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Wednesday January 01, 2020
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Excess gas from Liza Phase 1 can power Guyana for over 15 years - Patterson By Kiana Wilburg
F
or decades, Guyana has tried and failed in its attempts to address the issue of high energy costs. It appears, however, that this could soon be a closed chapter in the nation's history given the significant volume of gas that is available for use in the Stabroek Block. E v e n t h o u g h ExxonMobil has not publically disclosed details about its gas finds, it has made known to the government, and even to the nation's global partners like the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), that 30 to 50 million cubic feet of natural gas could be piped to shore for electricity generation. But what exactly does this mean or translate to? “It means that it could basically power the entire country as we speak. But the demand is going up every year by about seven percent,” said Public Infrastructure Minister, David Patterson who has responsibility for the energy sector. During an exclusive interview with Kaieteur News, Patterson noted that the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) is currently producing just about 150 megawatts of power. He noted that the 3050 million cubic feet of natural gas is excess from the Liza Phase One field alone which could be sustained for over 15 years. That, he said, would translate to about 200 M e g a w a t t s o f p o w e r, therefore being more than
Public Infrastructure Minister, David Patterson enough to power the entire Demerara Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS). T h e M i n i s t e r acknowledged that while Exxon has not made public announcements about its finds, it did inform the government in 2015 that there was associated gas with the Liza One discovery and what could be available since 2017. Patterson said, “We told them in the beginning that we wouldn't allow flaring and because of that, we asked them to tell us in writing, how much excess gas is actually available from Liza One and still allow for maximum oil recovery. “They came back and they confirmed that between 30 and 50 million cubic feet is available without affecting the Liza operation. With that information, we started a process of examining gas to power scenarios...” The Minister said that several studies and reports were done on the quality of gas along with the cost for
development and bringing it to shore. He said, “The main issue to be confirmed at this point is the most suitable location to land the pipeline onshore. When the plans were initially conceived, it was our intention to locate an industrial complex thus providing cheaper power to help stimulate this sector...” The Minister noted, however, that with its emergence, the Energy Department has since taken over the issue. The Energy Department had disclosed that gas can be brought to shore by 20232024. Furthermore, the IDB, which is acutely aware of Guyana's gas potential has said that currently, Guyana is at a historic juncture to convert its abundant natural resources into a diversified electricity generation matrix. Along with the Stabroek oil discoveries, it noted that
ExxonMobil and its partners have found commercial quantities of Natural Gas associated with the oil deposits. Together with
Renewable Energy (RE) sources, the financial institution said that this could transform the electricity generation sector. It stressed that the use of
Natural gas could help to lower carbon emissions and represent cost savings, benefitting residential, commercial, and industrial consumers.
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Wednesday January 01, 2020
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
2020 must begin with a fresher outlook Looking into the future is never perfect vision, but an attempt has to be made in some place, and this first day of a brand-new year is as good a place to start. At the very least, the torrid rollercoaster that was 2019 should be avoided. This society does not have the stamina or the depth to absorb another one like 2019, with all of its massed turbulences ranging from naming a chair to repeated forays before the courts to house-to-house registration to dissolving parliament. But those are behind us; the new year must be started with a fresher outlook and a cleaner vision of how we must be. It hinges on the Guyanese barbarism named elections. We talk endlessly about democracy, when we are nowhere close to a passing notion of such. But talk we do and there will be a lot of talking, between now and March 2. The concern is that the talking does not promise to end when March 2, 2020 passes. In fact, the floodgates of dispute and upheaval look high on the cards, given how we have been all along. This is said rather guardedly, as there is some sense that something is in the air, may be well along in the works. Because let this much be faced: the oil would be useless to us, if we can’t get our political acts together. Because if one side, or one set, is determined to hog it all for themselves, with the pittance and paternalisation of paltry portions here and there, that will not work, will be found unacceptable, even will rise to the insulting. There is a stirring toward a strange and different pathway. It may be that the ABC & E people (especially the A) have found a way to insist upon, coerce towards, appeal for, and dangle this or that incentive to moving local political leaders towards a different summit; the alphabet soup of powerbrokers is quiet, which speaks. It is early days yet, but this much is now beyond debate: no one group can run this country, no one side would be allowed to be the decision-makers alone. This much is obvious, this much is now undeniable, because even if they believe that they can, they just cannot. As posited earlier, this paper detects the slightest of creeps and crawls, the anglings that point to some place else. There is such a saying in Guyanese parlance of losing corn and husk, and nobody wishes to be placed in that most undesirable position. This is said because nobody wants to be on the outside when the prize is to be overseen. Some have made a living here by tendering that it is better to be on the inside, where there is better placement to influence the outcome of events. To some extent, some of this is what those learned jurists at the CCJ were pointing to and insisting upon, in the subtle judicial verbiage. It was sitting down, drawing up a chair, gathering around the table, and let there be hammering out of the issues through the compromises that lead to consensus. Because there is this next truth, things cannot go on like before. Matters are that untenable, that grim. Stated differently, one has to be in it to win it. It is better to take the measure of the land and come out with half a loaf than no loaf. The new people mean well, but they are still too insignificant to be any kind of difference makers at this hour. Only in this manner can there be meaningful constitutional reform, meaningful reform of all the other public institutions that have degraded to scurrilously low depths. This would include, necessarily, judicial reform, police reform, prison reform, and public service reform, among the many reforms that have been allowed to languish through official neglect and political abuse. There is much work to do, which prompts the question: what is it going to be? We shall see. Wishes for a healthy and progressive New Year!
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.
Climate Change: A Most Serious Global Challenge DEAR EDITOR, Every day we listen to, or look at international news, we hear and see reports of natural disasters that are causing huge damage. Fires are raging in California and this is very regular, so too in Australia, Floods in various parts of the world, in the Philippines, Bangladesh and many other places. These events are costing countries huge numbers of
losses in property, destroyed by fire and floods. Most of all, it accounts for loss of valuable lives and results in tremendous grief and unbelievable human suffering. The frequency and strength of hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions are alarming and the destructive power increasing. Most of these are the results of a great
change taking place in relation to our global climate. In an article I wrote in 1990, I had pointed out that one of the main issues, as it relates to climate change, was that in terms of awareness of this phenomenon, the mass consciousness lagged behind the danger. Today that is no longer the case. The widespread
coverage in the mass media and people’s own experiences, have raised the awareness in every nook and cranny of our world. Moreover, scientists throughout the world have been sounding the alarm with growing urgency. They have pointed out that most of the damage that has been done, and is being done to our global climate, and the (Continued on page 6)
Wednesday January 01, 2020
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Vexatious litigation and confusing concepts…The Law is not an ass DEAR EDITOR, Mohabir Anil Nandlall has courted becoming a vexatious litigant/advocate. His last act of vexation about Cabinet having to resign, was with brutal aptness, albeit, perhaps, euphemistically, criticized by the learned Chief Justice (ag) as “wholly misconceived, vexatious, and an absolute abuse of the court”. I will argue that Counsel has become a vexatious letter writer, abusing his right of comment on matters of public interest. I refer to Counsel’s December 29, 2019 letter in another newspaper under the caption - “This gov’t has no standing in relation to the planned compulsory acquisition of land for bridge”. With his accustomed degree of politicization of constitutional matters, Nandlall has yet again made a mockery of our constitutional law. And here is the compelling evidence.
First, Nandlall writes “…. These lands…. are being compulsorily acquired under the provisions of the Acquisition of Lands for Public Purpose Act, Cap 62:05 Laws of Guyana….The rule of law naturally, mandates that any law which authorizes the CONFISCATION of property must enjoy strict and scrupulous compliance…. Since the rule of law frowns upon any concept that facilitate the State compulsorily acquiring private property such a process must only be embarked upon as a matter of last resort….” (emphasis not his, but mine). A learned person concerned to write with constitutional efficiency, would not confuse the concepts of “compulsory acquisition” under the Acquisition of Lands for Public Purpose Act, Cap 65:02; with “confiscation”. That is heresy.
Confiscation is not compensatable; compulsory acquisition, is. (My learned friend is referred to “the reported case of The Attorney General of Guyana vs. Caterpillar Americas Co. (2000) GLR 313 at page 319) The notion of the rule of law permitting acquisition of land “only as a matter of the last resort” is as novel, as it is in supportable by case law, or general principles. Acquisition is permissible, if there is a sufficient public purpose (see the Privy Council case of Government of St. Lucia v. Williams). Nor, is Counsel’s novel “last resort” proposition deducible from the CCJ’s judgment in the Andrew James Investment Ltd case, in which the Acquisition of Land for Public Purpose Act cap.65:02 was considered. Secondly, his revisit of his “caretaker government” viewpoint. His instant arguments, are as feeble now,
High stakes and a defining moment DEAR EDITOR, The dawn of a new year always brings with it a renewed sense of hope and optimism. With the advent of First Oil and the impending national and regional elections, that hope and optimism is all the more pronounced. There is a pervasive mood of enhanced expectation that, at long last, the country is now on the verge of something great, leaving behind the stigma of a poor and wretched past. The overwhelming desire among Guyanese is to get the elections out of the way and for the new administration to put in place the necessary mechanisms to optimize the benefits of oil that will come our way. The expectation is
that the oil resources will be utilized to lift the bottom, namely the poor and the vulnerable, and to create new opportunities for those who are otherwise financially challenged. The outcome of the elections on March 2, 2020 will be a critical factor in the management of the emerging oil and gas sector, and for that matter, the economy as a whole.This coming election is described as the ‘mother of all elections’, coming as it were, on the cusp of an oil tsunami projected to lift all boats. This is why the whole of Guyana and the international community is paying so much attention to these upcoming elections. The stakes are very
high and the outcome of the election could very well turn out to be a defining moment in the economic and political fortunes of this beautiful country. As indicated earlier, the nation is pregnant with hope. Expectations are high. Guyanese are looking forward to free and fair elections. There are some encouraging indications in this regard. The United States and some other western nations have issued some strong statements in favour of free and fair elections. The presence of a strong contingent of local and overseas observer groups will help in terms of voter confidence. However, that in itself may (Continued on page 6)
as they were in July 2019 soon after the CCJ had on 12th July, 2019 delivered its “Consequential Orders” ruling in the NCM appeals (see “Text cited by CCJ identifies broad restraints on caretaker gov’t” SN Sunday July 14, 2019) I responded, then, with an Op-Ed in the Guyana Chronicle, Thursday, July 18, 2019: “Interim Government vs. Caretaker Government”. Here are some extracts presented in one continuous reading viz-” … has Counsel no respect, or reverence for article 8 of our constitution?.... the defector Charrandass Persaud… was duly replaced as a government elected member of the National Assembly by Barbara Patricia Pilgrim sworn in on 3rd January, 2019 and thereupon this government restored its majority in the National Assembly…The APNU+AFC Government… is not legislatively some feeble government seeking refuge in prorogation. All the plenitude of its Executive and its legislative powers it assumed on 15th May, and 10th June, 2015 respectively are extant … What would be “void” under article 8 is Peter Hogg’s parameters to the extent they conflict with the wording, tenor, or spirit of articles 89, 99, 92 and 156. It is one of the curiosities of our Constitution that article 156 effectively enables a NCM-defeated government to both politically, and constitutionally sanitize its membership in the National Assembly and secure a restoration of confidence in the government. … Again I say I have stirred these points to raise public consciousness about the hyper
exaggeration of negativity by propagandists over the CCJ’s adumbration of caretaker government” I have no reason, nor have I been shown any by any reply to my Op-Ed, to disavow any of those extracts. I would only add now, that Professor Peter Hogg’s writings on which Nandlall places so much reliance was articulated per incuriam article, 156. Thirdly, the legal maxim: “ex nihilo nihil fit (out of nothing cometh nothing)” (quoting Nandlall) can have, and has had, an unwitting boomerang effect. Even after the PPPs application to the High Court for an Order for Cabinet to resign was thrown out by the learned CJ (ag), Nandlall (who was the lead Counsel in that frivolous and vexatious Application) has persisted that the APNU+AFC Government’s “tenure expired on the 19th September 2019” (quoting him). My reading of our Constitution tells me that there is one, and only one, constitutional method of a Government’s tenure becoming expired: it is by General and Regional Elections (GREs), consequent upon the dissolution of Parliament. Any other expiry would be an extraconstitutional method. The obvious question to
Nandlall, then, is this: is the March 2nd, 2020 GREs Proclamation by the President, David. A. Granger, that of a President whose tenure expired on September 19th, 2019? If his answer is yes; then my follow up question is: does the Constitution, rule of Law, permit such a President to issue Proclamations to dissolve Parliament, and/or appoint a date for GREs? Would Nandlall argue that those Proclamations are unlawful and made by a President without “standing”; the PPP/C should boycott the 2020 GREs! (Ex nihilo nihil fit has boomeranged Anil). Fourthly, the simple constitutional truth which must be told, is that not even during the eight (8) short lived days of political treachery (i.e. 21st December, 2018 to 02nd January, 2019) has the opposition PPP/C ever had a majority of 33 seats in the National Assembly. It was/is (and it remained until parliament was dissolved on 30th December, 2019) the APNU+AFC Government that at all times had, and has, the majority of 33 Seats. Readers, do not confuse a vote (as happened with Charrandass Persaud on 21st December, 2018) with a seat. I say unhesitatingly, that 33 seats majoritarian ability of (Continued on page 6)
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A Strong Third Force is Essential to Securing our Future. DEAR EDITOR, As March 02, 2020 draws near, we can rest assured that Guyana as we know it will never be the same again. The magnitude of our oil reserves along with as yet undeclared quantities of natural gas unquestionably underwrite Guyana as a prime destination for foreign direct investment and the inflows of foreign talent in the future for quite some time to come. Many of these individuals will ultimately adopt Guyana as their second, or even primary home, once they have properly surveyed our national landscape. I personally urge us all to welcome these individuals and learn as much as possible from them while helping them to integrate into our society. It is important that our global image as a stable society be maintained to increase the inflow of new talent, technology and financial resources, all of which will redound to the benefit of us all. However, even as the scope of opportunity becomes clear to all, we as a nation are arrested by our
political crisis and previous failures in economic management. There is little question that unless we can produce a strong alternative government by January 10, 2020, Guyana will have to resign itself to the ills of our major political parties going forward. I have concluded that there is a systematic commitment to keep Guyana in a state of dependence and penury, inclusive of our failed education system and entrenched unemployment, as a conditioning tool intended to keep the Guyanese masses oppressed, divided and uneducated. Because if we were to become educated enough to understand that it is these same political parties who are the source of our problems, they would lose our support. Because there is no question whatsoever, that both of major political parties have failed as social organizations, and have in a number of instances, actively engaged in degrading our social and economic conditions. Refer to persistent denial of negotiations with
unions and the depressed state of our social services and infrastructure within our communities. This is not to mention the nearly sure onset of the Dutch disease (worsening unemployment, loss of global competitiveness and contraction of other economic sectors) which thrives in corrupt economies. I myself have sought to raise the level of our thinking and appreciation of our national problems in the public domain, and have even gone on to create a new political party to encourage persons to take up the challenge of better leadership in our political and economic affairs. I have further demonstrated that with a strong new political force backed by a sound policy framework, we can indeed break the deadlock in our racial politics and set Guyana on a course to prosperity. The policies of our major political parties are so bad that even addressing the simple matter of improving contractual arrangements with foreign investors yields
tens of billions of United States dollars. Yet this is the amount of our national wealth that has been signed away. And our future under either of the two parties does not offer relief. I have long pointed out elsewhere that as a wealthy people, all of us, whether we are farm workers, fishermen, managers and directors, or business owners, have to make intelligent choices and not be led by the racial undertones of our major political parties. There is a leader in all of us. We just have to take up the responsibility of attending our national affairs and making the right political choices in respect of who we want to administer our national affairs. We cannot leave it to someone else, and we cannot leave it to our major political parties, because we only have to ask what these parties have done for us other than incite racial tensions and enmity among us to recognize that they are the source of our problems, our governmentsponsored poverty, and they have demonstrated in no
uncertain terms their commitment to facilitating the plunder of our natural resources at the expense of Guyanese. It is time we overcame the inherent racism, lies and deceit so entrenched in our national politics. I myself remain committed to my fundamental belief that Guyanese are rational, even as they are driven to support our major political parties for reasons of ethnic security. I also maintain that it is the responsibility of our leaders many of whom have remained silent or else have resigned to complaining and surviving our environment - to recognize that they are the ones who have to speak and represent those who can’t, to come forward and navigate with the new political leadership to form that single force to offer Guyanese. Because without a doubt, Guyanese are looking for, and will support a strong alternative government in 2020. Now is the time for those of us who are capable to be the change we are looking for, because this is a problem started by our parents, and we have to fix it.
We cannot leave it anymore to our children or their generations. I wish to acknowledge our new political parties, and encourage us all to pool our resources, because by now we should recognize that there is little scope for success without a single solid force Guyanese can feel confident voting for in 2020. I further encourage all Guyanese to engage with their neighbours and friends, within their communities and throughout their regions, to raise persons to represent them in our new government. This is the way of democracy. Let it prevail. With just a few days remaining to Nomination Day, I take this opportunity to wish everyone a prosperous New Year and urge us all to call to mind the struggles of our forefathers, commit to realizing their hopes and dreams for us. Their sacrifice was for our success. Today this is within our grasp. Let us reach for it now. Craig Sylvester, Party Leader, Democratic National Congress
Climate Change: A Most Serious Global Challenge... From page 4 environment as a whole, has been due to the activities of us, human beings. In pursuit of wealth, we have created factories and are performing other activities that are poisoning our environment. It is not unusual to see in many countries, mainly in Asia, people walking around with face masks due to the pollution in the air. The question is often asked as to why - with all the information that we have - we continue to pursue activities that are threatening life on earth. Instead of improving the environment, we continue to inflict serious harm to it. There is no one answer to this. Many things contribute
to what appears to be the world’s people consciously committing suicide. The causes are rooted in wealth and poverty! As it relates to the developing countries, this danger is being fueled by the grinding poverty in which huge sections of the population are forced to exist under. Because of this, they slash and burn forests to grow food. Many are engaged in dangerous mining activities that are unregulated, illegal and leave a wide swath of destruction - from poisoning our rivers to leaving huge holes in the ground. These lead to sicknesses including malaria and many other health-destroying illnesses.
Vital carbon-absorbing trees, hundreds of years old are cut, thereby releasing tons of carbon and robbing us of materials to taking greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. At the other extreme are the wealthy persons and corporations driven by greed, destroying our environment while wasting the world resources. They are forces that are fully aware of the consequences of their actions, but deliberately hide scientific findings and even spend millions on expensive lobbies to hamper any attempts to halt climate change. Recently we learnt that some forty years ago, Exxon Mobil had reports from their own scientists that their ac-
High stakes and a defining... From page 5 not be adequate. The Guyana Elections Commission has to display total and complete impartiality in the decision-making processes and in the overall conduct of the poll. Whichever party or parties emerge as winners in the elections will have a major responsibility to govern in the interests of all Guyanese. The issue of eth-
nic insecurity has to be addressed and a way has to be found by the new administration to accommodate our political and ethnic diversity. We have to transform diversity into strengths in order to create a winwin situation. The elections fever is catching on. The festival of colours is already in evidence on our streets and public
spaces. The campaign for all practical purposes has already begun and will certainly gain momentum in the weeks ahead. At the end of day, the better party will prevail, as in the case of any competitive contest. I take this opportunity to wish all Guyanese a prosperous New Year! Hydar Ally
tivities were contributing to great changes in the world weather patterns and the serious negative impacts these have on the world’s health. Instead of sounding the alarm, the information was deliberately withheld from the public. A similar situation had developed with tobacco. For years, tobacco companies hid the dangers of smoking from the people. For them, profits were much more important than lives. Today that same behaviour is now being magnified many times over. Large companies involved in plantation agriculture and mining have been using their influence and power to get politicians who doubt climate change and advocate the plunder of natural nature, elected. That seems to have occurred in our neighbouring Brazil, where Lula was jailed to prevent him from contesting elections and a president was elected who is not sympathetic with those who advocate preservation and conservation of resources. As a result the Amazon is burning, to make way for the logging companies, the huge mining establishments and the large scale farmers. In the process whole tribes of native peoples are threatened with extinction. It is a sad commentary
that much of the food produced in our world, as much as 1/3, is wasted, dumped, to keep prices up. In the face of such grave threat, world leadership is sorely lacking. The quality of the political leadership in our world seems to have dissipated and has become less visionary, without a global grasp of reality. This is seen in the lack of agreements and coordinated actions to halt and reverse climate change. Many conferences are held, sponsored by the United Nations, but either agreements are not reached or are so watered down that they are practically useless. Moreover, no decisive actions are being undertaken to handle this global emergency. Some social scientists attribute this serious drop in the quality of world leadership to the separation that has occurred between politics and economics. Power in many countries is not in the hands of the elected leadership, but in the hands of corporate giants that have managed to separate Central Banks from the elected leadership of countries. The former finance minister of Greece, Yanis Varoufakis, related his own experience when at a meeting with European Union finance ministers, he was bluntly told that elections must not be allowed to interfere with economic policy.
As a result the huge corporations are attracting the best brains at the expense of the state! Yet in all of this there are no innocent bystanders. We are all involved. Our region, the Caribbean, is one of the least polluters, but we are not spared the devastation of climate change. Very often hurricanes wipe out almost 100% of our economies. The Bahamas and Dominica are the most recent. In our own Guyana, flooding is becoming more frequent. The last set of flooding in Mahaicony was due not to the rains, but rising sea levels overflowing our sea defences. To turn the tide we need mass action. Some of that is taking place in various parts of the world, but this needs to become a global movement. We must move it to the centre of political and economic life so that no person or party should hold high office if he/she is hostile to taking actions to halt and reverse climate change. People must make that clear, particularly at elections time. Failing this, the fires of California and Australia, the flooding in the Philippines and Bangladesh would be child’s play as to what is ahead. Now is the time to act. Former President Mr. Donald Ramotar
Wednesday January 01, 2020
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Guyana hires UK firm to evaluate Payara field development plans The Department of Energy has announced the hiring of a firm from the United Kingdom to review and evaluate the Payara field development plans. The company has been identified as Bayphase Geologists, Engineers and Investment Analysts Limited (Bayphase Ltd.). The third phase of the ExxonMobil oil and gas development plans was halted by the Department of Energy weeks ago over concerns over costs, among other things. Two other major development projects, for ExxonMobil and its partners, have been approved- Liza1 and Liza2. Production has started on Liza One. Yesterday, providing details in the hiring of Bayphase, the department said it has successfully completed the evaluation of 11 Expressions of Interest (EOI’s) from international firms. The EOIs received in October 2019, were for consultancy services to support “Oil and Gas Project Development Evaluation for the Payara Field” offshore Guyana. “In accordance with the Procurement Plan of the Guyana Petroleum Resources Governance and Management Project (GPRGMP) and the Procurement Method of Consultant’s Qualifications Selection (CQS), a team of evaluators largely exclusive to the Energy Department, selected the highest ranked evaluated firm, Bayphase Geologists, Engineers and Investment Analysts Limited (Bayphase Ltd.).” Bayphase was then in-
vited to submit a technical and financial proposal. “The combined evaluation report and the recommendation for contract award were subsequently approved by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board. The contract commenced December 30, 2019 and will last for a period of four months,” the Energy Department said. Under this consultancy, Bayphase will provide advisory services and technical support to the Government of Guyana through the department as Guyana seeks to rapidly build out its in-house technical capacity. “The project covers such areas as an in-depth review of the Payara field development plan (FDP), environmental impact assessment (EIA) and supporting documents. It also includes on-the-job training for Guyanese and preparation of draft national FDP guidelines.” Amongst beneficiaries of training from Bayphase will be the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Energy (DE) and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission Petroleum Division (GGMC-PD). According to the department, it is expected that this consultancy will help to advance the Energy Department’s strategy to rapidly build national capacity and in levelling the playing field between state actors and the highly experienced international private sector operating in Guyana’s petroleum sector. Bayphase, on its website, explained that it will conduct an in-depth review of a field development plan (FDP), en-
vironmental impact assessment (EIA) and supporting documents submitted by contractor to gain government approval for a deep-water FPSO development. This review included an assessment of the strategy and the development model, as well as the criteria for the choices that have been made by the contractor (with a particular focus on cost effectiveness) and potential alternatives. The review will include engineering, geological and geophysical interpretations, simulations, and estimations (with a particular focus on recovery factor efficiency using natural gas injection and available natural gas for export).Bayphase will also be looking at the proposed project schedule (with a particular focus on tail end production). Among other area will be the “Abandonment Plan” and the overall risk management strategy. Bayphase will also have to prepare a report summarising the opinions formed in the evaluation of the FDP and EIA, highlighting any deficiencies, unresolved issues, or areas of additional technical analysis that government should request from the Contractor before making a determination on the FDP.” Bayphase, on its website, said it is involved in a cost recovery audit for the Rovuma Basin Projects, Mozambique and an independent assessment of licensed areas and fields, Libya. It has also worked in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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Wednesday January 01, 2020
80 percent of Nigeria energy revenues only benefit 1% of its population-World Bank finds By Kiana Wilburg When it comes to producing oil and gas, Nigeria is arguably, without an equal when compared to its other African counterparts. Not only is it the largest oil producer in Africa, but it also holds the largest natural gas reserves on the continent, raking in over US$17B in 2016 alone. Despite such massive revenue earnings and enviable reserves, the World Bank has found that Nigeria s wealth only benefits a select few. The financial institution which is also assisting Guyana in developing its oil management capacity highlighted that 80% of Nigerias energy revenues only benefit one percent of
the population. Corruption was cited as the main cause, with the net effect being widespread poverty. The World Poverty Clock, a credible data-gathering team that monitors the global progress against poverty, found that in 2018, Nigeria overtook India as the country with the most extreme poor
people in the world. This is in spite of the fact that Indias population is seven times larger than Nigerias which at 2017, stood at 190.9 million. Further data by the World Poverty Clock shows that in June 2018, there were 86.9 million Nigerians living in poverty. By the end of 2018,
that number rose to 90.8 million. To date, it stands at 94.9 million. Even Bloomberg zeroed in on the state of Nigeria in February last, reporting that six people fall into poverty every six minutes. But the World Bank, Bloomberg and the World Poverty Clock are not the only international entities to shed light on the level of inequality that has gripped this oil producing state. Oxfam America, a confederation of 19 independent charitable organizations, noted in a special report that in Nigeria, the scale of economic inequality has reached extreme levels as there is an accumulation of “obscene amounts of wealth” by a small number of individuals. In examining the numbers, the confederation which focuses on the alleviation of global poverty, pointed out
that the richest man in Nigeria would have to spend US$1M a day for 41 years to exhaust his fortune. In fact, the international body pointed out that the combined wealth of Nigerias five richest men amounts to $29.9 billionmore than enough to end extreme poverty at a national level. Oxfam further noted that the amount of money the richest Nigerian man can earn annually from his wealth is sufficient to lift two million people out of poverty for one year. Further computations by Oxfam also showed that between 1960 and 2005, about US$20 trillion was stolen from the treasury by public office holders. This is larger than the GDP of United States in 2012 (about US$18 trillion). As a result of the mistakes made with the oil and gas resources, Oxfam noted that 57
million Nigerians lack safe water, over 130 million lack adequate sanitation, and the country has more than 10 million children out of school. Considering the foregoing, the transparency advocacy body said, “Poverty and inequality in Nigeria are not due to a lack of resources, but to the ill-use, misallocation and misappropriation of such resources. “At the root is a culture of corruption combined with a political elite out of touch with the daily struggles of average Nigerians.” Oxfam America, the World Bank and many other international organizations have cautioned new oil producing states like Guyana would be wise to pay rapt attention to the mistakes by these and other nations as it pursues the development of its new found wealth.
A homeless woman fast asleep under a bridge in Southern Nigeria (https://www.voanews.com/)
Wednesday January 01, 2020
Carl Greenidge should know something about debt. After all, he did admit in his Christmas Day letter in the Stabroek News that both Guyana and Nicaragua were among the most chronically indebted countries in the world in the mid-1980s. If memory serves me right, Mr. Greenidge was Guyana’s Finance Minister during the mid-1980s. He would therefore have had more than a passing acquaintance with the country’s debt problems. And I am sure he recalls admitting in V. V. Ramanadhan’s (ed.) “Constraints and Impacts of Privatization”, 1993 (at page 153) that in 1989 Guyana’s external debt/GDP ratio of 902.7 per cent was the highest in the world. It was therefore more than a tad surprising that he would wish to highlight what he views as this newspaper’s recurring theme of a link between petroleum and chronic indebtedness without, what he says is, a factual basis for the assertion.A factual basis has long been established for the link between petroleum production and indebtedness. A study entitled “Drilling into Debt: An Investigation into the Relationship between Debt and Oil” which covered the period 1992-2003 had confirmed the relationship between oil production and increasing debt, and between oil dependence and debt burdens. It did also find that oil production does allow for better
Oil and debt
servicing of debts. But we all know what can happen when oil prices crash in countries too dependent on oil production.The study’s findings are part of economic orthodoxy. For example, it is now accepted dogma that increased oil production tends to promote increased spending in anticipation of higher export earnings and this can have an adverse effect on debt. Also, increased oil revenues increase the credit rating of oil-producing countries thus allowing them greater access to foreign credit and stimulus to more borrowing and the accumulation of higher debts. Oil dependence has been found to make oil-producing states vulnerable to macroeconomic shocks, which can force further borrowing and the ability to service debts. The decline in oil prices in 2014 had a severe impact on the oil-producing economies of Nigeria and Angola. Both countries suffered a reduction in the value of their exports. Venezuela also suffered and found itself in difficulties servicing its debts. According to a report published at the end of October by the Committee for the
Abolition of Illegitimate Debt, Africa’s oil-based economies saw an increase in debt servicing from an average of eight per cent of revenues in 2013 to 57 percent in 2016. Earlier this year, the Brookings Institute warned that since 2015 Africa’s median debt-to-GDP ratio as a percentage of GDP rose by more than half. It found that the increase in debt was particularly rapid in Africa’s oil exporting regions. The evidence exists of the undeniable link between oil and debt in Africa and elsewhere. Mr. Greenidge would do well to reexamine his position on oil and debt. About one and half months before Mr. Greenidge’s Christmas letter, the International Monetary Fund highlighted the adjustments, which had to be taken to stabilise debt ratios in SubSaharan Africa since 2016. These adjustments, including cutting public investment and primary expenditure, measures which I am sure Mr. Greenidge agrees hurt the poor more. Kaieteur News has been demanding stronger scrutiny of the oil companies operating in Guyana. It has been
GDF PROMOTES 818 A total of 818 officers and ranks of the Guyana Defence Force have been promoted with effect from today. Of this total, 25 of the officers are from the regular Force while 10 are reserve officers. The remaining promotions being that of other ranks.Heading the list of promotions is 99358 Lt. Col Raul Jerrick. He has been promoted to Colonel. The full list would be published in our next edition.
DPP gave advice in 3,725 law enforcement cases for 2019 The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has wrapped up the year by giving legal advice in 3,725 cases sent by law enforcement agencies.Legal advice is given by the DPP to the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and other Government agencies. This is done to ensure that no citizen is charged unjustly and that persons who break the law are charged and prosecuted, in accordance with the law.During 2019, the DPP’s Office received 318 Depositions. A deposition is the documented testimony of a witness taken by a magistrate during the hearing of a Preliminary Inquiry (PI). Of these depositions, 174 Indictments were proffered, 16 were returned to Magistrates’ Court for reopening of cases, 13 matters were discontinued and two were Nolle Prosequi while 113 matters are receiving attention. Some of the files that reach the chamber of the DPP involve offences like murder, manslaughter, rape, fatal accidents, possession of illegal arms and ammunition, and
rape of a child under the age of 16. The functions of the DPP include presenting indictments in the High Court for criminal sessions in the Demerara, Berbice and Essequibo counties. The DPP is involved with both civil and criminal matters. For civil matters, the attorney-general is instructed by the DPP. This is in relation to civil actions that arise out of criminal causes or matters in-
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vestigated by the police or other agencies.On the other hand, the majority of criminal charges are disposed of in the magistrates court and police prosecutors appear for the prosecution. The DPP also receives letters from prisoners who are awaiting trial in the High Court. As it relates to the public, persons can visit the DPPs chambers for assistance with matters apart of the criminal justice system.
highly critical of the agreements entered into between the government and ExxonMobil and partners. It has been using the experience of other countries to warn about what can happen if there is not greater accountability. The newspaper has called for a renegotiation of the oil agreements. Kaieteur News should be congratulated for its bold stand in trying to ensure that Guyana gets a better deal from the oil producers and to caution about the dangers inherent in our oil agreements. Kaieteur News had forewarned about the threat of a debt trap from increased bor-
rowing and investment from China. It used the experience of other countries, including those in Africa, to point out to the obvious dangers to national sovereignty posed by Chinese economic penetration.Guyanese are excited by the start of oil production. But if they had been reading the newspaper, they would have known by now even before a single drop of oil was pumped, Guyana has accumulated pre-contract costs of more than US$900M. That is close to 50% of Guyana’s total external debt in 1989, which was the highest debt/GDP ratio in the world at the time.
While Guyana’s ability to pay off its debts is now far superior to what existed in 1989, it should insist that every cent for which it is billed in pre-contract and cost recovery costs, are fully accounted for. Otherwise, it may find itself with lots of oil but even higher levels of debt. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)
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Wednesday January 01, 2020
THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN
Police atrocities on the last day of 2019 The political bosses and the Police Commissioner will read this and they will not act and the police will continue in their old ways. Young people who are harassed by the police will migrate and the saga will go on and on. On the last day of 2019, at 12.30pm on the Railway Embankment at Vryheid’s Lust, a female traffic, Ms. Constable Curtis, about twenty yards in front of me, signaled me to pull into the corner. I have written about 20 times about routine traffic stops so I know a random stop when I see one. I pulled up, she said, “Your documents
please.” (she did say please). I indicated to her that police procedures dictate that she has to tell me the reason for the stop. She refused. I was prepared for a confrontation because I know I was in my right. I told her the police can stop at anytime, any vehicle on any road, anywhere in the world but they have to offer you the reason for the interception. She continued to refuse to offer her explanation. I suggest she call back up and make an arrest because she and I were done with. There wasn’t going to be any conversation
between us. I wasn’t going to show any documents. I wasn’t going to drive away so she had to do what she had to do. There were two other ranks – Corporal Cromwell and Constable Simon. All three traffic ranks are based at Sparendaam Police Station. Simon came up and suggested that I wasn’t cooperating with the police. I candidly told him I was not going to condone police impropriety. He suggested that I pinpoint what impropriety took place. I told him random stop without explanation. He
asked me to prove that the police cannot conduct routine stop and must offer a reason for stopping you. I showed him eight newspaper articles where the police directed its personnel to stop only if they see an illegality committed or they have reason to. He said the articles are from previous years. He would like to see a recent pronouncement from the Force. I showed him and he immediately shifted his round. He now told me why I was stopped. So I said, “If you know why she intercepted me why are you telling me now when she refused.” He indicated that the random stop has already occurred and he is requesting the documents. I refused telling him he has to tell me why the car was intercepted. He did. Brace yourself for police atrocity. He said; “Mr. Kissoon your certificate of fitness is not pasted up on the car window so you were stopped for that. Please produce the documents. Simon thinks he is smart but he is a fool. Once the reason is given, you have to produce your documents. Simon thought I would have refused thus cornering
me. I gave them to Constable Cyrus. On examination, she returned them. Simon then indicated that he would like to record the particulars on my driver’s licence to send me a summons for failing to expose the fitness certificate on the car window. Then I looked at him and said; “You are unfit to be a police officer.” He looked nonplussed. I informed him that more than five years ago, I know the types of vehicles that have to expose the fitness certificate. The requirement does not apply to private cars. He insisted in his impropriety. I suggested he call his superiors for guidance. He refused. Time was going. I had to get to Mon Repos to repair my wife’s smart phone and I didn’t want to waste time with three misfits. I called the Traffic Chief; his phone rang out. I called Deputy Commissioner, Paul Williams, and asked if he can tell the three ranks, which types of vehicles have to publicise the fitness paper. I recorded what Mr. Williams told him. He then told me the issue was finished. I told him it wasn’t. I was taking all three
Frederick Kissoon ranks to superior officials and I will play the tape for them. My first stop was Mr. Shivbarran in charge of Sparendaam. He said the reason for stopping has to be given and private vehicles do not publicise fitness certificate. Next stop was the Traffic Chief. He wasn’t in. I spoke to his deputy, Superintendent Jack. He said the reason for stopping has to be given; private cars do not have to expose fitness paper. Next stop was Mr. Campbell, the direct boss of the three ranks. He repeated what Shivbarran and Jack said. I played the tape for Shivbarran. Let’s see what comes out of this. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)
Wednesday January 01, 2020
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A Happy Decade of Development By President David Granger Guyanese! Happy New Year! I greet you at the start of 2020–a most auspicious year in our nation’s history. The year 2020 is an exciting time to be alive and to be Guyanese. Today – 1st January, a memorable and momentous date – marks the dawn of the ‘Decade of Development: 20202029’; the start of the national observance of the 50th anniversary year of the Republic and the launch of campaigns for General and Regional Elections. An eventful year lies ahead. Guyanese can expect a higher quality of life over the next five years. We are looking beyond 2020. We are laying plans for the future. We are planning for improvements in our lives in the form of: - economic growth which will accelerate as production increases and the major sectors become stronger and more resilient; farmers and fishers benefitting from the modernisation and diversification of their sectors; miners enjoying safer mining practices; - education and healthcare which will continue to improve; information communications technology will be extended countrywide to link all regions and communities; - employment opportunities which will be available; citizens having larger disposable incomes and public servants’ emoluments continuing to grow to improve their standard of living; - public infrastructure which will continue to be rehabilitated, upgraded and expanded; and more housing for low-income families; - energy supply will be extended to more rural and hinterland communities; manufacturing enterprises will be catalysed by more reliable electricity; and the generation of electricity from sustainable sources will be expanded. We maintain that the principal objective of the state will always be to secure the ‘good life’ for all. This will entail providing every citizen with opportunities to be the best he or she can be; securing sustained economic prosperity; ensuring access to quality public services and promoting social cohesion. The ‘good life’ involves eradicating extreme poverty and reducing class, racial and geographic inequalities. The ultimate measure of the good life is happy communities, happy households and happy people. We will launch a ten-point programme aimed at improving the quality of life by promoting, over the next five years: . educational improvement, assured by enabling every child to have access to nursery, primary and secondary education; providing tuition-free education for eligible students at the University of Guyana and strengthening teachers’ training; . economic growth, characterised by higher levels of investment, enabling incentives for business development, including robust support for agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing and mining; . constitutional reform, pursued vigorously, with wider popular consultation, and with greater emphasis placed on broader political inclusion, protecting human rights and preventing constitutional gridlock; . good governance, by adopting measures aimed at enhancing transparency and integrity in public office, strengthening regional development and empowering women and youth; . social protection, by strengthening social safety nets for pensioners, the homeless, the indigent and disabled– and social cohesion by ensuring greater respect for each other’s religious beliefs, ethnic identities and cultural practices; . human safety, by intensifying action to suppress and reduce crime, protect human life and ensure national security by safeguarding the country’s territorial integrity and
sovereignty; . Indigenous peoples’ development, by preserving indigenous cultural identity and according recognition of indigenous peoples’ knowledge in protecting the environment; . energy sector development, through strengthening the institutional, legislative and regulatory framework for the management of the petroleum sector and by fast-tracking the development of renewable energy sources; . environmental protection, by preserving our ecosystems and their biodiversity, implementing conservation, climate adaptation and mitigation measures and combating the adverse effects of climate change; and . infrastructural improvement, by extending aerodromes, bridges, road networks, stellings and ferry services through hinterland development and strengthening coastal sea defences. We can look forward to living in a country, which enjoys high levels of growth and human development and with accountable government and greater equality. Constitutional reform will allow for the easier resolution of political differences. Citizens can be assured that their communities will be safer and that borders will be more secure. The productive sectors will be more resilient by receiving increased support to drive economic development. I declared 20th December ‘National Petroleum Day’ signifying that Guyana had become a petroleum-producing state. The increased fiscal space created by the commencement of petroleum production allows the intensification of the rate of implementation of these transformative processes. Your government will ensure that petroleum revenues will be managed prudently for present and future generations in accordance with our objective of securing the ‘good life’ for all. We shall do this through a Natural Resource Fund which, as it stands, meets 21 of the 24 Santiago Principles with the other three principles to be met once the legislation comes into force. I am pleased to announce the launch of a Decade of Development: 2020-2029 – a tenyear plan that will accelerate the country’s four transformative processes– the ‘green state’, the ‘digital state’, the ‘petroleum state’ and an education nation: . the first transformative process involves the transition towards becoming a ‘green state’ that will emphasize the preservation and protection of the environment and the graduation towards greater value-added production; . the second will be the development of a ‘digital state’ which will connect every region, neighbourhood, village, community and government agency, generate ICT services and make public services more accessible; . the third will be the emergence of an ‘education nation’, characterised by every child attending primary school, every child graduating from secondary school and the country having a more highly educated workforce; and . the fourth will be the beginning of petroleum production which will result in faster economic growth, increased employment and economic opportunities and larger fiscal revenues. We can expect to live in a gentle, green and good country, during the Decade of Development as a result of these changes. The results will be: . A growing economy that is innovative and competitive and which generates jobs for everyone willing to work; . an education system in which every child attends, and graduates, from school; every eligible person is accorded free tertiary education at the University of Guyana; every teacher is trained and paid satisfactorily; . a public health-care system providing the
best treatment and care available, including to the aged, the infirm and children; . communities in which there is a roof over every head and parks, playfields and recreational facilities where citizens are free to walk without fear of molestation; . a country with modern infrastructure which would allow someone to drive from Crabwood Creek on the Corentyne to Sand Creek in the Rupununi, and with every household, community, region and business having access to the internet. We will continue to protect human life by safeguarding the environment. We shall intensify our commitment to: - preventing pollution of our waterways, eliminating the importation of single-use plastics whichcontribute to clogging drainage systems, flooding and squalor, depleting aquatic life and contaminating creeks, rivers, Continued on page 29
By President David Granger
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Wednesday January 01, 2020
Govt. Minister sues Central Bank over failure to probe suspected money laundering By Feona Morrison In a $90M lawsuit filed at the Victoria Law Courts in Georgetown, Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan is accusing the Bank of Guyana of failing to probe the unauthorised deposit of $82,068,617 into his company’s, Precision Woodworking Limited bank account being held at Republic Bank. Minister Bulkan and his brother Rustum Bulkan, both shareholders in the company are the only authorised
signatories to the company’s bank account. In June 2011, Precision Woodworking Limited was placed into receivership by Republic Bank. In the lawsuit filed by their lawyers, Patrice Henry and Maxwell Edwards, Governor of Bank of Guyana, Dr. Gobind Ganga and Bank of Guyana have been listed as the first and second named defendants jointly and severally. In a Statement of Claim, the brothers said that on June 16, 2011, “an unauthorised, disclaimed, suspicious and
unlawful deposit” of $82, 068,617, was made into the company’s Republic Bank account #355-733-8. Concerned about the deposit, the brothers said between 2013 and 2017, they wrote to Dr. Ganga, Republic Bank, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan and Attorney General Basil Williams as it relates to the unauthorized and suspicious deposit with the hope of an investigation being launched. Minister Bulkan and his brother said they are gravely
concerned that the deposit was a breach of the Antimoney Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act by an individual identifiable by name. On January 25, 2018, in an action against Republic Bank, the Receiver, they were able, for the first time, to validate their grave suspicions and obtained confirmation about the fact, and existence of the deposit through a court order for Discovery. “The Discovery Statement of Republic Bank showed that the deposit in fact existed, and was in fact made on June 17, 2011,” the brothers added. “Both defendants continue to arbitrarily and whimsically deny the deposit being made, and dismissively discounted [our] suspicion of criminally without any suggestion of any intention to take such action, including but not limited to a face-toface meeting with [us]having particular regard to the very high governmental status of [Minister Bulkan].” They said that by these acts, the defendants intended to mislead, deceive, induce and tricked into believing that the deposit was not made for them to abandon their relentless good faith pursuit of an investigation into the truth about this matter. Furthermore, they say that they have been induced by the defendants repeated, false and in bad faith, denials or recklessly not caring whether their denials were true and factual, or not, into a belief, and entertaining of some doubt about the veracity of the very serious imputations of criminality
Minister of Communities: Ronald Bulkan against Republic Bank, probably the largest commercial bank in Guyana, tending to an appearance that they are not only mischievous, but malicious. The brothers argue that the Bank of Guyana must have appreciated that its knowingly false or reckless denials were likely to be believed, and their complaints and assertions about money laundering dismissed. In this regard, Minister Bulkan said that both he and his brother as well as the defendants are acutely aware of the international financial jeopardy that Guyana endured as a result of the Financial Action Task Force blacklisting Guyana prior to 2015, and of government’s zero tolerance for money laundering. They also say that they are well aware of the draconian and ruinous effects of the penalties of fines ranging from $220M to $520M and or imprisonment prescribed by the AntiMoney Laundering and
Governor of Bank of Guyana: Gobind Ganga Countering of Financing of Terrorism Act. Hence, their efforts to have the unauthorised deposit investigated. The Minister and his brother further argue that Dr. Ganga’s misfeasance in public office has undermined and is likely to continue to undermine local, public, international and regional confidence in the regulation, supervision and administration of the financing/banking institutions in Guyana. In the circumstances, they are suing Dr. Ganga for negligence, deceit, misfeasance in public office for which they are seeking in excess of $10M each in damages. They are also suing the Bank of Guyana for breach of statutory duty and are seeking in excess of $50M in damages. They are also asking the court to award them exemplary damages for the potential harm, distress and unease caused by Dr. Ganga’s action. The brother are also seeking substantial costs and further or other order as the court deems just.
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Two years to the day…
Former SWAT Boss fired Just one year ago on December 30, 2017, police ranks intercepted then SWAT Unit Commander, Motie Dookie, during a routine stop and search operation at Whim Village, Corentyne, Berbice. Motie was at the time a passenger in a minibus that only had a driver when the vehicle was stopped. A search of the vehicle uncovered a shocking 30 cases of smuggled Johnny Walker Whiskey. Both Motie and the bus driver were immediately taken into police custody after they could not produce the legal documents for the items. Now, two years after the bust, the former SWAT boss was booted from the Force, a move ordered by Police Service Commission head, former Assistant Commissioner Paul Slowe. Initially after the bust, Motie was first removed from the senior position and transferred to ‘A’ Division. This was due to the fact that junior ranks viewed his transfer as a promotion for his indiscretion rather than a punishment. But then acting Commissioner of Police, David Ramnarine, instructed that he be sent on leave. Ramnarine’s decision had the backing of Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix. Felix at the time was performing the duties of Minister of Public Security. Khemraj
Sacked former SWAT Head, Motie Dookie Ramjattan was out of the jurisdiction. The former SWAT head then moved to challenge the decision to send him on special leave in the public’s interest. Dookie argued that the Commissioner had no authority to take such a decision stating that the responsibility was that of the Public Service Commission. The problem was that there was no Commission at the time. The life of the last one expired and the new one was not named as yet.
10,000 acres lands at MMA-ADA…
I did not benefit from any Duty Free Concessions - Chairman Chairman of the MahaicaMahaicony-Abary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA), Kelvin Saul, has said that he has not benefitted from any duty free or other tax concessions. Saul was responding earlier this week on a matter which he insisted is now closed. A business which he is associated with has over 10,000 acres in the MMA-ADA area. The lands were in the name of Mc Agriculture Trading and Investment Services (MATIS). The issue of the lands came up as MATIS approval for the lands to be converted from forest concessions to agriculture lands occurred earlier this year when Saul was sitting as chairman. In a statement over the weekend, Saul made it clear that he recused himself when the MMA-ADA board approved the transaction around August. Earlier this week, Kaieteur News again spoke to Saul about a few grey areas contained in a statement over the weekend where he clarified the matter. He said that he did not benefit from any duty free concessions or tax breaks. He said, of course, that it is an area he will be willing to explore. He said it is a major investment in which he is digging into his and his partners’ pockets. He has spent millions of dollars to survey and develop the lands, which are located
MMA-ADA Chairman, Kelvin Saul next door to the St. Cuthbert’s Mission, located up the Mahaica River. The official became Chairman of that authority earlier last year. According to documents of the transaction acquired by Kaieteur News, MATIS is a private business owned by Kelvin Saul, Colin Prescod, Colin Clyde Prescod, Jason Martin and Slater Saul. The actual lease of lands to MATIS for agricultural purposes was finally signed on December 3, last, by Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder, on behalf of the President of Guyana. Before that, in 2015, after years of preparation, Kelvin Saul and his partner, Colin Prescod received permission from the Guyana Forestry Commission for logging on the same lands.
The Chairman had denied it was a conflict of interest situation as he was just converting lands he and his partners had even before he had become Chairman. According to Saul, at the time of the decision by MMAADA in 2016 to go ahead and approve the forest lands for agricultural purposes, he was not the chairman. He was a board member. He recused himself from the deliberations of the transactions, he said. The Opposition made it clear that there appears to be elements of a conflict of interest scenario. The land is said to be located on either side of Captain Creek in Region Five. Saul, in his statement, had insisted that this land was essentially forest land in the hinterland and intermediate savannahs. He said that MATIS focused on husbandry and harvesting of forestry products with charcoal production through systematic and sustained tree felling and land clearing. “The subsequent MATIS application to the MMA which is the current excuse for controversy was merely for a conversion of the use of the said land from forestry to agricultural purposes. The indecent haste of these PPP/C persons in making baseless allegations against MATIS; impugning my integrity as an official is, sad to say, a basic modus operandi of some of the activists of this party.”
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Wednesday January 01, 2020
Kaieteur – a media empire making a positive impact While the past year was filled with many challenges, there were many outstanding achievements that Kaieteur News gained. Among the most outstanding achievements was the 25th anniversary celebration which incidentally coincided with the launch of our radio station [Kaieteur Radio – 99.1 FM and 99.5 FM] on April 4, 2019. Many never expected Kaieteur News to remain vibrantly afloat to this day much less to expand into the broadcast arena. While there were a number of factors that
helped Kaieteur News to retain the status of the leading newspaper and now a fast developing radio station, it was you the readers who are recognised as the most important element as without you, all of our efforts would have been in vain. Today, the year 2020 dawns and we hope that it brings with it peace, love and prosperity to you all. We hope that your support will remain unwavering as we commit to improving our standard of production. It was no minuscule task to build a media empire.
Rather it took a great deal of blood, sweat and tears. In the frontline all the way was our courageous publisher – Mr. Glenn Lall – who fiercely carved a path that enabled Kaieteur News to gain a lasting foothold in this industry. He has remained resilient and it is for this reason that Kaieteur can remain committed to the cause of bringing you the facts that matter and information to build our nation. Lall’s love for media work was ignited back in 1993 when he was invited to invest in a newspaper
business. You see, even though he knew nothing about the newspaper industry then, Lall certainly had what was required to make a business take-off – good financial standing, a clear understanding of the business environment, and the inherent desire to succeed at anything he put his hands to. And like any good businessman worth his salt, Lall started to learn as much as he could about his new passion. He read any and everything that helped to improve his understanding
Kaieteur Publisher, Mr. Glenn Lall
of media work. Another tactical move was to surround himself with people who were regarded as experts in the field of journalism. One such character, who has weathered the years of Kaieteur News’ evolution with Lall, is our Editor-inChief, Mr. Adam Harris – a veteran journalist. Lall himself has also taken advantage of many media training programmes over the years. In fact, back in 1995, he ensured that he benefited well from a knowledge transfer programme which saw him travelling to Barbados to learn about modern newspaper technology from the Barbados Advocate publication. Lall was particularly grateful for that experience and the many more which helped to catapult his understanding of media work. Having been in the newspaper industry for two
and a half decades now, Lall, as the publisher, complemented by the backing of his dedicated staff, has become a force to be reckoned with in the local media fraternity. Although he was able to effectively utilise this newspaper to educate the public, he was eager to take advantage of the airwaves as well. However, it took quite a few years before he could’ve venture into the broadcast world. But that reality finally materialised last year with Kaieteur Radio being launched with the blessings of the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority [GNBA]. “Guyanese should not have waited this long for the birth of this Radio Station. The denial of a radio licence violated our constitutional right to provide and ensure that the public had access to information,” said Lall at the launching ceremony in April (Continued on page 31)
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Wednesday January 01, 2020
Trotman establishes complaint desk Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman
B
eginning this month, the Ministry of Natural Resources will be establishing a Grievance Address Desk to formally address the complaints and issues within the sector. This established desk or office within the Ministry will receive the complaints against the individuals in the sector and within the Natural Resources Ministry regarding administrative dealings. Complaints are then registered by the complaints desk officer and have them ready to be passed on to an established screening committee that does further investigations and make recommendations. There have been several allegations against the Ministry of Na t u r a l Resources regarding concession dealings, corruption and bribery, following which a probe was launched into the Ministry. Hence, the purpose of establishing the desk is meant to deal with corrupt practices within the sector. Complaints are then registered by the complaints
desk officer who would have them ready to be passed to an established screening committee that does further investigation and makes recommendations for department heads endorsement. A statement on behalf of the Ministry read, “While the trajectory of development for the sector and the country as a whole, it is understood that not all will be perfect. “Nevertheless, the MNR and the mentioned agencies, under the leadership of the Minister of Natural Resources Hon, Raphael G. C Trotman, have worked to ensure that the sector is not only utilised for individual benefit, but that it is managed and developed sustainably, to ensure its longevity for the nation. “Raised concerns within the sector and continues to welcome all persons willing to raise matters affecting them. These help to shape how the MNR moves in addressing and preventing sector- related issues from occurring.”
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Wednesday January 01, 2020
Four elevated to Senior Counsel
Roysdale Forde
Murseline Bacchus
Ms. Jamela Ayesha Ali
Stanley Moore
Having considered their high quality of service in the legal profession, and with confidence in their knowledge of the law, His Excellency Brigadier David Granger, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana is pleased to announce the appointment of four long-serving legal practitioners as Senior Counsel with effect from today.The four attorneys are: Ms. Jamela Ayesha Ali, Mr. Murseline Bacchus, Mr. Roysdale Alton Forde and Mr. Stanley Moore. In January 2017, after a 20-year hiatus, President Granger elevated nine legal
luminaries to the status of Senior Counsel and has since pledged to ensure that these honours are conferred annually.
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Vendor, hairdresser jailed for trafficking cocaine at airport - Magistrate sends strong message so children won’t be tempted Mother of five, Christy Griffith, of 38 Norton Street, Georgetown, yesterday showed no remorse after being found guilty of a narcotic charge by Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty. Griffith, 39, a hairdresser and her accomplice, Shellon Barrow, of 135 Victoria Street, Albouystown, were both found guilty of the offence and jailed. Barrow, 39, a vendor and a mother of four, told the court while tears was streaming down her face that she was sorry for what she did and begged the Magistrate to show mercy and consider the fact that she has four minor children.
Barrow’s attorney entered a plea of mitigation on behalf of her client. The lawyer told the court that her client had no previous conviction, that the court should considered the time her client spent on remand and she added that since her client has been on remand, she learned catering skills and had no problem while she was locked-up at New Amsterdam Prison. When the matter was called for ruling in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, before handing down the sentencing, Principal Magistrate McGusty said that she found it hard to believe anything Barrow had said to the court, since the
story Barrow told the police when she was arrested differs from her caution statement and the story she told in court. “An innocent person has one story so it’s very hard to believe anything you said, and that shows that you had full knowledge, action and possession of the contents in the suitcase that was given to you… As such, I find you guilty of the offence,” Magistrate McGusty said. The magistrate added that she had seen a video that the prosecutor marked and tendered as evidence of the two defendants at the Sunset Hotel and with Barrow at the airport. From looking at the
JAILED: Shellon Barrow and Christy Griffith (right). videos, the two defendants appeared to be very willing participants, the magistrate said. Griffith who was
East Berbice man gets 20 years for raping child An East Coast Berbice man who was on trial for raping a child under 16 years old, was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in jail. The child was eight years old. The man, Jairam Ramgoolam, 44, of No. 11 Corentyne, Berbice, was on Monday handed the sentence by Justice Brassington Reynolds after he was found guilty by a mixed jury in the Berbice High Court. The incident was reportedly committed on April 21, 2019. The man was unmarried and lived with a brother and sister-in-law. Attorney-at-law Seeta Bishundial presented the state’s case. The accused was unrepresented. The man was found guilty earlier and a probation report was ordered. That report was presented by Probation and Social Services Officer, Judith Vankennie. The report stated that Ramgoolam was a school dropout. He was unskilled and unemployed. He got his meals from a neighbour and a step-sister who lived in the same village. He was said to be a regular drinker. The probation officer mentioned that after the
Jairam Ramgolam incident, the victim was so affected that when visitors came to their house she
would stay upstairs. She does not want to see the accused anymore. Throughout the trial, the accused maintained his innocence and stated that his sister-in-law wanted to set him up because she wanted him to come out of the house. The rapist said he and the victim shared a loving relationship and they played together. However, the victim denied any such thing. Prosecutor Bishundial told the court that the accused should be put away for a long time. She said that he robbed the girl of her childhood and his action was more of a criminal. She asked the court that the sentence should send a strong message to those who might
be like-minded. At the time of the incident, the accused was living by his brother. He never showed any remorse after the incident. Even though he was found guilty, he still maintained his innocence. Before the sentence was passed, Ramgoolam said, “I am sorry.” Before passing sentence, Justice Reynolds said he noted the manner in which the offence was committed. “Although, it is reported that you are a school dropout, you are a big man and have your own sense. I hope you benefit from counseling and hope you reflect on your actions while in prison.” Justice Reynolds told the convict.
unrepresented, while smiling, she told the court that it should also consider her children and the fact that one of her daughters is getting married in January. The Principal Magistrate stated that she will consider their children. “I’m setting an example so they would not be tempted to do what you did… For all I know if you were successful at what you were doing, you could have got them involved and tell them about the sweet, fast life.” The magistrate told the defendants that they did not consider their children when they decided to traffic narcotics, and that she will also consider the sixteen months and one week, which they spent on remand. Both defendants, Christy Griffith and Shellon Barrow
were sentenced to spend a total of three years and nine months in prison, and fined $3.5 M. Barrow was charged with trafficking 1.638 kilogrammes of cocaine on September 15, 2018, at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, and Griffith was charged for providing the 1.638 kilograms of cocaine between September 14 and September 15 at Sunset Hotel, Kitty, to Barrow. According to information received, Griffith carried the cocaine well concealed in a suitcase to Barrow who was staying at a hotel awaiting her flight to Jamaica. At the airport, Barrow was intercepted with the said suitcase that Griffith dropped off at the airport. Barrow told the police that she received the suitcase from Griffith.
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Wednesday January 01, 2020
Kaieteur News
8.5 percent increase for GPL’s workers FOR RENT 2 Bedroom apartment for Rent- Semi furnished in Herstelling.Contact#2652171/675-8572. SERVICES
LAND FOR SALE
Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Graphics design, advertisements, Wedding arch rentals. Tel: 626-7040
Transported land 11.6 acres, Lot 15 Public road #2 Village W.C. B/ce 5 mins from B/ce Bridge. Contact# 686-4818/ 648-7109
ICONIC MARKETING & PRINTING –TEL: 6006887: We create A/works, logos, business cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included.
VEHICLE FOR SALE 1 Honda CRV. includes TV, music system, alarm, reverse camera, sproiler, crash bar, Low mileage. PTT Series (First Owner) Contact #6490956
PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, G R A D U AT I O N , W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620
Nissan Bluebird (Silver) Series PXX for sale.Contact#2652171/675-8572.
We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer-Call: 231-0655; 683-8734. Omar
Lot 89 Robb Street, Lacytown, Georgetown. Next door to Mike’s Pharmacy.Land size3431.25 Sq.ft. Phone: 617-5323, 666-8052
Installation, Repairs and parts for AC, Fridge, Washing Machine, Stove etc. Call Nick 630-1600, 6273206
PROPERTY FOR SALE
One 3 Story building at 97 Sugar Cane St, S/Rveldt Gdns. $125,000,000. Tel#674-9905/ 695-1356/225-2971
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2 Bedroom semi-furnished apartment in Campbellville, suitable for students/persons working in G/Town for more info.Call#666-3213/668-0450. Commercial Space.Linden #613-7039.
LEARN TO DRIVE EDUCATION First Aid/CPR and home Nursing classes.Tel#2259082.St.John Association 110 Cowan St.Kingston for more info. WANTED
One two bedroom house to let $60,000 per month.Call#6939999. One bedroom & three bedroom apts for rent in Providence,Fully furnished.Call#672-1906/2162299/682-6238. TO LET Rooms tolet, 1 bedroomworking people: $30,000, $32,000,$35,000, $40,000 monthly, 2 month security. Call: 623-0076
2 Bedroom bottom flat grilled & tiled apartment $65,000. Middleton St C/Ville.667-1896. Business space with Kitchen $85,000 Middleton St.C/Ville 667-1896.
DOLLYS AUTO RENTAL CALL: 225-7126 & 2263693 -DOLLYS AUTO RENTAL@ YAHOO.COM/ W W W . D O L L Y SAUTORENTAL.COM PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS FROM $4000 & UP, SUV’S PER DAY- CALL: 656-0087 / 643-5122 ,EMAIL:PRO_ A U T O R E N T A L @YAHOO.COM AIDAN’S CAR RENTAL& TOW TRUCK SERVICE :PICKUP,9-11 SEAT MINI BUS, GOOD FOR AIRPORT & FAMILY OUTINGS, CHEAPEST RATE .#698-7807
Puri cooks , Kitchen Assistants.Apply@Shantas 225 Camp Street, G/town. Live in maid wanted between the age of 45-55.Bourda area.Call#658-0618.
VACANCY
VACANCY Vacancy for (1) Sales girl.Apply in person to Alabama Trading.
1 Maid Call#225-3234. Car, Bus & Canter Drivers. Call #225-3234/225-9223. One (1) Welder.Must know Grill work.Contact#625-5763.
From left: Mr. Charles Ogle, Chief Labour Officer, Department of Labour and Mr. Dawchan Nagasar, General Secretary-NAACIE.
Large washbay in 1st Street Alexander Village.Call#6640802.
Drivers- with tractor, motor bus, minibus, must have all three licenses, preferably living around Georgetown. Tel# 641-5075/225-1429/6241147 CAR RENTAL
From left: Mr. Bal Parsaud, Divisional Director-Human Resources, GPL and Mr. Charles Ogle, Chief Labour Officer Department of Labour.
One Bedroom apartment, bath & living room included.Preferably UG Student.Contact#222-0401
Male seek female Pen Pal worldwide.Whatsapp 6986391.
N. Outar Driving School, Learn to Drive the right way @ Cuffy Square. Affordable package. Call: 644-5166/6912561/681-2808
PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, G R A D U AT I O N , W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620
Two Domestic maids required one should know cooking too.Call#231-0734.
Driver with Minibus License to work with Company. Call#646-8748.
Vacancy for (1) experienced Accouints Clerk.Must have passes in Mathematics and English.Apply in Person to Alabama Trading
(1) Live in domestic for Georgetown.Boys & Girls to work at shop in the Interior.Contact#660-9093/ 682-5846.
Experienced Salesgirls with 2 yrs experience. Apply @ Christine’s Variety, Lombard St. Contact: 227-8529
Vacancies exists for Truck Drivers and Loader Operator. Contact - 621-5282 1 Secretary 28-45 yrs old. #2310655/683-8734 General domestic. 3 Days work. Must know to cook. Apply with 2 references. KeyFood McDoom village Vacancy for (1) maid.Apply in person to Alabama Trading. Female Cleaner office & home.Call#642-9823. Maid to cook and clean for East Bank area.Call#615-9132. Driver must be able to assist in Workshop at Eccles, age 2545, Car/Van license.Call#6429823.
A Memorandum of Agreement for revised wages and salaries for junior and senior employees for the calendar year 2019 was signed yesterday between Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL) and National Association of Agricultural, Commercial & Industrial Employees (NAACIE) at NAACIE’s Head Office in Kingston. The agreement follows negotiations that commenced in early December between the GPL management and NAACIE. According to GPL, negotiations concluded “amicably” with both parties agreeing to an increase in salary and wages of 8.5 percent retroactive to January 2019. During the signing, in the
presence of and witnessed by the Chief Labour Officer, Charles Ogle, Department o f L a b o u r, M i n i s t r y o f Social Protection and other G P L - N A A C I E representatives; Dawchan N a g a s a r, t h e G e n e r a l Secretary of NAACIE expressed his appreciation o f t h e m a n n e r in which negotiations were conducted in 2019. He also conveyed the Union’s commitment in advancing improved relations with GPL. GPL’s Divisional Director, Human Resources, Bal Parsaud, noted that GPL remains committed to maintaining cordial negotiations with NAACIE to further improve working conditions and benefits for employees through collective bargaining.
The unbelieving man can have no peace, and how can there be happiness for one who lacks peace of mind.
Wednesday January 01, 2020
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Kaieteur News
Santa bring some late Christmas Gifts for Dem Boys and Gyals De year 2019 was a ruff, ruff year. Dem boys blame Charrandass who sit down at the same table with Khemraj and eat out de Parliament food and then vote wid de Opposition. He coulda wait till this year. Whole year de people was at the edge of their seat watching de no-confidence drama. Dem boys and gyals learn a lot. Words like dual citizenship and house-tohouse and even Uncle Glenn and Adam introduce some new cuss
words. Patto was dem boys’ friend. He used to write letters to the editor from he GECOM desk that mek Uncle Freddie look like a child…some long, long words that had dem boys and gyals checking de Thesaurus. After the court tell Patto he can’t stay because he squatting at GECOM illegally, Soulja Bai and Bharrat agree on de Claudette gyal. De ‘Iron Lady’ then had all the boys and gyals at GECOM dancing because she ain’t tekking no sides.
EXXONMOBIL -Santa bring a Bible, a Quran and a Bhagavad Gita for de ExxonMobil people. De intention is fuh de oil company grow a conscience and correct the abomination what dem mek Guyana sign tying dem pickney, grand pickney and great, great, great pickney in debt. ……… OPPOSITION LEADER, BHARRAT JAGDEO -Santa bring two gifts for Bharrat…a white robe and lie detector machine. Santa seh he listen to Bharrat and can’t believe this is the same man he listen to in 2011. He talking about contracts and corruption like is the Coalition bring it to Guyana. The white robe is for he to wear when he preaching and the lie detector machine is fuh signal him when he talking. Of course, dem boys seh every word he talk is a lie. ……… PPP’S PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, IRFAANALI -Santa bring a GPS kit for Irfaan. You see, Santa never went to university, and he want to know which part of the West Coast de university deh that Irfaan went to. ……… CARL GREENIDGE -Santa understand that dem boys and gyals don’t really pay attention to people who dem can’t see. So Santa bring a cushion fuh he sit on and high-heeled shoes. ……… PRESIDENT DAVID GRANGER -Santa like Soulja Bai. He bring de
She look at dem sideways and when she done, she mek she decision. De Claudette gyal don’t drink about the place. But the year had other things that important. Like de oil. When people talk about oil, fuh de housewife is cooking oil, fuh de mechanic, is engine oil, fuh dem night people, is lubricant. For de politicians, is money in dem pocket; fuh dem newspaper like de Waterfalls paper, is a better life for all.
President two pillows. One fuh church and one for he office. You see, Soulja Bai understand the power of prayer. He always pray for forgiveness for he people and de Opposition. The pillows is for he to kneel on to pray longer. ……… MINISTER SIMONA BROOMES -Santa watch de restaurant video and see how de minister get upset and throw down de barriers. But he also see how dem chuck she in a backroom somewhere in OP. Santa bring she a bunch of keys, fuh a bigger office. ……… BUS DRIVERS -Whole year dem boys and gyals complain about dem bus drivers. Dem not only speeding but killing people. Dis year, Santa bring CCTV cameras for Government to put on dem roads. ……… PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE MINISTER, DAVID PATTERSON -Santa like David. He bring a passport from de Premier of China. De minister is now honorary citizen of China thanks to de wuk wid de Chinese contractors in Guyana. ……… FINANCE MINISTER WINSTON JORDAN -Santa bring from the North Pole some furs and special leather jackets. He understand de minister is thin skin. ……… MAYOR UBRAJ NARINE -Whole year, dem boys and gyals see photos of de Mayor jumping in trench and cleaning. Santa want de Mayor to continue he wuk so he brought de Mayor two pairs of long boots and three shovels, to clean out
But dem boys and gyals believe that is true some of the politicians wukking with de oil companies as PR consultants…dem is de spokes people. Tek de short politician for example. He seh he is an expert on foreign policy. He is a good talker. He decide to cuss de Waterfalls paper. He seh how dem at de paper racial. Is then dem boys know when you write about Africa is racial you racial. De problem is he decide to
City Hall of dem rogues. ……… GLENN LALL -Santa like Uncle Glenn. He does talk he heart. He cuss de whole year. Santa bring a puzzling cup so every time Glenn cuss is $5,000 he gotta put in. Is either he cuss in private or he cuss in he mind. ……… ADAM HARRIS -Santa pay attention whole year to Adam. Adam want to leave de wuk and become a counselor. Is whole year, de whole of Guyana coming to sit down when Adam got to edit and talk to he about dem problems. Santa bring two chairs for Adam…one fuh he and one for de person complaining. ……… FREDDIE KISSOON -Santa bring a camera for Freddie home. Every year, if is not the people cleaning de drains, is de people not putting on streetlights who trying to spite Uncle Freddie. The camera is for Uncle Freddie to take de pictures. ………
hide at another newspaper and tek a swipe at dem boys and gyal. Dem boys not afraid. In de past, dem tek on taller politicians to mek sure Guyana get a better deal. Anyhow, this is Christmas. Santa and he Caribbean wife still sharing gifts. All dem boys and gyals get in. Uncle Adam, Nigel, Glenn and Gildarie get two bottle vodka each. Santa also bring gifts for de other boys and gyals…
JUSTICE (RET’D) CLAUDETTE SINGH -Santa bring a metal hammer for de judge lady. He know as elections time come, she gotta make plenty decisions. De hammer is to bang on the desk when she ready to deliver her decisions. And if people challenge de hammer is to knock dem pon dem mouth. She gon have to knock Hammer Benn and Shaddick pon dem mouth. ……… MINISTER KHEMRAJ RAMJATTAN -Santa like Khemraj. De decisions he mek has to do with how people drinking. He close up de bars early and even tell de police to sit down outside to see which drunk driver peeing in the corner by the wall. Santa bring a pair of binoculars for Khemraj so he can join the police stakeout and see who peeing in the corner. ……… -For the persons we have wronged this year…don’t worry, this year, is the same sk**nt again! Happy New Year Guyana…!
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday January 01, 2020
Wednesday January 01, 2020
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Kaieteur News
‘Mudslinging’ dominates major parties’ press conferences The major parties, the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) and the Peoples National Congress Reform (PNCR), have held many press conferences throughout the past year. Valuable time from these engagements has been used to engage in political mudslinging against the other side. While this political insultthrowing would not take up the majority of the time in an engagement, it is perhaps the only prevailing trope throughout all of them. These are the two parties who are proven to hold considerable political sway over the voting populace, and the following is a report of the manner in which they engage the public when discussing
each other. The PNCR decided to hold weekly press conferences during 2019. The structure of these engagements consists of a prepared statement that is read by a member of the party. The media corps would congregate at Congress Place at 11 am every Friday to hear the reading of the statement which is usually sent by email to media houses after the engagement. It is typical for these statements to contain language blasting the PPPs presidential candidate Mohamed Irfaan Ali as deceptive or corrupt. The Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo also faces mudslinging from the PNCR,
A Happy Decade of ... From page 13 freshwater and marine waters; - combating the adverse impact of climate change and rising sea levels caused by global warming, which erodes our natural sea defence structures and protecting the mangrove forests which help to secure our shoreline and river banks from erosion; and - strengthening forestry and mining laws to make reforestation and land reclamations conditional for the approval of mining and logging concessions. Citizenship of this good country must mean, by 2030, living in a modern state where everyone could enjoy equality before the law, education that is free, employment that is satisfying and an environment that is safe and healthy.The launch of the ‘Decade’ today brings the realisation of the ‘good life’ closer. It is fitting that, as we witness these transformative changes, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of becoming a Republic on the 23rd February 2020. This is an occasion of national pride, deserving a grand celebration of the actualization of our sovereignty. The Republic’s jubilee occurs at an auspicious and propitious time. We are about to leap above the barriers which previously constrained us in the pursuit of the ‘good life.’ Guyanese are urged to join in the vibrant celebrations being planned to mark the Republic’s Jubilee.General and Regional Elections will be held this year. The proclamations – dissolving parliament on 30th December 2019and designating 2nd March 2020 as Election Day – have been signed, already. We will have the opportunity to elect representatives to the National Assembly and Regional Democratic Councils. The free exercise of
our franchise will determine who we choose to manage the affairs of state over the next five years. General and Regional Elections provide the opportunity for the election of leaders to govern the country during an era of highlevels of economic growth and human development. Political parties will be mobilised fully; the population will turn out in large numbers; the Elections Commission will deliver free, fair and credible elections and the security forces will ensure an environment of public order and stability before, during and after the elections. It is fitting, also, to iterate our intention to strengthen our resolve and augment our resources to protect our national patrimony. We expect that the controversy between the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela will be resolved, peaceably, by the International Court of Justice. This course of action is in accordance with Guyana’s view that a judicial settlement is the best means of achieving a final and definitive settlement of the longstanding controversy by reasserting that the 1899 Arbitral Award is valid and binding upon Guyana and Venezuela. The year, 2020, will be an unforgettable year. It will demand diligent and dutiful service from all to attain the common good. We should be satisfied that the plans which have been laid out for the next five to ten years will culminate, inevitably, in our homeland becoming a land of happy people, happy families, happy households and happy communities. I extend best wishes to every Guyanese for a happy and prosperous New Year – one that promises to be the most exciting and exhilarating in our nation’s history.
with his tenure as president once being described as freakism. The party members would constantly lambaste the PPP no matter the issue of the day. Unfortunately for the press corps, they are told that questions may only be asked about the contents of the prepared press statement. This rule persists despite there be pressing issues which deserve answers. Reporters have attempted to ask questions unrelated to the statements, but pressing nonetheless, and have been interrupted and shut down. Only seldom does a high profile Minister attend one of these engagements and venture to answer reporters questions, despite the topic. However, even some of those high
profile Ministers evade questioning. Minister of State Dawn Hastings, who is said to be the most powerful woman in Guyana, has made several appearances at these conferences. Yet, she has refused to answer questions not related to the press statements on repeated occasions. On the PPP side, reporters may ask questions on any issue. But the mudslinging from the Opposition Leader is much more frequent. It is common for him to level accusations of corruption against Ministers of Government and other public officials, but it is very uncommon for him to venture to provide proof. Even in situations when he does back up his words, the documents have failed to
make a convincing case. For example, Jagdeos famous land-grabbing claims made earlier this year fell through when it turned out that most of the acreage he mentioned was only being returned to their rightful owners. Furthermore, the High Court is set to assess damages owed to Charles Ceres by another newspaper that was found guilty of misinformation, for its reporting on Jagdeos land-grabbing claims. Kaieteur News is currently still in litigation. Describing this Government as the most corrupt in Guyanas history, Jagdeo has made accusations as serious as accusing Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson, who he calls sticky
fingers, of pocketing public funds. Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, is often made fun of by Jagdeo, who alludes to Ramjattan being a drinker of alcohol. If he is responding to a statement by Ramjattan, he may joke that the Minister made the statement drunkenly. Jagdeo discriminates against Government officials for their age, describing Government as a “geriatric” cabal. The Opposition Leader has also grown accustomed to calling officials insulting names or describing them as mentally ill. The PPPs presidential candidate Irfaan Ali has said that he will not engage in gutter politics. Jagdeo has made no similar commitment.
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Wednesday January 01, 2020
Kaieteur News
Happy 2020 to all of Guyana from all of us at Kaieteur News!! Best wishes for the New Year are also extended to you from other individuals and organisations:
PEOPLE’S PROGRESSIVE PARTY The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) extends best wishes to our Guyanese brothers and sisters both at home and in the Diaspora, for a peaceful, prosperous and productive 2020. Over the past year, the Guyanese people have witnessed the shameless desperation of a government resorting to every legal and arithmetic trick at their disposal to frustrate the Constitution of Guyana, hold on to political power illegally, and avoid facing the Guyanese people in an election that is now long overdue. Happily, by the end of 2019, their desperate attempts have finally been exhausted, and they have been left with no choice but to name a date on which the Guyanese
people will be given a chance to elect a government of their choice. The dawn of 2020 is also an occasion for guarded optimism in our country. We start this year as the world’s newest oil producing nation. In order for the benefits of this development to be enjoyed by all of the Guyanese people, the gross mismanagement of the sector by the incumbent APNU/AFC government will need to be remedied. Their sad legacy in the sector comprises abject failure to put in place an effective regulatory framework and local content policy, as well as badly negotiated contracts that do not serve the national interest. The PPP’s commitment to the Guyanese people for 2020 and beyond is to
bring responsible economic management not just to the oil and gas sector, but also to all of the traditional and other new and emerging sectors of our economy. By ensuring a truly diversified and robust economy, Guyana will soon be joining the fold of prosperous nations of the world and, with good government, every single. May 2020 be a year in which the highest standards of democratic norms are observed including through the conduct of free, fair, and peaceful elections, in which good governance and responsible economic management are restored to our country, and in which the march to a prosperous Guyana proceeds apace. Happy New Year!
SHERWOOD CLARKE, GENERAL PRESIDENT, CLERICAL AND COMMERCIAL WORKERS UNION The Clerical and Commercial Workers extends happy New Year to our members and wish a brighter year in 2020. Trade Unions are facing more complex challenges than they did in the 20th century. These challenges demand leadership, which is enlightened, dynamic and focused. These challenges also demand trade unions’ involvement which must be proactive, informed,
prepared to influence social and economic policy, ready to find alternative solutions, new strategies and reach out to its membership with new services. Given the challenges, which Globalisation and the neoliberal model is creating for the Labour market and the economy of the Caribbean, the Trade Union Movement needs to speak with one
PEOPLE’S NATIONAL CONGRESS REFORM Happy New Year! May Prosperity come to every home, family and community across the far-flung regions of our country.The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) extends greetings for a Happy New Year to all Guyanese at home and in the Diaspora. As the Year 2019, fades into history, we welcome 2020 and the Decade of Development, 2020-2029. On this, the first day of the New Year, it is our hope that all of us will realise a measure of prosperity in our personal lives and that each of us, wherever we may be, will endeavour to make some contribution, however small, to the development of our country. This year, 2020, General and Regional Elections will be held in Guyana. Our Party and its Partners look forward to your continued support as we continue working towards the good life for all. Guyana is now a petroleum producing state and we are working towards becoming a green state, a digital state and an education nation. The PNCR calls on all Guyanese, regardless of race, ethnicity, political affiliation or religion, to participate in bringing about the transformation of our country so that Guyana’s vast resources may, at last, be made to serve the imperative for development and social advancement of all the people of Guyana.The PNCR, therefore, looks forward to participating, as it has successfully done in the past, in the continuing drive for the peaceful development of this dear land of ours. The Party wishes all Guyanese a very Happy New Year and looks forward to 2020 with optimism and hope. May God Bless our Nation as we strive to provide a Good Life for all Guyanese!
voice. To be heard and respected, we need an enlightened leadership supported by an informed membership prepared to confront these new emerging challenges. As the issues become more complex, Guyana needs to be prepared to form alliances with other small unions so as to be able to achieve our goals. The time is opportune for small unions like CCWU, UAAWU, NUPSE and GLGOU to take initiatives to bring about the reduction of Trade Unions in the county. Over fifteen-odd unions are far too many and our activities are too demanding. If we are to be equal to the tasks and pressures which will confront our unions now and in the year 2020, mergers will have to be effected to the numbers providing us with the opportunity of strengthening the main Trade Union Centre, Guyana Trades Union Congress and putting ourselves in a position to effectively deal with the problems which inter-alia are: Recalcitrant Employers; Globalization and neoliberal model; Foreign Trade and Investment; The effects of new Technology and the Environment on Working Class peoples; Political Development; The problems of Women and youth in our Society and the problems of the Old and Indigent. Happy New year to the working class people, let us celebrate 2020!
WORKING PEOPLE’S ALLIANCE The Working People’s Alliance wishes all Guyanese a happy and prosperous New Year. This coming year promises to be a defining moment for our country. It will be our first year as an oil producing nation and that brings with it, new challenges and possibilities for our beloved country. This is an exciting time to be a Guyanese. For the first time since Independence, Guyana would have access to resources to be able to address the myriad of challenges our country has faced, thanks to our long history of bondage and exploitation. The coming Oil and Gas dispensation would forever change Guyana as we know it. With God’s guidance and prudent leadership, our country can be transformed into a space where all our citizens
will be able to enjoy a life bereft of poverty. This is a very significant area for us in the WPA. As a party in and out of government, we are deeply committed to the liberation of the poor and the powerless, the working people, from the shackles of poverty. It is our considered view that our first order of business should be wiping the scourge of poverty from the face of Guyana. This can be achieved firstly through the elimination of unemployment and the creation of jobs, which pay a living wage. The right to work is a human right that any government worth its salt should strive to guarantee all its citizens.Further, the WPA believes that the Guyanese people should benefit directly from the expected oil wealth.
Towards this end, we have proposed and will continue to champion Direct Cash Transfers to households. We feel this policy measure would greatly help with the alleviation of poverty as all Guyanese, regardless of ethnicity or social class, would be guaranteed an additional income to use as they see fit. We have every confidence in the ability of Guyanese to put that money to good use.WPA believes that in addition to full employment and Cash Transfers, all Guyanese should be afforded a quality education, from nursery to university. In this regard, we support government subsidised education or free public education, improved wages for teachers and modern classrooms as central to a revolution in our education system.
CHANGE GUYANA Fellow Guyanese, The beginning of a new decade is upon us. People all across the world are hopeful about the possibilities ahead and are excited to build on the success they have achieved. For Guyanese, however, this is sadly not the case. After 53 years of independence, we are still battling the scourge of poverty and underdevelopment, sustained by incompetent, visionless leaders; widespread corruption and broken systems. Successive PPP and APNU/PNC governments have failed us all, failed our youth, failed our women, and failed our economy. Yet our abundant natural resources present tremendous opportunities. We must firstly, however, embrace change, and not allow the
politics of race, scarcity and deception to lead us into another decade of being left behind. An election is imminent, and yet another opportunity for you and I to choose leaders who will fix Guyana, or leaders who will give us yet another five years of underdevelopment, high taxes, joblessness, poor infrastructure, and the same old ethnically divisive politics. This new decade will present enormous economic opportunities in the emerging oil and gas sector. Let’s cease this opportunity to strengthen our economy around oil and gas with Value added developments in agriculture, mining, forestry, Information Technology, and other sectors that will provide high paying jobs for our
youths and rekindle their hope of a bright future in their country.The Team of Change Guyana provides Guyanese the opportunity to ignite our economy and put Guyana among the league of progressive countries. We will address the current oppressive taxes and put more money in your pocket, and bring incentives for businesses and investors. We have a pragmatic, private sector driven, people focus agenda that will create jobs across Guyana, bring low cost financing for homes and businesses, end blackouts, fix our poor infrastructure and establish a first world healthcare system. May this New Year bring you and your family peace, security, happiness and prosperity. May God bless you and bless Guyana.
INDIAN ACTION COMMITTEE The Indian Action Committee (IAC) wishes all Guyanese a Happy and Prosperous New Year. The IAC recognises that 2020 is very significant given the fact that General and Regional Elections, which the organization expects to be free and fair and free from fear, will be held early in the year. The IAC has noted, with great concern, the efforts of what the Caribbean Court of Justice (the highest court of appeal of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana), described as a caretaker government to act as a fully-fledged government throughout 2019,
even though a No Confidence Vote was successfully passed against it in December 2018. The IAC has also noted the detrimental decisions, made by the caretaker government in 2019, that have negatively impacted the citizens of Guyana especially with regard to the brand new oil and natural gas industry which is almost totally lacking legislation especially the local content and the environment to protect the financial benefits properly due to the Guyanese people. The IAC is calling upon the new government to immediately begin renegotiations
of the The IAC wishes to inform all Guyanese, especially those of Indo-Guyanese origin, that 1st January 2020, is the 100th anniversary of the cancellation of all indentureship contracts that were in existence up to that time, thus bringing the indentureship system to an end. The IAC will continue to pursue vigorously its three foci: cultural, educational and social work.The IAC encourages all citizens and leaders to make 2020 a peaceful and progressive year in which the economy experiences growth and development.
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ExxonMobil hires military agents notorious for gross human rights abuses - lawsuit The latest development affecting the lawsuit filed against ExxonMobil over the gross human rights abuses has taken the oil company out of the woods, as the US Court has held that it is up to Congress not the Court to decide whether to permit lawsuits of that nature. They could cause strife between nations. In this matter, the case is one taken to the US District Court for the District of Columbia seeking justice for Indonesian villagers who were kidnapped, tortured, raped and even murdered by Indonesian military forces hired by ExxonMobil. The forces were hired to protect ExxonMobils operations but lay waste to innocent lives. These are some stories of the plaintiffs, some dead and represented by their spouses or relatives, who have shared only on the condition of anonymity. One plaintiff, John Doe I is said to have been accosted by ExxonMobil security personnel while riding his bicycle cart to the market to sell vegetables. The lawsuit states that they shot him in the wrist, threw a hand grenade at him, then left him for dead. The suit adds that he lost his right hand and left eye, and was killed during a
raid on his village. Another, John Doe II was stopped on the road by ExxonMobil security personnel while riding on his motorbike, and severely beaten on his head and body, it is stated. It is said that they tied his hands behind his back, blindfolded him, and trucked him to a camp where he was tortured for three months with electricity on his body, including his genitals. At one point, the lawsuit states, he was shown a large pile of human heads and was threatened that his head would be added to the pile. Though he managed to escape, the mans house was burned down by the security personnel hired by the oil company, the lawsuit states. Plaintiff John Doe III was accosted by ExxonMobil security personnel on his way to visit a refugee camp, shot in three places, and taken to a camp where he was tortured while bleeding out from the gunshot wounds, it is written. His kneecap was broken, according to information, his skull was smashed and he was burned with cigarettes. “When his wounds were treated, he was returned to the ExxonMobil security personnel. ExxonMobil security personnel kept him in custody for approximately one month and tortured him regularly. After
one month, Plaintiff John Doe III was released. In November 2002, during a raid on his village, John Doe III, who had been traumatised by the torture he received at the hands of ExxonMobils security forces in 2002, drowned while attempting to escape from the village during the raid.” When Plaintiff Jane Doe 1 was pregnant, her home was invaded by a rifle-wielding member of ExxonMobils security personnel, who threatened to kill her and her unborn child before proceeding to beat and sexually assault her, the lawsuit states. All of these are experiences of persons situated near ExxonMobil operations in Indonesia at the time of the attacks, the lawsuit notes. There are many more gruesome accounts of torture and pain, included in the document. (See link - https:// www.motherjones.com/wpcontent/uploads/ complaint.pdf) The extensive suit reads that when ExxonMobil made the decision to hire the personnel, it was its management in the US who felt it necessary. “At all times relevant herein, ExxonMobil has had the ability to supervise, control and direct, and has supervised, controlled and directed
Dharm Shala oldest resident dies The Dharm Shalas oldest resident, Iris Agatha La Fleur, passed away yesterday, peacefully in her sleep. She was 100 years old. Iris, a cancer survivor, was accepted into the Dharm Shala by its late owner and founder Harry Ramsaroop. This was after she explained her dilemma of being kicked out of her own residence by her two sons. At the home, Iris was recognised as the mother of all residents. In an interview, daughter of Ramsaroop, who is also the Managing Director of the Home, Kella Ramsaroop, described La Fleur as a wonderful person to interact with. “Iris never gave us any problem. She lived at this home for more than 60 years and she died smiling. She lived a comfortable life and I have no doubt that she will be in heaven. She will forever be missed.” When Kaieteur News, visited the home yesterday, residents were plunged into a state of mourning. Speaking with this publication, caretaker at the Dharam Shala, Shelly Phillips, was unable to control her emotions as she speaks about the good times she spent with the pensioner. Phillips, who has been working at the home for the past 10 years, stated that there was never a dull day at the home once La Fleur was there. “Sometimes when I go to bathe her, I would try to make a rough joke with her to see how she would respond and trust me all she would say to me is, “Shelly gal what we gon do.” I never had a problem with her. She will forever be a loving soul.” Shelly further stated that for all the years Iris had been living in the home, she had never been visited by any family member. However
the actions and activities of its security personnel.” It is stated that ExxonMobil conditioned payment on the provision of services, provided facilities that were used for the abuse of plaintiffs, provided weapons funding and military equipment, and paid consultants/ mercenaries to provide training and intelligence to ExxonMobil security personnel. Dauntingly, the suit states that in spite of its knowledge about the abusive
nature of the Indonesian military forces and the incidents, ExxonMobil had refused demands to investigate, improve or cease its security forces abusive actions. The defendants are ExxonMobil Corporation; its Indonesian subsidiary, ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia Inc.; and the oil majors predecessors, Mobil Corporation, and Mobil Oil. The Arun natural gas fields were discovered five decades ago. One of the larg-
est in the world, the fields were once said to be the jewels in Exxons crown, as the company was granted exclusive rights to explore for and produce natural gas by the Indonesian government. The lawsuit states, “ExxonMobil has received hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue from the Arun project. Throughout the 1990s… the Arun gas fields comprised approximately 25% of Mobil Corps world revenues.”
Man stabbed to death by woman’s ex-lover Police are investigating a fatal stabbing incident that occurred yesterday evening around 21:30hrs at Lot 123 Mazaruni Street, Guyhoc, Georgetown. The victim as been identified as 23-yearold Kyle Chase, of Lot 234 McAllen Street, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown. The suspect has been identified as a 24year-old male who resides at James and Victoria Streets, Albouystown. Kaieteur News understands that the stabbing incident stemmed from an altercation, which the victim and the suspect had last Sunday while at Guyhoc bus Park in the vicinity of Stabroek Market. The argument reportedly started after the suspect accused the victim of being in a relationship with his supposed lover.According to reports, on the day in question, Chase was at a female friends house playing a game of cards at Lot 123 Mazaruni Street, Guyhoc, along with his cousin Trevon Chase when two men, one of them the suspect, ventured into the compound. According to the police, the 24-year-old suspect is an ex-lover of the female friend and became enraged when he saw Chase at the
Picture of Kyle Chase house.The suspect and Chase started an argument, which was followed by a scuffle. The suspect reportedly stabbed Chase several times about the body with an object. Chase was taken to Davis Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The suspect who was also injured during the scuffle is under guard at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).Chases cousin, Trevon, was also injured during the fight; however, he was treated and discharged at the medical facility.
Kaieteur – a media empire making ...
Ms. Iris giving God praise as she celebrated her 100 birthday last Sunday, a man who claimed to be her son came to the home and met with her. When taken to her bedside, the visitor called out to the centenarian and she responded by saying “Now I wake and see the light.” She then identified the man as one of her sons whom she has not seen in over 70 years. According to Ramsaroop, La Fleur was able to remember and relate all the circumstances surrounding her being admitted at the Dharm Shala notwithstanding her age. “The only thing she didnt like was when you call her by her married name which is Iris Agatha Brewster; she would get very upset when you refer to her as Brewster because she once said that her husband was never by her side.” Agatha would have celebrated her 101 birthday this month.
From page 18 2019.Lall said that the discriminatory denial for the licence was therefore an affront to our right to expression, “…a right which was essential to our profession. I wish to make this very clear. In fact, we were more qualified than most of those who were granted.” He went on to note then too that “We are therefore not establishing this radio station out of financial motives. We are driven by our obligation to expand the right of free expression. Had we been granted a radio licence in 2011, Kaieteur Radio would have been by now the ‘sound of choice’ from the Caribbean all the way to Japan. “But, like I always believe, nothing comes before its time.”According to Lall, the launch of Kaieteur Radio represents a personal triumph. “I thank the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority for undoing the historic wrong which was committed against me and the Kaieteur News
Family.” Commenting on the evolution of Kaieteur News and the addition of Kaieteur Radio, Lall said he is convinced that his path was charted by the Creator himself, who he believes has positioned him to bring the truth to the nation. And for heeding this call and helping to make a needed difference, he is heartened
that a special place has been designated for him when the curtain eventually comes down on his existence. “I am blessed; I know I am blessed and I know the Creator has great plans for me,” Lall said confidently even as he committed to continuing to steer the Kaieteur News and Kaieteur Radio where many, even today, would not dare to tread.
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Guyana has 661,378 eligible Pontoons procured for Georgetown, Vreed-en-Hoop stellings voters – GECOM According to the Guyana Election Commission, (GECOM) Guyana has 661,378 eligible voters whose names will be published in the Revised List of Electors (RLE) on Monday for public vetting. Following a statutory meeting yesterday, GECOM’s Public Relations Officer, Yolanda Ward, noted that the RLE will be posted from January 4, 2020. Ward said that the list will be posted for 21 days for public scrutiny and corrections to be made to any erroneous information. “Where changes were not made, persons should visit the registration office in their area with the ‘pink slip’ from 4th January to inform and update accordingly,” Ward stated. Following the conclusion of the 21 days, GECOM will embark on preparing the Official List of Electors for the March 2, 2020 elections. Last week, GECOM in a majority decision agreed to conduct a house-to-house verification of new registrants, which number approximately 16,000 persons. The verification of the data was conducted over the next five days. Following the exercise, Ward disclosed that 6,534 of the purported new registrants from the truncated House-to-House exercise have not been confirmed. Ward informed reporters that the Commission had resolved to subject the data to a short verification exercise, since the House-toHouse exercise came under dispute by the political opposition. During that exercise, GECOM field staffers were accompanied by People’s Progressive Party (PPP) scrutineers. The verification exercise took off after it
One notable project included the conThe National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) yesterday struction and delivery of a pontoon for the opened 10 bids for two major governmental Georgetown and Vreed-en-Hoop Ferry stellings. projects. Ministry of Agriculture Security Services in lots 1 and 2
Yolanda Ward was noted that there were striking disparities in the cross-matched data that had returned from the overseas supplier. Gemalto, an international digital security company, was contracted by GECOM to cross-match the house-to-house data. Both tranches of data were returned and they appeared to indicate that there are about 60,000 total new registrants. This unusually high figure prompted the Secretariat to conduct its own assessment of the cross-matched data. Of a list of 20,000 unverified new registrants, 4,020 of the persons were duplicates on the preliminary list of electors. That brought the list of new registrants to about 16,000.
Transport and Harbours Department Construction and delivery of a unifloat/ pontoon for the Georgetown Ferry Stelling
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Sharapova to return next month as Brisbane wildcard
Russia’s Maria Sharapova in action during her match against Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi. (REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah file photo)
Wednesday January 01, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) If you have a tendency to do a little too much dreaming, reality could catch up with you now. The time has come to react immediately, Aries.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Today's powerful astral phenomena will encourage you to develop your skill as a visionary, Libra, no matter what you do with your day.
TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Everyone has impulsively bought something without really thinking about it first. As far as you're concerned, it happens a little more often than it should. Have you looked at your closet full of the clothes you never wear?
SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) It's time to get down to work. At the moment, you can't depend solely on your natural c r e a t i v i t y, spontaneity, imagination, and originality to get by.
GEMINI (May 21–June 20) You're in tune with the atmosphere around you today because of your tolerance, humanity, and the respect you have for everyone, no matter what their position in society or intellectual capacity. CANCER (June 21–July 22) If you tend to be a little anxious about solitude, Cancer, it doesn't necessarily mean you're dependent on the people close to you. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Sometimes it's hard for you to believe something unless you see it firsthand, Leo. However, the period you're in now may be pushing you to try and understand some of the mysteries on faith. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Love is in the air, Virgo! You may encounter some wonderfully passionate situations today. You're ready to live these marvelously rich and emotional experiences to the fullest.
SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21) What do you want? It isn't always easy to live with others. You may ask too much of the people close to you and not be able to stand it when they don't live up to your high expectations. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) It's possible you took a chance on someone who has disappointed you, Capricorn. You were especially tolerant and patient, but now it's time to finally settle things and put your cards on the table. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) Have been letting yourself go lately? Now it's time to take better care of your body. This new initiative will make you feel happier and more ready to tackle life again. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Have you recently lost some faith in the future, Pisces? Isn't it time to do something about it, especially where your personal life is concerned? You could find the answers to these questions if you'd take a second look at the quality of your close relationships.
SYDNEY (Reuters) Former world number one Maria Sharapova will return to tournament action at the Brisbane International next month after being awarded a wildcard to play in the Australian Open warm-up. The 32-year-old Russian, who last played a competitive match in the first round of the U.S. Open in August, has dropped to 133rd in the world after a season in which a longstanding shoulder injury restricted her to eight tournaments. The five-times Grand Slam champion will join current world number one Ash Barty, Naomi Osaka and Karolina Pliskova in a strong field at the Queensland Tennis Centre from Jan. 6-12. “It’s a fresh start after a tough last season,”
Sharapova told Australian Associated Press yesterday. “There were a lot of ups and downs, there were times when I was ready but the shoulder wasn’t. But I have had a fairly good off season and I am motivated to compete. At this point in my career when I have that feeling, it’s a good sign.” Sharapova has been troubled by shoulder problems throughout her career and the current issue required surgery early last year with lingering problems hampering her throughout the 2019 season. “To be fair when I was younger I never saw myself playing past 30,” she added. “But I still feel there is a lot in me to give. I still have a lot of fire in me and I am big
competitor. As long as the shoulder stays healthy and my body allows me to, I hope there is a lot of time left for me.” Sharapova’s lowly ranking means she will also need a wildcard to get directly into the main singles draw for this year’s Australian Open, which begins on Jan. 20. “While it is about results for me, it is more about how I feel day to day, making sure my shoulder holds up, but I am definitely up for that test,” she said. Sharapova won her third major title at Melbourne Park in 2008 but also tested positive for a banned substance at the tournament in 2016 and served a 15month suspension from the game.
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NBA roundup: Wolves top Nets, finally break home funk Shabazz Napier scored eight of his season-high 24 points in overtime as the Minnesota Timberwolves snapped a nine-game home losing streak with a 122-115 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night in Minneapolis. Rookie Jarrett Culver added a career-high 21 points for the Wolves, who made 7 of 10 shots in overtime and shot 40.4 percent overall. Keita Bates-Diop added 15 points, and Robert Covington contributed 14. M i n n e s o t a ’s G o rg u i Dieng collected 11 points and 20 rebounds while starting in place of KarlAnthony Towns (sprained left knee) for the seventh straight game. Spencer Dinwiddie led all scorers with 36 points on 12of-31 shooting for the Nets, who blew a five-point lead in the final two-plus minutes of regulation and lost their third straight game. Washington Wizards 123 - Miami Heat 105 Jordan McRae scored 29 points and Garrison Mathews added 28 points to help host Washington cool off Miami, which entered the day with the league’s longest active winning streak at five games. Ian Mahinmi added a career-high 25 points —
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Shabazz Napier (13) dribbles the ball in the first quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Target Center. (David Berding-USA TODAY Sports) including 2 of 3 on 3-pointers — for the Wizards. Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 27 points, and Bam Adebayo added 14 points and a gamehigh 14 rebounds. The Wizards, who entered the game having lost nine of 11 games, took control in the second quarter when Mathews had 20 points. Washington overcame the absences of seven injured players, most notably two-
time All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal (sore right knee), who leads the team in scoring (27.8 points) and assists (6.7). Beal had played 194 consecutive games before missing the past two contests. Atlanta Hawks 101 Orlando Magic 93 Brandon Goodwin scored a career-high 21 points and helped Atlanta come back from an 18-point deficit to end
its 10-game losing streak with a road win over Orlando. Goodwin, playing only his fifth game of the season on a two-way contract, shot 7-for-11 from the field, 3-for-4 of 3-point attempts, and had six assists. His previous best was five points. Atlanta’s Alex Len added 18 points and 12 rebounds, Kevin Huerter scored 19, and rookie De’Andre Hunter scored 16.
Milwaukee Bucks 123 Chicago Bulls 102 Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in his return from a back injury, and Milwaukee cruised to a win at Chicago. Khris Middleton finished with a team-high 25 points for Milwaukee, which won its third straight game. Guard Eric Bledsoe returned from a right leg injury and scored 15 points in 16 minutes of limited action. Bulls guard Zach LaVine scored a team-high 19 points despite missing 16 of 23 shots. Lauri Markkanen added 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range, and Wendell Carter Jr. contributed 10 points and 11 boards. Phoenix Suns 122 Portland Trail Blazers 116 Devin Booker registered 33 points, seven assists and six rebounds to help Phoenix rally past host Portland and end an 11-game, head-tohead losing streak. Kelly Oubre Jr. made a career-best seven 3-pointers while scoring 29 points, and Ricky Rubio recorded 18 points and 13 assists for Phoenix. The Suns trailed by 19 after one quarter but outscored the Trail Blazers 39-27 in the decisive fourth quarter.
Damian Lillard had 33 points and seven assists, and CJ McCollum contributed 25 points and six assists for Portland, which lost its fourth straight game. Hassan Whiteside recorded 16 points, 22 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Trail Blazers. Utah Jazz 104 - Detroit Pistons 81 Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points, and Utah overcame a sluggish start to pull away from Detroit in Salt Lake City. Jordan Clarkson, playing in his third game since being acquired from Cleveland, supplied 20 points off the Utah bench. Bojan Bogdanovic contributed 17 points, and Rudy Gobert racked up 13 points, 19 rebounds and three blocks for the Jazz, who have won three in a row and eight of nine. Derrick Rose led Detroit, which has lost seven of its past eight, with 20 points off the bench. Andre Drummond had 15 points, 13 rebounds, five steals, three blocks and three assists but also committed seven turnovers. Svi Mykhailiuk contributed 15 points, and Christian Wood added 11 points and nine rebounds. (Field Level Media)
Patriots face tough path with first wildcard Olympics: North Korea pulls out of women’s 2020 game in a decade New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) hands off to running back Sony Michel (26) during the second half against the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium. (Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports)
NEW YORK (Reuters) With an 11th-straight AFC East title, the league’s topranked defence and a future hall-of-fame quarterback, the New England Patriots would appear - at least on paper - as fearsome as ever. But Sunday’s humiliating 27-24 loss to the Miami Dolphins, sending them to their first Wild Card weekend in a decade, underscores the inconsistency of a team that have struggled to fend off claims their time is finally up. “It’s important for us to just realize our goals are ahead of us,” quarterback
Tom Brady told the local Greg Hill Morning Show radio programme on Monday. “We’ve got to go out there and we’ve got to try to have our best week and try to figure out how to win a game.” Brady knows that for his team, who had not lost to the Dolphins at home since 2008, shaking off the pain in the short week before Saturday’s wildcard game is a unique challenge. “Everyone wishes the outcome were different yesterday but it wasn’t,” he said. “Tough loss and we’ve got to turn it around quick.”
Even with his go-to man Julian Edelman in the mix, Brady struggled to connect with some of his receivers during the year, with critics pointing to the team’s diminishing talent in the position and some noting the 42-year-old may be showing his age. The six-time Super Bowl champion Patriots have rarely faced a tougher path to the Lombardi Trophy in the Brady Era, having failed to defeat fellow AFC contenders the Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans or Kansas City Chiefs during the regular
season. Their first task is to beat visiting wildcard opponents the Tennessee Titans (9-7) against who they are slightly favored. “We’ve got to dig deep this week. We’ve got to look ourselves in the mirror and get ready to go,” safety and team co-captain Devin McCourty said in a statement on the Patriots’ website on Monday. “Each team has their own journey, and this is our journey to go out there next week, Wild Card weekend and have an opportunity to continue to play.”
soccer qualifiers in South
(Reuters) - North Korea has withdrawn its women’s soccer team from the final round of 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualifiers being staged in South Korea in February, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has said. The AFC said yesterday the North had sent a letter informing it of its withdrawal from the tournament and that global governing body FIFA was also aware of the decision. The two Koreas remain technically at war a f t e r t h e K o r e a n Wa r ended in a truce and not a peace treaty, and while there was a flurry of sports diplomacy between the neighbors last year ties have again cooled over stalled negotiations over the North’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. “The AFC can confirm that DPR Korea Football Association sent an official letter to withdraw from the Wo m e n ’s
Olympic Football Tournament 2020 Asian Qualifiers Final Round,” the AFC said in an emailed statement. The third round of group stage matches for the qualifying tournament will be held from Feb. 3-9 in South Korea and China. North Korea were drawn in Group A alongside hosts South K o r e a , Vi e t n a m a n d Myanmar. Australia are in Group B with hosts China, Taiwan and Thailand. The top two teams from each group advance to a two-legged playoff in March. The two playoff winners will join Japan, who have already qualified by virtue of being hosts, at next year’s Olympics in Tokyo.
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Failures for Windies players as all taste defeat DHAKA, Bangladesh, CMC – West Indies players had a day to forget in the Bangladesh Premier League here Monday, as all suffered failures in heavy defeats for their respective franchises. Playing at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Andre Fletcher was dismissed for a two-ball ‘duck’ and opening partner Johnson Charles made only nine as their Sylhet Thunder stumbled to 133 for nine off their 20 overs against Rangpur Rangers. Wicketkeeper Mohammad Mithun came to his side’s rescue, however, with 62 off 47 balls including four fours and two sixes. He put on 57 for the third wicket with captain Mosaddek Hossain (15) to pull the innings around from 16 for two in the fourth over. Mithun added a further 34 for the fourth wicket with 21-year-old Windies allrounder Sherfane Rutherford who struck a brisk 16 from nine balls, with two fours and a six. In reply, Rangers got an attacking 63 off 28 balls from South African Cameron Delport as they strolled to a seven-wicket win with 16 balls
England board to back fourday test proposal - report
Andre Fletcher failed to score. to spare. They lost Australian Shane Watson for one in the second over with five runs on the board but Delport posted 99 for the second wicket with opener Mohammad Naim who made a patient 38 not out off 50 balls. In the other match of the doubleheader, well-travelled all-rounder Andre Russell failed to shine as his Rajshahi Royals suffered a batting meltdown to slide to a 74-run defeat to Dhaka Platoon. Chasing 175 for victory, Royals collapsed to 100 all
out in the 17th over with captain Russell managing only seven. Opener Afif Hossain topscored with 31 from 23 as leftarm seamer Wahab Riaz destroyed the innings with remarkable figures of five for eight. Earlier, opener Tamim Iqbal smashed 68 not out before Asif Ali arrived late to belt an unbeaten 55 from 28 deliveries to propel Platoon up to 174 for five, courtesy of a 90-run unbroken sixth wicket stand. Russell claimed one for 37 from four overs of pace.
Marnus Labuschagne achieves career-best No. 4 spot in year-end Test rankings ESPNcricinfo - A careerbest fourth position for Marnus Labuschagne and a move up to No. 10 for Quinton de Kock were the headlines of the year-end ICC rankings for men’s batting in Test cricket. India captain Virat Kohli stayed on top of the list - for 274 days in 2019 - with second-placed Steven Smith, who was the No. 1 batsman for 91 days earlier in the year, behind him. Labuschagne’s scores of 63 and 19 in Australia’s 247run win against New Zealand in Melbourne pushed him up by one slot from No. 5. He began the year ranked 110th, with only two Tests against his name, but was prolific in his 11 outings in the format since, making 1104 runs in 17 innings at an average of 64.94.
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Wicketkeeper-batsman de Kock, meanwhile, advanced eighth places to get in the top ten following his Player-ofthe-Match contribution, with scores of 95 and 34, in South Africa’s 107-run victory in the series-opener against England in Centurion. Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins retained his spot atop the bowler’s rankings in Tests following his firstinnings five-wicket haul in Melbourne. He has occupied the top position for 322 days this year, while South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada, who was No. 1 for 44 days after starting 2019 in top position, finished the year at No. 3. Replacing Rabada in the second spot was New Zealand quick Neil Wagner, who climbed one position on
the back of his seven-wicket match haul in Melbourne. The retiring Vernon Philander advanced three positions up to No. 5 to complete the top five on the bowlers’ rankings alongside the fourth-placed Jason Holder, who continued to lead the allrounders’ rankings in Tests. Save for the fifth-placed R Ashwin, who climbed up one spot, the top five allrounders in Tests Ravindra Jadeja, Ben Stokes and Philander the others retained their spots. As far as team rankings for the World Test Championship (WTC) go, Australia consolidated their position in second place of the points table. They added 40 points from their win in Melbourne to take their tally to 256 points from nine games. Top-placed India are 104 points clear of Australia while South Africa collected 30 points after their first win in the WTC and trail New Zealand and England, who occupied the fifth and sixth positions with 60 and 56 points respectively.
England’s Jos Buttler takes a catch to dismiss Australia’s Mitchell Marsh during the Ashes 2019 Fifth Test at Kia Oval, London. (Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers) NEW DELHI (Reuters) England will be “cautiously” backing a proposal to make four-day tests mandatory from 2023 under the World Test Championship, joining a growing push to shorten the game’s longest format. The International Cricket Council (ICC) cricket committee is set to discuss the issue next year as the game looks for ways to free up a crammed international calendar and reduce player workload. “We believe it could provide a sustainable solution to the complex scheduling needs and player workloads we face as a global sport,” an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) spokesperson told London’s Daily Telegraph newspaper. “We’re definite proponents of the four-day test concept, but cautiously so, as we understand it’s an emotive topic for players, fans and others who have concerns about challenging the heritage of test cricket.” The ECB did not immediately reply to a Reuters
e-mail seeking further elaboration. Ashes rivals Australia already seem to be taking the same view. Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts said last week that the board would “seriously consider” playing four-day tests. The other “Big Three” member of the ICC, the powerful Indian board, has yet to declare its stance on the matter, with its president Sourav Ganguly saying he wants to see the proposal before commenting. Four-day matches were given the green light by the ICC in 2017, when South Africa hosted one against Zimbabwe, while England played one against Ireland in July this year. With an increasing number of test matches ending prematurely, the administrators are keen to free up more space in the schedules for lucrative shorter form matches. Australia batsman Travis Head believes test cricket should not be denied the possibility of late drama on a
fifth-day wicket. “I think that (five-day tests) plays a lot with the wicket, brings spin into play,” Head told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday. “So I’d like to keep it at five days,” he added, echoing skipper Tim Paine’s view that test cricket should remain a five-day affair. The Federation of International Cricketers Associations (FICA) fears the new gaps in calendar could well be filled with more cricket. “It would take pressure off the schedule but our concern would be that the ad hoc w a y t h e s c h e d u l e currently works they would simply plug in more cricket into the gaps,” FICA chief Tony Irish told ESPNcricinfo. While four-day tests allow a golf-like Thursday-toSunday scheduling, they require a minimum of 98 overs a day to be played, a challenge considering fiveday matches already often fall short of their daily quota of 90 overs.
What will the selectors... From page 36 to make a big impact in fourday cricket but at only 20 and with Bishoo in the squad, Sinclair can only get better. I would pick Sinclair ahead of Ramaal Lewis because of superior batting ability and his age. Guyana is favoured to win another title next year but while winning is important the balance
should be investing in young players like West Indies under-19 pair of Nedd and Kevlon Anderson, who could develop into West Indies Test players. T h e We s t I n d i e s , Ireland ODIs runs from January 7-12, while the lone T20I is set for January 15 while Guyana oppose the Leewards in Antigua from January 9-12 before
they face Barbados in Barbados from January 16-19. My 13-man squad would be: Chanderpaul Hemraj, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Leon Johnson (Captain), Vishaul Singh, Chris Barnwell, Anthony Bramble, Raymond Reifer, Veerasammy Permaul, Nail Smith, Keon Joseph, Gudakesh Motie and Kevin Sinclair.
Wednesday January 01, 2020
GFF Super 16 Cup Champs to be crowned tonight at GFC - Fruta Conquerors and the Guyana Defence Force to collide; Santos and Police play for third The 2019/2020 champions of the Guyana Football Federation Super 16 Cup would be crowned tonight, that team would be Two Million Dollars richer. Set to battle for the historic Brass Aluminum & Cast Iron Foundry (BASIF) minted trophy are reigning Elite League Champions, Fruta Conquerors and the Guyana Defence Force. Tonight’s third place match features the losing semi finalists, Santos Football Club and the Guyana Police Force. Not taking away from the Santos / Police clash, all eyes would be on the grand finale which is anticipated to be a humdinger of a clash between two sides that play a very fast pace game, fitness at this final hurdle would be critical in deciding which of the two gladiators would be lifting the first of its kind trophy. Bragging rights for the next 12 months is also at stake and it would be down to the level of fruitful offensive maneuvers created or executed by both teams that would make the difference tonight. Conquerors, like the GDF would have scored a total of ten (10) goals in their three matches to date with the former conceding the least, just a single goal whilst the Soldiers goal have been breached on three (3) occasions. Both Captains have expressed confidence in winning tonight and while that’s commendable, the
reality is that only one team will walk away smiling with the Two Million dollar cheque; the loser would not leave empty handed as they would be collecting One Million dollars. The huge task of delivering their fourth consecutive win in this knockout tournament for the Tucville based Conquerors would be the tournament’s leading goal scorer to date, Delon Lanferman who has distinction of being the only player to have scored in every match, he has five (5) goals including a hat-trick. Ryan ‘Bum Bum’ Hackett with three to date inclusive of a double will be another key component of the Conquerors attack as will Nicholas McArthur and Eon Alleyne, the other goal scorers. Captain Vurlon Mills’ role in midfield as the chief engine room operator would be critical to Conquerors’ ambition of winning to seal the double having won the league. Akel Clarke’s role in goal would not be easy tonight as the Army players would surely be firing shots in abundance; Trevor Jones, Quincy Adams, Jahall Greaves and Raphael Edwards would all have to step up and be formidable in the defensive third if they are to keep the GDF at bay. The experience of Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson would be called upon to help seal a win for the Fruta boys. On the other end of the
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Kaieteur News
pitch, the GDF have shown that even if they are put on the back foot, they possess enough fire power to come out all shots firing on the homestretch with lethal implications for their opponents. They’ll be banking heavily on the likes of Benjamin Opara who is just one goal behind Lanferman in the race for the highest goal scorer and possibly the MVP prize which is one Honda 125cc Motorcycle compliments of Marics Honda. Opara too has scored a hat-trick; the other registered in the tournament came off the boot of Buxton United’s Dillon Wright. The GDF has shown some depth in terms of the number of players on target, which stands at seven (7) so far. It means that Opara has able support that’ll come from Sherwin Caesar, Delon and Delroy Fraser, Olvis Mitchell, Colin Nelson and Travis Henry. The respective Coaches, both with National experience, Sampson Gilbert (Conquerors) and Joseph ‘Bill’ Wilson (GDF) would no doubt be conjuring up the perfect plan that must be executed on the pitch in order to yield victory and the top prize. The third place match is expected to have its fair share of fanfare with the combatants, Santos and the Guyana Police Force eyeing the winning prize of $500,000 apart from ending the
tournament on a high having both encountered one blemish, having lost their semi final matches. Santos would take confidence from the fact that, apart from Conquerors’ one goal conceded, they have conceded just two, while the Law Enforcement Officers goal has been breached seven (7) times. Orin Yarde, Kester Jacobs and Lavaughn Eniss all have two goals apiece and will hope to increase that in taking their team to victory. Combining with them would be Stephen Reynold, Marcus Wilson, Captain Kevin Dundas, Ryan Dowding and Sheldon Holder. Police will depend on Daniel Wilson, Trayon Bobb, Pernel Schultz and Jamal Harvey all with a pair of goals to date as well as Colwyn Adams, Darren Benjamin, Jermain Junior, Stephan Ramsey, Travis Jones, Trevon Lythcott, Jamal Harvey and Kavis Fraser. Kick off time tonight is 19:00hrs. Sponsors who have contributed to the success of the tournament are Macorp, NAMILCO, Tourism & Hospitality Association of Guyana, EC Veira Investments, BACIF, Pegasus Hotel , BK International, Bakewell, Marics Honda , Impressions, China Harbour, 94.1 Boom FM, MVP Sports, Xtra Beer, BK International, Radar Security Service and Supplies and Sleepin International Hotel.
KMTC express gratitude to sponsors and fans The Kennard Memorial Turf Club (KMTC) has expressed gratitude to its sponsors and fans following the successful staging of their Boxing Day meet which was held at Bush Lot Farm, Corentyne, Berbice. The event attracted a large number of fans and Chairman of the KMTC Cecil Kennard was pleased with the turn out. “I am very happy with the support both from the sponsors and fans. The event was highly successful and incident free; the weather was also in our favour,” he said, adding that they do look forward to their continued support. Among the sponsors are; New Building Society, Patsan Trading, Hand-in-
Hand, Torginol, Metro, DDL, Ansa Mc Al, Silvie’s, Country Pride Enterprise, Dalip Trading, P and P Insurance Brokers, Republic Bank, Mohamed’s Enterprise, Poonai’s Pharmacy, Chatterpaul Deo, Horse Shoe Racing Service, Goodwood Racing Service, Rohan Auto Spares, R. Singh and Sons, Khanai’s Electrical Agency, Optique Vision Clear, Bishundial Rice Mill, Ariel Enterprise, Rohan Oudit, Mike’s Pharmacy, Courts’ Guyana Inc, KSM Investment and D. Gobin Agri Spares. Meanwhile, the KMTC has indicated that the race dates for 2020; March 29, May 31, August 2, October 25 and December 26.
Trophy Stall maintains seven-year support of UDFA football
PKFF Annual 5-a-side floodlight football on tonight The much anticipated Port Kaituma Football Foundation (PKFF) 5-a-side floodlight football competition will be held at Fitzburg Recreational Ground, tonight. The annual event will see defending champions Oronoque FC among other teams from Port Kaituma, Matthews Ridge, Arakaka, Sebai, Fitzburg and Citrus Grove vie for a top prize of $150,000; the runner up will take home $50,000 respectively. It’s the first time the teams will be playing according to the Futsal format. There will also be lots of games for the children and the organizers are urging the fans to come out in their numbers and support the event. The PKFF would like to thank their sponsors;
Mr. Ramesh Sunich (left) presents the first place trophy to Mr. Terrence Mitchell, the President of the Upper Demerara Football Association.
Defending champs Oronoque FC
Platinum General Store, Clarence Hinds from Mabaruma, Three Brothers Sports bar, Roshan
Rampersaud, Brian Thomas of Bus Park. Among the players expected to be in action are Jamal James, Kamal James,
Eon Gill, Joshua Williams and Elijah Spencer. Action is set to commence at 18:00hrs.
The proprietor of the Trophy Stall, Ramesh Sunich, presented the first place trophy to Mr. Terrence Mitchell, the President of the Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) for the association’s ongoing knockout championship. Trophy Stall is making it possible for the hosting of the seventh edition of the heavily subscribed eight-day yearend tournament that commenced on the December 13th at the McKenzie Sports Club (MSC) ground in Linden with a total of 10 teams vying for top honours. The tournament is now down to the final two teams who will battle tonight at the same venue (MSCground)
following the third place play-off game that will see Wi n n e r s Connections matching skills with Botofago for $400,000, while the losers of that match will pocket $200,000. In the finale, fans will witness Coomacka FC being pitted with Top XX for the grand cash prize of $1million and bragging rights for a year, while the losers will receive a handsome $600,000 for their second place finish. In a correspondence to the media, organisers of this football tournament expressed heartfelt gratitude for the support of the proprietor of Trophy Stall, Mr. Sunich, for his continued support of football in Linden.
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Wednesday January 01, 2020
UDFA Christmas Football final for $700,000
Tonight giant killers Coomacka seek first title as Topp XX attempts sixth …Botafago and H & L Winners battle for third place The drama ends tonight (New Year’s) to start a new year, but whether the giant killing act will be seen for another night; even if such could be described when Coomacka, in their first ever such stage appearance, attempt to upstage the five time year-end football champions Topp XX. This will be answered with a winning $700,000 prize, the Most valuable Player gets a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 valued at $200,000 compliments of Nigel Hinds and bragging rights for one year, when the final of the Upper Demerara Football Association’s Christmas championship is staged at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground from 21.00hrs tonight. Not to be forgotten is that the point of reaching the final by Coomacka is indeed historic and that alone means that their orange and blue colours could adorn the stands of the MSC as they
Ryan Noel of Topp XX passionately seek a rare title indeed. Topp XX will be wearing their green and white hoping to stop the Coomacka team from making history against them, knowing their pedigree at this level. Troy Nelson, the Topp XX coach is leaving no stone unturned to bring his team a sixth title after he would have been a player in the last five championships they have
won on January one over the years when Top XX was the dominant team in Guyana. A satisfied Nelson said: “They are giving me maximum respect as the coach and it’s the first time in a long time I see the players cooperating like how they are now. Before the tournament my team has not had the chance to train for about a year. And during the tournament they trained about three days and we are being rewarded greatly.” Critical to their reaching thus far was a decision to have their experienced player Travis Waterton to play in the central defensive role on the back line. Nelson said one needs a player of his quality to be there to shore-up the defence and at times he has the ability to mix it up coming through the middle. This has helped Topp XX to reach thus far said Nelson. They have in goal Gregory
Coomacka’s Ateba Edmundson
Topp XX’s Travis Waterton
Coomacka’s Keron Daw
Hinds and a competent line of defence with Ralph Alexander, Ruel Williams, Travis Waterton and Stephan Tappin to choose from as Ryan Noel their captain is in tandem with Carlos Grant and Keon Hall at midfield, while up front are Adrian Browne, Shawn Daniels and Jamal Bentick. On the other hand the dream run by Coomacka comes after giant killing victories against the two top clubs in the tournament Net Rockers first and then Botafago. This in itself tells a
story that Coomacka is a team to watch. Their coach Carlsdale Aaron commented: “Once we stick to our game plan no team can’t stop we. We are not underrating no team but come game night they are the known team, but with the type of players we have we get the upper hand.” He was high in praise of his young team saying many are teenagers but were brave and courageous. He pointed to their stand out goalkeeper Kellon Major who has been
brilliant throughout the championship, while the defence players have been competent in harassing their opposing forwards. Whether Keiron Daw, Atekeba Edmundson and Wheatland Thom can maintain their level of play with Lionel “Messi’ Peters in attacking mode is left to be seen. Thus tonight’s matches are keen encounters of a rare kind as history will unfold for football especially with Coomacka seeking their first title.
What will the selectors come up with’? Asks Sean Devers In March last year Guyana’s Captain Leon Johnson won his country’s fifth successive titles (20152019); one more than Tamar Lambert’ four and equalled Jamaica’s five-year run from 2008-2012 after Chris Gayle led Jamaica in 2008. Johnson is arguable the best ‘Red Ball’ Captain in the Region, a hard worker, very knowledgeable about the game and even though his form has dipped in the last
year or so he is still just 32 and should be the Captain once again. But Johnson who has five centuries and 37 fifties from 109 First-Class games since making his debut in 2014, will be aware that his chances of regaining his place in the West Indies are getting slimmer as years continue to pass by. However, 2020 is a new year and if he can score heavily he can get a recall. Narsingh Deonarine is the
Veerasammy Permaul
only Guyanese to score a 1,000 runs in a season when he recorded 1,068 runs in 2009, while Carl Hooper made 954 runs in the 2002 Busta Cup. Leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo, who took over from Mahendra Nagamootoo in 2008, is the oldest member of the team at 34, but he has 117 Test wickets and 382 scalps from 100 First-Class matches and his presence in the team comes with a wealth of experience which the young spinners can learn from. Nagamootoo was 31 when Bishoo replaced him but there are no young leg-spinners knocking on the door now. But Bishoo will need to replicate his 2015 season when he captured close to 60 wickets if he is to earn a Test recall. Chris Barnwell is 32 but he has revived his Regional Career over the last two years with his positive batting and useful fast medium bowling and will be an asset, especially since Romario Shepherd and Keemo Paul could miss the first two games along with Shimron Hetymer. Sherfane Rutherford’s availability is yet to be confirmed. Vishaul Singh, at 30 is also hard pressed to get a West Indies recall but he is one of the senior players in side and his temperament is ideal for four-day cricket and the little left-hander should be the glue which could hold the middle
order together. Left arm-spinner Veerasammy Permaul, who holds the record for most wickets in a season when he took 67 in 2015, has done consistently well at the Regional level but has struggled the reproduce those performances at the International level. After Neil McGarrell played the last of his four Tests and 17 ODIs in 2001 he was replaced by Permaul in 2008 when McGarrell, who was still getting wickets in Regional level, had just turned 35. While Permaul’s presence will certainly help Guyana to win a sixth consecutive title, if he continues to be ignored by the West Indies selectors, the time could soon come for him make way for younger bowlers like Gudakesh Motie and West Indies U-19 left-arm spinner Ashmead Nedd. Tagenarine Chanderpaul has struggled to score quickly in ‘white ball’ cricket but is well suited for the longer version and scored 542 runs in this year’s tournament and along with the usually free flowing Chanderpaul Hemraj should provide a solid opening foundation for Guyana. The 29-year-old Anthony Bramble, unlucky not have played for at least the West Indies ‘A’ team, scored the most runs (580) for Guyana last season and had the most
Devendra Bishoo (Getty Images) dismissals, Raymond Reifer has showed that he is one of the best all-rounders in the West Indies, while Keon Joseph has bowled with good pace in the practice match at Providence. In the absence of Ronsford Beaton, Keemo Paul and Romario Shepherd, rookie pacer Nial Smith should make his First-Class debut next year. Jonathon Foo was
outstanding in the Super50 and showed his all-round worth in the recent practice match but at 29 he should be left to play limited overs cricket to allow a space for allrounder Keevin Sinclair who could score runs in the lower middle order. Sinclair, who represented the West Indies Emerging players in the Super50, needs to flight the ball more if he is (Continued on page 34)
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Wednesday January 01, 2020
Former Olympian boxer supports GBA
J
unior Christie, who represented Guyana at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, California, USA, during a simple presentation yesterday at the Status Hotel on Croal Street, handed over gear to Guyana’s Tokyo 2020 boxing hopefuls to help them during their preparations. The gear included boxing gloves, bandages, trunks and jump ropes, while another presentation was made to the Forgotten Youth Foundation (FYF) boxing gym in the form of a ‘Boxing interval spar timer’. The boxers namely, Keevin Allicock, Desmond Amsterdam, Colin ‘Superman’ Lewis and Dennis Thomas, all expressed gratitude to the former Flyweight Champion, Christie, and the timing couldn’t have been better with the quartet set to depart for a three-month training stint in Cuba that is notorious for their world class boxing training programmes. Christie, who fought against and beat the likes of Michael Benjamin on the
local scene in the 80s, noted that he always looks to support young boxers because he knows of the struggles of some athletes trying to make it in the sport. He related during brief remarks at the presentation, that back in his time he used to walk some distance to the National Gymnasium and often used to borrow gears to train but his hard work and determination saw him emerge as one of the best in the land. Saturday, the boxers are due to depart Cuba for the 12-week training programme which will cost the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) a hefty fee of US$31,000. However, so far, the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) has doled out US$15,000, while the National Sports Commission (NSC) has committed GY$2.5m (approx. US$12,500) but has only handed over GY$1m thus far. The boxers will be joined by coaches Sebert Blake and Terrence Poole M.S., while Cuban Coach Francisco Roldan, who worked with
Hammie Green Birthday Inter-Ward football final set for January 5 at Leonora facility
Trayon Bobb
Delon Lanferman
The final of the 9-a-side I n t e r - Wa r d F o o t b a l l C o m p e t i t i o n t o commemorate the 85th Birth Anniversary of former Prime Minister and City Mayor Hamilton Green is set to conclude on Sunday January 5 at the Leonora Sports Facility. Held up after the weather and other events intervened the final is now set to be staged starting from 4:00pm with the quarterfinals, semifinals and resulting final. Den Amstel battle Soesdyke in the opening fixture followed by Uitvlugt against Wales, West Side Spartans versus Stewartville and Pouderoyen challenge Den Amstel. The winners play the semis and respective final and third place. The winning team will take home $200,000 and the NAMILCO trophy, while second, third and fourth place
finishers will receive $100,000 and Ministry of Communities trophy, $60,000 and the NAMILCO trophy and $40,000 and the Cummings Electrical trophy respectively. The winning and runner-up teams will also receive hampers from Ricks and Sari. The player with the most goals will get a Dinette chair from China Trading and a single bed from AH&L Kissoon. Among the sponsors are NAMILCO, Ministry of Communities, Cummings Electrical, International Pharmaceutical Agency ( I PA ) , G u y o i l , B K International, Gafoors, Ready Mix, Ricks and Sari, New Thriving, TecnoMills, AH&L Kissoon, China Trading, Ministry of Legal Affairs, Ministry of National Resources, National Sports Commission and the Guyana Police Force.
Allicock in Cuba during his preparations for the Pan Am Games in Peru, will join the pair of Guyanese Coaches. In 1996 when John Douglas competed in the men’s light heavyweight event in the Summer Olympics, it was the last time a Guyanese Boxer Qualified for the Olympics, while Guyana’s Mike Parris, who won a Bronze Medal in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, remains the only Boxer from the English Speaking Caribbean to win an Olympic Medal. (Calvin Chapman)
Junior Christie (right) hands over one of the gear during a photo-op yesterday at Status Hotel in the presence of the other boxers heading to Cuba and Terrence Pole M.S. (left).
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Kaieteur News
UDFA President Terrence Mitchell (left) receives the cheque from Nigel Hinds at his Georgetown office yesterday. Hinds has also donated the MVP prize of a Galaxy Note 9 for the final today.
Wednesday January 01, 2020
Hinds Financial Services hands over UDFA first prize, $200,000 Galaxy Note 9 for MVP Yesterday as promised Nigel Hinds made good his promise to donate the first prize $700,000 which will be at stake for the Upper Demerara Football Association’s year end
football championship, after past sponsors for the past six years, Banks DIH, did not come through for the Christmas tournament. Faced with the possibility of not having the tournament the UDFA turned to other sponsors for help and businessman Nigel Hinds was one of the major sponsors to come on board. President of the UDFA Terrence Mitchell was thankful for the honouring of the sponsorship and hopes that others who also pledged would come forward for the grand final tonight. Hinds was also willing and will ensure the Most Valuable Player walk away with the $200,000 Samsung Galaxy Note 9 for his efforts.
There were other sponsors who indicated interest in their support for which the UDFA is hopeful that they will come through. Apart from Hinds Financial Services the other main sponsors were the Guyana Football Federation, R o l l i n g A d s , Tr o p i c a l Reflections, Foreign Links Auto Sales, Guyana Lottery Company, Trophy Stall, and the Guyana Police Force ‘E’ Division. Other sponsors who were named from Linden included Jermaine and Family, MB Construction, Floyd Melville Construction, Broad Money Car Rental and 20/ 20 Sport Bar, Snooks Variety Store, Sports Plus, Right Care Pharmacy and Fines Jewelry.
Wednesday January 01, 2020
Kaieteur News
PAGE 43
Ansa McAl 592 Beer Community Cup
Buxton fans coming to suffocate Golden Grove support - BV favoured against Paradise in 3rd place playoff
The Golden Grove team.
The Friendship Unit. A significant percentage of the Buxton / Friendship community is expected to travel down to the Golden Grove Community Centre in an attempt to suffocate the anticipated partisan support of the host in tonight’s final of the inaugural 592 Beer Community Cup. Host Golden Grove will face Friendship in the championship game, while in the preceding matchup, Paradise square off against BV for third place. Up for grabs is $500,000 and championship trophy to the winners, while second, third and fourth placed teams will take home $200,000, $150,000 and $100,000 along with trophies
respectively. The final has all the hallmarks of a riveting contest with the home side Golden Grove favoured to defend home turf against a strong and confident Friendship side. Golden Grove looked impressive in their 3-1 triumph over BV in their semi-final clash and with what was witnessed in terms of home support, the visitors will need a similar level of fan support to suppress the vociferous home-based turnout. Former national player Dwain Jacobs has been leading by example with some exciting performances and the cast of Quason McAulay, Seretse Huntley
and Phillip Williams are poised to continue their rampant form. On the other hand, Friendship will be buoyed by their victory over a strong Paradise team so don’t expect them to be intimidated by the partisan crowd or their opponents. Once again, Clive Andries the team’s talisman will be aiming to engineer the win along with Delon Wright and last game hero Seon Thomas between the uprights. Thomas, who saved magnificently in their semi-final clash against Paradise, making three stunning saves, will feel inspired to duplicate that performance. Andries is a player with the quality to
turn a game on its head and Golden Grove’s backline will be aware of this and try to nullify his threatening forays in the attacking third. As was mentioned before, the game has all the trappings of an epic showdown that will surely benefit the fans, but more importantly underline the quality of football that reside on the East Coast corridor. In the playoff for third place, one will have to favour BV over Paradise that clearly missed their leader
Quincy Adams in the previous game. This is expected to occur again and BV will no doubt take advantage of his unavoidable absence. Reon Hopkinson, Akin Curry, Jemar Harrington and Omari Glasgow will relish the opportunity to orchestrate incursions with no fear for the opposition’s weakened defence. However, they must be cognizant of the one characteristic that Paradise possesses which is their
determination to fight to the end. This was on display in their elimination of Buxton in Buxton when they came from two goals down to advance. Meanwhile, there will be entertainment after the game to usher in the New Year. The Organisers have extended thanks to all the fans and teams who’ve made the tournament a success, while at the same time helping to revive the game among communities along the corridor.
GFF President Wayne Forde (left) and THAG President, Mitra Ramkumar (right) pose with the Captains and players who will be battling for the championship tonight.
rt Spo
GFF Super 16 Cup Champs to be crowned tonight at GFC The Captains pictured with GFF President Wayne Forde (right) and Pegasus Hotel Manager Carlos Montenegro.
- Fruta Conquerors and the Guyana Defence Force to collide; Santos and Police play for third Ansa McAl 592 Beer Community Cup
Buxton fans coming to suffocate Golden Grove support - BV favoured against Paradise in 3rd place playoff
Former Olympian boxer supports GBA Hinds Financial Services hands over UDFA first prize, $200,000 Galaxy Note 9 for MVP Printed and published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd., 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown. Tel: 225-8458, 225-8465, 225-8491 or Fax: 225-8473/226-8210.