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AIETEUR Presidential Order NEWS

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Tuesday Edition

halts jail sentence for Finance Minister

July 09, 2019 - Vol. 12 No. 29

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com Price $80

- Attorney General appeals Contempt Order - GRA moves to collect outstanding $528M debt from Dipcon

Online readership yesterday 106,105

Search for new GECOM boss underway…

Resigned Chairman among list of eight submitted by Govt. team

Resigned GECOM chair, Justice (ret'd) James Patterson)

- Jagdeo’s list of 11 not discussed on Day 1, Govt acting in bad faith - Opposition Reduction of traffic congestion…

Construction

The demarcated area is where the parking lot is planned, just before the DDL facilities.

East Bank

highway

$57M

of Diamond market, parking lot to begin this week

GGMC trying to close loophole costing Guyana hundreds- Commissioner of millions for decades now Newell Dennison

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday July 09, 2019

2%

GUYANA'S VS 35 Countries!

There are 35 countries which demanded oil companies like ExxonMobil, Total, Tullow and Hess, pay royalties that go as high as 30%. Yet, Guyana continues to accept a mere 2% royalty for the Stabroek Block. Below is a chart showing the names of those oil-producing nations and the royalty they demand.

COUNTRIES 1. Abu Dhabi 2. Algeria 3. Argentina 4. Brazil 5. Bolivia 6. Brunei 7. Cameroon 8. China 9. Colombia 10. Congo 11. Eq. Guinea 12. France 13. Gabon 14. Ghana 15. Korea 16. Malaysia 17. Morocco 18. Myanmar

ROYALTY (%) 12.5 to 20 12.5 to 20 12 10 11 to 19 8 to 12.5 9 to 12.5 10 to 12.5 20 to 25 14.5 to 19 10 12 20 12.5 15 10 12.5 to 14 10

COUNTRIES 19. Nigeria 20. Pakistan 21. Peru 22. Syria 23. Thailand 24. T&T 25. Tunisia 26. Uganda 27. USA 28. Australia 29. Ecuador 30. India 31. Kazakhstan 32. Kuwait 33. Libya 34. Romania 35. Venezuela 36. Guyana

ROYALTY (%) 12.5 to 20 12.5 5 to 20 11 12.5 to 15 10 to 12 10 to 15 12.5 16.6 10 to 12.5 12.5 to 18.5 10 to 12.5 5 to 18 15 16.67 13.5 20 to 30 2

WHEN WILL THE PNCR, PPP & AFC START DEMANDING OUR FAIR SHARE?

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday July 09, 2019

PAGE 03

Search for new GECOM boss underway…

Resigned Chairman among list of eight submitted by Govt. team - Jagdeo’s list of 11 not discussed on Day 1, Govt acting in bad faith - Opposition

T

he first day of “hammering” out names for a new chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) by the Coalition Government and the

Opposition started off with the Opposition yesterday insisting that good faith appears to have been thrown out of the window.

This was after the Government team proposed

a list of eight persons, including the recently resigned Justice (ret'd) James Patterson. There was no discussion on 11 names as proposed by the Opposition Leader.

Private sector executive, Ramesh Dookhoo

Retired Puisne Judge, William Ramlall

List of eleven submitted by the Opposition Leader

Environmentalist, Annette Arjoon-Martins

Major General (Ret'd) and former GECOM Chairman, Joseph Singh

Conflict Resolution Specialist, Lawrence Latchmansingh

Patterson, who was unilaterally appointed in 2017 by President David Granger after talks on a new chair went nowhere, resigned two Mondays ago, in keeping with a ruling from the Caribbean Court of Justice, which said that the process was flawed.

According to officials, in addition to Patterson, the other names included on the Government list are Kesaundra Alves, a lawyer who is the chair for the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation; businessman and former parliamentarian, Kads Khan; former executive of the People's National Congress Reform, Stanley Ming; Justices

(ret'd) Claudette La Bennett and Stanley Moore; former Solicitor-General, Kim Kyte and Dr. Aubrey Armstrong, an economist.

The choice for a new chair would come as Guyana prepares for early elections following a December 21st no confidence vote against the Coalition Government which was deemed to be carried after four different courts, including the Caribbean Court of Justice, heard it.

The chair of GECOM has always been a critical post.

The meeting took place at the Castellani House, Vlissengen Road, with President David Granger

List of eight submitted by the Govt.

Justice of Appeal (Ret'd) B. S. Roy

Dr. Aubrey Armstrong

Businessman Gerry Gouveia

Stanley Ming Attorney-at-law Kashir Khan

Major General (Ret'd) Norman McLean

Kim Kyte

r e p r e s e n t e d b y Vi c e President and Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan; Minister of P u b l i c H e a l t h , Vo l d a Lawrence and Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon.

O p p o s i t i o n L e a d e r, Bharrat Jagdeo was represented by Gail Teixeira, Anil Nandlall and Juan Edghill.

According to Harmon in a Government statement after, in addition to the list of 11 persons submitted by the Leader of the Opposition, the Head of State has suggested that the eight names be considered in the (continued on page 19)

Kesaundra Alves

Kads Khan

Onesi La Fleur

Former magistrate Krishnadatt Persaud

Justice (ret'd) Claudette La Bennett

Justice (ret'd) Stanley Moore

Resigned GECOM chair, Justice (ret'd) James Patterson)

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Tuesday July 09, 2019

Kaieteur News

Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana.

Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

EDITORIAL

The science and sprawl of corruption Any person or group or agency that thinks it knows the extent of corruption in this country has to admit to a single reality: it knows nothing as to magnitude or damage done.

Everyone - whether on the take or looking on suspiciously from the outside - would agree that it is significant. But none is really familiar as to how bad things really are from the billions of dollars misappropriated. And nobody has any clue as to how much of a difference those swindled funds could have made.

Corrupt practices have a certain lifespan. The tip of the iceberg is exposed publicly for a sharp moment. There is social media ranting; bureaucratic hedging; calls for some kind of audit; political finger pointing (or denying); and then nothing.

It is the shortest of public lifespans. The involved principals breathe easier; storm weathered. Then it is the next reward, the next set of crooked people, and the next batch of sleazy outpourings for public attention. The key to all of this is threefold: nobody is punished; no systems are improved; and the stolen dollars keep haemorrhaging.

When all added up, it is the old story of taxpayer money not wisely spent, properly accounted for, given a damn about.

And it is, also, about the thieves (political, public and private) who grow richer from countless white-collar banditry. Meanwhile, the small man and woman - strapped, sinking, and sorrowful -are beaten deeper into the ground, through one betrayal after another, by those sworn to do what is fair and right. Except that it isn’t.

As an example, there was a recent exposé concerning printing and involving a state entity. The wise men went to work, through all these fallback options and unpersuasive defences about quantity and quality and costing, that would not hold water before any real lengthy, probing scrutiny.

Whether about printing, or as small as badges, or anything resembling procurement, there is a science in place.

It is one long studied, long lived, long concealed, and long enriching. The old (now opposition) bureaucratic people are not talking: they know nothing. And in the ways of wise populations and strict governments, they mentor the newcomers (no saints themselves) as to the way things work. How to profit. How to get by with the same programme. How to elude the sleuths that occasionally smell that something is a little off.

Think of this: three different letterheads do not necessarily mean three different companies bidding on the same product or for the same project. The wisdom of officials learned in how to avoid the taint of single sourcing.

The records are there; who can question? What is not able to stand up to the usual superficial inquiry?

Add these up and the toll is one unending national disaster. The slick detective work (by bidders and procurers, public and private) put into place for annual educational paper products, massive construction works, and other large-scale supplies, such as medicines, boots, and uniforms. That is gold.

That is oil. It has been so for the men and women in public offices and private businesses. Everybody is well versed as to how the game is played.

The foreigners are no slouches at this kind of gamesmanship. The word is, that under diplomatic cover, huge amounts of stores are brought into the country in containers, exempt from scrutiny and duty. It is a wonderful life for those stores offering duty-free goods to the public at prices that squeeze Guyanese businesses out of the competition.

What kind of money funds these activities? Is there any diplomatic assistance? Where is the accountability to the Guyanese people?

The opposition can’t speak, it was so dirty; the government is up to its neck; and the media (save for a couple) have biases that cripple. This much needs no exposure: the more Guyanese think they know about corruption; the less they know of how tragic and consequential corruption really is in this country.

A new administration can rescind the current Petroleum Agreement DEAR EDITOR, If an agreement is signed between the Government and a third party, can a new administration rescind that agreement?

After reviewing what the Trump administration did with the Paris Club agreement and the Iran Nuclear Deal agreement, I am of the opinion that a new administration in Guyana can do the same.

President Obama’s administration signed the agreements mentioned above,

and they took legal effect.

The problem, however, is that President Obama did not seek the approval of Congress to ratify those agreements. Had Congress ratified those agreements, President Trump could not end the agreements as he did unless Congress gives him the authority.

The NAFTA agreement cannot be rescinded unless Congress votes on it.

President Trump’s team has completed a new USMCA (United States Mexico

Canada Agreement), but that new agreement cannot take effect unless Congress ratifies it, thus making NAFTA redundant.

I have done some reflection on the Petroleum Sharing Agreement between the Government and the oil companies.

The Government signed this agreement, but it was not presented to the National Assembly for ratification.

Following the precedents mentioned above in the

United States, I am of the firm opinion that a new administration can rescind the current Petroleum Agreement.

I am hoping that the new administration will follow suit on my recommendation. I am also sure the Courts will get involved.

We should give notice to the parties to this lop-sided agreement that we will pursue this path.

Sincerely, Charles Sugrim, CPA

Selecting a chairperson is in the same place as it was a hundred years ago DEAR EDITOR, I was hoping for a serious list, not necessarily an entirely new list, but one that offered names holding out some hope that the electoral challenges at hand were viewed through a wider lens.

I suppose that, now it is on the record, the best will have to be done with it. And if this is the best that came out of the recent governmentopposition consultation, then pessimism has to rule. I share what I think of this list of names.

There are a couple of decent folks in the mix.

Literally! From that eleven, there is only one or two of any authentic calibre; and in whom I would place some degree of trust. Trust is the key word demanded, and which has to emerge from what has to be the dirtiest, most thankless, most unforgiving job in the world.

Yes, I have extended beyond Guyana; for the job of chair of GECOM has no positives attached, other than to serve honestly one’s country through singular dedication and invincibility of character and spirit. It begins and ends with trust.

Trust to deliver something clean; to stand strong when the passions rage; to have the personal constitution to resist overtures, pressures, threats,

and own impulses. If anybody in this society thinks I am too harsh, I ask this simple question: which citizen in his right mind would ask some of them to collect his or her monthly pension pittance at the Post Office or to help with getting a flat tyre inflated? I have only been here a few years, and yet there is so much to absorb about some of those resubmitted names that are only of money and countless skullduggeries. Those who have lived here longer are in a position to offer insider knowledge of big deals and big hustles.

Who would want some of them near the most troubled undertaking in Guyana?

These characters are older than original sin.

Meaning further that, in the best, (the least tempting and rewarding) of circumstances they cannot be trusted to deliver anything clean, or above board, or remotely resembling the unquestionable. Their whole life has been about one suspicious situation after another; whatever the strategy behind their inclusion, they fool no one and only severely taint any claims about sincerity and objectives. These are the kind of folks who would hold a bush cook and extend a cheerful invitation. Of course,

the innocents really do not know until it is too late that the fowl being eaten is theirs.

That is how good at the dark arts some of these nominees are and how they polished their image and craft.

To emphasise, I refer to the Joe Kennedy syndrome: ‘put a known thief to watchmaan plenty addah teefin’. A cautionary word is in order: it is slick to place a fox in charge of the henhouse.

But whose henhouse would he have in mind? The wags should have a field day: twelve names were not submitted, so the label of a Dirty Dozen is cleverly avoided; however, there is still the thrill of what is now an Ocean’s Eleven. And none should forget the escapades of that bunch.

On the other hand, the couple who are not unclean suffer from one malady or the other: unempowered, unsure, unsteady, unprepared, and likely unable to stand up and deliver without fear, with rare courage, and with absolute disregard for the ill-will of leaders and supporters.

Again, the litmus test: in the crunch and crucible of national elections, when the passions rage on the phone, in the media, in the villages and towns and streets, and all over, is any from this cupped palmful, the one desired to be leading the

charge from the foxhole of tribulation into the withering fire from all angles? I say no.

Still, there is one name that I would take a chance with from the mix. I have some doubts about fierceness and strength, not character or partisanship. Still further, I am surprised that she allowed her name to remain in this the greatest of Guyanese games; a medal for heroism should be considered right now without a single decision made as yet or any vote counted.

How much better to sit down, and both men (two of them only) remove a single list of about six new names each from their own pockets, and pare down until down to two or three. And from there, leave to the president. Of course, it is easier to come up with six icebergs in this country than to come up with a short list of 2-3 names, who can be trusted to serve the nation’s interests.

Not any party, but that of the nation. However, the real politics of Guyana knows of no such standard or value or trust (that again) that could help over the threshold of suspicion and fear (and what that promises). That is why I see the starting point of selecting a chairperson is in the same place as it was a hundred years ago.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

A practical political solution in which winner does regardless of date of With either side winning, result in court that will take not take all ahead election and the outcome. the other side is a loser. In more than five years to be DEAR EDITOR, The incumbent APNU+AFC Coalition and the opposition PPP is each seeking to place itself in an advantageous position for upcoming elections. The CCJ ruled that the government has fallen and elections must be held. That is inevitable but the date for elections is not certain as is the outcome of an election. There is trouble

Why not seek an outcome that will prevent political trouble?

The Coalition wants elections deferred until next year when oil money will begin to flow into the treasury to gain an advantage.

The opposition wants election now confident it can win because it feels the Coalition is unpopular.

fact, Guyana will also be a loser because there will be political instability as the losing side will not accept the outcome.

Development will be stifled. Oil money is likely to be misappropriated and the population will not benefit from the largesse.

If the Coalition wins, the Opposition will cry foul and challenge the

addressed. If PPP wins, the coalition may cry fraud or refuse to give up power and or challenge the outcome that will also take a long time to be resolved.

One side will not accept the other side as the ruler. And at any rate, political victory is not guaranteed for either side. The winner takes all political system does not (Continued on page 6)

Tuesday July 09, 2019

A traffic rank of the Guyana Police Force with lots of tolerance DEAR EDITOR, I have always thought that a Traffic rank within the Guyana Police Force had the easiest job until I was in close proximity of one conducting his duty during the Road March Parade of the Anniversary over the last weekend and I was in for a total shock.

I ventured out to have a photography production coverage in the vicinity of the Independence Square, Brickdam among other locations and there was this traffic officer in his yellow raincoat conducting his duties that he was assigned to during this national/state event.

It was unbelievable to witness with disgust, drivers who were grossly disrespectful, rude and uncouth to the officer on duty as they passed by. The Officer stood there signalling with his hand for drivers to turn left and they were so angry with him from their responses of verbal attacks.

He was simply doing his duty during the national/state event and I did say to him that, it’s admirable to witness you with so much of tolerance carrying out your duty.

I believe that there are many of dysfunctional drivers

who ply the roads on a daily basis and perhaps they need to check with their personal physicians or any medical personnel who are experts with mental issues.

I take this moment to commend this particular traffic officer publicly for a job

well done and if there was a bonus of any kind available by the Guyana Police Force, I say to the Commissioner of Police that I will nominate the individual in the photo (image provided).

Yours faithfully T. Pemberton

I too will not tolerate the ‘gross human rights violations’ in Haiti DEAR EDITOR, The signatories to a letter titled, “Credible accounts of gross human rights violations in Haiti must be addressed by CARICOM” in another section of the media must be congratulated for highlighting the tragedy of Haiti, and the silence of many, including the ABC countries.

While the so-called democratic West European countries and the US are illegally pursuing regime change in Venezuela and Nicaragua, two countries that have consistently held free, fair and open elections, these very countries are silent on the violation of human rights by the US puppet regimes in Haiti and Honduras. In fact, the US played a pivotal role in preventing the main

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Kaieteur News

opposition party in Honduras, led by Salvador Nasralla, from assuming office by manipulating the electoral process in favour of their satrap, Juan Hernandez, the current president.

For those who are unaware, the Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti (FRAPH) was a terrorist outfit, founded and led by the infamous deathsquad leader, Emmanuel “Toto” Constant. FRAPH was aided and abetted by the CIA, in collaboration with the French, British and

Canadians, in the overthrow of the legitimate government of Jean Bertrand Aristide.

Constant later fled to the US and was imprisoned after being used and discarded by his masters.

I wish to add my voice, as leader of OVP, to the regionwide call for CARICOM to send a strong message to the regime in Haiti that the wider community will not tolerate their “gross human rights violations”.

Gerald A. Perreira Organisation for the Victory of the People (OVP)

Constitutions has numerous provisions to support continuation of the administration, parliament DEAR EDITOR, Conventional wisdom has generally seemed to indicate that the central focus of any reform of the constitution must involve restrictions on the powers of the presidency.

During the abbreviated tenure of the last administration two developments, in particular, seemed to support this view by exemplifying the concept of the primacy of the Presidency in the Guyana constitution and the suggestion that this retarded, rather than advanced, the development of democracy in our country.

In 2014, President Donald Ramotar, who led a minority PPP/C government, prorogued the National Assembly to forestall the threat of a no-confidence motion, which was occasioned by the government’s insistence on its ability to disregard parliament’s right to approve budgetary allocations, thereby forcing early elections. The conflict between the executive and legislature had been signalled a few years earlier when parliament had moved a motion of no-confidence against a Cabinet minister citing ministerial failures which led to the employment of deadly force against unarmed citizens engaged in protest action. In both instances, the President was quite adamant that the actions of the executive could not be constrained by the legislature; the Cabinet did not resign following the prorogation of the National Assembly in 2014 and continued to function in an unrestrained manner until general and regional elections were held the following year and the Cabinet minister which had lost the confidence of the National

Assembly was not resigned or removed from office.

Less than 5 years after this seminal period of conflict between the executive and the legislature it would appear that the previous minority governing party, which had championed the primacy of the executive over the legislature has now, out of office, adopted a contrary position and seem to be championing the primacy of the National Assembly and the Opposition Leader over the Executive President by demanding, in effect, the prorogation of the entire executive arm of the state following the passage of the December 2018 noconfidence motion. The current conflict between the executive and legislature is very dissimilar to the previous conflict in one very important respect. The Opposition Party is the minority in the National Assembly and sought to exploit a weakness in the constitution to engineer a temporary majority through collusion and deceit to force a no-confidence motion in order to undo the previous election, which it lost and has refused to recognise to this day.

The constitution has not been rewritten since the administration of President Ramotar, only its interpretation has changed.

The constitutional provisions that existed, and were adhered to then, exist today.

Firstly, the period following the dissolution/ prorogation of the National Assembly by the President, does not diminish the government’s abilities or powers; it is neither the practice or the law, and the CCJ should not infer or order otherwise, even if it is the demand of the PPP/C today.

It is concerning that the assertions by the CCJ that the APNU+AFC administration is in “caretaker mode” and restrained from full functioning is neither rooted in our constitution or governmental precedence.

The suggestion that the CCJ’s view is informed by constitutions and practice elsewhere is unfortunate and suggests an inherent antagonism to our presidential republican system, which is not practiced by any other Commonwealth Caribbean state.

Secondly, it is not disputed that the constitution provides for the President to dissolve, prorogue and to extend the life of, the National Assembly and now it would appear that the reverse is also true and that Article 106 (6) provides for the National Assembly to resign the Cabinet, including the President without making provisions for their succession.

It appears also that parliament has dissolved itself, in the opinion of the Opposition Leader and this is supported by neither the President or the constitution.

In a previous letter, published by this newspaper, I have described Article 106 (6) as constitutional malware; its purpose is to create the perception of constitutional crisis and political instability in order to undo the results of the previous election and to force the CCJ and the international community to back the demands of the minority party. There are numerous provisions in the constitution to support the continuation of the administration and parliament and for parliament to resolve the date for the next elections.

Sincerely, Oscar Dolphin

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Tuesday July 09, 2019

Kaieteur News

A dire need for changing tables for babies in Guyana DEAR EDITOR, I am finding it increasingly frustrating and bewildering to be a relatively new mommy in Guyana and wish to start documenting some parenting challenges so we can try to resolve and help younger parents in the future enjoy parenthood in our beautiful country.

The thought of staying home because you’re afraid your baby will need a diaper change, which may seem laughable but it is a real factor taken into account primarily because of the un-availability of public changing stations.

My husband and I have gotten pretty resourceful when it comes to finding places in Guyana to change our son. When he was an infant, we could be seen doing diaper changes in the backseat of our vehicle or resourcefully having to utilise one of the small couches or chairs at various restaurants

as we both tackled the job at hand, sometimes with a part of his body hanging off and being supported by my husband, but it was enough to keep him off the floor…

Using these spaces in a business, restaurant or establishment – benches, couches, chairs, tables – is really the better option but this can also draw some dirty looks from others, making an occasionally stressful experience all the worse.

After about a year of habitually mentioning to Senior staff of an international standard hotel, it remains baffling that the Marriott does not have a changing table in either the women or men’s restroom or at all in a separate family’s room. We returned the other day to celebrate Father ’s Day and to our dismay our “makeshift” couch/changing table was otherwise taken with the unusually busy crowd. I was

resigned to taking our now 2year old son to the women’s bathroom and using a sliver of the counter next to the sink, which was soaked with pipe water and hand shakings from previous occupants…

It’s certainly not somewhere you want to lay your child or the changing mat that’s going back into your bag, carrying strangers’ filth back to your home. Not to mention that with little boys, you have to shield yourself and be extra vigilant lest you get caught by a surprise spray.

A few days after this Marriott experience, a post went viral by a father running errands with his 1-year-old in the US and found himself in urgent need of a changing table. There wasn’t one in the men’s room, so he did what he had to do. He squatted.

Think about the thigh strength alone one would need to balance for as long as it takes to change a diaper.

A typical 1-year-old, who won’t be potty trained yet, will need, on average, about six diaper changes a day. Of course you won’t be changing that many while out at dinner, but as any parent knows, predicting how many of those will happen in a twoto four-hour span of time is like trying to bet on the West Indies cricket team emerging victorious (but that’s another blog altogether).

Having to change a diaper in a washroom without these facilities for parents, while trying to evade all the horrors and germs hiding in your typical bathroom — is a Herculean feat. Most Guyanese parents aren’t looking to squeeze in a workout squat when they simply need to get a squirming restless toddler out of a poop-filled diaper and back into the supermarket, restaurant, movie theatre, museum, zoo, store or

shopping mall. I wish to encourage all businesses or organisations to have their facilities have a changing table in BOTH restrooms. I know the entire idea of changing tables for men has taken longer to catch on, despite the fact that it’s 2019 and there are many fathers like my husband who can and does change diapers. Guyana needs to catch up with modern parenting.

Did you know that in 2016, President Obama signed into law a Bill called the Bathrooms Accessible in Every Situation (BABIES) Act, which requires that changing stations that are “physically safe, sanitary and appropriate” be available in both women’s and men’s bathrooms in every bathroom of a public building. As we move forward and Guyana’s

apparently on the brink of becoming a developed country, why can’t we think about something like this to change the Guyanese shopping and dining habits since parents with babies will then feel more comfortable going out with their children.

There are several washrooms with loads of space that could easily accommodate a changing table and even in small places, it can be possible….

Just check out any plane’s washroom. Is it asking too much to drill a few holes and chuck a fold-down changing table so that our children can be changed hygienically?

They deserve this and we need to speak out for their rights.

Sincerely, Mommy V

Not a private investigator DEAR EDITOR, I have seen a report in the Kaieteur News of 28th June, 2019, in which Dr. Nanda Gopaul, Director of the New Building Society, is reported, in giving evidence before the Court, as having said that I was “hired…to conduct an internal probe of the matter”, in connection with a wrongful dismissal lawsuit brought against the NBS. I wish to point out that my company, Public Communications Consultants Limited, was, in fact, contracted by the NBS to

provide “public communications policy and public relations” services to the NBS and, not as reported, “a private investigator” as alleged by Attorney Robin Stoby.

It follows, however, that any professional Public Communications Consultant, worth his salt, would conduct a thorough examination of the facts of the matter for which he has been engaged to represent and report accordingly to his client.

Yours sincerely, Kit Nascimento

A practical political...

From page 4 serve Guyana well. Why not work towards an outcome where both sides win including the country as a whole?

There is such a potential outcome. All it takes is for both sides and the minor parties to agree to a power sharing formula before the election and sign to it so that it can be enforced in court. It may not be possible to legislate power sharing since the assembly will not meet again with the government having fallen from the no confidence vote. But there can be a broad public agreement in which both sides agree that the side that wins more votes will include the other side in government.

For example, the winner gets the Presidency and the loser gets the PM position. After two and a half years, both sides rotate position. Cabinet positions will be agreed upon before the elections similar to what occurred in 2015 between APNU and AFC. Cabinet berths and or junior

Ministries as well as board chairs and directorships and CEOs will be distributed according to an established formula based on percentage of votes won. If other (minor) parties win seats, they also get a percentage of cabinet and or state positions. Even if they don’t win seats, the minor should be offered positions on boards and commissions or even a technical ministry.

In Guyana’s pluralistic sharply divided society, a winner of an election should not take all. Both sides must be part of government. That was Cheddi Jagan’s mantra since 1960s. We need a practical political solution in which winner does not take all meaning governing alone.

No side will lose corn and husk. This will encourage more people to become involved in politics and to hold government accountable. All sides will be winners including civil society and the population at large.

Yours truly, Dr. Vishnu Bisram

Tuesday July 09, 2019

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Govt. should return to Parliament to extend time for holding elections - Attorney General proposes to CCJ In his suggestions on Consequential Orders to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, submits that there is no doubt that elections must be held. He however noted that the state of readiness/unreadiness of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to conduct credible elections cannot be ignored.

Williams proposes that until such elections are held, the Government, including the President, Prime Minister, Ministers and Cabinet shall remain in office until a President is sworn in after elections have been held, pursuant to Article 106 (7) of the Constitution of Guyana, but only for the purpose of extending the time for the holding of elections.

In his submissions that were filed on July 01, Williams said, “The Government should convene the National Assembly to have a resolution passed in order that the time be extended for the holding of an election within the earliest time as indicated after the President has consulted with the Guyana Elections Commission. If for any reason the National Assembly does not pass the Resolution or the Resolution does not garner the requisite majority for an extension, the President after consultation with the Guyana Elections Commission shall dissolve the National Assembly and General and Regional Elections shall be held on a date to be fixed by the President under Articles 70(2) and 61 respectively.”

Moreover, the Attorney

General has maintained the need for the holding of house to house registration before General and Regional Elections are held. As it is, the Attorney General submitted that GECOM is constitutionally incapable of lawfully directing, supervising and administering the elections that are required to be held, since it is without a Chairman.

Williams submitted, “The appointment of a GECOM chair is subject to a mandatory constitutional process. Until the President and the Leader of the Opposition complete that process, which is to be completed by them with dispatch, the work functioning of GECOM is affected.”

GECOM, Williams noted, has two primary functions, the registration of electors and the administration of elections. Williams said, too “There is absolutely no evidence before (the CCJ) that the officers and employees of the Secretariat of GECOM are not discharging their functions in order to ready the electoral apparatus for elections. On the contrary, the evidence strongly suggests that they are at work and that time is required for the work to be completed. The process outlined above must be completed by house to house visits. There is no doubt that all the parties accept that elections must be held. The state of readiness (or unreadiness) of GECOM to conduct credible elections cannot be ignored.”

CCJ CANNOT SET

DATE FOR ELECTIONS Continuing in his submissions, the Attorney General urged the CCJ to stay above politics.

He respectfully submitted to the CCJ that it has no jurisdiction to set a date for the holding of elections in Guyana, neither does the court have the authority to dissolve parliament. According to Williams, setting a date for elections is a “quintessentially political question”. He went on to describe this as one of the most powerful tools held by a President or Prime Minister in most constitutional democracies, without fixed dates for elections.

The Attorney General recommended, “Before setting a date for elections this Court (CCJ) must ask and answer the following question: What is the best date for general and regional elections to be held in Guyana? Frankly, that question and the answer to it are political in nature and within the exclusive right and privilege of the President of Guyana.”

But the court of Guyana, Williams asserts, does not answer political questions.

“It falls exclusively to the President to decide when to dissolve Parliament. It is noteworthy that Article 106 does not provide for the dissolution of the National Assembly by operation of law if a government is defeated on a motion of confidence. It follows that notwithstanding such a defeat, the power of dissolution remains constitutionally vested with

the President. There is no evidence before this Court that proves or suggests that the President will fail to discharge his constitutional duty. Consistent with the settled practice of this Court, it is to be presumed that the President will comply with the law.”

He was keen to point out that the Opposition and other appellants are seeking for the court to grant coercive orders against government. This, he says, is contrary to the basic legal principles for granting orders of Mandamus. He held that the requests for coercive orders are baseless.

Williams reasoned that courts have been very hesitant to issue orders of mandamus, and have exercised such jurisdiction only where a litigant has established that a public authority has breached fundamental rights or failed to comply with a duty.

In several landmark rulings delivered on June 18, the CCJ affirmed that the NoConfidence Motion was successfully passed against government in the National Assembly on December 21, 2018. The regional court also

Attorney General Basil Williams ruled that the President’s unilateral appointment of retired Judge James Patterson as Chairman of GECOM was unconstitutional.

Patterson has since resigned. On June 24, the court held a hearing to determine where the parties had reached a consensus in

respect to the rulings. As there was no such consensus, the CCJ ordered the parties to file written submission on the issue by July 1. All the parties have complied. The CCJ, nonetheless, will hand down its ruling on Consequential Orders on Friday, July 12, at 14:00hrs.

PAGE 8

Tuesday July 09, 2019

Kaieteur News

GGMC trying to close loophole costing Guyana hundreds of millions for decades now - Commissioner While he admits there is need for a solution, Head of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, (GGMC) Newell Dennison says that the Commission has been trying for dec a d e s n o w, t o p l u g t h e loophole which exists in the Mining Act. “This is nothing new; we are aware of the problem and we have been trying to come up with a solution for quite some time now….” Dennison said.

He added that the issue has been a part of an ongoing debate. Dennison

was at the time responding to queries surrounding the loophole which exists in the Mining Act of 1989.

The loophole has resulted in hundreds of millions in losses to the State, each year. The issue was highlighted in the 2017 report of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

The transparency body pointed out that large scale miners have cashed in on the loophole which allows them to hold permits for multiple mining claims yet pay significantly less in

land rental fees. According to the report, large scale operators who hold in excess of 1,200 acres threshold are allowed to pay US$1 per acre on the annual rental fees as opposed to US$3 per acre yearly.

The practice has contributed to the total shortfall to the government at considerable amounts per annum.

In its report, the EITI, therefore, recommended that GGMC take steps to close the gap. However, Dennison said while GGMC notes the observation of

Report, it has encountered difficulty addressing the problem.

“The solution has not yet been arrived at. because this issue is not as straightforward as it appears. There are a number of things to take into consideration. Firstly, this is not a matter to be addressed by the Commission alone; other stakeholders must be involved in the process.”

Dennison claimed that while the Commission is concerned about the loss of millions from the Government’s purse, there are a number of viewpoints to consider.

“We just don’t decide that an operator is a large scale based on the size of his claim alone; we look at whether the claims are adjacent to each other to make that determination.”

According to the GGMC official, a number of mechanisms have been

GGMC Commissioner Newell Dennison proposed as part of a solution. He noted that while an amendment in the Mining Act might be plausible, there are other proposals to be considered.

“We have considered that perhaps an amendment in the law may help with the problem or imposing higher fees on medium scale acreage or even converting the

claims to large scale. However, the fact remains that nothing will change unless the parties involved, determine what course of action will be best suited to address the issue.”

The EITI report of 2017 on Guyana noted that some 457 permits were awarded to companies (Continued on page 11)

Tuesday July 09, 2019

PAGE 9

Kaieteur News

Complicating the simple It is most dangerous when a government takes its own flawed advice seriously.

APNU+AFC has found itself in a most complicated situation, wherein it is actually believing some of the nonsense that it is peddling.

When it comes to the selection of the Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission, the Constitution provides that the President has to choose someone not unacceptable to him from a list of six persons submitted by the Leader of the Opposition.

There is no provision for the government to nominate any

persons In the spirit of compromise, the Leader of the Opposition has opened himself to considering nominees from the government.

But he is neither bound nor does it make any sense for him to do so.

The Caribbean Court of Justice had recognised the need for consensus in the selection of a Chairman. The constitutional provision which addresses the selection of a Chairman was intended as a consensual mechanism. And as such, it gave to the Leader of the Opposition the option of submitting six

names, and for the President to pick one of these names which is not unacceptable to him.

It does seem as if the President has grave difficulties understanding the double negative “not unacceptable.” ”Not unacceptable” does not mean that the President has to find full favour with any of the names.

He merely has to select someone whom he is willing to accept.

Former presidents Cheddi Jagan, Desmond Hoyte and Bharrat Jagdeo never had a problem with this concept. In 1992, using the Carter-Price formula, Cheddi Jagan

Dem boys seh ...

Everybody want to suck de government dry Nobody don’t like to get rob but everybody does like rob de government. Is either dem hide when is time to pay taxes or dem forge money dat de government got to pay to dem. Dat is de norm.

Some people in de gold industry doing dat all de time. And dem smart. Somebody point to de law which seh dat if yuh plot of land got more than 1,200 acres, you got to pay US$3 per acre but if you got 1,200 acres or less you only got to pay US$1 per acre.

Dem claim owners suddenly start to reduce dem claims. If dem had one 10,000 acre claim, dat same claim suddenly reduce to 10 or 15 small claims. Instead of paying US$30,000 a year, dem paying US$3,000 a year.

De people at de mines office see de loophole. In fact, dem boys know dem was looking at it fuh a long, long time, ever since some of de miners was primary school children.

Now de GGMC seh it looking to close de hole.

Denny son seh dem been looking at it fuh years.

Dat got to be a big hole. If was an ordinary hole, dem coulda sew it up wid some

needle and thread. But if dem tek more than ten years looking at, it probably got to be a black hole. It like some of dem lawyer appetite. No matter how much money dem get, dem always want.

Dipcon win its case. It was suppose to get US$2.2M. De lawyer, if he stick to de old norm, he woulda get US$660,000. Wid dat kind of money, a man don’t have to wuk no more.

At least, dem boys wouldn’t have to wuk again.

Statia peep de card and he tek every cent from Dipcon. He seh Dipcon owe dat in taxes.

It mean dat de lawyer wouldn’t get a cent.

But dem have anodda lawyer who set he eye pon a bright small piece. A man dead in de lock-ups and he family seh dem want $28 million as a settlement. De lawyer tell de police dat if dem give him de money, he wouldn’t say a word. De police wouldn’t answer him.

Dem boys seh dat de people should watch de lawyer. After all, he is a good-looking man.

Talk half and watch how people grabbing fuh money.

submitted, to then President Desmond Hoyte, six names: David Yankana, Jules DeCambra, Brynmor (Bryn) Pollard, Rudy Collins, Joey King and Ronald Luckhoo.

Hoyte chose Rudy Collins as Chairman. There was no need for any second or third list. Hoyte did not have to agree to any of the persons.

He simply had to choose someone who was not unacceptable to him.

In 1997, then opposition leader, Desmond Hoyte, provided a name of six names for selection as Chairman of GECOM. The six names were: Doodnauth Singh, Edward Hopkinson, Justice James Patterson, Rudolph Harper, Charles Liburd and Randolph Kirton. From this list of six, the then President found Doodnauth Singh not unacceptable.

In 2001, Hoyte again submitted a new list. It consisted of Major General Joseph Singh, Justice Rudolph Harper, Dennis Craig, David Granger, Gem Fletcher and Harold Davis.

President Jagdeo chose Major General Joseph Singh from Hoyte’s list.

After those elections, Major General Joseph Singh demitted office and Hoyte again submitted almost the

same list of six persons, replacing Singh with Steve Surujbally, who was selected

by President Jagdeo as being not unacceptable.

From 1992 right through to the 2015 elections, the Chairman of GECOM was someone picked from the list of six names submitted by the Leader of the Opposition to the President. There was never any need for any second or third list to be selected. There was never any problem with interpreting what “fit and proper” meant.

There was never any insistence that the person selected had to be a judge, an ex-judge, or have judge-like qualities. This would have disqualified most of those on Hoyte’s lists.

The situation which Guyana finds itself in is because of the inability of President Granger to find someone who is acceptable to him from the three lists which were provided by the Leader of the Opposition. It is respectfully submitted that having been previously provided with 18 names, none of which he could have found not unacceptable, it is hardly likely that names on any future list submitted by the Leader of the Opposition will be found not

unacceptable to President Granger.

And if that was not tragic enough, we now have this absurdity that the CCJ ruling is being interpreted to allow for the President to submit nominees. From which stratosphere did such an interpretation emerge?

The CCJ recognises that for a decision to be made, there needs to be good faith talks and consensus. It has thus made some suggestions.

It called for the two sides to sit down in good faith and hammer out a consensus. That in no way implies that the President has any right to nominate persons.

The President has now submitted eight names. Those persons should not have allowed their names to be put forward. It will create expectations that perhaps the President has a role in nominating persons, something which was never contemplated by the Constitution or by the Caribbean Court of Justice.

PAGE 10

Tuesday July 09, 2019

Kaieteur News

=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===

Dozens of American ambassadors said it before American ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch, addressed the annual meeting of the Private Sector Commission with some candid words about some of the negative features of this land. She zeroed in on blackouts, corruption, bureaucratic slowness. All that the diplomat said were echoed before by dozens of her predecessors. Some of whom have probably gone to the great beyond and some of them are probably in very advanced age in the US. But their reflections never changed a thing in Guyana. The decades come and go, the diplomats come and go, and Guyana remains the same – a tragic wasteland where time recedes back into the origi-

nal black holes. The ambassador pointed out that in the World Bank report for 2018, Guyana’s position on the ease of doing business here dropped from 126 in 2017 to 143 in 2018. Here is graphic, pellucid proof that the nation of Guyana receded in time and there is no optimism left to cling on to.

It is logical that a country keeps going higher on the indices of human progress. But Guyana goes back in time. If in 2017, it was difficult for investors to be served in Guyana, then it is natural that if in 2017 there were 10 formidable obstacles, that number will be reduced the next year. On the contrary, in the next year, the obstacles

move from 10 to 20.

This is life in Guyana that the New York Times journalist Clifford Krauss visited last year and dismissed as a backward place.

The ambassador’s observations were based on the kind of work she does in this country. She knows about corruption by visiting American investors.

She knows the long time it takes to get a permit to buy land or acquire a work permit, because Americans in Guyana have told her about these negativities.

But there are countless nightmares that characterise this blighted, cursed country that Mrs. Lynch will never see before she leaves here.

Mrs. Lynch will never encounter the miserable life that characterises this country, because her job does not take her down those pathways. She will never know how impossible it is to get your kid transferred from one public school to the other. She will never experience the months of frustration for just a simple transaction at the Guyana Revenue Authority.

When Guyanese tell Mrs. Lynch the waiting hours just to apply for a renewal of one’s driver’s licence, she will probably email her bosses in Washington, D.C asking for an immediate transfer.

Has the ambassador ever heard about an important agency named Central Housing and Planning Authority, where no housing plan is approved within a year of submission, and if you get your permit within a year then you are lucky. It is virtually impossible to make telephonic contact with any officer in that agency. Does the ambassador know that to build a house in Georgetown, you have to secure acceptance of your

plan by the City Engineer of the City Council and approval is never given less than two years from the date of submission of plan.

Has the diplomat been told by Guyanese how the NIS treats claimants and pensioners?

As if they are beggars to be mistreated? Does the ambassador know the length of time GPL responds to a sparking electrical wire on a utility pole?

Does she have any idea how erratic and sadistic is the GWI billing system, whereby your bill can jump from $3000 to $10,000 within a three-month span, and you are told you have to pay it.

This columnist was saddled with a bill for $30,000 for three months, when my payment was always $2,900 monthly. My wife asked me not to get into a confrontation but pay.

For a household of a man and wife to use $10,000 in water each month meant I had to waste over a hundred black tanks of water each day.

Does the ambassador know how important the internet is? The answer is

Frederick Kissoon yes, obviously. In Guyana you can be without internet service for weeks despite reporting your fault on the day it happened. The telephone company is very reluctant to visit your home to repair a land line. Your best bet is to privately pay a GTT employee to fix the thing.

Does the ambassador know it is virtually impossible to get an answer from a 911 call? This is the part of Guyana that Mrs. Lynch will never see because of the nature of her job.

Finally, given the poor conditions in Guyana, has the ambassador seen the luxury vehicles the ministers and high level state bosses drive?

Tuesday July 09, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

Kaieteur News

PAGE 16

Tuesday July 09, 2019

Reduction of traffic congestion…

Construction of $57M Diamond market, parking lot to begin this week

T

he Ministry of P u b l i c Infrastructure is targeting a new parking lot and market place to ease congestion around the Diamond area, East Bank Demerara.

Currently, the southern area by Demerara Distillers Limited, just before the GuyOil service centre serves as a park for hire cars and a stop for minibuses.

It has been proving a dangerous situation for drivers and passengers alike, in addition to congestion, with vehicles reversing and passengers crossing the roadway on a whim.

With the nearby access road to the Diamond and Grove housing schemes a major bottleneck, the new parking area would be seen as one of the measures to reduce congestion.

According to the Ministry, it recently awarded a contract for the construction of a tarmac for the market and parking lot at Diamond, East Bank

Demerara, Region Four.

The area earmarked is the just north of the GuyOil facilities and east of the current park. The contract was awarded to Bardon Construction Service for a sum of $57,188,120.

According to the m i n i s t r y, w o r k s a r e scheduled to commence this week and is expected to last for approximately four months.

The Defects Liability Period amounts to 12 months after the Letter of Completion by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure.

The project scope entails the construction of a tarmac on the southern side of Demerara Distillers Limited with a length of approximately 125 m and width of approximately 65 m.

According to the ministry, the construction will be done in two phases.

Phase I will consist of crusher run while Phase II of the application of asphaltic concrete and possible extension of the tarmac

An artist's depiction of the planned parking area.

access road to First Avenue, Diamond.

“More so, the tarmac is to be outfitted with concrete and earthen drains, lighting, toilet facilities, and waiting area for passengers.”

According to the ministry, important to note is that Bardon Construction Service will only be executing Phase I of this project which entails the removal of vegetation from the working area, cleaning of existing culverts, excavation work - depth of 0.8m for a

width of 65m and length of 125m, disposal of unsuitable materials off site, ditch excavation, placement of compaction of white sand, construction of concrete drains, bridges and box culverts, installation of lights, toilet facilities, garbage bins and waiting area.

Phase II is scheduled to commence in December.

According to the ministry, the purpose of the construction of this tarmac is to improve road traffic safety

with the reduction in the number/possibility of vehicular crashes occurring within the area.

“Taxi drivers will not be constantly making U-turns or parking near the road edge, or frequently pulling in and out, and obstructing persons from exiting minibuses and walkways.”

The ministry also explained that the separation of taxi drivers and vendors from motor vehicular traffic will allow for the smooth flow of traffic within that

area, especially at peak hours. “ Ta x i d r i v e r s a n d vendors can have some form of uniformity and proper working facilities to provide improved services to customers whilst maintaining some level of safety for themselves and the public.”

The ministry is also contemplating connecting the Diamond scheme with an access road that will help reduce the pressure on the current one.

Tuesday July 09, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 17

Kaieteur News

PAGE 18

Tuesday July 09, 2019

FIU hands over annual report to Finance Minister

F

ollowing what has been described as a successful year, Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Matthew Langevine, yesterday handed over the unit's annual report to Finance Minister, Winston Jordan.

Giving a summary, Director Langevine said the report contains the agency's certified 2018 financial

statements by the Auditor General's office and provides an overview of activities conducted.

“It strives to execute its mandate of working with all local and international stakeholders in protecting the integrity of the local and international financial system, from money launderers and those trying to use our system to finance terrorism and proliferation.”

The FIU has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with ten regional counterparts; the latest was with Barbados and Jamaica.

“This has resulted in the sharing of information for the investigation of several money laundering cases.

Increased training and outreach sessions were conducted to raise awareness of the FIU... We were able to

use these MOUs in a couple of money laundering investigations already, so the importance of these is being seen and realised…

These are even more important as we continue to strive towards having Guyana accepted as a member of the Egmont Group of International FIU's,” Langevine explained.

Finance Minister Jordan,

Murder suspected as decomposed body of Berbice welder found near camp

T

he body of 34year-old Yogindra Ramkarran, a welder from Number 72 Village, Corentyne, Berbice, was found partially decomposed in a clump of bushes near his camp in Pigeon Island, Upper Corentyne River last Wednesday night by coworkers, a short distance from where his work site is located.

A police source who had a chance to view the body, disclosed that it appears that the man was hit or injured in some way to his chest area, resulting in his death.

Kaieteur News understands that Ramkarran was imbibing with his coworkers a stone's throw away from the camp on Tuesday

Found dead: Yogindra Ramkarran and subsequently ventured to the backdam location.

Sources in Mahdia stated that the co-workers claimed that after they had concluded drinking with Ramkarran

they never saw him again.

The workers reportedly claimed that they went in search of Ramkarran when they found his body in the clump of bushes near the

camp that they were staying and working at. Ramkarran was employed with the owner of a sawmill from Skeldon, Upper Corentyne, Berbice.

Meanwhile, the sister of the now dead man, Somawattie Ramkarran, when contacted, relayed that they have not heard from the authorities on where her brother's body is. She also explained that they are yet to receive a full report on what may have been the cause of death of Ramkarran. The woman stated that her brother has been working with the businessman for the past nine years.

The body is expected to be brought out today, when a post mortem will be conducted.

Minister of Finance Winston Jordan (L) receiving the Financial Intelligence Unit (FUI)'s 2018 report from the entity's Director, Matthew Langevine. describing the report as the first of its kind received by him, said it attests to the Coalition Government's push to increase transparency and accountability.

“Since our entry into office, we have produced reports that are required by law and even reports that are not. Even as we speak, we are working on the half-year

report and we have the unenviable record of getting that report into the National Assembly, before it goes into recess, even though the law requires that it be available before the 28th of August annually,” the minister stated.

The reports are expected to be laid before the National Assembly and made available for public perusal.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday July 09, 2019

PAGE 19

Motorcyclist dies Resigned Chairman among list of... in Vlissengen Road smash-up

Dead: Stephon Beckles

A

28-year-old biker lost his life in the wee hours yesterday, after he collided with a car in the vicinity of the Ministry of Agriculture on Vlissengen Road.

Dead is Stephon Beckles, of 2104 Guyhoc Park Georgetown.

His friend Kevin Andy, 22, of 48 Perry Street, Tucville, who was the pillion rider, sustained injuries.

Eyewitnesses said that around 00:30hrs yesterday, Beckles, who

was riding motorcycle, CH9859, was proceeding south along the eastern lane of Vlissengen Road, at a fast rate of speed, when he collided with motorcar PTT2510, which was proceeding north along the western lane. The police report states that the motorcycle rider ended up in the latter lane and collided head-on with the car.

As a result of the collision, Beckles along with the pillion rider, fell onto the road, and they both received injuries to the head, arms and other parts of the body. Andy, still conscious, was picked up by public spirited citizens and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where he is presently receiving medical attention.

Beckles, who was in an unconscious state, was also taken to the GPHC, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. His body is presently at the hospital's mortuary awaiting a post mortem examination.

A breathalyzer test was conducted on the driver of the motorcar, whose name was not given. He was found to be above the prescribed limit, and is presently in custody assisting with the investigations.

From page 3 “hammering out” process.

The two sides will be working to identify six names, the government said. This, the Director-General said, should be done in the shortest possible time.

“We believe the consensual process contemplated by the CCJ and providing clarity in the Articles in the Constitution, requires us to meet in this way so that we can find a consensus,” he told the media outside Castellani House.

According to the DirectorGeneral, the meeting between the two sides is important to all of Guyana “to have a Chairman of the Commission that both sides can find their decisions fair and representing the best interest of the people of Guyana.”

At a post-meeting press conference last Thursday, President Granger iterated that the Leader of the Opposition is free to present the names that have already been submitted on the past three lists, and he has also agreed to confirm that those persons are still willing to have their names forwarded.

The Head of State also clarified that the Constitution of Guyana stipulates the requirements of who is 'fit and proper' to be selected for the position of the Chairman of GECOM. However, the Opposition team yesterday during a post-meeting press conference expressed worry

about what transpired yesterday.

According to Nandlall, a former Attorney General under the People's Progressive Party, at yesterday's meeting they were “confronted” with a list of eight names from the President with Harmon indicating that they had received no presidential instruction to proceed on the list of 11 names from the Opposition side.

Nandlall made it clear that this violates “good faith” and it was the President who said he wanted the issue to be settled in a matter of days. Nandlall, while stating that he did not “wish to cast aspersions”, pointed out that the nominees for the chair of GECOM, who oversees elections in Guyana, must possess certain qualities – judge-like qualities; be persons who are impartial and must have integrity.

He said that based on the list submitted by the President for consideration, it is clear that a number of the nominees have clear political connections, a demonstration that Government may not be acting in good faith.

He said that the Opposition Leader agreed for Government to submit names, but not in a formal way. Those submissions would have been discussed in a “fluid way”. According to Teixeira, since Saturday, the Opposition submitted a list of 11 names, after seven persons indicated they had other obligations.

The names included environmentalist Annette ArjoonMartins; B S Roy (retired Justice of Appeal), businessman Gerry Gouveia; Joseph Singh (Retired Major General and former GECOM Chairman), attorney-atlaw Kashir Khan; former magistrate Krisnadatt Persaud; Lawrence Lachmansingh; Norman McLean (Retired Major General); Onesi La Fleur, private sector executive Ramesh Dookhoo and retired Puisne Judge William Ramlall. Those who pulled out were attorneys-at-law Nadia Sagar, Sanjeev Datadin, Christopher Ram, Teni Housty and Oneidge WalrondAllicock, Professor James Rose and activist Ryhaan Shah.

Te i x e i r a , t h e C h i e f Parliamentary Whip for PPP, said that yesterday's developments were unfortunate, with a lot of time wasted. Nandlall questioned why the eight names were not submitted before in the interest of not wasting time. The President has said he is awaiting word from GECOM on a date for general elections.

GECOM had told the CCJ that it is conducting house-to-house registration to sanitise a list that had incorrect entries and dead persons and should be finished by December. However, based on the recent CCJ ruling, the Opposition is insisting it wants to hold elections within three months, as mandated by the Constitution of Guyana.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 20

Tuesday July 09, 2019

Sensitive Council issues Transitioning camp begins will be discussed in for students who failed to camera - City Mayor meet NGSA benchmark

A

motion was p a s s e d yesterday by the Mayor and City Councillors of Georgetown to put restrictions on recordings at statutory meetings by the media as well as council members, and when they could be made.

Mayor Ubraj Narine said that “When it comes to the discussion of sensitive issues, those would be held in camera”, due to the fact that the council discusses the best interest of the people and they cannot totally be excluded.

It was debated on whether council members could record the meetings and what protocols they needed to follow. It was noted that in order to make recordings council members had to seek permission from the 'chair' - in this case the mayor - before proceeding to record.

It was however brought to the mayor's attention that it seemed unfair that the media and the public were allowed to record whatever they desired, whether it be video or audio, while they had to operate under restrictions.

The mayor said, “For the recording of a meeting you have to ask permission. If a councillor desires to record

City Mayor, Pandit Ubraj Narine this meeting that councillor has to indicate to us... to the Town Clerk and myself, that you have the meeting recorded.”

The objection was raised by councillors that it was unfair for the public to be freely able to record and not the elected councillors.

The mayor replied that according to his knowledge no recording could be done by the councillors without his permission, but he would seek advice, since he may be wrong.

Town Clerk Sharon Harry-Munroe said according to her recollection, it was before any recording was done that they needed to seek the

permission of the chair.

However the elected mayor and councillors decide if they want the meeting recorded or not.

It was noted that there were times when extremely sensitive issues would be discussed and the media as well as the public would obviously have to be excused, as it was suggested that the sessions be held in camera.

The mayor accepted the suggestion and noted that these discussions will indeed be held in camera, as they could not totally exclude the public from the proceedings, as the main function of the council was to create policies and bylaws in the public's best interest.

Transition Teacher, Ms. Acklima Pearce

A

tactical camp for transitioning s t u d e n t s spearheaded by the Georgetown Department of Education commenced yesterday. The camp is being venued at the New Campbellville Secondary School and is being held under the theme for the camp is “Learning through fun”.

The camp, which will run for one week, will reinforce what was taught during the academic year 2018-2019 when the participants were part of a Transition Class following their National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA).

The Transition programme has been in existence for nine years.

According to Transition Teacher, Ms. Acklima Pearce, the Ministry of Education had assessed the results of students across Guyana at the NGSA and

District Education Officer, Mr. Sherwyn Blackman

based on that analysis, the Ministry believed it was fitting to begin a special programme to provide additional help to students that needed it.

She said that the programme targets students that were not able to gain marks to begin the regular five-year secondary education programme. She said that these students are still given the opportunity to attend secondary school but for six years, instead of five, since their first year would be a transitioning class, preparing them for secondary education.

Pearce explained that the subjects that are taught in the Tr a n s i t i o n C l a s s a r e mathematics, grammar, c o m p o s i t i o n , comprehension, spelling, r e a d i n g , v o c a b u l a r y, phonics, social studies, art and craft, physical education and poetry.

Further, she said that at the beginning of each Transition Class, a pre-test is administered in mathematics and language to assess the students' ability.

She said that the scores are recorded and at the end of the year, the said examination is administered to the students for a comparison to be made.

She said that upon completion of this one-year class, the students are placed in Grade Seven where they are taught seven subjects, mathematics, language, science, social studies, reading and two enrichment subjects.

Regarding this current batch of students, Pearce said that following their performance after the Christmas and Easter Terms, some students were still not able to achieve above 50 per cent. As such, this camp is to give those students another chance to improve themselves so that they can

be placed into Grade Seven come September.

A c c o r d i n g t o M r.

Sherwyn Blackman, District Education Officer (DEO), Georgetown, the Transition Class and the camp is to give students a better chance at transitioning to Grade Seven.

He said that the initiative will help to fill the gaps students may have, coming from Grade Six to Grade Seven.

He said that the Camp will seek to further develop the holistic child, whereby the children will be exposed to life skills training through daily talks and exercises.

He added that there will be various topics to engage and target both the boys and the girls.

The DEO urged the students that though they may come from different schools, they need to come together as a family because they have similar needs.

He said too that the programme has proven to be successful, since students that were placed in the six years programme were just as successful at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Examination in the past when compared to those who completed the five-year secondary programme.

According to Blackman, the schools in Georgetown that host Transition classes are St. George's High, New Campbellville Secondary, Cummings Lodge S e c o n d a r y, H o u s t o n S e c o n d a r y, L o d g e S e c o n d a r y, Tu c v i l l e Secondary, Queenstown Secondary and St. Winefride's Secondary.

Three hundred and twenty-three students were in the one-year transition class for the aforementioned academic year. However, the current camp is being held for 110 of those students

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Tuesday July 09, 2019

Kaieteur News

Family of nurse found hanging in hostel believe she was raped, murdered VACANCY FOR RENT

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The family of 26-year-old Schenise Apple, who was found hanging at the nurse’s hostel in Mahdia, Region Eight, is adamant that the young woman was raped and then murdered, even as they are still waiting on the police to hand over the results of a post mortem examination which was done last Friday at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

According to reports, the Lindener was attached to the Mahdia Hospital. She reportedly left the hospital on Monday (July 01), and failed to show up to work the following day.

This alarmed her colleagues who went in search of her at the hostel. There, they found her handing from the rafters of her bedroom.

However, Apple’s relatives are not a bit convinced that she took her own life. In fact, they claim that attempts are being made by the police to cover up the truth. A relative of Apple told this publication that the family is still awaiting official word from the police in relation to the findings of the post mortem examination. Apart from this, he disclosed that none of Apple’s relatives were allowed to witness the post mortem.

The relative said that they

Dead: Schenise Apple are calling on the public for support for the police to conduct a full investigation, and to keep them up to date every step of the way. According to the relative, it is his opinion that the injuries Apple sustained were not consistent with suicide. He is of the view that she was raped and murdered at another location and then taken back to her room where she was left hanging.

Commander of Police ‘F’ Division Kevin Adonis has since confirmed that investigations are still ongoing.

Tuesday July 09, 2019

PAGE 23

Kaieteur News

Millions spent to enhance education infrastructure in Linden As part of its effort to foster education development in Region 10, the Regional Democratic Council [RDC] recently expended some $40M on the Mackenzie High School - the region’s premier secondary school.

This sum, Chairperson of the RDC’s Education Committee, Ms. Denise Belgrave said has catered to a major facelift to the school in addition to other improvement works.

Works were also done to the school’s computer lab which was rewired, and Belgrave said that moves were also made to add a water quality facility.

Another $100M in improvement work was also carried out at the C h r i s t i a n b u r g - Wi s m a r Secondary, Belgrave told the Council, as she addressed a recent meeting. This school, she said, has benefited from tremendous work during the past four years and, “it’s a testimony that the current Committee continues to work

exceptionally hard in bringing about holistic development.”

She also made reference to the institution now having the status of a Sixth Form school.

“We are very excited and proud to announce that this school is the second school in Linden to have a sixth form, and I would like to state that this shows improvement and development,” said Belgrave.

She also spoke of the school being adequately staffed by trained teachers which will help in continuing to improve the academic results produced by the school.

These, among other efforts, are clear indications that the Region has been making significant positive strides in its development.

Even as she commended the efforts of the Region’s Regional Education Officer [REdO]and several of the Education Officers, Belgrave added, “We here in Region 10 are making significant strides in educational development

The Region 10 RDC’s Education Committee Chairperson, Ms. Denise Belgrave, makes her presentation. and I would like to express the Committee’s happiness about this as we are confident that the growth being made thus far will continue.”

“Education is alive and

Sentencing further deferred for gold band snatcher Sentencing has been further deferred for a father of two who admitted to pulling off a womans gold band to obtain money to take care of his children.

Jason Thomas, 26, was arraigned in the Georgetown Magistrates Courts before Magistrate Damion Bess who will impose his sentence. The magistrate yesterday adjourned the matter so that a probation officer can report on the attitude of the defendant.

On the first occasion, the court heard that on June 22, 2019 at Regent and Wellington Streets, Georgetown, he stole a gold band valued at $120,000 from Clareann Rambarran.

The matter was put on hold until yesterday so that the prosecutor could present details on previous charges the defendant had. The requested details were provided to the court, however Thomas made a plea of mitigation with

Jason Thomas caused the magistrate to ask the probation officer to provide a report on his attitude.

The matter was adjourned until July 19, 2019 for the probation report and sentencing.

On the day in question at about 13:10hrs, Rambarran

was walking along Regent Street, and while at the intersection with Wellington Street, Thomas walked up alongside her and held onto her right arm. He then pulled off her gold band and attempted to run away. However, Rambarrans sister, who was with her, raised an alarm.

Police ranks on patrol in the area at the time responded and were able to apprehend T h o m a s .

Thomas pleaded guilty to the charge and offered to explain his actions. According to him, on the day in question, as soon as he woke up his children mother started complaining about their finances for the kids.

“She de just speeding me head, your worship, and she tell me she will have the police arrest me to pay child support. This is my first offence and I dont do them things. Everybody does make mistakes in life, but at least the woman get back she band.”

well in Region 10,” said Belgrave, as she again turned her attention to the education department and its hard working officers who, she said, “seem determined in their pursuits and are making a number of laudable inroads.”

The development of

education in the Region has also entailed support being directed to the Kwakwani and Amelia’s Ward student hostels which have been helping to universalise the access to education within the Region, Belgrave said.

She also revealed that in addition to the breakfast

programme that currently exists at Amelia’s Ward, Dallawalla and Kwakwani, a juice and biscuit programme is in existence. While all students will benefit from these programmes, Belgrave was eager to share her hope that those students from economically challenged homes will benefit thereby helping to improve their performance.

“The breakfast programme I would like to say is a great initiative and we are seeing excellent results... there are some students who are economically challenged, and so I am happy to see that the children are given an opportunity to have a breakfast which will help to boost their academic pursuits,” said Belgrave.

In fact, she shared that there is evidence to support the belief that the average performance in Linden has steadily improved as a result.

Belgrave, a former educator herself, also said that the David G buses have been effectively servicing the Upper Demerara and Berbice areas including Coomacka, (Continued on page 24)

PAGE 24

Trump assails Britain’s May, ambassador to U.S. who called his administration ‘inept’ LONDON (Reuters) U.S. President Donald Trump attacked Prime Minister Theresa May and her ambassador to Washington on M o n d a y w h i le B r i t a i n voiced regret for the leak of confidential memos in which the diplomat called Trump’s administration “dysfunctional” and “inept.”

The memos from Kim Darroch, ambas s a d o r t o Wa s h i n g t o n , w e r e d i vulged to a Sunday n e w s p a p e r, a n n o y i n g Trump and embarrassing London.

Tuesday July 09, 2019

Kaieteur News

“Contact has been made with the Trump administration, setting out our view that we believe the leak is unacceptable,” May’s spokesman told reporters. “It is, of course, a matter of regret that this has happened.”

Trump responded on Twitter by criticizing May’s handling of Brexit and saying she disregarded his advice.

“What a mess she and her representatives have created,” he wrote. “I do not know the Am b a s s a dor, but he is not liked or

well thought of within t h e U . S . We w i l l n o longer deal with him.”

“The good news for t h e w o n d erfu l U n i t e d Kingdom is that they will soon have a new Prime M i n i s t e r. While I thoroughly enjoyed the magnificent State Visit last month, it was the Queen who I was most impressed with!” he wrote.

Hours after Trump’s tweet, May’s spokesman reiterated Britain’s position that the leak was unfortunate and said Darroch “continues to have the prime minister’s full support.”

Trade minister Liam Fox, who is visiting Washington, told B B C r a d i o h e would apologize to T r u m p ’s daughter Ivanka, whom he was due to meet.

“I will be apologizing for the fact that either o u r civil service or elements of our political class have not lived up to the expectations that either we have or the United States has about their behavior, which in this particular case has lapsed in a most extraordinary and unacceptable way,” he said.

“Malicious leaks of this nature ... can actually lead to a damage to that relationship, which can therefore affect our wider security interest.”

It was unclear whether his message had been relayed before Trump posted his tweet.

It was the U.S. president’s second broadside against the British ambassador, whom he criticized on Sunday as not having “served the UK well.”

Britain is hoping to strike a major trade deal with its closest ally after it leaves the European Union, an exit scheduled for Oct. 31.

In confidential memos to his government dating from 2017 to the present, Darroch said reports of infighting in the White House were “mostly true” and last month described confusion within the administration over Trump’s decision to call off a military strike on Iran.

New York clears way for release of Trump’s state tax returns NEW YORK (Reuters) New York state on Monday cleared the way for Democrats in the U.S. Congress to obtain President Donald Trump’s state tax returns, raising the possibility of fresh avenues of inquiry for lawmakers investigating his finances.

Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an amendment to a tax law that would require the commissioner of the Department of Taxation and Finance to share state income tax returns and reports when certain congressional committees request them.

“This bill gives Congress the ability to fulfill its

constitutional responsibilities, strengthen our democratic system and ensure that no one is above the law,” said Cuomo, a Democrat.

Trump’s attorney Jay Sekulow responded to the law by calling it an example of “more presidential harassment.”

“We will respond to this as appropriate,” he said in a statement.

The law, effective immediately, opens a new avenue for the Democratic majority in Congress to investigate Trump’s business affairs.

New York’s state legislature has had a Democratic majority in both the House and the Senate since Demo-

crats won control of the Senate in 2018.

U.S. congressional Democrats have pushed for the release of Trump’s tax returns since he took office.

In May, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin denied the House Ways and M e a n s c o m m i t t e e ’s r e quest that the Internal Revenue Service turn over six years of Trump’s federal tax returns, citing his belief that the committee did not have a legitimate legislative reason for the request.

The committee sued Mnuchin and the Treasury Department last week to appeal Mnuchin’s decision.

British Airways faces $230 million fine.

London (CNN Business) British Airways faces a record $230 million fine after a website failure compromised the personal details of roughly 500,000 customers.

It would be the largest penalty yet under a tough privacy rule known as the General Data Protection Regulation, which came into force last year in the European Union.

The UK Information Commissioner’s Office said that weak security allowed user traffic to be diverted from the British Airways website to a fraudulent page starting in June 2018. The regulator said the company will have a chance to contest the proposed fine.

Attackers were able to harvest customer details including log ins, payment cards, and travel booking details, according to the regulator.

The airline disclosed the incident in September 2018.

The £183.4 million ($230 million) fine is roughly 1.5% of British Airways’ annual revenue. The carrier, which is owned by IAG (ICAGY), said it would fight the penalty.

“We are surprised and disappointed in this initial finding,” British Airways CEO Alex Cruz said in a statement.

“British Airways responded quickly to a criminal act to steal customers’ data.

We have found no evidence of fraud [or] fraudulent activity on accounts linked to the theft,” he added.

GDPR forces companies to make sure the way they collect, process and store data is safe. Any organization that holds or uses data on people inside the European Union is subject to the rules, regardless of where it is based. Companies that breach the law can be fined up to 4% of their annual revenue.

“People’s personal data is just that — personal. When an organization fails to pro-

tect it from loss, damage or theft it is more than an inconvenience,” Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham said in a statement. “That’s why the law is clear — when you are entrusted with personal data you must look after it.”

Gita Shivarattan, data protection counsel at law firm Ashurst, said the proposed fine showed that “European data protection regulators are clearly ramping up fines for data breaches.”

“It reflects the seriousness of the regulators where there is a significant breach of GDPR obligations,” added Shivarattan.

The Information Commissioner’s Office has become an increasingly prominent regulator in the digital space. It fined Facebook £500,000 ($626,000) last year over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the maximum allowed before GDPR came into force.

Millions spent to enhance education...

From page 23 Moblissa and Kwakwani.

The David G boats too, she said, have been transporting children from Dalawalla, Malali, Sand Hills, Hururu and Develdt.

F u r t h e r, Belgrave shared that the Ministry of Education in 2019 allocated some $2.2B to the region, pointing out that this represents 60 percent of the

Region’s total allocation.

This, she said, will certainly help to further enhance and cater to several planned projects and programmes intended to continue growth and expansion of education within the region.

Belgrave also spoke of plans for the construction of two state of the art primary and nursery schools on

which construction will commence later this year.

The schools, she said, will be constructed to the tune of $40M. “We are very excited with the growth and development thus far and as the Chairperson I am happy to boldly say that our education sector would certainly be the envy of every other region,” Belgrave added.

Tuesday July 09, 2019

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday July 09, 2019

Tuesday July 09, 2019

PAGE 27

Kaieteur News

Presidential Order halts jail sentence for Finance Minister - AG appeals Contempt Order - GRA moves to collect outstanding $528M debt from Dipcon

Attorney General, Basil Williams It appears that Dipcon Engineering Services Limited which initiated proceedings against Finance Minister Winston Jordan, for him to pay up US$2.2M, will end up with almost nothing.

Yesterday, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) said that it will be moving to garnish outstanding taxes from Dipcon which amount to $527.8M. When converted, this works out to US$2,527,197.

Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Godfrey Statia, informed Dipcon’s lawyer, Timothy Jonas, as well as Finance Secretary, Michael Joseph, of this state of affairs.

Statia advised both parties that pursuant to Section 102 (1) of the Income Tax Act, the Commissioner General may garnish from a person,

the amount of tax payable by any person, once the first mentioned person is about to become indebted or liable to make payment to the second mentioned person.

The Commissioner General said in light of this, the debt is to be settled with immediate effect.

HALT OF COURT ORDER In addition to the move by GRA, President David Granger issued an instrument titled a “Grant of Respite” yesterday which gave Jordan in his personal capacity, and as the Minister of Finance, respite of the execution of punishment imposed on him by an order for Criminal Contempt of Court on June 24, last.

That order was to the effect that should he fail by July 8 to comply with the Order of

GRA Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia Finance Minister, Winston Jordan the Court to pay US$2.2M to Dipcon, he would be imprisoned for 21 days.

The grant of respite shall be in effect until all appeals and remedies available to the Finance Minister and the State have been exhausted.

Attorney General Basil Williams has since filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal against the Full Court’s decision to refuse a stay of the contempt order issued by Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry to have Minister Jordan imprisoned for non-payment of the monies.

Williams noted in the grounds of the appeal that the Full Court erred and misdirected itself in law when it restricted the Minister’s lawyers to only argue one ground for a stay of execution, that is to say, whether the appeal had good prospects of success.

Williams contends that the Full Court erred and misdirected itself in law when it prevented Minister Jordan’s lawyer from relying on the affidavit of one Dale Browne in support of the Application for a stay of execution and that the Full Court erred and misdirected itself when it ordered that Jordan being sued in his personal capacity while still being Minister of Finance, could not be represented by the Attorney General, pursuant to the provisions of the State Liability And Proceedings Act Chapter 6:05 of the Laws of Guyana.

Williams also contends that the Full Court erred and misdirected itself in law when it refused to grant the stay of execution of the order for contempt made by Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry on June 24, 2019 for the impris-

GGMC trying to close...

From page 8 operating under the category of medium scale mining operators. Medium scale operators are those considered as having between 150 and 1,200 acres of land on a single mining permit. Large operators exceed the 1,200acre threshold.

However, the EITI highlighted a trend in operators having multiple medium scale permits with total acreage exceeding the medium scale threshold.

“The total combined acreage of several mining permits awarded during 2017 to the same applicant exceeded 1,200 acres, which is the maximum surface for a medium scale mining permit. If these plots had been combined, exceeded the 1,200-acre threshold, [they should] have been categorised as being “large scale tenures”, which would involve paying higher rental fees and the licence award procedure requiring further approvals from other Government Agencies.”

PAGE 28

Tuesday July 09, 2019

Kaieteur News

Venezuela government and opposition officials to hold talks in Barbados BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Norway has confirmed that Venezuela government and opposition representatives will meet here this week as part of the ongoing efforts to find a solution to the economic and political crisis in the South American country.Norway’s Foreign Ministry, which is acting as a mediator, issued a statement on Sunday confirming that talks will start “this week” in Barbados. The Ministry gave no specific date for the start of the third round of talks between the parties.

It a statement, it said that the parties will now meet to continue work on finding a negotiated and constitutional solution, as “quickly as possible”. “Norway reiterates its recognition of the parties for their efforts and willingness

to cooperate,” Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide said.

Opposition Leader Juan Guaido, who has declared himself interim president, is seeking the removal of President Nicolas Maduro from office. Guaido is backed by the United States and several other western countries, while Russia, china, and Cuba are among countries backing Maduro, who was sworn into office for a second consecutive term earlier this year.

Norway has joined in the efforts for a peaceful resolution to the crisis that has resulted in thousands of Venezuelans feeling the homeland in the past few months.

Trinidad and Tobago recently ended a registration process providing at least a one year amnesty for the Venezuelans to live and work in

the oil-rich twin island republic.

Caribbean Community

(CARICOM) leaders who have in the past adopted a position of non-interference and non-intervention in the affairs of the South American country, last week re-affirmed that position during their annual summit held in St. Lucia.

The communique issued after the summit noted that the regional leaders had received an update on the situation in Venezuela and CARICOM’s mediation-re-

lated activities, carried out by their High-Level Representatives.

“They reiterated the importance of resolving the crisis peacefully through dialogue between the parties,” and “agreed that mediationrelated activities would be continued to be pursued by the Prime Ministers (St Kitts and Nevis, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago) “ who were designated as the

Caribbean’s main negotiators.

The regional leaders, who met with Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg, also “expressed support for the facilitation process being carried out by Norway with both sides of the dispute”.

The European Union’s special adviser on Venezuela, Enrique Iglesias, is set to visit the Caracas this week.

Late last month, the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Michelle Bachelet, left Caracas after urging the Maduro government to release all those detained for peacefully protesting and announcing that a team from her office would remain in Caracas to monitor the human rights situation.

Bachelet had visited the beleaguered South American country at the invitation of the Venezuelan government after having expressed deep concern in an address to the Human Rights Council in March, over the country’s “dramatically” deteriorating rights situation overall, and the “continued criminalization of peaceful protest and dissent”.

Tuesday July 09, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Herstelling Djokovic eases on as old stagers show Next Gen the way FromRaiders... page 27 - Nadal into seventh Wimbledon quarter-final

LONDON (Reuters) Novak Djokovic remained firmly in cruise control yesterday to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals as he swatted aside France’s Ugo Humbert, the latest of tennis’s up-and-comers to show promise but ultimately fall short.

Djokovic, capable of jawdropping feats of agility when pushed to the brink, has barely stretched a sinew in reaching the last eight and the 21-year-old Humbert proved incapable of applying any real pressure in a 6-3 6-2 6-3 defeat.

The Frenchman had let it be known after his thirdround victory over the muchheralded Felix AugerAliassime that he too was part

of tennis’s “next generation”, yet in the current climate that appears far from a badge of honour.

It is said that youth is wasted on the young and tennis fans surveying the current crop emerging in the men’s game may be inclined to agree.

With the early Wimbledon exits of the game’s brightest starlets — Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, AugerAliassime and Denis Shapovalov — the hunt for a worthy successor to Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer seems as futile as ever.

“Wimbledon historically for many players and me included has been a special

tournament that has motivated me throughout my life,” Djokovic said. “I try not to take things for granted. We keep on going.”

This is the first Wimbledon in the professional era when players aged 30 or over outnumbered 20-somethings and teenagers in the men’s round of 16. The nine elder statesmen who reached this stage also equalled the record for the most men in their 30s to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam.

Significantly, however, that record was set at this year’s French Open when once again tennis’s old stagers remained stubbornly awkward to beat.

Tuesday July 09, 2019 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) It's time to take charge, Aries. There's fuel for your fire, and the scope of your influence is virtually unlimited.

Don't hold back in any way.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Go for the gold, Libra. Don't settle for less. There's an expansive energy on your side urging you on to prosperity in every aspect of your life.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Don't concern yourself with getting more. Concentrate on what you already have, Taurus. Work with whatever resonates within you. You instinctively know what does and doesn't work.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) The more you vacillate, the more valuable time and energy you waste, Scorpio.

Take a decisive stance and be confident about your choice. Give it everything you've got.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) This is an excellent day for you. The farther you extend your emotions, the more prosperous you will be. Don't be afraid of new things.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Arguments could quickly turn into declarations of war today. Things could get blown out of proportion if they aren't handled with care.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) It may seem like people aren't taking things as seriously as you'd like them to, Cancer. If so, take it as a hint that perhaps you're the one who needs to lighten up.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Your life is taking off in many different directions, Capricorn. Everything seems to be expanding at once. It may be difficult to get a solid grip on any one thing. Try not to get overwhelmed.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Don't turn down any opportunities today, Leo, even if they seem like dead-ends at first. One could be your lucky break. Realize that success doesn't always have a big neon sign pointing you in the right direction.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) This is a great day for you.

There's a terrific feeling of expansion in the air. This is one of those times in which a small germ of an idea can grow into something big right before your eyes.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) It's time to put your plans in motion. There's a very expansive energy urging you to reach out and make valuable connections with others. Remember that many hands make light work. Don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) You may feel like someone caught in a tornado. Things are whirling around you and everything seems out of control. Don't get stressed out. There's nothing you can do about it. Allow the storm to do what it will.

but that was not the end of the action as Diamond fired back in the 59th minute thanks to another Shaquan Joseph goal; both teams walking away with one point each from the encounter.

Meanwhile, given the prolonged rainy season which has rendered grounds unplayable and the fact that the GFF all-weather facility being the only facility in use for nationals teams as well as Regional Members Association’s, the EBFA is exploring the possibility of playing matches at the Timehri Red Ground.

Jefford Track & Field Classic X...

From page 29 representatives of the various sponsors that include Ansa Mcal, ExxonMobil, and the Government of Guyana through the National Sports Commission (NSC).

Director of the NSC Chris Jones spoke briefly at the launch saying that, “The National Sports Commission is excited to be part of the Jefford Classic once again.

This competition has helped unearth many of the top talent that has come out of Linden in the past few years since it provides an opportunity for the athletes to compete and show their worth.”

This event has hosted s e v e r a l o f t h e r e g i o n ’s most popular athletes in Guyana since 2010, including Aliann Pompey competing for the first time in Guyana at the Second Edition in 2011 and Marian Burnett a year later.

Every notable Guyanese athlete has competed at the Classic with most holding meet records, including Brenessa Thompson and Winston George.

The full list of sponsors reads: Ansa Mcal under Heineken, Magnum Tonic Wine, Rush Energy Drink, Lucozade and ICool Water brand, the National Sports Commission, DeSinco under their Swiss Brand, Antarctic Maintenance and Repairs, YK Investments Pawn Shop, Jude Bike Shop and Power Producers Distributors Inc.

Weekend Camp for C’bean Schoolboys C/Ships at Gymnasium - Clubs encouraged U-16 Boxers for possible National Selection The GBA’s Andrew Lewis Novices Boxing Championship, which climaxed with the finals last Sunday, included four exhibition bouts on Night two between some of the Boxers who are preparing for next month’s Caribbean Schoolboy Championships.

Guyana will host the fourth edition of the Caribbean Schoolboys and Junior Championship from August 16 to 18 at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

Former Boxer Clive Atwell, who fought for the WBC featherweight title in 2014 and is now a Coach, informed that for the last three weekends the Caribbean Schoolboys Championships hopefuls were encamped at the National Gymnasium where he, Lennox Daniels, Clifton Moore and Sebert Blake work with the young Boxers during various training drills.

“The Boxers come in at

16:00hrs on Friday and training commences at 17:00hrs, while on Saturday we have a morning and an afternoon session before closing off on Sunday morning,” said Atwell, a 2007 Pan American Games Bronze Medallist in the bantamweight division.

The 30-year-old Atwell explained that because the Basketball teams from Kwakwani who are participating in the National School’s Basketball Championships were accommodated at the Gymnasium last weekend, there was no training session held.

“The final team should be selected about two weeks before the Championships and we (GBA) are encouraging all clubs with U16 Boxers to send them to the Camp for possible selection to the Guyana team.” (Sean Devers)

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Kaieteur News

Barty, Gauff, Pliskova exit Wimbledon as Serena coasts through AFP - World number one Ashleigh Barty’s hopes of becoming the first Australian women’s champion in nearly four decades were dashed yesterday, opening the way for Serena Williams to potentially equal the all-time Grand Slam haul.

At the opposite end of the age scale to 37-year-old Williams, 15-year-old Coco Gauff could not summon up yet another magical performance as the crowdpleasing American went down 6-3, 6-3, to battle-hardened Romanian Simona Halep.

Having looked assured last week, while Williams was not altogether convincing, it was 23-year-old Australian Barty who cracked and went down in three sets to unseeded American Alison Riske 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

There was one consolation for Barty as Karolina Pliskova could have taken her number one spot but the Czech third seed went out as well in a marathon duel beaten by compatriot Karolina Muchova 4-6, 7-5, 13-11

Serena Williams is coming into form at the right time as she gains match practice. (AFP / Glyn Kirk) Williams, bidding for a 24th Grand Slam title to tie with Australian Margaret Court, will play Riske next after trouncing Carla Suzarez Navarro 6-2, 6-2.

“It is a tough one to

swallow but I lost to a better player,” said Barty, who had been hoping to become the first Australian champion since Evonne Goolagong Cawley won her second title in 1980.

For Riske it was perhaps an unexpected early wedding present — she gets married after Wimbledon Stephen Amritraj, the son of former Indian Davis Cup player Anand — but extremely wellearned.

It will be the 29-year-old’s first appearance in a Grand Slam quarter-final.

“I had to play aggressive.

I had to take it to Ash,” said Riske “The grass definitely brings out the best in me.

Hopefully it will rub off and happen in other places too.”

The prospect of playing Williams did not have her knees knocking together in fear either: “Bring it on!”

Halep unlike Gauff ’s previous opponents did not let a partisan crowd nor some audacious strokeplay by the American unnerve her and always had the upper hand.

Gauff did save three match points but in the end former world number one Halep had little trouble in closing out the match.

The American, though,

leaves having given the women’s game a muchneeded shot in the arm and announced herself as a future Grand Slam contender.

- ‘Feel a relief’ Williams, whose clay court season was affected by a knee injury, said the hunger for the game and for victory is as strong as ever.

“I always get excited,” said Williams after her victory which put her into a 14th Wimbledon quarter-final.

“I’m a really pumped player. That’s my personality.

Of course I still I want it or else I wouldn’t be here.”

Williams has teamed up with another former world number one Andy Murray in the mixed doubles to accrue more matches and she said that the more she played she more she was finding her rhythm.

“It definitely is good, I know that I can play and now that I’m feeling better physically, I almost feel a relief more than anything.

“Finally I can play tennis.”

Williams, who won her first match with Murray on

Saturday, said she will not be taking Riske for granted.

“Last time I faced a fellow American, I lost,” she said in reference to her loss to Sofia Kenin at Roland Garros “ S h e ’s g r e a t o n t h e grass and took out the number one player in the world who’s just won a grass court tournament (Barty won in Birmingham).”

Zhang Shuai became the first Chinese woman since Li Na in 2013 to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals.

World number 50 Zhang defeated Ukraine teenager Dayana Yastremska 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 — a result far from her mind when she was talked out of retiring at her lowest point in 2015.

The 30-year-old, who faces Halep for a place in the semi-finals, thanked her close friend and doubles partner Australia’s Sam Stosur for convincing her to stick with it.

“She’s (Stosur) such a nice girl, and she told me when I said I wanted to retire, and she really wanted that I keep going to play.”

Dos Santos powers Mexico to eighth Gold Cup title

Mexico players celebrate with Gold Cup after defeating the United States in the championship match of the CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer tournament at Soldier Field. (Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports) (Reuters) - Mexico’s Jonathan dos Santos scored in the 73rd minute to give his side a 1-0 win over the United States in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final on Sunday.

The victory over the defending champions at Chicago’s Soldier Field earned Mexico a recordextending eighth title at the biennial tournament, which crowns the continental champions of North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

“This was what we came here for” said Mexico’s Andres Guardado. “We did it and in an unforgettable setting. We’re very happy. The whole team was

spectacular.”

Mexico took control midway through the second half and got their goal when Dos Santos received a back-heel pass from Raul Jimenez and fired home off the underside of the bar.

The United States had a series of corners late in the game and in the 87th minute one delivery caused havoc in the Mexico box but Hector Moreno made a big block with his face to preserve their lead.

The hosts threw everyone forward in the two minutes of stoppage time but Mexico held firm to reclaim the title they last won in 2015.

Mexico midfielder Jonathan Dos Santos (6) scores a goal against the United States in the second half championship match of the CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer tournament at Soldier Field. (Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports)

“I thought we had a good start to the game. If anything the beginning of the second half wasn’t what it needed to be,” said American midfielder Michael Bradley.

“They were able to get some momentum and got their goal.

Tough way to lose.”

The game got off to a frenetic start and it was the United States who had the better chances early on while Mexico, who entered the tournament as favorites, looked shaky at the back as they weathered the early storm.

Christian Pulisic nearly opened the scoring in the fifth minute when he used his speed to break in alone

after a smart through ball from Jozy Altidore but was denied by a brilliant save from Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa.

Moments later Tim Ream found Altidore with a ball over the top and the striker, with only Ochoa to beat, put his left-footed effort wide.

Mexico’s best chance of the half came in the 16th minute when Guardado looked ready to tap home a cross from the left only for Paul Arriola to arrive out of nowhere and put him off at the last second.

Tempers flared after the break when Moreno pushed Altidore over and then dropped onto his back.

American Weston McKennie quickly jumped in and several players converged but no cards were issued.

A U.S. corner in the 51st minute saw Jordan Morris power a header on target but Guardado headed the ball off the line.

McKennie’s follow-up shot was then blocked by a sea of bodies and while the Americans claimed handball the referee waved away the appeals.

Mexico suddenly moved up a gear and after creating a number of chances Dos Santos finally broke the deadlock to set his side on their way to victory.

Tuesday July 09, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Linden Table Tennis Camp off to GFF/NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power U-17 League – Bartica FA Rising Stars consolidate at the top Great Start

Held under the auspices of the Linden Table Tennis Steering Committee (LTTSC), sanctioned by the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) and sponsored by the Ministry of Education (MOE) Allied Arts Unit and Roger Bishop, the LTTSC fifth annual August holiday table tennis training camp for beginners and intermediate players got off to a fantastic start with over 25 young and enthusiastic student athletes from Primary schools in the region participating.

Aimed at orienting new students to the game and developing the talents of current players, it follows on the heels of the just concluded National Sports Commission (NSC), GTTA, MOE teachers’ 12 hours table tennis training and certification programme.

The camp which has now become an incubator for orienting new students to the game of table tennis in the region, forms part of a holistic approach between the LTTSC, the GTTA, NSC and MOE working together to establish the sport in a structured manner.

Scheduled for the 8th to the 19th of July 2019 at the Mackenzie High School auditorium, the camp starts daily from 10:00hrs and concludes at 13:30hrs.

The camp has been yielding tremendous success, unearthing and developing new talents the likes of Ebo McNeil who recently secured a silver medal in the boys’ 11years and under category at the recently concluded 2019 National Mini Cadet and Pre-Cadet Table Tennis and is a product of the camp and a player coached by Shavin Greene.

Additionally, the

programme among others has assisted in to reinvigorating the base of older players resulting in teams and players representing the mining town in localised national competitions and players the likes of Shavin Greene, Maurice Cummings, Raynor Anderson and Shaquille John representing Guyana in international competitions including the US Open Team championships.

The course is being conducted by International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) level one certified coach and LTTSC General Secretary Shavin Greene along with ITTF certified coach and President of the LTTSC Howard James and Maurice Cummings; recently certified ITTF level one coach and umpire.

Interested parents and players can contact Shavin Greene on 682-8835, Maurice Cummings on 602-2082 and Howard James on 660 4028.

Some of the action on the opening day of the Tennis Camp.

GFF/NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power U-17 League –EBFA Leg

Herstelling Raiders draw with Mocha Champs

Herstelling Raiders recorded their second draw (2-2) in as many matches when they were held by Mocha Champs when play in the East Bank Football Association leg of the GFF/ NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power U-17 League continued on Sunday morning with one match at the GFF Facility, Providence, EBD. Mocha, took the lead in the 11th minute when Yohance Porter scored the first of his double to put Herstelling on the back foot, but just before the half way mark, Daniel Lowe leveled the score with the first of his brace in the 34th minute.

Five minutes into the second half, Lowe was again in goal scoring mood when he

converted to hand Herstelling the lead in the 40th minute.

But as the minutes diminished and fulltime drew near, Porter ensured that Mocha left the pitch with an equal share of the points when he rocked the nets in the 66th minute.

When Herstelling had faced Diamond United on July 1st at the same venue, it was a similar situation where Diamond United scored in the closing minutes of the match to deny Herstelling full points.

This time around though, the match was a 4-4 humdinger between two young sides; Ronald Mohamed had handed Herstelling the lead in the 9th minute. Diamond United equalised in the 16th minute when Carlos Wilkie found the back of the nets.

Three minutes later, 12 year-old Shaquan Joseph sent Diamond into the lead when he scored the first of his two goals in the 19th minute.

It was a 2-2 game in the 24th minute when Xavi Atkinson scored as the game was just about heating up.

Ronald Mohamed found the back of the nets again for Herstelling in the 27th minute to hand his team the lead again. It was even-stevens once more when Ronaldo Adams worked his way past the Herstelling defence before tucking his shot past the goalkeeper to make the 33.

Shoran James placed Herstelling back into the lead for the third time in the match when he converted in the 42nd (Continued on page 25)

with win over Agatash United

A double each from Ian Gomes and Joshua Jones was the platform for Rising Stars Football Club’s solid 6-1 win over Agatash United Football Club when competition in the GFF/NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power U17 League in the Bartica Football Association continued at the Bartica Secondary School Ground on Saturday last.

Latest Points Table Team Rising Stars Potaro Strikers Milballers Rivers View Lazio Beacons Agatash United

P 7 6 5 6 6 6 6

W 6 4 3 2 0 1 0

L 0 2 0 3 2 4 5

The win for Rising Star also not only kept their unbeaten record intact but also ensured that they further consolidated their position at the top.

Apart from Grimes and Jones with two each, Regan Kippins and Kareem Hughes scored one goal each. Agatash was able to pull one back through Ashton Simmons.

D 1 0 2 1 4 1 1

GF 21 10 13 9 5 9 4

GA 6 9 5 13 6 17 20

GD +15 + +8 -4 -1 -8 -16

Pts 19 12 11 7 4 4 1

McGarrel credits team unity for victory Santos FC skipper Bevney McGarrel said playing as a unit was mainly responsible for his team’s victory in the final of the Guyana Football Federation KFC National U20 Independence Cup which culminated at the GFF National Training Centre at Providence on Sunday.

Santos FC of Georgetown came back from one goal down to beat Dynamic FC of East Coast Demerara 3-1 to take the title with goals from Orin Moore, Ronaldo Rodrigues and Stephen Reynolds.

Speaking with Kaieteur Sport following the contest, McGarrel said that despite being one goal down 12 minutes into the game, after Julius Hamilton put Dynamic FC ahead, he was confident they would have recovered and take the title.

“They went ahead early in the game, but I was always

positive my players would have recovered well, we had just started to get into our strides and my team mates live up to expectations.”

Even before the contest started, McGarrel stated that he was certain of a win. “After we would have won the semi final encounter, our players were positive of pulling this one off.

It was a great game for us and we played well and supported each other.”

He credited the opposition for their effort, adding that they are one of the outstanding teams in the tournament.

“They played well and credit must go to them, but it was the hard work and determination of our players that saw us through. “It’s a great feeling to win and it’s not just about turning up and playing, it’s important to adopt a never say die attitude

and work hard for your victory.”

McGarrel’s opposite number, Samuel Adonis, thanked the Almighty for the strength and courage. He pointed out that his players took it for granted after his team took the lead and relaxed somewhat at times and Santos capitalised.

“There was no doubt that Santos were the better team on the day.

They took the opportunities and put the ball at the back of net. They attacked better than us and took their chances so hats off to them.”

Adonis, who made a number of fine saves to deny the opposition, stated that it was a wonderful tournament and thanked the sponsors and GFF, adding that he is looking forward to the senior league on the East Coast.

(Zaheer Mohamed)

Action between Santos FC and Dynamic FC in the final.

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Tuesday July 09, 2019

Kaieteur News

GBA’s Andrew Lewis Novices Boxing C/Ships

GDF retain Best Gym Title

One of the Bikini Boxers presents Shemar Halley with his Gold Medal and a head Guard, while Seon Bristol of Briso Promotions who donated a $10,000 cash prise to the tournament’s best Youth Boxer is at right.

By Sean Devers The Guyana Defence Force (GDF), with 12 Boxers in the seven finals, continues to be a force to be reckoned with in local Amateur Boxing and predictably retained their ‘Best Gym’ title when the curtains came down on the Guyana Boxing Association’s (GBA) Three-Night National Novices Boxing Championships on Sunday at the National Gymnasium.

Watched by the largest turn-out of the Championships, including several prominent names in the Boxing fraternity and a raucous contingent of drum beating GDF supporters, the talented Shemar Halley (Youth) and his Forgotten

Youth Foundation (FYF) Gym mate Fitz Haywood (Elite) captured Best Boxers awards with Gold Medal performances in their respective Categories.

A talented 18-year-old from heart of Albouystown, Halley left the venue $10,000 richer after an on-the-spot donation from former Boxer Seon Bristol of Bris-o promotions who was pleased with his impressive display in the Ring.

The Army won Gold and Silver in five of the seven Finals and participated in all seven; winning one and losing one and if there are not more Gyms and Boxers from them involved, the Soldiers will continue the march away

with the Lion’s share of the titles.

In a well-run Championship by GBA’s President Steve Ninvalle and his team, the Event was marred by heavy rain on the first two nights which affected the attendance and late starts which have become ‘normal’ at most local events.

In a rare instance when a non GDF pugilist was the favourite over a soldier, Halley dominated Tamar Forrester who showed brief sparks of ability before he eventually lost by a unanimous decision in an action-packed Junior Welterweight three-rounder.

Halley charged Forrester from the first sound of bell

Youth Best Boxer of the Tournament Shemar Halley of FYF about to unleash a right hand to body of GDF’s Tamar Forrester in their Junior Welterweight Final on Sunday night.

- FYC’s Halley (Youth) & Haywood (Elite) cop Best Boxer Awards

In one of six all-GDF finals, Jermaine Grant (right) scores with a left in his win over Kirk Williams and launched a lethal two fisted attack on the GDF Boxer.

Halley favoured fighting on the inside and fired a flurry of upper-cuts to the midsection and combos to the head but Forrester counterpunched and scored a few goods shots in the high intensity opening round.

A one-two from Halley staggered Forrester who was given a standing 8 count.

But like a true solider, Forrester came back fighting towards the end of an entertaining first round which had the noisy fans in the stands on their feet as they took ‘phone photos’ and created a wonderful atmosphere in the poorly

ventilated Gymnasium.

Round two saw both Boxers standing toe-to-toe; trading punches on the inside.

But on the occasions when Halley, who demonstrated beautiful head movement to evade shots, elected to box at long-range and use his superior reach advantage he looked much more organised and his evasive actions were pleasing to watch.

Forrester fought back with a few hard body blows but the more skilful of the two, despite his urges to move into his man which negated the power of his long arms when throwing punches from the inside, Halley again

Fitz Haywood receives his Best Elite Boxer of the Tournament trophy from Harold Hopkinson of Solutions Innovation Inc.

went through Forrester’s defence as he dropped his guard and was administered a standing 8 count.

The third and final round saw the hectic pace decrease as the Boxers began to show signs of tiredness and despite his best effort to counterattack, Forrester’s punches, lacked power.

Halley kept moving forward and at times left himself open for a knock-out punch but Forrester had neither the will or the energy to capitalise on the opportunity and was again hit and received his third standing 8 count of the fight just before the end.

The night began with an exhibition bout between Shemar Beaton from Ricola Boxing Gym in Agricola, where the late Donald Allison, one of the better Boxing Coaches in Guyana, Coached, and Emanuel Pompy of Young Achievers.

In the elite Flyweight Final, Azeemul Lewis won on a split decision against GDF Gym mate Dennis Yorrick, while in another all GDF encounter, Jermaine Grant won on split decision over Kirk Williams in a Bantamweight class.

The Welterweight Final saw Neil Warden winning on a split decision over fellow GDF Cranston McAllister before Middleweights Jermaine Jones and Orin Osborne; both from the Army, faced-off with Warden gaining the win when the fight was stopped a minute and four seconds into the first round.

In the Heavyweight Final, GDF’s Darren France beat YA’s Jamal Hazel, while in the last bout of the night in the Super Heavyweight division, Kevin Hunte beat his unrelated opponent Kurt Hunte.

Tuesday July 09, 2019

Divine Entertainment Linden Summer Super Cup Opens - Eagles United score 2-1 win over Topp XX, Rockers held to draw by Panthers

Eagles United led by goals from Deon Charter and Donovan Francis began their campaign for more honours in Linden when they scored a 21 victory against Topp XX, but Net Rockers, seeded number two behind Eagles United, had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Amelia’s Ward Panthers in a Group B game as the Divine Entertainment Summer Super Cup Senior football championship began Sunday night at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground.

The twelve team championship got underway in front of a decent crowd and while both teams failed to find the back of the net in the first half, the second would produce the goals for the game.

It would be the top ranked Eagles United who would gain the lead when in the 75th minute Deon ‘Crab’ Charter would volley home a left side cross to make it 1-0.

But soon after, Topp XX would level the scores through Jamal Bentick in the 77th minute. The play developed from the right side and making his way would see Bentick chipping the ball over the Eagles goalkeeper for a 11 scoreline.

However, Eagles United would regain their composure through one of their brightest prospects, forward Donovan Francis, who would score the goal for the eventual win.

Francis would work his way inside through the middle before tucking home the winner in the 78th minute to grab the lead which they would never relinquish and end the game 2-1 winners.

The second game petered out to a 1-1 draw with the Net Rockers, after trailing their opponents Amelia’s Ward Panthers who took the lead in the 18th minute through a free kick just outside the 18 yard box by Delon Duke.

Central defender Deshawn Joseph was there to pull things even for the Rockers with an easy goal in the 47th minute of play and the game would eventually end 1-1.

The top teams from each group advance to the semifinals and the results so far means that Eagles United would take the lead in Group A with three points and Topp XX without a point in a group which has also Coomacka, while in the group with the

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Kaieteur News

Deon Charter

Donovan Francis

Deshawn Joseph

Delon Bentick

Rockers and Panthers Hill are Blueberry Hill United.

Come Friday, Haynes and Lewis Winners Connection will be taking on Capital FC in a Group C game and the other brings together Milerock and Botafago in a Group D encounter. The other team in Group C is Hi Stars and in Group D Silver Shattas.

Member of Parliament Audwin Rutherford said in his remarks at the opening that, “The promoters have deemed the tournament one for Upper Demerara teams and I am looking forward in the not too distant future, next year for the tournament to extended to sub region Two for teams in Aroiama, Ituni and Kwakwani or at least two of them in the tournament.”

Deputy Mayor of Linden Wainwright Bethune commended the promoters saying, “We would have seen the decline in the football due to a lack of tournaments and apart from the year-end tournament the Mayor and Town Council did have a Town Week tournament.”

“But, it is good that Divine Entertainment saw it fit to have this tournament to give the players an opportunity to participate in more competitions...If you notice no Linden player has been featuring in our national teams from this, I think more Lindeners will be featured in our National Teams due to this with more football being played,” the Deputy Mayor claimed.

Devin Sears, Chief Executive of the Divine

Entertainment Group, said: “The Summer Super Cup includes 12 teams within the Upper Demerara Football Association and we are trying to raise the level of football in Linden and bridge the gap between yearend football and now.

We have just come from the Mayor’s Cup and this is the summer and it’s a perfect opportunity to prepare our players for the upcoming National League.”

Sears noted that the tournament will be played each Fridays and Sundays until the final on August 3 at the Mackenzie Sports Club as he urged Lindeners to come out and support it.

LGC Executive thankful for support which saved Golf Course from being waterlogged - Open tourney postponed P h e n o m e n a l , commendable and spontaneous support from Grounds staff Avinash Persaud, Barney, Budhu and Mahgo, who worked tirelessly from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. led

by Club President Aleem Hussain on Saturday July 6, in addition to ready and willing contribution of a powerful water-pump from Padmawattie Joree and her son Sachin, as well as several other LGC supporters saved the day and the season for the Lusignan Golf Course.

In Guyana, the rainy season is the Achilles heel of every outdoor sporting organisation, with a total shutdown of some facilities for anywhere between one to three months when the torrential rains come. That used to be the norm at the Lusignan Golf Course, until the Executive elected to office in December 2017, headed by President Aleem Hussain, determined that things would be positively different. From January 2018 until June 2019, the LGC boasted almost 18

months of uninterrupted golf until the week of July 1, 2019.

In fact, from Monday July 1 and for every day until Friday, torrential downpours resulted in all the fairways at the LGC being under water which threatened to leave the land water-logged if not removed speedily. The contagious indomitable spirit of President Hussain fired the Grounds staff and a willing cast of old and new supporters, with an attitude of never-say-never to correcting the situation.

To begin with, the previously unknown Padmawattie and Sachin Joree of Mahaicony, a family that lost their patriarch earlier this year, and with no previous link to golfing, at first word unhesitatingly loaned a massive field pump. Then came forth other timely supporters to whom the LGC is also extremely grateful for all their significant contributions. Funds were contributed by Maurice Solomon, Robert Hanoman and Pur Persaud, and to

overcome the challenges of towing, installation and operation of the pump and use of a large tractor and 4x4, the joint efforts of Dr. Anwar Hussain, Rudy Ramalingum, Mr. A. Persaud, Hardeo ‘Curry’ Ganpat from Global Auto Spares, the local NDC, Macorp and Ronald Machine Shop were highly appreciated.

Work continued on from Sunday at 6 a.m. with the pump manned by no other than the Club President himself, so that along with the glorious sunshine on Sunday and Monday, by the end of Monday July 8, the LGC was returned to full golfing capacity, in adequate preparation for an Appreciation Tournament to be held on Sunday July 14, in honour of the contributors and companies who gave willingly and graciously for the Course to be restored to great condition.

The much anticipated 2day Lusignan Open Golf championship is now rescheduled to be held on July 20-21. A subsequent release will follow on this restored annual exciting tournament.

Jefford Track & Field Classic X launched “…competition will remain in Linden”- Promoter Formerly the Boyce & Jefford Classic, the now rebranded Jefford Track and Field Classic X will run off on the August 11th at the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) ground.

Promoter of the event, Edison Jefford, noted during the launch yesterday at Ansa Mcal Trading’s boardroom in Beterverwagting, that the competition will remain at the

MSC venue until Linden’s first Synthetic track, which is currently under construction, is completed.

“The championship was born there (Linden) and it will remain there”, Jefford posited.

Over $2million will be up for grabs for the athletes, instead of the clubs, which was the case in the previous editions. During the launch, it was noted that each event

carries a total cash prize of $80,000 with the winner pocketing $40,000 along with the respective medals.

The cream-of-the-crop of local athletes are expected to be on show at the event and since it is the 10th edition of the event, there will be, “10 big surprise gate prizes for patrons.”

Present at the launch were (Continued on page 25)

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Tuesday July 09, 2019

Kaieteur News

CWI announces Central Contracts list for 2019-20 season ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – Cricket West Indies has increased the number of allformat contracts awarded to West Indies men’s players and expanded the list of centrally-contracted West Indies women’s players for the 2019-20 season.

The number of all-format contracts on the men’s side has now increased from four to seven with Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer and Keemo Paul joining Test and OneDay International captain Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph and Kemar Roach on the list.A total of 19 men have been retained for the upcoming contract year which runs from July 1 this year to June 30 next year, including first-timers Fabian Allen, Nicholas Pooran and Oshane Thomas, all members of the West Indies squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 England & Wales, along with left-handed opener John Campbell. A total of 15 women – an increase of three – have also earned central contracts to run for the same period, including veteran all-rounder Stacy-Ann King, fellow lefthander Kycia Knight and

Keemo Paul

Shimron Hetmyer

newcomers Shabika Gajnabi, Shawnisha Hector, Chinelle Henry, Natasha McLean and Karishma Ramharack.

“We believe the 2019-20 contract list provides us with a multi-talented group of players who can represent West Indies men and women across all formats over the contract period,” said interim Chairman of the CWI Selection Panel, Robert

Haynes.

“We believe the mix of players selected are important for the development of our teams going forward and we have looked to award contracts to players who have shown commitment and performance during the past year.”

Contracts were offered to players who have achieved consistent performances for

the West Indies throughout the evaluation period of April 1 last year to March 31 this year, and players who the Selection Panel believes will feature in the squads for all matches in the respective formats over the next contract year.

CWI Board policy allows up to 22 contracts to be offered each contract year to West Indies men’s players, so the Selection Panel may decide to offer additional central contracts throughout the year.

CWI director of cricket Jimmy Adams said verbal offers had been made to all players, and contracts will be issued in the next few weeks, as soon as CWI has concluded a new four-year Memorandum of Understanding with the West Indies Players Association.

“To assist in our drive of towards a new fitness and conditioning culture, the CWI board of directors has approved our recommendation that the award of all new West Indies men’s contracts this year will be conditional on each player achieving a minimum standard of fitness,” he said.

“This new policy will also be introduced to all men’s regional franchise contracts and West Indies Women’s contracts next year for the 2020-21 season.” This is the third year that CWI will award central contracts to West Indies men under three different categories.

All-format contracts are awarded to players expected to feature in Tests, ODIs and T20Is during the coming year.

Red-ball contracts are given to players who predominantly play Test cricket and whiteball contracts are awarded to players who predominantly play ODIs and T20Is. The full list of contracted players are: West Indies Men Centrally-Contracted Players 2019-20 All-Format Contracts: Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Keemo Paul, Kemar Roach Red-Ball Contracts: Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Jomel Warrican White-Ball Contracts: Fabian Allen, Carlos Brathwaite, Sheldon Cottrell,

Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Oshane Thomas New players offered contracts for 2019-20 Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, John Campbell, Sheldon Cottrell, Nicholas Pooran, Oshane Thomas, Jomel Warrican Players no longer on contracts Sunil Ambris, Devendra Bishoo, Miguel Cummins, Ashley Nurse, Kieran Powell, Raymon Reifer West Indies Women Centrally-Contracted Players 2019-20 Players who retained contracts: Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Hayley Matthews, Chedean Nation, Shakera Selman, Stafanie Taylor New players offered contracts for 2019-20: Shabika Gajnabi, Shawnisha Hector, Chinelle Henry, Stacy-Ann King, Kycia Knight, Natasha McLean, Karishma Ramharack Players no longer on contracts: Merissa Aguilleira, Reniece Boyce, Anisa Mohammed, Akeira Peters

Kaieteur News

Tuesday July 09, 2019

Chance running towards World C/Ships It was a close finish to the men’s 400m final but Arinze came out on top at the AP invitational.

National male 400m indoor record holder, Arinze Chance, is confident that he can make the qualifying 45.3 seconds time to secure a debut appearance at this September’s IAAF World Championships that will be held in Doha, Qatar.

During an interview with Kaieteur Sport, Chance noted that last weekend’s fourth Aliann Pompey Invitational provided a perfect opportunity for him to make the time but the intermittent rainfall and overcast conditions weren’t ideal for a fast time.

However, in the race, Chance clocked his second fastest time of the year; 46.14second, to pip Trinidad & To b a g o ’s ( T & T ) Olympian Deon Lindore (46.17s). Chance, who studies at the University of South Carolina in the United States, explained that once he has good conditions and fast opponents to push him, he can definitely make the Wo r l d C h a m p i o n s h i p qualifying standard.

The scholar who set the indoor record to 46.15s in January this year, is looking

t o c o m p e t e i n T & T ’s National Senior Championships that is scheduled to run off this month-end in Port-of-Spain but the funding remains to be the major bugbear for Guyanese athletes.

The budget to attend the T&T games is around US$900 but Chance has posited that once he can get enough sponsorship for airfare, he will handle the rest of the cost.

Last weekend’s AP invitational and the previous w e e k e n d ’s N a t i o n a l Championships was the first time in a while the Arinze has competed in Guyana and he happily shared that it was a great experience, “It is always a pleasure to be back in Guyana competing, the support has been tremendous over the past two weekends, especially at the Aliann Pompey Invitational, the crowd was bigger than I expected it to be. This competition is becoming a premier track meet for regional athletes so the win there last week was big for me.” (Calvin Chapman story and photos)

Arinze Chance is looking to make the World Championships this September in Qatar.

PAGE 35

Some of the fans at the AP Invitational who Chance noted were relentless in their support.

GBA’s Andrew Lewis Novices Boxing C/Ships

GDF retain Best Gym Title - FYC’s Halley (Youth) & Haywood (Elite) cop Best Boxer Awards

t r o p S

Champions again! GDF successfully defended their Best Gym title at the end of the Andrew Lewis National Novices Championships on Sunday night at the Gymnasium.

Jefford Track & Field Classic X launched “…competition will remain in Linden”- Promoter

From left, Mark Scott (event coordinator), Olivia Chin (Brand coordinator), Nicholas Yearwood, Edison Jefford, Chris Jones (NSC Director) and Fharis Mohamed (Non-alcoholic manager Ansa Mcal) all pose for a photo-op at yesterday’s launch.

Dos Santos powers Mexico to eighth Gold Cup title

Barty, Gauff, Pliskova exit Wimbledon as Serena coasts through

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