Tuesday July 03, 2018
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Kaieteur News
Govt.’s share in Guyana Stockfeeds plummets from 38% to 7% - Opposition notes decline with suspicion; wants explanation It is still unclear how exactly the Government of Guyana’s share in Guyana Stockfeeds Limited (GSL) has been reduced to seven percent from 38 percent. But the Opposition seems assured that Government made “a deal.” Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo said that it is “despicable” that Government would act in the manner he perceives. Jagdeo recalled that in 2008, the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) won a High Court case restoring its 38 percent shareholding in Guyana Stockfeeds. He said, “when we left office it was at 38 percent, so I do not know how it went back down to seven percent. Government has to explain.” However, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan is refuting Jagdeo’s claim that “a deal” has been struck. This was during a recent telephone
interview with Kaieteur News. At the time of the interview, the Minister was not sure as to the percentage of Government shares in the entity. He made it clear, however, that government is just trying to get out of the company completely. Jordan said, “We were trying to sell out our shareholding in Guyana Stockfeeds. We had it advertised in the daily newspaper.” However, despite the advertisements, Government’s bid to sell has so far been unsuccessful. Jordan said, “It was not sold, because the only interested buyer was the man who owns Guyana Stockfeeds (Robert Badal) and the price he wants to pay is not good for us….We cannot sell it at that price, because his shares on the stock market suggests that our stake in the Stockfeeds is far higher than
what he wants to pay. But being a typical businessman, if he is the only person who is interested in the shares then he will offer low.” While his explanation on the reason why Government has not been able to sell its seven percent was clear and detailed, Jordan could not offer the same detail in explaining how it is that the share got so low in the first place. In fact, he did not even confirm what the current share is. Jordan said, “If what you are saying is true, it can only mean that you had a share issue, but we did not sell whatever shareholding we had. To be quite honest, maybe we should go back and start investigating all those privatizations. Who got what and how they got it.” Jagdeo thinks that government’s decision to sell its shares is a calculated move to benefit Badal.
Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo
Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan
Majority Shareholder, Robert Badal
Last year, when the advertisement was placed, Jagdeo said that the decision to sell was “pre-mature.” He stated, “No announcements were made in the budget. It is not even clear if the Privatisation Board, appointed in 2015, is operating, and what’s the current policy of APNU/AFC on privatization. One only has to recall the 1992 World Bank report on the PNC privatisation era, which criticised the PNC
programme as lacking transparency and accountability. APNU/AFC seems destined to return to this era.” Further, Jagdeo said that it is a “well-known fact that GSL, although a publicly traded company, has been operated by Mr. Badal in a manner that is prejudicial to its minority shareholders, particularly the second largest shareholder, NICIL. Over the 20-plus years since the privatisation to Mr. Badal of
35%, Mr Badal has quietly taken majority control of the company, and then used the company at the expense of its other shareholders.” Also, Jagdeo said, “At the genesis of NICIL’s 38% shareholding are Badal’s efforts to undercut the Government shareholding in 2000, when it increased the authorised shareholding of GSL from 700,000 shares to 100,000,000 shares, or over 140 times.”
Jagdeo condemns Guyana’s attempts to trade with Vietnam
President David Granger and Prime Minister of Vietnam, Nguy?n Xuân Phúc (DPI photo)
“Now tell me, seriously speaking, what exactly is this government going to trade with Vietnam?” That is the question posed by Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo as he lambasted the government’s attempts to trade with Vietnam. While Vietnam is remembered mostly for deadly warfare, the country has thriving production industries. In fact, the country is considered the only competitor for China when it comes to certain products. The major industries in Vietnam are said to be food processing, garments, textiles, shoes, machine-building; mining, coal, steel; cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, mobile phones. Last week, the state media reported that President David Granger, who was attending the Sixth Assembly of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, had a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Nguy?n Xuân Phúc. It was said that during the meeting, the two sides committed to an exchange of visits between government officials and business leaders as a means of further advancing relations and trade. It was reported “President
Granger and the Vietnamese Prime Minister and leaders held broad-ranging talks on strengthening relations between their countries, accepting in principle, the need to develop framework agreements to intensify relations. They also shared views on deepening cooperation at the multilateral level.” Speaking about this, Jagdeo said that Guyana is heading down a slippery economic slope and the President and his Ministers are looking at doing everything else except what needs to be done to save the country. Jagdeo said, “We’ve got a President who is more comfortable travelling for useless things. I gather he is in Vietnam still. He met the Prime
Minister there and they’re talking about increasing trade. What is this about? What is he going to trade with Vietnam now realistically?” Jagdeo noted the intention to send a mission to Vietnam. “They are going to send a mission. This is useless...You have to produce things to trade them, but production is in crisis. Bauxite is going to be in crisis, forestry is already in crisis, sugar is in crisis and the crisis will start hitting the farmers in Region Five soon.” Jagdeo said that small gold miners are “already facing the heat. So what are you going to trade? You are going to trade oil with Vietnam? And even if so, we do not even have that yet.”
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Tuesday July 03, 2018
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
NEW POLITICAL MODEL NEEDED Many in Guyana believe that since independence, the well-being of the masses has not been taken seriously by governments, past and present. They contend that a combination of 51 years of PNC/ PPP rule and three years of the current government have eroded the very basis of our independence. Under performance by politicians has reflected a sad state of affairs in the country. Parliament, whose principal function is to pass legislation and function as a system of checks and balances on the executive branch of government, has been relegated to a battleground for the warring political factions. Debates in Parliament have become a battle of personalities as each party opposes one another for the sake of opposing to gain cheap political points. Both parties are riddled with factions and tribes, and both have been operating outside the cultural norm to gain votes. They have no new ideas and as many have noticed, the egos of our leaders have resulted in incompetence. Both parties are deep in the racial battle to maintain their political base and both continue to fight ideological issues rather than deal with the real problems affecting the people. Our leaders have made only minute changes to the constitution. They have not addressed the issue of diversity or ended the infighting over the appointments to non-political positions such as the Commissioner of Police, the Chief Justice and Chancellor of the Judiciary or the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission, to name a few. Guyana needs a government that will respect the constitution, freedom of speech and freedom of the press, and not a government that will inject a sedition clause into a Cybercrime Bill that has the potential to infringe on the fundamental rights of the people and the press. Our politics is old fashioned and needs to change. This is the 21st century. The hope for change is possible with a new political model, representative of a striving democracy. Politically, our democracy has not fully matured. But the chaos associated with general elections appears to be in the rearview mirror and, while the campaigning is just as vigorous, the violence is absent. Freedom of the press is one of the pillars of democracy, but the recent ranking of Guyana by the World Press Association is somewhat disappointing. Our politicians are not inclined to change the constitution while they remain in power, but the electorate seems more apt to remove governments for non-performance. Road infrastructure has improved considerably in an economy that relies heavily on road transport for passenger and freight movement. Human development and the literacy rate have also improved as Guyana progresses towards the UN goal of Sustainable Development Guyana needs a revolutionary model of governance and a new breed of politicians to transform the political system from one of partisan and exclusionary politics to an all-encompassing system to address a number of issues. It is time for us to address acts of discrimination. We need a new breed of politicians to address crime, corruption, illegal trafficking of narcotics and the lack of transparency and accountability within the government. We need a new brand of politicians to subscribe to a spirit of national unity and public policies that will benefit all Guyanese. It is time for us to be serious about domestic violence and abuses against women and children and to persuade fathers that their fundamental duty is to provide and protect their families and not abuse them. We should address the need for a hopeful future with new breed of youths that have dreams of advancing the country with technological innovation and a sense of collaboration for a brighter future. Moreover, youths are the future leaders of the country and they should have a say in policymaking at every level of governance.
An interest in oil does not make Ramson a consultant DEAR EDITOR, Please allow me to clarify some misinformation about Charles Ramson Jr. I have noted in your dailies that Charles Ramson is being referred to as an oil consultant. Charles is no oil consultant. Charles may have an interest in the oil industry but that does not make him an oil consultant. Dr. Jan Mangal, the former government adviser on oil is an oil consultant. Dr. Mangal is an Oil & Gas professional with worldwide experience of nearly 20 years. Dr. Mangal has background in project management, decision analysis, facilitation, project economics, and a PhD in offshore geotechnical engineering from Oxford University. That’s an oil consultant. Charles did a one-year postgraduate diploma in oil. That does not qualify anyone as an oil consultant. Comparing his qualifications with that of Dr. Mangal is like comparing chalk to cheese. In any other oil producing country the closest Charles would get to the oil industry is supervising high school dropouts at a petrol station.
I have noted a letter written by one Mr. Harry Gill, who described an email sent by Charles. I will quote the email verbatim “I know the feeling of giving your all in a team and others not pulling their weight and it’s being allowed to happen. “Imagine how I felt when as an MP I gave my all to this and when I got a prestigious scholarship to study an area, which we need for the country and will be beneficial to the team and asked for leave and so many “leaders” did not support the application. I had support from Luncheon and a couple others but Anil and BJ and Irfaan did not support. It’s disheartening and discouraging.” Seriously Charles? What prestigious scholarship? Let me provide a background to that scholarship. The British Government provides at least 500 of those scholarships annually to Commonwealth third world countries. In essence, the British have this guilt for centuries of exploitation of third world countries during slavery and colonisation. They do not want to pay reparation. As a result they provide those countries with pittance
which comes in the form of financial loans and scholarships. These scholarships are aimed at developing professionals who will return to their countries with a view to developing them. These scholarships are not offered on a competitive basis where the brightest and smartest get them. The countries identify the professionals and once they meet the minimum requirement for the UK university they are offered the placement. So who gets those scholarships in Guyana? The rich and politically connected. Not the brightest and smartest. So Charles stop deluding yourself. That was not a prestigious academic scholarship. It was pittance from the British Government. Charles you may not know Roger Arjoon from QC. He was a Guyana scholar and got a prestigious scholarship i.e the Rhodes scholarship. That scholarship is international and competitive. A previous recipient was Bill Clinton. It offers the opportunity to study at Oxford University. That is prestigious. The reason why Charles and I had our falling out was because I said the PPP was
corrupt. Charles took offence at this so I said to him that “clearly you are one of the beneficiaries of this corruption so you would not agree with me.” He threatened to sue me. Now I’ve read a statement released by Charles over the weekend where he is now making allegations of corruption under the PPP. Tell me Charles what did you do about it when you were their pals? Why did you get so angry when I highlighted it? I get very angry when I see PPP members talk about corruption in the party when they do not get their way. Quite frankly I have no time for them. They kept their silence when they were benefiting, therefore they should not complain when they have a grievance with the party. If I had my way I would prosecute all of them when they complain. Charles has this very big ego. He is arrogant and has these grandiose ideas of self. He is deluded and believes he is destined to rule. Charles is symptomatic of the ‘ruling class’ in Guyana who has this belief of entitlement. I was part of a QC (Continued on page 6)
Public Security becomes public harassment DEAR EDITOR, Drivers across the country continue to be victimised by traffic ranks of the Guyana Police Force especially in Regions Five and Six . It should be noted that roads in Guyana like most countries have a legally assigned numerical maximum speed limit that applies to both urban and rural roads. As such speed limits enforcement is the action taken by the appropriate empowered authority the Guyana Police Force to ensure that vehicles complied with the legal speed limits. The methods used to enforce speed limits have always been controversial and even more so in Guyana. In most countries of the world speed limits signs display the limitation using black text within a red circle with a white background. This design follows the “Vienna Convention on Roads Signs and Signals.” On 25th September 2008 Guyana assented to this UN treaty but failed to comply with the UN convention on signs and signals in the erection of speed limits signs across the country. The Government through the Ministry of Public Infrastructure is mandated to ensure that drivers are safe and do not exceed the legal speed limits .Based on the UN Convention it is absolutely nec-
essary to ensure there is proper installation of road signs along the roadways in Guyana especially when there is a change of the speed limits on the roads. It is evident that drivers are being charged for exceeding speed limits when there is no speed limits sign. This is a clear violation of the rights of the drivers and should be corrected immediately by the relevant authorities. Presently there are advertising signs erected by Pepsi etc to guide you with the names of villages and at the bottom of these signs there is a small indication of the speed limits. This is not legal based on Vienna Convention on Roads Signs and as such traffic officers should stop this unnecessary victimisation until proper visible signs are erected to display speed limits on the roads. I am absolutely convinced that in Regions Five and Six drivers have the most traffic charges in the entire country on a yearly basis. This adds to the constant burdens that are now imposed on drivers. There are increases in fuel prices, payment of NIS, removal of tints, ban on used tyres etc. While these are sometimes considered the laws, the government continues to fail Guyanese. For example, the
ban on used tyres by the coalition government leaves drivers with no other options but to purchase new tyres for their vechicles while the government who is responsible for fixing the potholes is unable to do so. As such when the drivers drive into the potholes it damages their tyres resulting in drivers losing thousands of dollars because of the government incompetence and mismanagement. Since there is a campaign to enforce the tint law on vehicles we need to establish if, since the implementation of the tint laws, there was a reduction in crime as that was the intended purpose. Definitely there was no reduction in crime. Since 2015
there is an increase of crime in Guyana so we can conclude that the ban on tint was ineffective and as such it should be reviewed. Finally traffic officers issue speeding tickets if you exceed the speed limits by even one km per hour which is definitely unreasonable. Provision should be made to ensure a 5-10 km per hour flexible range to ease unconscionable burdens on drivers and help in the elimination of corruption by traffic ranks. Based on the review by the masses the present Minister of Public Security is incompetent and fails in the management of this sector. Regards Zamal Hussain
NIS - No updates almost after one year DEAR SIR, I made a query with regards to missing contributions on 24 July 2017. So far there has been no response/update to my query. I can recall that the PRO mentioned some time back that people should not go to the media to air their complaints when it can be handled by NIS or something to that effect. I had an issue with NIS way back. It was not addressed by the NIS for 18 months, only when I wrote a detailed letter to the editor of KN and SN was my issue addressed. See KN - March 15, 2016 ‘The grand run around between the NIS and its contributor’. My query ID number is 785. Thank you. Concerned Contributor
Tuesday July 03, 2018
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Kaieteur News
Forcing an archaic situation on a young aspirant DEAR EDITOR, I wish to voice my say on a recent piece in your newspaper The Sunday Kaieteur News of July 1, 2018 captioned “I fear no man – Ramson responds to Jagdeo”. It seems from the article that the former President of Guyana is taking a strong stand against the former Member of Parliament who aspires for a more heightened leadership role within the PPP organization, inasmuch as the former MP found it necessary to discuss fear in that context. However, according to your article, Mr. Ramson, a Presidential Candidate hopeful for the Upcoming 2020 Elections, has raised the ire of Mr. Jagdeo merely for announcing his intention to win the top post of his Party. The first question that surfaced in my legal mind was whether Jagdeo falsely claims that his party has traditions concerning who is to be their Presidential candidate for any General and Regional Elections. The second question was whether the retorts of the General Secretary of the Party can emit fear into any high ranking member of the PPP.
Since I think this is a matter of crucial importance to each and every Guyanese, because it hinges on simple things like, inter alia, freedom of speech, freedom to earn a living without being stymied by past laws and traditions, freedom to progress and fulfill one’s desire in future employment in a democratic country, freedom to pursue one’s dream, freedom to enjoy certain inalienable rights granted by birth to any Guyanese in this land of ours by our Creator, etc., For an Opposition Leader to publicly state that his party requires “modesty” from its candidate, is really himself as an Opposition Leader being too naïve. The way one dresses and walks in society is a matter dealing with modesty, not the way one talks about one’s career. So, the argument by Mr. Jagdeo about modesty is rubbish! This seems to me to fit squarely into a thought that comes to mind - that only a totally Communist politician from a trained Soviet academic background would wish to go on record with that position. The important question con-
cerning this ideology is whether Jagdeo is still courting Communism as a recipe for Guyana. For the General Secretary to say that an aspiring former MP who wishes to pursue the top job in the country and to place Guyana’s political landscape in a higher plane than it is, with his stated desire to serve his country as the President in order to transform Guyana from what he has seen the past ten years in the trenches as a Legislator, is an immodest act, I strongly feel this is an absurd and ludicrous position for a key factor in a Party to take. I feel that such tradition that our former President speaks of, if it does indeed exist, is to be deemed archaic, and simply not in touch with reality in this day and age, and therefore should be challenged with the full force of whatever means available to do so within a Party Structure, or if needed in a forum that could impact on the “goings on and daily affairs” of that party. Let us not forget, our world today has been totally transformed. Things that used to happen to citizens the
Word to Guyanese writers: Shut up! Just keep writing, already DEAR EDITOR, As a writer myself, I would naively assume that writers are best at writing, while leaving the politicking to politicians. Apparently, this word had not gotten out to our Guyanese writers, at home or abroad. So unless the motives are possibly to garner greater attention to themselves and book sales, or testing the political waters, this series of vitriolic Letters, in the local newspapers, ought to end as quickly as it started, since it would eventually show a seamier side to the self-righteous protestations of its writers.The strong suit of all
writers is to write, and hopefully, write good stories. This feat can best be accomplished whether one is living in a Trump Towers penthouse, on Manhattan, NY, or in a lean-to in Plastic City, WCD. If one is writing for a target audience, the reception and sales will be much different from if one is writing for a universal audience. Of course, consideration must be paid to the quality of work and capital invested, with the hope of turning a profit, through book sales, and that is as sure a venture as buying a lottery ticket. The point I am trying to
make here is faux pax by Hon. Minister, Dr. George Norton. To the contrary, writers should seek loftier means of getting their point across, if the objective is to have a well-respected and organized Guyana Prize for Literature. Hon. Minister, Dr. George Norton must have realized by now, that getting a consensus from writers is like a small puppy trying to follow two small boys running in opposite directions, at the same time. To him I say, best of luck. Sincerely, Albert R. Cumberbatch, Ph. D (Educator/Environmentalist/Author)
world over five years ago are not happening these days. The pace at which youths and other sectors of our societies are moving are monstrously fast, and Mr. Jagdeo as the General Secretary is attempting to quell the yearnings of our Guyanese people, particularly those who aspire to be future leaders of our beloved country. I personally take the argument that that the young Ramson may have too large an ego by Jagdeo as rubbish, much less an argument that Ramson’s ego is too much for PPP/C traditions. This is, to my mind, a very shallow, uncanny and pretentious analysis by Mr. Jagdeo to take or to assume of any upcoming Presidential Candidate for his Party. This matter is smack on with the facts of what transpired in Guyana when Ralph Ramkarran, Gail Teixiera, Clement Rohee and Moses Nagamootoo had each sought the said candidacy. It seems to me that a “Politburo” still exists in PPP politics similar to what obtained with the Soviets in Moscow prior to 1989, which fortunately saw the entire east Bloc leaders being
retrenched and totally replaced. Thus, this matter may be the catalyst that starts the ball rolling to the eradication of the PPP Guyanese version of the “politburo.” Another question that immediately comes to mind How can 35 persons dictate the life of Guyana, a country with at least 400,000 electors? This mathematical equation is totally unacceptable and this simply cannot be allowed to happen today in our young country, a fledging and struggling young democratic country. I therefore urge the young Charles Ramson to “stay the fight” and “do the political dance” even if it means having a war with all political opponents within the Party or those outside it who are sympathetic to the old Order, as the former UNC leader Basdeo Panday from Trinidad and Tobago used to say “Always in politics when you fight, You Fight a War to win!” I am therefore very pleased to hear that the young Ramson is stating that he’s scared of no man, only the Creator as your Captioned
TRIFLING WITH TRIVIA DEAR EDITOR, Recent media reports indicate that our local government authorities are concerned about ‘renaming of regions, villages, boundaries and flags’.Isn’t it time we get serious about more substantive issues of economic and social development rather than pursuing such trivialities? There is a plethora of painful matters that cry-out for attention: water supply, garbage collection, drainage& irrigation, repairs to roads and
bridges, maintenance of playgrounds and community services like burial grounds while our leaders worry about our names and sizes etc. which is akin to parents worrying about the ‘looks’ of their children while they suffer a multitude of heath maladies and poor basic education. Please, Mr. Minister, Chairmen, Councillors and all local government leaders, can we get more serious about the substantive issues at hand? Nowrang Persaud
Article does suggest. This is certainly a high ideal. Now to the realism of Guyanese body politic. I wish to state that party politics are highly partisan to extreme levels. Today, after leaders take Office patronage appointments to their supporters and preferential funding to their Constituents are done. The 34 persons within the Central Committee who have all been given preferential treatment by the former president, who now holds the crucial position of General Secretary must be fully cognizant that each one of their support is of paramount importance to any individual candidate. They must make up their minds as honorable people usually do in sane societies the world over. That is my call to each one of those 34 members therein. Another important issue is that Mr. Jagdeo is not coming to grips with the proposition that a Presidential Candidate ought to have charisma. That seems to be an established ingredient in the personality of a successful country’s president. Whether he himself had charisma was not tested because he was handpicked by his “Colleague Janet” to rule Guyana. In many Commonwealth countries’ political life, including Guyana, Canada and Australia, being a charismatic party leader, a Leader (and in this case a presidential Candidate hopeful) may well assist a Party to reach great (Continued on page 6)
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RACISM CANNOT EVER BE USED TO BUILD GUYANA DEAR EDITOR, There can be little dispute regarding the foolish and futile course set by Granger and the PNC/coalition administration for Guyanese. Its infantile notion of “is we turn now,” for another twenty-eight years of rigged elections, is so stupid that it underlines what lies in store for us. The $50 billion hole it has put in the financial system via its overdraft facilities at the Bank of Guyana will no doubt strengthen its position with the unions as it tells them that government has no money. Guyana’s public sector workers very probably have little to look forward to from this government going into 2020. On the other hand, the PPP inclination to corruption, solicitation of drug dealers and criminals, its facilitation of money laundering and narcotics as a means of supporting economic activity, without consideration for the attendant increase in crime, renders it wholly unfit as a political organization vying for public office. One is hard-pressed to explain why available evidence which can identify elements within the PPP who consorted with drug dealers and made resources of the
state available to them is not being used to bring charges against these individuals. It only makes it plainly clear to PPP supporters that their leaders are wholly unfit for office. Very few will dispute the idea that the policies of the PPP and PNC/coalition are inherently racist. The formation of the PNC itself was founded on the appeal to race. Racist policies, however, cannot be applied successfully to build a country like Guyana where the major ethnic populations are almost evenly divided, because close to half of the population will be oppressed. Their resources and abilities will not be used to generate much-needed personal and national income. Our African Guyanese who have endured the worst of slavery will never agree to being oppressed. But having had the benefit of the experience of slavery, the last thing they should consider is having anyone existing in a state of oppression. Neither will Indian Guyanese, whose ancestors suffered much abuse during the colonial era, agree to being oppressed. But the People’s Progressive Party, in addition to being racist, also
applies the class system in its management of our country. Many Indian Guyanese, particularly rice farmers who were underpaid for their produce, can attest to being unfairly treated under the previous administration. And virtually all sugar workers can attest to being second and third class citizens in their own country, with many not having had the benefit of a proper education to expand their options when seeking employment. If neither Indian nor African Guyanese are willing to be oppressed, then both of these groups will have to reject the parties that traditionally represent them. Both the PPP and PNC/ coalition have demonstrated that they lack the vision and skills to bring Guyana to what we know can be achieved. Nothing more needs to be said. The time is now to be brave and take a stand against their failed policies. After rigged elections, the rule of law is replaced by dictatorship and state thuggery. We have 23 more months remaining before we are cuckolded at the next general elections. Yours Faithfully, Craig Sylvester.
An interest in oil does not make ... From page 4 whatsapp group. We had a debate and I made a point. One of the aristocrats deemed my opinion to be stupid and ignorant. I took it as a personal attack. The rest of the group kept quiet. I responded, “As an aristocrat who was brought up in a cocoon of riches and privileges, you do not know the realities of the poor Guyanese.” One of his fellow aristocrats took umbrage to me calling him aristocrat. She was quiet when he called my comments stupid and ignorant. As a result she verbally attacked me.
Tuesday July 03, 2018
Kaieteur News
I ask her if she is now the President of the Union of Elitist. They then all attacked me. I refer to them as being members of the Royal Society of endangered aristocrats. The attacks continued. One of my former QC buddies who has a few CXCs made a personal attack on me and felt cool in himself and made the comment ‘ drop mic’. I suggested to him now that he has dropped the mic he can p i c k u p a f e w books and educate himself, attend a few academic conferences and read a few journals after which I would
give him the opportunity of debating my 10-year-old daughter. They were all offended, not offended by what I said but who was saying it. Because I came from a family of beggars and thieves I should have known my place. I went through this long preamble to make the point that Charles is not alone. Lots of the rich kids are like him— .arrogant, pompous, have this belief of entitlement, think that only their voices should be heard. Charles will never become president. If by some stroke of luck he does he will be another dictator like Burnham. At least Burnham had the intellect and would never have said ‘battylion’ in parliament. Neologism. Dr. Mark Devonish MBBS MSc MRCP(UK)
TIME FOR A NEW GUYANA DEAR EDITOR, I am advocating for a new constitution and would like to see a healthy debate on what should be in a constitution that will solve the problems of race in this country. If we become patriots and put country first then there should be no place for these race based parties. I feel we need to get folks interested in debating the idea that the reasons why we suffer from bad governance is because the constitution facilitates and protects the politicians in power; and every day they pass or amend laws in ways to further empower and protect themselves. The current ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) puts our constitution in the spotlight. I think it is the opportune time to focus on it some more. The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) upheld the constitutionality of Guyana’s presidential term limit. That ruling is now Law, and I respect the decision of the learned judges as based on the arguments presented and the historical constitutional environment that currently exists. I am, however, of the personal opinion that the Constitutional Amendment on Presidential Term Limit that was passed by all “elected” members of the National Assembly did not represent the will of the people. In fact, in my personal opinion again, all of the amendments or laws voted on by the majority of the “elected” members of the Na-
tional Assembly do not represent the will of the people. In fact, the entire Governance Structure of Guyana that derives from the Constitution of Guyana does not represent the will of the people. No Citizen of Guyana who voted can point to any single “elected” member of the National Assembly and say that I voted for him and he represents the interests of my community and me. Each of the “elected” members of the National Assembly has been “Selected” by a group of persons in charge of a political organization based on the needs of the political organization and not the interests or will of the people. And if that “Selected” person does not bend to the will of the Political Organization, he is immediately removed and replaced by another “Selected” compliant person. When these “Selected” persons vote for any laws or amendment to laws, they do so in the best interests of the Political Organization that “Selected” them. The interests of the people or the will of the people are secondary. I would extend that further to say that the interests of the nation became secondary to the political organization. The simplest definition of Party Paramountcy is that Party is above Country. We have all seen this play out with the two political groups that have governed this country. For over 50 years, we have heard repeatedly that Guyana
has a lot of resources; a lot of potential. However, over that same period these political groups under this Governance Structure have moved the country from the bread basket of the region to the basket case of the region. When these groups are out of Government, they promise all they right things. However, once they get in, it’s a different story. They fall into the same trap as their predecessor. And this happens, because the constitution facilitates and protects them. This Constitution has to go. There is a crying need to put the interests of Guyana first. Let Guyanese be responsible for their own destiny. Guyanese in every corner of the country must be allowed to select and vote for their own representatives in the national assembly. These representatives must be responsible to make laws that will put Guyana first. Guyanese or their elected representatives must be allowed to select and vote for those who will be in charge of governance over them at all levels. I do not believe the current constitution can be reformed to achieve this. We need a new constitution where all power must reside in the people of Guyana. Let us have a National Discourse and in the process have the people of Guyana define the constitution that will meet their needs and accommodate their dreams. Sase
Forcing an archaic situation on ... From page 5 heights because a person is well liked. In the great USA, Ross Perot who, because he was well liked, received almost one-fifth of American votes. A consumer advocate Ralph Nader, who was well liked by the masses gained more than two million votes. On the Canadian side is Jack Layton (now deceased) of the New Democratic Party, who formed the Official Opposition in Parliament 7 years ago, due to charisma. Let us
not forget the Hollywood star and the “Great Communicator” – Ronald Reagan! I wish to finally say that a Party’s General Secretary ought to come to grips with the fact that everyone in Guyana wishes to change the lives of Guyanese for the better. As such, if one feels one could do so from the top, then such a Party’s General Secretary ought to encourage that person, not quell his or her desires. I therefore urge the General Secretary to allow the young Mr. Ramson, to pursue his or her dreams. Who knows what the future holds?
That same young Ramson could one day be our country’s president, and take our beloved Guyana to greater and greater heights in the 2020’s. This young lawyer and legislator Charles Ramson, Jr. reminds me of E.C. Drury, and I wish him well in his long road ahead to becoming our nation’s President, even if that means forming his own Party, on his road to Victory. M. S. Zafar, Canadian Lawyer and Notary Public Former Berbice Criminal Attorney-at-law
Tuesday July 03, 2018
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Kaieteur News
Veteran farmer praises GRDB 15 rice variety - yields 50 bags to 145 pounds per acre
Veteran rice farmer Ganga Persaud (DPI photo) ‘GRDB 15’, the Guyana Rice Development Board’s latest paddy variety has been receiving rave reviews from farmers, following its launch last April. One such farmer is Ganga Persaud of the Hague, Region Three who was also involved in the testing phase of the new variety before its release. Persaud who has been cultivating rice for over 60
An aerial view of Mr. Persaud’s farm that is planted with the new paddy variety GRDB15 (DPI photo) years is also one of GRDB’s contract-seedling farmers for over 20 years. Whenever new seedling varieties are produced for testing, Persaud would plant these with instruction and guidance from
Burma Rice Research station personnel. He has always pushed to achieve the highest yields and quality of the product. Persaud said he and his fellow rice farmers are very
Malaysia freezes 408 bank accounts, summons ex-PM’s stepson amid probe KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia has frozen more than 400 bank accounts as part of a probe into a multi-billion-dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB, a task force said yesterday, as the stepson of former prime minister Najib Razak was summoned for questioning Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who ousted Najib in a shock election upset in May, has reopened investigations into 1Malaysia Development Berhad and vowed to recoup money allegedly siphoned off from the fund. A task force looking into 1MDB said in a statement 408 bank accounts involving funds of about 1.1 billion ringgit ($272.4 million) had been frozen. The frozen accounts included those of 81 individuals and 55 companies believed to have received funds from 1MDB and involved nearly 900 transactions between March 2011 and September 2015. “The accounts were believed to be linked to the misappropriation and misuse of 1MDB funds,” the task force said. The task force had earlier said it had frozen accounts belonging to the United Malays National
Organisation (UMNO), the political party once led by Najib. Founded by Najib in 2009, 1MDB is being investigated in at least six countries for alleged money laundering and graft. Civil lawsuits filed by the U.S. Department of Justice allege that nearly $4.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB. Najib’s stepson, Riza Aziz, has been summoned by Malaysia’s Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to give a statement in connection with the probe, media reports said yesterday. An MACC source confirmed the reports, saying that Riza was expected to come to the commission’s headquarters today. Riza is the co-founder of Red Granite Pictures, a company that U.S. prosecutors say financed three Hollywood films, including the 2013 Martin Scorsese movie “The Wolf of Wall Street”, with funds misappropriated by 1MDB. Both Najib and Riza have consistently denied wrongdoing. Red Granite paid the U.S. government $60 million as part of a settlement of a civil lawsuit in March.
pleased with the performance and the high yielding results of this latest variety. He testified to the positives features of the GRDB 15 which forms part of his second crop. “This magnificent variety has very good promise for the future of the rice industry. It germinates equally and easily, it grows well in deep water and it gains height very quickly. It has deep penetrating roots and coarse stems; also, a large spread of leaves and the pads on the panicles [seed heads] are compact and have an average of 217-227 grains,” he said. According to Persaud the variety takes 5-20 days to
complete flowering and can be harvested at 115 days old with the potential to yield 50 bags to 145 pounds and more per acre. Persaud remarked that the intense work done at Burma research station is highly commendable. The farmer had some advice as it pertains making more farmers aware of the new rice variety. “To propagate GRDB 15, this agency [GRDB] must sensitise more farmers to the usefulness of the variety. This means more fieldwork. Office work has its own results but field work yields the optimum in getting what you may be looking for. Rice farmers are
enthusiastically committed to utilising this variety because of its yield factor and its favourable characteristics. But we must know if GRDB 15 has blast-resistant features and climate change compatibility,” Persaud said. With regards to the grading and upgrading of the access dams in the Hague community, the farmer hopes that these vital services of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority will be taken care of. Persaud called for the collective support of all relevant persons and agencies to ensure the rice industry reaches its full potential. (DPI)
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Trump makes veiled WTO threat Caribbean Tourism Association warns regional govt’s about adverse after EU warning on car tariffs effects of high air travel taxes BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) – The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) has warned governments in the region about the adverse effects of high air travelrelated taxes and fees on travel as they wrestle with balancing budgets. “We recognize the challenges facing countries, but it is our duty to point out that taxing for additional revenue may have a reverse effect as tourists may choose not to travel to or within the Caribbean and instead select other destinations because of the high cost of our destinations,” said CHTA’s director general and chief executive officer Frank Comito. In such a case, Comito said not only would the governments see fewer tax revenues, but local businesses would likely suffer. “High upfront taxes also typically adversely affect onisland spending by visitors who do come,” he said on Friday following CHTA’s participation in the International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s Aviation Day conference in Barbados, sponsored by IATA, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Latin American and
Caribbean Air Transport Association. “They will either opt for shorter stays or spend less on activities, restaurants and attractions to offset the additional cost,” Comito added, noting that the region saw this happen in 2010 and the immediate years following, “as the United Kingdom imposed large duties on travelers to, from and through their country. “As the cost of family travel increased by hundreds of dollars, travel demand declined, impacting net tax revenue and employment in those Caribbean destinations, which had a high percentage of UK-based and transient travelers,” he said. Recognizing the damaging effect, Comito said Barbados successfully led the regional lobby against this “restrictive duty, which resulted several years later in the UK [United Kingdom] modifying it and helping to restore travel demand.” Comito said while Caribbean tourist arrivals have grown in recent years, the region continues to lose global market share and growth within the region. He said travel is currently heavily skewed to less expensive destinations. CHTA cited data from the
World Travel and Tourism Council and the Caribbean To u r i s m O rg a n i z a t i o n (CTO) showing an erosion of market share and disproportionate visitor arrivals growth. Likewise, CHTA said intra-Caribbean travel has declined significantly as the cost of travel within the region has skyrocketed. Representing the region’s largest private sector tourism organization, Comito, therefore, urged that greater awareness of the impact of travel and tourism on local economies is needed at a critical time for the Caribbean. “We need to incentivize travel on the front end,” he said. “Taxing outputs has proved to be a more successful strategy than taxing inputs.” At the conference, reports shared by IATA and the CDB reinforced the importance of policies that can stimulate travel into and within the region, CHTA said. It said the CDB and IATA cited high aviation taxes and fees, regulatory barriers and operational deficiencies as obstacles to stimulating more travel, and, by extension, economic growth.
WA S H I N G T O N / BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump warned the World Trade Organization yesterday that “we’ll be doing something” if the United States is not treated properly, just hours after the European Union said that U.S. automotive tariffs would hurt its own vehicle industry and prompt retaliation. Trump, speaking to reporters during a meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at the White House, said, “The WTO has treated the United States very, very badly and I hope they change their ways.” His comments came after the Axios news website reported that Trump’s administration has drafted proposed legislation that would allow Trump to raise tariffs at will and negotiate special tariff rates with specific countries — two basic violations of WTO rules. The United States has “a big disadvantage with the WTO. And we’re not planning anything now, but if they don’t treat us properly, we’ll be doing something,” Trump said, without elaborating. Last week, a source familiar with Trump’s thinking told Reuters that the president has privately expressed a desire to quit the WTO, but that it was not a serious proposal. Later yesterday, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Trump was focused on fixing problems in global trade, not on leaving the trade organization that has been a foundation
of the postwar global trading system. U.S., EU TRADE TALKS? During his meeting with Rutte, Trump also said that his administration would be meeting with EU officials to “work something out” on trade. The United States has imposed tariffs on European steel and aluminum imports and is conducting another national security study that could lead to tariffs on autos and auto parts. “I think the E.U. — we’re going to be meeting with them fairly soon, Trump said. “They want to see if they can work something out, and that’ll be good, and if we do work it out, that’ll be positive, and if we don’t, it’ll be positive also, because we’ll just think about those cars that pour in here, and we’ll do something, right?” The EU on Friday submitted comments warning the U.S. Commerce Department that U.S. import tariffs on cars and car parts were unjustifiable and would harm America’s automotive industry and likely lead to counter-measures by its trading partners on $294 billion of U.S. exports. The Commerce Department launched its investigation, on grounds of national security, on May 23 under orders from Trump, who has frequently complained about the EU’s 10 percent car tariff being four times that of the United States, apart from the 25 percent U.S. levy on pickup
trucks. Trump said last week that the government would complete its study soon and suggested the United States would take action, having earlier threatened to impose a 20 percent tariff on all EU-assembled cars. The European Commission, the EU executive body that handles trade for the bloc, said on Monday it was trying to convince its U.S. counterparts that imposing such tariffs would be a mistake. “We’ll spare no effort, be it at the technical or political level, to prevent this from happening,” a spokesman for the commission told reporters, adding that commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s trip to Washington later this month would seek to stop any new U.S. tariffs. The EU exported 37.4 billion euros ($43.6 billion) of cars to the United States in 2017, while 6.2 billion euros worth of cars went the other way. In its submission, the EU said EU companies make close to 2.9 million cars in the United States, supporting 120,000 jobs, or 420,000 if car dealerships and car parts retailers are included. The submission said that tariffs on cars and car parts could undermine U.S. auto production by imposing higher costs on U.S. manufacturers. The EU calculated that a 25 percent tariff would have an initial $13 billion-$14 billion negative impact on U.S. gross domestic product with no improvement to the country’s current account balance.
Tuesday July 03, 2018
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The Charles Ramson (jnr.) challenge A firestorm has erupted over the decision of C h a r l e s R a m s o n ( j n r. ) , hereinafter referred to as young Charles, to indicate his desire to become his p a r t y ’s presidential candidate for the 2020 elections. According to the PPP’s leader Bharrat Jagdeo, this public canvassing is not the tradition of the PPP. But what is wrong with a young person seeking Guyana’s presidency? What is wrong with someone throwing his hat into the political ring as the PPPC’s presidential candidate? The tradition to which Jagdeo refers is one in which the Executive Committee of the party – itself a creature of the Central Executive – is the body which chooses the party’s presidential candidate. There is no tradition within the PPPC of persons openly contesting the position. In the run-up to the 2011 elections, there was open
canvassing, but this did not amount to a tradition. In 2011, a number of persons indicated or suggested that they were not to be ruled out for consideration. One member went as far as suggesting that ‘goat did not bite him’ and therefore there was nothing wrong with him being considered for the top post. Within the PPP, the contest for the presidential candidate was held exclusively within the Executive Committee. Neither the Central Committee of the party nor the wider party membership had any say in the decision. The Executive Committee was then controlled by Bharrat Jagdeo and his choice, Donald Ramotar, prevailed comfortably, after the other main challenger walked out of the contest, the Committee and the party itself. There is also nothing more democratic about the manner in which the PNCR chooses its presidential
candidate. Does anyone truly believe that the PNCR choice for the 2011 elections was not centrally directed? In the run-up to the 2011 elections, the PNCR, seeking a new image at the top, introduced a system of primaries. But this was mere window-dressing, because the top leadership of the party was able to catapult a political unknown into the spotlight and eventually to receive, after controversial elections during which a gunshot rang out, as the p a r t y ’s presidential candidate. The PNCR is yet to convince that it is more democratic than the PPPC when it comes to deciding on its presidential candidate. The 2011 contest was marred by c o n t r o v e r s y, i n c l u d i n g claims of one side using the party’s resources to promote its choice. Jagdeo’s objection to
Dem boys seh ...
Is either Ashni lef or tek lef De law ain’t fair. When a ordinary man get charge he got to go to court or de magistrate gun issue a warrant fuh he arrest. When he go to court he got to be there fuh every session. If he get bail and he miss de court appointment then de same magistrate does order that de bail get tek way. Ashni get charge. He hear bout de charge and he hear that if he didn’t go to court de magistrate would issue an arrest warrant. Dem boys like de arrest warrant. Once dem get one as soon as de police hold you is straight to jail till de next court day.
Ashni know that, suh he run and come home. He had to tek leave . Dem Boys who he wukking wid tell he that he not in Guyana and he can’t get all dem leave Guyanese accustom to. That is how he get one week. Up come de case again but dem boys who Ashni wukking wid ask he of he think he wukking on a ship so that he can jump off and jump on when he want. Dem tell him that if he want he can go but don’t come back fuh de wuk. Ashni didn’t come. And de SOCU had other charge fuh put pun him. Anyhow, dem boys notice that de magistrate treat him like how she would treat she brother.
She didn’t even try fuh tek way de bail. But dem boys seh if was a ordinary man de bail did done gone. But Brassington come because he know that he wukking wid heself suh he can come any time. That is how he come fuh de court. But he worry bout de next time. He don’t believe Ashni gun get leave and he know Ashni ain’t gun want to lose de wuk. It mean that he now in a bad way. He got a choice to lef de bail money or he lef de wuk. But he better come to court next time. Talk half and watch out fuh Ashni.
Five arrested after shotgun find in Mazaruni Police say that they have arrested five persons following the discovery of a shotgun in a Mazaruni camp. According to the police, on Sunday, about 08:00 hours, ranks from ‘F’ Division were on an ATV patrol in Kurubang Backdam, Mazaruni.
They received information and proceeded to a camp where a search was carried out. “A twelve gauge single barrel shotgun was found along with about (100) pellets.” Five persons, the police said, were taken into custody. Investigations are in progress.
Rape suspect, 61, “hangs” self in Leonora police cell An investigation has been launched following the death of a prisoner in custody at the Leonora Police Station about 05:30hrs yesterday. According to the police, the prisoner was discovered hanging from the lockups window grill. He allegedly used his shirt to commit the act. The police disclosed that four other pris-
oners were in the cell. The name of the dead man was given as Bagatram Jailall, 61, of 48 Ocean Garden, Meten-Meer-Zorg, West Coast Demerara. He was arrested Sunday for the alleged rape of a 12-year-old female. The alleged incident, the police said, occurred at his home on Friday.
young Charles’s announcement must be viewed solely as a reminder to one and all that there is equally no democratic process within the PPPC. It is his way of saying that there is no competition for the post of presidential candidate. The presidential candidate is chosen by the Executive Committee. Whoever controls the Executive Committee, effectively decides who that candidate will be. It is no secret who controls the Executive Committee. By throwing his hat in the ring, young Charles is not suggesting that he is unaware of this process. He is merely indicating that he has an interest and that it is more democratic that this interest be made public. Young Charles has every right to publicly canvass the
members of the Executive Committee of the party. He does have that right. Regardless of how Jagdeo reacts, young Charles should continue to canvass the support of the members of the Executive Committee. The difficulty he has is that many of those whose support he needs are themselves likely to consider themselves as potential candidates. But he should not get into a tit-for-tat with his leadership since he is b o und by that system, however undemocratic it is. Notwithstanding this, he should not be deterred by criticisms of his political inexperience. Jagdeo was just as youthful as young Charles when he was chosen as the heir to Janet Jagan. The lack of political experience
therefore should not be a factor mitigating against the choice of a young person as the party’s presidential candidate. In fact, its holds advantages for the PPPC, which is likely to face someone over the age of 60 from the PNCR, in the 2020 elections. The PNCR seems to have reverted to the formula that whoever is chosen as the party’s Chairman is the leader-in-waiting and therefore is the successor to David G r a n g e r, whenever that might be.
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Kaieteur News
=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===
The Jaganite faction is an indecent fiction With the obliteration of the opportunity for Bharrat Jagdeo to be the presidential candidate for the PPP in 2020, there is mounting description in the media about guerrilla warfare in the PPP between a Jagdeoite cabal and Jaganite faction. I find this debate sterile, because it is based on incredible ignorance of the shape of the PPP’s power since it formed the government in 1992. Its ignorance is unlimited for another reason – it has no intellectual content, not even an infinitesimal drop. Who or what is the Jaganite faction? Let us go back to the only genuine example of
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factional struggle inside a political party that had power – the Desmond Hoyte Government. Hoyte, for a strange psychic reason that has never been explored by scholars, wanted to rid Guyana of all the characteristics of the Burnhamite epoch. Hoyte went so far as to approve of the arrest of one of the fulcrums of Burnhamite staying power – the head of the House of Israel. Opposing Hoyte was a Burnhamite faction headed by Hamilton Green, the Prime Minister. Included in this group were ministers, diplomats and formidable apparatchiks inside the
PNC. Two situations pitted the Hoytean team against the pro-Burnham faction – a pro-capitalist direction and the Jimmy Carter negotiations. The players in the pro-Burnham section made strong pronouncements against these two policy initiatives of President Hoyte. Some insiders from that period have written and talked about a violent conspiracy against President Hoyte by the rebellious faction. After Jagdeo won the 2001 elections, he refused to be advised by Mrs. Jagan. The two even got into a public spat. From thereon, Mrs. Jagan quietly exited active politics inside her party and stayed away completely from governmental activism. The PPP as a party and the PPP government after 2001, were completely dominated by Bharrat Jagdeo. From 2001, no one in the PPP and in the Jagdeo government was identified as a Jaganite. In fact, many of the protégés that Jagan literally nurtured had become converts of Bharrat Jagdeo. Names that were
associated with the Jagan brand like Gail Teixeira, Indra Chandarpal, Komal Chand and Clement Rohee, among others, were happy to carry out the policies and ideologies of President Jagdeo. Where was this Jaganite faction? In fact one of the most trusted lieutenants of Dr. and Mrs. Jagan, who literally grew up in the Jagans’ home was Kellawan Lall. President Jagdeo was the virtual protector of Mr. Lall. If there was any name in the PPP that was ideologically linked to the Jagans, it was D o n a l d R a m o t a r. Ye t Ramotar during the twelve years of the Jagdeo presidency never uttered one word or did even one thing as General Secretary that would have made scholars and activists refer to him as representing a Jaganite faction. Ramotar was literally picked by Jagdeo to be the 2011 presidential candidate. In what is now known as the Medvedev syndrome in Guyana, Ramotar’s presidency was Jagdeo’s de facto throne. From the time Jagdeo
won the general elections in 2001 to the time the PPP lost power, this society never saw the emergence inside the PPP, and its government, of a Jaganite faction. President Jagdeo fell out with Navin Chandarpal, but the quarrel was never a political one. This columnist believes and knows that work ethics were at the centre of the disagreement between the two men. But despite their disagreement, Chandarpal admired Jagdeo, The former husband of Gail Teixeira, Fazal Khan (deceased) told me that Chandarpal told him over drinks at Natoo’s Bar that Jagdeo was a great leader, because he effectively demobilized the PNC. M r. J a g d e o w a s t h e cruel hegemonic messiah in the PPP and when he moved against people who belonged to the Civic Component like Dr. Henry Jeffrey and those close to Mrs. Jagan like Joseph O’Lall, there was no outbreak of factional anger. We are now hearing of a Jaganite faction in the PPP. What we need to know
Frederick Kissoon is when it was born, what policy disagreements and political differences it had with Jagdeo since 2001. Who were its main protagonists? These questions cannot be answered, because there has never been such a school of politicians inside the Jagdeo presidency and the three years (December 2011 - May 2015) of Ramotar’s tenure. For the period in which he ruled Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo literally moved away - by billions of miles (maybe trillions) - from Cheddi Jagan’s political economy and ideological fulcrums on which that political economy rested. The Jaganite faction is alive and well in the circus, not inside the PPP.
Tuesday July 03, 2018
Kaieteur News
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PANCAP hosts forum on limited access to health services for regional migrants The Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS, (PANCAP), has commenced a Regional forum on migrants and mobile populations’ rights with an examination on the state of migrants’ access to healthcare services in the region. The PANCAP-GIZ-EPOS Migrant Project is aimed at improving inclusion of migrants on regional and national HIV organizations in order to advocate for equal access to health care in Antigua and Barbuda, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Guyana, Suriname, Sint Maarten and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. A recent study had revealed that when it relates to access to healthcare, migrants are in a vulnerable population. The study outlined that “migrants and mobile populations are exposed to a unique set of factors and complex obstacles that make them more vulnerable to HIV, including limited access to health services and information, as well as exposure to situations that may increase high-risk sexual behaviour. “ As part of its objective PANCAP is hoping to meet the universal health coverage targets set by the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as it is crucial that the rights of migrants to access health services— particularly HIV services. Last week, Director of PANCAP, Dereck Springer noted that the Migrants Forum builds on programmes and interventions for PANCAP through funding from development partners and supporting national governments and civil society. The overall objective of the forum, he said, is to implement and address the health needs of migrants and the mobile populations. Springer had emphasized that while the right to proper healthcare is universal, the region has been shaped by the forces of migration, which has resulted in both opportunities and challenges. “The Caribbean has not adequately addressed the issue of how migrants and mobile populations are afforded basic human rights, especially access to health services.” In this regard, PANCAP has been commended on leading discussions and planned action on this issue, with the intent of developing
Participants of the recently held PANCAP forum on the migrant population a regional framework that promotes appropriate access to HIV services of migrants. At the event, Aurora Noguera Ramkissoon, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)’s Caribbean Liaison Officer delivered remarks on behalf of Ms. Dawn Foderingham, Fast Track Adviser and Team Leader for the UNAIDS Caribbean Sub-regional Team. She noted that while there are migration and refugee crises in every part of the world, “in the Caribbean we say that if your neighbour’s house is on fire, you should wet your own.” “I urge us all to work diligently over the next few days to create a framework that would ensure a human rights-based, sustainable and feasible approach to ensuring migrant and mobile populations have healthcare access, including HIV prevention, treatment, care and support”. Further, the UNFPA Liaison Officer noted that practical considerations should be given to both sides of the debate. She pointed out that “some argue that by protecting the health of migrants you naturally protect the health of the local or host population. Others raise concerns about the increased costs to the host country. What is too often missing in the discussion is the human aspect: the fundamental understanding that migrants are human beings: entitled to the same important human rights as other members of the population.” “This understanding is
reinforced in the Sustainable Development Goals, which call for the empowerment of vulnerable groups including refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants as well as their access to essential, quality healthcare services.” Meanwhile in her feature address, Professor RoseMarie Belle Antoine, Dean of the Faculty of Law at The University of The West I n d i e s , St . A u g u s t i n e campus stated that there is no doubt that the HIV prevention agenda has experienced a significant lull, but it seems that now the region has been reenergised. She stated that in all of the studies and the policy framework developed there must be a commitment to a human rights framework that places a premium on civil and political rights of the individuals. “Economic and social rights must be included like the right to health and the right to work. This commitment must transcend borders, so that all persons are entitled to such rights, wherever they are located, and there must be a pragmatic approach to the right to health and to rights in general, recognizing that a nondiscriminatory strategy for public health benefits the entire population. P u t s i m p l y, h a v i n g undocumented persons in our communities without access to HIV testing and treatment endangers not just them, but all of us.” Referring to the first universal principle,
Professor Antoine stated, “given that the legal framework supporting access to HIV services for migrants is generally weak in the countries under study, in my capacity as the Regional Consultant, I framed some human rights principles to facilitate the
objectives of the project. “These principles were supported by the component one group in November 2011 as the principles to be used as the basis for the development of the national policy guidelines. It includes the principle
that all persons, including migrants and mobile populations, should be able to access a minimum standard of medical treatment for HIV, that may be located under a number of internationally r ecognized human rights principles.”
Fire of unknown origin destroys Overwinning house Investigation is ongoing to ascertain the cause of a fire that destroyed a building at Lot 7 First Street, Overwinning Village, East Bank Berbice, leaving in its wake millions of dollars in damage. The two-flat wooden building was razed by the inferno which reportedly began around 00:30hrs Sunday morning. According to information the building, which was unoccupied was recently renovated, and was well furnished. It had been like that since April after its owner passed away. However it is regularly visited by its caretakers who would open up and clean. Rawattie Goberdhan, who is one of the late owner’s daughters, resides at No 2 Village East Canje Berbice. She visited the premises on Friday and did her usual chores before locking up and returning home. Everything was intact. Residents were jolted out of their sleep by the sounds of breaking glass and the brightness in the neighbourhood. Upon checking they were greeted by the huge blaze which had already
Rawattie Goberdhan at the scene of the fire
engulfed most of the upper flat of the building. Reports are that the owner had left the property for her three adult daughters, one of whom resides overseas. How-
ever there seemed to be some disagreement between the daughters and their late mother’s common law husband. The man subsequently moved out of the house.
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Sweeping changes expected at GGMC called for proposals to advise us. This is not about personnel; it's about the vision for the entity in the future. I believe once we get the vision then the second step would
Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman Government is moving ahead with plans for the restructuring of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) which has regulatory power over the extractive sector. Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman told Kaieteur News that his Ministry is implementing a decision made by Cabinet last year to restructure GGMC. Government is actively soliciting experts to provide advice on the way forward. According to Trotman, the selected bidder will examine the functionality of the GGMC in view of its evolving role, particularly in the area of the green agenda, complaints about mining, and because of the emerging petroleum sector. "We believe that it needs to be re-oriented. We believe that it needs to be modernised. We believe that it needs to go back to some of its core functions of the geological mapping of the country, and not be functioning only as a regulatory agency of gold mining in particular, but looking at other rare earth minerals," Trotman noted. GGMC was the lead agency in negotiations and contracts with oil and gas explorers in Guyana. The agency was largely responsible for the deal inked with U.S oil giant, ExxonMobil, which will start producing commercial quantities of oil off Guyana's coast in 2020. The ExxonMobil contract along with others signed with other oil companies, have been heavily criticised with experts pointing to the need of expertise during the negotiations which might have netted Guyana more revenue from its natural resource. Trotman stated that the review of the operations is a much needed one that examines GGMC's relevance, what is working and what is not working, and how it could be made into a truly 21st century organisation. When asked about staff changes to the structure, the Minister said he could not preempt the outcome of the review. "This is why we have
‘Not about personnel, but policies’ - Minister Trotman be the personalities or the personnel to fulfill that vision. It has to do with the role of the Minister, the role of the board,
the role of the management and average worker," Trotman explained. Shortly before the 2015
General Elections, GGMC announced a revamp of its systems in the mining sector following numerous complaints,
particularly as it relates to mining claims which were secured by Chinese firm, Bai Shan Lin.
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CARICOM heads to consider dismantling marijuana prohibition To decriminalise, or not to discriminalise, or other. That’s the task of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government who have placed the marijuana issue high on the agenda of its Thirty-Ninth Regular Meeting in Jamaica, on 4-6 July 2017, and will consider the Report of the Regional Marijuana Commission (RMC). The people of the Community look forward to a decision, one way or another. The benefits/advantages/ disadvantages have been thoroughly ventilated over the course of the last four years when this journey began with the decision of the Heads at their Thirty-Fifth Regular Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda, in 2014, according to CARICOM in an editorial. “That meeting decided to establish a RMC. It decided also that the mandate of the RMC was to conduct a rigorous enquiry into the social, economic, health and legal issues surrounding marijuana use in the Caribbean and to
determine whether there should be a change in the current drug classification of marijuana, thereby making the drug more accessible for all types of usage (religious, recreational, medical and research). The Terms of Reference of the RMC also required it to recommend the legal and administrative conditions that should apply, if there is to be
a re-classification.” This Thirty-Ninth meeting will receive the recommendations of that enquiry and, in fact, will decide on the regional position on the way forward. “This, in light of the national positions taken by several members, including Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, and Jamaica which have already initiated action on the issue; and those states where decisions have already been taken to engage in law reform, or those that have already done.” The journey has been a rigorous one. It included the establishment of a ten-mem-
ber commission of experts in the scientific, medical, legal and social science fields, as well as a representative each from the religious community and youth. Its methodology included examining and analysing the scientific data and engaging with a wide cross section of the people. The latter is in keeping with the Community’s objective of inclusivity as it seeks to strengthen its social resilience, articulated in its Community Strategic Plan (2015-
2019). Such engagement in nine countries was structured in two parts: Town Hall Meetings and in-depth discussion with focus groups which included representatives from the National Drug Councils, or their equivalents, law enforcement personnel, youth organisations (in and out of school) and organisations and entities that work with them, faith–based organisations and Special Interest Groups such as researchers, medical practitioners, Non-Government Organizations, practitioners of alternative medicine and advocates for medicinal use of marijuana. In addition, further undertakings were made to capture the views, perspectives and experiences of adolescents and youth through a social media survey as well as the review of household and secondary school surveys. These consultations succeeded in harnessing a wide variety of perspectives. According to a status report released in February, these perspectives included personal testimonies from per-
sons who have used marijuana, (either at home or abroad); persons who had been arrested for small amounts of the substance, as well as those who argued for the legal permission to do so for medical and other reasons. There were many commonalities in the discourse across the region. Many persons had vital information and strong opinions about marijuana and its use, including strong lobbying for use for medical reasons from a group of persons living with disabilities and in wheelchairs. Just as many had important questions and wanted more information and education and are looking to the Commission’s Report to provide those answers. The need for more public education and a more coherent regional approach has also been raised in those states where decisions have already been taken to engage in law reform on marijuana, or which have already done so. The Community says that it looks forward to the findings and recommendations of the RCM and the decision of its Heads of Government.
US bans “powder-like” substances in carry-ons
The US has restricted the placement of “powder-like” substances in carry-ons
Caribbean Airlines has advised that effective June 30, 2018, following a directive to airlines from the United States Transportation Security Administration (TSA), new carry-on baggage restrictions are in effect for all passengers flying to that country. “Specifically, any “powder like substance” with the exception of baby formula, medically prescribed powderlike substances and human remains will now be forbidden
in carry-on and cabin luggage if the quantity of the substance is over 350 millilitres, 12 ounces or 350 grams.” Caribbean Airlines disclosed that the same limitation applies to the capacity of the container which cannot be over 350 millilitres. “All passengers flying to the USA must give up any “powder-like substance” over this amount and place it in their checked baggage for transportation in the baggage hold of the aircraft.”
Caribbean Airlines operates more than 600 weekly flights to 20 destinations in the Caribbean and North and South America. The airline’s fleet comprises Boeing 737-800 and ATR72-600 aircraft. Jointly owned by the people of Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica, headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago, and with an operational base in Jamaica, Caribbean Airlines employs more than 1600 people.
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ExxonMobil Foundation to plug US$10M into UG, CI for research ExxonMobil Foundation yesterday said that it will contribute US$10 million to a new collaboration with Conservation International and the University of Guyana to train Guyanese for sustainable job opportunities and to expand community-supported conservation. The investment is also intended to support Guyana’s Green State Development Plan, the country’s 15-year initiative that aims, among other things, to diversify Guyana’s economy and balance economic growth with the sustainable management and conservation of the country’s ecosystems, the company said. The ExxonMobil Foundation will provide the investment over five years. “Initial grant money will fund a feasibility study driven by Conservation International, through its affiliate, Conservation International Guyana, to further define the details of the program. Once defined, Conservation International Guyana and the University of Guyana will deliver the education, training, research and retention programs that will help ensure that economic growth reinforces Guyana’s environmental development goals.” The investment is also intended to expand conservation areas in the Rupununi Wetlands, aid mangrove restoration and management, and support improvements to community-based fishing on Guyana’s coast, a sector the
government of Guyana has identified as critically important to the wellbeing of the Guyanese people, and support the work of the University of Guyana’s Greening Research and Innovation Centres. “This partnership will support the highest conservation priorities for the country as well as education and training for sustainable employment,” said Kevin Murphy, president of the ExxonMobil Foundation. “It reinforces the government’s objectives as outlined in its Green State Development Strategy and demonstrates the value we place on our long-term relationship with the citizens of Guyana.” “Guyana stands at a critical crossroads in its development,” said Jennifer Morris, president of Conservation International. “By investing in both people and nature, this partnership will play an important part in helping Guyana execute its vision for a green future.” “A central feature of Guyana’s development plans is its Green State Development Strategy which envisions a commitment to a green economy, sustainable development and protection of its forests and fresh water resources aligned with the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals,” said Professor Nigel E. Harris, chairman of the University of Guyana Council. “Funding support for a
Conservation International will benefit from a multi-million grant for research from the ExxonMobil Foundation. collaborative effort between Guyana’s leading university, Conservation International and ExxonMobil Foundation, promises a critical opportunity to build relevant teaching, research and outreach capacity at our university that is necessary to underpin Guyana’s 2030 Vision for an inclusive, green and prosperous state.” At this stage, Conservation International anticipates that training will be focused on environmental innovation and sustainability, and on entrepreneurship in naturebased sectors. Conservation International will tap its partnerships with key international universities such as Arizona State University in the United States to help de-
velop the programs. Conservation International is the grantee and the University of Guyana, a key beneficiary. Conservation International, with over 20 years’ experience in Guyana, will take the lead in managing project objectives and implementation, including success measures as well as financial and reporting requirements of this multi-year partnership. Conservation International has been working in Guyana with over 50 communities to protect nearly 3 million acres of indigenous lands while also
improving livelihoods. ExxonMobil says it is placing an emphasis on supporting local priorities, including business and employment opportunities as well as broader community programs in Guyana. The company has spent about US$39 million with local suppliers in Guyana through 2017 and first quarter 2018. “Approximately 68 percent of ExxonMobil’s current in-country employees are Guyanese.” The ExxonMobil Foundation is the primary philan-
thropic arm of Exxon Mobil Corporation in the United States. The foundation and the corporation engage in a range of philanthropic activities that advance education, with a focus on math and science in the United States, promote women as catalysts for economic development and combat malaria. In 2017, the ExxonMobil Foundation, together with Exxon Mobil Corporation, its divisions and affiliates along with employees and retirees, provided $204 million in contributions worldwide.
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Rights of the Child Commission enlists support of religious community
The Rights of the Child Commission (RCC) has enlisted the support of the religious community in Guyana for the protection of children’s rights in Guyana. Representatives of the Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Baha’i, Rastafarian and Indigenous faiths all recited their respective prayers at a RCC ‘Prayer and Breakfast’ held at the Marriott Hotel last Saturday. The objective of the exercise was to mobilise and enlist the support of the religious community in protecting and advancing the rights and interest of Guyanese children, especially those who may be deemed vulnerable and those who come into contact with the law. The RCC in partnership with UNICEF hosted the event for the second consecutive year themed “Helping our children to find the right path”. This theme is cited as a keen component of the RCC’s mission and philosophy in engaging the children of Guyana. As part of this process, the RCC has engaged the children of Annandale Secondary School, Buxton Secondary School, President’s College, Skeldon Line Path Secondary School, Sophia Holding Centre, and those the penal system views as young offenders at the Timehri prison. Minister of Social Protec-
tion, Amna Ally, in her address to the stakeholders, children and other personnel said “The Juvenile Justice Bill which was recently passed in the National Assembly has put Guyana on the path towards finally having a juvenile system that is rational, fair, and effective in accordance with our international treaty obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and one that would improve synergy among department, agencies and ministries responsible for juvenile justice.” According to the Minister, efforts have to be made to keep juveniles from coming into contact with the law and if they do come into contact, then rehabilitation methods must be employed from the time they are arrested. Although the Bill will still hold young offenders accountable for their actions, it will also protect them from harm and increase their chance of having a better life, and manage the risk they pose to themselves and to society. “The Ministry of Social Protection stands ready to cater for the needs of children who are predisposed to delinquency, but under the age of criminal responsibility,” Minister Ally added. “I see this event as an opportunity to highlight and examine not merely what we might do or
Interpol seeks arrest of Indian billionaire jeweler Nirav Modi NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Interpol has issued a red notice request to find and arrest fugitive Indian billionaire jeweler Nirav Modi, who is at the heart of a $2 billion-plus bank fraud case, the international agency said on its website. Federal police last month asked Interpol to issue a red notice to locate Modi, who has been charged in relation to India’s biggest banking fraud. The Financial Times, citing Indian and British officials, said last month that Modi had fled to Britain claiming political asylum. Government-backed Punjab National Bank (PUB) earlier this year said that two jewelry groups headed by Modi and his uncle, Mehul Choksi, had defrauded it of about $2.2 billion by raising credit from other Indian banks using illegal guarantees. An internal probe by PNB found that the fraud might have been orchestrated by a few rogue employees, and it escaped detection because of widespread risk-control and monitoring lapses in many areas of the bank. A red notice is a “request to locate and provisionally arrest an individual pending extradition”, according to Interpol. “Interpol cannot compel any member country to arrest an individual who is the subject of a red notice,” it says on its website. “Each member country decides for itself what legal value to give a red notice within their borders.”
Children who represented the various religious groups at the prayer breakfast
what we ought to do, but what we can do.” Mrs. Sita Nagamootoo, wife of the Prime Minister, in her address noted that the event was meant to raise the consciousness about the
condition of children who come into contact and conflict with the law. She said “this Juvenile Justice Act places the well-being of juveniles and the best interest of children as paramount when the courts
make a decision on punishment. The law encourages and facilitates juveniles to have a meaningful life in their communities through rehabilitation, education and reintegration.”
Over 100 persons were in attendance, inclusive of social workers and sociologists, child behaviourists, teachers, members of faith-based organisations, and children from across the country.
Overall decrease in accidents so far in Berbice …but 25% increase in fatalities Stringent efforts by the police in ‘B’ Division (Berbice) to get things under control on the roadways in the Ancient County, has seen an overall decrease in the number of recorded accidents in the division for the period January to May 2018 in comparison to the same period in 2017. There has, however, been a 25% increase in the number of fatalities. A look at the figure presented to the media will show that for the same period last year the number of overall accidents stood at 105. For this year it is at 100 a decrease of 5%. A breakdown of the figure show for fatalities the figure for 2017 stood at 12 from 12
accidents. In comparison it has climbed to 16 from 15 accidents in 2018, an increase of 25%. Serious accidents stood at 31, while for 2018 it is at 20 a decrease of 35%. Minor accidents were at 37, for 2018 it stands at 33, a decrease of 11%. There was however an increase in the number of reported damage accidents, as while the figure stood at 25 for last year it has climbed to 32 for 2018, an increase of 28%. The information was forwarded to the media by Divisional Commander Assistant Commissioner Lyndon Alves and Traffic Officer Assistant Superintendent Timothy Williams.
According to Alves, while there is an overall decrease the figures are still troubling, especially as it relates to the number of fatalities. “We are making every effort to bring things under control and reduce the figure even further. There is an increase in the number of patrols throughout the division night, foot, vehicle, motorcycle and intelligence gathering. More ranks have been specifically deployed to help curb the lawlessness that sometimes pervades the roadways.” The police have begun to take action against those who are encumbering the roadways, especially those on the Corentyne Highway. He said
Divisional Commander Assistant Commissioner Lyndon Alves that the police have so far warned a number of those persons and action will be taken shortly. According to Traffic Officer Williams, they are appealing to cattle farmers who are allowing their animals to roam the roadways to desist from this practice - especially those in the East Coast Berbice (No.19) area, they have been responsible for a number of accidents in the past.
Tuesday July 03, 2018
Kaieteur News
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Tuesday July 03, 2018
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Venezuela’s inflation rate tops 40,000 percent for first time ever FOR RENT
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Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro (Business Insider) Venezuela’s inflation rate has hit a new high with consumer prices in the crisis-ridden country rising by more than 40,000 per cent annually for the first time on record, according a top economist. Steve Hanke, an applied economics professor at Johns Hopkins University, told Business Insider on Friday that annual inflation in the country has risen as high as 41,838 percent. Professor Hanke, who calculated the inflation figure, has tracked prices in the country for more than two decades. Venezuela’s government has largely stopped reporting economic data, including internal measures of inflation. The Central Bank of Venezuela, which did not immediately respond to request for comment, has not independently released inflation figures in at least a year. Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, has passed blame for the roiled economy onto others, including opposition activists and officials in Washington. At a campaign rally in May, he blamed hyperinflation on “criminal mafias.” But economists point out that Mr Maduro runs the unorthodox policies they say have pushed the country into economic crisis. The socialist leader has repeatedly refused VACANCY Hydraulic hose technician, Machinist, Male cleaner, Welder Fabricator, Inventory clerk. Technical Services 1823 Industrial Site #233-2745 Nursery & Primary Teachers needed for summer school & the new school year. Call: 6770296
international aid to Venezuela. “It’s internal,” Professor Hanke said. “Government spending continues to accelerate and the sources of revenue start drying up.” The government has defaulted on a majority of their outstanding bonds, which economists estimate add up to about $60 billion. Foreign exchange reserves have fallen by about $2.5 billion in the last three months, according to analysis by Capital Economics. As state-run oil industry PDVSA falls apart, economists say a rise in global oil prices is adding to the pain. Brent crude oil is up more than 64 percent this year. And as President Donald Trump cracks down on Iran via zerotolerance oil sanctions, the international benchmark has rallied more than 8 percent this week. Production at PDVSA which accounts for 95 percent of export earnings in the country and a quarter of gross domestic product - was cut in half from January 2016 to January 2018, according to the US Energy Information Administration. And as the crisis deepens, operations are continuing to wane. Those conditions, Professor Hanke said, have all but killed investor sentiment. “There’s an expectation part of it, too,” Professor Hanke added. “Everyone who has a bolivar wants to get rid of it like a hot potato because they expect it’s not going to be worth anything tomorrow.” The International (Continued on page 23)
Tuesday July 03, 2018
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Kaieteur News
Two Demerara River bridges are better than one - Minister of State The Demerara Harbour Bridge is 40 years old
Minister of State, Joseph Harmon With government soon to commence construction of a new bridge across the Demerara River, Minister of State Joseph Harmon said there is no reason for the current structure to be demolished. Minister Harmon said that “two bridges are better than one” and noted that as Minister responsible for Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West
Demerara), he will be lobbying for the upkeep of the bridge even after the new one is completed. “I see absolutely no sensible reason to decommission one, where you have another one. I will lend my voice to that chorus which says that we should keep both bridges,” he told staff members and special invitees at the Demerara Harbour Bridge’s
40th anniversary celebration on Sunday at the Umana Yana. The new Demerara River bridge will see the construction of an approximately 1,500m-long fixed bridge with a movable
span and two approach roads of a total length of 600m. It is envisaged that the project will commence in 2018 and will be delivered in 2020. A Feasibility Study and Design Report for the new Demerara River Bridge
completed by consulting company, Lievense CSO determined that the proposed location of HoustonVersailles is the most ideal. The structure, the report said, will provide the most socio-economic benefits for
Guyana and lead to the lowest urban environmental impact. Furthermore, it was recommended that the promotion of alternative transportation routes should be encouraged to lend to the longevity of the new bridge.
US company to help with maritime safety for emerging oil and gas sector The National Maritime Law Enforcement Academy (NMLEA), and its subsidiary International Maritime Law Enforcement Academy (IMLEA), has announced a teaming agreement with AMES Maritime Security (AMES) of Kingston, Georgetown (Guyana) to provide international level maritime safety and security services. “The cadre of professionals from within both organizations are recognized for their military, maritime, and security skills and competence, and their ability to provide training, exercise, education, assessment, consultation, and other services. This Teaming Agreement brought those resources together to meet some of the maritime challenges facing Guyana after the discovery of significant oil deposits off the nation’s coastline, and production expected to begin in the spring of 2020, according to a report on marinelink.com. “For this small nation of
750,000 residents, this collaborative partnership presents a viable solution to the myriad of security challenges Guyanese mariners are facing, and as vessel and waterside property owners seek solutions in light of this exponential growth that we are about to experience,” said Andy Austin, President of AMES. “This partnership adds another layer of services to augment the resources being provided by the Guyana Maritime Administration, Guyana Coast Guard, and Marine Police. It encompasses all maritime security services from regulatory and policy consultation to vessel security, and from personnel training to shoreside property protection.” “Our partnership paves the way for a more systematic use of the tools we have collectively at our disposal and will allow us to speak with one voice to both local and international clients,” said Mark DuPont, the NMLEA/
IMLEA’s Executive Director. “Ensuring the security of those who rely upon the safety of Guyana’s many waters, through the training of the professionals that will patrol, protect and preserve those waterways is our primary objective.” “As we look at our immediate future,” continued Austin, “Guyanese mariners expect immediate and effective responses to their calls for help, the protection of their properties along Guyana’s coastline, and protection from acts of piracy directed to them personally or their properties. They will also require awareness of potential threats from criminal activities at sea or possible incursions into Guyana’s EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) resulting from disputes of maritime boundaries. Through this partnership, we will provide the guidance and subject matter experts needed to help Guyana through this exponential growth period.”
NMLEA is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing the maritime law enforcement community
Venezuela’s inflation rate tops 40,000 percent... From page 22 Monetary Fund estimated in January that Venezuela’s inflation rate could rise as high as 13,000 percent for all of 2018. Professor Hanke was unsurprised by the discrepancy, saying no one can “accurately forecast the course or the duration of a hyperinflation.” But economists and activists say hyperinflation’s presence now is clear. A recent university study found that about 90 percent of civilians were living in poverty last year and most of those surveyed had lost an average of 25 pounds in body weight. “The hyperinflation is devastating the economy,” said Andres Abadia, a senior economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. He expects the economy to contract
in 2018, for a fifth consecutive year, and sees no turnaround in the near-term. Mr Abadia said Venezuela is a “disaster area” and that as long as Mr Maduro is in power, the economy will “continue to collapse.” But Mr Maduro reaffirmed his tight grip on power last month, easily winning another sixyear term in what was widely condemned as a fraudulent election. Mr Maduro tripled wages earlier in June to 3 million bolivars per month, which Reuters reported at the time was equal to just more than a dollar at the black-market exchange rate. When asked if the wage increase might improve living conditions in Venezuela, Professor Hanke replied: “No, it’s a joke. Hardly a drop in the bucket.”
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Twenty-one rape cases heard in seven months ...at City Court alone! In just seven months, a total of 20 persons have been charged with rape at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. In one case, a man was slapped with two counts of rape. These rape accused include police officers, taxi drivers, a teacher, a pastor, two teenage boys, several miners and a male sex worker, who was charged for causing a 14year-old boy to sodomize him. The age range of the alleged rape victims are from three to 30. And in many cases, the suspected perpetrators are often family members and persons known and trusted by the victims. While most rape accused are granted bail, some of them are remanded to prison on their first court appearance, depending on the circumstances surrounding the situation. Most rape accused are often placed before the Chief Magistrate, who would then transfer the matters to another City Magistrate or to courts in whichever jurisdiction the crime took place. All rape matters are held in-camera and members of the public and the media are forbidden from entering the courtroom. In a most recent case, a 49year-old miner was charged with raping a 30-year-old woman. According to information, the miner and the woman are known to each other. It was reported that during the commissioning of the crime, he placed a cutlass to the woman’s neck. For those reasons, the court prosecutor objected to bail being granted and he was remanded to prison. Also making an appearance in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts was a wellknown transgender personality who disclosed in a television interview that he has “a young boy for every day of the week.” He was charged with rape of a 14-year-old boy and was released on $300,000 bail. The transgender was arrested earlier this year after accusations were levelled against him for having sexual relations with underaged boys after a photograph appeared on social media with him in the company of a young boy. A teacher who allegedly engaged in sexual activity with one of his students was recently committed to stand trial in the High Court for the offence. It is alleged that the teacher engaged in sexually activity with a child under 16 years by abusing his position of trust. Also on the list of rape accused is a North West District man who was remanded to prison for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl. This incident occurred at Manawarin Village, Moruca.
A teenager of Kamarang was also charged and released on $200,000 bail for allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl. Not spared was a Moruca man who was remanded on a charge that he raped a threeyear-old child. Another North West District man was charged for raping his six -year-old relative and was released on $200,000 bail. According to information, the victim was left in the care of the accused and she requested to use the washroom. While the child was in the washroom, the accused allegedly went in behind her and indulged her in sexual activity. In another case, a City Constabulary rank found himself before the Chief Magistrate, for allegedly forcing a detained 15-year-old boy into a sex act. He is alleged to have committed the offence at the Regent Street Enquiries Outpost at City Hall. He was later committed to stand trial in the High Court before a judge and jury for the offence after a City Magistrate found sufficient evidence against him. A self-styled Bishop of a La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara church was also recently committed to stand trial in the High Court, for allegedly raping a female church member. The incident allegedly occurred at his East Bank Demerara residence. And an ex-cop charged with raping a three-year-old was remanded to prison. A taxi driver was also charged for rape and sexually assaulting two sex workers. It is alleged that he tied up the sex workers and engaged in sexual penetration without their consent on four different occasions. A 21-year-old police constable who allegedly raped an underage girl is also currently before the court. The Georgetown-based accused is alleged to have engaged in sexual activity with a child under the age of 16.
It was reported that the accused and the teen used to communicate via a social media group. The teen’s parents allegedly found out about a sexual encounter between the two and reported the matter to the police. A sixteen-year-old was also remanded for raping his seven-year-old cousin. According to information, the accused and the child live together and it was during the month of January last, he engaged in sexually activity with the child. The child then told his mother of what transpired and she reported the matter to the police. An investigation was then carried out and the teen was arrested and charged. A cop was also charged for raping his colleague. The 20-year-old was charged for having sexual intercourse with one of his colleagues at a city hotel against her will.
According to information, on the day in question , the rank and an18-year-old Special Constable booked in at a hotel around 03:45 hrs, reportedly after a night-out together. The victim alleged that the accused had sexual intercourse with her against her will. The matter was then reported and the accused was arrested for the offence. Several reports suggest that rape accused, when remanded to prison, are badly
beaten by fellow inmates. A bus driver who is accused of raping his three year-old relative recently received a severe beating in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts court lock-ups. Minutes after the accused was taken into the court lock-ups, police officer had to force their way into the lock-ups and rescue him from the other inmates after they dealt him several kicks and punches about his body.
After being escorted to another holding area, blood was seen gushing from his mouth and several missing teeth were seen in his hand. According to information the child was spending some time with the accused after she was left in his care. When the child returned home to her mother she was crying and the mother, upon checking the child, observed that she was sexually assaulted.
Paralyzed accident victim learns to sit up, move body Many accidents have a story. Many end in tragedy, causing injuries or claiming the lives of pedestrians. Some stories, however, have inspirational endings. One case is that of seven year-old Matthew Zaman, a former student of La Bonne Intention Primary School, East Coast Demerara. Following an accident involving a minibus which occurred outside of his Felicity, Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara home on December 18, last year, the lad was left paralyzed At his age when playing is a preoccupation, Matthew is unable to walk, speak, eat or even breathe off his own after the tragic incident. He eats through his nose from a tube and breathes through an intrusion in his neck. He is confined to a wheelchair and his mother cares for him 24/7. Kaieteur News understands that the driver of the vehicle was charged with dan-
gerous driving and was released on $100,000 bail pending the hearing and determination of a trial. Since Matthew’s situation was highlighted, he has been receiving generous support from the public and various organizations. The charitable organization, Saving Hands Emergency Aid (SHEA) is assisting Matthew towards having a hopeful future. According to information posted by SHEA, there have been improvements in the young man’s condition over the past month. Instead of lying in bed all day, he is now sitting up and moving parts of his body thanks to assistance from the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre. The organization says that Matthew has been getting help from Vanessa Wickham, a Physiotherapist; Nikita Correia, a Rehabilitation Assistant and Quacy Paddy and Alarick Hussein—Physiotherapy students at the
Matthew Zaman sustained significant traumatic brain injury in the accident just over six months ago University of Guyana. In a video seen by this publication, Matthew was sitting on a bed with assistance from someone. He was also learning to balance his head. He sustained significant traumatic brain injury, along with added hypoxic brain injury. “Therefore treatment will be complex and his prognosis is listed as poor. Nonethe-
less, we are hopeful he can receive treatment and can regain some mobility, if not all. Our team is committed to assisting Matthew in every possible way,” SHEA said in a Facebook post. SHEA is currently in the process of raising funds to have Matthew taken to the United States for medical treatment.
Tuesday July 03, 2018
CDB says significant reform needed to transform regional aviation industry BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Dr. Warren Smith, is calling for a new paradigm in the aviation industry, defined by connectivity which is convenient, flexible, and reasonably priced. Speaking at Aviation Day Caribbean last week, Smith noted that transforming the Caribbean airline industry will demand significant reforms and actions by regional governments, but will also lead to a better overall customer experience and to aviation making an even bigger contribution to regional economic activity. The CDB President said that the cost of intra-regional travel is a major deterrent to travel, saying that in many instances, high taxes have made fares uncompetitive. He noted that a reduction in these costs could lead to an increase in travel. “Intra-regional fares have risen steadily to the point where it is often cheaper to fly to the Eastern Seaboard of the United States than it is to fly to neighbouring Caribbean islands. […] Studies commissioned by CDB, confirm that air travel is price elastic, so that reductions in these imposts should lead to increased travel, which in turn, should lead to additional tax revenue flow to replace some of the revenues foregone. Additionally, one should expect secondary benefits to government revenue arising from the in-country spend associated with the larger number of visitors,” he said. Specific measures recommended by the CDB President to revamp the aviation industry included harmonising regulation across the Carib-
Warren Smith bean, adopting and implementing a comprehensive open skies agreement, and strengthening the internal operation of Caribbean airlines. CDB partnered with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) to host Aviation Day Caribbean, which was held here. Regional Vice President, The Americas for IATA, Peter Cerdá, said that air transport is vital to supporting sustained economic development in the Caribbean. He noted however, that while the global aviation industry is doing well, the profit per passenger in the Latin America and Caribbean region is less than half the global average. “The lack of growth in Caribbean connectivity is due to a combination of high taxes, fees and charges in air
transportation, as they add to the cost of travel and make the Caribbean an expensive region to operate in; regulatory barriers, including the lack of liberalization in air services and an inefficient and aging infrastructure.” Cerdá added that while many countries consider raising taxes and fees to be a quick revenue generator, the long-term impact is not often considered. Meanwhile, Minister of Tourism and International Transport Kerrie Symmonds,outlined several new revenue measures adopted by the Government of Barbados, including a new tax on air travelers. He said that the government intends to use the additional revenue to enhance the airport facilities, by, among other things, introducing automated passport control kiosks and upgrading the departure lounge.
Jamaican American actress Sheryl Lee Ralph inducted into ‘Wall of Fame’ WASHINGTON, CMC – The Washington-based Institute of Caribbean Studies (ICS) has inducted Jamaican American actress Sheryl Lee Ralph into its “Wall of Fame” in commemoration of National Caribbean American Heritage Month celebrations. Ralph was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, the daughter of Ivy, a Jamaican fashion designer, and Stanley Ralph, a college professor. Ralph who was raised between Mandeville, Jamaica, and Long Island, New York, attended Uniondale High School in Uniondale, New York where she starred in a high-school production of the musical Oklahoma!,
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portraying Ado Annie. She graduated in 1972. At 19, Ralph was the youngest woman to ever graduate from Rutgers University in New Jersey, ICS said. During her time at Rutgers, it said Ralph was one of the earliest winners of the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarships awarded by the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. In that year, she was also was named one of the top 10 college women in America by Glamour magazine. Initially, she hoped to study medicine; but, after dealing with cadavers in a pre-med class and winning a scholarship in a competition at theAmerican College
Theater Festival, she gave up medicine for the performing arts and years later, she served as the commencement speaker at Rutgers for the Class of 2003. Ralph began her career on the stage, and was nominated in 1982 for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Deena Jones in Dreamgirls. In 1984, Ralph released her only album, “In the Evening,” in which the title track peaked at #6 on the Billboard Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart that same year, in 1988, she went on to star in the Disney movie Oliver & Company, “providing the voice of Rita.”
Barbados and IMF to begin negotiations this week BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Barbados has put together a strong negotiating team and is ready to engage in discussions with the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) representatives as of Monday through to July 12. This disclosure has come from Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Ryan Straughn, who said the IMF officials had already started requesting data which Barbados was in the process of finalising. “Those early meetings will engage on where our position is fiscally and then obviously those negotiations will start to drill down to the specific sectors of Government, and the Fund’s team will also meet with members of the private sector. “We have already announced that we are going to be restructuring the debt and so this will form part of the negotiations with the Fund…. So, some
of the meetings will focus on debt, not just between the IMF and the Government, but also with the domestic and foreign creditors as well.” Straughn explained that Government was working out the details on what was required to grow the economy over the next 10 years and the particular path to achieve sustainable growth, whilst at the same time improving the delivery of public services to the level that Barbadians expect and deserve. “Therefore, the early meetings will set the framework for where we want the overall economic recovery and transformation plan to be…. We anticipate that between now and July 12, we can have in place at least a working agreement, because it is certainly our intention to make sure that the IMF team has all of the data and information needed to be able to come to a conclusion as to how
and what they can support… “We are intending that once the team leaves here on July 12, and they go through their internal review process in Washington, that Barbados can get an IMF Board agreement as early as possible,” he pointed out. Explaining the rationale for such an early agreement, Straughn said Government needed to make sure that it had things in place to restore confidence in the market. He stressed that Government has already begun to fix some of the problems, and must continue to do what was necessary to grow the economy and address fiscal reforms. Last month , Prime Minister Mia Mottley said that Barbados’ public debt was as high as 171 per cent of GDP and corrective economic and fiscal measures were needed to place it on a sustainable footing.
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Tuesday July 03, 2018
Tuesday July 03, 2018
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GIKMAA enjoy successful first half of the year The Guyana International Kyokushinkai Martial Arts Academy (GIKMAA) has started the year on a high note and has continued on that road as the first half of the year ended with the Academy growing in numbers and as students continues to grow in confidence and ability. From January to date, the GIKMAA has had a very successful Weapons Workshop, Coloured Belt exams and tournament. However it was at the just concluded Guyana Martial Arts Masters Association International Hall of Fame Award Ceremony where students of the Guyana International Kyokushinkai Martial Arts Academy made a heavy impact. A total of 19 persons walked away with 21 awards
in 12 categories as listed below: Outstanding Karate Kid Shafeer Ali, Zaheer Assan, ShakarPooran and Bhudesh Shilchand Outstanding Students of the Year 0 - GovindRamkur Outstanding Instructor of the Year - Kelvin Walcott Community Spirit and Ambassador Awards Maranda Bennett Fighting Spirit Award Daniel Lasely and Christian Freeman Warrior’s Spirit Award VikashSomwaru and Marcell Yassim Outstanding Parent of the Year - Mitra Mohan, Nafeeza Ali and Chandrowtie Singh Distinguished Persons Award - BishramPrashad and ChetramRamgobind Distinguished Parents
Grandmaster Soke, Dr. A. NazimYassim and Team with their Awards. Award - Mr. Abdool Yassim and Mrs. Ermelia J. Yassim (Parents of Dr. NazimYassim) While Grandmaster/Soke /Dr. Abdool NazimYassim re-
Tuesday July 03, 2018 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Jump back onstage and say your peace, Aries. Your active participation in the conversation of today is critical to maintaining a healthy energy flow. The things you say to others will have a profound effect. TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Your solid footing may become a bit unstable today, Taurus, but don't worry about it. Be a little more flexible and release your tightfisted grip on the situation.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Pay attention to the news today, Libra. Be sure to check not just the mainstream news but also the offbeat independent publications and websites. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Today is a great day to go out and get things done, Scorpio. You might find that you're a bit indecisive, but don't sweat it. Don't feel like you have to make any great commitments.
GEMINI (May 21–June 20) There's no excuse for laziness today, Gemini! Make sure you get out of bed before the day ends.
SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) The name of the game for you today is action, Sagittarius. The air seems to get clearer, and it feels as if a weight has been lifted off you.
CANCER (June 21–July 22) Don't let things stagnate, Cancer. It's time to take action. In everything you do today, see how far you can go as opposed to how deep. Cover a wide range of topics.
CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Take some of that knowledge you've picked up and processed over the past few weeks and spread it around, Capricorn. It's time to put your communication skills to work.
LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) You might feel like you've come out of the dark and into the light today, Leo. A weight has been lifted, but there's still a great deal of emotional drama t h a t needs to work itself out.
AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Your physical stamina is apt to be quite strong today, Aquarius. You should consider going to the gym to release some of that pentup energy. Engage in a sport or something that involves strategy and good coordination.
VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Take a break from your steady climb today and have a look at the world around you, Virgo. Enjoy a night out with friends and take an active role in the conversation.
PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Take a break from the seriousness that has prevailed over the past couple days, Pisces. today's waters.
ceived a Lifetime Achievement Bronze Award and the “SOKESHIP” Award. This is a great achievement for the Academy and my
students said Dr. Nazim. Attention will now turn to the annual Martial Arts Training Camp this month, the Suriname International tournament in August and another local competition in September. Dr. Nazim has extended congratulations to his students n a m e l y, N i r e l Ramrattan, Rahul Miaram, Ronald Ramki s so o n a n d Kapil Persaud for doing well at the just concluded National Grade Six Ass essment Exams and to Nkosi Jupiter for representing Guyana well in Tr i n i d a d , recently.
Roger Federer: . Wimbledon firstround victory... From page 32 since 1976. With the current heatwave forecast to continue over the next fortnight, that may well be broken. If the temperature is above 30.1C, female players are allowed a 10-minute break in between the second and third sets, but there is no such rule for the men. (BBCsport)
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Belgium complete stunning comeback from two goals down with 94th-minute winner Super-sub Nacer Chadli scores with last kick of the game
Super-substitute Marouane Fellaini wheels away in celebration after helping Belgium get back into the round of 16 clash Nacer Chadli’s dramatic 94th-minute winner — going from one end to the other in 9.94 seconds — completed an incredible Marouane Fellainiinspired comeback to break Japanese hearts. Belgium produced the most incredible comeback in Rostov as, inspired by substitute Fellaini, they came
from 2-0 down to beat plucky Japan 3-2 with a 94th minute winner from Nacer Chadli. The Belgians, who were huge favourites, had looked down and out at 2-0 thanks to goals from Genki Haraguchi and Takashi Inui at the start of the second half. But the arrival of secondhalf sub Fellaini helped them
to an incredible fight-back and a quarter-final against B r a z i l . Jan Vertonghen got the ball rolling with a looping header for 2-1 before Man United’s Fellaini made it 2-2 with 15 minutes to go. Then, with only seconds remaining on the clock. Chadli arrived at the end of a classy break-away
Philippines v Australia basketball Mass brawl at World Cup qualifier
The Philippines ended the game with just three players on court. Punches, kicks and chairs were thrown as a mass brawl broke out between players in a Philippines v Australia World Cup qualifying tie. The Philippines ended the game with just three players left on court after nine of their side were ejected. Four Australia players were also ejected from the game, which their side went on to win 89-53 in Manila. The
International Basketball Federation (Fiba) has opened disciplinary proceedings against both sides. The fight broke out in the third quarter of the game at the 55,000-capacity Philippine A r e n a . ”Basketball Australia deeply regrets the incident in tonight’s match between the Boomers and the Philippines in Manila. We are extremely
disappointed with what happened and our role in it,” Basketball Australia chief executive Anthony Moore said. ”This is not the spirit in which sport should be played and certainly not in the spirit in which we aim to play basketball. “We apologise to our fans and will await the penalties to be handed down.” (BBCsport)
Belgium quickly countered from a Japan corner kick which allowed Kevin De Bruyne to pick the right pass in the 93rd minute. move to clinch a quarter-final against Brazil. What will hurt Japan the most is that the winner came so soon after Thibaut Courtois had saved a Keisuke Honda free-kick which almost won them the game. But instead having caught the ball from the subsequent corner, the Chelsea man rolled the ball out to Kevin De Bruyne who ran half the length of the field in a classic counter-attack which ended with Chadli gleefully firing home the far post from a Thomas Meunier cross and a Romelu Lukaku dummy. What an incredible match it was at the Rostov Arena and what an incredible way to win it. For Belgium’s ‘golden generation’ this tournament is now a wonderful opportunity to finally achieve their potential, having lost in the quarterfinals of Brazil 2014 to Argentina and in the last eight of Euro 2016 to Wales. They were back to full strength here, making 10 changes from the ‘B’ team they put out to beat England in the last match of the group stage. That included a first start in Russia 2018 for Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany - in fact his first tournament start since that tie against Argentina in Brazil four years ago. His presence was a major
boost for Roberto Martinez’s side, who were the top scorers in the group stage and huge favourites to win here in Rostov-on-Don. Despite the gap in expectation, however, Japan held their highly-rated opponents to 00 at half-time, utilising a highenergy press and defending well. Belgium certainly had the majority of possession, with Hazard, Dries Mertens and Kevin De Bruyne lively, but couldn’t find the finish their football deserved. Romelu Lukaku almost opened the scoring from a 30th minute Mertens cross, only for the ball to get stuck under his foot eight yards from goal. Kompany then missed an even better chance at the far post, bizarrely choosing to try and hook a deep cross back into the box when a header would surely have put his side ahead. But Japan, with Yuto Nagatomo excellent at the back and Takashi Inui and Shinji Kagawa lively in attack, almost stunned their rivals just before the break. There were a few early nerves, too, as Japan pressed from the start and had the game’s first shot, an effort dragged wide by Shinji Kagawa. Nagatomo suddenly surged forward and a surprised Thibaut Courtois almost fumbled his weak, blocked shot into the net - just pouncing on the ball before it
2018 FIFA World Cup Russia - Round of 16 Schedule 3/07/2018 10:00 Sweden 14:00 Colombia
vs Switzerland vs England
trickled over the line. That really should have been a wake-up call - but Belgium ignored it and instead they found themselves 2-0 down within seven minutes of the restart. The first came from a superb Japan break-away which ended with Genki Haraguchi put through on goal. He was calmness personified as he stopped for a second, took a breath and calmly beat Courtois. The whole stadium was in shock but there was more to come. First Eden Hazard thumped a shot against the woodwork as Belgium almost equalised immediately. And then Takashi Inui thumped home a second goal, a beautifullycurled shot from outside the box beating Courtois for 2-0 with 52 minutes on the clock. This was now a huge challenge for Belgium, even with their firepower. But they were up to it. Lukaku had already missed with a header when Jan Vertonghen looped home after keeper Kawashima had failed to clear his lines after 69 minutes. Then, with the Rostov Arena rocking, it was 2-2 as substitute Marouane Fellaini rose to thump home a header. Belgium were desperate to win it in normal time but Japan keeper Kawashima made amends for his previous error by making a superb double save from first Nacer Chadli and then Lukaku with minutes remaining. But there was one last sting in the tail at the end of a World Cup match that will be remembered for a long, long time. (Mailonline)
Tuesday July 03, 2018
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LeBron James has sent shockwaves around the NBA by joining the LA Lakers on huge £117m deal LeBron James will begin a new chapter in his Hall of Fame career after agreeing to sign a four-year £117million deal with Los Angeles Lakers, leaving Cleveland Cavaliers for the second time. After spending the first 15 years of his career in the Eastern Conference, James will take his talents out west as he bids to put an end to the Golden State Warriors’ NBA dynasty. But why has he chosen the Lakers? A team who finished 11th in the Western Conference last season. And how will this decision change the NBA landscape? Sportsmail have provided a handy guide to James’ latest move. WHAT ARE THE FIGURES BEHIND THE DEAL? First off, the money. James has penned a four-year deal worth $153m (£117m) with the Lakers. The final year is a player option. That means for the 2021-22 season, James has the choice of whether to opt in and stay or test free agency once again. So James, not for the first time in his career, has left money on the table by signing with the Lakers. He has opted against penning a five-year
max contract with the Cavaliers, who could have offered him a projected £154m deal. It’s also the longest deal he’s signed since leaving Cleveland for the first time to join Miami Heat on a six-year contract in ‘The Decision’ back in 2010. WHY JOIN THE LAKERS? Never mind their dismal season last year, the Lakers are one of the most storied franchises in NBA history. The purple and gold are the second-most successful with 16 championships, just one less than Boston Celtics, and possess a remarkable stable of former legendary players – from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, to Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. Their Staples Center arena is always attended by a host of celebrities and the glamour and glitz of playing in Los Angeles has always carried weight for NBA players in free agency. And so it has proved once again as they reel in the biggest fish of them all. On a personal level, James is also keen to develop his business portfolio by establishing a base in Los Angeles and find the best
James is keen to develop his business portfolio by establishing a base in Los Angeles. place possible to continue raising his family. James already owns two mansions in Brentwood, Los Angeles and has investments in numerous businesses in the city. His sports media company Uninterrupted are based there alongside Klutch Sports, the sportsmanagement agency that
August 12 is date set for Nand Persaud Sky Plus One Day Horse Race Sprint Classic The Nand Persaud Group of Companies through its Sky Plus Incorporated Promotion Group has once again organised a One-Day Horse Race Meet dubbed the Nand Persaud Karibee Sprint Classic for Sunday August 12, next at the Company’s Racing Facility, No 36 Village, Macedonia Estate, Corentyne, Berbice. The facility is the only one where horses run in a straight line from start to finish. The races will be 660 and 880 yards and has over $4M in cash, trophies and other incentives at stake. Among the events listed is the D and Lower for animals over 880yards or Four Furlongs for a winning purse of $400,000 and trophy, this is the highlight event for the day. The event for animals classified H and Lower is for a take home prize of $260,000 and trophy over 3 Furlongs. The event for 3 year-old animals for a winning take of $200,000 and trophy also over 3 Furlongs. The 2 year-old animals will also be competing for a winner’s purse of $200,000 and trophy over 4 Furlongs.
represents him. It’s notable that the decision to join Los Angeles was announced through the Klutch Sports website. Reports suggest that James’ son Bronny has already committed to playing basketball at a private school nearby and the family were attracted to the area after spending previous off seasons there. In terms of basketball reasons, James is still as hungry for ever for championships and after delivering his promise of bringing one to his hometown Cavaliers in 2016, he will feel he’s entitled to move on. But despite making eight straight Finals in the east, the juggernaut Warriors have proved a bridge too far. James will hope the Lakers can acquire another All-Star level talent, likely to be Kawhi Leonard via a trade with the San Antonio Spurs, so they can challenge Golden State
out west. WHYLEAVE CLEVELAND? ‘CLEVELAND, THIS IS FOR YOU!’, James screamed after upsetting the odds to beat Golden State in a seven-game NBA Finals series back two years ago. He had returned to his hometown team and helped lift the 57-year drought of major sports teams in Cleveland without a championship. But James grew frustrated with the poorly-managed Cavaliers towards the end of his time there. Often he took charge at timeouts ahead of Coach Ty Lue and was made to take matters into his own hands. Notably he appeared to lose his cool with team-mate JR Smith during Game One of the Finals after the shooting guard’s embarrassing error, holding on to the ball with seconds running down, a mistake that effectively cost Cleveland the win.
James has also endured a fractious relationship with Cavaliers fans over the years. There were unsavoury scenes of mass jersey-burnings when James first left for Miami in 2010 and owner Dan Gilbert penned his infamous letter calling the MVP a ‘coward’. The player’s relationship with the owner has never been the same since. WHAT NEXT? Expect Lakers to aggressively pursue Spurs forward Leonard, who looks set to manoeuvre his way out of San Antonio. The All-Star is unhappy and spent much of the season injured but refused to even attend his team’s play-off games from the sidelines. Reports suggest the 27-yearold wants to move to Los Angeles, where he grew up. One of the front-runners for MVP in 2017, Leonard is one of the league’s best two-way stars in offense and defence and possesses a level of basketball intelligence that James would love to team up with. Paul George re-signing with Oklahoma City Thunder and Chris Paul committing his future to Houston Rockets means Leonard is likely to be Lakers’ only shot of acquiring another star player to join James. The Lakers will likely have to give up two of their young stars to acquire Leonard – possibly Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma – and neglect to re-sign point guard Isaiah Thomas, which could be a blessing in disguise. But with the Warriors already possessing a team of All-Stars and MVPs - Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson it seems optimistic to think a James-Leonard tandem alone would be enough to stop Golden State’s dominance. (Mailonline)
NSC congratulates National Senior Basketball Team Mohendra Persaud The K Class and Lower animals will be competing for a first prize of $ 140,000 and trophy over 3 Furlongs. There are two events for animals classified L and Lower. One for male horses over 4 Furlongs while the female animals will be galloping over 3 Furlongs both for $100,000 and trophy.
Champion Jockey, Trainer and Stable will all be rewarded with trophies and other incentives compliments of the Trophy Stall and the organisers. Interested persons can make contact with Nick on 600 728 or Amanda on 618 5916. The Coordinator is Mohendra ‘Mohin’ Persaud.
The National Sports Commission has extend congratulations to the Guyana National Senior Men Basketball team on their historic win of the 2018 Caribbean Basketball Confederation Championship Tournament, held in Suriname.The Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation, team Head Coach Mr. Junior Her-
cules, Dennis Clarke, Assistant Coach and Team Manger Mr. Nigel Hinds as well must be complemented on their robust programme which continues to develop our young and talented players. All of Guyana at this time stands proud of our young CHAMPIONS!
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Kaieteur News
Main stakeholders need to build a Positive culture for Sports – GABF President
C
harismatic Presi dent of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) has etched his name in the history books by leading the nation to its first ever CBC basketball championship (FIBA Americup 2021 Caribbean Pre-Qualifier Champions) notwithstanding the many challenges and hurdles he faced as regards adequate sponsorship from the main stakeholders. Hinds, a former national player was not able to win the title then has done it now though, as the leading administrator of the sport. His vision, determination and no nonsense style of leadership has paid admirable dividends for Guyana and its youths. Hinds, has posited that the Government of Guyana and the Guyana Olympic Association needs to seri-
ously invest and lobby in building a culture for Sports in Guyana. “We desperately need some sunlight from our leading Sporting Agencies.” He shared that Vincent and the Grenadines, with a population of less than 110,000 spent over US$100,000 on their participation for the 2018 FIBA Caribbean Basketball Championships; primarily using Government and Olympic Association Funding. Following are some of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) proposals based on the historical achievement: Measures that should be impl e mented for players and officials that represented Guyana, and won the 2 0 1 8 F I B A C a r i bbean Basketball Championships; additionally the measures ought to be extended at
similar or modified levels to other national athletes and Associations/Federations: 1. Duty free concession on non-commercial vehicles. 2. 1/4 acre of land for National Athletes who have served Guyana with distinction. 3. 1/2 acre of land for Association/Federation Headquarters. 4. Four years of free tuition at the University of Guyana for National Athletes. 5. Jobs for National Athletes commensurate with their qualifications and experience. 6. Low interest loans for home building, with a cap on the principal amount. 7. Financial incentives for each member/players and individuals of winning teams and or medaling individuals at Regional level Championships: at least $1 Million. 8. Low interest loans for business investment by National Athletes, for loans
GABF President and Manager of Guyana, Nigel Hinds, (right) embraces Ray Victor after the final at the Anthony Nesty Sporthal. approved by a commercial bank, with a cap on the amount of investment. 9. Annual grants to National Federations/Associa-
Wimbledon 2018
Sloane Stephens and Elina Svitolina suffer day one defeats Elina Svitolina
Serena Williams
tions. GABF $10 Million. 10. Repayment of $4.3 Million owed by National Sports Commission to GABF, arising from Guyana’s hosting of the Caribbean Basketball U16 Games in 2016. 11. $10 Million contribution of funds by Government towards expenditures incurred and payabl e ; f o r G u y a n a ’s p r e p a r a t i o n a n d participation in the M e n a n d Wo m e n 2 0 1 8 FIBA Caribbean Basketball Championships. Sport is at the heart of building National Cohesion, National Culture, mitigating racism and racial barriers, providing opportunity for our youths to reset, especially with the high level of school drop-outs and for those outside the academic system. In an article dated March 18, 2018, labelled “Sport A matter of life and death”, published in the Trinidad Guardian; Shaun Fuentes
wrote: “Sport is a human institution, a universal phenomenon which serves to instill a sense of belonging or meaning to many individuals lives, a research paper stated. Let us not place value on athletes only, let us place value on the impact their profession has on humanity; the realization of athletes as commodities and sport as a political and financial aiding service will help reshape the perception that sport is merely a means of amusement and diversion from personal hardships.” Hinds further noted: “We really are at a shattering point in our Sports Culture; when my Mother-in-law, Marcelline Mohamed, a retired teacher, perceives it necessary to offer to fund a dinner for the pla y e r s and officials who won the June 2018 Caribbean Basketball Confederation Men Championships.”
WDFA to hold OGM and elections on July 10 US Open champion Sloane Stephens and fifth seed Elina Svitolina were the biggest casualties on the opening day of the Wimbledon women’s singles. The fourth-seeded American looked out of sorts in a 6-1 63 loss to world number 55 Donna Vekic from Croatia who caused problems with her big hitting. Svitolina, from Ukraine, was beaten by German world number 57 Tatjana Maria. Maria, one of a small number of mothers on the Tour, went through 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 6-1 after
a late-night finish. However, Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams were among those to go through. Australian Open champion Wozniacki, the second seed, needed 59 minutes to beat American Varvara Lepchenko 6-0 6-3. Five-time winner Williams, who was beaten by Garbine Muguruza in last year’s final, made a slow start before beating Sweden’s Johanna Larsson in three sets. Larsson, who had never won in her seven previous Wimbledon visits, won the
opening set on a tie-break. But Williams, 38, grew in confidence to win 6-7 (3-7) 62 6-1. Vekic’s victory is her first over a top-five player and comes after first-round exits to Williams and Johanna Konta in the past two years. “I always try to be aggressive,” she told BBC Sport. “I struggled with my serve in the wind but hopefully I can improve. I played all the tournaments on grass coming here and that has helped me.” The 2012 finalist Agnieszka Radwanska needed to save
six match points before beating Romania’s ElenaGabriela Ruse. The Pole, who has been struggling with back problems, went on to win 6-3 4-6 7-5. American 16th seed Coco Vandeweghe was hampered by injury as she bowed out to Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic. The 26-yearold needed treatment on her ankle during the match and was visibly limping as Siniakova eventually wrapped up a 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 8-6 win in three hours and one minute. (BBCsport)
From page 32 brought an en d t o p r o ceedings in April and had reported to the GFF according l y. Subsequently, the federation had written the clubs informing them that they must convene their AGM’s by May 25th last supervised by the GFF failing which, they would be deemed non compliant. The WDFA, led by Orin Ferrier is now going full s t e a m a h e a d t o g et the meeting off so that they can get back to the smooth running of the game from an administrative standpoint. Kaieteur Sport understands that the eligible clubs are Pouderoyen, Eagles,
Uitvlugt Warriors (AGM held), Wales, Vegae Boys, Zeelught and Jetty Gunne r s . S t e w a r t v i l l e h a d held their AGM as stipulated but has only registered eight senior players and no junior team. The current executive reads: Orin Ferrier (President), Christine Schmidt (First VP), Alexander Clarke ( S e c o n d V P ) , D i llon Elexey (Third VP), Adrian Giddings (Secretary), Dillon Josiah (Treasurer), Kip Austin (Assistant Secretary/Treasurer). Committee Members are Travis Bess, Adio Wright, Orvil Bobb and Leroy Chilcott.
Tuesday July 03, 2018
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Kaieteur News
Braziliant! Neymar and Firmino put Samba stars in quarter-finals after swatting away Mexican threat Before the game’s distance was run, there would be that kind of theatre from Neymar which stands between him and true greatness: a pitiful and deeply unattractive attempt to earn an opponent’s dismissal which will have made him a source of ridicule the world over. This is the reason why he is not loved beyond the shores of Brazil. Mercifully, the Italian referee did not waste the video team’s time with the Brazilian’s preposterous claim that Miguel Layun stepped on him. It meant that another piece of theatre - Neymar’s sublime creation and completion of a 55th minute goal - remained the match’s stand-out moment. A moment’s vision was all the goal took. Neymar had neither signed his name across the match nor announced his presence at that stage. But he sees the game in different dimensions and having travelled with the ball across the edge of Mexico’s area, was aware of Willian’s arrival behind him, in his peripheral vision. He backheeled to him, span away, and was in the six yard box to slide home the ball that the Chelsea player sublime here - measured expertly into the six yard box.
There had been no pretence from anyone, not even the Brazilian manager, that the nation was waiting for something better from him. There was no doubting how desperately Mexico wanted this. Progressing beyond the last 16 to the elusive ’quinto partido’ (‘the fifth game’) has become a painful national obsession for a nation which has fallen at this stage for the last six consecutive World Cups. Rarely in those 24 long years have they started with such resolve. The beautiful, topsy turvy nature of this tournament has had everyone believing in miracles and the central Americans went to were worked high up the pitch, having seemed to locate someone exploitable in the Brazilian defence. They doubled up in their raids down on left back Fagner, who looked deeply uncomfortable under examination by Carlos Vela and Andres Guardado, even with Willian dropping back to help. Guardado’s early cross had Alisson scrambling to punch it clear before Vela’s delivery from the same flank had Miranda and Casmiro in a state of confusion and struggling to cope. Guardado, the Real Betis player, was
The Liverpool forward scored the second goal of the game to put the contest to bed with a simple finish from close range. outstanding in the first half hour, switching play diagonally to the right flank with a ball which Hirvino Lozano took down out of the sky. Javier Hernandez could not find the same level. The 22-year-old PSV player’s cross flew across the six-yard box.Mexico pressed in relentless heat, resolved to prevent the Brazillians finding
their powers of selfexpression. But their hope was short-libed. When Brazil found their measure, there was a graphic illustration in the gulf in technical class. Neymar feinted left then right on 24 minutes to unbalance Edson Alvarez and shoot. You saw then what the Mexicans were up against. Guillermo Ochoa parried that
effort and needed to find the same strength ten minutes later when Brazil, travelling up through the gears, provided the first half’s outstanding moment. Paulino span away to allow a ball to find Philippe Coutinho, whose rapid cut back allowed Jesus to seized it, advance, fake to shoot, thendrive past Guardado and Edson Alvarez and shoot
from close range. Mexico knew what they were up against. The decision to anchor the midfield with 39year-old Rafael Marquez was reversed at half-time, with Layun running on, and Hernandez did not last to the hour mark. But there was no turning back the yellow tide. Mexico’s had precious few chances to break through as Willian produced the game’s outstanding performance, while Brazil continually looked capable of breaking through. A Coutinho shot fired in after a short corner had been sharply saved and Paulinio had also gone close before Neymar’s moment of magic earned the breakthrough. The No 10 almost doubled the lead when Willian laid the ball into his path again. Control with his studs and a first-time shot inches wide: the game was always within his gift. He was fortunate to escape a booking his histrionics on the touchline and helped finish it just before the end. He took a ball Fernandinho had won and laid into his path, driving into the area with it, and laying it across for substitute Roberto Firmino to score. This is the kind of selfexpression we want to see from him. (Mailonline)
Chris Froome expects ‘confrontation’ at Tour First minnows, now Champs; Guyana... From page 33 semifinal match against Barbados, but Victor, de France despite end of anti-doping case Thompson (19) and Travis Belgrave (19). Each Guyana's Co-Captain, stepped up with match Chris Froome says he is expecting “confrontation out on the road” at this year’s Tour de France, despite his anti-doping case being dropped. The four-time Tour winner, 33, was under investigation after more than the allowed level of legal asthma drug salbutamol was found in his urine. Cycling’s world governing body, the UCI, closed proceedings yesterday. “We’ve raced under trying circumstances at the Tour for the last six years,” Team Sky leader Froome told BBC Sport. ”There is always some kind of confrontation out on the road but it’s always a minority and it’s just something you have to deal with.” Froome said he had urine thrown at him during the 2015 Tour, and he was booed by fans when passing through rival Romain Bardet’s home region last year. A spectator carrying a giant inhaler ran alongside the Briton during the remarkable stage-19 victory that set up his Giro d’Italia win in May. Asked what he would say if
Froome’s adverse drugs test occurred during his 2017 Vuelta a Espana win. someone did the same at this year’s Tour, Froome replied: “Go jump.” Tour organiser ASO had said Froome taking part could “damage” the race, but now says the UCI’s decision, reached after working c l o s e l y w i t h t h e Wo r l d Anti-Doping Agency (Wada), means there is no rea-
son to prevent his participation when the race starts on Saturday. Last month, five-time champion Bernard Hinault urged riders to strike in protest against Froome riding the Tour. Team Sky called the Frenchman’s comments “irresponsible and illinformed”. (BBCsport)
of those players had vital changing performances that helped Guyana to title. In the first group-game, Wiggins top scored with 18 points, Guyana crushing Grenada by 29 points . Thompson (Centre) was a rock in defence and allowed starter Shaine Webster to periodically rest easy when he took over the role. The Marian Academy sixth form student broke into an aggressive mode which was exactly what the Coach had asked of him prior to the tournament. Belgrave didn't spend much time on court during the Group stage then he suffered a minor knee injury which had Hercules hesitant to use him in the semifinal but the Eagles Basketball Club player had a vital role in the final and produced exactly what the Coach believed he was capable of, “Giving more with less.” Despite not being involved much in the tournament, Belgrave was trusted by the Coach to play the latter of the third and majority of the fourth quarter where he sank a three-pointer and had three steals during an excellent defensive effort. Most of Guyana's team included locally based players but Anthony Moe (USA based) and Ray Victor (British Virgin Islands) proved extremely significant additions to the national team. When Guyana squared up with the host nation and long-time rivals Suriname during a vital group stage match-up, the Dutchmen employed a double-team tactic to stop the dangerous Rose which was also the case in their
winning performances in both these games. Power forward Anthony Moe was a man mountain and proved difficult for the opposition to out jump and to menacingly add to his physical dominance, Moe regularly hit shots from beyond the three-point arc. Shaine Webster was part of the starting lineup in each match and the Center player was very consistent. Webster wasn't flashy; he oozed calmness, came out, got double digit scores, won rebounds and got the job done, time after time. Before departing to neighboring Suriname, the Coach had posited that, “Our defence is very good and it is important that the players know and follow their roles. Travis Burnett is in the squad and he is known as a great attacking player but his defensive work is better so his role in the team is to defend and I'm hoping that everyone follows the game plan,” and such was the case in Paramaribo. Burnett along with Orlon Glasgow and Harold Adams who are attacking players, selflessly stuck to their defensive roles to see the tactics of the Coach play out in the team's favour. Looking ahead, Coach Hercules is hoping that Guyana's amazing and maiden triumph in the CBC Championship will inspire Guyanese players in the Diaspora to reach out for an opportunity to get involved in the national set up since he knows that the Puerto Rico hosting of the second round of Caribbean qualifiers for the FIBA Americup will be extremely tough.
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Tuesday July 03, 2018
Kaieteur News
Roger Federer: Wimbledon first-round victory for Swiss over Dusan Lajovic Roger Federer began his quest for a record-extending ninth Wimbledon men’s singles title with a routine win over Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic. Federer, who is 37 in August, won 6-1 6-3 6-4 against the world number 57. The Swiss was in imperious form as he continued the tradition of the defending men’s champion opening up Monday’s play on Centre Court. Federer will play either Slovakia’s world number 73 Lukas Lacko or France’s Benjamin Bonzi - ranked 284th next. The 20-time Grand Slam champion needed just 79 minutes to see off Lajovic, who also lost in straight sets
to Federer at Wimbledon last year. Federer is celebrating a notable milestone at the All England Club this year: his 20th consecutive appearance in the main draw, the first man to do so. And the eight-time champion is still deemed the man to beat. Federer is the top seed as he continues to defy the ageing process and logic, helped by his decision to skip the entire clay-court season to focus on the Championships. After returning to the tour with victory at Stuttgart, and then reaching the Halle final, he looked refreshed as he breezed past Lajovic. A packed Centre Court was dominated by Federer fans -
wearing branded hats and clothing, faces painted with Swiss flags - as every winner was greeted with raucous cheers. Federer was dominant on serve, winning 93% of his first serve points and taking five of his 11 break points, as he extended his run without dropping a set to 23. Lajovic only won 12 points as Federer claimed the first set in just 21 minutes and, although he improved in the final two sets, he was not allowed a chance to break his illustrious opponent’s serve. Men’s third seed Marin Cilic, the 2017 runner-up, eased to a comfortable 6-1 6-4 6-4 win over Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, while three-time
Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, now ranked 224th because of injury, overcame sixth seed Grigor Dimitrov in four sets. Wildcard Liam Broady was beaten 7-5 6-0 6-1 in straight sets by Canada’s Milos Raonic while Slovenian Aljaz Bedene beat 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 Cameron Norrie in a grueling match; American Sam Querrey, who beat Australia’s Jordan Thompson 6-2 6-4 6-3. Temperatures on day one at the All England Club touched 30C as fans were drenched in glorious sunshine. The hottest recorded day at Wimbledon came in 2015, when thermometers registered a scorching 35.7C - breaking a record which had stood (Continued on page 25)
The Swiss supremo was rarely troubled in theopening round as he bids for a ninth title.
Allen fireworks hand Windies Smith, Cummins retained to face B second straight win Tigers Toronto, Canada, CMC – Jamaican all-rounder Fabian Allen smashed an astonishing half-century to haul West Indies B out of trouble and fire them to a sensational three-wicket victory over Edmonton Royals in the Global T20 Canada league here on Sunday. Languishing on 66 for six in the 10th over in pursuit of 156 for victory at Maple Leaf North-West Ground, Windies B were bailed out by the 23year-old Allen who unfurled a spectacular 75 not out off 30 balls, as they crossed the line with two overs to spare to record their second straight win. The right-hander needed a mere 17 balls for his halfcentury, crunching four fours and eight sixes overall, as he bullied the Royals bowling. More importantly, he put on 55 off just 21 balls for the seventh wicket with Shamar Springer who made 15, before adding a further 38 in an unbroken eighth wicket stand with Jeremiah Louis (eight not out). Irishman Kevin O’Brien had earlier top-scored with 49 as Royals, sent in, were bowled out for 155 with two balls remaining. They were 67 for five in the 12th over but O’Brien punched three fours and five sixes in a 17-ball stunner, fuelling a 64-run, sixth wicket partnership with South African Farhaan Behardien who made 29. Twenty one year-old left-arm seamer Obed McCoy was outstanding with four for 22 while left-arm spinner Kavem Hodge (2-18) and seamer Sherfane Rutherford (2-25) finished with two wickets
apiece. In reply, Windies B lost wickets steadily to find themselves staring at defeat before Allen marched to the crease to single-handedly transform the innings. He smashed the first ball he faced
to the long on boundary and then ripped into the same bowler, left-arm spinner Hassan Khan in his next over, belting a four and a pair of sixes as the over leaked 21 runs.In the very next over from veteran leg-spinner Shahid Afridi, Allen extracted 22 runs including three sixes off the last three deliveries. Allen raised his half-century with a boundary backward of point off seamer Sohail Tanvir and fittingly struck the winning runs for Windies B when he clobbered Hassan Khan for the second six off the 18th over. In the other game played, superstar Chris Gayle suffered the ignominy of a four-ball ‘duck’ but Vancouver Knights – featuring Andre Russell who hit two sixes in a seven-ball unbeaten 21 – went down by six wickets to Winnipeg Hawks after chasing down 157.
Following the premature adjournment of their Ordinary General Meeting on April 21st last due to some of the member clubs being unable to tender evidence that they were eligible to participate, the West Demerara Football Association (WDFA) as guided by the Guyana Football Federation has set July 10 as the new date for their Ordinary General Meeting at the Leonora Track and Field Facility from 18:00hrs. The GFF’s Electoral Committee Representative had (Continued on page 30 )
Orin Ferrier
Fabian Allen
Miguel Cummins St John’s, Antigua, CMC – West Indies selectors have kept faith with veteran opener Devon Smith and fast bowler Miguel Cummins for the twoTest series against Bangladesh starting here tomorrow. Both were yesterday named in a Jason Holder-led 13-man squad, which sees the return of Shimron Hetmyer who was ruled out of selection for the recent third Test against Sri Lanka in Barbados through
WDFA to hold OGM and elections on July 10
Adrian Giddings
illness.The left-handed Smith, recalled following a three-year break, managed just 91 runs from six innings at an average of 15 against the Sri Lankans. While he scored a half-century in the first innings of the second Test in St Lucia, the 36year-old managed single digits – 1, 2, 0 – in his last three innings. Smith ironically was part of a mis-firing batting group, with Roston Chase (123), Shai Hope (114) and Kraigg Brathwaite (104) all struggling for runs. Their under-performance meant wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich came to the fore, topping the scoring charts with 288 runs to be adjudged Manof-the-Series. In a Cricket West Indies statement, the Courtney Browne-led selection panel said they expected more from the specialist batsmen, noting they wanted to “see them return to the focus and discipline we know they are capable of in the upcoming series against Bangladesh.” Hetmyer, a part of the squad for the first two Test without being able to secure a spot in the starting XI, enhanced his chances of a recall with a strokefilled hundred against Bangladesh in a drawn two-tour
Devon Smith match here last week. Cummins, meanwhile, proved the weak link in the attack against Sri Lanka, taking three wickets across the three Tests at 73 runs apiece. Those three wickets came in the first innings of the first Test in Trinidad as he came up empty-handed in the remaining Tests. His place could be under threat from Guyana Jaguars seamer Keemo Paul who was called back from Windies A tour of England for the third Test in Barbados, when Hetmyer was forced to return home. The impressive 20-year-old has already played four One-Day Internationals and Twenty20s, and could be seen as an attractive option because of his ability to also bat. West Indies face Bangladesh in the opening Test at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground before travelling to Sabina Park in Jamaica for the second Test starting July 12. SQUAD – Jason Holder (captain), Devendra Bishoo, Kraigg Brathwaite, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Keemo Paul, Kieran Powell, Kemar Roach, Devon Smith.
Kaieteur News
Tuesday July 03, 2018
NYSCL/Independence Cup 2018
T
op order batsman, Eoin Abel struck a vital half century while pacer Parsram Persaud took five wickets to guide Regal Masters of Georgetown to a comfortable 61-run victory over Better Hope Masters which saw them win the Masters final of the 12th annual New York Softball Cricket League (NYSCL) I n d ep en d en ce C u p o n Sunday last at the Roy Wilkins Park in Queens, N e w Y o r k . Abel who scored 52, made his way to the middle after opener Mahesh Chunilall was taken at short cover off the first ball when Regal opted to bat. Despite the early loss, Abel wasn't afraid to play his shots that brought him success over the three days in the Big Apple where he scored 250 runs including three half centuries in five games to be adjudged the Most Valuable Player of the t o u r n a m e n t . At the 10-over break, Regal Masters reached 75 for 2 with Abel on 52 from 43 balls and Mohendra Arjune on five. Abel and opener
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Abel, Persaud propel Regal Masters to title
Troy Kippins (18) put on 60 for the second wicket against some testing Better Hope b o w l i n g . Following the interval, Abel who won a prize for scoring the highest individual score of the tournament when he hit 90 against Tropical Springs on Friday, faced two more balls before he was d i s m i s s e d . Rudolph Baker continued his good run in the tournament with another counterattacking innings of 42 (6x3 4x3) from 23 balls while David Harper made 20 not out from 14 balls (1x4) as Regal Masters finished on 1 6 2 f o r 7 . Baker and Harper combined for 57 runs for the seventh wicket with positive batting. Bowling for Better Hope Masters, H. Walker and G. Singh picked up two wickets each. In reply, Better Hope were sent packing for 101 in 18.2 overs with Persaud claiming 5-15 from five overs that earned him the prizes of Best Bowling figures and Man-of-theMatch in the final. Meanwhile, at the presentation ceremony,
The jubilant Regal Masters with the 'Eagle' the symbol of supremacy. Team owner Mahendra Hardyal thanked the organisers for their hospitality and stated that, “The Georgetown Softball Cricket League Inc.
representative teams; Regal All-Stars and Regal Masters are looking forward to future tournaments. Hardyal congratulated his teams and invited all teams to the
lucrative Prime Minister's Cup tournaments in Georgetown from October 19 to 21, next. In the Pro tournament for teams with players over 50-
years of age, Ontario Royal Canadian Masters beat New York President's XI while SVC All-Stars dethroned NYSCL All-Stars in the Open category.
First minnows, now Champs; Guyana defy odds to win CBC Championships By Calvin Chapman Guyana (112) entered the 10 team, 2018 Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Men's Championship as the second lowest ranked team, ahead of the host nation Suriname that had an International Basketball Federation (FIBA) ranking of 1 1 4 . The only persons, prior to the start of the tournament, who would've believed that the Golden Arrowhead posed a major title threat would've been the Guyanese players and management staff after they had finished last in the previous tournament hosted b y To r t o l a i n 2 0 1 5 . Guyana's training for this championship which also served as the pre-qualifier for the FIBA Americup commenced immediately after the National Club Championships and President of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF), Nigel Hinds, had shared with Kaieteur Sport since then that he was almost certain that Guyana would win. Many of the head coaches in this year's tournament held at the Anthony Nesty Sporthal in Paramaribo had experience at the United States' National
Success after hard work! Travis Burnett (sitting) with (from left) Anthony Moe along with the teens Stanton Rose, Travis Belgrave, Kevon Wiggins and Timothy Thompson pose for a photo after clinching the title. Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) level in addition to being part of second and first division clubs' setup in North A m e r i c a . However, Guyana's Coach,
Junior Hercules who is a Manager at GKRS and Coaches part-time, enjoyed no such exposure with his best achievement in coming in 2017 when he led Guyana to a silver medal in the FIBA
Lesser Antilles Under-18 3x3 c o m p e t i t i o n . Stanton Rose, Captain and MVP during the 'Land of M a n y Wa t e r s ' f i r s t championship win, was part of that silver medal Under-18
team in the 3x3 competition last year and his development as a player has been i m p r e s s i v e . The 18-year-old Rose became the youngest Captain in Guyana's basketball
history and not only was he the right leader for the team but also the best player, as adjudged by CBC panel. The skipper's best performances came against the Guyanese Toughest opposition in S t . Vi n c e n t a n d t h e Grenadines (SVG) during the group stage where he swooshed a tournament high 41 points and in the final against Antigua & Barbuda where he netted a game-high 26 points during his team's 13-point triumph. During an interview with Kaieteur Sport, Hercules stated: “We believe he (Rose) is a special talent and he has been progressively improving as a young player. He has great potential and he has proven at the highest level that he can handle pressure.” Rose didn't let his coach and team down and in addition to winning the MVP award, he is being targeted by some second and third division teams from the USA with additional interest from Baylor University that is part of NCAA Basketball Big 12. Inclusive of the captain, Guyana had four teenagers in their squad, Kevon Wiggins (17), Timothy (Continued on page 31 )
rt o p S Braziliant!
Neymar and Firmino put Samba stars in quarter P. - finals after swatting away Mexican threat 31
At full stretch Neymar managed to redirect the ball into the net after Guillermo Ochoa had been beaten by the cross. Roberto
Main stakeholders need to build a Positiveculture for Sports - GABF President P.30
GABF President, Nigel Hinds (right) with the FIBA Americup 2021 Caribbean Pre-Qualifier Champions in Suriname.
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