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Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris A. A. Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

EDITORIAL When issues do not matter On his recent trip to Atlanta, President David Granger had asked members of a PNC group to commit to the ideals of the party’s founder, Forbes Burnham, and to help his government win the 2020 general elections. The reason is that the euphoria that brought the coalition to power in 2015 has dwindled due largely to arrogance, indecisiveness, scandals and unfulfilled promises. It seems that the government is confused, slow to act and is incapable to defend itself against the criticism levied against it by the opposition. Although 2020 seems far away, winning the election is likely to be an uphill task for the coalition, given the fact that the seven parties that formed the coalition in 2015 have defeated the PPP by only 4,506 votes. Prior to the election, many had viewed the PPP government as arrogant, corrupt, vile and abusive to its opponents. And while Mr. Granger was seen as a purist and a leader with the highest integrity and Mr. Nagamootoo was considered the most well-known politician in the country, yet the coalition won by only a one-seat in Parliament. This was clear evidence that issues never dictated elections outcome in Guyana. Yet we are trying to make issues crucial to the 2020 elections. In government for more than two years and faced with several scandals such as the drug bond fiasco, the controversial trip to China, the huge increase in ministerial salary and the perception that some members of the cabinet are arrogant, elitist, aloof and corrupt, people opposed to the coalition are proposing that these are the things that could make it difficult for the coalition to win. The reality is that everything boils down to the race vote. Based on the last census in 2010, the voting population of Indo-Guyanese population is 38 percent and 32 percent for Afro-Guyanese. In past elections, approximately five percent of Indo-Guyanese have voted for the PNC, which means that the percentage of PPP support would reduce to 33 percent. But an even greater percentage of Afro-Guyanese either do not vote or vote for a party other than the afro-based PNC. Roughly eight percent of Afro-Guyanese have voted for the PPP in the past. The mixed races comprise 19 percent of the voting population. It is customary for the majority of the mixed race to vote for the APNU/AFC coalition. In this scenario, assuming that everyone votes, 13 percent of the mixed race population is expected to vote for the coalition and six percent for the PPP in 2020. There is also the Amerindian vote. In order for the government to gain a second term, it must implement sound policies to grow the economy, create jobs, reduce poverty and be in touch with the people and not being aloof and arrogant as is currently the case. This is being done but people tend to be blind to the everyday issues of development. The public service has grown by some 3,000 but the man in the street does not see this growth in employment. Construction is continuing although not at the frenetic pace that was once touted. In the past, many people had house lots; today they are homeowners. And while the homes are being constructed, jobs are being created. The people in the sugar belt are not going to support the government. In fact, those who shunned the PPP last time around may very well return. The reality is that the sugar factories that will be closed by then would not be reopened. These people would be no better off than they are today.

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Sunday December 03, 2017

Kaieteur M@ilbox Send your letters to Kaieteur News 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown or email us kaieteurnews@yahoo.com

Grooming of Joseph Harmon for Presidency Dear Editor, As Marcus Aurelius noted: “Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact; everything we see is a perspective, not the truth;” therefore, time will certainly tell us more, as it always does. In relation to my expectation that Minster Joseph Harmon is the heir apparent to become President of Guyana, before the next General Elections or to be the Presidential candidate for the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), in the 2020 General Elections. It’s good to see a friend of mine being groomed to be at the helm of the next administration. The loud clamouring for Harmon’s demise, from many of our esteemed columnists such as Christopher Ram, Anand Goolsarran, GHK Lall (stripes now revealed), Rawle Lucas or the foxlike pronouncements from the AFC, which was best represented by the ill-thought utterances from Minister David Patterson or some might say Alliance for Ministerial Power; have ended in naught, nix and zero or nugatory, as former AG, Anil Nandlall is apt to add. At a press conference in October 2016, our witty and well read “Eyewitness” summarised the following in a Guyana Times column dated October 9, 2016: “When Patterson was questioned as to what was the conclusion of “the pitched

rear-guard action they’d fought after claiming that too much power was accreted into the person of Minister of State, Joe Harmon; Patterson claimed they’d cut him down to size. Pressed further if he’d care to elaborate on exactly what “powers” had been “cut”, Patterson coyly announced he wasn’t one to boast!! And that the evidence was there to see!” Eyewitness, seemingly in defense of Harmon, epitomised: “Eyewitness never really felt Harmon was encroaching on anyone’s turf – least of all the PM. Like all good aide de camps, all he was doing was ensuring that his principal’s instructions were carried out. When slackers – like so many from the AFC camp congenitally are – fell down on the job, Harmon was forced to step in. But because they were showed up for the slackers they were, it bred resentment in the AFC executive… But Patterson thinks he’s being clever to ask reporters to show where Harmon’s now overstepping his remit.” Minister Harmon is surely the best option for the PNCR, the only other PNCR Minister with the gravitas needed for being the President of Guyana is Minister Winston Jordan, however, Winston is not a politician -in the rough meaning and grasp of the word “Politician”; nor is he an integral part of the body politic

of the PNCR. One would have to go deep down the rabbit hole to find a successor, within the ranks of the PNCR, for a serious competitor to Mr. Harmon. A quick segway into the managing of State Owned Corporations in Guyana; I believe that we should follow the policy of the Americans and have the CEO and Chairman structure, where the CEO and Chairman is the same person, as is the case at Corporate Giants such as Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs, James Dimon, JPMorgan Chase and Darren Woods, ExxonMobil, among other global corporate business entities; instead of having the separation of the Chairmanship from the CEO position, as is done in Guyana, for our large stateowned corporations. History in Guyana has shown the latter structure, generally results in a sitting “party” board (no pun intended); which invariably, is a Board of yes men and/or women. At least, when there is corporate failure, you can fire the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (One Person), and allow for the appointment of someone, who does not have either a pre-existing CEO or preexisting Chairman, within the ranks, to challenge the decisions made by the new CEO and Chairman. Nigel Hinds

Sunday December 03, 2017

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Changing the narrative and setting the agenda for the 2020 Elections DEAR EDITOR, I would like to start setting the narrative and agenda for the 2020 Elections which in my view, should be about ‘Creating Value and the Guyanese/Guyana’s Values and Principles’. I spent the past few days pondering on the Stabroek News article ‘AFC must give up gov’t post to save credibility, support – Ramkarran’. In the article, Mr. Ramkarran stated that the AFC party ‘ministers should resign their Cabinet posts and instead serve as watchdog parliamentarians to ensure the fulfilment of election campaign promises’.Further, Mr. Ramkarran stated that ‘while Guyana is not the same country that it was in the 1960s to the 1980s, and the main political parties have changed, there is one constant: the fundamental condition of

Guyanese society for most of its history is the ethnic competition between its major races and this has given rise to the permanent struggle for ethno-political dominance’. As a Guyanese in my 40’s, while I understand both the notion of the fear and the context of Mr. Ramkarran’s recommendations, which may very well gain the AFC more respect from the APNU component of the Government and more support from both its membership and various constituencies, I wonder about the impact such an action could have on an already extremely fragile business and investment environment, on institutions and the Guyanese people. I, therefore disagree with Mr. Ramkarran’s recommendation as a possible solution for Guyana’s politics and as a

possible measure to improve good governance (Enable Constitutional Reform) based on the following reasons. In 2014, the then Opposition parties APNU and AFC, filed a “No Confidence Motion” relative to the then PPP/C Administration, the President then took the decision to prorogue Parliament, these events led to early elections in 2015. The APNU and the AFC then joined forces to contest the 2015 Elections and later became Government. All of these events mentioned have contributed substantially to uncertainty about the stability of Guyanese politics, government, society, and very importantly on its business and investment environment. Irrespective of whether it is the current APNU+AFC Government or the PPP/C, the

time has come for our politicians, political parties, institutions and the people of Guyana to put the 1960’s in the past and focus on how to create value and more value from Guyana and for Guyanese. How can we create more value from our natural resources? How can we create more value from being the only English-speaking country on the South American mainland (In a region with a GDP of US$ 3.9 Trillion and 422 million population)? How can we create more value from our geographic position (with the ninth largest economy and the fifth largest nation in the world as our neighbour – Brazil)? How can we create more value from our cultural and ethnic diversity (so far, we have devalued our diversity)? Why should an investor choose to invest in

Sad! But We Voted for the Very Same Type of Politics DEAR EDITOR, The electorate entrusts us politicians with a level of credibility to look after their best interest. They listen to us as we spill our rhetoric on the plans we have for them based on them electing us. We even go so far as to threaten them by claiming that if they vote for our opponent, their hopes will be dashed and their lives will become a mess. And from time immoral the electorate has believed us. And except for a very few of us, we squander the trust that the electorate places in us. Take the latest political storm that is swirling between the PNC and the AFC, particularly with regards to the arbitrary selection of the aged GECOM Chairman. The coalition promised us that they would not be dogmatic, undemocratic and authoritarian or tone deaf like the PPP. And

for the most part, the voting public believed them. And in droves, the masses voted to break a 23-year grip of the PPP over the country. Even though the PPP/C used all the state assets available to them; even with all the monies that the PPP/C got from businesses and individuals that they had enriched of the years, the Coalition still pulled off an upset victory. But what has happened since that faithful May 2015 event? We have watched in objective horror as the Granger administration succumbed to the exact ills that we saw in the PPP. Over the last twoplus years, the country has observed that what they have voted for is a different kind of the very same type of politics. The victimisations, the shady deals, the single sourcing, the personal enrichments using state funds, the positioning of the electoral system and

state assets to favor the incumbent and the list of nonpatriotic evils go on and on. Ever since the President chose to hastily select the retired Justice James Patterson, there have been calls for the President to rescind the, politically charged and nationally divisive, act. But the President, who was elected based on the nation’s best desires, has refused to budge. Mr. Granger simply refuses to do what just about every objective commentator is pleading with him to do. It is quite obvious that – even in a democracy – he does not care what the masses think. Even within the Coalition, we see personal emails – from the top brass of the AFC – suggesting that this decision does not make for peace and harmony in this divided country. With the leaking of the emails, we see that the United Republican Party (URP) and

the hundreds of other national peace-loving voices were not all wrong and unpatriotic, as the PNC cronies were making us out to be. The fake news was that the PNC was spewing is that the AFC was all in support of this divisive action of the Head of State. Now that the behind the scene facts are rolling out, we have all been proven right in our united call for a squashing of this GECOM appointment. However, like I began to say, the PNC and PPP politicians seem to revel in their ability of squandering the trust that the electorate places in us. It is obvious that Guyana is swiftly becoming – if we have not already become – an elected dictatorship. However, the electorate is gradually becoming wiser, Thank God! Dr. Vishnu Bandhu Leader, URP

Guyana with a 750,000 population instead of in Brazil with 207 million or Nigeria with a 186 million population? One of the reasons should be because we have the potential to become the Singapore of South America. How can we capitalise on the opportunity to become a strong economic, social and environmental leader in the Caribbean? With the recent spate of disasters from the 2017 hurricane season, there is an excellent opportunity for Guyana, for example, due to its geographic positioning (not being vulnerable as some Caribbean Islands); to become the place that offers stability to the region. The narrative therefore for the 2020 Elections must be

less about how the PNC stole ballot boxes and the PPP/C being corrupt, while these issues are important and must be addressed; in 2017, and leading up to 2020, our leadership and as a people, have to focus on value creation. How can we create more value from the various components of the country – people, natural resources and institutions? Two weeks ago, I was travelling to London through Barbados. The flights both going and coming back were packed to capacity with tourists. Sitting at the airport in Barbados waiting on the flight to Guyana, what I saw was unbelievable. Flights kept coming from the USA, (Continued on page 6)

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Closure of Rose Hall and Enmore Estates short-sighted and a crippling blow

Still can’t get a metre after applying two years ago

DEAR EDITOR, The decision by the current APNU-AFC administration to close the Rose Hall and Enmore Sugar Estates is at best shortsighted and at worst, a crippling blow, not only to the affected sugar workers and their families, but the economy as a whole. The dust has not as yet settled from the devastating impact of the closure of the Wales Sugar Estate when a decision was taken to send home hundreds of sugar workers attached to the Rose Hall Estate. This is most insensitive and certainly does not measure up to that of a caring and responsible government. I have always maintained the view that the problems of Guysuco are largely technical and managerial. It is therefore not unsalvagable and, with inputs from key stakeholders such as the representatives of workers, technical and managerial support, and recapitalisation, it could be restored to economic viability. The sugar industry cannot be seen only in business terms. It is the single largest employer of

labour in the country and several other subsidiary economic activities depend on the industry for their survival. The industry still accounts for a major component of the country’s foreign exchange earnings which are so vital for the stability of the local currency. At an even more fundamental level, it remains the lifeline of the economy in terms of employment generation which for over a century have absorbed a critical mass of labour and provided a source of income for a countless number of Guyanese, many of whom would have otherwise been unable to provide for themselves and their families. It is true that the employer (which happens to be State) has invested money in the sugar industry but the workers have, over the several decades, invested their lives and that of their families in the industry. The Government, therefore, has a moral and statutory responsible to explore all possible options to maintain the viability of the industry. The sugar industry should be in a position to

supplement the other sectors including the emerging oil sector and not be supplanted by these sectors. Revenues from the other sectors including mining and anticipated oil and gas revenues should be utilised towards the consolidation and re-tooling of the sugar industry to maximise production and an overall re-positioning of the industry to take full advantage of market share. I am not convinced that with good, effective and aggressive marketing strategies, we cannot find markets for our sugar which incidentally is highly competitive in terms of price and quality. Further, we have to also aggressively pursue other sources of value-added products such as co-generation, ethanol, refined sugar and the sale of molasses locally and overseas. Sugar diversification has been an absymal failure under the previous PNC administration. Experience, it is said, is a great teacher but only if we are willing to learn from the mistakes of the past. Hydar Ally

Recipes for fixing our ‘broken country’ and its ‘broken leadership’ DEAR EDITOR, Stabroek News of Saturday December 2, 2017 carried a letter by Audryanna Thomas titled: “Narrative for 2020 Elections…” and an article by Narcelis Rozema Elkins titled: “Abuse and Broken Leadership” which I found most in-

teresting, topical and obviously very relevant to the bedevilling issues facing our stagnant country. I therefore commend these two brave women and would like to beseech our leaders to pay keen interest and take appropriate action without any procrasti-

nation. There can be no doubt that our apparently permanently divided and ‘broken country’ needs a ‘one- party government’ to provide the kind of self-less leadership that can heal our self-inflicted wounds. The old-style fingerpointing politics and appeals to narrow, selfish interests have proven for far too long that new recipes are required to create the Singaporean style of leadership and development we desperately need in our dear land of Guyana! Nowrang Persaud

DEAR EDITOR, I wish to bring your attention a problem that I have with Guyana Power and Light (GPL). I had a business running at Lot 126 Kingston Road No.79 Village 17 years ago. I eventually closed my business and reported to the G.P.L manager that I wanted the metre to be removed. One week later, she sent a bus and the crew removed it. My house had a separate metre. I had no outstanding payments for GPL. I have applied for a metre at Lot 48 No.76 Housing Scheme since 2015. When I went to GPL, they claimed I owed $160,000 and they cannot give me a meter until I pay out the balance. Mr. Editor, I need a metre for my new house, so that is why I am bringing this matter to your attention. Tnothaima Ramsaroop

Changing the narrative and setting... From page 5 Canada the UK and perhaps other places. The airport was busy, Barbadians were busy. Taxi, car rentals, hotels, Government services; basically, Barbados was doing business, I thought. What I also saw, was a people who had place a huge economic value on their service economy and who understood the value of strong social capital to their business of tourism. There was a consistent ‘flow in behaviour’. The aircrafts came in, the immigration officers processed, the transportation, hotel and other services were flowing as though it was a choreography of some sort. I could not help but wonder how can Guyana have this kind of flow between – individuals, institutions and society? Not necessarily in tourism but as becoming the ‘Singapore of South America’; becoming the business hub for the region. For this to happen, we have to move beyond the 1960’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, etc. and begin to create value. While we are complaining about the Government (whether it be this or previous Governments), not creating employment and it not attracting investment, while we file ‘No Confidence Motions’, prorogue Parliament, have early Elections and now recommend that one party resign from Government; in the same breath, we are saying to investors that Guyana is open for business. There needs to be consistency in our behaviour, if Guyana is open for business then we must be prepared to do business! While the Minister of Business, an AFC member says on the one

hand that Guyana is open for business, the AFC Canada Chapter says that they are withdrawing support from the party; all of this is happening even as investors are taking Guyana seriously and are considering making substantial investments in the country. AFC, APNU and PPP/C, the time has come to create value, real value. We MUST find other ways of resolving our issues without tearing the country apart. AFC, being a part of a coalition government would require more resolve and consistency, and APNU, being a part of a coalition government would require more compromise. Personally, I know at least three ‘investment interests’, that are currently undergoing their scoping phase of Guyana and they have expression two fundamental barriers – corruption and political instability. So why aren’t we working harder on these two areas? Ethno-political dominance while it will provide security or one or the other ethnic group, it would not create value and the environment for investment which is needed to create employment, generate wealth and develop the country. We need to forgive each other and move on. I will start the process by forgiving the PNC Government of the 1960’s, 70’s, 80’s or 90’s and the PPP/C of the 1990’s and 2000’s, for every decision that was made that has contributed to the fear of leadership, distrust of each other and is

holding our country back. Can we start a movement of the citizenry forgiving each other and our leadership, so that we can free ourselves to create value? Finally, when Mr. Ramkarran talks about ‘the depth of fear of Guyanese Indians and others at the perpetual presence of the elephant in the political room, the fear that the APNU will rig the next elections’, I wondered which generation he was talking about? This brings me to another point that is fundamental to us moving forward. The understanding my generation, those under 50, has about the politics of the 60’s and 70’s, while many of us would have read about the PNC, our understanding is different from those of the over 60 generation. Our understanding of the PPP/C is a little more experiential. For the under - 30 generation, the politics of the 60’s 70’s and 80’s and 90’s to some extent, is even more vague; therefore even as we analyse the fear of leadership, we also need to look at it in a generational context and relevance. Despite our past, we need to find a way to move forward; the world’s economy is US$100 trillion, how can we position Guyana in this economy by creating more value? I also believe that the next government should be a one party government with the selfless mission to fix this very broken country. Yours faithfully, Audreyanna Thomas

Sunday December 03, 2017

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Bright spots in 2018 Budget too few and too far apart DEAREDITOR The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) has considered the 2018 National Budget presented by Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan on November 27, 2017. The Federation was expressly disappointed to conclude that the Budget largely failed to live up to the high expectations of the working-people who looked forward to measures that would have lessened the burdens they are made to fetch now-a-days. Such expectations, undoubtedly, were heightened by the cheery, colourful billboards and the many advertisements that have appeared in the electronic media to promote the Budget. At this time, too, the FITUG cannot also fail to express its deep regret that despite what we felt were fair and reasonable suggestions advanced to the Minister during the Budget consultations, just one was positively considered. We felt and still feel that our suggestions were realistic and reasonable. The shunning of our proposals, in our opinion, tells us, once more, a lot about the Government’s concern about the workers plight and the Administration’s seriousness in engaging the workers organisations. Though discouraging, we are not daunted and we will continue to promote our suggestions recognising their importance in improving workers well-being and their standard-of-living. We

must share too our vexation that a paltry $500 per month or $16 per day increase was given to the Old Aged Pensioners who clearly deserve a much more realistic increase, especially in these times. The FITUG believes it’s not too late for the Government to re-examine this matter with a view to finding a more acceptable sum to give our former workers. The FITUG welcomes the decision to remove Value Added Tax (VAT) on Education and to grant tax-free status to leave passage allowances for employees in the private sector. While accepting both measures, we feel constrained to point out that those sums pale in comparison to the heavy costs the workers have borne arising from the widening of the VAT net and the significant increases in the costs in Government fees and services, among other things. We further noted the Minister’s announcement of the intention to re-value properties which will obviously lend to increased rates and taxes payable to municipalities and NDCs. Really, the working people today need a lightening of their burdens not more economic pressures. The FITUG, like the workers, were vexed also to learn that the Administration did not approve any improvements in the income tax threshold. It was something that many workers had eagerly looked forward to

Editor in Chief, Stabroek News. DEAR EDITOR, The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) strongly objects to your front page headline – ‘GPH doctor suspended after families claim negligence in patient deaths’ – with article published on page 10, since both are misleading and devoid of facts. Be advised that if any effort was made to determine the reality, it would have revealed that Dr. Abel Fernandez Ciria is not and was never employed at the GPHC. Further, the incidents referred to never occurred at this Institution. GPHC views this matter seriously and demands a retraction with like prominence. Regards. Mitzy Campbell Public Relations Officer

and something that they widely expected. While noting that workers who work during part of the year will benefit from the full year’s free pay, it is something that just a small number of workers would benefit from. Furthermore, it could be seen as discriminatory as those workers who work part of the year will have a lower effective rate of taxation than those who work for the entire year. The Budget, disappointingly, did not advance any serious policy regarding job preservation and job creation, both critical matters at this time. Besides a few passing references about certain initiatives which unfortunately did not benefit from much explanation nothing more was said. Given the Government’s track record of implementation, it is difficult for us to place great faith and hope that the policies referred to will see the light of day in a quick manner. What is of concern too is the absence of any clear policy or direction to assist in hastening the implementation of the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP). The timely execution of the PSIP is in the interest of the working-people and the country as a whole and we cannot fail to express our alarm that the Administration has not seen it fit to have a clear direction set out. Regarding the sugar industry, disconcertingly, the Administration, in our view, did not provide any roadmap to the thousands of workers who stand to be affected by the miniaturisation plans. This is both unfortunate and disturbing. While FITUG contends that there is no need to cut down the industry, the Government nevertheless is duty bound to address the fallout from their illconsidered plans that would have serious repercussions for the workers, the sugar communities, state agencies such as the NIS and GRA, foreign exchange earnings, and the effects on the business community, among other things. Also despite the heavy touting of the Oil and Gas industry, FITUG was disturbed

to note that very little was mentioned especially given the significant impact the Government says that industry will make. Of particular concern, was the absence of any clear and definitive statements on the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF). The monies that would be deposited into the SWF belong to all Guyanese today and tomorrow and, therefore, a prudential framework is necessary for its operation. Similarly, engagements and agreements between the Government and the various oil explorers should be known to Guyanese as it is the people who ultimately benefit from the income and will bear the costs. On the energy front, the FITUG recognises that seemingly the Amalia Falls

Project has been abandoned despite the compelling arguments for it to be pursued. Despite a commitment to Green Development, we recognise that future power generation is to be predicted largely on natural gas. Such endeavour cannot fall into the ‘Green’ framework, unless possibly the intention is to paint the plant in the colour green. For our organisation, though Guyana is blessed with an opportunity to deliver power from renewable resources, it is upsetting that we continue to engage, largely, in power generation from nonrenewable resources which input price we may not be able to influence. The FITUG reiterates that the Budget styled the “People’s Budget” by the

Department of Public Information (DPI) has failed to live up to that expectation. Though accepting there were some marginal improvements, the pressures, difficulties and challenges by the workers remains, regrettably, largely the same. While the Minister tells us the “The Journey to the Good Life continues” for the workers they see themselves not on the same boat though they wish to be. We recall Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo in his column which appeared in the November 26, Guyana Chronicle advancing the notion that the 2018 Budget will be a ‘grass roots’budget. Unfortunately, the proof is in the pudding and the ordinary people remain downtrodden and sliding into a state of despondency. FITUG

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ExxonMobil and Cost Recovery claims...

Guyana’s limited resources will hinder verification of accuracy, reasonableness - Goolsarran warns By Kiana Wilburg Guyana’s limited resources will certainly put it at a disadvantage when it comes to verifying the accuracy and reasonableness of cost recovery claims which will be made by ExxonMobil. This is according to Chartered Accountant and former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran. The anticorruption advocate insists that the coalition Government should consider renegotiating the contract it has with ExxonMobil to allow for a revenue-sharing model to be in place, similar to that which currently exists in Indonesia. PROFIT VS. REVENUE SHARING In a profit-sharing arrangement, Goolsarran explained that the oil company uses the revenue derived from production to recover its capital and operational expenditure. This, he said, is known as ‘cost oil’. The remainder, known as ‘profit oil’, is split between the government and the company. Goolsarran said that the extent to which countries have a dual arrangement in place (i.e. royalty plus profit-sharing), it stands to reason that royalty rates will be lower than those that receive royalties only. In Guyana’s case, it is only receiving a two percent royalty. According to Goolsarran, a key concern relating to profitsharing arrangements is that profits can vary significantly from year to year. He said that this can be as a result of the unpredictability of prices on the world market and the need to recover the initial investment over a period of time.

Chartered Accountant, Anand Goolsarran On that note, Goolsarran said that countries such as India, Tanzania and Indonesia are experiencing significant difficulties in terms of their ability to independently verify the reasonableness of the expenditure that is charged against revenue to arrive at a profit. The Chartered Accountant said that given the uncertainty of the extent of profits that is likely to accrue; there are strong arguments for there to be in place, revenue sharing agreements rather than those relating to profit-sharing. The former Auditor General said that a revenue-sharing agreement provides a guaranteed flow of income to Governments once production begins, and can be monitored easily from the government’s perspective. He said that there will no longer be a need for

detailed and independent scrutiny of oil companies’ costs to ensure that only legitimate expenditure is charged against revenue. He said that this is an area that has been subjected to intense disagreements between oil companies and governments. An additional consideration Goolsarran highlighted is that oil companies can curtail production in anticipation of higher prices in the future, with consequent adverse impact on profits. He said that it was mainly for these reasons that India has moved away from the profitsharing model to one of revenue-sharing, based a recommendation of the country’s Auditor General. TANZANIAANDINDONESIA Kaieteur News recently carried an article on the Tanzanian experience with ExxonMobil in which it was stated that the coun-

try had serious difficulty in verifying the how the figure of “cost oil” was arrived at. Upon examination of the leaked contract with ExxonMobil, the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee disclosed that there was no “ring fencing” of blocks and that the Production Sharing Agreement contained no provision to guard against the incurrence of costs in one block and recovering them from another profitable block. Goolsarran referred to the writings of Nobel Laureate, Joseph Stiglitz who asserted that “The fact that the typical contract allows the oil companies to walk away with the windfall profits suggests that something is wrong with the way these contracts are designed.” This newspaper also reported Indonesia’s switch from the profit-sharing model to revenue-sharing. This was because each passing year saw a dwindling of the country’s share of profits in the belief that oil companies were inflating their costs. This was despite the fact that the government-owned entity that manages the oil sector has a staff of 750 professionals and approximately 80% of that staff is involved in the verification of cost recovery claims by oil companies to ensure that they are fair and accurate. With the aforementioned in mind, the Chartered Accountant insisted that there are limited resources available in Guyana to enable the independent verification of the accuracy and reasonableness of the costs that are chargeable to revenue. He said it is mainly for this reason that the Government of Guyana should re-negotiate the contract with ExxonMobil to allow for a revenue-sharing model to be in place.

Sunday December 03, 2017

Rosignol-Zeelust NDC frustrated by illegal vendors While there is a regular Monday to Friday green grocer market at Rosignol, the Saturday market which operates at a different locale has been attracting vendors from near and far, and the Neighbourhood Democratic Council, NDC, is having difficulties bringing the situation under control. Last Saturday, officials from the Rosignol – Zeelust NDC with the Police attempted to remove some illegal vendors from the Stelling Road which is transformed into a hive of activities from as early as 4:30 hours every Saturday. However, the vendors stood their ground, and the NDC relented. There is a structure provided by the NDC for vendors to conduct their trade, however, according to the assistant Overseer of the NDC, the facility remains underutilised, with some vendors having abandoned stalls allocated to them, in preference to vending at the side of the roadway. This has led to the area being quite congested on Saturday morning. The congestion has forced the police to modify traffic arrangements which now see a one-way flow of traffic during the peak market hours: from early morning to about mid-day. Authorities are seeking to have vendors occupy the stalls allocated to them, but the vendors are reluctant to operate inside the market. There are some vendors who travel every Saturday from outside Region Five, to ply their trade outside of the market, and they have drawn the ire of others, some of whom are complaining, while some have abandoned their stalls to compete with the itinerant vendors, claiming that the itinerant vendors have an unfair advantage over those who operate from within the market, especially given the fact that those who operate

outside the market have not been paying rates or taxes for operating in the area. While some vendors have expressed a willingness to pay whatever fees the NDC may ask for, so that they could be allowed to continue their trade, the NDC has stated that vending on the road-shoulder is illegal, and that there is space within the market for those interested in operating from within. Further, the NDC would be making every effort to have the situation normalised, by having vending done within the confines of the building rather than along the road shoulder. Since vending along the road shoulder is illegal, the NDC is not allowed to collect any fees from such operators. According to the assistant overseer, the NDC, under the law, can seize the goods of the people not in compliance with the law, and dump such goods. However, the authorities would want to avoid confrontation with operators, and so they are hoping that people would take up the stalls available in the market. The assistant overseer also said that the market can accommodate all the vendors, and that the NDC would want work along with the vendors. Therefore, they would continue to seek to have vendors occupy the available stalls. Of those operating within the market, there are complaints that the NDC, is found wanting as it relates to the quality of service being provided for stall holders, and sanitation is at the top of the list. Some concerned vendors have voiced the opinion that elements within the NDC need to put aside their differences and work towards the general good of the community. They noted that should (Continued on page 71)

Sunday December 03, 2017

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Kaieteur News

Anti-corruption advocates celebrate Cops stripping vehicles promised return of transparency Dem boys seh...

in police station

When dem boys was li’l dem use to play police and thief. One minute dem was police and de next, dem was thief. Dem get big and dem see dat police tunning thief. Dem boys planning to mek a special request to de boss lady of de courts. Dem want ask she if dem get in accident dem vehicle or motorcycles mustn’t stay in de police station because it never come out de way it went in. De police stop a Waterfalls paper worker who was riding a motorbike and tek it to de station. De next afternoon when de Company Secretary go to pick up de bike, de man could not recognize de bike. For a moment, de man thought, “This can’t be our bike.” He only know it by de number plate. De headlamp gone, trafficators disappear, battery cannot be found, tyres look like dem exchange. De boss man was out de country when dis happen so he seh he didn’t see de bike or else he woulda go after See-all, Ram-all and de whole bunch of dem fuh he bike. Is when he call and find out wha going on at de station. He want to know if people can’t trust de police wid dem property. He know you can’t trust Jagdeo, ee kavakamites and some of Soulja Bai people. He never know de police woulda tek thiefing to that level in de police force. He was even told when senior officers crash dem car, dem does instruct de traffic ranks wha car fuh bring in, suh dem can replace de damage parts pun dem car. Dem does strip down to de tape deck, fender, bumper and head and taillights. Dem boys suspect dem learn about stripping from dem Spanish night clubs around de town. Plenty of dem does go deh and when dem done dem drinking, stripping and nipping dem does get in de accident. And dem is de same people who does want to lock up when dem ketch odda people stripping. From de top to de bottom of de force need some cleaning up. Ram Jattan send home See-all and right away people notice See-all stop going to de casino. Dem boys want ee fuh keep ee eye pun ee namesake, Ram. He start going to de casino every night. It look like he tek over from See-all. Talk half and ask Ram wha example he setting fuh dem upcoming cops. Habits are not the product of one decision — They’re the result of repeated choices that eventually become automatic responses. How can you know your true spiritual condition? By the company you keep and the choices you make. When you’re free to go, where do you choose to go? Whose company do you prefer?

By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell Dr. David Hinds, Dr Troy Thomas and Christopher Ram have all constantly advocated for the release of the contract that was inked between ExxonMobil and the APNU+AFC government. Today, they are all satisfied that their strong and consistent advocacy paid off. Dr. David Hinds, a political commentator and executive member of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), told this newspaper that the government’s commitment to release the contract is definitely a step in the right direction. He added that this sort of result proves the power of advocacy and critique in the democratic process. “In this regard the Kaieteur News, the WPA and other individuals did Guyana a tremendous service,” said Dr. Hinds. “But I think, the fact that the government relented after being initially adamant, is cause for mild optimism about the ability of this government to listen to constructive criticism and change course. I hope this is the beginning of the kind of political maturity that so many people expected from this government but which it has failed to consistently deliver.” Dr. Hinds said that the essence of democracy is the capacity of governors to listen to and hear the pleas of the governed and to respond to them in favourable ways. The political scientist said that there can be no doubt that

Attorney-at-Law, Christopher Ram

Political commentator, Dr. David Hinds

Dr. Troy Thomas

releasing the contract to the public is the right thing to do in the name of transparency and democratic governance. “I hope that this is not a one-off gesture, but the beginning of an open process in the oil sector and other areas of governance.” Dr. Hinds also said that Civil Society must continue to be the watchdog in the society. “And the government must rise above systemic secrecy and embrace a culture of transparency and respect for the will of the people.” President of Transparency International Guyana Inc (TIGI), Dr. Troy Thomas, also lauded the decision by the government to do “what is right and transparent.” He said that the decision to release the contract “It took quite a long time but I was still happy when I opened the newspaper and saw that the government plans to release it. I hope that they follow

through on it and that this sort of transparency transcends to other sectors.” Dr. Thomas said that the citizens of Guyana deserve to be involved in issues that play a role in their prosperity. “They must know details of contracts as this allows them to hold firms accountable. In that way, the people can monitor if what is delivered is what was agreed.” Dr. Thomas said that when contracts are kept secret, citizens have nothing to use as an instrument for measurement. Attorney at law, Christopher Ram, said that Cabinet deserves credit for its decision to make the contract public. He said that credit is especially due since “we are told that experts had advised (Minister of Natural Resources) Trotman that it would be a breach of the law for the Government to do so. I am sure that the Government will not regret this decision as there really is nothing to

lose.” Ram said that Guyana will be joining a growing list of countries which make their extractive contracts and licences public. Ram said that a report titled, Past the Tipping Point, published earlier this year by Natural Resource Governance Institute and written by Don Hubert and Rob Pitman concluded that it is becoming increasingly normal for member countries of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) to disclose the contracts and licences that lay out the terms for resource exploitation. Ram said that no doubt, Guyana, which was recently admitted to membership of EITI, will be much more comfortable at EITI meetings when the question of contract disclosure is being discussed. In fact, Guyana will be joining a group of eleven countries which discloses its contracts despite having no statutory Continued on page 13

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Kaieteur News

Sunday December 03, 2017

Lack of political will delay implementation of electronic voting - Alexander As the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) begins preparations for the 2018 Local Government Elections, long-serving Commissioner, Vincent Alexander, believes plans should include a pilot programme for the electronic transmission of the results from polling stations to the main centre. Now in his tenth year as a Commissioner, Alexander is currently the longest tenured member. He believes that implementing the electronic transfer of the results from polling stations at the next General Elections due in 2020 will ensure the faster delivery of the final results. According to Alexander, as it relates to electronic voting, there is great suspicion and understandably so because of known possibilities of hacking. He said, then, there are some people who are simply stuck in old traditions of balloting. The GECOM Commissioner cited a previous attempt to move to electronic voting which was a programme slated for implementation with help of the Canadians, but was eventually placed on the backburner. “I think we could, in the first instance, move to electronic transmission of the re-

A mini health check is the first step to donating blood

sults. That would solve the problem of the quickness of the delivery of the results. There are logistical problems of transmitting our results that contribute to taking some time,” said Alexander. He explained that as the eGovernment programme reaches more hinterland communities the infrastructural groundwork is being laid to facilitate more communication in areas which were essentially cut off digitally from the rest of the country. “We should start the electronic transmission of the results, but it doesn’t have to be in every place. Local Government Elections can also be used as a pilot in terms of enhancing our system for things we want to do nationally. You can try them locally and in so doing you don’t have to try them in every local authority,” Alexander stated. Unlike the national elections, the local elections are not as contentious as the results are usually known very early at the individual polling stations. Alexander stated that the pilots shouldn’t be too costly. THE SYSTEM Shortly after the May 11, 2015 General Elections results were declared, President David Granger said that Guyana must do better in the time it takes to announce the final results to the public. It took the Commission roughly five days to declare the coalition victory and a further two weeks to have them published in the Gazette.

greater problem is the transmission,” Alexander maintained.

…propose electronic transmission of results pilot Alexander is cognizant of the tensions caused by GECOM’s delay in declaring the results. He believes that the delay is not a source of absence of trust at the level of the parties contesting the elections, but a concern to the voters. “The parties may be exercising some pretense in that regard. These parties are themselves in possession of the results. They can literally, and I think they do to a very large extent, know what the result is even before it is made known because their representatives leave the polling stations with a copy. The parties are able to communicate with their centre and can do a compilation. I don’t think that’s a real problem for the parties, but the public,” Alexander pointed out. He shared that the public is led by certain perceptions mainly due to the tendency and gave the example where the results in Region Four come in to GECOM Centre first. Given the ethnic way in which people vote in Guyana, a person may go to sleep with the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) way ahead which starts to fashion their thinking. “Then during the course of the night into the next day, the results from other parts of the country come in and suddenly you wake up and find a

big change. I don’t think the people are sufficiently objective to accept what occurs,” Alexander noted. When voting concludes at 6 p.m. on Election Day, Alexander stated that the results have to be counted at the place of poll, but in some parts of the country, there is no movement of those results until the next day because GECOM is not transferring and transmitting results electronically. The results have to be compiled in the electoral district, announced, and then those results are brought to the centre for compilation as results from all ten districts. “We should really have the declaration of ten results in the regions and then those ten results are brought to the centre for summation and the determination of the allocation of seats,” Alexander pointed out. TRUST & GECOM Alexander shared instances when GECOM itself had bad experiences where unauthorised personnel used hairpins and found themselves in the computer room. This he said, maybe the cause of some of the concerns of moving to the electronic voting system. “All of that has raised eye brows that it’s not just the electronic system, but it’s who populates the GECOM sys-

GECOM Commissioner, Vincent Alexander tem and the fact that there is even sometime suspicion about the people who populate the system. The fact of the matter is we have issues in the past,” Alexander stated. He said one must never forget in 2006 GECOM declared a wrong result in Linden and even when that wrong result was brought to the attention of the officials at that time, they proceeded to make the declaration, although they said they would fix it. “One must bear in mind that in 2011, there was a questionable attempt by the very person responsible for the system to declare a false result. Nobody can question this and it was not a matter of error. “All of that has continued to keep the level of suspicion of the system very high. Some people have even said leave well alone. The greater problem is not the voting; the

QUICK RELEASE Alexander stated that the GECOM system is also bogged down by nervousness that has not allowed the Commission in the past to release the statement of polls directly to the media, although internally, there are Commissioners who have suggested that once the results are made known at the place of poll, there should be no more filtering from GECOM before it gets to the public via press and television. He said GECOM still has this culture of filtering the results which also contribute to the uneasiness. “As soon as the results are declared in the place of poll, the parties have copies. Why can’t the press and the television have access and so the counting is virtually parallel in the sense that the media themselves can be doing the count as those results come out?” Alexander stated. He added, “There is nervousness in GECOM which in the past has interfered with that. I think that is one of the things we should be doing, giving immediate access, not of filtered results, of the statements of poll. It’s there in the hands of the parties; it’s there on buildings why can’t it be exhibited at the same time with the television? He reminded that the statements are public documents.

Legal battle ensues over West Dem. Regional Hospital Administrative Post A legal battle has ensued over the decision by the Public Service Commission (PSC) to rescind the promotion of an employee of the West Demerara Regional Hospital, (WDRH) from the position of Hospital Administrator. According to the matter filed in November, Sanjah Persaud, an employee attached to the WDRH received a letter from the Regional Administration notifying him of a decision to rescind his promotion from the post with immediate effect, last September. A copy of the letter outlining the decision was also sent from the Public Service Commission, (PSC). According to the lawsuit drafted by Nandlall and Associates, the Court ordered the PSC, a Public Authority, to show cause why decision contained in a letter, dated

September 26, 2017, which purports to rescind Persaud ‘s appointment as Hospital Administrator within Region Three with immediate effect, should not be quashed and made absolute. In his application to the Court, Persaud outlined that in June 2016, he was informed by Dennis Jaikaran, the Regional Executive Officer, Region Three that the PSC granted approval to be appointed Hospital Administrator, within Region Three on probation for one year, with effect from 2016-05-13, inclusive; that he was acting in the position since 2013. However without prior notification and for reasons unknown, Persaud said that he was notified last September of a decision to rescind his promotion. According to him, the letter outlining his appointment as Hospital Administrator is

rescinded and he should revert to his previous position of Accounts Clerk II with immediate effect. The man noted that he was not afforded a hearing by his respondents, neither was any reason given for the said decision. He also pointed out that the constitutional tenure of the PSC had ended at the time when it made the decision contained in the aforesaid letter, dated September 26, 2017. In the circumstances, he argued that the said decision of the PSC is contrary to the rules of natural justice, arbitrary, whimsical, unlawful, and of no effect. The Court has since issued a temporary order quashing the decision of the PSC. It has also directed the PSC to show cause why the decision of the Court should not be upheld.

Sunday December 03, 2017

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Kaieteur News

Trotman works to release all contracts from Bosai and Rusal to Tullow and ExxonMobil By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell “As is standard in the extractive industries, contacts of this nature have confidentiality clauses. Tullow Oil is the same. The government is working to release all contracts, so consultations with the companies will ensue.” So said Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, as he defended government’s commitment to transparency. Last week, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, announced Government’s decision to release the production contact that the coalition government signed with ExxonMobil. Citizens have long been calling for the release of the contract. However, Government has been citing the confidentiality clause contained in the contracts as well as concerns for the nation’s sovereignty.

- In effort to quell “natural distrust for political elites”

Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman Subsequent to the announcement that the contract will be released, this newspaper inquired from Minister Trotman if the exploration contract that the government signed with UK firm, Tullow Oil, also has a confidentiality clause and if that contact will also be released to the public. That is when the Minister

indicated that he is looking to release all contracts for companies operating in the extractive industry (natural resources). He said that at last Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Ministers expressed the view that there is nothing in the contract that is harmful to the government. “We have been speaking about sovereignty implication but the government has nothing to hide and so we are going to work out the timing and as much detail as we can to have the contract released.” Trotman said, “Indeed all the contracts are of a similar nature. One of the operators have made a discovery but it is expected that others will as well, so we are going to en-

Marked decrease in remigrants granted duty free concessions

GRA building Tax remissions for this year are projected to hit the $47B mark, an increase of almost $5B from last year. The disclosures were contained in the recent ‘Budget Speech for 2018’, that has been released to the public by Finance Minister, Winston Jordan. It meant that Guyana, because of those tax remissions, gave up $47B in revenues because of duty free entitled by remigrants, diplomats and investors, among other categories. By their very existence, Government ministries and other agencies are not required to pay taxes on imports, among other things. According to Appendix VII- Tax Remissions by Category, there was a marked increase in what companies did not have to pay in taxes and duties.

Last year, companies and businesses were waived $30.444B compared to a projected $35.125B this year. Under the laws, investors, churches, diplomats, government ministries and agencies and remigrants are all eligible to have those tax remissions. In the case for the hospitals, there was a reduction. Last year, it was $323M as compared to an expected $141M this year. Significantly, churches and charitable organizations received as much remissions this year. Last year it was $1.455B while the projections for 2017 are $1.459B. There, however, is a reduction in the amount of duty free that public officials benefitted from- it was $1.446B while it is expected to be $1.132B this year. The ministries and other government departments will

see an increase this year to $4.982B from $4.111B. There was also a reduction in the tax remissions for remigrants- it was $1.237B last year but $0.838B this year. Even the category of diplomats saw a reduction of what the Guyana Revenue Authority would have lost out from. Last year, it was $1.807B compared to an anticipated $1.303B this year. However, the tax remissions for foreign funded projects would have jumped this year. In 2016, it was $1.473B compared to a projected $2.053B this year. Over the year, the issue of tax remissions especially to some businesses and remigrants were hot topics with accusations of abuse for profits. There were even reports of scams being run using fake duty free letters.

gage them in terms of their position on Government’s desire to ensure transparency and accountability.” Trotman said that the gov-

ernment believes that it is prudent to not only release ExxonMobil’s contract. “So we have to look at all contracts at this stage from Bosai to Rusal; they all have to be considered.” “Government has nothing to hide.” Trotman, asked if he was of the opinion that the gov-

ernment was unfairly beaten up upon by those who were passionate about the non-release of the contract, responded in the negative. He said he understands the position of those who called for the release of the contract. “Maybe I am wrong to say this but I understand that (Continued on page 16)

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Sunday December 03, 2017

Kaieteur News

Public outcry over $500 old age pension increase State officials are defending the $500 increase in old age pension, amidst public debates. Finance Minister, Winston Jordan announced on Monday that old age pension has been increased from

$19,000 in 2017, to $19,500 for 2018. He said that Government has continuously committed to efforts to improve the life of senior citizens. Jordan said that among other invention, Government

has allocated $50 million for building repairs and additional funds to purchase a wheelchair accessible bus for the Palms, one of 20 care facilities in the country. In 2018, the Finance Min-

ister said that the Government will commence the development of the country’s first ever Strategic Plan for Elderly Care, which will tangibly articulate related interventions to be undertaken in the medium term towards improving the quality of life for the elderly. He argued that the “increase cannot compensate for the water subsidies that were taken away from the pensioners and the VAT on electricity and water that was added. Statistics has revealed the increase per annum on old age pension.” In 2015, the pensioners received a 30 percent increase taking the pension from $13,125 to $17,000; in 2016 the figure rose from $17,000— $18,200; in 2017 $18,200— $19,000 a 4.9 percent and in 2018 from $19,000 —$19.500. Additionally, it was noted the list of old age pensioners

continues to increase each year; in 2015 beneficiaries for old age pension fund stood at 47,032 persons and the following year, the list increased to 49,777; the figure represents a growth of almost 3000 pensioners. By next year, the list of beneficiaries is projected to be at 53,000 pensioners. However, despite the arguments by State officials, there continues to be public outcry over the increase, particularly from beneficiaries who believe that the sum is a form of disrespect to the nation’s elderly. Some pensioners still believe that the government has not done enough for the elderly. Concerned citizens have noted that the 2.5 percent increase in old pension is not even a drop in the bucket. They have compared the increase to measures taken by the government to increase

Ministers already hefty salary. Additionally, the pension increase has been compared to the fuel exemptions arising from Investment Development Agreements (IDA) for Government Ministries. A recent repo r t p r e sented data which revealed taxes exempted for 2014 and 2015 for key Government agencies. Included in these figures are exemptions for Ministries and Government Departments of $4B and $19B respectively. The Prime Minister’s residence alone is projected to consume some $5 million worth in fuel annually. Government agencies like the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and Ministry of Public Health have a significantly higher fuel bill. In some case, the Ministry of Health consumes fuel at the cost of over $20M per annum.

Cops question ‘Don Dick’s wife …as they seek motive for execution Working on a possible motive for his execution, detectives were yesterday grilling the wife of R o g e r B u m b u r y, c a l l e d ‘Don Dick’, as they try to track down the individuals who carried out the hit. Two of the leads they are pursuing appear to have nothing to do with the criminal past of the one-time most wanted man. O n e theory is that a Good Hope resident who had allegedly threatened to kill Bumbury may have organised the killing. T h e v i c t i m ’s w i f e , Abiola Duke, has reported to investigators that she overheard her husband speaking to the two individuals, whom she knows, bef o r e h e w a s r i d d l e d with bullets. These persons are nowhere to be found. Bumbury was relaxing in his hammock in his verandah at his Lot 724

40

Roger Bumbury Good Hope home when a man in hoodie reportedly jumped his fence and shot him to the chest. The gunman pursued him to the kitchen and put two bullets into his face and head, bringing an end t o a criminal career that spanned more than 17 years. Police recovered three .32 spent shells, along with a bullet at the scene. Investigators also scoured the area in the

futile hope of finding a surveillance camera that may have recorded the k i l l e r ’s entry to Bumbury’s home. According to reports, Bumbury was inside his home with his wife, Abiola Duke, around 23:45 hrs on Thursday, when someone called outside for him. Bumbury allegedly went outside, spoke to t h e v i s i t o r, w h o t h e n l e f t . H e eventually fell asleep in a hammock in his front verandah. His wife told the police that she was asleep when she heard what sounded like gunshots. She also heard her husband screaming. While relatives reportedly told police that the 57year-old made a living by rearing poultry, sources have also suggested that the killing may be linked to a sour drug deal. Bumbury had made a Guyana Police Force list of ‘most wanted’ criminals in 2002. The list had included 2002 jail break escapees Dale Moore, Troy Dick, Shawn Brown, Andrew Douglas and Mark Fraser. At the time, police had said that Bumbury was wanted for questioning for a series of armed robberies. Law enforcers had also fingered him in the kidnap and subsequent m u r d e r o f t a x i - d r i v e r, Vivekanand Nandalall in October 2003. In November 2007, police captured Bumbury in Sophia, but released the ‘wanted man’ without charges.

Sunday December 03, 2017

Kaieteur News

OIL AND GAS SECTOR…

Law firms observe influx of registration by foreign businesses - GCCI maintains call for partnership with locals By Kiana Wilburg The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has received several reports from its legal partners regarding an influx of registration by foreign businesses for the oil and gas sector. President of GCCI, Deodat Indar, said that while the Chamber is encouraged by this, it is particularly worried by the absence of partnership with locals. It insists that in order for Guyana’s capacity to grow, there must be joint ventures between foreign companies and locals. He said that this is one of the vital ways in which businesses here can ensure that they are part of the supply chain of the oil and gas sector. Indar said, “The foreign companies are not saying ‘you are good at catering and I am good at it, so let’s work on being associates and bid for contracts’. They are setting up and doing their own thing. So the ‘budding up system’ comes into play here.”

The GCCI President added, “We are saying that if you come into this environment, partner with a local so that we can have skills transfer. A host of services are needed here and if we don’t start this process then we would have a sector in which we won’t be able to make much of an input in the next three years.” Indar said that this was one of the ways in which Canada was able to build an almost self sufficient oil and gas sector. He said, “On our trip to Canada, we learnt that the country was able to build capacity as their companies ‘buddied up’ with others to supply operators there. That is what needs to happen here. It will take time for locals to build capacity and services. “If you don’t have it, get into a joint venture with someone who has it and learn the ropes…” Indar added, “We need to develop Guyana’s capacity, not have companies come and set up shop front. The same way they come and set up shop front, is the same way

GCCI President, Deodat Indar they come and leave…” FINANCIAL SUPPORT The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry also queried, recently, if the coalition Government was able to insert into its contract with USA oil giant, ExxonMobil, provisions for financial support which would be assigned for the development of local products and services. Specifically commenting on this matter recently was the GCCI President. The businessman said that it will take more than just a mere policy paper to get oil giants to support local Continued on page 68

Anti-corruption advocates... From page 9 obligation to do so. Ram said that what is more heartening is that only two of the eleven – the USA and the UK— are western countries; two are Eastern European countries, four are from Africa, one from South America, one from Asia and one from Eurasia. Three African countries – Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire and Tanzania – which have a legal obligation to disclose, fail to do so. There are twenty countries which have no legal obligation to disclose and which do not disclose. Among these are Norway, Germany and Trinidad and Tobago. In total, of the 51 countries covered by the review, 29, that is well over half, disclose at least some of these agreements, while several more are taking concrete steps to join their ranks. Ram noted that there were an additional ten governments not selected for study, but which are also disclosing, bringing the global figure to an impressive 39 countries. While Guyana’s interest in extractive industry (EI) disclosures has been piqued by petroleum contracts, the review covered not only petroleum countries but mining companies as well. The review, according to Ram, opined that the decision to disclose contracts or licences demonstrates that Governments and companies are increasingly finding that the benefits of contract transparency outweigh restrictive confidentiality concerns surrounding commercial sensitivity, trade secrets or intellectual property. Ram said that the review also found that the number of countries that have passed laws requiring contract disclosure has also increased. Ram said that a chronological analysis of the dates of the enactment of law or the

adoption of policies requiring disclosure done by Hubert and Pitman showed that since 2008, the number of countries with laws/policies has more than tripled. Ram said that those statistics confound the advice of the legal experts who told Minister Trotman that Guyana could not disclose its contracts. “While my support for EITI is not unqualified, it does appear that the organization deserves credit for this trend.” Since 2013, the EITI Standard has included a provision on contracts that encourages public disclosure of contracts (section 2.4). In the period since that change, nine new EITI countries have released contracts, and nine have enacted laws that require contract disclosure. Ram said that credit is also due to international bodies such as Amnesty International, which highlighted the importance of transparency in combating corruption risks related to the Chad-Cameroon and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipelines. Ram said that the IMF has also played its part in its widely circulated Guide on Resource Revenue Transparency which advocated for disclosure and transparency. Ram also noted that in 2011, the International Bar Association released a model mining development agreement that included a provision noting that contracts produced using the model should become public documents. While in 2012, the World Bank Group’s private sector lending arm – added a financing requirement that IFC-backed oil, gas and mining projects disclose the “principal contract with government that sets out the key terms and conditions under which a resource will be exploited.”

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Sunday December 03, 2017

Kaieteur News

EDUCATION CORNER

Overstaffing in schools by Olato Sam The issue of overstaffing in schools is not something we have had to address in the education system in Guyana, until now. For clarity, it must be stated that this issue is only relevant to the coastal education departments as there are still acute shortages of teachers in various hinterland and deep riverine communities. In addition, at the secondary level, teachers are still needed in key areas such as the sciences, mathematics, English, various technical subjects, physical education and the Arts. As it relates to early childhood, primary and the remaining secondary subject areas; however, most coastal departments of education are facing the challenge of overstaffing. This would have been compounded by the approximately 450 teachers who just graduated from CPCE and the projected 335 in 2018. Simply put, many regions do not have the capacity to absorb these additional trained teachers. On the surface this might be regarded by some as a problem, however a deeper analysis indicates the opportunity for strategic adjustments that could significantly improve educational output. This requires some tough decisions that will certainly not sit well with some individuals but will benefit the education system in the long run. A rationalisation of the staffing in coastal nursery and primary schools would show that many schools are being forced to be ‘creative’ with their excess staff while others are in dire need. One consequence of this is the assignment of teachers to teach subjects for which they are not trained. One solution that readily comes to mind is the equitable redistribution of teachers across schools within the regions to reduce class sizes and create balance. Though this sounds simple, in practice, it is virtually impossible due to the concept of good and bad schools. The schools that are in great demand are oversubscribed and have the issues of high pupil-teacher ratios, large classes and inadequate space. At the same time, within the same departments, there are schools with nine and ten pupils per teacher and an over-abundance of space. The redistribution of teachers can only happen when the redistribution or balancing of the placement of pupils in the system occurs. The system can ill afford to have some schools bursting at the seams while others have more than sufficient accommodation. The tough calls will have to be made to impose intake limits in the popular schools with a view to creating balance, reducing class sizes and effectively utilising the trained teachers within these education departments. A more equitable distribution and lower class sizes should lead to improved performance in schools spread across the respective regions rather than the pockets of excellence that currently exist. Schools could now utilise these available teachers for interventions, such as the much needed remediation and enrichment classes that were once considered luxuries, to improve output. An opportunity also exists to address the disparity in output between the coastal and hinterland regions; a key dimension of which is the shortage of trained teachers. A natural prerequisite to this in a multi-ministry— Education, Public Infrastructure and Communities—collaboration to provide adequate and appropriate housing for teachers assigned to these regions. Too often, teachers assigned to the hinterland have had to cope with the added challenge of sub-standard living arrangements. A long-term plan for the construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of teachers’ quarters is long overdue. This will facilitate the placement of trained teachers

from the coast to address the existing shortages in various regions. An incentive system and well-structured, binding agreements regarding the conditions of these placements, such as duration of assignment, travel and other entitlements, will have to be developed. All teachers entering the system should be made aware that placement in the hinterland is highly possible. The Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) must now focus on diversifying its offerings given the system’s inability to absorb such large numbers of trained teachers at various levels in coastal regions. Greater emphasis must be placed on teacher training in the hinterland and deep riverine areas. Attention must be given to staffing, resources and the strategic location of new training centres in areas of greatest need. Underserved areas in the hinterland must be given specific attention. At the same time, the emphasis at coastal centres can be placed on being more responsive to the needs of the system. Training programmes must be offered in underserved areas such as ICT, physical education, special education, guidance and counselling and the Arts. A programme must also be devised for teachers who are currently in the system that hold degrees in particular content areas but are untrained. In addition, CPCE must play a key role in providing continuous professional development for teachers failing to meet the standards outlined in the new appraisal system about to be implemented. These new areas would maintain the viability of the institution and compensate for the shortfall in future numbers. Given the state of affairs, the time is right for the Ministry of Education to consult with the Guyana Teachers Union, the Teaching Service Commission, the Faculty of Education and other stakeholders regarding the entry requirements for teaching profession. Guyana must now join the territories within the Caribbean where new teachers cannot enter the classroom without a bachelor’s degree. Clearly, these rules would not apply to all regions however steps can be taken to ensure the implementation of new policies in the relevant coastal regions. Emphasis can also be placed on ensuring that the trained teachers in the system become graduates. The existing overstaffing within some regions could be used to address the issues created by teachers being released to attend the University. Plans for the training of the pockets of remaining untrained teachers and upgrading the status of all trained teachers must be devised. It must be recognised that the improvements in the quality of educators in the system will have a positive impact on performance output. The expectation should be that by a date in the not-too-distant future, all teachers in classrooms in the coastal regions have, at minimum, a first degree and most, if not all teachers in hinterland schools trained. These adjustments must be part of the strategic planning within the system.The system needs to have a clear concept as to its positioning in both the short and long term. This should entail the broad-based assessment of its current and future staffing needs. As previously stated, tough decisions will have to be made regarding the challenges created by overstaffing. Training quotas will have to be implemented and other unpopular decisions regarding the placement of pupils and teachers within the system will be necessary. If these are done strategically, they have the potential to become opportunities for positively impacting the performance output of the education system.

Sunday December 03, 2017

Kaieteur News

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Sunday December 03, 2017

Kaieteur News

Canadian Foundation helps GPHC slash neonatal mortality by 40% A drastic drop in neonatal mortality was realised within a year at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation [GPHC] following the implementation of a hand-washing protocol. This is according to Dr. Narenda Singh, President of the Guyana Help the Kids [GHTK] Foundation, a NonGovernmental Organisation [NGO]. GHTK is a registered Canadian Charity which was established 10 years ago by Dr. Singh. Dr. Singh, through his foundation has been lending immense support to the neonatal unit of the GPHC over the years. As part of this support he said, “The first thing we did was to implement a handwashing protocol and within a year we looked at the data. The neonatal mortality had dropped by 40 percent with that singular move.” As part of the supportive tactic was the introduction of a number of programmes to immediately decrease the neonatal mortality rate. A number of programmes that were set in motion, according to Dr. Singh, were aimed at enhancing the care provided to neonates that would continue to be relevant long in the future. In fact, he revealed that another measure employed by the Foundation was to collaborate with the hospital’s Institute of Health Sciences Education [which was formerly headed by Dr. Madan Rambarran] and the University of Guyana [UG] to establish the Paediatric Post Residency Programme. “We developed what I believe was a model partnership for an NGO to work with the Ministry of Public Health, the GPHC and UG. We also established, with the help of the Pan American Health

Dr. Narendra Singh Organisation [PAHO] and nationwide children’s hospital, a neonatal nursing training programme,” Dr. Singh disclosed. To date these programmes have graduated 11 outstanding paediatricians and 70 neonatal intensive care nurses who, according to Dr. Singh, have been spreading their wings throughout the country. “I think for me and for us as an organisation, one of the most gratifying things is that these programmes are almost self sustaining. I hardly come to Guyana now and teach anymore; I cannot teach these people anything anymore [because] they know so much. “And not only that, I must congratulate them for really stepping up to the plate and taking a leadership role and taking ownership. They have been taking the programme to the next level,” said Dr. Singh of the trained professionals at the GPHC. Over the years GHTK Foundation has also given some support to the hospital’s Obstetrics and Gynaecology programme. The Foundation had donated a number of foetal monitors to ensure that during that the critical period

of delivery that “we don’t lose track of the baby because that is clearly one of the most precarious times in birth.” “Those foetal monitors, I believe, have saved lives and will continue to save lives in the future,” said Dr. Singh. “We didn’t stop just here at the GPHC, we engaged the Ministry of Public Health, we engaged the regional health sector and we worked out with them to complete five other Neonatal Intensive Care Units [NICUs] throughout the country.” This move was especially tactical, Dr. Singh said because “one of the things that we knew was that 85 percent of all of the deliveries occur at six hospitals and to this end we built NICUs throughout the country which I think is a model partnership with the health sector here in Guyana.” Recently, too, the Foundation responded to an emergency need of the public health sector for five neonatal ventilators. Added to this Singh said that there is a shipment of 10 new incubators that are slated to arrive shortly that will benefit the NICUs. “So we continue to work and I must say that the reception that we get as an organisation has been very positive and we want to continue to give and we want to continue to work with the health sector here in Guyana,” said Dr. Singh. He emphasised that “saving babies is not just at the time of the delivery, it is before conception with good family planning, it is the time of conception, it is during the prenatal period, it is during the neonatal period and I believe a facility like this goes a long way in addressing that continuum of care,” said Dr. Singh.

Trotman works to release all... (From page 11) when you are dealing with valuable resources, there is a natural distrust for political elites; that they are up to mischief and corruption. Trotman was keen to note that the innate distrust is not unique to Guyana. “We understand that the people are entitled to know

and so we have to work with the people to meet that expectation and that right without jeopardising things like our sovereignty or territorial integrity. There must be a balance,” said Trotman. EXXONMOBIL’S WILLINGNESS While there has been the announcement by the govern-

ment that it is ready to release the contract, it seems as if ExxonMobil has not fully agreed to the release as yet. ExxonMobil's, Senior Director of Public and Government Affairs, Kimberly Brassington’s only comment was, “ExxonMobil supports transparency initiatives wherever we operate around the world. We look forward to discussions with our partners and the government with regard to Guyana.” A few months ago, Brassington was quoted in the media saying that if the government demands the release, and all other oil companies decide to do the same, ExxonMobil will agree to the release its production contract with government.

Sunday December 03, 2017

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Kaieteur News

Prayers and sense of contentment key to longevity By Kiana Wilburg Centenarians are fountains of wisdom, intriguing stories of the past and hidden secrets to longevity. Ishmael Alexander Hughes, who turned 100 on November 27, last, is a living testimony of this. He insists that reaching such a remarkable age is not by sheer luck, but rather God’s divine order over his life. He reflects that it is a sense of contentment and prayers that has guided him on the road to prolonged existence. In his interview with Kaieteur News, Hughes, who is a proud Israelite, shared some interesting aspects of his childhood days. Due to the appendages of old age, he is not as agile as he was in his young years, but he speaks with passion when it comes to his childhood memories of tap dancing and playing various ball games with neighbourhood friends. And at 100, he could still pull a few melodious notes of his own. He can speak ad nauseam about his love for singing hymns if you let him. CHILDREN/FAMILYLIFE

– Centenarian, Ishmael Alexander Hughes Hughes, who resides in Number One Canal, is a firm believer in the power of family. And he has the evidence to prove it. The lover of religious texts shared that he has a dozen children that he knows of and close to 100 grandchildren. “Oh Gosh, I would not be able to tell you how many children I have, girl. I know of a dozen, but it might be more. As for my grandkids, that is almost 100 by know. And those are the ones I know of. There might be more.”He added, “I am a staunch Israelite and that said, we believe in big families. When you go to the beach and you push your hand in the sand and remove it, there are hundreds of grains of sand clinging to your hand. So why are you limiting yourself to just one? No man! Make babies! Make lots of babies!” The centenarian shared that there is an abundance of love that flourishes in the midst of big families, and he even encourages the younger generation to take this route. ALIFEOFHARDWORK

Centenarian, Ishmael Alexander Hughes Hughes shared that his life was one filled with instances of hard labour. But he never grumbled about it. He spoke glowingly of his days as a cane cutter during the colonial days and even post independence. He has racked up more than 40 years in the sugar industry. He stated that most of his time was spent between the Wales and Versailles Estates. Apart from this, Hughes

The Baccoo Speaks Christmas is supposed to be the season of joy, but many people are finding it to be a period of sadness. In Sophia many people are afraid to sleep at nights because of marauding bandits. Robberies are commonplace, but the police are slow to act. Community pressure will cause the deployment of more patrols, especially since the police station that governs the area is reporting that its ranks do not have the resources to respond.

** The recent execution killing would lead law enforcers to a community where a kingpin operates. He is the person who ordered the

recent execution because the victim dared to distribute drugs in his corner of the world. However, a lack of evidence would stall any attempt at an arrest. ** Another fraud would be uncovered at a prominent business place. A clerk would take advantage of lax supervision and would pilfer money. The discovery would shock many, especially since the individual would be seen as an upright worker.

stated that he has worked in other fields; there were times when he fled to the interior making himself of use to those who needed semi-skilled labour. And when he was not doing that, he was cutting straw, to make hats which he would later sell. Hughes shared that there was no shame in doing his jobs. He was proud of doing what needed to be done to support his family, once it was honest and did not prevent him from

practicing his religious beliefs. FASTAND PRAY If you let him, Hughes would quote scriptures to you all day. Since he has aged, this centenarian spends most of his time immersed in devotion to the Lord, moments of reflection and citations of spiritual texts. For him, there is no relationship that can be more fulfilling, uplifting and fortifying than one with the Creator. He insists that it is often the lack of spiritual alignment that results in many individuals giving into worldly temptations, be it materialistic or otherwise. With this in mind, Hughes said that he fasts at least 12 times a year. When he does, it is for three consecutive days without a drop of water or a morsel to eat. “It is called drying of the body. You fortify the body that way. You strengthen your control over your body. You also engage in a process of mental cleansing. It is important to fast this way because, you are pushed to your limits and you have to fight the cravings. This is easy for me now. I have been doing this for more than 80

years.” DAILYROUTINE He might have slowed down a bit, but when it comes to his eating habits, not much has changed for Hughes. “Girl, I eat everything except iron. Nothing has changed about my diet. I eat what I want. So it is not a change of diet that is responsible for my longevity…” Hughes added, “I don’t do much now. I am home most of the times and I ensure that I take time out to speak with my family. They and the Lord are most important to me.” ADVICE Looking back, Hughes insists that he has no regrets. He stressed that he is contented that he has lived a life filled with happiness, love and unforgettable experiences. His advice to youths includes: Long for nothing that isn’t yours; ‘Have no regrets’; ‘There is power in praying’; ‘Always express gratitude’; ‘Be kind to elders’; ‘Regardless of worldly possessions, you are no better than the man next to you’; ‘Don’t let a big payday erode your sense of dignity, integrity and sense of humility’.

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Sunday December 03, 2017

The Lusignan hammer ‘murders’ By Michael Jordan Lena Somra can tell you almost to the hour when her troubles began. The time was 5 a.m., the day was Sunday, May 8, 2005, and someone was rapping at her front door. The insistent rapping continued even as she rushed to respond. ”Wait nuh, I coming,” she said, certain that the impatient visitor was her 28-year-old son Rajesh, called ‘Sunil,’ who was a minibus conductor and the youngest of her six boys. But instead of Sunil, Mrs. Somra was greeted by the sight of two men on the front step of her Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara home. The men identified themselves as detectives. ”Happy Mother’s Day,” one of the men said. But it couldn’t be a good day when two detectives appear at your door early in the morning. The cop confirmed this by saying: “We come to search your house.” They gave no

reason for the request. Mrs. Somra asked if they had a search warrant. “No,” the policeman said, but he did have his Guyana Police Force identification. She eventually let the cops in and the men proceeded to search the premises. They soon completed their search, but yet they still had not revealed the purpose of their visit. Somehow, though, Mrs. Somra sensed that it had something to do with her youngest son. ”What happen with Sunil?” she eventually asked. After asking her if she “had a good heart”, the detective said: “We suspect a suicide with Sunil and the girl.” The gist of it was that the detectives suspected that Rajesh Somra, called Sunil, had killed his girlfriend, Rookmanie Singh, a 24-year-old waitress, who lived on the Lusignan, East Coast Demerara railway embankment. They also suspected that the minibus conductor had fled to his

Rajesh Somra and Rookmanie Singh mother’s home where he had hidden and maybe taken his own life. The house where Rookmanie lived was empty and police had found no trace of the

lovers. Shortly after the policemen left, the wife of the minibus driver with whom Rajesh Somra worked, called Mrs. Somra. Hesitantly, the caller revealed that she had heard that Rajesh had been murdered and his body dumped in a trench at Lusignan. A frantic Mrs. Somra called her older sons, and they headed to Lusignan. But because the area was flooded by heavy rains, the sons urged their mother to return home by taxi. By then, the story of the couple’s fate was beginning to unfold. According to reports, at around 03:00 hrs that very day, Rookmanie’s closest n e i g h b o u rs heard her screaming. They then heard the sound of someone falling into the canal at the back of the young woman’s house. A neighbour then woke Rookmanie’s stepfather, Ramdat Mohan, and told the man that his stepdaughter might have come to harm. Mohan and others contacted the police, who told them to check on Rookmanie. The waitress was not in the house. But there was blood…lots of it. A search of the canefields behind the

house yielded nothing. By this time the sun was beginning to rise. Recalling that a neighbour had heard a loud splash in the nearby canal, the searchers began to focus in that area. Some of the men dived into the canal, and eventually, one of them came into contact with the seminude body of Rajesh Somra. A few minutes later, the men retrieved Rookmanie’s body about 45 feet away from where they had found Rajesh. She was still clad in her nightgown. Both victims appeared to have been struck in the head with a heavy object. Detectives who arrived recovered a bloodstained hammer nearby. According to some police reports, a bucket containing water that appeared to be mixed with blood was also recovered. The few clues seemed to suggest that the lovers had been murdered and dumped into the canal. Robbery was ruled out, and so the primary motive appeared to be jealousy. But who could have killed them? While relatives of the slain waitress said that the two had been living happily, other residents suggested that the lovers had a sometimes turbulent relationship due to infidelity. But the case took a surprising turn the following day. Post mortem examinations on the victims revealed that they had both died from drowning. They had not been hammered to death after all. And police came up with a new and perhaps even more bizarre theory on how the couple had met their death. It was now suspected that Rajesh Somra had arrived home during the wee hours of Sunday, May 8. According to this theory, he was under the influence of alcohol,

and had tried to make love to his girlfriend. Rookmanie refused, and a fight broke out between the couple. A source close to the investigation had told Kaieteur News that it is believed that Rookmanie picked up a heavy object to defend herself and struck Rajesh several times. When he retaliated, Rookmanie, who could not swim, fled outside and accidentally fell into the canal. The cops believe that Somra, who also could not swim, plunged into the canal to save Rookmanie, where they both drowned. But not for one minute is Mrs. Lena Somra buying this story. She says that while her son’s death certificate indicated drowning, it also stated that he had been struck with a blunt object. She believes that the blows would have rendered him unconscious, and that someone then dumped him and his lover into the same canal. But who could that ‘someone’ be? Mrs. Somra says that she was told that Rookmanie had a lover who was a member of a paramilitary organisation. She strongly believed that this man killed the couple. She suspects that she might have come face to face with this individual while making enquiries at a police station about the case. One of the things she had asked the police about was a pair of brown boots that were reportedly found on the s t e p s o f R o o k m a n i e ’s house on the day of the tragedy. Rajesh Somra’s mother is adamant that the boots did not belong to her son. She also believes that the bucket of bloody water reportedly found at Rookmanie’s house provides further evidence of foul play. ”The police say that the matter is still open, but I stopped going at the station (to check). ”You can’t get justice in Guyana.” If you have any information about this or any other unusual cases, please contact Kaieteur News by letter or telephone at our Lot 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown office. Our numbers are 22-58491, 22-58465, 22-58458 and 22-58452. You need not disclose your identity. You can also contact Michael Jordan at his email address: mjdragon@hotmail.com

Sunday December 03, 2017

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Kaieteur News

Watching the reckless mind at a wake One of my favourite non-fiction books of the 21st century is the philosophy text, “The Reckless Mind” by Mark Lilla. Lilla looks at the writings of some seriously strange philosophical thinkers including the Nazi sympathizer, Martin Heidegger (who for me, wrote the best book on philosophy ever - “Being and Time’). At the end of your reading, you cannot help but conclude that the mind cannot be comprehended, and you are left wondering what drives the mind of rational people to support heinous wrongdoing. I had a perilously close look at the reckless mind at a wake last Thursday night. The sister of my vet died suddenly at a very young age. I got to know the young lady from the vet, who takes very good care of my cat and dog. I sat next to the former CEO of the Georgetown Hospital, Mike Khan, and we were engaged in sustained analysis of today’s Guyana, when an enduring figure from the PPP’s leadership that I knew since 1974, came up to me. She said, “I am leaving and I had to say hello to you before I go.” This is someone quite special to the leadership of the PPP from the early seventies onwards. She was seen by Cheddi and Janet Jagan as their own child. Despite the descent into semifascism by the PPP leadership after Mrs. Jagan gave up the presidency, this lady and her husband never dissolved their friendship with me. They were always objective and fair-minded when discussing the mistakes of the PPP with me. They stuck closely to what the PPP originally believed in. At the wake, she opened up to me politically and began to say

some unfortunate things as if she was a brand new person, one I didn’t know. As she talked, Mike Khan said not a word. This was a pleasant person I have known for over forty years and she always avoided justifying the wrong things the PPP government did, but Thursday night was an exception. After she left, I thought about Heidegger and why such a learned person sided with Nazi Germany. Was it the prevailing situation in Germany at the time? Did Heidegger see Germany as Jews versus Germans and feel he had to intervene on the side of the latter? Has politics in Guyana be-

come more tribalized, more ethnically driven, more zero-sum like, that the middle ground is dying and the rational mind has become the reckless mind? I have seen enough from people I thought were rational and who held the middle ground to convince me that Guyana is entering a dangerous and ugly period in its life. I devoted an entire column to what a friend wrote (November 21, “We may have produced the most troubled nationality in the world.”). This is someone who is a friend over a long period of time and a man I consider logical in his thinking. He wrote a letter, carried in all the newspapers, asking me and Dr. David Hinds a question. Af-

ter describing how the PPP has been fixing their own internal elections and national elections, he said that talk about the PNC rigging national elections was “stock propaganda.” Then he demands that David and I produce evidence that the PNC ever rigged elections. I couldn’t bring myself to dignify that macabre, unspeakable emanation with a reply. But I was totally shocked and completely fazed that someone I knew so closely could have written that. This is what politics has done to the citizenry. And such types exist on both sides of the divide. As this lady spoke in her usually, mild-mannered tone, I knew she had become a victim

of the times. She told me, in the presence of Mike Khan, that Jagdeo is an exceptional leader, one of the great leaders of the PPP. He has no challenger in the PPP and is good for the PPP. I know while Jagdeo was the President she would never have said that to me. As she was about to walk away, she gave off a tiny smile when she said, ‘you know when I read you; the things you write make me believe that you and the PPP are the same from the olden days, it is just that you have strayed away.” I said, “Really, the PPP tried to kill me twice.” The tiny smile was still there when she said, “nah maan.” I turned to

Frederick Kissoon Mike Khan and said; “could you believe what you just heard?” I’m afraid the middle ground is gone, and the rational mind in Guyana has become the reckless mind. The future is bleak.

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Sunday December 03, 2017

Eating political humble pie…and muted criticisms of the Budget When Finance Minister Winston Jordan had presented the 2017 budget in Parliament, he was mercilessly hammered by the PPP, the private sector, civil society and a string of other groups, all complaining about a slew of tax measures which were aimed at righting an economy that had clearly gone astray under the PPP. Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo publicly said that “in all my lifetime this was probably the worst budget I have ever seen, the budget that brought the most taxes in the history of our Country.” That was moments after Minister Jordan had completed his presentation. Well Mr. Jordan did the same thing earlier

this week and Jagdeo was forced to eat political humble pie and to mute his criticisms. There were no more statements about it being the worse slew of measures and policy plans in history. This time, he was forced to severely tone down his political rhetoric as large sections of society, the private sector, the private schools industry, the tourism sector and numerous other segments of society celebrated instead of attacking. Mr. Jordan and his team had listened to lobbying from the private sector about what they would have liked to see in the budget. From all appearances, they got some of what they asked for. For example, the Guyana delegation to the

Caricom Trade Ministers conference applied for, and won, the backing of other countries to slap a hefty increase on the import duties of American and Canadian pinewood exports to Guyana. Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman had joined with the forestry sector and producers to point to mounting evidence of price dumping on the Guyana market by North American suppliers. That imported pinewood was attracting only a five percent import tax was ridiculous to say the least. The lobbying from Guyana at the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED), ensured that Guyana was permitted under the rules in the regional single trading market to hike the duty to 40 percent from the beginning of next month. The 40 percent duty will run for 24 months, ending on December 31, 2019. If by then, foresters still think that imported pine is disadvantaging them, then all Messrs Jordan and company have to do is to reapply to Caricom to exploit a single market rule that “protects an indigenous industry that is under stress.” So it is no surprise then that the Board of the Guyana Forestry Commission has come out in support of the latest policies and protection measures for the sector, saying in a statement this week that measures like the one linked to pinewood were had directly from representation to Government. “We are confident that they will further support the development of Guyana’s forest sector, especially in terms of competitiveness, growth and boosting the sector’s ability to manufacture quality, value added products and enhance its profitability.”

In relation to education, further proof that the Coalition Government is willing to listen to representation from stakeholders and act accordingly to their benefit, came in the form of the lifting of the tax on private education. The proof in the pudding now going forward would be whether schools would revert to original semester or academic term prices now that they don’t have to add VAT and remit it to the GRA, and thence to the Consolidated Fund. There were numerous other goodies in next year’s budget, and even though some critics have already begun to say that the budget is geared to “winning hearts and minds”, many will be happy with measures like the ones relating to tourist and public transport buses. Vehicles operating in Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine will get licences free of cost and VAT on vehicles less than four years old carrying 21 persons or more has been lifted. This will likely benefit a number of sectors ranging from tourism to timber, to overland transport among others. Additionally, vehicles from 2,000-3000 cc and less than four years old will attract no excise tax, which was previously rated at 110 percent. Now it is zero. For vehicles up to 4000 cc, the tax on this comes down from 140 percent to zero. Astonishing right? “I know the folks in the tourism sector will finally get some progress in terms of those duty-free concessions on vehicles that they need to transport tourists in out tourism-related areas,” Former Tourism but now Public Telecommunications Minister Hughes said in reaction to these measures.

Sunday December 03, 2017

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Kaieteur News

My column

Complaints, complaints and more complaints Guyana is a society in which there is always something to complain about. There was a time when shortages prevailed so there was a lot to complain about. When the shortages were corrected, people began to complain about the price of the goods. That led to a complaint about wages and salaries. More recently there were complaints and protests about the various contracts, all of which have confidentiality clauses. These clauses were intended to curtail corruption, but then again, the people need to know what their leaders are signing on to. The government has decided that it will release the contract it has signed with ExxonMobil, because it would seem that the entire country wants to see that contract; and with good reason. Oil is the new gold and it promises to lift the country out of its poverty. Amazingly, there were contracts that no one ever saw. When the press asked for the contract on the Marriott, the government spoke of the confidentiality clause. In fact, a foreign group

had actually got deep into negotiations over the hotel. The spokesperson spoke of the details, and the next thing people knew was that the government, spearheaded by Winston Brassington, launched a tirade against the foreign company. It never got the hotel. It was the same when the deal was signed to expand the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. News of the arrangement came out of Jamaica, and again, Brassington was angry. Years later, the contract was released, but only parts of it. Amazingly, there was not the hullaballoo from the wider society about the non-release of the contract. Kaieteur News kept the issue alive and incurred the ire of the government. Indeed times have changed with the change in government. People feel free to voice their opinions. Some, like Christopher Ram, have become very vocal. I remember when Bharrat Jagdeo effectively silenced him and he did not have the courage to defend himself. Today, he is once more a vocal critic of the government. Times have changed.

I remember when Moses Nagamootoo was at odds with Jagdeo. There was no give and take until the 2011 elections approached. Jagdeo suckered Nagamootoo into campaigning with him then he dumped him. The rest is history. Now there is another issue and it has to do with the painting of State House. That building was once white, now it is a shade of pale green. I suppose the issue reared its head because green is President David Granger’s colour. Whatever the case, I now hear that the Heritage Trust must have a say in whatever colour change there must be. That may very well be the case. The Heritage Trust has written to the Ministry of the Presidency, perhaps demanding an explanation. It is heartening to know that we have vibrant societies, but such vibrancy must not be demonstrated selectively. Red House is red, not because it was fashioned that way, but because the thenPremier Cheddi Jagan lived there and he wanted a Red House to symbolize his ties to the Soviet Union. In Rus-

sian ‘red’ means beautiful, and it is a common word among Russians. I am not certain that the Heritage Trust was in existence then, but I do not recall a protest. Neither am I aware of the role of the Trust when the Americans demolished the heritage building that once housed Stella Maris (Star of the Sea) on High Street. It was a Catholic school back then. The demolition was to facilitate the construction of the embassy. The contractors demolished the building in sections at the request of the Americans, because they wanted to preserve the building. The sections were moved, carefully so, to the National Park for re-assembly at a new location. That building was never re-erected and it rotted. The Heritage Trust was silent. There are many heritage buildings in Georgetown, but because of a lack of funds the Heritage Trust can only sit and watch their deterioration. State House is being rehabilitated. I would suppose that the Trust had no problem with the rehabilitation, but it sure does with the

painting. I wonder if it was painted pink whether there would have been any hue and cry. I have seen other heritage buildings repainted in colours far removed from the original colour. Immediately Parliament Buildings come to mind. I have seen that building in so many colours that I must be colour blind by now. I saw it painted green, purple and peach. I don’t recall letters of complaints. The level of criticisms that this government attracts is astounding. The Guyana Sugar Corporation was a drain on the economy. The government opted to reduce the extent of losses by closing some of the sugar estates. That is ground for criticism. We now hear that people are being put on the breadline. Old age pensioners have got an additional $500 per month. There are complaints, although a mere two years ago the total package was $11,000 a month. This has jumped to $19,500 but there are complaints. The city streets have been repaired to levels not seen in more than three de-

Adam Harris A. A. cades. The cleanup crews are out in force to maintain a beautiful environment. This means jobs for many, yet I hear complaints that there are no jobs being created. There have been pay increases for public servants, but there is the complaint that they are getting no bonus for Christmas. And amidst this is the complaint that business has declined. I spoke about the businessmen dodging the tax regime and while they complain, the Chinese-operated businesses are cleaning up. There are complaints that the government has tightened up too many loopholes too fast. At issue here is the complaint that corruption is being erased.

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Demerara-Mahaica: bellwether of regional economic recovery (Excerpts from an address by H.E. David Granger President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana at the Regional Agricultural and Commercial Exhibition (RACE) of the Demerara-Mahaica Region) The Demerara-Mahaica Regional Agricultural and Commercial Exhibition (RACE) is long overdue. The Regional Agricultural and Commercial Exhibition of the Demerara-Mahaica Region will bring to six, the regions which have hosted such expositions over the past year. I look forward to RACEs being hosted in the remaining four regions – BarimaWa i n i , We s t D e m e r a r a , Cuyuni-Mazaruni and Potaro-Siparuni. RACEs highlight the people’s potential to produce and to expose their products for purchase at home and abroad. RACEs provide markets for farmers, traders and manufacturers. I have been impressed by the energetic response and participation of households, micro-, small-, medium-scale enterprises to regional exhibitions. RACEs emphasize the

importance which regional stakeholders – Regional Democratic Councils, Neighbourhood Democratic Councils, regional chambers of commerce, the private sector and civil society organizations – can play in the economic empowerment of the regions. RACEs provide the reason for formulating Regional Economic Action Plans (REAP), as I have called for on each occasion that I have addressed these regional expositions. Guyana is a unitary state but government must take place at three levels – the neighbourhood (NDC) or municipality; the Region (RDC) and the central government. All three strata must work in unison. Guyana is a unitary state that comprises ten administrative regions. Guyana’s five coastal regions have more developed economies, infrastructure and markets than their five

hinterland sisters. RACEs focus attention on the specific developmental needs of each region in order to reduce inequalities and remove obstacles to growth. More developed regions must support the less developed regions if the asymmetries are to be reduced. Demerara-Mahaica is the smallest region, covering an area of 1,843 km2 – about the size of the Comoros - but it is strongest region and home to 40 per cent of the country’s population. It must support the development of the other regions through its banking, communication, distribution, exports, investment services and markets. Demerara-Mahaica’s infrastructure – with its developed road networks and communication facilities – is superior to all other regions. The region’s road networks are linked to Guyana’s main seaport, Port Georgetown. The

two international airports are situated within the region. The Region possesses a strong and established industrial base with industrial estates at Coldingen, Ruimveldt and at Eccles. The Region, through its industrial sites, must lead the next wave agro-processing. It must become a central market and export hub for agro-processing and other manufactured goods. The Region, despite these assets, remains a food-bowl, producing in 2016: 28,387 metric tonnes of rice, representing 5.3% of total national production; 19,341 tonnes of sugar, representing 11% of national production; 35,896 tonnes of fish and shrimp, representing 86% of national production; 19,297,681 kg of chicken, representing 60% of national production; 13,559,996 eggs, representing 70% of national production

103,985 kg of pork, representing 40% of national production; 3.069 kg of mutton, representing 5% of national production and 4.8 million coconuts, representing 31% of national production. Demerara-Mahaica, blessed with such economic vitality and diversity, must help to promote the economic transformation of other regions, thereby narrowing the economic gaps which exist between the coastland and the hinterland. Demerara-Mahaica is the bellwether – it knows the way, it shows the way, it goes the way. The Region’s development, in this regard, must be aligned with Guyana’s green trajectory of development which has, at one of its central objectives, the reduction in economic disparities between the hinterland and the coastland. Guyana is in transition to becoming a ‘green’ state

which will place emphasis on the preservation of our biodiversity, the protection of our environment and the promotion of renewable energy generation. It will accelerate increased value-added low manufacturing. Demerara-Mahaica, as Guyana’s strongest administrative region, is expected to play a pivotal role in driving this ‘green’ agenda. Demerara-Mahaica must employ its efforts and experience in education, energy, economic services, enterprise development and environmental protection to overcome the challenges it faces and to support the development of other regions. RACEs are becoming a mechanism to promote greater economic integration, cooperation, communication and transportation among the regions. This Region must take the lead in collaborating with other administrative regions.

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The Real Facts about Cholesterol By Dr Zulfikar Bux Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine Cholesterol is a substance that is found in the blood. Everyone has some. It is needed for good health. The problem is, people sometimes have too much cholesterol. Compared with people with normal cholesterol, people with high cholesterol have a higher risk of heart attacks, strokes, and other health problems. Cholesterol blocks our blood vessels over time and slowly increases our risks of getting one of these conditions. I had written about cholesterol before, but persons still think that high cholesterol is the cause of some of their symptoms. I must emphasize again that high cholesterol is not known to cause symptoms; it causes medical conditions over time that may cause symptoms, but not the high cholesterol by itself. ARE THERE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHOLESTEROL? Yes, there are a few different types. If you get a cholesterol test, you might hear your doctor talk about:

- Total cholesterol - LDL cholesterol – Some people call this the “bad” cholesterol. That’s because having high LDL levels raises your risk of heart attacks, strokes, and other health problems. - HDL cholesterol – Some people call this the “good” cholesterol. That’s because people with high HDL levels tend to have a lower risk of heart attacks, strokes, and other health problems. Triglycerides – Triglycerides are not cholesterol. They are another type of fat. But they often get measured when cholesterol is measured. Having high triglycerides also seems to increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. WHAT SHOULD MY NUMBERS BE? Ask your doctor what your numbers should be. Different people need different goals. In general, people who do not already have heart disease should aim for: - Total cholesterol below 200 - LDL cholesterol below 130 – or much lower, if they are at risk of heart attacks or strokes - HDL cholesterol above 60

- Triglycerides below 150 Keep in mind, though, that many people who cannot meet these goals still have a low risk of heart attacks and strokes. WHAT SHOULD I DO IF MY DOCTOR TELLS ME I HAVE HIGH CHOLESTEROL? Ask your doctor what your overall risk of heart attacks and strokes is. High cholesterol, by itself, is not always a reason to worry. Having high cholesterol is just one of many things that can increase your risk of heart attacks and strokes. Other factors that increase your risk inc- Cigarette smoking - High blood pressure - Having a parent, sister, or brother who got heart disease at a young age – Young, in this case, means younger than 55 for men and younger than 65 for women. - A diet that is not heart healthy – A “heart-healthy” diet includes lots of fruits and vegetables, fibre, and healthy fats (like those found in fish and certain oils). It also means limiting sugar and unhealthy fats. - Older age If you are at high risk of heart attacks and strokes, having high cholesterol is a

problem. On the other hand, if you are at low risk, having high cholesterol might not lead to treatment. SHOULD I TAKE MEDICINE TO LOWER CHOLESTEROL? Not everyone who has high cholesterol needs medicines. Your doctor will decide if you need them depending on your age, family history, and other health concerns. You should probably take a cholesterol-lowering medicine called a statin if you: - Already had a heart attack or stroke - Have known heart disease - Have diabetes - Have a condition called peripheral artery disease, which makes it painful to walk, and happens when the arteries in your legs get clogged with fatty deposits - Have an abdominal aortic aneurysm, which is a widening of the main artery in the belly Most people with any of the conditions listed above should take a statin no matter what their cholesterol level is. If your doctor puts you on a statin, stay on it. The medicine might not make you feel any different, but it can help prevent heart attacks, strokes, and death.

CAN I LOWER MY CHOLESTEROL WITHOUT MEDICINES? Yes, you can lower your cholesterol some by: - Avoiding red meat, butter, fried foods, cheese, and other foods that have a lot of saturated fat - Losing weight (if you are overweight) - Being more active Even if these steps do little to change your cholesterol, they can improve your health in many ways. Now that you are more aware about cholesterol, the next time you or someone get a headache, feel dizzy, feel weak or have any other symptom, please

Dr. Zulfikar Bux do not say it’s your high cholesterol. It is definitely not your cholesterol, get checked out to find the real cause of your complaint.

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People& Places THAT MADE THIS WEEK’s NEWS

SUNDAY SPECIAL TOP COP SENT HOME TO ALLOW SMOOTH FLOW OF XMAS PLAN – SECURITY MINISTER EXPLAINS Police Commissioner, Seelall Persaud, was sent on special leave in the 'public interest' to facilitate the smooth execution of the Guyana Police Force's Christmas security plans. In a letter dated November 23 to Persaud, Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan, indicated 'it is the considered opinion of the administration that you should be and directed to proceed on special leave with effect from November 24, 2017 until further notice'. Minister Ramjattan told Kaieteur News last week Saturday that Persaud will remain off the job until after the Christmas holidays and explained that 'until further notice' in the letter means that Persaud will return after he completes 56 days of additional leave. This translates to Persaud returning to work late January. “I have the authority and I so advised him as to the special leave. I feel in the circumstances explained in my letter that he will come back immediately after the holidays when those temporary initiatives would have been completed,” Minister Ramjattan stated. The Minister was asked to explain what he meant by the 'public interest' and whether Persaud, as the Top Cop, could have contributed to the force's Christmas plans. However, the Minister wouldn't discuss matters relating to his 'thinking' regarding the decision and was against assumptions that Government had fired Persaud. The letter, seen by Kaieteur News, indicated that the Minister was advised to inform Persaud of the decision which was made in the public interest. The letter also stated that the decision is to allow for continuing initiatives and innovations being pursued by the force's temporary administration to be completed before Persaud's resumption of duty. CHINA TACTICALLY PURSUES GUYANA'S LARGEST 2018 PROJECT The Government of China seems to have a keen interest in the construction of the new bridge across the Demerara River which, according to a feasibility study conducted by LIEVENSE CSO, will cost about US$170M ($34B). This project is the largest infrastructural project on the cards for Guyana in 2018. Several companies with ties to the Government of China are eyeing the project. Two Tuesdays ago, the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) opened 11 tenders from companies seeking prequalification for the construction of the bridge. Those 11 tenders represented submissions for 16 companies as some of the tenders came from companies participating in joint ventures. Of the 16 companies, nine are Chinese. These companies are not owned just by Chinese nationals but by the Government of China. While in some cases the Government of China has majority shares, other companies are wholly owned by the government. But at first glance it would not seem so straightforward. China has been quite tactful in masking the ownership of these companies. Research of the companies showed many to be privately owned. They were listed as owned and operated by another company. However, when the trail was followed, the company listed as owning the other company is indeed owned by the Government of

Onlookers outside Rajendra Prasad’s (inset) business place after the attack China. It is almost like a web with all of the companies being connected in one way or the other. Two of the companies joined forces with other foreign companies. China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited has entered the race by itself. That company is wholly owned by the Government of China. CITIC Construction Company limited is the construction and engineering subsidiary of the CITIC Group (formerly the China International Trust and Investment Corporation), a Chinese state owned conglomerate. CITIC Construction Company has collaborated with China Railway 17 Bureau Group Company Limited for the purpose of building the bridge. China Railway 17 Bureau Group Company Limited is also owned by the Government of China. MONDAY SENDING POLICE COMMISSIONER ON LEAVE AMOUNTS TO SUSPENSION OR CONSTRUCTIVE DISMISSAL – UNCONSTITUTIONAL TO FORCE HIM OUT OF OFFICE, SAYS FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan continues to stand by his decision to send Police Commissioner, Seelall Persaud on 'special leave' in the 'public interest,' even as accusations surface that the decision may be unconstitutional and smacks of political interference in the work of the Guyana Police Force (GPF). Former Attorney General, Anil Nandlall told Kaieteur News last Sunday that Constitutional independent office holders like the Commissioner of Police can't be forced to take leave. “It amounts to suspension or constructive dismissal. This is simply to circumvent the regime of security of tenure which the constitution accords to the Commissioner of Police,” Nandlall stated. As it relates to suspension or dismissal, Nandlall noted that Article 225 of the Constitution which applies to the Commissioner of Police provides that the holder of that Office shall not be removed or suspended from the exercise of the functions thereof, except in accordance with the provisions of the Article.

The Article lists only two grounds upon which the Commissioner of Police can be removed from Office, and it relates to the Commissioner's inability to perform the functions of his Office, whether arising from infirmity of body and mind. The second ground for removal is for misbehavior. Additionally, Nandlall noted that the Article provides that if the question of removal arises (and it can only arise on the two grounds stated above) then the President must establish a tribunal, consisting of a Chairman and two other persons, who are judges or former judges or persons qualified to be judges, who shall investigate the question of the Commissioner's removal from Office. “When that tribunal is established, only then the President has a power to suspend the Commissioner from performing the functions of his Office. That tribunal shall then report to the President and recommend whether or not the person should be removed from Office,” Nandlall said. He said what Guyana is witnessing is a complete disregard for the constitutional process which must be undertaken as prescribed by the Constitution if a Commissioner of Police is to be lawfully suspended. NEIGHBOUR SNEAKS INTO HOME, SHOOTS SLEEPING GRANDMA, FIVE-YEAR-OLD GIRL – ACCUSED OCCUPANT OF ‘INTERFERING' WITH HIS WIFE A gun-toting neighbour shot a sleeping 52year-old woman and her granddaughter, after clambering up a ladder and sneaking into the victims' Number 72 Village home at around 03:30 hrs Sunday. Savitri Hassan, aka 'Sita' and her granddaughter Renuka Hassan, sustained shotgun pellet injuries, and were treated at the Skeldon Hospital, but were not admitted. Police said 13 shotgun pellets were removed from the child's left leg, while her grandmother was shot in the lower abdomen. Mrs. Hassan told Kaieteur News that they were fast asleep at around 3:30 hrs Sunday morning when the intruder, whose name was given as Suraj Singh, also called 'Akash,' entered their home.

“This guy living at the back, he set a ladder at the back of my house and climb and pass through the zinc at the top and he come in. My daughter was here sleeping with her baby and me and meh husband and granddaughter was sleeping on the bed on the ground when all meh hear is gunshot and then meh feel burning at the bottom ah meh belly”, the woman said. According to the woman, she got up and began to scream for help. “Meh get up and meh start holla because meh want know where this bullet come from, meh son binna sleep hay to and meh open the front door and start holla fuh neighbours. I go and check me granddaughter and meh son tek she off the bed but she couldn't walk. The whole bed had blood and then when meh turn around, meh see the bai run through the back door”.The woman believes that the shooting stemmed from an issue where the intruder accused her husband of 'interfering' with his girlfriend.“He does stand up pon he veranda and cuss all kinda nasty things, we went to Springlands Police and give a statement, they seh they gon come, dem never show up. We go back again two days after and dem send two neighbourhood police and dem go to he, but he start cuss up and had cutlass and dem police frighten and go away”, the woman divulged. GPL'S NEGLECT OF TRANSFORMER CAUSES FIERY DESTRUCTION OF LA JALOUSIE HOME – TWO CHILDREN AMONG FIVE HOMELESS A fire at Lot 31 La Jalousie Estate, West Coast Demerara Sunday morning has left a family of five homeless and accusing fingers are being pointed at the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated [GPL]. Members of the family and several residents of the La Jalousie community Sunday said that GPL, over a period of months, failed to respond to their calls that an electrical transformer near the home which was destroyed, was constantly sparking and leaking a fuel-like substance. The residents told this publication that the sparking, complemented by the substance, sometimes even caused small fires at the base of the utility pole with the transformer. Continued on page 33

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From page 32

Minister of Finance Winston Jordan

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From page 33

President David Granger

Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud

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From page 34 FRIDAY AT LONG LAST! EXXON CONTRACT TO BE MADE PUBLIC WITHIN DAYS – GOVT. After months of public pressure over an anticipated fortune-changer oil deal for Guyana, Government Thursday announced that it is getting ready to make public its contract with US-owned giant, ExxonMobil. The disclosure was made by Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, during the Government's postCabinet press briefing at the Ministry of the Presidency. While being questioned about the contract, Harmon disclosed that the document and its release were discussed in detail on Tuesday during the Cabinet meeting of the ministers and President David Granger. He said that the ExxonMobil contract with the Government of Guyana will be made public during the month of December (this month). The document will include the terms and conditions. Questioned whether ExxonMobil has agreed to the release, the spokesman said that there are certain steps to taken in the background checks in the lead-up to the release of the document, hence the timeline. Earlier this year, amid growing pressure of the release of details of the oil deal, the Coalition Government said that security reasons and confidentiality clauses in the contract would prove to be barriers. ExxonMobil had said that it was willing to release the contract once its partners and Government of Guyana, as stakeholders, give the green light. With regard to the implications of national security, the Government would be referring to the ongoing border controversy with neighbouring Venezuela. That country is claiming a large part of Essequibo and even the area where ExxonMobil and its partners discovered oil in 2015, about 100

miles offshore Guyana, in a claim that stretches back over a century. The matter is now being mediated at the level of the United Nations and should no resolution be reached by year-end, Guyana has the right to exercise its options of approaching the International Court of Justice. COMMISSIONERS STILL TO RECEIVE FRAUD REPORT FROM GECOM CEO Multiple Commissioners of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) are baffled after another meeting ended without the submission of

the $100M fraud report that surrounds the purchase of communication equipment. Kaieteur News has confirmed that the report has been handed over to the Commission and after two meetings, Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, has not distributed it to the sevenmember Commission presided over by newly appointed Chairman, Justice James Patterson (ret'd). At Tuesday's meeting, the Commissioners started to receive reports from Lowenfield on matters that have been executed by the Secretariat during the lack of Commission meetings due to the absence of a Chairman.

Almost half of the generators operated by GPL are two decades old, the company said.

“Why we have not received the report as yet is mindboggling,” one Commissioner stated. Justice Patterson was appointed on October 19, last, and has called two meetings since then. Commissioner, Bibi Shadick had told Kaieteur News that the auditor's report should be placed high on the agenda for the Commission. The audit report was handed over to Lowenfield, who is also the accounting officer, but without the Commissioners examining the report, further action has not been taken. Auditor General Deodat Sharma has indicated a willingness to use the powers of his office to call in the police if the Commissioners fail to act on the recommendations in his report. GECOM's Secretariat, which is headed by Lowenfield, is being accused of deliberately overseeing a system of procurement irregularities involving hundreds of millions of dollars in purchases– from radios, to pliers and batteries, to toners. The Auditor General had descended on GECOM's office after a series of articles pointed to what appeared to be worrying procurement practices at an entity that overlooks General and Local Government elections. One of the purchases for the 2015 General elections was of a number of communication radios. It was found that less than 90 percent of the radios were used, despite the strong reasons advanced by GECOM to the administration for the purchases. Some $100M was spent. GPL'S CHAIRMAN DEFENDS COMPANY'S PERFORMANCE – MINISTER TO REPORT ON PERFORMANCE TO CABINET; NEW CEO TO BE NAMED SOON With yet another year of growing anger over the national power company's performance, the Cabinet of Ministers is set to hear next week on the current situation at the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL). The company is continuing to face problems in its service delivery, with Board Chairman, Robert Badal, Thursday stressing that despite a stronger financial position because of tighter systems, when it comes to generating power, the company is skating on thin ice. On Tuesday, last, Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, was set to make a presentation on the situation at GPL to his colleague Cabinet ministers and President David Granger. However, because of constraints, that presentation will now be accommodated in the next Cabinet meeting set for Tuesday, says Minister of State, Joseph Harmon. Harmon made the disclosure Thursday while being questioned during the post-Cabinet press briefing. In recent weeks, there have been prolonged outages, with scheduled line maintenance two Sundays ago shutting power to the city. This was despite billions being plugged into the utility company in recent years. More than two years ago, a US$40M project including seven sub-stations and new transmissions lines were commissioned. This year, a US$23M project to introduce smart meters and run medium voltage lines on the coastland, was also launched. Prior to this, a new 26 megawatts power plant at Vreed-en-Hoop, West Bank Demerara, was commissioned in the last few years. However, generation, transmission and distribution issues continue to plague the power company, Badal said Thursday. Continued on page 36

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Bright spots in 2018 Budget too few and too far apart The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) in a statement released in recent days says it has “considered the 2018 National Budget presented by Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan on November 27, 2017” and is “expressly disappointed to conclude that the Budget largely failed to live up to the high expectations of the working-people who looked for-

ward to measures that would have lessened the burdens they are made to fetch now-adays”. The body said that such expectations “undoubtedly, were heightened by the cheery, colourful billboards and the many advertisements that have appeared in the electronic media to promote the Budget”. The FITUG expressed its “deep regret” that “despite

what we felt were fair and reasonable suggestions advanced to the Minister during the Budget consultations, just one was positively considered. We felt and still feel that our suggestions were realistic and reasonable. The shunning of our proposals, in our opinion, tells us, once more, a lot about the Government’s concern about the workers plight and the Administration’s seriousness

- FITUG in engaging the workers organisations. Though discouraging, we are not daunted and we will continue to promote our suggestions recognizing their importance in improving workers well-being and their standard-of-living. We must share too our

vexation that a paltry $500 per month or $16 per day increase was given to the Old Aged Pensioners who clearly deserve a much more realistic increase, especially in these times.” The body believes that it’s not too late for the Government to re-examine this matter with a view to “finding a more acceptable sum to give our former workers”. “The FITUG welcomes the decision to remove Value Added Tax (VAT) on Education and to grant tax-free status to leave passage allowances for employees in the private sector. While accepting both measures, we feel constrained to point out that those sums pale in comparison to the heavy costs the workers have borne arising from the widening of the VAT net and the significant increases in the costs in Government fees and services, among other things. “We further noted the Minister’s announcement of the intention to re-value properties which will obviously lend to increased rates and taxes payable to municipalities and NDCs. Really, the working people today need a lightening of their burdens not more economic pressures.” The FITUG said that like the workers, the body was vexed to learn that the Administration did not approve any improvements in the income tax threshold. “It was something that many workers had eagerly looked forward to and something that they widely expected.” “The Budget, disappointingly, did not advance any serious policy regarding job preservation and job creation, both critical matters at this time. Besides a few passing references about certain initiatives which unfortunately did not benefit from much explanation, nothing more was said. Given the Government’s track record of implementation, it is difficult for us to place great faith and hope that the policies referred to will see the light of day in a quick manner,” the FITUG stated. “What is of concern too is the absence of any clear policy or direction to assist in hastening the implementation of the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP). The timely execution of the PSIP is in the interest of the working-people and the country as

a whole and we cannot fail to express our alarm that the Administration has not seen it fit to have a clear direction set out.” Regarding the sugar industry, the FITUG said that “the Administration, in our view, did not provide any roadmap to the thousands of workers who stand to be affected by the miniaturization plans. This is both unfortunate and disturbing”. “While FITUG contends that there is no need to cut down the industry, the Government nevertheless is duty bound to address the fallout from their ill-considered plans that would have serious repercussions for the workers, the sugar communities, state agencies such as the NIS and GRA, foreign exchange earnings, and the effects on the business community, among other things,” the body said. “Also despite the heavy touting of the Oil and Gas industry, FITUG was disturbed to note that very little was mentioned especially given the significant impact the Government says that industry will make. Of particular concern, was the absence of any clear and definitive statements on the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF). The monies that would be deposited into the SWF belong to all Guyanese today and tomorrow and, therefore, a prudential framework is necessary for its operation. Similarly, engagements and agreements between the Government and the various oil explorers should be known to Guyanese as it is the people who ultimately benefit from the income and will bear the costs.” The body said that though it is accepting there were some marginal improvements, the pressures, difficulties and challenges by the workers remains, “regrettably, largely the same”. “While the Minister tells us the “The Journey to the Good Life continues” for the workers, they see themselves not on the same boat though they wish to be. We recall Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo advancing the notion that the 2018 Budget will be a ‘grass roots’ budget. Unfortunately, the proof is in the pudding and the ordinary people remain downtrodden and sliding into a state of despondency,” the statement concluded.

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Caribbean courts and lawyers embrace technology for swifter justice (Republished from Caribbean News Now) PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — Sadly, it is no longer a surprise when citizens seeking resolution before courts in the Caribbean are forced to contend with severe case backlogs and delays. Too often, many are denied the right to swift justice, with delays lasting for years and in some cases decades. So serious is the problem, it has triggered the creation of a special regional body to help strengthen the administration of justice and to provide technology to reduce the caseload backlog throughout the region. APEX is a not-for-profit agency established by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in 2016 to deliver technology-based solutions for Caribbean courts, law offices and justice sector bodies. On November 27, the agency convened a stakeholder meeting specifically focused on enabling higher levels of performance across the Caribbean justice sector. More than 50 delegates from 15 Caribbean countries gathered in The Bahamas, with another 35 joining the forum online. Among the audience were chief justices, attorneys general, judicial officers, directors of public prosecution, legal professionals, court administrators and leaders of bar associations. It was the first time that a myriad group of stakeholders of Caribbean justice fraternity had gathered for such a meeting. Bevil Wooding, executive director of APEX, described it as “a milestone event” for the Caribbean justice community. “Our mission, in part, was to bring together a broad range of persons from the justice sector across the Caribbean to directly and candidly confront the challenges and, importantly, to identify tangible solutions for improving the administration of law and justice in the Caribbean. From that perspective, the meeting was a great success,” he said. Sir Dennis Byron, president of the CCJ, agreed. “At the Caribbean Court of Justice, our mandate goes beyond simply resolving disputes that come before us. We also have a profound obligation to improve the systems

of justice delivery throughout the region, for the greater good of citizens, our beneficiaries, across the entire Caribbean,” Byron said. Barbados, Belize, Guyana, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago are among the places where courts and law offices have already adopted technology developed by APEX for electronic case filing, case management and court performance measurement. Byron pointed out that in every place that APEX’s technology is deployed, the solutions can replace slow, unreliable, manual processes with faster, more accurate, automated systems. He cited examples of inefficient, error-prone and timeconsuming manual case management and note-taking of court proceedings, which could greatly benefit from modern technology. “In many of our courts, the judge or the magistrate takes a manual record of proceedings. This slows down proceedings to the speed at which the judge is recording. It does not produce a complete or completely accurate record. Judges’ time and en-

Caribbean justice sector delegates take a photo call at the APEX Stakeholders Convention in The Bahamas ergy is taken up by trying to take those notes,” he said. “One of the practical benefits of APEX is that we have been able to make the digital transcript the official record of court proceedings, thus avoiding the need to print, copy, bind, store or ship paper-based records. By simply using the digital recording of proceedings, the court record has become more accurate, and proceedings move much

more quickly.” Wooding added, “The dream of having Caribbean courts benefit from Caribbean solutions for the vexing and persistent challenges in the administration and dispensation of justice, is now a reality. The next step will be for leaders in the justice sector throughout the region to take full advantage of the technology now available to enable Caribbean court and justice

sector excellence.” Caribbean courts, public and private bar associations and law enforcement institutions have significant hurdles to overcome in order to strengthen the region’s justice

system. But the advent of APEX and the development of justice solutions tailored to the specific needs of the Caribbean seem to be an important step in the right direction.

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Drink Fault-finding Guide A solution to all of your drinking troubles: Symptom: Drinking fails to give satisfaction and taste; shirt front is wet. Fault: Mouth not open or glass being applied to wrong part of face. Solution: Buy another pint and practice in front of a mirror. Continue with as many pints as necessary until drinking technique is perfect. Symptom: Drinking fails to give satisfaction and taste; beer unusually pale and clear. Fault: Glass is empty. Solution: Find someone who will buy you another pint. Symptom: Feet cold and wet. Fault: Glass being held at incorrect angle. Solution: Turn glass so that open end is pointing at ceiling. Symptom: Feet warm and wet. Fault: Loss of self-control. Solution: Go and stand beside nearest dog - After a while complain to its owner about its lack of house training. Symptom: Bar blurred. Fault: You are looking through the bottom of your empty glass. Solution: Find someone who will buy you another pint. Symptom: Bar swaying. Fault: Air turbulence unusually high - maybe due to darts match in progress. Solution: Insert broom handle down back of jacket. Symptom: Bar moving. Fault: You are being carried out. Solution: Find out if you are being taken to another bar - if not complain loudly that you are being hi-jacked. Symptom: The opposite wall is covered in ceiling tiles and has a fluorescent strip across it. Fault: You have fallen over backwards. Solution: If glass is still full, and no one is standing on your drinking arm, stay put. If not, get someone to lift you up and lash you to the bar. Symptom: Everything has gone dim and you have a mouth full of teeth and dog-ends. Fault: You have fallen over forwards. Solution: Same as for falling over backwards. Symptom: You have woken up to find your bed cold, hard and wet. You cannot see your bedroom walls or ceiling. Fault: You have spent the night in the gutter. Solution: Check your watch to see if its opening time - if not treat yourself to a lie in. Symptom: Everything has gone dim. Fault: The pub is closing. Solution: Panic Life Insurance Beneficiary Mary was discussing the various aspects and possible outcome of the insurance policy with the clerk at the Insurance Agency. During the discussion, she asked, "Suppose I take the life insurance for my husband today for a million dollars, and tomorrow he dies? What will I get?" The clerk eyed her suspiciously and replied, "Probably a life sentence." Wise Words From a Monk A woman gets cheated by her husband. Devastated, she doesn't know how to continue to live her life. She hears that there's a very wise monk who lives up in a mountain, and decides to go there to consult him. After few days of traveling, walking, climbing, she reaches the top and meets the wise monk. "I have spent my whole life with him, my youth was dedicated to support him, take care of him. And now he has left me for a young woman. My life is stolen, and I'm left with nothing. I don't know what to do." The monk gives her a cookie and asks her to eat it. After she finishes eating, he asks, "Was the cookie delicious?" "Yes," she answers. "Do you want another one?" "Sure, please." The monk looks her in the eye and says, "Do you see the problem now?" The woman thinks for a while, and then slowly speaks, "I guess human nature is greedy. You got one, then you want more, maybe a new one, bigger one. It's never enough. And nothing lasts forever, everything is impermanence. We should be aware and not disappointed by that." The monk shakes his head, "No, I mean you are too fat, you should eat less."

Kaieteur News

Sunday December 03, 2017

Sunday December 03, 2017

How To Apply Mascara Like A Pro Continued from last week Step 2: Prep and Prime It is necessary to prep your eyes before you begin your makeup application. Always start off with cleansed eyes. Oil or grime can ruin your look, even before you have begun. So make sure to remove all traces of old makeup, and follow up with a toner and a moisturizer. An eyeshadow primer is really important, for it creates a base for your makeup and ensures that your eyeshadow lasts long and stays crease-free. So after moisturizing, apply a primer to your eyelids. Step 3: Eyeshadow Proceed to apply an eyeshadow of your choice. To make your lashes the focus, make sure that you stick to a neutral color palette. Step 4: Liner Now that you've applied the eyeshadow use an eyeliner to line your eyes the way you like. You may decide to draw a thick or a thin line. This totally depends on your preference as well as the kind of look that you are going for. Well, those were the steps required to prep yourself before getting to the actual mascara. How To Apply Mascara Perfectly? Here comes the step by step procedure on how to put on mascara perfectly: Step 1: Curl Your Lashes Now comes the mascara part. It is necessary to choose the right kind of mascara for the kind of look you are going for. Daytime to evening – there is a mascara that goes with just about any occasion. Start by curling your lashes with a lash curler. Place the curler at the base of your upper lashes, close the curler and hold it in place for a few seconds. Step 2: Get The Product On The Wand Taking the tube of mascara, swirl the wand around to coat the bristles with the mascara properly. Make sure you're not pumping your wand into the tube repeatedly. This pushes air into the tube and makes the mascara clumpy, and it dries out faster. Step 3: Coat Your Lashes! Starting at the roots, apply the mascara with a wriggling motion. This ensures that there is more volume at the roots, and your lashes don't feel weighed down. Step 4: Do the same for the lower lashes. Since they tend to be sparser and smaller, you might even opt for an altogether different mascara, or switch over to a wand that has smaller bristles. Step 5: Brush Out The Clumps If you have lashes that are sticking together or have clumps of mascara on them, you can comb them out with the help of a clean wand. To be continued next week

SOLUTION FOR LAST WEEK’S SEARCH & FIND

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A Christmas Fairy

Kaieteur News

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Written by John Strange Winter

I

t was getting very near to Christmas time, and all the boys at Miss Ware's school were talking about going home for the holidays. "I shall go to the Christmas festival," said Bertie Fellows," and my mother will have a party, and my Aunt will give another. Oh! I shall have a splendid time at home." "My Uncle Bob is going to give me a pair of skates," remarked Harry Wadham. "My father is going to give me a bicycle,"put in George Alderson. "Will you bring it back to school with you?" asked Harry. "Oh! yes, if Miss Ware doesn't say no." "Well, Tom," cried Bertie, "where are you going to spend your holidays?" "I am going to stay here," answered Tom in a very forlorn voice. "Here - at school - oh, dear! Why can't you go home?" "I can't go home to India," answered Tom. "Nobody said you could. But haven't you any relatives anywhere?" Tom shook his head. "Only in India," he said sadly. "Poor fellow! That's hard luck for you. I'll tell you what it is, boys, if I couldn't go home for the holidays, especially at Christmas--I think I would just sit down and die." "Oh, no, you wouldn't," said Tom. "You would get ever so homesick, but you wouldn't die. You would just get through somehow, and hope something would happen before next year, or that some kind fairy would--" "There are no fairies nowadays," said Bertie. "See here, Tom, I'll write and ask my mother to invite you to go home with me for the holidays." "Will you really?" "Yes, I will. And if she says

yes, we shall have such a splendid time. We live in London, you know, and have lots of parties and fun." "Perhaps she will say no?" suggested poor little Tom. "My mother isn't the kind that says no," Bertie declared loudly. In a few days' time a letter arrived from Bertie's mother. The boy opened it eagerly. It said: My own dear Bertie, I am very sorry to tell you that little Alice is ill with scarlet fever. And so you cannot come for your holidays. I would have been glad to have you bring your little friend with you if all had been well here. Your father and I have decided that the best thing that you can do is to stay at Miss Ware's. We shall send your Christmas present to you as well as we can. It will not be like coming home, but I am sure you will try to be happy, and make me feel that you are helping me in this sad time. Dear little Alice is very ill, very ill indeed. Tell Tom that I am sending you a box for both of you, with two of everything. And tell him that it makes me so much happier to know that you will not be alone. Your own mother. When Bertie Fellows received this letter, which ended all his Christmas hopes and joys, he hid his face upon his desk and sobbed aloud. The lonely boy from India, who sat next to him, tried to comfort his friend in every way he could think of. He patted his shoulder and whispered many kind words to him. At last Bertie put the letter into Tom's hands. "Read it," he sobbed. So then Tom understood the cause of Bertie's grief. "Don't fret over it," he said at last. "It might be worse. Why, your father and mother might be thousands of miles away, like mine are. When Alice is better, you will be able to go home. And it will help your mother if she thinks you are almost as happy as if you could go now." Soon Miss Ware came to tell Bertie how sorry she was for him. "After all," said she, smiling down on the two boys, "it is an ill wind that blows nobody good. Poor Tom has been expecting to spend his holidays alone, and now he will have a friend with him--Try to look on the bright side, Bertie, and to remember how much worse it would have been if there had been no boy to stay with you." To be continued next week

Sunday December 03, 2017

Junior page

Decorative Ways to Recycle Christmas Cards:

Christmas Card Blocks

Spell out your holiday greetings with festive Christmas card blocks. Spray paint 11/2-inch wooden blocks with antique white spray paint. Cut 1-3/8-inch squares from six holiday cards so each side features a background from a different card. Use a diecutting tool or stickers to make 1-inch tall letters. Glue the paper squares and letters to the blocks with a decoupage medium. Editor's Tip: Great words for this project include "joy," "peace," "merry," "Santa," "Xmas," or "jolly."

Christmas Card Pinecone Ornament Use a flower punch to punch flowers from Christmas cards of coordinating colors (we looked for browns, creams, golds, oranges, and reds). Trim the punched-out flowers in half, and then in half again so you're left with individual petals. Start at the bottom of a 17/8x2-1/2-inch Styrofoam egg and hot glue petals on in rows, overlapping as you move up. Editor's Tip: Don't sweat it if the hotglue melts the foam a bit. It will give the pinecone a natural uneven texture.

sILEnt InFLuEnCEs

Y FUN WITH POETR

Help the bully

by Uncle Roy

School for me is a great place, To learn and be with friends, But sometimes things do happen, That can bring this to an end.

Some children like to bully, And make fun of fellow students, And sometimes even cause them harm, That leaves so much discontent. I wonder why they act so badly, They surely must have problems; The answer may be to help them, By showing them you can be their friend. So whenever I see someone trying To bully and make fun of others, I do my part to let them know We should make one another feel better.

Continued from last week “If I'd only a had this done I don't think she'd have died. The wind always came in through those chinks so, there was no getting out of the draught." I thought the same, but he seemed so good-hearted about it, I felt as though he was not really to blame, after all. Secretly, and without saying so, I felt all those pretty laces and everything her hands had made enticing me to stay with the children ; but my own

family and home duties called me along. An acquaintance had died; and although we had not known each other long, I thought it proper to attend the funeral, which was held at her late home. The children had been given some things to divert their attention, and it was time to gather up these and put them away. As I helped to do so I noticed the character of these every-day playthings, little colored picture-books, and all of them were pretty Bible stories ; and on the mantel and bracket shelves were delicate little statuettes of kneeling children, prayerful mothers, and others of like nature. Of the funeral sermon I was particularly impressed by this sentence from one who had known her from girlhood : " It can be said of this sister that she has fulfilled every principle of the gospel as it was made known to her, without murmuring" " Here," thought I, " has lived one whose example has been as near perfection as is almost possible." And I did not wonder that she was called to a better world. Upon another occasion a lady said to her guests, “ Come, we'll go to the table ; all is ready." As we passed from the room, a little child two or three years old ran along with us, and as all were about to seat themselves, they turned with one accord to where the little one had knelt beside a chair. It needed no one to say that the child had been accustomed to daily family prayer.

Kaieteur News

Sunday December 03, 2017

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We make our own world

How can I deal with

Peer Pressure?

W

ithout realising it, you can start to dress, talk or act a certain way so as to fit in to your set of friends. Sometimes we wonder how this happens, because teenagers nowadays many times tell their parents that they do not have to follow the way they behave, as they feel they must be allowed to do things in the manner that is best suited to them as unique individuals. But the pressures to fit in are so strong that we tend to forget what we try to maintain with our parents, and even do things that are silly and sometimes downright wrong so as to keep up with the crowd. This can include challenges to do things that are not only against our conscience but also harmful, like smoking and drinking alcohol, bullying others, wearing sexy clothes, and even indulging in sex. The simple fact is that if and when you are afraid to say no to friends who entice you to indulge in these useless activities, you will be really saying no to what you feel is right, to your parents and others who are interested in your welfare, and to the standards that will keep you on the proper road leading to your success now and later in life. As we said before, it is not easy to resist the invitations from those whom you look on as your friends, but, if you feel that you are mature enough to make

the proper decisions to guide your life, then you have to be strong and stand up for what is right. The fact is that eventually the same people who encourage you to do silly things will in the end realise that you were in the right and be grateful to you for showing them the better way. While it is easy to say: “I'm not afraid of what others think”, maintaining that when your friends dare you to act in other ways is quite another thing. For example, what would you do in the following circumstances? 1. One of the friends you usually hang out with offers you a cigarette in front of the others. You know it is wrong to smoke. But all eyes are on you to see what you will do . . . 2. The girls in school are talking about the good times they have with their boyfriends, some necking, and some having sex with them. One of the

girls who see that you are not joining in says to you: “You're not a virgin, are you?” 3. You want to wear a dress like the one all the other girls are wearing, but your mother says it is too short. The one she wants you to put on makes you look like a six-year-old, and you know your friends will tease you about it. One girl asks: “Why don't you sneak out with the skirt you want in your bag and then change into it in the bathroom at school?” . . . These are not easy situations to face if you are afraid of not being accepted into the crowd. But if you do give in to saying yes to them, you are actually saying no to yourself, to your standards and to your parents. This means that you have to purposely develop the strength to stand up to this type of peer pressure and live to your higher standards. (Continued next week)

CRACKERS Test your safecracking skills by rotating the four lettered dials until a common 8-letter word can be read across the middle of the dials.

END OF THE LINE For each of the categories listed, can you think of a word or phrase ending with each letter on the right? Count one point for each correct answer. A score of 15 is good, and 21 is excellent.

We make our own world, whoever we are, Our happiness is of our own making; We make our own world, wherever we are, Our happiness is there for the taking. Our world goes with us as we walk and talk each day, Our world can be a heaven or hell, our attitude will say; We make our own world, whatever we are, Let's make our own world, wherever we are. Keep thinking happy, and we'll make a new world, We will influence others to appreciate every pearl; Be positive and confident in all that you do, And in the end all your dreams will come true. When we face the challenges that we meet in life bravely and resolve them, we will become stronger and empowered to face bigger ones in later life.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

Solutions to last week’s CODEWORD

KEEP ON MOVING

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Bangladesh Bangladesh is one of the world's most densely populated countries, with its people crammed into a delta of rivers that empties into the Bay of Bengal. Poverty is deep and widespread, but Bangladesh has in recent years reduced population growth and improved health and education. Formerly East Pakistan, Bangladesh came into being only in 1971, when the two parts of Pakistan split after a bitter war which drew in neighbouring India. Bangladesh spent 15 years under military rule and, although democracy was restored in 1990, the political scene remains volatile. Islamist extremism has been rising in the usually tolerant country. The low-lying country is vulnerable to flooding and cyclones, and stands to be badly affected by any rises in sea levels. FACTS People's Republic of Bangladesh Capital: Dhaka Population 162 million Area 143,998 sq km (55,598 sq miles) Major language Bengali Major religion Islam, Hinduism Life expectancy 69 years (men), 70 years (women) Currency taka UN, World Bank LEADERS

President: Abdul Hamid Abdul Hamid, formerly the Speaker of parliament, was elected unopposed to the ceremonial post in 2013. Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina

Sunday December 03, 2017

Ziaur Rahman. They sank their differences when military ruler Hossain Mohammad Ershad was in power from 1982 to 1990, but they have been uncompromising rivals ever since. MEDIA Four bloggers who criticised religious fundamentalism were murdered in 2015. One of them was reportedly on a hit-list of bloggers published by a Bangladeshi Islamist group at the end of 2014. TIMELINE Some key dates in the history of Bangladesh: 1947 - British colonial rule over India ends. A largely Muslim state comprising East and West Pakistan is established, either side of India. The two provinces are separated from each other by more than 1,500 km of Indian territory. 1971 - Independence after a nine-month war, with India

backing the Bengali nationalists against Pakistan. 1973 - First parliamentary elections give the Awami League a landslide victory. 1975 - A military coup sees founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members killed, putting an end to civilian rule. 1979 - Second parliamentary elections brings former army chief Ziaur Rahman's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to power.

1981 - Ziaur Rahman assassinated during abortive military coup. 1982 - General Ershad assumes power in army coup. He suspends the constitution and political parties. 1991 - The country returns to a parliamentary system of government. 2014-17 - Bangladesh faces a campaign of high-profile violence by Islamists against bloggers, atheists and secular intellectuals.

Bangladesh emerged from a war between India and Pakistan in 1971

Sheikh Hasina started a third term as prime minister in January 2014 after her Awami League won elections boycotted by the opposition amid an ongoing political crisis. Politics has long been dominated by bitter rivalry between two women: Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Both have been prime minister at various times since 1991. Their hostility stems in part from differences over who played a greater role in the country's independence struggle - Hasina's father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, or Khaleda Zia's husband, General

When Tiger paints Zoya’s portrait on a frozen lake!

S

uperstar Salman Khan and Karina Kaif are gearing up for their upcoming release 'Tiger Zinda Hai'. After treating the audience with number one chartbuster 'Swag Se Swagat' now Tiger (Salman Khan) and Zoya (Katrina Kaif) are all set to sizzle the screen with their new track, 'Dil Diyan Gallan', which will be released today. Movie's director Ali Abbas Zafar said, "It is a romantic track that captures the beauty of a mature love story. We have filmed 'Dil Diyan Gallan' in an old school, vintage way to bring alive the romance that two mature people. It is like a classic Yash Chopra song." "The biggest highlight in this song is the unique Katrina portrait that he has drawn on a frozen lake. We had to shoot on this lake and Salman converted it to a canvas. We had to source natural colors, as ice doesn't catch all kinds of paints, which didn't come easy. But once we got hold of this, he created a huge 20 feet by 20 feet portrait that features Katrina's face," he added. The song features the two superstars in their most romantic song to date. 'Dil Diyan Gallan,' is a beautiful song that sums up the love story of super spies Tiger and Zoya. Composed by Vishal and Shekhar and sung by Atif Aslam, the song's lyrics have been penned by Irshad Kamil. The beautiful song has been choreographed by Vaibhavi Merchant. The high octane action entertainer, Tiger Zinda Hai, is set to release on December 22.

Sunday December 03, 2017

Kaieteur News

Development Officers gear to create hinterland business opportunities Community Development Officers (CDOs) were reminded to remain proactive in the respective indigenous villages and communities that they oversee. This was emphasised on Wednesday by Vice President and Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock, during his address to the CDOs in the employ of the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs at a four-day workshop. The four-day workshop concluded on Thursday at Moray House. Minister Allicock said one must be mindful of persons who attempt to be a major hindrance to hinterland development. As leaders being an active participant in village welfare is critical towards achieving the Ministry and by extension the Governments goals, he added. The Minister said, “Your job as Community Development Officers is to help in identifying issues and lobbying on their behalf, getting projects on stream and for us to work towards a better life for our people there.” Minister Allicock proposed several ideas that can foster job creation and employment opportunities for the indigenous people. These include venturing into niche markets which are aimed at

satisfying specific market needs. Production of coffee, cassareep and semi-precious stones and other market demands, the Minister said, are attainable because “we have so many strengths that can be transformed. We have from Regions One to Ten, our varying areas of expertise. Tourism is going to be something of great importance to this country.” Meanwhile, the Ministry is working to complete its Sustainable Development Framework which will better guide its programmes and Minister Allicock said “we hope to complete this shortly”. The CDOs Workshop focused on achievements over the past year, completing an annual work plan, expectations for 2018, village audits and Village Council Elections which are due mid next year. Reflecting on the past year, CDOs noted that despite the challenges much was accomplished, particularly in the area of infrastructural development which was made possible through the acquisition of presidential grants. Villages ventured into sustainable business initiatives that aided job creation opportunities at home. According to Alfred Fredericks who is responsible for 11 villages and communi-

Participants in the recent four-day workshop ties in Central Rupununi, Region Nine, South, for the past seven years, “villages are developing in all fields. We have cattle, and food processing. “They are doing well and recently Kumu came out there with a display so wonderful that it attracted people from overseas and that’s something very splendid that I admire.” However, CDOs have expressed disappointment when representatives from sister Ministries and agencies are visiting their respective regions without their knowledge. They are recommending that such information be shared so that they can be an active participant during visits. Seventeen CDOs are employed by the Ministry and operate in all ten administrative regions.

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Sunday December 03, 2017

Kaieteur News

‘Grey Boy’ committal stalled as magistrate appeal Judge’s ruling Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman is sticking to her position that the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) cannot interfere with her judicial work. She added that any law which seems to give the DPP that power is clearly an interference with the independence of the judiciary and such law ought to be declared null and void. The Magistrate is being represented by Attorney-atlaw, Arud Gossai. The lawyer is arguing that the decision of the Judge is against the weight of the evidence and the law cannot be supported having regards to the evidence and the law. The lawyer pointed out that Judge did not properly assess the evidence and/or the law in arriving at his decision. This comes after the magistrate was ordered by Justice Brassington Reynolds to comply with the directions of the DPP to re-open the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) and commit Regan Rodrigues to stand trial in the High Court for the murder of political activist Courtney Crum-Ewing. The ruling comes five months after the magistrate discharged Rodrigues also called ‘Grey Boy’. Her reason was insufficient evidence. Particulars of the charge against Rodrigues are that on March 10, 2015 at Diamond, East Bank Demerara, he murdered Crum-Ewing. In a letter dated June 6, 2017, addressed to Magistrate Judy Latchman, the DPP “directs you to comply with Section 65 and 66 of the Criminal Law (Procedure) Act, Chapter 10:01 with a view of committing the accused.” After the letter was sent to the Magistrate, Kaieteur News was informed that the magistrate would not comply with the DPP’s order since she had already discharged the matter. Further, she found that the DPP could not direct her to commit Rodrigues to stand trial under the section outlined in the letter. The lawyer disagrees with the ruling of the Judge as they believe that a direction from the DPP to the Magistrate to commit an accused person to stand trial is a clear interference with the independence

Principal Magistrate, Judy Latchman

Director of Public Prosecution, Mrs. Shalimar Ali-Hack

Murdered, Courtney Crum-Ewing

Regan ‘Grey Boy’ Rodrigues

of the judiciary. Article 122 of the Constitution is extremely clear on this point of interference with the judiciary. The lawyer argues that the DPP cannot interfere in the judicial determination of the Magistrate. Attorney Gossai added that the DPP herself failed to follow the procedure set out in section 72 of the Criminal Law Procedure Act as she did not request the notes from the Magistrate as she was required to do under the said section 72. The DPP did request the notes after the first discharge but she did not request the notes after further evidence was taken. The lawyer stressed that the Judge disagrees with the Magistrate’s interpretation of those words yet he ruled that there would be no costs awarded against the Magistrate on the basis that the words used by the DPP could lend to that interpretation. During the PI, Magistrate Latchman ruled that while the court was satisfied that CrumEwing was shot with a gun retrieved from a house at Riverview, Ruimveldt which

was occupied by Rodrigues, there was no evidence that Rodrigues “used the gun, pulled the trigger and shot Crum-Ewing.” Crum-Ewing died as a result of haemorrhage and shock due to multiple gunshot wounds. This was supported by the evidence of Government Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh who testified that CrumEwing received five gunshot wounds- one of which was at close range. The Magistrate said that the court believed that CrumEwing died as a result of gunshot wounds. Fourteen oral statements given to police by Rodrigues were admitted to form part and parcel of evidence in the matter by Magistrate Latchman. However, the Magistrate ruled that these oral statements did not implicate Rodrigues in the murder. ‘Grey Boy’ is currently in prison for threatening CrumEwing’s mother. The court heard that on August 12, at Regent and Alexander Streets, Georgetown, Rodrigues threatened Donna Harcourt.

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Kaieteur News

Dr. Scotland doesn’t see House Major road upgrades Speaker role as enforcer for Region Six underway

Public Works Minister, David Patterson, recently inspecting a road under repairs in East Berbice. Several contracts were recently awarded for major road upgrades in Region Six, East Berbice, Corentyne. Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, during a post-cabinet briefing Thursday, at the Ministry of Presidency, announced that the contracts were awarded for the construction of asphaltic surface roads and supply of white sand, crushed gravel and asphaltic concrete maintenance. He disclosed that a sum of $263.6 million in contracts was provided for asphaltic surface roads in New Amsterdam to enhance the quality and efficiency of the transportation system, while at the same time reducing the cost of maintenance. Roads slated for maintenance include: Lot One – Republic Road at a cost of $59.4 million; Lot Two – Main Street for the sum of $140 million and Lot Three – Waterside Road for $64.2 million. Further, a contract in the sum of $118.9 million was awarded for the supply of 35,000 cubic meters of white sand for Lot One of the East Bank Berbice Road Project while a $134.7 million contract was awarded for 7,000 cubic

meters of crushed gravel aggregate for Lot Three. Earlier in the year, Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, announced that work will be conducted in phases on the East Bank Berbice Main Access Road. Works are expected to commence shortly on the thoroughfare which will feature the upgrade of nearly 5km of the roadway and will include improved lighting and road surface markings; traffic signs and the reconstruction of two bridges and two culverts. Additionally, contracts have been awarded for thermoplastic road markings on roads in Region Six as well as No. 35 Macedonia, East Bank Demerara, areas in West Bank Demerara and other locations. The thermoplastic road marking is a process that utilises a heated solution instead of paint and lasts for over a year, as opposed to three months when done with paint. Contracts were also awarded for traffic signals and accessories and construction of Rip-rap sea defences, which is the armouring of shoreline structures against erosion.

STANDARDS IN FOCUS

Expressing the view that persons have the innate sense to determine appropriate behaviour, Speaker of the eleventh Parliament, Dr. Barton Scotland, wants the media and the wider community to do more in safeguarding the sanctity of the National Assembly. Dr. Scotland and his senior Parliamentary staff met with journalists and editors last week to discuss a wider range of issues of mutual interest. When the session was open for questions, the Speaker was asked about matters relating to maintaining decorum in the House. Based upon the discussion, it appeared that Dr. Barton, a career diplomat, does not see himself as the enforcer as many persons want him to be. At the 71st sitting of the House last month, the Speaker did not intervene when the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) MPs protested with placards, essentially drowning out the address by President David Granger. The Speaker questioned whether he should have stopped the President, deal with the protest and then reinvite the President to continue his address. He stands by his decision. The PPP has accused Dr. Scotland of bias in his deliberations and rulings in

Shopping furniture this Christmas Season It is during the Christmas season that many consumers take the opportunity to add a new piece of furniture to their décor to enhance their homes for the holidays. The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) is responsible for monitoring the quality of furniture in Guyana, and the Bureau is advocating that consumers, when purchasing furniture, pay careful attention to quality and labelling requirements. Furniture must be of good quality, otherwise their imperfections and defects will quickly show during usage. Further, these products are very expensive and consumers expect that they will get extensive usage from them; so the structural integrity of furniture must be sound to withstand prolong use. The “Code of Practice for the manufacture of furniture” offers a guide to manufacturers who are desirous of producing quality pieces. Meanwhile, manufacturers must comply with the National Labelling

Standards “Specification for the labelling of commodities – Part 5: labelling of furniture”. Therefore, to ensure satisfaction with their purchases, consumers should avoid making the following mistakes when buying furniture: · Failing to Conduct a simple but detailed check of the furniture: When buying wooden furniture, consumers forget to take a closer look to ensure that the lumber and other materials used in manufacturing are free from rot, insect holes, open knots cracks and other common defects. It is often the practice of some unscrupulous manufacturers to use defective materials and use finishing materials to conceal these defects. Whenever this is done it is the end user/consumer who loses because he/she has purchased a rapidly deteriorating or easily weakened piece of furniture. · Forgetting to measure your furniture: Don’t neglect to measure the room ahead of buying to see if your new

furniture will fit. You will be amazed at the number of furniture purchases that never make it into a home because the buyer neglected to measure the furniture or forgot to take into account hallways, doors, elevators and stairs. · Ignoring scale: A sofa that looks just right in the showroom might look too big in your room or not big enough. It is hard to judge when you are looking at a picture or seeing it in a showroom. In addition, measure to make sure that your new piece matches the scale of the furniture you already own. · Paying too much attention to fads: It is best to buy a piece of furniture that you will feel comfortable with for years to come. That goes for color as well as style. Fads can come and go very quickly, so look beyond a few months of excitement. Instead, buy furniture that truly appeals to you and will look good even years later. · Forgetting to read the labels: Reading labels that are affixed to pieces of

furniture available for sale is very important. Labels provide useful information on the product and can should include information such as the common name of the item, m a n u f a c t u r e r ’s distinguishing mark/code, type of materials from which the furniture is made and the type of finish used. · Ignoring who will really be using your furniture: Before you buy furniture, make sure that you know how it will be used, and who will be using it. If you forget to factor in small children, pets, and snacking while watching TV, you could be heading for disaster. Your fabulous cream colored sofa will be no match for grubby hands, or muddy paws. An absolutely gorgeous coffee table with a delicate finish will not last too long when you have people putting up their feet on it. For further information on this subject, please contact the Guyana National Bureau of Standards on Telephone Numbers: 2190065, 219-0066 and 2190069 or visit the GNBS website: www.gnbsgy.org.

…says Press has to speak about things that will harm society the House. Most of the accusations stem from the highly charged political climate that the Speaker finds himself in the middle of. “It’s everybody involved and those of us who see the thing as wrong and remain quiet about it are as guilty as the ones as the ones who are committing the error. Let us face that,” the Speaker stated. He said rules are made for reasonableness and presumes respect and a certain level of decorum. According to Dr. Scotland, it is not the force of the law alone that prevents persons from breaking the law. Continued on page 71

Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr. Barton Scotland

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CONSUMER CONCERNS

CITY SOLID WASTE CRISIS ENDS By PAT DIAL Over the last several weeks, we have had a steady stream of complaints concerning the sporadic way in which citizens’ garbage had been removed. In the last week, the M &CC rubbish disposal system collapsed and garbage accumulated in the streets and rubbish bins everywhere were overflowing. Parts of the City literally stank, especially in those areas where garbage had overflowed into the stagnant drains. There was an upsurge of swarms of flies and mosquitoes and citizens’ health was put at risk. Her Worship the Mayor, herself, empathised with the discomfort of the citizens. She expressed her disgust at seeing garbage accumulations in various parts of the City and the very inadequate contractors whom officers at City Hall had employed to replace Puran Bros and Cevons. These contractors were

not performing to expected standards of efficiency and had open back trucks with highly offensive exposed garbage. Her Worship had been misinformed and misled by the Town Clerk and Solid Waste Director as to the enormity of the problem. The Guyana Consumers Association tried to contact the Solid Waste Department of the Council and on Friday every one of their listed telephone numbers was tried several times of the day but no one answered. Eventually, we were able to contact the Town Clerk’s office but, as usual, the Town Clerk was not available. We, however spoke with the Deputy Town Clerk who told us that the Town Clerk was addressing the problem. It was the belief of consumers with whom we spoke, that the problems of rubbish disposal in the City were self-created in several ways by certain officers of the Council. Puran Bros and Cevons had made great investments in acquiring

Hemp moves one step closer to become legal Following a sensitisation session that was held two Saturdays ago, the Guyana Hemp Association has moved one step closer toward legalising the Hemp plant. The Hemp plant is one that has tremendous benefits that can move Guyana to become one of the wealthiest countries, according to members of this association. Co-Chairman of the Association, Michael Kirton, told this publication yesterday that a letter was sent to President David Granger, last Monday after the most recent meeting that the Hemp Association convened at the YWCA Hall, Brickdam Georgetown. The President, according to him, responded to the letter on Friday, informing the members that Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder, should meet with the association in the coming days to discuss issues pertaining to Hemp. Despite the recent response, Kirton said that sensitisation sessions will continue in various parts of Guyana, as the Hemp Association seeks to legalise the plant. As such, the co-chairman said that the next informative session will held on December 16, next. The Guyana Hemp Association has been, for the past several years, trying to convince the government to legalise the hemp plant, however this was not done due to the plant’s resemblance to marijuana. The hemp plant looks like sugarcane, grows up to 10 feet tall and can be harvested within four months. Hemp in various countries of the world makes over 25,000 industrial products. A popular brand that uses hemp to make its products is Adidas. The shoes are actually made from the plant’s fibre and are known for its durability. Guyana’s paper currency is also made from hemp. In 1941, Henry Forde, the Executive Director of Forde, made a plastic car from Hemp. The car was able to withstand tremendous pressure without denting but the production was eventually halted after Forde realised that if cars of this nature continue to be produced, then the production and sale of cars will eventually decrease. Some other companies that use hemp today are Mercedes and BMW for the seats, panels and dash boards. In addition to the vehicular companies, several clothing brands use hemp. Legalising the hemp plant in Guyana will be one of the steps that the government can take to tackle unemployment according to the members on the association. Given the vast demand for the plant, it would be one to generate revenue for the country.

modern garbage trucks, training and equipping staff and maintaining an efficient and reliable service. They had also invested in movable toilets and septic tank cleaning equipment. At great sacrifice to themselves, they accorded M&CC generous credit. Indeed, they became household names in Georgetown. The City Hall Administration made little or no effort to pay off the approximately $475.millions debt they owed these Contractors who were not large companies and could not indefinitely bear this burden. To save themselves from going in the direction of bankruptcy, they were compelled to temporarily withdraw their services. The Mayor and many citizens realised that the only immediate relief to the problem was to urgently solicit the help of the Central Government in paying the

Contractors so that they could resume work. The Mayor personally approached Ministers of Government. The Town Clerk opposed the Mayor’s position and tried to negate the Central Government’s bailout, claiming it would detract from the autonomy of the Council despite no effort was being made to pay Puran Bros and Cevons and the fact that over the years, the Central Government had financially bailed out the City. Another source of opposition to the bailout and having the City immediately cleaned was the Solid Waste Director. The Mayor bitterly complained that she was misled by this official and that she would pay no further cognizance to him on this issue. The Solid Waste Director seemed more concerned with reducing the work Puran Bros and Cevons did and handing

it over to two or three small contractors who were not properly equipped, whose trucks were fairly aged and mostly open backed spewing their stench in the city streets and who could not accord credit to the Council. The Solid Waste Director seemed more concerned with engaging the “smaller contractors” than having the City regularly and efficiently cleaned. News has just come that the Central Government has provided the funds to pay Cevons and Puran Bros and that they will immediately resume work. Georgetown now feels a sense of relief. Both M&CC and the citizens should take measures to ensure that such a garbage crisis does not again occur in Georgetown: The City Administration must honour their obligations to the two Contractors. The Town Clerk felt confident that the City could pay its way and wished

to reject the Central Government’s bailout and funds were found to pay the “small contractors” millions of dollars. Cevons and Puran Bros could therefore now look forward to being paid on a regular basis. Secondly, the Council itself should again begin to do some cleaning of the City as used to be done in the past. The ethic must again be cultivated that the City’s employees’ primary concern should be to serve the City and not merely to collect their pay cheques. Thirdly, smaller contractors should be encouraged to invest in acquiring better equipment and to cultivate efficiency and reliability. They could be given special jobs by the Council once they reach the required standards. Such “small contractors” could also be employed by the Regional Administrations.

Law firms observe influx of registration by... From page 13 development. In this regard, he cited the case of Nigeria. The GCCI President recalled that the Government of Nigeria did not depend on a policy paper to ensure ExxonMobil gave monetary support for the development and support of its local products and services. In fact, the administration ensured that this was negotiated upfront and placed it into the contract it signed with the oil king. It was this foresight that led to the country drawing down on millions of dollars recently for development purposes. In fact, ExxonMobil provided $975 million to support indigenous operators. The funds are expected to enable indigenous companies that face many challenges; including limited funding finance different projects and programmes. ExxonMobil is one of Nigeria’s highest producers of crude oil, accounting for almost 600,000 barrels per day of crude, condensate and natural gas liquids. The American company has been in that African country for over 40 years with a track record of operating a world class facility in the country. It also looks forward to boost crude oil production there. Because of the contractual safety nets employed by Nigeria, ExxonMobil was even made to invest heavily on human development in Nigeria which was very significant in bringing about competition for national growth.

The company was also made to invest massively in community development in areas of education and infrastructural development, while ensuring sustainability on the long-time benefit. Over 700 graduates benefitted from the company’s skilled training, and majority of them have been employed by various oil and gas companies in Nigeria. With the aforementioned in mind, Indar said, “I cannot say if our government has negotiated on Guyana’s behalf in this regard because we have not seen the contract we have been asking for, for some time. “These things have to be negotiated upfront so that when you get into production, you have something you can go back to and say to the oil company, ‘You are supposed to help with a university wing that is supposed to help with this or that…” The GCCI President added, “But if you don’t, you won’t get it when the oil companies get into production. We are at a loss right now. We don’t know if the government did this for the nation.” Strategic Advisor and former Minister for Energy in Trinidad and Tobago, Kevin Ramnarine, recently advocated that having a local content policy would not be enough. He too, insisted that it must be backed by legislation if one intends to really compel companies to utilise local goods and services for the oil and gas sector.

LOCAL CONTENT POLICY Guyana’s draft Local Content Policy has been criticised in recent months for lacking provisions which would safeguard against exploitation by companies. The draft speaks nothing of how to avoid procurement fraud, conflict of interest and favouritism, among other crucial areas. Instead, the draft Local Content Policy framework seeks to address, the suite of opportunities that may arise and the approaches to be taken in selecting and developing opportunities related to enhancing the capabilities of Guyanese nationals and businesses. The Policy articulates that this will be done through training, development and employment initiatives (Capacity Development), ensuring availability of ownership participation for qualified Guyanese equity interest (Ownership Value), supplier development provisions for goods and services by locals to support sector operations (Local Content); and well-tailored social contributions for greater impact and benefits (Societal Benefits). It also describes what will be done to ensure that the activities in the petroleum sector are conducted in a manner that transparently secures the maximum benefit for the people of Guyana, while recognising the limitations of the country and holding all actors accountable to the present and future generations of Guyanese

who are the owners of the nation’s petroleum resources. Additionally, the draft policy recognises that the petroleum resources of Guyana belong to all its citizens, and represent an asset of significant intrinsic value, which, once removed, diminishes the wealth of the nation, unless there is transformation in value from resources below the ground to improved quality of life above it for current and future generations of Guyanese. The draft says, “Guyana will approach the development of its petroleum resources, people and businesses in a pragmatic, transparent and accountable manner. This will be conditioned by existing circumstances and an analytical approach to understanding the resource, the activities it engenders and our input capabilities. We shall pursue strategic opportunities for local capacity development and participation that give us the maximum possible benefit now and in the future.” The Policy also states that Guyanese will participate in a manner that gives preferred access and opportunities to improve and enhance the country’s capabilities so that it can become internationally competitive and in the end, the country will progressively provide a greater amount of future services. Capacity development, to enable more value retention, will be treated as an investment, rather than a cost, the policy outlines.

Sunday December 03, 2017

SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Guyana passport application. Graphics design, advertisement. Tel: 6267040; 265-4535. INNOVATIVEMARKETING & PUBLISHING INC –TEL: 600-4212: We create A/ works, logos, busi ness cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included. PASSPORT, PERMANENT & VISITOR VISA APPLICATION, PROFESSIONAL IMMIGRATION CONSULTANT – SABITA IMMIGRATION SERVICES. CALL: 613-3920/625-3767. Eagle’s: Re-gas –low prices, washing machine repairs, gas stove, plasma flat Screen, computer repairs & more. Call: 697-2969/646-0966 I N S TA L L AT I O N S , REPAIRS AND PARTS FOR AC, FRIDGE, WASHING MACHINE, STOVE ETC: CALL NICK 627-3206, 630-1600 Repairs to refrigerators, gas stoves, A/C units, washing machines. Call Lindon: 6411086/ 694-2202 We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer-Call: 2310655; 683-8734. Omar Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezerCall: 610-5846 or 661-8158 HOUSE PLAN to be drawn, adjust and estimate. Call us on: 216-0671/622-0267/6928464

FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY- $19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-2274754. Video games and consoles at affordable price. Repairs to video game system .Call:6722566/265-3231 One Hilux Surf in excellent condition. Cost $2,200,000 negotiable Contact : 612-2592 (1) Flat bottom boat 35 ft. in length, 6 ft. depth with 400 lbs. catguts seine (5 inch) Tel#6766002/622-8697, 695-9860. Masilla Expoxica Marina, part “A” and “B”, good price Contact : 677-6679, 662-7965 One massive six month old male American bully/Pitbull ready to be trained. 629-7426/ 233-0570 Creole chicks, ducklings, ducks, turkey chicks, one fridge & household items. Contact: 610-0901

- Make-up Courses with Mac, Bare Minerals, etc. - Cosmetology Courses: $90,000 Technician Course: $35,000. Call: 647-1773/660-5257

FOR RENT

WANTED

PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY,ETC.-CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 2161043; 677-6620

Experienced salesgirl @ Christine’s Variety Store on Lombard St. Contact 227-8529. Need a cosmetologist. Must be rounded Call; 693-1817 Wanted-One apprentice electrician must have ideas of domestic works. Phone: 6822971.

Property for rent - 2 storey house at Republic Park, E.B.D$1200US. Call 647-1773 Self-contained rooms in Prashad Nagar. Tel: 227-2993 3 bedroom apartment at 19 Goedverwagting. East Coast Demerara. Rent$60,000 per month. Call:222-9098 or 6149516. One apartment for rent. Mon Repos, E.C. Dem. First Street. Tel 220-2330/ 614-0005

EDUCATION

2 ft x 2 ft fullbodied porcelain tiles approximately 3200 Sq ft. Contact: 641-4952/662-1991. I- Leyland daf cement mixer truck $2.9M,1-caterpillar skid steer $ 3.4 M,1-Bmw 318 I, $2.7M 1-mitsubishi canter $ 3.6 M Contact 650-0402/6031402 (1) Riverside land with house ,(1) 3ton Dump Canter, (1) TL500 Bedford flatbed truck, (1) Model ‘M” truck with winch Tel: 629-2912 Pitbull mix with Rottweiler. 5 weeks old contact 269-0711/ 666-7895 or 622-2201 $40,000 each. Sale on DayQuil, Advil Cold & Sinus, Nyquil tablets & Liqui-gels. Affordable prices offered. Also in wholesale prices. Contact : 223-4159.

Numark Mixtrack3 with a free laptop $60000 HP-G62 Laptop Windows 10 Pro $50,000 Tel: 621-9604/694-1748. FOR SALE/RENT American Pool Table. Call: 277-0578

Wanted Minibus driver. 50 yrs and older. Tel#666-6991. 45 Route. 1-Shop assistant & a female cook to work in interior, 1male/female to look after layer bird in the interior Call: 6994718.

We buy lands in Eccles, Providence, Herstelling, Farm, Covent Garden & Parafaite Harmonie, Uitvlugt $3M. 6511969/656-0701 Legal Secretary/Clerk. Must have CXC English and be Computer Literate. Tel#6009030

CAR RENTAL

VEHICLE FOR SALE Allion, Primo, Fielder Wagon, Spacio, Bluebird, 212 Carina, NZE, Honda CRV, Toyota IST, RZ & Pit-bull – Call: 650-7501 One Titan, excellent condition, 718 Diamond EBD Call : 6242462. Toyota Belta. Excellent Condition, AC, PVV, Like new. Good for bank purchases. 1,850,000. 639-2490. 2015 Ford F150 EXT Cab 4X4 fully loaded Auto V6 3500CC 5800km Excellent Condition. 610-5370. One(1) Mitsubishi Canter 14 feet 7.5 ton 50% down payment and no interest. Contact 650-0402 or 603-1402. X-Mas deal-unregisterd 2010 Allion, low mileage , rock bottom price $3.175,000 Contact : 610-4184,220-1988 Unregistered Axela 2011 $2.5M, dark interior, fully loaded, Nissan pickup extra cab $2.1M. Call: 617-5536 LEARN TO DRIVE C. Persaud & N. Outar Driving School formerly Soman & Sons Driving School @ Maraj Building- Call: 644-5166; 6222872; 615-0964; 689-5997 (affordable packages).

Parking meter fees slashed to $150 per hour The Mayor and City Councillors of Georgetown, (M&CC) renegotiation committee and Smart City Solutions (SCS) have reached an agreement to reduce the parking fee to $150 per hour, VAT inclusive parking in Georgetown. A source close to City Hall has confirmed that the decision was taken on neutral

Looking for a seamstress and tailor- Call: 689-5877

Day Care and Pre-K classes available in Diamond Call Canadian School 2166921,216-6922

Fridge, freezer, stove, beds, washing machine, microwave, furniture. Call 6713004. Husky dog. 1 yr. old. Call 2670205. Whatsapp 671-9136

Samsung Galaxy On5 $26000 Motorola Droid Turbo $40000 Xbox360 Console $25000 HP6730b Laptop $30,000 Tel:6219604/694-1748. SALON

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DOLLY’SCARRENTAL-CALL: 225-7126/226-3693 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL@ YA H O O . C O M / W W W. DOLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL:643-5122/6560087, ,EMAIL:PRO_AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM AIDAN’S CAR RENTAL:PICKUP,9-11 SEAT MINI BUS, GOOD FOR AIRPORT & FAMILY OUTINGS, CHEAPEST RATE . Call: 698-7807 WING’S CAR & PICKUP RENTAL: LOW DOWN PAYMENT, CHEAP RATES, AND SPECIAL OFFERS! CALL: 690-6494

PEN PAL A 42 year old is seeking a female relationship. 30-35 that lead to marriage. Cell: 613-9673 Male looking for women between ages 35-55 yrs, old to remarry. Call: 668-9020 or Whatsapp, serious enquiries only.

VACANCY 1-Female office assistant to work in office between the age of 30-45 Contact Cell: 6238078, 220-1787 Sales boys & Girls. Apply: Avinash Complex Water Street. 226-3361/227-7828. Experienced Pharmacy Technicians to work flexible hours @ reputable pharmacy in Diamond & Kitty. Call: 6453422/ 227-0630 Outdoor antenna installer & network technician. Email CV to jobs@awngy.com Tel: 2272001 Confidential Cabs. Vacancy exist for one experienced dispatcher. Tel#231-5784 695-1961. Salesgirls. Tel: 226-1316 LAND FOR SALE Lot 51 New Road Vreed-enhoop West Coast Demerara. Contact Andy on: 671-4420. Prime land to build that dream home. Not far from Princess, New Thriving, Massy, HJ water world $13M neg- Call: 669-8397. Farm (East Bank) $3.5M Herstelling $2M Parafaite Harmonie Main Road (High Income) 100ft X 50ft $3M 6511969/656-0701 PROPERTY FOR SALE Property @ 76 Providence E.B.D with Grocery store & half liquor license for home/ business. Price Negotiable. Call: 667-6877 TOLET One business space, located at 177 Charlotte & Alexander St. Kindly call: 689-3462, 6443555. Serious enquiries only. Room for working couple/ single person. Light, water, bed included, $32,000 monthly, $32,000 security@ South Ruimveldt. Tel: 6230076 1 and 3 bedroom apartments. Free Wi-Fi, recently renovated. 641-3318

arbitration grounds (Miami) and an oversight committee for all operation. Initially, it was announced that the rate per hour would have been $500. However, the matter attracted much public outcry which eventually led to the renegotiation of the contract. Kaieteur News also understands that a number of new agreements have been reached between SCS and the Council. The information will be forthcoming within the coming weeks. The contract for paid parking is expected to be drafted by the new parking meter renegotiating committee addressing and resolving all of the points/ findings listed in a report, under findings of public consultations general concerns and review of contract. The last Committee had recommended that the council host public meetings to apprise all stakeholders of the findings of the committee and to articulate and further discuss the area that should be included in the new contract. The Council also had the option of rescinding the contract with SCS Inc., leaving the city without any parking meters, or continuing with a Metered Parking System in accordance with the legal and transparent process as outlined in the Municipal and District Councils Act 28:01. The Committee stipulated “due diligence must be observed as it relates to any new agreement.” Council has the option to rescind the contract with SCS Inc. and set up and manage its own parking meter system, in accordance with the legal and transparent process as outlined in the Municipal and District Councils Act, Chapter 28:01 or await the outcome of pending court proceedings on the subject matter.

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T&T Govt. and private sector at odds over VAT refunds PORT OF SPAIN – The Trinidad and Tobago gov-

ernment says the main private sector organisation may have misinterpreted a statement by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) when it described as “wholly unsatisfactory” the TT$5.5 billion value added tax (VAT) refund arrears owed to the private sector by the government. Early last week, the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce (TTCIC) said that the matter remains of critical concern to the business community, given its negative impact on the ease of doing business. It quoted a recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) Country Report that states that at the end of March 2017, tax arrears stood at 11 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and that Trinidad and Tobago had been ranked at 145th in the Doing Business survey’s “paying taxes” index. “At this juncture, the T&T Chamber is concerned about both the impact on cash flow of VAT-registered businesses, and about the prospect of non-compliance.” But in a statement, the

Ministry of Finance said it wanted “to set the record straight” regarding the TTCIC statements noting that in referencing page 12 of the IMF Country Report, “the Chamber accused the government of having outstanding VAT arrears owed to businesses and individuals in the sum of TT$5.5 billion”. The Ministry of Finance said that the “Chamber also accused the government of penalising businessmen and misrepresenting expenditure for the fiscal year ending in September 2017. “The Ministry wishes to point out that the diagrams on page 12 of the most recent IMF Country Report indicate tax arrears owed by businesses to the State and not vice versa, which it has estimated at 11 per cent of GDP (gross domestic product) or approximately TT$16 billion.” The government said that “what the IMF was saying is that tax avoidance, tax evasion and tax leakage in Trinidad, which it has described as “tax arrears” amounts by its estimation to 11 per cent of GDP, or $16 billion, which is the annual tax revenue being lost by Government. “Therefore, the IMF did

not at any time confirm that the government owes businesses tax arrears of 11 per cent of GDP. In fact, it confirmed the reverse. “The Chamber has thus completely misunderstood the information in the IMF Report. It stands to reason that the government is not being punitive to businesses nor has it misrepresented expenditure in its most recent budget statement.” In its statement last week, the private sector group noted that while lengthy waiting periods were not uncommon, “the situation has now worsened with business people experiencing refund delays exceeding 24 months. “In an already cashstrapped economy, added constraints from late or nonreceipt of refunds impose yet another difficult burden upon the business community. It appears that those who are already tax compliant are being penalised nonetheless.” The chamber said that it believes that a simple, shortterm measure which could be taken by the government is to allow companies to offset their refunds with payments due. (CMC)

Govt. to table legislation to regulate sugar content in food KINGSTON, Jamaica CMC – The Jamaica government says it will pilot legislation aimed at regulating the sugar content in food products. Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the legislation will be the next step in the “Jamaica Moves” campaign and that the population will have to be educated about the ill effects of some of the foods they consume daily. Speaking at a function organised by the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA) and the Ministry of Health, Holness encouraged the citizens to take better care of themselves by exercising daily and eating healthy, and also cautioned them against smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. “Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as diabetes, hypertension and stroke, are linked to our lifestyle and how we choose to live. We eat rice, yam, dumpling and banana on one plate and all of that is starch, which converts to sugar. When you have too much of that and you are not exercising, you

Dr. Christopher Tufton start to put on weight. “We want all Jamaicans to be healthy. We recommend 30 minutes a day of relatively easy exercise, such as walking in the morning; or 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily (which) is good for all of us,” he added. Holness said that he, too, had recently embarked on a healthier lifestyle by eliminating sugar and artificial sweeteners from his diet, and is encouraging all

Jamaicans to either cut down or cut out sugar. He said he had also reduced his fat intake. “I am also encouraging you to eat more fruits and vegetables, like callaloo and cabbage. We, as a Government, are not just looking at the economy, roads and crime, but we take your health very seriously and are taking the message to you,” he said, commending Health Minister, Dr. Christopher Tufton, on doing an excellent job with the Jamaica Moves campaign. “We are trying to get every Jamaican to understand the relationship between physical activity and healthy lifestyle,” Tufton said, adding “we have too many Jamaicans dying of heart failure, diabetes and arthritis because they sit too much, eat badly, and before they reach 70 they have to take five to six tablets and live at the hospital and doctor. We don’t want that. The Health Minister noted that “public health is not just about hospitals but encouraging Jamaicans to live healthy lives.”

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Trump says Flynn’s actions during presidential transition were lawful WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said yesterday that actions by his disgraced former national security adviser Michael Flynn during the presidential transition were lawful and said that there was no collusion between his 2016 White House campaign and Russia. Flynn was the first member of Trump’s administration to plead guilty to a crime uncovered by special counsel Robert Mueller’s wide-ranging investigation into Russian attempts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election and possible collusion by Trump aides. “I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies,” Trump said on Twitter while he was in New York for a fundraising trip. “It is a shame

because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!” Flynn, a former Defense Intelligence Agency director, held his position as Trump’s national security adviser only for 24 days. He was forced to resign after he was found to have misled Vice President Mike Pence about his discussions with Russia’s then-ambassador to the United States Sergei Kislyak.. “What has been shown is no collusion, no collusion,” Trump told reporters as he departed the White House for the New York trip. “There’s been absolutely no collusion, so we’re very happy.” As part of his plea on Friday, Flynn agreed to cooperate with the investigation. The retired U.S. Army lieutenant general admitted in a Washington court that he lied

to FBI investigators about his discussions last December with Kislyak. In what appeared to be moves undermining the policies of outgoing President Barack Obama, the pair discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia, and Flynn asked Kislyak to help delay a United Nations vote seen as damaging to Israel, according to prosecutors. Flynn was also told by a “very senior member” of Trump’s transition team to contact Russia and other foreign governments to try to influence them ahead of the vote, the prosecutors said. Sources told Reuters the “very senior” transition official was Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor. Kushner’s lawyer did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Ex Egypt premier Shafik deported from UAE, arrives in Egypt - family, sources CAIRO (Reuters) - Former Egyptian prime minister Ahmed Shafik, who last week announced plans to run for the presidency, was deported from the United Arab Emirates yesterday, his family said, and arrived in Cairo hours later. Shafik, a former air force commander and government minister, was seen as the strongest potential opponent of President Abdel Fattah alSisi, who is expected to run a second term next year. With airport security high, Shafik landed in a private plane in Cairo airport yesterday evening, the airport sources said. A Reuters witness at the

Ahmed Shafik airport said Egyptian authorities escorted Shafik in a motorcade that was waiting for him outside the airport. UAE news agency WAM said Shafik left the Emirates,

an ally of Sisi’s government, for Egypt without giving any details on why or how he departed. It said his family had remained behind in the Emirates. Shafik’s daughter May Shafik, told Reuters that authorities had come for him at his home and sent him to Cairo. “We were about to leave to travel to France. They came and took him. They deported him in a private plane. They said they will deport him to Egypt,” May said. “Just because he announced he will run for president they deported him to Egypt and I don’t know what will they do to him,” she said.

Brazil environmentalist Marina Silva to run for president in 2018 BRASILIA (Reuters) Former Brazilian senator and environmental minister Marina Silva said yesterday she will seek her party’s nomination to run for the presidency next year. Silva said at a meeting of her Sustainability Network party (REDE) that she will vie for the nation’s top office, but it will only be official after the party’s national convention in April. The 59-year-old environmentalist, born into a rubber tapping community in the Amazon rainforest and minister under former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has run in the previous two presidential elections, but never made it to

Marina Silva a second round vote. Silva said she would seek her party’s nomination because “Brazilians want a country free of corruption” and that she had the ethical bearings to deliver on that. In the most recent elec-

tion survey conducted by the respected Ibope polling institute in October, Silva was in the third position, with 8 percent of respondents saying they would vote for her. But that poll included Lula as a possible candidate. Lula was convicted in a corruption trial in July. If that conviction is upheld by a higher court prior to the October election, he will not be able to run. If Lula is not a candidate, the Ibope poll had Silva in a first-place tie with right-wing candidate Jair Bolsonaro, a federal lawmaker, with both winning 15 percent approval in the survey.

Sunday December 03, 2017

Kaieteur News

U.N. council to meet on North Korea rights abuses, nuclear programme in December UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - United Nations Security Council ministers will meet on Dec. 15 to discuss North Korea’s nuclear and missiles programmes and the body will also meet separately this month to discuss human rights abuses in the North Asian country, an annual meeting that its ally China has tried to prevent for the past three years. Japan’s U.N. Ambassador Koro Bessho, president of the 15-member council for December, said several ministers were confirmed to attend the Dec. 15 meeting. He also said the meeting on human rights in North Korea could be held on Dec. 11. China has unsuccessfully tried to stop three previous human rights meetings by calling a procedural vote. A mini-

mum of nine votes are needed to win such a vote and China, Russia, the United States, Britain and France cannot wield their vetoes. This year’s meeting has the backing of nine members - the United States, France, Britain, Italy, Japan, Senegal, Sweden, Ukraine and Uruguay. Last year, the United States angered North Korea by blacklisting its leader Kim Jong Un for human rights abuses. A landmark 2014 U.N. report on North Korean human rights concluded that North Korean security chiefs - and possibly Kim himself - should face justice for overseeing a state-controlled system of Nazi-style atrocities. Michael Kirby, chairman of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry that drew up the re-

port, said at the time that the crimes the team had catalogued were reminiscent of those committed by the Nazis during World War Two. “Some of them are strikingly similar,” he told Reuters. North Korea has repeatedly rejected accusations of human rights abuses and blames sanctions for a dire humanitarian situation. Pyongyang has been under U.N. sanctions since 2006 over its ballistic missiles and nuclear programmes. “Despite persistent sanctions and pressure by the U.S. and other hostile forces, my government concentrates all its efforts on improving people’s livelihood and providing them with a better future,” the North Korean Permanent Mission to the United Nations said in a statement on Nov. 14.

U.S. Senate approves major tax cuts in victory for Republicans WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate narrowly approved a tax overhaul yesterday, moving Republicans and President Donald Trump a big step closer to their goal of slashing taxes for businesses and the rich while offering everyday Americans a mixed bag of changes. In what would be the largest change to U.S. tax laws since the 1980s, Republicans want to add $1.4 trillion (1.04 trillion pounds) over 10 years to the $20 trillion national debt to finance changes that they say would further boost an already growing economy. Trump, speaking to reporters as he left the White House for New York hours after the pre-dawn vote, praised the Senate for passing “tremendous tax reform” and said “people are going to be very, very happy”. Once the Senate and House of Representatives reconcile their respective versions of the legislation, he said, the resulting bill could cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent “to 20 (percent). It could be 22 (percent) when it comes out. It could also be 20 (percent).” U.S. stock markets have rallied for months on hopes t h a t Wa s h i n g t o n w o u l d provide significant tax cuts

Mitch McConnell for corporations. Celebrating their Senate victory, Republican leaders predicted the tax cuts would encourage U.S. companies to invest more and boost economic growth. “We have an opportunity now to make America more competitive, to keep jobs from being shipped offshore and to provide substantial relief to the middle class,” said Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate. The Senate approved their bill in a 51-49 vote, with Democrats complaining that last-minute amend-

ments to win over skeptical Republicans were poorly drafted and vulnerable to being named later. “The Republicans have managed to take a bad bill and make it worse,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. “Under the cover of darkness and with the aid of haste, a flurry of last-minute changes will stuff even more money into the pockets of the wealthy and the biggest corporations.” No Democrats voted for the bill, but they were unable to block it because Republicans hold a 52-48 Senate majority.

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Govt. says no increase in importation Jamaica welcomes multi-million of fake items into Barbados dollar energy project BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - CMC – The Barbados government has dismissed suggestions that there has been an increase in the importation of fake items saying a few court cases do not signify an increase of the products being sold on the local market. “One must not construe any recent cases in court involving fake products as there being any upsurge in the number of fake products entering the market. I think what we are speaking to here is respect for intellectual property and all that goes with it,” said the Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business De-

velopment, Donville Inniss. “When people take time out to design a product, to franchise it and what not, then we must certainly, from our end in Barbados, extend that respect by enforcing the law,” Inniss said. The Industry Minister, however, said such action reflected Barbados’ level of seriousness as a domicile prepared to respect other people’s rights. Sharing his own thoughts on product design and creativity, he said “what I would like to see coming out is a heightened awareness of the need for Barbadians to have their designs patented so they would realise the immense value that comes [with

it]. “Because at the end of the day, it may cost the same to produce a shoe from Puma as it may cost to produce one from Nike, as it may cost to produce a no-brand name one but that little emblem on the side, ….carries with it a value to the company and the people who design it.” Stressing that Barbadians would not want people “to counterfeit our rum”, he said “we think that we make the best rum in the world and I happen to think so [too]; “We don’t want people to be copying and bootlegging and doing these things because there is value in people’s creativity to be respected,” Inniss added.

Dr. Scotland doesn’t see House... From page 68 “What are we showing our children? And then we wonder why they are the way they are…Whether we like it or not we are all opinion formers and we are all leaders. Leadership comes at a price,” the Speaker stated. As S p e a k e r, D r. Scotland stated that he is guided by the Standing Orders. “I have some enforcement capacity, but do you run a Parliament on enforcement?” the speaker asked rhetorically. “ Yo u r u n a c o u n t r y because you have 40 units

of soldiers and 10,000 policemen breathing over your neck…or is it there is a presumption in you as a citizen that you too carry a responsibility to make this thing the way it is?” A c c o r d i n g t o D r. Scotland, there is something within human beings as citizens that ought to guide and obligate each to act a certain way. “Whether we like it or not, it’s our Parliament; everybody thinks to pick a side. If my side is doing something wrong either I don’t talk about it or I find a way of explaining it. If

your side is doing something wrong, I find a way of knocking it down, saying the worst things about it and even as I am saying that my side is doing the same thing,” the Speaker noted. D r. S c o t l a n d s t a t e d that he looks to the press to report on things that they perceive will harm the society although there are persons who will ‘tell you where you will get off’. “If you want that Speaker then I am sure there is a speaker like that somewhere in Guyana,” Dr. Scotland stated.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness (right) greets founder and chairman of New Fortress Energy Wesley Edens at the ground-breaking for the company’s liquefied natural gas-fired power plant at JAMALCO, in Hayes, Clarendon. Energy Minister Dr Andrew Wheatley (centre). (Photo: Naphtali Junior) KINGSTON, Jamaica CMC – Jamaica has described as a ‘win-win” partnership the billion dollar investment in the energy sector by the USbased New Fortress Energy and Jamalco, a joint venture between Noble Group and Clarendon Alumina Production (CAP) with a focus on bauxite mining and alumina production. Prime Minister Andrew Holness speaking at the ground breaking ceremony on

Friday said that the major components of the project would include a floating storage and regasification terminal in the Portland Bight Protected Area, the installation of a pipeline from the Rocky Point port to the Jamalco refinery, as well as the construction of the natural gas-fired power station at the Jamalco location and construction of an electricity distribution network to deliver power to the national

grid. “This development signifies the power of win-win partnerships with the benefits for Jamalco, including reduced cost, as well as increased reliability and efficiency,” Holness said. At least 400 people are expected to be employed during the construction phase of the US$265 million project that is expected to be completed during the first quarter of next year.

Rosignol-Zeelust NDC frustrated by... From page 8 councillors put aside their political differences, and fo-

cus on the development of the community, it is likely to be easier for them to resolve the issues now facing the NDC, especially as it relates to the issues of vending. There are vendors who operate on the railway embankment every day except Saturday, but the NDC is not in a position to collect fees from those people unless the vendors are brought under the umbrella of the NDC. There have been several meetings involving both the NDC and vendors, but so far they have failed to agree on a solution. The council even failed in 2002 to get a court

40

order to remove those vendors, and so there seems be very little that council could do but to work along with the vendors. Vendors are contending that the NDC should upgrade the facility on the railway embankment to accommodate the 40 to 50 vendors who operate there throughout the week. Such a move would generate much needed revenue for the council. In the meantime, the NDC continues to miss out on collecting revenue while owing the Guyana Power and Light in excess of one million dollars.

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de Grandhomme record hundred breaks Windies spirits WELLINGTON, New Zealand, CMC – Colin de Grandhomme smashed the fastest-ever maiden Test century and the secondfastest by a New Zealander, to put West Indies to the sword and leave them with little chance of saving the opening Test at the Basin Reserve. T h e 3 1 - y e a r - o l d ’s aggressive 105, in only his seventh Test following his debut a year ago, propelled the Black Caps to a massive 447 for nine in their first innings on day two here Saturday – a massive lead of 313 runs with three days left in the contest. Arriving at number seven in the second over of the final session, de Grandhomme reached three figures off a mere 71 balls to also record the joint ninthfastest Test hundred of all time and the fastest ever against West Indies.

Stroke-maker Ross Taylor missed out on his 17th Test hundred when he fell for 93 while Henry Nicholls hit 67 and wicketkeeper Tom Blundell, an unbeaten 57 on debut. Seamer Kemar Roach bowled impressively to end with three for 73 while pacer Miguel Cummins (2-74) and off-spinner Roston Chase (283) picked up two wickets apiece, on a chastening day for the Windies. Resuming the day on 85 for two, New Zealand prospered courtesy of Taylor who extended his overnight third wicket stand with opener Jeet Raval (42) to 41 before adding a further 127 for the fourth wicket with Nicholls. West Indies seamers toiled without reward, managing a single in each of the first two sessions, as the Black Caps controlled the game, adding 95 runs in the

Colin de Grandhomme led the charge with his maiden Test hundred off only 71 balls ©Getty Images morning period and 86 in the post-lunch. The left-handed Raval, starting the day on 29, added 13 off another 24 balls before he fell 45 minutes into the session, edging a defensive prod at the first ball of Roach’s opening spell, to give wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich a straightforward catch at 109 for three.

Sunday December 03, 2017 Aries: Mar 21 - Apr 19 There's intensity in your relationships now, and you may feel like every situation is life-ordeath. Taurus: Apr 20 - May 20 Don't let this feeling overwhelm you, although at times this may be impossible. Gemini: May 21 - Jun 20 You know in your heart which way to proceed and how to treat the people around you. Don't try to force the situation or manipulate it into something it isn't. Cancer: Jun 21 - Jul 22 Although there may be a great emotional charge accompanying everything you do, let this be the excitement that fuels your passion and not the reason to stop.

Libra: Sep 23 - Oct 22 If something is good, it's likely to feel like utopia. If something is bad, it's like the end of the world. There's no middle ground. Scorpio: Oct 23 - Nov 21 Move away from the problems instead of stepping into them. You may not be able to see the potholes, so consider taking another road. Sagit: Nov 22 - Dec 21 This is a terrific day in which you'll be able to cut through the falsehoods and get to the essence of the issue. Capri: Dec 22 - Jan 19 There's a terrific intensity to today that may have you running for cover.

Leo: Jul 23 - Aug 22 You may think only advanced surfers can handle the big waves.

Aquar.: Jan 20 - Feb 18 There's a terrific, warm, and nurturing quality to the day. The people around you are validating your inner and outer aspects.

Virgo: Aug 23 - Sep 22 Finding solutions won't be hard, thanks to your detective side today. You may feel like the real truth lies below the surface.

Pisces: Feb 19 - Mar 20 You may be uncomfortable with the emotional intensity that's likely to seep into every part of your day.

Taylor and Nicholls then set about the Windies bowling with some gusto, gathering runs freely on both sides of the wicket. The right-handed Taylor, on 12 at the start, raised his half-century about half-hour before the interval when he top-edged a hook at speedster Shannon Gabriel to the long leg boundary. He reached lunch unbeaten on 66 with Nicholls on 24, and continued his domination of t h e Wi n d i e s b o w l i n g afterwards. He looked to be closing in on a three figures when he was lbw to Roach to a full length delivery which struck him on the back leg. Initially given not out, the decision was overturned on review, ending a polished knock that came from 160 balls and included 10 fours. Nicholls, meanwhile, enjoyed a huge slice of luck in the first over after lunch when he gloved a pull at captain Jason Holder to Dowrich, only to be reprieved after replays showed the seamer had overstepped. He made the most of the opportunity to carve out his fifth Test half-century, before falling 10 minutes after tea when he helped a short ball from Cummins into the lap of Gabriel at deep backward square. Thirteen balls later, Mitchell Santner was late on a defensive stroke and bowled off-stump by Cummins for 17 at 281 for six, leaving the Windies with the ideal opportunity to limit the hosts. de Grandhomme’s arrival ended any such h o p e s , h o w e v e r. T h e Zimbabwe-born all-rounder attacked from the outset, storming to his half-century off just 44 balls, with his second fifty requiring only 27 deliveries. In the process, he posted 148 for the seventh wicket with Blundell, who faced 100 deliveries and counted six fours, a partnership that

quenched the Windies fight. de Grandhomme raced into the 90s with a massive six over long-on off Chase, edged Cummins to the third man boundary in the following over to move to 99 before running three to deep backward point off the next ball, to reach his landmark. All told, he faced 74 balls and crunched 11 fours and three sixes, before holing out to long-on off Chase, halfhour before close. Blundell watched as another two wickets fell cheaply for five runs but by

then the damage had already been done. Scores: WEST INDIES 134 (Kieran Powell 42, Kraigg Brathwaite 24; Neil Wagner 7-39, Trent Boult 236) NEW ZEALAND 447 for nine (Colin de Grandhomme 105, Ross Taylor 93, Henry Nicholls 67, Tom Blundell 57 not out, Jeet Raval 42, Tom Latham 37; Kemar Roach 3-73, Miguel Cummins 2-74, Roston Chase 2-83). In a later update: New Zealand had progressed to 512-9 a lead of 378.

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Sunday December 03, 2017

Kaieteur Sports Week in Review From page 77 determined GCC as they remained scoreless and would have to rely on a penalty shootout to determine the winner. Jordan Vieira of Queens Park received the Most Valuable Player award for the men's competition, while Reiza Hosein also of Queens Park received the Best Goalkeeper. Aroydy Branford of the Pepsi Hikers scored the most goals of the competition. Pizza Hut GCC swept the individual awards in the ladies competition with Gabriella Xavier picking up the Most Valuable Player award, Briawna Gordon the Best goalkeeper and Kerensa Fernandes the most goals. Dwayne Scott was adjudged the Most Valuable Player in the Carib Veterans competition, while Bryan Lee Chow of Queens Park received Best Goalkeeper. Raphael Gouveia of Queens Park and Dwight Sullivan of Old Fort shared the Most Goals scored award. GROVE LIFT INAUGURAL GFF/NAMILCO U-17 LEAGUE EAST BANK TITLE Diamond United and Agricola Red Triangle closed off their GFF/NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power National Under-17 Intra Association

Pizza Hut GCC ladies being presented with their championship trophy from DDL representative Larry Wills. League /East Bank Football Association leg on a high when the competition ended at the Grove Playfield. Diamond United took full points from Mocha Champs which failed to show up, while Agricola came back from a goal down against Friendship to win 2-1. The final day's play brought an end to two-

rounds of grinding action between nine (9) clubs in the association, the league got underway since June of last year. Emerging as the overall winner after 16matches each was Grove Hi Tech which ended as the only undefeated club with 48-points; scoring a total of 45-goals, while only conceding 5 to end

with a +40 average. Finance Director of the National Milling Company of Guyana (NAMILCO) Mr. Fitzroy McLeod was on hand to distribute the trophies and medals to the top four clubs. McLeod encouraged the players to always seek to work hard not only on the field of play but to also place a high premium on their academic pursuits so as to be the best they can be whilst keeping an eye on making it at the national age-group levels also. EBFA President Franklin Wilson conveyed the association's gratitude to NAMILCO and the GFF for making a tournament of this nature reality whilst also commending the players, parents, coaches, club administrators, fans and referees making their respective contributions which all added up to make the league a success. Highway United (Yarrowkabra) and Kuru Kururu Warriors, both based on the Linden Soesdyke Highway ended the league in second and third place with Diamond United taking fourth followed by Agricola, Herstelling, Soesdyke Falcons, Mocha Champs and Friendship following in that order. Finishing as the leading goal scorer is Kuru Kururu Warriors' Jonathan Bailey with 9 followed by Shawn Steele (Highway United) and Kevin Padmore (Grove Hi Tech) 7 apiece.

GCB Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket

Windsor Forest Primary, Hague Primary, MMZ Primary among victors

Aditya Jetto (left) and Vidya Latchmie Windsor Forest Primary, Hague Primary and Meten-Meer-Zorg Primary were among the victorious teams when the Guyana Cricket Board Soctiabank Kiddy cricket competition continued recently. At Zeeburg ground, Blankenburg were sent packing for 18, batting first versus Windsor Forest. Tasleem Mohamed grabbed 3-5, Eizah Smithhead 2-1 and Briana Singh 2-3. Windsor Forest responded with 21 with out lost. Hemraj Chetram made 18. Den Amstel Primary batted first and got to 55-9. Ronica Jones made 11; Jailall Budhu claimed 2-1 and Akeela Deptmon 2-2. Hague Primary replied with 56-2 in 8.1 overs. Daniel Singh made 21. Meten-Meer-Zorg batted first and posted 134-8 in 14 overs. Alex Dazzel struck 43, Christino Subitri 23 and Aktar Azeez 18; Reah Vickram too two wickets. Sarasawat Primary were restricted for 123-6 in reply with Joshua Kishundiay scoring 23. Uitvlugt Primary took first strike and got

to 124-8. Hemchand Balgobin got 12 as Shiva Seenanan and Sash Raymond picked up two wickets each. Met-en-Meer Zorg scored 125-5 in 12.2 overs in reply. Yugesh Satram made an unbeaten 28; Chris Edwards 18 and Michael Payne 11 not out. At Leonora, Leonora Primary batted first and managed 153-9 off their allotted 14 overs. Aditya Jetto made 31, Sachin Nandan 24 and Sachin Singh 22. Cornelia Ida were limited to 70-9 in reply. Vidya Latchmie claimed 2-1. At Lusignan Community Centre ground, St. Andrews managed 30-6 in 14 overs, taking first knock. Merdeli Hali made 12; Alex Rodney took two wickets. Enmore Primary replied with 36-2 in 3.2 overs. Rodney made 15 not out. Victoria Primary were restricted for 39-8, batting first. Jalaal Gouveia made 28. Enmore Primary replied with 40-2 in seven overs. Ryan Marks and Alex Rodney made 18 and 13 respectively.

Daniel Singh (right) and Jaiall Budhu Annandale Primary were skittled for 13, batting first. Daniel Adams and Tyron Marcus took three wickets each, while Tasha Glasgow two. Clonbrook responded with 17

with out lost. According to the competition rules, Each team shall comprise of 14 players and each match shall be of 14 overs duration. (Zaheer Mohamed)

KMTC Xmas meet set for December 26 at Bush Lot The Kennard Memorial Turf Club will be hosting its annual Xmas Meet on December 26 at Bush Lot Farm, Corentyne, Berbice. Seven races are carded for the day with the main event being the B2 and Lower W/A in which the winner will take home $1,000,000, the runner up $500,000, third place $250,000 and fourth place $125,000. The race will last a distance of 9 furlongs. Other races slated are L-non winners for 5 furs with a top prize of $120,000, F and Lower for a distance of seven furs with a winning purse of $350,000, two years

Guyana Bred for six furs for $220,000, LOpen for five furs for $150,000 top prize, H and Lower W/A seven furs for first prize of $280,000 and J 3 and Lower-six furs and carries a winning prize of $180,000. These races will be run under the rules of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority and entries will be closed on December 17; no late entries will be accepted. Registration can be done through Ivan Dipnarine 331-0316, Cecil Kennard 6237609, 225 4818, Fazal Habibulla on 6577010, Dennis DeRoop on 640-6396 or Compton Sancho 602 1567.

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Kaieteur Sports Week in Review Jamaica, losing a close game to Trinidad and overcoming Dominican Republic on day one. “Nevertheless the GRFU continues to move forward with its programme of reaching out to more females especially our indigeneous population which will bear friut in three years time to allow us to evolve into a champion team in time to come. The ladies will host French Guiana in March, 2018.” By virtue of ending the championship in second place, the Green Machine qualified for the Caribbean Sports Organization (CACSO) Games in Colombia along with the Guyana Hockey team. The Guyanese ruggers is also the number 2 Caribbean team attending the 2018 Hong Kong sevens.

SPORTS WEEK IN REVIEW We take a look back at the past week's happenings in local sports that made the news. With several events taking place, including the National Schools Championships, Amateur boxing, hockey and rugby taking the top spots. DISTRICT 10 COMPLETE THREE-PEAT OF VICTORIES Witnessed and cheered by the largest crowd turnout of the six-day event, District 10 (Upper Demerara/Kwakwani) were crowned champions of the 57th National Schools' Cycling, Swimming and Track & Field championships for the third consecutive year and 16th overall. District Ten also claimed top honours in the track and field arm. District 13 (South Georgetown), led by the tunes of their own band, were in extravagant jubilation as if they were the champions of “Nationals”, when it was announced that they had finished 2nd overall in the championships. District three (West Demerara/Essequibo Islands) who won the Teachers' Track and Field championships, finished third overall. In District 10's victorious track and field campaign, Daniel Williams who broke the Under18 boys' 100m and 200m earlier in the week, set a new 400m to be the most outstanding in his age category, while Chantoba Bright was tied with Joanna Archer of District 3 for the Under-18 champion girl award. Williams, the World Youth Games 2018 400m silver medalist, was expected to rewrite the record books in the race and he came through after clocking 49.84s. The previous mark (49.9s) was set by Jason Yaw in 2013. Bright won the long, triple and high jump events, while finishing second behind co-Under18 champion girl Joanna Archer in U-18 400m. Archer won the 400m, 800m and 1500m events. Anfernee Headecker performances were pivotal in helping District 13 finish second overall. Headecker, who was a beast in the penultimate day in the middle distance races in which he followed up his win in the 800m on day four to smash the boys Under-20 1500m record, was just as devastating in the 5000m. He ran tactically well, using his opponents to cut the breeze when running into the wind, while setting the pace when going with the wind. Fan favourite, Rickie Williams of District 11 couldn't cope with the pace and had to be stretchered off the track. Another notable performance was by District four's (East Coast Demerara) Angelina Barclay of President's College who broke the girls' Under-16 triple jump record when she hopped and skipped to 11.69m, as the District's aim of leaving a lasting impression continued successfully. The previous record was 10.66 set in 2006 by Roxanne Rigby of District 15. NORTH GT DOMINATE IN THE POOL AT MOE/GTU NAT SWIMMING C/SHIPS District 11, North Georgetown, captured championship honours at the Ministry of Education, Guyana Teachers Union National Swimming Championship at the National Aquatic Centre on the East Coast of Demerara. Watched by a fair sized gathering who braved the uncomfortable heat in an uncovered stand at Guyana's only International Swimming facility, 15year-old Amy Grant, Paul Mahaica, Lien Winter, Andrica Vieira, Sekhel Tzedeq, Sion Jeffers, 13year-old Leon Seaton, eight-year-old Jeremy Sookram and 11-year-old Aleka Persaud all won gold medals in several events. Amy Grant of St Rose's High School and Daniel Scott of Chase Academy, both representing District 11, the winner of the

HEYWOOD DISCHARGED, RETURNS HOME

Champions again! GDF with 'Best Coach' Terrence Pool celebrate a successful defence of the title. (Sean Devers photo) Swimming Championship, claimed four gold medals apiece during the event. Seaton broke Nicholas Fraser's 22-year-old U-14 50 meters Free Style record of 24. 4 seconds with an explosive performance. DISTRICT SIX RIDE AWAY WITH NATIONAL SCHOOL CYCLING CHAMPIONSHIP Jonathan Ramsuchit, who represented Guyana at the Caribbean Junior Road Cycling championships earlier last month, won Gold in the Boys' under-16, 2000m and 3000m, while he had to settle for silver in the 1500m which was good enough to help District 6 (Corentyne) win the Cycling Championships. District 6 that finished on 229 points, piped the defending overall champions District 10 (Upper Demerara/Kwakwani) that finished on 222 by a meager seven points. District four (East Coast) finished with 122 points, while district three (West Demerara/Essequibo Islands) was the other district to finish above 100 points. GDF RETAINS TERRENCE ALLI TITLE AS ALLICOCK ADJUDGED BEST BOXER The Guyana Boxing Association's (GBA) Terrence Ali National Open Boxing Championship climaxed at the National Gymnasium with the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) retaining their title with Forgotten Youth Foundation's (FYF) rising star Kevin Allicock being adjudged the Best Boxer in the three-night tournament as the club took the Runners-up position. The largest turn out for the Event saw 18-yearold Allicock, a Caribbean Junior Gold Medallist and South American Silver Medallist in the Bantamweight division, face-off with GDF's Clairmont Gibson in what was anticipated to be riveting affair and the fight lived up to the hype from the first bell. Despite the urging from a raucous, drum beating GDF support group, Gibson was outclassed by the talented Albouystown resident but produced a spirited performance befitting of a Silver medallist as the fighters traded punches in the opening round in a high tempo battle. Allicock pounded his opponent's body with lightning fast and clinically executed upper cuts to the mid-section but Gibson counter punched and hit his opponent a few times, but Allicock skillfully danced out of range most of the time using the Ring to good effect. Stunned by a combination and given an 8 count, Allicock retaliated with wicked shots to the body and connected with a hard right to the head

followed up by blows to body and by the end of round 2 Gibson had been given two standing eight counts. Gibson was hit with a left/ right combination which sent him to the canvas inside a minute into the final round at which time the Referee had seen enough punishment and called a halt to the contest. Policeman Dewani Lampkin was outclassed by GDF's best Boxer Colin 'Superman' Lewis, as the taller Lewis had the faster hands and dished out a relentless attack on the Cop resulting in the fight being stopped 1.4 seconds in the second round. GRFU BOSS COMMEND MALE AND FEMALE GLADIATORS FOR PERFORMANCES President of the Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) Peter Green has showered kudos on his male and female teams for their die hard performances in the just concluded Rugby Americas North (RAN) Sevens championships which took place in Mexico City at the Campo Marte athletic grounds. The Green Machine, Guyana's flagship men's team entered the championship as the number 31 seeded team and defending champions but after valiant performance in the final against Jamaica, surrendered the tile in the final minute of the game to lose 24-28; it was Guyana's only loss of the championship which attracted 10-nations. The female team which competed using the round-robin format in the 7-team competition only managed two wins (Jamaica 19-12 & Dominican Republic 17-12) from their quota of six matches along with one draw (vs Bermuda 7-7) to end in fifth place Overall. Peter Green commented: “It was really astonishing to see Guyana matching their opposition try for try leading up to the dying moments of the match. Nevertheless Kudos to the Guyana team which came into the competition with lack of pre tournament practice. The high standards displayed by both teams justified the wise choices by the selectors in putting together both sides.” The women's team showed great heart at the competition against some top teams and traveled to Mexico without two of their biggest and best forwards as a resultof injuries during the training sessions which made Coach Theodore Henry's job even more challenging. His team tactics had to be readjusted which meant that the dimunitive playmaker Aboice Heywood had to shoulder more responsibilities along with the wingers. This appeared to pay off with the ladies led by the elusive Heywood outplaying

Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) female player Aboice Heywood, who had suffered a concussion that resulted in her being hospitalised in Mexico City during the just concluded Rugby Americas North (RAN) Sevens championships in Mexico City, was discharged on Thursday last and arrived home yesterday. Heywood was admitted to the ICU on Saturday last, the opening day of the two-day championship following a collision with an opposing player during the final game against the Dominican Republic. According to reports out of Mexico, it is now the belief that her concussion injuries may have been suffered during the previous game against Trinidad and Tobago where both players remained motionless on the ground for several minutes. In a video replay of the game the Guyanese player is seen collapsing to the ground after having gotten up and continued to play. The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) player, Ms Heywood, was accompanied by Team Physio Abiola Blair also of the GDF and Female Team Manager Ms. Petal Adams, GRFU General Secretary. The GRFU expressed gratitude to fellow Union FMRU (Rugby Mexico) and its supporters along with Governing body RAN for answering the appeal of the GRFU in terms of assistance in facilitating the shortfall in meeting immediate payments to the Spanish Hospital that ensured Heywood's immediate access to ICU Facilities and after surgery care including discharge. QUEENS PARK, PIZZA HUT GCC VICTORIOUS IN DIAMOND MINERAL WATER HOCKEY FESTIVAL The climax of the Diamond Mineral Water Indoor Hockey Festival saw another outstanding display of hockey skills by Queens Park in the men's final and a nail-biting finish in the women's competition between six-time champs Pizza Hut GCC and 2016 runners-up the Woodpecker Hikers. The Carib veteran's category also saw Queens Park edge arch-rivals Vintage GCC to reverse the result of the two sides which last met in Trinidad 10 months ago. The men's final saw a repeat of last year's final between the Pepsi Hikers and Queens Park CC, with Queens Park enjoying an 8-3 victory. In the ladies final, Guyana national champs Pizza Hut GCC would have their hands full against a determined Woodpecker Hikers side bolstered by the addition of two Trinidadian internationals in Alana Lewis and Brittany Hing. The Hikers had soundly beaten GCC by 4-1 in the pool round and were poised to lift the trophy for the first time this year. The fast-paced game however saw a more Continued on page 74

Kaieteur News

PAGE 78

Sunday December 03, 2017

CWI Digicel Regional 4-day C/Ships

Motie, Paul, Rutherford put Jaguars in ascendency Bad light stops play under floodlights By Sean Devers When bad light stopped play under floodlights on the penultimate day of their fifth round CWI Digicel Regional 4-day Championships game against Barbados Pride at Providence yesterday, defending Champions Guyana Jaguars were in the ascendency thanks to an unbeaten 72 from Gudakesh Motie and incisive seam bowling from Kemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford and Keon Joseph. Resuming on 180-4 in reply to Barbados’ 294, Guyana reached 314 all out on the stroke of Tea. Night watchman Motie was left stranded on 79 from 147 balls with 19 fours a six, while Shiv Chanderpaul’s 30 from 53 balls with four boundaries, Rutherford’s 25 from 34 balls with three fours and a six and Paul’s 19 included two fours and a six all contributed to the Jaguars cause. Off-spinner Ashley Nurse had 3-34, but while his figures were flattering, left-arm spinner Jomal Warrican had 3-91 and was the best bowler for Barbados who ended the day yesterday in a deep hole on 126-7 with a lead of just 106 runs and the Jaguars scenting their fourth win in five matches. Joseph started the demolition job by inducing the left-handed Shane Moseley (5) to edge a ball that left him to second slip at 9-

1, but Skipper Shamarh Brooks and Anthony Alleyne took their team to Tea at 37-1. After the break the 29-year-old former West Indies ‘A’ and U-19 Captain Brooks, who promised much as a youth player, executed some elegant drives and looked well set for a big score. But once again the classy right-hander flattered to deceive when he dragged a ball from the impressive Paul onto his off stump after stroking five fours in 22 and his demise left his team on 37-2. It was soon 61-3 when Kevin Stout (11) was caught behind by Anthony Bramble; edging Paul, who bowled 11 consecutive overs in scorching heat and a slow track which had gotten better for batting. While Paul swung the ball both ways and demonstrated excellent control, Rutherford was willing to test the batsmen with the short ball and had the batsman, who grew up on fast pitches, jumping as Leon Johnson, showing why he is regarded as the Region’s best leader, kept an all pace attack in operation. With the trap set and Rutherford in the middle of a hostile spell, Alleyne, set on 32 from 74 balls, seemed uncomfortable to the bouncers and impetuously hooked Rutherford to deep square leg with the score on 80-4.

Anthony Alleyne fell for the trap that was set for him and hooks Rutherford to square leg yesterday. (Sean Devers photo) Paul, who had 5-59 in the first innings, trapped Kenroy Williams (11) LBW playing no shot and removed Justin Greaves (1) to a catch by the Keeper seven runs later as Barbados slipped to 105-6 before Rutherford bowled Nurse (1) at 109-7. Carter (14) and Mario Rampersaud (1) saw Barbados to the close leading by 106. Earlier, Warrican had Chanderpaul caught and bowled before trapping Bramble (0) LBW next ball as two wickets fell at 219 before Paul and Motie carried the score to 264 when Paul was bowled. Rutherford attacked the bowlers and swept Nurse for four to post the 300 and give

the hosts a third batting point before he cut a long-hop from Nurse to point at 302-8. The chances of Moti joining Garfield Charles, who scored a century against T&T as the only Guyanese night watchmen to scores hundreds, got slimmer when Veerasammy Permaul (4) was bowled by Nurse and hopes died when Joseph (0) edged Nurse to slip at the last two wickets tumbled at 314. But Motie, who bowled the single over of spin in the Barbados second innings, had done his job. It will take a vastly improved batting performance today and some rain to deny the Jaguars from roaring to another win.

GCB/DMLAS/NSC/NSSCL

LOWER CORENTYNE BEGINS TITLE DEFENCE BY TRASHING MANCHESTER The 2017/2018 Guyana Cricket Board/ Demerara Mutual Life Assurance Society Limited/ National Sport Commission/National Secondary School C r i c k e t L e a g u e (GCB/DMLAS/NSC/NSSCL) continued recently with matches being played in Mahaicony and on the Corentyne in Berbice. Defending champions, Lower Corentyne Secondary School commenced their defence of their Zone, District and National titles with a substantial 94-run win over Manchester Secondary School, in a match played at the Albion Sports Complex ground. Manchester Secondary, who won the toss and elected to bowl against a formidable Lower Corentyne team, seemingly found their decision a regrettable one, as their bowlers appeared unprepared for the task assigned, presenting some 15 wides off their first two overs. A situation, which gave the Lower Corentyne batsmen the time to settled and build in confidence. Kristoff Williams starred with the bat with a well compose 58, while skipper Vijay Gopilall chipped in with 37 to lead Lower Corentyne to an imposing 196 all out of their 30 overs. Bowling for Manchester Secondary Ian Mc Donald, Tevin Leitch and Troy Benn each took two wickets. In reply, Manchester Secondary found themselves in early trouble at 30 for 6 before Delroy Taylor and Randy Dickson demonstrated some grit and determination to feature in a 45-run partnership. However, their efforts were not enough as Manchester were eventually bowled out for 102. Bowling for Lower Corentyne, skipper Gopilall,

Junior Sinclair (left) and Vijay Gopilall Williams, Cecil and Mahadeo picked up two wickets apiece. Lower Corentyne won by 94 runs. Over at the Jain Hind ground, Port Mourant Secondary defeated Black Bush Secondary by 145 runs. Black Bush Secondary won the toss and asked Port Mourant Secondary to take first strike, a move which Port Mourant Secondary capitalised on by posting 202 for 6. Raj Persaud scored 63 with seven fours and two sixes, while Jai Tikia and Roopnarine Ramnauth chipped in with 48 and 26 respectively. Bowling for Black Bush Secondary, Jason Lachmandaya took 2 for

39, while one wicket each went to Tarendra Roopnarine and Terry Ramiah. Black Bush Secondary, in their turn at the crease were bowled out for 57. Chovesh Atmaran top scored with 30; Pawan Ramkehlawan took 3 for 8, while there were two wickets apiece for Matthew Pottiah and Angelino Ramdial.Port Mourant won by 145 runs. Over at the Albion Sports Complex ground, JC Chandisingh defeated Corentyne Comprehensive by 47 runs. JC Chandisingh scored 144 all out, batting first. Lucas Arthur made 35 and Jonathon Rampersaud 20. Bowling for Corentyne Comprehensive,

Trevor Park and Mohabir Gopilal took two wickets each. In reply, Corentyne Comprehensive could only muster 98 for 7 off their allotted 30 overs. Howard Gordial made 26, Mohabir Gopilal 21 and Raymond Rahaman 16. Bowling for JC. Chandisingh, Lucas Arthur, Saif Amoi, Jade Sandia and Troy Sealey each took one wicket. JC Chandisingh won by 46 runs. Over at the Fairfield ground, in Mahaicony, Bygeval Secondary won the toss and elected to bat posting a competitive 171 for 9 off their allotted 30 overs. Godfrey Premchand top score with 42 and Sukdeo Doodnauth 28. Goeff Deochand took 4 for 30 and Tamesh Ramesh 2 for 39. In reply, Lancaster were bundled out for 31. Sudesh David bagged 5-12 and Travon Charles 5-19. Bygeval won by 140 runs. At Enterprise ground, ECD, Golden Grove Secondary batted first and were bowled out for 80 in 14.1 overs. Bowling for Ann’s Grove, Jason Marcus grabbed 4 for 7, Leyhano Agard 3 for 4 and Shaquel Meredith 2-25. In reply, Ann’s Grove reached 81 for 8 off 18.5 overs. Bowling for Golden Grove, Kellon Stephens picked up 4 for 7.Ann’s Grove won by two wickets. In another match, played at the Enterprise ground, Hope Secondary batted first and managed 68 all out in 18.1 overs. Brian Jagmohan was the most productive bowler grabbing 6 for 22 and Shafeek Khan 2 for 13. La Bonne Intention Secondary in reply, smashed 69-2 off just 6.5 overs. Ravindra Samaroo got 26. LBI won by 8 wickets.

Kaieteur News

Sunday December 03, 2017

Turbo Knockout football tournament

PAGE 79

Smalta/MOPH Girls’ Peewee football

“Camptown coming for Goals galore on day two Police” in tonight’s final The curtains are set to close on the Turbo knockout football tournament tonight in exciting fashion at the Ministry of Education (MOE) ground when the disciplined Police Force Football Club (PFFC) unit battle the gritty Camptown Football club in the final. Camptown Football club will be led by skipper Lezhan Lord but they will be banking on goalkeeper Richie Richardson to keep up his outstanding form within the goal. PFFC had won the last tournament organized by Petra sports coordinating company that also organized this tournament and since the Policemen were pegged as the favourites to take the title along with the $500,000 first prize, all the pressure will be on them. Although Camptown have nothing to lose in the final being the underdogs, PFFC have an experienced squad that will be able to deal with the pressure. Police have been in rampaging tournament form this year, playing in six straight finals, while they will be looking to add another title to their name. Their captain, Winston Tanner, stated that

they are on a high after their major cup victory on Thursday night in Linden and are looking to finish with the same outcome tonight. Meanwhile, Camptown’s captain, Lord, explained that the final is very important to his team and it is an indication of their development over the past year and they expect nothing but a victory. “We have been working hard every single day preparing for this championship match and we will be coming strong with our Agame, so Police watch out”, stated the confident Camptown’s skipper. Co-director of Petra, Troy Mendonca stated during a press brief yesterday that all systems are in place for the hosting of the grand finale that kicks off at 21:00hrs which he believes is, “Going to be an epic event”. The third place playoff will serve as the perfect appetizer for the main course and that game will see Pouderoyen and Grove Hi-tech matching skills for the $125,000 winning prize, while the losers will pocket $75,000. The loser of the final will receive $250,000.

North Georgetown’s Jada Maison fires on goal during her team’s 3-0 rout of Redeemer.

Seventeen goals were scored at the while Akesha Sibdhanie got on the score conclusion of yesterday’s play of the sheet with a solitary strike. Smalta/Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) Akila Smith smashed in all four goals in Girls’ under-12 football tournament for West Ruimveldt’s victory over Stella Primary schools at the Ministry of Maris. Meanwhile, Jada Maison scored a Education (MOE) ground on CARIFESTA double, assisted by a single successful Avenue. Six matches were schedule but only strike from Ameza English in North four kicked off after St. Angela’s won via Georgetown’s 3-0 victory over Redeemer walkover against School of the Nations, Primary. while the scheduled feature match between Rounding off the day’s play that didn’t Sophia and Enterprise primary was a no witness any stalemate were F.E. Pollard contest. who snatched a late 2-0 victory when they St. Pius had the most devastating victory matched skills with South Ruimveldt as Trucking Service, Annirude Construction and of the day when they steamrolled Tucville Shania Lord 26 minute and Ciara Fraser 30 Primary 8-0, led with four goals from Kerry minute sneaked in a couple goals during the Tajeram Jainarine among others. Horserace fans will be in for a treat at the Boyce and a hat-trick from Breann Solome, final five minutes of the game. only racing facility of its kind in the country where the horses will be running in a straight line with over 45 horse already entered. The events listed for the day will see horses competing in the feature D and lower event over 880 yards for a winning purse of $400,000 and trophy. The event for animals classified H and lower is for a top prize of $260,000 and trophy also over 880yards. There is an event for J class animals over 660 yards for a $200,000 winner’s purse and trophy. The K class and lower animals will be competing for a winning take of $140,000 and trophy over 660 yards. There are three events for animals classified L and lower. All three events will see the winner taking home $100,000 and trophy over 660yards. The first will be open for all L class animals. Another will be for L class nonAction between West Ruimveldt (Yellow) and winners (that have not won a race). The final L Stella Maris yesterday at the MOE ground class event will be for animals that would not have placed or earned during their career as BVA beach Volleyball competition yet. The Champion jockey, trainer and stable and trip to Demerara rescheduled will all be rewarded with trophies and other The Berbice Volleyball Association the last on the calendar for the year were incentives compliments of the Trophy Stall (BVA) has been forced to push back two of scheduled to be completed in early Bourda market. As is synonymous with events organised their remaining activities to later this December, but will now be completed by by the Nand Persaud Group of Companies month. The activities are a beach volleyball mid-December. Meanwhile, training sessions for a through its Sky, Technology arm, a photo competition and a trip to Demerara. The activities were slated for this weekend. number of squads including the U-19 male finish camera, big screen Television and other amenities will once again be used during the This is according to President Levi Nedd. and female teams preparing for the Inter Nedd a former national Captain and present Guiana Games (IGG) next year and other course of the meet. national head coach and GVF Vice senior and junior male and female teams There will also be added attractions, family President said that the rescheduling of the are continuing in Berbice on a regular entertainment, bouncy castle, face painting two activities is due to circumstances basis. and other games for the kids. The BVA referees and coach’s Contact can be made with Mohini Baker on beyond the control of the BVA. According to Nedd the year has been satisfactorily so workshop courses are still on the cards. 600-4728 or Amanda on 646- 2390 for any far and the two activities which are among (Samuel Whyte) details. (Samuel Whyte)

Big incentives for early entries of Nand Persaud Karibee Sprint Classic Meet Over 45 already entered

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Coordinator Mohindra Persaud The Nand Persaud Group of Companies through its Sky Plus promotion Group is upping the ante as preparations continue for its mega one day Sprint Classic Horserace meet. Dubbed the ‘Nand Persaud Karibee Rice Sprint Classic’ the event is set for Sunday December 10th at the Company’s racing facilities, No 36 Village, Macedonia Estate, Corentyne, Berbice. Known as a pacesetter and for its innovation, generosity and organising ability, the Company has thrown up a number of incentives for horse owners and participants alike to benefit from. According to Coordinator Mohendra Persaud, horse owners who register and pay in full by today’s closing date will get a 20 percent discount on entries. In addition owners who enter early (by today’s closing date) will be given the privilege to choose a gate number, thus giving them an advantage. Seven races are listed on the cards with over $4M in cash, trophies and other incentives up for the takings. Meanwhile, a number of other companies have joined major sponsors Trophy Stall, Ansa McAl, Stag Beer, 4R Bearings and Dalip in providing sponsorship. They include Exotic Style Trucking Service, Gupta Trucking Service, Abdul Latiff, Mikey

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Kaieteur News

PAGE 80

Sunday December 03, 2017

Powerlifting Federation host Referees Seminar 22 athletes set to take ahead of today’s Senior Nationals Ramada Poolside by storm

A section of the participants at yesterday’s Referees Seminar.

Facilitator Gabre-Jesu McTair By Franklin Wilson Ahead of today’s much anticipated marquee Senior National championships set for the Ramada Princess Hotel, Poolside, the Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation (GAPLF) yesterday hosted a successful Referees Seminar that was facilitated by Category 11 Referee, Gabre-Jesu McTair of Trinidad and Tobago. A collaborative effort between the two sister federations, (GAPLF & Trinidad and Tobago Powerlifting Federation - TTPF) yesterday’s event attracted over two-dozen participants who were exposed to the rules of the sport based on the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) rules. Among the areas discussed during the

interactive 7-hour session were the definition, history and governance of powerlifting; categories (age & weight), equipment and specifications, characteristics of a good referee, roles and function, personal apparel/equipment, performance rules, referee commands and signals and reasons for disqualification. During the opening ceremony, GAPLF President Ed Caesar who welcomed participants underscored the importance of education in whatever is done, noting that there is a dire need to have officials who understand the sport. Caesar, himself a former athlete who still functions as a Chief Referee also posited that it is vital to engage the youth while not

forgetting the elderly who have a significant role to play in terms of nurturing and guidance. The GAPLF boss also thanked the Trinidad and Tobago Powerlifting Federation for the collaborative role it played in sending one of its certified and experienced Referees to be the facilitator of the seminar. Guyana’s own Cat 11 Qualified Referee, Gordon Spencer assisted in coordinating as did GAPLF executive members, Andrea Smith, Colin Austin and Martin Webster. Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) Executive Dr. Karen Pilgrim also made a brief presentation on the role of GOA in the whole scheme of anti-doping education as

Guyana’s affiliate to the Caribbean Regional Anti Doping Organisation. Today’s action will lift off at 10:00hrs with the first flight of athletes who will be engaging each other in the squat, bench press and deadlift with three attempts in each of the three lifts. Fans are in for a half time treat with athletes from the Guyana Amateur Body Building and Fitness Federation scheduled to do a round of exhibition poses. The sponsors for today’s event are Fitness Express, Ramada Princess Hotel. Buddy’s Gym, Trophy Stall, Dynas Embroidery, Banks DIH, Sann Sports, NCN Sports Magazine, Maximum Sports Combat and Strength TV Programme.

GOA Anti-Doping talks to continue this week at headquarters With more and more athletes falling prey to the illegal path of drug use which gives them an unfair advantage against clean athletes and the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) zero tolerance of such cheats, the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) is continuing its drive to ensure that local athletes are educated with a view of staying clean. An important part of the mandate of the GOA - Guyana’s National Anti-Doping Organisation is Anti-Doping Education and according to the association, “This is a better, more effective way of trying to ensure that our athletes are clean than just periodically testing them; which may be taken as antagonistic and punitive. Education is also less expensive and can reach more athletes than a few tests each year.” To this end, the body has tried different options, in the past, to get athletes to education sessions - including reminding National Federations representatives at monthly meetings of the GOA that they can call on the body at any time that they have their athletes together. ”This has had very limited success. Our best result was hosting a series of talks, over a

Affiliates urged to take up offer

Test kits etc, used to explain the testing process. period of two months in 2016, when we were able to reach over 200 athletes,” the association has informed.

With this in mind, a new round of educational sessions commenced on Wednesday last at the new “Olympic House”

building, Block ‘XXX’, Lilliendaal and their affiliates have been so advised and encouraged to make full use of the opportunity to have their athletes brought up to date with the latest on anti-doping. It was pointed out to the affiliates that as the end of the year approaches, just one National Federation would have requested an anti-doping talk but the GOA wishes to help their affiliates to fulfill this aspect of their International Federation’s requirements. All National and International-level athletes, Coaches and persons who have or may travel with teams and executive members of Clubs and National Federations are invited to attend these anti-doping talks. Athletes and Team Officials long-listed or likely to travel on teams under the auspices of the Guyana Olympic Association and members of National Federations which have or hope to receive funding from the GOA are especially required to attend one of these sessions. Following is the schedule: - Monday December 4th - 5:00pm - Tuesday December 5th - 5:00pm - Wednesday December 6th - 5:00pm - Thursday December 7th - 5:00pm

Kaieteur News

Sunday December 03, 2017

PAGE 81

Elite League Season III

Fruta Conquerors defeat Ann’s Grove United, Western Tigers beat Milerock Western Tigers double goal scorer Andrew Murray.

Fruta scorers (from left) Jermaine Junior, Anthony Abrams and Eon Alleyne Play in the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Elite League (Season 3) continued on Friday last at the Mackenzie Sports Club, in Linden. The doubleheader featured Fruta Conquerors FC vs Ann’s Grove United FC in the first game and Milerock FC vs Western Tigers FC in the second. Fruta Conquerors and Western Tigers emerged the winners in the latest action at the MSC. In the opening contest Fruta Conquerors blanked Ann’s Grove 3 – 0, compliments of goals off the boots of Jermaine Junor in the 2nd minute, Anthony Abrams 79th and Eon Alleyne in the 90th (+4). The second match-up of the night saw Western Tigers coming from behind to get the better of home side Milerock 2-1. The

skillful and multitalented Andrew Murray fired home a double in the 43rd and 69th minutes, while Kester Randolph in the 5th had opened the scoring for Milerock. Sampson Gilbert, Head Coach of Fruta Conquerors noted after the game that, “I thought tonight was a good performance. However, they are many areas which we weren’t as efficient as we could be; finishing is one of those areas we are working continuously to improve, central midfield is another area we thought we can do better in terms of out tactical awareness and our strategy as a team. However, the team continues to show good character in being able to overcome a very spirited performance from the Ann’s Grove team. I thought the performance of Ann’s Grove tonight harbors well for the

league in terms of competitiveness and the chemistry of the Fruta Conquerors’ team, the various aspects of the game that we are continually working to maintain at a high level also augur well for the league. I thought it was good that the team could have stuck to the game plan and was able to overcome Ann’s Grove FC by three goals. However, we will return to the training field and continue to work assiduously on improving our ability to impose our strategy on the opponent and we’re looking forward to the next game. We will be taking the league game by game. We will be aspiring to do very well in this league.” His opposite number, Lloydwin Semple, of Ann’s Grove felt the need for more work for his charges. “We need to work some more on our performance. We’re going up against a

seasoned team and we cannot afford to make certain mistakes because when you make mistakes like these, they will punish you and that’s what happened tonight but we have to return to the drawing board and try to correct all of our mistakes and take it forward from here on.” Western Tigers had a tough contest and this was acknowledged by Coach Calvin Allen; “It wasn’t a straightforward victory for us tonight. It was a difficult game, one that we had to grind out. Playing from behind is never easy and I must also mention that I’m disappointed at the penalty that was awarded to Milerock. I think it was one of the softest penalties I’ve seen in a while but going forward, I know, definitely we see our strengths and our weaknesses. We created a lot of chances but we didn’t put them away so definitely we need to look at that and we need to do some more work on the defensive areas when it comes to closing down spaces and not giving the opposition much room to work in our penalty area. Outside of that I think it was a fairly good performance so I think we got the basics right, we just have to correct the finer areas.” Milerock’s Keron Munroe stated that his side showed improvement despite the loss. “We’ve improved from the last game. It wasn’t a bad performance tonight, both teams played well. We had some challenges relative to preparations pertaining to the starting lineup but it was fairly ok. We have a tough game ahead of us next week Friday against the army. We’re not scared of them but I know it will be a physical battle; we need points on the table.”

GBA need those pledges now –Ninvalle Now that the Terrence Alli National Open has concluded the Guyana Boxing Association will return to the perennial task of attempting to gather financial support for the national team to head to St Lucia to defend the Caribbean Champions title retained in Barbados last year. The Caribbean Championship is scheduled to be held from December 13 to 16 and Guyana has registered 13 boxers, two referee/judges and three coaches for the epic event. The local team is being led by youth sensation Keevin Allicock and Colin ‘Superman’ Lewis. Both won gold at the last Caribbean Development tournament (now Caribbean Championships) with Allicock going much further by winning a silver medal at the Youth Commonwealth Games in Bahamas earlier this year. There is no doubt in the mind of GBA President that Guyana will retain the Champion Country title in St Lucia.

Keevin Allicock However, the issue at hand is how does the team get to the island. “Well last year we were forced to walk one hundred miles to raise the funds to send an 11-man team to Barbados. We received very little help then. That team won ten gold medals and one silver. My

Steve Ninvalle sincere hope now is that the pledges and promises made when the team returned home are now made a reality,” Ninvalle said yesterday. It was disclosed that approximately three and one half million dollars would be needed

to move the team to St Lucia. “We have dominated the Caribbean and in recent time have shown that we are capable of taking on the best that the Commonwealth has to offer,” Ninvalle added. Lawrence Asannah and Maynard Wilson will sit exams, while in St Lucia and once successful will be handed AIBA One Star badges. “Before last December we had not a single One Star referee. Miss Ramona Agard and Mr. Richard Braithwaite sat exams during the tournament in Barbados and made us proud. Agard was later able to officiate at the Youth South American Games in Chile, becoming the first Guyanese to do so. I cannot underline more the importance of the development of our referees and judges,” the GBA president said. The upcoming Caribbean Championships will see participation of 18 Caribbean territories, an increase of one from last year and three when the inaugural tournament was held in Guyana in 2015.

t r o Sp Turbo Knockout football tournament

“Camptown coming for Police” in tonight’s final p. 77

Powerlifting Federation host Referees Seminar ahead of today’s Senior Nationals 22 athletes set to take Ramada Poolside by storm

de Grandhomme record hundred breaks Windies spirits

Left, Police Captain Winston Tanner and Camptown’s leader Lezhan Lord share a photo op during the pre-match press conference yesterday at MOE ground.

GBA need those pledges now – Ninvalle

CWI Digicel Regional 4-day C/Ships

MOTIE, PAUL, RUTHERFORD PUT JAGUARS IN ASCENDENCY Bad light stops play under floodlights

Kemo Paul beat the edges repeatedly in a superb spell of seam bowling yesterday. (Sean Devers photo)

Gudakesh Motie looked accomplished in his maiden fifty yesterday at Providence. (Sean Devers photo)

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