Kaieteur News

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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

UNDERSTANDING DYSLEXIA Suddenly, the world took notice in 2007 when Prince Harry, sixth in line to the British throne and the younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and the late Diana, princess of Wales revealed that he is dyslexic. Since that 2007 announcement by the Prince, many other famous people have come forward to build awareness and support for dyslexia in Britain. Prince Harry said that his personal struggle with dyslexia made school very difficult; however, after graduating from Britain’s prestigious Eton College, he volunteered in various African countries before choosing a military career. Unlike England, the United States and Canada, dyslexia is widely publicized and supported by people of influence. There is no famous Guyanese or person from the Caribbean region who has openly supported or endorsed any dyslexia organizations or campaigns. Dyslexia is a phenomenon that shows up differently in different cultures. It is a specific type of learning disability that affects reading due to the way that the brain processes graphic symbols. Experts say dyslexia is genetic; it is not a disease or an identifiable physical condition. It is a neurological learning disorder present at birth. It cannot be prevented or cured, but can be managed with special instruction and support. It affects people of all ethnic backgrounds and is not linked to a person’s general level of intelligence. The underlying problems of dyslexia are associated with the brain’s processing information. It is diagnosed through a series of tests of memory, spelling, vision, and reading skills.Dyslexia impacts people in varying degrees. It can lead to frustration and low self-esteem. Early diagnosis of the disorder and systematic intervention with the right support, appropriate teaching methods, tools and the use of technology can help to improve their academic performance and overcome challenges to reach their goals. Children with dyslexia have above average IQs and are creative but they have trouble expressing themselves in spoken or written language. Studies show that while most people use the ‘verbal’ left side of their brain to understand words, dyslexic people use the ‘pictorial’ right side, making them slower to process and understand language. They may struggle with concentrating with background noise, planning and prioritizing. However, people with dyslexia are often highly intelligent, highly creative and logical, have great leadership and people management skills, adaptable, kind, intuitive, with vivid imaginations, and are very good at reading people. Unfortunately, many misinformed parents, educators and employers in Guyana see dyslexia as a disadvantage, thereby creating a stigma and negative attitude towards dyslexic children, students and employees. There are many famous and successful people who have openly identified themselves as being dyslexic. Among them are British billionaire entrepreneur, philanthropist and founder of the Virgin airlines, Sir Richard Branson; CNN television host, Anderson Cooper; actress Whoopi Goldberg; singer and human rights activist, Harry Belafonte; actor Tom Cruise; basketball legend, Irving “Magic” Johnson; media mogul Ted Turner and co-founder of Apple Computers, the late Steve Jobs. Other notables who had dyslexia were German-born physicist Albert Einstein, inventors Henry Ford and Thomas Edison; boxing legend Muhammad Ali; US Presidents George Washington, John F Kennedy, Woodrow Wilson; and Thomas Jefferson; British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill and sculptor, architect and engineer Leonardo da Vinci.Although dyslexia is probably one of the most prevalent learning disabilities in Guyana, it might be unknown to most Guyanese. This learning disorder, which makes reading, writing and spelling difficult is the most common learning disability in all areas of the world. It affects about seven percent of the world’s population; however, up to 20 percent may have some degree of symptoms.

Tuesday July 10, 2018

Is challenging a Guyana-govt. Minister a derogatory and disgusting thing to do? DEAR EDITOR, I stood up, fearlessly, as a Guyanese writer—deeply concerned about the fate of the Guyana Prize for Literature, and addressed the Minister of Culture, Dr. George Norton in an open letter. Thus far there have been two negative rebuttals to it. One by a Rastafarian poet whom I do not know and with whom I have no quarrel, but whose tone was very critical of me for challenging the Minister. The other rebuttal was by some wanna-be Guyanese writer and xenophobe that I also do not know. I think his name is Cecil Gideon or Gideon Cecil, he wrote: “One of Mr. Creighton’s four-time Guyana Prize Winners Harold Bascom wrote the following: ‘Dear Minister Norton, there is a way for you to go down as the most effective Minister of Culture Guyana has ever had; and it will redeem you from being regarded as having been a mere political appointee with the least interest in culture— a square peg in a round hole.’’ July 1,2018 Kaieteur News.

That is a very disgusting and derogatory statement to the Hon Minister of Culture Dr. George Norton…’” It seems that my letter was sacrosanct: to address a demi god and ask him to do his job. This is so laughable. In other words, I was supposed to know my place. Hmmm. So, where should that place be? Groveling in fear and being afraid to express how I feel as a Guyanese writer? No. I’ve always dared to be like Rodney, like Waddle, like Courtney CrumEwing. What is a Guyanese Government Minister but a mere Guyanese man or woman who yesterday was just a mere man/woman that everybody knew and could have said, “Whap’nin?” to? Does becoming a Minister confer upon us ‘Godliness’ through some kind of bureaucratic magic that renders the rest of subservient? Is becoming a Minister a kind of anointing that elevates one into a sedan chair of awe ensconced in miraculous ‘honour’. No. A Government Minister is just a regular Guyanese citizen

with a ton of responsibility— and in service to us citizens. (Yes. I am STILL a Guyanese citizen.) Maybe Minister Norton is an honorable man in respect to things other than culture, but for the Guyana Prize debate at hand, the jury is still out. But let me get back to this wanna-be writer-guy Gideon Cecil who I only know through his letters in which he uses xenophobic language continually to attack Al Creighton whom he obviously envies. This Reverend obviously doesn’t know me and how much I’ve contributed to Guyana’s literary and theatrical heritage. If he had, he would not have described me, as ‘ONE OF MR. CREIGHTON’S FOUR-TIME GUYANA PRIZE WINNERS…’ Truth be told that as much as I respect Mr. Creighton for all that he has done to highlight and advance Guyanese literature, I am not one of his acolytes—if he has any. And to the Reverend I say: Mr. Creighton has long come to recognize the significance of my work as a Guyanese nov-

elist and social commentator as a playwright. Further, EVERY Guyana Prize I’ve won was through the depth and high quality of my work and not by ANY kind of favoritism or cliqueism. And really, Mr. Cecil … are you THAT spiteful to exhort the Minister of Culture to abolish the Guyana Prize? Your words, Sir. Let me quote you: ‘…so the Minister and our current administration must do the honourable thing scrap the Guyana Prize for Literature until further notice demote the Prize Secretary and the incompetent Guyana Prize board with immediate effect.’ Really, Sir? And the phrase: ‘Until further notice…’ I can only assume it means, ‘until Mr. Creighton is sidelined and you, Rev. Gideon Cecil, take over the running of the Guyana Prize for Literature. God help us. Sincerely, Harold A. Bascom Four-time Guyana Prizewinner and winner of the 2014 Caribbean Award for Literature

Ensuring our elected representatives continue along the democratic trajectory DEAR EDITOR, I note your paper’s interesting and informative Editorial captioned, OUR DEMOCRACY NOT WORKING THE WAY IT SHOULD, (KN, July 9), and wish to share a few thoughts on the subject. Despite our knowledge that democratic governance is the most desirable form of governance to be invented, and practiced by humans to date, historical evidence supports the thesis that real, grassroots, bottom-up democracies are difficult to establish and maintain. I believe this to be true, and I believe that there may be a single major reason: the concept of democratic governance clashes directly with human tendencies and instincts; it is inconsistent with basic human nature. Therefore, to establish and sustain such a system, citizens must commit to actions which are inherently difficult. The basic, major tenets of republican democratic governance include empowerment of the people to choose their representatives, maximal empowerment of all representatives at every tier of government, periodic and regular change of the people’s representatives, respect for the rule of law, and reverence for checks and balances such as a free press and opposing political forces. Those basic

requirements, clearly, stand in diametrical opposition to human nature. Guyanese are well aware of the lengths to which persons will go to hold onto political power, even at the expense of democratic governance. Guyanese know too, that some politicians more often than not, clash with a free press. Frederick Douglass famously wrote that, ‘Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.’ Truer words have

never been written. It takes hard work to build a democratic State from a non-democratic one. It requires real and selfless commitment by everyone, to establish a democratic system of governance, and continuous effort to maintain it. Democracy is a fragile thing; what takes years to build can be lost in a moment if a person with dictatorial ambitions gets his hand on the levers of power. An obvious example of this phenom-

enon exists right now. From where I sit, it appears that President Granger, fortunately, has perceived the need for the establishment and entrenchment of democracy in Guyana; his actions – aimed at decentralising government, and devolving power to regional representatives – are a new, welcome, and refreshing approach. In the context of Frederick Douglass’ observation, it appears that His Excellency has astutely (Cotinued on page 6)

PROPER REGULATION NEEDED FOR BOAT CRUISE EVENTS DEAR EDITOR, Please allow me space to complain about a boat cruise that was held on Sunday 8th July 2018. The name of the event was dubbed “Big people party” This boat cruise was advertised as from Parika to Supenaam in Essequibo .The boat was scheduled to leave Parika at 9.00am but left until 11.00 am. Patrons were not allowed to take food, water, or any cooler on the boat. The boat was packed to capacity. Food and drinks were sold at exorbitant prices. One roti and curry sold for $1500. A small box with chicken sold for $1500. Worst of all, the food was badly prepared. Toilet facilities were wholly inadequate. Most of us anticipated that we would get better things when the boat reached Supenaam. The boat never reached. It is customary whenever that there is a boat cruise to Supenaam that Essequibian vendors and entertainers would prepare to welcome especially first-timers and overseas tour-

ists. They would prepare food, drinks and musical entertainment. This was always part of what a boat cruise to Supenaam would be. I can imagine the huge disappointment and losses they suffered. But something was strange about this boat and its movements. The boat idled between Supenaam and Wakenaam for about two hours before heading back to Parika. The boat took a strange path and ended up on a sand bank. Another one and a half hours was spent there. There was some conversation of a conspiracy to have the vessel delayed for much larger sales of food and drink onboard. This situation should never happen again. The Transport and Harbours Department must launch an investigation into this matter. The Ministry of Tourism and all the relevant authorities must review and impose reasonable regulations before any permission is given for future boat cruises or public events. Disappointed boat cruise regular

Charles Ramson Jr. is young and ambitious, but he has no executive experience DEAR EDITOR, Much has been said since Charles Ramson Jr. declared that he would be running for the position of PPP/C presidential candidate. I must note that his doing so was with great levels of ‘confidence’ – some would say arrogance – and I do not agree with him on trying to decide who his competitors should be, when he went through his list of qualities in a candidate. But that aside, the issue is whether he is the right person for the job. To this question I must say no. Why? Simply because he has no experience in management; no executive experience. Guyana in the past seven years has had two presidents without government experience – Donald Ramotar and David Granger. Neither of them served Guyanese well. The PPP/C and APNU/AFC debates, internally, on this issue is another matter, particularly as it relates to acknowledging and confronting this fact. Much has been said about past president Bharrat Jagdeo. Now, he cannot run for a third term, but there are lessons in the process that led to him being chosen as the PPP/C presidential candidate in 2001 and 2006. The fact is

that he was a Junior Finance Minister, then a Senior Finance Minister, he was in Cabinet and he had served in the public service before his ministerial posts. When he was elected as President he had both experience in the public service and executive management. At the PPP level he was also a member of the Party’s Central Committee and, later, the Executive Committee. Charles Ramson Junior, on the other hand, is not a member of the PPP Central Committee. He has no significant experience in the public service. He has no experience in government management. He never served in Cabinet. He has no executive experience. What is the worst that could happen if he allowed himself to work up to these things? Look at the presidencies of Ramotar and Granger against Jagdeo. It is true that the debates – both the factual one and those that border on the illogical – which have been playing out in the letter pages of the newspapers about Jagdeo will continue. But the facts will not change. When you look at the big picture, what we saw under a Jagdeo presidency (the debatable points aside) was a better Guyana. Guyanese did better. The

country did better. Guyana was put on the map for certain major issues, including climate change. As I said before, the debates on the man can continue, but the facts – the numbers on economic growth, wealth creation, housing progress, etc. – will not change. I say all of this to back up my point, Charles Ramson Jr. is young, yes; he is ambitious; and he projects himself as a leader. But the fact is that he has no executive experience. That is much needed. We do not want to re-live the pitfalls we saw under the Ramotar presidency. Nor do we want a repeat of what we are seeing now, which is a badly performing economy, no jobs, more crime, big borrowing, wasting of taxpayer dollars and increase in the costs that regular Guyanese, like me, have to pay. Charles Ramon Jr. needs to give himself some more time. Earn some experience and maybe then he will have a better appreciation for what it takes to manage the Presidency. At the end the day, even if the PPP/C says it will push young people into leadership positions, Guyanese still need to know that they have a dependable leader. Erin Northe

There’s need for a realistic programme to support sugar workers and their families DEAR EDITOR, Several sections of the media reported that Minister of State, Joseph Harmon made an announcement about the outstanding redundancy pay to the thousands of workers made jobless by the callous, heartless, decisions to close several sugar estates in recent times. Minister Harmon is reported to have said that the Government already has identified the source of funding to meet the illegally withheld payments to the beleaguered workers. We expect soon that the Government will advise the workers when their payments would be available. The State Minister, according to the press, was also seemingly critical of our moves to the Courts on the matter. But it seems hadn’t we pursued such a course, the Government wouldn’t have woken up from its seeming deep slumber and finally decided to address the matter.

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Tuesday July 10, 2018

Again it confirms that our decision to go to the Courts was the right decision. While pleased to hear about this latest development, we indeed hope that the Government’s support does not end there. With the GuySuCo Alternative Livelihood Programme and Sustainable Communities Programme, from all indications, suffering a stillbirth, there is a strong need for a realistic programme to support the workers and their families at what is possibly the hardest and toughest time in their lives. It is dismaying for us that onto this day, the Government has not seen it necessary to visit the hard-pressed communities. It seems to us that the Government wants to wash its hands after the outstanding payments are made. We sincerely hope this is not the case, but the indications do not give us much hope. The suffering workers can

be assured of the GAWU’s commitment to press the Government to give focused attention to address and ensure relief to the plight of the affected workers and their dependents. Yours faithfully, Seepaul Narine General Secretary G A W U

There are more questions than answers in that market heist DEAR EDITOR, When you are incompetent and you try your incompetent best you are still incompetent. Those were some words uttered by Mr. George Jackman, former Director of Public Prosecutions, to participants of the Police Prosecutors’ Course 1/1981. The words kept ringing in my ears as the discussion in the media and elsewhere rages on the stolen jewellery, money and valuables recently committed on L. Seepersaud Maraj and Sons jewellery store at the Stabroek Market. Let me be pellucid. I hold no brief for the jewellery store. I have an abiding interest in law enforcement, hence my regular letters to the editor. The responses from the City Constabulary and MMC for their actions or lack of it are prosaic. Remember, they were the putative protectors

of the business entity that lost over $100M in money and valuables stolen from their safe in the market. The operations by bandits apparently took more than five hours. There was no visible forced entry or exit into the market. There are more questions than answers and the more I find out the less I know. MMC submitted a very terse statement to the media. It clearly stated that the security company received an alarm and its ranks responded. They could not gain access to the market. End of the matter. What about their Standard Operational Procedure? Was there a plan B? Was there some thinking outside of the box after the initial response? What is responsible for the robot-like response displayed by the ranks? Is it true that they did not see a single city constable around? Were the

city constables hiding or sleeping or were simply were not there? Certainly, the City Constabulary, the police and more so senior members of the MMC themselves should have been activated because of the status and nature of the business. Why so little or no assertive action? The Head of the City Constabulary made some clear and surprising statements to the press. He stated that victims did not follow standard operational procedure - that is to say that up to the time of his statement the business entity did not officially report the matter to the Constabulary. Was there an unofficial report? Even if that was so, the report of the very serious crime was already in the public domain. The police were investigating and the City (Continued on page 6)

Lessons from the Football World Cup DEAR EDITOR, Now that the Football World Cup is at the last breath, allow me to express my disappointment at the discrimination against women. I was appalled to read about four separate incidences in which women were discriminated against by boisterous men at the football world cup. In two cases, male fans attempted to kiss the reporters. Julia Guimaraes from the Brazilian Globo TV had the courage to tell the fan off right on camera. She expresses her disapproval at the disrespect towards women by men. This incident created an uproar in Brazil, which was a catalyst for other women in media to speak up by saying ‘Enough is enough.’ In another incident, a

group of male fans surround a woman from another country and make her repeat bad words in the language she is not familiar. This incident has taught women that they could be targets of discrimination and harassment by men with no respect for women. I was further alarmed that some men on social media criticized women for such kind of incidents. I want to emphasize that respect for women begins at home. Men who disrespect women most often do not respect women in their own family. In some cases, men might live on a false philosophy of ‘male superiority’, in which case women must stoop down. I want us to think about how we treat women in our families and society.

This world cup also emphasized against discrimination based on race, under the tagline ‘no to racism’. I am always thrilled to witness the football teams with such diversity. The teams live by the mantra, ‘united we stand, divided we fall’ or I would put it as ‘a truly united goal for a win.’ I am so happy to see teammates believing in each other’s ability, and this belief makes a great and most often unbeatable team. Let us take these two lessons of respect for women and no to racism seriously, and work towards a common goal. Let us remember we are born humans and we must die as humans. We are humans from the cradle to the grave. Jerri Melwin Dias

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Guyanese have seen past the talk from the govt. side about Jagdeo DEAR EDITOR, The AFC had two sets of comments (one from the Party and one from AFC Leader Raphael Trotman) after the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) ruled to uphold the twoterm limit in our Constitution. The PNC had one statement. Then over the past several days, we have had more and more people from the government side focusing on Bharrat Jagdeo. It is this debate that is interesting. With all the talk about how terrible Jagdeo is, you would think that the Caribbean Court of Justice ruling

would have ended the sometimes hostile commentary you see in the newspapers. He cannot run so be done with it. But a friend of mine, in another Jagdeo debate, pointed out to me that the focus on Jagdeo continues because, the APNU-AFC Government cannot do anything about the fact that he is still around and active in local politics. Jagdeo himself has said that he will be around. He said he will be on the campaign trail leading to the 2020 Elections. He said he will be part of the next government. The supporters of the PPP/C have

Ensuring our elected ... From page 4 perceived the demand for a decentralised democracy as a precondition for development. Guyanese may be uniquely fortunate, I believe.I have little doubt that the President will succeed in his endeavour, as he appears determined to do it, and I have no doubt that he will face major obstacles and challenges. In any case, the administration can only do so much; the people, the press, non-governmental organisations, and other members of civil society have a major part to play in ensuring that current and future elected representatives continue along the democratic trajectory, that a new democratic culture is cultivated, and that we never lose the gains that we make. Yours faithfully, Mark DaCosta

the reassurance that his skills and experience will be available to the next PPP/C government. From where I stand, it would seem that this is what irks the government side so much. The Caribbean Court of Justice win is only a halfwin of sorts, because they cannot altogether get rid of Jagdeo. For all that the government side has said about him being terrible, you know that it is all shallow comments, because they are fighting so hard to get him out of the picture. All you have to do is read the letters in the Guyana Chronicle and you would understand how hard they are fighting to get him out of the picture. But like I said earlier, Jagdeo has said he is not going anywhere and the PPP/C supporters have that reassurance.That said, it is clear that the debates will continue. But will it work? Or is the government side hurting itself? The fact is that Guyanese have seen past the talk from the government side about Jagdeo being the ‘devil’ himself, while at the same time trying their hardest to ensure that he is not a factor in the 2020 Elections. And they ask why. It is not too hard to come to the logical conclusion. Regards Anson Paul

Tuesday July 10, 2018

There’s a lot of distrust in this country and it’s affecting our fundamentals DEAR EDITOR, For two years now, I have been running a startup business in Guyana. I was born and raised in the Netherlands. Both my parents were born in Suriname. After graduating from the University of Maastricht obtaining a Masters in International Business, I started to work in Sweden, UK, Switzerland and the Netherlands as an Employer Branding Consultant for fortune 100 companies allowing me to travel a lot within the EU. In 2009, I moved back to Suriname as I was hired as an expat for a new Telecom company. In 2012, I decided to stay in Suriname and start my own company named Suriname Cartridge Depot specialized in the remanufacturing of laser toners. When in 2016 an economic crisis hit Suriname, I decided to open up a foreign subsidiary. People were telling me to invest in French Guiana. I however believed that doing business within the CARICOM would be much easier. And having a grandfather from St. Lucia somehow attracted me to the English CARICOM culture. First of all, I came to Guyana with the belief that

Article 45 would be kind of similar to the situation I was used to in Europe. According to Article 45: Movement of Community Nationals, “Member States commit themselves to the goal of free movement of their nationals within the Community” This is not happening at all. And I believe that there are several reasons for it. And one of them is trust. After being two years in Guyana, I have learned that compared to the Surinamese people, Guyanese people completely distrust each other. Just looking at the amount of times I need to stop on my way to Georgetown where I need to explain myself to Guyanese Law Enforcement and GRA officers. A year ago I started helping a Suriname bird seed manufacturer by exporting premium bird seeds to Guyana. Every time I arrive at the Guyanese border, I am controlled by quarantine and customs. And I am escorted to a warehouse called “the Bond”. And there, every single package is being inspected by the GRA, every time! Even if I am the only person with cargo on the ship, I still need to go to “the Bond” and wait for hours. For nearly two years now, nothing ever

There are more questions than... From page 5 Constabulary should have done likewise and not wait for an official report.Should not the Constabulary have made contact with the business they were mandated to protect and failed to do so? If the mountain cannot come to you, should not you go to the mountain? The Constabulary Head stated that 4 or 5 ranks and a supervisor were on duty at the time of the crime.

He did not know the exact number of ranks on duty at the time. What a statement long after the crime was reported? Was it 4? Was it 5? Was it that no rank was on duty? Is it true that ranks were detailed to be on duty but they went their respective ways? Should not the constabulary pay attention to simple details? Or is it that Head fears that he may be accused of

micro-managing. What is wrong with micro-managing at times? Occasionally leaders must micro-manage if they are to be effective. The little checks that we fail to do sometimes become major things and will come back to later to haunt us. Even the late Steve Jobs used to micro-manage, and many great leaders do so at times. So far it is not known what the nature of the investigation is, if any been conducted by the City Constabulary, apart from them calling for cameras to be in place. Perhaps, it is top secret and will remain so. The City Constabulary has admitted that there are serious crimes and criminal activities in and around the market but appears clueless to bring the sad state of affairs under control. I am reminded of an Indian fable told to me many decades ago by retired Major General Norman McLean. It is still fresh in my memory. Here it is, “When the fence starts to eat the crops there is no security.” In this issue under review, is it that the fence is eating or has eaten the crops? I hope not. Yours faithfully Clinton Conway Assistant Commissioner of Police (Retired)

happened, but I am still not to be trusted. Until a couple of months ago, besides being controlled by port safety, quarantine, immigration and customs, Guyana introduced another controlling mechanism called CANU at Moleson Creek which stands for Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit - because probably as a nation they shouldn’t trust anybody and everybody is importing narcotics into the country. And this unit checks every single spot in your car. They check everything. When I see CANU officers I, of course, laugh and wish them luck with finding any drugs in my car. Meanwhile, each and every passenger that enters Guyana undergoes a 100 percent check, leading to a very exhausting trip. So for me, Guyana doesn’t even consider the CARICOM article 45. Instead, they keep increasing the controlling mechanisms - taking away the free movement of nationals travelling inside and outside of the country. That is contradictory to the actual CARICOM goals. And I wonder if they respect having one of the founding fathers of the CARICOM. I believe that Suriname and Guyana have the biggest challenge and can set an example because these two counties are the only nations with an actual landline border within the CARICOM. And it is important now that the leaders of these two beautiful and potentially rich countries start to integrate borders and streamline the operations. I have observed travelers at the border for years now and people are frustrated. And this should not be like this under the promise made by the nations in 2001. I would have expected much more progress in these 17 years. What I only see is prestigious buildings and huge administrations costing tens of millions of dollars per year. Not resulting in anything. I would advise the president of Guyana to have a check how convenient travelling into Guyana is compared to travelling into and out of Suriname. And that a common approach stimulating the idea of free movement of nationals is introduced. I believe that this will encourage cross border movement and boost the economy on the east side of Guyana and west side of Suriname. It will be a win-win. And if we think in terms of win-win, our nations will never fail, but succeed even bigger than we can dream of. And to achieve dreams together we need to start trusting each other. One love, Aristo Kelly MSc

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Over 16,000 girls vaccinated in national HPV eradication campaign – MCH Officer Since commencing a vigorous vaccination campaign, the Ministry of Public Health has been able to vaccinate in excess of 16,000 young girls against the Human Papilloma Virus [HPV]. This is according to information recently shared by Dr. Ertenisa Hamilton who holds the portfolio of Maternal and Child Health [MCH] Officer within the Public Health Ministry. The vaccination programme is one that the Ministry had opted to roll out in the school system with the hope of reaching a wide cross-section of girls before their sexual debut. This is in light of the fact that medical research suggests that HPV is mainly transmitted through sexual contact and most people become infected shortly after the onset of

sexual activity. Medical experts have also deduced that certain types of HPVs can lead to the development of cervical cancer. Reports suggest that there are over 100 types of HPV but two types [16 and 18] are said to cause some 70 percent of cervical cancers and precancerous cervical lesions. Guyana has been battling to combat the scourge of cancer deaths, even as the number of cervical cancer cases continues to grow. For this reason, the Ministry decided to take a deliberate stance to help reduce the incidence of cervical cancer by targeting young girls in the school system. Last year, the Ministry announced that its campaign was gearing to reach more than 36,000 girls between the

ages of nine and 16. Although the programme was first introduced in the public education system, it was expanded to private schools as well and has been gaining traction. Although unable to share the number of schools [both public and private] that the programme has reached, Dr. Hamilton did reveal that the campaign has been introduced in all 10 administration regions. “The deadline for the first batch, which started last October will be October 2018 but the programme will continue to vaccinate girls in the [target] age group,” Dr. Hamilton said. Dr. Hamilton had earlier revealed, “We will be working in conjunction with the Ministry of Education to immunize girls in school. We

Kaieteur News photograph helps cops nab suspected ATM bandit A Kaieteur News front page photograph has helped police capture one of the men suspected of robbing a Diamond Housing Scheme couple last May and accessing their bank accounts through their ATM card. Police confirmed that the suspect was arrested around 05.00 hrs yesterday at his home at Claybrick Road, Plaisance, East Coast home. He is likely to be placed on an identification parade shortly.Persons who know the suspect said that he has been keeping a low profile ever since the robbery. The sources said that he apparently became concerned after learning that a CCTV image of him was published in the Kaieteur News. Although he was wearing a face mask, persons familiar with the suspect nevertheless recognized him. Some claimed that he was clad in a shirt that he wears regularly.It was on May 13 that bandits forced open a kitchen window to the Thirteenth Street, Diamond, East Bank home of Gunwattie Sirpaul and Totaram Sadeek. They gained entry to the house through a kitchen window, kicked down the couple’s bedroom door, held the victims at gunpoint and tied them up. After being beaten and threatened the couple handed over $300,000, two cell phones, a quantity of jewellery, and a number of household items. They also took Sirpaul’s bank card and demanded the pin number from her. The robbers reportedly remained in the house for about two hours before loading their booty into the couple’s car

The ATM bandit

and driving off.The bandits then went to the Vreed-enHoop Republic Bank ATM and withdrew money from their victim’s account. This

occurred on the same day at around 14:49 hours. They also went to an ATM in Linden and withdrew more cash.

have already begun the partnership with our private paediatricians for mothers who do not want to take their child to have the vaccine at school… and for all girls who we cannot reach, especially those in remote areas and are out of school, to have outreach activities in the regions, in their villages so that we can get every girl within that age group immunized.” Simultaneous to the vaccination campaign, the Ministry has been fast-tracking a sensitisation programme, which is being supported by its partners including GAVI – a public-private partnership committed to increasing access to immunisation in poor countries; the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation [PAHO/ WHO], the United Nation’s Children Fund [UNICEF], non-governmental organisations, the Ministry of Education and private physicians too. According to Dr. Hamilton, the efforts at raising HPV awareness have been proving to be quite successful. She revealed that the main means of spreading the word have been through face

to face contact and the use of the media. The ultimate outcome of the ongoing campaign is to realise a decrease in the HPV infection rate and by extension cater to a decline of cervical cancer cases, Dr. Hamilton asserted. The local HPV vaccination campaign has seen the Ministry of Public Health making use of the vaccine Gardasil. Although some individuals had voiced concerns about the use of the vaccine, the Ministry, through its sensitisation efforts, has been able to dispel these by amplifying that while there could be some possible side effects, these are not lifethreatening. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, “the HPV vaccine is very safe and it is effective at preventing HPV. Vaccines, like any medicine, can have side effects [but] many people who get the HPV vaccine have no side effects at all. Some people report having very mild side effects like a sore arm from the shot [and] the most common side effects are usually mild,” the CDC has reported.

MCH Officer, Dr. Ertenisa Hamilton. Common side effects associated with the HPV vaccine include pain, redness or swelling in the arm where the shot was given, fever, headache or tiredness, nausea and muscle or joint pain. Resident PAHO/WHO Representative, Dr. William Adu Krow, had observed that while the vaccination campaign is relatively new to Guyana it has already been administered in several countries with noted success. In fact, he described it as the best chance of preventing cervical cancer. Dr. Adu- Krow said that according to PAHO/WHO and Public Health data reviews, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among Guyanese women.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday July 10, 2018

President Granger’s two press conferences in three years…

Lack of media engagement does no good for accountability and transparency – GPA President The Coalition rode to power promising more transparency, but since becoming president in 2015, President David Granger has hosted a mere two official press conferences. Even after official trips overseas, and numerous official engagements, the President has not faced the nation, opting to use the Department of Public Information (DPI) for the release of information. DPI releases leave no room for questions from the press. President of the Guyana Press Association (GPA), Nazima Raghubir, told Kaieteur News that too many issues of national importance are going unaddressed. “The lack of engagement does no good to any Government’s role to be accountable and transparent. The Guyana press cannot continue to meet the President on the sidelines of events. “We have already had to deal with limited access during the Public Interest programme,” Raghubir

stated. She added that the GPA has raised the need more frequent engagements with the Head of State since 2015. According to Raghubir, the GPA raised the matter again at the President’s media brunch in January and as recent as May during World Press Freedom Day. Following General Elections in May 2015, President Granger hosted his first press conference in October 2015. Initially, there was the Public Interest programme where a select media houses were invited to sit and question the President, then that ended. There were no press conferences in 2016 and it was only after public criticisms that the President hosted another press conference more than a year later, on December 14, last. It is now six months since the last press conference and again the President is facing sharp criticisms. President Granger said to reporters on the sidelines of the ICT Road Show yesterday that he has been busy, hav-

GPA President, Nazima Raghubir ing just returned from Montego Bay, Jamaica where he attended the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government meeting. One week earlier, he had visited Vietnam. “It can be very challenging and as soon as I get the opportunity, I will engage

President David Granger at his Press Conference last December

with the press, but I have been travelling quite a lot and I have to deal with domestic issues,” the President said in response to a question on the issue posed by the GPA President. On domestic issues, he cited the sugar and the petro-

leum industries, crime and security as matters that have kept him busy. “I am asking the media to be tolerant. My heart is in the right place, but right now I have had a really difficult period of public engagements

and overseas travel. “In fact even last year, I missed a few CARICOM appointments to be able to stay at home to pay more attention to domestic issues,” Granger said before he was hurried away for a photo opportunity. Raghubir pointed out that all together the media is not a group of just 30 persons, but ‘we are part of society and represent their interests’. According to the GPA President, the media does not expect to be treated specially, but the lack of regular sustained engagement with the media is unacceptable. “The President once published a magazine and should know the importance of getting factual statements or the need to have official responses to issues,” Raghubir stated. She expressed hope that there isn’t an intention by the President to try to use the media closer to the 2020 General Elections through more frequent press conferences.

Technology will revolutionise education, economy’- President Granger

… as ICT Roadshow opens

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he Caribbean Tele communications Union (CTU) Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Roadshow officially got underway yesterday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC). President David Granger, delivering the feature address said the digital state will foster economic development and revolutionise the education sector. The application of ICTs, he noted, will add value to primary production and ensure greater access to internal and external markets.

“ICT effectively deployed can promote improved productivity and competitiveness. It is a manifestation of technological progress fostering innovation and consequently, economic growth,” the Head of State pointed out. Importantly, President Granger said digital technology will improve the delivery of public services to citizens, who within the coming years, will no longer have to travel outside their regions to file income tax returns, apply for passports and birth certificates, among other services.

The educational value of the digital state, the president said, can be encapsulated in the phrase: “Log on, look, listen and learn.” “The ICT sector requires brain power, the Public Education system is being reconfigured to focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education so as to develop the human resources needed for a competitive ICT sector,” he added. Public Telecommunications Minister, Catherine (Continued on page 10)

D

onald Trump was right when he re ferred to certain countries as ‘shithole’ countries. He may not have specifically mentioned Guyana but he would find quite a few supporters who would agree with the view that Guyana is a ‘shithole’ country. Guyana is reducing itself to a banana republic. It is positioning itself a backwater state, one that has allowed itself to be plundered and shortchanged by foreign capital. Guyana can leave you mentally and physically drained. And this has nothing to do with the climate. Just reading reports of some of the daily occurrences is enough to want you to go and take a long nap. Reading the reports of ExxonMobil appearing before the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Natural Resources leaves one depressed and dismayed at the level of representation of the Opposition. Presented with an opportunity to grill officials Exxon over the most controversial deal in the his-

tory of Guyana, the opposition parliamentarians reduced the sitting to high comedy, farce and lameness. ExxonMobil’s Directors are going to have a good laugh about Guyana when they read the excerpts about that parliamentary sitting. Guyana faced embarrassment and ridicule over the innocuous questions which were posed. Even a high school student would have done better. It makes one feel that it is time to give up in Guyana. If this is the quality of interrogation which Exxon is going to face after the controversy over the signing bonus and the generous terms, which it enjoyed, then it is perhaps best that people give up on Guyana because there can be little hope generated by the pedestrian representation at that sitting. The Opposition was woefully unprepared for that sitting. They should have gotten young Ramson to prepare a few questions for them so as to save them from humiliation and embarrassment. Can you imagine Exxon

was asked why the company did not secure legislation for local content? It is a bizarre question. The responsibility for bringing legislation to the House rests with government and it is the House, which has to pass such legislation. It was therefore not surprising to read that one of the representatives from Exxon could not conceal his amusement at the question. Why would Exxon be asked why it was not providing jobs for sugar workers? Exxon has no obligation to provide such jobs. Which sugar worker has the skills to work on an oil rig? Doing what? Exxon is not running a charitable organization. It is running a business. Perhaps the better question would have been the level of positions, which Guyanese hold within the oil operations. The lackluster performance of the Opposition at that sectoral committee sitting is in direct contradiction to the expectations created by the Leader of the Opposition. He had promised that the Opposition members would

DEM BOYS SEH

Coalition actions beginning to resemble PPP

Dem got an old saying…De more things change de more dem remain de same. Guyana beginning to resemble de PPP tenure. Everything de PPP did is de same thing dis govt doing. Tek de drug issue. All de drug contracts use to go to one person—Jagdeo best friend, without any proppa tender process. De storage also use to go to dis same best friend. Dis govt promise that all dem scampishness would be a thing of de past. Instead, is de same scenario playing out all over again; just de names change. Few days ago, de story buss out how de coalition give one of dem party supporters and full time acolyte almost $400 million in drug contract without any tender process. Dem also paying to another friend more rent than de cost of de building, just to store drugs.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday July 10, 2018

Dem boys always use to seh de PPP created a culture in dis land and it will tek generations to change. Under de PPP, all de REOs and heads of Govt agencies use to run de treasury as if is dem personal bank account. When dem give out contract, de wuk ain’t even done and dem done pay two times de original cost of de contract. Remember Fip? He had a li’l pooja shop in Florida, never build a piece of pavement or outside latrine and yet he get a US$15 million road contract. He disappear wid de money and de road never get complete. Last week dem boys hear de cost of de road move from US$15 million to US$50 million. Year after year when parliament call dem regional officers to explain how dem spend de money is de same excuse over and over. De coalition did promise

to deal wid dem one by one. Is de same thing continuing to happen under dem nose and dem seem not to care about it. Only yesterday one REO went to parliament and tell dem he ain’t come prepare to answer questions on how de money spend. Dem boys want know why he go deh in de fuss place. And why he is not in jail. Another one confess that she use to split contract fuh avoid de tender board process and Guyana loss millions. Nutten happen. She is in de US instead of jail. Soulja Bai, dem boys want fuh know wheh you really carrying Guyana? Down de same PPP road? Talk half and you got to do better than that Ol’ Bai. You don’t have to tek fire stick fuh see de continuing skullduggery when a blind mofo can see it.

bring their ‘A’ game to the meeting. Clearly, he miscalculated and mispronounced. He had also stated that he was far from satisfied that the Opposition was doing enough to be prepared to hold the government to account. The sitting turned that admission into an understatement. Jagdeo promised strong representation. If what transpired at the sitting was strong representation, then Guyana is futureless. Guyana will become a laughing stock in the eyes of the shareholders of Exxon. Jagdeo had also promised

that specialist assessments would guide his people in their questions. This hardly seemed the case. The specialist assessments did not appear. Yet, there was sufficient information in the public domain to have elicited a better performance. All the arguments against the Exxon contract were exhaustively ventilated in the media for more than one year now. Yet, these were placed on the backburner. The performance of the Opposition leads to the conclusion that problems of the Opposition are just as great as those of the government. Given all that has been

written about the Exxon contradict the type of questions being asked would make any foreign company feel that Guyana is a pushover when it comes to negotiations. What happened last week was not a missed opportunity. It was a mess, a mess that is typical of ‘shithole’ countries. Long live Donald Trump!

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday July 10, 2018

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

BUGGERY, MURDER THEN 17 YEARS’ JAIL

T

he more Guyana grows older, the more we see that this country is descending rapidly into psychological sickness and morbid breakdown. All over the world, the rape of little children brings out anger in the population. Raping a child, then killing that child is a definite death penalty outcome in India. In the US, plea bargaining would save the accused from execution but life imprisonment will definitely be ordered. In certain Scandinavian countries, jail sentences tend to be light but not for child rape/murder. I cannot think of any rational country where a man kidnaps a nine-year-old boy, sodomizes him, cuts off his genitals, strangles him, then goes to sleep with him and ends up getting 17 years in jail. Only one country accepts that barbarity; it is a wasteland named Guyana. Justice Sandil Kissoon (absolutely no relation to me) gave Ryan Bobb-Semple 23 years for the acts described above. His victim was nineyear-old Shaquan Gittens. For each year, three months is deducted, so Bobb-Semple will only serve 17 calendar

years. This is a sickening country where humanity took flight a long time ago, so don’t be surprised if BobbSemple is released for good behaviour in a few years’ time. The same judge around the same time gave a man a life sentence for attempted murder. No one died. The charge was attempted murder. In another situation, a little angel is kidnapped, buggered and murdered and the accused gets 17 years in jail. I have seen bizarre jail sentences in this country by both magistrates and judges but Judge Sandil Kissoon’s unbelievable and unimaginable decision has left me emotionally drained. And there is nothing I can do about this judge.I cannot cite him for misconduct before the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) because his decision does not fall into that category. I cannot ask the JSC to review the sentence. I know that institution will not act. If they did not act in Magistrate McLennan’s trafficking in person decision then why would they intervene now? Let me remind readers about how McLennan ruled and what happened after. She found a woman guilty of hu-

man trafficking and imposed a fine. The law stipulates mandatory imprisonment. The Government issued a press release condemning the magistrate’s decision. Neither government nor the Judicial Service Commission sought an explanation. The next day, the issue was forgotten. The magistrate is still on the bench. Is there a judicial breakdown in this country? I am waiting at the right time to offer some macabre evidence of some decisions that have taken place in the judiciary that seriously call into question the viability of this nation. Research shows that discrepancies in judicial sentences in this country are not only shocking but unbelievable and please don’t think it is in the lower courts only. What is so sad, tragic and dangerous is that there is no official intervention from higher judicial authorities and the state. The independence of the judiciary is not absolute in any country. It is important to note what is meant by the independence of the judiciary. It is not a complex issue. In democratic societies, the judiciary is insulated

from the intervening hands of the power-holders. The government of the day has no role in the functioning of the judiciary. And for obvious reasons, it should not. In democratic lands, the constitution and the laws prevent the government from having jurisdiction over the judiciary. There are, however, certain legal prerogatives that the head of government can resort to if that head of government feels that a judge has acted immorally or illegally. The avenue is a complaint to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). Now the JSC can refuse the request depending on the nature of it. The JSC will peremptorily shut down

attempts to get it to reverse a court ruling or to question the judge’s reasoning. The JSC around the world will never tolerate such intrusion. But if the Prime Minister or President cites high moral violations, it is doubtful that the JSC will be unmoved. This is what happened when President Desmond Hoyte, acting on a complaint of Chief Magistrate, Claudette La Bennett, asked the JSC to investigate Justice Barnwell for alleged perversion of the course of justice. The subsequent inquiry found Barnwell guilty and he was removed. No minister of prime minister or president in Guyana can tell a magistrate or judge

Frederick Kissoon how to rule. But President Granger has provided a valuable perspective. When Minister Bulkan criticized the Chronicle for a news item, President Granger said Ministers can voice their opinions on issues in their private capacity. So how do the President, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet feel about the 17-year jail sentence?

Technology will revolutionise ... From page 8 Hughes said the ICT Roadshow offers an awesome opportunity for persons to be informed about modern global technological trends. “Through an array of quality presentations in e-Agriculture, new financial payment systems, ICTs for persons with disabilities, the development and use of new apps that will make our lives easier, glimpses of the technological trends of the future… you have an awesome opportunity to be infused,” she noted. Secretary-General, CTU, Bernadette Lewis said each

roadshow is uniquely crafted for the advancement of the host country. Among many other objectives, Lewis said the roadshow seeks to dispel the fears citizens have about technology and sparks their imaginations on the power of ICT to enhance and transform their lives.Workshops are being held throughout the week on e-agriculture, the concept of 21st-century governance, Data analytics, Cyber Crime and more. Tomorrow, Minister Hughes and a team of CTU officials head to Annai, Re-

gion Nine for an ICT Forum. A Youth Fair is slated for Friday, July 13 and a special e-agriculture forum on Saturday in Region Six with farmers to conclude the event. Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon and several other ministers of government were in also attendance. The CTU Roadshow has been held 23 times in 18 Caribbean Countries and this marks the first in the new series, created to reflect the advances in the sector.

Tuesday July 10, 2018

Kaieteur News

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Tuesday July 10, 2018

Kaieteur News

Police caught sleeping thief on victim’s bed A man who is known to the police was yesterday sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment by a City Magistrate after he was found sleeping on a bed and wearing a pair of stolen sneaker. Forty-eight-year-old Paul Narine appeared before Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer a break and enter and larceny charge. He pleaded guilty to the charge, which read that between July 6 and July 8, at Lot 31 Ketley Street, Charlestown, he broke and entered the dwelling house of Onika Sandiford and stole two gas cylinders valued $20,000 and other articles totalling $70,000. Police Prosecutor, Quinn Harris, told the court that on

Jailed: Paul Narine July 6, last, at about 18:30 hrs, the victim secured her home and went out.

Upon her return on July 8, she discovered several wooden bars from her home missing. She made checks around her home. The court heard that when the woman checked her room, she saw the defendant sleeping on her bed with her mother’s pair of sneakers on his feet. The woman then went and reported the matter to the police who dispatched a rank to her home. Narine was then arrested by the rank who told him of the offence. “She left the f#*king garage open so I went in the house,” he told the arresting rank. He was then arrested and taken into custody. The man in addressing the court stated, “She too damn ‘lierd’; she get back all her stuff. I don’t know why she standing here. I would just hit her because is not even her house. It’s her mother’s house.” The man went on to tell the court that he had all right to sleep on the bed because no one was at home. Magistrate Latchman then asked Narine why he was in the victim’s house and he told the court that he went there to sleep.

Tuesday July 10, 2018

Kaieteur News

Cops take fresh evidence from slain woman’s home - as Crime Chief instructs ranks to revisit case

The victim’s mother with fresh paint from her daughter’s room By Michael Jordan Acting on instructions from Crime Chief Paul Williams, detectives have removed samples of paint and other evidence from the home of a young woman who died under bizarre circumstances recently. The samples, which were scraped from a wall in the victim’s bedroom, are to be examined for possible traces of blood. Police reportedly also took hair samples and window curtains from the woman’s bedroom. Among other things, investigators are focusing on allegations that a section of the wall in the woman’s bedroom was re-painted to conceal bloodstains. There is suspicion that the woman was injured in the house and not elsewhere as was claimed by an individual who has been implicated in her death. The developments in the already bizarre case came after the victim’s mother approached Crime Chief Paul Williams to express concern about a particular development concerning the accused. “They (relatives) were privy to information that the victim and the accused had a confrontation in the home…” Crime Chief Williams said. After receiving this information, Crime Chief Williams directed his ranks to revisit certain aspects of the case, including checking the victim’s home. Further developments

are expected over the next 24 hours. Police officials have refuted suggestions that some ranks may have concealed evidence that was crucial to the investigation. The mother had told Kaieteur News on Sunday that she had visited her daughter’s residence and saw the police remove a window curtain with what appeared to be bloodstains. The woman said that s u b s e q u e n t l y, s h e a n d some family members accidentally brushed against a bedroom wall and realised that it was freshly painted. The woman said that she subsequently notified senior police officials of her suspicions. An investigation was immediately launched, with ranks visiting the home and taking several photographs. The woman has provided Kaieteur News with photographs, which she said raised suspicion of a cover-up. One of the photographs showed the woman’s hand with fresh paint, which she said came from the area in the bedroom where she believed her daughter was injured. Describing herself as “a Christian,” the victim’s mother said that she was not out for revenge against the man who has been implicated in her daughter’s death. “All I want is justice. She was always a pleasant person, She never liked to see anyone unhappy.”

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday July 10, 2018

NAREI inks $23.4M sea defence contract

Ms. Luandra Jack, NAREI’s Engineer looks on as Dr. Oudho Homenauth, CEO of NAREI hands over the contract to Ms. Keshiri Gajraj, representative of S&K Construction & Consultancy Services and General Supplies. A 700-metre brushwood dam will be installed along the foreshores between Columbia and Aberdeen, Essequbio Coast, Region Two. The $23.4M contract for the project was awarded to S&K Construction & Consultancy Services & General Supplies. It is part of NAREI’s mangrove restoration project. The contract was today signed between the Chief Executive Officer of NAREI, Dr. Oudho Homenauth and Ms. Keshiri Gajraj, representative of S&K Construction & Consultancy Services and General Supplies. The company is expected to commence

work on July 16 and conclude by November 16, 2018. Dr. Homenauth, during a brief discussion with the contractor at his Mon Repos office, emphasized the importance of providing quality work within the contract duration. He pointed out that similar structures constructed in the Region have been able to withstand the harsh environmental conditions thus far. For instance, in 2017, the Institute constructed two structures at Land of Plenty/ Three Friends and Reliance. While in 2015, extension works were done to the Bamboo Brushwood Dam at Walton Hall.

Tuesday July 10, 2018

Kaieteur News

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Tuesday July 10, 2018

Kaieteur News

“I don’t know anything about that. I is not a murder man” - accused Patricia Senasie killer had told detectives

MURDERED: Patricia Senasie

MURDER ACCUSED: Richard Stanton

Accused Patricia Senasie killer, Richard Stanton, had told detectives, “I don’t know anything abou t t h a t . I i s n o t a m urder man,” minutes after he was pointed out on an identification parade held at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Headquarters. T h i s i s a c cording to Detective Sergeant Rodwell Sarrabo who was called to testify in the trial of Stanton who is accused of killing the woman on January 12, 2015 at Atlantic Gardens, East Coast Demerara. Stanton appeared before Justice Brassington Reynolds yesterday, at the High Court in Georgetown. He pleaded not guilty to the murder charge. Stanton is being represented by Attorney-at-law Mark Waldron. Prosecutors Tiffini Lyken, Seeta Bishundial and Narissa Leander are appearing for the State. According to reports, 45-year-old Sanasie was riddled with bullets by gunmen clad in black. She was shot to the chest, abdomen, neck and groin. The shooting occurred almost a year after her husband survived a similar attempt on his life. It was reported that Romona Sanasie, daughter of the deceased, positively identified Stanton as her mother’s killer. At the time of her mother’s death, the young woman was in the car with her mother. During his time in the witness box, Sergeant Sarrabo, who is presently stationed at the Brickdam Police Station and attached to the Criminal

Investigation Department (CID), told the court that during April 2015, he was attached to the Majors Crimes Investigations Unit (MCIU). According to Sergeant Sarrabo, on April 21, 2015 he was present at the CID Headquarters, Eve Leary, Georgetown where he witnessed Stanton being placed on an identification parade. Stanton, who Sergeant Sarrabo referred to as the accused, was placed among eight men of similar height, age, built and complexion. The police witness recounted that all eight of the men were similarly dressed and were holding numbers from one to nine, which were written boldly. Romona Senasie, the daughter of Patricia Senasie was the sole witness to the identification parade, Sergeant Sarrabo added. The detective told the jury that after bei n g identified as the person who shot and killed her mother by Romona, Stanton was cautioned in accordance to the judge’s rule and afterwards replied, “I don’t know anything about that. I is not a murder man.” He made it clear that no force, threats, violence, promises or any form of inducement was held to the murder accused by him, or anyone else in his presence. During the identification parade, the court was informed b y S e r g e a n t Sarrabo that Romona appeared as though she was having problems breathing, since on about three occasions, she complained of feeling unwell and requested “to have some fresh air.”

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday July 10, 2018

2,404 candidates fail to meet Absolute need to say goodbye to telephone monopoly - Digicel CEO benchmark at 2018 NGSA

A

total of 2,404 of the 14,000 odd candi dates who participated in the 2018 National Grade Six Assessment [NGSA] have failed to meet the benchmark to allow them placement at secondary level schools. This is according to Senior Education Officer within the Education Ministry, Ms. Carol Benn. However, all is not lost. Benn is in fact the Coordinator of a special initiative designed to cater to the upliftment of these candidates. The initiative in question is the Six-year transitional programme aimed at preparing these candidates to be integrated into Grade Seven. “Instead of leaving the children back at the primary school level, we put them over to a secondary school and we have this special programme for them because they are not yet ready for the Grade Seven class,” said Benn during a recent interview with this publication. Explaining how the programme works, Benn said, “We put them over to a secondary school and instead of spending five years, they would spend six years because of this special one year programme.” A number of selected schools across the country, including a few secondary schools and primary tops, have the programme in place. Each year, the number of students benefitting from this programme changes depending on the number of candidates participating in the NGSA. “The number of students at these schools will always fluctuate because it depends on the exam results,” said Benn. Upon entry to the school designated, students are given a diagnostic test, which is designed to determine their

- to benefit from six-year transitional programme

Ms. Carol Benn, Senior Education Officer. level of learning. The programme, Benn explained, follows a special timetable and a special curriculum complete with outlined Schemes of Work. “I actually did all those schemes so instead of the teachers writing the schemes, I produce the schemes and they just have to do their notes,” Benn related. She added, “The programme is work they [students] would have done in primary school...They are going it over to bring them up to par so that they will be able to handle the Grade Seven work.”It is expected that after one year of remediation, students will be adequately prepared to enter Grade Seven at the very school they are attending. “Once they are placed at that school, they are a student of that school although the programme is separate,” said Benn “At the end of the one year, we do a post test and this is basically the same entry diagnostic test to see what improvement is made.”

He added, “So we analyse the results at the end to see where the students are. We know that we can’t make grades but at least the teachers are expected to move them from point A to point B.” Based on the outcome of that analysis, an action plan is prepared which is handed over to the Grade Seven teachers who then prepare to engage the students at that level. According to Benn, the programme has been yielding some noticeable success. “We would have had parents who have asked for their children to be removed from the regular Grade Seven class to be placed in the transitional class, to come up...,” said Benn. She added, “Some people even believe that the transitional programme teachers teach better.” She however noted, “if the child shows no improvement, we leave them back another year but we don’t keep them for more than two years; we have cases like that but not in any large number.”

At a time when technology experts are in Guyana to demonstrate the use of 21st century techniques, the existing telephone monopoly was highlighted as a limitation to development. Speaking at yesterday’s opening ceremony of the six-day Caribbean Information Communications and Technology (ICT) conference and roadshow, Chief Executive Officer of Digicel, Gregory Dean, noted the importance of ending the telephone monopoly.“When we talk about boundaries, the reality is that we absolutely need to say goodbye to the telephone monopoly and the limitations it places on the ICT sector and the country,” Dean told participants at the newly refurbished Arthur Chung Conference Centre at Liliendaal. Talks continue to drag on between the Government and the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT), the US-owned entity that has a monopoly on landlines and international calls.Kaieteur News was informed that GTT wants to secure a spectrum deal before the talks conclude. Up to last month, Government was awaiting an official proposal from the telephone company for consideration.Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes has assured that the telecoms sector will be liberalized by the end of this year, although similar promises were made before. Digicel’s CEO, Dean, stated that there is a lot of catching up to do in less time than is imagined. “Only a fully competitive sector with a level playing field for all will allow all the stakeholders access to the latest technologies at competitive prices with the benefit of choice to obtain the service quality desired,” Dean said.

Chief Executive Officer of Digicel, Gregory Dean He stated that Digicel supports all traditional industries such as agriculture and mining, but recognises that there is a great and urgent need for partnerships as Guyanese position themselves to ensure that they reap the rewards from the oil and gas industry. He assured that Digicel is working in partnerships with governments to make the world and the 21st century government a reality. “By taking you through the examples of 21st century Government in action, we hope to start imagining with you the kind of projects that can be rolled out here in Guyana. There are projects that ensure people in the remotest regions of the country have access to the same tools and innovations as those in the towns and cities, so together we can create a society where no one gets left behind. That is the beauty of 21st century government,” Dean noted.

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Tuesday July 10, 2018

Kaieteur News

Frustrated man gets 50 months for chain snatching FOR RENT

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ICONIC MARKETING & PRINTING –TEL: 6004212: We create A/works, logos, busi ness cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included. For professional bee removal with a warranty. Call the Bee Musketeers on Tel# 639-6911 Eagle’s: Re-gas –low prices, washing machine repairs, gas stove, plasma flat Screen, computer repairs & more. Call: 697-2969/646-0966 Installations, Repairs and parts for AC, Fridge, Washing machine, Stove etc call Nick 627-3206, 630-1600 Repairs to refrigerators, gas stoves, A/C units, washing machines. Call Lindon: 6411086/ 694-2202 Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezerCall: 610-5846 or 661-8158

1 Pneumatic 9 wheel roller 2 Bitumin spray kettle 215 excavator spares. Call: 2750367/683-7225 One complete Water dragger Excellent condition, Ready to use, Equipped with satelite TV. Tel# 671-4019 One Excavator, Minor repairs, engine in excellent condition. Tel# 671-4019 1 flat concrete house, 3 bedroom & 1 master room, PVC ceiling, tile, grill, Parfaite Harmonie, Onderneerming #662-6818 Goats, Raring purpose (40) Call: 661-5591 Imported from USA 6 inch SDR 26 PVC Pressure Pipe, Ideal for mining. Contact #682-8603 One Bourda Market Stall for sale. Contact: 225-9589 Household Appliances, 1 Frigidaire 30 inch stove, Refrigerators, Freezers, Chair set, Microwave, Dining set. Contact #266-5013/681-8333 LAND FOR SALE Parfaite Harmonie $1.4M Uitvlugt Front $2.5M Farm front $4M Diamond front $4M Tuschen Front house $6M. Call: 666-2326

SALON

One bedroom apartment 550 Sq feet for working couple or single person $35,000 monthly. Call: 638-8858

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EDUCATION Summer Classes: Phonics, Reading, Language, Mathematics, Art & Craft & fun-day (4-12yrs) 16thJuly10thAugust @ Roxanne Burnham Gardens-Tel:2182076/ 619-4355 Private Customs Brokerage Certificate Training Course starts mid July 2018, register now & save. Call: 694-8322/ 690-4225 Summer School & LessonsPhonics, Reading, Compositions, Full & Half day sessions 3-14 yrs Nursery & Primary Full day school. Call: 677-0296 Computer Summer Class 23rd July-17th August, Monday & Wednesday 10am-12pm @ Durban St Georgetown. Tel# 615-3192 Study in Canada/US 100% acceptance MicroGraphics #264-3057 2019 Processing now Kids Summer Computers, register now $8,000 2 months MicroGraphics #264-3057

Lot 22 Dowding street, Kitty Georgetown 125’x57'. Call: 227-1905 or 619-4152 PROPERTY FOR SALE

HEALTH

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3 storey commercial buliding. Location- Lot 1486 Plot B Herstelling (2 Bridge) EBD. Suitable for school/ apartments. Contact #6093777/686-0522

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Secret Villa & Harmony Inn, Fully furnished, Airconditioned apartments. $6000-$9000. #225-6337/2181400/266-5243/602-8769

Lot 15 Public road #2 Vill. WCB 3 House Lots. Coconut & Mango trees 49ftx10,314ft length. Price $18M. Contact# 648-7109/686-4818

TOLET

Summer special 16 July-Aug Cosmetology Advance Makeup Nails $15,000 per package. Free products included. Abby# 614-6749

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One experienced waitress with Secondary education 18-25 yrs salary $20,000 wkly from ECD. #610-5043

A man who told the court that he decided to rob a man in order to provide for his three children was yesterday sentenced to 50 months’ imprisonment by a City Magistrate. Twenty-nine-year-old

Nearly constructed 2 bedroom apt in a safe and healthy environment- Call # 698-6496

Flat wanted in North/South Riumveldt at least 2-3 bedrooms. 2-3 months rent available in advance. Call: 651-5990 Live in waitress to work in bar. Call: 692-4649 Drivers and Security personnel, Apply to North West Mining Investment Inc. 344 Middle and East Street, N/ C Burg

VACANCY Hair stations available for rental. New market street. #638-1106 One receptionist to work at Xenon Hotel in Georgetown. Contact # 223-5273/4 Experience Cook/ Housekeeper, Parika/Bushy Park #693-0636 for details. Driver/Expediter. Contact # 223-5273/74

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Kennard Persaud appeared before Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. He pleaded guilty to the charge, which alleged that on July 6, last, at Brickdam, in the company of others, robbed Ryan Dharry of one phone valued $5,000, a silver chain valued $1,000 and $500 cash. The man who was visibly upset stated, “I robbed the man because I am frustrated. I am not finding a job and my children were at home hungry.” He added, “Look me ain’t get time fuh waste. I ain’t able come to court for this matter to go on and on.” Police Prosecutor, Quinn Harris, told the court that on July 6, last, the victim was in the front passenger seat of a route 44 minibus when he was approached by the defendant who relieved him of the articles and made good his escape. The prosecutor added that the victim then reported that matter to the police. The defendant was later arrested and taken into custody. He added that an identification parade was then conducted and Persaud was positively identified. The prosecutor went on to tell the court that two years ago, Persaud was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment for a similar offence. The Magistrate told Persaud that he clearly did not learn his lesson when he was first sent to jail and this will be his second time in prison. She added, “Thou shall not steal; you need to work hard for what you want.”

Tuesday July 10, 2018

Kaieteur News

Corentyne man pleads guilty to beheading female neighbour

The Belevedere, Corentyne labourer who was charged with murdering his 53-year-old neighbour at her home in 2016, yesterday pleaded guilty to the offence at the Berbice High Court. Jainarine ‘Payo’ Balgobin who was a GuySuCo labourer attached to the Albion Sugar Factory and who resided at lot 370 Belevedere Squatting Area, Corentyne was charged with murdering Bhumattie Delall, 53, of Lot 351 Belevedere. Balgobin appeared before the court with Legal Aid Attorney-at-law, Sasha Roberts. A probation report was ordered by Justice JoAnn Barlow and he is to return on July 31 for sentencing. Balgobin on November 2, 2016 reportedly went to a “Madrass Temple” situated

next door to his house and removed a machete from the altar. He reportedly went over to Deolall’s yard and called her out. Then he chopped her neck almost severing her head from her body. She then slumped in a corner and breathed her last. He allegedly walked back over to the “Temple” and rested the bloodied machete back on the altar where he found it. Balgobin was reported to have walked back over to his home as if he had committed no crime, but was subsequently held by his brotherin-law until the authorities arrived and arrested him. While in custody, he had reportedly told investigators that “master send meh fuh kill she”, referring to a spiritual being associated with Hinduism.

‘Birdman’ to stand trial for Mocha mechanic’s execution Two years after police caught and charged the second suspect in the executionstyle killing of a Mocha Arcadia mechanic, Terrence Lanferman, a man was yesterday committed to stand trial in the High Court for the murder. Lanferman was gunned down in his home on June 1, 2015 Sedley Liverpool called ‘Birdman’ is accused of the capital offence. At the conclusion on the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) yesterday, Senior Magistrate Fabayo Azore, ruled that there was sufficient evidence against the defendant, for him to stand trial before a judge and jury. He will go on trial at the next practicable sitting of the Demerara Assizes. The man was represented by Attorney-at-law Dexter Todd who had made a no case submission on his client’s behalf. The lawyer had argued

that there was no evidence to prove that his client committed the offence, since the prosecution case had too many loopholes and lack evidence. According to information, Lanferman was reportedly shot twice, to his neck and chest. This allegedly stemmed from a dispute between him and another man. Lanferman was found lying motionless with gunshot wounds to his body and was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Liverpool’s cousin, Kenkassie Lynch, has already been committed to stand trial in the High Court for the murder. Magistrate Azore had ruled that a prima facie case had been made out against him. Lynch will go before a judge and jury at the next practicable sitting of the Demerara Assizes.

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Irrepressible Nadal marches past Vesely into last eight LONDON (Reuters) The bar was set absurdly high by the time Rafael Nadal walked onto Centre Court yesterday but the Spaniard responded with a sensational 6-3 6-3 6-4 defeat of Jiri Vesely to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals. His great rival Roger Federer had already maintained his regal progress earlier on the showcourt and Serena Williams then followed with another thumping win. Nadal, whose 17 Grand Slam titles are eclipsed by Federer ’s 20 and the 23 owned by Williams, did not disappoint in the late afternoon sunshine as he dis-

sected fellow left-hander Vesely with a typically rumbustious display. The 32-year-old was made to work just hard enough by the Czech, who is clearly more dangerous than his 93rd ranking suggests but he never looked in any danger of not booking a last eight spot — which he did for the first time since 2011. A single break of serve was all Nadal required in the opening set and he broke twice in the second. At times it appeared the number two seed was playing on his beloved clay, such was the spin and bounce he extracted from the turf, but there was a

Spain’s Rafael Nadal in action during the fourth round match against Czech Republic’s Jiri Vesely. (Reuters/Tony O’Brien) brief hiccup in the third set. The powerful Vesely broke for a 3-2 lead when a rare Nadal forehand error

drew gasps of surprise from the crowd. The Spaniard hit back immediately though and sealed victory on his third match point when Vesely served at 4-5. Nadal will face either Argentina’s fifth-seeded Juan Martin del Potro or Frenchman Gilles Simon in the quarter-finals.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) You might find that others are adopting a bit of a "me first" attitude that doesn't quite sit right with you.

MedasKing...

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Try to have a positive, optimistic outlook today. Adopt an attitude of gratitude and look to see the beauty in everything around you. This is a day to appreciate what you've got, especially the people who love you

From page 29 is going to spend money on any child because of bare academics. The truth be told, almost every parent I spoke to in Guyana including some Head Teachers are of the view that running and kicking ball can wait until after studies,” Medas-King noted. But the KMPA disagrees with such. Medas-King explained that when a child gets 15 CXC passes because of no sports policy in Guyana when that child approach an Educational Institution the child have to pay while if that same child was a rounded student he or she would have been eligible for a Scholarship. The practice in Guyana needs to be addressed and until then parents will have to find that money or that child will have to forget about getting that higher education. The foundation is asking parents to allow and support their children to participate in different sporting events and watch their children grow, become competitive, learn to lose and also learn how hard they must work in order to win. Medas-King and the Foundation would be writing several articles addressing these issues and are hoping that changes can be made in the mindset of Guyanese and in the pending sports policy which has a draft being circulated in some circles.

Tuesday July 10, 2018 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Things should go extremely well for you today, Aries, so don't shy away from anything. In fact, take this opportunity to shine as brightly as you can. TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Come out of serious mode for a day and let yourself laugh. Sponsor a game night at your home and invite some good friends over to play cards and nibble on snacks until midnight. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) You have an incredibly strong influence on others just by virtue of the fact of your fun-loving, peaceful, and harmonious nature. CANCER (June 21–July 22) Put your aggressions away and laugh a little today, Cancer. Transfer your intensity from a hard, caustic energy to a more lighthearted and fun-loving one. You'll find that this type of attitude will take you far. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) It's a terrific day for you, Leo, one in which you'll find that your jovial approach to every situation is just what the doctor ordered. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Take time out from your work today and relax a little, Virgo. Let your romantic nature have some fun and don't feel guilty about not being as serious as you think you should be.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) It's time for you to come out of hibernation. Shake off the blues and come into the light. Today is a day to play and have fun. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Other people's stubborn attitudes may be hindering your progress, Capricorn. Take this as a hint that you need to loosen your grip on a certain viewpoint that you're holding too tightly. AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) The doldrums are over and its time to pick up the pace, Aquarius. Come out of your home in full regalia today and be proud of what you have to offer to the world. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) People are going to appreciate extra long, tight hugs today, Pisces, so feel free to give them out like candy to everyone you come in contact with. A kind gesture and warm word won't be forgotten. Let your generous and kind spirit shine through.

School of the Nations lose by... From page 30 as Ajani Waterman was caught and bowled first ball by Shivrattan before Osaze Smith fell to Nggando off his first ball to leave the home School on 2-0 in 1.1 overs. When Nggando trapped Aaron Griffith (1) LBW at 6-3 the Guyanese were back in the game before Marc Cyrus, who reached the boundary six times in an unbeaten 47 and Hicks (11), batted responsibly in a match winning unfinished 61-run stand as QC galloped to an emphatic win. Nggando had 2-8. The CWI sanctioned tournament attracts U-19 school teams to compete with their local, Regional and International counterparts, while the best two teams qualify for the final at the Kensington Oval. After the final, a festival game is played between the Caribbean teams and a combined side from the UK. School of the Nations’ Coach Darien Best said he was disappointed with his team’s performance. “The batsmen did not apply themselves and tried to play too many shots. Our bowlers bowled well and got three quick wickets but their batsmen recognized the threat and batted accordingly,” said Best, who is the Youth Coach at Malteenoes. The Guyanese play their second match today when they face-off with Foundation School of Barbados. (Sean Devers)

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Hamstring injury France vs. Belgium key head-to-head battles ends Olympian De Grasse’s season ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) - France meet Belgium in a World Cup semi-final today. Here is a look at some of the key head-to-head duels which could prove decisive. Kevin de Bruyne (Belgium) v N’Golo Kante (France) De Bruyne is one of the most astute passers of the ball in the game, and one of its best long-range marksmen. Brazil simply could not cope with him in the first half of their quarter-final. On Tuesday, however, he will come up against one of the world’s best defensive midfielders in a battle that could go a long way to deciding the outcome. Kante covers a remarkable amount of ground, his reading of the game is exceptional, and he is unlikely to be pulled around by De Bruyne in the same way that Fernandinho was in the quarter-final. Both play in England’s Premier League and have come up against each other before. Romelu Lukaku (Belgium) v Raphael Varane and Samuel Umtiti (France) France have conceded

Andre De Grasse of Canada

(Reuters) - Canadian triple Olympic medalist Andre De Grasse’s season has been cut short for a second consecutive year by a hamstring injury, the sprinter’s manager said yesterday. “This past Saturday while running the 200m semifinal at the Canadian Athletics Championships, Andre caught a cramp in his hamstring preventing him from finishing the race,” Paul Doyle said in a statement. “Sunday, MRI scans revealed a minor grade 1 strain in the Biceps Femoris. A minor injury, but enough to end what has been a rather tumultuous year for De Grasse.” A different hamstring injury knocked Canada’s highest ranked sprinter out of the world athletics championships in London last year. De Grasse had said he felt a “little grab” in his right hamstring while leading his 200m semi-final in Saturday’s race. The 23-year-old was hoping the injury was just a cramp but tests revealed the strain. “I will heal quickly from this injury,” De Grasse said in the statement. “I will go be with my daughter and focus on being

a dad for the next few weeks as I heal, and I will plan to come back stronger than ever.” De Grasse and his girlfriend became the parents of a daughter Yuri on June 22. “2018 will always be the year I look back at fondly as the year my daughter came into the world” De Grasse said. Along with last year’s hamstring injury, De Grasse learned this year he was recovering from a bout of mononucleosis that he had suffered from possibly as far back as December of 2017, which affected his early races. He delayed his return until April but was unable to perform at the level that made him the Olympic 200m silver medalist and 100m and 4x100m relay bronze medal winner at the 2016 Rio Games. Holder of lifetime bests of 9.91 seconds in the 100 and 19.80 in the 200, De Grasse’s best 100m time this year was 10.15 in his season opener. He finished third in the 100 at the Canadian championships on Friday, running 10.20. His 200m season’s best was 20.46.

Belgium’s Kevin De Bruyne during training. (Reuters/Damir Sagolj) only three goals on the way to the semi-finals, and the central defensive pair snuffed out the attacking threat of Luis Suarez in the quarter-final against Uruguay, barely allowing him a touch in the

France’s N’Golo Kante applauds their fans as he celebrates victory after a match. (Reuters/Damir Sagolj)

Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku during training in Dedovsk, Russia. (Reuters Damir Sagolj)

penalty area. They will now aim to stop Lukaku adding to his tally of four goals in the tournament. The powerful striker has proved a handful, not just for his goals but also for his role as a target man and in opening up space for Eden Hazard and De Bruyne. Lukaku led the counterattack which led to B e l g i u m ’s s e c o n d g o a l against Brazil in the quarter-final and also set up their winner against Japan in the second round with an astute, unselfish dummy. Kylian Mbappe (France) v Jan Vertonghen (Belgium) As the left-sided player in Belgium’s three-man defense, Jan Vertonghen is likely to find himself as the man tasked with stopping French teenager Kylian Mbappe. Vertonghen is an experienced campaigner and seen as one of Belgium’s

most dependable players. But Mbappe’s powerful runs from midfield destroyed Argentina in the second round, and his pace is likely to stretch the 31year-old Vertonghen to the limit. Eden Hazard (Belgium) v Benjamin Pavard (France) Hazard has arguably been the outstanding player of the tournament and pulled Brazil and their right back Fagner around the field in their quarter-final. France right back Pavard, 22, was a surprise inclusion in their squad, but he has had an excellent World Cup so far, capped by him scoring one of the goals of the tournament in the 42 win over Argentina. He now faces his biggest test so far in trying to stop the Belgian number 10.

France’s Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring. (Reuters Michael Dalder)

Tuesday July 10, 2018

Federer leaves yet another rival chasing shadows LONDON (Reuters) Over the past week none of Roger Federer’s opponents needed to play on a court with a retractable roof as Wimbledon has been roasting in 30 degrees Celsius temperatures. What they would probably have preferred is to play on a Centre Court with a retractable grass surface - one that can open up and swallow them whole and spare them from receiving any further punishment from the most elegant executioner in tennis. Just too bad that option was not available to Adrian Mannarino yesterday as he was tortured and tormented during a jaw-dropping opening set when he won only one point on his own serve. Mercifully the set flashed by in 16 breathtaking minutes as Federer whizzed into the quarter-finals with a 6-0 7-5 64 win. Had the Swiss not squandered four break points in the opening game of the second set, which lasted almost as long as the entire opener, Federer would probably have not needed an hour and 45 minutes to get back into the locker room. Did he feel sorry for Mannarino? “Not really. I’m telling myself why didn’t I break the first game of the second,” a grinning Federer said as he stood three wins away from lifting the men’s trophy for a record ninth time. “I was also surprised it was that fast, that first set, especially 16 minutes. That was too fast. Shouldn’t really happen but thankfully they do for me. I probably won’t have another 6-0 set this week, so I’ll enjoy

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this one.” Perhaps blinded by the male fan who sat in the corner decked in gold lame to resemble the pineapple-topped Challenge Cup, the 36-yearold Swiss fluffed his lines despite being 0-40 up on Mannarino’s serve in that first game of the second. That reprieve, followed by further break point let-offs in the Frenchman’s next two service games, allowed Mannarino to make more of a match of it. The first set horror-show and an apparent groin injury did not stop the world number 26 from becoming the first man to earn break points against Federer at the All England Club this year. Converting any of them, however, was mission impossible as Federer saved all four to take his streak of winning successive service games at Wimbledon to 81, dating back to last year’s semi-finals. Federer has also won 32 consecutive sets at the grasscourt major, dating back to his semi-final defeat in 2016. Even the top seed was surprised at how easily everything appears to be falling into place as he chases a 21st Grand Slam title. “After all these years, it is surprising to be the No. 1 seed, in the top two rankings at 36. I didn’t think that was ever going to happen, to be honest,” Federer said after setting up a last-eight meeting with South African eighth seed Kevin Anderson. “That has been the surprise for me, that sometimes there is a set like this. I was just very happy that I was able to protect my serve, find a way to break, create opportunities. I think I can be very pleased.”

Finally, England and Croatia have chance to banish semi blues

Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic talks to the players during training. (Reuters/Sergei Karpukhin) REPINO, Russia (Reuters) - Two nations who have been waiting years to put right the bitter memories of World Cup semi-final defeats will face each other tomorrow in Moscow with the chance to finally go one step further. England’s last appearance at this stage was in 1990 when they lost in a penalty shootout to West Germany in Turin while eight years later, in their first World Cup as an independent nation, Croatia lost to hosts and eventual winners France. While many outsiders view that unexpected Croatian run to the last four as a great success, inside the country many share the view of the team’s then manager Miroslav Blazevic that it was a missed opportunity. England too left Italy 28 years ago feeling that the

team featuring Gary Lineker and Paul Gascoigne could have gone all the way. But neither side are in a mood for nostalgia or using the past as motivation. While Croatian players, who have been asked constantly about the generation of 1998 and never fail to express their admiration for the likes of Zvonimir Boban and Davor Suker, those comparisons are a weight they feel is unneeded. “We are not putting more pressure on ourselves with what happened in 1998,” said midfielder Ivan Rakitic. “What they did was impressive but we want to keep writing our own history and enjoy what we are doing which is very positive,” he added. England’s loss in 1990 was turned into a documen-

tary film and has become a fabled part of the country’s “52 years of pain” since their 1966 World Cup triumph. But yesterday, defender Ashley Young was quick to dismiss its significance. “We are concentrating on what’s going on now. Not what’s happened in the past. We’re looking forward to the future,” said Young. UNDERESTIMATED Neither team came to Russia being heralded as favorites but they have produced performances throughout the competition which have shown they were underestimated by the pundits. Croatia’s 3-0 win over Argentina in the group stage was a clear signal that the team led by midfield maestro Luka Modric was a real threat with their clever passing and movement.

In their quarter-final clash with Russia, the Croats showed a different side, being willing to slug it out with the Russians for 120 minutes before keeping their cool and winning the shootout in such a partisan atmosphere. England, who made an early impression with a 6-1 crushing of Panama in the group stage, then overcame their shootout hoodoo in beating Colombia in the last 16 and looked composed and mature in the 2-0 quarter-final victory over Sweden. Given Croatia had extra time and penalties to recover from, England should come into the game fresher and they also have the edge in previous meetings, winning four of the seven encounters, including a 5-1 victory in their most recent match — a World Cup qualifier in 2009.

Medas-King urges readiness for College or University for young athletes The King-Medas Pansy Adonis (KMPA) foundation would like to raise awareness among the Guyanese public about the importance of being University or College ready. Andy Medas-King, the founder and organiser of the King-Medas Pansy Adonis Classic Road Race is of the

view that parents in Guyana are ‘setting up’ their kids. Medas-King noted that parents are only concerned about the academic part of their children’s lives and not allowing them to be rounded. “At present, world class athletes are rou n d e d a n d no College or University (Continued on page 27)

England’s Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard during training. (Reuters/Anton Vaganov)

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Tuesday July 10, 2018

Kaieteur News

Easy for Serena as she rolls into quarter-finals

Payless Variety Store contribute to Malteenoes Cricket Academy

Serena Williams of the U.S. celebrates winning her fourth round match against Russia’s Evgeniya Rodina. (REUTERS/Toby Melville) LONDON (Reuters) Seven-times champion Serena Williams prevailed in a Center Court mothers’ meeting yesterday, roaring past Russian qualifier Evgeniya Rodina into the Wimbledon quarter-finals. The 36-year-old American was untroubled in a 6-2 6-2 victory — her 90th singles match win at the All England Club. Rodina, who like Williams combines a tennis career with motherhood, looked overawed at first as she went 3-0 down.

She steadied herself, though, and even had a break point when Williams served at 4-2, but her chances were few and far between as her opponent continued to charge through a draw blown wide open by an exodus of seeds. Rodina left the court for a few minutes at the end of the first set but when she returned Williams continued her domination with an early break in the second. With her easy power Williams looked serene as she cruised to victory to set up a

clash with Italy’s unseeded Camila Giorgi who beat Ekaterina Makarova. “I’m a perfectionist, I always find something,” the 36year-old responded when asked about her near-flawless display. “Today was tougher than the scoreline suggested.” Williams, who missed last year’s Wimbledon because of pregnancy, has not lost here since 2014 and has now won 18 consecutive matches on the London lawns. She is yet to drop a set this year.

Marcus Watkins collects Payless Variety Store’s contribution to the Malteenoes Cricket Academy from a staff member. Payless Variety Store’s Main Branch on Wellington Street in Georgetown recently contributed a quantity of Tennis balls and Plastic plates to the Malteenoes Cricket Academy for their two-week programme which starts on July 23. The balls will be used by the students ranging between the ages of 6-13, while the 14-18s will use Leather Balls, while plates will be used by everyone. In addition to their main branch in the City, Payless has branches in New Amsterdam, Berbice and Vreed-in-Hoop in West Demerara and has been a great supporter of Sports, while its owner is a former Athlete. The donation was made by Supervisor of City branch to Division one cricketer Marcus Watkins, who thanked Payless for their contribution which he said will help the youngsters develop into hopefully well-rounded in-

dividuals who will leave their mark in some area of cricket. “Ronnie Sarwan, Ryan Ramdass and Indomattie Goordial were past Academy students who played Test Cricket,” Watkins said while encouraging youngsters to join this year’s Academy. The cost to register is $3,000 and forms can be picked at the Thomas Lands club and registration closes on July 20. The Academy will include class room and field work which will provide the tools to become Cricketers, Umpires, Scorers, Journalists and Broadcasters. Qualified facilitators will conduct technical and physical sessions, while giving talks on the importance of Education, Social Skills, Health and Hygiene, Etiquette, Child Protection, Law and History of Cricket, Umpiring and Scoring.

Sir Garfield Sobers International Schools Tournament

School of the Nations lose by 3 wickets to QC of Barbados Guyana’s School of the Nations got off to an inauspicious start in the 2018 Sir Garfield Sobers International Schools cricket Tournament when they were badly beaten by seven wickets by Queens College of Barbados in a rain affected match yesterday. In the opening round of the tournament which began in 1986, the Guyanese crashed to 65 all out from 14 overs in a game reduced from 40 to 34 overs due to overnight rain before the Bajans eased to victory; finishing on 67-3 with 20.2 overs to spare. QC asked the Guyana School to bat in overcast conditions on a track with lots

of moisture and a sluggish James Bryan outfield and were destroyed by Ethan Hicks (4-31) and Reneil Smith (16).Tuen Hincks (5) and Rahul Singh (8) carried the score to 15 before Smith who removed Singh and Andrew Samaroo for duck before Hicks sent his unrelated namesake packing to leave the score on 18-3.Rajendra Singh, the only batsman to reach double figures with 11, joined diminutive right-hander Wayne Bollers and stroked three boundaries before he provided Kayode Miller with his third catch as Hicks struck again to leave the score on 31-4 to trigger a dramatic

slump which saw four wickets falling for four runs to leave School of the Nation in tatters at 35-7. Bollers (1), Mahendra Singh (0) and Tathesh Shivrattan (3) were all quickly blown away by Smith and Hicks as poor shot-selections aided their demise. Dominic Roberts (6) had his stumps scattered by Hicks at 44-8 before Dambuka Nggando (6) and Yogeshwar Seecharan (6) carried the score to 65 before they were both removed on that score. When the Bajans began their run chase, the four spectators in the stands watched (Continued on page 27)

Tuesday July 10, 2018

Guyana take on Windward Islands as CWI Regional U17 tourney commences By Zaheer Mohamed in Trinidad and Tobago in association with VNet Communications, Regal Stationery and Computer Centre, Mike’s Pharmacy and Bel Air Rubis. Guyana will begin their Cricket West Indies Regional U17 50-over campaign against the Windward Islands today at the National Cricket Centre in Couva, Trinidad and Tobago. Led by the talented Sachin Singh, the Guyanese will be looking for their first title at this level and their participation in the Guyana Cricket Board inter county U19 tournament has done their preparation well. Singh who plays for Demerara Cricket Club will have as his deputy Andre Seepersaud a talented allrounder. Singh, who is in third year at this level, feels his team’s chance of going all the way is good. “The team is a balanced one which has depth in the batting. Most of the players have been around since the U15 level so they have a fair amount of experience playing away from home and can adjust to the conditions faster,” he added. He added that the bowling is fairly strong and the players are eager to go. “The surface is likely to favour the spinners which will be to our advantage,” he said. Guyana batting will be led by Singh who is expected to be partnered by Navindra Singh at the top of the order. While a lot will depend on Singh to set the

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Kaieteur News

Guyana captain Sachin Singh foundation for a huge total, valuable support is expected to come from Dwain Dick, Yeudistir Persaud, Seon Glasgow, Sheldon Charles and Nigel Deodat. Despite being in his first year at this level, Dick, who represented Demerara in the U19 inter county tournament, is a gifted cricketer and is expected to dominate in this tournament. His steady off-spin bowling will compliment his batting and is another option available to Singh in the bowling department. Berbician Glasgow has the ability to play shots on both sides of the wicket and is a joy to watch once he gets going. He also bowls off- spin. Yeudistir Persaud performed exceptionally well in the inter county competition. He displayed immense concentration which was evident in his unbeaten 90 against Demerara U19 at the Everest Cricket Club. He is the lone wicketkeeper selected. Essequibian all-rounder

Sheldon Charles has the ability to hit the ball hard and could be used at the top of the order to utilise the power play overs. Leon Swamy and Nigel Deodat give added strength to both the bowling and batting and will find the pitch at the National Cricket Centre much to their liking. Leg spinner Niran Bisssu can create problems for the opposition since he has the ability to spin the ball hard but his control and consistency will be the key factors. Teams will be given bonus points for every wicket taken by fast bowlers and Guyana has a number of options in this area with the likes of Swami, Charles, Silvan Williams, Gevon Schultz and Sachin Singh. The weather here seems to be fine but the forecast has predicted a few showers. Windward Islands will depend on Simeon Gerson, Garvin Serieux Jr, Lee Solomon, Dominic Auguste, Ackeem Auguste, Keygan Arnold and Tyran Theodore. The Guyana squad reads; Sachin Singh (Capt.), Andre Seepersaud, Seon Glasgow, Navindra Persaud, Yeudistir Persaud, Hrithik Singh, Niran Bissu, Nigel Deodat, Gevon Schultz, Bhadesh Parsotam, Sheldon Charles, Silvan Williams, Leon Swamy and Dwain Dick. Orin Bailey is the Coach and Nazeer Mohamed Manager. In other fixtures Trinidad and Tobago will play Barbados at Brian Lara Cricket Academy and Leeward Islands will face Jamaica at Gilbert Park.

Team spirit can carry Belgium to World Cup final: Martinez ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) - Belgium are in uncharted territory for their World Cup semi-final with France but believe their team spirit and togetherness can ensure they carry on their extraordinary journey in Russia, manager Roberto Martinez has said. Martinez’s team face the 1998 World Cup winners in St Petersburg today for a place in the final, marking the first time Belgium have reached this stage of the Wo r l d C u p s i n c e 1 9 8 6 , when they finished fourth. “The players have been working together extraordinarily well for many years, and they deserve to be exactly where they are today,” Martinez told ESPN FC. “I feel that the most im-

portant aspect we worked on was the notion of being a team. Individual skills and talent are important, but in these tournaments, it’s absolutely necessary to play as a team. “It’s a trip into the unknown. We’ve never been in such a situation, and that’s why we need our team spirit more than ever against France. We need to be the best version of ourselves.” The coach sees strong similarities between Belgium and their opponents, especially when it comes to the wealth of individual talent in their ranks. Belgium can call upon the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne, while Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe have shone for France in Russia.

Mbappe was lethal in France’s 4-3 Round of 16 win over Argentina, using his pace to devastating effect, but Martinez said his side would not make the mistake of focusing solely on one player. “Both (teams) have the right mix of youth and experience and also lots of individual talent,” he added. “We will need to anticipate (Mbappe) and be wellpositioned. We need to defend spaces more than the player himself. But we are not going to forget the others since France has a very complete attacking pattern. “This group of players needs to play without fear to keep all of its options open. It’s like a voyage to the moon: We need to face it full of illusions.”

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Tuesday July 10, 2018

Kaieteur News

Kassim Khan wins Odyssey Transport Services Golf Tourney Kassim Khan emerged like the warrior Odysseus as he conquered the opposition in his epic journey from just after 9:00 a.m. on Sunday last at the Lusignan Golf Course. Odyssey Transport Services - named after the book of the historic and legendary warrior that conquered much as he went several years through a long hard, adventurous and exciting journey - typifies adventure, excitement and positive memories as one is transported by jet boat to and from interior locations of Guyana. CEO Feroze Barakat, a veteran golfer, by participating and winning a place in his Tournament, certified that adventure and positive memories are part of the Odyssey. Despite slightly wet conditions after a heavy downpour early Sunday morning, golfers were enthused to take the journey for the prizes at the end of the tournament. The day’s events produced warning signs that the Guyana Open, set for November 2018, will have excitingly keen competition, as reigning champion Avinash Persaud was unable to place in the top four of the day’s Medal Play Tournament. 1st to 4th place winners were: Kassim Khan, 1st - 65/ 9; Mohanlall Dinanauth, 2nd – 66/6; Aleem Hussain, 3rd – 69/11; and Feroze Barakat, 4th – 70/18. Mohanlall Dinanauth (a former Guyana Open Male Champion), obtained the Best Gross trophy with a score of 72. But there was pleasant encouragement for the next 10 placers, as CEO Barakat distributed 10 gift bags in appreciation of the competitive spirit so many golfers exhibited. Those placing in that order included Paton George 72/19;Patrick Prashad 74/9; Avinash Persaud 75/2; Ian Gouveia 75/ 15; Nazeem Haniff 76/8; Maurice Solomon 76/22; Miguel Oviedo 76/28; David Harry 77/12;Joaan Deo 78/17; and Danny Mangra 79/26.

Winners and several of those who received gift bags take a pose. Odyssey CEO Feroze Barakat, along with Manager Troy Khan and some three other Odyssey staff were on hand to congratulate the winners and distribute the awards. LGC President, Aleem Hussain and Dr Joaan Deo (standing in for Captain Chen Deo), expressed gratitude to Odyssey and the golfers who participated for their contribution to the day’s programme. Odyssey Transport of 171A Light Street, Bourda, Georgetown, (Tf: 227-0334) and Lot 3 Hyde Park, Parika E.B. Essequibo (Tf 262-0010), (and Facebook Odyssey Jet Boats), has been a provider of jet boat service in the interior regions of Guyana since 2012, as well as an outstanding partner of the Lusignan Golf Club’s 2017 successful Guyana Open International Golf Tournament.

The winners from left to right: Feroze Barakat; Kassim Khan; Aleem Hussain; Mohanlall Dinanauth.

SARA “Lash It Out” T20 game at Pre-Emancipation Day DCC rescheduled to July 27 Race-Walk Set for July 29th The cream of the country’s Race-Walkers in all categories will be in action on Sunday July 29th when the Cavaliers Sports and Tour Club (CSTC) stages it 10k Pre-Emancipation Day Racewalk around the outer circuit of the East Ruimveldt Community Centre from 06:30hrs. Several of the

c o u n t r y ’s t o p w a l k e r s and a host of newcomers are expected to participate in the event. Trophies, Medals and other lucrative prizes are at stake in the male and female (seniors), juniors, veterans and differentlyable categories. Interested participants must be at the starting line at 06:00hrs. Meanwhile, Coordina-

tor of CSTC Ms. Jennifer Major has stressed the need for more participation in the sport and more sponsorship if the discipline is to further developed and expanded. She emphasized that the sport is gradually progressing both competitively and leisurely but the major problem is sponsorship.

The State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA) in collaboration with several other agencies will be T20 fixture called “Lash It Out” at the Demerara Cricket Club, Queenstown has been rescheduled to July 27 due to the current inclement weather. The game was set for July 13 but has been shifted to Friday July 27 at the same venue.SARA legal advisor Ronald Bostwick had stated at the launching that the game fits in perfectly into SARA’s

mission, which is to eliminate corruption as much as possible while the entity’s Media and Communications Officer Melissa Davy noted that the game is just one of the many activities the agency is using to build public awareness on corruption. Former West Indies all-rounder and President of the DCC Roger Harper said the club is happy to be a part of the game, especially what it’s signifies. Coach Garvin Nedd of the National Sports Commission

and Warren Wintz of Bold! Luxurious! Beautiful! (BLB Clothing), are associated with the fixture. Two teams Furious Jaguars and Super Sixers made up of several notable Guyanese personalities will battle it out for honours in the fixture which promises much entertainment. No entrance fee is required, while Fly Jamaica is offering a ticket to one lucky fan to either the USA or Canada. Game time is set for 18:00hrs.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday July 10, 2018

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Western Tigers rampage Milerock 4-1 to keep title dreams on track

I

n their debut season, Western Tigers are on track to win the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) third edition of the Elite League after finishing top of the points standing after the first half of the tournament. In their opening match of the second phase of the FIFA sponsored league, Daniel Wilson bagged a brace to lead his team to a commanding 4-1 victory over the Linden based Milerock FC. Wilson’s goals came during both halves of the match with his first strike in the third minute and the

second in the 56th minute during the last match of a triple header that was played at the National Track and Field Centre at Leonora. Western Tigers, who had six incoming players to their squad including Kelsey Benjamin and Curtez Kellman from Georgetown Football Club (GFC), controlled the match throughout and Quason McAulay (32nd) and Kareem Knight (45th) added to the score sheet, Rawle Gittens scored a late consolation for the losers. After the match, Coach of Western Tigers; Calvin

Allen, explained that, “Our aim is to win the tourney. It will be a huge achievement to do so in our first outing.” Although Tigers came out the match with three points, outscoring Milerock 4-1, the meticulous Coach Allen was not satisfied and he posited that it was a scrappy display from his side and in addition to integrating the six new transfers into his system, a lot more needs to be done on his squad. With the win, Tigers are top of the points table with 24 points, slightly ahead Fruta Conquerors who have 23.

Western Tigers’ goal scorers, from left, Kareem Knight, Quason McAulay and Daniel Wilson who netted a brace.

GFF Elite League Season III Western Tigers’ Coach Calvin Allen.

The competition resumes on Friday with a double header at GFC ground with

Milerock versus Victoria Kings at 19:00hrs and Cougars versus Victoria

Kings at 21:00hrs. Please see points standing below.

Western Tigers’ new acquisition of National Forward Kelsey Benjamin on the ball during the 4-1 win over Milerock

Franco Crawford 50th Birthday Cycle race for Berbice Sunday Overseas based former national cyclist and now community activist Franco Crawford is teaming up with the Flying Ace Cycle Club (FACC) to stage a 45 miles cycle race in observance of his 50 birthday. The feature 45miles cycle race is set for Sunday, 15 July. Crawford, who is still a member of the FACC although residing and still rides in England and on the North American circuit, is a regular visitor back home. On his regular sojourn home he always remembers his club where he extends his benevolence to the club, the members and members of the community with numerous gifts and other forms of assistance. Crawford, who has now established himself as a community activist and is also spreading the word of

Franco Crawford (left) hands over the sponsorship to Randolph Roberts for Sunday’s race.

GOD, does not only assist cycling, but gives to other sports and community activities as well. The event, which is for members of the FACC only, will pedal off at 10:30hrs.

The riders will move off from the junction of Main and Alexander Streets, proceed along the Corentyne highway to the Bush Lot Gas Station before turning back to finish at its

place of origin. Prizes will be awarded to the first five finishers and the first two 12-14 riders, while there will be eight prime point prizes. Every cyclist that

completes the race will be presented with a prize where over $100,000 worth in prizes will be distributed. There will also be a special prize for the oldest cyclist. Crawford stated that he is motivated to assist his fellow Guyanese because he feels happy to be able to return to Guyana and give back to his home country a n d c o m m u n i t y. H e remembered his early upbringing when he hadn’t a proper bike and gear to participate. He continues to be impressed by the talent that is available in Guyana. Crawford handed over the check during the week to coordinator of the event

and club coach Randolph R o b e r t s . Crawford is expected to participate in the race and match pedals with his local counterparts. Roberts in expressing appreciation thanked Crawford for always remembering the club. He used the opportunity to call on other past members, overseas based Guyanese and businessman and more so the Government to take a page out of Crawford’s book and come forward and assist the youths so that they could be kept away from the ills of the society and illicit activities.

rt o p S

Guyana take on Windward Islands as CWI Regional U17 tourney commences

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The Guyana team prior to their departure for the tournament on Sunday.

Easy for Serena as she rolls Federer leaves yet another P. 28 into quarterrival chasing shadows P. 27 finals

Serena Williams of the U.S. in action during her fourth round match against Russia’s Evgeniya Rodina. (REUTERS/Toby Melville)

Switzerland’s Roger Federer celebrates winning his fourth round match against France’s Adrian Mannarino. (REUTERS/Toby Melville)

France vs. Belgium key head-to-head battles

Team spirit can carry Belgium to World P. 29 Cup final: Martinez

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