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Kaieteur News
Wednesday July 03, 2019
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
Vladimir Putin speaks – worth the listening An Associated Press dispatched on June 29 titled, “Putin says liberalism ‘eating itself,’ migrant influx wrong” is worth the reading. The Russian strongman chose to speak at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on a range of issues. There is sense in listening to and thinking about, even implementing, some of his recommendations. First, he said that the current American president’s election victory was driven by growing disenchantment with liberal policies. To quote the Russian leader directly, “The liberal idea has started eating itself. Millions of people live their lives and those who propagate those ideas are separate from them.” Translation: some liberal ideas, such as open immigration, leave liberal politicians out of step with ordinary citizens. Regardless of where one stands on the immigration debates across the United States and Western Europe, there is commonsense wisdom to Mr. Putin’s words. Even earlier immigrants agree with him. Similar wisdom is required relative to Guyana’s own troubling matters. Second, Mr. Putin shared that it was appropriate to “turn the page” on relations with the US. Again, that represents good sense, and is practical and progressive. Hopefully, the respective leaders can join hands to work on thawing the deep chill that has come to characterise affairs between the two powers - the first a global one and the other a bona fide superpower. Testy talk of a new Cold War and a return to 1962 through a parallel Cuban Missile Crisis should be removed from either official or public conversations. To this end, the Russian leader stated that there was mutual agreement with the US president on “continuing discussions for a possible extension of the New Start nuclear treaty” beyond its expiration in 2021. That is comforting; when an extension is signed. A page turned towards mutual agreement is needed in political Guyana. Third, Mr. Putin, in the broad range of issues covered in his press conference, dived into the heaving waters of LGBT rights. He is on record as being “critical” of the Western drive for LGBT rights. The Russian is accused of duplicity, as supported by his country’s censoring (or “ban”) of what was termed “propaganda” material in LGBT culture aimed at cultivating children, or “aggressive proselytizing” among the young. Mr. Putin’s word has a certain ring, “Let a person grow up first before making a choice” and “that our attitude to the LGBT community is utterly calm and unbiased.” On the other hand, he went to lengths to point out that “this part of community aggressively enforces its views on others.” There is an unreasonable ring to Mr. Putin’s positions. In the next instance, there are confirmed reports from international human rights group that, in Chechnya, more than 100 gay men were arrested and subjected to torture, with some of them killed. And further that the country’s “gay propaganda laws” has exacerbated hostility to LGBT people. LGBT citizens in Guyana can identify with such hostility and physical brutality, as just a few days ago, a known gay rights activist was pummeled mercilessly in public. Like spirited and sustained resistance against domestic abuse, LGBT rights, attract some support, but a cultural mountain blocks concrete progress. There was a smattering of comments, all positive, with regards to the Ukraine and the seizure of its naval vessel and crew, and about encouraging the development of bilateral economic ties. Those are the kinds of ties that fuse towards meaningful and robust relationships, which are able to withstand misunderstandings, disagreements, and tensions. Economic ties serve as a basis for mutually rewarding and reciprocally respected positions, and aid in uncorking bottlenecks in stressful situations. Vladimir Putin attracts much suspicion, especially in the Western press, with Americans leading the charge. In their minds, this Russian Bear never hibernates, and bears watching. For his part, Mr. Putin has shown solid skills in the arts of political public relations and engagement. Alternatively, is it, like Guyana, merely political theatre?
We cannot be selective in our acceptance or interpretation of the CCJ’s ruling DEAR EDITOR, Guyana is entering a new phase in its political and constitutional life. The country for the first time in 2015 saw the PPP/C Government taking the unprecedented step to prorogue Parliament almost a full year ahead of its 5-year term. The decision taken by the then President Donald Ramotar resulted from an attempt by the minority AFC to move a No-Confidence motion against the PPP/C Government which the combined AFC had hoped to successfully move with the support of the APNU given the one seat majority of the combined parliamentary opposition. That decision by the former President, paved
the way for fresh elections in May 2015 which the APNU-AFC narrowly won by a one-seat parliamentary majority. And in what some view as poetic justice, the APNUAFC has fallen on a noconfidence motion ahead of nearly one and a half year of a full 5-year term. The APNU-AFC took recourse to the Court to have the no-confidence vote negated, which went all the way to the CCJ where the Motion was eventually upheld thereby rendering the G o v e r n m e n t unconstitutional. Despite the ruling, President David Granger is still to name a date for elections insisting on the need for a new house-tohouse registration to create a
new Voter’s List. This is unlikely to be completed within the constitutionally mandated period, which could pose a serious challenge to the Rule of Law and the democratic norms of the country. It is interesting to see what consequential orders would be forthcoming from the CCJ on July 12 given the apparent inability of the parties involved to arrive at a consensus both with respect to the date for elections and the appointment of a new GECOM Chairman. Meanwhile, the constitutional clock continues to tick at overdrive speed. The administration continues to behave as though it is business as usual, blissfully ignoring the fact that the Constitution is
under severe stress. Guyana observed CARICOM Day on July 1, which is declared a national holiday. The continuing failure by the Guyana Government to abide by the ruling of the CCJ, which is the judicial arm of CARICOM could be seen as a departure from the concept of regional sovereignty. This does not auger well in terms of regional integration and confidence in our regional institutions to represent the best interests of constituent member states. We cannot as a country be selective in our acceptance or interpretation of the CCJ’s ruling. This will only serve to undermine the integrity and credibility of our regional Court. Hydar Ally
If Guyana is to go to the bargaining table, we must have accurate information DEAR EDITOR, I read a news outfit’s coverage of Dr. Jan Mangal’s comments regarding Frontera’s US$33M signing bonus with great interest. Being a close follower of news in the oil and gas industry, I was not aware that a signing bonus of this magnitude had been paid to government for this ‘farm in’, as the article implied. So, I decided to Google and discovered that Guyana did not receive a single cent from this deal since it was a transaction between the companies. There seems to be a misrepresentation of facts and comparisons that helps no one. Instead, I fear it will help to breed more distrust and greater misunderstanding.
For that reason, I now ask Dr. Mangal to clarify a few of his statements for the public. 1) Dr. Mangal claims that, “there was already 1.4 billion barrels of oil confirmed” at the time of the 2016 PSA and signing bonus. A quick check online shows that estimates were actually 800 million barrels confirmed, with the possibility of up to 1.4 billion. Is this what Dr. Mangal meant? 2) Can Dr. Mangal explain for those of us who know little about the industry what the impact of oil prices may have been on the agreement? Recall that global oil prices had plummeted in February of 2016 and caused concerns about the future of oil. Is it possible that this could have factored in to the government’s decisions at
the time? 3) Dr. Mangal explains that we have forfeited “billions” in taxes. Can he explain where that figure comes from and perhaps provide a number that is a bit less vague? 4) Dr. Mangal points to a $1 billion signing bonus that ExxonMobil paid to Brazil. I must assume he is referring to the Campos block auction in late 2017. If that is the case, can Dr. Mangal confirm that Brazil actually received $1 billion from ExxonMobil alone? I can find no evidence that this figure is accurate or that ExxonMobil was the only company involved. 5) Finally, Dr. Mangal says that the Campos block was basically unproven with no confirmed oil. Yet it is my
understanding that the Campos was an established basin with confirmed and potentially prolific potential. To compare the news report to this mature basin is misleading. Can Dr. Mangal clarify this? I expect Dr. Mangal will accuse me of proposing these questions because I have some hidden agenda. Let me address this eventuality now – I ask these questions because if Guyana is to go to the bargaining table, we must have accurate information. We must understand our resource potential in context, and we must use that knowledge as the foundation for honest debate and discussions. Sincerely Clement Smith
We will yield no ground willingly to hustlers DEAR EDITOR, In light of information coming to light on the ‘land grab’ that has allegedly accelerated since 21st December 2018, I feel compelled to share my personal experience with the process of land acquisition. My quest began in 2013, six years ago, following the success generated by the ENetworks Baseball Star programme, I wrote to GuySuCo’s CEO Mr. Paul Bhim (11.3.2013) asking for consideration in sale of a plot of land suitable for a baseball facility. I was referred to the Guyana Office for Investment as the proper channel for application. I spent two years
providing Go-Invest with detailed business plans, feasibility studies, supporting documentation of various types and results of our pilot programmes. The proposed multi-sport facility encompasses Baseball and ten other sports that have indicated interest via their National Governing Bodies. In December 2014, Baseball Guyana got our approval and Go-Invest wrote GuySuCo directly and attached a satellite photograph of a plot of land suitable to the first phase (of 3) of development. There were many negotiations with GuySuCo, offers counter offers and
finally an offer was made to us for the plot identified by Go-Invest at $25 Million GYD per acre, we accepted the offer as fair market value and asked for time to raise the required $522 million GYD. It took two years of explaining our unique circumstance to benefactors in the baseball world that we needed funding to purchase land. Unique, because in those countries, projects such as ours would have states and counties competing to offer land and tax breaks to attract such a facility. In May 2019, I wrote to GuySuCo in my capacity as CEO to inform that Guyana Baseball had acquired the
funds for purchase as promised and we could make a payment in full if needed at any time. The land committee of GuySuCo met and affirmed our agreement; what followed must rankle even the most jaded of observers, NICIIL was informed of our pending sale and issued a ‘Cease and desist” letter to GuySuCo on 5th June 2019, on which I was copied. Upon the advice of our lawyers, I replied and provided the extensive paper trail to support our application and agreement for purchase of this 20.9 acre plot of land. I have to date received no official reply. Continued on page 5
Wednesday July 03, 2019
An insult to taxpayers DEAR EDITOR, If what the pictorial representation in last Sunday’s Kaieteur News front page, of part of the Black Bush Polder Road, currently very badly deteriorated is true, then that named contractor did not give money for value; first to the then government who awarded the contract, and second, to the Black Bush residents, who were the supposed beneficiaries. By any stretch of the imagination, the inset caption of US$6.6M is quite a huge sum for such a roadway; which should be enough for a competent and properly executed road construction works. And speaking from a layman’s view, even if there were over runs, that still should not mean that a denuded, substandard quality finished product being done, as shown in the pictorial. It is abysmal, and shocking that a high-priced
constructed roadway should reflect such a deteriorated pathway, in such a short period, after construction in 2012. At first glance, it would seem, as if no kind of work has ever been done. On observation, too, deterioration would have had to commence, almost immediately after the completed works, to reflect the shameful shocking state of a roadway, for such a huge sum purportedly invested. These are the kinds of slip shod, and shoddy works that have been done by persons who would have benefitted ten-fold from PPP/C infrastructural contracts. One wonders whether the residents would not have brought such an infrastructural tragedy to their political party from their support base; and if so, what had been done. One must also query where would the Zamal Hussains have been; the type of PPP/C spokesperson
who constantly seek to criticise the Coalition Government for every conceivable social ill/ deficiency, which the PPP/C ignored during its 23 years in government, and which the latter have been effecting remedial works, in every region, since 2015; case in point the East Bank Berbice road. This particular contractor, identified in the caption, should be asked to remedy this road, which is more than insult to the taxpayers of this country; and at his personal cost. It is another graphic, tragic illustration as to what occurred under the PPP/C administration, which was aided and abetted by silence of the beneficiaries/ supporters who are now very vociferous in their criticism of this administration, which continues to address infrastructure across the country. Regards, Aditya Panday
We will yield no ground willingly... From page 4 Imagine my surprise to learn via a social media post that the plot of land identified in 2014, is opposite the ExxonMobil Headquarters and has been surreptitiously offered to various individuals by NICIL. That NICIL could even contemplate sale to ‘Johnny-come-lately’ individuals, with no regard for the arduous process that is required to ensure the state benefits fully from disposal of assets, not only monetarily, but in the benefits of our project, which include; opportunities for youth; jobs; education and tourism revenue along with intangibles such as
positive self-image that would come when (not if) we develop our first major League stars. Persons have had to relinquish lands they received because they lacked the wherewithal to develop same and there are some forging ahead despite losing investors. This is what makes it difficult for Guyanese with projects, ideas and solid backing to be taken seriously. Officials have seen the rosy plans and ideas with no financial backing fail time and time again. These speculative ventures and strategic acquisitions by those who clearly lack the financial means to execute any project
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is the bane of development, they use their political influence to gain land and then fail to develop anything other than debt for themselves and despair for others. Editor, I am cognizant of my rights as a citizen of Guyana; my passion for ethical and honest behaviour in life, both public and private is well known. I do not intend to fail the youth of the nation. The Guyana Baseball League has moved to the law Courts of Guyana to seek redress of this grave injustice to ourselves and the Youth of our nation; we will yield no ground willingly to hustlers. Respectfully Robin Singh
Not too late for both sides to reach consensus DEAR EDITOR, July 1 was the deadline for submission of proposals to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) for consequential orders to be issued on July 12. The court had urged the two sides to meet and discuss the issues and reach consensus on proposed consequential orders. Regrettably, the two sides failed to meet much less discuss the issues. What the court should have done was mandate that two sides meet (with timelines) and reach a consensus on what should be done. The constitution is very clear on what should be done but one side insists it cannot be done because of time constraints. When I worked as a clerk at the civil section (handling lawsuits and marriage divorces) at the Bronx Supreme Court during my college days (was posted in the court room), I heard judges issued orders for opposing sides to meet and arrive at a solution on lawsuits. The court routinely offered his clerical assistant
as a mediator to get the sides to talk and reach consensus on orders for him (the judge) to issue. The judge checked up on the process to see if the sides made progress and whether they required further assistance. In some cases, the court goaded the two sides to meet and talk to find a resolution. After much effort, if the sides can’t reach agreement, then the judge issues a ruling based on law. The CCJ should have required the disputants to meet instead of just asking them to meet to find a solution to what is a political problem. Not surprisingly, the disputants failed to meet. It is not too late for both sides to meet and arrive at a consensus (solution) for the appointment of a GECOM Chair and a date for elections and so advise the court to issue orders. An imposed solution is fraught with dangers given the history of our country. Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram
WHO HAS FAILED THESE DEPARTED SOULS? DEAR EDITOR, While the adulations continue to pour in for the Police Force for the elimination of two criminal gangs that inflicted fear, death and robbery to households in Regions Four and Six, we must not gloat over their deaths. Guyana can ill afford to lose our males to crime by the threes at a time when we lament the acute shortage of our citizens with the requisite skills to take up jobs in the emerging oil and gas industry. At times like these, the question on the lips of many is, “Who has failed these departed souls?” Is it their parents, their teachers, their religious leaders, the community, the government, the movies or is it their own warped minds? Who can tell? Maybe the sociologists could help us navigate these
choppy waters. In closing, I humbly suggest that the Guyana Police Force provide, as a matter of Standard Operational Procedure (SOP), counselling for all the Police ranks who were engaged in the exchange of gunfire with
the dead men, in order to mitigate post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). If this is not addressed in a deliberate manner, it can lead to long term adverse effects. May God help Guyana! Yours faithfully, Bernel L. H. Wickham
I am proud of the Opposition Leader DEAR EDITOR, I read in the press that the Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, has signalled to President David Granger that he is open to him suggesting names for the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). This is a positive step and provides a speck of hope that some consensus can be arrived at, relative to GECOM Chairman; and points to a solution that is acceptable to the Government and the Opposition. At some point, it has to be more about Guyana and the people of the country and less about the PNC and PPP. Congratulations, Mr. Jagdeo, I am proud of you! Yours faithfully, Citizen Audreyanna Thomas
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Wednesday July 03, 2019
Region Four names second batch of pupils for ‘Great Minds’ initiative
Miss Samiyah Shaw of Chateau Margot Primary
Miss Jennel Lewis of St Paul’s Primary
Even ahead of the release of 2019 National Grade Six Assessment [NGSA] results today, the Region Four Department of Education has made the bold move of naming the members of its second batch of pupils for the ‘Great Minds’ initiative. The idea for the initiative, which was introduced in 2018 by the Ministry of Education, and has been passionately supported by the Region’s acting Regional Education Officer [REdO], Ms. Tiffany Harvey, is one geared towards improving the performance at the NGSA level. The programme was labelled ‘Great Minds’ after REdO Harvey said that the greatest of the minds in Region Four are being moulded to bring further success to the region. One of the facilitators of the programme, Jennel Lewis, of St Paul’s Primary said that while last year, classes commenced in September, this year they have already started for the new batch. This move was warranted, Lewis said, since it would allow for even more work to be completed. In this regard, classes commenced last Saturday and will continue until the end of July. After a break for the month of August, classes will resume in September. “Last year we started in September and while we are confident that several of our pupils will be among this
A group of students during the first day of the ‘Great Minds’ Initiative. year’s top one percent, we are working much earlier and harder with the second batch as these pupils that we are working with are already in Grade Five and come September they would be going to Grade Six,” Lewis said. Lewis is confident that the Region will see significant success among those pupils who made up the first batch who wrote the 2019 NGSA. The teachers working on the initiative are offering their services on a voluntarily basis, as they, like the acting REdO, are confident that those selected will excel. Samiyah Shaw of Chateau Margot Primary, who is one of the four facilitators,
pointed out that when they commenced the programme in 2018, the cream of the crop were drawn randomly from the various primary schools in Region Four. She however noted that for this batch they held an examination and as such, the best 40 representing the various primary schools were selected. She revealed that the pupils were selected from the 56 primary schools within the region, thus making it more organised than last year. “Last year pupils were selected randomly, but this year we are doing it differently, as the students wrote an exam and we have started off with 40 so far,” Shaw said.
“Our goal is to push the pupils that we are working with further academically so that they can achieve, as we believe that if we can challenge them to push themselves further, then we can achieve our ultimate objective of increasing the overall performance,” Lewis said. This view was shared by Shaw. Meanwhile, both Lewis and Shaw said that they are eager to hear the announcement of this year’s results, noting that they intend to build on the enormous successes that Region Four has been achieving over the years. The pupils, who have been drawn from both East Coast and East Bank, are meeting in the boardroom of the Regional Democratic Council’s Education
Department. The pupils are also tutored by Malina Matthews of Annandale Primary and Atanica Gordon of Covent Garden Primary. Harvey in an earlier interview had said that over the years the focus has been on pupils who are not that strong and who need remedial work. However, those who are known as high flyers are often forgotten, as the perception is that they will continue to do well. “The Great Minds initiative will help in removing complacency as the pupils would know that while they are on top in their respective class or school, there are others who can challenge them, thus forcing them to do better. They would recognise that while they may have it easy at their respective school when they are faced with other pupils doing equally well or even better than them, they would recognise that there is no room for complacency. As such, they must ensure that their performances remain intact,” she had underscored.
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Kaieteur News
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Govt. launches consultations NGSA results to be announced today for cybersecurity strategy
Spearheaded by the National Data Management Authority (NDMA), a stakeholder consultation process was launched at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre yesterday, for the development of a National Cyber Security Strategy for Guyana. Along with the Organisation of American States (OAS), NDMA intends to hold multiple roundtable discussions with various stakeholders, including representatives of the private sector, justice system, the local financial sector, telecommunications regulators, critical infrastructure operators in aviation, energy, ports and Government agencies responsible for national security, ICT, education and others. During the opening ceremony, Cybersecurity Manager at NDMA, Muriana McPherson said that, like most countries, Guyana has encountered the challenge of ensuring that adequate mechanisms are in place to handle the increasing prevalence of cybsecurity breaches and related incidents associated with the internet. “Consequently, the major risks remain that
cybersecurity made for government agencies, in most cases, goes undetected or unreported.” She added. McPherson noted the recent finding by stock exchange website, NASDAQ, that Guyana is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and warned that, with this, the need to address cybersecurity at the national level becomes even more pressing. She stated, “Guyana’s economic prospects have made it an attractive target, at all material levels. Although we are not unique, we cannot afford to further delay this matter, hoping that cybercrime and cyber attacks will subside or simply go away. Guyana must be cybersecurity ready and prepared.” In view of this need, she said that NDMA’s mandate is to establish a well regulated, secure computing environment and reliable communication linkages among ministries and agency, since Guyana is becoming increasingly dependent on the internet to provide vital public services. McPherson related that in a 2016 Inter American Development Bank (IDB) and
Cybersecurity Manager of the National Data Management Authority, Muriana McPherson Organisation of American States (OAS) report, the bank noted that the vast majority of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are not yet prepared to counteract cyber crime, even though the region has seen an increase in these types of attacks. “The government of Guyana’s Cyber Security portfolio, and the extent to which sensitive government information is protected, is as strong as the least secured government ministry or agency or related infrastructure component.” To mitigate the likelihood of successful cyber attacks,
government has formed a cyber security technical working group to develop and promote the relevant cybersecurity standards, policies and guidelines within the ministries and agencies. McPherson said that the group is constituted by 12 Information Technologies from several government agencies, who are “currently engaged in the development of key cybersecurity policies to be implemented across government.” She said that this approach nurtures the mindset that cyber security is a shared responsibility.
The National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) results will be announced today from 09:00hrs at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD). The number of students who sat the examinations this year was 14,715. The NGSA assesses the capabilities of each student in four subject areas Mathematics, English, Science and Social Studies. After the papers are marked and the scores tallied, the number of points accumulated will determine which school the student will be placed in to receive their secondary education. Last year, a total of 2,404 of the 14,000-odd candidates failed to meet the benchmark to allow them placement into a school. However the ministry introduced a specially designed programme to facilitate those students, in which they would spend six years in secondary instead of five, with the first year serving as a sort of transition to prepare them academically for Grade Seven. “Instead of leaving the children back at the primary school level, we put them over to a secondary school, and we have this special programme for them, because they are not yet ready for the Grade Seven class,” Senior Education Officer within the Education Ministry, Ms. Carol Benn, had said during an interview with this publication. The ministry is confident that this year’s results will surpass that of last year as they have a lot of confidence in the capability and performance of this batch. When the NGSA results were released last year, private school pupils claimed the three top spots.
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Wednesday July 03, 2019
Publishing all mining agreements good for transparency, but institutional changes needed – GGMC Commissioner Commissioner (ag.) of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Newell Dennison, has said that in order for Guyana to become compliant with the recommendations of the Extractive Industries T r a n s p a r e n c y Initiative (EITI), institutional changes are inevitable. Dennison was at the time responding to queries about an EITI recommendation that all mineral agreements must be made public. In its 2017 report, EITI suggested that Guyana comply with requirement 2.4 (a) of its 2016 Standard, which states that implementing countries are encouraged to publicly disclose contracts and licences that provide the terms attached to the
exploitation of oil, gas and minerals. However, the GGMC Commissioner reminded that publishing of the agreements are not as straightforward as it appears. “Remember certain confidentiality elements are found in these agreements which essentially restrain GGMC as the supervisory agency from releasing contract information, and there is nothing which mandates the companies to do so either.” As such, Dennison asserted that the solution may be found in institutional changes —particularly in the amendment to laws which apply to contracts and information sharing. “An amendment in the
law that will allow for information to be shared without breaching the confidentiality provision can be useful…” Dennison suggested further that in addition to the amendment, “there are different mechanisms that may be enacted that will allow agencies to provide information that otherwise we couldn’t provided because of the different types of constraints.” Towards this end, the GGMC Chairman noted that upgrading of the Information Technology is also necessary. “The IT system has an essential role to play, since the real issue here is getting the information to the relevant bodies in a manner that is easily accessible and
lawful.” Dennison proposed that the construction of an interagency database would assist the process “For example, if someone applies for a licence and an official at GRA wants that information about the applicant … rather than having to write the Commissioner of GGMC and the Commissioner having to pull files to find out, they should be able to pull a database up from GGMC.” According to Dennison, GGMC is working with the transparency body to ensure the agency can meet the new standard for EITI reporting that comes into effect by 2021. In its 2017 report, the EITI noted that while the Mining Act (1989) does not include any expressed restrictions on the public disclosure of mineral agreements and licences by the government, mineral agreements are not currently available electronically. Furthermore, the report states that a common model agreement that provides the standard terms attached to the management of mines does not exist. On this ground, it was recommended that the EITI Secretariat in Guyana maintain an archive of copies of all active mineral agreements that are available. Additionally, it was recommended that the MultiStakeholder Group of the local
Commissioner (ag.) of GGMC, Newell Dennison
EITI chapter set out a work plan for the publication of all mineral agreements in the mining sector. The report says that this work plan may include the following: defining how the electronic publication of mineral agreements can be undertaken; the steps required for all mineral agreements to be published electronically and how to make these accessible to the public; a realistic timeline as to when such data could be available; and performing a review of the institutional or practical barriers that may prevent such electronic publication. The EITI is an international body that requires implementing countries publish comprehensive reports, which include the full
disclosure of government revenues from the extractive sector, as well as the disclosure of all material payments made to the government by companies operating in the oil, gas and mining sectors. The objective of Guyana’s first report is to help in the understanding of the level of contributions of the extractive sector to the economic and social development of the nation in order to improve transparency and good governance at all levels of the extractive industry value chain. BDO LLP, a United Kingdom (UK) Accountancy and Advisory firm, was appointed as the Independent Administrator to prepare the first GYEITI Report for the year ended 31, December 2017.
Wednesday July 03, 2019
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Cabinet and the marijuana laws The Caribbean Court of Justice has ruled that the noconfidence motion of December 21st 2018 was validly passed. They have also held that as a result, Articles 106 (6) and 106 (7) were triggered. The judges said, “We are therefore of the view that the National Assembly properly passed a motion of no confidence in the Government on 21 December 2018, and that the provisions of Article 106 (6) and (7) …were accordingly triggered” The triggering of these provisions means that Cabinet is resigned by operation of law. This implies that regardless of whether there is a formal resignation of members of Cabinet, it
stands resigned. It does not exist at present. It cannot therefore be convened nor can it make any decisions. This is in accordance with Article 106(6) of the Constitution which states that the Cabinet, including the President, shall resign if the Government is defeated by the vote of a majority of all the elected members of the National Assembly “on a vote of confidence.” Cabinet however is not the government and the government remains in place until elections are held. Article 106(7) states among other things, that notwithstanding its defeat, the government shall remain in office and shall hold an election within three months.
There is no Cabinet, but there is a government, a position which supports the position that the government should only be concerned with caretaker functions until elections are held. It would be disingenuous for the government to try to be cunning. The CCJ has sounded a warning. It said “The provisions of Article 106 (6) and (7) are clear on their face. They hardly require further interpretation on the part of the courts. One of the judges in her ruling recalled that the Explanatory Memorandum to the Bill which introduced the amendment of Article 106 simply stated: “Clause 5 alters article 106 to provide for the resignation of the Cabinet and
DEM BOYS SEH
People putting cat to watch milk at de airport De airport people announce how dem investigating all dem case of sexual harassment in de workplace. Of course, a woman got de right to go to work without worrying which man gon hit on her. She shouldn’t worry about losing she job if she don’t agree to go to bed wid him. And in some cases is not only men does do dis thing. Dem have some workplace wheh women mekking moves on odda women and threatening dem. De situation enough to mek people cry. Dem boys seh dat dis sexual harassment thing at de airport was reported since last year. Nobody pay attention. Dem ignore de dam woman. Is when she complain de odda day and de story mek de news dat things start to happen. People who been harassing women and getting away wid it suddenly realize dat dem name calling. Some of dem bareface enough to hire experts to investigate. Wha dem boys want to know is if de expert gon meet wid de people who mek de complaint. If dat happen nuff people career done. Dem boys want to know who select de
experts. Dem want to know if de government had anything to do wid de selection. De airport is not de only place dat got investigation going on. De people who printing de exercise book had a racket going on fuh years. Without turning a straw dem does mek millions. If de Education Ministry want 50,000 books, de printing people gon tek de contract to somebody else and tell dem what to charge. Then de Ministry gon get anodda price. De auditors decide to tek a look because de story buss out when de printing people play smart wid de contract. Dem boys hear how 50,000 exercise books suddenly tun 30,000 and dat is only because de auditors track some schools to find out how many books dem get. Then de auditors do de maths. De excuse is dat insects eat out de odda books. Is dis situation mek Soulja Bai decide dat he gon ease up jailing people who got up to one ounce ganja. He want de jail clear fuh de new set of criminals. Talk half but don’t walk wid one ounce ganja in yuh pocket just yet.
the President following the defeat of the Government in the National Assembly on a vote of confidence.” The Executive will be courting the ire of the court if it fails to appreciate that there can be no Cabinet following the decision of the Court. It seems, however, as if the Executive is willing to take that gamble. Another judge had this to say, “The inexplicable disregard by the organs of the State of the constitutional injunction in Article 106(7) that elections must be held within three months of the passage of a confidence motion means that the country has been mired in a constitutional crisis for the past six months with no clear end in sight.”
The court cautioned, “As we await the further submissions of Counsel on what consequences, if any, should be prescribed by the Court in these appeals, I urge all to bear in mind that the rule of law is an important guiding constitutional principle of a sovereign democratic state like Guyana.” I have gone to great lengths to quote from the ruling of the Court to illustrate how critical it is for the government to act in accordance with the Constitution. Yet, yesterday there was a release which stated that Cabinet had approved of non-custodial sentencing for possession of small amounts of marijuana. Cabinet should not have been meeting. It stands
resigned. It does not have a legal leg on which to stand. Therefore, any decision that it would have made after the ruling of the CCJ is null and void. The decision of Cabinet about the non-custodial sentences for the possession of small amounts of marijuana is of no legal effect. It is at this stage merely a promise, which can only be realized once a law authorising such changes is passed in the National Assembly. And the tabling of a Bill to change the country’s marijuana laws has to emanate from Cabinet. Right now there is no lawful Cabinet.
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday July 03, 2019
THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN
GTT, MovieTowne, the police and shithole Guyana At 6 p.m. on the holiday evening of Monday, GTT held the finals of its jingles competition at the car park of MovieTowne. One of the dimensions of the event was an international concert with performers from the Caribbean. The decibels were equal to any international concert in any part of the world. I have been to such concerts when I studied abroad. The walls of my home were literally vibrating. My wife asked me if my seat was shaking, because hers was. Then suddenly the computer went dead. My neighbour is a Mexican diplomat. My other neighbour is John Chin, the
manager for Stanley Ming’s company, and my other neighbour works with the USAID. What are these people to think of Guyana? John Chin has a 76-year-old mother-in-law. That lady had to leave her home. My wife decided it was time to go somewhere, anywhere. I decided to check my facts before I wrote. I went on the UG Road. This street is bordered by Cummings Lodge. I stopped at Cyril Potter College of Education to listen to the way the sound was being carried by the wind. It was loud at that site. I drove into UG. You would think if you were in UG that the event was across the road
at the college. This article is being typed on a new computer. John Chin said he cannot be sure that the vibration was the reason. I called in UG technician. Khemraj Naraine. He said he cannot say definitively if the vibration damaged the system. On Tuesday morning I bought another system. I buy all my computers from Isaac Investment Computer Business in Regency Mall. On Tuesday morning, its owner, Anthony Sarjoo, told me he had no more computers. I would never know if that sound system damaged my CPU. On the very Tuesday morning while my new system was being installed, I got a call from GTT’s PRO, Jasmin Harris. I told Ms Harris I could not speak to her because the technicians were at my home. One thing led to another and my exchange with Harris was volcanic on my part. Ms. Harris’ position is
that she cannot consider where I live a residential area. She cited the location of CARICOM, Giftland Mall. I really got annoyed with Harris. That music system was directly facing the community I live in, which has more than three hundred heads. Next to Movie Towne car park - to the west of it - is Pattensen, where hundreds more persons live. Across the road, east of MovieTowne on UG Road, are the Beharry family home, Gafoor’s gated community and University Garden, where several diplomats live. Then there is Cummings Lodge, where thousands have their homes. The second thing Harris told me is that the Police Commissioner gave GTT permission to use the sound system until 2 a.m. I asked Harris why have the speakers face the south where thousands live, rather than north where only the Atlantic Ocean can be found. She said the sound company positioned the speakers; it
had nothing to do with GTT. Tuesday afternoon, I got hold of the owner of Traveller ’s Sound and Lighting System Company, Mr. Leonard Shim. First, Mr. Shim said, at a concert like that, his system is geared to provide sound that would go further than UG. Well, one can just imagine what was happening to where I live, across the road from MovieTowne. Secondly, Shim said he had no jurisdiction in the placement of the speakers. It was MovieTowne officials that gave him a logistical map and told him not to go beyond the boundaries outlined. Here is the interesting part of the six hours of horror that thousands of Turkeyen, Pattensen and Cummings Lodge residents had to bear up with. John Chin said when he drove on the old highway where MovieTowne is located, you could hardly hear the sound. Why did they turn the speakers south? Because to put them facing
Frederick Kissoon the north would have affected patrons at Kosmos Restaurant, KFC, Hard Rock Café and the movie-goers. We the residents were expendable. Efforts to contact MovieTowne CEO, Kirly Bacchus were laughable. I went to see her. An attendant said she just went into a meeting and he was not certain when she would be out. I called Operations Manager, John Quelch. He said he had no part in the decision to rent the car park to GTT but if I had waited just five minutes, I would have met Bacchus. The Police Commissioner did not return my call. GTT and MovieTowne, next year, will get a big fight from residents.
Wednesday July 03, 2019
Kaieteur News
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday July 03, 2019
Taxi driver is now convicted child rapist - To be sentenced August 26
Morris Johnson (centre) is escorted from the courtroom after being found guilty of rape.
Forty one-year-old taxi driver Morris Johnson was yesterday found guilty of raping a girl who was just 12 years old at the time of the act. Having been charged with rape of a child under 16, Johnson had pleaded not guilty when the indictment was presented by State Prosecutors Seeta Bishundial and Abigail Gibbs at the Sexual Offences Court in Demerara. After deliberations, the 12-person jury returned with a unanimous verdict. Trial Judge Brassington Reynolds adjourned sentencing for Johnson until August 26, following the presentation of a probation report and victim impact statement. His lawyers were Ronald Burch-Smith in association with Keoma Griffith. Johnson committed the act between August 12 and 13, 2017, in the county of Demerara. According to information, the young girl and some of her friends went to an event on the night of August 12, 2017, and were waiting on transportation to get home. During that time they boarded a ‘short drop’ taxi that was operated by Johnson. It was reported that Johnson drove past the location his passengers were expected to get off. While the 12-year-old’s friends forced their way out of the car, she was not so fortunate. She was taken to an isolated area where she was raped, and then left on a bridge. She had to find her way home. The minor’s parents were informed by her friends about what had transpired; she was taken to the police. Thereafter, she was taken to the hospital where a medical examination confirmed that she had been sexually assaulted. Johnson was arrested and charged.
Commissioner sworn-in to conduct COI for 2018 piracy attack Dr Rishee Shri Thakur was yesterday sworn-in by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan as Commissioner, to conduct the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the circumstances surrounding the piracy attack on Guyanese nationals in April 2018 off the Atlantic Coast of the Republic of Suriname. Representative of the Ministry of the Presidency, Geeta Chandan-Edmond brought the order made by President David Granger to the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. She related to the court that this COI’s findings and recommendations will be reported to the President after it discovers the circumstances surrounding the violent criminal acts, hijacking of Guyaneseowned vessels, and the resultant deaths of Guyanese nationals on, or about April 27, 2019. After the swearing-in the magistrate stepped down from her bench to hand over the document to Dr Thakur. This now gives him the authority to summon witnesses to determine the identities of those killed; the perpetrators and the motive of the attack. Moreover, the COI will be conducted at the Skeldon Estate Training Centre, Berbice, and will commence immediately. It is to be completed by September 2, 2019. The piracy attack was
perpetrated on 20 Guyanese fishermen in Suriname waters. Several pirates attacked four fishing boats, tying up crewmen, chopping several of them and ordering others to transfer their catch. One man reportedly witnessed his captain being trussed up and weighted with a battery and dumped overboard. Another saw his colleague’s arm being chopped off. Five men survived by jumping overboard and swimming away. Days later, another fishing boat was attacked with the captain, a Guyanese, killed and crewmen dumped overboard. Some 12 fishermen, all Guyanese, are still missing after the first deadly attack that took place between the Suriname and French Guiana borders. A suspect in the deadly attack was charged remanded to prison on May 12, 2018 for allegedly robbing two fishing vessels – one in 2015 and the other in 2016. Nakool Manohar, called ‘Fyah’, 39, of Number 43 Village, Corentyne, Berbice, appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court. He was not required to plead to the indictable charges of robbery underarms that were filed under Section Three of the Hijacking and Piracy Act Chapter 10:08. Continued on page 16
Wednesday July 03, 2019
Kaieteur News
PAGE 13
CJIA board hires experts to tackle sexual harassment The management of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) has started an internal review of its protocols on how it should handle cases of sexual harassment. However, the airport has continued to remain silent on how it has allowed a senior manager accused of sexual assault, to return to work, while his accuser remains off the job after her security pass was withdrawn and she was unceremoniously escorted off the premises. The issue has raised awareness on the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace, with Red Thread staging a protest. Yesterday, according to CJIA, the interventions designed to tackle the issue of sexual harassment and assault at the airport commenced last Friday (June 28) in keeping with the commitment made by the board of directors. “At its meeting on Friday, June 21, 2019, the board took steps to immediately tackle the workplace culture, to ensure that the CJIA, as a workplace, is safe for all, especially women and other vulnerable social groups. The decision came in the wake of public allegations of sexual misconduct at the airport,” the airport explained. On Friday, the management team of the CJIA said it participated in the first consultation session with the two consultants contracted to review all policies, protocols, regulations, and practices that govern conduct and engagements in the workplace, and to conduct workshops with the employees. Among the participants was Chief Executive Officer, Ramesh Ghir. The accusations are leveled against two high-level officials of the airport. The CJIA board said it has retained the services of Social Work Educator and Behavior Change Consultant, Paulette Henry and Human Resource Management Specialist, Donna Tucker. “The board remains
…but remains silent on withdrawal of alleged victim’s security pass
CJIA management at the consultation session. At right is CEO, Ramesh Ghir.
committed to making all necessary and recommended changes to ensure that the workplace at CJIA is transformed, both for the safety of all employees and to reflect contemporary best practices.” The airport came under scrutiny last month after a supervisor employed by a concessionaire, accused the airport of a cover-up of a complaint she allegedly filed with Ghir and his team last year. The woman, in her 30s, alleged that she visited a senior manager in his office to sort out a parking issue. She said while in his office, she was forcibly kissed twice and touched by the man who also blocked the door. She complained the next day to Ghir who promised to look into the matter. However, despite a number of requests, and back and forth, it was only a few weeks ago she was told that the matter was “addressed”. The supervisor has filed a police action and a fullblown investigation is underway. However, the airport sent the official on administrative leave. He returned to work last Thursday. The airport also withdrew the woman’s security pass and escorted her off the airport premises.
It has not been returned to her, raising questions about the seriousness of the airport to deal with issues like these in an evenhanded manner. Since the publications of the stories, there have been a number of other women coming forward accusing another executive of sexual harassment. One woman said she was forced to resign after refusing to have a relation with her boss. She claimed she was offered gifts and trips and even inappropriately touched. A number of other women resigned with her in 2012, in protest.
HR Consultant Donna Tucker (L) and GA Consultant Paulette Henry at the first consultation session with the CJIA Management team.
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday July 03, 2019
Wednesday July 03, 2019
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Kaieteur News
Workers at Aurora Gold Mine strike over lack of union, severance The Mill area at Aurora Gold Mine.
President of the National Mine Workers’ Union, Sherwin Downer, picketing Guyana Goldfields last Friday. Workers at the Aurora Gold Mine (AGM) of Guyana Goldfields have staged a strike
over several issues, including alleged workers’ rights abuses, a lack of union
representation, and for severance that was promised to them. The employees that spoke with Kaieteur News expressed the desire to remain unnamed. They have claimed fear of persecution by the administration. Estimates early yesterday stood at about 60 workers who had stayed away but by last night, one of the workers said that roughly 250 of the 400+ workers at the mine had joined the protest action. He said that most of the remaining workers are from the second shift. Back in March, Guyana Goldfields signed an open pit contract mining agreement
with STRACON, a Peruvian contractor, focused on open pit and underground mining. STRACON’s work, according to the contract, commenced on July 1, 2019. It was expected that the mine workers would be rehired by STRACON. A worker at the Aurora Gold Mine told Kaieteur News that it was agreed that they would be paid severance, but no one was paid. Frustrated, the workers
began to strike. Their internet connection was reportedly cut off at about 10:30 in the morning so they couldn’t relate their grievances to the outside world. One worker said that, when he left the mine at noon, the mills and workshops had been down for hours. It was also reported to this publication that a mine manager visited the workers during the day, but appeared unaware of the concerns they
raised. President of the National Mine Workers Union (MMWU), Sherwin Downer, told this publication that the workers have not been unionised, and have refused to resume work until they meet with the union. This was confirmed by one of the workers, who said that they will stay away from work until they get justice. Human Resources Continued on page 29
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday July 03, 2019
Hotel owner in alleged murder plot moves to High Court for bail Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan for a third time has refused bail for the owner of Rockies International Hotel on Light Street, Georgetown, and the alleged contracted hit man, in relation to their charge of conspiracy to commit
murder. Further remanded are businessman Mark Grimmond, 57, of 320 Grove Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara, and Chatterpaul Singh, 36, a miner, of 1 First Street, Cummingsburg,
Georgetown. The men are currently before Magistrate McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. They were not required to plead to the indictable charge. It is alleged that between
April 1, 2018 and June 7, 2019, at Georgetown, the defendants conspired with each other, and persons unknown, to murder Dwayne Grant, a businessman from Lethem. Attorney-at-law Bernard
Da Silva, who is representing Grimmond, told the court that last Friday his client had to be rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where he complained of feeling unwell. According to the attorney, Grimmond was vomiting blood and he was rushed to GPHC at 02:00hrs on Friday. He was treated and released back into police custody later that very day. The attorney for Singh also tried to renew his application for bail to be granted to his client. Police prosecutor Neville Jeffers indicated to the court that his file is almost completed. Statements into the matter were available; however, outstanding are the telephone recordings between the two defendants. In his response to the renewal of the bail applications, the prosecutor maintained his previous grounds of objection. These were based on the seriousness of the offence and the strength of the evidence the police wish to present. The prosecutor also noted that there is an application for bail pending at the High Court for Grimmond. After listening to the defence counsel and prosecution, Chief Magistrate McLennan refused bail and adjourned the matter to July 9. According to the facts of the charge, Grant received certain information that the men were plotting to kill him and he reported it to the police. The police ranks acting on the report went to a hotel where they made contact with the number two defendant, Singh. Singh was arrested and at that point in time, he was
Mark Grimmond
Chatterpaul Singh reportedly found with a firearm. In a detailed conversation with the police, Singh reportedly admitted that he was contracted by Grimmond to kill Grant. Grimmond was subsequently arrested and the allegation of conspiracy to commit murder was put to him. Telephone conversations between the two defendants were obtained by the police. Based on advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions, the charge was instituted.
Commissioner sworn-in to... From page 12 Particulars of the first charge against him alleged that between April 1 and April 30, 2015, in the territorial waters of Guyana in the Corentyne Magisterial District, while in the company of others and armed with guns and cutlasses, he robbed fishing vessel ‘Sir Navin’ of a 248 horsepower engine valued at $2.8M property of Daneshwar Reddy called ‘Smallie’. It was further alleged that between August 1 and August 30, 2016, in the territorial waters of Guyana in the Corentyne Magisterial District, while in the company of others and armed with guns and cutlasses, he robbed fishing vessel ‘Captain Vickesh’ owned by Vickesh Balkissoon. The fishing vessel is valued at $2.3M. Manohar was arrested on May 2, 2018 and was kept in custody up until his arraignment before the Chief Magistrate, after police filed a Habeas corpus in the High Court and were granted extension in time to detain the suspect. Law enforcement here and in Suriname treated the pirate attack as a reprisal crime for the murder of Manohar’s brother, Somnauth, who was killed during a drive-by shooting in Suriname. Like his brother who had residence in Suriname, Nakool Manohar is the owner of several fishing boats. Police Inspector Gordon Mansfield, who stood for the prosecution in Manohar’s case, had informed the court that persons gave statements to the police implicating Manohar in the armed robberies. Some of Manohar’s workers were also arrested but were released shortly after; some of the alleged pirates were also arrested in Suriname.
Wednesday July 03, 2019
Kaieteur News
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Wednesday July 03, 2019
Kaieteur News
Cabinet approves proposal to remove jail time for 30 grams of ganja or less – Opposition objects, says Govt. illegal
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After much debate, the Cabinet yesterday approved a proposal that there should be no more custodial sentences for persons who are found to be in possession of 30 grams of marijuana or less. Cabinet’s decision will now be conveyed to Parliament where it will be further debated to make the amendments to the relevant laws governing the Narcotics Act. Moreover, Cabinet stressed this new decision does not mean that the possession of marijuana is no longer an offence but, persons will not be sentenced to imprisonment as in accordance to the law. According to Cabinet, based on a recent report by the Caribbean Community they gave this recommendation to support Rastafarians who require the usage of marijuana in their worship and sacrament. However, the Opposition,
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the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), issued a statement rejecting the decision made by the cabinet, highlighting that the Government is currently illegal and Cabinet should have already resigned. The statement also questioned statements made by the then Minister of State, Joseph Harmon who said that the Cabinet was not operating since January 31, 2019. Minister Harmon had said that, “There is a judgment of the Court that was made with respect to the Cabinet and that judgment is appealed, but we have not obtained a stay of the judgment as yet and, therefore, we have not held Cabinet meetings.” Additionally, the opposition said that “The David Granger-led Coalition has had over four years to address the issue of removing custodial sentences for possession of small quantities of marijuana. It failed to do so.” It goes on to say, “In May 2016, President Granger declared that: “This is not something that is a preoccupation of the Administration at the present time...I would not counsel the use of marijuana by young people or anybody.” The Opposition closed their statement by highlighting that talk about removing the custodial sentence is just another broken promise by the Continued on page 30
Wednesday July 03, 2019
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Kaieteur News
CCJ rejects application by Ex-Berbice cop busted with over 94 kilos of ganja at home Barbados-based lawyer to appoint Speaker as ‘Interim President’
An ex-police detective is now in police custody with his wife, also an ex-cop, after ranks from the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU) swooped down on their home at No.2 Village, East Canje, Berbice, yesterday morning, in the process unearthing a large quantity of marijuana 94.347 kilograms (208 lbs). Based on information gathered by Kaieteur News, Khushyal Grant, 28, who served in the Guyana Police Force as a detective, was found with the prohibited substance in his home. It was based on information received and fueled by an intelligence-led operation that Grant was busted with the cannabis. Grant who was at home with his wife, also an ex-police rank, were both taken into custody and transported to CANU Headquarters in Georgetown, a police source said. Meanwhile, while on
BUSTED: Ex-cop Khushyal Grant (CANU photo)
Also arrested for another matter: Kerry Grimmond (CANU photo)
another operation yesterday, CANU busted a New Amsterdam man with 140 grams of cannabis at his home in Nickolay Street, New Amsterdam. He has since been identified as 34-year-old
Kerry Charles Grimmond. The suspects are said to be assisting with investigations as CANU promises to “tighten its grip on narcotic distributors throughout the country”.
The bulky parcels of marijuana that were unearthed during the bust (CANU photo)
Noting that the hearing of the consolidated appeals stemming from the passage of the No-Confidence Motion have been heard and determined, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) yesterday rejected an application by Attorney-atLaw Lalu Hanuman, a Barbados-based Guyanese citizen, to appoint Speaker of the National Assembly Dr. Barton Scotland as ‘Interim President’. Responding to Hanuman’s application via email, the CCJ’s Registry Supervisor said, “Please be advised that the consolidated appeals referred to at caption are now complete, the judgment of the Court having been delivered on the 18th day of June 2019. It is therefore too late for anyone to join as amicus curiae, even if a proper application for so doing had been made.” In the amicus curiae submission, Hanuman, who is also Chairperson of the Barbados Bar Association’s Human Rights Committee, held that there is currently no constitutional President, no constitutional Leader of the Opposition as well as no constitutional National Assembly in Guyana as the CCJ affirmed the passage of the No-Confidence Motion against government. Against this backdrop,
the lawyer called on the Regional Court to move Guyana back into constitutionality. The best way to do this, he submitted, was for the CCJ to adopt a proactive stance and to order that Dr. Scotland be appointed as ‘Interim President’, in the capacity as Caretaker Government, and for him to appoint an equal number of Ministers from both sides of the last National Assembly. He said, … “And for the said Ministers to serve pending the holding of a General Election [regional and national], and for the “Interim President” to then appoint a person from the eighteen names previously submitted by the last Leader of the Opposition [Bharrat Jagdeo] as GECOM Chairperson. The new GECOM Chairperson will then advise the “Interim President” as to the date of elections.” He is of the belief that having Dr. Scotland as ‘Interim President’ with a team of multi-party Ministers will help introduce bipartisanship into this constitutional crisis, and be a more legitimate approach than allowing the former President [David Granger] to remain in office over three months after the expiry of his constitutional mandate.
According to Hanuman, the constitutional life of the National Assembly has not been extended in accordance with Article 106 (7) of the Constitution, and therefore, there is no constitutional President nor a constitutional Leader of the Opposition and no constitutional mechanism that can be followed to appoint a Chairperson of GECOM, given that his/her appointment is to be made from a list supplied to the President by the Leader of the Opposition. “As the Caribbean Court of Justice held in Attorney General of Guyana v Cedric Richardson, “The passage of time cannot make valid that which was void ab initio”. Only a vote to extend the three month deadline within the constitutional three month window could constitutionally extend the life of the National Assembly; the Presidential term; and the tenure of the Leader of the Opposition,” the lawyer said in his submission. As it is, Hanuman held that the Presidential term and the tenure of the Leader of the Opposition were terminated by effluxion on March 21— three months after the NoConfidence Motion was passed in the National Assembly and according to him, it is trite law that a nullity cannot be revived.
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Police chief warns of stern action for ranks’ misconduct Commissioner of Police, Leslie James, has issued a stern warning related to misconduct in the force. Speaking Monday during the start of the 180th anniversary celebrations of the Guyana Police Force, the commissioner also lauded the strides made in recent times. According to James, because of changing values in the society, the administrators of the force acknowledge that there are instances of misconduct within its ranks. “However, the membership of the Guyana Police Force number in excess of 7,000, most of whom have been professional, law abiding, conscientious and humble. And for those who chose to run contrary, disciplinary actions have been taken against them.” The statements of the Commissioner would come as an internal probe remains underway into alleged corruption in the force. Whistleblowing ranks in Berbice have accused colleagues and senior officers of participating in a series of criminal activities, including protection of drug shipments, bribery to protect bandits and even taking money to wipe out a police witness in a drug case. There was even a claim that the number of a senior police officer was in the phone of a bandit killed in a shootout in the Corentyne backdam.
Last week, the Commissioner sent on leave his crime chief, Deputy Commissioner, Lyndon Alves, amid those shocking allegations as its internal arm, the Office of Professional Responsibilities began a probe. On Monday, it appeared that the force was looking forward with very little mention otherwise of the allegations by James. “Today being the 1st of July, 2019 commences the month in which the Guyana Police Force will commemorate its 180th Anniversary as the premier law enforcement agency. We have come a long way. From those days where the focus was on protecting the plantation owners, we have moved to one where we protect the citizens and their properties. We have transitioned from those days where the methods and strategies used are varied and multi-dimensional.” He said that from those days where a strong sense of commitment to family and communities was the influence locally, there is a shift to these times where the influences are wide and diverse, facilitated by the rapidly changing world of information technology that supports social media, smart television and smart phones. “Nonetheless, the Guyana Police Force continues to surmount these challenges by way of prevention in most
Workers at Aurora Gold Mine... From page 15 Manager at Guyana Goldfields, Peter Benny, was expected to make a statement on the matter yesterday. But when Kaieteur News reached out to him, he did not respond. Attempts were also made to contact Chief Labour Officer, Charles Ogle, but these proved futile. Over the past year, Kaieteur News has been contacted by several persons purporting themselves to be employees of Guyana Goldfields, detailing abuses allegedly meted out against them. Kaieteur News has been unable to substantiate these claims, since most of the persons, claiming to be fearful of persecution, neglected to give key details about their identities and/or were unwilling to go on record. The AGM workers are not the only ones who are seeking union representation. On Monday, this publication reported that workers at the Buckhall unit have also been seeking union representation for several years. A recent attempt by
Downer to have the Buckhall rank and file workers recognised by the Trade Union Recognition Certification Board (TUR&CB), of which Ogle is the head, proved unsuccessful. This is because, Benny explained to labour officers, it would be more complicated than recognising workers at one unit, since workers are regularly transferred, depending on the needs of each unit. But Downer had told Kaieteur News that the argument Benny made, which effectively halted the application process, was meritless. Downer has become critical of how the Department of Labour has been treating with Guyana Goldfields, purporting that it has allowed Guyana Goldfields to act somewhat with impunity. Last Friday, he picketed the Guyana Goldfields head office at Liliendaal, Turkeyen. Downer said that the company must show respect for the desire of its workers to unionise.
Commissioner of Police, Leslie James cases of crimes, maintenance of law and order, preservation of the peace, effective traffic management, to name a few. However, the administration of the Force is cognizant that the daily reporting in the media and the consequential absorption by the public, of criminal acts perpetrated within the country may lead many to believe that crime is on the rise. But, while the perception may be so, the
numbers within the Organisation tell us that we are making progress,” James pointed out. He said that the Police Force has to continue to embrace best practices together with all the technological developments that contribute to better policing and eventually a sustained reduction in crime. “The progress alluded to is not achieved alone, but
through strong support from a number of key stakeholders. The Government of Guyana, through our subject Ministry and the Ministry of Finance is our main support. However, increased partnership with regional and international countries, increased collaboration at the level of the community and increased coordination with lending agencies, specifically the Inter-American Development Bank, all contribute significantly to our progress and development as the premier law enforcement body in Guyana.” According to the Commissioner, the administration of the force recognizes that the achievement of safer communities requires a multifaceted approach that has led to more development of key competencies as well as emotional development. “Efforts at emotional development are targeted through training in anger management, ethical behaviour and conduct, conflict management, stress management and psychological analysis. These areas are considered vital to the holistic growth of our policemen and
policewomen. As we proceed further into 2019 and beyond, the administration seeks to strengthen those systems that will result in improved service to the communities and all citizens within Guyana.” He pointed to the development of prosecution through the operationalisation of our Police Prosecutors’ Coordinating Unit. “We will operationalise our Training Board, which will evaluate and supervise revision of our training curricula as necessary. We will operationalise our Traffic Advisory Board, which will evaluate our traffic management posture and coordinate appropriate improvement strategies. We will realign our Divisional Boundaries to the Regional Administrative Boundaries to foster greater cooperation at the regional level as well as strengthen management of Divisions and commitment by ranks.” James was appointed Commissioner last year with four deputies named by President David Granger to assist him. It was part of the process to reform the police force.
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Teen charged for allegedly stabbing schoolmate at rum shop A teen that was charged for allegedly stabbing one of his schoolmates at a rum shop was yesterday remanded to the Juvenile Detention Centre after he appeared in court. The accused appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty. He was not required to plea to the indictable charge, which read that on June 27, 2019 at Flats, Matthews Ridge, he murdered Joseph Bunbury. According to reports, the now dead teen and his
cousin were at a rum shop i n M a t t h e w ’s R i d g e imbibing alcohol when they were approached by the accused. An argument ensued between the accused and the teen, which lead to a fight. When Bunbury’s cousin tried to intervene he was attacked by the accused, who allegedly had a knife in his hand and dealt him a stab to his hands leaving him with injuries. The accused then turned his attention back to Bunbury and it was then that he allegedly dealt him several
stabs to his chest and hand. Bunbury then collapsed and the accused made good his escape. The teen was rushed to the Matthew’s Ridge Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The police then arrested the accused and charged him for the murder of his 14-yearold peer. He also reportedly led police to the murder weapon. The matter was transferred to Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan’s court. The next hearing will be today.
Three more testify in PI into murder of Timehri teen The preliminary inquiry (PI) continued into the murder of 17-year-old old David Toney, of Alliance Road, Timehri, East Bank Demerara. The matter was heard in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, with Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan presiding. The accused Rickland
Bovell, 22, a vendor, of Swan Village, Linden/Soesdyke Highway, who was charged for the murder, and brought before the courts, is still on remand. The prosecution’s facts are that on April 12, 2019 at around 03:30 hrs, Bovell and Toney were engaged in an
Cabinet approves proposal... From page 26 Coalition Government. Section 16 subsection 4 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act of Guyana speaks to the penalty for possession of narcotics. According to subsection 4, under a summary conviction, a person should pay a fine of no less than $30,000 along with imprisonment for no less than three years nor more than five years. It goes on to say that under an indictment conviction, a person should pay a fine of no less than $30, 000 or three times the market value of the narcotic, whichever is the greater, together with imprisonment for no less than five years nor more than ten years.
argument over a payment for cabbage. And during the argument, Bovell allegedly pulled out a knife from his pants waist and stabbed Toney to his abdomen where he then collapsed and subsequently died. During yesterday’s continuance, Police prosecutor Neville Jeffers called three more witnesses to the witness box where under oath they testified what they recalled on the day of David Toney’s murder. Defence Counsel Amora Giddings cross-examined each of the witnesses. Bovell is expected to make his next court appearance later in the month.
A mini health check is the first step to donating blood
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$700M Port Kaituma Hospital attracts bids up to $319M for completion At the National Procurement and Administration Board (NPTAB) yesterday, the Port Kaituma Hospital, already tagged at some $700M, further attracted bids up to $319M for completion works of the medical institution. This hospital project commenced some five years ago and is yet to be completed. This phase will push the cost to over one billion dollars. This publication on June 27 reported that an official attached to the Ministry of Public Health had indicated that due to a variety of “issues”, an additional $150M was to be to be allocated to the project. However, at the bid opening yesterday, it was established that all bids were well in excess of that figure, and the Engineer’s Estimate was a whopping $349.1M. Meanwhile, other notable projects were the Construction of a Mortuary in New Amsterdam and the conduction of a Multi-Client Seismic 2D and 3D Survey on Offshore Guyana. Ministry of Public Health Completion of Works to Port Kaituma Hospital Complex, Phase 3
- Engineer estimates $349M more required Ministry of Education - Design and Supervision Services Rehabilitation of Building, Christ Church Secondary School
Ministry of Business - Procurement of Vehicles
Ministry of Public Health - Construction of Mortuary- New Amsterdam
Ministry of Public Infrastructure - Supply and Delivery of Boulders at Boomhall, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara, Region 5
Ministry of the Presidency - Department of Environment Conducting Multi-Client Seismic 2D and 3D Survey on Offshore Guyana
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Three new forensic pathologists in 6 months NEWSDAY - The recruitment of three forensic pathologists is expected to be completed in six months, reported National Security Minister Stuart Young. He was responding to a question in the Senate yesterday on medium- and long-term steps to address the shortage of forensic pathologists at the Forensic Science Centre. He said there are four positions for forensic pathologists there, and three are currently filled, by Dr Easlyn Mc Donald-Burris, Dr Hughvon Des Vignes and Dr Somu Sekhar Gajula. Young reported the ministry is actively reviewing the application for the one vacant position. “Once the requisite administrative process is fulfilled and satisfied, consideration will be given to engaging the applicant.” He also reported that as a medium- to long-term initiative the National Security Ministry has
Minister Stuart Young engaged the UN Development Programme (UNDP) to help with obtaining three additional forensic pathologists. “This matter is currently being pursued by the ministry and it is anticipated that, once all administrative issues are fulfilled, the recruitment process can commence.”
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Women’s Ashes 2019: Australia take lead over England with nervy ODI win
Jubilation for the Australians at the fall of another England wicket.
Wednesday July 03, 2019 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) The next few weeks will be full of changes in your personal life, Aries. Your relationships will evolve. You have convivial relations with your friend. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Some people have a tendency to be shy. They almost apologize for being alive. For them, it's essential to keep a low profile. You probably think that you're like this, but you're mistaken, Taurus. You need a bit of reassurance. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) You're a real master of seduction, Gemini. For quite some time, you've been able to draw a number of people to you. It seems that no one can resist your charms. CANCER (June 21–July 22) You're a real charmer. None of your friends can resist you, Cancer. Today you should try to put the finishing touches to your personality. Indeed, you will be able to benefit from the planetary alignment as you interact with others. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) The day will be calm and quiet. You feel strongly about finishing whatever you undertake. You probably have the opportunity to add the final changes to some projects you've been working on. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) You're very tolerant toward a particular person in your entourage, which is probably due to your generous nature. You think everyone should have his or her own experiences and setbacks. After all, we learn from our mistakes.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Today you may have a difference of opinion with a relative. You will try to resolve this problem. You will be irritated by this present situation, and almost feel that your relationship has been altered for good. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) You're an emotional person, Scorpio. You can easily be destabilized by something you read in the news or see on television. SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21) The time has come to focus on your personal life, Sagittarius. Your life has certainly had its moments. During the past few months, it has been especially full of new and deep emotions. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Even though you should watch your finances, you have a tendency to spend a lot of money. Happily, you have the opportunity to make a lot of profit. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) You often neglect your health and body. Your equilibrium suffers from this, Aquarius. The time has come to consider a medical checkup just to be on the safe side. You love to discover new things. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Today you will tend to analyze your life. You will think about your lifestyle and the food you eat. Are you eating foods that are good for your body? Are you exercising enough? The stars will help you focus on your health. Health-promoting activities are recommended today..
BBC Sport - Australia took a 2-0 lead in the multiformat Women’s Ashes with a nervy two-wicket victory in the first one-day international against England. Having been put in to bat, England slipped to 19-4 but Nat Sciver’s 64 helped get them to 177 with Ellyse Perry taking 3-43 at Leicester. Alyssa Healy then topscored with 66 as Australia, who had been 105-5, chased the target with two wickets to spare. England will look to draw level at the same venue tomorrow. After Tammy Beaumont hit the first ball of the match to the boundary, England’s top order capitulated. Amy Jones, who had scored five half-centuries in her previous six ODIs, was cramped for room by the impressive Perry and got a top edge to be dismissed without scoring. The hosts then lost three wickets with the score on 19. Beaumont dragged on, Sarah Taylor was bowled through the gate and captain Heather Knight was trapped lbw as they endured a nightmare start on a good batting pitch. The middle order responded well with Sciver
FIFA takes steps for... From page 33 communications, marketing and operational structure. Some of the key findings include: 73% of FIFA’s member associations have an active women’s national team; 76% of member associations have developed a women’s football strategy; 13.3 million girls and women play organised football worldwide; The situation varies greatly from country to country with 9.5 million players in the US while most associations only have a few thousand female players. Other useful data is also included in the report, which will help to inform and tailor strategic initiatives linked the women’s football strategy. “If we take the development of women’s football seriously, an important step is to know and fully understand on an ongoing basis how the landscape of women’s football is evolving globally. Now with the FIFA Women’s Football Survey 2019, we have a clear picture of the state of women’s football in each country, which will play a vital role in guiding and defining where we set our priorities and to ensure a strong and bright future for the women’s game”, said FIFA Chief Women’s Football Officer Sarai Bareman.
playing some glorious cover drives in a well-constructed innings, while Fran Wilson made a useful 15 before being wrongly given out lbw to a ball which hit her glove, sparking a debate about the lack of the Decision Review System (DRS) - which is not being used in the series. Katherine Brunt (20), Laura Marsh (24 not out) and Sophie Ecclestone (an ODIbest 27) ensured England’s tail wagged. With the ball, England were much more impressive. Brunt dismissed Australia captain Meg Lanning and had Healy dropped. The all-rounder now has the most Women’s Ashes wickets in all formats for England (52), overtaking Myrtle Maclagan. The spin duo of Ecclestone and Marsh took a combined 5-65 to ensure a tight finish but ultimately England did not have enough runs on the board, finding the balance of attacking to take wickets, while restricting scoring, too difficult. In their first official international in four months,
Australia were very impressive with the ball and in the field. Their decision to bowl first was queried by former England internationals Charlotte Edwards and Lydia Greenway on Test Match Special but it was fully vindicated. Their line and length to the England top order was impeccable and their fielding was near faultless, with a stunning one-handed catch by Rachael Haynes dismissing Anya Shrubsole. With the bat, Healy was her usual imperious self at the top of Australia’s chase. The right-hander demonstrated brute strength - she cleared the ropes twice that left ex-England batter Ebony Rainford-Brent “worried for the rest of the series”. Their chase was halted by regular wickets; the highest partnership was 29 and numerous players fell to very soft dismissals having got a start. In the end they creeped over the line - in bizarre fashion as Brunt bowled a ball which went for five wides and landed the first blow.
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Wimbledon 2019
Serena Williams joins Ashleigh Barty and Angelique Kerber in round two BBC Sport - Seven-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams moved into the second round with a straightset win over Italy’s Giulia Gatto-Monticone yesterday. World number one Ashleigh Barty and defending champion Angelique Kerber also made it comfortably through. Williams, 37, won 6-2 75 in one hour and 19 minutes on Centre Court. French Open champion Barty overcame Chinese world number 43 Zheng Saisai 6-4 6-2 and will now play Belgian Alison van Uytvanck. Kerber saw off fellow German Tatjana Maria 6-4 6-3 and faces American world number 95 Lauren Davis in round two. Williams, the 11th seed, is looking to equal Australian Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles but has struggled with a knee injury this year. The American had the chance to serve out the match at 5-3 in the second set only for 31-year-old Gatto-Monticone, making her debut in the Wimbledon main draw, to break back. Williams roared in delight as she set up match point at 6-5 and then clinched the best exchange of the match with a volleyed winner to secure
Serena Williams @Reuters her spot in the next round. “I really appreciate she never gave up and it’s good for me to play matches like this,” said Williams, after only her 15th singles match this year. “It’s the best I have felt since February. I had to skip most of the hard-court season, a couple of matches on clay, I’m feeling good that I can actually walk. It’s just amazing. “I am better now. I feel so thankful and I am happy, and now I get to play with my baby. It’s fun to do everything I love.” Meanwhile, former Wi m b l e d o n c h a m p i o n Maria Sharapova’s injury problems continued as she retired from her first-round match against Pauline P a r m e n t i e r. T h e 2 0 0 4 winner trailed 4-6 7-6 (7-4)
5-0 when she pulled out because of a problem with her forearm. Former world number one Sharapova, 32, is now ranked 80th and only returned from a shoulder injury last month. “I got myself into a good enough place to be part of this event and this is not what I wanted,” said the Russian. “I’ve had a history of a tendon problem in my left forearm and it flared up in the first set.” Sharapova, who took five months off to recover after shoulder surgery in February, served for the match in the second set before losing the tie-break. It is the second successive year the five-time Grand Slam champion has exited Wi m b l e d o n i n t h e f i r s t
Australia’s Ashleigh Barty. Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP round, having missed the 2016 and 2017 tournaments while serving a suspension for doping. France’s Parmentier, 33, will play Spanish 30th seed Carla Suarez Navarro in round two. Elsewhere, ninth seed Sloane Stephens beat Swiss Timea Bacsinszky 6-2 6-4 to set up a second-round meeting with China’s Yafan Wang.
Tw o - t i m e c h a m p i o n Petra Kvitova cruised through with a 6-4 6-2 victory against Tunisia’s O n s J a b e u r. T h e C z e c h sixth seed, winner in 2011 and 2014, will face France’s Kristina Mladenovic in the next round. Dutch fourth seed Kiki Bertens, who reached the last eight in 2018, defeated L u x e m b o u rg ’s M a n d y
Minella 6-3 6-2 and will now play American Taylor Townsend. H o w e v e r, 2017 champion Garbine Muguruza, seeded 26th, was beaten 6-4 6-4 by Brazilian qualifier Beatriz Haddad Maia. The Spaniard has won just one match in two campaigns at Wimbledon since lifting the trophy.
Roger Federer survives Wimbledon 2019 scare, Rafael Nadal eases through BBC Sport - Eight-time champion Roger Federer survived a first-set scare to see off South African debutant Lloyd Harris and reach the Wimbledon second round. Federer, 37, moved through the gears to win 3-6 6-1 6-2 6-2 on Centre Court. The Swiss, aiming for a record-extending ninth men’s title, will face Britain’s Jay Clarke next. Third seed Rafael Nadal faced fewer problems against Japanese qualifier Yuichi Sugita, winning 6-3 61 6-3 to set up a meeting with Nick Kyrgios. Harris, 22, had never even won a match on grass going into his meeting with arguably the greatest player of all time. But the world number 86 rocked Federer with blistering serves consistently around 130mph and backed that up with some heaving groundstrokes in a first set which left Centre Court murmuring in disbelief. After breaking Federer’s serve for a 4-2 lead, Harris confidently sealed the opener in 29 minutes as he threatened
to create one of the most seismic shocks ever seen at Wimbledon. Federer, who had dropped a set in the first round at Wimbledon for the first time since 2010, seemed to lack the assurance which has rarely gone missing in his illustrious career. “I struggled early on. I felt a bit frozen, my legs weren’t going,” he told BBC Sport. “I felt it was heavy out there, the ball wasn’t going when I was hitting it and he was hitting it big.” Nadal also made a slow start as 30-year-old Sugita broke his opening serve in the first game, with the world number 274 threatening to go 3-0 up before the Spaniard fought back from 0-40 to hold. The sense of shock around Court One did not last much longer though, 33-yearold Nadal breaking back in the next game and taking control with four of the next five to clinch the opening set. Sugita, who had only won one previous match at SW19, offered little resistance from that point as two-time champion Nadal raced
Rafael Nadal. through the second set and dominated the third, crucially breaking in the eighth game. That set up a tantalising meeting with controversial Australian Kyrgios, who beat compatriot Jordan Thompson in an entertaining five-setter earlier on Tuesday. Nadal accused Kyrgios of “lacking respect” after the 24-year-old beat him in Acapulco earlier
this year, with Kyrgios describing the 18-time Grand Slam champion as “super salty” in a recent podcast. Asked about the attention surrounding their relationship, Nadal said: “Being honest, I’m too old for all this stuff. What I said, I said. That’s all. And French Open finalist Dominic Thiem became the
Federer was imperious at the net, winning 94% of the points when he came forward.(GETTYIMAGES) third top-10 men’s seed to suffer a first-round exit at Wimbledon with defeat by American Sam Querrey. The fifth seed, who has previously struggled on grass, succumbed 6-7 (4-7) 76 (7-1) 6-3 6-0 to the bigserving American who fired down 21 aces. On Monday, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander
Zverev were knocked out. Querrey, a semi-finalist at Wimbledon in 2017, will next play Andrey Rublev of Russia or Cristian Garin of Chile. Russian Karen Khachanov is the only player remaining in the top 10 that was born in the 1990s. No male player from that decade has won a Grand Slam in singles.
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Afcon holders Cameroon and Cavendish left out of Dimension Benin advance after goalless draw Data team for Tour de France
Cameroon are managed by Clarence Seedorf (left) with former Netherlands international team-mate Patrick Kluivert his assistant. BBCsport - Defending champions Cameroon and Benin played out a goalless draw, allowing both sides to progress into the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations. The result means Cameroon finished second in Group F to set up a tasty meeting with Nigeria. Benin went through as one of the four best thirdplaced teams and will come up against Morocco. Cameroon came closest to scoring but both Ambroise Oyongo and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting saw their efforts saved. Goalkeeper Saturnin Allagbe dived full length to his right to ma k e t w o stunning fingertip saves in the opening period. Benin’s best chance fell to Stephane Sessegnon, but the former Sunderland and
We s t B r o m m i d f i e l d e r struck a free-kick narrowly wide. Ghana beat GuineaBissau 2-0 and will face the second-placed team from Group E. The final group games take place on Wednesday (today) with Mali already going through, while Tu n i s i a , A n g o l a a n d Mauritania all still in contention to progress. At the final whistle, Benin’s players sank to their knees and kissed the ground in celebration while the referee looked to the skies, possibly to thank any passing deity that it was all over. Benin came with one gameplan - do not let them score. That was it. And they did it, though they got a little nervy towards the end.
Benin’s fans - especially the small army of brass-playing, yellow-shirted band members who danced for the full 90 minutes - were the best thing about the game; undeniably the most entertaining thing in the stadium. This was a game in which Cameroon just knew they were better than Benin - but since they knew they were guaranteed group-toppers anyway, they just couldn’t quite find the will to summon up the extra effort to put them away. We’ve all been there. It does now mean though that their second round clash is with their fierce rivals Nigeria. It’s a shame that one of them will go home early but at least there is a massive tie now to make that new second round stage come alive.
Mailonline - Senior figures at Dimension Data were split over the decision to omit Mark Cavendish from the Tour de France line-up, with team principal Doug Ryder ultimately making a call that left the British rider devastated. Sportsmail has been told by sources inside the team that Rolf Aldag, Dimension Data’s head of performance, argued for Cavendish’s inclusion after a strong training spell at altitude in Austria as well as a solid performance in the national road championships last weekend. Cavendish certainly thought that, despite no victories this season, he was ready to build on the 30 stage wins he has so far won in the Tour. But a spokesman for the team said Ryder made the ‘final decision’ after the options were debated by a selection panel. An initial statement issued by Dimension Data made no mention of 34-year-old Cavendish’s exclusion but a latter statement from a team spokesman said: ‘Selection for our Tour squad was a highly competitive process and one in which a panel weighed up the options provided to us not only by Mark but indeed all of our riders. ‘As you’d expect among a selection panel, there were a number of different preferences of the final squad make up with our team principal, Douglas Ryder,
Mark Cavendish has been omitted from the Dimension Data team for the Tour de France. making the final decision on it. This selection is one the team believes will be best suited to meet the goals set out for the race.’ It means a rider widely regarded as the greatest sprinter in Tour history misses the race for the first time since 2006, raising the question of whether he will now get the opportunity to overtake Eddy Merckx’s Tour record of 34 stage wins. Cavendish won four stages in 2016 but crashed out of the race a year later after that infamous clash with Peter Sagan and has struggled since with injury and the Epstein-Barr virus. Now, though, he is healthy again and those close to him claim his focus has been only on getting ready for the Tour, his best performance a podium finish at the Tour of Turkey on one of the 39 days he has raced this season thus far. He certainly expected to be in Brussels this weekend
for the start of the Tour and did not see Tuesday’s news coming, however much some seem to think Ryder’s decision was no great surprise. Aldag clearly thought Cavendish, based on knowledge of his training as well as his racing pedigree and character, a gamble worth taking. Particularly when 38year-old Briton Steve Cummings, a two-time Tour stage winner but a rider who did not make the cut last year, is among the eight Dimension Data riders. Judging by the line-up, Ryder clearly thinks it more prudent to pursue victories on the hilly stages. Fellow professional Adam Blythe nevertheless expressed his surprise at the decision to omit Cavendish. On Twitter he said: ‘A real shame not to see Mark Cavendish at the Tour. He has always hit his targets and the way he was going at the nationals, he was right on track in my opinion.’
FIFA takes steps for further development of women’s football While excitement is growing around the final round of matches of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, FIFA has disclosed that it has taken two important steps for the continuous development of the women’s game beyond its flagship event. The first one was the inaugural meeting of the FIFA Professional Women’s Football Task Force yesterday in Lyon ahead of the first semi-final of France 2019. The objective of the Task Force is to bring together the main women’s football stakeholders to inform FIFA’s decision-making processes by identifying key areas and measures that can accelerate the future growth of the women’s professional game. Chaired by FIFA Council member Lydia Nsekera, the inaugural meeting included participants and
representatives from member associations, confederations, leagues, clubs and players associations. The composition of the Task Force may evolve over time based on the expertise required within its work plan. As a first step, all members were requested to identify their priority areas for the growth of the women’s game. “We want to explore the business, economic and regulatory side of the women’s game in consultation with key stakeholders. Today, a number of very interesting topics were presented and discussed. We can see that the priorities vary greatly depending on where people are coming from. So it will be the job of this Task Force to define common objectives that can make a real and lasting difference for the good
of the women’s game.”, said Lydia Nsekera. As part of its overall Women’s Football Strategy and in order to gain crucial insight into the current status of women’s football, FIFA has also conducted and announced a baseline survey with its 211 member associations, of which 198 participated. The FIFA Women’s Football Survey 2019 provides a comprehensive picture of the current landscape of women’s football globally and will serve as a benchmarking tool for FIFA and its stakeholders to measure progress in the future. In particular, the survey on women’s football covers everything from players and national teams, clubs and domestic competitions, to (Continued on page 31)
Sun Parakeetes FC Female Team of the Rupununi Football Association.
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Wednesday July 03, 2019
U.S. reach World Cup final with dramatic win over England Lyon, France (Reuters) Defending champions United States reached the women’s World Cup final for the fifth time after an incident-packed 2-1 win over England, who missed a late penalty, yesterday. In a tournament that has earned unprecedented attention, the muchanticipated game certainly delivered with an abundance of excitement and relentless effort, topped by moments of wonderful skill. It was business as usual for the three-times World Cup winners but for England there was agony as skipper Steph Houghton missed an 84thminute penalty that could have pushed the game into extra time. After a powerful start from the Americans, Christen Press, replacing the absent Megan Rapinoe, opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a fine header but the Lionesses fought back, leveling nine minutes later with Ellen White’s sixth goal of the tournament. The U.S. restored their advantage in the 31st minute through Alex Morgan’s header from L i n d s e y Horan’s perfectly floated ball — a goal which Morgan, on her 30th birthday, celebrated with a mocking ‘sip of tea’ gesture. England thought they had leveled in the 69th minute, through another excellent White finish, but the goal was ruled out for offside by VAR video review. VAR did provide England with a lifeline though, a penalty awarded for a foul on White, but Houghton’s soft spot kick was saved by Alyssa Naeher. England had defender Millie Bright sent off for a second booking three minutes from the end. The drama on a remarkable night began before the game when the team-sheets showed that Rapinoe, who had scored four goals in the last two
games, had been left on the bench, most likely with an injury although the absence was not explained by U.S. team officials. There was an unwelcome surprise for England too with goalkeeper Karen Bardsley missing out with a hamstring injury and Carly Telford drafted in. As so often, the Americans were fast out of the traps and launched a wave of early attacks and high pressing which England’s defense struggled to cope with. Telford was called into early action to parry a fierce shot from Rose Lavelle after the midfielder had slipped the ball through the legs of Bright and, luckily for the Lionesses, Morgan blasted the loose ball over the bar. The early lead the defending champions had threatened came in the 10th minute when Kelley O’Hara whipped in a cross from the right and Press lost her marker Lucy Bronze and headed firmly past Telford. With the U.S. fully exploiting the space they were given in midfield, England were in danger of letting the game slip out of their control but against the run of play they leveled in superb style. Keira Walsh’s sweeping cross-field pass found Beth Mead on the left and her ball inside was met first time by White, who lifted a side-foot shot in off the far post. The Lionesses were back in the game but they soon needed Telford again to keep out a fierce snap-shot from the excellent Lavelle. But the quality of the Americans in the final third was displayed in perfect fashion when Press collected a ball from deep on the left flank and fed Horan, whose delightful lofted pass was met by Morgan with a pinpoint header that flashed past Telford. Walsh forced Naeher into a full-stretch save with a
Alex Morgan of the U.S. celebrates scoring their second goal with Lindsey Horan and teammates. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo powerful strike from 20 meters out but England needed the tactical adjustments that coach Phil Neville made at the break. The improved approach looked to have paid dividends when Jill Scott’s defense-splitting through ball was slotted home by White but to the agony of the Lionesses the VAR signal was made and the review showed the England striker offside by the tightest of margins. The next time the signal was made for review, it was after White went down in the area under challenge from Becky Sauerbrunn and after some delay the Brazilian referee pointed to the spot. But Houghton, so dependable in so many ways for England, let the nerves get to her and a soft kick was easily saved by Naeher. It was the killer blow for England and a major let-off for the Americans. When Bright was dismissed any chance of a late upset went with her.
2019 Concacaf Gold Cup Final in... From page 38 national team competition, which includes North, Central America and the Caribbean, and crowns the region’s best national team while celebrating soccer, sportsmanship and culture. In 2019, the Gold Cup made history with first-time events in Costa Rica and Jamaica, taking the official competition to fans across the region. Following the Gold Cup group play, the tournament is averaging nearly 35,000 fans, including sellouts in Minnesota, Los Angeles, Houston (group and quarterfinal games) and Chicago, as well
as setting new Gold Cup attendance records in Denver, Houston and Charlotte. The 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup is sponsored by Allstate Insurance Company, Aquafina, Camarena Tequila, Cerveza Modelo, Chick-fil-A, Gatorade, Nike, Scotiabank, Sprint, Toyota, and Valvoline. The tournament is broadcast nationally on the Univision and FOX family of networks and transmitted on radio in Spanish by Fútbol de Primera Radio Network, and broadcast by television partners in over 180 countries around the world.
Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Georgetown Championship on this weekend The Playoff Round in the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Georgetown Championship is slated to be staged on July 5th and 6th at the Burnham Court, Carmichael and Middle Streets. This information was disclosed by the tournament coordinator Three Peat Promotions, who disclosed that the registration process officially ends today [Wednesday]. According to an official release, “The registration forms were available at Caesar’s Palace Banks DIH location on Durban Street for the teams that will need to enter the Playoff Round for more than two weeks. To date we have received several new entries which bodes well for the expansion of the event and we envisage a highly competitive playoff round as teams vie for a coveted spot in the main draw.” The correspondence further disclosed, “The anticipation and expectation for the competition is at an alltime high. Many of the teams have already commenced training and whenever you venture in the respective communities there is a buzz and atmosphere for the event. We envision a wonderful and exciting tournament as many teams vie for the coveted title.” The playoff round will be contested in an elimination format. The competition
which will run for the duration of seven days is also slated to make its debut at the National Racquet Centre in Woolford Avenue alongside traditional venue the National Cultural Centre Tarmac. The other playing dates are July 13th, 19th, 20th, 26th and 27th, with the grand final scheduled for August 3rd. The first two nights of the event, which features 32 teams, will feature an elimination format. The resulting 16 winners will progress to the group stage. This will be staged over the period of three days. The top two teams from each group will progress to the quarterfinal round and subsequent semi-final. This will be held on the penultimate match-day date. On the other hand, the eight teams that failed to advance from the groups will feature in the Guinness Plate Championship. Currently, 16 teams have secured automatic
qualification to the event due to their performances in the previous edition. They are defending champion Gold is Money, GTI Ballers, Queen Street Tigerbay, Upsetters, Rising Stars, North Ruimveldt, Future Stars, Kingston, California Square, Avocado Ballers, Leopold Street, OlSkool Ballers, Bent Street, North East La Penitence, Sparta Boss and Norton Street. Winner of the zone will automatically seal their place in the National Championship, which is slated to commence in August. To date Beacons [Bartica Champion], MelanieB [East Coast Demerara winner], Brothers United [West Demerara/East Bank Demerara winner], Trafalgar [Berbice champion] and High Rollers [Linden champion] are the teams to have secured automatic berths to the national championship.
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Rohit Sharma ton, Jasprit Bumrah four-for help India knock out Bangladesh ESPNcricinfo Bangladesh are out of the 2019 World Cup. They’ve beaten the teams they were expected to beat, and also a couple they may not have been, but they haven’t managed to win any of their meetings with the tournament favourites, despite looking impressive and coming close on a couple of occasions. They came close against India at Edgbaston, but not close enough, falling 29 runs short in a chase of 315. With this result, India become the second team after Australia to seal a spot in the semi-finals. They won an important toss, and got to a hugely advantageous position via a 180-run opening stand between Rohit Sharma, who scored his fourth hundred of this World Cup, and KL Rahul. Bangladesh kept chipping away at that advantage, with Mustafizur Rahman’s cutters limiting the damage India could do in the slog overs, and their batsmen keeping them close to the required rate right through their chase, but they never completely nullified it. Bangladesh lost a few too many wickets off not particularly threatening deliveries, and though seven of their top eight got past 20, only two of them went on to score half-centuries: the unfaltering Shakib Al Hasan and their No. 8 Mohammad Saifuddin. That, in the end, sealed the deal. Tamim Iqbal and Mosaddek Hossain played on, done in by the slowness of the pitch but also their angled bats, while Soumya
Sarkar and Mushfiqur Rahim hit aggressive shots straight to fielders on the 30-yard circle. Shakib, using the pace of the bowlers smartly and going at close to a run a ball despite only hitting six fours in 74 balls, kept Bangladesh in the chase despite all these setbacks, but when he was sixth out with 136 still to get, foxed by a clever slower ball from Hardik Pandya, the game looked over. Pandya, the fifth bowler with no sixth bowler in the XI, did a stellar job, varying his pace, hitting the pitch hard, and finishing with three wickets. Despite Shakib’s dismissal, Bangladesh’s required rate hadn’t yet gone out of hand, and Sabbir Rahman and Saifuddin kept the game alive with an entertaining stand of 66 in 56 balls. The partnership may also have given India a couple of pointers for future matches: it showed the value of having a useful batsman at No. 8, and
also the tendency of Mohammed Shami to go for runs in the late overs. Should they go back to playing two spinners, the Shami vs Bhuvneshwar Kumar question - despite the wicket threat of the former - probably has a straightforward answer. Runs were harder to come by against Bhuvneshwar and Jasprit Bumrah, and a slower offcutter from the latter ended Sabbir’s innings in the 44th over. Saifuddin needed one of the tailenders to stay with him if Bangladesh were to get 70 off 41, but they didn’t, not for long enough anyway. The equation came down to 29 off 14 when Saifuddin took a single to bring the No. 10 Rubel Hossain on strike for the last two balls of Bumrah’s quota of overs. Those two balls was all Bumrah needed, two inchperfect yorkers proving too good for Rubel and Mustafizur. The match was played on the same pitch that hosted the England-India match on
YBG-NSBF National Playoffs
Berbice High, NATI, President’s College Royals & Kwakwani into U-18 Semis For the first time in the history of the competition, two Berbice schools have reached the semi-final stage of the Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) National Schools’ Basketball Festival National Under-18 Playoffs. It is also the first time a Linden based team has not reached the final four while President’s College can become the first East Coast Demerara team to win the NSBF. Playing at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH), Homestretch Avenue, on Monday evening, the feature quarter final saw Kwakwani Secondary getting past The Bishops’ High School (BHS) 52-47. Scoring for Kwakwani
Rohit Sharma. Twitter @BCCI
Jasprit Bumrah (Getty)
were Rawl Sampson (12), Rayon Shortt (9) and Elijah David (9). Roydon Glasgow top scored with 19 points in a losing cause. Marian Academy, which had pulled off a fantastic come from behind win against Saint Stanislaus College the previous night, failed to find that magic again in their quarterfinal against President’s College (PC) Royals on Monday. Royals won that clash 5327 with Jushan Bailey (14), Richard Semple (8) and Akinyele Derrell (8) being the main contributors for their team. New Amsterdam Technical Institute (NATI) brushed aside Mackenzie High School (MHS) 51-33.
Kadeem Dover ’s form continued as he tipped in 20 points in the win while Gevon Schuttz (15) and Jermain King (12) made useful contributions. Earlier in the evening, Berbice High School defeated St. Joseph’s High School 3729 in the first match. Keron Cort (14), Charles Williams (11) and Rickford Blair (10) were the main contributors for the winners. The Under-18 semi finals will be contested this Sunday at the same venue. The NSBF is sponsored by Edward B. Beharry and Company Ltd, the National Sports Commission, Banks DIH, Exxon Mobil and Bounty Ltd.
Sunday, and it remained the same kind of pitch: flat but progressively slower. It also meant the square boundaries were the same - short on one side, long on the other. Both teams picked their teams with the boundaries rather than the surface in mind: spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Mehidy Hasan went out, and seamers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rubel Hossain came in. Batting first was a nobrainer, and Rohit and Rahul gave India the perfect start. Bangladesh’s bowlers took a
while getting used to the conditions, and offered plenty of hittable balls, with Rohit in particularly damaging form, pulling Mashrafe Mortaza and launching Saifuddin over extra-cover for big sixes in the first six overs. Bangladesh could have dismissed him in between, for 9, but Tamim dropped a sitter at deep square leg when he miscued a pull off Mustafizur. That miss will go down alongside the no-ball from the 2015 World Cup quarter-final in the annals of what-if
moments in Rohit v Bangladesh. Rohit made Bangladesh pay for the miss, and much as he did against Pakistan batted at a higher tempo than is usually the case in the early parts of his big ODI innings. There were drives all around the ground and a number of his trademark pulls, but what was also apparent was a willingness to go hard at balls wide of off stump, as seen in a couple of sliced boundaries backward of point early on.
Dutch feel freedom ahead of World Cup semi-final with Sweden Lyon, France (Reuters) The Netherlands face their first women’s World Cup semi-final when they play Sweden today and striker Vivianne Miedema believes the pressure is finally off her team. The Dutch are European champions and the resultant high expectations at home were felt by the players, who have talked about how the pressure influenced their play in the group stage. Although the Netherlands won all their group games, their performances came in for some criticism but Miedema feels those displays reflected the tension because of expectations. “We talked a lot about not playing our best football in the first couple of games here,” she said. “But I think the problem was that we didn’t really have the chance to properly enjoy ourselves on the pitch. “The main feeling with people back home was, ‘Oh, those girls will just go to France to pick up that cup.’ As European Champions, of course you have higher expectations on you. “But we as a team never
saw it that way. We are very happy with what we’ve achieved so far, but for us, the journey is not over. We’ve got so close and we’ve finally got back into that flow that we had during the Euros. Now, all we want is to make it to that final,” she added. Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the quarter-finals has totally changed the mood with the result also securing the Dutch their first Olympic qualification. “I think the pressure is off now,” said Miedema, whose fine header against the Azzurre was her third goal of the tournament and helped ensure a place at Tokyo 2020. That was harder to earn than expected, with only three places for European teams at the Olympics up for grabs and seven of the Wo r l d C u p q u a r t e rfinalists coming from Europe. “We came here to do better than four years ago, when we reached the last 16, and to get a ticket for the Olympic tournament in Tokyo next year. “We never thought it would take reaching the semi-finals to be among the best three European teams, but that makes being there
even more amazing. I think we surprised everyone by going this far, including ourselves,” she said. Although Miedema is only 22, the tall centerforward has scored 61 goals in 80 games for her country and will be a major threat to the Sweden defense. However, the Swedes are in confident mood themselves after beating Germany 2-1 with their counter-attacking and direct style proving effective. “Against Germany I think we played really well, we defended really well and were good on the counterattack so I really feel it is a big, big chance for us to go the whole way and to be able to play a final,” said striker Sofia Jakobsson. “Now we have to play a big semi, but if we play our game and at the level we played against Germany I think we have a good
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Kaieteur News
ExxonMobil Under-14 Tournament
Martinez wins player of the week; Cummings Lodge, Marian Academy and St. John’s College among winners The second annual ExxonMobil Under-14 Schools’ Football tournament continued on Saturday last at the Ministry of Education (MOE) ground, Carifesta Avenue despite of the inclement weather. North Ruimveldt Secondary defeated Annandale 6-0 to secure their second win in as many games in the Boys’ segment. Orlando Dickie netted a hat-trick while Akeem Pereira bagged a brace to go along with Jevon Pluck’s lone goal. St. Mary’s enjoyed a 4-1 win over Plaisance, thanks to a brace from Delon Eastman, one goal from Tyrese Jeffery and an own goal. Alex Ramotar scored the
consolation for Plaisance. St. John’s College beat East Ruimveldt 3-1, Daniel Xavier leading the charge with a double. Also in the winners’ row last weekend were Marian Academy which eased past Uitvlugt 3-0. Caramel secured victory with a similar 3-0 score against President’s College while Charlestown edged Queenstown 3-2. And the Ministry of Public Health’s (MOPH) player-of-the-week Jitzah Martinez’ lone strike was enough to lead Cummings Lodge to victory over Brickdam Secondary. Play in the tournament will continue this Saturday at the same venue.
MOPH player of the week; Jitzah Martinez (right) collects his exercise books and book bag from one of the organizers, Mark Alleyne.
Robert Singh medals at Archery competition in Dominican Republic Archery Guyana debut appearance at the 3rd Annual Caribbean Beginners and D e v e l o p m e n t a l Championships held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic was historic in many ways. It the first time the Golden Arrowhead was hoisted by a Guyanese in an Archery competition in that country and also r e a l i z e d G u y a n a ’s f i r s t archery medals at an international competition. The championships held last weekend, June 2830, 2019 were contested by participants from eight countries: Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Colombia, British Virgin Islands, St Kitts & Nevis, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana. These Championships were organised as a stepping stone to prepare for World tournaments and games for Caribbean Archers who have not c o m p e t e d i n a Wo r l d Ranking event. Guyana’s sole representative – Mr. Robert Singh secured medals in all of the events. On the first day with 72 arrows Qualification Round, Singh secured the second place with 292 points trailing by 3 points behind the winner who was from the host nation. Te Guyanese then held his own amongst all the archers displaying excellent form and
Robert Singh and Coach Wynette Lawrence marksmanship as he threatened the contestants in the qualifying round with 576/720 losing the gold medal by a mere 11 points behind the winner, Jeudy Santos (Dom. Rep.) and 92 points ahead of the 3rd placed, Moises Llopart also of the host nation. Singh then went on to secure a bronze medal in the Beginners Male Individual Category Match. In the Team Matches, Singh teamed up with
Javlyn Frett of the British Virgin Islands under the expert guidance and coaching of Guyanese born Wynette Lawrence, an internationally ranked Compound Archer who resides in the BVI. The combined efforts of the duo saw them taking the silver medal. The Board of Directors of Archery Guyana wishes to convey heartiest congratulations M r. R o b e r t S i n g h f o r securing three medals for Guyana.
Avery Trim returns unopposed as Mackenzie SC President The incumbent Avery Trim was elected unopposed as President of the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) after that entity held its Annual General Meeting after a decade. In a press release from new General Secretary Joseph Chapman, it was stated that the entity finally got its act together to stage its AGM and elections. Trim, will serve for the next two years and will have as his First Vice President, Co-Director of eth Kashif and Shanghai Organisation, Aubrey ‘Shanghai’ Major. Robert Langevine is the Second Vice President. Chapman, who previously served as Assistant Secretary takes
The new MSC Executive.
over as GS on this new executive, Keith Semple is the Public Relations Officer, Treasurer is Ms.
Kellyann Quow, the lone female on the executive while Norris Simon will serve as Assistant Secretary/
Treasurer. The Committee Members are Nelson McKinnon, Region 10 (Upper Demerara/
Berbice) Member of Parliament Audwin Rutherford, Compton London, Troy Roberts and
John Trim. Chapman, The new executive will convene its first meeting on Thursday at the MSC Lounge.
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Gold is Money are CARICOM Day Dominoes champs
Oneeka Boston presents the winning prize to Captain of the victorious Gold is Money team, Imtiaz Ally in the presence of teammates and representatives of the sponsors. Gold is Money won the CARICOM Day Dominoes competition which concluded on Monday night at Dynasty Sports Bar, South Georgetown. Gold is Money took an early lead as they chalked up 18 games at the end of the first sitting, Kanhai Samaroo, John Chance and Clarence Whitehead marking six games each. Providence occupied the second spot with 12 games, Marson Beaton, Kevin Liverpool and Troy Dos Santos making four each while Fresh Cash trailed on 8 games; Paul Sookram and Leroy Edwards scored three apiece and Dexter Thompson two. Gold is Money, which drew the bye to the final, maintained the lead as the final progressed and leaped
to 32 games by the end of second sitting, however Fresh Cash closed the gap as they finished the sitting with 20 games while Providence ended on 13. As the contest continued Gold is Money and Fresh Cash fought head to head with Fresh Cash making great strides in closing the gap, and when the third sitting concluded, Gold is Money were on 47, Fresh Cash 33 and Providence 28. Gold is Money managed eight games while Fresh Cash made 16 and Providence 15 games in the fourth sitting. Heading into the final and decisive sitting, Gold is Money were on 66, two ahead of Fresh Cash; Providence were on 50. The battle continued when the final sitting
concluded, Gold is Money and Fresh Cash were tied on 74 games each while Providence finished on 61. However, Gold is Money were crowned champions having marked more sixes, 8 in total while Fresh Cash had six. Anthony Solomon, who was voted the Most Valuable Player in the final, made 17 games while Clarence Whitehead made 26 playing through; Tony Rebel and Kanhai Samaroo scored 15 and 14 respectively, for the winners. Leroy Edwards played through and scored 29 games for Fresh Cash while Andy Welch contributed 14 and Paul Solomon 13. Kevin Liverpool marked 14 games for Providence. Providence won the semi final encounter ahead of Fresh Cash and
Alison Hinds (right) of Big Boss Girls collects the best female team prize from Onecia Boston of Big Boss Transportation Service and Big Boss Girls
Fresh Cash skipper Chris Pasramen (left) accepts the runner-up trophy from Lyndon Boston while his team mates share the moment. Under Cover in that order. Gold is Money received $300,000 and a trophy compliments of Ansa McAl under their Stag Beer brand, Fresh Cash pocketed $200,000 and a trophy courtesy of Genequip Farm Supplies while Providence took home $100,000 and a trophy which was sponsored by Patterson and Associates.
Solomon received $10,000 for his effort while Bog Boss Girls received a trophy for being the best female team on show from Big Boss Transportation Service and Boscah. Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Lyndon Boston of Big Boss Transportation Service congratulated the winners and thanked the sponsors.
He said the competition will be an annual affair and lauded the teams for their discipline. The competition, which was the most lucrative two-day tournament held so far for the year, was organsied by Big Boss Transportation Service, Boscah and Senior Organising Secretary of the Georgetown Dominoes Association, Mark Wiltshire.
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Wednesday July 03, 2019
18th Pan American Games 2019
Forty-member contingent to represent Guyana in Peru this month
The national ruggers will be looking for a strong performance in Peru after a couple of years with mixed performances. The Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) has released a list that details a 40-member contingent to represent the Golden Arrowhead at the 18th Pan American Games in the Lima, Peru from July 26 – August 11. The sportsmen and women will contest eight disciplines namely, Badminton, Athletics, Rugby, Taekwando, Squash, Boxing, Swimming and Table Tennis. Twenty-six (26) of the 40First Name Nalini Gokarn Narayan Priyanna Terrence Keevin Mark Justin David Juanita Ramon Mary Ashley Taylor Godfrey Idi Chelsea Julian Winston Aliyah Brenessa Emanuel Peter Sherlock Akeem Claudius Lancelot Vallon Jamal Richard Peabo Patrick Ronald Osei Dwayne Selwyn Godfrey Paul Daniel Nikita
Last Name McKoy Ramdhani Ramdhani Ramdhani Poole Allicock Choy Choy Fernandes Fernandes Chan-A-Sue Fung A Fat Khalil Fernandes Munroe Lewis Edghill Edmonds George Abrams Thompson Archibald Green Sam Fraser Butts Adonis Adams Angus Staglon Hamilton King Mayers McKenzie Schroeder Henry Broomes Mahaica Scott Fiedtkou
member contingent will be participating while Juanita Fernandes will serve as a Squash Official. Guyana would have competed at 15 editions of the Championships and have a total of 18 medals inclusive of 2 Gold, 4 Silver and 12 Bronze. Although the Land of Many Waters didn’t medal at the 2015 games in Toronto, Canada, a source close to the GOA expressed confidence of a good showing this year. All eyes will be on highly Sport Chef-De-Mission Badminton/Coach Badminton/Athlete Badminton/Athlete Boxing/Coach Boxing/Athlete Taekwondo /Coach Taekwondo /Athlete Team Manager Official Squash/Coach Squash/Athlete Squash/Athlete Squash/Athlete Table Tennis/Manager Table Tennis/Manager Table Tennis/Athlete Athletics/Coach Athletics/Athlete Athletics/Athlete Athletics/Athlete Athletics/Athlete Rugby/Manager Rugby/Coach Rugby/Physio Rugby/Athlete Rugby/Athlete Rugby/Athlete Rugby/Athlete Rugby/Athlete Rugby/Athlete Rugby/Athlete Rugby/Athlete Rugby/Athlete Rugby/Athlete Rugby/Athlete Rugby/Athlete Swimming/Coach Swimming/Athlete Swimming/Athlete
rated boxing protégé, Keevin Allicock, who bagged silver at the 2017 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. The Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) will be saddened at the fact that injury has sidelined national record holder, Leslain Baird, from competing in the Javelin event. In addition, sprinter Akeem Fraser will not be able to compete due to a hamstring injury. Guyana stands a good chance in getting a medal through Emmanuel Archibald who has been improving exponentially, shattering the national long jump record twice this year. Although the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona Campus (Jamaica) student is running in the region of 10.2 seconds in the 100m with a win against Olympic Gold medalist Yohan Blake under his belt, he will not be competing in the quarter-lap dash at Pan Am. The national ruggers, who will be contesting the Rugby Americas North (RAN) championships away
Emmanuel Arcibald (left) will be looking to medal in the long jump event. to Cayman Islands this weekend, will be hoping to turn in some good performances in Peru, following some disappointing performances regionally in the past couple of years.
The last time Guyana won a medal of at the Pan Am games was in 2011 in Guadalajara, Mexico, when Nicolette Fernandes finished with the Bronze medal in Squash. The squash team of Mary
Fung-A-Fat, Ashley Khalil and Taylor Fernandes; cousin of Nicolette, will be looking to emulate or better Nicolette’s performances in 2019. (Calvin Chapman) The full contingent is as follows:
2019 Concacaf Gold Cup Final in Chicago’s Soldier Field Sold Out Miami – The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) on Monday announced that the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup Final, set to be played at Chicago’s iconic Soldier Field, is sold out. Also, Concacaf announced the launch of the Gold Cup Station, a week-long fan experience in Chicago’s Union Station. Fans are encouraged to arrive early to avoid lines and enjoy Futbol Fiesta presented by Toyota, located in the Stadium Green,
starting at 3:30 pm CT. Futbol Fiesta is the official pre-game fan destination, offering a celebratory and free of charge experience for all soccer fans planning on attending the matches. The tournament’s grand finale is set to be played on Sunday, July 7 starting at 9:00 p.m. ET (8:00 pm local), and will see the winners of the Semifinal clashes in Phoenix and Nashville, face-off for regional glory and bragging rights, in what is sure to be a celebration of the sport. In Chicago, fans can enjoy Gold Cup Station, a
massive, 10,000-square foot experience at Chicago’s Union Station that includes unique and engaging soccerthemed activities where fans can test their own football skills. The innovative fan zone located at Union Station’s Great Hall also provides fans with a photo opportunity
featuring a replica of the Gold Cup trophy, and a Gold Cup retail storefront. Gold Cup Station operates daily from July 1-7, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. (225 S. Canal Street, Chicago, IL 60606). Taking place every two years, the Concacaf Gold Cup is the region’s premier (Continued on page 34)
Kaieteur News
Wednesday July 03, 2019
PAGE 43
RFA/GBTI U-13 KO Tourney
FC Basin emerge as North Champs, Tabatinga is #1 in Central District FC Basin emerged as the champions of the North District with Paiwomak FC as runners-up when the annual Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry/Rupununi
FC Basin
GBTI Rep. Sherwin Clinton hands over sponsorship cheque to RFA’s Viviane George.
Football Association Under-13 Boys Knockout tournament commenced on the weekend. Also advancing to the Playoffs which will commence on July 6 next
was Tabatinga Football club which emerged as the best club from the Central District ahead of Gladiators Football Club. Battling for the lone spot from the Deep South District are Titans Football Club and Snipers Football Club while the battle in the South Central District would be between Shiriri FC and new comers, Potarinau Sky Kings FC. The battle in the East Central District would involve five clubs.
t r o Sp
Robert Singh medals at Archery competition in Dominican Rohit Sharma ton, Jasprit Bumrah 4-for Republic help India knock out Bangladesh U.S. reach final with dramatic win over England
Robert Singh takes aim in the Mixed Doubles competition in Santo Domingo. (Wynette Lawrence photo)
YBG-NSBF National Playoffs
Berbice High, NATI, President’s College Royals & Kwakwani into U-18 Semis Play between Bartica (offence) and BHS on Monday in the NSBF U-18 quarter finals.
Alex Morgan of the U.S. scores their second goal REUTERS /Benoit Tessier.
The Netherlands take on Sweden in France 2019’s second semi-final © AFP
Dutch feel freedom ahead of semi-final with Sweden
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