Kaieteur News

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AIETEUR Oil Company NEWS

Guyana’s largest selling daily & New York’s most popular weekly

Tuesday Edition

ready to talk natural gas

December 10, 2019 - Vol. 12 No. 51

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com Price $80

...but local leaders without a national plan - PSC

Online readership yesterday 101,099

GRA officers to undergo training in Canada to detect oil metering tricks 25 unclaimed motorcycles auction off for $1, 002,190 p.

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Some unclaimed motorcycles at the East La Penitence Police Station

Lands and Surveys ExxonMobil, Merrill Lynch LSC plans US$18M Commission faces countrywide provide conflicting figures remapping after cyber attacks - Police called in on oil production by 2025 five decades

City Council accuses Houston Estates of multi-million-dollar tax fraud

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday December 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

Tuesday December 10, 2019

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GRA Officers to undergo training in Canada to detect oil metering tricks T

he Guyana R e v e n u e Authority (GRA) will be taking several measures to ensure its officers receive oil metering training to ensure the nation does not suffer significant revenue leakage from the Stabroek Block operations.

GRA Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia, recently told Kaieteur News that come January 2020, some members of his staff will be going to Newfoundland, Canada to have hands on experience when it comes to oil metering. The tax chief said that this is being facilitated by the High Commissioner of Canada.

Further to this, the GRA Boss said that the authority has engaged the help of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) along with other partners to create an Oil and Gas Unit of which a Customs Petroleum Unit will be part of and tasked with addressing oil lifting issues, among other matters.

He said, “We are also engaged in the processes of

GRA Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia work attachments, table top exercises with the oil majors, and training in measurement of oil and gas.”

The tax chief said that this also serves to augment its institutional fundamentals along with other training exercises.

When the said officers are trained, Statia told Kaieteur News that it will allow for the authority to

GPL issues 2020 action plan - to address 47MW generation shortfall - Min. Patterson to submit plan to Cabinet for guidance

T

he Guyana Power and Light Incorporated has submitted an action plan to Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, that aims to acquire 47megawatts of power to address its present generation shortfall.

T his was announced by Minister Patterson on the Department of Public Infrastructure's One on One programme yesterday. He said the utility company issued the proposal after a six-hour meeting on December 6, last.

A ccording to the plan, GPL hopes to produce an additional 28 megawatts of electricity by mid-2020 and a further 19 megawatts by the end of that year. Minister Patterson explained he had engaged with the Minister of Finance Winston Jordan on GPL's proposal.

I t was further stated that

the proposal will be presented next week to the Cabinet for guidance.

A t present, the generation power at GPL stands at 142 megawatts with peak demand at 124.6 megawatts. This allows for a 17.4-megawatt reserve, which falls below the internationally required standard of 20 percent of power generation.

B ecause of the low reserve capacity, power disruptions due to maintenance of generators may occur. Hence, the need to increase generational shortfall is critical.

A s part of the long-term plans for GPL, Minister Patterson committed to transitioning the company's grid to be powered by 100 percent natural gas. In offgrid areas, the Government intends to continue power communities by renewable energy sources.

have a permanent presence on the Liza Destiny, the country's first Floating Production Storage and Operating (FPSO) vessel, to ensure the accurate measurements of oil that will be extracted and sold from the Stabroek Block.

Statia further stated that the corroboration of information by a third party independent surveyor will provide yet another source of determination of accuracy of meter readings.

T h e G R A Commissioner General was also keen to note that the monitoring and calibration of the meters is the designated function of the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) while the retention of the readings based on a custody transfer ticket and Bill of Ladingn will be that of the revenue authority.

Statia also disclosed that a fibre optic cable is being laid to pave the way for the

technology that would be needed to support oil metering. He said that the G u y a n a Te l e p h o n e Company (GTT) which is 80 percent owned by the USA's ATN International, is part of the process.

NEED FOR TECHNOLOGY The International Monetary Fund has since impressed upon the government, the need to incorporate the latest technology that would allow for accurate meter reading on a remote basis.

The IMF said that if Guyana makes use of the latest technology, accurate meter reading of the oil can be conveyed to the Guyana Revenue Authority's Customs Department, therefore eliminating the need for a permanent or regular presence of customs officers during the oil lifting operations.

While the use of the

latest technology will bring immense benefits, the IMF stressed that GRA's Customs Department should not relinquish its right to make visits to the Liza Destiny , Guyana's first Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel.

In fact, the international agency said that customs officers should visit the FPSO from time to time to ensure that agreed procedures are being adhered to by ExxonMobil as well as to assert Guyana's sovereignty over FPSO operations.

The IMF reminded that the FPSO is a significant component of the Liza Phase One development which involves four undersea drill centers with 17 production wells. It has a production capacity up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day and an overall storage volume of 1.6 million barrels.

Kaieteur News understands that the FPSO will be connected to the wells via separate production (oil, gas, and produced water), gas injection, and water injection flow lines and risers, and associated subsea equipment.

The Project will also involve shore base facilities and marine/aviation services to support development drilling, FPSO and subsea equipment installation, production operations, and u l t i m a t e l y decommissioning.

ExxonMobil's subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) says it will utilise proven and industry accepted standards and has incorporated many embedded controls into the overall Project design to minimise environmental and socioeconomic impacts.

25 unclaimed motorcycles auction off for $1,002,190

T

he Ministry of Public Security via a public a u c t i o n , y e s t e r d a y, facilitated the sale of 25 unclaimed motorcycles stationed at the Ruimveldt Police Station.

The auction, which commenced at 11:30hrs at the Ruimveldt Police Station, attracted close to 50 individuals—all looking to come out successful in the public bidding exercise.

Also present at the auction was a state officer from the Ministry of Public Security and one other from Ministry of Finance, who both ensured that the sale went to order.

Field Auditor from the Public Security Ministry, Ms. Isis Fraser, explained that to ensure accountability and the actual bidding price is paid, the Ministry of Public Security and state auditors are required to verify and cross match each of the bids.

In the past, Fraser added, there were some cases where individuals would bid for an item, leave the premises and not return. In an effort to alleviate that, she noted that persons are now required to

provide their identification card (ID) whilst bidding.

This not only helps them in securing their bid, but it is also done to ensure the integrity of the bidder.

However, in the rare cases when bidders leave before making their payments, she stated that the item would be republished in the newspapers after which it would be put up for auction again.

It is important to note that bidders are not required to show their driver's licence, only their ID card.

Some might argue and raise their eyebrows over this decision taken by the Ministry since it is vital for the officers conducting the sales to know whether the bidders have the requisite licensing documents.

“Currently, the Ministry does not ensure this, but it is something that we should think about, especially considering that we will be continuously conducting auction sales because we always have unclaimed motorcycles,” Fraser explained.

The prices of the 25 motorcycles, which were set by the Public Security

Ministry, had been in the compound of the station for over a year. The sale netted $1,002,190.

The items were sold based on their conditions and attracted a three percent auction due.

Purchasers were requested to remove their items within seven days following the sale, after which a storage charge of two percent of the sale price which be levied each passing day.

Fraser warned purchasers that items sold if not removed within one month of the sale will be disposed of.

She added that the proceeds would be added to the government's Consolidated Fund, after which they would decide on what the monies will be spent on. Station Sergeant of the Ruimveldt Police Station, Julian Griffith, expressed his relief over yesterday's auction.

Prior to the auction, Griffith related that the unclaimed motorcycles were somewhat of a “strain” on the station compound. He was at the time alluding to the “poor station

environment and compound” contributed to by the stacked-up motorcycles.

“These motorcycles were involved in accidents; they were undocumented or stolen.

They are defective so they cannot be used again.

However, we are in the Christmas season and we want to rid the compound of them,” the sergeant related.

When enquired about why motorcycle owners failed to claim their property, Griffith explained that the owners often choose to claim for their insurance and purchase another motorcycle with the money received.

He added, “Also, some of these owners don't want to pay the transportation fees needed to uplift their motorcycle.

They complain about how expensive it is, so they rather just leave it behind.”

Last month, 113 unclaimed motorcycles were auctioned, with 21 of them sold at the Ruimveldt Station.

Another 35 bicycles are expected to be auctioned before the year concludes.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday December 10, 2019

Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana.

Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

EDITORIAL

The body cameras and the police They are here, forty of them according to the Guyana Police Force. A senior official has confirmed that they have already been “put to use.” That would be those forty newly acquired body cameras now deployed as part of efforts by law enforcement to come to grips with crime in Guyana, and in an aboveboard manner that stands up to the usual challenges.

Those would be challenges of who fabricated a story (official or violator), who set somebody up (police or civilian), and whose account of events and circumstances should succeed before the glares of inquiry, dispute, or criticism.

People in the United States have some suspicious and nagging incidents of the technology not turned on, or inexplicably missing in action, when most needed. That would be where the rages run riot and reasoning and cooler heads are forced to run for cover, since little by way of defensive or corroborating visual evidence is found.

As if to minimise such instances from occurring, the authoritative word from the Guyana Police Force brass is “The ranks will be required to wear the body cameras on their shifts at all times, and should activate them when it is absolutely necessary in situations such as: Traffic stops, priority responses, vehicle pursuits, arrest situations, vehicle searches, physical confrontations, and crimes in progress, etc.” That is encouraging in its essences and intents and should earn some positives from the public as to what it could mean. But there are some concerns.

We commend the administration of the GPF for this introduction of body cameras into its policing programme.

Now, as much as we would like to move on and wait for confirmation of our commonsense belief as to the sure value of these cameras, there are some points that must be raised, for to do otherwise would be unsatisfactory on our part.

It makes for good sense that “the ranks will be required to wear…at all times” and, in time, this should be as automatic as the other pieces of official attire, such as uniform, guns, notebooks, and so forth. Even if they are found to be cumbersome and restraining, ranks should welcome them, if only for the support that they enable during tense situations that are called into question.

In other words, it could be the best defence for police officers called to task for failing to follow standard procedures and ending up in conduct unbecoming.

On the other hand, there are a couple of things relative to these procedures that are not so comforting, because they are seen as furnishing loopholes, which are sure to be exploited and used to tell a story that is unrelated to what actually did happen.

Or, even more egregiously, to tell no story at all, which is the blankness and silence that damns. This is postured here because there is this excerpt from the above quote that opens the door for calculated mischief: should activate it when it is absolutely necessary.”

There are some problems with both the action and the judgment call embedded.

To approach this in reverse order, leaving the determination of “when absolutely necessary” to ranks on the road affords room through which a container truck could be driven though without risk.

What is the definition of that, and what are the procedural specifics where there are no ifs ands or buts regarding this standard of absolutely necessity, since that could vary from one person to another, and from police to public?

The GPF did provide some granularity as to where and when, but it is still very broad, and could be subject to misunderstanding, in the heat of the moment.

In addition, the conditional of “should activate” raises similar concerns at this publication, which believes that the public may share its thinking. This could lead to memory lapses, procedural errors in terms of timing and, it must be said, motives at suppressing truth. As a practical matter, it is appreciated that the equipment cannot be operative continuously, but the directions, as they stand, could negate the objectives on the drawing board.

Compensate the families; bring closure to the Lindo Creek Massacre saga DEAR EDITOR, It is hoped that the COIrecommended compensation will bring closure for the families of the victims of the Lindo Creek Massacre. It is up to the President to deliver.

It has been over ten years since the families of the eight men have been seeking justice and closure to this tragedy. The Lindo Creek Massacre, like all tragedies, is one that cannot be undone.

The two suspects, the Rondell ‘Fine man’ Rawlins gang and the Joint Services, hail from the two greatest extremes - the criminal world and the arm of law enforcement, respectively.

It is known that the latter (law enforcement) were in pursuit of the former (Fine man gang). The eight men became collateral damage (lost their lives) in a crossfire that

never happened. Who did it?

Was it the good guys or the bad guys?

The evidence against the Rawlins gang only puts them somewhere in the area “a few weeks before the gruesome discovery” of the bodies. The Joint Services are claiming that they discovered the partly burnt out bodies of the men.

I do not believe that there is any criminologist or criminal psychologist in the world, attempting to profile Rondell Rawlins through his murderous rampages, who would have ever envisioned Rondell Rawlins spending time and effort to get rid of the bodies of his victims.

Rawlins had no fear or respect for the law, being on the most wanted list, he had no need to alter a crime scene and dispose of bodies. The

criminologist playbook will tell you that what was discovered at Lindo Creek in 2008 (no empty shell and charred remains of bodies) is the work of someone fearful and trying to cover their tracks.

The families of the victims and the average Guyanese have a mindset since 2008, but the burden of proof will remain elusive. The most patriotic thing any president could have done was to call the families together and explained to them that something happened there that the State cannot get to the bottom of.

Offer 10 million dollars per victim to the families, because these men were all breadwinners for their loved ones.

That would have eased the burden on these families

a long time ago, when it mattered most.

This would have brought some kind of closure to these families, because nothing could bring back their loved ones.

The COI ordered by Granger was never intended to prove anything. It was called to divert attention from the exposure of the “signing bonus” that was the” Achilles heel” of the Government at that moment.

Think about this: Forty million spent on keeping the remains of the victims and more than that spent on the COI, and the families are nowhere close to receiving any assistance to offset the hardships encountered because of the loss of their loved ones - eleven years and counting.

Rudolph Singh

These traffic ranks have a different approach to ease road accidents DEAR EDITOR, While the speeding and recklessness continues on our roads, (more so with the minibuses), and the carnage seems to continue unabated, it seems as though the ranks at Alberttown Police Station have a different approach to ease road accidents.

The traffic ranks seclude themselves down in Fourth Street, while watching the junction of Fourth and Albert Streets like hawks, waiting to pounce on any unsuspecting driver who fails to DEAD

STOP at the junction, then the terrorising starts – ‘this is not a ticket offence, you have to go to court and tell the magistrate why you failed to stop at the major road, which is a dangerous offence’, etc.

Now, I would like to point out that ALL FOUR streets at this junction have speed humps, so when you’re driving north on Albert Street and you approach the junction, as soon as your front wheels cross the speed hump, you’re at the stop line, and the three other

approaches are clearly visible (no obstructions), so it’s natural that you continue to turn as the roads are visibly clear, and you cannot drive at any speed due to the humps.

You cannot go as fast as five km/h over these humps, yet these officers take you into the Traffic Department and delay you for long periods, while terrorising you about the courts and lockups, etc.

It would be interesting to check on how many charges were actually made for this

offence, as they have stopped many vehicles for this. I personally feel that this is a most unscrupulous and unreasonable way to deal with citizens, particularly as it involves their hard-earned money. I also think that this specific law should be reviewed, as many drivers would testify that you approach a junction and can see that the roads are clear without having to DEAD STOP. Yours faithfully, D. Persaud

Human Rights Day 2019: Youth Standing Up for Human Rights DEAR EDITOR, The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948, envisioning a world where “all members of the human family” enjoy “freedom, justice, and peace in the world.” These efforts are the responsibility of the state, but no government can do it on their own.

This is a call for youth involvement in the pursuit of human rights.

Young people represent the majority of most developing countries’ population, where we are often directly exposed to the effects of climate change, conflict, exclusion or economic instability.

Moreover, in many parts of the world, it is still difficult for youth to garner a place in the decision-making processes.

In Guyana, young people under the age of 35 make up at least 65% of the population.

Despite these challenges, every day, young people stand up for rights and against racism, xenophobia, hate speech, bullying, discrimination and other forms of human rights violations. We also take a lead role in many areas – including advocating for climate action.

On Human Rights Day, we recognise the leadership and courageous efforts of “Youth Standing Up for Human Rights” in light of this year’s theme. The aim is to celebrate the potential of youth as productive agents of change, magnify their voices, and involve a comprehensive range of global audiences in the protection and promotion of human rights. The contribution of our youth is invaluable.

Youth participation is essential to achieve sustainable development for all. Involvement in public life is an essential principle of human rights. Young people are pursuing involvement in decisions that have a direct and indirect impact upon their lives and wellbeing. We need to be heard to inform current decision-making and realise sustainable development for all people.

Youth can play a crucial role in positive change.

Young people are the key drivers of political, economic and social revolution. We are at the forefront of grassroots mobilisation for positive change and bring modern ideas and solutions for a better world.

Empowering youth to better know and claim their rights will generate benefits globally. Regularly young persons are marginalised and because of our age.

Safeguarding our human

rights and empowering us to better know and claim them will generate benefits at country, regional and global levels.

On this Human Rights Day, let us commit as individuals and organisations to doing all that we can to guarantee that young people have safe and inclusive spaces, and can contribute in all decisions that influence on our wellbeing and our communities’ development.

Yours faithfully, Sarah Bovell Human Rights Coordinator Guyana’s Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD Guyana) Kobe Smith President, Youth Advocacy Movement (YAM) Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA)

Tuesday December 10, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Not an easy task to transition My 2019 highlights (or low ones) sugar workers into farmers DEAR EDITOR, The Presidential Candidate of the newlyminted political party, Change Guyana, Mr. Robert Badal in a letter which appeared in the December 05 Kaieteur News said that he “…was deeply disturbed at the level of poverty and unemployment…” in the villages that once depended on the now-closed Wales sugar state.

Mr. Badal urged the Administration to allocate former estate lands to the displaced workers. He went on to say that “…large swathes of land [were] being parceled out at Wales to friends of the APNU administration without any consideration for the displaced sugar workers”, a situation he said was “…most uncaring and unpatriotic act of the Granger administration”.

The Change Guyana presidential hopeful called on President Granger to “…articulate a viable economic relief plan for those workers as a matter of urgency”.

The sentiments expressed

by Mr. Badal are indeed reflective of the travesty unfolding at Wales. Similar situations afflict the people and communities of East Demerara, Rose Hall and Skeldon as well. But while the Change Guyana leader was so moved by what he saw that it forced him to share his expressions in the media, it was the same gentleman that just a few days prior said that the re-opening of the closed estates was a foolhardy proposition.

Incidentally, on the day that Mr. Badal’s letter was published, another newspaper also featured his comments regarding the reopening of the shuttered estates. That media entity reported that Mr. Badal said it will take significant sums to re-open the estates and deemed such commitments as “foolishness” and “lies”. The aspirant for the highest office in the land said it was “impossible” to re-open the closed estates.

While we are not aware of the current state of the shuttered estates, we nevertheless hold the view that the investment required would be most worthwhile.

Any investment, which allows our people to work and allows them and their families to live happy lives where they can achieve their aspirations should not be decried and denounced, but supported and embraced.

Undoubtedly, Mr. Badal and his colleagues would now have first-hand knowledge of the vacuum created by the closure of estates and the dire situation that is now affecting thousands of Guyanese and scores of communities.

Change Guyana, we have seen, has proposed that former sugar lands be given to ex-sugar workers for them to be transitioned into entrepreneurs and farmers. At his press conference, Mr. Badal shared that there is much scope. Indeed, there may be opportunities. On the surface, what Mr. Badal is suggesting, sounds to be prudent idea.

Mr. Badal and his

The ‘Haitian’ paranoia is both ugly and needless DEAR EDITOR, The ‘Haitian’ paranoia is both ugly and needless. I was appalled by the tone of a recent letter in one of the daily newspapers, which suggested a dark conspiracy stretching throughout the Caribbean to traffic Haitians into Guyana for nefarious purposes including “illegal

voting at the upcoming polls”. Hogwash and xenophobia rarely make a good combination, and it fails again in this anonymous missive.

Earlier this year, I, like many other Guyanese, was worried that our Haitian brothers and sisters were (Continued on page 6)

colleagues must have thought: - What’s so hard, let’s just give the lands to the workers and they will know what to do. Only if it were so easy.

Our Union has given considerable thought to this matter as well. While we do not consider ourselves an authority on the issue by any means, at the same time, we have come to learn that there are several matters that require considerable thought and profound actions if such ventures are to really succeed.

We hasten to ask whether Change Guyana, for instance, has given thought to available markets, processing facilities, infrastructural development, entrepreneurial and farming know-how and techniques, gestational income, financing for ventures, competiveness considerations, or even the psychological effect. It’s not as easy as it sounds and definitely will not happen at the snap of one’s fingers.

Mr. Badal, who himself was once a sugar worker, would know too, of how proud of a people they are.

He would well know of their dedication and their desire to give their best. He should be aware of the pride they take in their jobs and the hard work they do to make a living. He would know too that they are not looking for handouts but they, like all Guyanese, want to make a contribution to developing our country and making Guyana a better place for everyone.

All they seek is an opportunity to a play a role; an opportunity, we remind, that was pulled from under their feet, and an opportunity which saw them turning the wheels of progress and allowing us all to soar higher into the skies and to reach for the stars.

Yours faithfully, Seepaul Narine General Secretary GAWU

DEAR EDITOR, I look at the year 2019, and I could write a full-length book in one sitting. It was that kind of year, when evil winds blew and parched most minds in this sick land, while leaving both further dehydrated in spirit, crumpled in substance, and rickety in outlook.

There was so much that happened in 2019 yet, at the crux, nothing really stirred at all. That is, except for the untamed rampaging beasts goaded into madness within the nation’s breast.

For there was in the hells let loose within the first third of the year by that worst of hangovers from December 2018, compliments of a witches’ brew labeled no confidence; if ever there was something called confidence in this country, it incinerated before the furies unleashed and refused to return to the bottles: of the sensible, of parliament, of civility, of that always elusive sorcery named harmony.

That last one is now history; well, at least until the oil runs out and sanity slips back in through the side door.

Maybe, those living then will look at the folly of it all and exclaim with regret: what a waste!

What an environmental disaster we did make of ourselves! I say this for several reasons.

Because in that same first third, I listened and read of the “fandango and tango” that were the foreseen and foregone inevitabilities handed down by judicial tribunals, who were asked to crown the rhythmic, when only the dirges of the tragic could be forthcoming.

Anybody with a fraction of a brain could have prophesied that one; the problem is that even a mere cranial fraction was absent from these politically rambunctious shores. The dirges and tragedies were what it would have to be.

And that was what came about from the spectacles of the rough cuts that made for the middle third of 2019, this most

troubled of years. The Chinese were farsighted enough to call it the year of the pig. How right they were, since from a Guyanese context, the politically and racially swinish came into the ascendancy here.

First, the foreign arbiters danced to their own music, while wondering who these people called Guyanese are. That is, if they should be categorised as people in the first place. For there we were - most of us - if not “aal ah wee” - who through every succeeding ballad recorded, ended up confirming our enduring convictions over a criminal constitution, which rendered us feebler and palpably more pitiable before all.

The more we interpreted, the less we understood; and the more we discovered, the more lost we became. From in the region, the lawmen - sharp in the production of their minds, and deft in the footwork displayed felt compelled by circumstances to pen one ‘Dear John’ heartbreaker of a decision after another. The problem was that John Politics and Johnny Guyanese couldn’t take no for an answer, were not prepared to pick up the pieces and move on.

To move on and start fresh; perhaps, a practical political dispensation, to live, not necessarily happily ever after, but with some element of selfrespect. Yet, as I looked on unbelievingly, we did move on, though not in the manner anticipated. Thoughtfully and visionary, no; but delightfully craftily and sleazily, most certainly.

I say this because the final third of this lamentable year that never was, succeeded in exhuming the gruesome, but very recognisable, carcass of this country. It is one that should be buried, thoroughly sanitised with spirits, and condemned to oblivion. We couldn’t identify a chair, but everybody was laying claim to the whole house; a list forced to

picking the brains of the courts, since we have none left; and the times stood up over a date revealed to the world how ramshackle and sickly we are.

When I did apply what is left of my mind, I marveled at what 2019, in its entireties, encapsulated and projected. It is really simple: the countless possibilities of petroleum. In our long offseason, we had some young students, who went to Dubai and wowed the world (that Guyana is a serious place, and not only of laughingstocks and livestock). Some athletes under the banner of the Golden Arrowhead scaled the summits and came up slightly short. And a few smart souls pondered about truth, settled for the celestial, and found sanctuary in the midst of all the madness.

That was 2019 in the splendour of the sprawling nutshell that is Guyana; of a reality that conveys the essences and exotica of people consigning themselves to lower, then still lower depths. It would be catastrophic, arguably still manageable, if that was all.

Because the largest legacy of 2019 is the story of its unfinished business.

Most regrettably, it does not end at midnight on December 31.

Nor on March 2nd, which only brings visions of extensions of the convulsions (and concoctions) of 2019. Beyond that landmine of a watermark, this place will go where, even the powers may not know, nor want to know. To be unpatriotic, neither do I. I have had my fill; but rather mysteriously, I am the emptier for all of it. After all of that, I still have it in me to wish friend and foe (all) a blessed holiday and a healthy 2020. It is the best that I can do. May next year be less about interesting times, and more of prospering, peaceful ones.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday December 10, 2019

Missing in Action - Festive Shopping Manners DEAR EDITOR, The absence of shopping manners especially during the festive season is truly calamitous.

The holiday season is already on us, and strangely enough large department stores, shopping malls and food courts, figuratively speaking, are presenting dependable petri dishes for sociologists burrowing into or ferreting out the morass of human self-entitlement, selfabsorption and self-centered behaviour.

The crux of the matter lies in the fact that the most conscientious of people, those who know the spoken and unspoken rules of what constitutes good behaviour in a polite society, automatically morph into subnormal dolts while out and about during the festive season.

Strange, but nonetheless true, there are Christmas shopping manners. If everyone used them, shopping would certainly become a more enjoyable and less stressful event. Simply put, manners are the best practices for handling any interaction—even Christmas shopping.

I have even arrived at the conclusion that many people should undergo forced lobotomies, as I am easily irritated by blatant stupidity; therefore, Christmas shopping in a public store/mall is a true ordeal

for me. I have had to endure many trips to public places where, much to my chagrin, I encountered several rude and entitled miscreants. So, from hereon let it stand for the records, I deplore Xmas shopping, for it gradually became an increasingly soul-withering experience; meandering through gauntlets of self-absorbed, illmannered and astonishingly inconsiderate fellow shoppers.

It is this lack of interaction with dimwits that has allowed me to keep my good mood and Christmassy cheer intact!

However, let us not be mistaken, one does from time to time, encounter nice people (bless them) whose smiles cast light into aisles and checkout lanes otherwise shadowed by ill manners.

I want to remind everyone of a few Christmas shopping rules of etiquette: For the naysayers, yes, rules do exist.

Please enter through the store and mall entrances and not the exit doors. Do not force people leaving the store with their shopping carts to slam on the brakes to avoid you as you slide in through the wrong door (It is not a what’s open can enter system).

They might get crashed into by shoppers behind them who are not paying attention.

A shopping cart to the heel, or hip, is never fun. Be always and at all times aware of your surroundings. I saw a customer get rammed from

behind as she bent to retrieve an object that had been dropped to the floor. This collision, of course, was an accident, but the displayed lack of empathy after the fact was not. Remember also, it is of utmost importance to pilot these things with care.

Please do not walk around in circles like a dimwit talking on your cell phone in the middle of the store, like you would if you were home.

Why? Simple and elementary—because you are not at home! You are in a public space where people do their shopping and they do not need, and most importantly, are not desirous of hearing your banal c o n v e r s a t i o n about...anything.

Additionally, do not park your shopping cart in the middle of the aisle whilst yakking on your cellphone with Jack, Jill, Dick, Harry or whomever. Leave people space to get by.

Avoid texting while standing in the middle of an aisle in a store as others are trying to shop around you.

What shocks me about this is that most of the offenders I encounter are not teenagers; they are the moms of teenagers.

Please Mom, I know you are trying to show everyone what a hip cool woman you are, and that you have an iPhone (that your kids have to keep showing you how to

Society is poorer for every corrupt action taken by public officials DEAR EDITOR, December 9 is designated by the United Nations as AntiCorruption Day. It is an opportune time to reflect on the state of corruption not only in Guyana but the world at large.

Guyana ranks high on the corruption index as computed by Transparency International. In fact, Guyana is the 93rd most corrupt country out of 175, according to Transparency International’s Report for 2019.

This is indeed an

unacceptable state of affairs, which should not be allowed to continue.

The fact is that society is poorer for every corrupt action taken by public officials. Regrettably, the watchdog Integrity Commission, despite a promise to publish the names of all public officials who fail to submit their declarations, has failed to do so, on the grounds that it does not have enough financial resources to so do! This is an

The ‘Haitian’ paranoia...

From page 5 being trafficked and could/ would be subjected to the ills that often accompany that illegal trade. I spent countless hours talking to Haitians since, and have found assurance that while there is organised assistance, it is not abusive, but more symbiotic. Haitians are here mainly to transit onwards to Brazil.

Editor, some Haitians have become enamored with our country, its people and our warm, welcoming culture; they have applied for work permits and are often employed with good

results and reviews.

Haitians may indeed vote in the upcoming elections; when they do, I am sure it will be for the party that promises progress and prosperity, and, importantly, can deliver on those promises, the PPP. The Haitians did not leave their beloved homeland to punish under APNU/AFC, if they wanted poor, corrupt, dysfunctional governance, they would have stayed home.

Plus forts ensemble! Mes Amis.

Respectfully Robin Singh

unsatisfactory situation that needs to be corrected by the government.

The example has to be set from the top, and there should not be any ‘holy cows’ when it comes to compliance with the requirements of the law.

The Integrity Commission has an important role to play in the fight against corruption, but it will be unable to fulfill its mandate unless it is fully resourced to expose those who are delinquent, and also to initiate the necessary procedures for remedial action.

Corruption is becoming a major political issue throughout the world and several leaders and governments have fallen on corruption allegations over the past few years. People are becoming increasingly intolerant of corrupt leaders, many of whom have amassed huge fortunes at the expense of the poor.

As a society, we have to send a clear signal that we will not accept corruption. Indeed, it is our duty and responsibility as concerned citizens to expose corruption whenever or wherever it raises its ugly head.

Hydar Ally

use), but holding up other shoppers and forcing them to go around you is certainly not cool. Put it down, or go sit on a bench, and text your ‘bff’. Maybe you think you can shop and text at the same time, but you cannot.

When at the check-out, please send that checkout divider down the line, so the shopper behind you can start loading their stuff on the belt too.

Never, and I repeat even louder, cut in front of anyone.

And respect the personal space of the shopper in front of you when they are paying.

In other words, back off.

Use your words. Say please, thank you and excuse me. Should you want something, or need to go somewhere, please do not just point with your finger without saying anything. This too is rude.

During regular days and under normal circumstances, Food Courts at shopping malls are busy, now further compounded on account of the time of the year. It is the Christmas season, and people will be shopping, stores will

be crowded, and try to remember that you are not the only one in the store. There will be lines at the cash registers, lines for the bathrooms, lines for food, lines for gift wrapping etc. etc., You are not entitled to ask others in line if you can go ahead of them because you have less items than them.

Stop huffing and puffing in the line (like an untreated asthmatic) because you, the Queen of Faux Cheveux and YSL handbags, have to wait.

Realise that in any given geographical region, there is typically only room for one prince or princess, and statistically speaking, chances are excellent that you are neither of these. So display some humility.

In the food court, you should never approach a family or persons while they are enjoying their meal and ask them how long they are going to be because you want their table.

It is rude. Simply move on. Furthermore, never loiter in the aisle next to a table with your derrière aimed point

blank at someone’s face while they are eating their meal.

Please! Please! Listen up and let it stand for the records— I am in no way, shape or form a hater of babies (pedophobic) or young ones,(mesopedia) nor is it my intention to offend anyone, so please take your finger off the trigger, and let the pistol remain undigitised.

Just merely giving a word of advice—Baby strollers that are 6 feet wide—— Ladies, if you are unable to get a babysitter and you do not possess an “appropriate for tight quarters” stroller, then please remain at home and consider shopping on line.

The monstrous strollers that could double as freight haulers are not befitting for crowded stores And finally as you exit the mall, if a driver holds back a bit to let you enter their lane, understand that it is not because you deserve it – it is because this stranger is doing you, a stranger, a solid.

Acknowledge it with a wave, or a nod, or a smile, or all three.

It would not crack your face.

Y. Sam

The journey of destruction continues DEAR EDITOR, I had written in the media on October 11, 2019 that profitability should not have been the sole criterion for the closure of the estates, and that has always been the position of the PPP/C in Government and as the Opposition.

The Leader of the Opposition is emphatic that the focus should have been on the economic viability, and he succinctly pointed out the numerous economic benefits, as well as the devastating effects of the multiplier effect.

The closure of the estates has cost the economy more than it has saved, but the Coalition was not only trigger happy, it was greedy as well.

In direct contravention of sound economic policies, the Coalition took no time to shutter four estates and ‘wrong sized’ the remaining three to the point of utter destruction. In this letter I will be dealing with the APNU/ AFC coalition‘s deliberate and vindictive acts to obliterate sugar from the economic landscape of Guyana.

It must be recalled that in May 2017, the Coalition Government prepared and presented in Parliament a ‘White Paper’ on sugar, in which they embarked on their journey of deceit to paint a good picture of how they will return the sugar industry to profitability. This was a deliberate smokescreen to camouflage its callous closure

of the four estates and firing of over 7,000 workers. The restructuring was supposed to produce 147,000 tons of sugar to satisfy the local and foreign markets. Over two years later, the Sugar industry is still struggling to produce a mere 100,000 tons after spending $12 billion subsidy and $17.6 billion from the $30 billion bond.

In this ‘White paper’, the Government admitted that the sugar industry made an ‘invaluable contribution’ over the years, and yet they deliberately destroyed the same industry. Moreover, the Paper did not address the negative social and economic impacts to the closure of the estates, si n c e t h e s u g a r workers are expendables and the promise to upgrade and embarked on cogeneration and the production of plantation white sugar are yet to be put in motion.

But what is more appalling is the fact that the shuttered estates, both the factories and the fields, have been destroyed to such an extent that no investor will ever pursue it as an investment.

Despite all these failed economic policies, the Government is still trying to blame the PPP/C for the current failures.

This Coalition has spent $32 billion in ‘bailouts’ and $17.6 billion from a $30 billion bond, a total of $49.6 billion, and everything has fallen

apart. That amount of money could have subsidized the entire GuySuCo, inclusive of the closed estates for a period of at least eight years - that would have been until 2023 and the economic and social devastation this nation is now plunged into would have been avoided.

Granger it seems had slept through his entire tenure as President, since he has now awoken to the fact that to make the industry economically viable will take 3 to 4 years. This is what the PPP/C was saying all along, and as seen above, the entire sugar industry could have been saved with the $49.6 billion wasted by his Government. It is worth noting that the PPP/C only spent $26 billion to keep the entire GuySuCo afloat from 2011-2015.

I could recall that the PPP/ C in its 2015 manifesto had said that the Sugar Industry needed $20 billion to bring it back to viability and the Commission of Inquiry done by the Coalition came to a similar conclusion. The COI never mentioned closure.

I have no doubt that a PPP/C Government will be able to reopen the estates.

They are not comprised of voodoo economists, and Dr. Irfaan Ali is a competent and world-class economist, backed by a most competent team led by the maestro, Dr. Jagdeo.

Yours sincerely, Haseef Yusuf

Tuesday December 10, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Oil Company ready to talk natural gas …but local leaders still without an inclusive plan-PSC

By Gary Eleazar The major US Oil company is gearing for first oil in a matter of days— ExxonMobil Guyana—is ready to discuss the natural gas aspect of its production with Guyanese leaders. However, the local leaders are without a plan.

This is according to Chairman of the Private Sector Commission, Captain Gerry Gouveia, who was yesterday asked to weigh in on Article 15 of the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) which stipulates that the Petroleum Minister along with the oil company would come up with an annual local content plan.

Gouveia used the occasion to lament the fact that Guyana’s leadership has in fact failed to have a national bi-partisan discussion on its oil and gas industry generally.

He said the fact is that the country is still to decide on the key by-product of the oil field production natural gas.

According to Gouveia, the company is ready to begin discussions with government.

He said while there was a

decision taken that natural gas will not be flared, the country is yet to decide on what to do, or even where to land perhaps a pipeline to shore.

According to Gouveia, it is poignant to note that with first oil in a matter of days, Guyana is still to discuss in a bi-partisan manner, how the country can benefit from its natural gas resources.

Asked to speak broadly to the local content provisions in the PSA, Gouveia said that he did not believe any such plan should be formulated between the Oil operator and Government.

Under Article 15 of the PSA, within 60 days prior to the beginning of each year, the two would come up with a plan detailing the use of Guyanese resource and labour—a plan that is supposed to be updated annually.Gouveia lamented the lack of a clear strategy.

There is need for a national inclusive conversation aimed at charting a course forward with regards an oil and gas economy, he added.

It was explained that there exists a lack of a coherent

strategy even among private sector bodies.

The PSC Chairman’s position comes on the heels of an announced initiative aimed at bringing about local content laws and not just a policy.

The decision by the PSC was taken in light of widespread concerns expressed by sections of the local private sector on the issue of local content. It took into consideration recent calls for legislative protection made by the Georgetown Chambers of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and Guyana Manufacturers Association (GMSA).

The private sector umbrella organisation as such, announced that the PSC, which represents 23 private sector organisations, convened its Trade and Investment Sub-Committee to discuss the concerns and to give effect to the call for local content legislation.

Following its deliberations, a Multi-Stakeholder Working Group will be established by the private sector.

It will include other stakeholders including civil society, labour unions, and politi-

cal parties to broaden the discussion on local content legislation.

GCCI at a Gala Award ceremony, recently, also called for local content provisions to be codified in order to protect domestic businesses in the oil and gas industry.

GCCI President, Nicholas Deygoo-Boyer, in his address to the business leaders gathered for the gala affair, said that while the organisation welcomes “companies who invest into our country, GCCI believes that investment incentives should be expanded and codified as well as be accessible to both foreign and local companies in the various sectors.”Addressing the growing debate over the issue of incentives, the GCCI President said that based on “much of what we have heard complaints about can be traced back to a need to codify the incentives so that they are transparent and available to all investors, both local and foreign.”

According to DeygooBoyer, “We have seen some significant investments recently by local companies.

That should be commended,

despite their challenges in accessing investment incentives commensurate to the level of investment.”

The GMSA recently backed calls by other private sector bodies for the establishment of laws regulating local content in the emerging oil and gas sector.

That body in a public statement said, “We are strongly of the view that a critical evaluation should be undertaken of all foreign based companies that have been provided with concessions by GO-INVEST and the Government.”As such, the GMSA “urges the Government of Guyana to do so in order to ascertain whether there exists any Guyanese Company that have been and/ or will be disadvantaged as it relates to unfair competition particularly within our Manu-

facturing and Services Sectors and beyond.”

GMSA said it would like that emphasis placed on Guyana deriving maximum benefits from its natural resources. “To date, we have observed that there is no dedicated monitoring and evaluation mechanisms and/or institutions empowered with regulatory authority and autonomy to ensure the implementation of local content policy in Guyana.

As such, GMSA advocated that an independent Commission be established to remedy this anomaly and that in this context GMSA supports the formation of a “Local Content Commission to ensure that the intended goals are achieved and for necessary policy adjustments to be made if and when these become necessary.”

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Kaieteur News

City struggles to manage Bourda Market garbage after axing contractor The City‘s Solid Waste Department is yet to devise a plan to effectively deal with the garbage situation at Bourda Market.

The Bourda Market solid waste situation was listed for discussion on the agenda of the statutory meeting of the Mayor and Councillors of Georgetown, which was held at City Hall yesterday.

Councillors spoke of need for a plan that will help guide the council on the finances and resources, which will aid in keeping Bourda and its environs clean.

Kaieteur News understands that the Solid Waste

Department has been struggling to come up with a plan to manage the garbage after the Council announced last June that, “a majority decision was made to cancel the contractual arrangement with Dartmouth Skip Rental which was placed at Bourda Market.”

Darmouth Skip Rental was paid $2M weekly to remove garbage from Bourda Market.

The decision to terminate the contract was finalised at a Statutory Meeting. The decision was taken after City Treasurer (ag) John Douglas, had noted that “for the year 2019, the Council had already ex-

pended $101 million in this regard.”He told the Council the City Treasurer said the Council’s treasury can no longer afford this expense.

At that time, Georgetown’s Mayor, Ubraj Narine, suggested that the Council take over the responsibility of removing waste from the market.

The Mayor noted, “There should be coordinated efforts by the employees of the Solid Waste, City Engineer and Markets Departments.”

As such, Councillors renewed their call for a plan to guide the expenditure on the Bourda Market.

Tuesday December 10, 2019

Lands and Surveys Commission faces cyber attacks … Police called in

By Kemol King The Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) revealed that it has been on the receiving end of many cyber attacks throughout the year.

During its annual end of year press conference, the agencys Commissioner, Trevor Benn, told reporters that one such instance was so serious that the Commission resorted to involving the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

The Information Systems Division headed by David Cole assured this publication that the attacker was not able to compromise the Commissions data, but was able to access the Private Branch Exchange (PBX) telephone system, a network used by organisations.

Cole said that as soon as the Division noticed that the attacker was attempting to take control of the network, it reported the incident. The police are currently investigating.

Other cyber related attacks on the Commission are mainly done by spoofing and phishing.

The strategy involves the imitation of another entity, to

Head of GLSCs Information Systems Division, David Cole

fool a user into clicking on a link or giving away certain information.

Cole explained that “if [one clicks the link sent to them in an email, they can] compromise the system.”

“They send emails to the Commissioners account and several of our users accounts in the Commission and are trying to have you download something or clock on a link that can [allow them to] then do some mischief.”

Benn said that he has to allow the Information Sys-

tems Division to inspect his account weekly because the mail Cole describes as “mischief” are received so frequently.

He also explained that it is difficult to identify the source of these attacks, because they are being sent through an email account.

“We usually send the information to the National Data Management Authority (NDMA), and then those email addresses are blocked, until the next incident (Continued on page 22)

Tuesday December 10, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Time to change the national conversation The national conversation at this time should be shifted. Too little attention is being paid to the ongoing rape of Guyanas natural resources by multinational corporations.

These companies come to Guyana, woo our leaders, extort massive duty-free concessions often uncapped plunder our bauxite, gold and timber and leave the country poorer than when they arrived.

What is Guyana obtaining for the generous tax concessions which are being handed to foreign companies? Where are the jobs; where are the corporation taxes? Where is the development of communities around these investments; where is the returning foreign exchange earnings which are needed to strengthen the Guyana dollar?

These things are not happening. Guyana is being taken to the “cleaners” by these foreign firms. And when they

leave, they leave behind problems which taxpayers have to find monies to resolve.

In the sugar industry, Booker Tate timed its exit perfectly well, they were pushed out. But after receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in fees, they were unable to bring profitability to the sugar industry. And this was during the period when preferences were still in existence.

The Omai Mines was said to be the fabled El Dorado.

The company exported close to 2.5 million ounces of gold, flew in KFC chicken from Georgetown to its mine site and never showed a profit in all its years in Guyana. And Guyana sat and accepted that. Then the country had to deal with the worst environment disaster in Guyana when one of companys tailings ponds, with cyanidelaced waste collapsed.

The bauxite industry has had its fair share of carpetbaggers. Companies have come and gone. They have

extracted millions of tonnes of our ore and yet the industry is struggling. Massive craters are what are left behind when the bauxite is extracted.

There is no environmental levy to help Guyana repair the damage after the companies leave.

First oil is soon to begin.

But even before a single drop is pumped, the country has been shortchanged by the signing of a dubious contract.

The foreign companies involved have been granted generous concessions. Local content legislation, which should enable locals to benefit from the industry is being proceeding slower than moving molasses.

Even more shocking is that the gas resources are effectively at the discretion of Exxon. It is they who will decide whether they will inject it back into the wells or allow it to be brought to short to provide cheap energy.

Exxon is sitting on six billion barrels of oil reserves.

DEM BOYS SEH

Fires mek Guyana look like hell Dem boys now know why people does seh dat Guyana is hell. Uncle Freddie more than anybody else does cuss dis country but he not going nowhere else to live.

De Fire Chief give an interview and by de time de reporter come out, she was convinced dat Guyana was hell. It had fire all round.

Imagine a li’l country like dis country had more than 700 fires dis year alone. Of course, de Fire Chief seh dat nuff of these was grass fires but plenty destroy houses.

In de last week is about six houses destroyed by fire—three of dem alone in Bent Street. Dem boys wake up yesterday morning to anodda fire, dis one at

Cummings Lodge. De Bent Street fire start when somebody lef a kero stove alight.

It had to ketch pon something.De one yesterday start when some diya pon an altar ketch pon something.

Dem boys seh whoever was praying wasn’t doing de right thing. And de Man above don’t like when people mocking him.

But when dem boys hear bout more than 700 fires right away dem think about hell and dem seh more than half of Guyana burn down. And wid oil coming people can imagine dem would have even more fires because is only cooking oil does tek long to ketch and it don’t burn fast like kero or gasoline.

Dem boys hear de oil

company done put a clamp pon anybody who want to check how much oil coming up. Whoever want to check must give de oil company 72 hours notice. Dat is like wha dem police does give a criminal. You got to stay in jail fuh 72 hours.

When dem boys hear dat fuh de first time dem think about a man who got plenty some sweet woman. Any one of dem who want to visit must give 72 hours notice.

Dat is enough time to allow de man to clear any evidence of a previous visit.

Perhaps Exxon want to clear all evidence of whatever it doing before anybody from outside could check.

Talk half and watch dem fires

And all our expert negotiators got as a signing bonus was US$18M even less that what the struggling sugar industry earned in foreign exchange two years ago.

Guyana has not had a good experience with foreign multinationals operating in the extractive sector. Guyana has been bled dry by these companies which when they fold up leave hundreds of workers without jobs. The reduction or end of production hurts economic growth.

The downscaling of gold production by some of the major foreign gold mining companies is not likely to be compensated by higher declarations from local miners. As such, Guyana can expect a shortfall in economic growth this year.

This is not good news as

the nation prepares for first oil. But even with first oil, the conversation needs to be shifted.

Some political parties are counting their chickens before they are hatched. They are busy trying to determine how the oil revenues are going to be spent. They seem unperturbed at the highway robbery, which has taken place as a result of the agreement which was signed in 2016 between the government and Exxon Mobil.

They seem unbothered by the massive concessions, which have been gifted to the oil companies. They hardly seem perturbed by the fact that in one instance even the scandalous 1% royalty to be paid can be reclaimed.

Guyana is shouldered by unverified pre-contract costs.

And the country lacks the resources to effectively audit these costs, despite the fact that it is pretending to do so.

The time has therefore come for the national conversation to be changed. The time has come for the conversation to be about placing a moratorium on the continued give away of our natural resources. The time has come for a discussion on the mandatory renegotiation of all the contracts with foreign multinationals within the extractive sector.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday December 10, 2019

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

David Granger’s interpretations of things How do you know when politicians have expressed a sincere belief or it is the banal regurgitation of political opportunism, a case in which the politician varnishes the real motive with emotional semantics? Once more, I make reference to then British Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

Blair was the first foreign leader that agreed to contribute troops to the American intervention of Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein. As the British public reacted angrily to subsequent events, Blair gave his reason.

The American President had told the world that Hussein had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and regime change was the reason Blair agreed to the invasion.

To be noted is that Blair’s explanation came after it was discovered that Iraq did not have WMD. British critics of Blair accused him of just trying to please President Bush and Blair found a convenient alibi in WMD. I guess we will never know

the truth. But as years go by, documents are found that put alternative interpretation to things. Some documents that came out of the Chilot Inquiry into the British role in the military operation revealed that Blair had initially committed the UK to the operation even before the WMD claim by the Americans.

So it is left to every person on Planet Earth to decide for him/herself. My opinion is that Blair wanted to please Bush and he used WMD to cover himself.

We come now to David Granger. Did he really and sincerely believe that when the chairman of the CCJ urged both president and opposition leader to mutually compromise and concede on the talks to find a chairman of GECOM, that it meant that the President can now get around the constitutional stipulation of the opposition leader submitting a list of names and that he, Granger as president can also submit a list to himself?

I guess we will never know. It is left to the citizens of Guyana to give their opinion. My belief is that Granger knew that what the CCJ chairman said could not have allowed him to bypass the Guyana constitution and choose from his own list. For me, it was a game by Granger to stall for time.

The constant refrain of Mr. Granger in his dispute with the AFC over the PM slot was that as President, he has to select the right people for administering the affairs of the nation. Some situations seem to contradict Mr. Granger but can those occasions constitute evidence to definitely conclude that he uses his “right people” definition to opportunistically get his own way?

Let’s examine three cases.

The President insisted that the constitution defines what qualities the GECOM Chairman must possess and the words ‘and any other fir and proper person” also mean that the selectee must have judge-

like attributes.

The court ruled against the President but how do we know that Granger was not sincere in believing and still believes the GECOM chairman cannot be someone who lacks judge-like attributes? It is left for us to offer our opinion. Mine is that I think the insistence on a judge or former judge was Granger’s way of appointing the person he had in mind.

Secondly, the President unilaterally appointed a GECOM chairman. Did he have ulterior motives? He chose an 85-year-old person.

Given the rigorous work load of GECOM, was it not too much to ask an 85-year-old to bear?

Those who say yes can point to the hospitalisation of the chairman on two occasions which caused GECOM meetings to be postponed.

Does that constitute evidence

of Granger’s deception? The answer is almost impossible.

You can only give your opinion. Mine is that he had that person in mind all the time.

Thirdly, two categories of appointment can lead one to question Granger’s “right people” defence. Some of the diplomatic appointments raised eyebrows about their suitability and a majority of the appointees were in the age group of mid- sixties, latesixties and early-seventies.

The other is the head for the department that deals with gas and oil. The vacancy was not advertised. Mr. Granger filled the vacancy on his own. The subsequent queries centered on the relevancy of the person’s qualifications not the soundness of his training.

He had no formal qualifications in the study of oil and gas but in environmental economics.

Frederick Kissoon Were these appointments done with sincerity or was Granger picking people he alone wanted? There is no evidence. One just has to offer their opinions. Mine is that I don’t believe the “right people” explanation. Not for a moment. I don’t believe that Mr. Granger was being fair, patriotic and impartial in those cases outlined above.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)

Land Commission sacks three employees over corruption The Guyana Lands and Survey Commission (GLSC) has terminated the services of three employees over instances of corruption.

Speaking yesterday at the Commission’s year-end press conference at D’Urban Backlands, Human Resources and Administration Manager, Shonda James-Williams, said that three individuals were terminated as a result of entering into illegal agreements with clients.

According to her, the cases of corruption ranged from employees collecting monies in exchange for land

issuance, inflating bills and collecting advances to conduct land surveys. These issues were highlighted following audits into the Commission as well as through complaints by clients.Williams said, “When those cases came to us as a Commission, we acted in relation to our policy.”

She further stated that the matters were not turned over to the police because the clients involved refused to pursue the issue but opted to make private arrangements with the implicated employees for reimbursements where

necessary.

In June, Commissioner of GLSC called in the police to conduct a formal investigation into the acquisition of several documents noted to be property of the Commission, which were in the possession of Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo.

The Commissioner yesterday indicated that thus far, they have not received a report from the police.

Additionally, Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Trevor Benn, advised persons to refrain from speaking to employees outside of the ambit of the Commission as well as directly providing monies to employees for any services. highlighted that the Commission has since installed cameras at its cashier booths and is working towards a “Development and implementation of an Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) to manage correspondences received by the Commission.”

Tuesday December 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Welder jailed for threatening wife A man was yesterday sentenced to prison after he pleaded guilty to using threatening behaviour and abusive language towards his reputed wife.

The man, 51-year-old Eshwardar Ramnauth, a welder of Triumph, East Coast Demerara, made his court appearance in the Sparendaam Magistrates Courts before Magistrate Rushell Liverpool.

It is alleged that on December 7, 2019, at Triumph, East Coast Demerara, he used threatening behaviour and abusive language towards his reputed wife. He pleaded guilty to both charges.

Police Prosecutor Alexis David-Hosannah told the court that on the day in question, the defendant asked his reputed wife for a cigarette.

After the woman refused to hand over a cigarette, he became annoyed and armed himself with a cutlass and threatened to kill her. He then used a series of expletives towards her while accusing her of having another man.

The matter was reported and the defendant was arrested and charged.

After the facts of the charge were read to the court, the defendant begged the magistrate to have mercy on him. However, his reputed wife told the court that this is his regular behaviour whenever he consumes alcohol.

The woman also mentioned that she is tired of his behaviour. The defendant was then sentenced to six months imprisonment on both charges. It was ordered by the court that the two sentences are to be served concurrently.

Charges delayed for driver in deadly Nismes accident

Seconds before the deadly Nismes smash-up occurred) Police are yet to charge the 34-year-old bus driver in the deadly Nismes, West Bank Demerara crash that claimed four lives on November 30, last.

The driver, Compton Bharrat, has since been released on station bail.

This is according to Traffic Chief, Linden Isles, who explained that the police are still awaiting statements from the remaining victims who are still hospitalised.

Isles stated that in order to build a concrete case, they require the statements from all the parties involved before they can proceed to the courts. But this has been delayed since the victims are unable to relate to police what happened at the time of the accident due

to the severe injuries they sustained.

Isles assured that as soon as those statements are obtained, charges will be instituted on the driver. Bharrat had turned himself in at the La Grange Police Station, five days after the deadly smash-up to admit that he was driver. He had escaped from the accident without a scratch. He claimed he panicked and fled the scene. Police had initially fingered 29year-old Hensley Alleyne as the driver but stepped up their investigations after persons reported that there was another person behind the wheel. It was later discovered that Alleyne was merely the conductor at the time of the incident. The men reportedly switched places hours before the incident.

Tuesday December 10, 2019

Observing International Anti-Corruption Day

T

he Guyana Peace Council joins Peace Organizations around the World in observing International Anti-Corruption Day which is held annually on December 9.

The specific goal is to raise public awareness of the nature and extent of corruption that exists in Governments and Societies around our Universe, draw attention to the negative impact which corruption has on affected Societies across our Universe and join United Nations member States and Peace Organizations in organizing and promoting events and activities that encourage and promote the global fight against Corruption.

This event is rooted in the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, a Treaty signed on December 9, 2003 by a number of member States, legally binding them to take steps to reduce corruption and concomitantly enforce law and order.

That is why planned

events and activities of this day must aim to effectively promote and encourage the global fight against corruption; for corruption knows no borders or boundaries. It is found in both rich and poor countries.

Indeed, empirical evidence shows that it hurts poor people disproportionately, contributes to instability and is a dominant factor driving especially poor countries towards state failure. International Anti-Corruption Day must therefore be a time for reflection, refocusing and rechanneling efforts and significant resources on developing anti-corruption strategies and drive.

It must also promote events and activities that would support and advance any such drive.

Undoubtedly, corruption is a major hindrance to the growth and development of Guyana as, inter alia. It reduces the resources available for providing quality goods and services that are in de-

Prisoner busted with phone and ganja A prisoner was yesterday found with 67 grams of suspected cannabis and a cellular phone at the Camp Street Prison.

Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels, said that the prisoner was transported from the Lusignan Holding Bay to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) earlier yesterday. After his medical appointment, he was taken to the Camp Street Prison to spend the night.

Upon entry, he was searched thoroughly by prison officers who found the cannabis and cellular phone in his possession. When questioned, the prisoner told the officers that he had found the “ganja” and “phone” in a garbage bin while using a washroom at GPHC. The matter is currently being investigated by the relevant authorities.

mand by our people with a concomitant result that the poor get poorer and vulnerable as they are unable to access basic healthcare, education, water, electricity services.

More than this, corruption growth ultimately limits industrial growth by discouraging new startups as many would be investors loose whatever little confidence they have in the Government consequent on increased startup costs resulting from the hype in bribes and other forms of corruption at the level of Government.

Today, in Guyana, corruption is no longer defined or limited to giving and taking bribes and bureaucratic favours. It includes bribery to influence the electoral process, giving unjust favours for money or kind (land) and influencing the judicial process.

No decent honest Guyanese would deny the clear and obvious signs and evidence of corruption in Guyana today.

If we all stand united against corruption, we can foster a culture of lawfulness, transparency and accountability.

Let us all stand for integrity. Let us determine to speak up against corruption rather than become a silent prey to its effect. Let us support and encourage those who raise their voices against corruption.

A corruption free society is possible if we work in unison. Just remember: “A people who elect corrupt politicians are not victims but accomplices”… George Orwell

Tuesday December 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 13

ExxonMobil, Merrill Lynch provide conflicting figures on oil production by 2025

By Kemol King

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xxonMobil and Bank of America Merrill Lynch aren't carrying the same tune about what the oil company's production figures will add up to in 2025.

The Oil Giant has said for some time now that it sees itself producing 750,000 barrels of oil per day by 2025 in Guyana. However, the American Bank, which works with ExxonMobil and has labeled the company its top oil major pick for the year, has said that it expects oil production to exceed 1M barrels of oil per day by 2025 in Guyana.

Just last month, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) John Hess, of ExxonMobil's joint venture partner on the Stabroek Block, Hess Corporation, reiterated to a Global Energy Confab in Florida that 750,000 barrels per day is the target of the oil majors.

The currently approved projects, Liza-1 and Liza-2, would only add up to 340,000 barrels per day, a far cry from 750,000 barrels per day. Even if the Payara project, for which the Field Development Plan has not even been approved, is counted, that would take the total to 560,000 barrels per day, at peak production.

The three Floating, Production, Storage and

Offloading (FPSO) facilities, the Lizas Destiny, Prosperity and Unity, have the capacity to produce at peak 120,000; 220,000 and 220,000 barrels per day, respectively.

The Hess Boss had had it pointed out to him during the Florida confabulation that the numbers don't add up, and he could not make up the rest of the numbers, despite even saying that the total production by 2025 could even exceed 750,000.

He also said that the already discovered resource will underpin at least five ships. This is sure to take back Guyana's energy officials withinGovernment, who have only received Field Development Plans for three projects.

The Hess Chief added that the reason the appraisal is being done this year and the first half of next year inthe Liza to Turbot area is to get better definition about what ship four, give, and potentially six and seven are.

The Hess Boss said that ExxonMobil would be able to give clarity on the production capacity and the number of FPSOs by March of 2020.

Merrill Lynch is saying, too, that Exxon will tell the public about its plans at its Analyst's Day in March. The bank was entrusted by ExxonMobil in October to sell off its Malaysia assets.

Miner charged for attempting to kill cousin

T

ishon Thomas, a miner was yesterday hauled before a city magistrate and slapped with an attempted murder charge. He allegedly tried to stab his cousin to death with a knife.

The 21-year-old man of Baramita, North West District (NWD) was arraigned before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts.

It was alleged that on December 2, 2019 at the same village where he resides, Thomas attempted to murder his cousin, Kevon David. He was not required to plead to the offence as the charge was made indictable.

The fact of the case was presented by Police Prosecutor Gordon Mansfield. It stated that the victim and the accused were at a camp when they had a disagreement. It was alleged

that Thomas pulled out a knife and inflicted stab wounds to the left arm and upper abdomen of his cousin. David was then taken to the Baramita Health Centre and later transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where he remains a patient.

According to the prosecutor, the injuries that the victim received are life threatening and they may cause permanent damage to the body.

However, the prosecutor had no objections to bail being granted to the accused but he asked for conditions to be attached to same.

Magistrate McLennan then granted bail to the tune of $150,000 under the condition that Thomas report to the Baramita Police Station every Friday. The case was adjourned to February 2, 2020.

Recently, it has taken the time to meet with ExxonMobil management, including its Senior Vice President, Andy Sweiger.

The Bank has also met with Exxon's Investor Relations and its Guyana country team, headed by Rod Henson.

Its assessment is clear, that investors should cleave to ExxonMobil because the company is on track to experience eight years of growth,

with gros s o p e r a t i n g production far exceeding 750,000 barrels per day.

The Bank expects a 2025 target of at least 1M barrels of oil per day to be confirmed at Exxon's Analyst's Day in March. How the American Bank has arrived at that figure, when ExxonMobil would not even account for 75 percent of it, is not clear.

What's clear is that the Energy Department, headed

by Dr. Mark Bynoe, has given a clear signal to the eagercompanytoholditshorses.

The regulator intends to hire a third party reviewer to assess the development plans for the Payara project.

He had said, during a press conference in November that increased scrutiny is needed for the development plans.

Government cannot do it alone.

It has learnt a little from

evaluations of plans for the Liza Phase One and Two Projects, but Dr. Bynoe said that the Energy Department is following through with an expedited procurement process for the third party reviewer with the help of the Wo r l d B a n k , o n e o f Guyana's international development partners.

Dr. Bynoe said that the Department is targeting the first week of December for the third Party Reviewer contract award and subsequent third Party Review into the first quarter of 2020.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Tuesday December 10, 2019

Dr. Dukhi optimistic about advancing neurosurgery in public health sector G

uyana's public health sector has prided itself over the years for offering free health care to all and sundry and this is expected to remain a staple for years to come.

Although the services offered are of a high quality, some commentators are convinced that even more could be made available if some aspects of the health care offered by the public were financed rather than offered entirely free of charge.

Among those embracing this theory is Guyanese neurosurgeon, Dr. Amarnauth Dukhi, who heads the Neurosurgery Department at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation [GPHC]. He also practises at a number of private hospitals.

He has an appreciation for the high costs attached to the delivery of quality health care. This he amplified during an interview with this publication.

“In the public health

Local Neurosurgeon, Dr. Amarnauth Dukhi sector, it is very difficult to finance free public health care for all Guyanese; it is extremely difficult...Very few countries, let's say in the Caribbean for example, can do that; they have a national health insurance plan.”

If some aspects of health care are financed, Dr. Dukhi theorised that that could go towards the sector to help improve the quality of

services offered, the human resource capacity, among other areas. “ G u y a n a i s fortunate...The Ministry of Public Health supports everything, it pays for everything,” said Dr. Dukhi.

He added, though, that once this remains the state of affairs, it will be a difficult task to achieve an even higher level of health care for those accessing the free services offered.

“As long as the health sector has to subsidise everything, we will be the way we are.

We need some people taking up the slack...a national health plan to deal with issues [like this] because everyone looks for quality health care and quality health care comes at a high cost,” said Dr. Dukhi.

His comments in this regard were nestled around his hope to see measures put in place to advance neurosurgery within the public health setting.

“To get the government to build capacity for

neurosurgery, I don't know how it will be done because that will entail having a n e u r o s u rg e r y w a r d , a neurosurgery high dependency unit, a neurosurgery intensive care u n i t , n e u r o - s u rg i c a l l y trained nurses, operating technicians and a neurosurgical suit,” Dr. Dukhi shared.

Although funding will no doubt be a major challenge to advance neurosurgery in Guyana, Dr. Dukhi is nevertheless pushing for this to become a reality. “I would like to leave a legacy before I retire,” said Dr. Dukhi.

He revealed plans in the making to train other neurosurgeons with the hope of ensuring that the public health system is never left void of such professionals.

His hope is that “it will never again be without an inhouse physician who will be able to offer adequate neurological care to our people.”

He is currently in the process of creating a local postgraduate programme to

train young physicians to become neurosurgeons.

This venture, he said, is being undertaken in collaboration with the University of the West Indies' Mona Campus in Jamaica and the McMaster University in Canada.

But this is no easy task as Dr. Dukhi confided, “It is a lot of work to put together a syllabus and put everything together but in my few minutes of free time during the day, I sit and work on it in trying to get the accreditation and so on.”

He added, “Something that must come simultaneously with that is our improvement in our resources at the centres that we are going to offer postgraduate courses because if McMaster or Mona Campus is to come to GPHC and see that we have not developed our

infrastructure enough to offer a programme; they will not accredit us. They will not give their accreditation.”

Although confident that such an endeavour can materialise, Dr. Dukhi admitted that it will be a long process. “Some people...don't understand that it is something that does not happen overnight and the first thing that these accrediting universities need to know is that you have an accredited neurosurgeon recognised on site...

They have accepted me as that key person and they are willing now to support it.”

However, in order for this to be introduced, the local neurosurgeon reiterated the fact that “if the programme is to run in our public health sector, we are going to have to build capacity.”

Corentyne man chopped in head during a robbery attempt

A

33-year-old man is currently nursing a chop wound to his head and other injuries about his body after he managed to fight off three armed men during a daring robbery attempt Sunday night.

Resting at home with several stitches is Ryan Esuridas of Hampshire Village, Corentyne, Berbice.

Reports are that the Esuridas was in the company of two other friends at a liquor shop in Hampshire Village Sunday night when three men, one armed with a

gun and the others with cutlasses, barged into the shop and demanded that they hand over all they had in their possession.

Police sources have since indicated that the victim and the other two men put up a fight with the perpetrators who were masked and it was during the scuffle that Esuridas was chopped and beaten about his body.

Nothing was stolen and the police have since detained and released several persons. Investigations are ongoing.

Tuesday December 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 15

Kaieteur News

PAGE 16

Tuesday December 10, 2019

Missing crab-hunters rescued …survived by roasting fish and crabs

A

fter being stuck at a location c a l l e d Buckerbury in the high seas for six days due to high tides, the four men who set out on a crabbing trip two Sundays ago were rescued after walking to Nickerie, Suriname for several days.

Three of the men are safe and sound home with their families replaying in their minds, the experience endured while being stranded as a crew. The fourth is making his way out with a rescue boat.

Yogeshwar Mangal, called “Boy” of Number 2 Village, East Canje, Berbice, was resting in his hammock when Kaieteur News arrived at his home. Mangal recalled that they set out to catch

crabs and fish but explained that the boat was washed “on top of the sand and we get stuck there for a couple of days”.

He explained that after their vessel got stuck, they decided to wait it out until a boat passed.

But after a few days elapsed and there were no boats passing their location, himself, Nelson DeJonge and Ramdat Gunraj, called “Azad”, decided to walk to Nickerie for help.

Gunraj is a father of three from Rose Hall Town, Corentyne, Berbice.

Anand Deoharry, the oldest of the crew made the decision to stay at the boat and wait for them to return with a rescue vessel.

Mangal added that while

they were making their grueling walk to safety, they bumped into a boat that was removing fishing net from the waters but “dem man boat engine end up and bruck. They walk with we to Nickerie and then dem go and get another boat to rescue us and we other crewman”.

The crab-hunter told this publication that while this was his first time experiencing such, their survival skills kicked in.

They roasted fish and crabs.

He expressed his gratitude for making it out alive but noted that this will not deter him from future trips since it is his livelihood.

The vessel the men were on is currently moored at the Number 65 Village fishing

wharf.

Ramdat Gunraj's sister had told Kaieteur News that her brother left home last Sunday with three others on their third crabbing trip for the past two months.

She said the family was baffled after their scheduled return date (Wednesday) passed. Relatives for the men began posting their pictures to garner attention from anyone who would have had information about the men and where they were.

Gunraj, speaking via telephone, said they were stuck in an area in the high seas due to high tide but were eventually rescued by a fishing boat with Guyanese fishermen.

That boat, however, experienced an engine

Nelson DeJonge

Yogeshwar Mangal

Anand Deoharry failure, which resulted in Gunraj, DeJonge, Mangal and the three fishermen from the boat deciding to walk from Buckerbury to Nickerie. He added that Deoharry chose to stay back with the vessel because of foot pain.

When they reached Nickerie, they contacted the owner of the boat for assistance Sunday night.

Ramdat Gunraj Relatives of Deoharry have since stated that he is not at home yet but sent a message saying he will be home by Wednesday.

Tuesday December 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 17

Guyana has recorded more fires than last year

T

his year, Guyana has witnessed a significant number of devastating fires when compared to 2018.

And even as the country embarks on the Christmas season, another family of four is now homeless after their house was completely destroyed yesterday.

The fire started at around 11:00 hrs at the Cummings Lodge Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

A call was made and the Campbellville Fire Unit along with another responded quickly. Three buildings were threatened but fire fighters effectively managed to contain the fire to one.

However, nearby houses received slight water damage and scorches to the walls.

Fire Chief, Marlon Gentle, said that the fire is suspected to be caused by a lighted paraphernalia and diya that were left on the altar of the house. The blaze was discovered by an occupant of the house and an alarm was raised.

Thanks to this occupant, the rest of the family were able to make good their escape with only the clothes on their backs.

For this year alone, there have been over 700 fires.

This number includes the four properties that were destroyed in the past week alone. After a thorough analysis was carried out by the Guyana Fire Service, it was found that residential fires are at the top of the list.

Second on the list is “dry grass fires”.

These fires were caused by electrical problems, arson, negligence and the list goes on. However, electricity seems to be the most popular cause for property fires followed by negligence of

“unattended lighted objects”. Almost all of the grass fires were sparked by careless dumping of lighted cigarette ends.

Guyana can testify to few significant fires within the last few months that claimed lives and left many homeless.

The early morning Bent Street fires, the Diwali blaze at Peter's Hall, the gutting of the popular Guinness Bar and the Bond that was destroyed at Coldingen were just a few.

Two Chinese nationals were also killed in September when they were trapped inside one of the seven stores that was destroyed along the Commercial block at Vreeden-Hoop.

Fire Chief Marlon Gentle stated that the number of motor vehicular fires have also doubled from last year.

The fire service saw 69 fires of this nature caused by spark plugs and other faulty wires that cause combustion with engine oil or fuel.

“Since we're already in the festive season, fires are prone to happen at this time of the year.”

He said that there are those caused by Christmas lights, illegal connections and carelessness while preparing a meal. It is advised that persons make sure their string lights have no loose connections, cracked lamps or frayed cords.

Make sure lights are off when people leave their homes and before they go to bed at nights. Ensure all outdoor lights connectors are away from metal rain gutters and off the ground and to lessen the chance of fire hazard, do not use candles.

In October for Fire Prevention Week 2019, stakeholders were educated about the dynamics of fire and the functions of the fire service.

Port-Mourant fire

Vreed-en-Hoop Blaze

PAGE 18

Kaieteur News

Tuesday December 10, 2019

Marcus Bisram's case further delayed after Magistrate reports sick

T

h e commencement of the shorter version of a preliminary inquiry (paper committal) s c h e d u l e d t o r o l l o ff yesterday, did not go as planned after Magistrate Alex Moore reported sick yesterday morning.

Marcus Bisram was set to make his third court appearance at the Springlands Magistrate Court before Moore at 11:00 hrs but due to the new development the case was pushed back to next Monday

by Magistrate Peter Hugh after it was called at the New Amsterdam Magistrate's Court.

Defence Attorney Sanjeev Datadin was present while state Prosecutrix Stacy Gooding was not when the matter was called. Datadin speaking to members of the press outside the courtroom stated that there may be "delaying tactics" by the state since Gooding was not present.

While Bisram did not make an appearance at the New Amsterdam Magistrate's Court, he will return to the Springlands Court on December 16.

Bisram was charged and remanded for counselling, procuring and commanding Harri Paul Parsram, Radesh M o t i e , N i r a n Ya c o o b , Diodath Datt and Orlando Dickie to murder Faiyaz

Marcus Bisram and his Attorney Sanjeev Datadin Narinedatt between October 31, 2016 and November 1, 2016.

The charge came a day after he was successfully extradited to Guyana where he made his first court appearance on local shores at the Whim Magistrate Court.

On his second appearance at the said court,

Magistrate Moore indicated that he will be proceeding with the matter by way of a paper committal.

He had ordered that Gooding present all statements yesterday. Moore had also mentioned that a site visit by him could possibly take place along with crossexamination of one witness.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday December 10, 2019

PAGE 19

Murder accused pleads guilty City Council accuses Houston Estates to rape, armed robbery charges of multi-million-dollar tax fraud

C

M

urder accused, 24-year-old Travis Evans, pleaded guilty to rape and armed robbery charges yesterday at the High Court in Demerara. He is now awaiting sentencing which will be imposed by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall on December 18.

State Prosecutors Teriq Mohammed and Nafeeza Baig presented the October 30, 2010 charge against Evans which stated that at Georgetown, he engaged in sexual penetration of a woman without her consent and without reasonably believing that she consented.

According to the robbery indictment, on the same day, Evans and two other men, John Sampson and Alex Williams, while armed with a knife robbed a woman of $650,000 in cash. It was reported that the men were charged and remanded to prison in 2011. Evans pleaded guilty to both charges.

Evans, also known as “Short Boss” formerly of 'C' Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown, is on remand for the murder of 21-year-old Ronsley Clarke, a mason of Timehri, East Bank Demerara on August 2, 2018.

Based on reports, Clarke was partying with his girlfriend at

DEAD: Gregory Frank

DEAD: Ronsley Clarke a shop in Sophia when he was shot and killed.

Evans is also on remand for the murder of 46-year-old Legal Clerk, Gregory

Confessed Rapist and Murder Accused: Travis Evans 'Wayne' Frank, the man, who was discovered dead on August 3, 2018 at his Kuru Kururu, Linden Highway home.

His body was found in his living room, face down, with his arms folded under him and his face tilted to the right.

The lower part of the body lay on the carpet while the man's upper body was on a tiled area, with coagulated blood around the head.

Frank died as a result of asphyxiation due to compression injuries to the neck compounded by blunt trauma to the head, according to Government Pathologist Nehaul Singh.

Eastville Nursery brings Christmas joy to seniors

C

hildren of Eastville Nursery School at Annandale, East Coast Demerara took time out to distribute hampers to some 80 seniors from the community of Buxton recently.

Despite inclement weather, the children aided by teachers and parents, undertook their annual charitable project. It was spearheaded by headmistress of the school, Ms. Ronda Isaacs.

Since assuming the role of headmistress of the school in 2017, Isaacs said that she has sought with the support and assistance of parents and teachers to instill the importance of assisting those less fortunate.

“We have been teaching our children, through this project, that caring is sharing, and it's very important to give. Since the commencement of this project, the response has been heartening as the

A senior is presented with a hamper parents have been very supportive and they understand that teaching their children to give is worthwhile and very important,” she said.

The headmistress said that this year, they sought to provide hampers to some 80 seniors who would visit the

Buxton Post Office to uplift their pension.

“When we thought about this year's project, we wanted to be very impactful and decided that with a number of seniors turning out to receive their pension, it was an ideal moment to (continued on page 24)

ity Mayor Ubraj Narine yesterday announced a move by the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, (M&CC) to recover over $400M worth in taxes, allegedly owed by Houston Estates.

According to the Mayor, Houston Estates, whose principal is prominent Guyanese businessman, Michael Vieira, has been selling lands in Houston, East Bank Demerara area for billions of dollars without remitting to the Council its rightful taxes.

Narine said that an article published in the daily newspapers about sale of lands earlier this year by Houston Estates caught his attention.

The article outlined that Houston Estates was selling to Redstart Investments, an international firm which has established a presence in Guyana, over 52 acres of land in the Houston/Rome area.

The article pointed out, too, that a number of oil and gas companies had acquired lands in the area and were in the developmental stages.

Mayor Narine said that the article caused him to pull Council's records on Houston Estates.

The Mayor said that to his surprise, the Houston Estates which is owned the popular Vieira family has not been paying its rightful rates.

“This is not a mere act of deception; it is downright fraud. The issue which most concerned me is compliance and of the payment on land taxes. What, we found is that the Estate was using one account number for compliance from Council but selling multiple properties.

“This is despite the fact that Houston Estates is subdivided in various sections. It is a large section of land to be sold. There is Houston, Rome North, South and so forth,” Narine added.

The Mayor told Kaieteur News that the Council had invited the representatives of the company to have the issue corrected.

“We invited Mr. Lopes.

We said to him that this is the problem we have. We need for the estate to provide these documents, so that we can solve this problem.

“It was promised to us

Mayor Ubraj Narine and we followed up by writing to them but got no response.

There are currently numerous infractions on general rates and taxes and all we are asking for is for Houston Estate to pay us what they owe. Give us our fair share. That's all we want but we have not been hearing from them at all.”

According to the Mayor, the Council has since moved to file an action to oppose any further sale of land by (continued on page 24)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 20

Bedridden sugar worker seeks assistance for kidney transplant surgery

Four witnesses testify in Norton Street murder PI

A bedridden Latchman Mangal

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nce a strong and healthy cane harvester attached to the Diamond Sugar Estate, Latchman Mangal of Lot 19 Second Street, Windsor F o r e s t , i s n o w bed ridden and seeking the public's assistance in getting a kidney transplant.

His wife, Shanta Mangal, told Kaieteur News that her husband fell sick a few weeks ago and his health has been ever declining.

“He use to trouble with one-one sick but only till like three weeks ago, he tek in with fever, vomiting and breathing complicatio n s . ”

Tuesday December 10, 2019

The torched remains of the car found Mangal's wife stated that they rushed him to the West Demerara Regional Hospital and after several tests and exams were done, doc t o r s r e l a y e d the saddening news, the man lost function in one of his kidneys and will not be able to survive without it.

“They tell we seh he one kidney ain't good and that it affecting he liver and other parts in he body…Monday them discharge he and h e t e k i n t h e same night again so they give he medicine and seh they can't do nothing more fuh he.”

According to the distraught woman, before her husband fell sick, he was an upbeat and hardworking man who took pleasure in provid i n g f o r h i s f amily.

“He was always smiling and gaffing and use to wuk hard for mine we and it hard now cause Christmas near and we can't afford surge r y f o r h i m , w e need the help.

“For the past weeks, he going down lower and lower, he can't eat, nothing staying down when he try either.”

Persons desirous of assisting the family can contact Shanta on telephone number 269-0492.

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total of four witnesses yesterday took the stand to testify or continue giving evidence in the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) held in relation to the murder of Marlon Seon Rodney, called 'George'.

Osafa Grundell, 39, called 'Safo' of Freeman Street, East La Penitence, Georgetown, and James Fraser, 21, called 'Dab' of Garnett Street, Georgetown, are on remand for the murder.

The men are before Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty in the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts where the PI is being heard.

The men were not required to plead to the indictable offence which alleged that between April 25, and April 30, last, at Norton Street, Lodge, Georgetown, they murdered Rodney.

The PI is being led by Police Prosecutor Dominic Bess, while attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes represents the defence in association with attorney Mark Waldron.

Yesterday, a firearm ballistic expert, the

investigating rank of the case, the photographer of the crime scene and a Police Corporal who was present when one of the accused was being interviewed about the murder; all testified.

Magistrate McGusty adjourned the case until December 17, next, for the continuation of witnesses' evidence before the court.

According to reports, Marlon Rodney, a 35-yearold taxi driver of 71 Norton Street, Lodge, Georgetown, was involved in an argument with three individuals.

The men had reportedly pulled out guns and discharged several rounds at Rodney, who was hit in the left leg. A passerby was also shot in the process.

The injured men were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where the passerby was treated and sent away, while Rodney was admitted in a critical condition. He later succumbed to his injuries.

On October 25, last, 36year-old Collin Rodney of 70 Joseph Pollydore Street, Lodge, went missing along with his silver grey Toyota Allion bearing registration number PRR 1076. He was the cousin of the deceased and also a key witness to the murder.

One week after Collin Rodney went missing, the police made a gruesome find of the burnt remains of a body in the trunk of a car which was found torched.

The discovery was made at a desolate and swampy area at Letter T backlands, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara, an area that is surrounded by coconut estates and rice fields. This was after an anonymous caller contacted ranks at the Weldaad Police Station to say that a car was being torched at the location.

Upon arrival at the scene, the officials said that they came across a badly burnt vehicle.

A stench was emanating from the vehicle. On opening the trunk, the ranks came across the sight of a corpse, which had been burnt beyond recognition.

Crime Scene ranks from Georgetown also scoured the scene. They eventually assisted in placing the remains in a bag.

The corpse was then taken to a funeral parlour where a post mortem will be conducted on the remains today and also DNA testing is likely to be carried out to determine the identity of the individual. It is suspected that the remains are those of Collin Rodney.

Osafo Grundell called 'Safo'

James Fraser called 'Dab'

Collin Rodney

Tuesday December 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday December 10, 2019

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DOLLYS AUTO RENTAL CALL: 225-7126 & 2263693 -DOLLYS AUTO RENTAL @ YAHOO.COM/ W W W . D O L L Y SAUTORENTAL.COM

Overseas Base Male Indian seek female.Age 30-33.Must be Educated.Call#602-9975.

PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS FROM $4000 & UP, SUV’S PER DAY- CALL: 656-0087 / 6435122 ,EMAIL:PRO_ A U T O R E N T A L @YAHOO.COM

FOR SALE/RENT American Pool Tables. Tel #651-9039/277-0578

One Ipsum, Good condition, $900,000 neg. #689-5103 1- Pearl Nissan Bluebird Slyphy. Excellent Condition, low mileage, first owner, accident free. Price $2.3M Negotiable. Tel# 628-8799

AIDAN’S CAR RENTAL:PICKUP,9-11 SEAT MINI BUS, GOOD FOR AIRPORT & FAMILY OUTINGS, CHEAPEST RATE . Call: 698-7807 PROPERTY FOR SALE One 3 Story building at 97 Sugar Cane St, S/Rveldt Gdns. $125,000,000. Tel#674-9905/ 695-1356/225-2971

TO LET

Property for sale- 12 Wellers Delight WCD 36 by 72. #2690231

Rooms tolet, 1 bedroom- 3 bedroom, working people: $30,000,$32,000,$35,000, $55,000 monthly, 2 month security. Call: 623-0076

Lot 89 Robb Street, Lacytown, Georgetown. Next door to Mike’s Pharmacy.Land size3431.25 Sq.ft. Phone: 617-5323, 666-8052

Salesgirl needed (mature preferable) store at Gafoors Mc Doom. Tel# 638-1106 Cashier/Waitress, Assistant cook. Call: 225-7933 or visit 172 Sheriff Street, next door to Survival Cashiers/Supermarket helpers, apply in person with written application @ Nirva Superstore, 49 Sheriff & Craig St. Tel# 227-5771 One (1) Clerk for TSI Eccles Industrial Site Office, English1 Mathematics -2, Quickbooks. Call: 615-9132 Maid to cook and clean for East Bank area. Call: 615-9132

VEHICLE FOR SALE 1 Honda CRV. includes TV, music system, alarm, reverse camera, sproiler, crash bar, Low mileage. PTT Series (First Owner) Contact #6490956

T

he Guyana Lands and Surveys Com mission (GL&SC) WANTED has embarked on an US$18M countrywide remap of the Bus drivers #44 route, truck/ country after more than five canter driver Tel#698-7807/ decades.

225-3234 Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Mr. Trevor Commerical supervisor to Benn, explained that after rework in Georgetown, must have a valid drivers’ licence. ceiving a number of proposCall: 227-1717, als, through the National Procurement and Tender Adminandre@cevons.com istration Board (NPTAB), the 1 Vaquero to work on ranch contract was awarded to and look after cows. Tel#619- North West Geomatics Ltd at the cost of US$18M. 9143/614-8857 This Canadian company, involved in providing professional land, water, and aerial surveying services, bid the lowest price when compared to the initial estimated US$75M cost.According to Benn, “Using the latest LIDAR Technology to capture relevant data, this VACANCY remapping exercise will provide the platform for upDriver, must have sound dating a national toposecondary education, for graphic dataset that will more information, please call: support critical govern223-0090 ment and private sector Female Cleaner office & needs.”

The exercise is expected home.Call#642-9823. to be conducted in phases Truck & Hauler drivers, due to the high cost associExcavator operators, ated. The first phase valued Engineers, Labourers, Security & Procurement Officers Accounts & Marketing Clerk. Apply @ chungsvacancy@yahoo.com

at US$1.1M, is set to commence with Region One (Barima/Waini) and parts of Region Four (Demerara/ Mahaica).

Benn highlighted that drones will be employed for the first time to aid in conducting special types of mapping. The drones are expected to be obtained from the Sustainable Land Development and Management Project with the implementation and support of the Food and Agriculture Organisation on the behalf of the Commission.

According to him, the specification for the drone was provided and the procurement process has begun.

Benn indicated that the Consultancy firm arrived in Guyana “three Fridays ago”.

However, a laptop belonging to the Consultancy firm was “removed from the aircraft without their consent” which delayed the works.

Additionally, Land Information and Mapping Manager, Naseem Nasir, emphasised the vital role that the exercise is expected to play in both the public and private sectors as it relates to accessing data.

Govt. extends deadline for ban on single use plastic

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - CMC – The Barbados government has extended the deadline for the ban on single-use petro-based plastic bags from January 1, next year. It says the ban will now take effect from April 1, 2020.

Maritime Affairs and Blue Economy Minister, Kirk Humphrey, said manufacturers of single use plastic bags have over the last year “been able to produce a bag that is made from a completely organic compound.

“They asked me, and the Cabinet agreed, to delay the ban on the plastic bags from January 1, to March 31. The

ban will take effect from the April 1, 2020,” he added.

But he made it clear that this did not mean the Mia Mottley administration was “reneging on its promises.

“That is to allow the manufacturers of plastic bags in Barbados to be able to do what they have to do,” he explained, making reference to the switch over from one process to another.

Earlier this year, government enforced a ban on all petro-based single use plastic containers, and those caught using the banned items can, and will be prosecuted.

Lands and Surveys Commission...

WANTED Business location suitable for small restaurant. Call: 6103988 Looking for one live-in maid between the age of 55 to 60.

Please call: 658-0618 American Variety Store, 140 Regent & Light StreetWanted Salesgirl, apply in person with written application Kitchen Assistants, apply at Shanta’s Puri Shop, 225 Camp St. Tel#672-4170

From page 8 occurs.” While the Commission is trying its best, it cant completely eradicate this sort of problem. Once someone knows the email accounts used by Commissioner Benn and his staffers, that person has the ability to send mail to them.

When one email address is blocked, the person can simply create a new one, Benn added.

Benn assured reporters that nevertheless, the Commissions sensitive data is safe. It is constantly working along with the NDMAs cybersecurity specialists.

But this kind of matter could only get more difficult for the land management body from here onward. The Commission now has a “heightened national and international profile,” according to Benn.

To provide a greater ease of service, the

Commission has embarked on a mission to digitize all of its records. “We have begun our transition from a paper-based agency to a more digitally oriented one. It is our firm belief that digitization of the various physical records will help to ensure a more efficient and sustainable administration of our national patrimony,” said Benn.

The GLSC is working on developing and implementing an Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) to manage correspondence received by the Commission; training staff to create a digital archive as well as to digitize records; and rolling out nationwide computerized receipting, which will allows clients to access invoices and receipts that are generated from the centralized accounting system, allowing for improved record-keeping and accountability.

Tuesday December 10, 2019

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Kaieteur News

ARE RIGHTS DIMINISHING FOR THE NEXT GENERATION? International Human Rights Day 2019 finds the world with little new to acclaim in terms of progressive enjoyment of rights when viewed as a whole. The climate crisis

engulfing the globe is a manifestation of human mismanagement and shortsightedness over the past thirty years which threatens to reverse human rights

progress achieved by successive generations.

The world today enjoys what it enjoys because outstanding people in the generations that preceded us,

Accused in nightclub murder admitted to stabbing victim- police witness Shawn Harris who is accused of the February 5, 2017 murder of Sunil Singh had admitted to stabbing the man.

This is according to Police Inspector Prem Narine, who testified yesterday when the trial of Harris continued before Justice Jo Ann Barlow and a jury at the High Court in Demerara.

Harris, who is being represented by lawyer, Maxwell McKay, has pleaded not guilty to the murder indictment presented against him

by State Prosecutors Sarah Martin and Shawnette Austin.

Singh, also known as Grey, 42, a homeless man, was killed while trying to prevent a robbery from happening at the Blue Martini Night Club on Lamaha Street, Georgetown. Reports surrounding the killing indicate that Singh wrestled a bandit and his accomplices to prevent them from carrying out an early morning attack at the night spot. It was then he was repeatedly stabbed about his body.

At the time of the robbery, a police release stated that the three men had visited the club after a police patrol went to enforce the 2am curfew.

Singh, after observing the men acting suspiciously outside the night club, alerted a bartender, who refused the men access to the club by telling them it was closed. An altercation ensued between the bartender and one of the men, who stabbed the bartender to his left arm. Singh intervened and was struck to the head.

Inspector Narine told the court that on February 18, 2017, he went to B Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown where he contacted Harris, whom he had known for over a year. According to Inspector Narine, he put a murder allegation to Harris and cautioned him.

He said that Harris then replied, “Sir when I reach the station, I gon tell you wah happen.” The police witness told the court that he noticed some wounds on Harris, and instead escorted him to the hospital.

He said that Harris told him that he came about his injuries after falling down a flight of stairs at the Blue Martini Night Club. The police witness said that the murder accused was taken to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters, Eve Leary Georgetown, where he agreed to give a statement.

Inspector Narine ex-

MURDER ACCUSED: Shawn Harris plained that Harris told him it was not a robbery, but a fight after identifying himself on CCTV footage obtained from the nightclub.

According to Inspector Narine, Harris told him “Yuh see wah I tell yuh? Is them man attack me at the bar and I attack them.”

It was then Inspector Narine recounted that the murder accused said that prior to going to the nightclub, he and his friends were drinking at Seetas Bar. Harris, Inspector Narine said, told him that when they arrived at the nightclub, there was no one at the door so he and his friends walked in and were attacked by two men, including Singh.

The witness recalled that Harris told him that one of the men, Buck Man, hit him with a baton. As a result, Inspector Narine said that Harris told him they ended up in a fight during which he pulled out a knife and stabbed Singh and Buck Man. The murder accused told the police witness

that Singh ran out of the nightclub and onto a nearby street.

He told detectives that he learnt of Singhs death the following day.

Earlier on in the trial, Police Constable Collis Duke was called to the stand. He told the court that during February 2017, he was stationed at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters and attached to the Crime Laboratory. Duke is a police photographer, fingerprint technician and crime scene photographer.

According to him, on the day in question, he was performing duties when a request was made by a rank of Brickdam Police Station, for ranks to visit the scene of an alleged murder at Blue Martini at Lamaha Street, Georgetown.

Constable Duke said he armed himself with a digital camera and headed for the location. Upon arrival there, he said he took several photographs among them being of the interior and exterior of the Blue Martini Nigh Club.

The police rank also testified to returning to the Crime Laboratory where he printed the photographs. He said that some of them were handed over to another rank for them to be placed in the crime file, while he kept the remainder.

Prosecutor Austins request for the photographs to be tendered and marked as an exhibit in the trial was accepted by the trial Judge.

Thereafter, Constable Duke gave a brief description of what each photograph was depicting. This trial is continuing.

through their common actions, made rights real, often at a high personal price. Most of these achievements we take so much for granted as to barely acknowledge them.

Universal suffrage - everyone being allowed to vote - for example, which displaced property ownership as the basis for choosing governments, is taken for granted; likewise, compulsory education for everyone was equally unthinkable but is now commonplace; similarly, obligations of humane treatment for prisoners or defeated opponents in war is universally accepted – in principle if not in practice; struggles to affirm workers’ rights require a chapter of their own.

Those of our generation lucky enough to enjoy this inheritance rarely see ourselves as beneficiaries of past struggles. We overlook the fact that our human rights were achieved by the battles of others. The universality of these values is a precious inheritance which is not yet complete.As the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) recognises International Human Rights Day 2019 with its focus on youth, what the current generation has added to inherited rights to be passed on to the coming generation is an appropriate subject for reflection.

Probably the most impactful contribution has been the recognition that there are many ways of being human.

Eradicating institutionalised stigma and discrimination against indigenous peoples and people with disabilities, after centuries of prejudice and of being patronised or pitied, is a matter only of recent decades.

Recognising that rights

of women and the girl child are more than simply an extension of what were for centuries ‘the rights of man’, remains the most pervasive human rights challenge. But patriarchy is finally under threat from all angles.

The rights of LGBT peoples remain a work in progress, serving as the current litmus test of what constitutes civilised societies.

Around the world, worship of wealth has labour rights in full retreat.While we can take some satisfaction from these developments, the past three decades in particular has witnessed significant retrogression in areas previously considered secure. Acceptance of unrestricted accumulation of wealth has been the single most lethal influence in undermining the enjoyments of rights. Distortion of national elections by social media giants manipulating information in personal accounts along with billionaires buying elections is carrying us back to the age of property owners choosing governments.

Economic strategies that sharpen exclusion and inequality are prompting massive migrations and refugees be it in Syria, Central America or the African sub-continent.

Overshadowing all else from the perspective of the younger generation is the ever more ominous threats generated by the climate crisis. The continued resistance of the older generation to the reality of this threat has prompted a new phenomenon of young people around the world taking issues into their own hands. A wise response would be for the older generation to support rather than resist this phenomenon, avoiding alienation of a gen-

eration whose future it has blighted by catastrophic complacency.Failure to ensure that the younger generation has a future to look forward to must constitute the most fundamental form of inter-generational betrayal. In light of this, an appropriate International Human Rights Day response by the older generation would be to acknowledge that the younger generation is being forced to prematurely assume adult responsibilities. The corollary of this recognition would then be to provide the support and resources necessary for their efforts to create the changes we need. Some of the specifics of what such a commitment entails were spelt out earlier this year by young people themselves in the following terms: We are calling on the Government of Guyana to take steps to prioritise climate justice by protecting not only human life but also promoting a world that respects all living beings. In keeping with this goal, we also call for the Government of Guyana to pay particular attention to the following specific priorities: · Young people need to know the facts and be updated about the climate crisis in a language which everybody can understand. · Our education system is not preparing us for the world we will inherit. We need to be equipped for the kind of jobs required by the world we’re about to enter. · The Government must communicate to the general public in a more direct and purposeful way to bring our habits and lifestyles in line with climate constraint.

Guyana Human Rights Association

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday December 10, 2019

Eastville Nursery brings Christmas...

From page 19 provide the hamper to them,” she said.“We are cognizant that we must continue to recognise our seniors as they would have made meaningful contributions in their respective ways to our society, so as the Christmas season dawns upon us, we must continue to realise that giving is sharing and therefore our seniors will continue to be respected and admired by our children,” she stressed.

The hampers presented to the seniors contained rice, sugar, flour and other food items and Isaacs said that

while she is cognizant that the seniors do have their pensions and may have family members who would endeavour to enhance their lives for the season.

“We are aware that several of them do not have the opportunity of garnering support from family or friends.

We also are cognizant that several of these persons do not have anyone to assist them and therefore we seek to reach out to those who are less fortunate as our children are taught the art of reaching out to others,” she said.

Isaacs said that the

project could not have been possible had it not been for the timely donation of several persons within the society who sought to collaborate with them in making it possible. In expressing gratitude, the head teacher said that the school, through its social partners, has committed to continuing this initiative next year. Those who support the initiative included Mr. John Barrat, Mr. Alan Jordan, Ms. Yvette Herod and Toucan 2, Multipurpose Club, Mr. Chrisin Cato, Mr. Ayeni Hatton along with the parents and teachers.

City Council accuses Houston Estates ...

From page 19 Houston Estates. According to the action, which was recently filed, the Council is opposing the passage of the transport to Houston Estate Plantation Rome in the sum of $151,472,913.

According to the Council Transport of Area “SR4”, a portion of Plantation Rome (South Section), in the city of Georgetown, in the country of Demerara…the said Areas SR4 containing an area 52.5774 acres being shown on a plan by Enrique G. Monize, Sworn Land Surveyor dated

the 10th day of January, 2019 and recorded at the Department of Lands and Surveys on the 25th day of February, 2019 as plan No.71468 and

deposited in the Deeds Registry of Georgetown on the 5th day ofApril, 2019, no building and erections thereon but on all future building and erections requires the rates and tax compliance.

The Council stressed that before the passing of any conveyance to Redstart Investment, all outstanding indebtedness of rates and taxes must be paid in full.

The Council noted, too, that Houston Estates applied for rates and tax compliance under an account which has no bearing to the South Half of Plantation Rome.

The Council noted too Houston and Rome are separate and distinct from each other.Given that the Houston Estates is indebted to the Council, a request was made to put a hold on all transaction as relates to the sale of the land. This includes any mortgage applied for to complete the sale /purchase of the land.

Tuesday December 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

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Tuesday December 10, 2019

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Tuesday December 10, 2019

High Court trial for hotel owner, I dont want to do wrong… I only want to save lives- says Traffic Chief alleged hitman Yesterday, following the completion of the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) for Mark Grimmond and Chatterpaul Singh, who were charged six months ago for conspiracy to commit murder, the two men were committed to the High Court for trial.

During yesterdays proceedings which were conducted before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates Courts the men learnt that a prima facie case was made out against them.

Grimmond and Singh were asked if they had anything to say in relation to the prima facie case and if they will be calling any witnesses. However, both men responded, “I am innocent”. They told the court that they do not have any witnesses to call in their defence at that time.

Standing from the prisoners dock, the men learnt from the magistrate that the court is of the opinion that sufficient evidence was made out against them for a case and as such, they were committed to stand trial at the High Court for the offence.

They were both granted bail in the sum of $500,000 as they await their trial at the next available sitting of the Demerara Assizes.

A condition of the bail is that the men are not to go within 50 feet of the victim pending the outcome of their trial.

Grimmond and Singh were not required to plead to the indictable charge, which stated that between April 1, 2018 and June 7, 2019, at Georgetown, Grimmond and

Mark Grimmond

Chatterpaul Singh

Singh conspired with each other and persons unknown to murder Dwayne Grant, a businessman from Lethem.

According to the facts of the charge, Grant received certain information that the men were plotting to kill him and he reported it to the police. The police ranks acting on the report went to a hotel where they made contact with

Singh.

Singh was arrested and at that point in time, he was reportedly found with a firearm.

In a detailed conversation with the police, Singh admitted that he was contracted by Grimmond to kill Grant.

Grimmond was subsequently arrested and the allegation of conspiracy to commit murder was put to him.

Skeletal remains found in Marudi mining pit Miners in the Marudi mining area late Sunday evening discovered the skeletal remains of a male buried in a shallow grave.

According to the divisional commander, Keithon King, who confirmed the report, it would take ranks more than a day to travel to the area to retrieve the remains.

Further, he stated that when this is done, and the body has been taken to Lethem, the pathologist will conduct his test to determine the cause of death. DNA testing will be done after to ascertain the person’s identity.

A source close to the investigation disclosed that the body might be that of a Brazilian miner. According to them, this is highly possible.

Traffic Chief, Linden Isles has made a decision to carry out breathalyzer tests on drivers leaving night spots.

Isles also said that regular patrols will be carried out at the popular entertainment spots across the city from 18:00hrs to 02:00hrs.

This move has gained its fair share of scrutiny after persons were led to believe that they will be stalked by police.

Some have said that they feel threatened by the fact that police will be monitoring them every hour. Others have also said that it is an offence to carry out patrols at bars and clubs in other countries.

But Isles made it clear yesterday that he is not in the business of targeting anyone; his drive and motive is only to save lives.

The Traffic Chief provided some startling facts to support his departments decision.

This year Guyana witnessed 99 road accidents which claimed the lives of 116 persons.

Out of the 99 accidents, 84 were caused by a combination of speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol.

Isles added that out of these 84 accidents, 52 occurred on weekends, the popular time to hang out at the various entertainment spots.

From many reports in the media, it can be noted that, especially in the month of November, that it has become a culture for at least one accident to occur every weekend.

Isles said that his fight is to decrease the

Traffic Chief Linden Isles number deaths, “not to target persons and charge them for offences”. The traffic chief said that too many innocent persons lose their lives because of a drunk driver.

However, his department hopes that the new initiative will save drivers and the innocent who many times are caught in the “crossfire”.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday December 10, 2019

Tuesday December 10, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Burnley fan, 13, investigated for alleged racist gesture towards Son

Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min celebrates after the match against Burnley. (Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs/File Photo)

(Reuters) - A 13-year-old Burnley fan ejected from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday for an alleged racist gesture directed at Spurs’ South Korea forward Son Heung-Min is being investigated by police, the Lancashire club said yesterday.

The supporter, who was accompanied by a guardian, was spotted by stewards when he made the alleged gesture during Burnley’s 5-0 Premier League defeat. The club said the teenager was under investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

Son, named Asia’s International Player of the Year last week, scored in the first period when he picked

Tuesday December 10, 2019 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Mood swings and irritating little distractions could have you temporarily at odds with a partner. You may perceive insults where none are intended. Communication is strained.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Inspiration could hit you today like a bolt from the blue. Your imagination, innovation, and ingenuity are high. Whatever you devise or discover should attract a lot of positive attention.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Help with a creative project - either working on the project or promoting it in some way - could come from an unexpected quarter, increasing your inspiration.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Today you might host some kind of group activity or meeting in your home. A number of interesting people could attend. Some may have a lot of good ideas to share.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Your mind is going a thousand miles an hour. Different ideas, interests, goals, and projects could dart through your mind all day.

Write them down!

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Occultism, alchemy, or astrology could grab your interest today. You might attend a lecture or workshop on the subject, or you could sign up for a class.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Friends involved in the arts and sciences may want to get together today, perhaps to brainstorm a few ideas. You should be feeling innovative.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) This is a good day to keep a low profile. Any attention that comes your way today is suspect. Don't trust the motives of anyone who asks too many questions or who seems too interested in anything you're doing.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) An intense phone call, perhaps some kind of cry for help, could come today from a relative or close friend.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Today you might have lots of plans for the future.

Ideas could come thick and fast. You might find it difficult to decide which ones are most workable.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Experiments with computers or other technology could reveal a hidden talent you didn't know you had. You could decide to work at developing this skill as it could open doors that increase your income.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) A night of troubled sleep and strange dreams might have you feeling listless and lacking in motivation. Pull yourself together. Opportunities may come your way that you'll want to take advantage of.

the ball up in his own half and cut through Burnley’s midfield and defence with a solo run before slotting it past the goalkeeper.

“Burnley Football Club will be contacting the teenager and his family, with a view to an enforced educational programme, run in conjunction with Kick It Out and Burnley FC in the Community,” the club said in a statement.

“Burnley Football Club would like to reiterate its zerotolerance policy towards discrimination of any kind. We will continue to work with the authorities to help eradicate the growing problem of discrimination within football.”

On Sunday, two fans from the away end at Brighton & Hove Albion’s Amex Stadium were ejected, arrested and later released by Sussex Police for homophobic abuse during the 2-2 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

PAGE 30

A wrong ‘un and an identity of his own for Hayden Walsh Jr. ESPNcricinfo - In March 2012, Hayden Walsh Jr. made his first-class debut for Windward Islands. The opportunities were few and far between there, and he also had to juggle cricket with his day job as a physical education teacher at an Antiguan school. Walsh Jr. then switched allegiances to USA in 2018 and after a bumper CPL 2019, which he won with Barbados Tridents, he has broken into West Indies limited-overs sides.

After doing fairly well while bowling defensively in the T20I series opener against India in Hyderabad, the 27year legspinner assumed a more attacking role in the second match in Thiruvananthapuram and showcased his variations to India - and probably to IPL talent scouts as well.

Walsh Jr. picked up the wickets of the big-hitting Shivam Dube and Shreyas Iyer, but his best ball of the night was the delivery that didn’t fetch a wicket. It was one that left India captain Virat Kohli overbalanced. In the 13th over, Walsh Jr. drifted a perfectly-pitched ball in towards off stump, tricked Kohli into playing for the indrift, but then found enough turn to nearly scratch the outside edge.

In Hyderabad, too, Walsh Jr. came within touching distance of claiming Kohli’s wicket. He unleashed a slider and rushed Kohli for pace, but the batsman just about avoided dragging the ball back onto the stumps.

In Thiruvananthapuram, Walsh Jr. was brought into the attack when India were 93 for 2 in 10 overs, with Dube accounting for 50 of those runs in a mere 27 balls. Walsh Jr. immediately dangled a wrong ‘un that broke further away from the reach of Dube.

He dared the allrounder to hit against the turn and clear the long leg-side boundary. Dube didn’t hold himself back, but only could drag the ball to long-on, where Kieron Pollard lost the ball under the lights.

The next ball was a wrong ‘un again, but this skidded under the swing of Dube.

Walsh Jr.’s third ball was a wrong ‘un again, and Dube took the bait again, splicing a catch to extra-cover. The plans to Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer as well were

Tuesday December 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

NBA roundup: AD drops 50, Lakers beat Wolves

Hayden Walsh completes his action. (BCCI) simple: just take the ball away from their swinging arcs.

“No, no [I wasn’t intimidated bowling to Dube].

I practice a lot bowling to lefthanders,” Walsh Jr. said at the post-match press conference on Sunday. “When we were in Mumbai [before the start of the series for a camp], I practiced bowling to Evin [Lewis] and Nicholas [Pooran]. I just bowled googlies that I bowled to Dube. So, I was pretty confident coming to bowl at him.”

While Pant did read two of Walsh Jr’s wrong’uns and cracked them with the turn over extra-cover for boundaries, Iyer spooned a tossed-up legbreak to point while aiming to slog against the turn. Walsh Jr. came away with 2 for 28 in his four overs, helping West Indies pin down India to 170 for 7.

“It’s been like a rollercoaster for me,” Walsh Jr. said. “As you can see, I’ve been working hard on my way to the top of international cricket. And just to be here to perform in a game is…I’m over the moon.”

It was his CPL stint that propelled him back into West Indies’ radar. After Sandeep Lamichanne left Tridents and returned to the Nepal side for international duty, Walsh Jr. dashed out of the bench and scooped up 22 wickets in nine games at an average of 12.68 and an economy of 8.28, despite playing just nine games. He was also electric

in the field, particularly at backward point, and it was his rocket throw that ran Pollard out in the second qualifier and denied Trinbago Knight Riders another tilt at the CPL final.

Then, after making his international debut against Afghanistan in India, Walsh Jr. jetted to the UAE to play for Abu Dhabi in the T10 league. Having shown sparks of brilliance in his short international career, Walsh Jr. is among the 971 names to have registered for the IPL 2020 auction. He, however, downplayed his aspirations of making the IPL and said that his immediate focus was to extend his form and help West Indies win the decider in Mumbai.

“Well, yeah [the auction is at the back of the mind]. But the main thing is to win this series. The whole goal and everything for me right now is just winning this series and to help the team do their best.”

Walsh Jr. also conceded that often people mistake him for being related to the great Courtney Walsh and joked that during his Global T20 Canada outing with Vancouver Knights earlier this year, some even referred to him as Courtney Walsh.

The ultra-short boundaries at the Wankhede Stadium can spook bowlers, but if Walsh Jr. spins West Indies to a series-clinching victory, he can carve out his own identity.

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Keita Bates-Diop (31) and center Gorgui Dieng (5) defend Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) as he makes a basket in the second half of the game at Staples Center. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports) Anthony Davis scored a season-high 50 points, sparking the Los Angeles Lakers to a 142-125 victory over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night.

Davis connected on 20 of 29 shots from the floor and converted all 10 of his free throws in 39 minutes. It was his fourth career 50-plus scoring game. Davis also had seven rebounds, six assists and four steals.

LeBron James had 32 points and 13 assists for the Lakers, who won their fourth in a row and 14th in 15 games. Alex Caruso added 16 points, while Danny Green finished with 12.

Andrew Wiggins, who missed Friday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder with a left thumb sprain, and Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota with 19 points each. Josh Okogie added 18 points, while Robert Covington had 16 for the Timberwolves, who lost their fourth consecutive contest. Eight players scored in double figures for the Timberwolves.

Brooklyn Nets 105 - Denver Nuggets 102 Spencer Dinwiddie scored the go-ahead layup with 26.3 seconds left, and Brooklyn came up with defensive stops on Denver’s final two possessions to win at home.

Dinwiddie led the Nets with 24 points and using a high screen set by Taurean Prince, he glided through the middle of the lane. He got

by Gary Harris and gave the Nets a 103-102 lead just before Jerami Grant could provide help. The Nuggets called their last timeout with the intention of getting the ball to Nikola Jokic, but the Nets immediately provided a double team with Prince and Jarrett Allen. The ball wound up in Will Barton’s hand, but he missed an off-balance jumper in the paint.

Philadelphia 76ers 110 - Toronto Raptors 104 Tobias Harris scored 26 points, and host Philadelphia improved to 12-0 at home this season in a narrow win over Toronto.

Rookie Matisse Thybulle added five 3pointers for a career-high 20 points, and Ben Simmons contributed 16 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Sixers. James Ennis III and Al Horford had 11 points each, and Joel Embiid had 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists along with seven turnovers.

Kyle Lowry led the Raptors with 26 points, while OG Anunoby added 19 points and 10 rebounds. Pascal Siakam chipped in with 16 points for the Raptors, who dropped their third in a row for the first time this season. Marc Gasol went scoreless on 0-for-6 shooting.

Los Angeles Clippers 135 - Washington Wizards 119 Kawhi Leonard scored 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Paul George added 27 points, and Los Angeles pushed past host Washington thanks to a dominant fourth quarter. Leonard played an outstanding allaround game, shooting 12-of-18 from the floor and, in addition to his own scoring contributions, dishing five assists. George also distributed the ball well with six assists, matching Lou Williams and Washington’s Chris Chiozza for the game-high total.

Davis Bertans led the Wizards with 25 points, while Troy Brown Jr. added 22, both off the bench. Wizards leading scorer Bradley Beal, who came in averaging just below 29 points per game, finished with 20 points on 5of-18 shooting.

Sacramento Kings 110 - Dallas Mavericks 106 Nemanja Bjelica matched a career high with 30 points, and Buddy Hield added 26 as Sacramento snapped a three-game losing skid with a victory at Dallas.

Bjelica made 13 of 18 attempts from the field to finish with 30 points. Hield went 10 of 15 from the floor for the Kings, who swept the three-game season series against the Mavericks in 2018-19 and have won five in a row in Dallas. Dallas’ Luka Doncic collected 27 points, eight assists and seven rebounds to mark the 19th consecutive contest in which he recorded at least 20, five and five in those categories. That snapped a tie with Michael Jordan (1988-89) for the longest such streak since the NBAABA merger, but Oscar Robertson holds the alltime record (29).

In other results: Oklahoma City Thunder 108 - Portland Trail Blazers 96 Miami Heat 110 - Chicago Bulls 105 (OT) Atlanta Hawks 122 - Charlotte Hornets 107 (Field Level Media)

Tuesday December 10, 2019

PAGE 31

Kaieteur News

Russia banned from next Olympics and World Cup soccer LAUSANNE/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia was banned from the world’s top sporting events for four years yesterday, including the next summer and winter Olympics and the 2022 soccer World Cup, for tampering with doping tests.

T h e Wo r l d A n t i Doping Agency (WADA) executive committee acted after concluding that Moscow had planted fake evidence and deleted files linked to positive doping tests in laboratory data that could have helped identify drug cheats.

The decision was a huge blow to the pride of a nation that has traditionally been a powerhouse in many sports but whose reputation has been tarnished by a series of doping scandals.

“For too long, Russian doping has detracted from clean sport,” WADA President Craig Reedie said after a meeting of WADA’s executive committee in the Swiss city of Lausanne.

He said in a statement Russia’s actions had demanded a robust response and added: “That is exactly what has been delivered today.”

WADA confirmed the Russian national team could not take part in the 2022 World Cup soccer in Qatar under the Russian flag and could participate only as neutrals.

It was not clear how

WADA Director, Intelligence and Investigations, Gunter Younger, WADA President-Elect, Witold Banka, WADA President, Sir Craig Reedie, WADA Director General, Olivier Niggli and Chair of the CRC, Jonathan Taylor QC attend a news conference after World Anti-Doping Agency’s extraordinary Executive Committee (ExCo) meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, December 9, 2019. (REUTERS/Denis Balibouse) competing as neutrals at the World Cup might work in practice. FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, said it was in contact with WADA to clarify the extent of the decision.

The ban also means Russian sportsmen and sportswomen will not be able to perform at the Olympics in Tokyo next year under their own flag and national anthem.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), which has

come under attack for not taking a harder line on Russian doping, said it fully backed the ruling by the Swiss-based WADA. The 2020 Tokyo Olympic organising committee said it would welcome all athletes as long as they were clean and work with other organizations to fully implement anti-doping measures, Tokyo 2020 spokesman Masa Takaya said.

YEARS OF DOPING SCANDALS

WADA sanctions are inappropriate and excessive - Russian Olympic Committee MOSCOW (Reuters) The World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) sanctions against Russia are inappropriate and excessive, the president of R u s s i a ’s Olympic Committee Stanislav Pozdnyakov said yesterday after WADA banned the country from all major sporting events for four years.

WADA has banned Moscow from events including the next summer and winter Olympics and the 2022 soccer World Cup, for tampering with laboratory data on doping.

“The position of Russia’s Olympic Committee remains unchanged - sanctions are inadequate, illogical and excessive,” Pozdnyakov said.

“Of course, we are disappointed, but we initially assumed that the recommendations of the WADA Executive Committee would be approved without change, especially after the main points were made

President of the Olympic Committee of Russia Stanislav Pozdnyakov speaks during a news conference in Moscow, Russia December 9, 2019.

(REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov) public.”

He also said the Russian Olympic Committee would do everything it could to enable Russian athletes to compete under the country’s flag at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

WADA’s executive

committee acted a f t e r concluding that Moscow had planted fake evidence and deleted files linked to positive doping tests in laboratory data that could have helped identify drug cheats.

Russia has been embroiled in doping scandals since a 2015 report commissioned by WADA found evidence of mass doping in Russian athletics.

Many of Russia’s athletes were sidelined from the past two Olympics and Russia was stripped of its flag altogether at last year’s Pyeongchang Winter Games

as punishment for statesponsored doping cover-ups at the 2014 Sochi Games.

Monday’s sanctions, which also include a four-year ban on Russia hosting major sporting events, were recommended by WADA’s compliance review committee in response to the doctored laboratory data provided by Moscow this year.

One of the conditions for the reinstatement of Russian anti-doping agency RUSADA, suspended in 2015 but reinstated last year, had been that Moscow provide an authentic copy of the laboratory data.

The sanctions in effect strip the agency of its accreditation.

The punishment leaves the door open for clean Russian athletes to compete at big international events without their flag or anthem for the next four years, something they did at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.

Some Russian officials have tried to cast WADA’s behavior as part of what they say is a broader Western attempt to hold back Moscow.

Igor Lebedev, a lawmaker and deputy speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament, said the move was

a serious blow to Russian sport that required a tough response from Russian authorities, the RIA news agency reported.

If RUSADA appeals WADA’s punishment, the case will be referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

“DEVASTATING BLOW TO CLEAN ATHLETES” Some sport officials wanted tougher action.

Travis Tygart, head of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), said the failure to impose a complete ban was “yet another devastating blow to clean athletes.”

Russian doping whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of Moscow’s suspended antidoping laboratory, said that without the complete data from the Moscow laboratory there was no telling how many athletes were still competing doped.

“Russia’s falsifications and cheating continued in 2019 even when Russia was under scrutiny,” Rodchenkov, now in hiding in the United States, said in a statement.

Noting that many files had been deleted and results lost, he said: “Who can say whether there are any clean athletes in Russia if the crucial data is lost?”

2021 F1 cars will be a “nasty piece of work to drive” Autosport - Racing Point technical director Andrew Green believes the 2021 Formula 1 cars will be a “nasty piece of work to drive” because they will be aerodynamically “quite unstable”.

The basic concept of the ’21 regulations is that drivers will find it easier to follow the car ahead, thanks to the groun d e f f e c t design, which in theory should lead to better ontrack action.

Green says research by both his and other teams into the definitive rules indicates that while the following driver does indeed benefit, the dirty air from his own front wing will create its own issues.

Green believes teams should have more freedom in terms of what they can do to address the problem.

“I think there are areas that could do with being freed up around the front wing,” he explained.

“Around the front of t h e c a r I t h i n k i t ’s

incredibly restrictive to the p o i n t w h e r e i t ’s r e a l l y going to hurt the handling of the car.

“It’s going to be a real nasty piece of work to drive. I think it’s something that if they allowed a little more freedom would allow us to sort that out, but still retain the intent of the ground effect car and low following wake.”

Asked by Autosport to elaborate he said: “Aerodynamically, it’s going to be quite unstable. I don’t think that’s a nice thing to have.

“You want cars that are a bit more predictable, so that drivers can attack, be sure what they’ve got underneath them, they know what’s going to happen, they can drive the car at the limit knowing that it’s stable at the limit.

“From what I see at the m o m e n t none of those statements are true for 2021.

“It’s more about what’s happening at the front of the car, and where the dirty air is going, right into the tunnels.

“The car currently is creating its own dirty air.”

Green suggested that teams have had little opportunity to contribute to changes to the rules.

“It’s not open to be addressed - we’re not in charge of writing the rules. I think there are some fundamental issues that could do with some addressing.

“I think the concept is doable, but I think the wording needs some refinement, should we say, to make it into a set of regulations that reflect the intent.

“What’s presented as a 2021 model by F1, and what’s written in the regulations, are two different things.

“There are some areas where it’s extremely restrictive to a point where it’s almost impossible to design anything.”

PAGE 32

‘592 Beer Inter-Village Football Festival’

Golden Grove, Friendship secure quarterfinal berths Golden Grove and Friendship secured to their berths to the quarterfinal round when the inaugural ‘592 Beer Inter-Village Football Festival’ continued on Sunday at the Golden Grove Community ground.

Golden Grove crushed Annandale 4-0 in front of large partisan crowd.

Seretsi Huntley opened the scoring in the fifth minute, blasting a powerful shot into the top right corner.

The second goal occurred in the 18th minute as Quason McAulay scored compliments of right foot drive into the far corner from outside the penalty area.

Veteran forward and captain Dwain Jacobs made it 3-0 in the 25th minute with a left foot effort which slipped through the grasp of the goalkeeper and settled into the back of net.

The final nail in the coffin was then applied in the 60th minute as McAulay rifled a powerful effort into the roof of the left corner.

Meanwhile, Friendship edged Paradise 2-1. Dillon Wright opened the scoring for Friendship in the 32nd minute, lashing a left foot shot from inside the box which rolled under the body of the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.

Wright would score his second in the 51st minute with another left foot shot into the far corner from inside the box.

Ty r e e k Cummings scored a consolation goal for Paradise in the 80th minute, blasting a powerful effort past the custodian from inside the 18 yard area.

The event which resumes at the Buxton ground on Sunday

Tuesday December 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

December 15th with the opening round of the quarterfinal section.

Initially, the 12 team event featured four groups of four. Group-A comprised Buxton, Plaisance and Mahaica, while group-B consisted of Friendship, Paradise and Victoria and group-C featured Brush Dam, Melanie and Ann’s Grove.

Group-D was made up of Annandale, Golden Grove and Beterverwagting [BV]. The winner of each group alongside the second place finisher advanced to the quarterfinal round. The grand finale is pegged for January 1st.

The eventual champion of the event will pocket $300,000 and the championship trophy. On the other hand, the second, third and fourth place finisher will receive $150,000, $100,000 and $75,000 respectively and the corresponding trophy.

Similarly, individual prizes will also be awarded f o r t h e M o s t Va l u a b l e Player [MVP] and the Best Goalkeeper. Some of the major sponsors of the tournament include Bakewell Guyana Incorporated, ExxonMobil, a n d t h e C o l i n Ta l b o t Construction Services.

Final Results Game-1 Friendship-2 vs Paradise1 Friendship Scorer Dillon Wright-32nd and 51st Paradise Scorer Tyreek Cummings-80th Game-2 Golden Grove-4 vs Annandale-0 Quason McAulay-18th and 60th Seretsi Huntley-5th Dwain Jacobs-25th

GBC Boxing in T&T

Guyana finish 3rd with 3 Gold, 3 Silver & 3 Bronze Defending Champions Guyana encountered several obstacles including controversial decisions during the 2019 Caribbean Boxing Championships which concluded on Sunday Evening at the National Cycling Velodrome in Couva in Central Trinidad.

This year’s tournament was won by host Trinidad & Tobago with Barbados finishing second and Guyana, who failed to mount a successful title defence, ended third.

Keevin Allicock and the Jackman sisters (Alesha and Abiola) got Gold Medals, while Mark Crawford, Dennis Thomas and Julius Chesney won Silvers Medals. Richard Howard, Kevin Hunte and Darren France captured Bronze Medals.

Poole, who performed duties of Manager, noted that there were several hurdles in the tournament for Guyana which began even before they departed Guyana for Trinidad.

“The Judging here was very poor and we had to deal with that. We had to pay a protest fee of US$1,000 since the decision was so bad we felt we had to protest the result of the bout between

The medal winners on the Guyana team after their outing in Trinidad. The ‘Golden girls’ Abiola (centre) and Alesha Jackman (right) enjoy the spotlight.

Richard Howard and of T&T’s Hosein Nyrell,” Poole said.

The results of the protest favoured the Trinidadian and Guyana lost the protest fee.

Poole, the Head Coach of club Champions GDF, informed that Guyana took a young team, many of whom fought in this year’s Schoolboys and Novice Championships.

The Super heavyweight bout between Kevin Hunte and

Trinidadian Nigel Paul was stopped by the Referee but GBA’s Technical Director Terrence Poole said he was not too disappointed since Paul attended the Olympics.

“We only had four Senior Boxers and the youngsters would have gained exposure and experience from fighting experienced Boxers,” Poole said.

Poole said while Keevin Allicock was expected to win a Gold Medal he was

most pleased with the Gold Medals won the Jackman siblings (Alesha and Abiola) who were attending their first ever overseas tournament.

“Even a week before the CBC started the boxers did not know if they would still be able to have a chance of defending their title because of a lack of funding for the trip,” Poole concluded.

The team were expected home last night. (Sean Devers)

Briton John wins top prize in senior division at GCN...

Ajay Gopilall (left) was the top cyclist in the Junior division.

From page 29 while Paul Choweenam of Alanis was voted second best rider in this category and Alex Mendes of Roriama took the third place trophy.

Denise Jeffrey from Team Evolution was the lone recipient in the female category, while Ajay Gopilall of Trojan and Ralph Seenarine of Flying Ace placed first and second respectively in the Junior class.

Jamual John registered nine victories, the most for the season while bonus cash prizes were given to Walter Grant Stuart, Andrew Hicks, Marcus Kilier, Deeraj Garbarran and Christopher Griffith.

President of the Guyana Cycling Federation Linden Dowridge lauded the organizers and said he is hoping that the new season will be more fruitful for the sport. He expressed gratitude

Denise Jeffrey accepts the female prize from Malcolm Sonaram to the sponsors and said he is looking forward to their continued support.

Head of the independent body, the Guyana Cycling

News, Balram Singh, was elated that his input has helped to further develop the sport. Guyana Cycling News started in 2011.

Tuesday December 10, 2019

PAGE 33

Kaieteur News

Guyana sweep Grenada in Goodwill Basketball three-match series

Guyana’s Ray Victor (possession) about to go up for a layup during another dominant display on Sunday night.

The score read 97-73 when the final buzzer was sounded on Sunday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) to conclude the match and the three-game

Goodwill basketball series between hosts Guyana’s senior men’s team and the swept visiting Grenada national side.

In Sunday’s final match,

British Virgin Islands (BVI) b a s e d R a y Vi c t o r ( 1 7 points), Nikolai Smith (16 points) of Plaisance Guardians and Travis Belgrave (15 points) of

Guyoil/Tradewind Tankers

Lodge & Annandale set up final day clash for title

Action between Guyana (defence) and Grenada at the CASH during the three-match Goodwill basketball series.

Eagles basketball club were the top performers for the Guyanese that managed to score 90-odd points in all three of the games, while Jonathan Williams was the top man for Grenada again with 18 points in a losing effort.

The reigning Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) men’s Champions; Guyana, prevailed despite using an arguably weakened team that were without the services of

Skipper Stanton Rose, Vice-Captain Anthony Moe and Kevon Wiggins who are all overseas based.

It will be seen as a step in the right direction for Guyana by the coach Junior Hercules, who led the team to their first title in 2017 in Suriname; a long w a i t a f t e r J o h n Ya t e s pioneered the inaugural tourney in 1981 at CASH, after a disappointing show in their first appearance in the FIBA Americas qualifiers in

Colombia last February.

The Goodwill series w a s p a r t o f t h e t e a m ’s preparations for their regional title defence next year that stands a good chance of being hosted in ‘land of many waters’ after head of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) Mike Singh stated during a press conference that his association will be bidding for the hosting rights.

(Calvin Chapman)

Briton John wins top prize in senior division at GCN awards ceremony

Lodge’s Dorwin George (center) scored a double hat-trick against St. John’s College on Sunday. (File photo) Defending champions, Annandale Secondary stayed within two points of leaders Lodge Secondary after thumping St. John’s College 12-0 on Sunday when play continued in the second annual Guyoil/Tradewind Tankers schools’ football league at the Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF) National Training Center at Providence.

Omari Glasgow netted a double hat-trick, while Colin Henriques scored four goals to be the most devastating of the forwards. Ajaye Sobers and Seon Haywood scored one goal each to take the East Coast boys’ tally to 12 Teams Lodge Secondary Annandale Bishops Marian Academy President College Charlestown Queens College Cummings Lodge St John’s St Stanislaus

GP 8 8 7 7 8 8 8 8 8 8

W 8 7 4 4 4 2 3 1 1 0

D 0 1 1 1 1 3 0 2 1 0

against the City school.

Annandale will now have to defeat Lodge Secondary that has won all their matches in the final game of the league on December 11 to retain their championship while anything else would see last year’s runners’ up, Lodge lifting the title.

Meanwhile in the opening game of Sunday’s double-header, Charlestown Secondary drew 3-3 with The Bishops’ High School.

Please see the current points standing below.

L 0 0 2 2 3 3 5 5 6 8

GF 34 48 17 14 19 12 6 11 3 2

GA 3 11 11 11 17 20 16 26 54 20

GD 31 37 6 3 2 -8 -10 -15 -51 -18

Pts 24 22 13 13 13 9 9 5 4 0

Briton John of United Cycle Club was voted the top cyclist in the senior category for 2019 when the Guyana Cycling News held its annual awards ceremony on Saturday night last at St. Stanislaus College.

John also won the Most Improved cyclist award, but was not on hand to collect his prizes. Michael Anthony of Linden Bauxite took the runner up spot, while Jamaul John of Cocos placed third in that category.

Sherwin Sampson of Team Alanis won the top prize in the Juvenile division ahead of Jonathan Ramsuchit of Trojan and Mario Washington of Flying Ace in that order.

Ian Jackson of Flying Stars took the best cyclist award in the Masters U45 class; Kennard Lovell also of Flying Stars took the second prize and Andy Spencer of Team Evolution grabbed the third place accolade.

Junior Niles of Team Cocos dominated the Masters Under-45 division, (Continued on page 28)

Junior Niles (right) was voted the best cyclist in the U45 category for 2019.

PAGE 34

Kaieteur News

Tuesday December 10, 2019

Eon Hooper helps Grill Master win Banks DIH 15/15 Softball Crick et League Cricket

The winning Grill Master team pose with their silverware as Banks Beer Brand Manager Brian Choo Hen (right) and Banks Sales Manager Nandram Basdeo next to him along with other officials and organisers share the moment.

Excellent batting by Eon Hooper, which crowned a fine all round performance, helped Grill Masters hauled themselves from a precarious position to beat Regal Stars and win the Banks DIH 15/15 Softball Cricket League.

The quarter, semi and final were played at the Albion Community Center on Sunday. The semifinals third place play off were played under lights.

Regal Stars batted first and made 172 all out in their 15 overs. Top scoring were Omar Tulsie 60 and A. Ramrattie 52 who featured in a 103 partnership for the second wicket.

Bowling for Grill Masters, David Looknauth and Chandrashakar Arjune took 4 wickets each, with Arjune snaring a hat-trick.

Hooper, a former Guyana National U19 cricketer, arrived at the crease with his team tottering at 64-6 in the 5th over. He hammered a classy 58 not out, as he and Arjune, 14, batted sensibly, ran aggressively and timed their hitting to take the score to 132 in the 11th over.

Grill Master reached 175-

Man of the match Eon Hooper collects his reward from Banks Beer Brand Manager Brian Choo Hen as Banks Sales Manager Nandram Basdeo looks on.

8 in 14 overs. Looknauth made 27. Bowling for Regal Stars Munir picked up 2 wickets.

Hooper received the man of the final award.

The large crowd on hand included Banks DIH, Banks Beer Brand Manager, Brian Choo Hen, Berbice Sales Manager Nandram Basdeo and Member of Parliament Reynard Ward.

The day’s excitement began from as early as

11:00hrs and ended in the wee hours of Monday morning.

Both Mr. Choo Hen and Mr. Basdeo and other officials earlier met the teams before the start of the final.

They both thanked the teams for participating whilst congratulating the winners and wishing the other teams’ better luck next time.

They also gave the assurance that the tournament will continue next

year and stated that it was all part of Banks Cooperate responsibility of giving back to the community.

Words of appreciation were also said of the spectators, the organisers and Guysuco for allowing use the venues.

Those in attendance were encouraged to continue support of Banks DIH Products.

Meanwhile, in a third playoff, Chase XI defeated Young Strikers by 19 runs.

Chase XI made 151-4; Roy Drakes 65 and M. Singh 38. Bowling for Yo u n g St r i k e r s M . D e Jonge picked up 3 wickets as they replied with 132-8 with K. Joseph making 18.

Bowling for Chase XI, K. Gangaram took 3 wickets.

In semifinal play Grill Master defeated Chase XI by 18 runs after posting 123.

Chase XI was dismissed for 105.

In another semifinal, Young Strikes made 126-5 as Regal Stars replied with 126-6 to win by 4 wickets.

In quarterfinal play earlier, Grill Master 112-5 defeated Turbo XI 110 all out by 5

Gibson, bowlers lead Mahdia to 10-wkt win over St. Cuthbert’s Mission An unbeaten 46 from Andrew Gibson and incisive spells from Raydon Austin and Ershaad Ali guided Mahdia to a 10-wicket win over h o s t St .

C u t h b e r t ’s Mission when the teams collided in a 15-over Tapeball match recently.

St. Cuthbert’s Mission managed 73-8 following their insertion with skipper David Francis scoring 36 and Romio Simon 14; Austin claimed 4-9 and Ali 3-8.

Mahdia responded with 74 without loss as Gibson received valuable support from Rajkumar Singh who

made 18 not out.

Mahdia went down to Banks DIH in a 20-over fixture played at Thirst Park on Friday night.

Mahdia took first knock and posted 165 all out in 17.3 overs.

Omesh Danram struck an even half century while

Gibson made 45. Deonarine Seegobin captured 3-19; Eshack Asif had 3-45 and Ricky Sergeant 2-15.

Banks DIH responded with 166-8 in 17.1 overs.

Beepaul Bandoo scored 77 not out and Seegobin 16.

Ricardo Poloram grabbed 455.

wickets.

Young Strikers 122-9 whipped Port Mourant 68 all out by 54 runs.

Franchise XI 151 all out lost to Chase XI 155-5 by 5 wickets.

Regal Star defeated Betsy Ground United by 4 wickets after making 121-6 in reply to Betsy ground United 116 all out.

Each team was required to play one female in their XI to make the games more exciting. The best female on show was Dian Naidoo of Grill Master. The most disciplined team on show was Young Strikers.

An exhibition 6 overs game was played between Devendra Bishoo XI and Scorpion XI. Bishoo XI won by y 5 wickets. Scorpion XI

85-6, Bishoo XI 89-5.

Over $700,000 in cash, trophies and other incentives were up for grabs during the competition.

Grill Master collected $150,000 and trophy, Regal Stars $100,000 and trophy, Chase XI $75,000 and t r o p h y, w h i l e Yo u n g Strikers took home $25,000 and trophy.

There were special giveaways through the day with patrons winning Banks DIH caps, pens, keys and other souvenirs. There were also bouncy Castel and Trampoline among other activities.

Trophy Stall and Guy Signs were co-sponsors, while the tournament was coordinated by Omeshwar Sirikishun.

GPHC win PM Trophy in Inter-Ministries Tapeball cricket The Social Cohesion 2019 Public Servants Games got off to a good start with the Inter-Ministries six-over Tapeball Cricket Competition last Sunday at the Durban Park Tarmac.

The Georgetown Public Hospital team defeated the Ministry of Public Infrastructure’s Maritime Administration in the finals to win the Office of the Prime Minister ’s Trophy with medals and a cash prize.

GPHC batted first and scored 70-5 from their allotted overs, while

Maritime Administration could only muster 56-6 when their six overs expired.

Office of the President’s Public Service Management team was adjudged the most disciplined team in the Competition.

On Sunday December 15 the Games will conclude with Softball Cricket, Dominos, seven-a-side Football and Athletics.

There will also be Novelty Events with Trophies, Medals and Cash prizes up for grabs.

The venue for this Event will be announced later.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday December 10, 2019

PAGE 35

Bahamas Half Marathon 5K

Guyanese Damani David in record breaking 13-19 age group & overall winning performance

M

ulti talented Guyanese athlete 14 year-old Damani David who resides in the Bahamas has continued to turn in encouraging performances. At the recently concluded Bahamas Half Marathon 5K, David not on won the 13-19 age-group in a record breaking 19 minutes 59 seconds, he ended as the top athlete of 171 competitors.

David’s age group attracted 13 athletes and he was one of the three 14 year-olds in the line-up. Second was 15 year-old Jayden Wright in 20:53 with the third and fourth Following is the overall top ten 5K results Place Name Age Sex 1 Damani David 14 M 2 Jayden Wright 15 M 3 Allison Moss 16 F 4 Ralph Wood 17 M 5 Matt Maguire 34 M 6 Richard Hardy 16 M 7 Jhayden Davis 16 M 8 Augusto Schaffer 39 M 9 Jason Cates 14 M 10 Jadyn Wells 16 M

Damani David receiving his first place trophy for his exploits in the 5K.

places going to 17 year-old Ralph Wood (21:28) and 16 year-old Richard Hardy (22.54), respectively.

The event was organised by the Bahamas Road Masters and held in Nassau with over 500 persons participating across the events.

Meanwhile, David also competed at the BAISS swimming championships where he copped first place in the 13-14 50 SC Meter Backstroke in 33.41. He placed fourth in the 13-14 50 SC Meter Butterfly (30.68) and was seventh in the 13-14 100 SC Meter IM (1:14.88).

Gun Time 19:58 21:00 33:42 21:26 22:44 22:53 23:15 23:20 23:35 24:35

Net Time 19:59 20:53 21:01 21:28 22:41 22:54 23:16 23:17 23:30 24:36

Pace 6:04 6:20 6:23 6:31 6:53 6:57 7:03 7:04 7:07 7:28

‘Lady Jag’ Ashley Rodrigues among top-25 Players in EMU Soccer History

Y

psilanti, Mich.

(EMUEagles.c o m ) - I n celebration of the 25th year of the Eastern Michigan University soccer programme, the EMU department of athletics has unveiled the best 25 players to represent EMU. Players have been announced in chronological order based on when they donned the Green and White.

‘Lady Jag’ was one of the players released in Part three of the five part series along with Katie Zundel, Katie Lozar, Monique Budani, and Stephanie Janssens.

Arguably one of the most decorated players in the p r o g r a m m e h i s t o r y, Rodrigues left her mark in the EMU record books.

Donning the Green and White from 2006-09, she holds the programme single match records for goals, points, and assists.

A two-time First Team All-MAC selection, Rodrigues is one of five players in program history to record a hat trick, doing so versus Buffalo, Oct. 19, 2007. She added an assist to her three-goal effort against the Bulls, setting the programme record for points in a match (7).

Additionally, she is also

one of just three Eagles to tally three assists in a game, achieving the feat against Eastern Illinois, Sept. 7, 2008. The 2009 MAC Player of the Year, Rodrigues put together a sensational senior season as she scored 10 goals, tying for 10th-most in single season history, while racking up 21 points.

Throughout her career Rodrigues was also named to the MAC All-Tournament Team, NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region First Team, and Academic All-MAC. Zundel, a two-time First Team All-MAC selection played for the Eagles from 2005-08. She was named to the All-Freshmen Team in 2005 and later landed on the MAC All-Tournament Team as a senior in 2008. An Academic All-MAC honoree, Zundel was an iron woman on the backline, starting all 80 matches she appeared in during her career. The Utica, Mich. native scored seven goals and added seven assists, while leading EMU to 25 shutouts.

Starring in the midfield for the Eagles from 2006-09, Lozar was tabbed First Team All-MAC twice, as well as a two-time MAC AllTournament Team honoree.

S h e s c o r e d 11 g o a l s

Katie Zundel (#21), Katie Lozar (#7), Ashley Rodrigues (#99), Monique Budani (#0), Stephanie Janssens (#22). throughout her career, while racking up 26 careers points and earning spots on the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region Second Team and Academic All-MAC squad.

Budani, a staple between the posts from 2006-10, is one of the best goalkeepers to ever don the Green and White. Throughout her time in Ypsilanti, Budani was named to the All-MAC First Team, MAC AllTournament Team, and NSCAA All-Great Lakes

Region First Team. The 2010 MAC Defensive Player of the Year, Budani’s name floods the record book.

An Academic All-MAC selection, Budani holds the program record for saves with 387, while her .872 career save percentage is also top on the all-time list.

She posted 23 shutouts and recorded 27 wins, ranking second and third-most alltime, respectively.

Budani compiled a career goals against average

of 0.94, the second-best in EMU laurels. Moreover, she holds five single season top10 marks, highlighted by her program-record 146-save season in 2010. Budani made 17 stops in EMU’s match versus Michigan State, Sept.

3, 2010, the most in Eastern single match history.

A MAC All-Freshmen Team selection, Janssens played for EMU from 200710. One of the most dynamic player makers in programme h i s t o r y, J a n s s e n s

consistently created scoring chances for her teammates.

She tallied eight assists as a freshman, a mark that led the team and still ranks tied for third-most in single season history, before leading the conference with 11 helpers in 2008.

Her league-best total currently ranks second-most in EMU single season annals. For her career, Janssens is slotted second all-time with 23 assists and 15th with 37 points.

Team Guyana pose for a photo after sweeping the Grenada national team in a three-match series.

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Guyana sweep Grenada in Goodwill Basketball three-match series GBC Boxing in T&T

The Guyana team of boxers and officials after their outing in Trinidad over the weekend.

Guyana finish 3rd with 3 Gold, 3 Silver & 3 Bronze Guyanese Damani David in Russia banned from next Olympics and record breaking 13-19 age group World Cup soccer & overall winning performance Bahamas Half Marathon 5K

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