Monday December 30, 2019
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Kaieteur News
GECOM invites local elections ExxonMobil keeps Guyana in dark over massive gas finds observers for accreditation With less than three months remaining for the General and Regional Elections to be held on March 2, 2020, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has invited local elections observers to be considered for accreditation to observe the election polls. According to the Commission, interested groups should be familiar and experienced about electoral laws and procedures. Further, previous experience of election monitoring and/or other relevant experience or knowhow and specific training, national and/or international training, ability to maintain professional independence and strict impartiality in the conduct of duties and
demonstrated commitment to democracy and human rights, were also mentioned by the Commission. Additionally, the Terms of Reference for Local Observers states that interested groups must “Refrain from any action which indicates, or is capable of being seen as indicating partisan support for any candidate, political party, political actor or tendency.” The Terms of Reference also prevent observers from expressing views on subjects which are likely to be issues at the election and in particular refrain from communicating with voters on matters of partisan significance. Observers are also to refrain from taking part in
Miner robbed of raw gold, cash by cutlass wielding thieves Fifty-year-old miner, Joao Dsosristinto is now over $1M poorer after a scary confrontation Friday evening with two cutlass-wielding robbers. The incident allegedly occurred at around 23:30 hrs at Takatu Backdam, Cayuni River. The miner of Lot 2466 Block 8 Tuschen Housing Scheme, East Bank Essequibo was asleep at his mining camp, Takutu Backdam, Puruni Road along with his cook and another worker when the robbers attacked. Dsosristinto stated that the men, both brandishing cutlasses, instructed him “not to scream” and then proceeded to tie his hands and feet. “They tie me up and search up the camp…they had on dark clothes and they
- two held face tie up so I couldn’t see.” The men then grabbed up $850,000, 14 pennyweights of raw good valued, $186,000, a Samsung S7 cell phone value $50,000, a Samsung cellular phone valued $15,000, and four bottles of Kaiak perfume value $58,000 before escaping. But next day, police ranks from the area, acting on information, ventured to the Bartica Ferry Stelling and arrested two suspects in a Parika bound vessel. They were escorted to Bartica Police Station where a search was conducted and the items and cash to the tune of GYD$400,000 were recovered. The men later confessed to robbing the miner.
functions or activities, which could lead to perceptions of sympathy for a particular candidate, political party, political actor or tendency; for example, visits to military installations, or visits to official ceremonies sponsored by political parties. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had previously approved several international organisations to serve as Electoral Observers for the upcoming general and regional elections. Among those approved are the Carter Center, the Organization of American States and the Commonwealth Secretariat. Other groups, which have shown interest are the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU); the Private Sector Commission (PSC); the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and the American Chamber of Commerce in Guyana (AmCham Guyana). Earlier, Chair of the Commission, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, had stated that in preparation for elections, the Commission is working along with the international community for assistance, while local observers will be accredited.
From 2015 to now, ExxonMobil has made 15 discoveries of oil wells offshore Guyana. It has always been keen to divulge details to the citizenry about the significance of its oil finds. But the same cannot be said for its gas discoveries. Up to three months ago, the oil operator told the media that it is still analysing the full contents of its finds. This was in response to questions about how much gas it has discovered to date and whether that amount is significant. In the meantime however, it has informed the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) that between 30 to 50 million cubic feet per day of Natural Gas (NG) can be made available for electricity generation in Guyana. This was outlined in a loan agreement between the Government and the IDB. Making this known to the financial institution was ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL). Together with Renewable Energy (RE) sources, the Bank said that this could transform the electricity
- but reveals details to IDB
generation sector. Further to this, the Bank said that the use of NG could help to lower carbon emissions and ensure cost savings, while benefiting residential, commercial, and industrial consumers. For decades, the IDB noted that Guyana has remained dependent on the imports of fossil fuels for its energy needs. In fact, it was keen to highlight that the main electricity generation assets of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) are Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) and Light Fuel Oil (LFO). As a point of interest, the bank highlighted that in 2012, GPL paid as much as US$110 million for imported HFO and
LFO. It said that the decline in oil prices that started in 2014 has provided some relief to GPL, as its import bill in 2017 was US$67 million for similar volumes. The IDB said that oil prices, however, have begun an upward swing over recent months; while noting that this exposes the country to oil price volatility and fuel availability for electricity generation, which for years has resulted in expensive electricity production with an average tariff of US$0.30/ kilowatt hour (kWh) representing one of the highest rates in the Latin American and Caribbean region.
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Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
EDITORIAL
Longer prison terms are a kneejerk response The sentencing of criminals should serve several purposes, but primarily these might be retribution, deterrence, prevention and rehabilitation. Courts and prisons are not most voters’ top priority – as can be seen from the budgetary allocations to justice budgets since 2010. Until recently, these were the lowest among any government department. But they are understood to be necessary, along with the police, to ensure that laws are enforced. Two high-profile recent failures have thrown an unforgiving light on sentencing and the wider justice system of which it is part. While there are lessons to be learned from both cases, so far the reaction has been disappointingly kneejerk. In the United Kingdom the promise expected in the Queen’s speech, to increase the minimum portion of a jail sentence that some violent offenders must serve, from a half to two-thirds, may turn out to be popular. It is not a serious effort to confront the crisis engulfing our prisons, probation service and courts. Usman Khan, who murdered two people before being killed by police at London Bridge last month, was freed from prison on licence in 2018 after serving a sentence for terror offences committed in 2012. His actions caused a huge row in the middle of the election campaign, with Boris Johnson shamelessly attempting to pin the blame for his release on Labour in the face of protests from one of the victim’s parents. While it is easy to point to “softness” as a contributory factor in such disasters, the complexity resulting from frequent policy changes was also responsible for a situation that saw convicted terrorists released, for a period, without going before a parole board (it is disputed whether or not a parole hearing was among the court of appeal’s recommendations when Khan’s original sentence was reduced). Joseph McCann, who was sentenced to 33 life sentences last week for a horrific series of rapes and kidnappings committed against 11 women and children earlier this year, should have been recalled to prison when he was convicted of burglary in 2017, under the terms of a previous sentence. That this did not happen has been blamed on probation officers. But while no system is perfect, and service providers must be accountable, it should also be recognised that this mistake took place in the context of cuts, and workloads found by some prison wardens to be “unmanageable”. The starting point for an intelligent discussion of these cases, and others in which former prisoners reoffend, must be to recognise that the issues are complicated. Unless everyone who commits a crime is to be locked up forever, there is no alternative but to try to balance risks. Imprisonment for public protection sentences, such as Khan’s, were abolished after the European court of human rights declared them unlawful in light of prisoners being denied the rehabilitation courses they needed (and jails becoming overcrowded as a result). This is not an argument against long sentences where they are warranted, or against paying attention to public opinion. The justice system itself should be more outward-facing (without cameras in courts, the public is shielded from the destructive effects of cuts, unlike in hospitals or schools). Simpler judgments, with copies given to victims as well as defendants, would help. But if politicians want the system to command public confidence, they need to set an example. Mr Johnson and his home secretary, Priti Patel, should give up their authoritarian signalling, and foolish threats to “terrify criminals”, in favour of substantive change. (Adapted from The Guardian)
Monday December 30, 2019
Alternative Facts or the Big Lie: The tragedy that is politics in Guyana DEAR EDITOR, My attention was recently drawn to the use of this age old strategy particularly by those in the political arena and seekers of high office. What is worst however, is the fact that these alternative facts are believed and in many instances acted upon by the gullible. Students of history can attest to its use by those who colonised Africa and so many parts of our region while brutalising the people of those countries by spreading the lie that they are less than human. Results, the tragedy of Enslavement. Hitler and his “Big Lie” resulted in the Jewish Holocaust. The underlying thrust is, tell a lie loud enough and often enough that sooner or later it gets to be
accepted as fact. Donald Trump as dumb and as incompetent as he is has mastered this technique. What gets lost however during the employ of this strategy is Truth and Fact and unfortunately, the gullible public seldom questions or do their own fact checking in most cases, until it’s too late. In the meanwhile, the purveyors of these colossal stories continue with business as usual and more of the same. They are never held to account or change their behaviours. As we in Guyana prepare for the upcoming elections, the public is bombarded with an avalanche of these ‘Alternative Facts’ and what is so tragic in the context of Guyana is once in office/
power, these guys do the very same things and in some instances worst than those they replace, the losers are the people; it’s a never ending circle. Others will only continue to do to us what we let them. Therefore, it’s up to the voting public to demand change and the place to do that is the ballot box. But will it be done by the voting public? I have my doubts, as I listen to some of the ‘Tripe’ coming out of press conferences in Guyana and the 6th grade nonsense coming out of Trump’s mouth at his MAGA, ‘Make America Great Again’ meetings and observe the enthusiasm of his hearers. I can only conclude, we get exactly what we deserve in allowing these
snake oil salesmen to feed us the crap that they do over and over and over again. It has been said before in the context of Guyana’s politics, we need a truly representative government, one that reflects all of our people or at least the two major ethnic groups while respecting the rights of all the other groups. A coalition with the dominant group calling all the shots is doomed to fail, as distasteful as it may be to Afro and Indian Guyanese, these political groups PNC, PPP need to get back to their original intent. That experiment failed, but isn’t it worth a try for the good of our country? Respectfully, Claudeston G. Massiah
People distrust government to manage oil The public does not trust government (politicians in general) to manage the new developing oil and gas industry in light of what they say is an ‘unfair contract’ negotiated by political figures, and the nation also do not think they would benefit much from energy revenues. Instead, the population feel politicians and or their ‘partners’ have been and would be the major beneficiaries of contracts and revenues relating to the nascent fossil fuel industry. The poll also found that Bharrat Jagdeo and President David Granger have the highest favourable ratings in the country. These are some of the findings of the opinion poll conducted in early December by the North American Caribbean Teachers Association (NACTA). The poll was carried out by Dr. Vishnu Bisram. The poll interviewed 650 likely voters at random to represent the demographics o f t h e population (39% Indians, 30% Africans, 20% Mixed, 10% Amerindians, and 1% other ethnic categories). The results have a margin of error of 4% at a confidence level of 95%. Based on the findings of the survey, 84% said the country is moving in the wrong direction with only 11% saying it is moving in the right direction. Large majorities worry about government’s handling of public security, economy, oil industry, corruption, ethnic relations, and health care, among other national matters. Ministers who stood out among government and some opposition supporters for effective performance include David Patterson, Amna Ally,
Dawn Hastings, Volda Lawrence, George Norton, Jaipaul Sharma, Valerie Garrido Lowe, Karen Cummings, Sydney Allicock, Ronald Bulkan, and Cathy Hughes. Respondents praise Jaipaul Sharma for his honesty describing him as perhaps the most honest Minister in the government. Voters rate Anil Nandlall as the most effective opposition MP aside from Jagdeo. Asked if they trust government (politicians) to manage the oil industry, 87% said ‘no, with only 5% saying yes and 8% not giving an opinion. Asked who would benefit most from the oil industry, only 12% said the population at large would be the primary beneficiaries with 78% saying politicians, their friends, and those with connection with government and the oil companies would benefit the most. The remaining 10% offered no opinion. Asked who they would trust more as President of t h e c o u n t r y, v o t e r s a r e polarised by party and ethnic lines with those backing the APNU-led Coalition preferring Granger and those supporting the PPP expressing a preference for Irfaan Ali. While almost everyone said they would trust a well known respectable figure like Ralph Ramkarran as President of the country, he, like the leaders of the other minor parties trail in popular support. The challenge facing the Presidential candidates of the minor parties is, apart
from Ramkarran and Vishnu Bandhu, they are not well known nationally. Among the small numbers of voters who are familiar with Badal, Lennox Shuman, Rhonda Ann Lam, Asha Kissoon, Craig Sylvester, and others, they are trusted. Voters are also divided along party lines on the questions of who they feel would make for a most effective President and who they would prefer to manage the economy. Among those who know Robert Badal of Change Guyana, they almost unanimously prefer him to manage the economy citing his business success. It is generally believed by voters that a business CEO like Badal will do a better job managing the economy than the other Presidential candidates. Asked if they think the Guyana High Court and Appeals Court rendered fair judgments in political cases, 40% said yes with 53% saying no and 7% not offering an opinion. In terms of ratings of political figures, Jagdeo leads with 65% favourability and 30% unfavourable views of him. President Granger ’s ratings are 48%- 46% nationally, but among traditional coalition
supporters his favourability rating is 92%. Granger is by far the most popular figure in the ruling coalition exceeded only by First Lady Sandra Granger whose likability among supporters is 98%; she also is liked among significant supporters of the opposition. The Presidential candidates of the minor parties, apart from Ramkarran, are not well known with most respondents saying they do not know enough about them to offer a favourable or unfavourable rating. Ramkarran came in for almost unanimous favourability among those who know him. And Badal also has high favourability among those who know him. President Granger came in for kudos over his handling of the fatal accident involving his security detail some two months ago and for addressing the recent spate of traffic fatalities. Asked which party they think would win the elections, respondents are divided along ethnic and party lines with a significant number of voters saying neither major party will win a majority describing such an outcome as best for the nation to force inter-party cooperation. Vishnu Bisram
A twist in the plot may unfold in the new year DEAR EDITOR, Guyana’s Ambassador to the United Nations H.E Rudolph Michael Ten Pow submitted his resignation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday 27th December 2019. So begins the final
chapter of a coup that had enough intrigue and blood on the floor to satisfy fans of Machiavelli and Tarantino alike. The final act in the play also reveals the true protagonist behind the power (Continued on page 6)
Monday December 30, 2019
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A New Year’s Wish for my Guyana El Dorado DEAR EDITOR, If there is one lesson life teaches us is that wishing does not make it so. Let us be truly honest to ourselves. How often do we abandon our New Year’s resolutions after January? We get stuck and return to old habits that are in no way helping the people, and by extension the country progress the way it should be. On a cautionary note, let it be known that I abhor wishing; preferring instead to remain steadfast in the realm of reality. According to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, considered the greatest German literary figure of the modern era, “Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Wishing is not enough we must do.” Notwithstanding, here are my New Year revolutions for my country and its residents: A prompt cessation to the vehicular homicides. Roads are indicators of development bringing huge benefits to communities as socioeconomic and logistic facilitators. No longer can we stand by and allow them to be transformed into racing circuits and funeral biers. No more blood should be spilled on our highways and byways. The cessation of the railroads (Georgetown— Rosignol, Vreed-en-Hoop – Parika), and public transit system of old, which was basically a wooden super structure imposed on the chassis of a truck, brought in its wake the growth of road network. However, it is blatantly obvious that as a people we have failed miserably where road courtesy and road management is concerned, based on the number of road death that has caused severe civic pain and anguish from premature deaths of productive age groups. Vehicles that are poorly maintained contribute to r e d u c e d r o a d s a f e t y, whereas properly
maintained vehicles always safeguard both the passengers and the pedestrians. Most accidents from vehicle failure are preventable, and motorists need to know the importance of proper maintenance. From henceforth all cars/ minivans/ maxi-trans/ minibus/ transportation for us, etc. should be subjected to vehicular inspection and a certification bearing their roadworthiness be affixed to the inside of the vehicle. Those found in noncompliance should have the vehicle immediately confiscated and a hefty penalty imposed —- hefty enough to cause the perpetrator to give serious consideration to an instant change in occupational livelihood Speeding and speed limit. Speeding has been referred to as the bandmaster of the road crash orchestra. God knows we need to slow down. Speeding triggers deadly accidents, for the faster a vehicle travels, then the higher the impact. Chiefly among the remedial measures to be initiated would be automatic suspension of driving licences, impounding of vehicle, application of demerit points, strategic positioning of traffic policemen with speed and radar guns, institution of speed bumps etc., provision of signals for both vehicular and pedestrian traffic at all major intersections in Georgetown and outlying areas. The duration of loss of a driver’s licence should vary depending on the severity of the infraction and could range from six months to life. Plainly, put the penalty should send resounding deterrent to all other drivers; in so much that instead of loud vulgar
music being blasted while driving, passengers would be listening instead to hymns and oratories to the Father above. A harsh example set will bring about a change you can bet. When the breadwinner can no longer earn his livelihood, there is no alternative but to become good. Before the receipt of a s u s p e n d e d d r i v e r ’s licence, the criminal should successfully complete a r o a d t e s t a n d d r i v e r ’s examination, in addition to being on probation/ surveillance for a period not exceeding one year. His driving record kept by the License Bureau should contain all evidence of his driving and road infractions. The modus operandi of the organisers of Drivers Education Schools should be regularly examined, to ensure teaching programmes in conformity with road rules and their application by potential drivers. Additionally, there should be regular Road Awareness Programmes held in conjunction with schools, the public and The Police Traffic Department. Retraining and sensitisation on avoidable risky behaviours be imparted to professional and non-professional drivers in a systematic manner and to be a part of curricular education. Random breath testing at police checkpoints and both breath and blood testing of all drivers involved in crashes should
be conducted on all drivers involved in crashes regardless of fatalities or not. Tough on the spot penalties to be imposed. Stringent laws need to be applied or put in place regarding seat belts. Belts s h o u l d b e m a n d a t o r y, especially for driver and front seat passengers with mandatory fines imposed when failure to be strapped in is evident. Although not an attributable cause, inability to wear a seat belt may increase the coincidental thrown out from or smash inside the vehicles, or go through the windshield leading to fatality. In our tech-savvy new millennium there is a plethora of distractions that considerably reduce driving performance — use of cell phones, text messaging, grooming while driving can all impair safety while driving. It has become a hazardous fashion to use cell phones while driving. To compound this deadly issue is the application of audiovisual gadgets fitted to the vehicle leading to further distraction. The government needs to be proactive on this issue at the earliest opportunity. Environmental factor infrastructure, namely the quality and maintenance of the road also has a large and important role to play. Road conditions in some parts of the nation are in an unacceptable condition, seemingly not built with long-term vision of town
and country planning, or an eye to the future to accommodate more vehicles down the line in the next few decades. The current road safety standard needs to be a d d r e s s e d — conspicuously missing on a number of roads are wellmaintained signals, signage and marking including lane marking, erratic and unreliable traffic signals are a common experience. Also wherever possible the government should aim to install sufficiently high dividers to avert face –to-face collision in the case of two way traffic. It has been rumoured that despite the increase in the number of vehicles on the streets of Guyana, globally accepted safety features are absent from the majority of vehicles for reasons of cost-cutting market competition , and are available only to high end vehicles. As a consequence, safety norms of transportation vehicles plying the streets of Eldorado are sadly far behind international standards. This is a pressing need that should be addressed immediately to save further lives. The process of issuance of driver’s licence also needs to be reexamined. The roads in Guyana need to be made safer for all citizens in order to save the productive age group population. Such a move will favourably affect the overall growth of the
country since a large percentage of population – children, pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and the elderly – are most vulnerable on unsafe roads. The government must adopt a holistic approach to road safety involving all stakeholders from police to education with targeted and sustainable multisectoral, multidisciplinary intersectoral approach with optimal coordination mechanism and evaluation of outcomes. A Road Traffic Injury Registry should be initiated. T h e M o t o r Ve h i c l e Department should be overhauled, with personnel with managerial skills taking “center stage”—Those who will be competent to, implement stringent licensing procedures, and enucleate the traffic policemen on the road thereby halting corruption in traffic management and fine collection. In addition to the government, the Police Department must play their part, and this they must do right from the start. Regarding the carnage on the streets, their personnel certain qualities must meet. The public has said that if the police you pay, they’ll overlook the crime and send you on your way. 2019 will soon be over and left behind. To the families and children of road victims a word of cheer—We will strive to make 2020 a Road Traffic Awareness Year. Yvonne Sam
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Monday December 30, 2019
World’s Longest-Serving Region 10 RDC commends media coverage Ruler Must Reveal His DEAR EDITOR, theirs. that other RDCs should activities and events taking Assets for an IMF Bailout Regional Executive Officer of Region 10, Mr. Orrin Gordon, has commended the coverage provided by the media in Region 10 to its statutory meetings over the past four years. Gordon commended the media during this month’s statutory meeting where he said that the media’s role was critically important in advancing development through public education and building cohesive relationships among the various committees. “I must applaud the media for their role during the coverage of the monthly statutory meetings of the RDC and to say that while we would not have always received positive coverage from the media for what we were doing. I can say that their active and investigative courage have certainly kept us on our feet,” Gordon said. He stressed that the media as the fourth estate plays a pivotal role and noted that it took some councillors a while to understand that the media’s role is equally as important as
He said that it is his wish that when the next council is sworn in that the media will continue holding the councillors and other public officials within the region accountable as highlighting and or publicising what they are doing is very important. “The media kept the public informed, they ensured that the residents were educated and sensitised on what was taking place so that persons were not left in the dark as the public needs to know how the decisions taken at the statutory meetings will and are affecting them. As such, I would like to commend the media while we did not attract several media houses those that patiently and diligently attended certainly did a remarkable job. As the Clerk of the Council and REO for Region 10, I would like to join with the other officers within the administration to publicly thank and congratulate them,” Gordon said. Regional Chairman Renis Morian said that like the REO, he was impressed with the coverage provided and felt
emulate what Region 10 did. He said that no council can build a truly cohesive relationship among the councillors without including the media, noting that it is the media who will help in better disseminating information from the RDC meetings. “When I started as the Regional Chairman in 2015, there were a number of concerns from some councillors about the media actively attending and covering the meetings as some persons felt that the media would want to push their own agenda. However, I indicated that the media should and will be allowed as they have a responsibility also to the public. I will admit that there were times that I was not pleased in how some media houses carry stories but overall I am satisfied that the main objective of educating and informing the public was certainly achieved,” RC Morian said. He echoed similar sentiments from the REO that the media houses in Region 10 have certainly benefitted from covering a number of
place within the region, noting that two of the journalists that consistently attended RDC meetings were winners at both the Guyana Press Association and the PAHO Media Awards recently. This, he said, is certainly an indication that the media were active within the region. He is hopeful that they will continue their aggressive coverage of issues that are of national and regional importance. “As a region, we must ensure that the media is involved in the dissemination of information to the residents as while the councillors will disseminate to their constituents, we must ensure that it is disseminated accurately and balanced and the media’s role is one that will allow them to do just that. This will ensure that the information is not twisted to suit anyone’s personal and or political agendas,” the Regional Chairman declared. Public Relations Department Regional Democratic Council Region 10
A twist in the plot may unfold in the new... From page 4 struggle that has wreaked havoc within Guyana’s Foreign Service. Will there be a new Ambassador to the United Nations in early 2020? Who could orchestrate the firing of the DirectorGeneral of the Ministry, Audrey Jardine-Waddel, while she was away on travel leave and thus unable to fight to retain her position and defend the special structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? Who could persuade the new Minister to go against the will of the politically powerful Secretary-General of the
Ministry, Carl Greenidge? It was no mean feat to emasculate the former Minister who still holds Presidential ambitions. Make no mistake; this entire episode is a masterclass in political intrigue; high-risk and great reward. A PNC advisor was the public face of the campaign for the Chairmanship of the Group 77, even that advisor may have been deceived as to the true intent of the wily protagonist. As Guyana’s strange behaviour and voting patterns at the United Nations attracted criticism from Ambassadors and Foreign Service Officers, complaints were made to the Director-
General, who went to her line Minister for redress only to find the ties that bind are a religion greater than the Foreign Service. When the DG attempted to go over the head of the Minister to President Granger directly, the die was cast and she was terminated clandestinely, while away on leave. Mrs. Jardine –Waddel has been offered an ambassadorship to ease the pain of betrayal; I sincerely hope that it does. I see no need to name the protagonist in this ‘Descriptive’ piece, for Newspapers and their Editors, are facing a torrid ton of lawsuits; facing claims
beyond the value of a thousand Troy pounds of gold. The protagonist may yet be walking betwixt the raindrops, but once unmasked, may well face a deluge of anger caused by the treacherous actions. Friends may become foes before the second Sabbath o f t h e N e w Ye a r i s observed. Will the new Ambassador to the United Nations please stand up? Does he/she dare? I look forward to the new year with some small anticipation of a twist in the plot to see good yet triumph over this evil. “Oh, ye of little faith.” Respectfully, Robin Singh
(Bloomberg) — Equatorial Guinea’s leader Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the world’s longest-serving president, should declare his assets before the nation receives more financial support, according to the International Monetary Fund. The central African country needs an IMF bailout to deal with a crisis that shrank its economy by a third to $13 billion last year. Under a program agreed to last week, the state will be required to increase transparency, improve governance and implement reforms to fight corruption, Lisandro Abrego, the lender’s mission chief for Equatorial Guinea, said in an interview. “Authorities will implement an assetdeclaration regime for senior public officials as part of the program’s requirements,” he said by phone from Washington. “It’s our understanding that the law will apply to all senior government officials.” Obiang, in power since August 1979, and his regime have been accused by prosecutors in the U.S. and France of squandering the tiny Central African’s vast oil wealth. As recently as 2017, Equatorial Guinea was as rich in per-capita terms as its former colonial master Spain. Today, OPEC’s smallest member is struggling to pay its debts after oil prices collapsed in 2014. The government has piled up arrears with construction firms that equate to almost 19% of its gross domestic product, according to the World Bank. “The economy has been hit hard by the decline in oil and gas prices, which has affected export earnings and led to a virtual depletion of foreign assets,” Lisandro said. “The economy has also been affected by longstanding governance and corruption problems.” Audits by the government of state-owned oil and gas companies are already under way and should be completed by mid-2020, Lisandro said. All active oil and gas contracts are expected to be made public by March, he said. The IMF will also require Equatorial Guinea to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, which promotes good governance in the oil and mining industries. The country initially applied in 2008 and has since implemented several reforms to meet the membership requirements. Authorities filed a new application last month, Lisandro said. Calls and text messages
Equatorial Guinea’s President, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo to Finance Minister Cesar Mba Abogo seeking comment went unanswered. A Finance Ministry official didn’t reply to questions sent by text message. Money-Laundering Case The IMF last week gave the green light to a $280 million loan to Equatorial Guinea, $40 million of which has already been dispersed. The loan roughly equates to what Obiang’s oldest son and vice president, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, spent between 2000 and 2011 buying luxury properties on four continents and assets including Michael Jackson memorabilia, documents filed in a 2013 U.S. Department of Justice money-laundering case show. The case was settled the following year. The president’s son received a three-year suspended jail term and a $35 million fine from a French court in 2017 for spending tens of millions of dollars in public funds on a mansion, sports cars and jewelry. In September, Swiss authorities raised $27 million in an auction of exclusive cars they’d seized from him, including a limitededition Lamborghini Veneno roadster that sold for $8.4 million. He’s denied any wrongdoing. Human-rights and anticorruption advocates have questioned why the IMF is lending its credibility to “a regime with no previous record of serious reform,” Sarah Saadoun, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, said in an interview. “With no external pressure, besides the IMF, there’s a risk that the loan will fund the same lifestyle that the oil wealth has upheld for 25 years,” Saadoun said by phone from New York. Oil was discovered in Equatorial Guinea in the 1990s. Revenues from offshore oil fields supported investments in large infrastructure programs but left little room for social projects. Less than half of the 1.3 million population has access to clean drinking water and 20% of children die before the age of five, according to United Nations data.
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World Bank to help Guyana audit PSAs, analyse estimates of oil resources
The World Bank, one of Guyana’s crucial development partners, will be providing support for the oil and gas sector, specifically as it relates to cost audits of Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs). The Bank will also provide independent third-party technical expertise needed to analyse the estimates of Guyana’s oil and gas resources. This is according to the loan agreement for the US$20M Guyana Petroleum Resources Governance and Management Project. It was signed between the Bank and the Granger administration some months ago. The loan agreement notes that the World Bank will provide support for Guyana to assess and conduct economic and fiscal
modeling. This should allow the authorities to forecast oil and gas revenues. The financial institution will also support Guyana in the areas of revenue administration and taxation, and evaluate options for future modifications to the nation’s oil and gas fiscal regime. Legal support would reportedly also be made available. In this regard, the agreement outlines that assistance would be provided to enable Guyana to address upstream legal issues associated with the oversight of the oil and gas resources. The World Bank noted that it understands how critical this support will be to Guyana, which lacks such technical capabilities at key institutions.
Some US$4.5M will be used to address some of these gaps through the direct engagement of external expertise. The agencies, which stand to benefit from this support include the Department of Energy, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Guyana Revenue Authority and the Petroleum Commission
once established. The financial institution was keen to note that based on its experience from other projects, this type of capacity building is most effective when it is based on tangible on-the-job training and a learning by doing approach. The Bank said therefore that oil and gas experts will be hired as advisors to provide general technical opinions, commercial advice, policy analysis, review of key documents, and other contributions, but more importantly, to deliver on-the-job training and peer mentoring, working closely with the government staff to transfer knowledge and build long-term capacity to manage the oil and gas sector.
Beach hotel double murder...
Cops working around the clock to crack case Investigators in Berbice seem to have hit a wall in connection with the brutal deaths of of hotel owner Vivekanand Brijbassi called “Veka” and his workman Harry Persaud Prashad called “Guana”. There have been no arrests and no credible leads thus far in investigation dubbed as a “challenge” by investigating ranks. However, a senior police source told this publication that while there may be a challenge, they are working around the clock to crack the case and as such, are investigating several theories. He added that one of the difficulties that have caused a slight hurdle is the “desolate location” of the hotel where the murders took place but “we are working and based on the scene of the crime, there are several theories that could be arrived at,” the
Harry Persaud Prashad source said. According to the police, there are no credible leads thus far. When asked if they were made aware of the alleged previous break-ins, the official indicated that such information was not made available to him as yet but he
will be looking into it “to see where that leads us.” A post mortem is expected to be done on both bodies on Tuesday. Vivekanand Brijbassi called “Veka” was the proprietor of the Sunsplash Hotel and Bar near the Number 62 Village beach shore. The building overlooks the beach and ocean. He constructed the hotel in 2000, fulfilling a dream that he had to have a hotel/ resort by the beach. But after years passed, business dwindled and he, his wife and two daughters migrated to Canada and left the business behind. But he always dreamed of returning to Guyana to rehabilitate the hotel. Every visit to local shores saw him doing some work on the premises and he returned earlier this month to put Continued on page 10
Sunsplash Hotel and Bar
Monday December 30, 2019
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Kaieteur News
Even a junkie would strike a better deal Kaieteur News has said that it will stand beside Stabroek News in the sister newspaper’s protest against the massive reduction in State-owned advertisements. Whether or not Stabroek News requests or welcomes this support, Kaieteur News as a matter of principle, has said it will support Stabroek News in what Kaieteur News believes is an unfair reduction of State ads. Stabroek News had complained that since July, there has been a decline in State ads received, relative to that which is being provided to Kaieteur News and the Guyana Chronicle. It views this reduction as part of policy to punish it. Glenn Lall, the publisher of the Kaieteur News, has made it clear that despite the cold-shoulder shown to him by Stabroek News, he will stand beside it in its row with the government. He believes that what is being done by the government is wrong and should be corrected. He does not support any withholding of ads to the Stabroek News. Since July, Stabroek News has been highly critical of the
Granger administration for its violations of the Constitution and his failure to name a date for the holding of elections. The newspaper has run a number of sharp front-page commentaries, highly critical of the government. The public will draw associations between the reduction in ads and vigorous editorial criticisms of the government by the newspaper. Stabroek News yesterday reported that it will be forced to increase the price of its newspaper in light of the withholding of state advertisements. This newspaper was forced to do the same after it too had suffered a reduction in advertisements under the People’s Progressive Party Civic. The APNU, the AFC and PPPC have the same modus operandi. They have state power and they have been using it to penalise their critics. It is no coincidence reduction in the placement of state advertisements to Stabroek news occurred after that newspaper had been critical of the government actions following the no-
confidence motion of one year ago. The same nasty and vindictive acts that the PPPC did, under Jagdeo, the same thing is being done by the APNU and the AFC. It is unacceptable and indecent and shows that there is not much, in terms of political culture, separating these three political parties. One side filled their pockets when they were in office and the other side seems bent on outdoing them. It is time for President Granger to give those persons who fattening themselves at the public trough, marching orders before the new year, just what a magistrate did recently. A man appeared in front of magistrate recently and had the temerity to defend his attempt to rob another man. His defence was that he did push his hands in the man’s pocket but he did not get anything. The magistrate in reprimanding him, told him that he was talking as if he had a right to rob the man. He sentenced him to two years in jail and wished him a Happy New Year.
GWI pipe breakage disrupts water supply in central Georgetown Residents of several areas within Georgetown were forced to endure several hours without water on Saturday evening and Sunday morning after the Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) experienced a major pipe breakage on Church Street, Queenstown, Georgetown. According to a brief GWI online release, the water supply disruption was necessary to facilitate repairs to a “major damage on a 16 inch main located in front of the Indian High Commission.” However, water pressure was back to normal by yesterday afternoon. A further
release stated that “Following nonstop works since earlier today (Saturday), the broken 16inch transmission main has been repaired” the Company said. GWI indicated that it was expected to take approximately 30 minutes to one hour for the lines to be pressurised and filled up before it can reach customers’ taps. Areas that were affected were Kitty, Campbellville, Subryanville, Bel Air, Queenstown, Alberttown, Bourda, Robbstown, Lacytown, Cummingsburg, Wortmanville, Lodge, Thomas Lands, Charlestown and Albouystown.
The damaged pipe & the pipe after repairs were carried out
Granger should do the same with some of those vagabonds within his administration who are doing as they please. He should send them home before the new year. They have done enough damage to his presidency and to the country. The blue collar criminals who are stealing out of desperation would have no reason to do so if Guyana had gotten a better deal from the oil companies. If Guyana had properly negotiated its oil agreements, there would have been enough to ensure that nobody would have to steal to survive. But what Guyana
got was a six for a nine. The term ‘junkie’ is used to refer to dope addicts who go around stealing items and selling it back at massively discounted price in order to support their habits. A ‘junkie’ would steal a refrigerator worth $100,000 and resell it for $500. But you know what, that is no bargain compared to what the oil companies got from Guyana during the oil negotiations. The country was being shortchanged by the Production Sharing Agreement signed between Guyana and the oil companies. Guyana settled for
crumbs from the cake. A junkie would have settled for half a slice of cake. Right now Stabroek News is being cut out from the State advertisement cake. The APNU and the AFC have learnt well from the PPPC. They have become the PPPC. Kaieteur News will stand with Stabroek News! That newspaper is entitled to its slice of State advertisements.
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Kaieteur News
Monday December 30, 2019
THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN
Sheik Hassan, Charran, the Stabroek News as 2019 closes It is either I am on the verge of Alzheimer’s or with age, my mind is reaching opaqueness. The gentleman had his shopping basket, I had mine and our paths crossed in one of the aisles in the supermarket on Saturday last. He asked, “How are you doing man?” with a loud joviality in his tone?” I looked at him with an infinitesimal smile but couldn’t reach out to him because I did not recognise him. So I said with a restrained voice, “I’m alright.” But he caught the surprise in my tone and replied, “Wait you don’t know me?” Then my humour flowed. “Maan, I am getting old. You don’t see my grey hair? May be you have aged too.” Then he announced his identity and I exclaimed with huge embarrassment, “Sheik, oh God maan. How I can forget you?” It was businessman, Sheik Hassan, who has a publishing company in Eccles. Not only do I know Sheik well. My wife knows him too. Obviously, politics started to flow like fountain water.
Based on what he reads from my columns, he intoned, “Freddie this government is worse than the PPP… I was always a PPP; I never left the PPP but I told Donald (Ramotar) I couldn’t vote for the PPP (in 2015) … This time I am bolting to vote for the PPP.” When I read on the front page of yesterday’s edition of the Stabroek News, the newspaper’s announcement that dwindling state advertisements have caused them to raise the price of the newspaper, I thought of my conversation with Sheik and how deeply hurt are so many that voted for the APNU+AFC in 2015. I called Sheik as I was typing this piece for permission to mention the supermarket conversation. He intoned, “Go ahead, Freddie. I got much more to tell you so you can print… Come down and let’s talk.” I felt sad at both the words of Sheik and the announcement of Stabroek News for two reasons. The APNU+AFC did fail Guyana in horrible ways. Secondly, that is no reason to bring back the PPP.
Sheik has made up his mind – he is voting for the PPP. When many read the Stabroek News front page announcement, I have no doubt if they voted for the APNU+AFC in 2015, they switch this time but switch not to a newer party but back to the PPP. I keep hearing this haunting melody all the time. It is stalking me. People I love. People I admire. People I hold as dear friends have told me they are voting for the PPP. I sense from talking to them, the emotional bitterness runs too deep for me to persuade them. The only resort I have is two-fold – to respect their choice and to assert my choice that the PPP is not the answer to the future of Guyana. Then there is the decision by another close friend, Charrandass Persaud. He is backing Irfaan Ali. Again, like Sheik, the emotions are running wildly. I expected Charran to have batted for a third force. But I will not try to persuade him. He has made his selection. If I talk to him, I will explain that to stop the APNU+AFC
Cops working around the... From page 8 security systems in place. The second victim, Harry Persaud Prashad called “Guana” started working as a caretaker at the hotel about two years ago. Brijbassi would always stay at the hotel during his visits. The decomposed bodies of Bijbassi and Prashad were found in the upper flat of the building. The victims were bound and parts of their limbs were hacked off. Two toes from Brijbassi and one of Prashad’s feet were also missing. The injuries have led to suggestions that they were tortured. The entire building was also
ransacked. Regional Commander Calvin Brutus had told Kaieteur News that the extent of the decomposition suggests that they may have been dead for more than four days. A friend of Brijbassi made the gruesome find when the hotel owner’s children sent him to check on their dad after failing to reach him by phone. Brijbassi was last seen by his sister on the December 16, 2019, while Prashad was last seen some three weeks ago by relatives from Port Mourant. Prashad’s body was identified by relatives on Saturday at the Bailey’s Funeral Home.
and PPP from hogging power, it is best to have a balancer. I will express my thoughts to Charran. I will tell him I do not agree with his direction but I respect his right. Charran has been through a lot in 2019. And though 2019 belongs to him, I cannot accept a PPP majority again. To endorse the return of the PPP to rule this country should not be on the minds of those who want to see and have a democratic future. Guyana is really in deep trouble. It is not easy to appease angry voters. In my heart, I know the APNU+AFC has governed
extremely badly. They have shown no leadership qualities, no transformational values. But the PPP is not the answer. There is nothing in the reign of Bharrat Jagdeo and Donald Ramotar that was philosophically efficacious, morally inspiring, spiritually uplifting. I will repeat, and continue to repeat in these columns – it is best to have a third force to curtail the power of the two parties that dominated office, authority and power since 1957. As I close this article here, passing right outside my home is an APNU+AFC truck announcing the January 3,
Frederick Kissoon 2020 rally of the Coalition. And the announcer is alternating in English, Portuguese and Spanish. They left out French. There are many Haitians living here. I guess many immigrants will vote. Who will they vote for? (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)
Taxi, minibus operators frequently before court for sexual offences Within the year, there have been several persons hauled before the courts for alleging being sexually involved with underage girls. However, taxi drivers and minibus operators have outnumbered others in this regard. There have been cases in which bus operators are accused of luring young female passengers to isolated areas and taking advantage of them. In one instance, a taxi driver who was hired by a young girl’s parents to take her to and from school was charged for allegedly raping her. So far for the year, taxidrivers and minibus conductors are among several committed to stand trial before a judge and jury for varying sexual offences. The most recent matter is that of a 30-year-old taxi driver who is charged for raping a 12-year-old girl whom he picked up on the East Bank of Demerara after telling her he would drop her home. However, it is alleged that when the child got into the vehicle, the driver took her to his home where he sexually assaulted her. He was remanded to prison. In another instance, a taxi driver of Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara, is before the court for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl who stopped his car to take her to Diamond, East Bank Demerara. The teen had indicated that she was on her way to visit a relative at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre. While on their way, the accused drove through a street in Farm, East Bank
Demerara, where he allegedly pushed his hand under her shirt and rubbed her breasts before attempting to kiss her. Later that day, the girl told her mother and the matter was later reported to the police. He was charged and placed on $100,000, bail. A route 48 minibus driver and his conductor were both remanded after they were charged for raping a 12-yearold girl who they picked up from lessons. The conductor, of ‘D’ Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown, was charged for engaging in sexual penetration with a girl under the age of 16. The driver, 41, is charged for causing a girl under the age of 16, to engage in sexual penetration with his conductor. They were not allowed to plead to the indictable offences. It is alleged that they picked up the girl after lesson then proceed to the home of one of the accused. According to reports, one of the men told the girl to go in the bedroom with his accomplice. He then locked the door and waited outside. They later took her home. The child informed her parents and the alleged culprits were arrested and charged. And a 32-year-old taxi driver of Eccles, East Bank Demerara, is charged for engaging in sexual penetration with a 14-yearold girl, between January 1, 2019, and February 15, 2019, at Farm, East Bank Demerara. He is reportedly known to the girl’s family and after the incident, she told her mother what transpired. The matter was reported and the accused was arrested,
charged and remanded. In another case, a 32year-old taxi driver of North Ruimveldt, Georgetown was committed to stand trial in the High Court for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl, who he was tasked with transporting to and from school. Neville Thomas was not required to plead to the charge, which stated that between April 01, 2019 and April 30, 2019 at Diamond, East Bank Demerara, he engaged in sexual penetration with a child under 16 years. After the conclusion of a Paper Committal, the Magistrate ruled that there was sufficient evidence against Thomas for him to stand trial before a judge and jury. According to information, the alleged victim is known to the defendant as he was her daily chauffeur. During the aforementioned date, it was alleged that Thomas picked up the girl from school and took her to a hotel in Diamond where he reportedly committed the act. The victim later went home and told her parents what had transpired. They then took her to the police station where a report was made. Dorian Fredricks, 24, a minibus conductor of North Ruimveldt, Georgetown, was also committed to stand trial in the High Court for a rape. Fredericks is charged for allegedly raping an 18-yearold woman in 2016. The Magistrate ruled that there is sufficient evidence made out against the accused and he will be tried before a Judge and Jury in the High Court. (Renay Sambach)
Monday December 30, 2019
Kaieteur News
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Kaieteur News
Monday December 30, 2019
Monday December 30, 2019
Kaieteur News
Slashing of State Ads forces Stabroek News to hike price by Kemol King Stabroek News has announced a price hike on its daily edition following what it describes as a sustained assault on press freedom by the Government of Guyana. The increase is from $80 to $100, effective from January 1, 2020. The newspaper had not raised the price since October 11, 2011 and had been, for several years, accommodating rising expenses. But in a recent announcement, Stabroek News notified the public that this increase was necessary because it is earning less revenue from State advertisements due to the withholding of those by the Government’s public relations arm, the Department of Public Information (DPI). In September, an article in the Sunday Stabroek titled ‘DPI cuts state ads in Stabroek News’ revealed results of an analysis it conducted on the placement of State ads in the four daily newspapers: Kaieteur News, Stabroek News, Guyana Chronicle, and Guyana Times. The newspaper stated that it has noticed a marked decline in the number of State ads placed per column inches as of June 2019 in the Stabroek News and Guyana Times, but no corresponding decrease in Kaieteur News and the Stateowned Guyana Chronicle. The reductions have been criticised by two regional
- says Management
Kaieteur News’ Publisher, Glenn Lall
Stabroek News’ Editor-in-Chief, Anand Persaud
DPI until it substantially relieved the millions it had racked up in debt. Stabroek News reported that after the substantial settlement was made, GPI wrote in July last, to notify DPI that the flow of advertising would be returned to normalcy. According to Stabroek News’ data, it did not. In response, DPI had attributed the reduction in State ads entirely to GPI’s May letter, which had requested that DPI substantially pay off its debts or have its ads rejected, despite the newspaper lifting that embargo after the debts
qualified his statement by continuing: “We believe that advertisements should be directed to the media houses based on their willingness to disseminate news fairly”. Persaud has said, according to Stabroek News, that any reasonable observer would construe the President’s statement to mean that favourable coverage of the government would be the determining factor in the placement of State ads. Stabroek News stated that, if it is true that the ads were reduced for those reasons, it would mean that Government has violated the Inter-American Press
Table of Advertisement placements in the four daily newspapers (Stabroek News)
newspapers, Trinidad Express and the Barbados Nation. Attached to this article was an updated tabulation by Stabroek News of ad placements in the four newspapers, dated up to November last. SN’s Editor-in-Chief Anand Persaud told Kaieteur News yesterday that it would seek to provide data on the December ad placements as well, once the month ends. In May, Guyana Publications Incorporated (GPI) – the publisher of Sunday Stabroek and Stabroek News – had indicated to DPI in a letter that it would not carry State advertisements by request of
were significantly relieved. Persaud has dismissed that explanation as totally unacceptable. Stabroek News has written extensively and with strong positions on Government’s actions following the passage of the No Confidence Motion in December 21, 2018. The newspaper had suggested that DPI, “clearly rankled”, may be retaliating against it. President David Granger’s comment on the matter roiled up Stabroek News even more. During an interview on Kaieteur Radio in November, he is quoted as saying, “There must be fairness.” But the President
Freedom Declaration of Chapultepec. Principle 7 of that Declaration, signed by former President, Bharrat Jagdeo, in 2002, prohibits the granting or withdrawal of Government advertising to reward or punish the media or individual journalists. Commenting on the matter yesterday, Kaieteur News’ Publisher Glenn Lall spoke of how unfortunate it is that attitudes toward criticism cultivated by the Jagdeo regime are being sustained by the current David Granger led administration. Jagdeo’s Government was guilty of the same action when he served as President. Stabroek News stated Continued on page 20
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Kaieteur News
Black Brick Road Art Show
Monday December 30, 2019
(Plasma Magazine’s recap of the recent exhibition in the US by Guyanese author and artist Harold Bascom and his daughter, Damali Bascom) by Stephen Wilkins On a mild, late Autumn evening in a small nondescript shopping center on South Rainbow Road in Decatur, onlookers crammed into the DWS art gallery for a one night only show. The Black Brick Road is an artist collaboration between father and daughter Damali Bascom aka Natural Dali, and Harold Bascom aka Harold Bantu. As we entered the narrow gallery there was hardly any standing room as Harold Bantu conducted a Q&A style artist talk for each of the nearly forty pieces hanging. The first collection Bantu was commenting on was titled Brownstone Series. “This series of paintings, rendered as if on brick walls, is a statement on life in America’s inner cities”, decried the artist’s statement that hung above the paintings. These ranged from his piece “Love Birds” with two persons entwined to a rendering of a woman with the Empire State Building between her legs. Bantu: “Is she facing forward? Audience: “No.” Bantu: “Why? She’s ashamed. She is ashamed about what she has become in America...Is it worth it for what some people have to do
Black Mama to come to this country? That is a question I will leave you to ponder.” The evening proceeded in this manner, Bantu positing questions and a moderator passing a mic around for attendees to give their two cents. Bantu himself is a Guyanese painter, novelist,
and award winning playwright in his home country of Guyana, South America. From an early age Harold was intrigued by the arts, paying close attention to his father, a craftsman and furniture builder. “Growing up, there was always sibling rivalry around who was better
at drawing. I decided, at an early age, that I was going to become an artist”, Harold told Plasma via email. Harold shuffled the engaged crowd further into the gallery to discuss his next series Bewildered Birds. Much of Bantu’s work has to do with the relationship man has with the natural world. While the Brownstone Series took place in America’s inner cities, Bewildered Birds is a look at mankind’s effect on nature through the lens of a wide eyed bird. “In the very first piece….I tried to show the forest and the grass morphing….and nature wondering what the ‘f’ is going on”, Bantu told the crowd. Harold is a vivacious speaker continuously prompting the audience to engage with the pieces; repeatedly saying,”That is the beauty, you see something that I didn’t see,” to his audience. Bantu’s daughter Damali Bascom, aka Natural Dali, was also born in Guyana, but migrated to Hackensack, New Jersey in 1996 when Dali was seven years old. Like any kid in a fish out of water situation Damali wanted to fit in, which included attempting to rid herself of her Guyanese accent. Reflecting on those early years she told Plasma,”As I have gotten older, I have learned to appreciate that being Guyanese is a huge part of what makes me unique.” Natural Dali’s collaboration with her father is quite unique. When they work together they create textured pieces that literally come off the canvas. In their collaborative series titled The Natural Hair Journey, “My dad painted the face, I bought the hair from the beauty supply store, and I printed photography like images of flowers, and I cut them out to create the background.” This collage and multi-medium approach blends well with Harold’s beautiful painting style, creating something beyond what either would have achieved solely. Damali, at the age of twenty-six, decided to dig into her roots both literally and metaphorically. “At the time, I felt I needed to consume myself with something. I needed a hobby, and I chose my hair. In the start of 2016 I promised I would take better care of my hair. I stopped using heat appliances like flat irons and curling irons.” As she embarked on this journey of rediscovery, her art started to mimic life, as it often does. “The Natural Hair Journey
Harold Bascom and captive audience. art collection is an expression that our hair is not a nuisance, or ugly, or needs to be hidden, that Black women’s natural hair is beautiful.” Guyana, like many countries in South America is quickly becoming modernized. And while this has plenty of upsides, one significant downside is the loss of local culture and folk traditions. “The truth is, the Guyana Gothic Series was a one-off that I did as a Guyanese artist in order to record, for posterity, the quickly dying folk culture of my country due to the very strong ‘modernizing’ influences in my country that are smothering the local interest in our folk tales and folk culture overall.” The six piece collection of mythological characters from Guyanese folklore was done in black and white ruling pen and indian ink on bristol board. The pieces evoke both fear and beauty. “My series is an effort to ensure that
vestiges of Guyanese folklore do not die.” While Bantu hasn’t received the critical praise here in the US that he has in his home country, he is certainly an artist to keep an eye on. His work is multifaceted and undertaken with much care and precision. The collaboration with Natural Dali brings a balance to Harold’s paintings. The female gaze brings the paintings to life just like the collage brings the painting off the canvas. After Harold and Dali were done with the walkabout through the gallery, the Dj turned up the tunes and various artists took the stage as attendees mingled about the gallery admiring the pieces and discussing the merits amongst themselves. The Black Brick Road art show was a journey. Harold Bantu and Natural Dali led their audience from the Brownstones of America’s inner cities, to Guyana, and back again.
Birds
Monday December 30, 2019
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Kaieteur News
Guyanese Horror Fiction Kamarang....
SOMETHING IN THIS SILENT ROOM By Michael Jordan Michael’s unease returned as he climbed the stairs to Lucille’s room. He reached the second floor, and the light and sounds from the brothel were cut off abruptly. Sometimes, he could catch a whiff of her perfume even before he reached her room. Tonight, though, there was nothing; just the musty smell of old boards and the silence and the darkness. Unbidden, the image of Lucille’s strange, silent aunt floated before him. The thought of bumping into her, hearing that strange, sniffing sound, caused goose bumps to break out on his skin. A lamp-post in Harel Street threw weak light through an open window at the end of the corridor. He went to the door, meaning to rap, but saw that it was open. The room was in darkness. He felt for the switch near the door, and light filled the room. She was naked, sprawled limply on the bed, her upper body shiny with sweat, the rest of her covered, but he could see the imprint of the rest of her through the bedsheet. Her eyes were closed, but he knew she wasn’t asleep. “You’re late,” she said, stretching her lips in a halfsmile, half-pout. Tiredness in her voice, and a strange hoarseness. The smell of her blotted out all thought. But then she raised a hand to brush the hair from her face, and the sheet slipped down, and he saw the bruise. It was just above her left hip; a large, ugly purple bruise about the width of his palm. For some reason, the sight of it sent apprehension churning in his gut. “What happen to you?” The words were out almost before he knew he had spoken. The girl’s eyes flickered open. The edges of her mouth curled downwards in a way that made her face seem hard and cruel. But he must have imagined it, because what he now saw was a tired, shame-faced smile. “I nearly fell down the steps,” she said. “What?” “About an hour ago. I…I was going to see if you were here.” In an instant he was by her side. He ignored her protests and she allowed him to examine the bruise. It was the strangest bruise he had ever seen. It was as if a beaded pattern had been burned into the girl’s flesh. And part of
him sensed that if she had never lied to him, she was lying now; but why she would lie about something like this he had no— . “You came to look at my bruise, or at this?” She guided his hand to her thighs. Turn…off the light.” The promise in her voice sent his thoughts spinning. He switched the light off, then came back to her in the darkness… He could feel her twisting against him.. He sensed that he had dozed off, but he couldn’t remember falling asleep. Had no sense of time. Didn’t care. Tiredness like a rock on his chest. He sensed her shifting off the bed. Felt her return, and smelt the fermented odour of cassiri. She held his chin, and he tried to turn away, because he was so tired. But she clasped his chin and pulled his lower lip back. He felt the cold earthenware bottle touch his mouth. He coughed as the pungent wine trickled down his throat. He felt some of it trickle down the sides of his mouth and onto his chest. And still she kept the bottle to his lips. He gulped once…twice. Almost immediately, came the rush of blood. As he slipped back into the deep chasm of sleep, he felt her clamber onto him… He was on a rocky expanse of land. Red rocks beneath his bare feet. Naked, except for a loincloth.. He saw
a troolie hut, and a woman hanging out blankets, while her daughter stood over a huge, bubbling fireside pot. The smell of their cooking
came to him. He knew the smell from somewhere and he felt water spring to his mouth. He was about to rush to them because he felt terribly ravenous, and these good bush folks would be glad to feed him, when the girl dipped her claw into the bubbling pot and pulled out the head of the man they had killed. She bit down on the skull, as if feeding on a large, juicy fruit. The sound of her teeth sinking into bone came clearly to him. The head cracked open like an egg, and brainmatter trickled onto her fingers. She licked it off (“Soft and sweet like snot,” she fluted to herself)… He woke with tears leaking from beneath his halfclosed eyelids; his brain foggy, the forest and the hut and cannibals fading. He was in a room. It wasn’t his…the light was too dull, the bed felt strange. He smelt cassiri, and remembered. He felt hazy…groggy… weak. He sensed that something had changed since he fell asleep, and he finally gathered what it was. The girl was not in bed. He was wondering where she was, when he heard whispering near the door. The girl stood in front of
Illustration and book design by Harold A. Bascom the mirror. She was laughing softly to herself, then breaking off to burst into that dialect again. And then he realised that she was talking to someone. The other person came into view, and he saw that one of the creatures from his dream was in the room. Its elongated mouth was filled with teeth that curved in like a piranha’s. From that mouth came a high, fluting sound like no speech he knew. You’re dreaming, he thought. Wake up! It came towards Lucille
on backward-turned feet. It stretched out a hand to her, and he was screaming, but somehow making no sound, when she turned and smiled at it. The creature touched her breasts, her face, her hair, fluting softly to her. The girl nodded as if in response and laughed silently, tracing a hand again down her stomach. She turned to the mirror, her shoulders shaking with her silent laughter, while the creature touched her back, lingering at the spot with the dimpled scar, only Continued on page 20
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Kaieteur News
Monday December 30, 2019
Public Infrastructure Min. proposes new Parika Stelling
Parika Ferry Stelling
Commuters of the Parika Ferry Stelling are to see a drastic development following the Ministry of Public Infrastructure submitting of an application to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for an Environmental Authorisation. This is to enable the constructing a new ferry stelling at Parika on the East Bank of Essequibo. The proposed ferry stelling will replace the existing one and may entail demolition and excavation
works, concrete and timber works, steel fabrication, pile driving, stock driving of materials and the removal of unwanted construction and demolition waste. It is therefore envisaged that the execution of these activities may have some degree of environmental impact on the surrounding community. As such, in keeping with the Environmental Protection Act, Cap. 20:05 Laws of Guyana, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will be required before any
decision to approve or reject the propose project. The EPA is appealing to the public, that within 28 days of their initial notice, to make written submissions to the agency, setting out those questions and matters which they require to be answered or considered in the EIA. The Parika Stelling is under rehabilitation. This should have been completed about two years ago. Minister of Public Infrastructure David
Patterson when contacted by this publication said that, “We will rehabilitate the Parika Stelling completely, with similar features to that of the Bartica Stelling. It will have commercial space, a shed so that people can go there and sell their produce, and persons can also open a restaurant or two.” The Parika Ferry Stelling is among projects, which are set to undergo extensive rehabilitation under a USD$15 million loan from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).
SOMETHING IN THIS SILENT...
From page 19 now he could see no scar, what what what— They turned towards Michael. And though he’d closed his eyes, he could feel the weight of their stares, knew that they had now stepped closer to the bed, because of the mingled smell of the girl, and the smell of meat that his mother had left too long in the fridge. But he kept his eyes shut and his breathing steady until a small, rough hand that wasn’t Lucille’s touched his stomach. He gave a yelp and opened his eyes. He thought he saw something flit away from the bed, thought he saw the door close, but now there was no sign of the creature; just Lucille standing naked by the bed, shaking him, but be couldn’t stop screaming, and he tried to flinch away; he didn’t want her to touch him, she had let that thing touch her— “Michael!” The sharpness of her voice broke through some of his hysteria. She was staring at him, looking puzzled and anxious. “What is the matter, Michael?” “Suhsome…thing…in…room.” She looked around the room, then turned back to him. “Nobody else here, Michael.”
“Some-thing…was…in t h e … r o o m . Touched…me…through…the…door…” “Something went through the door?” Now there as a hint of laughter in her voice. She smiled at him, shaking her head. “No, Michael. You were dreaming.” Dreaming. When he had seen it…felt its touch. The smell of it was still on him…on her! He thought of how that creature had touched her. The thought made him flinch away from her, and he felt a scream rising in him again. For a moment, he saw a flash of anger in her eyes. But then she was staring anxiously at him again. “I’m sorry I laughed at you. But you were dreaming.” “I wasn’t dreaming,” he said, surprised to find that he was on the verge of tears. “I …” (I saw it with you) “The cassiri makes you imagine things, sometimes. I made it stronger tonight because I wanted you.” She bent her head. “I’m sorry.” Now he saw that there was a bead of blood by one of her nostrils. He wondered if he had struck out at her in his fear. She held him, soothing him, telling him that it was just a dream, a dream, a dream, Michael, and what she was saying made so much more sense than what he was
sure he’d seen, because such things only existed in dreams, and he really did feel strange and weak and disoriented, but if it was a dream, why was that smell on her, and that made him think of how she had stood laughing as the dai dai touched her, and that small, claw-like hand on him, and all that he wanted to do was scream again and run from this place. He shifted out of her arms. He groped for his clothes, thrown over the bedrail, shutting his eyes momentarily as a spell of dizziness hit him. Putting on his clothes was an effort. He did it sitting on the bed, fighting against the dizziness and an awful, draining weariness; so weary that he hardly heard her pleas to stay until the effects of the cassiri wore off; too weary to see the flash of contempt in her eyes. He finally staggered to his feet, but his knees buckled. Lucille caught him. She placed something under his nostrils. He sniffed it, and felt his strength returning momentarily. She followed him outside, past the barman, who gave him an anxious glance, but said nothing. They went outside, where a black, shiny Morris Oxford waited. She followed him to the car, opened the back door for him. He heard her say something
to the driver in the dialect she used with her aunt. He entered, and that was when the weakness returned full force, and he knew he was going to collapse. Something, however, kept him from fainting, and that something was the persistent smell of the thing he had seen in the room, a smell that he thought should have been left behind, a smell that was just as strong in the car, even as its silent driver put distance between him and the brothel. And even in his halfconscious state he wondered how the driver seemed to know the route to his home, though he could not recall telling him; and looking at the man’s shaggy head, a dread gripped him. (Taken from the supernatural novel, Kamarang by Michael Jordan. Copies of the illustrated edition of KAMARANG will be back on sale by the second week of January, 2020, at Austin’s Book Store and other outlets. (Kamarang (Kindle version) remains available on AMAZON.) The author will also have autographed copies by January, 2020. Contact Number: 592-645-2447. Email: kamarangnight@gmail.com.
Training College lecturer’s home torched after row A West Coast Berbice lecturer is now contemplating her next move after a fire of unknown origin completely destroyed her three bedroom wooden and concrete home on Saturday evening. However, the distraught woman is convinced that a male with whom she had a dispute torched her property. The fire was said to have started at around 21:00 hrs at the Lot 428 #29 Village, West Coast Berbice home. Mersha Gouveia who is employed at the Teachers Training College, Berbice Campus, said that earlier in the day, she and the individual whom she suspected had an argument. This argument reportedly turned nasty and the man threatened to end her life. Gouveia, fearing for her safety, left the home with her great-nephew who lives with her. A mere twenty minutes later, Gouveia who sought refuse at her neighbour’s home received word that her house was ablaze. According to reports, passing residents relayed that they heard a loud explosion moments before the fire started. The home was destroyed within minutes. Gouveia said that she was unable to salvage anything from the home. “Everything was destroyed, I didn’t get to save a thing, and everything I worked for, everything was destroyed.” The woman estimated her losses to be in the millions. Meanwhile, Divisional Commander, Superintendent Yonette Stephens disclosed that they have not classified the fire as an arson since no one was seen committing the act. The suspect was also not seen in or near the house when the fire started. However, police are seeking to locate him.
Slashing of State Ads forces... From page 13 that the Jagdeo’s administration had refused to place a single State ad with the newspaper for 17 months in 2006, with no plausible explanation. Stabroek News stated that it was an attempt to punish the newspaper for affording the fledgling Alliance For Change (AFC) regular column postings. About the same period, Kaieteur News had suffered a similar fate as Stabroek News has, according to Lall, the Jagdeo Government had also meant to stifle this newspaper for its critical principled reporting. At that time, the then President Jagdeo had claimed that his decision was because of his Government’s intention to cost-effectively manage its use of state resources, and to explore other avenues for State advertising – not for punitive reasons. But the former President has since admitted that what he did was wrong. Lall has assured that Kaieteur News will stand with Stabroek News and any other media house that is penalised for being critical of the Government. Lall said resolutely that Kaieteur News has never wavered, and will not do so in the future, in the face of persecution by any Government.
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Fears of further skullduggery surface in probe of cops’ alleged cover-up of gang rapes Six months after police launched an investigation into the alleged cover up by some ranks of a series of gang rapes, there is no indication that the alleged culprits will be charged. Some individuals who are following the developments closely say that they have received word of further attempts to deny the victims justice. There have even been reports of one suspect openly boasting that the matter will fall through because of his connections. That individual is reportedly the son of a police rank. The individuals who are monitoring the matter indicated that they will seek Government intervention if these reports turn out to be valid. “It appears that there are some people who are hoping that the press forgets about this case and that it just fades away,” a source who is following the matter stated. A ‘SOLID CASE’ What the sources say they have found perplexing is the fact that investigators appear to have built a solid case against the alleged rapists and against the four police ranks who are said to have tried to tamper with evidence. Three of the ranks are female. Reportedly included in the evidence is a statement by a police handwriting expert, who concluded that a female
lance corporal (since retired), forged the signatures of three of the victims. The same rank is accused of altering the young women’s statements to suggest that they had not identified their attackers. The victims had positively identified their attackers. The police expert reportedly verified that the handwriting in the altered statements matched samples of the female lance corporal’s handwriting. Kaieteur News understands that some of the police ranks who were involved in aspects of the investigation also claimed that someone switched their statements. Two of the implicated policewomen were attached to the Forces’ Sexual Offences Units. LUREDAND RAPED The victims, all in their teens, claim that the policeman’s son and two others, gang-raped and robbed them earlier this year, after they were duped into going on dates with one gang member who drives a car. It is reported that the alleged serial rapists, including the policeman’s relatives, moved around on a motorcycle and a car. They allegedly contacted their victims via social media. The gang would reportedly then arrange to meet the unsuspecting young
women. If a young woman responded, one of the gang members would take her for a ‘date’ in a car. Unknown to the teen, two accomplices of their ‘date’ would be hiding in the car trunk. The ‘date’ would take the teen to a secluded area, where his accomplices would emerge from the car trunk. The men would then take turns raping the teen, before relieving her of her cell phone and other valuables. All the attacks are said to have occurred at secluded areas on East Bank Demerara. From reports reaching Kaieteur News, the gang slipped up when they contacted another teen, who is a friend of one of the victims. The young woman allegedly notified the police, who allegedly instructed the intended victim to meet her ‘date’ at a particular location while the ranks lay in wait. The ‘date’ and his accomplices were arrested when they all turned up at the location. But the investigation reportedly took a disturbing turn when the police ranks realised that one of the suspects was the son of a police rank. Kaieteur News was told that persons close to the alleged rapists gave one victim’s family some $200,000 to avoid prosecution. The female lance corporal
Mayor pushes to revamp Municipal and District Council Act in 2020 Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine is pushing to have the Municipal and District Council Act Chapter 28:01 revamped in the New Year. The Mayor told reporters recently that “I will push for the Act to be revamped…there are just a few of the areas in need of changes, especially areas that present several limitations and impediments in the performance of our duties as councillors. The lack of executive power in the council, the oneyear term limit for Mayors and Deputy Mayors are just some the things we need to have addressed. The city’s building codes, general rates, and penalties for breaches are among the key issues set to be addressed,” the Mayor stated. The Municipal Council Act defines the purposes and specific objectives of the municipality. It provides legal guidance to the Council and more specifically its members with provisions and open
Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine interpretations on how to run the council. Sections of the Municipal and District Council Act are focused on issues of sanitation and health. The Act speaks to various fines, fees, and charges for breaches. The upgraded law, the Mayor added, would result in
stricter penalties and higher fees for breach to the sanitation laws, a matter that is of major concern to the municipality and citizens of Georgetown. He noted that many of the shortcomings in the municipalities are due to inadequacies in the performance of staff, poor revenue collections, low fines, fees and charges. He stressed therefore that one can hardly dispute that the amendments to Chapter 28:01 will contribute in a significant way to improving the way we do things in the municipality. The Mayor noted the Council has been calling for an overhaul of the building codes. The codes have been up for review for the past two years. “We have a set of building codes and they are currently being reviewed. There is no enforcement of the current codes, there are penalties for those who refuse to follow the codes but they are not strict enough.”
from the Sex Crime Unit is said to have acted as the gobetween in handing over the ‘hush money’. It is also alleged that one of the implicated policemen made a false statement in which he gave one of the suspects an alibi. However, that statement contradicted another that the same rank entered into the station diary. All of the implicated ranks have been transferred. While the victims allegedly identified all of the suspects, and also provided statements, only one of the men was charged and remanded. One of the implicated female ranks has reportedly been barred from travelling overseas.
The individual retired from the Force this year and was attempting to go for a vacation in the US. Another female colleague was removed from the unit that investigates sex crimes and posted to another station. According to reports, two male ranks accused of aiding in the cover-up were transferred to other police stations. One individual, a lance corporal, was removed from the Criminal Investigation
Department. The two male ranks are said to be related to one of the alleged rapists. The Force’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) had also investigated this matter. Commissioner of Police, Leslie James, had said a few months ago that the media would be informed of the findings of this and other investigations into allegations against members of the Force.
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Most of the criminal cases disposed of this year were as a result of accused persons opting to plead guilty to their respective indictments. This is according to information released by the chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The information revealed that 212 cases were disposed, of which 178 received attention in the courts. The remainder, 34, was nolle prosequi. Of these 178 cases, 110 were presented at the Demerara assizes, 25 at the Berbice assizes and 43 at the Essequibo assizes. There were 86 cases for murder, 84 sexual offences, two cases for manslaughter, five cases of attempt to commit murder and one case for accessory after the fact to murder. There were 36 convictions, 56 guilty pleas, 32 formal verdicts of not guilty, and 28 not guilty verdicts by jury, five hung juries, and four aborted trials. Fifty one cases were nolle prosequi, 16 of which were done in court. There were several cases heard at the Demerara assizes in which the court accepted guilty pleas to the lesser count of manslaughter from persons charged with murder. These persons were ordered to serve various custodial sentences ranging from 30 years to life imprisonment. There were cases in which an accused person faced more than one indictment and was given concurrent sentences. Below are some of the cases in which guilty pleas were accepted at the Demerara assizes: BOUNDAND GAGGED Among those who the court accepted guilty pleas from were Imran Khan and Stephen Andrews, who were indicted for the murders of 89-year-old Constance Fraser and 77-year-old Phyllis Caesar. Both men opted to plead guilty to the lesser offence manslaughter,
Stephen Andrews
Imran Khan
Leon Jordan
Sherwin Roberts
thereby admitting that they killed the women between October 02 and 03, 2017. They were sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after serving 35 years. The two women’s bound and gagged bodies were found at their Lot 243 Albert Street and South Road, Georgetown home. Initially indicted for murder, Khan and Andrews, both of Albouystown, Georgetown, opted to plead guilty to manslaughter after consulting with their counsel. They admitted to killing Fraser and Caesar between October 2 and October 3, 2017. BURIEDALIVE In another case, 18 yearold Sherwin Roberts was handed a life sentence after he pleaded guilty to murdering his one-year-old niece, who he buried alive after throwing her out of a window and into some mud on September 01, 2017 at Sophia, Greater Georgetown. According to facts presented in court, Roberts broke into the home of his VACANCY niece Ronasha Pilgrim where Vacancies exists for Truck she was staying with three Drivers and Loader Operator. other minors. Contact - 621-5282 He had entered through a window and grabbed the gold 1 Secretary 28-45 yrs old. #231chain the child was wearing 0655/683-8734 around her neck. After the General domestic. 3 Days child began to cry, Roberts work. Must know to cook. became annoyed and threw Apply with 2 references. her out a window and into KeyFood McDoom village some swampy mud. He then buried the child Vacancy for (1) maid.Apply in in the mud; her cause of death person to Alabama Trading. was given as asphyxiation Office Assistant- Applications due to suffocation. SERIAL RAPIST with CV & References to Twenty two year-old Leon Guyana Legal Aid Clinic, Maraj Building, Charlotte & Jordan who pleaded guilty to King St, G/town- by 3 Jan, raping two girls and a woman was sentenced to serve a total 2020 of 62 years imprisonment for Two Domestic maids required the crimes. Jordan admitted one should know cooking that on February 02, 2012, he too.Call#231-0734 engaged in sexual penetration
with a seven-year-old girl. He then admitted that on January 13, 2013, he engaged in sexual penetration with a 14-year-old girl. Added to these, he admitted to having sexual intercourse with a 28-year-old woman without her consent. In all the cases, Jordan rose up to the victims on a bicycle. He took them to various locations, including the seawalls and isolated bushy areas where he held them at knifepoint and had sex with them before riding off. WIFE KILLERS Athlone Pitt, 44, was sentenced to serve 22 years in jail for killing his wife Cindy Pitt on June 01, 2016. He was initially indicted for murder, but opted to plead guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter. Cindy Pitt called Candacy of 18 Chelsea Park, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara, died almost instantly after she was attacked and chopped by her husband in the compound of the Bygeval Secondary School, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara, where she was employed as a security guard. Meanwhile, in a similar case, 46-year-old Seon Singh was handed a 30 years prison sentence for unlawfully killing his common-law wife Indranie Sugrim, who he stabbed to death on November 25, 2012. According to information, Singh and the woman were involved in an abusive relationship. On the day in question, they were involved in an argument during which Singh armed himself with a knife, which he used to stab Sugrim about her body. The killing took place at the couple’s 503 Block ‘Y’ Cummings Lodge, Greater Georgetown residence. After committing the act, Singh escaped, but was later arrested by police.
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Monday December 30, 2019
Controversial Mane goal gets Liverpool past battling Wolves
Liverpool’s Sadio Mane celebrates scoring their first goal versus Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield. (REUTERS/Andrew Yates)
LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) - A controversial Sadio Mane goal was enough for Premier League leaders Liverpool to secure a nervy 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers and open up a 13-point cushion over their nearest challengers yesterday. Mane, in his 150th game for the club, netted three minutes before the break only for Adam Lallana to be penalised for handball in the build-up. However, a lengthy VAR review deemed the ball hit the midfielder’s shoulder and the goal stood. Victory means Liverpool have become only the third team to go unbeaten in 50 consecutive home games in the English top flight, while they also closed out 2019 unbeaten at Anfield in all
Monday December 30, 2019 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) There may be a rather confusing element to the day for you, Aries, in which you feel tempted to act but not all the pieces seem to be in place. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Be the star of your own movie today and be proud of the role you play, Taurus. You might find yourself adopting the persona of many different characters depending on your mood of the hour. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Take a break from your daily routine and get off the track today, Gemini. The world will turn with you for a day, so feel free to tune out for a while. CANCER(June21–July22) Things are flowing your way today, Cancer, and you should find a great deal of pleasure in the comfort of others. You might find that there is an air of fantasy about the day. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Don't try to nail down any answers today, Leo, because you'll probably just end up feeling more frustrated than when you started. The less you try to force your will on others, the more you'll find that things just automatically go your way. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Let your childish side come out to play today, Virgo. Your dreams are in full force, so let them lead the way. Enjoy lighthearted conversations with friends about the latest movies and your favorite websites.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Take a break from the trail you're on and get off the beaten path. Today is a day to forge ahead with ideas and dreams rather than commitments and answers. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) You may find it hard to take a realistic approach to your emotions today. A sensitive issue is apt to be pulling on you in such a way that it's leaving you feeling like you are way out in left field in terms of the way you relate to others. SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Question the validity of anything you find yourself in conflict with today. Yo u m i g h t f i n d t h a t people are acting on incomplete information. CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) It may feel like something has suddenly clicked into place for you today in which you have found the missing piece of a puzzle you've been working on for a while. AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Things may seem a bit surreal for you today, so don't take other people's chatter too seriously. Today is a day to reach out and touch someone, so pick up the phone and dial it. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Today is a great day for you in which you should enjoy a great deal of playful conversation with others, Pisces.Don't bother with reality today if you don't have to.
competitions for the fifth time in their history. Liverpool have 55 points from 19 games, while Wolves are seventh in the table five points behind Chelsea in fourth. Wolves, who had lost 15 of their previous 17 league visits to Anfield, made four changes from the side that stunned Manchester City 3-2 less than 48 hours previously. They were the better side for large parts of the contest and might have taken something from the game had Joao Moutinho and Romain Saiss not blasted over presentable opportunities late on. Liverpool, sporting gold World Champions badges on their shirts after their Club World Cup triumph, were rarely at their brilliant best but
showed once again that they appear to have the mettle to claim a first domestic league title in 30 years. The only goal of the game caused a flurry of controversy. Referee Anthony Taylor had blown for handball as Lallana brought down Virgil van Dijk’s long ball before Mane swept in a half-volley. A lengthy VAR stoppage ensued before the decision was overturned much to the fury of the Wolves players and bench. The visitors were then left seething when denied an immediate riposte after Pedro Neto’s effort was disallowed – again following a VAR review – following the most marginal of offside decisions against Jonny Otto. Wolves coach Nuno
Espirito Santo was booked in the aftermath after protesting with fourth official Mike Dean, but following the match he refused to be drawn into a discussion on VAR. “These decisions are being taken by a referee miles away and he doesn’t have the feel for the game,” he said. “What we don’t want is (what happened), to come to Anfield, Liverpool, a fantastic team, fantastic fans, fantastic stadium and we are left celebrating a non-goal. “We had to manage our players. We played 45 hours ago, the way the players coped, a lot of them played 90 minutes in both, it’s amazing and it tells you a lot about their character.”
Australia v New Zealand... From page 30 third and final Test begins in Sydney on 2 January. Scores: Australia 467 (Head 114, Smith 85, Paine 79, Labuschagne 63, Wagner 4-83) and 5 for 168 dec beat New Zealand 148 and 240 (Blundell 121, Lyon 481, Pattinson 3-35) by 247 runs.
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South Africa beat England by 107 runs to win first test
Kagiso Rabada struck with the new ball. (Associated Press) PRETORIA (Reuters) South Africa swept to a 107run victory over England on the fourth day of the first test at Centurion Park yesterday after taking seven wickets in the second session to go ahead in the four-match series. England, needing an improbable 376 to win, were bowled out for 268 just before tea as their bottom order offered scant resistance to a barrage of pace once South Africa had taken the second new ball. Kagiso Rabada proved the destroyer-in-chief with 4103, assisted by Anrich Nortje who took three wickets for 56 runs. “Our bowling unit was
very effective and it is a massive confidence booster for our team,” said South Africa captain Faf du Plessis after arresting a run of five successive test defeats. “We played with great skills over the last two days with contributions from everyone.” England had been hoping for heroics in a delicately poised contest as they started the day on 121-1 and still looked capable of a dramatic win despite losing two wickets by lunch. But the turning point proved the key wickets of both England captain Joe Root and potential matchwinner Ben Stokes.
Stokes, who had led E n g l a n d ’s h i g h e s t e v e r successful run chase when they scored 362-9 at Headingley to beat Australia earlier this year, was bowled by spinner Keshav Maharaj for 14 just as he and Root were increasing the run rate after England had gone to lunch on 171-3. The second new ball then accounted for Jonny B a i r s t o w, w h o h i t a boundary off Rabada before edging the second delivery of the 81st over to gully, where Zubayr Hamza took a sharp catch. Root battled his way to 48 before being caught behind, effectively ending England’s hopes.
South Africa’s Dwaine Pretorius celebrates takes a catch to dismiss England’s Jos Buttler with teammates, off the bowling of Kagiso Rabada. (REUTERS/Rogan Ward) “We turned up today with a real belief that we could win but unfortunately we weren’t able to do it,” he said. He was undone by a fuller delivery from Nortje, playing a poor shot outside off stump and getting a nick through to wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock. The last four wickets followed quickly thereafter as the tail was swept away by Rabada and Nortje. Rory Burns (84) and Joe Denly (31) were dismissed before lunch to tip the contest in the home team’s favour.
The teams now move onto Cape Town for the second test at Newlands from Jan. 3-7. Scores: South Africa 284 (de Kock 95, Curran 4-58,
Broad 4-58) and 272 (van der Dussen 51, Archer 5-102) beat England 181 (Denly 50, Philander 4-16) and 268 (Burns 84, Rabada 4-103) by 107 runs.
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Kaieteur News
Monday December 30, 2019
NBA roundup: Heat’s Butler bests former team in OT Jimmy Butler made the goahead free throw with 2.3 seconds remaining in overtime against his former team, as the host Miami Heat recorded a 117-116 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday. After Ben Simmons converted an alley-oop dunk to forge a tie at 116 with 18.3 seconds left in overtime, Butler was fouled on a jumper on the next possession. Butler misfired on the first attempt before sinking the second, and Tobias Harris failed to convert a 3-point attempt as Miami improved to 6-0 in overtime and an NBAbest 15-1 at home this season. Butler finished with 25 points, nine assists and nine rebounds. He was playing in his third game against his former team after inking a fouryear, $142 million deal with Miami in a sign-and-trade deal that brought Josh Richardson to Philadelphia. Joel Embiid collected 35 points and 11 rebounds for the 76ers, who have dropped the first two contests of their four-game road trip. Dallas Mavericks 141 Golden State Warriors 121 Luka Doncic recorded 31 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds for his ninth tripledouble of the season to lead Dallas past host Golden State in San Francisco. Doncic and tied the franchise record for tripledoubles in a season set by Jason Kidd in 1995-96. Doncic also made five 3-pointers as Dallas set a franchise record by making 24 from behind the arc (out of 51 attempts). The Mavericks won for the 15th time in the last 20 games. Tim Hardaway Jr. made six 3-pointers and scored 25 points, and Kristaps Porzingis made four treys while adding 18 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots. D’Angelo Russell scored 35 points and matched his career best of nine 3-pointers for the Warriors, who had a fourgame winning streak halted. Los Angeles Lakers 128 Portland Trail Blazers 120 LeBron James scored 21 points, matched his season best of 16 assists and also collected seven rebounds while playing through a groin injury to lead Los Angeles
past host Portland. Kyle Kuzma scored a teamhigh 24 points, and Anthony Davis added 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists as the Lakers halted a seasonworst, four-game losing streak. Rajon Rondo tallied 15 points, Kentavious CaldwellPope added 13 and Dwight Howard had 11 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Damian Lillard recorded 31 points and nine assists for the Trail Blazers, who lost their third straight game. Hassan Whiteside recorded 19 points and 16 rebounds, CJ McCollum scored 18 points, Anfernee Simons added 14, Carmelo Anthony had 13 and Anthony Tolliver tallied 12. Utah Jazz 120 - Los Angeles Clippers 107 Donovan Mitchell had 30 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, leading visiting Utah over Los Angeles. Jordan Clarkson scored 19 points, Bojan Bogdanovic added 17 and Joe Ingles chipped in 15 for the Jazz, who captured their seventh win in their last eight games. Paul George had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Kawhi Leonard scored 19 points for the Clippers. Center Ivica Zubac finished with 15 points and 12 boards, nine of those on the offensive end. Two free throws by Zubac cut the Jazz’s lead to 109-107 with 3:35 left, but Utah scored the final 11 points to clinch the win. Denver Nuggets 119 Memphis Grizzlies 110 Nikola Jokic had a season-high 31 points to go with 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his seventh tripledouble of the season, Will Barton scored 20 points and had seven assists, and host Denver beat Memphis. Jamal Murray and Mason Plumlee had 15 points each for the Nuggets, who had seven players reach double f i g u r e s i n s c o r ing to rebound from Wednesday’s 112-100 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Jaren Jackson Jr. had 20 points, De’Anthony Melton had 17, Ja Morant scored 16 and Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies. Brandon Clarke
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) looks at Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) during the second half at American Airlines Arena. The Heat won in overtime. (Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports) finished with 15 points. Houston Rockets 108 Brooklyn Nets 98 James Harden delivered 44 points and 10 rebounds, and host Houston survived unsightly 3-point shooting in its victory over Brooklyn. Russell Westbrook added 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists prior to his ejection inside the final minute. Austin Rivers tallied 14 points off the bench on 4for-9 shooting on 3-pointers. But Houston shot just 13 of 42 from deep, perimeter struggles that enabled Brooklyn to remain close. Spencer Dinwiddie paced five Nets in double figures with 17 points while adding a game-high 11 assists. Taurean Prince and Jarrett Allen scored 16 apiece for the Nets, who shot 40.2 percent. Milwaukee Bucks 111 Orlando Magic 100 A dominant fourth quarter powered host Milwaukee to its second win without star Giannis Antetokounmpo in as many nights, as it downed Orlando. Antetokounmpo missed his second game with a back injury, but Milwaukee started
and finished strong in his absence. Khris Middleton led the Bucks in scoring Saturday, as he did Friday at Atlanta, posting 21 points. Orlando was paced by 23 points from Evan Fournier and 21 points from Nikola Vucevic. Jonathan Isaac scored 19 points and made seven steals, a big chunk of Milwaukee’s 24 turnovers. Toronto Raptors 113 Boston Celtics 97 Kyle Lowry scored 30 points and registered seven assists for visiting Toronto, which never trailed as it gained a measure of revenge for its Christmas Day loss to Boston. Serge Ibaka finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Raptors ended a twogame losing streak in their first game since falling to the Celtics 118-102 in Toronto on Wednesday. It was the first Christmas Day game played in Canada. Patrick McCaw had 18 points, seven rebounds and a game-high eight assists for the Raptors, while Fred VanVleet also scored 18 points. Kemba Walker scored 30 points for the Celtics, who
had their five-game winning streak snapped. Jaylen Brown finished with 17 points, followed by Gordon Hayward (13), Jayson Tatum (12) and Enes Kanter (11). Chicago Bulls 116 - Atlanta Hawks 81 Lauri Markkanen scored 25 points on 8-for-14 shooting, and Chicago cruised to a win over visiting Atlanta. Zach LaVine added 19 points on 7-for-15 shooting for the Bulls, who won for the third time in their past four games. Coby White scored 18 points off the bench, Wendell Carter Jr. had 13 points and Tomas Satoransky finished with 11 points to go along with eight rebounds and six assists. John Collins scored 34 points on 14-for-26 shooting in a losing effort for the Hawks, who played without top scorer Trae Young because of a sprained ankle. Atlanta lost its 10th game in a row and fell to 3-15 on the road. New Orleans Pelicans 120 Indiana Pacers 98 Brandon Ingram scored 24 points, and six teammates also scored in double figures as host New Orleans routed Indiana for its fourth win in five games and its first home victory since Nov. 19. Jrue Holiday added 20 points, JJ Redick scored 15, Lonzo Ball had 13, E’Twaun Moore and Josh Hart came off the bench to score 11 each, and Derrick Favors had 10 points and 16 rebounds. Ingram and Holiday each added seven assists.
Aaron Holiday scored 25 points, T.J. Warren added 20 and Domantas Sabonis had 15 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Pacers. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Jrue, Justin, and Aaron Holiday became the first trio of brothers to play in an NBA game when Justin checked in for the Pacers with 5:13 left in the first quarter. Cleveland Cavaliers 94 Minnesota Timberwolves 88 Collin Sexton and Darius Garland scored 18 points each as Cleveland won for the fourth time in five games by beating Minnesota in Minneapolis. In a game that was missing much of its star power, Kevin Love did not start for the Cavaliers because of hip and back soreness. The Timberwolves were without Karl-Anthony Towns for a sixth consecutive game because of a sprained left knee and also were without Andrew Wiggins because of the flu. Tristan Thompson grabbed 15 boards while scoring 12 points for the Cavaliers, and Kevin Porter Jr. added 10 points. For the Timberwolves, Jeff Teague scored 18 points, while Kelan Martin added 17. Minnesota lost for the 12th time in its last 13 games after ending an 11game losing streak Thursday. In other results: New York Knicks 107 Washington Wizards 100 San Antonio Spurs 136 Detroit Pistons 109 Phoenix Suns 112 Sacramento Kings 110 (Field Level Media)
Monday December 30, 2019
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Kaieteur News
Bent Street crowned inaugural Dragon Stout Community Cup Champion Perennial heavyweight Bent Street was crowned the inaugural Dragon Stout Community Cup Champion, dismissing Leopold Street by a 6-1 score on Saturday evening at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue. Jamal Baird, Brand Manager of Dragon Stout and tournament coordinators in a post final comment said, “I didn’t expect this type of crowd at the final due to the brand being relatively unknown but I am very elated with the turnout and very satisfied with the overall outcome of the tournament.” He further revealed, “Expect big things from the brand in the future, we envision and aim to expand the brand and the tournament to other regions. Georgetown was simply just the start.” Meanwhile, Bent Street stalwart Colin Nelson praised the organizers for staging the event, adding, “It was a well coordinated tournament and we need more events like this and for more companies to come on board given the current football situation in Guyana. These competitions give players the opportunity to compete on a consistent basis.” It was a clinical offensive showing from the star-studded Bent Street in front of a massive crowd, as they smashed three first half goals to effectively seal the title and status as Kings of Streetball.
Pernell Schultz opened the scoring in the third minute with a powerful shot into the right corner. This was followed by a Sheldon Holder goal, as he bundled his effort into the right side in the 11th minute from inside the penalty area. The third goal then occurred in the 14th minute as Jermaine Beckles uncorked a left foot shot from outside the center of the area into the right side. The carnage continued in the second period as Beckles grabbed his second in the 18th minute, placing his effort into the lower right side. Schultz followed suit to complete his brace in the 23rd minute to make it 5-0, slotting home from the right side of the penalty area. Rafael Edwards eventually pulled one back for Leopold Street with a well placed shot from the left side into the lower right corner in the 24th minute. The aforesaid conversion was merely a blemish on the Bent Street performance as William Europe completed the scoreline in the 27th with a shot from the center into the right side. With the win, Bent Street pocketed $300,000 and the championship trophy. On the other hand, the runner-up collected $150,000 and a trophy. Meanwhile, Rio All-Stars defeated Sparta Boss 2-1 on penalty kicks after regulation time ended 1-1 in the third place playoff. With the win, Rio All-Stars
Curtez Kellman [left] of Sparta Boss receiving the 4th place trophy from Dragon Stout Brand Manager Jamal Baird. Rush Energy Drink Brand Manager Treiston Freeman [left] presenting the 2nd place trophy to manager of Leopold Street following the conclusion of the Dragon Stout Community Cup. walked away with $75,000 and the respective trophy. For the loser, they walked away with $50,000 and a trophy. In the earlier semifinal round, Bent Street came from two goals down to defeat Rio All-Stars 4-2. Schultz copped a double in the 17th and 25th minutes, while Holder and Wilson netted in the 20th and 28th minutes each. On target in the loss was Trayon Bobb in the 13th and 14th minutes. Also, Leopold Street bested Sparta Boss 21. Edwards and Okeeny Fraser scored in the 12th and 34th minutes respectively. On target in the loss was Ryan
Hackett in the 22nd minute. Complete Results Final Bent St-6 vs Leopold St-1 Bent Scorers Jermaine Beckles-14th and 18th Pernell Schultz-3rd and 23rd Sheldon Holder-11th William Europe-27th Leopold Scorer Rafael Edwards-24th 3rd Place Sparta Boss-1 vs Rio AllStars-1 Rio won 2-1 on penalty kicks Semifinal Game-1
Sooklall, Khan, Zaman slam half centuries as Good Success, Melville triumph
Rio All-Stars coach Troy Lambert [right] receiving the third place trophy from Rush Energy Drink Brand Manager Treiston Freeman during the official presentation of the inaugural Dragon Stout Community Cup. Bent St-4 vs Rio All-Stars2 Bent St Scorers Pernell Schultz-17th and 25th Sheldon Holder-20th Daniel Wilson-28th Rio Scorers Trayon Bobb-13th and
14th Game-2 Leopold St-2 vs Sparta Boss-1 Leopold Scorers Rafael Edwards-12th Okenny Fraser-34th Sparta Scorer Ryan Hackett-22nd
Rising Sun horserace meet set for New Year’s Day Tulsieram Ramadeen
Navendra Sooklall
Zameer Zaman
Imran Khan
Good Success and Melville registered victories when the Prem Dhaniram/ Chandrika Ragnauth and Tamesh Persaud 15-over softball competition continued yesterday at Belle Plaine, Wakenaam. Good Success beat Sarah by 120 runs. Batting first, Good Success posted 211-8. Navendra Sooklall struck one four and 10 sixes in a top score of 72, while Imran Khan made 55 with seven sixes. The pair added 126 for the third wicket to steady the innings, while Derwin Daniels scored 40 with
one four and five sixes. Rakesh Choon claimed 3-31. Sarah were restricted for 91-9, in reply. Choon made 25 and Jageshwar Persaud 14; Jaggernauth Manbodh captured 4-19, Beesham Moses had 3-12 and Charles Benjamin 2-10. Melville defeated Noitgedacht by nine wickets. Noitgedacht took first strike and scored 157-9. Matthew Cheong made 40 and Marco Cheong 37. Ejaz Mohamed and Satnarine Sahadeo captured three wickets each, while Chris Singh had two.
Melville responded with 1601 in eight overs. Zameer Zaman hammered three fours and eight sixes in an attacking 75, while Tulsieram Ramadeem made 63 including four fours and a similar number of sixes. Good Success overcame Noitgedacht by six wickets. Noitgedacht managed 76-9, taking first strike. Syman Steven made 22 as Jaggernauth Manbodh and Imran Khan captured three wickets each. Good Success replied with 79-4 in five overs. Khan scored 33 and Mahase Ramnarine 25.
Good Success winning ways continued as they thumped Melville by seven wickets. Melville took first turn in the middle and posted 130 all out in 14.4 overs. Zameer Zaman struck three fours and seven sixes in scoring 70, while Devon Rambaran made 13 as Navendra Sooklall bagged 510 and Beesham Moses 2-18. Good Success responded with 131-3 in 10 overs. Imran Khan slammed one four and seven sixes in a fine 59, while Joel Steven made 29 not out and Sooklall an unbeaten 26.
The Rising Sun Turf Club, Arima Park, West Coast Berbice, is set to come alive on Wednesday January 1st 2020 (New Year’s Day) with the staging of the Presidential Cup horserace meet. The event, which is organised by Better Way Entertainment, has six races listed on the day’s card with over $3.5M in cash, trophies and other memorabilia up for the taking. The Feature event is for horses classified C and lower for a winning take of $700,000 and trophy over 1mile. The other events listed
on the day are- The event for G and lower animals for a winning take of $350,000 and trophy over 1100M. The race for ‘I’ and lower horses has a top prize of $300,000 and trophy. The race for two years animals will be contested for a winning purse of $200,000 and trophy. The event for J and K and lower non-winners for 2019 will see the winner racing away with a winner’s take of $175,000 and trophy. The L and lower animals will be galloping for a bounty of $150,000 and trophy. Race time is 12:30 hrs.
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Kaieteur News
Monday December 30, 2019
Inaugural 4 X 4 Under-18 Tournament
Royals shoot their way past Kwakwani A 18-14 to capture another title Brilliant shooting and aggression were hallmarks as National 3 x 3 Under-18 Champions Victory Valley Royals on Saturday night crowned themselves the inaugural winners of the novelty 4 x 4 Under-18 Basketball championship over Kwakwani A, 18-14, in a tournament which was staged by United States-based Lindener Gary Stephens in association with the Kings Basketball Club and the Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA) at the Mackenzie Sports Club hard court. The Royals showed their Royalty once more as their combination of the National champions Emmanuel LaRose, Kobe Tappin, Omar Green and Delroy Belle, in addition to the female players whom had to be on the court according to the rules of this special tournament, in Cliffana Hunter and Reshaba Carroll proved a winning unit. They held off a surging Kwakwani A side which comprised YBG Under-16 Titan Bowl Most Valuable
Player Hosea Conway, Elijah David, Hansel John, Huon Bethune and female players Shakeila Sampson and Kennesha Leacock in the thrilling final and romped home winners by the 18-14 final score. It was a superb final and Kwakwani A were in with a chance as they pressed hard for second chances and possession at times, but, the will of the Royals proved superior in the end and justifiably handed them their second crown of the year at this level. The Royals’ Emmanuel LaRose and Omar Green were awesome close to the basket and Tappin showed poise in shooting and Belle added variety and steadiness with the female players Hunter and Carroll who hustled their way into positions throughout the encounter. In the end, LaRose finished with eight points and Tappin six to lead the Royals to that win. For the Kwakwani A team, Huon Bethune and Matthew David had four apiece in a losing cause as their players came up short.
Gary Stephens fourth from left and the Victory Valley Royals team after receiving their medals. Stephens, a former coach and current president of the Kings Basketball Club, after the final, told the gathering: ”Myself, the Kings Organisation and the LABA made this possible. There were a few hiccups, we ironed it out and I must compliment Mr. Gravesande and his official team. There were (possibly) a few bad calls on both sides.” He was particularly happy that parents came out to support their kids.
Stephens was very serious about discipline in the game and he accosted a player who was unwilling to adhere to one of his teammates saying; “If needs be the tournament could go lower to under-15 or lower to ensure that players understand the seriousness of being disciplined, noting players have also to respect the referees and teammates always.” He said that once the LABA is on board again they
want to have a n o t h e r tournament targeting the female players’ involvement once more, this time with two male and two female players. This tournament, unlike the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation’s (GABF) recent National Under-18 3 x 3 qualifiers to select a team to represent Guyana next year in a regional tournament in Guadeloupe which was won by Victory Valley Royals; was specially
arranged for Under-18 Boys but was open to any age category among the female players to ensure more participation by clubs. To reach the final Kwakwani A eliminated their B side 12-5, upturning an earlier loss to them in the preliminary round of play, while the Royals again shot their way past Kings 17-14 who handed them their lone loss in the preliminary round of the competition.
Regional first-Class practice match
Bishoo, Sinclair, Smith & Perez impress on day two By Sean Devers West Indies leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo, pacer Nial Smith, opener Raymond Perez and Kevin Sinclair yesterday had impressive performances at Providence on day two of the first three-day practice match in preparation for Guyana’s title defence in the 2020 Regional First-Class season which starts on January 9 with Guyana facing the Leewards in Antigua.
Resuming on their overnight 80-2, Anthony Adams’ X1 were dismissed five minutes before Lunch for 174 in 68 overs as only Perez who fell for 25 on Saturday, Tevin Imlach 28, Smith 27 and Renaldo Ali-Mohamed 25, reached 20 as Bishoo captured 5-45 from 18 overs. The Albion leggie got support from Chris Barnwell who had 2-19. Leon Johnson’s X1
Devendra Bishoo took 5-45 at Providence yesterday.
slipped to 69-7 before Sinclair’s 53 from 81 minutes, 69 balls with eight fours and a six, Barnwell’s 25 and 16 from Gudakesh Motie rallied them to 127 all out in 34.5 overs. Smith, bowling with lively pace had 4-34, while fellow fast bowler Qumar Torrington (2-25), Adams (2-29) and Jamaica Ramaal Lewis (2-18) took the other wickets for Adams’ X1 who were 76-3 when play ended yesterday, enjoying an overall lead of 123 with seven wickets in hand after recovering from 18-3. Keon Joseph removed Imlach (4) at 4-1 when he was bowled off his body and Akshaya Persaud (1) who was caught behind off one that left him, while a ‘slider’ from Sinclair trapped Kemol Savory LBW for duck at 13-2. Perez who again looked confident was unbeaten on 40, while Jonathon Foo was not out on 27; the pair sharing in an unfinished 58-run fourth wicket stand by the end of the penultimate day. Earlier, an incisive spell of fast bowling from Tucber Park’s Smith rocked the top order. Trevon Griffith (8) seemed a bit unlucky to given LBW after hitting Smith for consecutive boundaries at 9-1, while Chanderpaul Hemraj had his
stumps cleaned up before he had scored at 12-2 before Smith, charging in from the Northern end, induced Skipper Johnson (2) to push at one that left him and edged it to the Keeper with the score on 16-3. Torrington then removed Vishal Singh (6) at 24-4 before Barnwell drove him gloriously past cover for four before being dropped by Perez running back from mid-off and inadvertently kicked the ball into the boundary much to the dismay of the DCC pacer. Barnwell was then on 10 and his team on 34-4. But after being spanked for four by Barnwell who seemed intent on taking on the bowlers, Torrington struck when he dismissed his Club mate at 49-5. Anthony Bramble (8) was stunningly caught and bowled by Adams who somehow clutched on to a brutal straight hit with the score on 66-6. It was soon 697 when Smith returned to comprehensively bowl Veerasammy Permaul for a duck two runs later. But Sinclair, who looked better and better as his innings progressed on the heavy outfield, cut Smith for four and sliced him for another boundary.
Raymond Perez followed up first innings 25 with an unbeaten 40 yesterday at Providence. Sinclair, who played in the Regional Super50 for Champions West Indies Emerging Players, pulled Lewis over mid-on for four before smashing Adams to the cover ropes and depositing him into the Red Stand over mid-wicket to move to 49. He soon reached his fitty from 76 minutes, 57 balls with eight fours and a six but Motie
who dumped Lewis for six, fell to the off-spinner at 106-8 before a brilliant right-handed catch by Alli-Mohammed running back from mid-on and diving backwards, accounted for Bishoo (2) as Lewis struck again at 112-9 before Sinclair was last out when he dabbed Adams to Foo at slip. Today is the final day and play is scheduled to commence at 09:00hrs.
Kaieteur News
Monday December 30, 2019
PAGE 31
Hockey review 2019 (Part one)
GHB maintains high level of organisation
YMCA OFHC Ballerz pose with their medals and the championship trophy which is to presented by coordinator Dominique DeGroot. GCC Pitbulls’ Kareem McKenzie (left) being challenged by YMCA OF Ballerz Dominic Alleyne for possession during an outdoor match.
By Calvin Chapman The Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) that is headed by Philip Fernandes continues to be one of the most disciplined sports organisations in Guyana after another productive 2019 and the hockey fraternity can look forward to 2020 being another good year with the Pan Am Challenge and Junior Pan Am Championships being the biggest events on the association’s calendar. The GHB hosted several tournaments from the under10 to senior level, both outdoor and indoor, with little hiccups with the exception of the unpredictable weather delaying the outdoor development leagues. The GHB framework fosters the training of players to be match officials so there is never a shortage of umpires or table officials, while strict measures remained in place to ensure matches in tournaments to hit off on time. National men’s coach, Robert Fernandes, achieved his level III coaching certification last August during a training course held in Peru, something that will augur well for the GHB as Fernandes prepares his troops for the 2020 Junior
P a n A m e r i c a n Championships in Santiago, Chile, NovemberDecember. Since 2018, the GHB had put together a 40-member training squad to begin preparation for the 2020 games which Guyana had placed sixth during the 2016 games that was held in Canada, and preparations are sure to be boosted in the coming months with possible warm-up tours to the twin Island republic of Trinidad & Tobago who are regional hockey powerhouses. Here is a summary of the major tournaments contested locally in 2019. Farfan & Mendes 1st division The curtains fell on the 2019 edition of the Farfan & Mendes men’s outdoor hockey league on March 17th with the final three matches and although there was still one round of matches to be completed, Bounty GCC were expected to clinch the title and dethrone 2018 champions Pepsi Hikers after defeating them the previous day at their home ground to go ahead of the points standing by one point. GBTI GCC crowned 2018 women’s 1st division champions The dominance of GBTI
GBTI GCC! Champions of the Woodpecker Products women’s outdoor hockey league 2019.
GCC women’s hockey team was asserted March last after they were crowned champions of the Wo o d p e c k e r P r o d u c t s women’s outdoor league 2019, moments after they crushed B side; Bingo Spartans, 5-0 at their home ground, GCC, on Shivnarine Chanderpaul Drive. Although Spartans suffered a heavy defeat, the young side showed signs that they will be the team to beat in the not so distant future, a sentiment which is shared by the head of the Guyana Hockey Board, Phillip Fernandes. Bounty Paper Towel & Solo drink hockey leagues T h e B o u n t y Paper/Quicker Picker Upper Second Division Outdoor Development Hockey male and female leagues concluded in October at St. Stanislaus College (SSC) and one week before the league’s final play the championship had already been decided. GCC The Sequel had 28 points from 11 games with one match to play, while Saints Hockey Club (SHC) Savages were second with 20 points from 10 games in the men’s second division. On the distaff side, Saints’ women won their first championship after drawing with GCC Bingo
Spartans on the penultimate match day to go four points clear of the 2018 Champions GBTI GCC. The Solo soft drink sponsored girls’ under-20 development hockey league concluded on September 28th at the SSC ground with favourites Bingo GCC Spartans brushing aside Saints 3-0 in the final league match to confirm their championship status. The second place Saints could’ve upset GCC if they had won that final match by four goals or more but the dominant Spartans side didn’t leave any room for error during a typically commanding display of hockey. Goal difference was the deciding factor to determine the champions of the Solo soft drink under-20 boys’ outdoor development hockey league after YMCA Old Fort Hockey Club (OFHC) Ballerz edged runners up GCC Pitbulls 2-1 in the final league match. The win allowed Ballerz to match Pitbulls’ 19 points and with Ballerz’ superior goal difference of 22 compared to Pitbulls’ 12, it
was eventually a welldeserved triumph for the OFHC. GTT National Indoor C/Ship Pepsi Hikers beat YMCA Old Fort Delta Force 4-3 on October 20th to retain their National Indoor men’s first division title in a clash at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) that saw no love lost between the two teams. On the distaff side in the first division, MVP and leading goal scorer, Marzana Fiedtkou banged in a hat-trick to spearhead GBTI GCC Tigers to a 6-3 victory over GBTI GCC Spice in the final. Bounty GCC Pitbulls won the men’s second division and their star player, Kareem McKenzie was awarded MVP, while Omar Hopkinson of YMCA Old Fort Top Form scored the most goals; 16, and Paul D’Andrade was awarded best goalkeeper. YMCA Old Fort Hot Shots edged Bounty GCC Vintage 10-9 to usurp them as Champions in the over-35 veterans’ division. DMW Hockey Festival The clubs from the twin island republic of Trinidad &
To b a g o ( T & T ) h a d a fruitless campaign in last year’s Diamond Mineral Water (DMW) International Indoor hockey festival after Guyana swept the competition by winning the over-35, men’s open and women’s open but the Trinidadians returned this year with vengeance and took top honours in all three divisions when the event concluded on December 1st at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH). Queen’s Park Cricket Club (QPCC) and Pepsi Hikers featured for the third consecutive year in the men’s final and although the partisan Guyanese fans wanted at least one trophy in the bag, QPCC won the match 4-3 on penalties after the game had finished 3-3 after full time. QPCC prevailed in the Lucozade over-35 division after an enterprising 11-8 win in the final against Bounty GCC Vintage. The ExxonMobil women’s division final was a cliffhanger with T&T’s George United edging 2018 champions GBTI GCC Tigers 5-4.
Bounty GCC Pitbulls - second division champions.
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Monday December 30, 2019
Kaieteur News
New Trend Auto & Foodtown Year-end golf tourney
Kalyan Tiwari, William Walker and Mohanlall Dinanauth emerge winners
From left – William Walker, Anasha Ally, Mohanlall Dinanauth, Kalyan Tiwari, and Club President Aleem Hussain after the presentation.
With all fairways prepared by the Club President himself, after the rains and year-end light work of grounds staff, the Lusignan Golf course was in refreshingly great condition, as returning veteran Kalyan Tiwari stamped his authority in taking the top honours from the golfers who sought to drive their way to the finish in the New Trend Auto’s exciting year-end ourney on Saturday December 28 last. CEO and Owner of New Trend Auto, Rudy Ramalingum, whose first golf tournament sponsorship was under the Foodtown banner in June 2018, also sponsored under the New Trend Auto banner in March 2019 and has again stepped in to readily support development of golfing in Guyana and the Lusignan Golf Club, with this year-end tournament. Played under the Medal Play system without Flights, the winners returned great performances: Kalyan Tiwari (67/ 16) – 1st; William Walker (68/12) – 2nd in the process beating Mohanlall Dinanauth (68/6) -3rd for the second place tie. The
fourth place tie between 3 golfers Patrick Prashad (72/8), Shanella London (72/15) and Rabindranauth Persaud (72/16) was indication of the keenness and excitement of the tournament. (Prizes were only awarded to the first 3 Best Net scores.) Member Anasha Ally, who had been away from the course for a little while but also participated in the tournament, presented the prizes on behalf of New Trend Auto. New Trend Auto of 65 David Street, Subryanville, Tel: 2235401/226-7003, and 621-7250, is a leader in new and used auto parts, along with a state of the art repair shop for all types of vehicles and specializing in pickup trucks. The company has a Rewards Card for loyal customers, and special discounts on a weekly basis. Any part or repair is guaranteed! New Trend has a special offer with effect from March 1, 2017: Available now: (1.) Free oil change, (2.) Free parts installation, (3.) Free Diagnostic, (4.) Free pick up & drop off, and (5.) Online ordering.
White Tiger Martial Arts Academy host successful Taekwondo grading White Tiger Martial Arts Academy hosted yet another Taekwondo grading, which was held at its headquarters the New Amsterdam Town Hall. Twentytwo students participated in this grading, with scores averaging between 68 and 85 percent. Students who participated in the examination were: Omarion Blair, Chris Hope, Sayyid Rajbali, Jelani Lambert, Andrew Layne, Aiden Kirton, Alyssa Abdulla, Adrian Larose, Ethan Abdulla, Anthony LaRose, Christopher Drupali, Jai Gopilall, Aliayah Harry, Alisha Harry, Ali Harry, Michael
Dundass, Joshua Singh, Reanna Seeram, Nawaz Yang, Micquiel Wilburgh, Daniel Rigby and Neron Bourne. Amoung other things for 2019 WTMAA held it annual Open Martial Arts Championship, also its second annual Spelling Bee Competition. Graditude is extended to National Sports Commission, Churches Chicken and the Ministry of Education for their assistance. Founder and Chief Instructor of White Tiger Martial Arts Academy, Marcello Small wishes to extend season greetings and a prosperous New Year to entire Guyana, especially his students.
Australia v New Zealand: Hosts secure crushing 247-run victory in Melbourne BBC Sport - Australia completed a 247-run victory over New Zealand on the fourth day in Melbourne to win the three-Test series with one match remaining. New Zealand were dismissed for 240, despite opener Tom Blundell making 121. Australia added 31 to their overnight score before declaring on 168-5, setting New Zealand 488 for victory. James Pattinson took three wickets in eight balls, including that of captain Kane Williamson, before Nathan
Lyon’s 4-81 wrapped up New Zealand’s innings. Blundell was the last man out with Trent Boult unable to bat after fracturing his hand on Saturday. “We know we’ve wrapped up the series here today, which was pleasing, but with the Test Championship, every Test is really important,” said Australia captain Tim Paine. “So winning the series is almost less important until we wrap up next week hopefully with another good win.” The (Continued on page 24)
In photograph, participants who took the Examination. The successful students were: Names Omarion Blair Chris Hope SayyidRajbali Jelani Lambert Andrew Layne Aiden Kirton Alyssa Abdulla Adrian Larose Ethan Abdulla Anthony Larose Cristopher Drupali Jai Gopilall Aliayah Harry Alisha Harry Ali Harry Michael Dundas Joshua Singh Reanna Seeram Nawaz Yang MicquielWilburgh Daniel Rigby Neron Bourne
Enter Exam at Rank 10TH KUP White Belt 6TH KUP Green belt 7TH KUP Green Tip 7TH KUP Green Tip 5TH KUP Blue Tip 5TH KUP Blue Tip 7TH KUP Green Tip 5TH KUP Blue Tip 7TH KUP Green Tip 7TH KUP Green Tip 8TH KUP Yellow Belt 8TH KUP Yellow Belt 8TH KUP Yellow Belt 8TH KUP Yellow Belt 8TH KUP Yellow Belt 8TH KUP Yellow Belt 8TH KUP Yellow Belt 8TH KUP Yellow Belt 8TH KUP Yellow Belt 8TH KUP Yellow Belt 8TH KUP Yellow Belt 8TH KUP Yellow Belt
Percentage 75% 75% 70% 78% 80% 80% 71% 85% 70% 84% 70% 72% 70% 71% 72% 69% 70% 75% 68% 71% 69% 77%
Promoted to 8TH KUP Yellow Belt 5TH KUP Blue Tip 6TH KUP Green belt 6TH KUP Green belt 4TH KUP Blue Belt 4TH KUP Blue Belt 6TH KUP Green belt 4TH KUP Blue Belt 6TH KUP Green belt 6TH KUP Green belt 7TH KUP Green Tip 7TH KUP Green Tip 7TH KUP Green Tip 7TH KUP Green Tip 7TH KUP Green Tip 7TH KUP Green Tip 7TH KUP Green Tip 7TH KUP Green Tip 7TH KUP Green Tip 7TH KUP Green Tip 7TH KUP Green Tip 7TH KUP Green Tip
Monday December 30, 2019
Kaieteur News
Everest CC host annual Awards Ceremony - Looknauth named Best All-Rounder of the year Last Saturday night the Everest Cricket Club held its annual Awards Ceremony at the Club’s pavilion on Carifesta Avenue and Camp Road with off-spinner Richie Looknauth being adjudged the Club’s best All-Rounder for 2019. With a strong Breeze blowing from the Atlantic Ocean from the North of the ground, Ron Morris, Secretary of the club, gave the feature address to a large gathering with included the British High Commissioner Greg Quinn, Deputy Indian High Commissioner R. K. PerIndia, Manager of Bank of Baroda Arun Gupta and K Juman Yassin President of the GOA and former President of Everest. Also speaking was President of Everest, former Minister of Labour Mansoor Nadir in the PPP/C Government. In October 1913 the East Indian Cricket Club was formed but in 1970 the name was changed to Everest and it is one of four grounds in Georgetown to host First Class cricket along with Bourda, Parade Ground in Middle street (Demerara vs B’dos in 1865) and GDF which hosted the 1987 InterCounty final between Demerara and Berbice. The Camp Road Club finished as runners-up in April in the 2018 NBS second division 40-overs tournament and their massive 387-4 in 40 overs was the highest total ever made in the eight-year history of NBS, while
centuries from the Everest Trio of Richie Looknauth, Amir Khan and Renaldo Renee in the same match, is also a NBS record for most centuries in an innings. The club which made its debut as a first Class venue in 1997 when England toured the West Indies and has hosted seven First-Class and seven List ‘A’ matches, are zone ‘B’ leaders in on-going GISE Star Party Rental & Trophy Stall First Division two-day GCA competition. The Awardees were as follows: Junior Category Batsman- Usherdeva Balgobin: 320 runs Bowler Raynaldo Mohamed: 15 wickets. Second Division Batsman Dwayne Adams: 440 runs. Bowler- Raylex Payne: 18 wickets. First Division Batsman Ronaldo Renee: 130 runs Bowler Amir Khan: 37 wickets. All-rounder: Richie Looknauth: 460 runs and 21 wickets. Javed Rasheed: Most consistent player. Anthony Khan was presented with a medal and pair of gloves for being selected for the U-15 National side, while Bats were presented to the top batsmen for each division by Mr Hafeez Ali of Rockaway Group. Batting Gloves were presented to the junior cricketers who performed well this year. (Sean Devers)
President of Everest Mansoor Nadir (right) with prize winners at the Club’s annual Awards on Saturday night.
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Adrian Aaron of Bent St collecting the championship trophy from Dragon Stout Brand Manager and tournament coordinator Jamal Baird [right] in the presence of his teammates following the conclusion of the inaugural Dragon Stout Community Cup at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue.
Bent Street crowned inaugural Dragon Stout Community Cup Champion Victory Valley Royals after 4 x4 win.
New Trend Auto & Foodtown Year-end golf tourney
Kalyan Tiwari, William Walker and Mohanlall Dinanauth emerge winners Regional first-Class practice match
Bishoo, Sinclair, Smith & Perez impress on day two Rising Sun horserace meet set for New Year’s Day
South Africa beat Royals shoot their way past England by 107 runs Kwakwani A 18-14 to capture another title to win first test Inaugural 4 X 4 Under-18 Tournament
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