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AIETEUR NEWS

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Bandits brutally beaten by residents

Thursday Edition August 18, 2016 - Vol. 9 No. 33

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com Price $80

…gun handed over to cops

Online readership yesterday 123,604

GEA grants fuel import licence to

GWI's Boss, others

St. Rose’s Fatima girl is Karim nation’s 19 Ones, 1 Two top CSEC performer Car slams Absence of policy led into parked - Chris truck, kills to importation of Ram UK citizen Is Guyana’s manufacturing sector dying? Pt. 3

ridiculous products - daughter injured

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Kaieteur News

Thursday August 18, 2016

Thursday August 18, 2016

Kaieteur News

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Car slams into parked truck, kills UK citizen - daughter injured

Car slamed into the side of this truck Dead: Bibi Haroon O’Donovan

The car involved in the accident

A 58-year-old female British citizen was killed and her daughter injured while on their way to the airport, when the vehicle in which they were travelling, crashed into a parked truck on the Chelsea Public Road, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara around 05:15 hrs yesterday.

The dead woman has been identified as Bibi Haroon O’Donovan, of 15 Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice.

Her daughter, 23-year-old Scheneza Lewis, also a British Citizen, sustained fractures of the neck, jawbone and ribs. She is in a stable condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

O’Donovan and her daughter migrated to England more than 20 years ago. At the time of the accident, they were returning to their home, having spent three weeks in Guyana.

Police in a release said that investigations so far revealed that the overseas-based Guyanese were passengers in motor car HC 6753 which was proceeding west along the Chelsea Public Road, at a fast rate, when the driver lost control and crashed into the rear of a stationary lorry, on the opposite side of the road. They were rushed to Mahaicony

23-year-old Scheneza Lewis Public Hospital where O’Donovan was pronounced dead on arrival, while Lewis, in an unconscious state, was referred to the GPHC. The driver of the vehicle, who escaped without injuries, is in police (Continued on page 14)

Thursday August 18, 2016

The police did nothing as children were present at the Alkaline show DEAR EDITOR, This letter is the product of my utter dismay and the clear need, in my humble opinion, to have a conversation regarding contemporary parenting and our value systems as Guyanese. Initially, I had no intention of going to the Alkaline show, for a number of reasons—the chosen venue, some lingering questions about the content of some of his songs and some gender-based and personal safety concerns, to name a few. Some savvy marketing by the promoters as the hottest attraction in the town and the inducement of some VIP tickets from my boyfriend were enough to win me over.

I arrived there still with some apprehension and then realized that there was a completely unimaginable issue that instantly arose.

There before me, both in the VIP section and prominently within the general section were many children. I mean literally, 9, 10 and 11 year old children at a concert in the national park at 12:30 am with adults whom I presume were their parents or guardians. To make it more disturbing is the individual they were all waiting to see; Alkaline. What

is going on in our society that would make adults feel that it’s fine to have our children in that environment in the first place? We used to have clear rules governing what experiences, where and when our children can share with adults; a late-night concert would never appear on that list, not even close.

Then, knowing the highly x-rated, drug-related and violent content of Alkaline’s music, one then asks; Is this what we would voluntarily expose our children to?

Taking them there clearly says to a child that this is appropriate for children. Are there any rules governing the admission of children to these types of events? Are the child protection laws relevant here and if so, who should be monitoring and enforcing them? This was all happening in the clear view of police officers and all of the patrons.

No one said a word. Where are we going as a society if this is appropriate at 10? What are we to expect from these children when they are 16 years old? Where is our moral compass in relation to these things and who should be regulating all of this and, in essence, saving us from clear impending implosion?

Nichole Williams

What has become of this police investigation?

DEAR EDITOR, Please publish this letter as a reminder of your news item and a photograph dated 2016/05/31 on fuel theft increasing at police depot showing motor vehicle PSS 4354 being refueled, which belongs to a senior officer, nothing has since been heard of this matter.

I must compliment the C.I.D. of bringing many ranks who were / are alleged to have committed corrupt transactions and are before the Courts. What about this senior officer who has also brought several ranks before the courts and give testimony against them, and shielding his female cousin who is a Special Constable from

prosecution, and have others suspended from duty awaiting disciplinary charges of which, he is the trial officer, also a female Police Constable to be dismissed without a trial for harbouring females at her residence. This officer boasts close association with a big wig and he was involved in the 2011 demonstration in Georgetown after the elections while he was based at the T.S.U. Persons were shot during the post-election demonstrations.

Is this man above the law that he cannot be prosecuted for corrupt transaction in obtaining gasolene for his private vehicle, the public needs to know.

Narinedatt Parsram

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Kaieteur News

The Jagdeoites are still at the Ministry of Finance DEAR EDITOR, The 2 most qualified persons for the PPC with demonstrated qualification, experience and proven integrity, is out of the Procurement Commission (PC). Why? Is it the works of the Jagdeoites who are now conveniently Coalitionites, the NEUTRALIZERS? Any process that is legitimate and not preprogrammed will not leave out Chris Ram and Goolsarran.

The fact that the coalition government retained the Jagdeoites at the Ministry of Finance (MOF), whom we condemned when in opposition, who know all the fats in the PPP projects and programs , many of us knew, people like Goolsarran and Chris Ram , with proven integrity will not be in the PC. What is the AFC doing about this?

This was discussed with Ministers, high officials of government, party officials and I write about it at the inception. More proof?

Men of proven integrity are not wanted, even those that offer to set up management regime to avoid corruption. This Govt. fired so many persons, why did

they want to keep the Jagdeoites at the Ministry of Finance? Was there a deal brokered by the Neutralizers/ MOF not to prosecute anyone, hence, the delay on the forensic reports?

After all the PPP boys at MOF are Jagdeoites and the coalitionites.

Why send them to jail? Was a deal brokered by the Neutralizer/MOF with the Jagdeoites and Coalitionites to keep proven integrity and experience out of the PC? Is the game now played by both the PPP and coalition as “joint venture” so designed by the neutralizer/ Ministry of Finance, the Jagdeoites.

This may be why the audits were technically shelved.

So this is why all the PPP projects will be executed.

Have you seen any cost reduction with the projects since Govt. changed?

This appears to be the delay of establishing the PC and further delay with IFMAS, the module to help with accountability and transparency.

The Jagdeoites knows all the facts in the program/ projects so they were

retained, and they are the “Neutralizers at (MOF), this is why the intention before the election for forensic audit was genuine, and when the audits were done they were technically dumped, because both sides are friends/ accomplices to the MOF. Will MOF continue to use the Tender Board, the PC and the head of the Programs/ projects/Project Execution Unit as the authenticator, like certain man when the Mon Repos seawall collapse, he died , because he was the “Authenticator”, MOF get away clean.

Like another engineer (deceased). He was the authenticator for many projects as long as he keeps his job and like the Caribbean guy who authenticated the importation of stones to Guyana from Canada.

Anand Goolsarran , the auditor general, hired trucks and measure the stones. I did the search on the validity of the company that exported the stones.

It was a place that sells welding rods and propane gas in Toronto while the stones came from Nova Scotia.

They tried their offer to

me, the then, PEU director, for the largest loan to Guyana at the time, but he is a Pandit and guided by his mother’s teachings, Dharma, no deal. I took Jagdeo and his Jagdeoites, the very coalitionites to Dr Jagan and his heart failed him. Did Minister Jaipal Sharma clear Michael Khan CEO, and Bobby Ramroop?

Like them boys got you Minister Sharma? Same CEO at health. He knows the game well, so he also has to be retained.

What is Nanda Gopal doing there at PC? He is a stooge of Jagdeo. What does this tell you? The neutralizers/ MOF must get people. What Harmon and the Minister of Health did?

They should have been fired forthwith.

The fact that this is not done, means that the President is in a plea of ignorance; it does not qualify him to lead, He should resign forthwith. I am sad, sad, that I stood against Jagdeo and his team to be replaced by a similar group.

Joe Persaud Former Head Project Execution Unit Ministry of Finance

Lamentations on conditions in Linden DEAR EDITOR, Well, the Town Week and Jubilee celebrations have come and gone, and we the folks of Linden/Region 10 are back to business as usual.

The dust has settled even as there are some dark clouds as with respect to the Linden Mayor and Town Council and recent rumblings withinRancour between the Town Clerk and councillors; both Mayor and Deputy Mayor simultaneously on vocation, and also talks about conflict of interest within the Regional Democratic Council.

So let’s see what it is within the scheme of things in Linden/Region 10.

As we know many promises that were made during the elections campaign are yet to be fulfilled. We were

told of many investors from all about who were on the brink, eager and raring to do various kinds of business in the town/region. Can anyone say what have become of them?

Has the way not been cleared for them to start? So many other things were said, but yet again as we know, things are easier said than done; talk is so cheap and worse yet, getting folks to walk their talk is often a difficult task.

Anyway, some air of expectation has begun to blow once again as leading officials are sowing seeds of optimism, touting Linden/ Region 10 as having the potentials for becoming the hub for economic development. Certainly good

news rekindling hopes anew.

Before going any further I want to commend those government places, private business/corporations, schools, Linden Technical Complex, homes, and of course the M&TC for their wonderful effort in ushering in our Independence Jubilee spirit by the beautifying and decorating of their places in various style and fashion.

The flag decorations that were placed along both sides of the Washer Pond road leading to where the burnt down General Office was, surely brought on a feeling of celebration.

Though they were roughly made, they present a lovely sight from a distance.

And of course one couldn’t avoid noticing that the

opposition head office didn’t mount a single flag. Having said that, one cannot truly say that serious efforts were made to spruce-up the Town for the Jubilee or even the town week for that matter.

As is customary the high point for any big celebration in Linden is the “Front” – when Lindeners say “ah going out front” we know just where they will be. So it stands to reason that much emphasis would have been placed on cleaning up the “front” properly as a showpiece.

Sadly this was not done.

Just a few over-head buntings were mounted period! The drains/gutters along the “Avenue of the Republic”, the Town’s main road and access Continued on page 6

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Kaieteur News

Thursday August 18, 2016

Security guards complain The Alliance For Change needs to re-think its position about conditions of service DEAR EDITOR, I always preferred the AFC as the party to run the affairs of Guyana. I saw Khemraj, Nigel and Moses as focused, intelligent, patriotic, men. The PPP and the PNC are national parties with huge followings but they are severely damaged; both of them. I can only support them if I hold my patriotic and objective nose. In fact, I think that had it not been for our entrenched racism and protracted brain drain, both the PNC and the PPP (or at least their leaders) would have been relegated to the dust heap of history. How any right thinking Guyanese could represent the philosophies and ideologies of those two parties is beyond my imagination.

Those two parties have collectively steered Guyana into a ditch and have almost suffocated us for the last 50 years.

And yet none of the leaders of either party would offer even a modicum of apology to the Guyanese public for the albatross that they have been around our necks. There is this prevailing, pathetic, pretence from the supporters of either party, that their leaders did nothing, or is doing nothing, wrong. It is as if when you subscribe to a party allegiance in Guyana, you become brainwashed and blighted. Why Guyanese – the poorest and most abused citizens in the Western hemisphere - refuse to hold their political leaders accountable is fodder for clinical psychologists and social scientists to chew on for years to come.

We saw what 50 years of

mismanagement have gotten us. We are the richest natural resource country in the Caribbean, yet our successive governments have abused us and raped our economy.

They have partnered with likeminded cronies, despots and crooks – local and foreign – and have abused our trust.

We have the lowest wage income brackets, the lowest GDP, the highest crime rate, the sickest people, the highest migration and deportation rates, the heights suicide rates and the most uneducated population. All this as we have come to our 50 years independence. And the fact is that all these negatives were bequeathed to us by only two parties, the PNC and the PPP. Now we have come to more enlightened days.

Technology and post modernism have gripped the world, yet Guyanese seem to be in a daze. We operate as if the shackles of nonchalance and dispassion have been welded around our collective psyche. In an age of the Obama-effect and the Arab Spring, Guyanese seem stuck in time.

By a very slim margin the old guards were removed in 2015. The new guards have come in with obvious, paralleled desires as the guards we removed. And the very scary reality is that the old guards are waiting in the wings, to unleash on the Guyanese people the very attitudes for which they were removed. And it seems as if the new guards – like the old guards - want to make sure that when they are removed from power, they never have to work another day in their life.

And to think that these atrocious behaviours, perpetuated by members of both side of the political spectrum, are being facilitated and endorsed by fellow Guyanese. There is an old familiar spiritual song which has as a part of its refrain this line, “There’s none so blind as he who willfully will not see”.

I began this letter by noting my admiration for the AFC. I will close by restating it. It is clear that the problems which this government now faces are as a result of wounds inflicted by the PNC arm of the Coalition. The Bishan Lin fiasco, the increases in ministers’ salaries, the BK steel debacle and billion dollar settlement, the parking meter mess and now the pharmaceutical bond dust-up. These are all doings that particularly benefited the PNC members of the government. The AFC continues to be silent and sheepish but aloft from the systematic confusion and charges of corruption.

I would want to think that the AFC, if only in the interest of self-preservation, will regroup and rethink its relationship with the Coalition. The AFC needs to do some introspection and consider its legacy. Does the AFC want to be tied to what appears to be a hemorrhaging, sinking PNC ship? I have always thought that the APNU/AFC marriage was a mistake; the incompatibilities are too many. The AFC has lost its voice. If the Coalition government is the nation’s parents, then what I am saying is that the AFC is just standing there, watching, while the PNC abuses their children. This should not be allowed to continue. Either the AFC asserts its rightful place in the marriage or realize that a divorce on the grounds of abuse and desertion is legally and ethically permissible.

Wendell Jeffrey

DEAR EDITOR, White collar criminals continue to operate in several security agencies in Guyana with absolute immunity.

This has been happening for decades, seemingly with the support of some corrupt officials in the Ministry of Labour and the National Insurance Scheme.

Enough is enough. The time has come for these criminals to be brought to justice once and for all.

The Ministry of Labour and the National Insurance Scheme have been turning a blind eye and deaf ear to the cries of hardworking private security officers who are the victims of these security agencies’ officials, and their corrupt practices of deducting monies from the salaries of officers, yet failing to hand it over to the National Insurance Scheme. As much as $80,000 per year is stolen from some

Security Officers, especially ranks working in the interior.

Failure to pay these deductions result in security officers losing benefits such as eye glass allowances, payments for sick leave and even pension, since their contributions will reflect a shortage.

Corrupt officials at the National Insurance Scheme are fully aware of these crimes and fail to prosecute the perpetrators.

In the event of prosecution, corrupt security agencies are given time to repay the money which often times is a long drawn out process. It is indeed baffling why the National Insurance Scheme continues to cohort and compromise with the white collar criminals, while security officers suffer.

Some foreign based companies that are operating in Guyana are also guilty of

these crimes. For example, of these firms 9 named mentioned) have security officers working twelve (12) hours per day at the rate of two hundred and two Guyana dollars (G$202) per hour.

Each day one of these firms robs its ranks two hours pay or G$404. Or $2,416 per six days work week.

A work week, by law, consists of 40 hours.

In the absence of a union, these white collar criminals impose a 48 hour work week or a 72 hour work week without meal or travel allowances.Some Security Officers are made to work from Monday to Sunday at 12 hours per shift or 84 hours per week and are paid a flat rate of $202 per hour; are not paid time and a half for Saturdays and double for Sundays and holidays.

Concerned security worker

roads remain clogged, filthy, stagnant and the stench emanating from the black, green, muddy, slush, infested with roaches was offensive.

Over these drains/gutters were the regular spots rented out to Town vendors to build the booths. They prayed it wouldn’t rain.

Now these heavy concrete slabs covering the drains along the main road are as many have observed a disaster, since they cannot be easily removed for regular cleaning of the drains except by machine, hence, since they have been placed there – over two years – they have never been moved except for a few that were shifted for whatever reason and have remain just where they are to date.

Editor, I’m betting pennies to pins that in spite of the rush of work on drains being done at present the state of the drains on Republic Avenue will remain untouched. And talking about drains; though it be a pleasant sight, seeing

residents can only hope that they are being built to a high standard so that they remain durable for whatever their allotted time, a thing citizens are never told. Often times one is left to wonder aloud the quality of forward planning/ projection done. With all the sittings, the nice talks, colourful expressions, and grand ideas spouted, we hardly see the walks to match the talks, the evidence from those prolong perennial meetings and planning sessions.

Who can say why some infrastructural work has to be all gone, damaged beyond repair before they are given attention?

Admitted that work around the Town has to be done piece meal since large sums of funding are never at one time available – still, why can’t the quality of work in whatever small portion stand the test of time until another portion/section can be fused to it? Why before a new follow-up portion of work is done that portion that preceded it is destroyed?

This is certainly not the way of development, and it is not only just a case of merely bad work but utterly scandalous and insulting to the Town/ Region residents. And what bothers me is the eagerness in which some are justifying wrongs by identifying similar wrongs in some other regions, as if patterning ourselves on irregularities is some form of credit. Is that a wholesome conduct, just how do we aspire to higher standard?

In passing let me remind some that this Town even

subject to and controlled by mainly one form of political influence and that has not changed. Thus one is hard pressed in identifying any other to really point an accusing finger at for whatever the perennial and numberless humbugs, neglect, shortfall, oversight, overlooked, etc. Thus our growth/stagnation has primarily been and remains our own doings.

Well, nice to see have in place new leaders/servants who have promised to serve with distinction, and such declaration is most welcome.

But as we have often seen many before getting into office promise to change things, but instead things change them. Also as we know there are only two ways of doing things – a right way and a wrong way, but the habitual practice of tossing aside standard rules, established procedures on principles, brazenly replacing them with whimsical, unprincipled and in some cases disrespectful behaviour, seemed to be in vogue and very much cherished by those in control.

And here is where the democratic process becomes a mockery and finally brazenly discarded.

Like many other Lindeners, I am waiting to hear the audited report, the benefits/profits accrued from the ten (10) days event and what project(s) the franchise holders have bequeathed to the Town as is one condition for having the franchise. Oh! By the way have the council stop collecting garbage?

Frank Fyffe

Lamentations on conditions in...

From page 5 these drains being done, before it became a Town was

Thursday August 18, 2016

Kaieteur News

Is Guyana’s manufacturing sector dying? Pt. 3

Absence of policy led to importation of ridiculous products – Chris Ram

By Kiana Wilburg The importation of some absurd products into local markets is exactly what happens when there is no strong manufacturing policy to guide the sector. This is according to Chartered Accountant, Christopher Ram. The auditor reflected on some of the ridiculous products being imported into Guyana’s markets. He recalled that Kaieteur News had carried on Monday and Wednesday, two publications which focused on just a few of the items that are being imported from various countries. Some of these include; coconut water and tamarind candy balls from Thailand, packaged roti and puri from Suriname, water from Trinidad and Tobago, and sugarcane juice from Canada.

Ram said it is clear that the local manufacturing sector is just not focusing on the making of these products.

He even added that Guyana, which boasts of a self-sufficient livestock sector, is engaged in the importation of pig tail from New Zealand.

“But I think this is all grounded in the absence of a strong manufacturing policy.

And compounding this issue is the fact that we are encouraging all these traders to come here without any regard for our Investment Act,” expressed Ram. He said that he can understand that Guyana may be expected to adhere to certain trade obligations under the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) movement.

Ram noted that CSME is an arrangement among the CARICOM States for the creation of a single enlarged

Chartered Accountant, Chris Ram economic space through the removal of restrictions resulting in the free movement of goods, services, people, capital and technology.

But be that as it may, the auditor stressed that having an environment where products from all other countries can be allowed to flood the local markets is simply shortsighted on Guyana’s part.

“Surely agro-industrial production ought to be part of any national policy that we are going to have in the future. But I wish to note that there was a time where we used to have quite viable industries. I remember seeing

our canning factories and our own pasteurization plants.

Where are those things today? Where is our policy?”

While Ram emphasized that there is the need for a strong manufacturing policy, he said that this is just part of the problem that is affecting the sector.

“For me, a lack of a policy is part of the problem that is affecting us. But honestly, the people that we have in the sector just want to be ‘buy and sellers’. We have mostly traders. Even our major manufacturing entities now, they are getting into ‘other things’” Ram said that when it comes to the policy, provisions must be made to stimulate the manufacturing sector in such a way that it does not see the granting of unreasonably large concessions.

He then turned his attention to the statistics on the manufacturing sector.

Over the years, the sector’s performance has been trapped in the 10 to 23 percent growth rate performance. Numerous financial analysts have bemoaned the fact that the sector is actually being heavily supported by rice and sugar production. It has also been contended that given the aforementioned, the real Continued on page 9

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Thursday August 18, 2016

Bandits brutally beaten by residents

Residents of North Ruimveldt, Georgetown, did not spare two bandits yesterday when they tried to rob a resident, Roger Lovell in his home at gunpoint around 12:30 hrs.

The men received a sound thrashing and were covered in blood when they were handed over to the police.

They were eventually taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital where they remained patients.

One of the bandits has given his name as Patrick Goodluck while the second

…gun handed over to cops suspect has not been identified up to press time.

A .32 pistol was recovered from the men by the residents and handed over to the police.

In a release, the police said that they are investigating an alleged attempted robbery under arms by two males, one of whom was armed with a handgun.

Investigation so far revealed that Lovell was at home sleeping when he was awakened by the men, who

demanded cash and jewellery.

When the victim refused, he was beaten about his head and body.

During the process, he made an alarm and a group of public- spirited individuals from the community responded and managed to disarm the gunman. They then inflicted a severe beating on the intruders.

They were rushed to the hospital and are currently under police guard.

AG foresees PPP joining APNU+AFC

Chairman of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Basil Williams, stated at a press briefing hosted at the Party’s Headquarters in Sophia yesterday, that the Party believes that the Main Parliamentary Opposition – the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) will “come” to the Coalition eventually.

Williams made this statement as he was responding to queries pertaining to the Party’s 19th Biennial Delegates Congress which is scheduled to kick off next week Friday.

Williams who is also the Attorney General and Minster of Legal Affairs, told the media that while the Opposition has its work to do, ‘you can’t get carried away with what they are doing,’ He added that the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Administration is committed to democracy and inclusivity and is still open to having talks with the opposition on matters that are of importance to the development of the State.

He added also, that the PPP/C ‘still’ believes that they can divide the country by race

and get back into Government.

He made reference to the recent utterances made by the Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo in New York and the PPP/C’s campaign trail leading up to the General Elections last year May. “We are not interested in those things we have always been inclusive as a party, the branches of our Palm Tree have always included all the ethnicities and all people of this country. We are the ones

With youth unemployment in Guyana relatively high, the Central Manpower and Recruitment Agency, (CMRA) under the Ministry of Social Protection has been instrumental in assisting over 1500 young persons’ acquire jobs in the various sectors.

According to information obtained from the Ministry, approximately 1,561 applications have been

processed via the agency, within the first half of 2016.

The CMRA would have received about 1854 vacancies from various companies.

According to Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Social Protection, Terence Esseboom, the vacancies advertised are essentially for semi-skilled workers such as factory employees, cashiers, cooks

PNCR Chairman Basil Williams

that always strove to have inclusive governance and we brought those parties to APNU and we were able to bring in the AFC into the realm, and we believe that the PPP, they’re going to come...they’re going to come and we don’t want them to come kicking and screaming, they must come of their own volition when they see the benefits of inclusiveness,” Williams posited.

Meanwh i l e , when quizzed on the PNCR’s involvement in Government and whether its supporters and members are satisfied with the work being done so far, Williams responded that most of the hierarchy of the party are Ministers within Government, and based on the feedback they would receive on their journeys, the members are happy.

General Secretary Oscar Clarke, who was also present at the briefing, told media operatives that the PNCR’s membership has grown from 6000 to over 10,000.

However, he intimated that the groups have not been functioning the way they should. He said that the groups are not meeting.

Over 1500 youths acquire jobs via Central Manpower and Recruitment Agency

and labourers. He said that the job seekers are usually between the ages of 16-35 years old.

These jobs, he said, differ from the ones advertised by the Ministry of Public Service. Esseboom outlined that within the last twelve months, 2,212 jobs were acquired via the agency.

In 2014, the CMRA was able to place 2,385 jobs for applicants.

The CMRA was established by the Government as a method of placing individuals seeking jobs in suitable employment, in addition to providing career counselling and guidance to such persons.

Continued on page 9

Thursday August 18, 2016

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Kaieteur News

The economy is not in a crisis The 10% rate on alloy steel, which the Guyana Revenue Authority says is as a result of an internal quality review process, will add to the woes of consumers.

The price of steel on the local market will increase further and this increase will be reflected in increased construction and building costs.

Consumers cannot bear an additional 5%. Steel is no longer cheap.

You can no longer get a steel rod for $50. Prices increased years ago because of the demand from China.

Steel prices skyrocketed and have stayed high.

As much as the public will try to understand the reasons for the 10% tariff, it will cause

problems for contractors who would have prepared estimates based on a 5% rate for steel and now have to pay 10%.

For the average citizen the building bubble has now burst. Prices of land are crashing down but construction costs are rising.

The two are not unrelated. Increased construction costs are reducing the demand for land since less people are building.

The decline in land prices is as a result of the decline in the construction sector.

The decline in the construction sector has been confirmed in the half-yearly economic report produced by the government.

The lack of investment in

construction means that the demand for land has fallen. It has also fallen because people are cautious, as evident by the decline in remittances.

Less money is coming into Guyana because persons are adopting a wait and see attitude towards this government.

They are waiting, but they are not seeing any encouraging signs that would allow them to keep investing back home.

The fall in remittances may also be a sign of capital flight. This will be explained in a subsequent column What all of this means is lower investment and lower demand for land. People are no longer eager to store

From page 8 It is the Agency’s mandate to fulfill the desire of jobseekers through matching their level of qualification required by organisations recruiting and arranging interviews to be conducted, registering the unemployed actively seeking employment, and making a record of all informed vacancies.

In recent years, the CRMA made its services available online through a public/private sector modernisation and egovernance programme, that allows persons with access to the internet to make submissions if they are seeking employment from anywhere in the country.

The Ministry had also conducted job fairs to take the services of the labour department and the new services of the CRMA directly to the people.

Charity, Bartica, Linden and New Amsterdam were beneficiary areas.

In cases of persons who do not have access to the internet, it has partnered with the Regional Administration to provide hard copies of the application forms.

Based on a recent study from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Guyana has recorded a youth unemployment rate of about 40%. In the study, Guyana and seven other regional countries were surveyed in regards to their youth unemployment. The report indicated that out of the reviewed countries, Guyana’s rate was the highest.

According to the report’s findings, the regional countries with the highest persistent youth unemployment were Guyana and Suriname. Since 2000, these rates have been

consistently above 30% with Guyana’s rate hovering around 40% this time.

The CDB report covered a period from 1991 to 2012 for selected countries in the Caribbean. In regards to Guyana, the report showed that rates have been steadily rising over the years.

From 2005 to 2006, the country saw a noticeable decline in the youth unemployment rate. The rate held relatively steady from 2006 to about 2009, when it started increasing.

Between 2001 and 2002, Guyana saw a staggering 50% rate of youth unemployment, a figure far above that of any other country. Since then, the country has been hovering between 30% and 50% but never below the 30% mark.

The only time in just over 20 years Guyana fell below 30% was between 1991 and 1992 when the rate was about 27%.

Over 1500 youths acquire jobs via Central...

wealth in land because the deprecation in land values since the government came in has been substantial. Just ask any real estate dealer.

Guyana does not have an economic crisis. The economy is strong, very strong.

The PPPC left a solid economy. The economy can withstand for another ten years of the present uncertainty.

The revenue base of the government is solid.

This is shown by the fact that despite the decline in a number of areas, revenues have still increased by billions.

Money is not the problem and will not be the problem for a long time. The problem is whether government will spend the money in the right way or whether it will

squander it by putting it into consumption.

The manufacturing sector is bawling because some inputs now have to pay tariffs which were not in the past being implemented by the previous government.

The fact that they now have to pay what they never used to pay has placed some pressure and created uncertainty within the manufacturing community.

The government did not do enough to address this concern. As a result, the manufacturers have become desperate and sought answers from the opposition leader.

A basic principle has been ignored by the government in managing its fiscal policies.

Input costs should always be kept low. Capital equipment should not attract taxes. Land

costs, including rentals, should be kept low.

This is the ABC of fiscal management.

The government is doing the opposite. Inputs which were previously not taxed are now being taxed.

Machinery such as excavators used in both agriculture and construction are now attracting taxes. And increased land rentals are under consideration.

Agriculture and construction will suffer.

Things are not going to get better with this sort of approach.

But things will not collapse. The economy is not in crisis.

From page 7 performance of the sector is often masked.

Finance Minister, Winston Jordan during his presentation of the 2016 budget, also acknowledged that the manufacturing sector achieved a growth rate of 5.3 percent, which was basically driven by growth in the sugar and rice industries, as well as other manufacturing.

The economist asserted that the manufacturing sector is projected to decline by 0.7 percent, as a consequence of the scaling back of rice

production.

In his 2015 budget, Jordan had said that the Manufacturing Sector grew by 10.7 percent, thanks to improved performances of rice, sugar and other light manufacturing. He had said at the time that this sector continues to hold the promise of massive expansion and robust growth, and this can be realized when downstream activities, especially in the forestry sector, are implemented.

With that in mind, Ram said, “The processing of cane

and paddy are counted as part of manufacturing and it is always useful to disaggregate that when looking at the contribution of this sector to the overall economy”.

He said, too, that in the quest to formulate a policy to guide the sector, it is going to require of the population to be prepared to support local industry and in turn, local manufacturing industry must be committed to providing quality products at an affordable price.

To be continued …

Absence of policy led to importation...

PAGE 10

Thursday August 18, 2016

Kaieteur News

=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===

Crazy things going on in the police force On Monday evening, outside of Kaieteur News, I was about to open my car door. This gentleman on a motorcycle rode right up to me. He had a holster slung on his shoulder with a gun inside. It looked like he also had a transmitting set strapped to his waist. He donned a pair of gloves, the kind motorcyclists use on those Harley Davidson types.

I wasn’t scared. It was right outside of Kaieteur News and the surveillance cameras are in operation.

He was polite and soft-

spoken. He said his name is Sukra and he is a lance corporal based at Brickdam police station. He told me he came on behalf of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR). He wanted me to write a statement based on a column I wrote on August 5 captioned, “A strange thing is happening inside the police force.” It was about an incident I witnessed, of random traffic stops on the Railway Embankment. I mentioned the name, Adesima Newtown and the

licence plate of his car.

Lance corporal Sukra said through a police search of the licence plate, they caught up with Mr. Newtown and he gave a statement. They wanted a statement from me.

I told Mr. Sukra all that I saw is contained in my column.

But he said he preferred a document from me as early as Tuesday morning. I told him it had to be handwritten, since my printer has been out of order for almost a year now.

He agreed to collect the handwritten testimony, the next morning (Tuesday) after my matutinal jogging in the National Park. Mr. Sukra called my cell phone three times on Tuesday morning for the statement. I said it was raining in stormy style and that I didn’t go to the National Park.

Before Mr. Sukra left, I told

him that I thought that the desire to eradicate random stops was a special concern of Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud, but Mr. Persaud is gone. He said that it goes beyond Mr. Persaud. I then indicated to Mr. Sukra that since I wrote that particular column, I have seen traffic ranks doing random stops. I told him I saw it last Friday outside Brickdam police station. When the ranks saw me pulling over, they desisted.

I also gave more information to Mr. Sukra. I suggested he contact Mr. Ashan Bacchus. He is a school teacher at Sister’s Primary School in Berbice. Mr. Bacchus is willing to speak to the police. He gave me permission to quote him in the August 5 column, which I did.

He sent me three photographs of ranks at Springlands in Berbice making routine halts the very next day after that column came out. The very next day after that column was published, I got a text informing me that ranks were doing the routine halts outside the Leonora station.

The police force is confusing me and maybe all Guyanese. The OPR wants to discipline traffic cops who do the routine stops. To this effect, they have sent two policemen over a six-week period to Kaieteur News to talk to me. But this routine thing is ubiquitous. The OPR can see it if they want to. All they have to do is get a plainclothes cop to ride around Georgetown and especially up the lower East Coast, lower East Bank and West Coast of Demerara, and he will see uniformed traffic cops stepping onto the middle of the road and at random pulling over motorists.

What is going on with the senior leadership of the police force that they have to take a statement from two victims – Lisa Smith and Adesima Newtown – and now me?

These pullovers are as

Frederick Kissoon perennial as the grass.

Motorists encounter them all the time. The traffic chief told me and I featured it in one of my columns, that he has issued a countrywide edict that the routine halts must not be done. Did he do it? The Commissioner spoke to the press about it. This was over sixteen months ago. The traffic chief gave me that assurance since January of this year. Now on Tuesday, the acting Commissioner of Police is continuing where his functional superior left off.

But there is confusion, thus the word “crazy” in my title above.

If the Commissioner of Police, the Traffic Chief and now the acting Commissioner want routine stops to be discontinued, then surely those junior ranks that persist with the practice cannot be acting alone. I believe the commanders at the stations are the culprits.

Thursday August 18, 2016

PAGE 11

Kaieteur News

Carvil Duncan trial…Monies were property of Republic Bank, not GPL

- Attorney argues, while asking for case to be thrown out said that there is also the possibility that either a cabinet decision was communicated to Brassington and transmitted to Duncan, and/or the chairman authorized Duncan to make the retroactive payments.

Ramson added that the absence of evidence from the shareholder representatives leaves the possibility that a shareholder decision was

CHARGED: Carvil Duncan Defence Counsel Charles Ramson Jr. is contending that the monies allegedly stolen from the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) by his client, Carvil Duncan, is not the property of the power company, but that of Republic Bank.

The Attorney made this contention yesterday, at the close of the prosecution and defence’s cases. Magistrate Leron Daly is presiding over the matter which is being prosecuted by Police Inspector Shevon Jupiter.

It is alleged that on March 31, 2015, at Georgetown, Duncan stole the sum of $984,900 property of GPL. Ramson’s submission was in relation to the first allegation in which Duncan is charged with Simple Larceny, Contrary to Section 164 of the Criminal Law Offences Act Chapter 8:01.

Under this Section of the Constitution, Ramson asserted that his client cannot be charged with stealing monies by way of cheque, as stated in the facts of the case.

He said that Duncan was an authorized signatory for GPL’s Republic Bank Account.

Ramson said that once money is deposited in a bank it is no longer the property of the customer (whether depositor or account holder), but property of the bank.

“As soon as money is deposited in a customer’s account, the money becomes the property of the bank and not the customer. If money is loaned to a person and delivered to a person, the money belongs to the borrower as a debtor and not the lender as a creditor.”

The lawyer argued that the evidence in the case cannot and does not show that any money was stolen from GPL, since based on the prosecution’s evidence the account of GPL, held at Republic Bank, was debited

Attorney Charles Ramson Jr.

to pay Duncan, who was merely a creditor to the account. He added that the power company had merely a chosen action in relation to monies held in its account with the Bank, and did not have any ownership or possession of the monies.

Ramson explained, “What transpired in this case, is that the bank paid money on a cheque on GPL’s account held at Republic Bank on the basis of the authorized signatories of GPL. The prosecution has not seen it fit to charge the defendant (Carvil Duncan) with an offence of stealing the bank’s property (money), since the defendant was a duly authorized signatory to the GPL’s account held at the bank.

Duncan, 73, of 1977 Williamstad Road, Festival City, Georgetown, is also accused of conspiring with a former senior GPL official to steal the sum of $27,757,547, property of GPL between May 7 and 8, 2015.

DISMISSED On this basis, Ramson submitted that the prosecution had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of the offences and asked for the charges to be dismissed, deeming them misconceived.

According to Ramson, the prosecution’s case relied on the pursuance of the By-laws of GPL and whether Duncan

received authorization from the shareholders of GPL. During the trial, Former Prime Minister Samuel Hinds who had oversight over GPL had testified that former Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon spoke on behalf of the president and he had enormous responsibilities and powers.

Hinds further testified that decisions made by Winston Brassington, former Chairman of GPL’s Board, in relation to affairs of the company, could be either done in writing or orally, and that he sometimes became aware of the decisions subsequently to its approval and implementation.

However, Ramson highlighted that investigating rank (IR) Police Inspector Kedarnauth Bejaimal failed to question Dr. Roger Luncheon, whom he said communicated the decision to Winston Brassington to pay director’s fees.

He said that the IR also failed to question other shareholder representatives, namely Mr. Irfaan Ali and Mr. Nadir.

The lawyer told the court that Dr. Luncheon and Brassington should have been called to give evidence in the trial. Ramson stated that the absence of evidence from Dr. Luncheon leaves the possibility that he could have communicated the authorization to Duncan to pay the retroactive sum. He

taken and communicated to either Brassington and/or Duncan, authorizing retroactive payments for a specific period.

“In fact, they were not even questioned or asked to submit a statement.

When asked why they were not asked to do so, Mr. Bejaimal stated that they were not persons of interest.

Further, Mr. Bejaimal stated that he did not even enquire

who the shareholder representatives were,” Ramson detailed.

The lawyer stated that as the “subject Minister,” the former prime minister had no authority to approve remuneration and had no authority to speak on behalf of the cabinet.

The trial continues tomorrow when the prosecution is expected to reply.

PAGE 12

Kaieteur News

Thursday August 18, 2016

Thursday August 18, 2016

Kaieteur News

PAGE 13

GEA grants fuel import licence to GWI’s Boss, others An overhead shot of the Kingston offices of Atlantic Fuel Inc.

A

senior Government executive whose name has surfaced as benefitting from a 10-year oil importation licence has defended it saying, that nothing is wrong.

Dr. Richard Van West Charles, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Water Inc. (GWI), made it clear that the licence was issued to a company which he has been part of prior to the coalition Government entering office in May last year.

The application for the licence was made in February 2015 by Atlantic Fuels Inc., he stressed yesterday. The licence was issued on November 5th, 2015 and signed by the head of the Guyana Energy Agency, Dr. Mahender Sharma.

The CEO happens to be a Director on the company along with Andron Alphonso, Ronaldo Alphonso and Lear Goring.

The Alphonsos are said to be close relations to prominent businessman and miner, Alfro Alphonso. “As a (Continued on page 14)

GWI’s CEO, Richard Van West Charles

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Car slams into parked...

From page 3 custody assisting with the investigation.

The 23-year-old’s father, Daniel Lewis said that he and O’Donovan separated when she migrated but he was in touch with his daughter, who visited him often.

“They were heading to the airport in a taxi when the accident happened. A friend

with a lorry came and picked me up and brought me to the scene at Mahaica Bridge. I was told that the car slammed into the back of the truck and my daughter’s mother lost her life and she was injured,” the older Lewis said.

According to the man, his ex-partner owned a house i n C o t t o n Tr e e , a n d

whenever she visited, she would stay there with her daughter and relatives would visit.

Lewis said that he visited his daughter the night before the accident and they had a hearty chat.

“She told me that she planning to get married in Italy and she want me to go.

She said that she would be coming back in December to fix my papers,” the devastated man said.

He explained that when he saw the 23-year-old at the GPHC, she could not speak and would only show signs.

When this newspaper approached O’Donovan’s relatives yesterday, they refused to speak to the media.

To date, 83 persons have lost their lives in accidents countrywide.

So far, only six convictions for offences of causing death by dangerous driving were handed down in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Driving under the influence of alcohol, speeding and inattentiveness were proven to be the causes of fatal accidents.

Thursday August 18, 2016

GEA grants fuel import...

From page 13 private citizen I’m allowed to do business,” the GWI’s chief said yesterday. Questioned whether the granting of the licence and the fact that he is the head of GWI does not place him in a peculiar situation, Van West Charles made it clear that it does not constitute a conflict of interest.

He pointed out that he does not supply fuel to GWI or any GWIaffiliated entity.

The licence stated that Atlantic Fuels Inc. operates at 16 Sublot A, Mudlot, Kingston, and that permission was being granted for the importation and wholesaling of diesel. That office is the same one used by the Alphonsos.

Permission was also granted for the company to store the diesel at the Kingston location.

There were no visible signs of fuel storage facilities there. When asked about the absence of a storage bond at the company’s address, the GWI’s chief said that the licence does not require the company to store fuel at the lot.

When questioned further whether or not there was a bond in existence, he said that there was no storage facility anywhere. He further noted that the company is in discussions with the EPA to determine the construction of a bond. Asked if operations were on-going, he said no.

Contacted yesterday afternoon around17:00hrs, GEA’s head, Dr. Sharma, asked Kaieteur News to forward the questions to him via email. He warned that the newspaper should not expect an answer within “half of an hour”. There were no

A copy of the GEA licence granted to Atlantic Fuels Inc. replies from him when checks were made as late as 22:30hrs.

GEA has been under scrutiny over the past year for its management of the fuel importation sector. With billions of dollars being purchased in fuel annually through GEA for the country, questions have been raised over monitoring, licencing and contracts.

One recent licence under question was granted to a Chinese company that allowed it to conduct oil export activities. Guyana does not export oil. That licence is reportedly in limbo.

Thursday August 18, 2016

Kaieteur News

PAGE 15

Surinamese found with large quantity of illegal drugs …Heroine, Ecstasy and Crystal Meth among them As the authorities continue to make inroads into the drug trade, it is becoming obvious that Guyana is being used as either a transshipment or storage point.

So much so that drugs

like Ecstasy, Hashish and Crystal Meth (crystal methamphetamine) are being intercepted here.

The latest such bust was made around 08:00 hrs last Saturday when 31-year-old Surinamese national Rachlie

The illegal drugs seized - Hashish, Crystal Meth and Ecstasy Grad called “Blacka”, a carpenter of Pammanga Straat, No. 58 Paramaribo, was intercepted at the No. 78 “Gloves ‘backtrack’ Landing”, Corriverton, Corentyne, Berbice.

Information stated that on the day, time and place in question, Grad had in his possession 27 grams of hashish, nine grams of Ecstasy and six small Ziploc plastic bags containing a quantity of crystal-like substance suspected to be Crystal Meth.

Grad was arrested and charged.

He appeared before Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh at the Springlands M a g i s t r a t e ’s C o u r t yesterday and pleaded not

guilty to the charges of possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking.

He was remanded to jail until August 25.

The prosecution’s case was that the police and officers of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) – Law Enforcement Unit, were conducting searches on passengers who had arrived by speedboat and were offloading on the foreshore.

Grad, who was among the passengers, had his belongings checked.

During the process, the

ranks checked a pair of Air Max boots and found a plastic parcel containing a hard brownish substance, which was later proven to be Hashish. They also found 19 Strawberry-shaped pills which were later confirmed to be Ecstasy and the Ziploc bags with the Crystal Meth.

The prohibited drugs were found in the sneakers.

Grad was unrepresented in court.

On May 30, last, police in the Upper Corentyne area had intercepted 700g of Heroine and 200g of Ecstasy.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 16

Thursday August 18, 2016

St. Rose’s girl is nation’s top CSEC performer

1

T

Fatima Karim - 19 Ones, 1 Two

his year’s top Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination performer is a product of St. Rose’s High School. While the institution has over the years had students among the top performing CSEC candidates, it has surpassed expectations this year.

And claiming the top spot this year is 16-year-old Fatima Karim of Tucville, Georgetown.

Karim’s name led a list of candidates, many of whom hailed from traditional top performing schools such as Queen’s College (QC) and more recently the Sarawati Vidya Niketan (SVN) Hindu School.

But an interesting development, yesterday, was the fact that neither Education Minister Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine nor Chief Education Officer, Mr. Olato Sam, attended the forum at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) to announce the 2016 CSEC and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) results.

Presenting the 2016 CSEC results was Ms. Ingrid Trotman, Assistant Chief Education Officer (ACEO) (Nursery).

Based on a preliminary report on the examination made available by the

Ministry yesterday, there was an increase in the number of candidates who wrote CSEC this year.

According to Trotman, there were a total of 12,809 candidate entries, which was translated to 8,269 from public institutions and 4,540 from private.

There were 73,303 subject entries which saw the participation of 8,132 females and 4,677 males.

Trotman during her presentation noted that while the Ministry has not yet done a full analysis of individual candidates’ performances, “we have requested however, a list of candidates who have secured Grade one passes in eight or more subjects from the Caribbean Examination Council.”

The ACEO (Nursery) noted that in response to the Ministry’s request, a list of 157 candidates was made available. Of these, 46 secured 11 grade ones or more.

The top 10 on the list include the following candidates: Fatima Karim (St. Rose’s High) – 19 Ones, 1 Two Fatima Abdul Karim topped the country with an exceptional performance.

The St Rose’s High student secured 19 grade one passes and 1 grade two.

Karim said that her walk to success was not filled

entirely with studying but entailed some moments of fun and relaxation.

She said, however, sometimes she was forced to put a limit to the fun she was having. The 16-year-old said that she is extremely proud of her performance and has no regrets with the sacrifices which she had to make to be successful.

Karim hopes to one day become a Petroleum Engineer. Her interest in Engineering particularly came from having uncles and a grandfather, who are engineers in their own right.

Her next move is to sit the CAPE examinations next year or to start pursuing her studies in Engineering at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, USA. She said that her support base was from family members and her teachers.

The support from her teachers – ‘Sir’ Caryll, ‘Sir’ Kester, Ms Johnson and Ms Success – was instrumental in helping her to perform well in the various subject areas.

Kayshav Tewari (Queen’s College) – 19 Ones Sixteen-year-old Kayshav Tewari understandably is pleased with his outstanding performance.

The 16-year-old QC standout secured 19 Grade One passes. In an invited comment to this publication yesterday he noted that “truly, I always knew it in my heart that I could do this.”

He however did not waste time to express thanks “…to Mother Saraswati for her grace and blessings in guiding me to do my best. I would like to thank my amazing parents for their unwavering support and guidance. This success is ours. They are my true inspiration for even attempting such a feat”.

The young man who hails from Lusignan, East Coast Demerara, also

2 Kayshav Tewari 19 Ones

5

Sariah Singh - 18 Ones

8 Kevall Lall - 17 Ones commended his teachers for their support and helping him to become the person he is today. “I thank them for all they’ve done,” said Tewari.

He plans on pursuing studies in the field of engineering and hopes to later delve into studies in philosophy. Ahead of that, though, he will be attending Nations University to complete his ‘A’ levels.

Aadilah Ali (Queen’s College) – 18 Ones, 3 Twos, 1 Three Although Aadilah Ali is savouring some vacation time, she already has on her agenda plans to continue her

3 Aadilah Ali - 18 Ones, 3 Twos, 1 Three

6 Joshua Indarjit - 17 Ones

9 Pritisha Baldeo - 14 Ones, 3 Twos, 3 Threes studies at QC in the natural sciences. The 16-year-old gained 18 Ones, 3 Twos, 1 Three. Speaking of her performance, yesterday, she said “I’m very elated and surprised at my accomplishment.”

She credits her success to “Allah for blessing me with this achievement and my family for their endless support and encouragement.

My teachers, my friends and each person that said a kind word of encouragement”.

Ali is an aspiring paediatrician.

Ramkumarie Ramdass (SVN) – 18 Ones, 1 Two

4

Ramkumarie Ramdass - 18 Ones, 1 Two

7

Kimberly Najab 15 Ones, 3 Twos

10

Narindra Persaud - 14 Ones, 3 Twos, 3 Threes “The long wait for the results is finally over! I am happy and relieved!” The w o r d s o f 1 7 - y e a r- o l d Ramkumarie Ramdass of the Saraswati Vidya Niketan (SVN) school, who is the fourth top CSEC student in Guyana. She secured 18 grade ones and 1 grade two.

Ramdass told this newspaper that she is aspiring for a career in law, and will begin the steps to that profession with ‘A’Levels.

She thanked her hardworking parents whom she said always supported, guided and encouraged her.

The ecstatic Ramdass (Continued on page 21)

Kaieteur News

Thursday August 18, 2016

PAGE 17

QC produces outstanding performances at CAPE W

ith 6 grade ones and 1 grade twos, Deenuath Mohabeer of Queen’s College (QC) has claimed a top performing spot at this year’s sitting of the Caribbean Advance Proficiency Examination (CAPE). He secured grade one passes in Caribbean Studies (Unit 1), Computer Science (Unit 1), Pure Mathematics (Unit 1), Computer Science (Unit 2), Management of Business (Unit 2), Digital Media (Unit 2) and a grade 2 pass in Information Technology (Unit 2).

According to Mohabeer in a comment to this publication yesterday, “I feel a sense of accomplishment, partly due to my hard work and discipline towards my work.” He disclosed too, that there are a number of persons who helped him realised his achievement but most importantly, he thanks God and his family members for their undying support.

The support from his teachers were also instrumental he added.

“My teachers were from across the world, Jamaica, USA, UK, and not just from QC,” Deenauth shared. He also noted that his five years spent at Central High also provided the foundation for him to excel, and for that he is very thankful.

But according to him, “my accomplishment this year is only half done. My goal is to receive a scholarship from the government or a private entity so I can further my education in computer science.”

This ambitious 18-year-old hopes to someday study and eventually be an artificial intelligence designer.

Also commanding top performing places at CAPE this year is Larissa Wiltshire, also of QC, who secured grade one passes in six subject areas: Communication Studies (Unit 1), Applied Mathematics (Unit 2), Biology (Unit 2), Chemistry (Unit 2), Environmental Science (Unit 2), and Pure Mathematics (Unit 2).

“I am very happy about my results,” related the 18-year-old who credits her success to her parents, teachers and friends who were very supportive. She already has plans on stream to complete studies in the area of Dentistry at

Larissa Wiltshire - 6 Ones the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus.

Other QC students securing grade one passes in six subject areas are Joash Gobin, Ashley Anthony and Shannon Woodroffe.

Gobin in very few words disclosed that his performance was unexpected but very satisfying.

“I knew I would do good, but wow!” said the 17-year-old who noted that “I have above all God to thank for my success. My parents were the main supporters, both financially and emotionally.”

He also noted that without his QC teachers’ guidance and knowledge he could not have made it. He plans to complete CAPE and obtain an associate degree in natural science before further advancing his studies. “I hope to have a lifetime career in physics as I love the subject,” he added.

A c c o r d i n g t o A n t h o n y, although she is happy with her performance, she didn’t expect to do so well.

“I am happy, I feel excited with my results,” said the 17-year-old who will be pursuing second year CAPE at QC. She is thankful to all those who supported her especially her teachers.

Anthony disclosed yesterday that while she had plans to venture into the area of physics, she is yet to settle on her future career path. But it isn’t likely, she divulged, that she will follow in the path of her parents who are both medical doctors – Dr. Frank Anthony, PPP Member of Parliament, and Dr. Shanti Singh, Programme Manager of the National AIDS Programme

Deenauth Mohabeer 6 Ones, 1 Two Secretariat.

Woodroffe, in responding to questions about her performance said, “I’d have been disappointed if I had attained less than 6 grade ones with A’s on all the modules as I hadn’t expected any less.” As such the 17-year-old noted that “it was most relieving to receive these results.”

She attributes her success to God, her parents, her elder sister and those teachers who helped her immensely. She too has not yet decided on her career, but she disclosed that she will be completing CAPE in Upper Sixth at QC. Other top QC CAPE performers this year are: Jonathon Gobin (5 grade ones, 1 grade 2), Elisa Hamilton (5 grade ones, 2 grade twos), Lisa John (5 grade ones, 1 grade three), Aliyah Rasheed (5 grade ones), Vishnu Singh (5 grade ones, 1 grade two) and Abigail Somrah (5 grade ones).

The Bishops’ High School also recorded outstanding performances, demonstrated by the likes of Carrisa Kissoon, who secured grade one passes in six (Unit 1) subject areas. She exclaimed that she is surprised by her performance, adding that she did not expect to do as well as she has.

The 18-year-old said that the advanced examination required harder work, but it all paid off in the end. Her future plans include another year at CAPE and to hopefully obtain a scholarship to further her studies.

Eventually she wants to pursue studies in the field of medicine to become a Cardio-Thoracic Surgeon. She said that persons can help others in many ways, but she prefers to play her part by performing surgeries to save lives.

Kissoon said that her parents and sisters played a critical role in offering moral support.

Additionally, she said that her teachers both at school and after school lessons contributed to her success.

Also performing well this year too are Steffan Ageda (5 grade Ones, 2 grade Twos), Nandani Ramdass (5 grade Ones) and Malena Ramdeo (5 grade ones) all students of The Bishops’ High.

Ashley Anthony - 6 Ones

Carissa Kissoon - 6 Ones

Shannon Woodroffe - 6 Ones

Joash Gobin - 6 Ones

Vamandev Hiralall of the Saraswati Vidya Niketan Hindu School has also been named among the top performers with 5 grade ones and 3 grade threes.

The CAPE 2016 results were presented by Leslyn CharlesEdwards, Assistant Chief Education Officer (ACEO) (Secondary). She disclosed that in May/June, 2016, 898 candidates from nine secondary schools and four private centres wrote CAPE. Subject entries, according to Charles-Edwards amounted to 4,062.

Candidates, according to the ACEO (Secondary), offered Units in 29 subject areas with each unit comprising three modules equivalent to 150 credit hours.

These, she noted, were separately examined and certified. This year, candidates from Guyana offered 57 units.

The Single Units offered this year were: Caribbean Studies, Communications Studies and Integrated Mathematics. The Double Unit subjects on the other hand were: Accounting, Agricultural Science, Applied Mathematics, Art and Design, Biology, Building and Mechanical Engineering Drawing (Building/Mechanical), Chemistry, Computer Science, Digital Media, Economics, Electrical and E l e c t r o n i c Te c h n o l o g y, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Science, Food and Nutrition, Geography, History, Information Technology, Law, Literatures in English, Logistics and Supply

Steffan Ageda - 5 Ones, 2 Twos Chain Operations, Management of Business, Physical Education and Sports, Physics, Pure Mathematics, Sociology , Spanish and Tourism.

According to Charles-Edwards, the results for the CAPE are reported on a seven-point scale – Grade one to seven. Candidates attaining grades one to five have attained an acceptable standard for matriculation purposes, with Grade One representing an excellent performance while Grade Two and Three represent very good and good standards of performance respectively.

Charles-Edwards noted that the overall pass rate this year is 86.74 percent which is a marginal decrease from last year’s 87.54.

She also added that there was an increase in the number of candidates securing grades one to two passes.

PAGE 18

Boys working on shoe racks at the camp

Kaieteur News

Thursday August 18, 2016

117 youths attend summer camp hosted by GPF Some 117 youths are attending a summer camp being held by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) at the Ministry of Education’s Campsite at Madewini, Timehri. Media operatives were given a tour of the campsite where it was observed, that the children were engaged in meaningful and educational activities while enjoying themselves at the same time.

Speaking to the media, Deputy Superintendent Grace Davis, who is the “Camp Mother” said that the camp started last Sunday (August 14) and will end tomorrow.

Davis outlined the daily activities of the children and

said that they are attended by 30 caregivers who are ranks of the GPF and the Neighbourhood Police.

According to Davis, the day starts at 05:00hrs with physical training, followed by devotion (prayers), a flagraising ceremony, and then they would be served breakfast before preparing for the daily activities.

These activities include craft making, carpentry, joinery and sewing. The media was told that at the end of the camp, parents of the children will be invited to a ceremony where the handiwork would be on display. Davis continued, that the participants would be allowed to take home their

finished products.

This publication spoke to several children who all expressed their joy at being part of the camp and said they were learning different things. One lad said that the camping trip was his first and that “I definitely want to come back next year.”

In addition to the 117 children, there were 24 scouts that were encamped a short distance away from the Madewini Campsite. They were all involved in making miniature scouting equipment when the media visited.

The leader said that the scouts prepared their own meals and were enjoying the outdoors immensely.

Thursday August 18, 2016

Kaieteur News

PAGE 19

PNCR announces 19th Biennial Congress - Granger is lone nominee for Party Leader U

nder the theme “ P e o p l e ’s N a t i o n a l Congress Reform (PNCR) – Va n g u a rd o f a G re e n Economy”, the Party will commence its three-day Biennial Delegates Congress next week Friday.

This Congress will be the 19th of its kind since the Party was initiated some 59 years ago.

Attending the briefing yesterday was Party Chairman Basil Williams; General Secretary, Oscar Clarke; and Assistant General Secretary and Executive Member, Amna Ally.

Williams, who delivered the opening remarks, stated that in accordance to Article 7 . 2 o f t h e P a r t y ’s Constitution, “The supreme authority of the Party shall be the Biennial Delegates Congress, which shall be held at such time and place every two years as the General Council or the Central Executive Committee may decide.”

Zeroing in on the theme, Williams quoted the Leader of the PNCR, David Granger as saying that “Guyana’s Green development strategy will be developed as a template for the Greening of Guyana. Guyana will have a green economy. We will transition our economy rapidly towards renewable, clean and cheaper sources of energy.... We will create Green enterprises and jobs and we will inculcate Green education in our schools” Williams said that as the largest mass-based Party in Guyana and the largest partner in the Coalition – A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change ( A P N U + A F C ) Administration, the PNCR will lead and show leadership, as the Government works towards achieving this goal of a Green Guyana.

“Meeting in this our Jubilee year, the PNCR recalls with pride, that it was our Party that entered Government as part of a Coalition Administration in December 1964. It was our Party on the 26th May 1966 that embarked on the task of transforming a deeply divided colony into the united Independent State of Guyana. The new state adopted the inspiring motto One People, One Nation,

One Destiny. It was not an empty slogan to adorn our coat of arms, but an article of faith and affirmation of our creed,” Williams said.

He added that Congress is a working session for the party; it is not a period of jubilation, but rather, three days of hard work, where they will not only examine the state of the Party, but make plans for the economic and social development of the nation.

Party Leader David Granger’s keynote address to the Congress, will be presented on the Opening Day – Friday, August 26. The Welcome and Opening Remarks will be delivered

by Williams.

The highlight of Day Two – Saturday, August 27 – will be the Report of the General Secretary, Oscar Clarke, which will be followed by two plenary sessions, and on the final day (Sunday 28th August), delegates will vote for a Party Leader, Chairman, two Vice Chairmen, a Treasurer, and fifteen other members who will become the elected members of the Central Executive Committee of the PNCR. “At this our 19th Biennial Congress, over 500 Delegates and several hundred observers from all ten Administrative Regions of the country; the North America Region of our Party; and the United Kingdom will be in attendance,” Williams said.

Nominated for the Chairmanship are Basil Williams, Robert Corbin and Volda Lawrence. Nominees for Vice Chairman are Dr. George Norton, Beni Rayman, Clement Corlette, Joseph Harmon, Aubrey Norton, James Bond, Dawn Hastings, Christopher Jones and Winston Felix.

Nominees for Treasurer are Ronald Bulkan, Larry London and Annette Ferguson. But according to Oscar Clarke, London has already indicated that he is not interested in running for Treasurer.

President David Granger, who is the lone nominee for Party Leader, has agreed to run for that post.

The Returning Officer is former Assistant Commissioner of Police and Attorney-at-Law, Michael Somersall.

From left: PNCR General Secretary, Oscar Clarke; Party Chairman, Basil Williams and Assistant General Secretary and Executive Member, Amna Ally.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 20

Thursday August 18, 2016

Gov’t plans continuous presence of officials at Aussie mining operations

A

high- level team from the Guyana Geology and M i n e s Commission (GGMC) led

by Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman yesterday, visited Australian gold mining company, Troy Resources at its Karouni Camp, Region Seven.

The team which comprised Minister Trotman, Senior Mining Engineer, Michael Howard, Mines Manager (acting), Dianne Mc Donald and

Te c h n i c a l O ff i c e r f o r Mining, Euliene Watson, were on a routine visit to the camp in Region Seven.

“It’s not an investigative visit, so we weren’t looking for findings. It’s a routine visit, checking to see how mining is progressing.

Government is keen to ensure there is a good production, yet production that is done safely, and with respect for the workers,” Minister Trotman explained.

Trotman, in a Government statement, said

the parliamentary recess is being used by Ministers of the coalition government to conduct outreaches.

“This is really a part of the ministry’s extension.

Minister (Simona) Broomes was in another part of Region Seven over the weekend. Now that parliament is in recess, we are using the opportunity to reach out and move around.

We recently were at Aurora Gold Mines. We are now here and will be going into the different mining districts

within a few weeks…

Lethem, Mahdia and so forth, just to see how things are going,” the Minister said.

During the visit, the Minister discussed several issues of concern with Chief Executive Officer, Troy Resources, Ken Nilsson, among them the effects of rain on production, the industrial climate, illegal mining, services being provided to nearby communities by the company through its health care facilities, and

government’s intention to have mining and other officials present at the camp on a rotational basis throughout the year.

The Minister explained that the continuous presence of officials at the mine site will aid in better monitoring, and will provide learning opportunities for a much improved mining sector. “ We l l , g o v e r n m e n t believes that for two reasons e s p e c i a l l y, w e s h o u l d provide greater oversight.

You can’t oversee a camp several miles from the coast by staying on the coast. So it’s important that on a rotation basis, officers of Guyana Geology and Mines C o m m i s s i o n , Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Forestry - if it’s a forest operation - and the Guyana Gold Board, sometimes, and even the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) just be here to see what’s going on, but more importantly, it is being able to learn (about the) best practices observed so that when we move on we can train people. We can say this is how it was done before by an internationally recognised company.”

Questioned about the time schedule for the new mode of operation, the Minister said, “it is a multiagency and multi-ministry initiative, so I’ll have to complete discussions with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of the Presidency so we can have a facility to accommodate

officers of the different agencies.”

Addressing the issue of production, Minister Trotman said, “about the production forecast, we are aware that rains affected production a few months ago and they are now getting back to a good momentum, so it’s important that we get a better understanding rather than sitting in office in Georgetown and (attempting to) do so.”

During discussions with workers at the mining camp, some of the issues raised with Minister Trotman included health and remuneration.

Referring to the general industrial relations climate, Minister Trotman said, “Industrial relations are being handled by the Ministry of Social Protection, Department of L a b o u r. We w o u l d n ’t comment now about satisfaction - what we can say is that government wants every worker who wishes to have union representation be allowed to exercise that constitutional right. It is our job and duty to ensure that right is not in any way fettered or interfered with, so we are all in favour of unions coming in and being recognised and workers becoming better organised.”

According to CEO, Ken Nilsson, the Karouni Camp employs almost 400 persons directly and another 180 on a contractual basis. Of those employed at the camp, (Continued on page 21)

Thursday August 18, 2016

Kaieteur News

St. Rose’s girl is nation’s top CSEC performer

ACEO (Nursery) Ms. Ingrid Trotman, presenting the 2016 CSEC results yesterday From page 16 expressed her gratitude to the principal of SVN for what she said was leading her in the right direction, and the teachers who were always willing to give the students their time and energy.

She also thanked the teachers of the Meten-Meer-Zorg Primary school for giving her a good foundation at the primary level.

Sariah Singh (Queen’s College) – 18 Ones Sariah Singh is elated with her 18 grade one passes.

“I am happy; I feel excited and proud. I am thankful to God, because without Him I would not be where I am today,” said the QC student, who is also grateful to teachers and parents for their priceless support.

She too will advance her studies at QC, and spoke briefly of her vision of becoming a doctor someday.

“I don’t know what kind of doctor, but I want to become a doctor because I like helping people. I want to make a difference and I want people to remember me for that,” said the 16-yearold of Diamond Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara.

Joshua Indarjit (Skeldon Line Path) – 17 Ones Joshua Indarjit placed sixth in the nation at the CSEC examinations with his 17 grade one passes. Of his success he said that “it was all in God’s hands.”

The 17-year-old said that on hearing of his performance he became filled with joy. In terms of his preparations for examinations, Indarjit calmly said that his study pattern was random since he only picked up a book when he felt like it or was in the mood to study.

He has a keen interest in the area of Physics. This is so since

he recognizes that the subject plays a part in every aspect of life. Moreover, it has to do with the future and technology. He said that although he has the love for Physics he is thinking of specializing in the energy sector.

Kimberly Najab (SVN) – 15 Ones, 3 Twos Sixteen-year-old Kimberly Najab, a student of SVN, said that she thought she could have done a bit better at the CSEC examinations, but told this publication that she was satisfied with her results.

Najab attained 15 grade ones and three grade twos. Her sister, Victoria Najab who also attended the SVN School, secured 20 grade one passes last year.

Najab said that she wanted to compete with her sister at CSEC and maintained that she was her (Kimberly’s) main inspiration. The business-inclined young lady declared that she wanted to further her studies in Business at an advanced level, and expressed hope that she would someday become a successful businesswoman.

Kevall Lall (Anna Regina) – 15 Ones Kevall Lall, of Anna Regina Secondary was able to secure a place in the top 10 CSEC performers having gained 15 grade ones.

He is essentially the top CSEC performer in Region Two. He disclosed yesterday that he did not expect to do as well as he did, although he had exhausted long hours studying and attended extra lessons.

According to the teenager, who will be celebrating his 17th birthday in October, his two older brothers were his greatest influence, as they also did well in the past. He moreover said that he studied from 3am during the

week when he had to write his examination. He stressed that the key principles to attaining success are not only based on studying alone and listening to whatever is taught in the classroom, but also requires understanding what is taught.

The 16-year-old Lall will be pursuing his ‘A’ Levels in Civil Engineering at the Nations University.

Pritisha Baldeo (SVN) – 14 Ones, 3 Twos, 3 Threes Excitement, contentment, appreciation and happiness were expressed by 16-year-old Pritisha Baldeo, upon learning of her success at the CSEC examinations.

Her performance has allowed her to claim 14 grade one passes, 3 twos and 3 threes.

When contacted by Kaieteur News yesterday, she spoke of her future plans. Baldeo said she hopes to eventually venture into the medical field and cited Paediatrics as her desired area of specialisation, as she has an affinity for children.

Baldeo hinted that she would further her studies in the United States of America.

Narindra Persaud (SVN) – 14 Ones, 3 Twos, 3 Threes A future doctor, Narindra Persaud, 16, said that he was happy and proud of his performance. He has accepted with pride his 14 grade one passes, along with 3 twos and 3 threes.

The SVN student stated that he was unsure of his next step in regard to studies and listed the University of Guyana or Queen’s College as possible options to begin medicine, or CAPE. He said that his grades were as a result of studying every night, and he thanked his teachers, parents and friends for being there for him.

Gov’t plans continuous...

From page 20 approximately 120 have signed up for union membership and discussions are continuing with a view to finalising all arrangements. Troy Resources holds two main project areas in Guyana. Both were obtained through the acquisition of Azimuth Resources in July 2013. In May 2014 the com-

pany launched its US$77M Karouni Gold Project at the Omai Linden Stock Yard, promising almost 600 job opportunities for Guyanese.

Nilsson estimated that there will be a seven-year mine life for the project. At the time of the launching, annual average gold production was estimated to be 90,000 ounces.

PAGE 21

PAGE 22

SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY,ETC.-CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 2161043; 677-6620 Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Guyana passport application.

Graphics design, advertisement. Tel: 6267040; 265-4535.

INNOVATIVEMARKETING& PUBLISHINGINC–TEL:6004212: We create A/works, logos, business cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included.

Repairs at low cost: Fridges, air- conditioners, washing machines, TVs, microwaves, freezers- Call:6294946 or 225-4822 RAMDASS VISA APPLICATION & immigration services, room A-4, Maraj Building, Georgetown. Call Samantha: 227-0295; 615-9295 Passport, permanent & visitor visa application, Professional Immigrant Consultant – Sabita Immigration Services. Call: 225-6496; 662-6045

VACANCY Checkers, labourers, pump attendants & accountants. TI certificate needed (Berbice).

Call: 330-2399; 623-5920

SALON

WANTED

VEHICLE FOR SALE

- Make-up Courses with Mac, Bare Minerals, etc.

- Cosmetology Courses: $120,000 - Technician Course: $45,000.

Call: 647-1773/660-5257

Cashier to work in supermarket and one live in domestic to work in Trinidad.

Call or text 1868- 683 1528

2009 RX8, Allion, Music Bus, Small bus, Motor cycle, Benz.

Call: 265-4979

Nails & hair station to rent.

Call: 689-0888

Full/Part time service staff @ Indian Dining Restaurant, relevant experienced mandatory. Call: 654-7683 Clerk must be able to work Sunday-Sunday @ Ruimveldt Ice House. Call: 687-0615 Cashier for supermarket – 624-0033; Driver for water truck – 680-3863; Pump attendant /Security in store – 680-3863; Porters- Call: 6803863 Assistant Accountant with own transportation & QuickBooks, PAYE, NIS & VAT knowledge -$150,000.

Call: 673-5475/kevin@express truckingcorp.com Truck Driver, Skid steer operator, Civil Engineer, Road Foreman, cleaner, security, chef/cook, admin assistant.

Call: 603-3997

1 Male cook in the Interior.

Call: 678-0565 FOR RENT PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Teepee Suites Apartments: Lot 7 Princes Street, Charlestown, Guyana.

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Call: 694-3338

Repairs to LED, Plasma, LCD and other electronic items.

Abdul Electronics. Call: 2250391

C. Persaud & N. Outar Driving School formerly Soman & Sons Driving School @ Maraj BuildingCall: 644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997 (affordable packages).

Experienced driver to work with a Firm @ G/ Town, able to drive all types of vehicles, ages 30-50. Call: 226-9764 1 Office clerk to work with firm G/town. Must be computer literate & have experienced in office procedures. Call: 226-9768 Live in or live out babysitter/ domestic –Call: 223-7500.

Monday-Saturday 8:154:15pm 1- Welder must have knowledge of gas welding to work @ 21 Broad St. Charlestown, Fat man Welding Shop. Call: 6439125/ 223-5595 General worker (must have basic Maths & English), general domestic, restaurant cook- Call: 225-9511 Pastors, voluntary pastors, members, part-time secretary wanted for opening of new Church. Call Pastor & Bishop Walters: 686-3421 One qualified plumber to work on newly constructed building. Call: 695-9996

LAND FOR SALE La Parfaite Harmonie -$1.2M & $1.6M with titles, Farm (110ftX55ft) -$3.2M. Call:6585897; 673-2692

We are interested in buying lands in Farm New Scheme E.B.D, corner lots preferably.

Call: 266-0693

LEARN TO DRIVE Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezerCall: 610-5846 or 661-8158

Experienced female bartender, live in/live out waitress, cooks & bouncers needed @ Eden Bar & Lounge, Garden of EdenCall: 652-0074 Experienced diesel mechanic wanted to work in Georgetown. Call: 227-1717

One Trainee A.C, Refrigerator, Technician –Call: 231-0655

Hello the doctor is back!

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Thursday August 18, 2016

Kaieteur News

EDUCATIONAL IAE: Register for full time school (Grades 7-11) CSEC lessons; adults and school leavers CXC classes. Call Mr. Roberts: 683-5742

Experienced Driver & cashier apply @ Hacks Halaal with written application, 5 commerce Street.

Driver preferably who lives on the East Bank to work taxiCall: 615-3303; 697-3658

VISA processing centre for all US/Canadian Visa processing @ Cybertron Parika. Call: 260-4850 CAR RENTAL CAR RENTAL

TAXI SERVICE GR TAXI SERVICE. CALL: 219-5000; 227-1982 & 225-7878 (24HRS)

DOLLY’S CAR RENTALCALL: 225-7126/226-3693 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL@ YA H O O . C O M / W W W. DOLLYSAUTORENTAL. COM Aidan’s Car Rental: 4WD pickup. Call: 698-7807

PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS& SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL: 643-5122, 6560087 , EMAIL: PRO_ AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO. COM Low down payment, cheap reates,special offer for the summer. Call: 690-6494

EDUCATIONAL 9 Courses Diploma in Computers -$35,000, Computerized Accounting $30,000 @ MicroGraphics.

Vreed-en-Hoop, Call: 264-3057 Computerized Deal for 2016 CXC Students, 9 Courses Diploma in Computerize Accounting @ Cybertron Parika. Call: 260-4850

One 2007 Fielder stick gear $2.7M negotiable. One B12 Sunny $300,000- Call: 6165974, 618-8703 AT192, 212, Allion, Premio, Hilux Surf, BRR, RZ & Pitbull, Pajero Junior, Spacio: Cash / terms- Call:680-3154 We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 Tacoma- Call: 680-3154 2010 Premio -$3.3M, 2010 Noah & Voxy -$2.5M, 2004 Mitsubishi canter 2 ton $2.4M, unregistered & fully loaded. Call: 642-7295 3 TON CANTER ENCLOSE AND OPEN BACK WITH 4D ENGINE, PRICE -$3.6M, NEVER REGISTERED – CALL: 617-2891 2009 BELTA -$2.3M, 2011 BLUEBIRD -$2.7M, 2009 IST -$2.7, 2012 RACTIS $2.6M, 2009 ARUIS -$2.5M –CALL: 617-2891 One Corolla Feilder Wagon year 2010 - $1.7M. Call: 2254816; 676-6379 1-2006 Nissan Dump Canter, 1-Potable trailer. Call: 6626567; 691-4340 Honda Civic M/Car “SS” series -$1.3M, very good condition- Call: 696-2815 RZ minibus -$1.2M, 192 Car $800,000, 2009 unregistered bluebird -$2.8M, excellent condition, owner leaving country. Call: 265-0204; 6765824 Fielder 2006, Bluebird 2006, Army general 6X6 truck, extendable 40 FT Trailer. Call: 616-5595; 665-3676 One 2008 Toyota IST-Call: 614-9742 White Toyota AE110, PKK series, price -$600,000. Call: 697-8639 SALE @ STAR CARS: PREMIO, RUNX, IST, AXELA, RZ BUS, SPACIO, FIELDER. CALL: 679-3140 RUSH – Call 621-7145 Price Negotiable FOR SALE Cargo Trawler. Call: 682-8724; 616-5954

FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754.

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Contact#650-0402 Elevator (good condition), Diesel Generator (23KVA, 110/220V). Call: 231-1284; 223-9719 Prime commercial building for sale @ Broad & Charles Streets, Georgetown, 68,000 square feet.

Call: 592-231-6694 Antique household items, plants, ceiling fan, computer monitors, sauna and much more. Call: 231-1284; 223-9719 1-Leylad DAF-45 $1.5M, 1-Cat 928F Loader-$6.9M,1-Hyster Forklift-$1.5M, Light Tower$800-000. Contact#650-0402 Double Steel Drum Compactor, CAT 215 Excavator, Leyland DAF55 Truck, 400 GLS, Bitumen Kettle. Call: 275-0538; 683-7225 Fancy spiral note books and soft cover 3 ring folders by Martha Stewart @ Low prices- Call: 626-6335 Alaris Infusion pumps, single and double cylinder, excellent condition with manuals. Call: 626-6335 Playstation 3 with 4 Control -$60,000, playstation 4 with games -$60,000, used clothes at a cheap price. Call: 670-6215 Fridge, 4 burner store & gas bottle. Call: 684-5365 Fans (2 on stand), music set, TV, Table Set, Kitchen Utensils, digital scale, minibus BKK 8932.

Call: 685-2206 One complete trout boat for sale, less than a year old. Call: 654-2817 Continue page 23

Thursday August 18, 2016

PAGE 23

Kaieteur News

Two-decade gap in LGE damaged local govt. leadership - Min. Bulkan

Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan At the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Caribbean Local Economic Development Project (CARILED) and four municipalities and two Neighbourhood Democratic

Councils, Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan said that not having LGE for 20 years prior to 2016 had damaged the leadership capacity of local democratic organs.

“Prior to the holding of Local Government Elections, the local democratic organs were treated as step-children to be seen and not heard.

There was little respect for autonomy and as a consequence, the local democratic organs could not discharge their functions.”

Bulkan said that this was an illustration and reminder of the previous administration’s lack of understanding of local democracy, and ironic, since the constitution provides for an elaborate system of governance.

The CARILED Project is aimed at developing the leadership capabilities of leaders in local democratic organs.

Signing the MoU at the

In an effort to strengthen the local system, three medical personnel from the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) will be heading to Argentina next Tuesday to partake in an exercise focused on Quality Management and Control in the area of blood banking.

The exercise, which will take place at the Garrahan Hospital in Argentina, represents phase two of a three-year programme which falls within the framework of the South-South Cooperation Agreement between the two South American Nations.

Acting Director of the NBTS, Dr. Pedro Lewis will be spending two weeks in Argentina, while Quality Manager, Ms. Davina Singh and Donor Organiser, Ms. Tonza Bamfield will be spending one week.

Speaking at a press conference in the Ministry of Public Health’s boardroom yesterday, Argentine Ambassador, Luis Martino explained that the overall aim of the programme is to improve the blood safety levels in Guyana by building and strengthening human capacity, knowledge and technology.

Phase one of the programme saw Dr. Ana Del Pozo, who has a strong background in the blood services sector and Dr. Sebastian Oknaian, an expert in quality control in blood transfusion, visiting Guyana in 2013 and in December 2015.

Ambassador Martino said that upon the completion of

the first phase the experts shared with him, that they detected many strengths at the NBTS. According to the envoy, this upcoming phase will now allow the participants to have a first-hand view of the procedures and standards at the Garrahan Hospital. It will also, in his view, help in the development of a plan for ongoing capacity building in all the regions with a blood banking presence.

The third phase entails a visit by the Argentine team to Guyana in December of this year, followed by the continuation of training for the three NBTS medical personnel in 2017.

Ambassador Martino said that if all goes well with the three-year programme, they are ready and willing to broaden the scope of the South-South Cooperation in health beyond blood transfusion to other areas, such as medicine.

Meanwhile, Dr. Lewis explained that the NBTS has already been able to improve its services due to the visits by the consultants during the first phase of the programme.

Areas which have seen improvement include, blood management and the collection of statistics.

In addition to the NBTS at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, Guyana also has a blood banking presence at the Suddie Regional Hospital, West Demerara Regional Hospital, New Amsterdam Regional Hospital and the Linden Hospital Complex.

Blood Bank employees for Argentina workshop

Umana Yana were Mayors Carwyn Holland of Linden, Kirt Wynter of New Amsterdam, Vijay Ramoo of Rose Hall, Ganesh Gangadin of Corriverton and CARILED Project Director Marion Villanueva. The NDCs of Mocha Arcadia and Soesdyke were represented by Rudolph Adams and Dinesh Singh respectively.

Minister Bulkan said that the training which will be provided under the project will help to rebuild the collapsed and fractured administrative system of the

local democratic organs.

Bulkan made it clear, that Central Government remains committed to the process of improving local governance.

He said that the government recognizes that the country is too large to be managed from the centre.

The Minister explained that the councils are now made up of new members who are tasked with crafting policies, plans and programmes which are specific to their area.

However, he said there must be a new philosophical

outlook as to the roles and functions the councils are expected to perform.

Also present at the signing was Charge D’Affaires of the Canadian High Commission, Sharmini Poulin who said that the CARILED Project is designed to engage municipalities across the Caribbean Region.

She pointed to the implementation of good governance practices, which cannot be overstated, and noted the importance for sustainable economic growth within communities.

From page 22

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PAGE 24

Thursday August 18, 2016

Kaieteur News

Browne warns dissenting govt. senators ‘pass it or resign’ Daily Observer - Prime Minister Gaston Browne has warned his dissenting senators that if their concerns with the Statutory Corporations General Provisions Bill 2016 are not considered “real” they will be expected to “pass it or resign”.

At the same time, Browne agreed that “no punitive action will be taken” against them for their opposition to the Bill on Monday, and assured that once heard, “real” concerns would be taken onboard in editing the draft legislation.

“We are a democratic institution. I do not believe that there was any intent to injure. But in this case, these senators looked at the Bill, and Cabinet will have to look at those concerns and re-table that Bill at some point. There will be no punitive action…

I’m saying categorially that no one will be fired.

“We’ll give them a hearing, and if there are any concerns that are real we’ll

Gaston Browne make the adjustments. If they are just speculating like others are, then clearly, it will go back unchanged and they will have to pass it or resign,” Browne declared.

The “speculating” to which Browne referred is a charge he levelled at the opposition, in Parliament, for interpreting the government’s intent for the legislation was to “victimise” employees in statutory

corporations who did not support policy.

The only clause that was defeated was Clause 7 of the Bill which states: “The Cabinet may, if it considers it in the best interest of public administration, transfer an employee on secondment from one statutory corporation to another statutory corporation, or to the public service.”

Browne also warned that his decision not to take “punitive” action on this occasion was not an indication that his senators should be quick to repeat their actions.

“It’s not that I’m giving them carte blanche that they can hide behind so-called objectivity and to vote down Bills willy-nilly… We’ll be able to hammer out those issues possibly [today] at Cabinet and to find out…how real those concerns are.

If they’re just misinterpretations then the Bill will go back to the Senate unchanged,” he said.

Haiti records first case of microcephaly PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) – Haiti has recorded its first case of microcephaly, the birth defect that is linked to the mosquito-borne Zika virus.

Director General at the Ministry of Public Health and Population, Gabriel Thimothe, said the case was confirmed

over the last weekend by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The health authorities here said that the baby with Zika-linked microcephaly was born in the city of Mirebalais earlier this year.

The US-based Partners in

Health and the Haiti-based Zanmi Lasante, said in a joint statement earlier this month that two babies had been born with microcephaly in their University Hospital Mirebalais.

Haiti has confirmed 14 cases of the birth defect since March, up from previous reports of two cases, The CDC has said that Haiti has recorded nearly 3,000 Zika cases.

Suriname looks to agriculture for socio-economic development PA R A M A I R B O , Suriname - CMC – Suriname has identified enhancement of ecotourism, the establishment of rural women cooperatives and agricultural diversification as priority areas for the future socioeconomic development of the Dutch-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country. The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) Delegation in Suriname has presented the results achieved in 2015 and the activities programmed for this year to stakeholders, partners and agencies in the agricultural and rural sector.

Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries

Minister Soeresh Algoe, said “through IICA’s support, the agricultural sector is looking forward to implementing the Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement by enhancing our agricultural health and food safety system, strengthening Codex Alimentarius activities and developing value chains within the different agricultural subsectors to further enhance our agro food systems”. He said IICA´s initiatives have also contributed to strengthening the business and associative capabilities of vulnerable groups, like women and youth. “Youth interest and their involvement in agriculture is vital to the development of Suriname’s

agricultural sector”, he added.

Suriname has identified agriculture as a priority area and a driver for future development: with an abundance of agricultural land and favourable agroecological conditions, Suriname scores with noticeable opportunities for increased production and export”, said Algoe. Some of the activities undertaken by the IICA Delegation in Suriname include the development of four Community Based Enterprise Centers in the District of Para through community–based enterprise training and the provision of computers, printers and furniture with funding from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

Thursday August 18, 2016

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THE VOICE OF THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS

DEMOCRACY IS ABOUT WHAT YOU DO WHILE IN OFFICE

BY SASE SINGH INTRODUCTION The Contingencies Fund was abused in 2016 by amounts totaling $63M which were drawn to fund expenditures that did not meet the eligibility criteria as defined in the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act 2003 (FMA Act). This money is being utilized superciliously to fund an “incontinent” contract constructed under the Granger administration.

Why is the Senior Minister of Public Health hiding this contract from the taxpayers even though their money is being used? This act, under the Granger administration, reminds me of a very profligate time in our history when respect for our financial rules and laws was totally disrespected. Are we back to square one after only a year?

In accordance with Section 41 of the FMA Act, the Minister of Finance “may approve a Contingencies Fund Advance as an expenditure out of the Consolidated Fund by the issuance of drawing rights”.

The criteria that empower the Minister to exercise those drawing rights clearly state that the expenditure must be ”urgent, unavoidable and unforeseen” for which: (a) no moneys have been appropriated or for which the sum appropriated is insufficient; (b) moneys cannot be re-allocated as provided for under this Act; or (c) moneys cannot be deferred without injury to the public interest….”.

An unwarranted public injury was caused because this expenditure does not fulfill the spirit and intent of Article 220 of the Guyana Constitution. If the good governance advocates, the private sector business leaders, and labour leaders do not raise their voices now and nip such acts in the bud with immediate effect, a year from now all Guyana will be weeping buckets of tears. All law-abiding citizens of Guyana must combat these budding attitudes of financial monstrosity, frontally.

THE CONTINGENCY FUND The Senior Minister of Public Health admitted in the National Assembly that he was party to a single sourcing of a contract without any competition. The reason used to justify this was that the transaction was urgent, unforeseen and unavoidable.

Those who have advised this path undoubtedly cannot

reconcile themselves to the traditions of a democracy by following the rule of law. The law states unmistakably that we can only single source when the following criteria are met: 1.

Unforeseen – meaning that it was an emergency that you did not anticipate. But there was already G$31 million in the original 2016 budget set-aside for this expenditure, so the argument that this new G$63 million was unforeseen is nothing but malodorous malarkey from the Minister – violation number 1; 2.

Unavoidable – meaning that you had no alternative but to engage the principles behind the Sussex Street building. This blatant untruth being propagated goes to the probity of the issue at hand. There are clearly better alternatives in Guyana than the operations in Sussex Street – violation number 2.

If the Minister feels that he has a justifiable reason to switch out an internationally certified bond, then at minimum he must replace the outgoing supplier with an equal or better supplier, at a better value. This clearly did not happen, since the supplier in Sussex Street is charging three times more per square foot than the outgoing supplier. To add salt to the people’s wound, the Sussex Street operations do not meet any quality assurance standards while both PAHO/ WHO and the US Government have certified the outgoing supplier. Very little adds up, when it comes to this transaction.

3. Urgent – what is the urgency to charge the Guyanese taxpayers three times more per square foot in exchange for the elevation of the associated medical and financial risks by going with the operations in Sussex Street?

Hundreds of millions of dollars in medical supplies are now being exposed to substandard storage conditions, which will cause them to lose their potency. If drugs are stored at the wrong temperature or in the wrong conditions, they can become useless – violation number 3.

THE BIGGER ISSUE Why was Article 220 of the Guyana Constitution framed? To cater for true emergencies such as broken seawalls, flooding, and other such related activities. It was never fabricated to facilitate vindictive politics or financial skullduggery. It was framed to provide the government with funds in times of national

emergency and national catastrophes. Those kinds of transactions can easily tick the boxes labeled unavoidable, unforeseen and urgent.

To add salt to a wounded Treasury, the Public Health Minister had the audacity to inform the nation that he has no evidence to substantiate that the relevant tender procedures were followed in the procurement of these services under his watch, because his team unilaterally and arbitrarily sole-sourced this supplier.

The Procurement Act 2003 (PA 2003) unmistakably establishes that the procuring entity may engage in singlesourcing procurement when set conditions are met. The conditions are: 1. The goods/services are only available from a particular supplier who has exclusive rights to the goods/ services being sought. For example – the army might need a specialized piece of equipment urgently for the Bell helicopter from the Bell Company in the USA in the middle of a border situation. In such a situation, we sole-source by going straight to the Bell Company to procure the parts. Such pre-conditions do not apply to this contract with this Sussex Street bond - violation number 4.

2. The service is of a complex nature and is only available from one source. Again, this precondition is not relevant to the Sussex Street bond. I am personally aware of two other establishments in Guyana that have medical supplies storage space, and that are internationally certified violation number 5.

3. Owing to a catastrophic event, there is an urgent need for this service.

Did we in this case have a “seawall” breaking away that urgently needed boulders to save villagers and their crops from further flooding? Again, more evidence as to why this was a gross violation of the procurement laws by the Ministry of Public Health with respect to this financial transaction – violation number 6.

CONCLUSION In conclusion, the buck stops at the President’s desk. Executive vacillation on this matter by His Excellency will just add energy to the terminal infection that is slowly crawling its way into the Ministry of the Presidency. That primitive attempt at asking cabinet colleagues to investigate their fellow cabinet member has all

the ingredients of elitism and medievalism from a different era.

Whatever happened to an independent inquiry? We could have arrived at their conclusion even before they started their “kangaroo” sessions. The boys are circling the wagon in an attempt to prevent the taxpayers from finding out the details of this highly embarrassing fiasco, and in the process, expanding the

depth and breadth of blemish on the Cabinet.

The people voted for good governance and respect for the rule of law in May 2015. We must acknowledge their wishes and munificently work beyond the call of duty to ensure that any attempt at ossification when it comes to financial recklessness, shall be surgically severed from the system, to prevent a repeat of history.

The Public Health

Minister should be ashamed of himself for attempting to pull wool over the people’s eyes on this financially vulgar transaction.

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Thursday August 18, 2016

Kaieteur News

Trump hires ‘street fighter’ in new shakeup of White House campaign Reuters - Republican candidate Donald Trump overhauled his presidential campaign team yesterday for the second time in under two months, hiring the head of a conservative news website to bolster his combative image and try to reverse poor opinion poll numbers.

Trump named Steve Bannon, head of the Breitbart News website, as campaign chief executive officer, a new position. He also promoted senior adviser Kellyanne Conway to the post of campaign manager.

The latest shakeup combines Bannon, a conservative flamethrower, with Conway, a measured, data-driven analyst who might be able to broaden Trump’s appeal to women and independent voters.

It offers Trump’s team a chance to return to the “let Trump be Trump” style practiced by former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski in winning the Republican presidential nomination for the Nov. 8

Donald Trump election.

Lewandowski, ousted in the last campaign reorganisation in June, said on CNN that Bannon was “a street fighter” like himself. A Trump campaign statement announcing the changes touted a Bloomberg Politics article that branded Bannon “the most dangerous political operative in America.”

Whether this style will work in the fight against

Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton is unclear. Trump, a New York real estate developer and former reality TV host, has largely been unable to extend his reach beyond white middle-class voters who pack his rallies.

Trump is behind Clinton in national opinion polls and in many battleground states, potentially facing a big defeat that could also cost Republicans congressional races.

Trump, who relishes revving up crowds with offthe-cuff remarks, drew criticism for comments insulting women, Muslims and Mexican immigrants during the primary campaign for the Republican nomination.

Since then, he has faced a barrage of criticism from Republicans over his campaign style and his refusal to stick to a policy message.

In particular, he has been rebuked for his prolonged feud with the family of a Muslim U.S. Army captain who was killed in the Iraq war.

Thursday August 18, 2016

Kaieteur News

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Vincentians benefit from two major USAID projects KINGSTOWN, St Vincent — Vincentians are benefitting from a modernized juvenile justice system and are better equipped to adapt to climate change as a result of two major projects supported by the US government through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in collaboration with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

USAID Mission Director for the Eastern and Southern Caribbean, Christopher Cushing, highlighted these developments during a close-out ceremony for the St Vi n c e n t a n d t h e Grenadines phase of the Caribbean regional US$5.8 million “Juvenile Justice Reform Project” and the US$9.5 million “Rallying the Region to Action on Climate Change” project.

Cushing told the

Thursday August 18, 2016

Kaieteur News

gathering that of this US$15.3 million regional investment, the US government provided approximately $1.3 million in assistance to support reform efforts in St Vincent’s juvenile justice sector and $1.5 million to i m p r o v e t h e c o u n t r y ’s resilience to climate change.

Commending the St Vincent and the Grenadines government for improving its juvenile justice system, he praised the local implementing committee for ensuring that programming was integrated across both the public and nongovernmental sector and that the island’s social services department was reorganized to enhance efficiency.

“These accomplishments are exciting, as they demonstrate a willingness to make appropriate changes in

Minister warns road contractors: Quality work or face blacklist

systems and procedures within the context of juvenile justice reform. As a result, the treatment of youth in conflict with the law has vastly improved and greater advocacy for children’s rights and holistic juvenile justice reform exists both at this facility and in the country,” Cushing stated.

He commended the youth present for their willingness to make positive changes that would ultimately benefit their family, community, and country.

To help reform the country’s juvenile justice system and meet international standards, the US envoy noted that the juvenile justice reform project supported the development of a national juvenile justice strategy and a draft child justice bill, which seeks to protect vulnerable children placed before the judicial system.

Venezuela signs $4.5 bln in deals that include Canadian and U.S. miners CARACAS - (Reuters) President Nicolas Maduro said late Tuesday that Venezuela had struck $4.5 billion in mining deals with foreign and domestic companies, part of plan to l i f t t h e O P E C n a t i o n ’s economy out of a deep recession causing food shortages and social unrest.

Maduro said the deals

were with Canadian, South African, U.S. and Venezuelan companies, but did not specify whether contracts had been signed or just initial agreements.

The socialist leader, whose popularity hit a nine-month low in a survey published this week, said he expected $20 billion in mining investment contracts to be signed in coming days and

that 60 percent of the income Venezuela received would be spent on social projects.

Maduro hit back at critics from the left who accuse him of riding roughshod over environmental rules and indigenous rights i n t h e Orinoco mineral belt in Venezuela’s south in his rush to shore up his government’s precarious finances.

Works and Transport Minister, Fitzgerald Hinds, left, along with director of Pure, Hayden Phillip and National Security Minister Edmund Dillon assess a landslip along the Southern Main Road, Chatham. PHOTO: KRISTIAN DE SILVA Trinidad Guardian - Road work contractors can face a blacklist if they submit shoddy work which begin to fall apart before the expiration

- Nicolas Maduro

of 15 to 20 years, says Works and Transport Minister Fitzgerald Hinds.

Maintaining his Government was committed to getting value for money, Hinds said contractors who failed to deliver quality work would not be contracted in the future. He said when roads were repaired, they expected 15 to 20 years of service from them. He said if it meant spending extra time and money to address drainage and other issues, it would be done. “We need to have smooth roads without having to be dancing through

manholes and potholes. In this country, like it happens in other parts of the world, it can be done, it must be done.

So the contractors who come out, they will not be giving us sub-standard work, they will give us quality work, otherwise they won’t get to work for us again,” Hinds said during a tour of Chatham Wednesday. His visit came three months after Chatham residents protested for repairs to a landslip that threatened to cut them off from the rest of the country.

Hinds told residents that work would begin before the end of next month. But that news was somewhat subdued as when Hinds and Point Fortin MP Edmund Dillon visited the community yesterday, four new landslips had developed along the Southern Main Road.

Promising those slippages will also be repaired, Hinds said assessments would have to be done first and contracts issued. However, he again stressed that the country did not generate the amount of revenues it did when oil and gas prices were high.

Thursday August 18, 2016

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South Africa enters awkward coalition era after ANC domination Reuters - Gladys Sithole had voted for the ruling African National Congress (ANC) ever since its longjailed former leader Nelson Mandela swept to power in South Africa at the end of apartheid 22 years ago.

She did not expect much in return, just a toilet.

Standing in the doorway of her house in Atteridgeville near Pretoria and wrapped in a blanket against the cold, she explained the sea change

among ANC supporters in local elections on Aug 3 which nudged South Africa from post-apartheid oneparty ANC rule into a new era of uneasy coalitions.

“The ANC promised us many things when they freed us but those things haven’t happened,” the 64-year-old said at the three-room home she shares with her frail husband and unemployed son in one of the townships blacks were confined to by apartheid. She is pinning

her hopes on the Democratic Alliance (DA), formerly the preserve of S o u t h A f r i c a ’s w h i t e minority, while others in Atteridgeville support the Economic Freedom Fighters, a radical party vowing to shift wealth from whites to blacks.

The ANC still scored the most votes across the country but failed to win an

outright majority in key urban municipalities, which means all three major parties are now scrambling to build coalitions, by an official deadline of Saturday.

It is a type of politics South Africa has little experience of, requiring compromises so great they threaten to dash the hopes of voters whose patience

with politicians is wearing thin.

Successful opposition coalitions could show that the ANC’s rivals can run local councils, strengthening their credentials to unseat the ANC nationally in 2019.

But they may a l s o descend into wrangling, slowing decision-making or triggering new elections at a time when Africa’s most

industrialised country teeters on the verge of recession.

“No one really knows what’s going on. It’s confusing,” said 20-year-old student Wiseman Siyabonga, who stayed loyal to the ANC because of education and housing grants he benefits from. “The thing with coalitions is no one gets who they voted for.”

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Kaieteur News

Digicel is main sponsor of Europe’s top Olympic official ...

Boyce and Jefford Classic VII - Record number of athletes registered to compete Telecommunications giant, Digicel, yesterday announced that it is the main sponsor of the Boyce and Jefford Track and Field Classic VII at which a record number of 178 athletes are registered to compete on August 27-28 at the MSC Ground, Linden.

Digicel’s Events and Sponsorship Executive, Lounna Abrams commended the organisers for making the event a continued success, and providing an avenue for sports and youth to be developed. Digicel has been the main sponsor of the event since 2010.

“We would like to thank the organisers for once again having Digicel on board to sponsor this event, which is central to our company’s mandate of youth and community development and we try to do that through sport,” Abrams said.

“We’ve done a lot of work in the community of Linden, and we will continue to give our support to this competition and to Linden. We are pleased to be the sole telecommunications sponsor of the Boyce and Jefford Track and Field Classic,” she added. Chairman of the Boyce and Jefford Committee, Colin Boyce thanked Digicel for their continued support, and for believing in

the event from the start. Boyce also took the opportunity to update the media on preparations for the seventh edition of Guyana’s most lucrative athletics Championships.

He said that a record number of 178 athletes are scheduled to take part in the international event, which also includes the participation of four countries from the Caribbean and the United States of America. Locally, five clubs are registered to compete for the $1 Million first place prize. Those clubs are The Guyana Defence Force (GDF), The Police Progressive Youth Club, Super Upcoming Runners, Mercury Fast Laners, and Linden Combined Team. Olympian, Winston George, who recently represented Guyana in the men’s 400m in Rio, Brazil, is expected to be on show. Also present at the ceremony held at the company’s Headquarters in Barrack Street, Kingston was Digicel’s Communications Manager, Vidya Sanchara and Boyce & Jefford Co-Chairman, Edison Jefford. Approximately $3 Million in cash will be up for grabs, which includes the prize money for the top four clubs, eight individual international events, the male and female media races and the Masters’ 60 metre dash and ‘Champion Athletes’ prize.

Thursday August 18, 2016 ARIES (Mar. 21- April 20) Try to avoid any drastic decisions concerning personal legal matters.

Don't allow your lover to take advantage of your good nature.

TAURUS (Apr. 21may 21) Empty promises are evident. Your home environment may be volatile if precautions aren't taken. Stay calm and focus on things that will help you und e r s t a n d t h e situation better.

GEMINI (May 22June 21) You may be overreacting to personal problems. Talk to someone you trust in order to see the whole picture.

CANCER (JUNE 22JULY 22) The talk you have may be eye-opening with regard to your present situation. You may as well work on projects that will allow you to make progress.

LEO (July 23-Aug 22) Don't hesitate to sign up for lectures or seminars that will enlighten you.

VIRGO (Aug. 23 Sept. 23) A passionate party for two might be just the remedy. Pamper yourself today. Don't argue with family.

LIBRA (Sept. 24 -Oct. 23) Groups and organizations that indulge in social events to raise money will be conducive to meeting new and exciting lovers.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24 Nov. 22) If your lover tries to curtail your freedom, it may lead to conflict. Visit those less fortunate than your self; be sure to help them with their personal problems.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23 -Dec. 21) You can raise your standard of living if you pick up some freelance work on the side. Avoid being overly opinionated or you will alienate friends.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22.- Jan. 20) Rely on yourself and you will look good to superiors. Spend some quality time with the one you love. Your talents will shine at work.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 21 Feb. 19) Difficulties with your mate may lead to isolation. You could be misinterpreted if you're not careful.

PISCES (Feb. 20-Mar. 20) You'll be able to discuss your ambitions with your mate. Children may be difficult to deal with. Don't get involved in uncertain financial ventures.

European Olympic Committees (EOC) President Patrick Hickey (L), International Olympic Committee President (IOC) Thomas Bach (C) and President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) Alfons Hoermann arrive for a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the... (REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach) From page 27 the IOC’s coordination commission for the Rio Games, the body in charge of overseeing preparations for the first Olympics held in South America.

It was not immediately

clear why he needed to be taken to hospital. A police spokesman was quoted by Ireland’s RTE as saying it was a precautionary measure.

His arrest comes after police last week detained a director of international

sports hospitality company THG Sports, Kevin Mallon, and a translator employed by the company, alleging that they could have made 10 million reais ($3 million) from buying tickets and reselling them at a higher price.

A Brazilian judge on Monday also ordered the arrest of four more THG Sports executives on accusations of fraudulent ticket sales at the Olympics.

A police spokesman, however, said the four men could not be detained because they were not in Brazil.

THG has rejected the accusations against the company and Mallon, saying that more than 1,000 tickets seized by police were being held legally on behalf of authorized Irish reseller Pro 10 and criticizing local Olympic organizers.

Hickey is a former judoka and is honorary life president of the Irish Judo Federation.

He has been head of the OCI since 1989. In 2015, he led the first European Games organized by the EOC in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Port Mourant Jaguars win ...

From page 29 Chandradatt and Sherwin Felix. A number of sponsors were also recognized for supporting the event including Tropical Auto Sales, Mahen Trading, Vishal & Daughters Gas Station, Ronald Singh Sawmill, Jerry’s Store, Shafella Sawmill, V.P. Baichan, Deckers, Gamandy’s Hard Ware Store, Shanta’s Store and Avinash Gas Station #70 village.

The activity was coordinated by BVA president and National Coach Levi Nedd.

(Samuel Whyte)

Thursday August 18, 2016

Brazil rout Honduras 6-0 to reach football final

Neymar of Brazil controls the ball before scoring as Allans Vargas of Honduras looks on. (REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger) RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) Neymar scored a brace, including the fastest goal in Olympic history, Gabriel Jesus got two more and Marquinhos and Luan added one each as Brazil swept past Honduras 6-0 into the final of the men’s Olympic tournament yesterday.

The home side, playing in front of a packed Maracana stadium and desperately seeking the only international title they have yet to win, got off to the perfect start by scoring after just 15 seconds.

Honduras knocked the ball back from the kick-off, but Neymar caught Johnny Palacios in possession on the edge of the box and bravely

challenged the keeper to bundle the ball into the net.

The goal got the famously fickle Brazil fans behind the home side and Gabriel Jesus doubled the score in 26 minutes. Luan freed the new Manchester City signing from the offside trap, and his assured finish went under the advancing keeper from 18 yards.

The same player made it three eight minutes later, when he ran onto a superb 30yard pass from Neymar to lift the ball over the keeper and into the roof of the net.

Marquinhos got a fourth in 51 minutes, which he hammered home from three yards at the second attempt

when the ball fell kindly to him at a corner.

Luan got the goal his hard work deserved 12 minutes from time, side-footing the ball home from close in after nice set-up work from Gabriel Barbosa and substitute Felipe Anderson. Neymar made it six when he calmly slotted home a penalty in the final minute after Luan was upended.

The win raises the tantalizing possibility of a Brazil-Germany final, and a repeat of the 2014 World Cup semi-final in which Germany hammered the host nation 71.

Brazil will play Germany who beat Nigeria 2-0 yesterday in Saturday’s final.

Europe’s top Olympic official arrested in ticketing probe at Rio Games RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) Brazilian police arrested Europe’s top Olympic official in an early morning raid of his beachfront hotel in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, in connection with an investigation into ticket touting at the Olympics.

The police said they had discovered evidence linking 71-year-old Irishman Pat Hickey to an international scheme to illegally pass Olympic tickets to touts who were reselling them at well above their original price.

Hickey was detained at the hotel Windsor Marapendi near the Olympic Park and taken to a nearby hospital after his arrest. An online video, credited to ESPN, showed Hickey being apprehended and led away in a white bathrobe.

He later temporarily stepped down from his

position as executive board member on the International Olympic Committee, president of the European Olympic Committee and vicepresident of the Association of National Olympic Committees.

The Olympic Council of Ireland said Hickey, its president, was stepping aside from all his Olympic functions until the matter was fully resolved. Hickey did not respond to calls for comment.

“Let’s wait and see what the allegations regarding Mr Hickey are,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams told reporters.

“We have full confidence in the system. Everybody is innocent until proven guilty.”

Adams said the allegations concerned 1,000 tickets out of a total of 6.5 million that were made available for the Rio games.

Police have not

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questioned any other IOC officials, Adams said, adding that the body was ready to provide any assistance in the investigation to the authorities in Brazil.

TICKET VIGILANCE Ticket touting is illegal in Brazil and police and prosecutors have stepped up their vigilance of the practice since the country has hosted the globe’s two biggest sporting events, the 2014 World Cup and now the Olympics.

During the World Cup, police arrested high-level figures of the official Cup corporate hospitality provider for funneling tickets to touters. At that time, authorities estimated the touting ring was making 1 million reais ($310,000) per match.

Hickey was a member of (Continued on page 26)

3rd Rock/ GT Beer Open basketball finals decided

Raiders halt Kwakwani 66-56, Royals trounce Bulls 67-49 to meet in Saturday’s final Top rated Retrieve Raiders stopped outsiders Kwakwani by a ten point margin, 66-56, and third ranked Victory Valley Royals downed second seed Half Mile Bulls 67-49 in their semifinal matches of the 3rd Rock Entertainment GT Beer Open basketball championship, which were played last Sunday night at the Mackenzie Sports Club hard court.

Playing in the first game the Raiders, who benefitted from their number one ranking to gain a passage into the semifinals, proved too much for the Kwakwani side which had threatened with their crop of enterprising players to upset the rankings by reaching this year’s final; after playing exciting basketball in their two previous matches.

However, the Raiders would have none of it and kept their high ranking intact after taking a 15-8 first quarter lead, even as Kwakwani were able to outscore the Raiders 19-17 in the second quarter but trailed 27-32 when the half time whistle came.

Raiders would continue their better ball distribution to edge their counterparts 18-14 in the third quarter for a 48-42 score and then again having the edge 18-14 to come away in the final quarter to win by ten points (66-56).

This win was possible through the inside presence of Omally Sampson who notched up a game high 20

Omally Sampson of Retrieve Raiders points as Neil Marks, the former national forward and current guard Keiron Cameron had 11 points apiece and Deron Montrose seven.

The top players for the Kwakwani side once again were, Evans Johnson with 18 points, Henry Gladstone got 21, Dwight Douglas 13 and Leonard Primo 11.

In the second game Royals outplayed Bulls for a 16-8 first stanza lead and still held sway with a 13-12 run in the second quarter to remain ahead 29-20. However, while the Bulls would outscore the roayls16-12 in the third quarter, but the Royals ended the first half leading 29-20. Royals’ dominance continued

through the third quarter as they were up. But the Royals came back strong in the third quarter outscoring the Bulls 16-12, but trailed when the third period ended 36-41.

The Royals then upped the ante and with a 26-13 final strait performance won handsomely 67-49 as forwards Orlando Glasgow finished with 27 points, Trevor Proffitt had 13 and Harold Adams added eight to lead their charge.

For the losing Bulls, Terron Welch scored 17 points, Kevin Easton 11 and Dennis Niles was held to six points.

The previous night, Bulls ensured their place in the semifinals by disposing of Block22 Flames 78-34 to reach the semifinals with Welch scoring 24 points and Niles 13 with Cleon Johnson and Stephan Cameron each getting eight pints.

In the other game last Saturday night, Kwakwani blew away Bankers Trust Falcons 120-74 to advance to the semifinals with Evans Johnson scoring 24 points, Dwight Douglas 17 and Leonard Primo 14.

The Falcons best scorers were Devon Thompson with 21 points, Akeel Primo got 18 and Thornton Wilson 10.

The final is set for this Saturday where the first game will see the third place playoff between the Bulls and Kwakwani and then the final between Raiders and Royals.

2016 North American & Caribbean Powerlifting Championships

Andrea Smith cops bronze in 63kg Open category; Mars and Erwyn Smith in action today Guyana’s Andrea Alicia Smith despite a back injury, powered her way to the bronze medal in the Women’s 63kg Open category at the 14th Annual IPF/NAPF North American Regional Powerlifting Championships and the 9th IPF/NAPF Caribbean Regional Championships currently underway at the Renaissance Hotel Carambola Beach Resort in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.

Smith was third best to the Puerto Rico duo of Mariselys Chaparro and Genesse Caldero who won the gold and silver medals respectively.

The leading Guyanese power lifter returned a total of 335.0kg to land the bronze medal with Chaparro’s 420.0kg earning her the gold and Caldero’s 407.5kg giving her the silver.

Smith’s intention was to

also challenge for the championship records in the three lifts but this was not possible due to the back injury; however she still did her country and self proud by taking the bronze.

Her best squat was 135kg; bench press 67.5kg with a best deadlift of 132.5 for a total of 335kg.

Guyana’s two other competitors at the championships, Erwyn Smith

and Karel Mars will both be in action today in the Men’s 93kg and 105kg Open Divisions respectively.

Smith will come up against Puerto Rico’s Nelson Viera and Trinidad and Tobago’s Anthony Keith and Marlon Belfon.

Mars will come against long time rival from Trinidad and Tobago, Adrian Brown and his countryman, Rondel Hunte. (Franklin Wilson)

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CONFL

Thursday August 18, 2016

Windies playing for pride, hunt first win against India in 14 years

By Sean Devers in Trinidad In association with Lifetime Real Estate & Cascadia Hotel Today at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain, West Indies hunt their first Test match victory against India in 14 years and having already lost this series, will be playing for pride and personal glory when they face India in the fourth and final Test at a venue which hosted Test cricket on matting pitches until 1954.

West Indies won the inaugural series between the two sides in India in 1948, 1nil but have not won a match against India since 2002 when they won 2-1 in a 5-Test series on India’s eighth tour of the Caribbean.

Skipper Carl Hooper and Shiv Chanderpaul scored three tons each with Hooper making his only Test double century at Bourda. That win remains their most significant series win this millennium.

The last time India toured the Caribbean for a Test series was in 2011 when they won the 3-Test series 1-nill. The teams have played 93 Tests, with West Indies winning 30, losing 18 and drawing 45.

India won the opening

Alzarri Joseph in his delivery stride, West Indies v India, 3rd Test, Gros Islet, 2nd day, August 10, 2016 ©Associated Press Test in Antigua by and innings & 92 runs but an unbroken century seventh wicket stand between Skipper Jason Holder (64*) and 137 by debutant Roston Chase who

also captured 5-121, saw the hosts to an honorable draw in Jamaica.

But West Indies were back to their inconsistent ways in the next Test at the

Conceicao secures golden first for Brazil RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) Lightweight Robson Conceicao won Brazil’s first ever Olympic boxing gold medal on Tuesday, with a raucous home crowd roaring him on to a unanimous points victory over French opponent Sofiane Oumiha.

Oumiha, greeted upon his entrance by loud boos from fans who continued to wave Brazilian flags and crank up the volume throughout the bout, took the silver.

Cuban top seed and 2012 bantamweight bronze medalist Lazaro Alvarez, beaten by the Brazilian in the semi-finals, and Mongolia’s Otgondalai Dorjnyambuu won bronze.

Conceicao, from Salvador in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia, was on top from the opening bell, his every punch met with roars of approval from a soccerstyle crowd that dwarfed the meager turnout for Monday’s

heavyweight final.

With chants of ‘Brazil, Brazil’ echoing around the arena, the 27-year-old claimed the first two rounds on all three judges’ scorecards.

The man in the red corner even turned crowd-pleaser in the second — dropping his guard and showboating, with the odd feint thrown in — before Oumiha came back stronger in the third.

By then, the fight was as good as won and the judges would have had a riot on their hands had the gold gone to anyone but the Brazilian.

“This is the most incredible moment,” he told reporters. “I am Olympic champion, my life has changed forever.

“I had a very difficult childhood, I had a very complicated start in boxing with no support at all ... and today I’m an Olympic champion.

“I knew I had to come after him, because he is so

good on the counter-attack and there was no way I wouldn’t be punched,” he said of his tactics. “So, the goal was to receive one punch, and then land three or four on him.” Conceicao raised his fist to acknowledge the crowd’s support long before the referee formally lifted it to declare him the winner. As he stood on the podium with the gold around his neck, after embracing his family, the crowd stood and sang the national anthem.

Brazil won three boxing medals at the 2012 London Games, their first in the ring in 42 years, with Esquiva Falcao Florentino’s middleweight silver their best performance until Tuesday.

“It was magnificent,” Oumiha, whose medal was France’s first in boxing since 2008, said of the atmosphere.

“I was expecting it, we talked about it with the coach, but what an experience.

“We showed each other mutual respect and it was a good fight. It takes two to make a good fight,” he added “I tried to give it my best shot but at the end of the day he was the better boxer.

“He had his whole country behind him, it would have been the same for me in France.”

Darren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia. They lost by 237 runs with over a session to spare despite the loss of an entire day due to rain and a sixwicket haul from pacer Miguel Cummings when India were looking the score quickly and declare.

Today India has five batsmen with three figure scores and averages over 50.

Off-spinner Ravi Ashwin has scored all of his four tons against West Indies with two of them coming in this series.

Skipper Virat Kohli scored his maiden double century in this series, while Ajinka Rahani, Lokesh Rahul and Wicketkeeper Saha are the other Indians to register tons.

India’s batting is powerful and have made 566-8 declared in the first Test, 500-9 declared in the second and 353 in the third, while the West Indies’ highest Total was 388-6 when they batted out 104 overs to draw the Jamaica Test.

Although Ashwin has the most wickets (16), pacers Mohammed Shami (11), Umash Yadav and Ishant Sharma have all bowled with pace and control, while Amit Mishra could also play a role on a track which traditionally assists the spinners.

Roston Chase’s unbeaten

137 is the only three-figure score from a West Indian but his other five innings produced just 53 runs. No home team batsman reached 200 runs despite two fifties each from Jermaine Blackwood (146), Shane Dowrich (168) and Kraigg Braithwaite (168).

Holder, Samuels, Bravo and new t20 Captain Carlos Braithwaite were the other West Indians to make halfcenturies but Carlos made a duck and 51 in his only game, while Bravo and Samuels, who will retire from Test cricket at the end of this series, are the most experienced batsmen but were also the most inconsistent.

Samuels made 148 runs from six innings at an average of below 25 and it would not be surprising if he is replaced in the side. Kraigg Braithwaite has wonderful Test match temperament but his flawed technique of playing around the ball has often gotten him into problems.

Bravo is the biggest disappointment. Mid-way through his career he showed the promise to play the ‘Brain Lara’ role in the team but after 45 Tests his average is 39.96 with just seven centuries and

15 fifties.

Leon Johnson finally got his chance after surprisingly being ignored after making 44 and a half-century in his last Test match in South Africa. He was forced to open after making the most runs at the Regional level, batting in the middle order for Guyana, a team he led to consecutive First-Class titles.

His scores of 23 and duck was not a performance he would want to write home about but he has leadership ability and would be the best person to lead the Test side.

But first he needs to cement his place in the side and the left-hander has a great opportunity of doing that with a couple of big scores here, preferable a ton.

West Indies U-19 quickie Alzarri Joseph is genuinely fast and adds fire power to the pace attack which comprises Shannon Gabriel and Cummins. Holder, one of seven Bajans in the squad and who will not make every Test team if he was not the captain, could lend medium pace support.

Chase should do the bulk of the bowling while legspinner Devendra Bishoo could be brought back on this track.

Herath wrecks Australia, Sri Lanka sweep series (Reuters) Sri Lanka completed a rare 3-0 sweep over Australia after left-arm spinner Rangana Herath spun the hosts to a comprehensive 163-run victory in the final test in Colombo on Wednesday.

Chasing 324 in a bid to salvage some pride, Australia surrendered to Herath’s guile and folded for 160 before tea to lose their number one ranking to India and slip to third place behind Pakistan.

Herath (7-64) claimed a 13wicket match haul to bag the man-of-the-match award while his 28 wickets from three tests also made him the obvious choice for the manof-the-series award.

“What a fantastic moment,” home captain Angelo Mathews said after lifting the WarneMuralitharan trophy.

“Credit to Herath, for doing his thing. You just can’t keep him away from the game.

“He had a groin strain, he couldn’t run, he couldn’t jump. He was fantastic with one leg. One leg was enough for him to have a bowl on this type of wicket.”

Sri Lanka batted for 4.3 overs in the morning to add 35 runs to their overnight score of 312 for eight before declaring.

IMPROBABLE TARGET Set an improbable victory target on a final day track, Australia needed a good start and the tourists got that from David Warner and Shaun Marsh who raised 77 runs, the highest opening partnership in the low-scoring series.

Off-spinner Dilruwan Perera dismissed Marsh for 23 when the batsman defended a delivery and Kusal Mendis thrust out his hands at forward short leg to parry the ball and twisted his body backwards to complete a stunning catch.

Warner brought up his first fifty of the series after lunch before the wheels c a m e o ff A u s t r a l i a ’s challenge with Herath striking a double blow in his 10th over.

The wily left-arm spinner bowled rival skipper Steve Smith (8) for the fifth time in six innings with the first delivery of the over and trapped Adam Voges leg-

before with the last.

Perera cut short Warner’s fluent innings at 68, bowling the southpaw around his legs in a dismissal that was a microcosm of the series in which the Sri Lankan spinners tormented the touring batsmen on tracks that suited them.

After Moises Henriques ran himself out, Herath mowed down the Australian lower order to complete the whitewash.

“It’s been a tough series,” Smith said after Australia exposed their spin frailties and slumped to their ninth consecutive test defeat in Asia.

“We’ve been outplayed in all three matches in this series. I think Sri Lanka have played some great cricket over this series. Disappointing but a big learning curve for the guys as well.”

The teams will now compete in a five-match oneday series beginning in Colombo on Sunday.

Scores: Sri Lanka 355 (Chandimal 132, de Silva 129, Starc 5-63, Lyon 3-110) and 347 for 8 dec (Silva 115, de Silva 65*, Lyon 4-123) beat Australia 379 (S Marsh 130, Smith 119, M Marsh 53, Herath 6-81) and 160 (Warner 68, Herath 7-64) by 163 runs.

Thursday August 18, 2016

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CARIBBEAN BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS 2016 STARTS TODAY IN ARUBA The Guyana Badminton Association Four-Member Junior Team is attending the Caribbean Juniors C h a m p i o n s h i p s (CAREBACO) in Aruba August 18-25, 2016.

This Championship is divided into three tournaments namely, CAREBACO Under-19 International (Open for all International Players) – Aug. 18-21 CAREBACO Under-19 Team Championships (Open only to CAREBACO Members) – Aug. 22-24 CAREBACO Under-15 & 19 Championships (Open only to CAREBACO Members) – Aug. 24-25 Guyana will be represented by SUNBURST & Junior Sportsman of the Year Narayan Ramdhani in the Under-19 International Events playing in Singles and seeded No.1, Doubles

with Jonathan Mangra, where they are both seeded No. 2 and Mix Doubles with Priyanna Ramdhani. Both Priyanna & Jonathan will play in the Singles events also.

I n t h e Te a m a n d Individual Under-19 Championships, Narayan Ramdhani, Jonathan Mangra, Priyanna Ramdhani & Ambika Ramraj will play in the Singles, Doubles and Mix Doubles Events.

Priyanna Ramdhani will also play in the Under-15 Championships.

The Team is expected to do well and are aiming to medal again for the 6th year.

The GBA would like to thank Mohamed’s Enterprise, Republic Bank, NSC, BK International, Hand in Hand Insurance, Crown Mining, Gio Tech and Cosmopolitan Trading for their assistance.

Port Mourant Jaguars win Corriverton Jets volleyball competition The Port Mourant Jaguars stalked their opponents before going in for the kill to take top spot in the Corriverton Jets Volleyball competition organised by the Berbice Volleyball Association (BVA) and held on Sunday last at the Skeldon Line Path ground.

In the final the Jaguars had a tough time before settling down to roll over the Rollers Volleyball Club of New Amsterdam 21-18.

In all a total of 16 teams participated in the day’s competition which ended at twilight. There were three different categories with play in the male senior, women and junior males.

The male teams were Port Mourant Jaguars, Port Mourant Training School 1, GTCPM 1, GTCMP 2 Rollers Volleyball club, Corriverton Jets and No 52 Survivals.

Four teams participated in the female category with teams from the Corentyne River areas making sure that their lengthy travel to the coast for the competition was not in vain as they dominated proceedings. In

the final Siparuta adjusted well to defeated neighbours and arch rivals Orealla 1511, 15-11 for a 2-0 win.

The other female teams that participated were Port Mourant female and Corriverton Jets.

The junior male category s a w O r e a l l a Yo u t h s defeating No52 Survivors of The Corentyne 21-19 in the final to take top honours in the five team competition.

The others that took part in that segment were Tain Humanitarian GTCPM and Corriverton Jets.

The outstanding individual players were also recognised among them were- The senior male category which saw Surendra Motipersaud of Port Mourant Jaguars being voted the MVP. The female category saw a number of players being recognized for their performances, including Candacy Mentore, Carmen Vadenburg, Sherryanne Felix, Sheliza Edwards and Rhonda Felix.

Among the junior males were - Samuel Jordan, Levi Nedd Jr, Torrand (Continued on page 26)

Gokarn Ramdhani (centre) and the players competing in the Aruba event.

Kaieteur News

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Thursday August 18, 2016

Athletics-Kenya’s Kipruto wins men’s 3,000m steeplechase RIO DE JANEIRO (Reute r s ) K e n y a ’s Conseslus Kipruto stormed to a dominant v i c t o r y i n t h e m e n ’s 3,000 meter steeplechase f i n a l o n We d n e s d a y, ensuring the East African nation maintained its iron grip on the event it has won in every Games since 1984.

The 21-year-old had long been touted as the young pretender to Ke n y a ’s s t e e p l e c h a s e c r o w n b u t he produced a final lap sprint that saw him grab gold in an Olympic record of 8 minutes 3.28 seconds. A winner of two silver world championship medals, Kipruto was so far ahead of his rivals that he started celebrating and waving to the crowd at the start of the final straight.

“Even before the race I knew I would win,” said Kipruto, who also revealed he had s u f f e r e d a c alf injury days earlier. The victory was the first time in a major competition that

K i p r u t o h a d d e f eated Kenya’s double Olympic champion Ezekiel Kemboi, who announced his retirement after grabbing a bronze. Kipruto thanked 34-ye a r- o l d Kemboi for inspiring him over the years and promised to work hard to ensure Kenya’s record of w i n n i n g c o n s e c u t ive Olympic gold medals in the 3,000m steeplechase.

“I’m ready to take up the mantle,” he said.

The African nation has now won every 3,000m steeplechase final it has competed in since 1 9 6 8 , having boycotted the 1976 and 1980 Olympics for political reasons. Evan Jager won a rare medal for the United States in the race - their first since 1984 - after overtaking Kemboi in the last 50m to take silver.

“I just tried to stay as relaxed as I possibly could and hang on to Kemboi. He kinda looked back at me...on the back stretch, and I knew at

Conseslus Kipruto of Kenya celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the race. ( REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson) that moment I might have him,” Jager said. “That was total joy.” Kemboi, who won his fourth steeplechase

world championship in a row last year, is Kenya’s most decorated athlete and his bronze at Rio saw him

become the oldest steeplechase medalist in Olympic history.

“After 18 years I

have done my best,” said Kemboi, who won gold at the Athens and London Games.

Thursday August 18, 2016

Kaieteur News

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GTTA names National Pre-Cadet Team - Association appeals for corporate support The Executive Committee of the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) has selected some of the next generation of their most talented, disciplined and brightest prospects to represent Guyana at the prestigious 2016 Caribbean Pre-Cadet T a b l e T e n n i s Championships, scheduled for August 21 -29 at the National Arena, Kingston, Jamaica.

The Caribbean PreCadet Championships engages players between ages 11 and 13 years and according to a GTTA Press Release is a signature tournament on their calendar of events, since it forms the basis for regional supremacy and the commencement of the journey of many of their young talents into the international arena.

Additionally, it serves to

provide the basis for the technical and tactical development of players in addition to providing the opportunity for players to win medals, match and assess their skills with other Caribbean counterparts.

The team has been undergoing training under the tutelage of Linden Johnson, Dwain Dick and Xenophon Goliath with a structured and rigid training programme aimed at having them perform optimally at this tournament.

“It is therefore our feeling that Guyana’s team with the calibre of players enlisted has a very good chance of winning regional t i t l e s a t t h e s e Championships,” the release said.

Competition will be amongst countries such as Puerto Rico, Barbados, Aruba, Jamaica, St Lucia

Tr i n i d a d and Tobago, Dominican Republic and French G u i a n a a m o n g others. Guyana’s Table Tennis has had a rich tradition of winning regional honours.

The association has commenced planning its activities on a 4-6 years cyclical basis and sees the players named here as their next prospects to transition as possible representatives of Guyana at regional and international tournaments and Junior Olympics.

It is therefore critical they are provided with the requisite exposure in view of realising their true potential. Further tournaments such as these represent a pathway they have to take in order to achieve the ranking in the next 4- 6 years, the release noted.

The team named include: Boys: Dhanesh

Nevaeh Clarkston Persaud, Colin Wong, Krystian Sahadeo, Alexander De Abreu, Kaysan Ninvalle, Isaiah Layne, Niran Bissu and Veeshan Deo. Girls: Nevaeh Clarkston, Abigale Martin and Thuraia Thomas.

President of the GTTA, Godfrey Munroe yesterday appealed to the corporate community for the necessary support to send the team to Jamaica.

Kaysan Ninvalle

t r o Sp Digicel is main sponsor of Andrea Smith Boyce and Jefford Classic VII cops bronze - Record number of athletes registered to compete in 63kg Open category

2016 North American & Caribbean Powerlifting Championships

P.30

P.31

- Mars and Erwyn Smith in action today

Digicel’s Communications Manager, Vidya Sanchara (second, right) hands over the sponsorship package to Chairman of the Boyce and Jefford Committee, Colin Boyce, while Digicel’s Events and Sponsorship Executive, Louanna Abrams (left) and Edison Jefford also share the moment.

Thompson wins 200 metres gold P.31

Andrea Smith proudly displays the Golden Arrowhead following her bronze medal performance.

Herath wrecks Australia, Sri Lanka sweep series P.32

Windies playing for pride, hunt first win against India in 14 years

P.32

Elaine Thompson (JAM) of Jamaica crosses the finish line ahead of Dafne Schippers to win the gold. (REUTERS)

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