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Tuesday July 04, 2017
Kaieteur News
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
STRENGTHENING THE FAMILY STRUCTURE It is true that the basic unit of society is the nuclear or intact family comprising a father, mother and children. The family is a microcosm of the nation. Therefore, if we want to have a strong nation, we must endeavour to build a strong family. It is also true that strong families make strong communities, and strong communities result in strong nations. The family is the single most important institution of a nation and the basic building block of any society. Therefore, it is the responsibility of those in authority to ensure that the family receives the greatest care and respect at all times. Everything of value can be found in the order of families. However, failure and calamity invariably resulted when the family values and systems broke down. The role of the family in society should not be taken for granted. Neither should the family be overlooked in the pursuit of community and national development because it is supposed to be the raison d’etre of development and growth. The family is the foundation which makes human development possible. However, most of the problems Guyana is currently experiencing are due to the breakdown of the family. Guyana cannot afford to ignore the family in the nation-building process. To do so would be short-sighted and even ridiculous. Studies done in a number of countries over the years show that the nuclear family structure has played key roles in determining outcomes, not just for family members, but also for the nation as a whole. For example, on average, married couples enjoy larger incomes, higher net worth, and greater year-on-year increases in net worth. Their children enjoy a better environment; less poverty and more economic mobility than any other group. The children also have better educational outcomes than children living in single parent households. They may even have higher IQs and tend to have better employment prospects when they enter the workforce. The nuclear family is critical to the early stages of child development, especially in the first eight years when the personality of a child is formed. The family is where the minds of individuals are first developed and shaped to play their role as responsible, decent and law abiding citizens in society. All the essential character qualities such as interpersonal relationships, skills, work ethic, personal discipline and self-control are taught and guided by families. Whenever the family unit is dismantled, the nation would be at risk; crime and violence would likely escalate which means that we would be much better off if we were to protect, promote and elevate the family structure. The family provides the natural place where the emotional and material needs of the population should be met without putting a strain on government resources. Where family structure is missing, or where single-parent family structures dominate, greater social benefits and state intervention are needed to help them cope. The family has and continues to play a significant role in predicting outcomes for children. Factors such as educational attainment, income levels, emotional stability, and the likelihood of engaging in crime or experiencing teenage pregnancy are all significantly linked to the family. For the most part, the nuclear family has produced the best societal outcomes while other family structures have led to some of the worst results in society. The results of the recent Grade Six examinations would show that most of the top performers came from nuclear family households. The parents were there for the children every step of the way. In other cases parents had to seek low level employment thus leaving children to their own devices. Effective policies should be put in place with incentives to support and strengthen the family. Attaining a solid future for the nation will rest heavily on whether we as a people can elevate the family to its rightful place in society.
Neglected New Amsterdam is quickly deteriorating DEAR EDITOR, Please permit me to express my dissatisfaction on the infrastructural fragilities of New Amsterdam. Over the past twenty-five years the town has suffered from the worst forms of infrastructure neglect. The four major roads in the town which are Republic Road, Stanley town, Strand and Main Street need major resurfacing as potholes and uneven surfaces make daily traverse a difficult exercise. Smythfield Road and Agony’s Avenue which are two major road arteries are both in a deplorable condition with ten-inch-deep craters that creates hardship for vehicular and pedestrian traffic. These roads were rehabilitated some ten years ago and were supposed to last for twenty years, but engineering and administrative negligence have resulted in the current state of affairs. The residence of Theatre Alley has not seen any maintenance work executed on this street and it is the worst access road in the town. Recently Minister of Public Infrastructure Mr. David Paterson at the unveiling of the Anthony Sabga Arch in May express his passion and desire to see infrastructural growth in this country. I now publicly asked the Minister to
visit NA with his team of engineers and experience the dilapidated road network in the town that are reminiscent of those found in war torn third world countries. The NA Municipality and the Region 6 RDC seem not to have the human resource capacity as well as the visionary desire to start the process of transforming the town from its “depressed community” status to one of infrastructural advancement and economic growth, hence the input of central government is urgently needed to halt the social and economic decay of this town. I suggest that the following initiatives be taken to assist in improving the town’s infrastructure; firstly, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure needs to reestablish its road maintenance unit in Berbice to carry out regular maintenance in patching emerging potholes and repairing road shoulders on a regular basis. This is to prevent disintegration to the point of the roads becoming craters and costing tax payers millions of dollars for substandard repair work. In the eighties, the then Ministry of Public Works had an office in Berbice and carried out this task efficiently until it was
disbanded in the nineties with no justified reason given. Secondly, central government needs to provide engineering oversight when road works are being carried out in NA. A walk around the town would reveal that the parapet along major roads are filled with overgrown shrubs and desilted mud from the canals which allow for the creation of water pools in the rainy season thus weakening the road shoulders as there is no runoff area for the water. This gives rise to the formation of potholes and craters which results in great inconvenience to road users. Thirdly, with the increase volume of traffic in the town, there is need for traffic lights to be erected at critical junctions of Main and Philadelphia Street, Republic Road and Philadelphia Street and Main and Vryheid Street. These traffic control measures will go a long way to controlling the chaotic traffic congestions that occur during the rush hours in the mornings and afternoon. To our Local Government Minister Mr. Ronald Bulkan, I invite you to visit the town and observe the effects of a dysfunctional waste management system. Recently waste collection Skips were placed in strategic areas of the town to collect waste disposed by
residents, but untimely collection has allowed for stray dogs and scavengers to scatter the waste on the roadways which are unsightly and repulsive to one’s sense of decency. It has been more than a year since local government elections were held and residents of the town are still to experience the transformation of this process, hence the need for central government to have a more proactive role as the local government organs struggle to fully understand their roles in providing basic services to the community. Without central government’s input, the enjoyment of the good life promised after the May 2015 general elections will continue to be an elusive dream for residents and would result in a disgruntled electorate come 2020 general elections who would have felt betrayed by the current administration’s unfulfilled promises. I look forward to Ministers Patterson and Bulkan visiting NA and meeting with regional and municipal representatives to design and execute a developmental plan that would start the process of transforming the town from its “depressed community” status to a state prosperity and economic growth. Michael Baird Jr
Toilet facilities still non-existent at Charity Secondary School DEAR EDITOR, On Monday, June 12th the Regional Education Development Officer (REDO) visited the Charity Secondary school. The teachers were jubilant. They were hoping that the letter expressing the dismal conditions of their sanitary block that had appeared in the Kaieteur News a few weeks ago had finally brought results. Sadly! REDO, Baramdai Seepersaud wasn’t there to address the matter of unsanitary washrooms or anything affecting the teachers. Seepersaud came with a vengeful attitude to ascertain that all teachers’ records were in order. After close scrutiny, two teachers were found delinquent in their lesson planning and a few administrative issues arose and are to be dealt with. In any organization, there will be administrative issues - humans are not perfect. Teachers are of the opinion that everyone seems to want their records done in a different way. The ministry should standarize these procedures and must supply forms and booklets for same in a timely manner. Teachers are claiming that no lesson planning booklets were supplied to secondary schools in Essequibo Coast for the year;
teachers had to finance their own stationary or format exercise books for same. On account of those two teachers and the few issues arising in the school’s office, REDO Seepersaud proceeded to apply the system of ‘Peter pays for Paul and Paul pays for All’ on all the teachers. Stating that she will not send any teacher this year on secondment to UG, she stated; “You all have to stay and improve the results of this school.” She went on, “fix the problems.”. She further stated that those who are desirous of going can resign and go if they wish. Last year Seepersaud did not send any teacher from Charity Secondary even though a few had applied. Teachers feel that personnel in the upper echelons of the Ministry of Education (REDO, DEO, MERD) should not always be in the mode to criticize or deprive them of opportunities to better educate themselves as Miss Seepersaud did. Rather, they should help, guide and motivate individuals under their leadership. Charity Secondary School has a student population of over 700 who did not attain the pass marks to attend the higher ranked schools such as Abrams Zuil
Secondary in Region 2. The classrooms are overcrowded; sometimes over 40 students to a class. About 90% of these students hail from the Pomeroon and Charity communities where there is not much in the socio economic environment to inspire them. Instead of attempting to exact retribution from the teachers for the poor academic display from these kids, Miss Seepersaud should make her own contribution by organizing a barrage of motivational speakers with better motivational skills than herself - to try to ingrain into these kids the virtues of a good education. All that is visual in front of them is a life in gold mining and farming. To most of these children that does not require much education. The cream of the crop from these said communities goes to Abrams Zuil. To expect the teachers to produce results on par with the higher ranked schools is like asking them to produce gold from sea water. Notwithstanding their poor academic showing, the school continues to do well in extracurricular activities and sports. They have recently won the JOF Haynes debating competition on the Coast and will be representing the region in
Georgetown. Even this year’s Mashramani children competition held at the Anna Regina center ground I vividly recall the outstanding performances of this school - they were the most entered secondary school as regards to activities held by the department of education in Region#2. Their costume float, the ship “Miss Liberty” was used to represent the region at the national level. They also made it twice to the finals in Digicel children football competition. The REDO needs to take note of these achievements of the teachers of the Charity Secondary School and be less critical of their efforts because these teachers practically pray every day not to have a call of nature and thereby have to use their washrooms which remain unfixed despite pleas for help in the media. Could it be the REDO is exacting vengance on all for the “concerned teacher” who wrote the letter in the media? Is it a crime for teachers to ask for better working conditions? The REDO’s stand on not wanting to release any teacher to secondment at the University of Guyana, two years in succession is totally (Continued on page 6)
Tuesday July 04, 2017
STEALING FROM A CREMATORIUM DEAREDITOR, Two nights ago thieves broke into the padlocked storeroom of the Blairmont Crematorium & Memorial Garden (BCMG) and removed six rolls of chain-link fencing material which were stored therein awaiting completion of the fencing of the car park attached to the crematorium. This is the second time that such a heinous and unconscionable act was perpetrated against the Blairmont Crematorium & Memorial Garden; the first time they stole the slashing/weeding machine that was stored therein, necessitating our having to stop storing ‘movable items’ and using the garage of a public-spirited citizen as the crematorium’s ‘store-room’. So far the local police have not been able to apprehend the perpetrator(s) of the first nor latest theft; one can only hope that public spirited residents in the area will help the police to apprehend the people who stole the fencing materials which are not as easy to conceal as the slasher/weeder
that was previously stolen. Furthermore, I can only hope and pray that thieves will not now try to remove parts of the beautiful structure of the crematorium that has been serving the entire West Berbice community well for the past several years. This property belongs to the community, serves the community and helps to dispose of the dead in a dignified and easy way; stealing from the Blairmont Crematorium is worse than stealing from the dead; it is like stealing from one’s own self or family. I am using this medium to appeal to members of the public to help us apprehend the criminals and better still to be vigilant in trying to prevent similar occurrences which only act as ‘discouragements’ to the many public-spirited people who have contributed generously to the construction, improvement and maintenance of this very useful community service. Nowrang Persaud (Founder-Leader & Chairman of the BCMG)
Police lawlessness and corruption at Enterprise on the East Coast DEAR EDITOR, I must firstly thank Kaieteur News for being the only paper that really cares for the voiceless people. My concern is the mini bus situation in Enterprise which is unbearable; it seems as if there is no solution. For the past 23 years of the PPP Government, we complained to all authorities in high office but no help was given. For the past two years of this new government we are still suffering and complaining, but I am a hundred percent sure help is on the way. The people have confidence in our great and caring President and our much beloved Prime Minister and the Honourable Security Minister The issues we want addressed are the loud and foul music eminating from the buses (not all) maybe 10 of them; overloading of the buses; driving at a fast rate in our village; drivers and conductors drinking, smoking
and not dressing properly (they wear short pants and slippers). Also they are robbing our honest commuters, the fare from Georgetown to Enterprise is $140.00 and from 12 pm, most of them charge us $200.00. We have been calling Vigilance Police Station for over 20 years but that is the worst station in the entire Caribbean. Also we get no help from the Traffic Department. Two months ago about six buses were detained and their big boom boxes and music removed - we breathed a sigh of relief. Within in three days all of them got back their music sets and the madness continued. I want the police to say who returned the sets, and how much was allegedly paid to return them. We are tired making calls to the station and giving them the bus numbers. Another worrying case is that of a bus working in Enterprise transporting kindergarten school children - a
fifteen seater bus that carries at least 60 to 65 little school children. Is this not abuse of these little Angels to have to stand or sit on each other? Where is the God in these bus drivers and conductors? Just Friday last a traffic rank came to Enterprise on a motor cycle and arrested a bus driver for the offence of playing loud music. Can you imagine the next day the same bus was blasting its music again? Where is the oath these police took to serve and protect? I am asking anyone in authority or who loves people, to visit Enterprise at 7.00 am to 9.00 am and see how much revenue the Government is losing daily. To the police I am begging - please help us so we can stop this madness. And finally can this Government make sure Parliament passes a law banning loud music from all public transport as soon as possible. Concerned Resident (Enterprise)
Small things preoccupy small minds DEAR EDITOR, Permit me to express my concurrence with the views expressed by Freddie Kissoon, Kaieteur News, July 1, 2017 “Boom Out Baby you have a small mind.”, regarding the blatant dereliction and abandonment of Guyanese social media as it relates to ongoing incidents of serious communal concern. Incidents that have failed to arouse their conscious psyche or at best engage their cognition! Incidents that have reflected behavioural inconsistency amidst misplaced priorities! Recently the displayed infantilism of a Minister triggered a barrage of criticisms, yet on the other hand the recent stabbing death of an inmate in the New Amsterdam prison, the pervasive lifeclaiming negligence by doctors at the Georgetown Pub-
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lic Hospital, the disproportionate jail sentences especially in the case of the youths fell short of having letters of interest transmitted to the mainstream press demanding explanations etc. The evils that plague Guyana are many and while Freddie feels that small or narrow minds may be the contributory agent(s) for the preoccupation with Minister Broome’s selfie, but I do respectfully beg to deviate somewhat. Caspar Hare, a philosopher attached to M.I.T (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) introduced egocentric solipsism which is a weak form of solipsism (from Latin solus – alone and ipse – self) in which other persons can be conscious, but their experiences are simply not present. I lay no claim to being a diag-
nostician of any sort, but my time, experience and wisdom garnered thus far on Planet Earth has shown me that the citizens in Guyana, as well their minds are a long way off from going the route of writing the newspapers or the press, expressing their concerns or soliciting answers. In the well-known Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme, LittleBo Peep, on discovery of the fact that the sheep were missing, received advice, reassurance and caution — that they should be left alone and they would come home, indicating that despite being lost they were cognizant of the location of their home. Permit me to state that in the case of the current inhabitants of Guyana unlike the lost sheep they can only come home— if they know the way. Yvonne Sam
The flaws of our past leaders DEAR EDITOR, Funerals have a way of exposing the good deeds of the dead. For that moment even the enemies of the dead would refrain from saying anything negative about the dead. Bygones are gone with the dead and people tend to remember only the good things about the dead. Maybe that is the reason why people continue to idolize two of our longest serving leaders - Jagan and Burnham. The Burnham and Jagan squabbles still occasionally occur amongst older folks in bars around the country. Who was the better man is often debated.
I see and hear leaders in the coalition paying great homage to LFS Burnham; exemplifying him as great leader, visionary leader etc. Everyone seems to see the world through different lenses. When Castro died recently many people applauded him as a champion among men. Opposition activists say that while Chavez and Castro may have set out with good intentions to fight the regions deep economic inequalities and elite politicians, they both turned into tyrants. Some may see it differently but I would like to put LFS Burnham in that category too. Life is short and I have no
problem with ordinary humans wanting to remember only the good things about their fellow humans after their death. What I find hard to condone are people whom society considers as intellectuals pontificating about a dead leader, expounding only the good they saw in them; when that said leader had touched so many people in a negative way. Albeit some of the PPP/C leaders are trying to compare themselves to Cheddi Jagan as if Cheddi Jagan was flawless. In my opinion Cheddi Jagan is responsible for all the sins that befall this country. Rudolph Singh
The National Grade 6 Assessment is a class based system DEAR EDITOR, Once again, the children of Guyana have suffered the consequences of the traumatizing and obsolete National Grade 6 Assessment, known as Common Entrance. Every y e a r, Guyanese children at the tender age of 9 to 11 years, are forced to sit a series of exams which will ultimately decide their fate, competing with each other for the coveted so-called “good schools”. Those that do not do well in these exams are condemned to what we in Guyana call “bad schools”. It is quite simply a hideous system. Every year we watch on at families ashamed to acknowledge their children’s results, and children who have their self-esteem and confidence shattered as a result of being labelled winners or losers We are told that our education system is a meritocracy – in other words, those that work hard will do well and get a “good school”. Of course, it is far from a level playing field. The sons and daughters of the wealthy, who are well nourished, well housed, have electricity, access to books and computers, will of course fare better than the children of the poor, who are undernourished and hungry at school, often don’t even
have transportation money to get to school, have no access to internet, books etc. Inevitably, there will be one or two children from poor families that beat the odds and make it to Queens College and Bishops’ High School. This will be held up as a shining example that it can be done on the basis of merit. However, the fact that there are so few exceptions to the rule, simply reinforces the self-evident fact, that there is most definitely a high correlation between debilitating poverty and poor educational achievement. The uncomfortable truth of the matter, that is rarely addressed, perhaps because it is so morally repugnant, is that Common Entrance is primarily designed to maintain a status- quo built on social and economic elitism. It is a way of sifting the rich from the poor. It is a left over from our colonial past and it serves the present neocolonial arrangement, since it grooms and reproduces a certain class to manage the system left behind by our erstwhile colonial masters. Guyana’s reactionary ruling clique (the 1%), with their elitist view of everything, including education, actually express shock and horror at the very idea of giving every child the right to a quality education, regard-
less of their parent’s socioeconomic status. They are so crass in their thinking that they simply cannot imagine allowing all the children of Guyana to go to a “good school” and have a chance to reach their full potential. Historian and educator, John Hendrik Clarke summed it up best when he said, “Powerful people cannot afford to educate the people that they oppress, because once you are truly educated, you will not ask for power. You will take it.” Richie Spice said, “If education is the key then why they make it so expensive for we?” And therefore so inaccessible? Why indeed? One of the first things an OVP government would do is abolish Common Entrance. Guyanese children would attend the secondary school closest to where they live, and every school would be transformed into not only a “good school”, but an “excellent school”. Imagine a Guyana where every child has the right to free, quality education from nursery to university. Believe me, this is not an impossible dream. In the words of Dub Poet, Mutabaruka, “What a day when the pendulum swings”. Gerald A. Perreira Leader Organization for the Victory of the People (OVP)
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DARREN SAMMY COULDN’T BE MORE CORRECT ABOUT DAVE CAMERON DEAR EDITOR, In an article published i n B a r b a d o s ’ N AT I O N Newspaper of Wednesday 21st June 2017 under the headline “Sammy Slams CWI Over Decline”, former West Indies cricket captain Darren Sammy stated as follows:“I am very scared for the f u t u r e o f We s t I n d i e s cricket ............I am scared that we might be relegated to the league of the Irelands and Scotlands, playing against these guys which is very, very sad — if something doesn’t change. And at the moment, the guy (Cricket We s t I n d i e s p r e s i d e n t , Whycliffe “Dave” Cameron) has just been reelected for another term. I can’t see it happening for us. It’s very sad for us.” I totally agree with D a r r e n S a m m y ! We s t Indies cricket can go nowhere but DOWN under the immature, self-centered, and self-righteous leadership of current Cricket West Indies president Whycliffe “Dave” Cameron and the social class that he is a representative of! This is a matter
that I addressed in a newspaper article some two and a half years ago, at the time of the imbroglio involving Mr Cameron and the Cricket Board of India. That article was entitled “Deconstructing the WICB’s Dave Cameron and the Class that He Represents”. Mr Cameron received a chilling letter from Mr. Sanjay Patel of the Cricket Board of India against the background of an earlier warning delivered to the WICB by their accountants – KPMG – that the WICB was already in such severe debt that there was “substantial doubt that the company (the WICB) will be able to continue as a going concern”. Mr Cameron also received this letter in the full knowledge that he himself had contributed significantly to the escalation of the crisis that is now threatening to eng u l f a n d d e s t r o y We s t Indies cricket, by his prideful, obstinate and arrogant refusal to communicate any willingness on his part to compromise with the disaffected
West Indian cricketers. (Yes, some blame can be attached to the players, but clearly the bulk of the blame has to be laid a t t h e f e e t o f M r. Cameron and his fellow a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , f o r, a s leaders of the WICB, the proverbial buck stops with them.) And so, what was Mr. C a m e r o n ’s r e s p o n s e t o this situation of grave existential crisis facing the historic and crucial Caribbean institution that he has been ent r u s t e d w i t h t h e s a cred duty to lead, guide and protect? Well, according to the Nation Newspaper of Tuesday 4th November 2014, one of Mr. Cameron’s responses was to avail himself of his internet Twitter account, and to tweet the following message to the world at large – and no doubt to the officials of the Indian Cricket Board:“They’ve criticized you. They’ve doubted you. They’ve lied on you. They’ve done all they can do, but one thing they can’t do is stop you.” Was that the appropriate response to the life and
death situation facing the W I C B a n d We s t I n d i e s cricket? Even when faced with such a monumental threat to the institutions that have been entrusted to your care, you still can’t see beyond your own personal interests, your own pride, your own sense of grievance? Even now, as we totter on the precipice, is it still all about you? As far as I am concerned, the honourable and responsible thing for Mr. Cameron to do – in his capacity as President and leader of the WICB – is to publicly accept a considerable measure of responsibility for the fiasco that has taken place in Wst Indian cricket. The sad reality throughout our Caribbean is that a new bourgeois class has taken over the key leadership positions in Government, in the professions, and in important areas of national and regional life such as Cricket Administration. This is the class of crassly self-centered and opportunistic people who, in the 1980’s, we used to refer to as YUPPIES or BUPPIES. And it is such a self-absorbed class that its members find it extremely difficult to accept personal responsibility for anything, or to recognize that there are c a u s e s o r i n s t i t u tions whose interests take precedence over their own personal individual interests. These social elements have capitalized on the relative apathy and marginalization of the working class, and h a v e c onstituted them selves into an entrenched elite or in-group, equipped with their own narrow group interests, and with a n a r r o w, s e l f - s e r v i n g value system. Furthermore, many, if not most, members of this “class” have convinced themselves that they are entitled as of right to positions of
privilege, wealth and comfort in our societies. This, in turn, is manifested in their unceasing jockeying for and pursuit of positions of status – privileged “jobs” – in national and regional political and Administrative structures, not least of which is the leadership and administrative structure of the WICB. Many, if not most, of them are contemptuous of the working class base from which they have sprung. As a result, they possess no substantial roots in our region’s history of race and class struggle, and are therefore incapable of truly appreciating the value of the fruits of such struggles – whether such “fruits” are the sacred cultural institution of We s t I n d i e s C r i c k e t o r the famous Barbadian system of free secondary and tertiary education! The same social element that is incapable of perceiving that the interests of the people’s instit u t i o n o f We s t I n d i e s Cricket dwarfs their own personal interests, is the same social element that – in national governments throughout our region – is incapable of recognizing and defending the precious socialdemocratic gains that generations of Caribb e a n s ufferers struggled so hard to achieve. The masses of Caribbean people—the so-called ordinary citizens of the Caribbean— therefore cannot simply sit back and expect these supposed leaders to act responsibility and selflessly. They, at the very least, have to be pushed, and we have to be the ones pushing them – howling and screaming – in the direction of duty and responsibility! Some form of determined mass activism has to emerge from the base of our Caribbean societies! If we want to preserve the
WICB, West Indies Cricket, “free” education, public health care, welfare provisions, trade union power, worker rights, national sovereignty, and the list goes on – the people at the base of our societies and their institutions (trade unions, churches, sports clubs, community based organizations, cooperatives, credit unions etc.) will have to bestir themselves and unite around a concrete people’s agenda. West Indies cricket is as good a place as any to start! I therefore say – let there be such a loud and determined expression of outrage by the legions of ordinary cricket fans of the C a r i b b e a n , t h a t M r. Cameron is forced – howling and screaming — to do the right thing! We have a very serious structural class and socialization problem that we have to deal with, and it will not be easy to do so. Indeed, it will call for a determined, long term effort to bring about the transformation of culture and cultural values in our regional nation. But let us at least in the immediate short term — deal with the egregious problem of Mr Cameron! As we continue to witness the tragic and humiliating constantly accelerating dec l i n e o f We s t I n d i e s cricket, it has become absolutely clear that the only “right thing” where Mr. Cameron is concerned is that he MUST go! Cameron must be removed from the leadership of West Indies cricket in order that committed servants of the game— cricketer patriots of the ilk of Darren Sammy for example and administrators who genuinely love and are committed to the game of Cricket —may take up and play their rightful roles in helping to revive and rebuild West Indies cricket. DAVID A. COMISSIONG Citizen of the Caribbean, and Lover of West Indies Cricket
Toilet facilities still non-existent at... From page 5 vindictive, unprofessional and detrimental to the morale of teachers at Charity Secondary School who want to further their studies. Miss Seepersaud seems oblivious
of the fact that some teachers spent time and money to apply at UG last year. They did so again this year only to be disappointed by her again. How can the academic performance of the school be improved without better qualified teachers? If those teachers that are desirous of improving their qualification are being denied the assistance to do so, it does not augers well
for the improvement of the academic performance of the school. Someone at the Ministry of Education needs to ask the REDO to reconsider her position on this issue and work with the regulation of sending the amount of teachers eligible since Charity Secondary is a grade A school and no one from that school will be attending the UG for the academic year 20172018.on secondment. Cconcerned Citizen
Tuesday July 04, 2017
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Accountability of schools’ performances Guyana’s oil find more massive than established - former T&T Energy Minister to be brought into sharper focus - CEO “You may well have another North Sea at your doorstep,” said former Trinidad and Tobago Energy Minister, Kevin Ramnarine earlier this year. This was at a symposium hosted by the Guyana Oil and Gas Association (GOGA). Commercial extraction of oil on the shores of the North Sea dates back to 1851; it continues today with new discoveries being made. The North Sea has several oil bearing wells claimed by the United Kingdom, Norway, Germany and the Netherlands. Some may say that comparison between Guyana and the North Sea is inadequate but that is not so for this holder of a Masters degree in Petroleum Engineering. Ramnarine noted that in the Oil and Gas Industry there is something called the “Creaming Curve”. He said that a Creaming Curve presents the relationship between cumulative resource growth and the number of exploration wells drilled. Ramnarine said that the name comes from the fact that the biggest discoveries are normally made early in the basin’s exploration history. He told those at the symposium that as time passes, remaining prospects will be
smaller and have a lower probability of discovery. “It is my opinion that Liza is the beginning of things to come. More oil and gas will be discovered in Guyana’s waters.” He continued, “I would say, too, that the Guyana/ Suriname basin is in its early days of exploration. When I was a student, the US Geological Survey estimated that the Guyana/Suriname basin had the potential for 14.2 billion barrels of oil, so you may well have another North Sea at your doorstep.” The former Minister presented a graph which shows the history of Trinidad’ oil production for the first 107 years. He said, “In that period, we have produced 8.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent. At Independence in 1962, we had produced just over 1.0 billion barrels of oil equivalent. A barrel of oil equivalent is a way of representing natural gas production as oil production. What does that mean? It means that the Liza discovery alone is 17 per cent of all that Trinidad and Tobago has produced in 107 years. Most of our hydrocarbon production has been natural gas, and most of that natural gas has been produced in the last 20 years.” The United States Geo-
logical Survey ranks the Guyana Suriname Basin second in the world for prospectively among the world’s unexplored basins and 12th for oil among the entire world’s basins – explored and unexplored. With this in mind, Ramnarine said that it is imperative that Guyana tries to “get it right” as the wealth, if managed correctly, can spell transformation. He said that the country has quite a few other nations experience to learn from and should actively put measures in place to ensure that it can secure money that is to be derived from oil. Ramnarine also said that Trinidad and Tobago made the mistake of taking too long to establish its Heritage and Stabilization Fund which is that country’s version of a Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF). Two years away from when production is expected to begin, Guyana is still to finalize a draft policy that will be used to govern the establishment of a SWF. Many believe that in the absence of a SWF, membership to the Extractive Industry and Transparency Institute (EITI) and other key measures, Guyana does not stand a chance of real transformation resulting from oil wealth.
Junior Police ranks need to support CPGs Assistant Commiss i o n e r o f Police, David Ramnarine, is calling on the junior ranks of the Guyana Police Force to lend more support to the members of t he Community Policing Groups (CPGs). Ramnaraine made this call over the weekend, after the CPG Chairman’s report at the CPG’s Biennial General Meeting at the Police Sports Club, Eve Leary. Ramnarine, speaking on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, Seelall Persaud said that the problem between the GPF and the CPGs seems to be an, “Achilles heel.” The Assistant Commissioner noted that it is clear that the issue of trust and respect must be improved between the GPF and the CPGs if they are to move forward and fulfill their duties. Chairman of the CPG, Dr. Mark Con s t a n t i n e s a i d that, the lack of support from the junior police ranks come from the idea that the CPGs are there to, “police the police.” However, he pointed out that such a perception does not reflect well on the CPG. Ramnarine also expressed concern over the lack of support for the
C P G s , “it is distressing and it is very sad to know that despite the good work, despite the rich history, despite all the improvements, despite more classes, despite more educational opportunities, despite more training opportunities, the problem still exists.” He wants all police officers to understand that all the research has shown that the police cannot do it (policing) alone and wants junior ranks to cease viewing the CPGs as nobodies. “It is clear that trust and respect needs to be improved. Between you and the police, the police to you, liaison to you, liaison to the police and along with your leadership to the ministry, trust and respect must be present if the GPF and GPGs are to move forward,” Ramnaraine said. The Assistant Commissioner urged the CPGs to understand that, “the major issue in our country right now is the safety of community, and if we cannot put aside the differences and work with each other then we might as well stay out and let those who want to work together continue to work together.” Dr. Mark Constantine
also made a call for CPGs and members of the GPF to work together, he said that while the CPGs receive support from the GPF, he noted that it comes from the senior officers only. “We as community policing members are here to work with you, to support you and to help you so that together we can achieve the desired success we all, I am sure desire to have,” Dr. Constantine explained. A d d i t i o n a l l y, the Chairman called on members of the CPGs to act more professional. Professionalism he said, is something that the organisation needs from all its stakeholders. “After forty-one years of experience, the time for childishness needs to be put away since it does not help us to get better in anyway,” the Chairman stated. Dr. Constantine also made some recommendations in his report to improve the work of the CPGs countrywide. These include the establishment of a fixed place for the CPGs to conduct their business, ongoing training for CPG members and more cooperation from the GPF among others. ( By Isaiah Braithwaite)
“We can’t have schools not performing for decades and nothing is done about that.” This was the firm declaration of Chief Education Officer [CEO], Mr. Marcel Hutson, at a forum during the past week to announce the results of the 2017 National Grade Six Assessment [NGSA]. In order to ensure that all schools are steadily producing improved performances, Hutson said that “accountability of performances at the level of the schools and classrooms will be brought sharply into focus.” He insisted that “schools have to perform...so there is an accountability issue.” But achieving this goal, according to the CEO, cannot be done by an individual; rather a team effort is imperative. “It’s all about a team. One man can’t do it! One man said if we are going to cause children to stumble for the projection of ourselves, our own self interest, it is better to put a millstone around your neck and be thrown overboard,” said Hutson. “The crux of the matter is we don’t have time for contention, for confusion and for strife because we are dealing with the lives of children; we are dealing with fulfilling the potentials of our children.” For this reason, Hutson noted that the approach that must be adopted is that of “servant leadership”. “We must practise servant leadership as teachers, as officers, as stakeholders generally. We must serve,” stressed the Chief Officer of the Education Ministry. This year when the results were announced, there were some drastic improvements across subject areas particularly in Mathematics. The subject area of English this year, for the first time in many years, recorded a more than 50 percent pass rate. The improvement was attributed to deliberate intervention measures that were focused on addressing the weaknesses in the area of Maths. However, the measures that have been utilised
Chief Education Officer, Mr. Marcel Huton not only helped to improve the performances in Maths which moved from a 14 percent pass rate to 46 percent but across the other subject areas –English, Science and Social Studies - that pupils are assessed in at the NGSA. According to Hutson, the Ministry will seek to retain the approaches that have worked and others will be reviewed. Among those that are up for review is the Interactive Radio Instruction Programme which has over the years been used to teach Mathematics at the primary level. There have been reports that this programme has not served well to help improve the performances of pupils. Hutson informed that the IRI programme will be reviewed with a view of realising greater impact at the lower grades. He said, “We will start mock exams at the end of Grade Five to get our children into this mode [of improved performance].” “We will hold high expectations of our pupils. If you feel our children can’t perform they will not perform but if you believe that there is something in them that will make them do well you will push and cause them to do well,” the CEO underscored. The Ministry also has a strategic tactic to deal with
schools that are faced with a teacher shortage problem. Based on the advice of Minister Nicolette Henry, Hutson said that the Ministry is gearing to adopt a pre-packaged model lesson approach that will be delivered in video format to schools faced with the teacher shortage problem. Mainly schools in the hinterland regions have had this challenge, Hutson informed. Implementing these measures, he explained, are aimed at sustaining improved performances country-wide. “Our watch words will be sustainability and continued improvement because there are times when we can become cocky and believe that we are doing well and lose focus,” said the CEO. “I believe by the grace of God we will help the children of this nation to enjoy a better life and by extension a prosperous Guyana. “That is where we want to go so we will continue work,” said Hutson. He recognised the support the public education sector was able to gain through former Minister of Education, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, and current Minister, Ms. Nicolette Henry, who has had handson approach to helping to correct the shortcomings in the system.
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Govt tells Berbice buisness people “Give us ideas to save sugar” Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, has issued a call to members of the business community in the East Berbice-Corentyne Region (Region Six) to develop proposals for the way forward for the sugar industry over the next six months. He also urged them to pursue options for diversification and to explore non-traditional sectors and value added production. The minister made these comments Sunday evening, at a fundraising dinner hosted by the Berbice Chamber of Commerce at the New Amsterdam Town Hall. Noting that Government has embarked on a consultative process to determine what are the best options to ensure the viability of the industry, the Minister called on stakeholders in the region to be drivers of economic diversification as Guyana cannot continue to rely on what the President calls the six sisters; sugar, rice, timber, bauxite, gold and fish. “There are greater opportunities that present them-
Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, speaking at the Berbice Chamber of Commerce’s fundraising dinner at the New Amsterdam Town Hall on Sunday evening. selves for businesses individually or working with the workers’ union or workers’ organisations to take the ben-
efit of what is going to happen in the short space of time,” Minister Harmon pointed out in a release from
the Ministry of the Presidency. Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, who also spoke at the event, said that when the annual bailouts and investments in sugar are considered against the current price of sugar it is clear that things cannot continue as they are and Guyana has to expand local manufacturing. “This might be a good time for us to invest more in value-added productive businesses. If your imports aren’t selling, I can guarantee you that Guyanese want to buy local products. Guyanese are proud whenever we put quality local products on the market and this, for us, is a direction that we have been trying to nudge investors towards,” Minister Gaskin said. Minister Harmon added that while it is the Government’s responsibility to continue to develop an investment friendly and more enabling environment for the growth of businesses, it is the responsibility of the private sector to tap into available resources to grow their businesses. Many of the concessions
that were placed in the 2017 National Budget and resources allocated for Guyanese businesses are yet to be tapped into, Minister Harmon said. Private sector officials were encouraged to recognise Guyana as a single investment space and were called on to bid for contracts as well as invest in other parts of the country. “Step out of the box in which you operate and see that greater opportunities are available for you as business people,” Mr. Harmon said. Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes, told members of the private sector gathered at the event that embarking on “out of the box” business ideas in the technological sector can result in profitable economic activity. Pointing to the use of robotics, Minister Hughes said numerous possibilities exist in the digitised environment and Guyana is poised to take advantage of the strides being made in Information and Communications Technology (ICT). “I am saying to you that this is how we take traditional
agriculture, the traditional things we have done for many years, that are still important to our country, still vital to our people and this is how we take it to another level, to a new generation of technology that we are well positioned to take advantage of,” she said. Newly elected President of the Berbice Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Ryan Alexander, committed that the private sector in Region Six will be working arduously to seek other opportunities outside of the traditional sectors. He touted the idea of using the vast estate lands for the development of micro-enterprises. Representatives of the Indian High Commission, members of the Upper and West Berbice Chambers of Commerce and other Government officials were in attendance at the fundraising dinner, which provided the opportunity for private sector officials to mingle with the Ministers as they discussed the future of the business in the region and how they can work together to push economic development.
UG Vice Chancellor prepared to invest in staff upgrade - says his experiences and credibility makes him suitable to restore institution A large number of lecturers at the University of Guyana [UG], the country’s national university, are rendering a service to that institution without the adequate credentials. This state of affairs was amplified following a consultancy conducted by the Trevor Hamilton and Associates firm of Jamaica in 2012.
But years later, the quality of lecturers still remains a neglected aspect of the institution. When asked about this situation during a recent interview, UG Vice Chancellor, Professor Ivelaw Griffith, assured this publication that moves are apace to address this shortcoming. “We have begun partnership conversations with sev-
eral different universities and we have begun partnership conversations with several different Embassies through the High Commissioners and Ambassadors here to be able to send people abroad for training,” Professor Griffith shared. But according to him, the University will not only be looking at the academic side of things since there are other staffers who also require advanced qualifications, such as Masters (Continued on page 23)
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The citizens’ right to information Kaieteur News has never claimed that it is entitled to advertisements from anyone. Kaieteur News is a national newspaper; it has the largest readership of all newspapers in the country. The denial of advertisements to Kaieteur News, particularly those ads relating to public education on electoral matters including registration, constitutes a denial of information to its readership. The issue in relation to the non-placement of ads is about the rights of citizens to information. It is not about Kaieteur News needing the revenues from ads. Freedom of expression presupposes that people have a right to both receive and express their views. Therefore when ads are going to be denied to a newspaper this deprives the reader-
ship of the information provided in those ads. This constitutes an attack on freedom of expression GECOM is not a commercial entity. It does not sell anything. It is there to ensure that citizens can exercise their democratic rights at regular free and fair elections. If, however, those citizens are deprived of information which would give them a full understanding of the electoral system and processes, then the people are being deprived of effective participation in elections. This constitutes an attack on the right of citizens to elect the government of their choice since the citizens are being denied information important to them exercising their franchise. The public is also being denied information about the workings of GECOM since
advertisements, even for tenders, constitute a form of public transparency about the workings of the elections commission. The public from such information can determine how well GECOM is being managed, a matter of no small significance. When the readership of the largest newspaper in Guyana does not have access to information about what GECOM is purchasing, then the readership is being deprived of information to which they are entitled as citizens. All citizens are entitled to information about agencies which provide a public service or function. The members of the public are entitled to know what is taking place within these agencies, including their procurement requirements. The public has an interest in knowing whether
Dem boys seh ...
$$$Oil does corrupt weak Govts; and Guyana politicians far from strong Last month was June and that is de month of brides. July is when dem does bruck up after a month of marriage. Ask de coalition govt. Big trouble going on now and dem boys ain’t talking bout husband and wife or same sex marriage. De relationship inside de coalition start getting sour when Soulja Bai move Roopnaraine from de Education Ministry. At de height of de row de head fuh de Hay Heff See seh, ‘I should have married de devil and have a better life,” Soulja Bai tun and tell Trotty, “You would have been arrested. In this country marriage between relatives is illegal.” Dem boys know is only one devil he coulda marry and that is Jagdeo. He and all you can’t trust. He does married and de world see he married and he does still seh he nah married. How can you trust such a devil?’ He was a politician who ruin this country fun twelve years and also ruin de three wha Donald Dum was serving. How can anybody trust these politicians to make decisions with de people daily bread? You definitely can’t trust dem wid our oil wealth. And is not dem boys seh suh. Is an international magazine
name de Economist, that is more respected than nuff world leaders. De exact words de magazine use to describe Guyana is ‘Oil corrupts weak governments and Guyana is far from strong.” Dem boys believe Soulja Bai gun get vex, not de rest of dem, including that scamp Jagdeo. He beating he chest every morning when he wake up and every night when he go to sleep fuh being out de loop. As fuh Ashni and Brassington? Call de ambulance because dem woulda wipe out de whole of Guyana. Dem boys wondering if wid this govt dem got to clean up de cemetery because ExxonMobil could corrupt all of dem. Dem boys believe some done tek pay already because some simple questions nobody answering, not even Soulja Bai. Dem boys believe Soulja Bai honest and people seh suh too but dem begging him not to swear fuh nobody in de coalition. He must swear only fuh himself and self alone. If he opening he eyes he tekking lang fuh see wha going on and who he dealing wid. Talk half and Tell Soulja Bai careful wid de advisors on de oil.
Plans afoot to tackle Black Sigatoka, Red Mite diseases – Narei head Chief Executive Officer of the National Agriculture Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), Dr. Oudho Homenauth, has indicated that the authority is aggressively working to combat and eventually eliminate Black Sigatoka. Dr. Homenauth was at the time responding to questions posed by farmers about the expansion of the coconut industry and instances of Black Sigatoka infestation in plantain, at a consultation exercise. “The fight against Black Sigatoka continues. We have come a far way as instances of this disease have reduced significantly. NAREI is currently exploring varieties that are resistant to Black Sigatoka. I would encourage anyone to get involved in plantain cultivation as markets for this commodity will not be an issue.” In relation to the coconut industry, Dr. Homenuath posited that he has many plans that will be revealed soon. I would like to mention that in order to maximize coconut production; special emphasis should be placed on the methods used from the inception of planting to the production stage. One such method is the control of pests and
diseases. The coconut palm is subjected to various attacks of pests and diseases including Red Palm mite. CARDI has recently approved a proposal for an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Strategy to increase the level of productivity in Guyana’s coconut industry. These works are expected to commence in July.” Dr. Homenauth said. NAREI has been intensifying its education and awareness efforts to better inform plantain farmers about the Black Sigatoka disease.NAREI had therefore created demonstration plots in several farming communities (such as Clonbrook and Handen-Veldt, Region Four; Leguan and Wakenaam, Region Three; and Golden Fleece and Queenstown, Region two) that were significantly affected by the disease. The intention is to offer farmers’ firsthand knowledge about good farming practices crucial for healthy plantain productionFor several years the disease (caused by the fungus, Mycosphaerella fijiensism) has been affecting local plantain production. It strives in heat and humidity of the tropics. While it cannot be eliminated, it could be controlled with proper farming practices.
GECOM ever procured outdated radio equipment. It has an interest in knowing these things because it is public funds which are being used and because such information can enlighten the public about the quality of the service which is likely to be provided by GECOM. The denial of GECOM ads to Kaieteur News therefore constitutes an assault on freedom of expression and a denial of democratic participation. No election can be deemed to be fair in Guyana when these rights are being assailed. GECOM is not a government entity. It is a state entity which is independently administered by an Elections Commission which for the entirety of this year has been crippled because of the shenanigans which are taking place over the selection of a Chairperson of the Commission. The failure to appoint the Chairman means that the Commission cannot meet and that all power within GECOM is now in the hands of the management. It is therefore for the management of GECOM to explain its actions in relation to the non-
placement of advertisements in Kaieteur News. GECOM must explain why it has taken this step. Its failure to do so should lead to the new Commission whenever it is constituted making a decision on that management. GECOM is not run by the government but it uses government monies. The government has an interest as trustees of the public purse, to ensure that taxpayers’ funds are not abused. The government cannot use the concept of administrative neutrality to continue to finance, from public taxes, the advertisements of GECOM when there is a contention that these ads are being placed in a discriminatory manner. The issue has a bearing on the democratic process. Elections held every five years and which are free and fair are the norm in a democratic society. Democracy does not exist where free and fair elections are not held regularly and in accordance with the laws of the country. The management of Guyana’s election machinery is in the hands of GECOM. If that management cannot be fair in terms of a simple matter like the
placement of ads on matters of public education and edification, can one expect that the conduct of elections will be free and fair? In other words, unless the public can have confidence that the country’s election machinery is in the hands of persons of integrity and fairness, then public confidence in elections will suffer. The management of GECOM must be made to answer as to why it has opted to disenfranchise a large section of the public – the readership of Kaieteur News from information which would be of value to them exercising their franchise and about providing knowledge about the inner workings of GECOM.
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=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===
The anti-parking meter protest: History that went unnoticed I am repeating what was contained in a column on the anti-parking meter protest. I missed two of the demonstrations because of rain. I carried a placard in four of them. In that column I described how shocked I was at what I saw. There were about sixty young Indian girls, dressed up in nice clothes. They were very vocal, very demonstrative. These were not young people shipped in from working class rural areas. These were not south Georgetown young people in working class clothes angry at something the police did in their neighbourhood. These were white collar workers many of whom I suspect have universities degrees and were annoyed at
the price they had to pay for parking, meaning they had cars. I am in my sixties and I have travelled the pathways of pickets, demonstrations and protest all my life. At the height of the Rodney bandwagon in the seventies, I never saw such types of Guyanese on the picket line. The PPP, WPA, the middle class formation, GUARD and civil society failed to galvanize such types of people to join protest action. From my experience in the picket line I never saw such types of young women boldly demonstrating and shouting slogans at the top of their heads. In that column, too, I stated that not even at the height of protest against the Burnham Government in the seventies did the picket line see so many Portuguese
Guyanese. The weekly anti-parking meter demonstrations outside City Hall, every Friday at noon, were a phenomenal sight to behold in the historical context of class politics for me and I have more than forty years of protesting behind me. Middle class young people, joined by hundreds of middle class folks from the forties up, plus a sizeable presence of working class Guyanese were out there. I looked at those weekly gatherings and I saw the replacement of the AFC coming. I believe the birth of a third political party had its rudimentary start among those resourceful middle class folks in the anti-parking meter demonstrations. Those very folks are going to challenge the two Le-
$64M City Hall rehabilitation study to be completed by August The City Hall is set for rehabilitation
A study conducted by the European Union. (EU) towards the rehabilitation of City Hall is expected to be completed by August. European Union (EU) is providing technical support towards the rehabilitation of City hall. The Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) had been in discussions with a delegation from the European Union (EU), to decide the way forward for the restoration of the 125-year-old structure. M&CC officials had said that the unique structure, “one which has very intricate seams and movements, can only be restored with the advice of experts who worked on buildings of that kind, like the EU and the National Trust. The nineteenth-century Gothic Revival building located on the corner of Regent Street and Avenue of the Republic in Georgetown, Guyana was de-
viathans – PPP and PNC – come 2020. It is from among those folks that a reincarnation of the AFC will take place. There is widespread feeling all over Guyana that the unique third force manifestation in the form of the AFC is gone. In those demonstrations, I believe there are AFC sympathizers who want the continuation of a third political party. I have been informed that a close relative of one of the AFC’s big wigs is one of the moving forces behind the contemplation of a third party. Can this third party be the game changer? I think they can. They want another AFC type formation because they feel that the AFC went the wrong road. They wanted the AFC to be the balancer demanding changes and policies from a minority presidency rather than joining one of the two big trucks for fear of being swallowed up. The WPA accusations against the PNC leadership will only reinforce that thinking. In discussions with
Tacuma Ogunseye on this topic, he asked me if I don’t think this new formation will not be as disappointing as the other small parties. The answer to that question has to be philosophically based. We never know what fate has in store for us. It can go either way. A third party can just get in and become like the rest of uncaring parties that made it into power. Or, what about the unforeseen that we cannot predict? Suppose they push the minority presidency into democratizing and innovating. My deeply held belief is that if the AFC had stayed out and performed as the balancer after 2015, people would have pushed the AFC into demanding transformational changes from the minority presidency to Guyana’s political culture. In other words, never mind those in the AFC leadership weren’t visionary, they would have ended up in that direction because of the different class pressures on them as the balancer.
Frederick Kissoon I can see my friends saying, “Freddie, but they are a bunch of middle class people who if they become the balancer, will demand policies in favour of the middle class; isn’t this the same AFC in new clothes?” My answer is that historically the middle class has played crucial roles in removing colonial and post-colonial states that were undemocratic, and huge scopes for democratization came about. But more importantly show me the working class interest represented in government since Forbes Burnham died in 1985 right up to 2017.
Public/Private partnership policy framework drafted, up for review – Jordan
signed by architect Reverend Ignatius Scoles in 1887, and was completed in June 1889. The building houses the offices of the Mayor, the City Council, and the City Engineer. The EU and M&CC had signed a contract that will facilitate a study for a Comprehensive Restoration and Sustainable Conservation Management Plan for City Hall. The contract which has been awarded to EURONET Consulting GEIE for Euro 279,196 (G$64M) was scheduled to be concluded by March/April 2017. Two overseas-based consultants, an architect and an engineer from the United States and the Caribbean, have since visited Guyana and made recommendations to arrest the deterioration of the building. During a press conference held recently EU Programme Manager, Odrian Hayes ex-
plained that the study is almost complete and is expected to be presented in August. Last year, EU Ambassador Mr. Jernej Videti met with Mayor of Georgetown Patricia Chase Green and promised to reopen the tender process to give contractors the opportunity again to bid to repair City Hall. Ambassador Videti noted the European Union is funding a restoration and conservation management plan that will guide the restoration and long-term preservation of City Hall. Ambassador Videti posited that this study will also enable a transfer of know-how on how to correctly restore other monuments of historical and symbolic value in Guyana. He noted that many other areas on which the two entities can collaborate, such as climate change, training in financial management and taxation, and the promotion of sustainable cities.
On the heels of utterances by the Business Minister Dominic Gaskin, over the absence of a framework to ensure value for money and to prevent any form of abuse from Public/Private Partnerships (P3), the administration is acting. At least this seems to be the impression after an announcement was made by the Finance Minister Winston Jordan, revealing that a P3 policy framework has been drafted. Jordan made this disclosure during an engagement with several key stakeholders of the Private Sector last week. The Minister revealed, also, that a technical team has been assigned to review the draft framework. “The draft framework benefitted tremendously from the views of the private sector. It will be recalled that the Ministry of Finance recently chaired a dialogue with the private sector, during which your input was sought for a P3 model with various modalities of delivery. Once finalized, this policy framework will guide the upcoming future P3 engagements,” Jordan said. He hinted that amongst these engagements envisaged, is the construction of a New Demerara Harbour Bridge, tenders for which will be advertised by the third quarter of this year. Kaieteur News understands that other projects including the Linden/Lethem
Finance Minister, Winston Jordan.
Business Minister, Dominic Gaskin.
Road, will also likely be executed by means of P3. “The government will do the stretch of the road, from Linden to Mabura Hill as well as the crossing at Kurupukari. The remaining stretch, from Mabura Hill to Takutu Bridge, will be divided into two lots and will be put out to tender by end of this year.” Two months ago, Minister Gaskin said that while Government and investors stand to benefit from P3, there is no framework in place to ensure value for money and prevent any form of abuse. “We don’t have a framework in place for public-private partnerships in Guyana, and a lot of what is coming our way are unsolicited proposals that are only viable with the input of the government. In many cases, Gaskin
said, what is being proposed would violate the nation’s procurement laws. The Business Minister had stressed that it is difficult and unwise to deal with such proposals outside of a framework, or without even some basic guidelines. He said that until public-private partnership guidelines are put in place, the Government should not be encouraging unsolicited proposals. He had stressed the importance of having a framework in place. “It is important that we do this because the Government of Guyana will be looking for Public-Private Partnerships for certain projects. A lot of our infrastructure development over the next decade or more will need to be implemented through public-private partnerships.”
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$30B not $348B received from EU- PPP insists Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, has denied that the European Union (EU) has remitted $348B to Guyana from 2006 as part of the assistance to help the sugar industry recover from a 36 percent price cut. In a statement, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) said that it rejects as a total falsehood, the contention being peddled in the media. ”In fact, the total sum paid to Guyana is approximately $30B. Indeed, the final installment of $5.4B was paid to the Coalition Government in October last year. The sum of G$348.5B is over ten times the sum actually received by Guyana.” The statement insisted that more than $30B was spent by the PPP/C administration on the Skeldon factory alone. The Leader of the Opposition, who is overseas, said he will address this issue more expansively upon his return to Guyana later this week On Friday, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon said that the PPP, which ran the country continuously from 1992 until 2015 when it lost the general elections, should come out and explain to sugar workers what it did with more than $348B. The amount of money disbursed by the European Union was announced last week by EU ambassador, Jernej Videtic, who also said it is unlikely at this time that the bloc would consider more support for the troubled industry. The money was supposed to have been plugged into projects that would make the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) more competitive as well as be able to explore diversification. However, the industry is in dire straits. Its fortunes have steadily declined over the last two decades with cost of production now said to be three times the world market price. Wa l e s e s t a t e w a s closed by the administration last December and two more - Rose Hall and Enmore - are likely to face the same fate. The administration has
Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo made it clear that the 17,000-strong worker industry is placing a massive strain on the rest of the economy. On Friday, asked what his administration would have done with $348B in EU grants, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon said that it is clear that if the money was spent in the sugar industry, Guyana would not be facing the situation of having to bail out GuySuCo to the tune of billions of dollars annually. Harmon said, “You will find the bulk of the money never went where it was supposed to. And so when the PPP and some of their friends are going to sugar workers and crying out ‘we sorry for you, we sorry for you,’ and so on, they should explain what it is that they did with all this money.” Specifically, Harmon said, the PPP should be made to answer why it is that the state-owned indust r y i s p r o d u c i n g sugar higher than the world market price. “This is not something that could have happened overnight. It did not start in 2015 (when we entered office). These were noted trends that happened along the way. EU officials last week said that the disbursements were never based on how much sugar was produced, but rather, on indicators measuring reforms, which Guyana passed. Guyana was among more than 18 countries, including Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and St. Kitts and Nevis, that benefitted from the Ac-
Minister of State, Joseph Harmon companying Measures for Sugar Protocol countries (AMSP) to support a number of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries that were adjusting to the 2006 reform of the EU’s sugar regime.
The PPP has denied that the EU had ever released more than $348B to Guyana to help the country deal with a crippling 36 percent price cut to sugar.
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Guyana should be cautious in signing final oil pact - Experts By Oscar Ramjeet Press reports state that a massive amount of oil has been discovered in Guyana and foreign company, ExxonMobil has been retained/contracted to explore
and carry out the extensive operations to market the “black gold”. While ExxonMobil is spending tens of billions of dollars in the exploration process there is concern by
Guyanese in and outside of’ Guyana about the arrangement by the Guyana government with ExxonMobil. The latest came from Nigel Hughes, an outstanding attorney and Director of Guyana
Oil and Gas Association (GOGA). Two prominent and highly qualified Guyanese in the diaspora, Dr. Tulsi Singh who has been in the oil business for decades in Midland Texas, and Sam Boodhoo, CPA, CA, a Certified Professional Accountant of Canada who had given professional advice to several oil companies, feel that the Guyana Government should be very cautious in signing its final agreement with ExxonMobil. Boodhoo has written a Paper on Guyana Oil Dealings — highlighting the pitfalls. He said that Guyana should establish a Corporation owned
and controlled by Guyanese to manage the oil resources. He feels that there might be deficiencies in the negotiation process. Dr. Singh, on the other hand, who was not initially optimistic that Guyana will earn billions of dollars from the oil, is now of the ‘view that the Republic will benefit tremendously because of three factors: (1) Hess Corporation, a 30% owner in ExxonMobil is making financial arrangements for the Guyana project; (2) XOM as the operating partner in Guyana has confirmed a $4.4 billion on the deal. XOM has engaged SBM Offshore NV, a
Dutch off shore Oil and Gas behemoth to convert a huge crude oil tanker into a Floating Production Storage and Offloading platform. The Minister responsible for the oil Industry, Raphael Trotman, an attorney, who is not an expert in oil, should seek the advice of Guyanese in the diaspora who are experts in the field, and who are willing to offer their advice. Two other Guyanese entrepreneurs Brian Ramphal of California and Mc Sood Amjad of St, Maarten have also expressed their concern and want to ensure that Guyana is not taken for a ride by foreign big business,
Headless GECOM’s dilemma…
Non-functioning Commissioners to question ads withdrawal from K/News
PPP’s Commissioners on GECOM: (l-r)Sase Gunraj, Robeson Benn and Bibi Shadick Opposition members of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) are preparing to hold discussions this week on what was described as a totally unacceptable situation at the entity. Among the issues to also be raised is the questionable placement of ads over the last few months by the GECOM secretariat, in selected media houses, in what is being seen as a clear case of discrimination in the use of state funds. The yanking of GECOM ads from Kaieteur News this year followed a number of scathing reports in 2016 of procurement breaches, involving hundreds of millions of dollars. Yesterday, Commissioner Robeson Benn made it clear that the current situation cannot continue with PPP members not being briefed of the situation at GECOM. “As you know, there is no chairperson. However, there are commissioners. We have a fiduciary responsibility in the affairs of GECOM. We have oversight responsibilities but we are
not being updated by Mr. Lowenfield.” Keith Lowenfield is the Chief Elections Officer who is charged with the day-to-day running of the secretariat. As chief accounting officer with reporting responsibilities to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which overlooks public spending, it was explained yesterday that the current situation with Lowenfield is at a stalemate. “Mr. Lowenfield is refusing to go along with our position that we must be updated on the affairs of the people. We were supposed to be briefed monthly on GECOM’s work. He is saying that because there is no chairperson, there can’t be any meeting of the Commission. Therefore we can’t be updated. We are saying that we represent the people and the people need to know.” The dilemma would be a quite perplexing one. Despite there being no chairperson with Dr. Steve Surujbally departing in February, GECOM’s six commissioners continue to be paid. On a monthly basis, each of them
is reportedly receiving over $200,000. This means that GECOM is paying over $1M monthly to the commissioners. With no chairperson, and no meetings, the Commissioners are in essence being paid to do nothing. “I will be in discussion with my colleagues this week on how to handle this matter. We are at a loss how GECOM is operating without oversight. When we were receiving monthly reports, these were usually late or abysmally poor,” an upset Benn said yesterday. “Lowenfield seems comfortable to carry on as he feels. We as commissioners want to fulfill our responsibilities, to offer advice and protection, if need arises. If there is an issue with ads placement, we would want to address it. It is our responsibility. We want our opinions shared and noted.” The other PPP commissioners are Bibi Shadick and Sase Gunraj. The three commissioners of the Government side are Vincent Alexander, Sandra (Continued on page 23)
Tuesday July 04, 2017
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Kaieteur News
Russia details agenda for Trump talks North Korea threat in Putin’s meeting with Trump calls with China, Japan leaders (GMA) Russian President Vladimir Putin will demand the return of two diplomatic compounds seized by the United States when he meets in Germany this week with President Trump for the first time, the Kremlin said, as a senior Russian official warned that Mo s cow’s patience on the issue was running out. Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said his government showed “unusual flexibility” by not retaliating in December when then-President Obama confiscated the two compounds, in New York state and Maryland, and expelled 35 Russian diplomats as punishment for Moscow’s alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Ushakov urged Washington to “free Russia from the need to take retaliatory moves,” according to The Associated Press. The White House has reportedly been mulling re-
turning the compounds in an effort to improve relations with Moscow, and in recent days Russian officials have warned that retaliatory measures have been drawn up if the compounds are not returned. They were nominally used by the Russian Embassy as recreational facilities, but U.S. intelligence has long argued they were bases for espionage. In a separate statement r e l e a s e d y e s t e r d a y, t h e Kremlin said Putin would raise the issue with Trump when the two meet in Hamburg, Germany, where the G20 summit is being held Saturday. The statement said that the Kremlin expected Putin would convey the need to find the “most rapid resolution” on the issue, which it described as an “irritant” in RussianU.S. relations. The two leaders’ first meeting is highly anticipated, coming as investigations continue into possible collusion between
members of Trump’s presidential campaign and Russian officials and as relations between Moscow and Washington are being described as at their worst since the Cold War. There has been intense speculation for months over when the two presidents might come face to face. Since confirming the meeting last week, the White House has been light on details about what they will discuss. “There’s no specific agenda. It’s really going to be whatever the president wants to talk about,” Trump’s national security adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster told reporters last week. McMaster said administration officials had been tasked with drawing up options to confront Russia over “destabilizing behavior,” including cyberthreats and political subversion, as well looking for ways to cooperate on issues such as Syria and North Korea.
(Reuters) The threat posed by North Korea was a key topic in phone calls between U.S. President Donald Trump and the leaders of China and Japan, along with trade issues, the White House said on Sunday. Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ahead of expected meetings with the leaders of Asia’s two biggest economies at a Group of 20 nations summit in Germany later this week. “Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a denuclearized Korean Peninsula,” the White House said of Trump’s call with Xi from his resort property in Bridgewater, New Jersey, where he is spending a long weekend. “President Trump reiterated his determination to seek more balanced trade relations with America’s trading partners,” it added. Trump has become increasingly frustrated with China’s inability to rein in North Korea, and the reference to trade was an indication the one-time New York
businessman may be ready to return to his tougher-talking ways on business with Beijing after holding back in hopes it would put more pressure on Pyongyang. Trump and Xi discussed the “peace and stability of the Korean peninsula”, China’s Foreign Ministry said, without elaborating. Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang later told a daily briefing that the United States was “very clear” about China’s position on North Korea. Geng did not elaborate on what Xi told Trump about North Korea. “Negative factors” have affected Sino-U.S. relations, and China has already expressed its position to the United States, Xi told Trump, according to a read-out of a telephone call between the leaders carried by the ministry. ONE CHINA POLICY The ministry said Trump told Xi the U.S. government would continue to follow a “one China” policy, under which Washington acknowledges the Chinese position
that there is only one China and Taiwan is part of it, and that this position had not changed. China pays great attention to that reiteration and hopes the United States can “appropriately handle” the Taiwan issue, Xi told Trump, according to the ministry. On Thursday, the United States targeted a Chinese bank and sanctioned Chinese individuals and a firm for dealing with North Korea and approved a $1.42 billion arms deal with Taiwan - decisions that angered Beijing. And on Sunday a U.S. warship sailed near a disputed island in the South China Sea claimed by China, drawing a rebuke from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Trump’s separate conversations with the two Asian leaders followed White House talks with South Korea’s new president, Moon Jae-in, last week in which the U.S. leader called on Asian powers to implement sanctions and demand North Korea “choose a better path and do it quickly.”
PAGE 22
SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY,ETC.-CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 2161043; 677-6620 Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Guyanapassport application. Graphics design, advertisement. Tel: 6267040; 265-4535. INNOVATIVEMARKETING & PUBLISHING INC –TEL: 600-4212: We create A/ works, logos, busi ness cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included.
WANTED 1 Accounts Clerk, preferably from E.B.D – 5 subjects CXC minimum @ gtcareers592@gmail.com Hairdresser/Nail Technician apply at West Shore Plaza, 15 Public Road, Ruimzeight, W.C.D. Call: 269-1524/656-3561 One female domestic to work in Trinidad. ages between 25 40yrs. Free accommodation. Call or whatsap: 1868- 683-1528
Buying fresh wamara logs and square. Call: 664-5150
A Power ’s Repairs & Services: repairs done on fridges, washers, freezers, stove, A/C. located 114 Bruche Dam, E.C.D. Call: 6852588/669-0477 Repairs to refrigerators, gas stoves, A/C units, washing machines. Call Lindon: 6411086/ 694-2202
Experienced curry cook roti/ puri cook, counter servers, waiters (day shift only). Apply Hacks Halaal, 5 Commerce Streets.
Eagle’s: Re-gas -$8,000, Washing machine repairs, Gas Stove, Plasma flat Screen, computer repairs & more. Call: 697-2969/646-0966
ACCOMMODATION Journey Inn apartment rental, short term with AC & Kitchen, as low as -$15US. Call: 642-1783/ 646-3011634/718-2301695
FOR SALE
FOR RENT
LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754.
PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620
Paint Sale! Until supplies last! Coloured latex paint, 50% discount. Call: 265-3541/ 6954785/616-3411
Hair & nails stations available for rental to experienced hairdressers & nail technicians. Call: 6283092/ 683-7033
Three (3) pure bred female German shepherd pups, location: La Grange, W.B.D. Call: 654-6354 Design & Make Aluminum windows, doors, stainless rails, showcases, rolling shutters, make & install automatic doors. Call: 2336818/677-5599/659-9999
Hairdressers and nail technicians to work at Modern Hair Fashion Salon. Call: 227-8613 or 226-1931
Passport, permanent & visitor visa application, Professional Immigration Consultant – Sabita Immigration Services. Call: 225-6496/ 662-6045
Affordable house plans for residential and commercial buildings @ 37 Camp and Croal Streets. Call: 610-4085/ 614-0525/227-3575
Tuesday July 04, 2017
Kaieteur News
Contract cars at City Taxi Service, 8 Vlissengen Road. Call: 227-6868
VEHICLE FOR SALE 1 Hilux extra cab, GVV series, 5L diesel, good condition. Call: 673-3335/233-6218 Oswin J’s Auto Imports, new arrivals: Premio 2009, Allion 2009/2010, X-Trail 2009, Vitz 2013, 1 Bus 05/09. Call: 6092815/696-4659 2004 Honda Fit for sale, price negotiable. Call Akimo: 6226453 or Michael: 685-0088 Allion, Primo, Fielder Wagon, Spacio, Bluebird, 212 Carina, NZE, Honda CRV, Toyota IST, RZ & Pit-bull – Call: 650-7501
1 & 2 Bedroom apartment available @ Charlestown. Call: 681-4275/ 231-4432/6015857 1 Three bedrooms upper flat @ Lusignan, E.C.D. Call: 6298240 Furnished three bedrooms top flat, next to Georgetown Hospital. Call: 225-3756/6032257 Hair/Nail Station rental & barber station rental, New Market Street. Call: 638-1106
EDUCATIONAL Canadian School of Arts & Science: Summer Classes 2017- Pre-K, Nursery, Primary, Secondary (July 10th –August 11th). Call: 216-6921/22 for registration I.A.E – Registered now for full-time secondary school, lessons, CXC/CSEC classes, adults, students, repeaters. Call: 683-5742/621-7365
Property for rent - 2 storey house at Republic Park, E.B.D. Call 647-1773
LAND FOR SALE
Summer Classes for slow learners in Maths, Phonics, Reading, Spelling and much more. Call: 675-4379
Land at 42 Coglan Dam, size: 37X270 price -$5.5M negotiable. Call Mr. Howes: 677-9938 or Mrs Clarke: +13473870537
9 Course, Diploma in computeroffice 2016, windows 10 -$20,000 off for CXC students 2017 @ MicroGraphics, Vreed-en-Hoop. Call: 264-3057
2 ½ Acres riverside land, 5 Acres land with 5,000 sq.ft building. Call: 653-2477/685-6874
Summer Computer classes for ages 5-14 early registration starting @ $8,500 @ MicroGraphics, Vreed-enHoop. Call: 264-3057 Computerized Accounting, PC Repairs and graphics courses. Register Now @ MicroGraphics, Vreed-enHoop. Call: 264-3057/Study in Canada or USA Call Now!
Land at Well Street Ogle, E.C.D, back lot, 65feetX105feet - $12M. Call: 625-1514 La Parfaite Harmonie -$1M, Zeelugt -$2M, Tuschen house & land - $3.5M, La Parfaite Harmonie -$1.7M. Call: 642-1252
VACANCY One experienced pharmacy assistant to work in a reputable pharmacy in G/ Town (flexible hours). Call: 227-0630 Cook/ Baker for interior. Applicants must be experienced. Call: 618-2020 1 live in couple & 2 male assistant with driver’s license to work @ outdoor grill, weekend included. Call: 6569313/675-2550 1 General domestic, must know to cook. Call: 638-6891 Chef and assistant cook. Call: 225-7933 or visit us at 173 Sheriff St. Sewing machine operator & 1 trainee draftsman/cutter, consideration given to persons with intermediate level training. Call: 225-5948/ 644-4398/333-4170 Experienced bartender. Call: 225-8572 between 7am-9am Cook, female with housekeeping experienced, age 25-45years old. Call: 6299450 from June 30th , 2017 to July 5th , 2017 Accounts clerk: English A (Grade 1) , Mathematics, P.O.A (Grade 2), knowledge of NIS, PAYE, VAT & QuickBooks @ Technical Services, Eccles. Call 6144358 One experienced legal computer clerk. Call: 6247087/ 226-4283/258-0213/ email:husainsaphier@ yahoo.com Manager: 5yrs experienced (cosmetics & jewelry) & knowledge about henna designs. Call: 671-5759/6576979/ send your application @ rahmangy1@yahoo.com C a r p e n t e r, M a s o n a n d porters, apply in person to Alabama Trading, Georgetown, Ferry Stelling.
Harmony prime spot, ideal for business. Call: 695-5154
2 Isuzu Troopers -$1.9M each. Call: 657-3893
FOR SALE/FOR RENT Large 3 bedrooms house for rent or sale in La Parfaite W.B.D -$40,000 per monthly. Call: 690-5061/667-0022 Semi-furnished 5 bedrooms, 4 bathroom, camera, alarm, grill, garage. Call John: 652-1504 TAXI SERVICE GR TAXI SERVICE. CALL: 219-5000; 227-1982 & 225-7878 (24HRS)
Unregistered Mazda Axela 2011 -$2.7M, Corolla Fielder 2010 -$2.4M, Nissan Pickup 2000 -$2.3M. Call: 617-5536 1 Mitsubishi Lancer PJJ series, female driven $500,000. Call: 656-2255 LEARN TO DRIVE C. Persaud & N. Outar Driving School formerly Soman & Sons Driving School @ Maraj BuildingCall: 644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997 (affordable packages).
SALON - Make-up Courses with Mac, Bare Minerals, etc. - Cosmetology Courses: $120,000 - Technician Course: $45,000. Call: 6471773/660-5257 PEN PAL 43yrs old male looking for vegetarian wife. Call: 6907175
CAR RENTAL DOLLY’SCARRENTAL-CALL: 225-7126/226-3693 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL@ YA H O O . C O M / W W W. DOLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM
TO LET Newly constructed apartments in a safe & healthy environment. Call: 698-6496/622-6512 2 Bedrooms apartment Middle Road La Penitence $25,000 working person only. Call: 601-4661
PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL: 677-7827, 6435122 ,EMAIL:PRO_AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM
Alberttown - $50,000, $80,000, $40,000; Mandela -$80,000, ($250,000 – business), South - $100,000, Eccles, Durban Backland & many more. Call: 231-2199/ 660-7710
PROPERTY FOR SALE Transported property @ Grove and Diamond $16M negotiable. Call: 625-5461 One three bedroom concrete house for sale Contact Mala: 917-254-2909, location: Vryheid’s Lust, North. Call: 699-4111/626-2208 Aubrey Barker - $28M, Greenheart -$25M, Norton Street -$11M, ½ Mile - $16M, Atlanticville - $28M, Kitty $10M, $30M. Call: 231-7805/ 618-7483 1-2 Storey house concrete bottom, wooden top with shop @ Herstelling, reasonable price. 12 story building in Tuschen. Call: 695-5154
Tuesday July 04, 2017
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Kaieteur News
Neighbours charged for assaulting disabled mom A man and his wife who assaulted their disabled neighbour were brought before the court and charged for assaulting their 55-year-old neighbour. The couple appeared before magistrate Zamilla Ally in the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Courts and pleaded not guilty to the charge. Cherish O’Connor was placed on $60,000 bail while her husband, Dexter Weeks was placed on $25,000 bail. The couple was instructed to return to court on July 21. The woman son, Pagan Thompson, of Lot 975 Hendy Block X, Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara, had reached out to this publication in May last, when he appealed to the relevant authori-
ties to sanction the two neighbours for assaulting his disabled mother. His mother, 55-year-old Debra Thompson, who is deaf and dumb, had been the victim of a physical assault by the neighbours. The man said that he is glad that the matter is in court and hopes that he will get justice for his mother. Thompson went on to say that due to the constant assault by the neighbours, he had to relocate his mother for her safety. Thompson added that his mother started living with him two years ago, after the death of her mother. And it was soon after that the neighbours began making Debra the target of their insults. Thompson said that he
and his wife would normally leave his mom home since they both worked. When he returned he would be greeted with complaints of the neighbour pelting bricks on the roof and at his mother when she went to the bathroom, which is located at the back of the house. The man said that the situation became so bad, he insisted that his mother bathe before he and his wife left for work and remain in the house, so as to avoid any contact with the neighbours. The matter came to a head on May 10, last, when his wife took his mother to collect her social assistance benefit from the Campbellville Post Office, as she would normally do. Thompson said that his
Non-functioning Commissioners...
GECOM’s Admin Manager, Michelle Ward From page 12 Jones and Charles Corbin. Government and the Opposition are currently at a stalemate over the selection of a new chairperson. The Opposition has submitted two lists of candidates- both were rejected. Another list is being prepared. With regards to the situation of GECOM’s secretariat, last year, a number of reports by Kaieteur News painted a picture of high corruption and wanton spending there. From indications, there was massive fraud involved with the procurement procedures bypassed in many instances. A few suppliers appeared to have been handpicked and given contracts without advertisements in the media. There were even fake quotations in the system.
GECOM’s Chief Elections Officer (CEO) , Keith Lowenfield (L) and Chief Accountant Joseph Eastman The reports sparked state auditors to rush in and start a number of probes into several transactions, including the big purchase of $100M in unserviceable communication radios days before the May 2015 general elections. The radio contract, awarded in highly questionable circumstances to a contractor, saw the equipment arriving too late and never deployed as they were not only outdated but said to be unserviceable. Millions more were spent in the purchase of Duracell batteries, pliers and toners, among other things. GECOM has refused to comment, saying only that it would await the outcome of the state audits. The probe into the radio purchase is almost completed with the findings highly
alarming, officials say, with Lowenfield asked to respond to them. Following a heads up over the weekend from a sister media house, Kaieteur News discovered that GECOM, upset by the coverage of its spending for the 2015 general elections and for the Local Government Elections last year, had pulled its ads from the newspaper. Under policies, government agencies would place ads in all the media houses or with those with the widest reach. For the newspaper, Kaieteur News has the biggest circulation with one of the latest online readership in the region. As part of its mandate, GECOM is bound to regularly publish educational messages and other updates to ensure citizens are informed.
Pedestrian killed in Soesdyke accident A pedestrian was struck and killed in an accident around 22:30 hrs Sunday night on Swan Public Road, Soesdyke/ Linden Highway. The victim has not yet been identified. According to reports, the driver of motor car HC 6634 was proceeding south along the carriageway when the pedestrian suddenly ran across the road from west to east and into the path of the vehicle. As a result of the impact, the pedestrian
received injuries to his head and body. He was taken to the East Bank Demerara Public Hospital in an unconscious state and was subsequently pronounced dead on arrival. He was shirtless and clad in a pair of black long pants. The body is presently at the Lyken’s Funeral Home awaiting identification and post-mortem. The driver is in custody assisting with the investigation. He was given a breathalyzer test and no alcohol was found.
wife brought his mother part of the way back home on her bicycle since she was late for work, leaving Debra to walk the short distance to the house. But on that day the neighbours attacked the woman on the road when she was passing. According to other neighbours in the village the man and his wife grabbed the woman by her shirt and dealt her several blows. Thompson said that his younger brother would
usually check on his mother when they are at work. The brother said that on the day of the incident while he was on his way to see his mother he found her crying on the road and when he inquired as to what was the matter, she indicated to him that the neighbours had pelted her and had assaulted her. He recounted that he then subsequently informed other relatives of what had transpired.
The disabled Debra Thompson
UG Vice Chancellor prepared... From page 8 Degrees and doctorates, in order to be more efficient in their respective roles at the University. “We have a lot of people who have not been given help with professional development. Whether you are in the Bursary, whether you are an Assistant Dean...We do an injustice to our Deans and Department Heads because we just leave them with an appointment and ‘say do it’. We give them no guidance, no professional development, no way to help them,” related Professor Griffith as he shared plans to change the existing dilemma. But even as he attempts to remedy this glaring situation, the Vice Chancellor predicts that there is likely to be some forthcoming criticisms. “Maybe people are going to criticise me but I will be investing money to train our people. We have got to find a way. Some of it will be bringing people here, some of it will be doing webinars; some of it will be sending people abroad because we have got to broaden their horizons and broaden their view,” said Professor Griffith. According to the Vice Chancellor, “There is too much small, closed-perimeter thinking. So that is a challenge.” Moreover, he informed that addressing this challenge is not expected to be a quick fix. “It is going to take a series of years to get there but we have to do what I call human capital investment,” said the Vice Chancellor. Taking this course of action is important if UG is to be restored to the status of an outstanding tertiary institution. TRACK RECORD A university is in part about teaching and it is also in part about research. Professor Griffith, in response to a question about the suitability of his track record to help restore the image of the institution, said, “it is a combination of my personal breadth of experiences and the credibility and respect that I have developed over the decades in various parts of the world that allows me not to feel that I can but to know that I can restore this University.”
UG Vice Chancellor, Professor Ivelaw Griffith “I have the breadth of teaching, the breadth of research, the experiences of being a Professor, a Budget Dean, a Dean, a Provost of two different universities, the President of another University and a Consultant experienced in a variety of places around the world,” said Vice Chancellor Griffith of himself. But he did not stop there. “I have a network internationally, including the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and in Europe and Latin America,” said Professor Griffith as he asserted, “all of those things allowed me to not only lend my talent but to call upon my network which is what I have been doing since I have been here.” The Vice Chancellor made it clear that his network is not limited to overseas territories as he also has ready support right here in Guyana which has already started to manifest itself both financially and otherwise. He anticipates that support in this regard will be considerably augmented when the University hosts its inaugural Diaspora Engagement Conference later this month. “I have a network of friends and connections here,
some of whom I haven’t seen for years, some of whom are not even alumni of this university,” said Professor Griffith as he asserted, “it is not only the experiences abroad, it is having a network that I can call upon to do things that Government can’t do and the government should not only have to do things for the national university...We have got to find a way to get alumni to give support too.” It was in order to ensure that support would be readily forthcoming to the University, Professor Griffith said that he made an informed decision to introduce a University Ambassadors programme when he accepted the position of Vice Chancellor. “When I came here last year June, I brought 45 friends from around the world, mostly from North America and the Caribbean, and some from right here too. The ones from abroad, 45 of them came, each of them paid their own way, many of them are not graduates of the University of Guyana but because of me and because of the confidence in me, because of my track record they have said I want to help,” confided Vice Chancellor Griffith.
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Tuesday July 04, 2017
Kaieteur News
Venezuela not on agenda for regional Venezuela’s opposition seeks leaders’ summit - CARICOM SG unofficial July 16 vote on Maduro plan issued by the COFCOPR
CARICOM Secretary General Irwin LaRocque speaking to reporters (CMC Photo) ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada (CMC) – Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders will rely on “some basic principles” when it comes to the issue of the unfolding political situation in Venezuela, but the matter is “not on the agenda” for their annual summit that begins here today, CARICOM Secretary General Irwin LaRocque has said. “The agenda for the Heads of Government meeting will be adopted on Wednesday (tomorrow) morning and I guess we will see what emerges out of that agenda. Currently the issue of the situation in Venezuela is not inscribed on the agenda,” LaRocque told a news conference here yesterday, ahead of the summit. Opposition supporters
have been taking to the streets in Caracas demanding the removal of President Nicolas M a d u r o . T h e demonstrations have resulted in the deaths of several Venezuelans. But CARICOM appeared to be divided on the issue with St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica among those regional countries urging the Caribbean not to interfere in the internal affairs of the South American country. LaRocque said that while the Venezuela issue is not on the agenda, “ t h e r e are some basic principles that the community has elaborated and this principle still holds. “All our member states subscribe to the statement
(CARICOM Foreign Ministers) of noninterference, nonintervention in the internal affairs of the sovereign state of Venezuela”. He said the policy “holds despite what you may have read about a particular text being considered at the OAS (Organisation of American States), those principles hold. “I think we have to wait for the outcome of the meeting to see what statements come out of this meeting on Venezuela, if any,” he added. “We have basic principles that we are united on that continue to inform our approach to dealing with Venezuela, and whether or not the matter is discussed we have to wait and see what is the outcome of the meeting,” LaRocque said, adding that Maduro had not been invited to the three-day summit that will be chaired by Grenada’s Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell. During the news conference, LaRocque disclosed that the United States Under Secretary of State will hold talks with CARICOM foreign ministers “specifically to discuss CARICOM-US foreign relations” in the context of the new policy being articulated by President Donald Trump. “Our foreign affairs ministers will be having an encounter in the margins of
(Reuters) Venezuela’s opposition plans to organize an unofficial referendum later this month on President Nicolas Maduro’s controversial plan to rewrite the constitution via a special new congress, opposition sources said on Monday. The Democratic Unity coalition, which is starting a fourth month of street protests against the socialist government it decries as a dictatorship, will organize the vote for July 16, two senior opposition sources confirmed. “It is intended to demonstrate that the country does not want this farcical Constituent Assembly,” one of the sources told Reuters. A formal announcement was expected at an opposition gathering later on Monday. Their planned vote, likely to be resisted by the government, would be two weeks ahead of a planned July 30 national election proposed by Maduro for a Constituent Assembly with powers to reform the charter and supersede other institutions. According to a recent survey by pollster Datanalisis, seven in 10 Venezuelans are opposed to rewriting the constitution, which was reformed by late leader Hugo Chavez in 1999. Maduro, 54, Chavez’s unpopular successor, says the assembly is the only way to bring peace to Venezuela after the deaths of at least 84 people in and around antigovernment unrest since the
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro gestures as he speaks during an event with supporters in Caracas. (Miraflores Palace/ Handout via REUTERS) start of April. But opponents says it is a ruse to consolidate the ruling Socialist Party’s grip on power and to avoid a conventional free election that opinion polls show Maduro would lose. The next presidential election is due by the end of 2018, but protesters have been demanding it be brought forward. The two highest-profile potential opposition candidates for a presidential election are Henrique Capriles and Leopoldo Lopez, but the former has been barred from holding office and the latter is in jail. Opposition protesters also want solutions to a crushing economic crisis, freedom for hundreds of jailed activists, and independence for the oppositioncontrolled National Assem-
bly. Maduro, a former foreign minister who was narrowly elected in 2013 after Chavez’s death from cancer, says protesting opponents are seeking a coup with U.S. support. His allies say that a new Constituent Assembly would annul the existing legislature and would also remove chief state prosecutor Luisa Ortega, who has split with the socialists during the crisis and become a thorn in their side. Officials have turned on Ortega and are petitioning the Supreme Court to remove her. On Monday, aud i t o r s f r o m the state comptroller’s office were entering various state prosecutor’s offices round the country “with abuses and with no communication”, Ortega’s office said.
Jamaica urged to commit to UN protocol against human trafficking KINGSTON, Jamaica (CMC) – The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Carol Palmer has called for the strengthening of Jamaica’s commitment to the United Nations (UN) Palermo Protocol, which urges signatories to prevent and suppress the incidence of human trafficking. Palmer, who heads the National Task Force Against Trafficking in Persons (NATFATIP), says government agencies must avoid complacency and redouble their efforts, in keeping with the Protocol’s requirements, to ensure Jamaica achieves Tier 1 classification in the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. Among the Protocol’s provisions are guidelines for the protection and support of
victims, particularly women and children. It also provides a framework to bring the Government of Jamaica in compliance with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of the United States and its international obligations. Palmer said the relevant local authorities must endeavour to vigorously prosecute, convict and punish traffickers, irrespective of who they are. “Government-wide standard operations must be developed and we must seek to identify and assist all victims of trafficking. We need ‘whole-of-Government’ sustained actions that will lead to the proactive identification of local as well as foreign victims of human trafficking, including those who are victims of forced labour and sexual trafficking.”
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Venus breaks down in tears after win over Mertens LONDON (Reuters) Venus Williams broke down in tears during her post-match news conference at Wimbledon on Monday when asked about a recent motoring incident she was involved in, which led to the death of a 78 year old Florida man. Williams, who won her first-round match against Belgian Elise Mertens in straight sets, was asked about her feelings regarding the incident. “There are really no words to describe, like, how devastating and...yeah. I’m completely speechless. It’s just yeah, I mean, I’m just,” said the American before breaking
down in tears and leaving the room. The five-times Wimbledon champion returned shortly afterwards to finish off the compulsory media briefing. News of the fatal incident near her home in Palm Beach Gardens surfaced on Thursday. Palm Beach Gardens police released a preliminary report saying she was the driver at fault in a June 9 accident that left Jerome Barson, a passenger in the other car, with fatal injuries. After the crash, Barson was taken to a Florida trauma center where he died 13 days
later, according to the Palm Beach county medical examiner. The police report estimated Williams was traveling at about 5 miles per hour (8 kph) at the time of impact and was not distracted or suspected of any drug or alcohol use. Before breaking down in the news conference, Williams had been asked several questions about her emotions in the past month but had avoided directly addressing the matter. “Life, you can’t prepare for everything. I prepared for a lot of matches, tried to get ready for whatever my oppo-
nent will throw at you, but you can’t prepare for everything,” she said. “I have no idea what tomorrow will bring. That’s all I can say about it. That’s what I’ve learned,” she said to another question on how she was handling the situation. Last week Williams released a statement on
Facebook saying that she was “heartbroken” and “devastated” by the death of Barson. The 37-year-old American faced a tenacious opponent as she began her bid for a sixth Wimbledon singles title with a 7-6(7) 6-4 victory. While a nervous Mertens struggled early, going 3-0 down in the first set, the 21-
year-old, ranked 54th in the world, battled back to force a tiebreak which Williams won 9-7. Williams, who last won Wimbledon in 2008, was unable to convert two match points in the second set before a rain break, but she returned to serve out for victory.
Tuesday June 20, 2017 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) You will be full of energy and you need to find something constructive to do. Sudden changes will occur through communications with friends or in-laws. Moneymaking ventures may just turn your life around.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) You may have been too nice to a friend who just wanted to take advantage of you. Do not reveal personal information to those you feel may be untrustworthy. You will attract members of the opposite sex readily.
TAURUS (Apr. 21- may 21) You'll find it easy to talk about your feeling today. Don't hesitate to find out what your mate's intentions are. It may not be the best time to socialize with clients or colleagues today. Romantic opportunities are evident if you get involved in large groups or organizations.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Do something constructive outside. You need to distance yourself from the situation for a little while first. Entertainment could be pleasing if it is of an energetic nature.
GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Attempt to face key issues with lovers or problems could escalate. You may have ignored or neglected your mate lately. You can beautify your surroundings by renovating or redecorating. CANCER (June 21–July 22) For now just do the best you can. Take some time out. You can help them with difficult projects. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Changes in your home environment may cause friction. You can sell your ideas to those who have the money to back them. Talk to those in a position of power about your intentions. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Try not to get involved in other people's problems. For best results get out of the office and do your job en route. Curl up with a good book or go for a drive in the country.
SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Social activity with friends and relatives will be most successful. Don't deny yourself today. This is a great day for a family outing or just a drive. CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) You've been in a rut and you need to do something that will help you break the pattern you've fallen into. If you can put some work into home improvements, you should. You'll be able to discuss your ambitions with your mate. AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Be careful when using machinery or electrical equipment. Investments will not be as they appear today. Try to channel your energy into professional endeavors. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Spend some time with the one you love. Pleasure trips will be satisfying. Travel and learning should be on your agenda today. You can accomplish the most if you travel for business
Venus Williams celebrates winning the first round match against Belgium’s Elise Mertens. (REUTERS/Toby Melville)
Guyana, Barbados... From page 30) beat T&T’s Aimee de Verteuil and Abosaide Cadogan defeated Shaelah Henry Parchment. Girls U-17: Jodi SmithPadmore of Barbados lost to Makeda Harding and Bajan Megan Best beat Sarah Lewis. Girls U-19: Guyanese Taylor Fernandes battered Madeleine Rose 11-1, 11-1, 11-2 before Guyana’s Rebecca Low lost in 3 sets to T&Ts Alexandra Yearwood. The individual tournament was scheduled to continue last night and climax today with the respective finals.
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Kesrick Williams did an outstanding job - Holder
Kesrick Williams appeals, West Indies v India, 4th ODI, Antigua, ©AFP
Jason Holder runs past Virat Kohli in celebration, West Indies v India, 3rd ODI, Antigua, ©AFP ESPNCRICINFO After winning the Champions Trophy in 2004 and reaching the final in the next edition, West Indies failed to qualify for the tournament this year. They hit another low when they tumbled to a 63-run defeat against Afghanistan in St Lucia last month. Not many would have given them a chance to topple India, especially after they had
suffered heavy losses in the second and third ODIs. Things seemed dire for the hosts in the fourth match as well, when they snoozed their way to 189 for 9. But the bowlers, led by captain Jason Holder, rallied the team to defend the score against No. 3-ranked India. Holder, who used the word “proud” three times in the press conference, put down the win to resilience. “I
have a lot of faith in the guys and have a lot of faith in myself,” he said. “Once we stay together, we can learn as quickly as possible and see more results like this. “Extremely proud. We have copped a lot of criticism over the last four months as a team. We haven’t had the best results and people tend to write us off. The way the guys played today, I am extremely proud. Our backs
were against the wall at the halfway stage and a lot of people didn’t expect us to win the game. But it shows what we have in us and I am really, really proud of the guys.” Holder played a starring role, claiming a maiden fivewicket haul in his 62nd ODI, and was ably backed up by Kesrick Williams, who was playing his second ODI, and Alzarri Joseph, who had
Joshua keen on Klitschko rematch, will fight Pulev otherwise (Reuters) IBF, WBA and IBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua says he is eager for a rematch with Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko after April’s thrilling bout, but will face Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev if Klitschko decides to retire. Joshua beat Klitschko after 11 rounds to extend his unbeaten streak to 19 fights, and a clause in their contracts allows the defeated fighter to ask for a rematch. But the 41-year-old is yet to make decision about his future. The 27-year-old has to fight Pulev, who is the mandatory challenger for the IBF title, and Joshua is ready to fight the 36-yearold if the Klitschko rematch does not take place. “The ball is in Klitschko’s court,” Joshua told Sky Sports. “I am going to continue my career. It is up to him whether he wants to have a rematch or whether he says, ‘You know what, that’s enough’. “But I think, whatever he
Anthony Joshua with Wladimir Klitschko after the fight. (Action Images via Reuters / Andrew Couldridge Livepic) decides to do, we all respect him, and plan B would be look at the option with Pulev, and where we would fight him and the options available for the Pulev fight. “Now I have the IBF, WBA and IBO (belts) there are obligations with mandatory challenges, and
Pulev is one. “So either it will be Klitschko, which would be great, or Pulev, which would be great. I am not bothered either way.” The Briton is hopeful that a showdown in Las Vegas will tempt Klitschko to opt for a rematch.
“Vegas - it is the Mecca of boxing, and this is an opportunity,” Joshua said. “People wouldn’t mind traveling, and it is a nice big hurrah for himself. He has achieved so much, does he have the motivation? “I think Vegas will get his blood boiling again.”
replaced Miguel Cummins. Williams, in particular, shackled MS Dhoni, conceding only 13 runs off 33 balls. The fast bowler ultimately had Dhoni holing out to long-on at the end of the 49th over, bringing the equation to 14 from the last over. “The guys really, really supported me not only in the field but with suggestions,” Holder said. “The bowlers really supported me the way they came out and bowled. It is easier when guys come out and do what is expected of them. I must give Kesrick Williams a lot of credit; I thought he did an outstanding job. He is only in his second game and showed a lot of maturity. Alzarri Joseph also makes the job a lot easier.” West Indies coach Stuart Law also delivered a glowing appraisal of Williams. “In the first game he played the other day, he got none for 60 [69], I thought to bowl five overs straight to the best finisher in the world, MS Dhoni, and to only go for the amount of runs he did was a great effort,” Law said. “He’s got some tricks, which are difficult, and he is our leading wicket-taker in T20 cricket this year and we drafted him into the [ODI] side to do a job for us through the middle and towards the end. He only got one wicket but it was pretty crucial one and only gone for 29 runs. That’s an outstanding effort. He is a livewire in the field and is good in the dressing room.” Their batting, however,
looked far from promising. Each of the top five batsmen got starts on Sunday, with the highest score being 35. Law held shot selection, not lack of talent, responsible for the batsmen not making it big. “It’s not lack of talent. I have seen these boys from close quarters for a while now, and it’s definitely not lack of talent,” he said. “They have got skill and it’s just about match awareness being smarter in the shots they choose to play at the right time. If you have been watching for a while now, they lose wickets at crucial times and if they do that we start putting ourselves under pressure. We are learning and we talk about it all the time. They are honest and we can deal with it in an honest manner.” Law also hoped that Sunday’s success, which came about three months after West Indies secured their highest successful ODI chase, against Pakistan, would be a stepping stone to higher honours. “We beat Pakistan a couple of weeks ago, chasing down 300, and now we have defended a reasonably small total against India,” he said. “We have beaten two of the best teams in the world.... it’s a big ladder, and today is one step closer to where we want to end up. “People in the Caribbean probably don’t see we are working hard as hard as we are. We are pleased we put up a win for everybody in the region. It gives us a warming feeling and hopefully it gives everybody a good feeling as well.”
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Kycia Knight, Subrina Munroe added to West Indies squad ESPNCRICINFO After crashing to 48 all out their second-lowest total in ODIs, West Indies suffered further blows, losing fast bowlers Shakera Selman and Shamilia Connell to injuries. Perhaps with a mind to bolster their batting, Kycia Knight, who has not played international cricket since the 2016 World T20, was brought into the squad. Alongside her came 32-year old medium-pacer Subrina Munroe, who was last seen in West Indies colours in May 2015. Selman was ruled out after being struck on the helmet while fielding at short leg during West Indies’ opening game at the Women’s World Cup last week. In their next one, newball bowler Connell left the field after bowling only four overs and has been diagnosed with a hip injury. T h e I C C ’s e v e n t technical committee comprising Geoff Allardice (ICC, chairman), Campbell J a m i e s o n ( I C C representative), Steve Elworthy (Tournament Director), Alan Fordham (host representative), Anjum Chopra and Alison Mitchell (both independent nominees) - has approved their replacements. Kycia, twin sister to Kyshona, who is already in the squad, made her debut in
Subrina Munroe 2011 as a wicketkeeperbatsman. She has played 44 ODIs to total 762 runs - the eighth-highest tallyfor West Indies in Women’s ODIs. Munroe, meanwhile, has 11 wickets in 23 ODIs at an average of 51 and economyrate of 3.8. West Indies are one of three teams to have lost every match they have played at the Women’s World Cup, but their captain Stafanie Taylorhas not lost hope. While admitting to deficiencies in their line-up, she believed, with four games left, there was still time to rally. “I guess when you look back at the game [against South Africa], especially for the batters, we just got out softly and a lot of our batters, especially at the top order, we didn’t apply ourselves properly. We’ve been in
Kycia Knight will join twin sister Kyshona Knight in the Women’s World Cup © WICB England for a while, it’s not like we’ve come here yesterday where we don’t know what has been happening. I didn’t think that our mindset was right. I don’t think we were focused.” When pressed on how she was going to lead West Indies’ turnaround, Taylor offered a very frank reply.
“I’ve been asking myself that, to be honest. As a captain, you are thinking, you’ve lost all three games, what do you say to these players now? But if you really want to make it to the semi-finals, you’ve just got to find a way to turn it around. We’ve lost three games now, we have four more games to go, so we just have
to bounce back and keep fighting. “There’s still a chance, I do believe there is still a chance, we still have games to go and teams that I know we can beat. As individuals, we really need to look into ourselves and see what we’re doing wrong and just to rise above.” West Indies’ next match is against former champions
Nadal already feeling at home on Wimbledon grass LONDON (Reuters) Rafa Nadal moved seamlessly from months of claycourt success to a satisfyingly smooth firstround victory on grass as he opened his Wimbledon campaign with a commanding 6-1 6-3 6-2 victory over Australian John Millman yesterday. Nadal missed the traditional warm-up grass tournament at London’s Queen’s Club to look after his battered body in the wake of his victories at the French Open and in Madrid, Monte Carlo and Barcelona but immediately looked comfortable on the faster surface and displayed the full array of ground strokes that have earned him two
Wimbledon titles. Millman, who missed the first five months of the season with a groin injury, played his part in some entertaining rallies but fourth-seed Nadal, who m i s s e d l a s t y e a r ’s Wimbledon through injury and was playing his first grass tournament match for two years, was always on top. The Spaniard really hit his stride in the final set once he had mastered his timing, smashing a series of blistering forehands that left Millman as much a spectator as those crammed into Number One Court, with Nadal wrapping up the victory in well under two hours.
M e a n w h i l e , Tw i c e Wimbledon semi-finalist JoWilfried Tsonga breezed into the second round with a 6-3 6-2 6-2 victory over British wildcard Cameron Norrie, whose first grand slam appearance ended in a swift and brutal exit. Tsonga, the 12th seed, was dumped out in the second round last year but was never forced out of second gear as he swatted Norrie aside on Court Two, exposing all the Briton’s inexperience. For Tsonga, it was an opportunity to find some rhythm on grass having played only two matches at Queen’s after losing in the first round of the French Open.
Spain’s Rafael Nadal in action during the first round match against Australia’s John Millman. (REUTERS/Toby Melville)
New Zealand on July 6. West Indies squad: Stafanie Taylor (c), Merissa Aguilleira (wk), Reniece Boyce, Shanel Daley, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Qiana Joseph, Kycia Knight, Kyshona Knight, Hayley Matthews, Anisa Mohammed, Chedean Nation, Subrina Munroe, Akeira Peters and Felicia Walters.
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Tour de France 2017: Peter Sagan wins stage three as Geraint Thomas retains overall lead BBC Sport - World champion Peter Sagan won an uphill sprint to claim stage three of the Tour de France as Britain’s Geraint Thomas retained the yellow jersey. Sagan showed remarkable composure and skill to clip his foot back into his pedal after it slipped out as he started his sprint in the final 300m. The 27-year-old Slovak held on to beat Australia’s Michael Matthews. Thomas finished two seconds adrift, alongside defending champion Chris Froome and the other race favourites. The Team Sky duo lead the overall standings with Welshman Thomas 12 seconds ahead of team leader Froome, who is chasing a fourth Tour win in five years. “There were no crashes, which was good, but it was a really hectic final,” said Thomas. “I’m happy to get through unscathed.” Sagan shows his class The uphill drag to the finish seemed perfect for Bora-Hansgrohe rider Sagan. At only 1.6km long it
1. Peter Sagan (Svk/Bora) 5hrs 07mins 19 secs 2. Michael Matthews (Aus/Team Sunweb) Same time 3. Dan Martin (Ire/Quick-Step Floors) 4. Greg van Avermaet (Bel/BMC Racing) 5. Alberto Bettiol (Ita/Cannondale-Drapac) +02secs 6. Arnaud Demare (Fra/FDJ) Same time 7. Jakob Fuglsang (Den/Astana) 8. Geraint Thomas (GB/Team Sky)
was tough enough to remove the pure sprinters from contention but not long enough to give the climbing specialists an advantage. Sagan is a rider who falls neatly between the two and although there were at least a
dozen riders who could have won the stage, none have the swagger and poise of Sagan. He hit the front about 500m from the line and looked nonchalantly over his shoulder at his rivals, who were on the limit, while he
barely seemed to be pedalling. “It was a strange finale,” said Sagan. “Richie Porte went hard in the last 700800m. I tried to catch him but when I caught him I saw how much was left, 400m. I said
32nd FESUPO/16th NAPF & FESUPO Pan American C/ships
Manager Andrea Smith confident Guyana will represent well By Franklin Wilson in Orlando,USA compliments of Crown Mining Supplies, Fitness Express, Secure Innovations & Concepts, Industrial Safety Supplies, Rose Hall Town Youth & S p o r t s C l u b . Team Manager of the Guyana team to the 16th North American Powerlifting Federation (NAPF) and 32 nd South American Powerlifting Federation (FESUPO) Championships lifting off at the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport, Andrea Smith, is exuding confidence that her charges are primed to excel. Sanctioned by the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF), this year’s championships will see athletes from Canada, USA, Mexico, Columbia, Uruguay, Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, United States Virgin Islands, Costa
9. Chris Froome (GB/Team Sky)
Peter Sagan (2nd right) is now fourth overall. (Getty Images)
Rica and Guatemala c o n t e s t i n g . Competition will get underway from 07:00hrs today and four of Guyana’s lifters will take center stage, Romario Gonsalves (59kg), Demetri Chan (74kg), Tineisha Toney (57kg) and Britny Mack (47kg) will be i n c o n t e n t i o n . Smith informed that on a scale from 1-10, Guyana’s chances are as good as 7 to 8 at medaling. “Given the breakdown from the final nominations that I’ve observed everybody stands a fighting chance within their category. The most anyone will be going up against I think is six lifters in their category so there is a lot of areas for persons to work given their starting weights, given what I know they’ve done before, we have a very strong chance of medaling.” Despite a long and tiring trip to Orlando which saw the athletes travelling by air to Miami via Trinidad and then by bus to their final
destination, which took over four (4) hours, Smith informed that the athletes are all in high spirits including the first timers. ”This didn’t daunt their spirits and I am happy to see them interacting with each other. This year’s team is very special because we have a balance in terms of the old and new members and the way everybody is positioned they can learn from an experienced lifter and that’s working for the team.” Smith, who will also be competing, shared that the training cycles for each athlete over the past weeks, was productive and the athletes are healthy, rearing and ready to go barring a few muscle strains. ”The newer ones are excited, the more seasoned ones are focused on improving in areas they hadn’t done in the past.” At last year ’s championships held in the USVI, Guyana only had three athletes but there is an encouraging increase of
athletes this year; Smith is crediting this among other things, to consistent performances by the athletes during 2016 and this year. ”And their patience too because of course, because some of them are rank novices who have come through the system, intermediates and seniors, coupled with the fact that we have not lost them to other sports. I will give credit to the athletes in that area.” The GAPF Secretary also stressed that the federation would have also played a major role in keeping the sport growing on a consistent basis as they have tried to up their game in a number of areas including fund raising activities and engaging the athletes more consistently. ”Since last year we would have really doll out on giving information to the athletes, rules of the IPF, giving them information on records so they know where they stand, not only locally but regionally and further afield.”
‘no, it’s too much’, so I relaxed a bit before going again.” However, when the effort came, it almost proved his undoing. His right foot slipped off the pedal and although he had clipped back in within a fraction of a second, the momentum seemed to be lost. But he kept calm and powered to his eighth Tour stage win and, although Marcel Kittel retains the green jersey, Sagan’s victory showed he is the most likely to win the points classification for a joint record sixth consecutive year. He laughed off questions about the pressure of being the stage favourite, adding: “At the end I did unclip, I don’t know why. I was thinking ‘what’s going on?’ I was unlucky but I managed to go again and I won. I’m delighted.” Stage three result:
10. Rafal Majka (Pol/ Bora) General classification after stage three: 1. Geraint Thomas (GB/Team Sky) 10hrs 00mins 31secs 2. Chris Froome (GB/Team Sky) +12secs 3. Michael Matthews (Aus/Team Sunweb) Same time 4. Peter Sagan (Svk/Bora) +13secs 5. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor/Dimension Data) +16secs 6. Pierre Latour (Fra/AG2R) +25secs 7. Philippe Gilbert (Bel/Quick-Step) +30secs 8. Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol/Team Sky) +32secs 9 . Ti m We l l e n s (Bel/Lotto) Same time 10. Nikias Arndt ( G e r / Te a m S u n w e b ) +34secs
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Shotokan Karate-Do of Guyana Caesar, Phillips capture 200m enjoys successful USA outing but Police Progressive Youth claim National Senior C/ships By Zaheer Mohamed
Members of the Shotokan Karate-Do of Guyana team that took part in the 51st Master Camp & International Goodwill Tournament in the US. Nine members from the Shotokan Karate-Do of Guyana (SHOKOGUY) recently returned from USA after successfully attending the 51st Master Camp & International Goodwill Tournament hosted by the International Shotokan Karate Federation (ISKF) held at Camp Green Lane, Pennsylvania, June 9 -16. The team included Chief Instructor – Sensei Christopher Chaves, Shaqueel Amin, Alex Rodrigues, Ivan Chow-yen and five children namely; Mikasi Warde, Alex Chowyen, Michael Corbin, Joshua Pitt and Pierre Walcott. Sensei Chaves reported that the experience was overwhelming and they all felt fortunate to be exposed to training conducted by high ranking guest Masters who are world renowned. A major highlight was the promotion of Master Hiroyoshi Okazaki-Chief Instructor and Chairman of the ISKF. He was promoted to 9 Dan by the ISKF Shihankai. Classes were conducted by: 9th Dan–Master Yutaka Yuguchi of the USA, Master Masaru Miura from Europe, th
Master Shunsake Takahashi from Japan, Master Hiroyoshi Okazaki –Chief Instructor of ISKF and Master Hideo Ochi-JKA G e r m a n y . The camp attracted in excess of 350 Karatekas who represented over 40 countries. During the Camp, the International Board of Directors met and head representative for ISKF Guyana Sensei Chaves a t t e n d e d . Training sessions were held six hours daily in the morning and afternoons. Teaching seminars and lectures were also a feature of the camp that sought to address and cover several personal developmental and building skills. It was decided that the ISKF PanAmerican Champion for 2018 will be held in Panama from August 16-19. The Youth Shiai (children’s competition) saw the competitors being placed into groups – Kata and Kumite. This format promoted unity and friendship among the participating countries. In the end, all participants were awarded medals for their
efforts. In the Brown belt division, Ivan Chow-yen performed credibly and was able to secure second place in both Kata and Kumite. The open black belt division was very competitive with a large number of participants ranging from 1st Dan black belt to 6th Dan. In Kumite, Shaqueel Amin did very well to enter the quarterfinals by defeating his opponent from Israel. However, he was denied a place in the finals after being disqualified for excessive contact against his US opponent. Alex Rodrigues and Shaqueel Amin were both denied a placed in the Kata finals by early defeats, however, in the Team Kumite Contest, they secured second placed along with an overseas based Guyanese from Barbados. Shaqueel Amin was instrumental in spearheading the Guyana team to the level of success, despite going against more experienced contestants. SHOKOGUY Chief Instructor Sensei Christopher Chaves was pleased with the performances. H e w a s adamant in conveying the organization’s appreciation to all the parents, members and to the Ministry of Education for assisting them in realizing their attendance and participation at this years’ event. Chaves noted that they are anticipating a much larger contingent for 2018.
Compton Caesar of C h r i s t i a n b u rg Wi s m a r Secondary (CWS) and Kenisha Phillips of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) captured the male and female 200m respectively, but Police Progressive Youth Club (PPYC) emerged champions of the Guyana National Seniors track and field championships which concluded yesterday at the Leonora Track and Field S t a d i u m , We s t C o a s t Demerara. PPYC chalked up 376 points, while their closest rival, GDF, finished with 269. Running Brave was third on 129 followed by CWS 99, Upper Demerara Schools 44, De Challengers 16, Hopetown Flames SC five and Rurallities Athletic Club three. PPYC captured seven gold medals, 14 silver and 17 bronze, while GDF picked up 10 gold, seven silver and seven bronze. Running Brave claimed seven gold and five silver, CWS ended with three gold, three silver and two bronze, Upper Demerara Schools had three gold, one silver and one b r o n z e , w h i l e DeChallengers had two bronze. Caesar who had a wind point of 2.8, added to his
collection of prizes, winning the 200m in 21.28 seconds ahead of Emmanuel Archibald of PPY 21.36 and Daniel Williams of Upper Demerara 21.59. Caesar capped a memorable two days after taking the 100m on opening day, Sunday. Phillips, with 3.4 wind point thrilled the fans as she won the 200m in 24.07 ahead of Alita Moore of PPYC 24.55 and Onassha Rogers of CWS 24.63. S a m u e l Ly n c h o f Running Brave, edged Quacy Morian of PPYC to win the male 800m in 1:54.21, while Morian finished in 1:54.42; Anfernee Headecker of GDF placed third in 1:56.42. Hosea Glen of CWS claimed the male 110m hurdles in 18.23 seconds, while his team-mate Shimar Velloza took silver in 20.32, Marvin Tinnis of PPYC was third in 20.61. Joanna Archer of PPYC took gold in the female 800m in 2:14.55, while Claudrice McKoy of Running Brave was second on 2:15.36, Kezra Murray of PPYC finished third in 2:22.45. Natrina Hooper of Running Brave leaped 1.70m to take the top podium spot in the female high jump, Cindy Fraser of PPYC finished second with 1.60m and Shontel Browne of GDF
Samuel Lynch reacts after winning the 800m ahead of Quacy Morian. (Zaheer Mohamed photo).
was third with 1.45m. South American Youth Gold medalist Chantoba Bright of Upper Demerara won the female triple jump with 12.24m ahead of Cindy Fraser of PPYC 10.71. Tenesha Cort of GDF claimed gold in the female discuss throw with 35.03m, Sophina Vanderstoop of PPYC placed second with 33.48m and Annesia DeAbreau of PPYC finished third with 31.97m. Cleveland Thomas of Running Brave won the male 5000m in 16:24.44, Jonathan Fagundes of PPYC was second in 17:27.95 and Calvin Thomas ended in third position in 19:26.42. The male triple jump was taken by Lloyd McCurdy of GDF with a leap of 15.67m, his team mate Lurex Stewart grabbed silver with 14.76m and Dennis Roberts of PPYC took bronze in 14.00m. The male shot put went to Osafo DoSantos of GDF 13.38m, Selwin Henry of GDF finished second with 13.38m and Kleon Spellen 12.92m of PPYC placed third. Tariq Boyce captured the male high jump, while Leslain Baird won the javelin; he erased his previous best of 73.46cm which was the national record.
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Tuesday July 04, 2017
Junior CASA 2017
Guyana, Barbados neck and neck at halfway stage US based Bajan Reginald Brewster (right) beat Vincentian Mikal Quashie of the OECS at the GT Club yesterday. (Sean Devers photo)
Nathan Rahaman (left) plays a back hand shot against Bermudian Andre Cox yesterday morning at the GT Club. (Sean Devers photo) By Sean Devers At the halfway state of the Individual category of the 2017 Junior CASA tournament in Guyana, arch rivals, 12 times defending team champions Guyana and Barbados were locked in an intriguing battle and were even-Stevens after a day and a half of pulsating action at the Georgetown Club and the National Racquet Centre yesterday morning. G u y a n a ’s N a t h a n Rahaman beat Andre Cox 1311, 11-5, 11-2 in U-11 Quarter Finals, while Reginald Brewster of Barbados beat Quashie Mikal and Adam Ardito beat fellow Jamaican
Karam Dhiman in the U-17 Division. Guyana’s Coach, Carl I n c e , s a i d t h i s y e a r ’s tournament is living up to expectations so far with Guyana’s biggest challenge again coming from Barbados. “Things are going evenStevens with our greatest rivals Barbados and should be a good showdown from here on,” Ince said. “Taylor Fernandes, Ben Mekdeci and Shomari Wilshire all won their match last night (Sunday night) and a lot will depend on how they perform for the rest of the tournament if Guyana are to win the championship again,” Ince added.
Coach Ince said that at this stage last year Guyana and Barbados were also even, adding that this was the case over the past few years, but added that team were optimistic about taking their 13th consecutive title. In Sunday evenings Guyana results: Boys U-11: Louis Da Silva lost to Z. Motara of Barbados and Mohryan Baksh beat N. King of Barbados Boys U-13: Jamaican Aman Dhamin beat Guyana’s Lilico Quinn, Demetrius De Abreu lost to fellow Guyanese Micheal Alphonso and Guyana’s Ethan Jonas lost to A. Parris of Barbados. Boys U-15: Peirce Terry
was destroyed by Guyanese Shomari Wilshire 11-1, 11-2, 11-3 and T&Ts Christopher Anthony defeated Guyana’s Samuel Carvalhal-Ince. Boys U-17: Daniel Islam beat Anaya Smith 11-5, 11-8, 11-2 Boys U-19: Josiah Griffith beat Guyana’s Rithew Saywack 11-4, 11-6, 11-7, Jonathon Walker beat Alex Cheeks 11-2, 11-9, 1210, while Guyana’s Skipper Ben Mekdeci registered an 11-3, 11-3, 11-7 win over T&T’s Nicolas Caddle. Girls U-15: Guyana’s Aliyah Persaud lost to Chelsea Samuel of Barbados, Guyana’s Madison Fernandes (Continued on page 25)
Taylor Fernandes
Adam Ardito got the better of fellow Jamaican Karan Dhiman yesterday morning at the GT Club. (Sean Devers photo)
Shomari Wiltshire
Kaieteur News
Tuesday July 04, 2017
PAGE 33
Kaieteur News is pleased to introduce the GAPF team to the USA, 2017 By Franklin Wilson in the USA compliments of Crown Mining Supplies, Fitness Express, Secure Innovations & Concepts, Industrial Safety Supplies, Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club. A 16-member national team of strongwomen, men and officials is representing Guyana at the 16th Annual NAPF/FESUPO PanAmerican Powerlifting Championships; 15th Annual NAPF North American Regional Powerlifting Championships and 32nd Annual FESUPO South American Powerlifting Championships in Orlando, Florida, USA from July 3-8. Following are profiles of the athletes and officials.
Name: Britny Mack Age:17 Gym: Team Extreme Weight Class: 47kg Experience: Brazil 2015; Canada 2015
Name: Osmand Mack Age: Gym: Team Coach Experience:
Name: Edwin Spencer Age: 56 Gym: Space Referee IPF Cat.2 Name:‘Big’ John Edwards Age: Gym: Weight Class: 120kgMasters 11(50+) Coach/Referee IPF Cat. 2 Experience:
Name: Kathleen Paul Age: 62 Team Physio
Name: Romario Gonsalves Age: 18 Gym: Team Extreme Weight Class: 59kg Experience: Debut
Name: Nairjanjan Singh Age: Gym: Weight Class: 83kg Experience:
Smiling Kvitova into second round Name: Nadina Taharally Age: 43 Gym: Interline Fitness / Buddy’s Weight Class: 72kg Masters 1 (40+) Experience: Debut Name: Tineisha Toney
Name: Winston ‘Little Master’ Stoby Age: 58 Gym: Kingsrow Barbel Club Weight Class: 74kg Masters 11 (50+) Experience: Washington DC 1993; Canada 1996; Texas 2012, Orlando 2013, Canada 2015
Name: Arif Immamdeen Age: 22 Gym: Total Fitness (Skeldon, Berbice) Weight Class: 66kg – Equipped Experience: Debut
(Reuters) A smiling Petra Kvitova skipped into the second round of Wimbledon yesterday, the twice champion beating Johanna Larsson 6-3 6-4 on a sun-bathed Centre Court. Playing only her third event of the year after recovering from a knife attack in December, the Czech 11th seed used her swinging serve to great effect on the main showcourt, signing off with a heavy ace. Kvitova will next face the winner of the contest between American Madison
Brengle and Richel Hogenkamp of the Netherlands. The Czech won a warmup tournament in Birmingham last month, after making her return to tennis at the French Open. Meanwhile, French open finalist Simona Halep found her grasscourt rhythm to beat qualifier Marina Erakovic 6-4 6-1 and take the first step towards a title that is wide open in the absence of 2016 champion Serena Williams. Halep, one of the pretournament favorites in
Paris, was beaten in three sets by Jelena Ostapenko and said last week she was still thinking about that missed opportunity as she fell asleep. But with Serena, who secured her 23rd slam in Australia, expecting her first child, Halep is again one of the names being talked up for Wimbledon and a first grand slam. “I feel that everyone has a chance here, like in the French Open,” she told reporters.
Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova in action during her first round match against Sweden’s Johanna Larsson. (REUTERS/Andrew Couldridge)
Age: 17 Gym: Buddy’s Weight Class: 57kg Experience: Debut Name: Demetri Chan Age: 20 Gym: Buddy’s Weight Class: 74kg Experience: Debut Name: Carlos Peterson Age:23 Gym: Scott Caldwell Fitness Center Weight Class: 93kg Experience: Debut
Name: Andrea Smith Age: Gym: Weight Class: 63kg Experience: Name: Erwyn Smith Age: Gym: Weight Class: 93kg Experience:
t r o Sp Caesar, Phillips capture 200m but Police Progressive Youth claim National Senior C/ships
Compton Caesar sprinted to victory in the 200m final. (Zaheer Mohamed photo).
Kenisha Phillips crosses the finish line ahead of Alita Moore (left) and Onassha Rogers (right). (Zaheer Mohamed photo)
32nd FESUPO/16th NAPF & FESUPO Pan American C/ships
Manager Andrea Smith confident Guyana will represent well
Part of the Guyana contingent after they arrived in Miami on Sunday afternoon.
Junior CASA 2017
Guyana, Barbados neck and neck at halfway stage Printed and published by National Media & Publishing Company Limited, 24 Saffon St.Charlestown, Georgetown.Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491 or Fax: 225-8473/ 226-8210