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Kaieteur News
Friday February 03, 2017
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 FIGHTING FOR SURVIVAL At the just concluded Alliance for Change (AFC) 5th Biennial Conferenc, its leader and Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan told the delegates that despite joining APNU, the AFC has not lost its identity. He reminded them that the AFC was founded as a third force to wrestle power away from the two dominant parties, the PPP and the PNC. It did so against the PPP in 2011 and finally in 2015. He reiterated that the goal of the AFC was to reduce the deep ethnic division in the country which has ravaged the nation for over six decades. He called on the delegates to be matured and that the AFC should not be seen as a rival to APNU. The one-day Conference was held at the Vreed-en-Hoop Primary School on Saturday January 28, under the theme, “In Unity; Improving Governance; Focused on the Vision.” Having entered office in an alliance with APNU, and holding senior Cabinet positions, including the Prime Minister-ship and several seats in Parliament, the AFC leader praised himself and his colleagues for their performance as cabinet ministers and claimed that they have lived up to public expectations. He told the delegates that even though the party has collated with APNU, it remains a force for change from the racial politics of the two main parties. In a keenly contested election, Raphael Trotman narrowly defeated the incumbent leader, Khemraj Ramjattan by two votes. The General Secretary, David Patterson, was defeated by the relatively unknown AFC member, Marlon Williams. Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, who did not seek re-election as the Vice Chairman, was appointed an elder statesman of the party. In the period leading up to the Conference, both Ramjattan and Patterson were at odds with Trotman over Article 19 (1) of the AFC Constitution which prohibits a leader from seeking a third term after serving for two consecutive terms. Lest we forget, in 2010, Ramjattan had opposed Trotman who after serving two consecutive terms as leader of the AFC had wanted to seek a third. But in his attempt to seek a third term as leader of the AFC at the party conference in 2017 Ramjattan changed his position. He claimed that Article 19 (1) of the AFC Constitution does not bar a leader from seeking a third term after serving two consecutive terms. His reversed stance did not sit well with many of the delegated and some executive members of the party. Ramjattan insists that the AFC is a powerful voice in the coalition, despite the widely held perception is that the AFC has been subsumed by APNU. It is involved in the major decision-making process of the government. The leaders say that the AFC is still a viable third force. Since in office, the AFC has addressed the lack of transparency and accountability by the government, the level of corruption and the lethargic approach to constitutional reform. It has not remained silent on the code of conduct for government officials. The arrangements for the drug bond, the controversial trip to China by Minister Joseph Harmon , have been issues used to test the sincerity of the political party. Its new leader, Mr. Trotman must ensure the grassroots supporters that the AFC is not sidelined by APNU. It has stuck to its original mandate of bringing about change in the country. Yet Trotman faces the difficult task of finding even more ways to make the AFC relevant. But it remains a viable and credible third force.
Editor’s Note; If your sent letter was not published and you felt its contents were valid and devoid of libel or personal attacks, please contact us by phone or email.
GuySuCo is currently an open book Dear Editor; The Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc. (GuySuCo) would like to respond to a letter that was published in the Kaieteur News by Mr. Sookram Persaud on the 31 January, 2017 and titled ‘This decision by GuySuCo boggles the mind’. There is obviously a concerted attempt to undermine the leadership of GuySuCo. Mr. Persaud, if he is real and that is his name, is evidently the “pen” of those who foolhardily believe that they can succeed. Maybe these people are unable to get their own way since the Interim Management Committee (IMC) was appointed. Are they trying to turn the clock back? To what purpose? GuySuCo is an open book and most,
if not all, are aware of its desperately poor financial state. The management team would like to see a change in direction in the best interest of the employees and the country. If Mr. Persaud is truly concerned about the performance of the Corporation and its future and that of its employees, he is welcomed to meet with us at which time we could enlighten him. Regarding the specific points he raised, if he truly understands the industry he would know that the weather influences the commencement of each crop, and to date it has been wet. Additionally, he ought to know that the out -of -crop maintenance programme also dictates when the crop starts. The specific projects in the programme are dictated by the state of
each factory. Again, if he is in the know where the industry is concerned, as he suggests by his writings, then he should be aware of the run down state of not only the factories but also the field equipment and infrastructure. Finally, regarding his hilarity at the statement that the management team is meeting to consider the crop estimates, we are not sure how he thinks this is done, but there is a process and the team meeting to consider and agreeing to the estimates after the field work is done as part of this process. "Mr.Sookram", or whoever he is, should be brave and come forward and have face to face discussions with us. Audreyanna Thomas Senior Communications Officer Communications Unit
Attorney Jailall Kissoon takes on the Attorney-General Dear Editor, Never before in the legal history of Guyana has an Attorney General leveled publicly such a blast of terror and fear upon the Head of any Head of the Judiciary or his own Legal Officer. The fall out from this scurrilous blast has radiated its tremulous fear through the spinal cord of the entire body of the Judiciary in Guyana and elsewhere. This act of madness and irresponsibility was unleashed by the Hon Attorney General, Mr. Basil Williams to the editor of the Guyana Chronicle on the 19th January 2017 vide copy of article on pages 1 & 3. Its Editor did not make any prudent check or investigation or make any enquiries of the Registrar of the Appeal Court to verify the facts as he is duty bound to do, before he plunged himself into the abyss of the dark and dastardly deeds, of contempt, vilification and degradation of an
independent institution, that is, the Judiciary as guaranteed by the constitution of Guyana. There is in Court, recorded documents to show the pure stream of justice was flowing uninterruptedly concerning Jagdeo's case until the editor of the Guyana Chronicle and the Attorney General of Guyana spoiled same. Your prejudiced perception is that the Chancellor together with applicant Bharat Jagdeo, his Attorney at Law, Mr. M. Bacchus and the Deputy Solicitor General Prithima Kissoon, caused the Attorney General and the editor to fall in the dark mud of malice and partiality that Jagdeo must receive the benefit from the Court unjustly. But the law does not recognize anything else, facts; the law is the law. They paid no heed how the bench was constituted and they became blinded and dethroned of all reason and
forgetting their functions as journalist and the leader of the Bar, with implicit false faith in the contemptuous utterances of Basil Williams, the Attorney General of Guyana then gleefully, gladly penned the unacceptable piece of journalistic nonsense of accusing the Court of partiality and conspiracy to dethrone justice. The Attorney General who has such legal wisdom and foresight ought to have seen the unholy conspiracy of the Bench and Bar and should have appeared in person, as Leader of the Bar, filed his Affidavit in Answer, argued his case as a legal luminary and Eminent Counsel and crushed the Applicant's case to smithereens. Let him tell you and the Nation why he did not, after he recognized and detected this wicked conspiracy of which he and the press have verbally assaulted and damnified the
judiciary into contempt, disrepute, impartiality and the members of the Bench with defamatory remarks who are unworthy to hold such office. Why not judge men by the content of their character. The editor has let down those who repose confidence in him to be a just, fair minded and objective journalist who has now sinned against the predecessors who held that high, noble and splendid office of learning and honor, namely, The Attorneys General such as Dr. Fenton Ramsahoye, Sir Shridatt Ramphall, Mr. Fred Wills, Dr. Mohamed Shahabudeen and Mr. Keith Massiah who have been betrayed by the current Attorney General, Mr. Basil Williams, SC through libel, slander and contempt. It will take a new generation of lawyers to restore the pristine glory of these great chambers. Jailall Kissoon Attorney at Law
I have no problem with the changed Mash route Dear Editor, On Tuesday 31st January, I was travelling in a taxi cab. The taxi driver was not happy. He could not understand why the MASH route had been changed to Brickdam ending at D’urban Park. “What’s wrong with de ‘ole route?” he asked. Now, I have no idea why he was asking me because I only returned to the carnival spirit last year for the 50th parade on May 26th, 2016 after over 20 years’ absence. He continued to add to his side of the story reminiscing about how the old route was good for “liming” and the “little man can make a few bucks.” I don’t think he drew breath, not allowing me to put in my two pieces, so I listened. When I got out of the cab at my destination I tried to console the driver
with one of my favorite bumper sticker wisdom, “Change is hard at first but fantastic at the end.” He looked at me with a cutting look as he handed me my change then sped away. His point of view stayed with me all day and night, and I am angry at myself for not expressing my views. Therefore, for the first time, I have put my fingers to the keyboard to write to you and your readers to express my view on the new route for MASH. In 2015, I voted for change; if this change includes changing the MASH route that’s fine with me. As I said earlier, I only re-joined the carnival culture last year. I released my carnival spirit with a jubilant crowd. Thousands of people were liming, eating and rekindling old friendships all along Brickdam. Therefore, I don’t know what the taxi
driver was talking about. I saw vendors doing their little business and bought my flags, roti, bun, t-shirts and drank over my doctor’s recommend amount. It was a fantastic day, and I will be back this year with my friends to be part of the MASH 2017 vibration, celebrating with dignity, liberty and greater unity (yes, that is the theme for this year). What I recommend to the taxi driver is to get out there on February 23rd, forget the past embrace the new…go, enjoy and MASH it up! There is enough space, music, costumes and fantastic people to throw down. I hope to catch you there. Thank-you Editor for letting me put my point of view across. Next time I will say what I have to say at the right time. J.R Hartley
Friday January 27, 2017
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Kaieteur News
PM’s criticism of the salary increase of PPP Ministers is flawed DEAR EDITOR, Mere hours after Nagamootoo lambasted the PPP/C for salary increases during their tenure in government, headlines revealed yet another burden on the nation’s purse by Nagamootoo and the coalition regime. He has been granted tax exemptions on vehicles, in addition to the duty-free vehicle in his possession as a Member of Parliament (MP) and the benefits he receives as erstwhile Prime Minister and Vice-President: So much for his pre-elections assurances to the electorate that his government would not indulge in a Cadillac lifestyle in a donkey-cart economy. For years the President and Ministers of successive PPP/C administrations received what was tantamount to a mere stipend – a pittance much lower than that of the PNC-inherited, PSC-appointed Permanent Secretar-
ies, even as they worked like horses alongside their beloved President to restore this nation’s fortunes. In 1995 President Jagan acceded to his ministers’ requests for an increase in salary, bearing in mind that their duties engendered great expenses, including travel and related costs to effectively manage their respective mandates. The salary scale of PPP/C ministers was then increased to one dollar above that of Permanent Secretaries. Desmond Hoyte, who is being praised for reversing the PNC’s Draconian management practices during its governance of Guyana, had been forced by the International Financial Institutions (IFIs), in particular the IMF, to re-institute a plethora of changes –including holding free-and-fair elections or face sanctions, which included, among others, withholding of financial assistance to the PNC regime. He had no
Will any teacher contradict my point here? DEAR EDITOR, Congratulations are in order for our Ministry of Education for organizing ‘Mock’ Examinations in Mathematics for the Grade Six pupils writing the 2017 National Grade Six Assessment at the end of the current school term. I hope that more pupils themselves and their teachers will better understand the precise level of work to be mastered by the end of Grade Six. I trust that teachers of Grades One to Five will make themselves familiar with the standard of work to be reached by the end of Grade Six. This exercise reminds me of a parallel situation in the secondary sector. By the end of the life of the SSRP (Secondary School Reform Project) in 2004, examinations were organized by each Department of Education for the students of Forms One and Two (Grades 7 and 8) in their respective regions. Then, the Grade 9 (Form Three) Assessment was organized by the Central Ministry. One objective was that students should be exposed to the levels to be attained by externally pre-
pared test papers. I clearly recall that the Department of Education (Region 2) always succeeded in having the materials distributed to their schools exactly as recommended in the Schedule: (a) Project Questions for each student in their schools at the beginning of February; (b) Papers I and II written in their schools in June; and (c) the Analysis of the Results submitted to SSRP by September. It must be emphasized that it is the adoption of correct practices and their faithful discharge which bring results in later years. There are some fundamental truths that more pupils and their parents must admit. For example, pupils have to learn to read and they have to learn their Multiplication Tables (at least 2 times to 6 times) by the end of Grade 5. If the pupils do know these Tables, they will be unable to cope with Fractions and Percentages and Ratio in Grade 6. Are there any teachers who will contradict this? Walter B. Alexander (Former Administrator of SSRP)
choice but to assent to all the IMF punitive conditionalities, among which was the imposition of the much-touted Economic Recovery Programme (ERP). Now being lauded as a feather in Hoyte’s cap, the ERP was, in effect, a punitive menu of measures that created much suffering to the nation’s working-class, which dubbed the punitive fiscal regime of the ERP as ‘Empty Rice Pots’. One of the impositions of the ERP was freezing the wages of Public Servants at $2,000, to which Hoyte had acceded. All during the PNC’s dictatorial tenure the trade unions, except for the Guyana Agricultural Workers’ Union (GAWU), had become toothless poodles. Upon accessing office, even as vulnerable as his government was to external financial forces, Dr. Jagan told the IMF to put their conditionalities to sea and immediately restored bargaining powers
to the trade unions. Ever since then, to the date that it demitted office, the PPP/C has ensured, depending on the dictates of the nation’s economic strength, that Public Servants received an annual increase in salary retroactive to the first month of the year, an annual bonus at year-end, and enhanced benefits. As the fortunes of the nation rose under the PPP/C administration, to where Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves described Guyana as the only shining star of the Caribbean; so too did the fortunes of individual Guyanese rise – most families owning their own, well-furnished homes and vehicles, with other attributes of greatlyenhanced lifestyles; until this country was ranked in global graphs from below the indices of Haiti – lowest in the world, to the status of a middle-income country, with stable macro-economic fun-
damentals and ever-increasing socio-economic growth patterns. That, too, as the world was experiencing economic recession. For someone who is benefitting from the fruits of the hard work and prudent management of the nation’s finances by PPP/C Presidents and Ministers, as Nagamootoo is, to begrudge the salary increases of PPP/C Presidents and Ministers is tantamount to spiteful vindictiveness and is absolute ingratitude because he, not the PPP/C Presidents and Ministers, started living a high priced lifestyle and became a privileged one without lifting a finger to work for the Guyanese people. Nagamootoo’s tirade against the PPP’s salary increases was an attempt to deflect attention from the excesses that he and his confederates in the Granger-led government are bestowing on themselves, relatives, friends and financiers – living the
good life at the expense of the Guyanese working-class. Moreso, his figures were laughable and deliberately misrepresentative of Finance Minister Winston Jordan’s figures that he presented to Parliament. Unless one is mentally deficient, or deliberately obtuse the difference in governance by the PPP/C administration and the coalition regime can be discerned by merely comparing the salary and simple lifestyle of PPP/ C’s Prime Minister, the really honourable Samuel Hinds, to that of the Coalition’s Prime Minister, whose excesses are unconscionable and utterly unacceptable because, as the PPP contends, the salary that Moses Nagamootoo is condemning the PPP Presidents and Ministers for was not enough for him and the members of the coalition cabinet; hence their hefty pay increases immediately upon accessing office. Attiya Amanda Baksh
Minister Henry continues to consult stakeholders planning is a Nicolette Henry in isolation or ficer for the Department of on Mash 2017Mashramani collaborative process and unilaterally. In fact, that opin- Culture, I am categorical that DEAR EDITOR; In response to Mr Clayton Halley’s letter; ‘Which citizens did Minister Henry listen to?’ SN, February 1, and “Questions on the competence of Minister Henry, “ Kaieteur News, February 2, I wish to let him know that
contrary to his missive, there have been and continue to be public and stakeholder’s engagement and consultations on Mashramani plans and activities for 2017. From my experience, thus far the decisions made for Mashramani are not made by Minister
ion is furthest from the reality on the ground. I have been privileged to be part of the continuous consultations/engagements that have resulted in continued adjustments to the standard Mashramani Calendar of events and plans. As the Public Relations Of-
it is a result of continuous engagements at the subject Minister’s level as well as the Mash Coordinator and others working so hard to make this happen, that there continue to be adjustments in the public’s interest. Mondale Smith
Poverty results from society’s lopsided distribution propensity to be at whatever function ? giving floor,” and such like. of resources academic Well, as it is today, cutgiven the benefit of private the charge to university DEAR EDITOR; Once a year, there is much euphoria and excitement on the part of those who have done well at the Grade Six Assessments. This is all well and good, never mind the one per cent who have excellent results coming from the private schools. This no doubt augurs well for private schools and will send many rushing to them, which by the way are tailor made for rich folks who have welcomed them with open arms. Some poor families might very well decide to do as in times of yore, where at the expense of the other siblings they single out the one who seems to have an
tuition. Definitely private schools are in vogue. Any way one turns it, the system favours the privileged and the wealthy; poor folks are always the vulnerable ones. This can be seen in past results (2012-13) where a staggeringly high number of students from poor homes did poorly as against those from wealthy homes, and only schools from four or five of our ten regions achieved good results. This time around the situation is no better; ordinary workingclass children as always, will be left behind. Editor, invariably every speaker addressing students
graduates or a new intake ? belabours the value and virtue of education; beseeching them to pursue it. The possession of it, they are told, is the key to one’s salvation; it is an escape from the clutches of poverty, and an entry to a life of untold opportunities, options and comfort. This advice serves as an inspiration to students and graduates ? fine. Every parent knows the advantage of a good education; how often have we not heard: “Tek in yuh education or yah gon thief or end up cleaning gutter and cutting grass”; or in the case of a girl: “Yah gon end up scrubbing people
ting grass is in demand and the cost is high, and isn’t it somewhat ironic that the better educated are the most notorious thieves? However, the eradication of poverty through education for me is a fallacy, and one of the most naïve and misleading statements. It does give some fortunate individuals among the masses of dispossessed an advantage ? an escape from a (Continued on page 6)
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Political conflict in Region 5 Council President Donald Trump’s agenda the letter and he indicated to That was when the DEAR EDITOR, Next on the menu was liv- only result in higher prices for I will like to shed some me that he never received any APNU+AFC Councilors is on stage ing up to the idiotic promise American consumers and light on the newscast "The letter of that sort. I then took started to query why the Evening News" of TVG Ch.28 and 12 in Berbice that was aired on Monday 30th January, 2017 under the caption "Region 5 RDC can head to another stalemate". The footage on the newscast was taken during the RDC’s monthly statutory Meeting which was held on Thursday 19th January, 2017 at the RDC Boardroom. But it is far from the truth as to what caused those statements from my fellow APNU+AFC Regional Councilors. The meeting was attended by the heads of Department, the REO who is the Clerk of the council, the Hon. Jenny Wade MP, media personnel's and members of the public. I stood up during Any Other Business on the agenda and addressed my fellow councilors and those present I said that I was made to understand that during 2016, mail were sent by various ministries and entities to the Regional Chairman's Office and they were kept as a secret or personal mail. And that the Chairman did not dispatch those letters to the REO who should have been given the mail to ensure that the instruction is carried out accordingly. I went on further to say that letters came from the Min. of Education’s Department of Sports for Mash preparations 2017 but no one was informed. That also a letter came from the Ministry of Communities Department of Housing, seeking out members of the public that are qualify for a monetary rebate to enhance their houses. None of those letters was given to the REO or the RDC for consideration. The letters were kept by the chairman. The letter for the Mash 2017 preparations was never given to the Regional Special Events Committee or REO; this committee is charged with the responsibility of organizing and executing national events. The Chair of that committee is the PPP Vice Chairman. I spoke to the VC about
it upon myself to make contact with a very senior personnel with the Mash secretariat and was told that someone already responded to that letter. I was also told that contact was made with the DREO of the region and he is well aware of the letter. I then took the initiative of informing the REO of the matter and asked him also to make contact with the senior personnel in the Mash secretariat concerning the letter. I also asked the DREO of such, and he did reply in the affirmative. I then said to the REO that the DREO is very much aware of such. As a councilor, I have the right to question the administration when things are happening without the Council’s knowledge. The second letter from Housing was also hidden by the Chairman from the REO and Council. However, it must be noted that one person was offered the rebate but it was eventually denied because he\she failed to meet the criteria. In fact, when the REO got word of the letter the date for the rebate had expired. So the REO could not have done anything but with his humanitarian side he still called Housing and asked for an extension period but was denied. During that meeting, the chairman denied the allegations and asked that whenever I am taking matters to the council it must be properly done. Well it was; those were the facts. I then asked the council to relax the standing order for the Clerk who is the REO to address the house on the matter as the REO. The REO told the councilors that the information given to the council by Mr. Seetaram has merits and is factual. But the Chairman didn't want to hear that; the REO was going on further to explain about the letters but the chairman stopped him from doing so.
standing order was removed, meaning that the REO should have still be on the floor addressing the matter. The Chairman needs to get his act together and ensure things are done accordingly. What he has done was to deny hundreds of poor families the rights to benefit from the rebate by the Housing Department. It's a shame to see the way the PPP chairman wants to hamper the lives of the poor. As a councilor and with permission from my fellow councillors, I will like to clearly state that we will not allow the PPP Regional Chairman to undermine developmental programs and works in the region. We will stand up to the nonsense he is displaying so as to hinder the benefits of the people in the region. WE WILL NOT ALLOW IT! In 2016 Region 5 has done excellent and maybe that is what has caused the PPP and its Chairman to be upset. In 2017 we will see lots more being done and this will send tremendous pressure into the heads of the PPP’s small leaders and members . We as councillors stand for development and will always do what is right towards having a better region for all our people. I call on TVG that whenever they are carrying the news let it be as it was said. Let it be true and correct. Let it be factual. Stop peddling misinformation. Abel Seetram Councilor, Region 5
Is the new U.S. president the self-made millionaire he’s often rumored to be? Far from it. Donald Trump was born into wealth and, for the most part, never had to answer to anyone except his daddy. In his mind, he’s the smartest man alive. He toots his own horn and, having been accustomed to having his own way running his “empire,” takes advice from no one. As he has boasted before, he is his best adviser. Keep in mind this is a businessman who has declared bankruptcy several times. His business is a ship that has left in its wake too many (for want of a better word) “swindled” small business people who had provided him with service and goods for which payment was reneged. He’s far from being the best and brightest businessman he projects himself to be. Now he’s at the helm of the world’s most powerful country and, instead of being concerned with the business of the nation, he has been preoccupied with the large size or lack thereof of the crowd present at his inauguration. After nit-picking about whether or not his or Obama’s inauguration crowd was bigger he proceeded to the next item on the list. Next up was the looming matter, in his mind, of Hilary actually beating him in the popular vote by three million. He then goes into a hissy-fit and coughs up the fallacy that there were three million illegal votes which, I suppose, explains Hilary’s surplus in the popular vote tally.
to build a wall on the Mexican/American border to keep immigrants out. Nevermind walls can be flown over or dug under, this president seems to think it prudent that this is the best way to keep out illegal immigrants. He is willing to scrap the so-called Obamacare which benefits millions, claiming it is too expensive. Yet, he’s willing to throw billions behind this potential white elephant of a wall. Given his apparent allergy to things academic (as in his refusal to do his homework when daily presidential briefs are presented to him) it is doubtful this president is aware of the length of the border between the U.S. and Mexico (it is just under 2000 miles). Doubtful am I also that he knows a part of the border is the Rio Grande River. I’m yet to see a wall built in a river. But then again, he’s promised to do the impossible so maybe he knows what he’s doing. The conceited and impertinent statement that Mexico is going to pay for such a monstrosity and trying to muscle Mexico into doing so is foolhardy. Like the bully he is, Trump mistakenly thinks Mexico is at the mercy of the United States. He has threatened to slap a tariff on Mexican imports if they refuse to pony up for his silly wall. The fact is, should this be done, it is American consumers who will be paying a higher price. Is he aware of how much America depends on exports to Mexico? What if Mexico decides to do the same to American imports? A trade war with Mexico would
loss of American jobs should Mexico raise tariffs on American goods. He then proceeds to wade into the deep waters of immigration without his life-saving rubber ducky attached. The United States of America is now turning her back on Muslims fleeing their homeland where war is waged on innocent civilians. Women and children who are barrelbombed and maimed daily are turned away even after they have landed in the U.S. Contrast this with Canada’s open-arm response by welcoming the very same people that are being turned away by the United States. It is no surprise the rest of the world sees Canada in a more loving light than they do the U.S. Americans are wonderful and kind people but their government gives the world a bad impression of them. From the birth of the United States she has always been a safe haven for the persecuted. Its constitution protects such groups. Here is a president who thinks he’s above the law and believes he can keep bigoted campaign promises like banning all Muslim immigrants. President Trump needs to realize running a country is not the same as running his relatively puny companies. Unlike in his so-called empire, he is answerable to others and cannot throw his substantial weight around and fire people who disagree with him. Given the road he has chosen to travel, the slogan for the statue of liberty will soon be amended Nathaniel Hinckson
Poverty results from society’s lopsided distribution... From page 5 life of hardship, and even a false sense of self importance and hubris. Further, we may love our vocation, performing our duty assiduously and efficiently, for which society would be better in some ways, but how does that in itself help to correct the imbalances, create favourable economic practices, social harmony and reduce the ever expanding gap between the haves and have nots? I’m not dreaming about any utopia here, just plain, basic human decency. How can we empower the poor to become part of a process of eliminating the abject poverty that plagues them beyond meaninglessly drumming into their skulls and empty bellies, “Stay in school”. You know some things in life are just never ‘textbook’; you just have to have that sixth sense, that other element, the power of discernment. You know it’s a pity it’s not practical for everyone to
have a university education and earn a degree so that we can put this fraudulent theory to rest, but as we know it wasn’t designed that way. I recall many years ago reading about an advertisement in India for about sixty or so janitors that received over two thousand applications, the majority of them being university graduates! Tell me how is it that the lack of education is the cause of an eight-yearold girl becoming completely blind because she couldn’t find money to pay for eye surgery? That another five-yearold with a life-threatening disease must die because the parents weren’t educated? Remember, I’m not knocking education, for it is one of the main requirements in life, indeed a vital organ in the scheme of survival, yet it’s being explained in a skewed fashion to hoodwink so many folks. Now a good education is supposed to put one on high ground, away from poverty,
but because of one’s poverty such an education is denied, so one is left between a rock and a hard place still. Then how does one extricate oneself from this conundrum? All parents do their best to give their children the good education that they were deprived of, in the hope that they would be spared drudgery and not be exploited for a pittance, as was their lot. While it is natural for every poor parent to want the best for his/her child, generally, inherent in this overriding concern is also that of themselves; yes, it is the silent expectation that is hardly ever mentioned except by the brazen. My take is that poverty is primarily the result of a grossly lopsided distribution of nature’s resources extracted by collective human labour and from which wealth is derived; it is all done by hard-working people who themselves amass no wealth. Just supposed all were well
educated, would it cause the pervasive poverty to disappear? Hard-working is the opposite of lazy, to which some like to attribute the plight of the poor, although this is somewhat puerile. There are an untold number of workingclass families who have been toiling endlessly and are still struggling to realise three meals a day and get off their knees. It has been so for centuries. Nelson Mandela put the function of education in a more precise perspective when he said it is the most effective tool we can use to change the world. It follows then that its main purpose should be in service of humanity, to help change the abominable, notorious economic disorder. Mere education in itself will not eradicate poverty when the system of perpetuating the very poverty is intact, oiled and well-greased. Frank Fyffe
Friday February 03, 2017
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New mining taxes can discourage investment The new tax regime to be imposed on the gold and diamond mining industry has been deemed a deterrent to investment in the sector. In a report seen by Kaieteur News assessing the impact of the new taxes on the industry, it was said that the new measures will not increase equity but instead increase costs for producers and operators. The increase on income from two per cent of gross final tax to 40 per cent, was described as being not only sudden and without either consultation or proposals for phasing in but depending on the scale of operations and profit margins, could be translated into 1500 per cent in the marginal tax rate for operators. According to the report, the overhead costs for small entities would increase as they would now have to employ auditors, accounting staff and use accounting systems to facilitate proper book keeping. Further, it was said in the
- Report
document that when the previous measures were compared to the 2017 budget measures, the new regime is complicated by the fact that the base of taxation has been changed from revenue to net income. The equilibrium of the sector stands to be affected, the report said. This
equilibrium speaks to the number of operators, and production levels among other things. Added to this, the report said that the consequent employment of factors such as labour, capital equipment procurement and a host of other commitments and contracts which have
Cops seek legal advice on rape allegation against soldiers The police are seeking legal advice to aid them in the case involving an allegation by a young woman that she had been raped by a soldier in the presence of two of his colleagues, who also attempted to have sex with her. The 18-year-old woman was only allowed to leave after other army personnel at Camp Stephenson, an army base at Timehri, East Bank Demerara (EBD), intervened. Kaieteur News was informed that the three soldiers have been released into the custody of the
Guyana Defence Force (GDF). The army in a statement said that a board of inquiry has been established to investigate the allegation made against the three soldiers. Meanwhile, this newspaper was informed that the young woman was dating one of the three soldiers and had gone to the base to see him. Reports are that the base was practically empty since most of the soldier had gone home for the weekend. According to information received, once at the base, the
young woman refused to have sex with the soldier, she was dating, since two of his colleagues were there. Nevertheless, she was forced into having intercourse as the others looked on. It was further reported that when the first soldier was finished, his two colleagues pulled and tugged at the woman as they attempted to force her into having sex with them. This newspaper was informed that the young woman reported the matter to the police after she was allowed to leave the base.
emerged over time under the status quo fiscal regime, the two per cent final income tax being an important component. In light of this it was suggested that to suddenly change the status quo in a detrimental manner to the sector, will not only disturb the equilibrium and the entire economic arrangements attendant to it, but it is sure to create severe disruptions in the sector. It was said that the new regime will affect the Risk Adjusted Rate of Return (RARR) for small and medium sized operators. The impact of higher taxes on the RARR increases as profit margins increase for both small and medium scale producers. The report noted that
miners will still have to pay two per cent of gross revenues, but this is no longer a final tax. If this amount is less than what is the actual tax liability miners can apply to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) for a refund, or be assessed the difference if the tax liability is greater. This tax was described as onerous in the report as it relates to miners with small profit margins since those entities producing at a small scale would be forced to borrow to pay the tax if retained earnings are not available to satisfy the tax liability. Further stymieing the process is the fact that if the amount due to GRA is less than the two per cent there is no guarantee that the revenue authority will repay the overcharged amount. Meanwhile, on the issue of the Tributor’s tax, the report said that the previous 10 per cent tax on wages of employees had maintained a balance, allowing miners to employ and retain the ideal number of workers at the input prices that allowed them to earn their required RARR. However, the withholding of the increased Tributor’s tax rate of 20 per cent from workers’ salaries will serve to disrupt the balance thereby, creating additional problems and costs for employers.
It is predicted that production will decrease when employers attempt to withhold the 20 per cent from employees’ salary and this will have a negative effect on the sector as operators will no longer be able to produce enough to achieve the RARR. According to the report the implication of these changes will be associated with the closure of operations that are marginal and even those that are infra-marginal. The effects will be felt even further as some operators will be forced out of business, reduced production, lowered government revenue and decreased foreign exchange earnings. Declarations will also be reduced as miners are predicted to find creative but not necessarily legal ways to meet their obligations for which they have personal liability as sole proprietors. To prevent these occurrences, it was suggested that a meaning alternative would be for the Ministry of Finance to employ a grandfather-type policy whereby the changes are gradually introduced. These concerns are among the major issues miners are rejecting. For some miners these measures are impractical and not tailored to accommodate the peculiarities of the sector. Miners have since requested a meeting with President David Granger to voice their concerns and hopefully arrive at a consensus.
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Friday January 27, 2017
Kaieteur News
AFC’s $43.4M debt…
No favours will be granted to donors from Govt level – Gaskin During the Alliance for Change (AFC)’s recently concluded biennial conference, the Business Minister, Dominic Gaskin – serving in his capacity of Party Treasurer – said that the AFC is in $43.4 million debt, due largely to their elections campaign. Yesterday, during the Party’s Bi-weekly Press Conference, Gaskin was asked about the plans to reduce the debt and the provision of favours to donors. The Main Parliamentary Opposition – the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/ C) – after the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) won the May 2015 General Elections, had levelled accusations against the Coalition Government of granting favours or compensation to persons or businesses that would have financed their election campaign. The selective awarding of contracts to financiers was
From left: Party Treasurer, Dominic Gaskin; Chairman, Khemraj Ramjattan, Party Leader, Raphael Trotman; General Secretary, Marlon Williams, and Youth For Change (YFC) President, Cynthia at the AFC Headquarters, Centre For Change, Railway Embankment, Kitty yesterday. amongst the accusations levelled. Gaskin replied yesterday: “Whatever we do in Government, is open to public scrutiny and the fairness of how we conduct the Government’s
business is there for everyone to see. The media in particular, knows when contracts are issued. All that information is public information; Government does not operate in secrecy unless there are
matters of confidentiality involved. So I think you have your job to do and I am always open to any scrutiny, but I can assure you that is not what we do otherwise, we won’t be in debt. Newly
elected Leader of the Party, Raphael Trotman – who is also the Minister of Natural Resources – also weighed in. He said that the reduction of debt will be something the party is going to focus on in the coming days. Trotman spoke about the possibility of hosting fundraisers. “The fact that a political party in power has campaign debts, says something, or speaks to something and I believe that it is not uncommon. We are a young party and with the strength of the delegates and the wider membership, we will get through it. A little debt keeps you sharp...It will contribute to party activism and togetherness,” Trotman said. Gaskin told delegates and members of the party at the fifth Biennial Congress which was held at the Vreed-enHoop Primary School, West Bank Demerara last week Sat-
urday, that for 2016, the party’s accumulated surplus stood at a negative $14.2 million, down from $16.8 million in 2015 and $8.4 million the preceding year. Gaskin had stated, also, that the party had purchased the building housing its headquarters in Kitty, Georgetown in 2014 for $18 million, contributing to that debt. He related that the party borrowed $14 million from a local bank and that renovations had to be done to the structure taking its value up to approximately $34M with an outstanding mortgage of $11.3 million. “Now these figures are taken from the draft of the audited accounts. And what they indicate is a decrease in our net assets. And this is due largely to a huge campaign debt that we would have incurred.”
Friday January 27, 2017
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Kaieteur News
‘Less old’ rather than ‘younger’ The President cannot demand the retirement, resignation or stepping down of a statutory office holder. The President cannot also impose any age limits on such an office, unless this is expressly provided for in the law. A statutory office holder is different from a government official. This distinction was outlined in R v Secretary of State for Justice (UK Supreme Court 2015.07.29). The learned Lords held that: “An official in a government department is in a different constitutional position from the holder of a statutory office. The official is a servant of the Crown in a department of state established under the prerogative powers of the Crown, for which the political head of the department is constitutionally responsible. The holder of a statutory office, on the other hand, is an independent office-holder exercising powers vested in him personally by virtue of his office. He is himself constitutionally responsible for the manner in which he discharges his office…” A President would be overstepping his boundaries if he attempts to impose a retirement age on a statutory office holder where the law establishing such an office makes no such provision. Statutory office holders have what is called security of tenure. They are independent office holders and therefore they cannot be subject to dismissal or removal by the
President or government, unless so provided for in law. For the President to have the power to ask someone to step down from a statutory office would dilute the independence of that office and subject the life of that office to political discretion. In other words, it would violate the security of tenure which such officer holders acquire by virtue of their appointment. There are three grounds on which a statutory office may become vacant. Firstly, the office can be vacated on the death of the office holder; Secondly, the office holder may resign. Thirdly, the office holder may be deemed mentally unfit to hold that office. Fourthly, the office holder can be dismissed for misconduct. In relation to the latter two grounds, fairness demands that a tribunal be established to determine whether the statutory office holder is of sound mind or has been guilty
of misconduct.Important principles of constitutionalism are under threat in Guyana. We have had the ingenious interpretation of Article 161 of the Constitution. The separation of powers is being undermined by a decision to advertise the position of Chief Justice and Chancellor when the Constitution provides for appointment by agreement between the Leader of the Opposition and the President. Now, we have this latest episode in which the Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority has been requested to step down. He should not have been asked to step down. We are told that the reason for the request is because of his age. This has no bearing on the matter. Age is not a qualification or disqualification for holding such office. Mental incapacity is. The excuse therefore that the former justice is being asked to step down in or-
der to give younger persons a chance does not constitute a basis for interfering with the tenure of a statutory office holder. If independent office holders can be removed at any whim and fancy, including age, then there can be no security of tenure and that office cannot be deemed independent. The excuse about age is of course absurd. Judges have a retirement age of 65. The former justices who are being asked to step down are nearly 80, or so we are told. The position of Chairperson of the Police Complaints Authority has to be filled by a former judge who will be over 65 years of age. So how much “younger” are we speaking about here? The excuse should have been about a “less old” rather than a “younger” person being appointed.
The Chairperson of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) does not have to be a judge. The Chairperson of the PUC is appointed to a fixed term by the relevant Minister. The Chairperson of the Public Utilities Commission should be allowed to serve out his term. His appointment can only be terminated for “good and sufficient cause” which is spelt out under Section 9 of the Act, none of which applies to the present Chairman. He should not be asked to step down since he does not have security of tenure beyond that period which is three years. Even clumsier
is the practice of the government of taking a decision and then developing a policy to justify that decision. This is back-to-front government. It first should have declared an age policy and then having done this taken action. It however did it the other way around.
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Friday January 27, 2017
Kaieteur News
=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===
Has Mr. Granger copied wrongly with the parking meters? Last year April, President Granger spoke to the media about (not through a general press conference of which he has only held one so far but that is for another column) the marijuana law. Then, he went in a certain direction. Here is an extract from my May 8, 2016 column captioned; “ President Granger misses some essential points about copying” in which the President opened himself to endless questions from that time about his ideological beliefs This is what I wrote; “President Granger asserted that there is no priority on the Government’s agenda for changing the laws relating to marijuana. In justifying his position he is quoted as saying that we should be careful what we copy from the developed world.” I am not sure since making that ideological observation that he and his government have been consistent with how they copy from what the textbook refers to as the First World. Mr. Granger’s Ministers
from both APNU and AFC drive SUVs that are of the type the leaders of the rich industrial countries use. Don’t take my word for it; just look at world news on the internet and you will see our leaders drive the same type of SUVs that First World Cabinet Ministers drive. When I see our Ministers in those vehicles my heart always sinks. Could one of the poorest countries in the world afford such luxuries? Those are very expensive stuff and the engine capacity is large. The State’s gas bill must be colossal. Aren’t we copying wrongly from the rich lands of the world? Must be peanuts for those rich Governments, but in poor Guyana the state has to fork out an enormous amount. I don’t think I could resist the temptation of being cynical that our Ministers drive the same type of SUVs as their Canadian counterparts but we get financial aid from Canada or I can put it more cynically, we beg Canada for money.
Did we copy wrongly when we erected D’Urban Park? I mean the First World have large State buildings where they put on ceremonies with pomp and splendour. But they can afford it. We could have used the Providence Stadium for our pomp and splendour in May last year when the Golden Jubilee was celebrated, and save over a billion dollars even if some of the money came as donations. We could have asked for the donations anyway and put it in health, education and security. We come now to parking meters. I was educated in Canada where I saw the parking meter system in operation and saw my in-laws paying to park. But that is Canada, one of the top economies in the world. Do we have an economy that could sustain paid parking? The answer is no, so I believe President Granger copied wrongly there and he should drop this latest act of copying. Of course, some readers
may be inclined to see the parking meter thing as not the responsibility of Mr. Granger’s government. I do not agree. I was interviewed by Stan Gouveia on Hits and Jam radio on Wednesday and the grey area came up. I went at length to explain to listeners that the Government is being deceitful when it speaks of the City Council’s independence. The Attorney-General’s analysis of the parking meter contract was devastatingly critical. After that one thought the meter thing was dead. Then last week to make the parking meters a reality, the Government had to make legal the parking meters bylaws. This Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, signed into law early last
week. For me it is not only pathetic nonsense but it is deceptive to say that Central Government cannot intervene since City Council is independent. If City Council is independent then why City Council didn’t bring in their own parking meter bylaws? If government didn’t see economic sense in the parking meter system then why did it legalize the by-laws? The plain, honest, moral, legal truth is that the Government of Guyana has the power to stop the implementation. Alright, let us say it does not have the power then, I would like Minister Bulkan to contact me and read the law which legally prevents the Guyana Government from
Frederick Kissoon stopping a project that the City Council has embarked upon. Is there a law that when you read it, it clearly states that there are no circumstances that exist that could allow for central government to intervene in the affairs of the Georgetown City Council. As an aside, can Mr. Bulkan tell me what the legal powers of the imminent Local Government Commission are?
Dem boys seh...
Jagdeo now want to jail people De Chancellor of de Judiciary ain’t lef de wuk yet and people already apply fuh de man wuk. De man sit down but he never get a fair chance because Jagdeo and Corbin couldn’t agree. And is Jagdeo cause all that. He wid he spiteful se l f didn’t like Claudette Singh suh he move she aside like how cane cutter does move aside de cane before he cut it. Yesterday dem boys hear de news that ten people already want de wuk and all of dem seh that dem qualified. Dem boys intend to peep dem qualification because dem boys also want
apply. Soulja Bai tell dem reporters that all ten will be grilled like how dem police does question thieves. Joe ShanLin done seh that in de end nobody should question the decision. He even whisper that if he got to call Donald de Trumpet to water board dem, he got to get de truth. But de funny thing is that although de Chief Justice position vacant, nobody ain’t apply fuh that. De Chat-3 already talking how is de Judicial Service Commission got to control de appointment. It look like he was one who apply because he seh that
he qualify. Dem Members of Parliament also qualify to declare dem wealth if dem got. Jagdeo never tell people how rich he is but yesterday he seh how he gun beg de police to jail all who don’t declare dem wealth. Dem boys seh that he really believe that dem people who ruling now gun do wha he do and end up more rich than he. Fuh years dem had de Integrity Commission which had de power but never even try to prosecute all dem who refuse to declare wha dem got. That was because dem woulda have to jail Jagdeo. Now is a different time. De same man who refuse to talk how much money he got now want to jail people who don’t talk. Talk half and wait to see wha gun happen in de courts.
Friday January 27, 2017
PAGE 11
Kaieteur News
Containers with expired goods to be refused entry ...as Food and Drug department intensifies enforcement Importers of food items could see entire containers being refused entry if the expiry dates on products contained have elapsed or will shortly elapse. Added to this, such importers could find themselves before the court of law. This assertion was Wednesday made by Director of the Government Analyst Food and Drug Department, Mr. Marlan Cole. Cole in an invited comment, Wednesday, said, “We have people in the fast food industry bringing in expired things (food items) and putting them to use and people are not aware what they are getting.” Although not in a position to share the names of the companies that have so en-
gaged, Cole divulged “Right now, as I sit at my desk, I have entries from a particular organisation that has products that expired since March 2016.” “Some of them we have talked to repeatedly, and urged them to stop doing this thing...We have had to hold several containers and sort through everything. (We have had to) take out the bad things then get an inspector to go seize the bad things and so on...We ain’t able with that no more!” He made it clear that once the expiry day has reached on a product it is no longer suitable for consumption. “There is no grace period. Do you think we can send anything with an expired date to the United States? They will send
you back with that expired thing. “Once a product has a label stating used by a certain day once that date has passed there is no discussion about whether it has expired...If the product label clearly states it is expired it is expired and we will not accept importers bringing in such items anymore,” said Cole. There have been occasions when quite a few products have slipped through the cracks, he added. “There have been times when we would have found two expired items, about 10 would have already passed through,” said Cole as he considered that “they just keep taking it for granted and when it slips through we don’t know and they continue to use these products in their
Cabinet approves draft CARICOM Arrest Warrant Treaty …to be presented at Heads of Govt. meeting
Chairman of CARICOM, President David Granger meeting with CARICOM Secretary General Irwin LaRocque last month ahead of the Inter-Sessional Meeting Very soon persons who would have committed crimes in a CARICOM state and flee to another, would not be able to escape the reach of the law. This is so as the Arrest Warrant Treaty will be presented for ratification at the upcoming Twenty-Eighth Inter-Sessional Heads of Government meeting to be held in Guyana from February 16 to February 17.
According to Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, at the post cabinet press briefing yesterday, Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams invited Cabinet to approve the draft CARICOM Arrest Warrant Treaty. “The treaty is one of the regional security (Continued on page 12)
preparation.” According to Cole, the Food and Drug Department has increasingly become involved in such cases because of increased referrals from the Customs Department of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA). In an official statement on the matter which was issued Wednesday, Cole said that “the Food and Drug Department is strongly advising all importers of food, particularly those who import foods for further processing and/or for use in the fast food industry, to ensure that they are not expired and have at least 75 per cent of their shelf life at the time of shipment. It was revealed, too, that the Department has been frequently intercepting containers with some items already expired while others had only few days’ shelf life remaining. In one such instance, it was highlighted that a container arrived in Guyana on December 24, 2016 with one item being expired since June 2, 2016 and others on November 19 and December 17, 2016. In addition, there were reportedly some items that were going to be expired in January 2017, according to the Food and Drug statement signed by Cole. “The department is also
Food and Drug Director, Mr. Marlan Cole advising procurement/purchasing and quality assurance personnel in those industries to ensure that only items with acceptable expiration dates are ordered, shipped and or received to be used for food processing for our consumers,” the statement added. It continued, “The department will no longer facilitate assortment (separation) exercises at any port of entry, neither in importers’ bonds nor in their warehouses. Action will now be taken against importers who knowingly and deliberately perpetuate this
practice of importing expired and or short dated items.” The statement noted that such actions will not be limited to the refusal of entry but will also include legal proceedings against perpetrators. Cole said, “The department will continue to work in close collaboration with the Guyana Revenue Authority’s customs department to ensure food inspectors have easy and regular access to documents, records and containers with food destined to be used in the food process and or fast food industry.”
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Friday January 27, 2017
Kaieteur News
Legislation on the cards to regulate organ donation ...five kidney failure patients to shortly undergo surgery by visiting team After several years of concerns that Guyana has been infiltrated by a black market for human organs, intervening measures are being issued by recently appointed Senior Minister of Public Health, Ms. Volda Lawrence. Moves in this regard are being fast-tracked through planned discussions between the Minister and University of Calgary Professor, Serdar Yilmaz. According to information disseminated by the Ministry, Yilmaz, who will visit Guyana this month, will meet with local stakeholders to continue discussions leading to fine tuning of the content of a draft legislation. The proposed legislation is one that will seek to outlaw commercial human organ harvesting, transplant tourism and organ trafficking which have been known to be very attractive on the lucrative but illegal global black market. It has been revealed that Yilmaz, Ministry of Public Health officials and the representatives of the Attorney General’s Chambers are scheduled for further talks to help Guyana develop its legislation to regulate Brain and Cardio/Respiratory Death Law, and organ Transplantation Law. “The former will set the rules which define the precise circumstances and mechanisms under which organs of a deceased person can be donated, while the latter will
guarantee donor and recipient safety and prohibit unethical practices such as transplant tourism, commercial organ harvesting sales and organ trafficking for the lucrative black market,” according to information shared by Public Relations Officer, Mr. Terrence Esseboom. It was Esseboom, too, who yesterday disseminated information on the organ black market which among other things amplified that illegal organ harvesting has been linked to the equally notorious global business of trafficking in persons (TIP). The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that patients in the United States of America can pay as much as US$70,000 to over US$160,000 for a transplant package. More than 120,000 patients in the US are reportedly in need of various forms of organ transplants; they ae in need of kidneys, bone marrow, liver, lung, intestine and cornea. It is believed too that five new persons per hour are added to the waiting list in the US. But according to figures released by WHO of the 106,879 organs transplanted (legally and illegally) in 2010, around 73,179 were kidneys, a state of affairs which is fuelled by an increase in renal failure. This condition is in fact driven by a global rise in diet-
related conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart problems. Guyana is no stranger to renal failure. There have been reports of instances of sale of kidneys for kidney transplants too. However, most of the patients operated on here, reportedly got their kidneys from family members who were willing to donate. This however has not stopped several reports from surfacing that suggest that at least two patients were required to procure their own kidneys from persons willing to sell. Founder of the Doobay Renal Centre, Dr. Budhendra Doobay, had told this publication that while he doesn’t have any statistics about the transplants conducted here, he has been privy to information that two patients were listed among those procuring kidneys for the purpose of transplantation. “I do know two of our patients from our dialysis centre went and I am told, and I don’t think I am wrong, they bought kidneys…one bought a kidney for $1.5 million and died a week or two after the operation. Another gentleman I’m told bought a kidney for $8 million and he died too,” Dr. Doobay had disclosed. Minister Lawrence has lauded the work of Professor Yilmaz to aid the quest to bring an end to any such activities and by pushing for the
necessary legislation for organ donation and to ensure that the legislation and necessary regulations are on the local statute books. Meanwhile, information from the Public Health Ministry is that while in Guyana, Professor Yilmaz will lead a team of experts to perform five kidney transplant surgeries on Guyanese patients. During their stay here too, the team will also do a needs assessment to improve systems in the department of the GPHC.
Kidney transplant surgery is done free of cost at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation but could reportedly cost as much as US$40,000 ($8M) at a private hospital. Although the surgery cost is free at the GPHC, kidney failure patients are however required to help meet the $1M cost of financing a donor matching process which is done in the US. Even without the visiting team’s support, transplant surgeries are conducted at the GPHC by Transplant Surgeon, Dr. Kishore Persaud, who currently heads the
Nephrology and Dialysis Unit there. However, it was Professor Yilmaz who was the key figure behind the establishing of Guyana’s public kidney transplant programme and advancing the Nephrology and Dialysis Unit at the GPHC. The Unit benefits patients diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) requiring permanent dialysis. But according to reports from the hospital the financial strain of offering this service has caused the Ministry to limit the number of dialysis sessions patients are able to receive at the Unit.
Cabinet approves draft CARICOM Arrest Warrant Treaty From page 11 instruments that was formulated to enhance cooperation between member states in the fight against crime and to reduce the complexity, costs and delays inherent in the existing extradition arrangements in the region.” Harmon said that the adoption of the treaty will simplify the procedure by which fugitives from justice are returned to participating member states to face criminal prosecution or serve judicial sentences. “Cabinet approved the draft Treaty and agreed to its submission to the Twenty-Eighty Inter-Sessional Meeting at the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM for ratification.” Further, when asked whether there is a mechanism in place to allow CARICOM member states to access assets of fugitives in other member states, Harmon said that these are matters that are en-
gaging the crime and security mechanism in the region. “There are persons against whom in one country you have orders for forfeiture made and the person has gone into another country and has huge assets there. Now, it would be easier for one state to actually move against the assets of that person in another state.” Harmon recalled that during the 2007 Cricket World Cup held in the Caribbean a number of measures were put in place to easily facilitate movement, especially for security personnel throughout the region. “That, I think, they called the Sunset Legislation, but a number of the features existed at that time and were a part of that arrangement. I think the CARICOM region is looking at putting some of those things into firm law so that the states in the region can have access without the long process of going through ex-
tradition proceedings.” In July 2016, regional leaders had agreed to have this treaty put in place before the end of the year. Then, CARICOM Chairman, Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerritt had said that the treaty would enhance law enforcement ability to address matters of cross-border crimes. Political offences and matters under military law are not covered under the treaty. The Treaty was first opened for signature in 2008. So far, only Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago have signed the treaty. According to the document, the treaty came about giving regard to the difficulties experienced with extradition. Member states recognized that the current extradition framework among member states is complex, costly and limited thereby disallowing a system of surrender of persons between judicial authorities.
Friday February 03, 2017
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Kaieteur News
Scrap metal trade to restart for three months
An overladen truck with scrap metal as the trade was suspended Scrap metal dealers will be given three months to export their material which would have accumulated over the past 19 months that the trade had been suspended. This was announced by Minister of State Joseph Harmon during the post cabinet press briefing yesterday at the Ministry of the Presidency. He said that Cabinet granted its limited approval for a limited restart of the trade across Guyana. Harmon said that in September 2016 Cabinet accepted the proposal of the Minister of Business to restart the trade on the basis of a new menu of measures being put in place. “The process of putting together new guidelines and regulations by the Ministry has been on-going and the Ministry now feels that it is
in a position to authorize a limited restart to the scrap metal trade.” The Minister added that inspections have revealed that there is a build-up of scrap metals across Region Four in particular as a result of the trade being closed for so long. “Cabinet has therefore approved the Minister of Business’ proposal to allow exporters to ship out the existing scrap for a limited period of three months.” Meanwhile, during the Alliance for Change’s press conference yesterday, Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, was asked to comment on the position of the trade. He said that there is a new framework being prepared for the eventual resumption of the trade. “That framework has not
yet been concluded, it includes new legislation and regulations and the setting up of a new unit with rules and procedures. That has not been done as yet; it is still a work in progress and that is all I can say at this point.” When Kaieteur News asked if a timeline can be given for when traders can expect the suspension to be lifted, Gaskin said that his Ministry has already gone past the date on which these new changes were to be made and as such abstained from announcing a new date. In November last year, Gaskin had said that one of the important factors to be addressed before the trade is officially restarted, is the establishment of a unit to regulate the trade. He had said that the unit would need to be budgeted for and put in
place. “That requires cabinet approval as well as a supplementary financial appropriation. So there are a number of things that have to happen.” The Business Minister had said that ultimately the government cannot allow an unregulated trade to carry on business, more so, with the kind of past the scrap metal industry has. According to Gaskin the trade was proven in the past to be detrimental to a lot of businesses operating and private individuals. According to Gaskin people were stealing man hold covers
and grill work and exported as scrap metal thereby increasing the need for the trade to be regulated. The trade was closed on June 15, 2015 to facilitate a forensic audit which was completed that December. The audit which was done by Chartered Accountants Ram and McRae had recommended that the legislation governing the local industry is in need of an update. It was highlighted that in the old Metal Dealers Act 91:08 there was no provision for the collection of export fees. Despite this, the auditors found within
financial statements records of the unit’s income described as Export fees. In response to the temporary ban on the trade, the Guyana Metal Recyclers Association had asked the government to curb an alleged illegal trade of the metals. The organisation had said that before the closure, the industry was second to none but since closing, had developed into a lawless exercise. It claimed that material was being collected and smuggled abroad through a number of ports and to neighbouring Suriname.
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Friday February 03, 2017
Kaieteur News
Stalemate over Commissioner of Information…
Ramson only saw 16 applications since July 2013 Getting information from the Commissioner of Information, Charles Ramson Sr, seems to be an uphill task…even if one is the administration and one is asking. One of the highest offices in the land, the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), is
quickly learning that it cannot even budge the Commissioner. The Commissioner, who was appointed in July 2013, has been under pressure from the new administration to prepare a number of reports pertaining to his work. However, since taking
office in May 2015, the Coalition government is yet to see a report that has to be tabled in the National Assembly, in accordance to the laws. Ramson’s failure to submit any reports since taking office is now the subject of litigation.
The Commissioner is reportedly claiming, in a letter to Nagamootoo, that he does not have any staffers to help him prepare the reports. Since being appointed in 2013, just about 16 applications came in for information, disclosed Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, yesterday. In one reported case, Transparency International, a non-governmental organization, claimed its application was shockingly rejected because Ramson as Commissioner was not addressed properly. The office was created to bring transparency to Government dealings and handle requests, on a timely basis, for information on contracts and other matters. It would have come after years of secrecy on the internal workings of government and difficulties by media and other interest groups to access information. Ramson, a former Attorney General appointed under the Donald Ramotar administration, is being paid over $1.5M monthly plus
other benefits but has filed a court case against government for more monies to run the office. Yesterday, Harmon during the post-Cabinet press briefing at the Ministry of the Presidency, confirmed that the matter which has been engaging Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, is now being handled by President David Granger. Nagamootoo is the minister in charge of information. Harmon disclosed that Ramson has written the PM explaining why the reports are not ready. The letter contained language that even Harmon, a lawyer, had a difficulty understanding. According to the Minister of State, government is very clear that ghe Commissioner of Information cannot be locked away from the public as he would not be considered as performing his duties. Only 16 persons or organizations have applied since July 2013 for information, small justifications for a person with level of emolument,
No reports after three years: Commissioner Charles Ramson Sr. Harmon stressed. The minister noted that the matter is also subject to legal proceedings but the question of the tenure of the Commissioner is engaging the attention of the President. Former Auditor General, Dr. Anand Goolsarran, had pointed out that there was a major problem with the Access to Information Act in which there is no provision in terms of limit in the tenure of office of the Commissioner. In this regard, the former Auditor General had asked: “For how long more will this imposition continue? No one knows.” Meanwhile, the taxpaying public continues to be burdened with a monthly $2 million bill for which little or no value for money is being received.” According to the Act governing Ramson’s office, the responsible Minister (PM or the President), should, “as soon as practicable but not later than nine months, after the end of each year, lay a report on the operation of this (Access to Information) Act in the National Assembly.” The Act also states that the said report should include the number of requests made to the Commissioner of Information; the number of applications for judicial review of decisions and the outcome of those applications; the number of complaints made to the Commissioner of Information with respect to the operation of the Act and the nature of those complaints; the number of notices served upon the Commissioner of Information and the number of decisions by the Commissioner which were adverse to the person’s claim. Goolsarran noted that the handing over of annual reports to the National Assembly is a key requirement of the law.
Friday February 03, 2017
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Kaieteur News
Stores report 50 percent drop in sales as...
Polarizing pay-to-park punishing City businesses The recently introduced pay-to-park initiative continues to divide the society more than two weeks into its launch. The system which is a joint venture between Smart City Solutions (SCS) and the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has come in for an avalanche of criticisms. Parasitic, heartless and greedy are some of the words you hear when the parking meter subject comes up. A major problem that is arising from the initiative is the negative effect the project is now having on businesses in close proximity to the meters. Businesses are now complaining that sales have declined to as much as 50 percent as customers reject the parking meters and are staying away from city stores. When Kaieteur News visited central Georgetown, businesses were unanimous in their assessment of the project’s effect. According to Tariq Bacchus, owner of Future Vision Mobile Solution on Robb Street , “ while the project was well intentioned, I don’t think much thought was put into it”. Bacchus said normally his business is much busier at this time of the year, but now there is hardly anyone coming into the store to window shop let alone to buy. Further he said that his sales have dropped by some 30 percent since the introduction of the parking meters. He noted that people are calling the store to enquire about products before they come in. “When the customers come they buy what they want and they are out”. The concerned owner said that he hopes that the fortunes of businesses change quickly, because he
Owner of Sookraj variety Store, Ashton Sookraj believes at this rate Georgetown may become irrelevant. At the City Mall, on the corners of Regent and Camp Streets, a cosmetic vendor said that the parking meter is chasing customers away. The woman was very critical of the initiative. “Who come up with this meter thing in get sense.” She said that her sales have dwindled by some 50 percent and at this rate she will have to stop trading because there will be no monies to do business. At another business location not far away from the Mall, Anna Zheng a cosmetic jewelry shop owner said that she was only able to pay the shop rent yesterday. That was two weeks after, that she was meant to make that payment. The Chinese National said that customers are hardly coming into her store and her sales have plummeted by 50 percent as well. Pointing to the absence of customers in the shop, she believes that something needs to be done because many small business owners like her will be forced
out of business. Things were very similar across at R Sookraj and Sons on Regent Street, according to owner Ashton Sookraj customer traffic in the store has come to a standstill. He said that his sales have also decreased by 50 percent. Sookraj said that he is now forced to cut the hours of his employees. He believes that this move was necessary since he would have been forced to let staff go. Sookraj said he normally pays for 30 minutes of parking in the mornings so that he can open his store. After then he said that he parks his car outside of the parking zone, which he admits is a security risk, since he has to walk a far distance.” But there isn’t another option at this time” the man said. Kaieteur News heard very similar stories at Kirpalani, Footworks Mega Store, Digicel, Bhena’s Footwear and KD Vaswani. Meanwhile, Pizza Hut staff had a different story to
Drivers shun parking spaces
tell. Representatives of the fast food entity said that their business is flourishing since there is more space in the
vicinity for their customers. One representative indicated that the parking meter has ensured that the loud music
One of the stores affected
and lewd behaviour in the vicinity that was constant prior to the meters, no longer exist.
PAGE 16
Dom. Republic exotic dancers fined, ordered deported Three Dominican Republic nationals who are said to be exotic dancers at the Rio Inn/ Night Club were yesterday fined $30,000 each for overstaying in Guyana, after which immediate deportation. The three women, Stephanie Herrera, 25; Soribel Diaz, 25; and Cynthia Delarosa, 29; through their Attorney Mark Waldron, asked Magistrate Brendon Glasford to re-read the charge to them. The charge read that Herrera and Diaz were given permits to stay in Guyana from the period of October 12 to November 11, but remained until December 15. They both pleaded guilty
to the charge after it was read to them by the Magistrate. Meanwhile Delarosa was given permit to stay in Guyana from the period of February 21 to March 21, but overstayed until December 15 last. The women was also fined $40,000 each for conspiring with persons unknown to forge Guyana Immigration Service arrival and departure stamps inserted on a page in their Dominican Republic passports. Cynthia Delarosa was also fined $40,000 for obtaining money by false pretence. Their Attorney told the court that his clients had
that they do not own the parking lot but rather are tenants. The company said that, it is the personal commitment of Teleperformance to help Guyana grow through employment and education. They believe that just as it takes a ‘village to raise a child’, it equally takes a ‘community to build an organization’. The company said that they are very optimistic with the collaboration of all government and private
Guyana Foundation attends Mental Health Conference in Cuba
entered Guyana lawfully via the Eugene F. Correia International Airport, and that they stayed at the Rio Inn Strip Club, where they worked as dancers. At the first hearing of the matter which was before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, the women all pleaded not guilty to the charges and was all released on $40,000 bail each, even though Police Prosecutor Deniro Jones objected to bail citing that the defendants has no ties in Guyana. Delarosa who spoke to the Court through the aid of a Spanish Interpreter said that she wanted to go home to be with her baby daughter whom she hasn’t seen in a long time.
Teleperformance clears air on “illegal” parking lot bridge Teleperformance, the call centre company located on Camp and Robb Streets, Georgetown is making it clear that the parking lot bridge which the City Council claims is illegal, does not belong to the company. The company said that for the past 25 months that Teleperformance has been in Guyana, they have done everything to ensure all of their actions are done within the laws and with the highest level of integrity. The company reported
Friday February 03, 2017
Kaieteur News
entities involved in this issue and hopes that it will be resolved soon. All further questions should be directed at the landlord of the parking lot, the company said. On Wednesday January 25, 2017, City Council claimed that the concrete bridge to a private parking lot rented to a nearby call centre, on Camp and Church Streets was illegal. They had brought out an excavator to do works on the bridge.
Ambassador to Cuba, Halim Majeed (left) with Mrs. Supriya Singh-Bodden and other health professionals at the Conference.
Guyana was well represented by the Guyana Foundation when the International Conference on Mental Health was held recently in Cuba. The Guyana Foundation was invited to be a part of the conference that addressed suicide, domestic and child abuse, as well as alcohol addiction. The conference was hosted by the provincial government of Ciego De Avila and the University Of Medical Sciences Of Ciego De Avila and spanned the period January 18 – January 20, 2017 in the Republic of Cuba. Representing the Guyana Foundation was founder of the Guyana Foundation, Mrs. Supriya Singh-Bodden and Managing Director, Ms. Susan Isaacs. The Guyana Delegation was led by
Guyana’s Ambassador to the Republic of Cuba, Halim Majeed, and his Personal Assistant Ms. Mayte Perdomo. In May 2016, Founder of the Guyana Foundation, Singh-Bodden visited the University of Ciego de Avila, where Guyanese students have been studying to become medical doctors in a long standing scholarship programme between the governments of Cuba and Guyana. During that visit she made a request for assistance for Guyana to be able to access training for more mental health professionals to combat the problem of suicide, alcohol abuse, domestic violence, child abuse, among many issues. The government of Cuba and the Rector of the
University and his team took the request very seriously, thereby, the conference was organized. The contributors included Dr. Illiana Gourget Pi, an author of several books dealing with the prevention of suicide came from Santiago de Cuba; Dr. Leon Marmol Sonora, a specialist dealing with alcohol addiction; Dr. Grisel Maria Alonso Guitierrez, who specializes in child abuse and Dr. Carmen Rey Benguria who lectured on domestic violence. The aforementioned were among the main contributors. At the recent conference, Singh-Bodden delivered the first presentation which was followed by the other lecturers. She thanked the government of Cuba and the Management of the (Continued on page 31)
Shell Service Station customers win huge cash prizes
Employees spinning the rotisserie with coupons The Shell Service Station on Wednesday made their draw for their Christmas Promotion, with every $3,000 spent on Shell V-Power or Shell Diesel for a chance to have won cash and groceries. A rotisserie was filled with approximately 500,000 coupons from all of the Shell
Service Station locations. The rotisserie was spun before the coupons with customer names were pulled out to announce three lucky persons. The first name was Wayne Austin who won himself $200,000 and used the Regent Street location.
The second winner whose name was not written clearly won him or herself $300,000 and the grand winner, Leona Anderson who used the Bel Air Park Location, won $500,000.. Other winners walked away with a $100, 000 shopping spree.
Kaieteur News
By Isanella Patoir
M
arisca Fiedtkou is the definition of what it means to be beautiful but unconventional. Her life chronicles a journey that is full of fascinating memories, rich in academia but ever present with new adventures. One example of this is the fact that this Bartician majored in Chemistry but is now following the world of fashion. With respect to her academic journey, she said that she attended an all-girls high school, Ursuline Convent in Barbados. After sitting the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate Examinations (CSEC), she moved back to Guyana for two years. After continuing her studies at the Nations University Sixth form and the University of Guyana, she went on to further her studies and moved to Jamaica where she attended the University of the West Indies Mona Campus. This belle majored in Chemistry with a minor in Biology. It was at this point in her life that she got married and had her first
STRAIGHT
UP aff G
ISCA R A M Fiedtkou: son. She soon returned to Guyana to be closer to family. “Growing up I always knew I wanted to be a doctor but the older I got the more it seemed my interest was shifting. I now have a keen interest in the environment and the many sub factors that contributes to it”, Marisca Fiedtkou said. She added, “So it's funny that I host a show that's all about fashion when that wasn't even in my radar. I'm more of a behind the scene person so it was very out of character for me to do something that literally puts me in front of the camera. At first I was so tense but now I'm totally in love with it”, she said during an interview with Kaieteur Entertainment. Below is an extract of how the remainder of that dialogue continued. Kaieteur Entertainment (KE): Being the daughter of one of Guyana's leading fashion designers, the great Sonia Noel, how does that make you feel? Marisca Fiedtkou (MF): Proud, because I know how hard she works and what it took for her to be where she is. Arts in Guyana isn't seen as a priority or it's suggested you make it a hobby and not your fulltime job,
Is Valentine's Day about love anymore?
S
t. Valentine's Day, which falls every year on February 14, is a day that most people anxiously await. For some, it is seen as a day when the love for another human being is amplified, and usually sets the pace of a relationship for the remainder of the year. It is also a day of reflection since many would retreat to the comforts of their homes or place of worship, to pay respect to a diseased loved one or loved ones. But Valentine's Day is more than that. It has evolved since it was first observed in the third century AD. Research shows that the Emperor of Rome, Claudius II, had imposed a ban on marriages during a time when that part of the world was plagued by war. His reason was that married men made bad soldiers. St. Valentine, a Priest, however, allegedly arranged marriages unknown to the Emperor. He was caught and subsequently jailed. Our hero was sentenced to death for defying Claudius. But before he could face the noose, he fell in love with the jailer's daughter. Scholars documented that he sent a goodbye letter signed “from your Valentine” to his beloved on the day of his execution, February 14. But coming back to the evolution of Valentine's Day… We see the emergence of product lines and services as it becomes more and more commercial paving the way for one of the most frequently asked question during this time of the year: Is Valentine's Day about love anymore? It is the perception of many that this day is
all about material gain and persons use this to their advantage – yes, we've all seen the hints most women and even men leave on Instagram and Facebook. However, this is not to diminish the commercialisation of Valentine's Day or to say that it has not borne fruit. In fact, there is evidence to support that some of the biggest names in wholesale and retail in the United States of America and elsewhere, gained their popularity from products and services they provide during this time. What would be more interesting to hear from Guyanese other than what they would be giving their loved one is what they themselves are expecting. Interesting also, would be to find out if a letter to your beloved –as in the case of the Priest – be enough to stir the affection, respect and admiration bubbling within or would they prefer the new model Premio?
PAGE 23
she holds a major in Chemistry but fashion runs in her veins
but she went against the odds and proved that it is possible to make a living doing what you love while constantly evolving and branching out to different areas. There's really no stopping her so I look at her in absolute awe. KE: Can you tell me a little about yourself? Who is Marisca and what does she do? MF: I'm firstly a mom to the most adorable guy. I'm currently the host of one of ENetworks original programs, E-Styles; it's a show about fashion so we talk fashion from all angles. We look at trends, what to wear and what not to wear while highlighting the arts and the importance of supporting local. I love life and I'm a hopeless romantic. There're so many layers to me but those are the ones I want to highlight. KE: What is your relationship with your family like? MF: My family is really big but we're very close. For example my cousins are more like sisters and my sister is more like my best friend. Growing up, I believed this was normal, like all families are like mine. Its until I got older that I realized how lucky I was to be surrounded by a diverse group of people that gave me tremendous love and support and that beyond a shadow of a doubt, I knew loved me. KE: When did your interests in fashion begin? What were the circumstances? MF: Fashion feels second nature to me. It is in my DNA. Having a fashion designer as a mom meant you were surrounded by it, and not only the glamorous part, according to my mom “beyond the runway”. So from really young I knew the ins and outs of backstage, lighting, music and sacrificing so much to make sure the production was of a certain standard. This taught me discipline. So I'm extremely grateful for that. On my show when I speak about certain things I can personally relate. Don't get me wrong though, back then at certain times I hated it, I wanted to be out playing with my friends as opposed doing work with my mom, but looking back on it now, I wouldn't trade any of those experiences because they all moulded me into the person I am today. KE: What is it that you like most about fashion? MF: This is probably the easiest question thus far. I would have the say I love that fact that I can express my feelings and personality via personal style. And on a larger scale, we can use fashion to address serious issues that affect as us. So it's not always glamorous. It provides a platform
The stunning Mrs. Marisca Fiedtkou
Fashion Trends and the Entertainment Scene…
for you to be you. KE: What is/are your inspiration? What motivates you? MF: My mom inspires me. When I look at her and her journey it's so inspiring and moving it shows me that no matter your circumstance or situation you can become and accomplish whatever you set your mind to. My son is my motivation too. When I look at him I know failure isn't an option so I have to keep going. To be continued ...
Indian Song of the Week’:
'Mere Miyan Gaye England’
Indian Movie of the Week’:
Friday February 03, 2017
Kahaani
A pregnant woman's (Vidya Balan) efforts to find her missing husband make her the target of an assassin dispatched by her husband's secretive employers.
'Mere Miyan Gaye England' is as one can guess is a humorous parody of one of the most iconic songs of the preIndependence era, Shamshad Begum rendered, 'Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon' (PATANGA) . And one can just say, hats off to Vishal, Gulzar Sahab and of course Rekha Bhardwaj for the extremely zany take, specially Gulzar Sahab as the lyrics talk about the territorial (but extremely funny) exploits of a married military personnel by his better half which is simply hilarious.
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Friday February 03, 2017
Kaieteur News
Batavia’s Women Handcraft Centre thriving due to prudent management
The Batavia women’s Handicraft Centre is meeting its objective of generating income for the women and by extension their families. The Village received $M2.798 from the Ministry in 2015 to undertake a Handcraft Production Centre for the Women’s Group. The center is thriving due to prudent management of the resources received from the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs. The group occupies the bottom flat of the Village Office and ICT Hub. The money was used to enclose the bottom flat of the building to accommodate the group; purchase and transportation of materials nibbi, tibisiri, cufa, feathers, mocuru among others and training. In this regard, the group has set up a management body which oversees the Centre’s day to day
operations. Together with two resource persons from the village the group also sought external assistance where trainers were sourced from Orealla in Region 6 to provide additional training in the various skilled areas. The women are producing beaded jewellery using forest products, nibbi and tibisiri hats, vases and ornamental products such as jewellery boxes, small matapis and cassava sifters. Just recently, the group embarked on an additional venture and begun producing traditional wear for both indigenous men and women, hand knitted cotton bags, chains and actual sizes matapis and cassava sifters. These items are being sold to villagers and nearby villages. The Centre is open to the public on Thursdays. Members Management can be contacted on 659-8628 and
Some of the craft work produced by the Handcraft Centre 673-0316. Batavia has a population of 432, with Eyon Boyal serving as Village Chief. Toshao Boyal has indicated that “this Handicraft project from the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs is greatly benefiting the women of Batavia. It is especially of great benefit to single parent mothers who can now have a source of income. I want to thank the Ministry for this great initiative where our women can become selfsufficient while preserving their culture.” M a n a g e m e n t Development Officer in the Ministry Ms. Vivette Wellington said “I’m satisfied with the accomplishments of
the women’s group which has enabled them to become self-sufficient”.
The village is hopeful that in 2017 its ICT Hub will become operable. The village
will be investing in internet service aimed at improving communication there.
Friday February 03, 2017
Granger urges local banks not to imitate foreign institutions President David Granger is urging local banks not to become clones of foreign commercial banks. This call was directed particularly to the indigenous banks of the country who he said have an obligation to cater to the needs of all sectors of society. The Head of State said during the opening ceremony of the new Citizens Bank branch at the corner of Camp Street and South Road, that indigenous banks have a vital role to play in ensuring that financial services become more inclusive. “Indigenous banks particularly have a duty especially to micro and small scale enterprises which traditionally have felt excluded and marginalized from the foreign banking system. The financial exclusion of large sectors of the population from access to banking services creates social exclusion and social exclusion exacerbates poverty and marginalization.” According to Granger, this situation was common within the colonial era when banking was perceived to be the preserve of the privileged and the rich. He said that Citizens Bank, however, was different. The President said that the bank began its operations in 1994 as an arm of Citizen’s Bank Jamaica and became fully owned by local companies and shareholders in 1998. “It is therefore a member of the third generation of indigenous banks in Guyana. “The indigenization of the commercial banking sector provided greater access to financial services. It promoted the intermediation of funds to the productive sectors; it witnessed the provision of banking
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Kaieteur News
President David Granger services to geographic areas which previously had little or no access to such services.” As a result, Granger said that banking services became more inclusive. “Today Guyana’s indigenous banks ought not to try to become clones of foreign commercial banks. It should seek to transform the character of their operations by aligning their services to meet the needs of local businesses, local communities, local entrepreneurs, particularly the micro, small and medium scale enterprises.” He added that his government supports the micro; small and medium scale enterprises because they provide new employment, promote innovation and entrepreneurship, empower marginalized groups, generate export earnings and contribute to improve social conditions such as the reduction of poverty. “Guyana’s indigenous banks are better prepared than others to play a part in economic transformation of this country. The hosting of local government elections and the establishment of three new capital towns located in the hinterland regions last year created new needs in
banking services. Guyana is fast becoming a green state pursuing a low carbon low emission path to economic development.” The Head of State said that the “Green State” will see the emergence of new economic sectors and the revitalization of traditional sectors. “The Green State will place greater emphasis on agro-processing on education and eco-tourism services on energy saving technologies, on information communication technology, on low emission manufacturing, recycling and solid waste management and sustainable energy development.” He added that the “Green State” will allow the country’s indigenous banks to diversify their portfolios. According to Granger, these banks can make a difference in facilitation development by financing green projects which are people centred and supporting micro, small and medium scale enterprises. During his initial remarks, the President reminded that the location which the new branch occupies was once a bakery, popularly known for its sweet bread. He said that Citizens Bank is part of the long lineage of banks initiated by the British Guyana Bank which was incorporated 180 years ago in November 1836. “Those banks as we know profited from the payment of compensation after the legal abolition of enslavement in 1834 and before the Africans were actually freed in 1838.” Granger added that as time went by several foreign multinational banks came into the country during the colonial period and these banks dominated the financial sector up to the time Guyana became a Republic.
Couple remanded over ganja find at home Luis Cuperteno and his wife were admitted to $200,000 bail on a narcotic charge for which facts stated that they had some six pounds of marijuana concealed in their home at Moca Moca Village, Rupununi, Region Nine. Cupertino, 29, and Felecia Mandokin, 18, allegedly had 3Kg of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking in their home on January 23. The couple pleaded not guilty to the charge read to them on Tuesday by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. Police Prosecutor Deniro Jones told the court that the police received certain information and went to the home of the defendants and carried out a search during which the narcotics was found. According to Jones, Cupertino told police that his brother left the bag containing the drug at his home. Attorney Jerome Khan, during an application for bail, argued that his clients had no possession or knowledge of the drug. He said that police are still trying to locate
Luis Cuperteno Cupertino’s brother, the prime suspect, in their investigations. The lawyer revealed Cupertino told police that the drug belonged to his sibling. During his bail petition, Khan asked the court to consider the fiction that several persons have access to the home and that the narcotics could have belonged to anybody. This the lawyer contended, should be considered as special
reasons, and also the fact that the prime suspect is still on the run. Meanwhile, in another case, a 42-year-old mechanic was granted bail for break and enter and larceny when he also appeared before the Chief Magistrate. It is alleged that on January 24, at Takuba Landing, Essequibo River, Wayne Yaw broke into the business place of Andrew Perreira, and stole a quantity of phone cards, three cellular phones among other items to the value of $742,000. Yaw, of Fyrish, Corentyne, Berbice pleaded not guilty to the allegation and was released on $120,000 bail. He will return to court on February 16, at the Bartica Magistrate’s Court. Prosecutor Jones did not opposed to the defendant being released on bail. The prosecutor informed the court that $330,000 and two of the cell phones were recovered in the defendant’s possession.
A mini health check is the first step to donating blood
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Friday February 03, 2017
Kaieteur News
Painter shot dead following Albouystown robbery -two reportedly held Police have reportedly detained at least two suspects in connection with the killing of a 39-year-old construction worker, who was shot dead at around 06.25 hrs yesterday outside his girlfriend’s Lot 253 Independence Boulevard,
Albouystown home. Paul Daniels, a painter and plumber of Schoon’Ord, West Bank Demerara, was shot in the stomach by one of two men who had robbed him of a chain and a small sum of money shortly after he had
followed his companion to her residence. Police had said that Daniels was shot when he attempted to pursue the two bandits. But the slain man’s companion said that he was standing behind her front gate when the bandits, who were fleeing the scene, shot hm.
Foreign currency controls…
Money transfer service hid US$50M from Central Bank
Kaieteur News understands that the two detained men are from Albouystown. One of them was reportedly taken into custody after his mother accompanied him to the Brickdam Police Station. Daniels’s girlfriend said that he picked her up at her workplace around 06.00 hrs yesterday. He then took her home on his CG motorcycle. Daniels was watching television in her bedroom, while she lay on the bed, when, some ten minutes later, two men entered the room. The woman said that she at first assumed that the men
Paul Daniels were pulling a prank, until one of the men held Daniels at
gunpoint and relieved him of a gold chain and a small amount of cash. According to the woman, she began to shout for her brother, who lives a few houses away. She said that the men exited the house shortly after her brother arrived. Daniels was standing behind the gate when the bandits, who were several feet away, opened fire, hitting him in the stomach. The robbers reportedly escaped on a bicycle. Residents placed the wounded man in a vehicle and were taking him to a hospital when he succumbed. No arrest has been made.
City Council stalls Stain Masters “illegal” construction works
The exchange rates at downtown cambios yesterday. Amidst growing challenges brought on by the economic decline in several neighbouring countries, Government has announced plans to conduct stricter monitoring of financial institutions to guard against a run in the foreign exchange rate. Already, one multinational company that runs a popular money transfer service, has been written to an ordered to sell to commercial banks. It is believed that more than US$50M was withheld from the commercial banks last year, exacerbating an exchange rate situation which has seen it inching upwards. Yesterday, it was at $215 to one US$1. It was at around $205, earlier last year. In the last few weeks, as worry grew among some businesses, Government made it clear that there is no shortage of foreign currency. Rather, there were duplications in the applications and a rush for US dollars by a few large companies. Recently, as the Bank of Guyana investigated, it was found that a Trinidad-based company which also operated the money transfer business, has not been
selling its US and other currencies to the commercial banks as is required. Rather, the foreign exchange was circulated among its local subsidiaries. The amount that the commercial banks lost out was more than US$50M, Kaieteur News was told yesterday. Governor of Bank of Guyana, Dr. Gobind Ganga, yesterday declined to go into details, but insisted that Central Bank has taken some actions with regards to the money transfer service. He said that some guidelines have been issued to better protect the foreign exchange market. The matter is of huge concern to the government. On Tuesday, Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, briefed Cabinet. The Finance Minister assured that there was no shortage, says Minister of State, Joseph Harmon. He was yesterday speaking at post-Cabinet press briefings at the Ministry of the Presidency. It was disclosed that Bank of Guyana, as the regulatory body for financial institutions and non-bank cambios, has been told to respond to the situation with stricter regulations and closer monitoring. Central Bank is expected to issue a number of guidelines, with regards to the new regulations and monitoring, Minister Harmon said.
These would include ensuring that exporters repatriate their export earnings to the banking systems as is required and conducting close monitoring and examinations of bank and non-bank cambios to maintain market stability. Measures will also be taken to ensure that all foreign loans and grants are disbursed on time so as to increase the flow of funds currency to the country. According to Harmon, Government is cognizant of the currency shortages in Suriname, Trinidad, Barbados, Venezuela and Brazil and that operators would have capitalized on opportunities in Guyana. He admitted that Cabinet has been briefed about a foreign company withholding its money and not selling to the local banks. A number of large companies which had been remitting profits abroad have not been helping the situation. These include phone companies. A recent purchase by Banks DIH of shares from a Barbados company to the tune of US$25M also left a void in the supply. Lower world prices for commodities, including oil and rice, have c r e a t ed major problems for countries in the region. Guyana’s saving grace has been gold which has touched record production levels.
City Council removing the materials in front of Stain Masters yesterday The City Council yesterday took a team to stop the construction works in front of Stain Masters, a local cleaning business on Aubrey Barker Road, South Ruimveldt. Public Relations Officer (PRO) for City Council, Debra Lewis, told Kaieteur News that no permission was granted to the developer and several warnings were sent out to desist with the operations. The Council stopped all alleged unauthorised work that was being carried out with an excavator and a truck; all equipment was removed including concrete hollow blocks, cement and a truck load of sand. According to the PRO, the drains were also being blocked as a result of the construction works. However, the Council said that it is not targeting persons or busi-
nesses. Rather, it is just sorting out the “illegal” constructions around the city. Lewis said that when the council would send out warnings for persons to desist from these activities, as the Council does not work on weekends, on Monday there is constructed structure despite the warnings. Lewis said that the owner of Stain Masters could receive his materials after he would have received legal permission and would have paid a removal fee. Anthony Noble, owner for Clean Masters said in his defence that “water is always in front of my office. It’s always flooded so I took my initiative and I draw my plan and paid my fees. I asked for two more days to get this cleared up.” “I am trying to enhance my business here. Anyone passing here can vouch that
this place always floods. I wrote the council who said it was the Ministry of Public Works problem, and so they put you between a rock and a hard place.” Noble claims that the drains were blocked to cast the drain. He said that in his plan is a pedestrian crossing for school children. He said yesterday, “I’m going to go down to City Council and try to get the written approval. It was approved verbally, I spent approximately $500,000 on the concrete blocks”. “Renovation on the house was granted; I would not work wild, and the plan is stamped. All my rates and taxes are up to date and I am going to have to pay to get my materials and see where that goes from there.” On Wednesday January 25, last, (Continued on page 31)
Friday February 03, 2017
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Kaieteur News
While police searched for waitress’s killer…
Crippled suspect was attending court on robbery charge The mother of crippled murder suspect Shelton George, called ‘Boorie,’ insists that her son is innocent of the slaying of waitress Debra Blackman. She claims that he has been attending court for the past eight months on a robbery charge, and was never in hiding. George was arrested on Wednesday in his mother’s Better Hope, East Coast Demerara (ECD) home. He has been wheelchairbound, after he was shot in the back while in Suriname. Police have reportedly tied him to the murder of waitress, Debra Blackman, who was gunned down in August, 2014 in a D’Urban Street restaurant. Police are also treating him as a suspect in the July 29, 2014 killing of 40-year-old Bernadette Campbell, who was shot in a minibus by a hooded gunman during what is believed to be a robbery. According to information, “Boorie” was shot twice to the back in Suriname by Kellon Hinds, who was hiding out there after murdering Sherwyn Barrow. Barrow was slain execution-style in May
Murdered waitress: Debra Blackman
The gunman, Boorie 2015. After shooting Boorie, Hinds came back to Guyana in September 2015 and was gunned down in retaliation for the death of 24-year-old Sherwyn. Police had released a photograph of the gunman who killed Blackman. But Shelton George’s mother, Rosaline Munroe, yesterday insisted that her son is not the man in the bul-
letin. “My son is a fine (thin) person with a long face. That is not my son.” Munroe said that her son went to Suriname on January 9, 2014. He sustained spinal injuries and lost a kidney after being shot in Suriname. Mrs. Munroe said he returned to Guyana in September, 2014. She said that in Septem-
ber 2015, police charged him for armed robbery and he was remanded. According to Munroe, he remained on remand until June 2016, when he was released on bail. Mrs. Munroe said that he has been attending court and she was surprised when police came to her home on Wednesday and arrested him for murder. Shelton George’s mother
said she was not at home at the time, but was told that police searched the premises, took her son’s cell phone and then took him to Police Headquarters, Eve Leary. “They were seeing him all this time and not saying that he is a suspect in a murder.” “They got my son at Eve Leary lie down in a room.” Mrs. Munroe has since retained a lawyer for her son.
While one of the suspect’s Facebook profiles shows the tattooed Munroe posing near a huge stack of cash, his mother insisted that he is not a criminal. She said that the photograph was taken in Suriname, and the money belongs to an individual with whom her son was employed.
Bartica massacre...
Two get death sentence, one acquitted Mark Royden Williams called Durant and Smallie; and Dennis Williams called Anaconda were found guilty of killing 12 residents of Bartica on February 17, 2008. Coaccused, Roger Simon, called Goat Man was acquitted of the killings. The decision by the 12member jury came after 2 3 : 0 0 h o u r s y e s t e r d a y. They took almost six hours. It found the two Williamses guilty of seven counts of murder and five counts of manslaughter. On the murder conviction they were sentenced to death. The sentence was handed down by Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire at the Georgetown High Court. Dennis Williams, called Anaconda, was not in court. In fact, he had refused to attend court during the last three sessions of the hearings. But Mark Williams and Roger Simon were there. The jury acquitted Simon but he must face other charges stemming from the Bartica Massacre. He must answer to the charges of terrorism, break and enter, and larceny. Mark Willi a m s a n d D e n n i s Wi l l -
iams must return to court today for sentencing on the manslaughter charges. When the jury returned there was a deathly silence in
the courtroom. Relatives of the accused sat with stony looks on their faces. When the sentence was handed down, Simon’s relatives
broke out in screams of “Freedom; Freedom.” His lawyer, Peter Hugh, immediately petitioned the court for bail on the lesser
charges and succeeded in obt a i n i n g b a i l o n t h e charges of break and enter and larceny charges. However, he will have to remain
in court because of the terrorism charge. Details of the sentencing phase of the trial in tomorrow’s paper.
PAGE 30
PROPERTY FOR SALE Transported property @ Grove and Diamond $16M negotiable. Call: 625-5461
SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY,ETC.-CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 2161043; 677-6620
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TAXI SERVICE
1-2 Story building: top flat4 bedrooms, 1 self contained, air-conditioned, 2 apartment bottom flat, 2 bedrooms each apartment. Call: 645-9157 Aubrey Barker Road, triple lot -$27M, campbellville, DaSilva Street, Diamond Bungalow 12.5M, East$11.5M. Call GME Realty: 231-2199/ 618-7483 1 Front building & a 2 storey building on 1 (lot) 180 Charlotte Street Bourda W30XL120 $55M negotiable. Call: 6247341/227-6817/226-5183
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2 Storey house 35X45 3 bedrooms, 1 self-contained @ 5th Avenue Diamond, H/ Scheme. Call:677-0583/6645052 Newly built @ Craig E.B.D land size 91X50feet; house 40X28, 3 rooms, 1 selfcontained. Call: 718-2136496/617-7691 Property @ 28 Johana Cecilia Essequibo Coast, suitable for supermarket, bar etc -$12M. Call: 6304744 Transported property @ Grove/Diamond, 3 bedrooms, 1 self-contained, concrete fence, price $15M. Call: 660-1353/ 216-4338
Repairs and services: refrigerator and A/C unit, also auto AC repairs in G/town. Call: 683-6741/ 643-0455 Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezerCall: 610-5846 or 661-8158
TO LET Top flat apartment located @ Mon Repos ‘mouth’ E.C.D $60,000 per month. Call: 6929295\ 660-5233 One - two bedrooms apartment located in Cummings Lodge, opposite UG. Preferably young couples. Call: 222-3123/ 6158469
FOR SALE/RENT American Pool Table. Call: 277-0578
DOLLY’S CAR RENTALCALL: 225-7126/226-3693 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL@ YA H O O . C O M / W W W. DOLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM AIDAN’S CAR RENTAL:PICKUP,9-11 SEAT MIN BUS, GOOD FOR AIRPOTR & FAMILY OUTING, CHEAPESTRATE . Call: 698-7807
Cheap! Cheap! CCTV Security Surveillance Kit, 8 Channels DVR with built in Hard Drive, 8 bullet cameras – Tel: 621-4740/686-3500 Cat 928F Loader $7.3M, 3406 Caterpillar Engine $1.3M, 3306 Caterpillar Engine $1.3 M - Contact: 6500402\260-4115 Used furniture in need of repair- Tel:616- 2445 3116 Caterpillar Engine$1.1M, 3208 Caterpillar Engine $700,000, Diesel Welder, BMW 318I $2.5M, IST $2M. Contact: 650-0402\260-4115
Great Deals on video games & all gaming consoles. PC, video games & repairs – Call: 672-2566; 265-3231 Houses at Blankenburg$12.9 M and Up. Contact # 650-0402/260-4124
3 TON OPEN BACK CANTER, NEVER REGISTERED -$3.5M. CALL: 617-2891
Urgently wanted a professional cosmetology at Natural Beauty salon and spa, Grove, Market Street, E.B.D – Call: 652-5800
Land Rover, Suzuki Sport X-90, Chevy Cargo Van, Grand Jeep Cherokee. Owner Leaving! Call: 227-8519/ 653-4287
1 Waitress, 1 bartender & 1 bar supervisor. Call: 6965768/ 218-0013/601-1949
Silent diesel generator 10KVA (1 with welding set), Jackhammer, used Indian Costumes and accessories. Owner Leaving! Call: 2278519/ 653-4287
FOR RENT PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620
One concrete building (incomplete) south Amelia’s Ward Linden -$6M negotiable. Call: 644-1869
Design & Make Aluminum windows, doors, stainless rails, showcases, rolling shutters, make & install automatic doors. Call: 2336818/677-5599/659-9999
Newly renovated, grilled, self-contained apartments for rent (light & water included) in Sussex St. Charlestown. Price-$35,000. Call: 689-8757/659-3597
25 Lbs 8" and 25lbs 10" Nylon drift seine number 18 and 30 twine, double knot complete. Call: 670-3912
Bottom flat to rent for store, shop, etc at Lot 117 Bagotville front, W.B.D. Call: 647-1347/ 665-3512
1 3600 watts generator, 1 30HP motor 3PH, 1 Automatic switch 600A more electrical stuff. Call: 627-7835
Brains Construction & Rental Service: we rent all types of equipment, excavator, bobcat, trucks, tools. Call: 2190904/601-5024
PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS& SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL: 677-7827, 6435122, EMAIL: PRO_ AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO. COM WING’S CAR & PICKUP RENTAL: LOW DOWN PAYMENT, CHEAP REATES,SPECIAL OFFER FOR THE SEASON. CALL: 690-6494
Combines 7300 John Deere (2000hrs), Fiatagri L413 (2500hrs), Laverda 132 & Tractors: Massey 399, Fiat 110/90, Ford 6610-Call: 6859878; 338-4354 1 Big music set, owner migrating. Call: 690-5225 1 Stembow Boat & Engine, 200HP Yamaha with Power Steering Kit. $1.6M Negotiable Call 658-5299/ 638-7748 One Perkins 27 KVA Generator -$1.2M negotiable. Call: 644-1869
Handy boy, must have police clearance. Apply to Shanta’s @ 225 Camp & New Market Street Live-in housekeeper to care for sick person; cook and general care. Call: 603-3571 between 7:00am-7:00pm Wa n t e d U rg e n t l y ! 1 Houselot in Diamond between 7th to 11th Avenue. Call: 610-5957
Elevator very good condition, price negotiable. Call 231-1284
1-2 Storey building 3 bedrooms upstairs, 2 apartments downstairs, all selfcontained @ avenue B Diamond, E.B.D- Call: 658-5452
Cook & Cashier for snackette, attractive salary. Call: 697-5387/ 677-9279 1- Honest Driver salesman, must have lorry license, CXC subjects. Mail application to 10 La Grange, W.B.D.
Leyland DAF 75 Hauler in good condition GNN series -$2.2M. Call: 655-5117 or 623-3839 One complete sawmill situated at Yarrowkabra Industrial Site Soesdyke/ Linden Highway. Call: 6441190/ 609-8041
WANTED
2009 RAUM -$2.2M, 2009 SIENTA -$2.3M, 2011 MAZDA AXELA -$2.7M, 2011 NOAH & VOXY $2.6M. CALL:617-2891
Lot 704 House & Land at Zeelugt, Brother Dam W.C.D. Call: 616-5606/ 277-0281
CAR RENTAL CAR RENTAL
FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGHPURITYMERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754.
VEHICLE FOR SALE 1 Toyota Allion PVV series: TV Camera, HID, lights, alarm & remote start $2.1M negotiable Call: 649-0956
Bottom flat house @ 25 North Road & Oronoque Street, fully furnished/ air condition/residence / business. Call: 226-7012
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EDUCATIONAL Now Registering! 9 Courses Diploma in computers $40,000, Computerize Accounting, Graphics Programs @ MicroGraphics, Vreed-en-Hoop. Call: 2643057
Friday January 27, 2017
Kaieteur News
Three storey 75X30 feet building/bond, open floor, two offices, 2 washrooms, driveways @ 25B Princes St., Charlestown. Call: 2230654/225-0605 Space for rent at Ashmin’s ideal for commercial, office and cafeteria use, no deposit. Call: 616-9660/ 6711846 For short term rental, 1 selfcontained 2 bedrooms apartment @ Avenue B, Diamond, E.B.D. working couple preferred- Call: 658-5452
2 Beauticians with pleasant personalities & passion for their work must be qualified and have clients. Call: 626-6450 One general domestic to work in Bel-Air, must know to cook, Indian & English dishes. Call: 223-9888/6643507 1 Experienced office staff, must have Accounts experience. Apply with written application, police clearance, photo @ 112 3rd and Albert Street Albertown. Call: 225-6255/ 226-9000 We buy land in Zeelugt, Bartica, Eccles, Herstelling, Farm, Providence & Florida. Call: 233-3006/658-5897/6511969 Wanted land to buy: La Parfaite Harmonie, Uitvlugt, Zeelugt, Tuschen. Call: 6579594
FOR RENT One large two bedrooms top flat in WortmanvilleTel:616- 2445 Two bedrooms apartment to rent @ Better Hope, E.C.D – Call: 617-3001 Lot 14 Croal & Longden Street: 4 Storey building (infront Demico). Call: 6631876 Continue on page 31
Friday January 27, 2017
PAGE 31
Kaieteur News
Minister Ally visits Friendship centenarian Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally, paid a visit to centenarian Edmay McIntosh at her Friendship, East Bank Demerara home. Whilst there the Minister presented the centenarian with a hamper on behalf of President David Granger. McIntosh, or as she is more fondly referred to, Ms. Mac, attained the age of 104 on January 26, 2017. She is the mother of four; three boys and a girl who is now deceased. She not only has grands and great-grands but is also a great, great grandmother. The centenarian is a lover
of food and keeps abreast with the news via radio since her eyesight does not allow her to read as much as she used to. Born in Paramaribo, Suriname, Ms Mac later moved to Guyana as a young child with her parents. She is the eldest of seven children, two boys and five girls. She is the only surviving sibling. She thanked Minister Ally for meeting with her and sent her regards to the President for her hamper. She gave all thanks to God for blessing and keeping her in good health and strength to have reached the age of 104.
From page 30
Minister Amna Ally embraces centenarian Edmay McIntosh
Accused in ‘Six Head’ causing death trial for February 27 sentencing Manx Powers, 33, of Campbellville, Georgetown, who is on trial for causing the death of Andrew ‘Six Head’ Lewis by dangerous driving will know his fate on February 27. Magistrate Fabayo Azore will make her ruling on that day after the prosecution and defendant lead their defence again. Manx and his attorney Peter Hugh were both present in court yesterday awaiting the ruling but instead they
were told that the ruling will be on February 27. Manx had given an unsworn statement yesterday. In a previous sitting of the court the prosecution closed the case by calling an emergency medical technician/ ambulance driver to the stand. The witness testified to picking up Lewis from the road and transporting him to the East Bank Demerara Regional Hospital, where Lewis was pronounced dead.
Powers is currently out on $250,000 bail and as a condition attached to bail the defendant was instructed to lodge his passport and report to the Subordinate Officer in charge of the Golden Grove Police Station Traffic Department. According to reports, Lewis, a former world Welterweight boxing champion, was riding his bicycle on May 4, 2015 at New Hope, East Bank Demerara on his way to visit a friend, when he was struck down by a car driven by the defendant. Lewis was attempting to cross the road.
Charged: Manx Powers
Office staff with 5 CXC subjects, must be computer literate. Also 1 MechanicTel:218-5105
Land @ Soesdyke, 6 lots measuring 135’X175’ -$24M negotiable. Call: 627-3334/ 696-8935, email:fcranmore@ guyanavoice.com
One domestic to work in Trinidad, between ages of 25-35. Call 1-868- 683-1528 Ladies to work in Suriname. Call: +597-875-4660 One driver/porter & porterCall: 216-1043, 677-6620
1 Dyna Toyota open back canter in excellent condition, $1.2M negotiable- Call: 6848231, 629-4236
Land @ La Parfaite Harmonie -$1.2M, $1.4M, $1.6M, Uitvlugt- $2M, Tuschen School Street $3M, Providence -$5M, Eccles -$5M. Call: 604-6724 Hararuni, Linden Highway, Road Side Land, 21 Acres (good on housing) price negotiable. Call:692-8216/233-5539 Eccles (100FT X 50FT) $5M, La Parfaite Harmonie- $1.3M, New Diamond Scheme -$7M, Uitvlugt $2.5M.Call:2333006/ 658-5897 /651-1969 Tuschen front (with fence) $2.8M, La Parfaite Harmonie -$1.6M, Zeelugt -$2M, Uitvlugt -$2M. Call:642-1252 High income houselot in Uitvlugt, price negotiable. Call: 676-4051
EDUCATIONAL Visa Processing Centre: all visitors and students visa for USA & Canada. MicroGraphics, Vreed-enHoop. Call: 264-3057
The blocked drain
Guyana Foundation attends Mental Health ... (From page 16) University for opening up this opportunity for Guyana and the Guyana Foundation to have access to the knowledge of these highly trained professionals. She outlined the problems Guyana faces in matters of abuse addiction and particularly suicide. She shared an overview of some of the work of the Guyana Foundation to a large audience who responded
LAND FOR SALE
VEHICLE FOR SALE
City Council stalls Stain Masters “illegal” construction ... From page 28 City Council claimed that the concrete bridge to a private parking lot on Camp and Church Streets was illegal. It brought out an excavator to do works on the bridge. Teleperformance, the call centre company located on Camp and Robb Streets, Georgetown said that the parking lot bridge which the City Council claims is illegal, does not belong to the company. The company said that for the past 25 months that Teleperformance has been in Guyana, it has done everything to ensure all of its actions are done within the laws and with the highest level of integrity. The company reported that it does not own the parking lot but rather are tenants. All further questions should be directed at the landlord of the parking lot, the company said.
WANTED
with a standing ovation. Excerpts of the presentation were released on Cuban radio and television. In a global context she stated, “The planet as we know it today is not only at risk from worrying environmental issues that force us to change the way we live, to protect our oceans, our forests, our atmosphere, our planet is also haemorrhaging from the loss
of lives as more and more people are gunned down in acts of terror, suicide, and various forms of abuse that end violently and fatally. “This cannot be the way forward for mankind. We cannot begin to accept this as the norm. Something has to be done to address mental health issues and it has to be a global effort.” The University has
committed to make this conference an annual event to bring together many more countries to focus on these issues. Meanwhile, the Guyana Foundation is in the process of preparing a Memorandum of Understanding that will allow the Foundation to access Cuban resource materials and professionals to travel to Guyana to assist in its work.
SERVICES Eagle’s: Re-gas -$8,000, Washing machine repairs, Gas Stove, Plasma flat Screen & more. Call: 6972969/646-0966
WANTED To rent one restaurant/liquor restaurant or bar at E.B.D or Georgetown- Call: 673-9283
PAGE 32
Friday February 03, 2017
Kaieteur News
T&T to amend anti-terrorism legislation PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – The Trinidad and Tobago government yesterday announced plans to amend the existing anti-terrorism legislation making it much more difficult for anyone to participate in terrorist activities at home or abroad. Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi, speaking at the weekly Cabinet news conference said that the amendment to the Anti-Terrorist Act will be presented to the Parliament today. “We are now able to come with a very comprehensive piece of law which seeks to amend the anti-terrorism act of Trinidad and Tobago,” he said, adding “what we are doing is to specifically attending to the deficiencies observed in the…anti-terrorism marking of Trinidad and Tobago. “We are allowing for specific provisions to allow us to meet with the United Nations resolutions which we have not been fully compliant on,” he said, adding “what we are expanding the definition
Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi of property of funds for terrorism and we are specifically going to include oil and other natural resources”. Al-Rawi told reporters that terrorism financing is often perceived to be in cash but “in reality there’s a lot of in kind and other resources can be used to fund terrorist organisation. “So what we did is to broaden the definition…as to
the type of property that can be used,” he said, adding that the definition of terrorist will now include “persons who contribute to the terrorist act or the financing of terrorism by individual terrorists. “If you fund it in any form or fashion, whether you are an entity or not …you are going to be captured by this position,” he said, adding that the legislation will also redefine a terrorist act.
UN experts say US travel ban a ‘significant setback’ for those needing int’l protection UNITED NATIONS (CMC) – A group of experts from the United Nations has expressed concern that the new executive order by United States President Donald Trump is in breach of the country’s human rights commitments. “Such an order is clearly discriminatory based on one’s nationality and leads to increased stigmatization of Muslim communities,” said the UN Special Rapporteurs on migrants – François
Crépeau; on racism – Mutuma Ruteere; on human rights and counter terrorism – Ben Emmerson; on torture – Nils Melzer; and on freedom of religion – Ahmed Shaheed. In a statement issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) “The US recent policy on immigration also risks people being returned, without proper individual assessments and asylum procedures, to places in which they
risk being subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, in direct contravention of international humanitarian and human rights laws which uphold the principle of nonrefoulement,” they warned. The Executive Order, signed by Trump on January 27, bars all nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen – from entering the US for the next 90 days.
Newest member of Brazil’s top court to head corruption probes (Reuters) The Supreme Court picked its newest member yesterday to take over the investigations of politicians implicated in Brazil’s biggest-ever graft scandal, expected to shake the country’s establishment and government because of important new testimony. Court officials said Justice Edson Fachin was chosen by random electronic selection from among a group of five of the court’s 10 members and will take over the corruption cases from Justice Te o r i Zavascki, who died in a plane crash two weeks ago. Fachin’s first task will be to act on explosive plea bargain testimony to pros-
ecutors by 77 executives of engineering conglomerate Odebrecht. It reportedly names dozens of politicians who took kickbacks, including members of President Michel Temer’s government and leaders of his PMDB party. Fachin, 58, a law professor from Paraná state, was appointed to the court by Temer’s impeached leftist predecessor Dilma Rousseff but has established a record of independent rulings despite ties to her Workers Party. Temer, who waited for the court to decide who would take on the graft cases to avoid accusations of political interference, must now choose a replace-
ment for the late Zavascki. He could do that in the next few days “or even hours,” his chief of staff Eliseu Padilha told reporters. Fachin received praise from Sergio Moro, the lower court judge at the cente of the graft investigation. Moro has ordered the arrest of dozens of executives from engineering, construction and oil companies and various politicians and intermediaries since the scandal broke three years ago. “Justice Fachin is a jurist of the first order, who has shown himself to be an efficient and independent judge,” Moro said in a statement.
Friday February 03, 2017
PAGE 33
Kaieteur News
Tense call between Trump and Australian leader strains longtime ties (Reuters) U.S. ties with staunch ally Australia became strained yesterday after details about an acrimonious phone call between its leaders emerged and U.S. President Donald Trump said a deal between the two nations on refugee resettlement was “dumb.” During a 25-minute phone call last Saturday with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Trump accused Australia of trying to export the “next Boston bombers” under the agreement, the Wa s h i n g t o n P o s t r e ported. The Post, which cited unidentified senior U.S. officials, said that Trump abruptly ended the call and told Turnbull that it was the “worst call by far” he’d had with a foreign leader. The description of the call and a subsequent tweet from Trump promising to study what he called a “dumb deal” caused concern among lawmakers from Republican and Democratic parties.
“We always have reason to be concerned with respect to anytime our relationship with an ally might go sour. My hope is that it won’t,” Republican Senator Mike Lee told CNN. “My hope is that we can achieve whatever objectives the president’s willing to pursue in a way that won’t damage the trade relationship or won’t damage other aspects of our relationship,” Lee said. Representative Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House of Representatives, urged Trump to apologize, while Republican Senator John McCain, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said he called Australia’s U.S. ambassador to express his support. During former President Barack Obama’s administration, the United States agreed to resettle up to 1,250 asylum seekers held in offshore processing camps on Pacific islands in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. In return, Australia would resettle refugees from El Salvador, Guatemala
President Trump, with National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and senior advisor Steve Bannon (R), speaks by phone with Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst and Honduras. The rift between Washington and Canberra that has developed over the resettlement deal could have serious repercussions. Australia and the United States are among five nations that make up the Five Eyes group, the world’s
leading intelligence-sharing network. Later yesterday, Trump told reporters at the White House he would “respect” the refugee agreement with Australia. But Trump made it clear he was not pleased, saying it was an example of countries
taking advantage of the United States. “Why are we doing this, what’s the purpose? So, we’ll see what happens,” Trump said. REFUGEESAT ISSUE The call between Trump and Turnbull came at the end
of a day of widespread protests and confusion over Trump’s order for a 120-day halt of the U.S. refugee program and a 90-day suspension on visits from people from seven predominantly Muslim countries.
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Kaieteur News
Friday February 03, 2017
Friday February 03, 2017
Kaieteur News
EU leaders in Malta, hoping to curb African migration (Reuters) European Union leaders meet on Malta today to endorse plans they hope can forestall a new wave spring of migrants sailing for Italy from Africa, but aware that anarchy in Libya means any quick fix is a long shot. Theresa May will also attend, despite the prime minister’s plan to start negotiations by next month to take the U.K. out of the EU — a reminder that Britain, along with France, is one of the bloc’s two main military powers and a key aid donor in Africa, and that Brussels will go on cooperating with London long after Brexit. May also has a chance to brief her 27 peers on her visit last week to new U.S. President Donald Trump, whose backing for Brexit, doubts on free trade, barring of refugees and warmth toward Russia all raise alarm in Europe. The British leader could feel a degree of frost over her rush to embrace Trump. A controversial agreement with Turkey last year halted an influx of refugees that had brought a million migrants into Germany via Greece. Now the EU has turned its attention to Italy, where a record 181,000 people arrived in 2016, most of them deemed to be seeking work and not in clear need of asylum from persecution. The risks that those people run in the seas around Malta after crossing the Sahara — more than 4,500 drowned last year — will be highlighted when leaders renew vows to help Africans live better without leaving home: “This is the only way
to stop people dying in the desert and at sea,” summit chair Donald Tusk said. “The only way to gain control over migration in Europe.” Popular hostility to immigration has stoked nationalist, anti-EU movements, creating a powerful incentive for leaders facing re-election to appear to be control. That includes German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who wants a fourth term in September. “NO BAZOOKA” EU leaders acknowledge they cannot replicate with Libya the deal they made with Turkey to take back asylumseekers. As the U.N. refugee agency reminded them yesterday, Libya since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 is simply not a safe place. “There will be no bazooka,” a senior EU official said yesterday, ruling out — at this stage — that the bloc could get more directly involved in handling asylum seekers inside Africa. That leaves the EU trying to bolster the shaky, U.N.backed Tripoli government of Prime Minister Fayez Seraj, who was in Brussels and Rome yesterday to hear pledges of cash and help to
train and strengthen his coastal and border forces. As well as trying to disrupt smuggling gangs, the EU aims to deport more failed asylum seekers from Italy, using its cash to overcome resistance among African states to taking people back. Deportations may never occur on a grand scale, but EU officials argue that a more visible risk of being deported may dissuade would-be migrants from setting out in the first place. “But everyone understands that this is a long shot,” one senior EU diplomat said. Other deterrence, including publicizing the unhappy fate of many migrants, may be having an effect. In Agadez in Niger, the numbers gathering to cross the Sahara have plunged lately — though smugglers may just have altered routes. The European leaders will turn their attention after May leaves later in the day to how to shore up popular support for the EU. They will hash out ideas for a declaration on the bloc’s future when they mark its 60th anniversary in Rome in March.
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Tiger Woods struggles as Sergio Garcia leads Dubai Desert Classic
Woods missed the cut Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego in January. Tiger Woods failed to card a birdie as he shot a fiveover-par 77 to trail leader Sergio Garcia by 12 shots at the Dubai Desert Classic. The 14-time major winner, playing in his first European Tour event after a back injury, faces missing successive cuts after struggling at Torrey Pines. ”I was trying to hit shots and I wasn’t doing a good job,” said Woods, 41. “I could have shot something near
Friday February 03, 2017
Kaieteur News
even par if I would have made some putts but I made nothing.” Starting his opening round on the back nine, Woods got off to a poor start as he found a bunker and bogeyed the par-five opener. He dropped another shot on the 12th before his approach shot fell short of the 18th green and rolled back into the water, leading to his third bogey of the day. Woods, who returned to ac-
tion last December after 15 months out following surgery, had a three-putt bogey on the fifth and missed par from five feet on the sixth. Woods insisted he had not suffered an injury setback despite climbing awkwardly out of a greenside bunker early on and grimacing as he walked off the tee on his 16th hole. ”No, I wasn’t in pain at all,” Woods said. “I was just trying to hit shots and I wasn’t doing a very good job. At the end I finally hit some good ones but the damage had already been done.” Spain’s Garcia said his seven-under-par 65 was “a nice way to start; a good solid round”. He holed six birdies and an eagle to lead by one from Chile’s Felipe Aguilar and South Africa’s George Coetzee, with England’s Ian Poulter a shot further back after a 67. (BBCsport)
Gold Cup Final... (From page 34) FIFA match dates on March 24 and 28 to decide the Gold Cup’s 12th and last berth. The groups and full schedule for the 2017 Gold Cup will be unveiled in March. Exclusive Presale Offering - Fans can visit www.GoldCup.org to sign up for an exclusive pre-sale offering for any 2017 Gold Cup game day including the Final at Levi’s Stadium, before seats go on sale to the general public. Tickets for the 2017 Gold Cup will go on sale at a later date. The Gold Cup Organizing Committee encourages fans to purchase their tickets early in order to secure the best seats for a great fan experience. (CONCACAF)
Priyanna Ramdhani... (From page 37) Ramdhani: 21-13, 21-12 OPEN MIXED DOUBLES SEMI-FINALS Jonathan Mangra & Priyanna Ramdhani defeated Avinash Odit & Angelica Holder: 21-19, 21-12 Nicholas Ali & Greer Jackson defeated Ronald Yuen & Pricilla Moore: 2117, 21-13 Competition will continue and end today from 18:00hrs with playoffs in the finals and third place matches along with the presentation.
Cameroon beat Ghana to reach Afcon final Cameroon will face Egypt in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations final after two second-half strikes saw off Ghana. Both sides had gone close to breaking the deadlock before Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui took advantage of atrocious defending from a free-kick to lash in the opener in the 72nd minute. Wi t h seconds remaining Christian Bassogog sealed victory when he applied a deft finish to a counter-attack. Ghana went close through
Wakaso Mubarak and Christian Atsu. Panathinaikos midfielder Wakaso tested keeper Fabrice Ondoa will a brilliant bending free-kick, and Newcastle’s flying winger Atsu saw his angled strike drift past Cameroon’s upright by inches. Aside from those two chances, the Black Stars - who last won the competition in 1982 - underwhelmed against a side who were clear second favourites going into the match. As for coach Hugo Broos’ Indomitable Lions, they are
into their first final since they lost to Egypt in 2008. “It is a real dream for us to get to the final,” said the Belgian coach. ”Ghana have more experience than us - look at what they have done in recent tournaments. But since the start of this tournament we have shown we keep going right to the end in every game. ”I am very happy, especially for the team. They are an exemplary group on and off the field and they deserve to be in the final.”
Friday February 03 2017 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Your outgoing charm and obvious talent will be admired. Mingle with those who have similar interests, and you should be able to start something. You might find that a coworker has been two faced. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) New friendships will develop through group events. You will be emotional with regard to your personal life. Overstatement will be your downfall. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Be extra careful with your valuables; loss and theft are evident today. Minor health problems could result through exhaustion. Travel will be in your best interest regardless of whether it is business or pleasure. CANCER (June 21–July 22) Offer consolation, but don't give them any direction. You will get upset over trivial matters. Empty promises are evident. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Joining organizations will provide you with stimulating romantic contacts. You might get behind if you spend too much time debating senseless issues. Get involved in creative projects that will enhance your earning power. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Your disciplined attention to jobs will enhance your position. Competitive games will be your forte. Try not to jump to conclusions. LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Your colorful conversation may attract new mates. Un-
pleasant situations concerning family members will be unnerving. You will get great satisfaction from your efforts. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Don't get so wrapped up in being rich that you overlook the fact that your plan may not be as solid as you thought. Your ideas can be put into action. Emotional matters may not be easy for you to handle. SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21) Watch for empty promises that may give you false hope. You will gain new friends if you get involved in environmental issues. You may be the recipient of false information. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) You will have a problem holding on to your cash today. You will have to do a lot of running around, so be prepared to fall short of your expectations. You need time to think things through. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) Cultural activities open your eyes to new ways of doing things. You should be raising your self esteem and confidence in order to promote your work. Your personal secrets may be revealed if you let coworkers in on your family dilemmas. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Don't be too quick to voice your opinion. Listen to others carefully. If you're in the mood, go out and socialize, or get involved in sports activities. Be careful not to push your luck o r t a k e too much for granted when dealing on either a personal or professional level.
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Kaieteur News
Friday February 03, 2017
Bolt rules out 2018 Djokovic the exception as he clocks in for national duty Commonwealth Games swan song
Gold medalist Usain Bolt (JAM) of Jamaica bites his medal. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi Jamaican sprint great Usain Bolt has no plans to extend his career beyond this year’s world championships in London and has ruled out a return to Australia for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Bolt, who completed a ‘treble treble’ of 100m, 200m and 4x100m Olympic titles at the 2016 Rio Games,
had his 2008 relay gold stripped last month after team mate Nesta Carter’s retested sample showed traces of a banned substance. The 30-year-old Bolt also anchored the Jamaican relay team to his only Commonwealth Games gold in Glasgow in 2014 and organizers had hoped that he might extend his career to
the next edition on the Gold Coast in April 2018. ”To come out here next season, to really train as hard as I need to get to the level I need to win, it’s not going to happen,” Bolt told reporters in Melbourne yesterday. Bolt will lead an international team of “All Stars” in the Nitro Athletics series in the Australian city against four other teams representing England, China, New Zealand and Japan. The first meeting is tomorrow, with a further two on Feb. 9 and 11. “It is going to be great, going to be something different. Like cricket and Twenty20, it’s going to be different,” Bolt added. “I feel it will catch on — it’s going to bring a lot of excitement to the sport. ”It is going to be something different, not going to be normal — a lot more exciting. I feel personally it is a great idea. This is why I am a part of it.” (Reuters)
Cycling: Grivko out of Dubai Tour after hitting Kittel
Novak Djokovic will be a notable exception this week after clocking on for Davis Cup duty for Serbia when a host of other big names are resting up after their Australian Open exertions. Wo r l d n u m b e r t w o Djokovic is the only member of the top 10 in action over the weekend’s ties although he perhaps needs some sharpening after a shock second-round loss to Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin in Melbourne left him with more time on his hands at the start of the season that he was anticipating. Which is good news for Serbia as they host a young Russian side in a World Group first round tie in Nis. “Every year we are hoping to repeat what we did in 2010,” Djokovic, whose presence packed out the stadium in practice on Wednesday, told the ITF’s website. ”But the Russians have a young and motivated team, therefore we have to take them very seriously,” added the 12-times grand slam champion who opens against D a n i i l M e d v e d e v. While Serbia will benefit from Djokovic’s participation, Canada and Britain will both be without their weapons of choice when they meet in Ottawa. Britain, 2015 champions, are without world number one Andy Murray and Canada are missing Milos Raonic. U n d e r s t a n d a b l y, considering his magical exploits in winning an 18th grand slam title in Australia
Novak Djokovic. REUTERS/David Gray at the age of 35, Roger Federer will not feature for Switzerland in the U.S. while the visitors are also without Stan Wawrinka. The theme continues in Buenos Aires where champions Argentina take on Italy without talisman Juan Martin del Potro while in Japan the hosts are without Kei Nishikori against a French side lacking Gael Monfils and JoeWilfried Tsonga. Croatia, runners-up last year, are hosting Spain without Marin Cilic and will do well to hold a Spain side that, despite not having Rafael Nadal, still boasts the likes of Roberto Bautista Agut and Pablo Carreno Busta. Three-times champions Germany will fancy their chances of a long run having fallen at the first round stage for the past two years, especially with Alexander Zverev and his brother Mischa, Murray’s Australian
Open conqueror, in the side. It is the first time Germany have ever had siblings playing in the same tie and Alexander, 19, said it is a special moment. “He almost had no ranking in 2015 and now for us to both be playing for our country is a very proud day,” the supremely talented world number 22 said after the draw in Frankfurt which pitched him against Belgium’s rookie Arthur de Greef. While Djokovic will be keen to banis h bitter Australian Open memories, so too will Nick Kyrgios who exited his home grand slam to boos from the crowd ringing in his ears after losing a five-setter from two sets up to Andreas Seppi in round two. Wo r l d n u m b e r 1 5 K y rg i o s l i n e s u p f o r Australia against the Czech Republic in Melbourne where he will hope for a warmer reception. (Reuters)
Nitro Athletics: Usain Bolt All-Stars team to face England in ‘revolutionary’ meet
Andriy Grivko (UKR) of Ukraine competes. REUTERS/Paul Hanna. Ukrainian rider Andriy Grivko of the Astana team has been disqualified from the Tour of Dubai after punching German Marcel Kittel in the face during yesterday’s third stage, organizers said. Kittel, of the Quick Step Floors team, ended up with a bloodied face after sustaining a cut to his eyebrow, failing to contest
the final sprint after winning the first two stages of the race, which he still leads. ”I got punched by Andriy Grivko from Astana. That’s why I had blood on my face but I didn’t crash,” Kittel said in a statement by organizers. “There was some confusion in the race. My team worked well for the sprint but I was not in
a perfect position and maybe my head was elsewhere too.” Astana apologized to Kittel and his team, saying on Twitter: “Astana Proteam apologizes to @marcelkittel and @quickstepteam for improper behavior of its rider @andrei_007 during stage 3 of @dubaitour”. The Tour of Dubai ends tomorrow. (Reuters)
England will provide one of five teams competing against Usain Bolt’s AllStars in a new athletics event IAAF President Lord Coe says will “revolutionise” the sport. Jamaica’s Bolt, an eight-time Olympic gold medallist, will be the star attraction at the first Nitro Athletics event in Melbourne tomorrow. It includes both traditional and new events, such as the elimination mile. “This will be track and field as it’s never been seen before,” said Bolt. The 30year-old learned last week he would have to hand back one of his nine Olympic gold medals after Jamaican teammate Nesta Carter tested positive for a banned
substance. Bolt said at the time: “I’m not happy, but it’s just one of those things that happen in life.” He is now preparing to captain the AllStars in an event he says will bring “something different” to world athletics. Lord Coe, head of athletics’ governing body, said: “Athletics, in its traditional form, remains the cornerstone of the Olympic Games. “However, we need innovation and more opportunities for our athletes to interact with fans and show their personalities.” What is Nitro Athletics? Athletics Australia President Mark Arbib says it is “the sports entertainment product
track and field needs to move athletics beyond the existing format of one-day athletics meets”. He believes it will be a “game-changer”, an event showcasing a mix of power, endurance, technique and teamwork disciplines across sprints, distance, field and Para-athletics events. Cue mixed events, medley relays and target javelin, with countdown clocks, athletes wearing microphones and fluorescent blocks and batons. Points are awarded for each of the 12 events, as the six teams compete over three one-day meetings at M e l b o u r n e ’s L a k e s i d e Stadium. (BBCsport)
Kaieteur News
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Friday February 03, 2017
Murray, Garnett transfer make immediate impact; Action moves to Victoria this Sunday With a number of teams benefitting from the mass exodus of players from the four clubs that withdrew from the Stag Elite League, the quality of the Limacol Football Competition has now risen beyond expectations and this has been seen immediately. Western Tigers, one of the teams to profit from the recently closed transfer window through the acquisition of Devon Millington and Andrew Murray Jnr. saw the wisdom in their choices when the latter’s solitary strike was enough to secure a win against Linden’s youthful Eagles unit in their clash on Wednesday evening, at the
Domini Garnett - Grove Hi Tech GFC ground. Murray’s goal came as a result of a header after he
reached on to a cross from the right side and nonchalantly buried it past
Gold Cup Final awarded to Levi’s Stadium
the opposition goalkeeper in the fourth minute. Not many chances were created after as both teams backline stood up sturdily to the challenges and the scoreline remained 1-0 in Tigers favour. In the second period, Eagles attacked with menacing intent, but their inexperience at this level showed and the skill of the Tigers defence marshaled by Philip Rowley closed the door repeatedly. R a n d o l p h Wa g n e r muffed a chance to stretch their advantage, but his freekick which he bent around the wall was parried into touch for a corner as time ticked away. Tigers, though, being outplayed in the final ten minutes managed to hold on to their lead and secure full points and stay unbeaten so far. They now move to the
top of the group with six points, while Eagles remain in the second position with three. Another player, who returned via the transfer w i n d o w, w a s D o m i n i Garnett and his strike on the stroke of full time enabled Grove Hi-Tech to gain three vital points in their 1-0 triumph over defending champion Milerock in the opening fixture. Garnett sprint into the penalty area went unnoticed by the Milerock defence and he fired past the goalkeeper following a cross from the right flank that landed into his path. It was a costly miss by the Milerock defence as the score-line remained that way until the final whistle sounded to hand Grove Hi Tec three crucial points as teams’ race for the top spot in the group. Grove Hi-Tech is now positioned third in Group A,
while Milerock occupies second due to their superior goal difference. Action continues this Sunday with another double header, at the Victoria Ground. The opening game at 18:30hrs will see Mahaica Determinators go up against Riddim Squad, while Ann’s Grove entertains Pouderoyen. The winner of each group will collect $100,000, while the respective finishers will receive $50,000, $30,000 and $20,000 apiece. The overall winner of the compe t i t i o n w i l l t a k e home $500,000 and a trophy, while the second, third and fourth placed teams pocket $300,000, $200,000 and $100,000 respectively. Banks DIH Limited under the GT Beer Brand, Trophy Stall and Star Party Rentals are the other entities on board.
Caribbean Cup, Gold Cup the focus, reminds Whitmore
Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California Miami - CONCACAF announced Wednesday that the 2017 Gold Cup Final will be held at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on July 26. Levi’s Stadium is one of the 14 venues in 13 cities that will host the competition, the 14th in the tournament’s history. Opened in 2014, Levi’s Stadium has hosted events of a global magnitude, including the sold-out inaugural match of the historic 2016 Copa America Centenario, as well as Super Bowl 50 last year. ”Levi’s Stadium has quickly earned a place a m o n g A m e r i c a ’s t o p stadiums in terms of atmosphere, amenities and fan experience,” said CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani. “We’re proud to now bring the Final of the Gold Cup – the region’s top competition for national
teams – to the Bay Area, building on the resounding success of the Copa America Centenario opener, which drew record crowds last year.” Played every two years in premier stadiums across the United States, the CONCACAF Gold Cup brings the region’s top national teams to fans throughout the country. This year’s edition will visit venues that include first-time host city Santa Clara, as well as fellow debutants Cleveland, Nashville, and San Antonio, as the tournament reaches new markets to satisfy the growing demand for international football in the North American market. ”Being chosen to host the 2017 Gold Cup Final at Levi’s Stadium is a great honor for our organization and we look forward to welcoming soccer fans from across the Northern
Hemisphere to Santa Clara in July,” said San Francisco 49ers President Al Guido. “We want to thank CONCACAF for entrusting the championship match of their storied Gold Cup with us and we look forward to working with our local partners to put on an epic grand finale.” Following the completion of the Copa Centroamericana earlier this month, champion Honduras has qualified for the 2017 Gold Cup, along with El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama. Those teams join seven other national teams that will participate: Canada, Mexico and the United States from North America, as well as Curacao, French Guiana, Jamaica, and Martinique from the Caribbean. Haiti and Nicaragua will face off in a home-and-away play-in series during the (Continued on page 32)
Chattanooga, United States, CMC – Reggae Boyz head coach Theodore Whitmore says preparation for Friday’s international friendly against United States was not what he had hoped but says the ultimate goal is the side’s preparation for their important outings in the Caribbean Cup finals and CONCACAF Gold Cup. Jamaica are using the friendly at Finley Stadium here and another engagement against Honduras in Houston on February 16, as warm-up for the two major upcoming tournaments, and Whitmore said these outings were priority. ”If you are only talking about the US game, then I am not comfortable [with overall preparation], but we are looking at the bigger picture and that is the CFU tournament and the Gold Cup,” Whitmore told the Observer newspaper. ”But, as I have said before, the players are improving and I am very pleased with the level of commitment they have been showing over the past couple of weeks.” Six-time Caribbean Cup champions Jamaica will clash in the finals with French Guiana, Curacao and hosts
Reggae Boyz head coach, Theo Whitmore. Martinique in the June 22-25 tournament. All four teams will then head to the United States for the July 7-26 Gold Cup which will be played at 14 venues across 13 cities. Jamaica were outstanding in the 2014 tournament, reaching the final for the first time before losing to Mexico. The 20-man squad for Friday’s contest is a healthy blend of local and foreignbased players, with 11 players from the domestic league involved, and Whitmore said he was expected to a tough encounter. ”I think we have a
balanced squad here as we always try to select the team with balance in mind. Basically, we will be looking at our tactical set-up as you know that the US have been in training long, so we have to know how to press them in the areas of the field we want to press them,” Whitmore explained. ”The players in the USA team will want to impress their coach (Bruce) Arena as they want to be in the final squad for the World Cup qualification games, so everybody will want to impress. We, on the other hand, have to impress as well, so it’s going to be a tough and intriguing game.”
Kaieteur News
Friday February 03, 2017
Guinness One-Day Sevens Competition Financial bounty finally comes to rugby; Top T&T ruggers recruited by Police B y R a w l e We l c h In what could be interpreted as a new and welcomed development, rugby teams in Guyana will for the first time benefit from financial bounty for winning a tournament. Yesterday this was confirmed during the launching of the inaugural Guinness Sevens Competition when Brand Manager Lee Baptiste pledged over $300,000 towards the event which takes place tomorrow, at the National Park Playfield. Among those present were Guinness Brand Manager Lee Baptiste, Guyana Rugby Football Union President Peter Green, Communications Manager Troy Peters, Union Secretary Petal Adams, Match Secretary Shane Grant-Stuart and players. In remarks, Baptiste said the motivation to reward the teams was prompted following a visit to a game whilst in Ireland sometime ago, informing that it was always his wish to renew the enthusiasm in the game which in his opinion has diminished over the years in terms of local spectator support. ”This tournament was in the making for over one year and half and the motivation came after a visit to a game while I was in Ireland where I saw the enthusiasm and passion fans had for the game,” Baptiste told the media.
He said Banks DIH is leading the way towards the resuscitation of that passion and enthusiasm for the sport which undoubtedly has kept the Guyana flag flying high across the Caribbean and further. ”It is our objective to put back energy and excitement back into the sport,” Baptiste said. The one-day event which will be played under floodlights will see the men’s winner receive $150,000, runner-up $50,000, 3rd place $25,000 along with trophies, while the women’s winner will take away $50,000 and a trophy. The Most Valuable players will be rewarded with $5,000 each, while fans will also have the opportunity to win prizes through participation in novelty events. The participating teams in the men’s category are: Police Falcons, Panthers, the Guyana Defence Force, Pepsi Hornets and Yamaha Caribs. Green in his remarks said that with the introduction of Guinness the sport now has another chance to develop further, adding that players will now be compensated no matter how little for their dedication and service to the game. He spoke of the success of the sport in spite of the sparse support it receives and this he attributed to the
players dedication and steadfast commitment which has earned them the right to consistently beat the best teams in the Caribbean a n d b e w o r t h y representative for the Region at the highest level such as the Hong Kong Sevens. Grant-Stuart spoke of how happy the moment was for him to see rugby now moving to another level where teams are now being financially compensated. He then gave a brief synopsis of how the tournament will run, informing that scrum time is 15:30hrs and games will be played for duration of 14 minutes with a total of 15 games carded for the day. Adams, who has responsibility for women’s development, thanked the Company for coming on board once again, especially since the women are being included as well. Meanwhile, Police have recruited two guests’ players from Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) who according to local officials are highly regarded in rugby circles at home and expected to provide a significant boost to the team. They are the Pantor brothers Jeron and Leon. Fans are being urged to come out and support the event and have fun with drinks and food for sale throughout the day.
One-point escape for Guardians against Nets Eagles continues to soar in U-23 competition Plaisance Guardians handed Republic Bank Nets their second straight Division I loss Wednesday night when the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) ‘League of Champions’ continued at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. Guardian edged Nets 70-69 with forward Trenton Woolford scoring 21 points and guards Marlon Chesney and Nickkoloi Smith adding 13 and 10 points respectively. Nets also
Travis Belgrave suffered a narrow loss against Ravens earlier in the w e e k . Guard Antwan Austin and
forward Sheldon Howell scored eight points each for Nets as Michael Richards added seven points. In the Under-23 competition, Eagles defeated Ravens 7874 with Travis Belgrave pouring in 22 points and Darroll Williams 14 points. Kheon Evans and Kwesi Thompson scored 11 points each for Eagles with Lyndon Wi l s o n c o l l e c t i n g a mammoth 17 boards. For Ravens, Murtland Ward scored 24 points while Shemar Huntley added 22 points. Sebastian Luke scored 13 points.
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Jagaurs, CCC clash in return match, Shiv 10 away from Regional record Story and photos by Sean Devers in Barbados in association with Bounty Supermarket, Vnet Communications, Life Time Reality & Ming’s Products & Services. When the bell rings at 13:30hrs today at Kensington Oval the Guyana Jagaurs knows CCC Marooners are expected to trade punches with the ninetime Champions in a day/night return bout of the Regional Super50 competition. Although the students are fighting above their weight class they have already upset the Scorpions and demolished the ICC Americas to end the first half of the tournament with 9 points from four matches, the same as the Jaguars and Jamaica Scorpions. The Jaguars will hope for a bonus point and they need to play attacking cricket on a good track and ‘Billiards Table’ smooth outfield. Guyana have won 7 and lost 1 of the 8 matches between the two teams and they have won the last game between them in this tournament by 8 wickets. Veerasammy Permaul (3-19) and Ronsford Beaton and Devendra Bishoo (2 each) produced crucial body bowls just when Skipper Jamal Smith (25) and Kyle Corbin (28) were beginning to counter-punch with a 44run second wicket stand which helped CCC to 129 all o u t . R a y m o n R e i f e r, promoted to number three, threw the big blows; hitting 9 fours and a six in a-run-a-ball 67 while Rajendra Chandrika (43 from 76) was the flamboyant one as their 117-run second wicket stand saw the Jagaurs win with 23.3 overs to spare. Although CCC lost on We d n e s d a y n i g h t t o heavyweights Barbados Pride, they had the tournament favorites on the ropes for the first 30 overs of the contest before releasing the pressure as the unbeaten Pride of Barbados reached 294 all out to move 19 points from 4 games. CCC fell for 94 as only Vickash Mohan (29) and Amir Jangoo (23) reached double figures. The Jaguars need at least three wins in their four remaining games and Barbados, their opponents
Johnson goes after Permaul in the nets and could play a key role today. on Sunday, are expected to be their toughest challenge. ”Barbados has 12 West Indies players and beat us in the first game but we are not looking too far ahead. We are focusing on CCC right now and although we have beaten them in this tournament we want to play our best cricket and not take any team lightly” said Jaguars Head Coach Esaun Crandon. ”We have to win a least three out of our four games to qualify for the semi-finals. Our opening partnership is an area we have not done well and we have discussed that at teams meetings, but we are confident going into this match” Crandon added. The batting has let the Jaguars down but Skipper Leon Johnson is third among the overall run scores with two fifties - 135 runs from four innings, while Shiv ‘Tiger’ Chanderpaul showed he has not lose his stripes, sits in fifth position with 123 runs from two innings including a century against the Scorpions. Chanderpaul, who has played 96 matches in Regional 50-over cricket, needs 10 runs to overtake Floyd Reifer’s 2,878 runs from 106 matches to take the record of most 50-over runs in Regional cricket. Raymon Reifer (114) is the only other Jaguars’ batsman with 100 runs while Assad Fudadin (83) and Rajendra Chandrika (55) are other batsmen with 50 runs. Fudadin looked good during his half century in the last match against the ICC Americas while Chandrika looked classy against the
CCC in the third round but are both inconstant. In the last match Barnwell scored a quick unbeaten 29 and looked like the batsman who dominates local cricket while his bowling compliments the five specialist bowlers. Jacobs was looking good on 19 before he hit his wicket against the Scorpions while Bramble got 29 in a losing cause in the same match. Apart from Johnson, Reifer and Chanderpaul no batsman has done well in more than one game. Reifer and Beaton have bowled well in spurts while Bishoo and Permaul have been hot and cold. Jacobs has bowled miserly spells in every game and has been the Jaguars’ best bowler. Skipper Smith and Jangoo, with two fifties in the competition, will hope to give the Marooners a firm foundation for Kyle Corbin, Guyana’s biggest threat and one of six Bajans in the squad, to build on. Cassius Burton, Trinidadian Mohan, who looks well organised and the experienced Ryan Hinds, the only player with 1,000 runs and 60 wickets in Regional 50over cricket, are expected to lead CCC’s fight with the bat. Jamaican Christopher Powell and 20-year-old Bajan Keon Harding, who played for Barbados’ senior football team as a goalkeeper, have bowled with pace on the bouncy tracks with Jermaine Levy doing a good job as third seamer. Hinds’ fellow left arm spinner Larry Edwards and off-spinner Mark Deyal should do the bulk of the spinning for CCC.
Kaieteur News
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Bhaskar Yadram (left) and his teammate during the U19s innings
Friday February 03, 2017
Bishop, Yadram torment Kent to give Under-19s first win Red Force beat Hurricanes by 11 runs
2017 IPL auction delayed until late February The IPL 2017 player auction is likely to take place in the third week of February following a delay from the originally proposed date of February 4. Although the BCCI has not issued a final date yet, franchises understand it would be anywhere between February 20 and 25. Last November the IPL Governing Council decided to schedule the IPL 2017 tournament between April 5 and May 21. At that time, the player auction was slotted in tentatively for February 4 but that was ruled out as soon as the Supreme Court of India dismantled the BCCI house at the start of the year by removing its president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke and imposing various restrictions on the remaining eligible office bearers at the board. Although the BCCI management under its chief executive officer Rahul Johri was ready to stick to the timelines drawn last November, the court’s delay in appointing the committee of administrators put the IPL decisions on the backburner. However, with a fourmember committee of administrators taking charge on Monday, the IPL is back on the priority list. The committee of administrators met with the
BCCI management team to discuss the immediate decisions that need to be taken concerning IPL. ”The Committee of Administrators (COA) met the concerned BCCI officials today to take stock of the urgent and important matters mainly concerning the successful conduct of IPL 2017,” a BCCI media release said. “The committee of administrators assured the franchises that it was overseeing the preparations for IPL and the ‘operational timelines’ will be sent out shortly.” On their part, the franchises have remained patient throughout the delay. Officials at several franchises said the main reason behind their confidence was the court had always made sure that cricket was never affected, both domestic and international. Also, the delay in the auction, one franchise chief executive officer said, would be an advantage because teams could scout for domestic talent in the ongoing Inter-State T20 tournament which finishes on February 18. If there is one thing the franchises are keen to get their hands on is the player roster - the final pool of players that will enter the auction. Normally the franchises get the roster two
David Warner and the Hyderabad Sunrisers will be looking to defend their IPL 2016 title © AFP
weeks ahead of the auction. ”If we get the roster we can start making a shortlist of players we are after as then we come to know their availability which is always a big determining factor on which players teams pick,” one franchise CEO told ESPNcricinfo. This will be the last year of IPL before teams overhaul their rosters for the 2018 season. All existing player contracts will expire after IPL 2017 and it is expected most players will go under the hammer at the mega auction ahead of the 2018 season. There has been no decision yet on the player retention rules though. The current cycle of broadcasting rights, currently held by Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI), will expire after IPL 2017. Last September, the BCCI had announced that the next cycle of IPL rights would be sold via an open tender process. Eighteen companies including Facebook and Twitter bought the invitation to tender doucment for television and digital rights. The bids were meant to be opened on October 24, but the Lodha Committee deferred the process until the BCCI complied with the court order of July 18 last year. (ESPNcricinfo)
North Sound, CMC – Spinners Joshua Bishop and Bhaskar Yadram combined to stun English County Kent and hand West Indies Under-19s their first success of the Regional Super50, with a 28-run victory here yesterday. In pursuit of 155 for victory at the Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium, Kent were in control at 76 for two before suffering a sudden collapse and losing their last eight wickets for 51 runs, to be bowled out for 127 off 34.5 overs. Captain Sam Northeast got 37 and opener Sean Dickson, 20, but they were the only two to get into the 20s. Sixteen-year-old leftarm spinner Joshua Bishop snatched four for 44 from his 10 overs while off-spinner Yadram claimed three for six from just five overs, the pair picking up seven of the last eight wickets to fall as Kent tumbled to their second defeat of the tournament. Asked to bat, the Under19s also suffered a collapse to be bowled out for 155 off 46.3 overs. They were well placed at 83 for one but lost their way to surrender their last nine wickets for 72 runs. Opener Matthew Patrick
top-scored with 45 while Yadram chipped in with 29 and all-rounder Keemo Paul, 20 not out. Shian Brathwaite’s poor run continued with 12 but Patrick struck two fours and a six off 79 balls as he put on 60 for the second wicket with Yadram. Once the pair were separated the innings went into decline, however, and only Paul hung around to eke out precious runs at the end. Ivan Thomas was the best bowler with three for 39 while fellow seamer Darren Stevens (2-17) and offspinner Adam Riley (2-30) both finished with two wickets apiece. Kent got a decent start of 36 from Dickson and Daniel Bell-Drummond (13) before both fell in the space of three overs. Bell-Drummond was caught at fine leg by Patrick off fast bowler Obed McCoy in the ninth over while Dickson perished to a catch at square leg, also by Patrick, off leg-spinner Mikyle Louis. Northeast, who faced 61 balls and counted three fours, propped up the innings in a 35-run stand with Stevens (18) which temporarily put Kent on top. But once Bishop and Yadram got stuck in, Kent crumbled
quickly. Scores: Under-19s 155 all out off 46.3 overs (Matthew Patrick 45, Bhaskar Yadram 29; Ivan Thomas 3-39, Darren Stevens 2-17). Kent 127 all out off 34.5 overs (Sam Northeast 37, Sean Dickson 20; Bhaskar Yadram 3-6). Meanwhile, a fantastic comeback by the defending champions Trinidad and Tobago Red Force saw them defending a modest target of 226-9 off their 50 overs to beat the Leeward Islands Hurricanes by 11 runs in the their day/night Regional Super50 game at Coolidge Cricket Ground, yesterday. The Red Force were red hot as they took all 10 Volcanoes wickets for 100 runs after Captain Keiron Powell and Montcin Hodge gave Leewards a dream start of 115 but lost their way as they handed the Red Force victory. Scores: Red Force 226 for nine off 50 overs (Nicholas Alexis 50, Imran Khan 45 not out, Jason Mohammed 32, Kjorn Ottley 32; Jason Campbell 537). Hurricanes 215 all out off 48.4 overs (Montcin Hodge 82, Kieran Powell 52; Kharry Pierre 4-40).
Former Windies coach to work with Afghanistan London, CMC – Former West Indies head coach, Phil Simmons has been appointed technical consultant to the Afghanistan national side. The 53-year-old, who played 26 Tests and 143 One-Day Internationals for West Indies, will assist current head coach Lalchand Rajput, the ACB said. ”Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) management considers Simmons appointment a valuable step in players’ capacity development,” an ACB statement said. “His appointment will have a great impact on team performance.” Simmons was sacked as West Indies coach last September, five months after overseeing the side’s capture of an unprecedented second Twenty20 World Cup in India. He is a former Ireland head coach and spent six years in the role before leaving in 2015 to take charge of West Indies. The first assignment for Trinidadian Simmons will be to help oversee
Phil Simmons Afghanistan’s preparation for a series against Ireland in Greater Noida comprising five One-Day Internationals, three Twenty20s and a four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup fixture. Simmons will then face another of his former teams when the Afghans take on West Indies in five ODIs and three T20s in June in the Caribbean.
Kaieteur News
Friday February 03, 2017
PAGE 41
GUMDAC Open Doubles Badminton Tourney
Priyanna Ramdhani advances to men’s double final The Guyana Badminton Association (GBA) served off its 2017 season on Wednesday last with the 5th annual GUMDAC Open Doubles Tournament at the National Gymnasium. Set to continue today at the same venue, the tournament is being
sponsored by Mr. Darrell C a r p e n a y, M a n a g i n g Director of GUMDAC who is also an executive member of the GBA. Breaking a record by advancing to the Men’s Double Final was National and Caribbean Champion Priyanna Ramdhani who has
Jonathan Mangra and Priyanna Ramdhani competing in a Mixed Doubles match.
teamed up with Avinash Odit. According to a GBA release, the young Ramdhani is competing in the men’s category due to lack of competition in the ladies division. Following are the full results of Day 1 play: OPEN MEN’S DOUBLES QUARTER-FINALS Marlon Chung & Ronald Yuen defeated Tyrese Jeffrey & Akili Haynes: 21-7, 21-10. Priyanna Ramdhani & Avinash Odit defeated Veterans George Melville & Leslie Liu: 21-11, 21-15. Gokarn Ramdhani & Javid Rahaman defeated Stephan Murdilall & Haymant Ramdhani: 21-9, 21-13. OPEN MEN’S DOUBLES SEMI-FINALS Nicholas Ali & Jonathan Mangra defeated Gokarn Ramdhani & Javid Rahaman: 21-18, 21-18. Priyanna Ramdhani & Avinash Odit defeated Marlon Chung & Ronald Yuen: 21-15, 21-16.
OPEN LADIES DOUBLES ROUND ROBIN 1 Priyanna Ramdhani & Greer Jackson defeated Emelia Ramdhani & Ayanna
Wa t s o n : 2 1 - 5 , 2 1 - 9 OPEN MIXED DOUBLES QUARTER-FINALS Avinash Odit & A ngelica Holder defeated Marlon Chung &
Ayanna Wats on: 21-17, 2 1 1 5 Ronald Yuen & P ricilla M oore d efeated G okarn Ramdhani & Emelia (Continued on page 32)
Kaieteur News
PAGE 42
Friday February 03, 2017
Fitness Express/Banks DIH/Trophy Stall/GAPF 2017 Novice/Junior Championships
33 male and female athletes to collide on Sunday @ Thirst Park By Franklin Wilson Up and coming powerlifters both male and female are set to showcase their talent this Sunday at the Banks DIH Sports Club, Thirst Park when the Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation (GAPF) brings off its first competition for th e y ear, th e u s u al N o v i c e / J u n i o r championships. With Fitness Express again taking on the title as main sponsor, to federation has informed that 33 athletes both male and female will be going at each other to see who is the strongest with potentially exciting performances on
the cards. The body has stated that fans will enjoy what the athletes will serve up as the eager new comers to the sport are rearing to get going on the competition platform. The junior and subjunior lifters are as ready to show case their improved strength as they vie to outdo each other. GAPF Secretary Ms. Andrea Smith informed that they are particularly happy with the increased number of girls and women who have registered to be part of S u n d a y ’s c o m p e t i t i o n which adds a refreshing balance to a sport that is otherwise male dominated.
Among the female lifters are Britany Mack, Tineisha Toney, Andrea Smith, Indra Mekdeci and Tracy Shamsudeen. On the male side, the likes of Carlos Petterson, Kevin B r i j l a l l , A r i f Imma m d e e n , R o m a r i o Gonsalves, Phillip Romalho, Reeaz Mohamed and Marley Vyphuis will be in action. Meanwhile, Fitness Express, located at John and Sheriff Streets in Campbellville has once again stuck with being the marquee sponsor for the championships as they have done over the past few years. GAPF General Secretary Ms. Andrea Smith made the trek to Fitness Express to receive the sponsorship c h e q u e f r o m Manager/Owner Jamie McDonald who said that his company was more than elated to be continuing its support of powerlifting in Guyana. McDonald said that their investment over the years have brought rich rewards as they have seen many athletes come through the ranks and gone on to
Fitness Express Jamie Mc Donald present the cheque to GAPF General Secretary Andrea Smith in the presence of Little Zoe, a future powerlifter. represent Guyana with flying colours at every level and category. Ms Smith expressed gratitude on behalf of the
federation to McDonald and Fitness Express for their continued confidence and tangible support. Competition time on
Su n d a y i s 0 9 : 0 0 h r s sharp and patrons would be asked to pay a minimal; entrance fee of $500.00.
Kaieteur News
Friday February 03, 2017
STAG Nations Cup KO Football
PAGE 43
2 Million for winner in championship match between Western Tigers and Santos tomorrow
Santos FC following their semi-final win over Riddim Squad. When the championship kicked off on December 14th, 2016 with 20 teams from five associations it was anybody guess as to which of the two teams would have been contesting the final. Well, as it has turned out, City sides Western Tigers and Santos, two clubs with a rich history on and off the field will battle for the top prize of Two Million Dollars and the championship trophy. It has been an extended journey due to the fact that the tournament had to be postponed due to consistent rainfall during the Christmas season. However, the wait
Western Tigers FC after they arrested Police in their semi-final. would be worth it as the arch rivals who have both played flawless football would each walk away millionaires; the loser collecting One Million Dollars. The third place match tomorrow features the Guyana Police Force against Riddim Squad, another all Georgetown affair with the winner set to receive $500,000 and the loser, $300,000. Both Western and Santos features a number of young and exciting ball weavers who no doubt would be going all out to ensure that their combined efforts
deliver the winning prize for their club, but only one will walk away as the winner. Fans can be assured of a riveting finale. Western Tigers downed Police, Pouderoyen, and Flamingo on their way to the final while Santos took care of Riddim Squad, Uitvlugt and Herstelling Raiders en route to their final date. This match would be a test for each of the team’s defense as well as their forwards as they must defend to the utmost even as they come up with strategies to be effective in the attacking third.
The Tigers were pushed to the hilt in their semi final match against arch rivals Police but held their nerves to beat the Lawmen via sudden kicks from the penalty mark. Prior to that match, they were relentless against Pouderoyen, the match ending 9-1 while they were equally dismissive in their win over Flamingo, 8-0. Santos have not been that efficient goal wise but have been dominant; they needled Riddim Squad in their semi final showdown, got past Uitvlugt 3-1 whilst trouncing Herstelling
Raiders 4-0. The Tigers would start with the advantage of taking the crown but Santos will not be intimidated and are equally hungry for success as they each aim to start the year on a high and what better way than a cheque for 2Million dollars compliments of Ansa McAl. Randolph Wagner will lead the Tigers along with Rensford Colridge, Shamar Wilson, Darren Benjamin, Anthony Sancho, Andre We b b e r, D w a y n e M c Lennon, Joshua Britton, Troy Carrington, Jamal Pedro and Jorell Tyrell.
Santos’ Captain Samuel Hunte will again lead from the front and would hope to stand firm as he marshals the defense with the hope of Job Caesar, Keith Cains and Delon David holding their own when it comes to scoring goals. Other players who would b e s h o u l d e r i n g responsibility are Sheldon Profitt, Trevor Lewis, Omar Jones, Orin Yard, Ryan October and Lionel Holder among others. The third place match tomorrow kicks off at 19:00hrs and would be followed by the final.
t r o Sp Murray, Garnett transfer make immediate impact; Action moves to Victoria this Sunday
Jagaurs, CCC clash in return match, Shiv 10 away from Regional record
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Limacol F
Western Tigers striker Andrew Murray attempts to take control of a high ball in their clash against Linden’s Eagles on Wednesday night at the GFC ground.
Shiv Chanderpaul (right) will want to see more consistency from Bishoo and Fudadin today.
Guinness One-Day Sevens Competition Financial bounty finally comes to rugby; Top T&T ruggers recruited by Police
Guinness Brand Manager Lee Baptiste hands over one of the balls to national player Collette Hope in the presence of Union President Peter Green (left) and officials and Banks DIH Communications Manager Troy Peters (right) yesterday.
STAG Nations Cup KO Football
2 Million for winner in championship match between Western Tigers and Santos tomorrow
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