Kaieteur News
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Friday December 14, 2018
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
What passes for Parliament is a disaster
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t has to be seen to be believed. And having seen, many sober Guyanese still don’t believe. Just can’t be; not that gallery of parliamentary members representing the Guyanese people. How citizens must cringe at the classless behaviour. Look at them: demeanor surlier with each new session; language reminiscent of a sailor up to elbows in booze and the ooze of the gutter. In Guyana, the gutter has come to parliament. With few exceptions, this is a howling pack of legislative hostiles. It is a wild bunch that is out of control; and clearly evidencing little by way of decorum or standards. Where is the pride and dignity; the example for the youthful? A fitting title for a book on Guyana’s parliament could be either “Parliament of Impostors” or “A Pantheon of Pathetic Pretenders.” Keen observers should be moved to put pen to paper for a voluminous effort, since there is so much source material from there; and most of it ugly. In some respects what Guyana has is not a legislative body, but a Roach Motel overflowing with a cast of creepy characters; a real-life Bates Motel horror that shocks and frightens the public. It is obvious that the great majority of members have little by way of shame or nonnegotiable moral imperatives. This is a set of people paid well to perform and deliver the crass and the cheap. They like being the way they are. They do not prepare; do no research; have no pride. They falsify, they exaggerate, they dissemble and all the while revel with their fellows in what has been reduced to a brawling parliamentary slum. They care neither about the image projected nor the impressions left. Members know nothing of skillful use of the English Language through the calculatedly savage thrust, or the finely disguised twist, or dripping, withering sarcasm. These finer points are wasted on them, unknown by them. Parliament ought to flourish with vocabulary, style, and comportment. After all, quite a few of the honorable members were well-schooled. But even a fleeting glimpse of them in action prompts this question: in what are they wellschooled? What they do know is the dormitory practice of uninterrupted desk-thumping and foot-stomping, and heckling rendered meaningless by their continuousness. Voice power is substituted for brainpower. The Speaker is on record appealing for conduct and carriage commensurate with the heights of this supreme national institution. The response and attitude of members have been even lower, more degrading exhibitions of the churlish. There is a glaring absence of individual or group will to cultivate the discipline, focus, and priorities that address national anxieties and national yearnings. Rather, there is contentment and ferocious dedication to accessing and maintaining power at all costs and by any means for the primacy of party. Instead of insistent curiosity to explore options to improve the national welfare, there is only the predictable obscene exuberance. This is the sorry state to which Guyana has descended. TV coverage of the outrageous parliamentary fare should not be rated “R” but “O” as in off-limits and offensive. Where is constitutional reform when needed: what is happening in the National Assembly rises to the level of subversive conduct. Forget about pulse pounding oratory (none capable); or Byronic forays and slashes (they never heard of him); or Shakespearean dramatics (they know not what they do). Thus, parliament is relegated to the droll and the dumb dialogue characteristic of Marvel Comics. Guyanese people pine for a much-needed break from the antics of these elected embarrassments. But spare the nation please. This is a national disgrace; another form of domestic abuse on grand stage and scale.
Editor’s Note; If your sent letter was not published and you felt its contents were valid and devoid of libel or personal attacks, please contact us by phone or email.
Time for citizens to rally for the relocation of parliament DEAR EDITOR, It is often said that parliament should not only be at the behest of the Governing party, but rather, should work to reflect the ideals of the citizenry through their elected representatives or MPs. Can we pinpoint a location in Guyana and say John Doe is the MP for that constituency? I think not. Could the people in that location interact with their respective MPs on matters that, “may affect their wellbeing”, so that their MPs can vote on issues to reflect the will of their constituencies with the aim of being elected in future elections? I think not. Our MPs are products of a mathematical calculation from a sum total of popular vote for the political parties; as a result they owe their allegiance to the political parties and not the people. Referring to our MPs as PPP MP and Coalition MP, is testimony that their loyalties and allegiance belong to a
party and not the people rendering our democracy as a farce. The recent debate on the 2019 budget and all the budgets since independence, mirror the idiocy of our continued adherence to a tradition passed down by our colonial masters. What is the point of debating a budget before voting for it to pass? It will always pass, based on the allegiance of the MPs. We have seen a budget that placed VAT on private education and medical stuff passed by this Coalition, much to the annoyance and cries of the citizenry. Why do we continue to waste 7 million per sitting of parliament on budget debates, when none has ever been stopped after 52 successive years? How much more asinine can we get as a Nation? Why don’t they, in one session - read the budget, call for a vote and pass the budget. The debate never yielded another result for 52 years. The Coalition’s 2019
budget allotted more money to the military than Agriculture, whilst clamoring for a “Green Economy”. Food production and security has now taken a back seat to spending on the Military. Are we heading back to a military-style state, like the Burnham days? Eighty percent of the citizens will say that is wrong, but the budget will get the support of 33 MPs from the coalition to pass. Can we say that parliament is reflective of the people’s ideals in this scenario?Seven days of debating at 7 million per day gives a grand total of 49 million! Why can’t we stop debating the budget and spend this sum yearly on creative arts - with emphasis on comedy? Quite frankly! The politicians can no longer amuse us with their boring, fruitless debates. Adding insult to injury, parliament also creates havoc for commuters by curtailing our public spaces. The Coalition’s partners, having promised to remove
the barriers erected around parliament building while the House was in session during the PPP era, have now taken the barriers further, causing more chaos for commuters. Has parliament enacted laws that we should be proud of; to be tolerant of the chaos they put us through when they congregate? I think not. P r e s e n t l y, p e o p l e a r e languishing in jail, sentenced for 3 years for smoking a joint - a victimless crime, while the thieves that break your doors or rob you in the streets, taking your hardearned merchandise, are sentenced for a mere 3 months - compliments of our parliament. It is time for citizens to rally for the relocation of parliament to a secure, iconic and symbolic location such as the burnt out location of the Camp Street Prison, where they will continue to rattle their sabres without disturbing the peace and tranquility of the commuting public. Rudolph Singh
Mr. Nagamootoo has abandoned all he said he stood for DEAR EDITOR, On December 10, Stabroek News reported that Prime Minister and First Vice President, Moses Nagamootoo in his contribution to the 2019 Budget debate said the Budget ”…will ensure pay and continued jobs for all workers inside and outside of government…”.While the Prime Minister boasts about jobs that the Budget will provide, he carefully and clearly avoided any reference to the serious situation playing out in the sugar belt. As is known, on one hand his Government - with a few at the top who are sitting in some air conditioned room with the fancifulness of life has decided to put thousands of workers out of jobs and, on the other, has denied, purposely or otherwise, those still connected to the industry, a pay raise, since his Government took office. It’s hard to believe that the Prime Minister forgot about the sugar workers and the affection he says he has for them, as he seldom misses the opportunity to boast about his ties with the sugar workers and their struggles. Today, as Christmas 2018 approaches, the Prime Minister is now ensconced in
the bosom of Government and political power. Today, obviously, he has forgotten much of what he proclaimed he stood for. Just eight years ago, incidentally in the Christmas Season, the now Prime Minister called on Guyanese to “Light a Candle” for Sugar Workers, a phrase he said he borrowed from Rickey Singh, whom he reportedly had removed as a columnist with the Chronicle, not long after he assumed his high position. At that time, the now Prime Minister, said ”[t]he Government would do well also to explore all possibilities to give the sugar workers even a nominal wage increase. Zero is an insult, not an option”. But now with Mr Nagamootoo in the driver’s seat, under his watch, it has been zero in 2015, zero in 2016, zero in 2017 and, so far, zero in 2018. It is an insult to the hard-working workers, that Mr Nagamootoo and company have now made zero not an option, but a shameful feature. Mr Nagamootoo, in his now infamous 2010 missive, also said too ”…workers were literally expected to ‘produce or perish’”. Now, under Mr Nagamootoo’s Government, it is sad to say
that workers are producing and yet perishing. The December 13, Stabroek News reported that the Corporation said it is ”…poised to achieve its production target for the year, 2018 of 103,000 tonnes of sugar…”. The article went on to report ”[t]he Corporation said it would like to thank all employees for remaining focused on the task at hand and delivering a successful target”. Though making such efforts and laudable contributions, they are taking home less pay than they did prior to the Coalition taking office. It is instructive to recall
that the Prime Minister, in the November 08, 2011 Kaieteur News, is quoted as saying sugar workers “were being screwed”. As we consider past utterances with today’s actions, we are reminded that Bob Marley, famously and correctly said, ”Who the cap fit, let them wear it”. Regarding the minimization of sugar, the Prime Minister reportedly said, according to DPI, that the Cabinet spent ”days, weeks and months agonizing on how to deal with the tragedy of the sugar industry”. He also says the Government’s interest was (Continued on page 6)
Voting against the budget is opposition for opposition’s sake DEAR EDITOR, I read that the minority PPP will vote against the 2019 State Budget which provides $300.7 billion for public spending. I have been listening to live coverage of questions and answers on the estimates. Minister Bulkan was grilled on all regional allocations for infrastructure, health and education services etc. The opposition cannot complain that it was not allowed to scrutinise the budget, from 10 am to 10 pm, running now into five days. Voting against the budget therefore does not make sense and seems to be opposition for opposition’s sake. Is the PPP using the budget scrutiny processes only for cheap public relations? Regards, Earl Hamilton
The Ethnic Relations Commission must first work with politiciansand political parties DEAR EDITOR, The Constitutional Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) should direct its work, as a matter of high priority, at the Political Leaders, Ministers of Government, Members of the National Assembly, Public Servants, politicians and political groups of the PPP and PNC. Working first with these categories can impact positively on race relations and social cohesion. They are the influential ones who, by private and public statements, conduct, and practice in their public duties, set the national tone for the politics of race and lust for power in Guyana. These groups should be the primary targets to promote peace, justice, and reconciliation for the good of the national community.The ERC will be wasting its time and resources and will achieve nothing, unless it engages the political players and public officials identified above in a determined effort to promote reconciliation for improved race relations for the building of national unity.
The ERC should simultaneously engage, and investigate thoroughly, public employment practices to determine fairness, discrimination based on ethnicity, political affiliation, or political opinion with reference to our Constitution and labour laws. There is widespread observation and concern by the national community about employment practices in the public service and in public agencies. The Ethnic Relations Commission should undertake a comprehensive human resource audit on the ethnic composition of senior persons in the public sector for the challenge to those in public life, Government, the National Assembly, and public officials to take the appropriate corrective actions and measures in the national interest. The ERC can only justify its existence with integrity, by pursuing actively, the recommended actions above. With thanks, Joshua Singh
A useful call for racial harmony DEAR EDITOR It is good that former US Ambassador Perry Holloway believes that our politicians need to work together to diffuse racial tension in Guyanese Society. Let us for a moment forget the part that his country (the USA) played in the past in stoking racial tension during the Cold War and focus on what it would take to build trust in Guyanese Society. To understand the problem is the key to finding a solution. There is definitely a Trust Deficit Problem in Guyana. When we examine the situation we see that the heinous crime of slavery has moulded into African Guyanese psyche that they cannot TRUST another race to chart their destiny.
Come what may, African Guyanese will chart their own future and rightly so. African Guyanese feel that they have to FIGHT for everything that they want as opposed to negotiating and working with others for mutual benefits. They feel that they are in a protracted “war” to “prove” themselves. When people believe that they are in a war they will make preparations for war and act accordingly. At some level people will need to understand that you need to work together for mutual benefits. That is the basis of Consensus Politics: Working together to build trust, mutual understanding and mutual respect. Yours Faithfully Sean Ori
An untenable garbage situation DEAR EDITOR, The garbage situation in Georgetown stinks to high heavens, but the council has not shown that it can manage it. So, we are all at risk and don’t know what to do. Interestingly, though, according to media reports, one of the recommendations of the Kennard Commission of Inquiry is that the heads of departments be dismissed. Looking deeper into this very recommendation, I have noticed that they all belong to a particular group.
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Friday December 14, 2018
Strangely, the one head that has not been cited in Kennard’s report is the officer dealing with Solid Waste. But as I go about my daily chores, the city is saturated with piles of garbage, not only on parapets but also in drains. So why has the Chairman deemed all the other heads’
performance poor but not the officer responsible for waste collection in Georgetown? Georgetown is a mess. In the past, this present APNUAFC government made much weather out of the massive cleanup campaign. They talked about a pristine clean (Continued on page 6)
The hiring of contract workers DEAR EDITOR, There seems to be a clear case of abuse in the hiring of contract workers by the current APNU-AFC administration. Apart from a significant increase in the numbers of contract workers, they are also paid salaries way above those in the regular public service, even though in several instances qualifications and experience cannot justify such emoluments. One consequence of such high salaries, apart from putting pressure on the treasury, is a serious distortion of the remuneration system in the public sector, which is heavily
skewed in favour of contract employees. Such is the level of distortion that drivers and other unskilled categories employed on contract terms in several agencies earn considerably more than technical officers with university degrees. In addition to basic salaries which in some cases are over a million dollars per month, there are also gratuity payments and other allowances which when taken together, add up to a princely sum. Why should such huge income disparities exist between contract and non-con-
tract workers? At the end of the day, we all buy at the same market where prices for consumer goods and services do not discriminate between low and high income earners! Is it a case of ‘what is sauce for the goose is not sauce for the gander?’ The employment of contract workers should not be seen as an opportunity to reward ‘party faithful’ as seems to be the case. Instead, it should be judiciously used, as intended, to hire skills which are not otherwise available on the labour market. Hydar Ally
UPGRADE SUDDIE HOSPITAL DEAR EDITOR, The sound of the siren of the ambulance taking patients to the Supenaam Ferry Stelling, and at times the speedboat stelling, to be taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital, has become all too familiar. It is certainly time that the Ministry of Public Health does an upgrade of the Suddie Public Hospital and/ or, has more experienced and qualified doctors placed there. Over the years that in-
stitution has had the number of doctors increased, but the quality of service - apart from the foot care clinic and the ophthalmology department - remains the same.The public have been travelling regular to the city to seek medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital and other private medical institutions. The only increase we have is the amount of trips the ambulance makes to Georgetown and referral of patients to the Georgetown
Public Hospital. Archie W. Cordis
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The Prime Minister was clear with his explanation DEAR EDITOR, I was in Parliament on Monday when the Prime Minister was answering opposition questions on monies spent on constitutional reform. The Prime Minister clearly explained that the reform process was hampered from the delay by a parliamentary committee to completely review a draft law for constitutional reform. This in turn stalls the setting up of a Commission to handle the process of consulting Guyanese on what changes they would like to make to the constitution. Because of the delay, a sizeable part of the allocation
for constitutional reform was not spent. As a result, by the end of the year, the Office of the Prime Minister would return $65 million to the Ministry of Finance. I was surprised therefore to read the headline story in another section of the media, on Tuesday, December 11, that suggests tha t n o account was given for the $65 million. I recall hearing the Opposition MPs laughing when the Prime Minister disclosed that the unspent monies would be sent back to the Treasury. Perhaps, in the past, no one gave back! Best Regards, Dillon Goring
An untenable garbage ... From page 5 Georgetown. Indeed, at one time the city was cleaned up so much so that Guyanese and visitors from overseas commented on the newness of the city. But since that respite, the city has slipped back into a very untidy and unhealthy state. What has gone wrong? Now the council is dumping rubbish in the cemetery (desecrating that final resting place for our loved ones) with substantial amounts of waste left on streets in Georgetown. People have started to complain once again about the appearance of the city. Mourners have to navigate garbage, high bushes, impassable roads and overflowing drains to bury their dead. Maybe the government should consider taking this on as its responsibility because the city council seems incapable of handling it. In any case, it is the government that has been consistently bailing out the council with payments to the garbage contractors. This could be an indicator that the council does not have the money to do garbage collection. The government should act now before it is too late. Yours faithfully, Collin Davidow
Friday December 14, 2018
Mr. Nagamootoo has abandoned all he said... From page 4 “to save it”. Mr Nagamootoo in his 2012 Budget debate contribution said on the sugar industry ”…I crave your indulgence very quickly, there is no easy fix. The time for a new governance mechanism is now, not tomorrow, not in the future, not in the next 5 years. It must not depend on whether we discover oil or harness hydro-energy.” Indeed, what has happened to those lofty demands? Is it a case of the Prime Minister putting on a stage show in the National Assembly in 2012? If indeed the Government was sincerely interested in saving the industry, it begs the question why didn’t they? Certainly, the industry was not beyond the point of redemption. The Sugar CoI, which the Prime Minister referred to in his contribution, pointed the way to safeguard and make sugar viable. Some of those very suggestions were reiterated when GAWU provided its submission to the Government on February 17, last year. So far, the Administration has never said our suggestions were not viable. But then again how could they, when they say they will do the very same thing. Glaringly it demonstrates that this agony, Mr Nagamootoo said the Government endured, was just playing to the crowd, as his Government’s actions are vastly different. But in seeking to give credence to the Government’s position, Mr Nagamootoo, unashamedly, said it”had become unsustainable to operate the sugar industry without bringing the entire economy down!”. Though several persons, as well as GAWU, have pointed out such statements belong in a
world of fiction, the erstwhile ally of the sugar workers continues to repeat it. As renowned Guyanese reggae artist Natural Black poignantly said, it is clear the Prime Minister and cohorts, are “Far from reality”. The fact remains, the state support to the sugar industry represented just 3 per cent of the Administration’s aggregate expenditure - that is hardly sufficient to create the conditions for economic collapse. On that note, if Mr Nagamootoo is so concerned about an economic collapse – as he should be – he should look at the sliding levels of foreign reserves; the mounting Central Government overdraft at the Bank of Guyana; the high budget deficits and the borrowing associated with filling those holes; the state of play in our economic sectors; increasing unemployment and lower consumption. These are but a few of the ugly features of our times he should pay attention to. Those matters, among others, are telltale signs that could snowball into an avalanche to bring the economy down. Our Union was indeed surprised to hear the Prime Minister, as he said ”…a feasibility study done in 2000 concerning the sugar industry which showed that the ‘estate should be concentrated in the East Berbice where it is better suited for cane cultivation’”. While a LMC study around that period had recommended such an approach, the then Government disagreed and with GuySuCo presented a plan, which was accepted by the World Bank and the other international financial institutions, to retain the Demerara Estates. Undoubtedly, part of that plan led to the construction of the Enmore packaging plant; the conversion of land for mechanization, the studies for the construction of cogeneration plants, among
other things. We should add that had the international institutions not found the plan feasible, their support to the Skeldon project would have been withheld. For us, it is disingenuous for the Prime Minister to make reference to a now 18-year old study without speaking about what transpired in the aftermath. But we also found it ironic that the Prime Minister who is now espousing that the East Berbice Estates should have been retained, participated actively in the decisions which saw the closure of two estates in that region. We also found it strange that prior to now, the Prime Minister had not mentioned this study. Certainly, he was aware of it when he was serenading sugar workers with melodious promises of 20 per cent increase; no closure of estates and so on as he sought to win their support. It certainly demonstrates, once again, this so-called ‘friend of the sugar workers’ was speaking with a forked tongue and was clearly aimed at vote-getting at all costs and consequence. The Prime Minister, in his address, said ”…alternatives were made available for the retrenched workers and government was prepared to pay workers their severance, but… [the] Guyana Agricultural Workers’ Union who stopped the process from going forward”. It seems Mr Nagamootoo was imagining things. Whatever the case is, the Prime Minister is again “far from reality” and it seems he doesn’t think out his statements before making them, as he would see the irrationality in them. Nevertheless, we wonder what these alternatives he speaks of are. Is it the short courses in dress-making, cosmetology, masonry, carpentry and so on, which is hardly sufficient to make attendees proficient in the respective skill? Or is it the promised lands for displaced workers? Simply, there have been no real alternatives for the thousands displaced, and for a great lot they are simply living day-to-day.
We wonder too where is it that the GAWU prevented the Administration or GuySuCo from paying severance. As the nation well knows, it is the Government which denied the workers their lawful payments. And, as the public knows too, it was the GAWU that took the matter to the Courts which awarded interests to the workers and handed the Administration another loss at the judicial level. The Prime Minister also reportedly said that ”…the union wanted outstanding payments to be deducted before the workers received their benefits”. Again, it seems the Prime Minister is not thinking straight. His statement is a complete figment of his imagination and it shows the desperation and depths he has descended to, in seeking to find scapegoats for the callous decision that he and his colleagues have made. We warn the Prime Minister that history and future generations will not treat such a legacy kindly. The GAWU sees the ad hominem attacks and empty words by the Prime Minister as nothing more than a sordid, futile attempt to find a hardly credible excuse for the minimization of the sugar industry and the destruction of the well-being and welfare of thousands of ordinary Guyanese. Today, as the Prime Minister is enjoying the grand benefits of high political office and hanging on dearly for survival, his naked attempt at mudslinging has failed miserably and roundly. He knows, like many Guyanese know, that he has a significantly reduced role and has become a mere shadow of what he was perceived by many to be. Notwithstanding the state he finds himself, we wish to suggest that he seeks to give meaning to what he said in 2010 when he wrote ”[t]he Government would do well also to explore all possibilities to give the sugar workers even a nominal wage increase”. Yours faithfully, Seepaul Narine General Secretary GAWU
Friday December 14, 2018
Gafoor gives bursary awards to GTI students
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he Gafoor Foundation Support for Vulnerable Persons (SVP) on Thurs day, awarded four students of the Government Technical Institute (GTI) bursaries from their yearly scholarship programme. Mr Sattaur Gafoor, Chairman, and Mrs Ameena Gafoor, Administrator of the foundation, were both present at t h e c e r emony which took place in the GTI Boardroom. Students benefiting from the awards which are being distributed for the third year were John Bacchus, Tricia James, Sylvester Robertson and Feezal Dhanny. GTI and the Gafoor Foundation SVP signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2016 which gave students the opportunity to benefit from an annual bursary award to help with school expenses. Mr Gafoor shared that the foundation was encouraged by the past and present students’ diligence and enthusiasm in their choice to further their studies.
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He stressed that it is important for Guyana to have skilled resource persons to fulfil society’s needs, especially with the new opportunities that are being presented. “Our young people must be equipped to take advantage of every prospect.” Ameena Gafoor added that the foundation was established more than 20 years ago with the goal of assisting deserving students to stay in school and fulfil their educational goals at all levels by giving them some financial support. “We hope that when these students are qualified that they contribute to nation building. We would also like to see students from all corners of Guyana apply for these awards.”The Gafoor Foundation SVP is now reportedly moving forward with its plans to extend these awards to outlying vocational schools. Mrs Gafoor is especially happy to note over the years, the increased number of female students that have successfully applied for the award.
Radio Needy fund spreads early Christmas cheer
Continuing its annual Christmas cheers, Radio Needy Children’s Fund [RNCF] recently spread joy to the children of Kawal Primary and Nursery schools. Spearheading the festive activities was member of the RNCF, Ms. Leila Ramson, who distributed toys to the elated recipients. As its name suggest, the RNCF is a non-governmental organisation that seeks to assist many needy children throughout the length and breadth of Guyana. Its focus is not only seen during the festive season but rather the organisation reaches to those who are in need through care packages every month of the year.
Sophia to benefit from infrastructural community upgrades
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he Ministry of Com munities and the Central Housing and Planning Authority has opened bids for its Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme. The project, created within the pretext of targeting vulnerable communities receives its funding through the Inter- American Development Bank. Some 2,500 families are expected to benefit from the programme, with residents of Sophia among those families. The ministry project seeks to provide a better standard of living while also creating livable, accessible and more cohesive communities. The upgrades are slated for March- April 2019 beginning with Section ‘A’ Pattensen (‘A’ Field) to Cummings Park in Sophia. Guyana, in receiving financing from the InterAmerican Development Bank for the Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme, has decided to target vulnerable and under developed communities. The concept of the project, initially explored in the latter quarter of 2017 is in its very early stages of commencing. In fact, the Ministry of Communities, Central Housing and Planning Authority through the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board opened bids for the construction aspect of the project on Wednesday. This component of the first phase of the programme is expected to commence between March to April 2019. The contract period, as well as the delivery deadline, per lot, is 300 days. Sophia is one of the communities under housing development that the government has prioritized in the 2019 budget. $750 million has been allocated to the initial aspects
of the project in budget 2019. However, the project in its entirety is valued at $1.2 billion. The scope of works includes upgrades to 11 kilometers of roadways, five kilometers of concrete drains and five kilometers of reinforced concrete walkways, interlinking bridges, street lighting and two community and recreational facilities one of which will be newly constructed. The Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme caters to the construction of core houses for single-family households and families living in uninhabitable homes and also provides for home improvement subsidies and the consolidation of
existing housing schemes. The project is expected to have significant impact on the lives of those living in the communities for the better. Further, the level of development on the social sphere and on infrastructure has been pegged as major indicators of the level of development in a co u n t r y ’s economy. Appropriate infrastructure in communities such as Sophia therefore may translate into major successes. T h e M i n i s t r y ’s A d equate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme is playing a pivotal role in the development of communities within the country and furthermore Guyana’s economy.
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Guyana’s health coverage laudable despite staff shortages – Deputy CMO On a list of seven countries, Guyana ties with Suriname to claim third place when it comes to the coverage of essential health services. This is according to World Health Organisation indicators released by the Ministry of Public Health through its Deputy Chief Medical Officer [CMO], Dr. Karen Gorden-Boyle. The list was released in time for Universal Health Day 2018, which was observed on Wednesday, features Cuba as the country leading the way in the delivery of essential health services with a 78 percent coverage. Following closely is Trinidad with a 75 percent coverage and Guyana and Suriname tying at 68 percent
coverage.Also on the list are Russia with 63 percent coverage, and Haiti and Jamaica tying with 60 percent coverage. The list also places Guyana in fourth place with its 95 percent DPT vaccination coverage. Again leading the way in this category is Cuba with 99 percent DPT coverage, followed by Russia with 97 percent, Trinidad with 96, Haiti and Jamaica with 91 percent and Suriname with 89 percent.In the respective countries the percentage coverage of people successfully treated for tuberculosis translates to Cuba 71 percent, Suriname 62 percent, Russia 60 percent, Trinidad 56 percent, Guyana 55 percent, and Haiti and Jamaica each record-
ing 14 percent. Based on the data released Guyana ties with Suriname and Russia at 73 percent when the average coverage is taken into consideration. These countries are of course second to Cuba with its 83 percent average coverage rate.Catering to its coverage, Guyana is said to have 2.1 physicians per 10,000 population trailing behind the listed countries. In Cuba the physicians per 10,000 population amounts to 75 followed by Russia’s 40, Trinidad’s 18, Suriname’s eight, Jamaica’s 4.7 and Haiti’s 3.9. But it is no surprise, Dr. Gordon-Boyle noted, that Cuba, which is known to have one of the world’s best primary health care systems, ranks above the rest. She, however, revealed that what might be surprising is the fact that Guyana has
managed to have similar coverage to countries like Russia and Suriname. “A look at our depleted health workforce helps to give a greater appreciation of the huge accomplishments Guyana continues to make with patient outcomes despite us having 20 times less physicians than Russia and four times less than Suriname,” Dr. GordonBoyle asserted. She added, “When we look at nurses for the same two countries, Russia had 17 times more nurses and Suriname 10 times more than Guyana. Additionally, our low population density especially in the hinterland means that the cost to provide some semblance of quality health services to these remote populations is often in excess of 10 times the cost to provide the same level of care in a township or on the coast of Guyana.” But the Deputy CMO admitted that there is room for improvement. Moreover, she asserted that the recent piloting of electronic medical records, intensified training of community health workers and medic for deployment into the hinterland locations are but some of the measures being taken to address the human resource shortages
Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Karen Gordon-Boyle. across every region. She noted that in order to improve the quality of health services and to fulfil its commitment to provide services that are accessible, affordable, acceptable and of a high quality. “We must have wider stakeholder involvement through formalised partnerships,” said Dr. GordonBoyle as she added, “radical changes are needed to attract
and retain the quality and quantity of health personnel required to meet the needs in the remotest parts of Guyana.”In this regard, the Deputy CMO said that the Ministry is lobbying for differentiated allowances especially for health personnel who are required to be relocated to the hinterland far away from their family and social support networks.
Friday December 14, 2018
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The people get a better government than they deserve
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t is said that the people get the government they deserve. This statement is a falsehood. The government is much better than the people they serve. If governments were to do what the people wanted them to do, the political landscape would be a wasteland. In Guyana, the people get better governments than they deserve. If, for example, you listen to what some of the supporters of the new government say, you will recognize that the government is better – not too far- but better than those supporters. There is a view out there amongst some supporters of the APNU+AFC that the government should rid itself of all those persons who would have worked at a senior level within the PPPC administration. It does not matter that those persons were not political appointees or were not part of the ruling party. So long as they would have served at a senior level within the PPPC, their heads were and are still called for. There is a great deal of venom out there. You see and read comments on social media and within the newspaper blogs about getting rid of this and that person because of their association with the government of the PPPC The government has got rid of many persons from the previous administration. Persons were removed from their jobs when the government came in. Others were pushed out. The contracts of others were not renewed. Some persons resigned because they knew they were not wanted. The government came in with a mission to effect widespread change in personnel and they have. A number of their supporters have been given jobs and have replaced dismissed persons. This has not satisfied those who want to see a clean sweep of the old personnel. The government remains under great pressure to continue to effect change. There are supporters of the government who want persons removed and jailed. This is where the forensic audits come in. It was expected that the audits would establish massive corruption under the PPP and become the basis for not only discrediting the opposition but also for forming the basis for criminal charges. This unfortunately has not happened and therefore the new call from within the supporters of the ruling party is for persons to be axed. It does not matter whether they did right or wrong, their heads are being called for. The chorus of headhunters outside of the government is
not asking itself whether there is a sufficient enough basis for dismissing persons. They are simply using any and every reason in the audits to make a case for dismissals. The government does not really need a forensic audit to remove persons. They can simply concoct any reason to dismiss persons. They can even be inconsistent in how they deal with audits. The government is not being urged to be fair. The head hunters within their supporters want them to be fair. The government is being asked to be expedient, politically expedient. The danger of this is that by giving in to the base instincts of those who are calling for more heads to roll, the government is effectively destroying professionalism within the public service. At the same time, they are politicizing the public sector by having to put so many of their supporters in top government positions in such a rapid rate and in such a short period of time. This is the main reason why people feel that nothing much is happening within the government. Nothing much is happening because there are too many new persons feeling their way around government. It is not that these persons are not competent. It is just that they simply lack the experience. This is happening because the government is being pushed by its supporters to effect widespread changes. Young people are not getting the opportunities they deserve. The government is bringing persons out of retirement and handing them top jobs. There are persons in their sixties who are being brought out of retirement and given top jobs, when there are able and capable young persons who can do the job but are being bypassed. The media seems to have grown accustomed to veterans and retirees taking over. They have stopped giving the ages of the appointees. These changes are deemed, by the headhunters, as better than having to allow persons within the system to be promoted because of the fear that some person who worked under the previous government may qualify for such promotion.Professionals ran from the Burnham regime because of the politicization of the public service. They knew that once they did not become political, they stood little chance of rising to the top on
merit. They opted to leave Guyana and this is what contributed to the brain drain. Guyana has never recovered from that situation. The present regime has to resist the temptation of giv-
ing to the demands of those outside of the government who want to see anyone associated with the PPP be pushed out of the public sector. The government has to
remain better than those who are pressing it to effect changes because if those pressures are heeded it will destroy the government system and politicize and militarize it further.
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Kaieteur News
Friday December 14, 2018
THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN
Volda, Simona and Priya: Life is about people
I
did a column in which I took the position that in this current age, women are due for their rightful place in the sphere of real power. As such, the PNC should have a female chairman and the PPP, a woman presidential candidate for 2020. In my piece on Monday, July 2, 2018, captioned, “The race to succeed Granger heats up,” I observed; “The present zeitgeist in the world favours the expanding presence of women in all spheres of life. It may not be an exaggeration to say the 21st century belongs to women. I will not endorse Ms. Lawrence for reasons of principles but I would like to see a woman lead both the PNC and PPP. The PPP once had a woman leader. It is time the PNC has one.” In the context of the way the world evolved, women were never acknowledged as equal to men. Their rightful place is long overdue. But in the end life is about people, humans, real, living people. We may see the need for gender and ethnic quota but life teaches some harsh lessons. Women and gender quotas can result in a good man being overlooked
for a terrible woman and a good person of a certain ethnic background being sidelined to please race balance. Once I get down to write my memoir, obviously I cannot leave out 26 years of activism at the University of Guyana as a lecturer. I saw how destructive racially driven instincts were at UG and I saw the brilliance of Jagdeo as a politician in that racial drama. I don’t like Mr. Jagdeo’s politics at all but he is a clever tactician. The African Guyanese academics wanted a Black Vice-Chancellor so Jagdeo gave them what they wanted. Jagdeo contemptuously outsmarted them. Jagdeo picked a Black Vice-Chancellor that was more malleable and sycophantic than any Indian Vice-Chancellor would have been. In fact, so terrible was the man’s performance that when he was to be removed and his likely replacement was a far better administrator and academic, the staff demanded the retention of the African-Guyanese. After all, “We must have a Black man at the head of UG”, never mind he was a terrible performer. Remember the infamous saying by the
Americans of the Nicaraguan dictator, Somoza; “He is a son of a bitch but he is our son of a bitch.” So Jagdeo gave them what they wanted but Jagdeo got what he, Jagdeo, wanted in the end at UG because, he Jagdeo was smarter than all those big academics who wanted “our Blackman” at all cost. So it is women’s time in the world and no doubt her DNA as a woman was the factor that caused Volda to win the election as chairman for the PNC. But look what happened. This woman turned out to be a gargantuan disappointment. Lawrence continued with her old ways instead of wearing the crown of a future president. Will I still support a woman candidate for the PNC and PPP for 2020? The answer is yes. But if there is a talented, decent man running against Volda Lawrence, I will write in support of him. There are certain women whose role in politics should come to an end. Two names come to mind – Simona Broomes and Priya Manickchand. These two persons should not be considered for political office just because
the world wants women to be in powerful positions. I honestly think Broomes and Manickchand do not have the temperament for public office which at all times must be a receptacle of values that must guide the younger generation. My problem with Broomes and Manickchand is that they are not changing people, and my opinion is that they do not care to change. One fundamental reason explains this. Broomes has the support of her fellow PNC leaders who will stand by her because
party politics here is a tribal affair and we must protect our own. It is the same thing in the PPP with Manickchand. Broomes drifts from one incident to another and you do not see the redeemable clouds in the skies above her head. You are forced to ask; when and where will Broomes do her bravado thing again? The most recent was at the Providence New Thriving. When will Priya strike? Not satisfied with the national embarrassment she caused Guyana in 2014 at the home of the American ambassador,
Frederick Kissoon Priya did her questionable thing recently, in of all places – the sacred halls of Parliament. She cried in front of the cameras that policemen assaulted her. She is yet to supply the proof.
DEM BOYS SEH
Indar prefer Jagdeo to Moses When dem big organisation in Guyana hosting dinner and awards ceremony dem does mek a big thing about who gun be de guest speaker. De programme alone is a fancy affair that very expensive and de name of de Guest Speaker does be in gold. But de Georgetown Chamber of Commerce mek a mess of all de tradition. Indar, de man who got a reputation fuh hanging he mouth, plan a big programme. Dem boys hear bout de programme and dem wait fuh de invitation. De invitation come and it didn’t seh who gun be de guest speaker. Dem boys thought that de organizers change dem mind and dem gun mek de occasion an eat and drink affair.
That is why de Waterfalls paper didn’t send a reporter to de event. Dem boys jump when dem see that scamp, Jagdeo, tun up. Dem know that since he stop being president he don’t go to no public function. Donald de Dummy use to go to one-one. People start to wonder how Jagdeo come. Is when Indar, de man who does hang he mouth, introduce Jagdeo that dem boys know who was de guest speaker.Indar deceive de whole chamber. He didn’t tell nobody bout Jagdeo because he know nobody woulda tun up. Jagdeo woulda talk to Indar and Irfaat alone if de invitation had he name pun it. Dem boys hear when Irfaat walk in wid Jagdeo de two of dem look like when
bride walk in wid a groom. De speech was wha everybody expect. Jagdeo tell de Chamber that he know what is good for it except when he was president he mek de Chamber almost collapse. Dem, boys want to know if de Chamber invite anybody from de government because that is a norm. Dem would invite Gaskin as Ministah. Soulja Bai was out of de country but Moses was there. Indar, de man who does hang he mouth, didn’t invite Moses. Dem boys want to know wha de APNC+KFC do to mek de Chamber ignore dem. Talk half and wait fuh Indar explain why Jagdeo and not Moses, de Prime Ministah wasn’t invited.
Friday December 14, 2018
Kaieteur News
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Kaieteur News
Friday December 14, 2018
Health Ministry gets strategic support to boost procurement capabilities
Permanent Secretary, Ms. Colette Adams
Procurement Consultant, Mr. Martim Ellis
USAID’s Caroline Healey
Still reeling from media reports which allude to allegations of procurement breaches during the past year, the Ministry of Public Health is aiming to improve its global supply chain management standing. A move in this direction is imperative since reports suggest that failure to conform to global standards can in fact negatively affect the Ministry’s supply chain system. In order to redeem its daunting position, Guyana is currently on the penultimate rung of the Supply Chain
Maturity Framework with a bronze rating and is on an upward trajectory to attain silver. “Our aim is bringing together the relevant stakeholders to assess the work of our consultant [Martin Ellis] and to analyse the findings to better understand where Guyana is in terms of supply chain with canvas being the very basis and gold and accreditation being the high points,” said Ms. Caroline Healey, Country Director, United States Agency for International Development [USAID] Global Health Supply Chain
Programme [GHSC]-Procurement and Supply Management [PSM]. Healey made the observation this week at a stakeholders meeting held at Cara Lodge, Quamina Street, Georgetown. It involved employees of the newly-created Procurement Unit, the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board [NPTAB]; Guyana Revenue Authority [GRA]; Health Sector Development Unit [HSDU] - Global Fund, and the Pan American Health Organisation, Guyana office. Following recent evalua-
Guyana, Brazil sign critical investment agreement
Guyana’s Ambassador to Brazil, George Talbot, and Foreign Minister of Brazil, Aloysio Nunes Ferreira yesterday signing the cooperation agreement.
G
u y a n a ’s Ambassador to Brazil, George Talbot, and Foreign Minister of Brazil, Aloysio Nunes Ferreira yesterday signed a cooperation and facilitation of investment agreement (CFIA) in a brief ceremony at the Itamaraty Palace in Brasilia, home of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “The agreement marks a further deepening of relations between the two countries, opening the door to closer
economic ties. It provides a framework for cooperation and support to investors from both countries,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Along with other agreements already in place, including the International Road Transport Agreement for the movement of passengers and goods between Guyana and Brazil, the Partial Scope Agreement on trade, and with ongoing cooperation regarding the Linden-Lethem road, the CFIA contributes to the
further consolidation of the framework of bilateral relations and to the fostering of business-to-business ties. During the ceremony, Ambassador Talbot reiterated Guyana’s appreciation for the excellent relations enjoyed with Brazil and expressed recognition of the important contribution of Foreign Minister Nunes in that regard. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Guyana and Brazil relations. Foreign Minister Nunes visited Georgetown on July 12, 2018.
The Supply Chain Maturity Framework tions of the current system, Healey noted that the country’s status has not reached its peak. Healey said the USAID GHSC-PSM consultant [Ellis], who is in Guyana on a twoweek stay, will lecture participants on national health supply chain improvement opportunities and unveil strategies how to elevate the country’s procurement status through a supply chain maturity framework. “We have been doing some exercises to prioritise the country’s opportunities and challenges. But we want to present it back to the group here to see if…this makes sense and if it’s correct. (We want) to see what kind of actions we need to take to really strengthen the supply chain management going forward and strengthen the role of procurement because the whole point is to ensure they have the right drugs, in the right place at the right time,” Healey added. The USAID Country Director said following the stakeholders’ consultation, the expectations are to ensure that data are collected in a timely fashion and also to create a tracking system that is fully guided by terms of reference. The inevitability will make it easier to identify the possible bottlenecks blocking the procurement process for drugs, pharmaceuticals and medical supplies to arrive on time.While reiterating USAID GHSC-PSM’s commitment to helping the Public Health Ministry, Healey advocated for early procurement planning rather that last minute forecasting. Meanwhile, Ellis explained that nine functions were evaluated by a maturity level determined by people, process and technology. Those were data gathering, forecasting, procurement,
port of entry, central warehouse, transportation, regional warehouse, health facility and financial flow. “Consolidation is key,” Ellis told the local stakeholders. He added that that can leverage the positivity and sustainability of the supply chain management system in any country. “We need to plan accordingly,” Ellis said emphasising that the process of procurement requires team-work at every level, from the USAID GHSC-PSM and throughout the Public Health system. He maintained that standard procedures should be developed and followed to make the delivery of goods and services, easier. “The procurement unit must be able to have meetings regularly with relevant stakeholders, that is, [with] PAHO, NPTAB, the Ministry of Finance [MOF] among other,” Ellis advised. In her feature address, Ms. Collette Adams, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Health, said that following the establishment of the Procurement Unit in 2017, Guyana has committed to implementing an international competitive bidding [ICB] process. It has since abolished sole-sourcing for its drugs, pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, health equipment and other health-product needs. “Since 2015, the Ministry has stood committed to implementing the national and international best practices in the planning, management and contracting of its procurement activities, particularly for health commodities and equipment as part of its process with development-partners support and the establishment of a dedicated procurement unit in 2017 to undertake procurement funded by the Government of Guyana (GOG),”
Adams noted. She emphasised that the Ministry’s main objective has been to support the institutionalisation of best practices by building capacity in procurement planning, contract management and sustainable procurement management systems which are linked to increased focus on governance and leadership within the health sector. “Our development partners, USAID, Global Fund, and PAHO/WHO are partnering with the Ministry to provide hands-on technical mentoring and training in procurement planning, evaluation, contract management and reporting based on current institutionalisation of the procurement unit.” She is optimistic that this approach will also ensure timely and efficient management of the national procurement process which will reduce the risk of stock-outs and/or expiration of drugs. According to her, procurement staff members have already received basic procurement training and systems strengthening support. They also successfully completed the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply [CIPS] certification programme. The Permanent Secretary revealed that the procurement employees will be coursed in advanced procurement studies in 2019/2020 to continue the professionalization of the staff.Also present at the oneday forum were PAHO/ WHO’s consultants, Mr. Robert Samayoa, and Mr. Marcos Chaparro from the Strategic Fund Office, Washington DC. Samayoa and Chaparro are currently reviewing the PAHO Strategic Fund Order for 2019 and will be providing expert guidance for the next procurement exercise, Adams said.
Friday December 14, 2018
Christmas in jail for mother of nine A mother of nine has been arrested and remanded to jail as police made a breakthrough into the spate of break and enter incidents and that occurred during the past week in the Stanleytown area. Shonette GonsalvesSabola, 40, a house wife of 82 Savannah Park Housing Scheme, New Amsterdam, appeared on Thursday before Magistrate Alex Moore in the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court on a charge of break and enter. She is accused, on Monday December 10, of breaking into the dwelling house of Daphney Pitt-Joseph at Lot 43 Stanleytown, New Amsterdam, Berbice and stealing one finger ring valued at $60,000; one gold chain valued at $120,000; a bag containing several other documents; one five pound tin of milk; one box of biscuits; a pair of slippers $3,500 and $65,000 cash. The woman when asked to speak told the court that
she doesn’t know anything about the matter. She stated that she is a domestic worker and a part time cook. In opposing bail Police Prosecutor Inspector Bernard Brown asked for bail to be refused. He said most of the articles were found in a suitcase in the home of the accused. He further stated that at the time of her arrest the accused was wearing the victim’s slippers. Brown also told the court that the accused had not been cooperating with the police. “She encourages her son to do bad things at nights. She told the police that she did not know where he is and hadn’t seen him for some time”. The Prosecutor also said that the matter is still under investigation and other charges pending. The woman begged not to be remanded since she has three young children to look after. She was remanded to jail until January 14.
Lead investigator testifies in Saga murder PI Police Inspector, Suraj Singh, who led the investigation which saw the arrest of two police ranks, yesterday testified in the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) for which Aubrey Bobb, Derwin Eastman and Jemison Williams were charged with the murder of Godfrey Scipio known as “Sagga”. Scipio was shot dead on October 12, last year. Bobb was t h e f i r s t person to be charged with S c i p i o ’s m u r d e r. H e subsequently implicated former Police Corporal Derwin Eastman and his colleague, Constable Jemison Williams. They were jointly charged with the offence. The three men were not required to plead to the indictable charge, which stated that on October 12, 2017, at David Street, Kitty, Georgetown, they murdered Scipio. They are currently on remand for the capital offence. When the matter was called in Senior Magistrate
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Fabayo Azore’s courtroom, yesterday, Inspector Singh who is stationed at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and attached to the Major Crime Investigation Unit, testified about the investigations he conducted in relation to the matter. The witness told the court that relative to information received, two police officers were involved in the murder of Scipio. As such, the investigation led to the arrest of Eastman and Williams. The Magistrate, after listening to the witness, adjourned the matter until January 11, 2019 for continuation. According to reports, Bobb alleged that Eastman is the mastermind behind Saga’s murder, since he allegedly provided the weapon. Scipio, 58, was shot dead shortly after leaving a Kitty hotel. He was also relieved of a gold chain.
Kaieteur News
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Kaieteur News
Friday December 14, 2018
China detains second Canadian citizen as Huawei row intensifies
Canadians, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, currently in Chinese detention
THE GUARDIAN - A second Canadian missing in China is under investigation on suspicion of “engaging in activities that harm China’s national security,” state media has reported, as tensions over the arrest of an executive at Chinese telecoms giant Huawei intensify. Michael Spavor was “being investigated” by the Dandong city branch of China’s ministry of state security and the probe started on 10 December, according to a government news agency in northeastern Liaoning province. Spavor is based in China and facilitates trips to North Korea, according to the Ca-
nadian foreign ministry. He met its leader Kim Jong-un and famously arranged some of retired NBA basketball star Dennis Rodman’s visits there. Michael Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat, was detained by Chinese state security on Monday in Beijing, according to his employer, the International Crisis Group thinktank. After Kovrig was held, another Canadian citizen – later identified as Spavor – contacted officials, saying he had been questioned by Chinese authorities. He later went missing. Spavor and Kovrig are said to know each other, the Canadian newspaper the Globe and Mail reported. Posts on Spavor’s social media showed friends beginning to question his whereabouts after he failed to show up to a planned visit to Seoul on Monday, the same day Kovrig is believed to have detained by security officials in Beijing. He was scheduled to be in the city, for conferences and social events, until at least Friday. Canadian officials have been wary of potential retaliation by the Chinese government after the arrest last week of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver. In response to protests over Meng’s arrest, as well as rising anti-Canada sentiment in China, Canada has requested that China increase security for its diplomats, said a senior Canadian government official. But the Canadian government has been unwilling to directly link Meng’s arrest with the detention of Kovrig, who is being questioned on suspicion of engaging in “activities that harmed China’s national security”, according to Chinese state-run media. “Canadian citizen Michael John Kovrig was on 10 December investigated in accordance with the law by the Beijing State Security Bureau on suspicion of engaging in activities that harm China’s state security,” the Beijing News wrote. Accusations of harming state security could cover a wide range of suspected crimes, and in China are often very vague when first levelled. His current employer the ICG, a think tank focused on conflict resolution, said that Kovrig was detained by state security officials in Beijing on Monday night. Diplomats in China said the apparent involvement of the secretive state security
ministry, which engages in domestic counter-espionage work, among other things, suggests the government could be looking at levelling spying accusations. However, the ICG president and chief executive, Robert Malley, said the group did not engage in such activity. “I don’t want to speculate as to what’s behind it but I am prepared to be categorical about what’s not behind it, and what’s not behind it is any illegal activity or endangering of Chinese national security,” Malley told Reuters, before the state media report came out. “Everything we do is transparent, it’s on our website. We don’t engage in secretive work, in confidential work.” The Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Lu Kang, said the ICG was not registered in China as a non-government organisation (NGO) and Kovrig could have broken Chinese law. The foreign NGO law, which took effect in January, is part of a raft of new national security measures introduced under President Xi Jinping. “All foreigners that come to China, so long as they respect the law, have nothing to worry about,” Lu said. William Nee, the China researcher for Amnesty International’s East Asia regional office in Hong Kong, said Kovrig’s detention was alarming, especially as it appeared to be the first time the law has been used to detain a foreign NGO worker. Guy Saint-Jacques, Canada’s former ambassador to China, was asked by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on Tuesday whether Kovrig’s detention was a coincidence after the arrest of Meng. “In China there are no coincidences,” he said. “In this case it is clear the Chinese government wants to put maximum pressure on the Canadian government.” China had threatened severe consequences unless Canada released Meng immediately and analysts have said retaliation for the arrest was likely. Meng was granted bail by a Canadian court on Tuesday, 10 days after her arrest in Vancouver on US claims that she misled multinational banks about Iranlinked transactions caused a diplomatic dispute. As part of her release, she has provided a $10m bond – in parts cash and properties – and must wear a GPS monitoring device.
Friday December 14, 2018
Kaieteur News
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Domestic abuser beats, bites arresting officers A man, who dealt two police officers several bites and kicks about their bodies after they tried to arrest him, was yesterday charged for assaulting the ranks and inflicting grievous bodily harm on his girlfriend. Twenty-four-year-old Kerwin Estwick, a labourer of South Amelia’s Ward, Linden, made an appearance before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. The first charge alleged that on October 21, 2018, at Central Amelia’s Ward, Linden, he inflicted grievous bodily harm on Sharon Clarke. It was further alleged that on December 11, 2018, at South Amelia’s Ward, Linden, he assaulted Detective Constable Keston Peters with intent to prevent lawful apprehension of himself. The last charge stated that on December 11, 2018, at South Amelia’s Ward, Linden, Estwick assaulted Police Constable Shaquille Mackintosh with intent to prevent lawful apprehension of himself. Estwick denied all the allegations after they were read to him. He was represented by Attorney-at-Law Paul Fung-afat who asked the court to release his client on reasonable bail. The lawyer added that his client and Clarke were involved in an altercation, and she reported
Friday December 14, 2018
Kaieteur News
Charged: Kerwin Estwick the matter to the police. H o w e v e r, f a c t s p r e sented by Police Prose c u t o r, Gordon Mansfield, stated that on October 12 last, Estwick and Clarke had an argument and she stopped a taxi and entered. H o w e v e r, a n i r a t e Estwick pulled the w o m a n o u t o f t h e c a r, causing her to receive injuries to her right leg. He then made good his escape. Clarke reported the matter to the police. However, on December 11, De t e c t i v e Constable Peters and Constable Mackintosh, who are stationed at the Linden Police Station and attached to the Criminal Investigation Depart-
ment (CID), were on patrol duty when they saw Estwick in the vicinity of South Amelia’s Ward. The ranks then exited the patrol van and proceeded to arrest the man who was standing at a c o r n e r. T h e a r r e s t w a s easier said than done. The man bit the ranks and punched them about their bodies. He then managed to take away a pair of handcuffs and hit them about their bodies. The court heard that after several minutes of attempting to arrest the defendant, the officers finally managed to handcuff him and placed him inside the police van. He was then taken to the Linden Police Station, and charged for the offence. While Prosecutor Mansfield had no objections to bail being granted to Estwick, he asked that conditions be attached. The Magistrate, after listening to the P r o s e c u t o r ’s f a c t s , r e leased Estwick on $20,000 bail. Conditions of the bail are that Eswick reports every Monday at the Linden Magistrates’ Courts. He was also placed on a bond to be of good behaviour until the hearing and determination of the trial. Estwick will make his next court appearance on January 7, 2019 at the Linden Magistrates’ Courts where he will be served with statements.
Ptolemy Reid gains from Flamenco Concert
Flamenco dance performances at the Theatre Guild A Guyanese audience was on Saturday evening captivated, for about 90 minutes, by a performance from the Cristina Heeren Foundation of Flamenco Art of Seville, Spain. The production, staged at the Theatre Guild Playhouse in Kingston, was titled “Calle Pureza”. The Honorary Consul of Spain to Guyana, Brian Tiwarie, and Ambassador of Spain to Guyana, His Excellency Javier Carbojosa, organized the Concert, under the patronage of Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally. The performances featured an energetic blend of flamenco song, guitar music, and dances infused with voices, melodies, and rhythmic zapateados (foot percussion). In introducing the
performance, Ambassador Carbojosa noted that while Flamenco is not known in Guyana it has many influences from Africa and Asia, similar to many of the cultural influences here in Guyana. The Cristina Heeren Foundation of Flamenco Art of Seville is known for the classic style of flamenco. The foundation offers comprehensive courses of study in the incorporation of accessories to the flamenco dance such as castanets, fans, shawls, and the train of flamenco gowns, in order to create a marvelously complex visual presentation. All of these elements were on display at the Theatre Guild Playhouse on Saturday evening. All proceeds from the ticket sales were donated to
the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre. Ms Cynthia Massy, Administrator of the Centre lauded the initiative, said, “The centre is a non-profit and depends on the support of a range of donors in order to provide its range of services to children with disabilities.” Prior to the featured performance, a group of children from the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre danced to the song GUYANA, by Poonam Singh. Prime Minister Moses Nagamatoo and Mrs Sita Nagamatoo; Minister of State, Joseph Harmon; Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. George Norton, and Member of Parliament Gail Teixeira were among the dignitaries attending the performance.
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Friday December 14, 2018
Drunken getaway driver slapped with five charges so far Pastor remains in serious condition in New Amsterdam Hospital The car driver who on Sunday evening struck down Berbice Pastor, Cecil Agard, and drove away, has been slapped with five charges so far and remanded to jail. The man Gavin Saunders, 51, of 30 Philadelphia Street, New Amsterdam, Berbice, appeared on Wednesday before Magistrate Alex Moore in the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court to answer five charges. He is charged with driving motor car PPP 2518 while being under the influence of alcohol, failing to stop after an accident, failing to render assistance, driving an uninsured motor vehicle and driving an unlicensed motor vehicle. All this happened on Sunday December 9 , around 20:00 hrs , on the Sheet Anchor Public road. He was remanded to jail until December 21. The serious nature of the offence and the fact that the victim is still hospitalized in a serious condition were factors taken in consideration. The facts of the case were that on the date and time in question Pastor Agard, 76 of 73 Nurseville/ Tucber Park Housing Scheme, New Amsterdam, Berbice and the founder of the Faith Deliverance Tabernacle Church of the same address, was on his way home after praying for some believers in the neighbouring East Canje area. The Pastor was on his motorcycle CF 9858 when he was struck down by the heavily tinted speeding motor car on the Sheet Anchor Public Road. He was thrown off his motor cycle; the impact crushed his right leg. As the bleeding pastor lay injured on the ground, the vehicle turned off its lights and accelerated from the scene. Agard was picked up by residents and public spirited citizens who came out to as-
Accused: Gavin Saunders sist and rushed to the New Amsterdam Hospital. He was admitted for emergency treatment and underwent more than four hours of surgery. His leg was broken in four places; he also suffered injuries to his back and head. The car was subsequently located some hours later parked at a popular night spot in the town. Saunders was imbibing and some females were in the car. The driver had claimed that a woman was driving the car. The woman was found two days later and denied driving the car on the night in question. Saunders had denied hitting any one. He had initially resisted arrest and police reinforcement had to be summoned. A breathalyzer test was conducted on him and he was found to be way over the legal limit. A search of the vehicle unearthed a bottle of rum and a cutlass among other things. In the meanwhile Pastor Agard remains warded in a serious condition in the New Amsterdam Hospital. Investigations are continuing and more charges are likely.
Friday December 14, 2018
Kaieteur News
$700M approved for Amerindian Development Projects in 2019
Some $700M will be expended for the execution of Amerindian Development Projects by the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs for hinterland villages and communities come 2019. This followed the successful defence of the Ministry’s Capital and Current Budgetary Estimates in the National Assembly Monday last by Ministers Sydney Allicock and Valerie Garrido-Lowe. At least $230M will be invested in 215 villages and communities under the Presidential Grant programme. Villages are expected to submit their respective project proposals in support of existing livelihood projects; develop new economic, social and environmental initiatives, provide job opportunities for locals and increase entrepreneurial capacity. These will highlight Government’s commitment to empowering the Indigenous peoples. The Ministry’s Flagship Youth Programme, the Hinterland Employment Youth Service (HEYS) programme, continues to see Government in-
vest significant financial and other support to the nation’s indigenous youth. Next year, $176M will be spent for additional support to the programme. This will be in the form of monitoring and mentorship through cluster training to ensure best practices are employed and young people receive the prerequisite skills to effectively operate and manage their business to ensure growth and sustainability. Of the sum, $12M has been budgeted for some 2,000 young people to receive additional support through the acquisition of small grants ($50,000 each). Meanwhile, the construction of a $38M Mall in Santa Rosa, Moruca, Region One is among other economic projects on the cards. This multi-year investment (3 years) is a 40’x60’ two-storey building with some ten million dollars allocated in 2019 to assist the village in bringing this investment to fruition. In 2017, ten of the 11 satellites merged their respective Presidential Grants to commence construction, while in
2018 all 11 villages came on board for the continuation of the project which to date has seen the completion of its foundation, columns and second floor completed. At the end of this year, $21M would have been invested by the villages and will accommodate 40 stalls equipped with lighting and security features and an estimated monthly income of $600,000 and an annual income of $7.2M. Santa Rosa will also benefit from a $40M Ground Coffee Production project (Robusta Coffee) to supply both local and export market demands and will see some 15 farmers benefitting. Farmers have already commended land preparation as they eagerly anticipate the arrival of the beans to begin the germination process and subsequently planting of seedlings. This multi-year project has seen $10M budgeted for in 2018, with an additional $10M in 2019 which will cater for the construction and furnishing of the facility. (Continued on page 30)
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Kaieteur News
SARA Director details challenges amidst concerns over performance
R
esponding to criti cisms over the level of performance of the State Asset Recovery Agency, (SARA), Deputy Director Aubrey HeathRetmeyer detailed efforts made by the agency within its first year of operation. According to HeathRetmeyer, SARA is still in its initial phase of establishment. “This is our first budgetary year and a lot of efforts were concentrated on ensuring the adequate investigations are carried out. “To ensure the success of cases of SARA, we employed the resources available to convert the information we have into evidence. But it has been a long and tedious process. “We had predicted before that we will be able to rest cases earlier this year. Not because we are not concerned about deadlines but we just could not do a proper job and gather the material in time. “We are not just dealing with the Magistrates’ Court. We are dealing with the high court and they require a very high standard of proof and performance. As such, we are advised that we cover all the bases.” However, the SARA official noted that challenges associated with retrieving information resulted in a major push back for the agency. “The way our society is set up, we have to engage in painstaking process to recover information. It is often time consuming. “For instance, SARA would write to an agency and ask for information. The
SARA, Deputy Director Aubrey Heath-Retmeyer agency may detach a staff to go find the information. The person may be sent into a room full of boxed documents and after going through all, at the end of the exercise that person still may not find the document. So the process is not as straight forward as it may seem.” Heath-Retmeyer noted that the Agency has been working with other State entities such as the GRA and the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited,(NICIL) to train officials on how to detect and stop corruption. “So it’s not that the Agency is not working. Part of our effort is to train these officials how to spot discrepancies and protect State property.” Earlier this year, the SARA Deputy Director had noted that the agency would be ramping up operations in con-
junction with the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) and other state agencies. Heath-Retmeyer said 25 intelligence reports have been complied and delivered to SOCU for action, a sign that the agency is making progress on several cases where State assets have allegedly been stolen and exist in Guyana and abroad. He said that the agency was preparing to take the first batch of cases to the courts in a month’s time. SARA is in the process of reviewing “well over 50 to 60” cases for the recovery of State assets. The agency is hoping to focus on about 10 cases for immediate court action. Heath-Retmeyer stated that work continues to convert the information received and then advance it to court. The Deputy Director explained that it must be anticipated that persons charged with misappropriation and theft of State assets usually advance arguments based on the procedural aspect of the acquisition. He highlighted the need for SARA to gather evidence in a prescribed manner to ensure solid cases, with the need to be careful with the type of information divulged to the public, since this may compromise the cases. “If I should say something in public that can be construed as though we are going after people because of political or other reasons, all these things are taken into consideration when the judge listens to the case,” HeathRetmeyer had pointed out.
Friday December 14, 2018
Govt. still to decide location for gas to power plant By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell he government al ready knows that more than 200 people will gain employment as a result of the gas to power project. It knows that electricity will be reduced to US 10 cents per megawatt/hour and that the project will see a 200 mv plant. What the government still does not know is where the plant will be located. A final decision is still to be made. This decision is one that is currently stalling the completion of a feasibility study that ExxonMobil is conducting to determine the economic viability of the gas to power project which has been dubbed a temporary fix for Guyana’s electricity woes. The Production Sharing Agreement that exists between Guyana and ExxonMobil gives the company the right to re-inject associated gas into the oil producing wells. It also provides for alternative arrangements like the gas to power project. But, such, according to the contract, is predicated on a feasibility study that must be done by ExxonMobil. A few weeks ago, when he held his first and only press conference thus far, Head of the Department of Energy, Dr. Mark Bynoe, said, “A gas to power feasibility analysis is being conducted.” Yesterday, Attorney at Law, Charles Ramson, told this newspaper that he has been reliably informed that ExxonMobil “has already done all it could, that the company has done its part. But the
T
Attorney at Law, Charles Ramson
Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson
feasibility study is stalled because the government cannot provide the needed facts.” Ramson, who severed as a People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Member of Parliament, said that the study has been stalled for quite some time now. He said that ExxonMobil and Government already know that the project is viable in that the needed electricity can be generated. However, Ramson said that the very important economic analysis that forms part of the feasibility study, is still to be completed.” The lawyer, who also has a master’s degree in Oil and Gas Management, explained that in order for ExxonMobil to determine the economic feasibility of the project, there are several decisions that the government will have to make upon demand of the company. ”When the company is armed with these decisions, only then will it be able to
complete its assessment. For instance, you cannot expect ExxonMobil to be able to pronounce on whether the project is economically feasible if it does not even know where the plant would be located. “That is a decision that the government has to make and cannot make on to this date. How are we to be considered a serious country if simple things like these cannot be given priority?” Ramson noted that, so far, only associated gas has been discovered in Guyana. He recalled ExxonMobil’s Country Manager, Rod Henson, saying that ExxonMobil still thinks it best that Guyana re-injects its natural gas. Henson said that that is a more economical route to take. However, he also said that ExxonMobil is considering Guyana’s special (Continued on page 33)
US Senators call for “toxic, tainted, flawed” Saudi Prince to be ousted Khashoggi Murder…
ALJAZEERA - US Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, and Senator Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, said on Wednesday that the group plans to advance legislation imposing financial penalties and prohibiting arms sales when the new Congress begins in January. In some of their strongest comments to date, senators signalled they would like to see Saudi Arabia remove Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman from power. “To our friends in Saudi Arabia, you are never going to have a relationship with the United States Senate unless things change. And it’s up to you to figure out what that change needs to be,” Graham, a congressional ally of President Donald Trump, told reporters at a Capitol Hill press conference. “From my point of view,
the current construct is not working. There is a relationship between countries and individuals. The individual, the crown prince, is so toxic, so tainted, so flawed that I can’t ever see myself doing business in the future with Saudi Arabia unless there is a change there,” Graham said. Yesterday, US Senators voted for the US to stop supporting the Saudi-UAEled war in Yemen, directly challenging both Saudi Arabia and President Donald Trump in the wake of columnist Jamal Khashoggi’s slaying. Senators also approved a non-binding resolution saying that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is responsible Khashoggi’s murder. The bipartisan vote on Thursday comes two months after the Khashoggi’s killing
at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and after Trump has equivocated over who is to blame. US intelligence officials have concluded that Prince Mohammed must have at least known of the plot, but Trump has repeatedly praised the kingdom. Khashoggi was killed on October 2 after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain documents needed for his planned marriage. After offering contradictory statements for several days, Saudi Arabia admitted that Khashoggi was killed inside its consulate and his body was dismembered. The kingdom has repeatedly said Prince Mohammed had no knowledge of the killing, which Turkey said was ordered at the highest level of Saudi leadership. ‘SENDS A MESSAGE’ Frustration with the crown prince and the White
US Senator, Lindsey Graham House prompted several Republicans to support the Yemen resolution, a rebuke to the longtime ally. Others already had concerns about the brutality of the Yemen
war, where a Washingtonbacked Saudi-UAE coalition launched an intervention in 2015 through a massive air campaign targeting Houthi rebels. According to rights
groups and a war monitor, more than 60,000 people have died from the bombing campaign or starvation and other conditions since the war began. The Senate vote on the Yemen resolution was 56-41. It’s unlikely the House will consider the resolution. Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan, reporting from the US Capitol in Washington, DC, said the vote is symbolic and sends a message to the Trump administration that the White House’s control of foreign policy is no longer going to go unchecked. Sama’a al-Hamdani, a Yemen analyst from Georgetown University, added that the vote is “a message to say that the American people have reached out to their senators saying they do not want to be part of this war or responsible for human life and human suffering in Yemen”.
Kaieteur News
Friday December 14, 2018
Govt. will not intervene in M&CC CoI recommendations – Bulkan
G
overnment will al low the Local Government Commission (LGC) to work unhindered on the recommendations from the Commission of Inquiry into City Hall. Among them is a call for criminal investigations to be pursued against several senior city officials. This commitment was given by Minister of Commu-
nities, Ronald Bulkan, during scrutiny of the 2019 budgetary allocations for the Ministry. In response to questions from Opposition Member, Nigel Dharamlall, Bulkan confirmed receiving the report submitted to the LGC. “What I am not in receipt of is any further correspondence from the Local Government Commission on how they propose to deal with the
report itself. The responsibility for taking the process forward lies with the LGC. “They are the ones who will be making the determination as to which of the recommendations in the CoI they will act on,” Bulkan told the National Assembly. Dharamlall sought confirmation of the Minister that the Ministry will not be a hindrance in anyway, towards
Accused Craig poultry farmer murder freed The accused in the murder trial of Edun Poultry farmer, Aga Khan, was freed yesterday after a mixed jury was directed to return a formal verdict of not guilty on his behalf. Mahendra Bishundial was released after State Prosecutors Lisa Cave and Orinthia Schmidt closed their case and Justice Sandil Kissoon ruled in favour of a no case submission presented by his attorney Nigel Hughes. The State has indicated an intention to appeal the ruling. Bishundial was facing a second trial at the High Court before Justice Kissoon for the murder. His first trial had ended in a hung jury. As a result, Justice James Bovell-Drakes ordered a retrial at the High Court. Bishundial had previously denied the charge which alleged that on November 6, 2012 at Busby Dam, Craig, East Bank Demerara, he murdered Khan during the course of a robbery. A police release stated
FREED: Mahendra Bishundial
Dead: Aga Khan
that Khan was attacked by four men, one of whom was armed with a handgun and others with knives. Khan was driving motor lorry GJJ 2806 owned by Edun Poultry Farms, east along Busby Dam, when the men walked into the path of the vehicle causing the driver to stop. One of the men then approached Khan and demanded cash. He was shot to his neck in the process. In-
vestigations were carried out and Bishundial was arrested and charged. Earlier in the trial businessman, Saeed Edun told the court that Khan, a truck driver, was one of his employees. According to Edun, on that tragic day, Khan collected the keys to Canter truck GJJ 2806, while another employee uplifted the bill books and a cellular phone. Edun said that around (Continued on page 33)
the implementation of the recommendations of the CoI. “I don’t propose that the Ministry will be a hindrance in that process,” Bulkan stated. The CoI report was handed over on November 30, last, by lone Commissioner Justice Cecil Kennard (ret’d) to Chairman of the Local Government Commission (LGC), Mortimer Mingo. The CoI found grounds to terminate embattled Town Clerk, Royston King, and institute criminal proceedings against him. The report obtained by Kaieteur News indicated that other senior officers be terminated for their poor management of the affairs of the city; and that where irregularities are found, criminal investigation and charges be laid against defaulting officers. In light of the findings, the CoI recommends that there be further investigations in the form of a forensic audit to be conducted by the Audit Office of Guyana. The report calls for officers to be disciplined even as that audit is being conducted. The senior officers listed included, King, who was sent
on leave to facilitate the CoI. King is cited for gross misconduct, abuse of office, recklessness, dishonesty, conspiracy, and misappropriation of funds. Also listed in the report are Acting Town Clerk, Sharon Harry-Munroe who is cited for dereliction of duty and incompetence; Assistant Town Clerk, Sherry Jerrick, for dereliction of duty and incompetence; Internal Auditor, Omodele Umojo-Newton for incompetence and conspiracy; Chief Constable, Andrew Foo for dereliction of duty and incompetence; Human Resources Manager, Paulette Braithwaite for incompetence; City Engineer, Colvern Venture for incompetence and dereliction of duty; and Rashid Kelman for conspiracy. Further, the report noted that City Treasurer, Ron Mc Calmon, should proceed on early retirement as he is unwell. Kennard posited that it would only be fair that the CoI recommend a detailed forensic audit be done into all transactions between April 1, 2015, and October 31, 2018. “I have found that there
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Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan is prima facie evidence to support skullduggery. Moreover, where there is evidence of such activities, criminal and or civil proceedings should commence forthwith,” Kennard outlined. As it relates to King, the CoI report stated that while it is ‘the easiest of recommendation to make’, he should be terminated, and criminal charges should be laid against him in respect of his actions. The report recommends that the State Asset Recovery Agency (SARA) and the Guyana Police Force should lead a joint probe to ascertain the relevant criminal charge(s) to be laid.
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Friday December 14, 2018
Kaieteur News
Maritime Safety Training Institute launched FOR RENT
SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Graphics design, advertisement, Wedding arch rentals. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. ICONIC MARKETING & PRINTING –TEL: 6006887: We create A/works, logos, business cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included.
FOR SALE Four (4) Pure breed German Shepherd (Black & Tan) Seven (7) weeks old. Tel#650-9998/ 626-0953 Used zinc sheets in good condition, Approximately 30 sheets, 26 ft length each. Contact Nos: 225-4106/6414952 Empty 20lbs Shell/Tex bottle also Acetylene & Oxygen 5 Leyland DAF Flatbed lorry, owner migrating, #228-5655/ 649-8449 Land @ 17 Burial road, Helena #1 Mahaica ECD. Call: 6504431
Eagle’s re-gas AC, Fridge, Washing machine & computer repairs, Gas stove, Plasma flat screen, Electrical installation & more. Call: 697-2969/6460966 Installations, Repairs and parts for AC, Fridge, Washing machine, Stove etc call Nick 627-3206, 630-1600 REPAIRS AT LOW COST: FRIDGES, AIR CONDITIONERS, WASHING MACHINE, FREEZER, SALE OF AC’S. TEL#629-4946,225-4822 We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer-Call: 231-0655; 683-8734. Omar PROPERTY FOR SALE House for rent at Kuru Kuru, Soesdyke Highway #691-8420 22 Hill St, Alboystown $7.5M Negotiable. Contact Shirley McCalmont #718-345-1416 Royston #516-853-4213/6835664/677-9938 3 storyed commercial buliding for sale in Diamond. Contact owners on #676-8129/6438348 Large 3 bedroom classic house in solid condition-all amenities, huge yard, security. Call: 609-7766/225-8427. Price neg, Versailles WBD HEALTH HERBAL REMEDIES: Diabetes, Hypertension, Infertility, Menstrual disorders, Enlarged prostate, Kidney,Gall stones & Arthritis etc. Call Sparman #676-5924
PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Salon for rental, New Market St, Georgetown, also hair/ nails/barber/massage. Makeup stations for rental #638-1106 1 Apt for rent- Bottom flat for rent, for business. Contact Radica Kassim #264-2639 Lot 7-8 Plantain Walk WBD Mini excavator $8,800 per hour, also Bobcat service available. Tel#623-0290 2 Bedroom apartments, 3 bedroom house, 2 living rooms ECD. Contact Mr. Khan #695-6550/656-9313 New 4 Storey Building at Parika (Guyana’s Gateway) near stelling. Willing to divide. Call: 699-4513. Apartments for rent @ Nandy Park $60,000 #641-3318
CAR RENTAL DOLLY’S CAR RENTALCALL:225-7126/ 2263 6 9 3 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL @YAHOO.COM/ WWW.D OLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS FROM $4000 & UP, SUV’S PER DAY- CALL:643-5122/6560087, ,EMAIL:PRO_AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM LAND FOR SALE Farm (East Bank) $3.2M Eccles $7M Herstelling $4M & $5M Schnoord $2.8M Dairy $1.6M & $2.6M Tel#656-0701/6481635
1-3 bedroom house fully furnished $ 1-2 Bedroom. All modern conveniences. please call: 652-3678 Parking & Proper security available. Newly constructed 2 bedroom house and apt in a safe and healthy environment. Call: 698-6496/ 622-6512 FOR SALE/RENT American Pool table. Tel#2770578 Prime land & buildings- 4 minutes’ drive from Soesdyke Junction on the Linden Highway road side. #6523678
WANTED Demerara Bakery Inc. is looking for Distributors, Wholesalers & Retailers. Call us on 266-5847 or email: sales@demerarabakery.com We buy land in Eccles, Herstelling, Farm, Parfaite Harmonie, Uivlugt, Zeelugt, Providence & Dairy Tel# 6117223/651-1969 Experienced Taxi & Private Drivers #227-0638/622-6413 Beautician, Nail Technician, must be qualified & have atleast 1 year in salon experience. Salary/ Commission. Contact#6266450 General Domestic with cooking experience, ages 3055. Call: 226-1100 Wanted experienced taxi hire car driver at Ramada Princess hotel. Contact# 616-5419/2657075 One maid. #621-3080 Wanted 1 person to look after cattle in Mahaicony Creek. #619-9143/614-8857 Person to work and live on Poultry Farm at Yarakabra. Call: 226-0772/225-9304 Experienced salesgirl at American Variety Store Guyana 140 Regent & Light St Bourda, Georgetown One housekeeper for The Millenium Manor Hotel, Apply in person with application, 43 Hadfield & Camp St
The Guyana Maritime Training Institute MatPal and TOTALTEC Academy yesterday collaboratively launched the Maritime Safety Training Institute (MSTI). MSTI is expected to offer state-of-the-art maritime and safety related training programmes. Speaking at the opening ceremony was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MatPal, Colleen Abrams, who stated that the partnership will bring world-class training to Guyana as efforts to develop local content for the oil and gas sector continue. “Through this strategic collaboration we are committed to addressing the issue of local content through training as well as adopting and enforcing the standards that are nationally and internationally accepted, so as to set and keep the bar high as it relates to knowledge and skill transfer,” said Abrams. Senior Vice President of TotalTec Oilfield Services, Mike Henzell, spoke on the hope that the alliance of the two local pioneering companies will ensure worldclass training for locals aspiring to work in the oil and gas sector. “Through this alliance, the Maritime Safety Training Institute will develop stateof-the-art facilities for maritime and safety related training. We are investing in Guyana and its future by employing qualified instructors, equipment and new physical facilities to deliver all facets of this highly specialized training. “Our investment in training and development of Guyanese young men and women is unparalleled and show our strong commitment to investing in people now for the future which is key to building a vibrant workforce that participates in our
One female domestic to work in Trinidad Age 25-35 yrs. Phone#1868-386-5302 LEARN TO DRIVE
Zeelugt $2.3M Tuschen $2.9M Parfaite Harmonie $2M (fenced) Parfaite Harmonie $1.5M #697-6311, 642-1252
N. Outar Driving School, Learn to Drive the right way. Affordable package. Call: 6445166/691-2561
Diamond New Scheme, 5th Avenue Double lot (Million Dollar area) $9.2M. Tel#6039700
VACANCY VEHICLE FOR SALE
3/4 Acre in Kuru Kuru opposite the monument with water, light & foundation. Tel#669-6320, serious inquiry only!
Nissan Laurel Executice antique car, Nissan Pathfinder 4-door Jeep. Superb condition. Price Neg. Call your price. Tel#609-7766/225-8427
ACCOMMODATION
ENTERTAINMENT
Secret Villa & Harmony Inn. Fully furnish, air-condition rooms & apartments. 2256337, 668-0306, 218-1400, 6028769, 266-5243-4
Big G Sounds is available for small events. (Wedding, Small BBQ, Birthday parties etc) Contact numbers #6619931/622-5713/672-9293
Paralegal, must have Immigration experience & Excellent communication skills. Please send CV’s to: moses@rambarranlawfirm.com Experienced land dredge workers for Interior, 1 male bahir $90,000 monthly #6298280 Vacancy for fuel truck/canter driver on EBD, must have valid license. Call: 592-611-3829
VACANCY Vacancy for a domestic maid. Call: 653-4537 Salesgirl & Salesboy for Avinash, Anand’s & Athina’s Branch #226-3361/227-7828 Urgent 1 assistant Cook 1 Domestic. Contact X’s Grill & Cuisine.#695-6550/656-9313 Chef and Assistant cook. Call us on 225-7933 or visit 172 Sheriff Street. Female Cleaner, Office & Home. Age 25-50. Call: 2332745
industry,” Henzell stated. He added that the certification to be issued by the Institute is internationally sanctioned and is in keeping with internationally established standards. “The courses offered by MatPal are all certified by the International Maritime Organisation which is the UN specialised agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping, and the prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution by ships. IPMA training courses are mapped by the UK based institution of occupational safety and health and OPITO standards.” Henzell also said that TOTALTEC’s International Petroleum & Maritime Academy (IPMA) is the only training institution in Guyana which offers full immersion safety and operational training programme into the oil and gas industry including practical training on industry-specific equipment and machinery. He said that MatPal is the only Guyanese training facility that offers maritime training courses which are certified by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). OPITO is the global, not-forprofit, skills body for the energy industry. More than 250,000 people are trained to OPITO standards every year, across 45 countries through over 200 approved training centres. The organisation works with governments and industry employers across the world to develop and implement national and international competency frameworks.
$700M ... From page 27 Kwebanna Village is also benefitting from a multi-year Cassava Flour Processing Facility, while Smith Creek Fish and Crab Facility will also receive additional funding for completion. Agro processing facilities will also be established in Maruranau, Region 9 ($10M), Food processing facility at Bina Hill, Region 9 ($15M), Paruima Fruit Farm, Region 7 ($3M), Santa Cruz Fruit Farm, Region 1($3M), a Lapidary in Monkey Mountain, Region 8 ($5M), an EcoTourism project in Karasabai, Region 9 ($2M), Rest Shelters in Chenapou ($2.5M) and Paramakatoi, Region 8 ($2.2M) and Parishara, Region 9 ($2M). Warapoka Village, Region One is also air marked for support towards improving its community based eco-tourism initiative since the spotting of the much sought after Harpy Eagle.
Friday December 14, 2018
Policeman dies after Herstelling accident Police Sergeant, Joseph Elton Ambrose, died Wednesday night after a fatal accident on Sunday night. The father of two, who has been in the force since 1995 succumbed at about 1:00hrs on Thursday last. According to the force, the rank was known for being pleasant, respected, and committed. The force noted that the late sergeant was on his 500-day leave which began on April 9, last. A post mortem is expected to be conducted today. On the date of the accident Ambrose was reportedly driving motor car PMM 9099 north along the western carriageway of the East Bank Public Road. Reports also stated that he lost control and smashed into motor lorry GLL 5592, which was parked. Ambrose was later rushed by public-spirited citizens to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where he was stabilised before being transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Cor-
poration. Ambrose became the fifth police officer to have been killed on the roads this year. Female Immigration Officer Mauava Chase died in a motorcycle accident at Houston. She was reportedly the pillion rider of the motorcycle which was being ridden by Berket King. King reportedly lost control of the motorcycle along the Houston turn and crashed into a post on the median. Another fatal accident that claimed the life of a police officer was the Loo Creek crash. The late Theon Hope, 24, a Police Corporal of Lamaha Park, was in a motor car that collided with the rear of a motor lorry GWW 8443, with trailer TWW 8912 laden with lumber. The vehicles were travelling in the same direction. A police inspector, Ian Welch, succumbed after his vehicle overturned at Lethem. And the most recent was officer Cordis Joseph who died after crashing the car he had borrowed.
E’bo businessman loses $3.5M in cell phones, laptops during break-in
Scene of the burglarized mobile unit last Sunday morning A popular phone retailer on the Essequibo Coast was in shock last Sunday morning, when he discover that his Canter, which is his mobile cell phone unit, had been broken into. Based on reports reaching this publication, prior to the burglary Nahib Sabar, aka “War Dog,” secured and parked his motor lorry in his Vilvoorden property, last Saturday night. This publication understands that the canter is usually parked at the Anna Regina market. As he explained, however, the Canter was only parked in Vilvoorden on Saturday night, since the business man intended to conduct business at the Suddie Market the following day. Based on a video footage retrieved from the business man’s premises, the incident occurred sometime around 01:00hrs on Sunday, and lasted up till 02:30hrs. The video footage revealed that four persons entered the yard, broke the four
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Kaieteur News
padlocks which secured the back of the motor lorry and then made their way inside. While inside, the perpetrators secured for themselves a number of cell phones along with three laptop computers, all worth some $3.5 million. The business man believes that the move was well thought out, and most likely committed by someone familiar with his operations. He added, “The canter was parked in the yard in front within a secure perimeter and fence. The canter usually parks in Regina, but Saturday it goes there to sell on Sunday at Suddie...so it gotta be people who know the running.” The matter was reported to the police, who continue to lead the investigations. Sabar told Kaieteur News, yesterday, however, that the police have been working very slowly on the case. Since the incident occurred, two individuals were held in police custody for 72 hrs but to date there has been no leads.
He said that during the burglary, the perpetrators left a sock and power bank in the Canter. He noted that he and family were cautious not to destroy sensible evidence on the crime scene. The police on the other hand, he explained, “Grabbed the socks and put it in their pocket and said ‘don’t worry with that.’” The man further explained that the Guyana Police Force can make use of its cybercrime unit, in tracking the cell phones IME numbers. This unique number, he explained, is connected to the phone’s board and will make the device traceable when connected to any of the local phone networks. In the meantime, a $500,000 reward is being offered for anyone having information that will lead to the arrest of the perpetrators. Persons with valuable information were asked to contact businessman Sabar on cell numbers 592-668 6246, or 592696, 4496.
Ram & Mc Rae spreads Christmas glee Ram & Mc Rae yesterday carried the glee of the Christmas season to 25 students of the Patentia Primary School. The visit to the school saw 25 students receiving packed food hampers, bag packs containing school supplies, bread and $5,000 along with snacks. Eight students also received bicycles to use as a mode of transport for school. The organization was represented by Chartered Accountant Christopher Ram, who in an address to the parents urged them to grant their children the opportunity to an education and desist from being dependent on anyone. According to the accountant, the donations are a mean hopefully aiding the households of the sugar workers. He advised the parents that even though times may be hard, especially with the closure of the Wales Sugar Estate they should try as much as possible to ensure their children attend school. The generous dona-
Chartered Accountant, Christopher Ram handing over donations tions were warmly accepted by the teachers, students and parents. This publication under-
stands that the company is visiting Skeldon Primary and Rose Hall Primary, both in Berbice today.
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Kaieteur News
Friday December 14, 2018
Friday December 14, 2018
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Kaieteur News
Govt. still to decide location... From page 28 circumstance and the need to reduce the cost of electricity. These comments were made during a parliamentary meeting of the Committee of Natural Resources. Ramson said, “Considering all that Henson has said, we need to decide soon whether we want to go down the road of gas to power. But the main thing is that we need to decide.” He continued, “If we rule out gas to power then we have to get going on another solution to our electricity woes but this stall is not helpful; in fact it is destructive.” Ramson said that he had seen, in several sections of the media, comments attributed to Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, to the effect that the plant will be stationed at Woodlands, Mahaica, East Coast
Demerara. “What has since happened? The public is not aware. But I can say to you that the government is still to be sure about this location. Otherwise, ExxonMobil would have been much closer to completing its economic analysis.” Ramson said that the eco-
nomic analysis will vary based on the location chosen for the plant to be stationed because that will then translate to how much pipe will be needed to be laid.Also, Ramson said that the location will speak a lot to how much stabilization work will have to be done on the shoreline and where the generators will be placed.
Accused Craig poultry ... From page 11 17:00hrs that said day, he received a phone call from his wife which caused him to leave their home at Busby Dam, Craig, East Bank Demerara. The witness said that the Canter truck was parked along the Dam and he saw Aga Khan and another employee lying inside in a crouching position. The poultry farmer recalled that he transported the injured men to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, after which, he left for the Grove Police Station to inquired about what had transpired. He disclosed that a total of $48,000 was missing from the Canter truck. One Mervin Marcus who was also employed with Edun Poultry Farm at the time of the killing, and a taxi driver also testified when the trial continued.
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WTA gives increased protection for returning mothers on tour for 2019 BBCsport - Mothers returning to tennis will have increased protection for their rankings on the WTA Tour from next season. Players coming back from childbirth, or injury, will now be able to use their previous ranking to enter 12 tournaments over a three-year period. But Serena Williams’ wish for returning mothers to be seeded in line with that ranking has not been granted. The WTA has instead decided to guarantee they will not face a seeded player in a t o u r n a m e n t ’s o p e n i n g round. As things stand, players must begin their comeback within two years, and then have a further year in which they can enter eight events under their protected ranking
- the ranking held at the start of their absence. Those rules also apply to players returning from injury. But there is no protection in place for seedings, with tournaments able to use their own discretion to seed players. A seeding allows tournaments to ensure the world’s best players do not meet in the early stages of competitions and instead play lowerranked players in the opening rounds. Williams returned to the sport in February after giving birth in 2017 and was not seeded at the French Open, her first Grand Slam appearance since her return, but was given a seeding of 25 for Wimbledon, despite being outside the top 32 in the
rankings. The WTA’s rule change comes after the organisation canvassed the opinions of players earlier in the year. World number one Simona Halep and the five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova had both offered their support to Williams, but others like Petra Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka and Johanna Konta expressed their reservations. The WTA has also clarified its clothing rule to ensure Williams is able to wear the black catsuit which caused a major stir at this year’s French Open. She dedicated the outfit to mothers and said it made her feel like a “queen from Wakanda”, in reference to the film Black Panther. ”Leggings and mid-thigh
Friday December 14, 2018 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Ignite the fire in your heart, and make it burn more brightly than before. Keep in mind that you may need to make compromises in order to be on the same page with your lover TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) There are a couple important issues that you may need to resolve, Taurus. Take an active role in the department of love and romance. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) You should enjoy a good mood today, and you will find that things will go well for you in general. Perhaps the only sticky situation that could arise is one that stems from an aggressive approach CANCER(June21–July22) Circumstances of the day may result in some tricky situations for you, Cancer. You could be caught between a rock and a hard place. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Things should go well for you today, Leo. Your romantic nature is piqued. You will find that an aggressive approach toward your loved one is just what's needed to jump-start the relationship. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Stand up and take action. Forces may be pulling on you from all angles, and your challenge will be to maintain a healthy balance among all of them. You have a chance to accomplish a great deal by directing your energies outward
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) You will find that you relate very well to others today, and your communication will prove to be quite valuable. You may find yourself in the position of arbiter simply because you have the detached mind that people need to resolve disputes. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) You may be tempted to shift into high gear today, but you're likely to be unsure where to focus your energy. You may be revved up and anxious to get moving SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) There's apt to be tension between your heart and your general mood, Sagittarius. Your romantic nature will incline you to adopt a selfish, impatient attitude CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) Adjustments may be in order for you to flow easily with the energy of the day. The prevailing tone calls for a more outwardly directed solution to all situations. AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) The prevailing tone today is a mix of conflicting energies that might put some stress on your heart. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) The key today is action, Pisces. There's a great deal of force pressuring you to get the ball rolling. One of these forces may come from a romantic interest waiting for you to make the next move.
Serena Williams reached two Grand Slam finals in 2018, having returned to competitive tennis in February.(GettyImages) length compression shorts may be won with or without a skirt, shorts, or dress,” the new rule reads. But Williams will not be able to wear it at Roland Garros next year, if the French
Tennis Federation president Bernard Giudicelli gets his way. He has pledged to introduce a stricter dress code and says the outfit will no longer be accepted. Other rule changes in-
clude the introduction of shot clocks, which have been used most notably at the US Open, at all Premier Tournaments next year. Players will be given 25 seconds in which to serve. And in an attempt to reduce delays between sets, players will in future be allowed just one bathroom break per match.
Shattas and... From page 43 Mackenzie Sports Club ground.Playing in the Group Three draw of the tournament, Winners Connection got their first goal from Marley Davidson in the 21st minute. But the Panthers, ranked at three above the Winners Connection would equalise through Akeem Caesar in the 33rd minute. But Winners Connection struck again, this time through Jevon Figuiera in the 56th minute, it turned out to be the winning goal. In the Group Two encounter, a Jonah Simon header was the start of a good recovery by Silver Shattas which had lost their opening game against Net Rockers and the other from Randy Pickering ensured they defeated Blueberry Hill 2-1 watched by a fair sized crowd. Royston Fraser had evened things up for Blueberry Hill when he scored in the 45th minute. It means that Blueberry Hill must now win their next game against Net Rockers. That’s if they want to have any real chance of going past this stage of the tournament which would be an uphill task as the second ranked Rockers are on a roll having taken care of Shattas by a 4-0 margin in their first game. On Sunday, Capital FC will face Hi Stars and Topp XX oppose Amelia’s Ward Panthers in what will be crucial encounters as teams vie for slots in the final four of this competition.
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Nadal to join Federer NBA roundup aptors rout W arriors roundup:: R Raptors Warriors in 2019 Laver Cup Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry
Rafael Nadal. Tennis 365 Reuters - Spaniard Rafael Nadal will team up with perennial rival Roger Federer for the third edition of the Laver Cup in Geneva next year. The team event featuring the best of Europe against a World team will be taking place for the third time, with Nadal and Federer also teammates in the inaugural match in 2017. Team Europe non-playing captain Bjorn Borg said having Nadal and Federer was a boost for the September competition. “It doesn’t get much better for a captain than naming both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the Laver Cup in Geneva,” former world number one Borg said in a statement. ”Bringing together two of the greatest players, and rivals, the sport has ever seen together on one team is very exciting for our sport — and will give us the best possible chance to
win the Laver Cup three years in a row.” Federer and Nadal, first and second in the all-time list of men’s Grand Slam winners with 20 and 16 respectively, won a doubles match together at the Laver Cup in Prague in 2017. “I think we all underestimated how powerful it would be to see them sitting side by side, coaching each other and cheering each other on,” Borg said. Swiss Federer, one of the instigators of the event, said having Nadal in the team again after he missed this year’s edition in Chicago due to injury was an exciting prospect. “We had a lot of fun in Prague and it will be very special for me to team up with him again in Switzerland to try and defend our title,” Federer said. Next year’s match will take place on a black court inside Geneva’s 17,000seat Palexpo venue.
Nicolas Chauvin: Stade Francais teenager dies after tackle in game at Bordeaux A teenage rugby player with French side Stade Francais has died after being injured in a game. Nicolas Chauvin, who was 19, suffered a broken neck after a tackle early in a youth match at Bordeaux on Sunday. The injury led to the back-row suffering a cardiac arrest and brain damage due to a lack of oxygen. He was taken to hospital and had emergency surgery on his neck, but in a statement Stade said he died on Wednesday in hospital.
”Today, all our thoughts are with the family of Nicolas to whom all the members of the club send their most sincere condolences,” the club said in a joint statement it issued with the players’ family. He is the second young player to die after injuries sustained in a game this season. In August Stade Aurillacois centre Louis Fajfrowski, 21, collapsed in a changing room shortly after being substituted following a heavy tackle in a match. (BBCsport)
Kyle Lowry scored eight of his team-high 23 points in an early runaway Wednesday night as the Toronto Raptors completed a season-series sweep over the Golden State Warriors with a 113-93 romp in Oakland, Calif. Lowry (12 assists) and Serge Ibaka (20 points, 12 rebounds) recorded doubledoubles, helping Toronto snap a 13-game losing streak at Golden State that dated back to 2004. Kevin Durant led all scorers with 30 points on 13-for-22 shooting for the Warriors, who were held to their third-lowest output of the season. The Raptors, who beat the Clippers in Los Angeles on Tuesday, improved to 6-0 on the second night of backto-backs, doing so despite not having Kawhi Leonard, who sat out both games due to a sore right hip. Early in the second quarter, Toronto center Jonas Valanciunas sustained a dislocated left thumb after getting slapped in the hand by Draymond Green. Valanciunas did not return. Celtics 130, Wizards 125 (OT) Kyrie Irving hit a tiebreaking, 31-foot 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining in overtime, and visiting Boston held off Washington. Bradley Beal and John Wall missed 3point attempts to tie the score before Irving closed out the Celtics’ victory with two free throws. Irving’s 3-pointer with 38.6 seconds left gave the Celtics a two-point lead, but Wall’s jumper tied it with 30.7 seconds to go. Irving scored 38 points and Marcus Morris added 27 for Boston, which won its seventh straight. Pelicans 118, Thunder 114 Anthony Davis had his second consecutive 40-plus point game as host New Orleans cooled off Oklahoma City. Davis, who had 41 points in a loss at Boston on Monday, scored a seasonhigh with 44 points and added 18 rebounds as the Pelicans alternated wins and losses for the ninth consecutive game. Julius Randle added 22 points and 12 rebounds, Jrue Holiday had 20 points and 10 assists and Darius Miller came off the bench to score 10 points. Paul George had 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Thunder, who had won five of their previous six games, Dennis Schroder came off the bench to score 24 points, and Russell Westbrook and Steven Adams had 20 points each. Nets 127, 76ers 124 Spencer Dinwiddie scored a career-high 39 points to lift visiting Brooklyn past Phila-
(7) shoots the basketball against Golden State Warriors forward Alfonzo McKinnie (28). Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
delphia. Allen Crabbe added 20 points and Joe Harris had 14 as the Nets handed the Sixers a rare home loss. The Sixers had been 14-1 at home this season with the previous lone defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Joel Embiid paced the Sixers with 33 points and 17 rebounds while Ben Simmons added 22 points. Furkan Korkmaz had 18 points and T.J. McConnell scored 17. Grizzlies 92, Trail Blazers 83 Mike Conley collected 23 points, six rebounds and six assists, and Memphis used a late 13-0 run to break open a tight game on the way to a victory over visiting Portland. Marc Gasol contributed nine points, seven rebounds, six blocked shots and five assists for the Grizzlies, who had lost six of their previous nine games, including the previous two. CJ McCollum matched his season high by scoring 40 points for the Trail Blazers, who dropped their sixth consecutive road game. Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic combined for 5-for-33 shooting for Portland, which has lost 10 of its past 15 outings overall. Kings 141, Timberwolves 130 Nemanja Bjelica poured in 25 points to lead Sacramento to a win over visiting Minnesota. Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic each scored 20 points for the Kings. Marvin Bagley gave Sacramento a boost with 17 points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench. Reserve Yogi Ferrell added 17 points and six assists in just 16 minutes for the Kings, who have won five of their past six games. Andrew Wiggins led Minnesota with 25 points, and Derrick Rose scored 20. KarlAnthony Towns contributed 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who also
got a double-double from Jeff Teague (12 points, 13 assists). Minnesota lost its third game in a row following a stretch of six wins in seven outings. Hornets 108, Pistons 107 Jeremy Lamb hit a 20footer with 0.3 seconds remaining, and Charlotte rallied for a bizarre victory over visiting Detroit. Lamb’s heroics came after the Hornets stormed back from a 10-point deficit with just over six minutes to play. The Hornets played for one final shot after Detroit’s Langston Galloway hit two free throws for a 106-106 tie with 14.7 seconds left, and Lamb took a pass from a driving Kemba Walker as the clock wound down. The Hornets were called for a technical foul for having too many players on the court after Lamb’s shot, and Galloway hit a free throw with 0.3 remaining to cut the margin to one. However, the Pistons could not get a final shot off before the buzzer. Cavaliers 113, Knicks 106 Rodney Hood hit the goahead jumper with 23.7 seconds remaining as Cleveland lost a 22-point lead before escaping with a victory over visiting New York. The Cavaliers led by 22 with 6:54 left in the second quarter but gradually let the Knicks rally. New York trailed 106-105 after rookie Kevin Knox finished off a transition play with a left-handed dunk off a bounce pass from Emmanuel Mudiay with 32.5 seconds to go. On the next possession, Hood released an 11-foot turnaround shot from inside the paint while using a 2-inch size advantage over 6-foot-6 Frank Ntilikina. The Knicks had a chance to regain the lead, but Mudiay missed a contested 14-footer in the paint, and the Cavaliers’ Cedi Osman grabbed the rebound. Osman made two free throws to put
Cleveland up 109-106. Pacers 113, Bucks 97 Young added 11 rebounds, four assists and five steals as Indiana won its fifth straight game and avenged a 118-101 loss in Milwaukee’s first game in their new arena in October. Victor Oladipo was back in the Pacers lineup after missing the past 11 games with right knee soreness. Oladipo scored 12 points and had 10 rebounds to go along with six assists. Mavericks 114, Hawks 107 Harrison Barnes scored 25 points as Dallas extended its winning streak to three games with a victory over visiting Atlanta. The win also broke the Mavericks’ 10game losing streak to the Hawks, a stretch that began Oct. 30, 2013. Dallas is now 51 in December. The Mavericks also got 24 points from rookie Luka Doncic, who was 12-for-15 from the foul line and added 10 rebounds and six assists. It was the 13th time he scored 20 or more points. Jazz 111, Heat 84 Donovan Mitchell scored 21 points to lead a balanced offensive effort that lifted Utah to a victory over visiting Miami. Derrick Favors added 17 points and eight rebounds and Kyle Korver chipped in 16 points for the Jazz. Rudy Gobert added 10 points and 11 rebounds as Utah snapped a two-game losing streak. Rodney McGruder scored 16 points, Kelly Olynyk added 14 points and Josh Richardson chipped in 11 for the Heat. Miami dropped a game to the Jazz for the first time since the 2015-16 season, snapping the team’s fourgame winning streak over Utah. Thaddeus Young scored 25 points and Myles Turner added 23 points as Indiana led wire-to-wire in a win over visiting Milwaukee.
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Infantino says he has wide support 12 Days of Christmas 50% off for 48-team World Cup in Qatar England Tour of the West Indies 2019
Ticket Offer St. John’s, Antigua – Looking for a great gift to give to family, friend or foe this Christmas? Cricket West Indies announced the launch of its “12 Days of Christmas” ticket promotion for the England Tour of the West Indies 2019, giving fans in each of the Series’ host countries the chance to buy a pair of tickets at half price. ”The England Tour of the West Indies is a cricket series that the whole region looks forward to,” said CWI Commercial Director, Dominic Warne. “The excitement levels are building and so we want to give fans in the host countries a chance to buy an early Christmas present for a loved one or even themselves. We know it’s a time of year when people love giving presents, but also have to watch the dollars in their pockets.” Warne added: “We’re delighted WINDIES legend, Sir Curtly Ambrose, joined us to help spread this Christmas message, since he knows the difference it will make if West Indies fans are there to get behind the team. ”It’s a chance for all fans to get their tickets early and at a great price, using the special promo codes provided.” From yesterday, December 13, until mid-
night Christmas Eve, December 24, and while stocks last, residents in the host territories for the Tour, i.e. Barbados, Antigua, St. Lucia, Grenada and St. Kitts, get 50 per cent off a pair of tickets for any ticket category, when they make their purchase through the www.windiescricket.com website using the “Buy Tickets” button. This means Barbados residents can buy tickets for the Barbados matches only at the discounted price, St. Lucia residents can buy tickets for the St. Lucia matches only at the discounted price, and so on. Fans must use the specific promotional code for their country from the list below to activate the promotion. Ticket booths will open approximately two weeks ahead of each game for fans to buy their tickets in person, albeit with tickets reverting to standard prices. WINDIES are expected to name their Test squad following the third round of the ongoing West Indies Championship in January. England announced last Monday that their Test squad remains the same following their recent Tour of Sri Lanka; Tom Curran and David Willey have been included, but Sam Curran, Liam Dawson and Olly Stone miss out on One-day International selection; and the Twenty20 International squad will be named at a later date.
Anthony Joshua says he wants to fight Deontay Wilder in April
Doha (Reuters) - FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Thursday that a majority of national soccer federations were in favor of expanding the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to 48 teams. Infantino said a decision would be made by March, although it was still not clear whether an enlarged tournament would be feasible as it would be “difficult” to stage in Qatar alone. Qatar has been locked in a bitter dispute with Gulf neighbors Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain that has complicated the prospect of sharing matches in an expanded tournament. Those countries, as well as Egypt, began a diplomatic and trade boycott of Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism. Qatar denies the claims. FIFA last year voted to increase the size of the tournament from 32 to 48 teams starting from 2026 but, since then, Infantino has been mulling the possibility of bringing the change forward to 2022. ”We gathered the opinions as well of our members, the federations,” he told reporters. “So far, of course, the
FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during a news conference in Doha, Qatar December 13, 2018. REUTERS/ Naseem Zeitoon majority are in favor because 16 more teams participating not only means that 16 more countries will have World Cup fever, but 50 or 60 countries will be able to dream of qualifying for the World Cup.” “Whether it is feasible or not is a different question.” Infantino said it was unlikely that Qatar, which has been planning for a 32-team tournament since it was awarded hosting rights in 2010, could manage 16 extra teams on its own. ”Is it feasible to do it only
in Qatar? Difficult probably,” he said, adding that he did not want to share details of discussions with Qatar with the media. ”Is it feasible to have a few games played in neighboring countries? Maybe this is an option.” ”Of course, I’m not naive enough to not know and read the news, and what’s going on, but we are in football not in politics and in football sometimes dreams come true.” Infantino said a decision needed to be made by March because the draw for the qualifying competition is in the summer. He said that, even with 16 additional teams, FIFA was committed to playing the tournament in the original 28-day period “because it was a difficult enough process to decide to move the World Cup to November or December.” He denied that it was too late to make the change. ”For those who think it’s late, I’ve been told that the decision to move the World Cup in 1998 to 32 teams from 24 in 1994 was also taken only four years in advance so there is already a precedent,” he said.
Reggae Girlz get highest FIFA ranking
Joshua’s last bout saw him produce a stunning seventh-round stoppage to beat Alexander Povetkin.(GettyImages) Britain’s Anthony Joshua says he wants to fight WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder in April and has told the American: “I’m running the game.” Joshua holds the IBF, WBO and WBA belts and any bout between the two would unify the heavyweight division. Earlier this week Wilder, who drew with Britain’s Tyson Fury in Los Angeles earlier this month, accused Joshua of “begging” for a fight. “I’m not interested in Tyson Fury - he’s not the champion,” Joshua said. The 29-year-old is yet to confirm an opponent for his
next fight on 13 April at Wembley Stadium, with his promoter Eddie Hearn saying “it comes down to what Wilder wants to do”. Joshua told ESPN: “I’m willing to fight Deontay Wilder on 13 April in London. I don’t know what more I need to do to get that message across. He’s more interested in fighting Tyson Fury. Fury holds no world titles. ”I’ve booked the date in advance, booked the venue in advance. I want to make my point clear in front of everyone - I’m willing to fight any one of these guys, especially the champion Deontay
Wilder. ”I’m the one leading the pack since I made my debut. Five years in, several title defences and I’m running the game. I mean business. I don’t know what more I need to do to get that message across to the world. I can handle my business and I’m willing to do that in the ring.” Following the draw between Wilder and Fury earlier this month the WBC sanctioned a direct rematch. Joshua’s promoter Hearn has previously engaged in failed negotiations with Wilder’s team.
Kingston, Jamaica, CMC – Fresh from their historic qualification for the 2019 FIFA World Cup in France, the Jamaica Reggae Girlz now have another reason to celebrate after receiving their highest ever FIFA ranking. They have moved up 11 places to the 53rd spot in the December edition. The team made the jump after scoring victories Costa Rica, Cuba and Panama in the CONCACAF women’s championship in October. They also moved from sixth to fifth place in CONCACAF and are now the highest ranked team from the Caribbean. Assistant coach of the senior Reggae Girlz, Andrew Price, said the new ranking is a major achievement for the team. “It’s no small
feat they’re ranked at number 53; it’s a major achievement coming from 87 in the prior CONCACAF championships. So it shows the big steps and gains that we have made and we want to continue in the same vein,” Price said. The top ten ranked teams in the world are: the United States, Germany, France, England, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Japan, Sweden and Brazil. Meanwhile the draw for the 2019 women’s world cup will be held tomorrow in Paris at 12 noon Jamaica time. Jamaica is grouped alongside Argentina, Chile, Cameroon and South Africa. President of the Jamaica Football Federation, Michael Ricketts will head the team’s delegation at the draw.
The Reggae Girlz at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup
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Turbo Football Championship
Reynolds led Rangers clinch title; GFC’s search for silverware continues By Calvin Chapman When the final whistle of the Second annual Turbo football championship blew on Wednesday night at the Ministry of Education (MOE) ground, Northern Rangers and their fans erupted into celebration after clinching an excellent 2-1 come from behind victory against rivals Georgetown Football Club (GFC). It has been decades since GFC last tasted silverware and the incumbent troops would’ve felt that they had one hand on the Turbo Championship Cup and the $800,000 first place cash prize after Marcus Wilson fired the men in blue into the lead in the 21st minute. However, Rangers showed intent right after and could’ve scored twice through a one v one opportunities and a Nigel Denny long range effort which smashed the crossbar. But, Denny, who was outspoken in the press before the match, made amends and equalised for his team with a well placed header following a corner in the 41st minute. Northern Rangers’ eldest player, Denny (43 year-old), had posited to this publication that GFC has gotten the better of his side in recent
Rangers’ Stephen Sankar jostles with a GFC player (right) during the final on Wednesday at the MOE ground.
Stephan Reynolds - Skipper of Northern Rangers. meetings and he was out to exact revenge, and when his skipper Stephan Reynolds (18 years-old) smashed in a 25 yard strike from the left; beating GFC’s custodian on his near post in the 63rd minute, the mission was minutes from being complete. Although Rangers found some time to get the equaliser, GFC were outplayed by the Northern Rangers side that
consists predominantly of older players and a cricketer; former Guyana Under-19 leg spinner Steven Sankar. Teenage sensation, Reynolds, was outstanding on left wing with his pace, control and dribbling causing many troubles for the GFC defence and it is remarkable that GFC only lost by one goal with the numerous plays that Rangers created.
West Indies Championship
Shepherd, Motie restrict Leeward Islands Hurricanes Romario Shepherd and Gudakesh Motie shared seven wickets between them as the Leeward Islands Hurricanes were bowled out for 182, batting first against the Guyana Jaguars at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua when the CWI Regional Franchise four-day tournament continued yesterday. Shepherd grabbed 4-36 and Gudakesh Motie 3-23. Devon Thomas top scored for the Islanders with 58 which included eight fours while Montcin Hodge struck seven fours in an even half century. Keacy Carty was the only other batsman to reach double figures with 28. Guyana Jaguars closed the opening day on 36-2 with Tagenarine Chanderpaul on 14 and Clinton Pestano yet to score. Opener Trevon Griffith was run out for 12 while skipper Leon Johnson was removed by Rahkeem Cornwall for six. At Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Windward Islands Volcanoes took first strike and posted 206 all out. Kirk Edwards struck 55 while Taryck Gabriel made 30, Shane Shillingford 25 and Alick Athanaze 20. Imran Khan bagged 747 while Tion Webster took 2-44. Trinidad and Tobago Red Force were 79-1 at stumps. Jeremy Solozano is unbeaten on 46 and Amir Gangoo on 19. At Three Ws Oval, Barbados Pride were bowled out for 167 batting first. Jonathan
Devon Thomas Carter stroked 51 while Aaron Jones made 28, Jomel Warrican 26 and Justin Graves 25. Nikita Miller captured 4-53 while Derval Green claimed 3-10 and Dennis Bulli 2-50. Jamaica Scorpions closed on 102 without loss, trailing by 65 runs. John Campbell hammered nine fours and a six to remain unbeaten on 67 while Chadwick Walton is on 19.
Many GFC fans on the sidelines bemoaned the tired tactics of player/coach Dellon Cadogan, who didn’t feature himself in the game. Speaking to Kaieteur Sport after the match, Reynolds, who will surely be on the radar of some of the Elite clubs of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) when the transfer window opens on January 1st, expressed satisfaction with
his performance and the victory. ”Since I am the captain of the team, I am very happy to have performed well by scoring the vital goal that gave us the victory. I am proud of my team, everyone did their part and we played as a unit, this is a well deserved victory”, Reynolds noted. Meanwhile, earlier in the
evening during the third place playoff, Mahaica Determinators of East Coast Demerara needled city side Santos FC through an Eon Abel goal which was scored on the stroke of half time. A total of 1.5 million in prize money was up for grabs with the runners up pocketing $400,000, third place $300,000 and fourth $200,000.
FINA to launch ‘innovative’ Champions Swim Series BBCsport - Swimming’s international governing body has revealed a new Fina Champions Swim Series will launch in 2019. Olympic champion Adam Peaty said last week that swimming was “stuck in 1970” after Fina forced the cancellation of a new rival event he was backing. Fina hope their “innovative” new format will appease those who have voiced frustrations with their governance in recent years. However, further action could still be taken by unhappy swimmers. BBC Sport understands that over 30 of the world’s best swimmers will meet in London next week to discuss taking further action against the governing body. Last week, Hungarian Olympic champion Katinka Hosszu as well as American duo Michael Andrew and Tom Shields filed lawsuits against Fina in California. They are claiming Fina “violated U.S. anti-trust
Adam Peaty laws” by making moves to block the International Swimming League (ISL) from taking place in Italy this month. Organisers cancelled the competition after alleging the international governing body had threatened to ban any swimmer who raced in the ISL from next year’s World Championships - a claim Fina denies. Hosszu is among the international stars such as Chad
Le Clos, Sarah Sjostrom and Gregorio Paltrinieri who will be joined by Britain’s Peaty, Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, James Guy and Ben Proud for the meeting in London next week. It is understood that launching legal action against Fina in Europe and forming an international swimming union will be among the key areas of discussion.
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GABF President appeals to NSC for backboards at Gymnasium to be sent to Linden
GFF/ExxonMobil International Futsal Festival Fixtures release The GFF/ExxonMobil International Futsal Festival will kick off on December 27 at 18:00hrs with six matches; each being played on the hour culminating with the final match at 23:00hrs. It will feature eight teams placed in two groups includGroup Exhibit Exhibit A B A B Exhibit
GABF President Nigel Hinds (left) his LABA counterpart, Lawrence Simon examining the damaged backboard at the MSC. With the collapse of one of the basketball boards at Mackenzie Sports Club in Linden last month, playing of the sport in the Bauxite Mining Town has been curtailed as a result. As a result of this set back, President of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) visited Linden last weekend cognizant that Linden remains a force at the national level, producing several of the nation’s best players over the years. A concerned Hinds during the course of his stay had a first- hand look at the shattered basketball goal at the MSC Hard Court and held discussions with the Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA) including President Lawrence Simon and a representative team from the Mackenzie Sports Club which was led its President,
Avery Trim. Hinds concluded: “With basketball being one of the sports that has enhanced and provided an opportunity to the youths in Linden it is vital that they get a replacement. We are aware that there are two basketball goals in very good condition that have been dormant at the National Gymnasium but these goals were taken from the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall after new ones were bought in 2016. So it would be good if the National Sports Commission that falls under the Ministry of Social Cohesion acts on the request made by the LABA.” He further asserted: “As we all know sports is a big part of providing recreation providing discipline, having a sense of team orientation and building networks. So we know, and I am speaking as
an executive of the GABF that having the Lindeners access to a place where they can hold their tournaments, it could only be beneficial.” LABA has on its agenda the Wayne Andries Memorial tournament which was scheduled to be held this month as well as an Under-21 tournament; but both are on hold as a result of the damaged goal. Hinds, a former national power forward also pointed out: “That is why we feel if the administration act quickly and responds positively we can get the goals here in Linden, almost immediately, so I am appealing on behalf of LABA and as the President of the GABF for the NSC to assign, not give away to the Mackenzie Sports Club; to assign the basketball goals to the MSC so that basketball can once again be played in Linden.”
South Turkeyen SC 5-a-side football and penalty shootout competition on Sunday The South Turkeyen Sports Committee will be hosting a 5-a-side football and penalty shootout competition at Jubilee Park commencing at 09:30hrs on Sunday. Among the teams slated to take part are Lodge, Sophia A, B, C and D field, Tigerbay, Vryheid’s Lust. The competition is being sponsored by Tent City and Trophy Stall of Bourda Market. The committee will also be staging a walk-a-ton in honour of Johnny Barnwell on Sunday starting at 06:00hrs from Jubilee Park,
Friday December 14, 2018
Kaieteur News
Homestretch Avenue to the National Park. Entrance fee is $200.Meanwhile, One ‘A’ Girls defeated One ‘C’ Girls in the final of the Queen’s College Inter Class competition which was contested recently at Ministry of Education ground. One ‘C’ Girls batted first and managed 35-6 in their allocation of six overs while One ‘A’ Girls responded with 36-2; Lashmee Ganesh made 25. One ‘B’ Girls won the third place playoff game against One ‘D’ Girls. One ‘B’ scored 41-4 while One ‘D’ made 29-3
in reply. In the Boys final, One ‘C’ took first strike and managed 29-5 while One ‘B’ replied with 32-1. Queens College scored 66-2, batting first against ‘C’ House with Ryan Clarke scoring 39; ‘C’ House were limited to 44-6 in reply. Meanwhile ‘A’ team beat ‘C’ team 1-0 to win the Girls’ football game. Trophies were donated by Tent City, Trophy Stall Bourda Market, Lahsmee Ganesh, Owen Hopper, Sameya Khan, P and P Insurance, National Sports Commission and Alisuda Jaisem Singh.
B A A B Exhibit B A A B SF 1 SF 2 Exhibit Exhibit
Match 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
3rd Place 15 FINALS 16
ing Morvant Caledonia United from Trinidad and Tobago, ZV All-Stars from Suriname and a São Paulo selection from Brazil. Other local teams competing are the East Coast All-Stars, Linden All-Stars, Georgetown AllStars and West Demerara All-
Date Thu 27 Dec Thu 27 Dec Thu 27 Dec Thu 27 Dec Thu 27 Dec Thu 27 Dec Fri 28 Dec
Time Venue 18:00hrs C.A.S.H 19:00hrs C.A.S.H 20:00hrs C.A.S.H 21:00hrs C.A.S.H 22:00hrs C.A.S.H 23:00hrs C.A.S.H 19:00hrs C.A.S.H
Fri 28 Dec Fri 28 Dec Fri 28 Dec Fri 28 Dec Sat 29 Dec Sat 29 Dec Sat 29 Dec Sat 29 Dec Sat 29 Dec Sun 30 Dec Sun 30 Dec Sun 30 Dec Sun 30 Dec
20:00hrs C.A.S.H 21:00hrs C.A.S.H 22:00hrs C.A.S.H 23:00hrs C.A.S.H 19:00hrs C.A.S.H 20:00hrs C.A.S.H 21:00hrs C.A.S.H 22:00hrs C.A.S.H 23:00hrs C.A.S.H 18:00hrs C.A.S.H 19:00hrs C.A.S.H 20:00hrs C.A.S.H 21:00hrs C.A.S.H
Sun 30 Dec Sun 30 Dec
22:00hrs C.A.S.H 23:00hrs C.A.S.H
Stars.The winning team will pocket $1.2 million, while the losing finalist will receive half that amount. Third and fourth-placed finishers will pocket $300,000 and $100,000 respectively. Kindly see fixtures below:
Teams East Girls vs West Girls March Pass of Teams Trinidad vs Linden Brazil vs West Demerara Georgetown vs Suriname Guyana vs East Coast Ansa McAl vs Power Producers Brazil vs East Coast Trinidad vs Suriname Georgetown vs Linden Guyana vs West Demerara Annandale Sec vs Lodge Sec East Coast vs West Demerara Suriname vs Linden Trinidad vs Georgetown Guyana vs Brazil TBD TBD Sir Leon U18 vs Chase U18 Mix Up Dominoes vs Gold is Money TBD TBD
Atkinson wins gold
Alia Atkinson Shanghai, China, Dec 13, CMC – Jamaica’s swimming champion Alia Atkinson won gold in the 50 metres breaststroke after clocking 29.05 seconds at the 2018 FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships in Hangzhou here on Wednesday. Atkinson, who is the
world record holder in the event with 28.56 seconds, defeated her arch rival, Lithuania’s Ruta Meiluyte, who won silver. Italy’s Martina Carraro clocked 29.59 seconds to win bronze. It was a late birthday present for the swimming ace who turned 30 on Tuesday. “I am happy to finally get the
gold in the 50m,” Atkinson said. “There (are) a lot of stereotypes about age and I just turned 30 so it’s really cool to see the 30-year-olds still able to do it.” It was Atkinison’s first gold medal in the event at the world championship. She won three silver medals in previous competitions.
Trailblazers claim Winston Murray 37. Bowling for Stiffy Memorial softball title made XI, Aseeb Khan had 3 for 17. Trailblazers won the male category of the Winston Murray Memorial softball competition by defeating Young Warriors in the final played recently at Enterprise ground in Leguan. Young Warriors batted first after winning the toss and were bowled out for 51 in 7.1 overs with
Tyrone Narine scoring 15. Kevin Mahase claimed 4-14 and Brian Roopchand 4-17. Trailblazers, which drew the bye to the final reached 52 in reply, Roopchand led with 34. In the lone semi final, Young warriors batted first and posted 105 in their 10 overs. Tulsieram Premnauth
Stiffy XI replied with 956, Devon Stephen scored 37; Tyrone Narine took 2-12. Young warriors won by 9 runs. Awards were given to Kevin Mahase-most wickets, Tulsieram Premnauth-best batsman, Shoaib Khan-most catches and Roopchandman-of-the-match in the final.
Friday December 14, 2018
Kaieteur News
PAGE 41
Another successful grading exercise held by MAXIDO Adult Self-Defense System
A Green belt student applying a technique.
O
n Saturday last under the watchful eyes of USA-born Ms. Freddie Batchelor, a Director on the Board of MAXIDO Adult Self-Defense System, and its Founder and Chief I n s t r u c t o r, f o u r- t i m e Martial Arts Hall-of-Famer Sensei/Master Max Massiah, nineteen (19) students between the ages of 20 and 62, demonstrated what they were taught over the past seven weeks, with the focus being to display they have grasped the understanding and application of the techniques, termed, “The Simplicity of submission, dislocation, or breakage, in under 4 seconds.” Three of the students were promoted to Yellow belt, 4 to Orange, 4 to Green, and 5 to the current highest-ranking grade, Blue belt. What begun with 6 Orange belts testing (successfully) for Green became only 4 Green, as two students who did exceptionally well (Jamaal Sobers and Kojo McPherson) skipped Green and were graded to Blue. Sobers joined his father (former Magistrate Leslie Sobers, who went from Green to Blue) to total 5 Maxido Blue belts in the popular Self-Defense System which was established in New York, in October 2017. The Founder said the Maxido system has rapidly gained and is increasing the respect of the Martial Arts
Some of the grandaunts pose for a group photo. Community, especially in the USA where it has showcased its devastating effectiveness. Master Max often repeats, “If seven out of every 10 women who were murdered, knew how to defend themselves, at least 5 of them would’ve most likely been alive today.” The Martial Arts veteran with 47 years of practice and study under his belt, said the system was specifically structured for those who may be subjected to bullyism, mugging, robberies, physical abuse, or unlawful assault, such as business owners, professionals and seniors with the priority being to remove the vulnerability of being injured, maimed, or killed. The uniqueness of the system is that students are not taught to “fight” (as in punches or kicks) but are taught to deter by disabling the adversary using techniques with specific aim to stop a fight before it becomes a fight, and the sole goal is to be the victor of any physical confrontation, unscathed as possible, and the aggressor either completely subdued or being the recipient of a limb wrenched out of its socket or a broken bone (or bones). Master (or Sensei) Max (as he is called), stressed that students are taught to only utilise the techniques after all efforts to avoid being hurt by an aggressor are utterly
exhausted, and the only option available is to defend themselves. Then they will respond effectively, with the thought “rather you than me” as they deliver the system motto – Pain Application for Bullies. Director Batchelor said she is happy to see the females who have embraced the Maxido lifestyle, with the comfort those are a less number of women who may suffer injury at the hands of an abusive husband, fiancé, or boyfriend, while adding
that this also goes for males, as there are those who are also abused by their female companions. Everyone needs to learn how to defend themselves, not only for themselves, but to also protect their loved ones. Master Max was in high praise of the students, and congratulated them on their journey to becoming better citizens who can walk the streets with hardly any fear, while earning discipline and self-confidence, yet without complacency.
The Maxido Dojo is located at 166 Waterloo Sts, between Lamaha & New Market Streets. Ms. Batchelor, CEO of Enterprise & Destiny Consulting, Educational, & Public Relations Firm
(USA) will be hosting a 5hour Maxido Training Seminar on Sunday December 16th, at the Dojo, beginning from 12:00hrs. Interested persons can call 609 8132, or email maxmassiah@yahoo.com.
Kaieteur News
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Friday December 14, 2018
KSM Investments Inc. backs KMTC Boxing Day horse race meeting
KSM Investments of Goed Hope, East Coast Demerara has supported the Kennard’s Memorial Turf Club (KMTC) Boxing Day meet which is set for December 26 at the club’s track at Bush Lot, Corentyne. President of the KMTC Cecil Kennard said a number of the country’s top racing stables have already confirmed their participation. Kennard stated that this sponsorship will take care of the winning stable in the Two-year-old Guyana Bred (Maiden) and L-Non winner events, which carry a winning tag of $200,000 and $120,000 respectively. He thanked the business
entity for their support since, according to him, not only his turf club depends on cooperate Guyana, but the entire horse racing fraternity and sports in general. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of KSM Investments Inc., Mahadeo Panchu, added that the company is happy to be part of the event and its one way of giving back to the community. He said that that this is not the first time the company has supported the turf club and confirmed their continued support. Panchu further noted that since Guyana has a diverse culture, sport plays an important role in bringing people together.
”We believe in unity and horse racing is one sport that brings people together, so as a company we want to be a part of that culture.” Seven races are carded for the day with the C Class and Lower event being the feature race which will cover a distance of one mile; the top finisher will ride away with $800,000, second $400,000, third $200,000 and fourth $98,000. The H1 and Lower race along with the three-year-old and over races will see the winners taking home $250,000 and $240,000 respectively. Meanwhile, the two-year-old Guyana bred (maiden) which will be contested over a distance of five furlongs will see the
Arvind Panchu presents the cheque to KMTC Head, Cecil Kennard. winner taking home $200,000; the L-Open: $140,000, L-non winners:
$120,000 and L-non earners $100,000.The races will be run under the regulations of
the Guyana Horse Racing Authority and entries will be closed on Sunday.
Kaieteur News
Friday December 14, 2018
PAGE 43
UDFA/GT Beer Football Shattas and Winners Preparations begin for 2020 Connection secure 2-1 wins in latest round of matches U-19 World Cup
- Guyanese quartet included Randy Pickering and Jonah Simon - Silver Shattas FC As play in the Upper Demerara Football Association/GT Beer championship continued,
Kevlon Anderson St John’s, Antigua – The Guyanese quartet of Kevlon Anderson, Sachin Singh, Ashmead Nedd and Kelvin Umroa are part of the West Indies Under-19 team which began a one-week high performance camp yesterday, as they begin preparations for the 2020 ICC Under-19 World Cup. They will be working under the guidance of Head coach G raeme Wes t and his assistant, Roddy Estwick at the Coolidge Cricket Ground here. During the camp they will also engage in interactive sessions with West Indies cricket great, Sir Curtley Ambrose in a bid to boost their chances of victory in the limited overs cricket tournament.”This is the first step of a journey that will take the players through to the ICC Under-19 World Cup in January and February 2020 with South Africa hosting the biannual event,” West said. ”This will be our first opportunity to work with the players selected from the regional age-group tournaments played in July and August. The main aim of the camp is to observe, assess and educate the players, introducing them to the CWI High Performance syllabus, every player will depart the camp with a training programme that they will begin to work through in the New Year through their territories.” West has been head coach for last two ICC Under-19 World Cups, and was the man at the helm when the Windies won the title in Bangladesh two years ago. Estwick,
Kelvin Umroa
Graeme West meanwhile, is of the region’s most experienced coaches, and recently worked with the Windies Women’s during their impressive showing at the ICC Women’s World T20 in the Caribbean. The squad for the camp includes three players who competed in the ICC Under19 World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year: opener Kimani Melius, fast bowling all-rounder Nyeem Young and left-arm slow bowler, Ashmead Nedd. Full Squad: Matthew Forde (Barbados), Nyeem Young (Barbados), Nico Reifer (Barbados), Antonio Morris (Barbados), Kevlon Anderson (Guyana), Sachin Singh (Guyana), Ashmead Nedd (Guyana), Kelvin Umroa (Guyana), Jayden S e a l e s ( Tr i n i d a d a n d Tobago), Joshua James (Trinidad and Tobago), Rivaldo Ramlogan (Trinidad and Tobago), Leonardo J u l i a n ( Tr i n i d a d a n d To b a g o ) , Av i n a s h Mahibirsingh (Trinidad and Tobago), Matthew Patrick (Trinidad and Tobago), Elroy Francis (Leeward Islands), Zawandi White (Leeward Islands), Daniel Beckford (Jamaica), Kirk McKenzie (Jamaica), Kimani Melius (Windward Islands).
Silver Shattas kept their chances of reaching the final four alive by turning back the challenge of Blueberry Hill
Jevon Figuiera and Marley Davidson Winners Connection FC United handing them their first loss while Winners Connection jump started their campaign with a 2-1
victory against Amelia’s Wa r d P a n t h e r s o n Wednesday night last at the (Continued on page 36)
t r o Sp
Champions! Northern Rangers FC celebrating after winning the 2nd Annual Turbo Knockout Cup.
Turbo Football C/Ship
Reynolds led Rangers clinch title; GFC’s search for silverware continues Preparations begin for 2020 U-19 World Cup
West Indies Championship
- Guyanese quartet included
Gudakesh Motie
Shepherd, Motie restrict Leeward Islands Hurricanes
Romario Shepherd
Sachine Singh
Ashmead Nedd
GFF/STAG Super 16 Knockout tourney kicks off today
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