 races, as that is defined as a maximum in the
sport’s rules. Beyond 2020, the situation is less clear, as the regulations have not yet been defined. Talks about changes to the sport have been going on for two years but so far only a budget cap of $175m a year - with several exclusions, including the salaries of drivers and the three top executives - has been agreed. Teams and F1 have until the end of October to finalise the new rules, having already been forced to extend the previous deadline of the end of June. Australia (15 March), Bahrain (22 March), Vietnam (5 April), China (19 April), Netherlands (3 May), Spain (10 May), Monaco (24
Friday August 30, 2019 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Today it looks like you might not be able to attend a group activity that you've been anticipating, Aries. Other pressing matters may demand your immediate attention. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) A delay in completing an important project could have you feeling irritated, frustrated, and inadequate, even though you've done your best. The problem is probably beyond your control.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Today you might be eagerly awaiting a phone call that never seems to come from a current or potential romantic partner, Libra. This could awaken your insecurity and cause you to think the worst. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) A member of your household could be depressed over their job. Something may have gone wrong that wasn't their fault.
GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Some pressing matters might have you worried that you may have to postpone a much-needed vacation. You could be tempted to go into a funk over it, but don't.
SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Some letters, checks, or phone calls you may have been expecting for a long time could still be delayed. There's no reason to get too frustrated, as the delays are beyond your control.
CANCER(June21–July22) If you've been thinking about investing, Cancer, this isn't the day to start. Not only would there be delays in processing your investment but it also probably won't pay off the way you hope.
CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) Some news about money, perhaps a check in the mail you've been waiting for still might not come. This could be frustrating, Capricorn, especially since there isn't much you can do about it.
LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Attempts to reach a potential or current business partner could go awry today, Leo. Phone messages may not get delivered, emails could get lost, and letters remain unopened. This person is having a hectic day.
AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Delays in accomplishing certain goals could have you feeling down today, Aquarius. You could wonder if you did something wrong. Chances are you didn't.
VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Today you might feel a little out of sorts, Virgo, perhaps because of overindulgence from last night. You might be tempted to stay home in spite of other commitments.
PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Today you might feel very low, though you may not have any idea why. Your life is going well, so there's no real reason for you to feel this way. Chances are that you saw something that triggered an unconscious memory without even being aware of it.
Formula One have revealed an exciting new schedule for the coming championship season. (AP) May), Azerbaijan (7 June), Canada (14 June), France (28 June), Austria (5 July), Great Britain (19 July), Hungary (2 August), Belgium (30 August), Italy (6 September), Singapore (20 September), Russia (27 September), Japan (11 October), US (25 October) Mexico (1 November), Brazil (15 November), Abu Dhabi (29 November).
Odyssey River and Sight... From page 39 President Aleem Hussain expressed gratitude to the sponsors and said this will be an exciting weekend for golf since the club will also host the Puran Brothers tournament tomorrow as players prepare for the Suriname Open and the Guyana Open in October. “I would like to thank the members who have participated in the many tournaments held this year. I especially wish to thank Captain of the Club, Chen Deo and those Executive members who have given above and beyond their required duties to ensure that the LGC continues to function at the level we have over the past year.” There will be three Flights to accommodate players of all abilities with handicap up to 36. The top two persons in each Flight will take home a trophy while there will be prizes for Longest Drive and Nearest to the Pin. Members of the public are invited to attend the event which starts at 08:30hrs and stay on to enjoy the tranquility of the serene setting of the golf club. For more information on how you may learn the game absolutely free visit Lusignan Golf Club on Facebook or call, 220 5660. Among the golfers slated to participate are Dr. Joaan Deo, Hussain, Troy Cadogan, Avinash Persaud, Brian Hackett, Pur Persaud, Max Persaud, Vijay Deo, Shanella London, William Walker, Kalyan Tiwari and Munaf Arjune. (Zaheer Mohamed)
Talking Women’s... From page 33 youth and senior FIFA World Cup tournaments. Words of advice to young female footballers, especially at a time when women’s football is the centerpiece of global football? There are too many spotlights on the topic “women’s football” when it should not be that way. We are women who play football, and the conversation should come naturally. I would say to my
young female footballers, do not let the emphasis placed on this topic make you feel pressured as if you need to do something different from your male counterparts. You are not just a female footballer, you are a footballer; be good to the game and the game will be good to you, and, as Michael Jordan said, if you shortcut the game, then the game will shortcut you. Be committed and dedicated to the game and you will reap the rewards.
Friday August 30, 2019
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US Open 2019
Taylor Townsend stuns Wimbledon champion Simona Halep BBCsport - Fourth seed Simona Halep suffered a shock second-round loss to world number 116 Taylor Townsend at the US Open. American Townsend, 23, won 2-6 6-3 7-6 (7-4) to reach the third round at Flushing Meadows for the first time. Wimbledon champion Halep, 27, cruised through the opening set but showed her frustration in the third by hitting her racquet on the ground after a miss. In a thrilling final set, Halep had a match point before qualifier Townsend won in a dramatic tie-break. An emotional Townsend said: “This means a lot. It’s been a long journey. I had a match point against Kiki Bertens at Wimbledon and close matches this year and not managed to get over the hump. “This match gives me so much confidence that I can do it. When I’ve played Halep before I tried to make balls and played not to lose. Today I played to win. “I said to myself this was an opportunity to go for it. There was nothing to lose.” In front of a large crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium, it looked like being a routine win for former world number one Halep. But Townsend fought back with an attacking servevolley game that saw her move into the net more than 100 times.
Taylor Townsend had to win three qualifying matches to earn her place in the main draw of the US Open. (GETTYIMAGES) She had missed two match points at 5-4 in the final set, double-faulting on the first opportunity before Halep produced a fine down-the-line forehand winner on the second. The Romanian also had her own chance to win it, but wasted it when she went long with a forehand as Townsend again ran into the net. In the tie-break, Townsend was never behind and from 4-4 then won the final three points to book her place in the next round. She will play another Romanian, Sorana Cirstea, who also came
from a set down as she beat Spain’s Aliona Bolsova 3-6 64 6-2. Osaka stays calm to see off Linette New York (Reuters) Naomi Osaka continued her bid for a second straight U.S. Open title with a business-like 6-3 6-4 win over Magda Linette yesterday to book her place in the third round. After struggling with nerves in her gruelling firstround match, Osaka was calm and collected on Louis Armstrong Stadium court, smacking 13 winners and playing stout defence to
Osaka stays calm to see off Linette
dispatch Poland’s Linette. After a one-sided first set, trouble brewed for the world number one when Linette raced out to a 3-0 lead in the second on a sun-soaked court. But the 21-year-old Japanese kept her composure and battled back, hitting a deft volley on match point to seal the win before an adoring crowd including former San Francisco 49er Colin Kaepernick and former Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant. “Going into this match I was very calm, because I was thinking there is no way my
nerves could be worse than they were the day before,” Osaka told reporters. Osaka, who took the tennis world by storm when she followed up her breakthrough win at Indian Wells last year with victories at the U.S. and Australian Opens, said she was learning to deal with the pressure that comes with being at the top of the sport. Next up for Osaka is either qualifier Timea Babos or 15-year-old American wildcard Coco Gauff. Mailonline - Serena Williams won her first US Open two years before Caty
McNally was born - and she had to use all her experience to avoid crashing out to the 17-year-old. Williams, the 23-time grand slam winner and last year ’s runner-up, found herself staring down the barrel of a major upset against her fellow American. McNally, standing up to Williams’ second serve, had the 37-year-old on the ropes when she took the first set. But Williams dug deep in a dramatic late-night session in New York to win 5-7 6-3 6-1 and progress to the third round.
Talking Women’s Football with Sonia Fulford As the president of the Turks and Caicos Football Association (TCIFA) and a member of the boards of FIFA, Concacaf and CFU, Sonia Fulford has a kaleidoscopic view and perspective of football. She understands the hopes, dreams and objectives on the ground and knows full well the balancing game to align those to the realities not limited to resources, country size, revenueearning ability and marketability, as well as issues related to hierarchy. Ms. Fulford sat with the CFU for a Q-and-A on the women’s game. What do you see as the building blocks for development of the women’s game in the Caribbean? For us to develop the women’s game in our region, there must first be a development strategy for women’s football. There must be uniformity in this strategy and, as such, it should be implemented in all Member Associations throughout our region. The development strategy should, as a fundamental concept, be aimed firstly to fully engage our stakeholders as there still remain some uncertainty as to whether women’s football is fully embraced by all or if it is a concept that only generates lip service. The next needed portion of the infrastructure
would be the practical aspects, including but not limited to educational and technical training programs for female referees and coaches; organized grassroots programs; and youth development leagues matriculating into national team development programs Starting at this point, with the resources available, what can the respective Member Associations do to advance the women’s game and what can the CFU do to build sustainable and equitable programming that both encourages and tangibly supports what the MAs are doing? To advance the women’s game, a realistic development strategy for Women’s Football will need to be implemented in the respective Member Associations to include— but not limited to—the points as set out in my previous response. The CFU can support the MAs with the building of sustainable and equitable programs by hosting periodic development workshops/ seminars/courses for female referees, coaches and administrators of the women’s game. It is very critical that there are increased and consistent playing opportunities, particularly for our youth, as well as our senior national teams within the
MAs. These playing opportunities will serve to improve the football product both on and off the field as well as act as a catalyst and recruiting tool for additional players. The CFU can also assist by providing the MAs with a platform that can connect MAs with each other for the purpose of information sharing, internship and training, opportunities for friendly games and competitions etc. How does the region use the Jamaica Reggae Girlz’s story as motivation beyond holding them up as Caribbean heroes? The Reggae Girlz have made our entire region extremely proud and their recent performance has left a lot of young girls believing that what was once only a dream to one day be able to play on the World Stage is now a reality. Jamaica’s success story comes as a result of many different factors. I believe it has to start with people who believe in the women’s game and are willing to invest the needed financial and human resources that are necessary to grow the game and, in turn, reach that height. Their success demonstrates what is possible and clearly exemplifies that the talent is in our region, and with the proper nurturing and support, we all can
somehow too play on the world stage. How do competitions like the 2018 Women’s Challenge Series and this year’s Girls U14 Challenge Series help development and advancement of the women’s game in the Caribbean? These competitions are critical to the development and advancement of the women’s game in the Caribbean as it provides the opportunity for the type of competition that is critical for the development of our players. However, for these games to be truly beneficial and effective, they have to be held consistently and often. These competitions should be hosted bi-annual at the very least. What are the measurable things that will define success (1) at the end of the Girls’ Challenge Series, (2) a year on at the 2020 Concacaf Girls U15 championship, (3) a few years on? One, success will be defined by how well the tournament has been organized by the CFU administration and LOC. This is critical as there is a need to ensure that the games are with teams of equal or similar competence so as to increase the competitiveness of the games. It appears that a definite
Sonia Fulford attempt was made to achieve this. A year on, the quality of the performance of the players and teams in terms of both the technical and tactical aspect; how competitive are the games; differences in scoreline and the closing of the playing gap between levels of the teams from around our region will help to define success. A few years on, success will be defined by the qualification of firsttime teams from our region to the (Continued on page 32)
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Uefa Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze and Virgil van Dijk win awards
England’s Lucy Bronze picked up the UEFA Women’s Player of the 2018/19 season. BBCsport - England’s Lucy Bronze has been named the Uefa Women’s Player of the Year, while Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk took the men’s award. Full-back Bronze beat Lyon team-mates Ada Hegerberg and Amandine Henry to the award. She is the first English winner of the honour, voted for by top coaches in the women’s game and journalists. Defender Van Dijk helped Liverpool beat Tottenham 2-0 in the Champions League final in Madrid in June. Van Dijk, 28, edged out Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo for the prestigious prize. He is the first defender to win the award since the inaugural edition in 2010-11, with Messi and
Ronaldo claiming five of the previous eight awards between them, and Andres Iniesta (2012), Franck Ribery (2013) and Luka Modric (2018) completing the winners’ list. A revelation for Liverpool since joining from Southampton in January 2018 in a £75m deal, the Netherlands centre-back was an integral part of the side that won European football’s top prize last season a n d p u s h e d eventual Premier League champions Manchester City all the way in the title race. “I’m very proud to get this trophy. It’s credit to everyone who has helped me,” said Van Dijk, who won the Professional Footballers’
Association Player of the Year award and BBC Sport website’s player of the year for 2018-19. “I need to thank my team-mates, without them I would not have achieved what I have achieved. It’s been a long road and it’s part of my journey.” Bronze h e l p e d P h i l N e v i l l e ’s England reach the semi-finals of the Women’s World Cup in France in the summer. In doing so, she won the Silver Ball as the tournament’s second-best player. She was unable to attend Thursday’s awards ceremony, which followed the draw for the 2019-20 Champions League group stage, in Monaco as she was appearing for England against Belgium in a friendly in Leuven.
The winners of the individual prizes poses with their awards following the ceremony. But in a video message played at the awards ceremony, Bronze said: “I’m ecstatic and superhumbled to have won the award up against two fantastic players who I know really well at Lyon. “I want to say a huge thanks to the Lionesses, the England team. We had a great summer and I don’t think I would have won this award if it wasn’t for them. “The same goes for the Lyon team. We had an amazing season, we won the treble. I think any one of those girls could have been up here receiving this award.” A player at French club Lyon since 2017, former Sunderland, Everton, Liverpool and Manchester City player Bronze also
scored one of the goals of this summer’s World Cup in England’s 3-0 quarter-final win against Norway. Alisson, Liverpool’s No 1 was named the 2018-19 UEFA goalkeeper of the year at the awards in Monaco, following a fantastic first season at Anfield. Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong won the midfielder of the year, after playing a vital part in Ajax’s impressive run to the semi-finals of the competition last season. The Dutch giants beat holders Real Madrid in the last-16 after a historic 4-1 win at the Bernabeu, before knocking out Juventus in the quarterfinals. They fell just short in the semis against Tottenham, but de Jong’s performances in the centre of the park earned him
a move to Barcelona, for £65million. Alisson kept a clean sheet in the famous comeback second-leg victory against Barcelona, and made a string of important saves in the final against Tottenham, as Liverpool won the competition for the sixth time. Lionel Messi, Lionel Messi took home the forward of the season award, after scoring 12 goals in 10 Champions League appearances. The Argentine forward scored a sensational free kick in the semi-final first leg against Liverpool, and although he couldn’t quite guide Barcelona to the final, the captain had another brilliant individual season, scoring 50 goals in 51 appearances in all competitions.
Federer drops first set AGAIN as Swiss survives a scare against Dzumhur Roger Federer’s stuttering start at the US Open continued as he suffered a second scare in as many rounds before beating Damir Dzumhur. Dzumhur, ranked world No 99, capitalised under the Arthur Ashe Stadium roof as world No 3 Federer made 17 unforced errors in a
sluggish opening set, which he went on to lose 6-3. But just as he did against Indian qualifier Sumit Nagal in the first round, Federer, stunned by his poor start, rallied back and went on to win 93 per cent of points on his first serve in the second set.
Sets three and four remained competitive for the Swiss but Dzumhur became exasperated at his missed opportunity as Federer soon took control before sealing a 3-6, 6-2, 63, 6-4 win. While it may not be a game that is fondly remembered by Federer, it proved to be an historic one. The match against Dzumhur saw Federer become the first man in tennis history to play 100 matches or more at three different Grand Slams.
Dan Evans set up another Grand Slam meeting with Roger Federer by beating French 25th seed Lucas Pouille in the US Open second round in New York. The British men’s number two, 29, dug deep to overcome an out-of-sorts Pouille in a 6-4 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 64 win. Evans said he has the belief he can push five-time US Open champion Federer, who beat him at Wimbledon in 2016 and at the Australian Open earlier this year.
Dan Evans also reached the US Open third round in 2013 and 2016 - but has never gone beyond that stage.
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Host Country Agreement signed for CPL By Sean Devers The Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) became the last of the six Franchises of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) to sign the Host Country Agreement (HCA) with the Guyana Government. According to Minster of Social Cohesion with responsibility for Culture, Youth & Sports, Dr. George Norton, the Agreement signed yesterday at his office on Main Street Georgetown, took so long to be signed since the proposal had to be ratified by Cabinet. Permanent Secretary Mrs. Melissa Tucker-Grimes signed on behalf of Government while Trinidadian, Omar Khan, Team Operations Manager of the local franchise, signed on behalf of the GAW. The Agreement, which according to Dr. Norton was the same as preceding years, was presented to him by Khan after it was signed. The Warriors have reached the finals on four occasions and were twice in the semi-finals in the six-year history of the event dubbed ‘the biggest Party in Sports’ since CPL T20 cricket was first played in 2013 when Jamaica beat Guyana in the inaugural final. This year, the Warriors will play five home matches, with the first three set for Thursday September 5 when
the Warriors oppose recently renamed St. Lucia Zouks at Providence from 18:00hrs. The Warriors, captained by Pakistani Shoib Malik, then face-off with St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots from 20:00hrs on Saturday September 7 before battling former Champions Barbados Tridents the next day from 17:00hrs. The final two home games will be contested on October 3 and 4 when the home team oppose two-time champions Jamaica Tallawahs and defending champions and three time CPL winners, Trinbago Knight Riders respectively. According to Khan, the Guyana/Trinidad game has already been sold out while adding that two y o u n g Guyanese players (to be selected by the GCB) will be involved in the Warriors’ training and practice sessions which starts today at Providence. Khan thanked the Guyana Government and the public for their continued support and informed that eight local players are in the Warriors squad. “We want to give the young players a chance to impress. Last year Shimron Hetymer, Keemo Paul and Sherfane Rutherford were all bought by IPL Franchises” Khan said. Chris Barnwell, ironically
- Hetmyer appointed ‘Director of Batting’ by GAW
Minister Norton (left) and Deputy DS Melissa Dow-Richardson (right) observes as GAW Manager Omar Khan and PS Melissa Tucker sign the HCA, yesterday. set to play against the Warriors on Thursday is the only other Guyanese to participate in the IPL. “The overseas players should to here by tonight (last night) while Head Coach South African Johan Botha is already in Guyana. We have planned an indoor session for tomorrow (today) at Providence while we will have a practice match on Monday,” informed Khan who has been with the Warriors since CPL was inaugurated. The GAW have been the most consistent team but have not managed to lift the CPL trophy and Khan puts that down to players not being
mentally strong as they should be in pressure situations and when faced with sea of Red in the stands in Trinidad. “CPL and Trinidad has an agreement for the finals but I can’t speak for CPL with regards to the play-offs” answered Khan when asked about the home advantage of having the play-offs games in Guyana. A few eyebrows were raised when Khan announced that 22-year-old West Indies batsman Shimron Hetmyer was appointed ‘Director of batting’ for the Warriors. The reasoning behind this position might be,
like at school or in youth teams, the most mischievous youngster is put to head the Disciplinary Committee, forcing them the lead by example. Giving the most erratic shot maker that position hopefully could make the ultra aggressive left-hander think in a more responsible and mature manner and this could also hopefully help his own batting. Dr. George Norton said it was significant that this was the first time his office was filled with so many persons from the media. “Cricket is in air and we all know what cricket means
to the Guyanese people. This (signing) is now out of the way and we now look forward to Guyana hosting some wonderful and exciting matches” said Minister Norton. Guyana Amazon Warriors squad: Shoib Malik (Capt), Saurabh Netravalkar, Shadab Khan, Ben Laughlin, Chris Green, Nicolas Pooran, Brandon King, Odean Smith, Shimron Hetmyer, Keemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford, Anthony Bramble, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Veerasammy Permaul, Romario Shepherd, Clinton Pestano, Johan Botha (Head Coach).
History created as FIFA partners GFF to outfit 20 Indigenous teams - FIFA Instructor Lenny Lake impressed with commitment and love displayed With the aim of enhancing the level of play on and off the field among indigenous teams, world governing body for football, FIFA, recently partnered with the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) to outfit twenty (20) teams. Those benefitting are currently participating in the annual North Pakaraimas Football Tournament being played at the Kamana Blue Lions Sports Ground in the village of Kamana, Region 8. This all became reality following a visit to the region by Mr. Véron MosengoOmba, Director of Member Associations & Development for Africa and the Caribbean in 2018. He experienced first-hand what it takes for teams to travel to and fro and their love for the game. Following discussion with GFF President, Wayne Forde following his traversing of the terrain and interaction with the people, Mosengo-Omba’s
subsequent report to FIFA resulted in uniforms and other equipment being made available to the 20 teams. Also part of the package was an Introductory Coaches Course as well as Referees Training. FIFA Coaching Instructor, Mr. Lenny Lake who made the trip to Kamana, Region 8 presented the equipment to the teams and was the facilitator for the Coaches training. He expressed awe in experiencing that part of Guyana noting that the players and people have an unrivaled passion for living the game. The experienced Coach and former St. Kitts and Nevis national player also said that he was knocked off of his feet in seeing the beauty of another part of Guyana, which he never knew existed. “FIFA is very pleased to be able to contribute to the support and sustenance of these teams in the interior of Guyana. It is truly
amazing to see their level of commitment and passion for the game, traveling days to play, travelling with their babies and camping out for so many days just to play is an amazing experience for me and I can assure you that FIFA is more than happy to be a part of this tremendous journey.” Lake commended the GFF and the Government of Guyana for their continued partnership which allows for the players to be able to practice their trade even with so many challenges, including travelling. “The donation of gear and other equipment will serve to encourage these players and teams and assure them that they too are important in the world of football and I am sure that many of these players will one day break into the national ranks, with sustained support of course, and even go on to get contracts out of Guyana. They are strong and
disciplined and it is important for us to continue supporting them.” President Forde commented: “The GFF continues to provide the hinterland communities with technical and material support. We are seeing significant improvement in the quality of the young footballers emerging from the various regions, in fact, hinterland players are featured in almost all of our youth National teams. The love and passion for football among the hinterland peoples is unrivaled across the entire stretch of our 83 000 square miles.” Lake also offered a comment on his experience of travelling to Region 8: “Wow! You hear about it and you hear the stories
and read about it but to a c t u a l l y l i v e i t , i t ’s unbelievable. Unbelievable in the sense that you saw persons who are living in a different world or what we say, in a different way and you recognize that even though they are living in a different way and they have their challenges; they appear to be happy and enjoy the company of each other.” But what strikes me most is their passion for football and that is quite surprising because, most of the times you see football, you see football in a structured way with big clubs or associations but these of Kamana and all these other communities around, even though they might not have that structure, have the passion, the pride to come out
and play the game and play like they are competing for a World Cup. The attendance and atmosphere is unbelievable that something like this could be happening almost in a remote area and so many persons may not know that this is happening but it just thrills you and overwhelming to see what happens in the interior of Guyana.” R e p r e s e n t i n g Hounorable Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples Affairs, Hon. Valerie Garrido-Lowe at the presentation was the Minister ’s Personal Assistant, Mr. Orlando Shuman while Deputy Regional Executive Officer, Mr. Gavin Gounga was also present.
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GFF/NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power U-17 League – WDFA Leg
Uitvlugt Warriors win back to back; Eagles remain only unbeaten team Eagles FC of Stewartville notched their second win in as many matches to remain the only unbeaten team while Uitvlugt Warriors enjoyed back to back wins when the GFF/NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power U17 League continued in the West Demerara Football Association at the Leonora Track and Field Facility, West Coast Demerara. On Sunday, Eagles soared to a comfortable 3-1 win over Pouderoyen of West Bank Demerara after the latter jumped ahead in the 12th minute when Reshawn Embrak found the back of the nets. Falling behind only served to wake up the sleeping Eagles and they found the energy to flap their wings and were never caught again. Charles Benn in the 13th minute drew them level after which, David Chisholm put them ahead in the 52nd minute before the icing was put on the cake when Tolbert Baptiste scored in the 63rd minute. Uitvlugt Warriors staved off a late challenge by Den Amstel to emerge 4-3 winners in an exciting contest.
Shaquan Gilkes, Malcolm Dainty and Travis Fraser - Uitvlugt Warriors FC. Uitvlugt made it a 2-0 game on account of a double off the boot of Travis Fraser in the 2nd and 34th minute. Den Amstel’s Chris Smith, who scored all their goals, drew his team level when he converted in the 38th and 51st minute but Uitvlugt regained the lead four minutes later on account of Keishawn Andrews’ goal. They Warriors again doubled the advantage in the 65th minute, thanks to a Michael McKend goal and
even though Smith achieved his hat-trick one minute later, Uitvlugt Warriors were able to protect their one goal advantage until full time and this was even after being reduced to 10 when Jonathan Dowlaw was given marching orders. In the lone game on Tuesday at the same venue, Uitvlugt Warriors downed Hurry-ATE, 5-3 on account of a brace each from Shaquan Gilkes (6,38) and Travis Fraser (45,55); their other goal was
Eagles FC scorers - Charles Benn, David Chisholm and Tolbert Baptiste. match on Sunday, Hurry-ATE hurried to a resounding 7-0 triumph over Wales FC. Firing in a helmet-trick was Samuel Moonsammy (3, 5, 50, 66) with a double from
scored by Malcolm Dainty in the 42nd minute. Hurry-ATE got their goals from Samuel McLeod (3) and Nashawn Lian in the 57th and 59th minute. In the other
Team Eagles (Stewartville) Pouderoyen Uitvlugt Warriors Hurry-ATE Wales FC Den Amstel
P 2 3 4 3 2 2
Latest Points Table W D L 2 0 0 2 0 1 2 0 2 1 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 2
Daniel Barker (15, 20), the other coming from I-Zion Jah in the 70th minute. Matches are expected to continue on Sunday at a venue to be announced.
GD 3 2 0 3 -5 -3
Points 6 6 6 3 3 0
GDA offers financial assistance to two schools The Georgetown Domino Association (GDA) has made a financial donation to Sophia Primary and St. Stephen’s Primary Schools that are both based in Georgetown. The donation was handed over to the Minister of Education, Dr. Nicolette Henry at the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) Brickdam office. Vice-President of the GDA, Colin Boyce, said that the association is happy to make the donation to the two schools and looks forward to greater collaboration with the Ministry. He said that the
GDA is interested in having dominos played in schools as a recreational sport. Minister Henry thanked the GDA for its timely contribution to the improvement of the education sector. The Education Minister noted that more work needs to be done and said that she looks forward to as many stakeholders and partners as possible. Minister Henry said that she sees great potential for the partnership with the GDA and noted that sport is an excellent tool for the nation’s young people to develop.
Minister Henry receiving the donation from the Georgetown Domino Association in the MoE Boardroom.
Friday August 30, 2019
GCC beat Blairmont in U-16 clash In sweltering heat at the famous Georgetown Cricket Club Ground Bourda, the home team hammered Blairmont Cricket Club of West Bank Berbice by 272 runs on a flat track and heavy outfield yesterday in a feature 40-over U-16 match. Player-of-the-match Dominic Roberts was delightful in his innings of 83 which was decorated with eight fours and a six. Roberts put on 97 for the first wicket with Thadius Lovell who reached the boundary once and cleared it on one occasion as GCC amassed 333-9. Avaryau Persaud 23, Dindyal 17 and Rahul Singh 16 also got into double figures. Zaahid Baksh had 448 for Blairmont and was support by Sheerdat Roopnarine who captured 225 and Zeynul Ramsammy (235).
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Kaieteur News
Rickey Deonarine presents Dominic Roberts with his MOM Award. In response, Blairmont were sent packing for a paltry 61 after being 44-9. Doing the damage with the ball for GCC were Persaud (2-3) and
Dindyal (2-8). Blairmont, which produced Test players Roy Fredricks and Brandon Best, will host the City in a return fixture.
Five Guyanese for Williams Industries International Meet
Mark Maloney ahead of Guyana’s duo of Mark Vieira (right) and Andrew King (third) during group four action at Bushy Park last year. Guyana has shown its support to keep motor racing alive in the Caribbean by sending five cars to compete in this weekend’s Williams Industries International Race Meet, organised by the Bushy Park Motorsport Inc. (BPMI). Team Guyana consists of Rameez Momamed who will be competing in Groups 2 and 3 with his Honda Civic, Danny Persaud in his Mazda Miata for Groups 3 and 4 along with Mohan Rangasammy who is slated for Group 4 action in his Mazda Rx7. Andrew King, the 2017 and 2018 Group 4 champion will be in his iconic yellow RX-7 while Guyana’s first Caribbean group 4 champion; Kristian Jeffery will be contesting the SR3 Radicals class.
The competitors have been supported majorly by Tropical Shipping Company that has sponsored the shipment of the vehicles to the ‘Land of the Flying Fish’ with three 40ft containers. Mohamed, who is also President of Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club, commented on the support from Tropical Shipping, saying that, “Tropical shipping has become a pillar for motorsport in this country. They take our cars and our bikes where we need to go and their support is obviously something that is invaluable to the sport.” Tomorrow will serve as the qualifying round while Sunday will see the competitors going head to head in three races each in their classes.
Four additional teams for 4th Limacol Football which kicks off tomorrow
West Indies U-16 batsman Mavendra Dindyal had 2-8 for GCC yesterday.
Warriors top online influence charts in China: report Reuters - Golden State Warriors continue to be the most popular NBA franchise online in China for a third consecutive year, according to annual report on the teams’ digital performance. The NBA Red Card report, which was released by digital marketing agency Mailman on Thursday, measures online influence using a number of performance metrics including growth in followers and engagement on Chinese social media platforms. Warriors, the 2018 champions, claimed the top spot ahead of the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics. Former Toronto
Raptors point guard Jeremy Lin, who secured a move to China’s Beijing Ducks this week, was the most popular player, beating Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul. The report said the NBA teams gained a cumulative 47 million new followers on Chinese social media platforms - Weibo, Douyin and Toutiao - last season. The NBA has leveraged their marquee players to promote the league in Asia by sending out the Warriors, Rockets and Lakers to China over the last three years. On-court success is not the only factor behind their online popularity in China as
the franchises continue to increase their engagement levels on the social media websites. Andrew Collins, CEO of Mailman, believes the NBA’s recent move to allow the franchises to sell international sponsorship rights, as part of a three-year test, will further boost their brand in the Chinese markets. “The NBA is doing a great job in China to grow the sport from the grassroots and in the communities,” Collins said in a statement. “Teams and players are taking back control and establishing an online presence, while the recent sponsorship opening announcement will give teams more autonomy from the league.”
Action during the Limacol 2018 semifinal between eventual champions Police (on the ball) and Riddim Squad. Good news for fans and footballers, the Fourth annual Limacol Football tournament which kicks off tomorrow evening at the Ministry of Education (MOE) ground from 19:00hrs with a double header has seen an increase of teams participating from 12 to 16. The additional teams are Santos and Fruta Conquerors Under-20 teams, Dynamic FC and Police FC ‘B’. The tournament was slated to have four groups of three but there will be four
groups of four teams each battling in initial round-robin group play before the top two teams from each group advances to the final-8 knockout round. The groupings are as follows: Group A - Santos Under20, Camptown, Grove Hi Tech, Black Pearl. Group B – Fruta Conquerors Under-20, Buxton Stars, GFC, Northern Rangers Group C - Riddim Squad, Beacons, Pouderoyen, East Veldt/Gt Panthers Group D - Dynamics FC,
Mahaica Determinators, Pele, Police ‘B’ Tomorrow’s fixtures will pit Dynamics FC against Police ‘B’ in the opening game while Santos U-20s will match skills with Black Pearl in the feature game from 21:00hrs. A total of $750,000 in prize monies is up for grabs with the winners set to pocket $400,000 while the runners-up will walk away with $200,000. The winner of the third place playoff will receive $100,000 and the fourth place finishers will enjoy $50,000.
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Guyanese Gajnabi set to make debut as Mohammed returns St. John’s, Antigua - Anisa Mohammed has been included in the 13-member West Indies Women’s squad selected by Cricket West Indies (CWI) Interim Selection Panel to play the three-match Colonial Medical Insurance One Day International (ODI) Series against Australia, starting on September 5 in Antigua. Anisa last played international cricket for the West Indies in the away tour against Pakistan in February. She is the fifth highest ODI wicket-taker in women’s cricket with 146 wickets and brings a wealth of experience to the Stafanie Taylor-led team. Currently ranked seventh in the ICC Women’s ODI Championship, the team will rely on its experienced players to fill the void left by Shakera Selman, Chedean Nation and Shemaine Campbelle, who have all been ruled out due to injury. Kyshona Knight, also included in the squad, adds to that experience having been a part of the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup winning squad of 2016. Nineteen year-old Guyanese all-rounder Shabika Gajnabi has been included for the first time in the West Indies Women’s Squad. Three-time captain of the Guyana Under-19 girls’ team, Shabika brings a patient composure and strong arm to the squad. With a top score of 77 in the CWI Women’s Championship earlier this year and a handy economy rate; she gives Stafanie a bonus in both the batting and bowling lineups. CWI’s Interim Chairman of Selectors Robert Haynes offered his comments on the team’s selection, “The panel selected the best available players from
Shabika Gajnabi batting for Guyana Senior Women’s team during the Colonial Medical Insurance Women’s Super50 Cup in Guyana. the camp in Antigua over the last month, as a result of most of our senior players being unavailable due to injury. We have included Anisa Mohammed and Kyshona Knight who have a lot of experience between them, which is required when playing against Australia, the top-ranked women’s team.” Haynes added, “As a result of the injuries to our senior players, it gave us the opportunity to select two of our younger players in Shabika Gajnabi and Karishma Ramharack to give the captain more options in the bowling department.” The West Indies Women will bowl off their home series against
Australia in a day-night ODI at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua. The remaining two matches will be played at the Sir Vivian Richard Stadium, before the tour moves to the Kensington Oval in Barbados for the three T20 Internationals. Tickets are priced at just US$4/ EC$10.00 EC in Antigua or US$5/ BD$10 for Barbados to make it affordable for fans to come out and rally behind the West Indies Women. Tickets are available to buy online from Saturday 24 August via the Buy Tickets button on www.windiescricket.com. Local box offices at the stadia will be open from
Anisa Mohammed bowling for the West Indies Women September 3 in Antigua and in Barbados from September 12. Full Squad - Stafanie Taylor (Captain), Hayley Matthews (ViceCaptain), Reniece Boyce,Afy Fletcher, Chinelle Henry, Shamilia Connell, Stacy Ann King, Natasha McLean, Kycia Knight, Kyshona Knight, Anisa Mohammed, Karishma Ramharack , Shabika Gajnabi. WEST INDIES WOMEN vs AUSTRALIA WOMEN: SCHEDULE 2019 Thursday, 5 September; 1st COLONIAL MEDICAL INSURANCE ODI (DAY/NIGHT), Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua,
2:00pm Sunday, 8 September; 2nd Colonial Medical Insurance ODI, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua, 9:30am Wednesday, 11 September; 3rd Colonial Medical Insurance ODI, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua, 9:30am Saturday, 14 September; 1st T20I, Kensington Oval, Barbados, 7:00pm Monday, 16 September; 2nd T20I Kensington Oval, Barbados, 7:00pm Wednesday, 18 September; 3rd T20I, Kensington Oval, Barbados, 7:00pm
Windies seek Sabina turnaround in wake of Antigua debacle Kingston, Jamaica, CMC – Six days after a heavy 318-run drubbing in the opening Test, West Indies will try to pick up the pieces and turn the tables on India when the critical second Test bowls off at Sabina Park here today. Other than optimism, however, there is not much to suggest that West Indies can lift themselves and produce a performance worthy of beating India and leveling the twomatch series. In Antigua last week, their batting left a lot to be desired, folding for 222 and then embarrassingly for 100 – their sixth lowest total ever against the Indians. And seamer Kemar Roach apart, the Windies attack lacked penetration and India’s second innings of 343 for seven declared was testament to the little threat the bowling carried. But a composed captain Jason Holder assured reporters here yesterday there would be no hangover from the Antigua debacle. “The guys are really up for it. We were obviously disappointed with the performance in the last game and this is just another opportunity for us to come and level the series,” he said. “There is no point playing it t e n t a t i v e l y o r h a l f h e a r t e d l y, we’ve got to come and put on a really good show. It’s something
Kraigg Brathwaite we’ve done well in the past, we tend to respond well when we’re under pressure. “So I expect the guys to be up for this challenge and hope we can play a really good game of cricket.” A major area of concern remains the Windies batting. Not a single batman managed a half-century in the o p e n i n g Te s t , a n d R o s t o n Chase’s 48 in the first innings was the best effort on show. Key batsmen are also short of form. Opener and vice-captain Kraigg Brathwaite, the side’s leading scorer in recent past, averages 13 from his last eight Te s t s w h i l e t h e s t y l i s h S h a i Hope, with two centuries in the
second Test against England at Leeds two years ago, is averaging 18 also from his last eight Tests. Experienced left-hander Darren Bravo must also be a major worry. He returned from a 28-month hiatus from the longest format for the England series earlier this year but his four Tests since have yielded an average of 11. Holder said the batting group had addressed their issue following the first Test and he was expecting them to put more pressure on India’s bowlers this time around. “We had a really good meeting and it was really about guys just understanding how they’re going to compile an innings,” Holder explained. “I think the starts have been very crucial for us. We’ve been having guys get in and just get out so it’s just a manner for us to stay a little bit longer in our game plans, be a little bit more patient as well and wear the Indian bowlers down. “We saw a little bit in the second innings that after a spell or two they tend to be a little jaded so we should try and keep them out in the field as long as possible. Here in Jamaica tends to be very hot and humid and the longer we keep them
in the field the better off we will be.” He added: “I think we’ve got to be decisive. Decisive in our footwork, decisive in our shot selection – if you’re going to play or if you’re going to leave and that’s just standard cricket. “We’ve just got to be more assertive about what we’re looking to do and back our defences, trust the preparation we’ve had … and just try to fight through the tough periods.” While Roach was outstanding last week, he badly lacked support. Pacer Miguel Cummins, who came in for the injured fast-bowling allrounder Keemo Paul, has been dropped after a lacklustre showing with the fit-again Paul restored to the squad. The raging debate surrounds the inclusion of off-spinning all-rounder Rahkeem Cornwall who was spurned for the opening Test – a decision which from the outset appeared fraught with peril and was so proven. Cornwall could now make his debut at Sabina – a venue where he also made his first class debut with a scintillating 94-ball 95 – though Holder hinted at the inclusion of Paul and retaining the four-pronged pace attack. “That’s (pace) the backbone of
the side. We’ve done well with our seamers who are now doing it for us,” Holder pointed out. “Kemar Roach has been outstanding, Shannon Gabriel has been outstanding and I’ve also been very supportive in the bowling lineup. We’ve depended heavily on our pacers for the last couple years and it’s just a matter for them to continue the outstanding work they’ve been doing. “Every time I call on them they just come and give a massive effort and it’s always in a very good cause for the team. Hopefully we can continue to keep our pacers firing and hopefully get 20 wickets in this Test match.” West Indies – Jason Holder (captain), Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Darren Bravo, Shai Hope (wkp), Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Shamarh Brooks, Jahmar Hamilton (wkp), Rahkeem Cornwall, Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel, Keemo Paul. India – Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant (wkp) Wriddhiman Saha (wkp), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav.
Kaieteur News
Friday August 30, 2019
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North Pakaraimas Football Tourney
Rivalry intense in both male and female versions; Kamana village impresses on debut as host
T
he respective finals of the male and female segments of the Annual North Pakaraimas Football Tournament are expected to be contested today at the Kamana Blue Lions Sports Ground in the village of Kamana, Region 8. Twenty (20) teams, 12 male and eight female, have been locked in all-day battles since last Sunday when the tournaments were kicked off by Honourable Minister of Social Cohesion, with Responsibility for Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. George Norton, Hounorable Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples A ff a i r s , H o n . Va l e r i e Garrido-Lowe and FIFA Coaching Instructor, Mr. Lenny Lake. Since kick off, the teams have been engaging each other daily from 08:00hrs to 18:00hrs daily in search of reaching the finals and then on to the coveted champion’s trophies and bragging rights for the next 12 months as well as the right to represent the Region at next month’s Annual Heritage Month Football Tournament. Earning the right to contest the quarter-finals in the male competition were Paramakatoi, Bamboo Creek and Chenapou from Group ‘A’, Kopinang and Itabac from Group ‘B’ and Kanapang, Kato and host
Female action in the North Pakaraimas tourney.
Kamana from Group ‘C’. Three of the female semi-finalists were known up to Wednesday morning and they were the host Kamana and Kurukubaru from Group ‘B’ and Kanapang from Group ‘A’, the other team would have been decided by the end of Wednesday after the final three matches when Chenapou took on Paramakatoi, Itabac opposed Kopinang and Chenapou engaged Kanapang. Following are results of the male competition as at end of play on Tuesday: Female Fixtures 25:08:19 - Kanapang 4 Kopinang 0, Paramakatoi 0 Itabac 0, Mountain Foot 0 Kurukubaru 3, Kamana 1 Maikwak 0. 26:09:19 – Chenapou 2 Kopinang 0, Kamana 1 Mountain Foot 0, Maikwak 0 Kurukubaru 2, Kopinang 3 Paramakatoi 0, Chenapou 0
Itabac 2. 27:08:19 – Kamana 0 Kurukubaru 0, Maikwak 0 Mountain Foot 0, Kanapang 2 Itabac 0, Kopinang 0 Paramakatoi 1. Male Fixtures 25:08:19 – Kamana 2 Mountain Foot 0, Maikwak 0 Itabac 4, Chenapau 0 Bambaoo Creek 1, Monkey Mountain 2 Kato 1, Paramakatoi 1 Kurukubaru 0. 26:08:19 – Monkey Mountain 1 Maikwak 1, Paramakatoi 1 Bamboo Creek 1, Kato 4 Mountain Foot 1, Itabac 2 Kopinang 0, Kurukubaru 0 Chenapau 0, Kamana 2 Kanapang 0. 27:08:19 – Bamboo Creek 2 Kurukubaru 1, Mountain Foot 0 Kanapang 0, Itabac 1 Monkey Mountain 0, Maikwak 0 Kopinang 1, Kato 0 Kamana1. All the teams have been camping out at the playing
Action in one of the female matches.
venue, which has two fullsized fields allowing male and female matches to be played simultaneously. During the day, it’s a colourful atmosphere where supporters of the teams line the fields to support. There are also a few stands; some double-sided
adoring the parameters of the two fields to accommodate spectators, some even settled to tie up their hammocks under trees around the venue to soak up the all-day action while others would have built make shift tents. On the field of play, there is no letting up in
terms of intensity by either of the teams in action, a wonderful and satisfying sight to behold by these players, some walking hours, some one, two and three days to Kamana and at the end, will do so once again to get back to their respective villages.
Odyssey River and Sight Seeing Tours partners with LGC for Sunday’s tourney
LGC President Aleem Hussain (left) accepts the sponsorship cheque from Troy Khan.
One of the leading tour companies in Guyana with a new 80-passenger tour boat operating from Parika, Odyssey Sight Seeing Tours have partnered with the Lusignan Golf Club (LGC) for the staging of its second annual tournament which is set for this Sunday. This tournament was launched yesterday at the Odyssey Transport Services 171 A, Light Street, Bourda. Speaking at the launching ceremony, Odyssey River and Sight Seeing Tours representative Troy Khan said that they are happy to be associated with the sport once again. “We have noticed that our inaugural tournament at the Lusignan Golf Club (LGC) was well received, it
brings a lot of joy to the people there and promotes a friendly atmosphere, so we plan to sponsor it again this year,” he added. Khan said he is looking forward to continue this partnership with the LGC. “Golf has been on the rise, so
definitely something good has been happening there and we are looking forward to a successful and exciting tournament.” He lauded the LGC for organising tournaments in a timely manner and informed that Managing Director of the
company, Feroze Barakat is a long time member of the club, an avid golfer and despite his absence, he is pleased to support the LGC executive as they continue the strive to provide the best golfing experience year-round. LGC (Continued on page 32)
Back to School Sports Festival on this Sunday at Paradise
T
he members of the Bachelors Adventure-Paradise/Melanie Damishana Culture, Youth and Sports Club who were participants of the recently concluded Youth Department Recreation Day Camp will be hosting a Back to School Sports Festival on Sunday at the Paradise Playfield, East Coast Demerara from 09:00hrs. The day’s activities which include inter
block football, softball cricket, athletics and novelty events, is supported by the Youth Department of the Ministry of the Presidency. According to Coordinator, Aaron Blackman the participating teams will be drawn from Paradise, Bachelors Adventure, Melanie Damishana, Haslington, Golden Grove and Victoria. Trophies and medals are at stake for the top performers.
History created as FIFA partners GFF to outfit 20 Indigenous teams
rt o p S FIFA Instructor Lenny Lake Impressed with commitment and love displayed
FIFA’s Lenny Lake (center) pose with representatives of the teams that received the FIFA donated equipment and other officials.
Host Country Agreement signed for CPL Hetmyer appointed ‘Director of Batting’ by GAW
Minister Norton is presented with the HCA by GAW’s Omar Khan after being signed by GOG & GAW yesterday.
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